Heading out to the family New Year's Party tonight, then stopping by a friend's place afterward. Not much to write today - we've got a lot of things to take care of before the year is over. But here's a couple of my favorite posts from the year to keep you entertained:

- It's Deluxe, Son! - This is what torture we put you through if you lose a game with the cousins

- Presidential Aide - I discover that I'm turning into the president of the company

- Lumingon - The moment when I started to appreciate my parents

- O'Fallon, MO - O'Fallon, IL - One of my many traveling misadventures

- Dirty Sexy - My Encounter with Jason Mewes

- The Nightlife Queens Still Got It - After getting rejected at a bar, we lower our standards.

- Not My Ideal Birthday / When It Rains, It Pours / The Good, The Bad, and I'm Ugly - The worst birthday ever

- Maui Trip, Two Months Later - A recap of our honeymoon

- Love Letter to California - All the things I miss about living in California

- I'm No Julia Child - The infamous 'Taco Bar' incident

- Prayers for One Eyed Estacio - / Ahoy, Mateys! Aarrrrrrr! - My surgery odyssey

- Breathe Again - Finally moving into my new house

- It's Ladies Night and I'm Feeling Right - A night out with the girls

- Missing You - a tribute to the people that made working so much fun for me

- Who Ya Gonna Call? Lando Calrissian! - Billy Dee Williams/Ray Parker Junior - separated at birth? You decide!

- The Great Livestrong Debate - Me and Dave fight over a bracelet

- One Year - My mother's death anniversary

- The Haunted House Warming Party - My first Halloween party

- If Only We Were Exterminators - We don't like bugs.

- I'll be Home for Christmas - Christmas at my house

I'm going to be here:

I can't wait until my vacation. The last one I had was for the drive back home from Long Beach. In a couple weeks, we're going to be snowboarding on Mammoth Mountain. There's been tons of fresh snow falling, just waiting for me to fall on!

Greetings Skiers and Snowboarders,

This storm has now dropped over 50 inches of fresh stuff on Mammoth Mountain - with much more on the way!

Get your first tracks here! The powder is amazing, and it's not going away anytime soon, because forecasters say that tons more is on the way!

Mammoth Mountain, here I come!

I don't know if I'll have any time tomorrow to do this, so I'll do my annual recap of the year today.

I'd love to say that 2004 was a good year, but truthfully, it wasn't. Sure, there were a lot of good things that happened, but I think that most of the year I was adjusting to life without my mom so it put a cloud over everything. For every good thing, there was a thin veil of sadness knowing that I couldn't share it with her. There were days when I really fought the grief, trying to keep myself busy and moving just so I didn't fall into an abyss of despair. I never knew that the grieving process would be like this - then again, it's different for everyone, right?

But as much as it felt like it on some days, my whole year wasn't spent in a fit of sadness. There was a lot to look back on and a lot that I've learned. So here it is:

- I know I don't talk about him much here (because he reads it sometimes and asks, "Why do you tell people these things?") I couldn't have gotten through this year without Dave with me. He's been my rock, and he's been so patient with my crazy moods. We're completely different people - I'm carefree, irresponsible and gifted with a short attention span, he's focused, responsible and a nag. But a good nag. And he makes me laugh, he knows just the things to say to throw me into a fit of giggles - most people don't know that he's as funny as he is. He's a great husband and sometimes I look at him and fall in love all over again. OK. Enough of the cheese. Moving on.

- I cannot imagine life without my family. Not only my sisters and my father (I'm still adjusting to just saying 'my father' rather than 'my parents') but the whole gaggle of family - the cousins, titos, titas and lolas. Some people would rather chew off an arm than go to a family party, but we look forward to them. We look for any reason to get together. I love them so much my heart could burst. They've been so wonderful to us (despite a little drama here and there) over the past year - it helps to know that so many people miss my mother, and that they're all living up to their promises to her to take care of us (geez, I'm getting misty just typing this). One thing that stands out in my head is on the day we had the anniversary dinner for my mom's death, we had all these things we brought back from the hall in my dad's car. He had it parked in the garage and me and my dad started unloaded the many boxes of leftover food and things. Then suddenly the titos (uncles) came out and started helping out, and I was just hit with emotion, seeing all these guys helping out my dad, knowing that in their minds they were doing it because they were trying in every way to make life easier for my dad. *sniff* My family's the best.

