The big news before the Cubs game today was whether Matt Clement would be traded or not. Rumors about trading Clement (and others) have been going around for quite some time now, though there was no word of anything before the 3pm deadline today, and since Clement was scheduled to pitch, everyone was pretty sure that nothing was going down.

Well, we were all wrong! In a last minute deal involving four teams, the Cubs let short stop Alex Gonzales go (he is, in my opinion, the REAL reason we lost last year. The whole Bartie ball was blown out of proportion), as well as pitcher Francis Beltran (bye bye cutie) and two other players. Clement stays intact, and the Cubs now have a powerhouse team.

I mean, imagine it. Sosa. Alou. Ramirez. Lee. Garciaparra. And throw Barret, Patterson and Walker into the mix. There is no weak link!!! As Dave said, 'We're a fucking STUD team! It's like an All Star team!' Yes, today was Dave's Christmas. He was going apeshit in the car. 'For nothing! We got Garciaparra for nothing!' I even let him listen to Sportstalk radio all the way home. And an added bonus for Dave, Nomar's wife - 'Best-thing-to-happen-to-women's-soccer Mia Hamm' will be coming to Chi-Town as well.

Man, I can't wait til he comes to play tomorrow, it'll be incredible!!! Not only that, but Mad Dog Maddux will be going for his 300th win. The slight downside, Paul Bako will be catching, not my 'He Looks Like the Miz' Michael Barrett. But still....I can't wait to see what the lineup's gonna be!

Life is good in Chicago. Life is really good.

After a fitful night of sleep, and many many dreams that I actually remember (I've been dreaming a lot lately) I decided to wake up.

All week I've been waking up at around 8 or 9, just naturally. I was pretty bummed about it since I'm off of work and my body should at least let me sleep in until 10 or something.

So today, I grumpily woke up, knowing once again that I was waking up early in the morning.

I looked at the clock and it said 4:50.

"dammit, the power went out again!" I thought to myself.

However, the light wasn't blinking. "Hmm...Dave must have hit the time button or something." I reasoned to myself.

So I got out of bed and went to the table where my watch was. It read 4:50. "WTF?" I'm thinking. It's 5 in the morning and I'm awake? And if so, where the hell is my husband? He was there when I went to sleep!

So I rise out of bed and wander into the house, and it's a cloudy, hazy day, and I wonder to myself, "Is the sun this bright at 5 in the morning?" I find my cell phone and it reads 4:46pm. WHAT?!?!?!?

Then the realization comes to me that I've slept the whole day through. Wasted a day of "Law and Order" and internet surfing. Missed 2 doses of eye medication. Missed breakfast and lunch. But the weirdest thing is that my body allowed me to sleep for, uh, 15 hours. (Went to sleep at around 2 am, watching TV with the father in law and bro in law)

And the crazy thing is....I'm still sleepy!

Dave's Swedish relatives stopped by today during their Chicago trip, and I learned a couple new things. His little 10 year old cousin was a hoot to hang out with. I wanted to keep him talking just to listen to his accent.

Tried to do my 'how to get a 10 year old talking' trick, but with the language barrier, it was a little harder. However, once he found out that we had cable he was ecstatic. "Do you have the Cartoon Network?" he asked in his cool Swedish accent. When I said yes he immediately said, "Great! Teen Titans is on!"

Funny. The kid's only been here a little over a week and he already knows the TV schedule! So I put it on, and then he sadly said, 'Aww! I've seen this one already!" Wow, doesn't that suck? You're on vacation in a foreign country, find an awesome television show, and when you catch it on, you've already seen it!

We talked about Sweden for a bit, and he said that most homes only have several TV channels, and there weren't cartoons there like on the cartoon network. The best they had was Tom and Jerry. Wasn't that, like, 100 years ago? No wonder they have so much time to build cheap furniture. (just kidding)

Once all the TV was done (I did find out that they do have the Simpsons out there, which he watched and enjoyed) I gave him our limited movie collection. Unfortunately, we didn't have much that could cater to a 10 year-old's tastes. But when he saw I had the extended edition of 'The Twin Towers' he wanted to see it. He only had the regular version at home and really wanted to see the extended scenes. So we watched it and every time there was an extended scene he would exclaim, 'Wow! That one's new!' It was so cute.

We also discussed a lot of the workings of Middle Earth, like how his favorite character was Gimli, but that the rest of Sweden loved Legolas. (I informed him that the rest of the world, did, too, at least the feminine half) I felt a little bad for him because I knew he'd strain for some English words but sometimes couldn't fully express what he wanted to say. But he enjoyed the movie. However, we had to stop halfway because the night episode of 'Teen Titans' was on.

So we had fun. He was a really cute kid, too, half Swedish and half Filipino. As his aunt, who had stopped by to say hello, was leaving, she remarked, 'You're so good looking! I bet the girls say you're hot!!!' To which he turned red and replied, 'Please! I'm watching TV!' Poor little Swede. Probably traumatized now!

PhotoFriday: Sunset

Sunset at Corona Del Mar - August 2003, Corona Del Mar, CA

Just looking at this makes me miss living in Long Beach. Can't get a sunset like this in Chicago!!!

Since I've been at home recovering, and Dave's grandmother is visiting from out of town, we've been babysitting Dave's 10 year old god daughter, April.

Ever since I've met her she's been one of those slow to warm up kids, with a shy little hello. But the one thing I know about kids around that age, is that you can usually open them up by asking them two or three questions - 'What do you like to watch on TV?' or 'So what are you into?' As soon as they answer that, ask them to tell you about it, and you'll have at least 10 minutes of convo time. Kids love to talk about the things they're passionate about.

So April came over the other day, and she was carrying a book with her. A yellow and blue hardcover book that to me, was all too familiar. A Nancy Drew book! I didn't think that kids nowadays (I sound like an old fart) still read those books. So not only did I have 10 minutes of convo with April, but a whole afternoon's worth, discussing all the adventures of Nancy Drew and the books that we both had read in common. Turns out that April has the same passion for reading that I did as a child, and she was amazed that I had read the same books as her, as much as I was surprised that kids are still reading about Superfudge and Ramona Quimby.

She had never seen 'The Neverending Story' which was one of my favorite movies as a kid, so I popped in the DVD and she loved it. She, in turn, introduced me to the Disney Channel online site which had tons of games to play that we quickly became addicted to. (sidenote: There is nothing that makes you cooler than a wireless DSL connection and playing with a kid that has had to suffer with a dial up connection. You become a god!)

It was a nice feeling to hang out with April, who for her age is really smart and pretty fun to talk to. There are so many news reports nowadays about kids failing in school, or kids not caring about things that are going on in the world or not caring about school, etc, so it was nice to see that not all kids fit into that stereotype, that there's a lot of great kids out there that are going to do well, that are just like the kids that we were.

Or maybe I'm just rambling because I'm on new medication.

:-P

Dan has a pic of my eye at it's lumpiest on his photoblog. So if you were ever curious...go ahead and check it out!