- If you're ever traveling through Iowa, check out the rest stops - they have the best ones I've ever seen!

- I learned that it's not a bad thing to go and get little things checked out by a doctor. Even a minor thing like seeing little flashing lights in your eyes can turn into something major like a retinal detachment. You're health is something you shouldn't ignore or take for granted! Get those checkups, people!

- Buying a new house isn't easy. If I had to do it again, I'd get pre-approved for a loan, because the whole process is just os stressfull! When they do a credit check on you they really go way back - never thought that the super overdue video from college would come back to haunt me. Not that it was on my credit report, but it haunted me when I was thinking about it. But that overdue Express credit card bill WAS on that report. In the end, though, it's all worth it. Waking up and walking around in your own house, that you've paid for with your own money - it's a rush!

- Always carry around extra batteries if you carry around your camera. Nothing sucks more than having a photo opportunity than having your camera, but no batteries!

- I know I say this every year, but every year it gets a little easier for me - I've learned that as much as I'd like every person in the world to like me, it's not going to happen. Life isn't a popularity contest, and even if it was, I was never good at contests anyway. If I had to name my major flaw, my need for acceptance would be one of the top things (right behind my horrible short term memory). But it's gotten easier over the years.

- I love spending time with my friends - whether it be friends I've known my whole life, a decade, a couple years or this year. Whether near or far, keeping in touch by phone or online, short track, comic books, work, college, highschool.... They keep up my spirits, they make me laugh, they make me happy and the warm my heart. I know so many incredible people out there, and I'm happy that they're my friends.

- MT-Blacklist is one of the best things ever invented. Spammers be damned!

- I'm an attention whore. Are you happy now (Fatima, Claudine, or any of you bastards at work)? I admit it. Just the fact that I have this blog should be an indication that I like attention. The funny thing is, though, that as much as I do like attention, I HATE being the center of attention. Just like I like to lead people, but I hate being the leader. That's why I'd make such a great vice president, or supporting character. I'm around, you know I'm around, but I'm not the one you're focusing on.

- It still astounds me that people actually come here to read my novels of crap. I pull all this stuff out of my ass, and you all come back for more. Not only do you read it, but you remember it! I don't know how many times I've seen an old friend or talked to someone and they've mentioned something that they've read on my blog. I love you guys.

- On the same note, I'm constantly reminded that I'll never know who exactly is reading my blog. I remember I was told once by an artist at a convention that he had seen my comments about him on my site after googling himself, and that 'everybody does it - I bet you that every person you've mentioned on your blog as found your site by searching for their names on google'. Which is true - I've gotten several emails and messages in the guestbook of people who've found themselves on my site.

- Here's a hard lesson I learned - As much as you put your heart and soul into a company, worked a fourth of your life to learn the ins and outs of the company, it means almost NOTHING once that company is sold. OK, I'm being a bit harsh here. But the worst thing about being aquired by a new company? Feeling like you're just another asset that's been sold by your old employer - hardly even a goodbye or thanks for working here, I'm glad we had this time together. I think that's what I'm most bitter about.

- You never know how good you had it before until you're thrown into a similar situation. Having to learn a new kind of software is weird, especially when I'm starting to see all the great features that our old software had. I'm resistant to change.

- I learned to never EVER have Christmas at my house again. Well, at least in the next decade. It's way too stressing!

- Even though I only lived in Long Beach for a year, I miss it so much - the weather, the food (pretty much just L&L Barbeque), the people who we'd become close with there, the beach, the mountains. As much as I complained about it while I lived there, I really did love it. I wouldn't object to moving out there in a decade or so...

- As much as this year really sucked for me, I know that I've been blessed with so many things - a great husband, a wonderful family, a job, a home. But there's that part of me that misses my mom so much, it tears me apart. But I'm lucky to have been raised by such an amazing woman, to have had her in my life for as long as I did. She's something that I aspire to be when I get older - a woman with a successful career, beautiful children, a loving husband, and the admiration and love of many.

There's so much more, but I just can't think of it right now...I'll add more if I think of any.

Happy New Year, everyone....looking to what 2005 has in store for me!

Jerry Orbach, best known for his role on Law and Order and as Lumiere's voice in 'Beauty and the Beast', passed away Tuesday night at the age of 69 due to prostrate cancer. I'm so saddened by this - Law and Order is one of my favorite shows and it hasn't been the same without him. And now he's gone.