The news today has been a buzz with last night's speech at the Democratic National Convention by Barack Obama, a candidate from Illinois for the U.S. Senate. I don't normally post up political things here, but his speech really wowed me. Not only his speech, but the way he spoke, his charismatic appeal, his story, and the way that he seems to have the media in the palm of his hands right now. He hasn't even won his senate seat and people are already saying that he could very well be the first black US president.

Anyway, here's the speech, click on the link at the bottom for the whole thing!

"On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln, let me express my deep gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention.

Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let's face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a domestic servant.

But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place; America which stood as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before. While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas.

Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor he signed up for duty, joined Patton's army and marched across Europe. Back home, my grandmother raised their baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the GI Bill, bought a house through FHA, and moved west in search of opportunity.

And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter, a common dream, born of two continents. My parents shared not only an improbable love; they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.

They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren't rich, because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential. They are both passed away now. Yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with pride.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted-or at least, most of the time.

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations.

And fellow Americans—Democrats, Republicans, Independents—I say to you tonight: we have more work to do. More to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that's moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. More to do for the father I met who was losing his job and choking back tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits he counted on. More to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn't have the money to go to college.

Don't get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks, they don't expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency or the Pentagon.

Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to parent, that children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems.

But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.

In this election, we offer that choice. Our party has chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this country has to offer. That man is John Kerry. John Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and sacrifice, because they've defined his life. From his heroic service in Vietnam to his years as prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the United States Senate, he has devoted himself to this country. Again and again, we've seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available. His values and his record affirm what is best in us.

John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded. So instead of offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he'll offer them to companies creating jobs here at home. John Kerry believes in an America where all Americans can afford the same health coverage our politicians in Washington have for themselves.

John Kerry believes in energy independence, so we aren't held hostage to the profits of oil companies or the sabotage of foreign oil fields. John Kerry believes in the constitutional freedoms that have made our country the envy of the world, and he will never sacrifice our basic liberties nor use faith as a wedge to divide us. And John Kerry believes that in a dangerous world, war must be an option, but it should never be the first option.

A while back, I met a young man named Shamus at the VFW Hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a good-looking kid, six-two or six-three, clear eyed, with an easy smile. He told me he'd joined the Marines and was heading to Iraq the following week.

As I listened to him explain why he'd enlisted, his absolute faith in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all any of us might hope for in a child. But then I asked myself: Are we serving Shamus as well as he was serving us? I thought of more than 900 service men and women, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors, who will not be returning to their hometowns.

I thought of families I had met who were struggling to get by without a loved one's full income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or with nerves shattered, but who still lacked long-term health benefits because they were reservists. When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.

Now let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated. John Kerry knows this. And just as Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served with him in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one moment to use our military might to keep America safe and secure. John Kerry believes in America. And he knows it's not enough for just some of us to prosper. For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga.

A belief that we are connected as one people. If there's a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It's that fundamental belief-I am my brother's keeper, I am my sisters' keeper-that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. "E pluribus unum." Out of many, one.

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America-there's the United States of America.

There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism here-the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!

In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation; the belief in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead. I believe we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. America!

Tonight, if you feel the same energy I do, the same urgency I do, the same passion I do, the same hopefulness I do-if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as president, and John Edwards will be sworn in as vice president, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come. Thank you and God bless you."

"Your eye is pretty gooey and red!"
-- My Doctor

I love it that my doctor just tells me how it is. No 'I'm sorry, Ms. Feliciano, but your eye tissue seems to be having some sort of allergic reaction causing the surrounding tissue to swell and blood vessels to enlarge'. It's 'Your eye is pretty gooey and red'. Something I can understand, even though it's pretty obvious.

Here's a couple things I left with today.

- I'm switching to a new eye medication. No more gooey eye.

- I can go back to work on Monday. Yay! Not.

- I have to wear glasses for at least 2 months. Which is a problem, since my glasses are about 8 years old and harldy fit on my face because I've abused them so much. I need to get some new ones.

- I can travel again. Which means that all you fans out in San Francisco, LA and Denver get ready for the August leg of the Yano 2004 tour!

- He asked me how active I was. I said, 'Um, I'm not?' Can't do anything too strenuous or that would be high impact. OK. Which means continue living as I have for the last 5 years. :-P

- I found out that the 'eyelash in my eye' feeling I've had isn't due to the silicone buckle inside my eye...there's actually stitches on my eye that are healing, but should be absorbed by my body within the next couple days.

- My droppy eyelid should heal in the next several months. Yuck.

- The detachment is about 90% healed, which is a good sign.

All in all, a pretty good doctor's visit.

I guess one of the things I'm most grateful right now, other than 'Law and Order' being on the tele every waking moment, is that I caught it in time. On the same note, I've been beating myself over the fact that I was so irresponsible with my body that I didn't go to the eye doctor to get this checked. Every single person I talked to has scolded me for not going to the doctor, but believe me, no one is harder on me than me.

I talked to my best friend yesterday, and she gave me a long practiced speech about my responisbility to call people who I dare to call 'best friends' when such life changes or perils such as the slim possibility of losing my eyesight happens. Truthfully, I've had my phone ringer off. I had it on one day last week and there were so many calls it made my head spin. And I just never felt like talking to anyone. So slowly but surely, I've been returning calls. So don't worry, I'll try to get back to everyone!

Since my surgery, I've had lots of visitors, which has been great. However, I was thinking that this whole surgery thing would be great for losing weight, since I knew I wouldn't have an appetite during recovery.

What I didn't take into account was that my visitors knew me well enough to bring me my one weakness - desserts. Everyone brought pies! Ice cream pies, cream pies, pecan pies, our freezer is overflowing with pie love. So even when I had no appetite at all, I would want pie, pie, pie!!!!

Then the pièce de résistance came yesterday. I got a styrofoam cooler in the mail, and my heart leapt when I saw it. At first, I thought it was from my aunt in Cincinatti, but then I looked at the name, and it was from the COOLEST PERSON ON THE PLANET. What was in it? Six pints of Graeter's Ice Cream, my favorite ice cream ever! Six mouth watering flavors of creamy delicious ice cream. It was such a wonderful, thoughtful gift, from someone that I'm very thankful that I've been blessed to know.

Time to eat!

Since my vision is getting a bit better, I decided to play around with photoshop a bit, something that I've been planning on doing but never got to. Started off simple today, playing around with the different filters and such. Here's today's creations...

I know I asked this before, but what's everyone's screen resolution? Anyone out there still on 800x600? (*ahem*Melinda*ahem*) My site stats don't report that to me, and I was thinking of doing some redesigning and I want to keep the lower resolution people in mind, but if there aren't a lot of you out there, well, I'll be keeping with the 1024x768. So if you're out there, let me know! Or feel free to talk about websites and screen resolutions in general...

And to check your screen resolution, just right click on your desktop, go to properties, and then click on 'Settings'. You'll see something that says 'Screen Resolution'. :)

Today, I went out in public for the first time since the surgery. Since my whole family and Dave's whole family was going out to dinner, I didn't want to stay home alone! I admit, it was pretty scary and I was very self conscious. I debated on wearing the patch or just going bloody eye commando, and decided on the latter, which was less conspicuous. I thought we were just going to a sit down place, but we got there after it closed, so we ended up going to a Chinese buffet. Which was a little more movement and interaction than I thought.

But it was still a good time. We had a lot of good laughs at the expense of my eye. At first they were thinking of making One Eyed Estacio sit in front of a wall since no one wanted to see the evil eye. But later, Fatima said it didn't look really bad, just like I got into a really bad fight.

But it was nice to be out. Nice to see sunlight and experience a beautiful sunset.

Dan came over with Claudine today. Didn't think he'd be squeamish about the eye, but he was! He took a couple pictures of the eye, so I'm sure it'll end up on his site sooner or later, so any of you who are curious about how the eye is looking, swollen tissue and all, check out his site in the next couple of days. Funny thing is, the most disturbing thing about my eye to him isn't the blood or lumpiness, it's the fact that they cut off my eyelashes! :-P

Yesterday my awesomely awesome cousins came by the house to keep me company. They brought a load of DVD's to watch, as well as Lou Malnati's pizza, pie and boba shakes. They're the best! We just hung out, watched a movie and made fun of my eye. It was nice to have them over, I've really missed all of them.

I'm a big worrier, and I was a little out of it after the surgery and during my post-op visit, so I didn't ask too many questions. Something I've been noticing lately is some swelling in the tissue surrounding my eye and some bloody discharge (sorry for being gross). I've debated on whether or not this is normal, but finally I called the doctor today. He was really great and patiently answered all 1001 questions I had, and totally put me at ease. However, it turns out that I'm having an allergic reaction to the eyedrops, but nothing major, it happens to a lot of people. The doc wants me to keep up with the eyedrops until my appointment next Wednesday. It's good to know that there isn't anything freakishly wrong.

Since I'm semi-complaining, let me rant on about the trivial hardships that plague me. Yesterday I had a fitful night of sleep. I had dreams of trying on different skins on different parts of my body, but everything I tried on was itchy and irritating. It was driving me crazy. I woke up to find bug bites all over my body. There must have been a spider or something in the bed last night as I slept, which just crept along my body, chomping and biting away.

So not only am I blind in one eye, I'm also itchy all over the place!

...and a Happy Birthday to Dave's brother Justin!

Since I can't do much but watch TV and surf the internet at 10 minute intervals (my head will feel like it will explode) I've had a lot of time to think. Here's a couple thoughts I thought I'd share:

- After this is all done, I'm making doctor appointments all over the place. I'll get everything checked out to make sure the rest of me is in good working condition. And I will keep up with yearly exams and crap like that because there is no way I'm going through all this shit again!

- It's a battle to not fall into a well of self pity and despair. I admit, I've got the blues, but I'm trying not to let the blues take over. It's hard, though. Looking at that eye makes me cringe. It will take some time before it heals. For at least 3 months I'm going to have a droopy eyelid, and there's a risk that I'll have double vision for the rest of my life. If you remember, a friend of mine had an accident that disfigured his face. A lot of people speculated how he felt, what he was going through, etc. I think I have a little bit of insight, since my situation is pretty similar. It's a little more than looks. Sure, part of me is thinking, 'Well, I'm not going to win any beauty contests anytime soon.' But it's more like, 'I just want to look like myself again, not this Quasimodo looking like thing that's looking at me in the mirror.' A big part of me is paranoid that I'll never look the same again, that the eye won't fully heal.

- There is nothing good on TV. 70+ channels and I had to watch 'Independence Day' two days in a row. Thankfully Law and Order is on multiple times a day or I'd go crazy!

- You never realize how much pressure is put on your eyeballs when you sneeze or yawn. Ouch.

- Dave isn't squeamish about my eye at all. I was trying to gross him out and make him kiss my eye, and he didn't have a problem with it. (never made him do it) You'd think the guy would be like 'Eew!' or something, but I guess doctors are used to that.

- When my aunts and uncles heard through the grapevine yesterday about my surgery, they all called at different times. It was really nice, because I think that's the only time they've ever called me, and they were all really concerned.

- Thanks, once again, to everyone who's called, commented, or sent emails. To those of you who've sent emails, it'll take a little time for me to reply, but thank you so much for them...

- It's really hard to shower and wash your hair without wetting your eyes. Try it sometime.

- Dennis Leary's new show, 'Rescue Me' is pretty damn good. Make sure to check it out on FX. I know he's dabbled in drama before, but he really does an awesome job this time around. This is a show I'll be juggling me schedule over. "Sorry, can't go out tonight, 'Rescue Me' is on."

- I'd like to give props to my face, who has been a big trouper through all of this. With all the stress and not washing of my face regularly, you'd think that I'd break out or something, but my skin has been exceptionally clear and radiant. Making the monstrosity that is my eyeball that much more noticeable, but that's ok.

- OK, this 15 minutes of internet funtime is over!

Well, the surgery went well, I guess. I was going to write a whole play by play of the whole thing, but it's hard to see the screen with just one nearsighted eye to see it. I have to wear my glasses, and unfortunately, the prescription is about 8 years old and the patch I'm wearing is pushing my glasses too far from my face to do any good. Did I say patch? Yes, I did! Unfortunately, it wasn't the black pirate patch that I had dreamed of. It it's more of a metal patch with gauze around it.

My best pirate impression. It's hard to do without that black patch. Kinda looks like I'm wearing a mini colandar on my eye, right? I did a pretty shoddy job at putting on the patch by myself. When Dr. Dave gets home I'll have him do a better job at it.

Anyway, I was really nervous before surgery, though I managed to keep a calm and cool front. My father and in-laws came with me, and I think they were more nervous than I was. I felt really bad to put my dad through this. I'm sure seeing me in a room with an IV hooked up to me didn't bring back good memories.

Oh! And I had to wear one of those hospital gowns - the ones that tied in the back. Kinda scary, but luckily it had a flap so I wasn't showing my ass to everyone.

The anesthesiologist was really nice. I wanted to tell him that my husband is one, too, but I didn't really feel like talking. Most of what I remember from yesterday are just flashes of things happening, people coming in and out of my pre-op room, and about the last thing I remember before surgery is the anesthesiologist saying, 'I'm going to put some happy juice in your IV now.'

Next thing I remember is them calling out my name and feeling very woozy. I was thinking that surgery hadn't started yet, but when I felt my eye, there was already a patch there.

So I headed back home, feeling pretty nauseous and sleepy, and got home and took a nap. Dave got home from work, and he had a little present for me, a tiny hippo. I was pretty out of it, so I wasn't too responsive.

Then my sisters and dad, and the whole Mendez clan came over for a visit. Poor little Jillian, I think I scared her with my patch! It was so great to have them come visit, though...if I could have gotten teary eyed I would have! So they ate a lot of good food and ice cream pie and about all I could stomach was a couple spoonfuls of chicken soup.

So today I went back to the doctors office, feeling like a one eyed mutant. They took off the patch, checked my vision and said it was really good for someone who just had surgery. I was instructed on how to use my medical eyedrops and I'll be going back in next week for another checkup.