"I'm immensely saddened by the passing of not only a friend and colleague, but a legendary figure of 20th century show business," said Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of the "Law & Order" series, in a statement. "He was one of the most honored performers of his generation. His loss is irreplaceable."

With his hang-dog face and loose-limbed gait, Orbach was adept at playing the street-smart tough guy, but could also hoof and carry a tune. And not only was he a beloved star, he also personified New York's well-worn but implacable edge. A lifelong New Yorker, he inhabited and embodied the Big Apple like few other actors.

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani called Orbach "a friend to all New Yorkers" and "a devoted ambassador of the city."

Goodbye Jerry.

Once again, I do my annual photo wrap-up. There's a couple more pictures here than last year, but then again, I took a wider range of pictures this year. There were a lot more that I wanted to add here, but I haven't had time to go through my raw picture files - most of these you've seen already. But I've thrown in a couple that haven't seen the light of the world wide web yet. Enjoy!

This was pointed out to me by Tony today, as he was reading the paper. On the front page of the newspaper, were two headlines:

The first:
"Nations, relief agencies brace for `unprecedented' need"

"Some 20-plus-thousand lives have been lost in a few moments, but the lingering effects will be there for years," said Secretary of State Colin Powell, referring to the need for a sustained aid effort in the weeks to come.

U.S. pledges $15 million in aid

The United States already has pledged about $15 million in cash and commodities such as food, water and medicine.

Addressing reporters Monday at the State Department, moments after speaking by telephone with President Bush, Powell said the U.S. expected to donate about $4 million in emergency relief to the Red Cross by the end of the day.

The headline right next to this story:
"Bush gala has big donations pouring in:
Businesses, individuals to provide $40 million for 2nd inauguration, set to military theme"

WASHINGTON -- Soldiers will dance free of charge at President Bush's second inauguration, a record $40 million-plus celebration for "a nation at war" financed by some of the same big donors who bankrolled Bush's re-election campaign.

The president's private inaugural committee, calling on corporate and individual donors to contribute as much as $250,000 apiece, has struck a military-minded theme for a three-day series of events leading to the swearing-in on Jan. 20.

What the fuck is this? Don't even get me started that we're at war here, AND that our country is heavily in debt. But just to have these two headlines on the same page is just sickening to me.

Yes, I understand that the money for Bush's inauguration was raised by private donations and businesses, and that the money pledged by the US for the relief fund comes out of our tax money (this being something I'm proud to pay taxes for), but still, doesn't something not feel right about this?

I know it's not really necessary to thank people for Christmas cards, but I just wanted to thank everyone that sent us Christmas cards. Also, thanks to everyone that sent over Christmas text messages - I've never gotten so many in one day. Unfortunately, I didn't check them until today because for some reason I never get notified when a new one comes in. But thanks, nonetheless!

My list kind of sucks since I have an awful memory. But here's the things that stand out to me:

1) Bought a new house
2) I narrowly escaped blindness by going to the eye doctor on time
3) I beat Dan at REAL poker
4) Moved back to Chicago
5) Kept my job, even though a couple other coworkers lost their jobs during the company aquisition
6) Went on a kickass honeymoon in Maui
7) Learned how to snowboard
8) Saw two of my best friends, Rachel and Jenny, get married to two wonderful guys
9) Hosted my first family Christmas party
10) Had all sorts of people visit me in California - Shannon, Marian, Daddy, Dan, Tall Steve, Jenny, Melanie and Fatima (I don't remember who else)

Next week: Ten Things You Look Forward to Doing in 2005

I'm sure by now most of you have heard about the horrible death toll in Asia due to the massive tsunami. If not, here's what it is in a nutshell: A 9.0 earthquake in the middle of the Indian Ocean sent a huge tidal wave, known as a tsunami, traveling to Asia at 500mph, killing more than 28,000 people in more than 10 countries. There is no warning system currently in place in the Indian Ocean (there's one set up in the Pacific, after a tsunami killed 128 people - a fraction of those killed this time around) so people in the affected countries were caught unaware.

It's mind blowing how horrible this is - 28,000 people. And they estimate that 1/3 of those are children.