So I put in the eyedrops today, and one of them feels like I'm putting acid in my eye. I almost felt like screaming! But the pain went away after a bit, but it sucks to know I have to do it 3 times a day. I finally sae my eye without the patch and ugh, it doesn't look good. When my mother in law saw it, she instinctively had to turn away. She couldn't take it, and asked when I was going to put the patch back on. Yeah, not good! But it'll take time to heal, I know it's not going to look beautiful the first day after surgery. And don't worry, I won't torture you with pictures of it!

Still feeling a bit woozy. Feels like there's a band in my eyeball. Oh wait! There is! It just feels weird, and it'll take some time to get used to it.

So I'm off, it's hard to write with just one eye and it's giving me a headache! Sorry if there's mispellings, but I'm too lazy to go back and check for spelling errors!

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes. Y'all are great, I love you guys!

Before I go, I'll show you the guys that are keeping me company during my recovery.

One is the hippo that Dave gave me, the other is one that Fata gave me. They shall now go by the names 'Blackbeard' and 'Captain Hook'. I added the patches on them so we could have a little pirate gang. "Patch and her Pirate Hippos".

Today has been a crazy day. Really crazy. And tomorrow should be even crazier by a mile.

Over the last couple weeks, I've had some problems with my eyes. A little fuzziness, and little bright floaters in the bottom corner of my eye. Didn't really think much of it. Then I realized that I had switched my contacts - my left was in my right and vice versa.

But that didn't change anything. Actually, over the last couple days, the bright spots got even bigger. I'd be just about to go to sleep, in a dark room, and I'd see bright spots in eye...and just the left one.

So yesterday, I was thinking to myself, 'You know what? This isn't going to get better, it's just going to get worse. I should really see a doctor'. I haven't seen an eye doctor in about 6 years. I should be seeing one regularly, but I've just been lazy. That, and I hate going there, almost more than the dentist. Since my eyes are pretty bad, I go through a lot more testing and torture than the average person. Last time I went to a doctor, they had told me that I was so nearsighted that my retinas were getting strained. Your eye is a ball, right? When you're nearsighted, your eye gets a little oblong, more oval. The more nearsighted you are, the more oblong your eye is. And lets say I'm close to legally blind. Which means my retinas are really stretched out.

So of course I thought it had something to do with my retinas.

So finally I pulled out my insurance card and tried to figure out how to go about finding an ophthalmologist to check out my eye. Finally I found one that was close to where I'm staying, and I called to make an appointment. And it went a little like this.

Her: Hello?
Me: Hi, I'm not a current patient, but I want to make an appointment.
Her: Are you currently having a problem or is this a checkup.
Me: Actually, I've been seeing little floating lights in my eyes for a while.
Her: How long?
Me: About three weeks.
**she asks a couple more questions**
Her: Let me see if we have anything available.
**listening to hold music**
Her: Are these little blinking dots, or big flowing spots?
Me: Flowing spots.
Her: Can you hold on?
Me: Sure.
**more hold music**
Her: Do these spots move around in your field of vision, or do they stay in one place?
Me: One place. Lower corner of my eye.
Her: Please hold...

By this time, I was thinking that something was up. I'm in support, and we only do that 'please hold' deal when we don't know what to do or if a problem is really bad.

Her: Can you come in at 5pm today? We have an opening.
Me: Do you have anything tomorrow?
Her: Well, you should come in today.
Me: I'm at work, you see, and...
Her: You should come in today.

Something in the tone of her voice told me, 'This isn't a request, get your ass in here TODAY, girlie!' So I agreed.

So I stuck my head in my bosses office, and quickly explained the situation and said I had to leave early. He seemed pretty cool with it.

Got home and Dave took me to the doctor.

The assistant ran a couple tests, which verified to me that I am blind. (she asked me what letters were up there, and I was like 'WHERE?!?!?' and I could only see a light shining, and when I put on my glasses it was a fat ass 'E' on the wall)

Then they dilated my eyes, and the doctor checked me out. He shone a REALLY bright light into my eyes as he examined my retina. He then asked me to bring Dave in the room and explained that my retina had detached. Essentially, it had stretched out so much that it was no longer attached to my eyeball, and there was fluid in the space where it detached. That, my friends, is not a good thing.

He told us that he was going to page an eye surgeon to see if he could do surgery that night. But he was unavailable. My doctor said that I had to have surgery done immediately, because if I waited any longer, it could detach further and my central eyesight would be affected. Currently, it's only my peripheral eyesight that's is affected by the detachment, but the tear could go down to the rest of my retina.

After paging several surgeons, there was one that was currently in surgery that said he could see me once it was done. So then we were told to go to the ER of a nearby hospital so the doctor could see me. After waiting an hour or so, we were able to see the doctor, who explained the retinal damage to us, and then the surgery. It's too much to go into right now, so click on this link to see what's going on.

Detached and Torn Retina

It's pretty scary. I was under the impression that it would be laser surgery, in and out of the hospital and back to work the next day. However, they'll be using a general anesthetic on me, which means I'll be asleep, and the surgery will last at least 50 minutes as the repair the damage to my eye. In total, I'll be in the hospital for half the day, counting all the pre-surgery stuff and post surgery stuff. I've never been in a hospital before - not for treatment on myself. Never been in surgery. There's always a first time.

The chances of everything going OK are good, but I'm REALLY nervous for some reason. I know it's only eye surgery, but these are my eyes, man! Everything is happening so fast. In a matter of hours I was normal, and now I'm someone counting down the hours until surgery (7).

The recovery is 2-4 weeks, and I can't work during that time. Normally, I'd be ecstatic, but what am I going to do for two weeks if I can't see? I'm sure you all will be happy to know that I'll be wearing a patch for a couple days. At work, before we knew how bad it was, we were coming up with nicknames for me (not knowing even that these nicknames were foreshadowing the future). Names like One-Eyed Estacio, Winky or Patch. Personally, I like Winky.

So yeah. There's butterflies in my stomach now. Who knows what will happen!

Wish me luck!

Yesterday we headed back to Summerfest, to see the fireworks. I guess Dave's town doesn't have 4th of July fireworks, they wait until the Summerfest to go all out. I've never seen the fireworks there before, but Dave has always raved about it, saying they were better than the ones at the Taste of Chicago. He asked me, 'You've never heard of the Summerfest Fireworks? Are you serious?!?' As if I've been living in a hole and EVERYONE has heard of the Summerfest fireworks.

So we walked on over to the park where the fest was being held, with our Dave's lawnchair backpack (he loves the thing, feels like the coolest guy in town because his backpack converts into a lawn chair!) and blankets. There were herds and herds of people heading out there, and in the field in front of where they were showing the fireworks was packed with people. Not as nervewracking packed as the Taste but there were a lot of people.

Finally, they turned off the lights at the park and the show began. We could softly hear the music accompanying the fireworks playing on the soundstage, your average fair of patriotic songs - "Born in the USA", "Proud to be an American" etc.