The Red Cross is putting together an effort to raise money to help those affected. Give is much as you can - as they always say during times like this, every little bit counts. So if you'd like to donate, click here: Donate to the American Red Cross.

Thanks to Pat for the heads up on the link.

Beware - I'm writing a novel here.

So we had Christmas at my house this year. It was a lot of stress, a lot of people, and a lot of fun.

It started out at around 7pm on Christmas Eve. I had all the cookies ready, my lasagna was in the oven, and I didn't have time to do my bruschetta (that will have to wait until New Year's). The family started coming over, bringing a whole assortment of dishes. One new thing this year was that there was an abundance of desserts. We rarely have desserts at the parties - other than my one aunt who always brings desserts and Claudine's annual cookies. But this year we had sponge cake, banana bread, Baker's square pie, passionfruit mouse, and more. There was almost too much food to fit on my dining room table!

I was still cooking as people were coming in. I started to make the pinwheels as my aunt was frying her eggrolls in the deep fryer. The phenomenon of me cooking was so amazing to the titas (aunts) that they stopped what they were doing to watch me make my pinwheels. I felt so much pressure! It was like a show. They were all so happy to see me being domestic. My one tita said, 'Christine, if your mom were here watching, she'd be so proud of you!' Aww, thanks. *sniff* I wish she was there, too.

There were a TON of presents, and I didn't even thing to take a picture of all of them. The picture that you see here is only one side of the tree - imagine that the other side has just as many presents! The funny thing is that about 70% of those presents are for the four little kids. Jillian herself got about 25 presents. Oh, to be 2 years old again!

Before heading out to church, I wanted to play a game that I stole off of Dan's family parties. People are divided into groups, then each group has a sheet of paper with 50 lines on it. There are several sheets of paper that are then passed around between each group with photos of celebrities/famous faces on it, and they have to guess who those people are. There was a bit of resistance at first - our family NEVER plays games. But it's my house - I make the rules! :-P But as soon as they got into it, people were really consumed with the game. In the end, it turned out pretty fun. I tried to make it so everyone could participate - using some cartoon characters for the kids, Filipino actors for the adults, rappers for the teens (the only teen being Marilyn, actually), and sports figures for the Dave-type people. There were a couple hard ones, too - maybe I'll post up the pictures later so you all could play, too.

Midnight mass, which was actually at 11pm, was alright. I fell asleep a couple times (if you've been keeping count, I haven't been sleeping much lately). But it was nice to be there with my whole family - and we took up several rows at the church. We walked out of the church to see that there was a light snow falling - yay, a white Christmas!

We came back to my place, took our annual family pictures. Everyone was itching to pass out the presents, so as soon as family pictures were over, my uncle put on the Santa hat and I did my elven duties to hand him presents. Once all the presents were handed out, everyone opened their presents at once. Since I'm married now, I got a lot of joint presents, but it was all stuff that we really needed for the house - like a food chopper, a deep fryer and comforters. I also got some cool stuff - like 'The Return of the King', an Urlacher jersey (who ISN'T over rated, by the way) and snowboarding goggles.

After the presents, the titos and titas headed downstairs to play mah-jong (which they did for the next 18 hours - there was a bed they set up down there to cat nap). We threw in 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban' to watch. I fell asleep at the end. But at around 5am I had to wake up to take my dad to the airport. I got back to find some people asleep on the couches, but others still awake. They were trying out some of the video games that they got. Marian and Fatima wanted to watch Shrek 3-D so I passed out the 3-D glasses and threw it in for them to watch. I headed upstairs for a little catnap.

Upstairs I found Claudine, Dan, and Dave sleeping on my bed, with a pillow separating Dave and Dan. (Dan had felt sick that day, so he missed a lot of the festivities) There was still room for me (aren't king beds the best?) so I slipped in for a little nap. All we needed was Fatima and we would have been complete.

I got up an hour later to find people still up downstairs. Maui was checking out the pictures from the night before. He was making CD's for people to take home.

At around 11am on Christmas Day, the basement mahjong people started coming up searching for food - which there was a lot of. Basically, we were eating all day - desserts and regular food. Once they had something to eat and went back downstairs, we cleared out my kitchen table for some poker. Dan got a new poker chip set and we wanted to try it out. The game was Texas Hold 'em and we debated about what to play for. We toyed around with the idea of playing for gift cards/presents, but none of us really wanted to part with them. So then we were thinking of a $20 buy in. Then we realized we were all poor. So it was $1 to buy in. We were playing for a mere $7. But the play was heated - people were playing like we were playing for $14! Just kidding. There were some really good hands that were played, and after a while people started going all in and falling out. It came down to me and Dan - the protégé and the master. There were 2 aces on the table, and I was betting big. Dan knew there was a chance I had another ace, but he called me on it, because he had an ace, too. He called me all-in and we showed our cards - and I beat him with a full house. Whoo hoo!

Afterwards we headed out to our traditional Christmas Day movie - "The Incredibles". Loved it. Even though I fell asleep a couple times during the first hour. It is such a sweet story, I recommend you go see it if you haven't seen it before.

We came back to the house to continue our 24 hour food fest. All the adults had left already, so it was just the kids that were left over. We all said our goodbyes and ended the day. Marian, Fatima, Claudine and Marilyn stayed overnight for more fun. My best friend Jaygee, who is home for the holidays from New York, stopped by with her family. She came by and gave me "Carmen Elektra's Aerobic Striptease" because she said as soon as she saw it, she thought of me. What the --!?!? We had a good time watching it - we didn't try it. But it looked like fun.

After Jaygee left, we finished up "Return of the King" which we had started earlier. Then I was so tired that I don't really remember what happened after that.

Woke up on the 26th and ate some left overs. We cleaned up the rest of the stuff and watched 'An American Wedding'. Claudine had to get going and she was driving so the gals started to pack up. But before they left we tried out the aerobic striptease and we had a LOT of laughs with it. We're definitely going to try those moves the next time we go out to bars!

So the gals went home, and the tiring, wonderful, stressing, fun, heartwarming weekend was over.

Until next year!

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here's a couple of mine:

Still recovering from the Christmas party. The full blow-by-blow details will be given to you tomorrow!

Until then, here's a picture of the Feliciano/Estacio/soon-to-be-Spayer family Christmas picture. Boy, I look incredibly tired!

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Christmas party went/is going great. It was/is so crazy having so many people in my house. People had a great time and we have SO much food. I've had an hour of sleep and then I had to wake up to drive my dad to the airport at 5am. He's going to the Philippines for some sort of high school reunion.

I'll post up pictures later, just wanted to stop in and say hi, since me and Maui are having a wireless laptop party on my kitchen table, as Marian and Fatima(who are still awake) are watching Shrek 3D and the adults (who haven't slept yet) are still playing mah-jong in the basement. Dan and Dave couldn't hang and eventually fell asleep on out bed - together. Since it's a king sized bed, there really wasn't a problem with them accidentally spooning with each other during the night - their manhood stays intact. :-P

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

I'm busy wrapping the last of the presents, baking the last of the cookies and getting my Christmas food together. Just wanted to stop by and give y'all a Christmas greeting, drawn by Daredevil artist Alex Maleev.

It's 5am on Christmas Eve day, and I've just finished baking 3 1/2 dozen cookies and 2 dozen cupcakes. I'm pooped! Out of those cookies, there were a couple fatalities. Several of the gingerbread/sugar men valiantly lost limbs when I was removing them from the cookie sheet. Total cookie deaths for the night - 2 arms, 4 legs.

Made the calls to the Titas to see what time they're heading to the house. I'm pretty excited, though a bit nervous, too. I have to remind myself to tell them to bring slippers - the floor can get kind of cold.

Gotta get some sleep now, I know I'm not going to get any tonight! Well, maybe during midnight mass, but that'll only last until Claudine jabs me in the ribs to stay away. *wink*

Brr! It's freezing in Chicago! What's even worse is that it's going to be 2 degrees tomorrow - and that's WITHOUT the windchill factor! Luckily, I'll have the body heat of 40 of my favorite relatives to keep my house nice and cozy.

Only about 36 hours until the big Christmas 2 day extravaganza at my house, and I'm still not sure what I want to make. The aunts are bringing their own dishes, but I want to make something special - other than my pinwheels, bruschetta, cookies and cupcakes. Maybe meatballs?