I admit, the show was really great. For a little suburb, they really went all out with their fireworks and were able to get a lot of "Ooh!"s and "Ahh!"s from the crowd. There were purple and blue fireworks, fireworks that burst in the sky, then burst again as they fell down, fireworks that rained down the sky like a shower of golden light, fireworks broke off and spun around in the sky (I called them "Spermies", and fireworks that danced around the whole night sky in little points of light (Dave called them "Fireflies"). Wow, fireworks have really come a long way since I was a kid!

So here's a couple pics, because I haven't posted normal pics in a while...

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Nostalgia:: Remember
2. Irreplaceable:: Treasure
3. Odd:: End
4. James Spader:: Secretary
5. Flamboyant:: Gay
6. Intense:: Awesome
7. Simple:: Easy
8. Septic:: Tank
9. Ton:: Heavy
10. Turkey:: Burger

The yearly Summerfest is in town, and I guess it's a big deal in the suburb that we're currently residing in. Dave has been talking about it for weeks, and he's been reminiscing about times that he and Manny used to go over there as kids and hang out. We've been too tired during the week to go, but we finally stopped by yesterday.

It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, much bigger than my local church carnival. They actually have a big stage set up for bands, and all the crazy scary rides that give me the quesies. I mean, these rides were constructed in less than a day, and they carry them around in a truck How safe could that be?

No matter. I was there for one thing and one thing alone, the thing that brings me back to carnival after carnival. FUNNEL CAKES! Mmm...I love those circles of crunchy powdered sugar topped deep fried dough heaven! They're the best!

So I had one yesterday and it didn't disappoint. Usually I like an extra topping or two on mine, but they didn't offer any toppings. However, the powdered sugar was just fine with me!

Must get another one tonight!

I don't know what it is, but since I've moved back to Chicago I've either been really tired at night, falling asleep before 10, or really awake, not being able to sleep until one or two in the morning. Of course, not my normal schedule of sleep (always sleeping at around one or two). It's pretty hard to stay up at night when you're in a house of people, you always have to worry about waking someone up.

Dave has also been feeling similar, except he hasn't been feeling the insomnia. He's just really tired all the time, sometimes taking a nap at around 7 and not waking til around 9 or 10, still feeling tired.

Is it something in the air? Humidity? Or perhaps some sort of sickness? Mono? The plague? Scurvy?

OK, I threw that last one in because I just like saying the word. Come on. Say it out loud. SCUUUUURVEEEEEE! I've got SCUUURRRRVEEEEE!

Man, I love that word.

Scurvy!

PhotoFriday: Ocean

Surfer: Huntington Beach, CA - June 2004

Yet another picture from my thousands of pictures of surfers at Huntington Beach. Waiting for a good pic of the surfers was pretty tough since they waiting a LONG time to catch just the perfect wave. There'd be a ton of onlookers watching them, and when a surfer lost control and the ocean took over, everyone would give a collective, 'Ohh!'

Well, my latest addiction is playing texas hold 'em on Pokerstars.com. That's the same place that Chris Moneymaker and Greg "Fossilman" Raymer qualified for the World Series of Poker. It's a bit flashier than the Yahoo! version I've been playing, and let me tell ya, it's been VERY addictive, not only for me but also for Redpac, his landlord, Jones and Tall Steve.

It's pretty fun to play, since it's pretend money, anyway (you have the option to play with real money, too). But I hate it when people go all in whenever they want to, all the time. Argh! I've become better at learning how to make sure that the pot is raised up to a nice sum before I bet big, so if I'm sure I have the winning hand I come out of it victorious. I used to just bet huge sums at the beginning, and scare everyone off, and end up winning hardly anything. But now I'm a little smarter, learning to be patient, and also learning how to read the community cards to figure out who could have a better hand then me. It's a lot harder than thinking about what hands you can make from the cards in the community and the ones in your hand. You could have a flush, but if you don't have that ace, then someone could have a flush with an ace and take all your money away. When that happens, you just want to kick yourself in the head!!!

But other than that...it's fun!

Anyone else want in on our tables? I'll post up on tagboard what room we're in and what time!

(fyi - you have to download the program, but there aren't any popups or anything)

You all may know my weakness for those little doughy sweet circles of heaven called Krispy Kremes. Ohh...I'm salivating just typing the word. Where was I?

Oh. Krispy Kremes.

Anyway, you can sign up to be a 'friend' of Krispy Kreme, and get a free small frozen blend. And the Krispy Kreme newsletter, too.

Sign up here!

Get outta that carb craze, and come back to Krispy Kremes!

Since we're in the process of looking for/buying a house, me and Dave have got to start saving money. Wait....let me rephrase that. *I* have got to start saving money. Dave is really good at saving his money up - he's not an addictive shopper like I am. And he doesn't have expensive hobbies (comics, computers, male lap dancers...oh...scratch that last one)

I've been thinking of ways to save money, which I'll get into at another time. But it's been hard to change my lifestyle to save the necessary amount of money that we would need for our mortgage (that word just makes me CRINGE now!)

Dave and I were talking, and he was talking about how it was going at his residency, which he just started. At the other places he worked, he got a pretty sweet discount on food. But he was talking about the cafeteria at work, and he said it was pretty expensive to have lunch there.

Dave: Yeah, I get a discount and it's still pretty expensive for lunch. I'll have to start bringing my lunch to work.
Me: Really? How much is it?
Dave: It's like, five dollars for lunch!!!
Me: Uh, really? That's a lot?
Dave: Yeah! Think about it. Five dollars a day, five days a week is twenty-five dollars a week. About four weeks in a month, and that's a hundred dollars!
Me: Wow, yeah. That's pretty funny, because my lunch yesterday was fifteen dollars.
Dave: *laughs* *stops laughing* No...you're kidding, right?
Me: Haha...of course I'm kidding. *looks at the ground and shuffles feet*
Dave: *whining* Christeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!!! Think about how much money you'll save if you don't spend so much for lunch!

It's next to impossible to get a meal in downtown Chicago for less than 5 dollars. It's $8.94 at the Chipotle down the street for a burrito bol, guacamole and regular drink. Even a value meal at McDonald's will run you over five dollars.

So Monday, I though I'd be smart and go to the nearby Jewel and get some microwaveable meals to eat, save me a couple bucks. So I got some meals, some ice cream,, muffins, juice, salad greens, salad dressing and string cheese. And it STILL cost me almost forty bucks! However, hopefully the things that I bought can be used over a period of time (salad dressing, cheese, ice cream).

Must. Find. Another. Way.

This is one of those things that I always think about posting, but always forget. But thanks to Lupe, I remembered today, since she sent out an email to spread the word about this very important issue.

As most of you may know already, my mother, who had been fighting breast cancer for a long time, passed away last year. The things that she went through I wouldn't wish on my greatest enemy, and there's no worse feeling in life than knowing that someone you love is dying and there's no cure for them, nothing you can do about it.

But there are things you can do to help other people, to give them some hope that someday, there might be a cure, there might be something that we find that can lesson someone else's pain. It may not seem like much, but like they always say, every little bit counts.

Actually, this stamp has been around for more than 6 years, first being launched in 1998 and it was actually the first stamp created for fundraising reasons. You don't have to wait in line at the post office to get it, most stamp machines also carry the stamp, as well as a a receipt (because it's tax deductable). I've been getting this stamp for a while now, and that small amount of extra money that you pay goes a long way. And everyone needs stamps anyway, right? It's not like you have to go out of your way to donate, you just have to pay a little more.

I'm sure that you know someone out there who has or has had cancer, or someone that has passed away from it. You know how it affects the lives of those who have it, the lives of their loved ones. One thing that crosses my mind every now and then is that someday, I might have it - since my mother had it, the chances of me having it are higher. Or a relative might have it, or a friend. So this isn't just for the people who have breast cancer now, but those who will have it, as well.

So please, think about this the next time you're at the post office.

Feel free to copy this out and send it to your friends and family, the more people that know, the closer we get to a cure.

For more information, please check out www.curebreastcancer.org.

Phototime Tuesday: Empty

First One on the Plane: Los Angeles, March 2004

Don't know if I used this one before. It's great being the first one on the plane - you get your pick of the overhead space!

Had a pretty busy weekend. What did I do? COuldn't tell ya, but it was busy.

OK, fine.

Had a couple family gigs to go to.

Friday night - Cousin Joshua's grad party. It was fun watching all the teenies get up there and dance. I felt like a fossil. But I got a kick outta when they started playing the Macarena. I mean, who still plays that song at parties?!?!? Got to see Trully and Irio, my cousins from Brazil who have just moved back to Chicago. Always good to see them! And also got to see my not so little cousin David who's visiting from Florida but is too cool to call to hang out or whatever. Then again, I really don't know what a 13 year old does for fun, or if I'd be able to hang anyway. One thing I do know, if we played Tony Hawk, I'd kick his ass! (i think he's 13. I asked him 3 times and still don't remember). After the party, I went to hang out with Rachel and Manny (which I mentioned before)

Saturday - Hmm...I did something in the morning, but I don't remember what. I think I may have blogged about it. Cleaned up my little place? Ack, it's too early in the morning to remember. Anyway, later at night I went to one of Dave's family parties (with Dave's parents and without Dave). The situation would have given me a lot of anxiety (and it did, a little) but I'm getting a lot more comfortable with Dave's huge family, and they're all so warm and welcoming it's hard to be ill at ease. It also helped that the food was so good. :-D Dave came later on so it wasn't too bad anyway.

Sunday - Did some house stuff, got a gyro plate at Tommy's, took a nap while wathching the World Poker Championships and then headed over to Maui's to see the family. Jillian's as cute as pie. One day I will win that little girl over with my charms!!! I just may have to bribe her with toys and candy.

So yeah, I'm pretty exhausted. There are so many things that I need to do, and I am doing, and my head is spinning!

But for now...I work!

Haven't done this one in a while...

Unconscious Mutterings:

1. Crippling:: Blow
2. Tough:: Luck
3. Slinky:: Dress
4. Slogan:: Saying
5. Stuffed:: Pizza
6. Instructions:: Manual
7. Expletive:: Swear
8. Cartoon:: Character
9. Toddler:: Child
10. Insinuation:: Hint

Settling into my temporary home today. Life's been to hectic to do anything before today, but I get a little break today for Christine time.

Over the last week's I've been living here like it's a hotel, not really settling in and living out of boxes. But I've set up my desktop (which is old and creaky, I need to get a new one soon!) and finally got the rest of my stuff from the garage. I still have a ton of clothes that are at my dad's place, but I think I can survive on the clothes that I have here. I think. I dunno.

Yesterday I went around the block and hung out with Manny and Rachel, who I haven't really seen since I've been home. Actually, I haven't seen any of my friends since I've been home. I've been a bit of a hermit, just trying to get myself acclimated to my new life here. The only person I've seen is Gil, who hung out with us most of July 4th weekend. It was great to hang out with my fello newlyweds, just talking about wedding stuff, Hawaiian honeymoons and gossiping. Slowly I'll bring myself out of my shell and get back into something resembling a social life here. There's just so much going on! (and yet nothing at all)

So I'm off to unpack all my stuff from the garage and find somewhere to put them.

Thanks to Lara for her concern. Fortunately, my CRV is a 2000 model. Though I admit that I myself had on occasion felt like bursting into flames as my unprotected flesh touched my superheated charcoal leather seats on a sunny day.

Photo Friday: Cool

Detroit Airport Tunnel - October 2003

Been waiting to use this picture of the lights in the underground tunnel at the Detroit airport. I love the shade of blue and how the light turns everything in the tunnel blue. It's definitely a cool color!

One line my mother and father always said to me was 'Use your eyes! Not your mouth!' It referred to my laziness to look for anything myself, usually just resorting to yelling out, 'Hey, where's the flashlight?' or 'Does anyone know where there's an extension cord?'

Since my client site was only a couple blocks from my hotel, I didn't bother driving this morning. Late last night I did some mapquest directions to the site, and it was 2 blocks away and around the corner. It didn't give street names, just route names, but it wasn't far anyway.

So I got up, checked out, and walked out of the hotel, down the street. And walked. And walked. More than two blocks. Didn't see the street I was supposed to turn on. Kept on walking. Finally, I decided to ask someone where the street was. I walked into a hotel and asked the bellman, 'Excuse me, can you tell me where M--- street is?' He smiled, and said, 'Oh, are you going to *name of my client*?' 'Yes!' I replied.

He then took me out of the hotel and pointed in the opposite direction of where was heading and told me the street I wanted was down a certain block. 'But you can find the building by just looking to the sky.' And he pointed to the tallest building in the area, which in HUGE letters had my client's name.

I felt like the biggest idiot. There I was, wandering the streets, and the building was right there, waiting for me to see it!!!

Next time, I should actually LOOK before asking!

Similar to the Book List I had posted a couple weeks ago. Got this from Chariya, who got it from Melanie, who got it off a dancing midget who spoke backwards....