I'm about 99% done with the shopping, needing only to buy back-up gifts for any surprise guests that may come. I'm about 85% done with wrapping. In the past my Christmas presents would be a work of art - complete with huge, fluffy bows and sprigs of holly or star garland. I put a lot of time and money into wrapping. This year, they're lucky if they get the cheap bow. I just don't have to time or energy to make my presents look nice. Hopefully next year I'll have the organization skills and cash flow to make my gifts something to 'ohh' and 'ahh' over, but for this year, it'll be 'Amazing how just one piece of tape holds this train wreck together'.

The other day I experimented with making some gingerbread cookies. Any of you who know me know that I'm not a baker - that's Claudine's thing. But I felt that I needed to make some sort of effort with my party in providing some sweet treats, so what better than gingerbread men? I never realized that making them took so much arm strength - the dough is pretty thick and needs to be mixed well. I had a fun time using my gingerbread man cookie cutters, though.

Before going in the oven

Fresh out of the oven!

I brought the batch in to work for my guinea pigs (aka the guys at work) to try out. They liked it, although they mentioned there was a little too much ginger - it gave the cookies a nice ZING after eating them. Makes your breath feel nice and fresh. So the Christmas batch will have a little less ginger, and I think I'll throw in a little more cinnamon - you can't have too much cinnamon at Christmas, right?

Happy Holidays, everyone!!!

Looks like I've got 5 g-mail invites to give away. Just in time for Christmas!

Since it's the end of the year, I'm going to do a 'favorite pics of 2004' much like I did last year. I was thinking of having a 'readers favorites' in addition to my own favorites. So go ahead and pick out one of your favorite pictures from my site, and 5 lucky people (if there are even 5 that participate) get a gmail invite. If you need a little reminder of the pictures I've taken, you can check out the Picture Category Archive. Beware, it could take a minute or two to load - and remember that it needs to be a picture from this year. Even if you don't want to win a gmail invite, you can still participate. Winners not only get the evite, but also get pimped out on my blog.

With the success of Spiderman 2 and XMen: 2, it seems like comic book movies are the way to go if you want to make money. There are a whole bunch that are coming out that I'm itching to see. I haven't read all the books that these movies are based on, but I try to support comic book movies when I can - if it creates more comic book readers to help out my favorite hobby, so be it. Here's some trailers that you may want to check out of some upcoming movies:

Elektra

Elektra is one of my favorite characters in comic books. Although I was wary of casting Jennifer Garner as Elektra, she did a great job in Daredevil and converted me. She doesn't have the look of Elektra, but she has the intensity and athleticism. She plays a tortured heroine very well. I have no idea if the storyline in Elektra is the same as the books (I started reading her books way after she was killed by Bullseye, so I don't know if she was ever involved as a tutor to a young girl) but the trailer looks pretty badass:

View Elektra Trailer

Constantine

I haven't read Hellblazer, but Constantine is based of off the main character. A supernatural investigator who is walks between good and evil, heaven and earth. Why am I so hyped about it? Two words: Keanu Reeves. Can I get a 'Whoa!' in here? The movie should be pretty good - Reeves already knows how to play a troubled herp, the special effects look awesome, and for the guys, 'The Mummy's' Rachel Weisz is in it.

View Constantine Trailer

Sin City

Another comic I don't read is Sin City, though it's been around for a long time. But one look at the trailer for it, and I'm ready to call up my local comic shop and reserve a couple trade paperbacks. It looks AWESOME. As described by Don, "Imagine the baddest city out there, the most evil, the worst. Now imagine going to the 'bad' side of that town. That's Sin City." Hmm. Interesting. If that's not enough to get you salivating, check out the cast: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, Benicio Del Toro, Jamie King, Nick Stahl, Michael Madsen, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen, Alexis Bledel, Josh Hartnett, Michael Clarke Duncan, Devon Aoki, Maria Bello, and Jessica Alba. Check out the trailer - it's pretty hot!

View Sin City Trailer

Batman Begins

To tell the truth, I thought the whole Batman movie franchise died, and I was happy about it. As soon as Alicia Silverstone's crappy Batgirl came on board, I knew it was the end of it - there was no way out. But then I heard rumors about a new Batman coming out - but a prequel: Batman Begins. As soon as I heard that Christian Bale (of the 'American Psycho' hottiness) was on board, I thought, 'Hmm, maybe it won't be so bad!'. Then I saw the trailer, and I know I have to see this one in the theaters! It's gonna be GOOD.