1. Trainspotting
2. Shrek
3. M
4. Dogma
5. Strictly Ballroom
6. The Princess Bride
7. Love Actually
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
11. Reservoir Dogs
12. Desperado
13. Swordfish
14. Kill Bill Vol. 1
15. Donnie Darko
16. Spirited Away
17. Better Than Sex
18. Sleepy Hollow
19. Pirates of the Caribbean
20. The Eye
21. Requiem for a Dream
22. Dawn of the Dead The original
23. The Pillow Book
24. The Italian Job
25. The Goonies
26. Baseketball
27. The Spice Girls Movie (Spice World)
28. Army of Darkness
29. The Color Purple
30. The Safety of Objects
31. Can’t Hardly Wait
32. Mystic Pizza
33. Finding Nemo
34. Monsters Inc.
35. Circle of Friends
36. Mary Poppins
37. The Bourne Identity
38. Forrest Gump
39. A Clockwork Orange
40. Kindergarten Cop
41. On The Line
42. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
43. Final Destination
44. Sorority Boys
45. Urban Legend
46. Cheaper by the Dozen The original.
47. Fierce Creatures
48. Dude, Where’s My Car
49. Ladyhawke
50. Ghostbusters
51. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
52. Back to the Future
53. An Affair To Remember
54. Somewhere In Time
55. North By Northwest
56. Moulin Rouge
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
58. The Wizard of Oz
59. Zoolander
60. A Walk to Remember
61. Chicago
62. Vanilla Sky
63. The Sweetest Thing
64. Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead
65. The Nightmare Before Christmas
66. Chasing Amy
67. Edward Scissorhands
68. Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert
69. Muriel’s Wedding
70. Croupier
71. Blade Runner
72. Cruel Intentions
73. Ocean’s Eleven
74. Magnolia
75. Fight Club
76. Beauty and The Beast
77. Much Ado About Nothing
78. Dirty Dancing
79. Gladiator
80. Ever After
81. Braveheart
82. What Lies Beneath
83. Regarding Henry
84. The Dark Crystal
85. Star Wars
86. The Birds
87. Beaches
88. Cujo
89. Maid In Manhattan
90. Labyrinth
91. Thoroughly Modern Millie
92. His Girl Friday
93. Chocolat
94. Independence Day
95. Singing in the Rain
96. Big Fish
97. The Thomas Crown Affair
98. The Matrix
99. Stargate
100. A Hard Day’s Night
101. About A Boy
102. Jurassic Park
103. Life of Brian
104. Dune
105. Help!
106. Grease
107. Newsies
108. Gone With The Wind
109. School of Rock
110. TOMMY
111. Yellow Submarine
112. From Hell
113. Benny & Joon
114. Amelie
115. Bridget Jones’ Diary
116. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
117. Heavenly Creatures
118. All About Eve
119. The Outsiders
120. Airplane!
121. The Sorcerer
122. The Crying Game
123. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
124. Slap Her, She’s French
125. Amadeus
126. Tommy Boy
127. Aladdin
128. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
129. Snatch
130. American History X
131. Jack and Sarah
132. Monkey Bone
133. Rocky Horror Picture Show
134. Kate and Leopold
135. Interview with the Vampire
136. Underworld
137. Truly, Madly, Deeply
138. Tank Girl
139. Boondock Saints
140. Blow Dry
141. Titanic
142. Good Morning Vietnam
143. Save the Last Dance
144. Lost in Translation
145. Willow
146. Legend
147. Van Helsing
148. Troy
149. Nine Girls and a Ghost
150. A Knight’s Tale
151. Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
152. Beetlejuice
153. E.T.
154. Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone
155. Spaceballs
156. Young Frankenstein
157. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
158. American President
159. Bad Boys
160. Pecker
161. Pink Floyd: The Wall
161. X-Men
162. Sidewalks of New York
163. The Children of Dune
164. Beyond Borders
165. Life Is Beautiful
166. Good Will Hunting
167. Run Lola Run
168. Blazing Saddles
169. Caligula
170. The Transporter
171. Better Off Dead
172. The Abyss
173. Almost Famous
174. The Red Violin
175. Contact
176. Stand and Deliver
177. Clueless
178. William Shakespeare’s Romeo+Juliet
179. Dangerous Laisions
180. I Am Sam
181. The Usual Suspects
182. U-571
183. Capricorn One
184. The Little Shop of Horrors
185. Die Hard
186. The Flamingo Kid
187. Night of the Comet
188. Point Break
189. Chatterbox
190. Secretary
191. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
192. American Beauty
193. Pulp Fiction
194. What About Bob
195. Rushmore
196. Reality Bites
197. West Side Story
198. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
199. The Last Samurai
200. My Best Friend's Wedding
201. ninja scroll
202. leon: the professional
203. the other sister

mine (its tough to come up with more!):

204. Four Rooms
205. Scary Movie 2
206. Princess Mononoke

I'm writing from my hotel in downtown Columbus, OH. It's a pretty nice downtown area here with some nice architecture. We're right by the river, too. What river? I have no idea.

I actually flew into Dayton, OH, because it was about $300 cheaper. It's only about 70 miles away, which is a commute I'm used to after working at Thousand Oaks all the time. The airport there was a lot larger that I thought it would be. As I was coming off my plane and heading towards the rental cars, I saw a mother and son standing by the windows, looking out. They were obviously waiting for a plane to come in. The mother was holding up a little doll, that was dressed up in military fatigues and a helmet. It was cute - it looked like a little cartoon. She pushed a button and it started dancing to Queen's "We Will Rock You" (kinda like those dancing Santas you see during Christmastime, but not as creepy) She held the doll against the glass as if he, too, was waiting for someone to land. I was pretty sure that they were waiting for someone from the military to come home from the war. As I got closer, I could see that she was wiping tears from her eyes.

"Mommy, don't cry. Daddy's coming soon! Why are you sad?" the little boy asked.

She put her hand on her shoulder and held back a sob and said, "I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because I'm so happy he's finally coming home!"

Just about made me want to start crying, too!

*sniff*

Since moving back into my cube at work, it's been pretty empty - haven't brought any knick knacks or pictures to decorate it.

So Dan, ever the thoughtful one, put up a little something on my cubicle wall for me...a little joke, if you would call it that...

Got this from Mel, who got it from Kat...

OK, I cheated a little on some of them...

1. What blogger inspired you to FINALLY start a blog? Mike did, even though I don't think he had a blog when I started mine. He just mentioned it to me one day and I thought to myself, 'Hey, that's a good way to keep my site updated!'
2. What blog do you visit the most often everday? Dan. His photoblog is like his personality, funny, perverted, twisted, unconventional and good to his girlfriend. He spits in the face of photobloggers everywhere.
3. What blogger do you think you have the most in common with? Mona. She seems to like the same things I do, and I find myself nodding in agreement with many of the things she writes. But she's a lot more open than I am and 10x better at taking pictures!
4. Which blog can you be sure will make you pee a little you laugh so hard? Beata. Maybe not pee, but a little moistness.
5. Which blogger leaves you the best/funniest comments? Denise. But she doesn't have a blog. But she should!!!
6. What blogger do you wish would update more often? Fatima. Because without her posts there's a little less ghetto in the world. Or 'flava', yo!
7. Which blog do you wish more people would read? Everyone's! OK fine, I'll choose one. Kat's. She puts so much effort into it, and she's been blogging for so long. There's always something interesting there.
8. Which blog do you learn the most from? Joanna. She's got links for everything on her site.
9. What blog is your newest addition? I don't know...I think Leen was one of the newer ones I've added.
10. Who has been on your blogroll the longest? Other than Kat, I'd have to say Melanie.
11. Whose blogroll would you LOVE to find yourself on? Wil Wheaton or Margaret Cho. Then I'll know that I'm BIGTIME, baby!!!
12. Whose blogroll were you the happiest to find yourself on? People who I don't know. It's always a weird, yet happy feeling to see your site linked on someone else's site, and you have no idea who they are!
13. If you could write like any blogger, who would it be? Mira. There's just something so fluid about her posts. I love the way she writes.
14. What blogger are you the happiest you have met? Noelle. There was no awkwardness at all, and she was just the way I expected her to be.
15. Which blog do you recommend the most? Jones. He's a freak. A funny one, who loves fuzzy ducks, but a freak nonetheless. It's a nice change of pace from the rest of the links I have.
16. Who is the next person you will add to your blogroll? I dunno. Who wants to be added? I know there's people who I've been planning on adding, but I'm drawing a blank.
17. Who is the blogger you hope to meet in real life? Dave K. We've been close to meeting several times, but the fates did not deem us worthy.
18. Which blogger do you admire the most? Claudine. I may pick on her a lot and throw things at her, but I'm pretty proud of the things that she's accomplished, even if one of those things ISN'T regularly updating her blog. :-P
19. Who would you trust with your blog while you were away? Marilyn or Shannon, they always have interesting things to say and seem like pretty responsible people....
20. Which blog has your favorite design? April. She changes her blog design more than people change their underwear. I have to admit that one of my favorites was the Plumeria one, which lasted for about a millisecond.
21. How many blogs are on your blogroll(s)? 66. Damn. I didn't know that were that many there...

..and my own honorable mention...Which password protected blog do you think should be unprotected so you don't have to keep on logging in? Rod. Come on, dude! I'm too lazy to log in! Set your blog free!

So I haven't mentioned where I've been living the last couple weeks because I've been busily trying to get used to it myself.

We moved into my in-law's basement after coming back from California, and I have to admit it was a tough adjustment. My in-laws have been nothing short of wonderful and accomodating, and I can't complain about getting a homecooked meal all the time. But everything was just so different moving in. We had come from independence, living in sunny California, where I had my own space, my own way of doing things, to a place that I was unfamiliar with, where everyone already had their own places, their own way of doing things, their own way of working with each other. Dave, of course, is ecstatic to be home again. I think I would have been the same way if we were living at the house that I grew up in. But it's different for me. I have the task of trying to incorporate myself into this family that is so different from my own. I was told to feel at home, but half the time I didn't know where everything was, what to do, or when to do things. It was pretty hard at first. I'd even venture to say that I was overwhelmed and maybe a bit depressed at the beginning. I didn't really go out, I slept all the time, I hadn't called any of my friends to tell them I was back, I barely existed for a while. I just didn't know where to fit in...I didn't feel like anything was mine, that there was any place I could call my own.

I know, I'm being dramatic about all this. But as much as I like change, this change was a little difficult to deal with and it was no one's fault but my own. Everyone else treated me with kindness and patience, but it was pretty hard.

And it didn't help that my internet accessibility was pretty spotty. The computer was in Justin's room (Dave's brother) and I didn't want to bother him too much by going in there all the time and using the computer. He never complained and he was always ok with me using the computer, even when he was sleeping, but I hated to be in the way all the time.

But things are getting better. I'm getting a routine now and learning the little intricacies of life in the house. I was also able to set up the wireless internet connection and can surf away on my laptop (haven't set up the desktop yet).

I still get pangs of something, I just can't explain what. Maybe it's just memories of California and our life there that come and go, which I miss so much, more than I thought I would. Maybe it's the fact that I'm home, but I'm really not home, but that I need to learn to call this new place home...until we actually find a place of our own.

So right now, I feel like I'm in some sort of purgatory. It sounds much worse than it really is...By purgatory I mean I'm in this half way place. Where my life is on the brink of change and it's up to me to adapt to the changes that are going on around me, but I'm reluctant to let go of the things I've left behind...

When Amy sent this one over to me, I thought I'd have an easy time with it, but now that I'm actually making this post, I'm drawing a blank. I'm sure there are lot of others, and if I were a guy I'd have A LOT more...but here's this week's list:

Ten Scenes from the Movies that Make You Hot and Bothered - submitted by Amy

1) Wild Things - The Denise/Neve/Matt hotel scene.
2) Troy - Any scene with Brad Pitt or Eric Bana
3) American Psycho - the scene where Christian Bale is getting ready for his day
4) Mulholland Drive - I'll let you guess the scene...
5) The Big Hit - The locker room scene
6) The Fight Club - Any fight scene
7) Basic Instinct - several scenes
8) Any scene with Mark Dacascos in The Brotherhood of the Wolf
9) Cruel Intentions - Sarah Michelle Gellar teaches Selma Blair how to kiss
10) Belle époque - Various scenes in this movie

My takes on this week's theme sucks! Hopefully you can come up with some better ones...

Next Week's topic: 10 Things You Love to Do in the Summertime

I'm switching my main page to index2.php. What does that mean? I'm not entirely sure. However, if you're looking at this site right now, and you see 'http://www.yanowhatimean.com/index.htm' in your address bar, then you probably have your 'Favorites' set to point to the wrong page (because, of course, the page is one of your favorites, right?). Update your favorites to point to 'http://www.yanowhatimean.com' and you'll be redirected to the right page. Either that, or the page from whence you came has the index.htm in their link.

Does this make no sense to you? Just comment and I'll try to help you out.

If you don't see my Ten on Tuesday entry above this one, then it means that you need to make the change!

Sorry for the trouble. But I needed to switch for a reason!

Just doing my part to bring one of my favorite Cubbies to the All-Star Game.

Click here to vote for Aramis Ramirez!

Aramis has had an awesome year so far, currently leading the Cubs in RBI's and was second among third basement in the All-Star ballot. And it looks like I'm not the only one who thinks he should be on the all-star roster:

"When I was told (I made the All-Star team), the first thing that came out of my mouth was, 'Did Aramis make it?'" said Alou, who was selected as one of the NL reserves. "I'm just hoping he makes it. I'll get online myself and vote for him. If there's one guy on this team who deserves to go to the All-Star Game, it's him."

Congrats to Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou and Carlos Zambrano on making the All-Star team! Remember to watch it on July 13th.

Every vote counts people!

Been really busy lately.

Just wanted to wish you all a happy and safe 4th of July!

Don't burn any of your fingers off, y'hear?

First 2 people to post here get a GMail invite from yours truly.

What's GMail? Google's email service that gives you 1GB of storage space (1,000MB) and some cool features. It's still in beta so there are some things that it's still missing, but it's still pretty cool.

Do you have GMail and don't know what to do with your invites? Donate one to the troops! (I've donated one already) Check out this site where you can give a gmail invite to one of our servicemen...GMail4Troops.com. Wil Wheaton is involved, so it can't be a scam. (Because Wil is always right)

Photo Friday: Father

A Kiss for Daddy: Saginaw, MI - May 2004

I don't have access to my desktop right now, so I can only post pics that I've already got uploaded. I don't have any good pics of my dad uploaded. Anyway, this is one of my favorite pictures from Manny and Rachel's wedding. Rachel's father just has the kindest eyes. He was a lot of fun. We were putting shimmery glitter on ourselves on the side during this picture, and after taking it he was like, 'Can I have some shimmer too?'

Wally had given this to me a while ago...

Touchgraph GoogleBrowser

Basically, it tells you what sites are related to the site that you enter. It uses a google search to make the relation. Then it shows you what sites are related to the sites that are related to your site. I think. OK, I have no idea. I don't have the patience to read the instructions.

But it looks cool!