View Batman Begins trailer

I've been saying it all month, but I LOVE Christmastime in Chicago. The whole city gets dressed up and there's something wonderful about the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers on Michigan Ave.

Every year, the big department store in Chicago, Marshall Fields, dresses up their store windows with a theme. Last year, it was Willy Wonka. This year, it's Snow White. Some of my favorite winter childhood memories are of going downtown to see the windows.

Anyway, I wanted to share some of my city pictures with you. I'm building up some galleries to put up eventually, so this is a nice way to start...

I forgot my wedding ring at home today.

It's the weirdest feeling. For as much as I hate jewelry and find my ring an annoyance (I take it off all the time - to wash dishes, while working, cleaning the house, etc) I love that ring. Not having it on for an extended period of time is freaky. I feel that it's not on my finger and I have a mini panic attack, thinking that I lost it, then relief when I realize that I've forgotten it at home.

I think I just may tie a string around my finger, just to stop from freaking out.

-------------

Come back later....I've got some pretty pictures to post this afternoon.

1) Answer my phone when people call
2) Finish at least one photo gallery
3) Submit my expenses on time
4) Take more pictures
5) Print OUT pictures
6) Work out (shut up, people at work)
7) Reply to emails
8) Manage my Outlook calendar at work
9) Clean my fish tank more regularly
10) Save money

Next week: Ten Personal Highlights of 2004

So I've downloaded Firefox to use on my laptop. It's got popup blocker, has the ability to have tabs for all the different sites I'm browsing, spyware prevention, easy search tools, customizable tool bar and maintains icons for sites (like this one). I can surf 10 sites at once and go back an forth between them. I think I'm in love!

So if you're in the mood to try out a new browser, check out Mozilla Firefox. It's pretty cool. Beware - there are a good amount of sites out there that don't work or look a little bit quirky. Like this one - the pop up picture windows are really loco - it's all skewed. A challenge to take care of next year.

I revel in my geekiness.

Had a really busy weekend, as you can tell by my miniscule updates since Friday. Here's a play by play, with pictures!

Friday

Amy and Me by the tree - by Redpac

Friday was our in-office holiday Christmas Party. We had Rezas, which was super tasty. It's a little sad that our whole company can now fit into our kitchen, where in the past, it was a tight fit for us to get all the employees in the conference room. But it was a nice time, it was a lot more intimate than it would have been if we were a huge company.

Afterwards, several of us went to the Christmas Village that they have set up downtown. There's a whole bunch of arts, crafts, and food that they have in a little market. We got some food, wine and beer, and sat in the beer tent to listen to the German band play Christmas songs and the chicken dance. Never had a potato pancake until then, and I have to say it was REALLY tasty! I'll have to look into that to make for a party sometime. Doesn't look too hard! I have many many pictures of people eating, but I won't post them since they'll kick my ass. Well, maybe not kick my ass but annoy me to death.

After the beer garden we wandered arund the Christmas decorations that were there. I've got many more than these, but I'll post them later. The Christmas tree looks great, we were like tourists taking pictures in front of it. I did a little shopping and boughta great big gingerbread heart for Dave, who was picking me up that night.

Dave came to pick me up and we headed out to Tuscany for Rachel's annual birthday dinner. I know I always say this, but I love it when we all get together, especially in a setting where we can just sit, relax, eat, talk and laugh. And we did a lot of laughing! During dinner I looked around at these faces that I've known for years, some for even a decade, and I realized how much I really love these people, how important they are to my life, in their own way. We don't hang out with them as much as we used to, so it makes times when we do get together that much more precious.

Afterwards we headed out to Bar 13 to continue Rachel's birthday festivities, and to celebrate Sheilah's as well. I've never been there before, but it's a cool place - a change of pace from the packed, sweaty, $20 cover clubs where you can't hear the person next to you talk. It had a nice, laid back feel to it. One of the highlights of the night was when they were playing 'Caught on Tape' on the TV monitors. It held everyone's attention and we just couldn't look away! It was a good night, with everyone catching up, chatting away and hanging out. I know I didn't say it earlier, but Happy Belated Birthday, Sheilah! Don't forget to send me those pictures that you took that I know you've forgotten about. *wink*

Saturday

Saturday I did some quick Shopping at K-Mart, since I'm boycotting Target for the rest of the season. Which is really hard since there are no other stores close to me and Target it right around the corner. I was happy to see that KMart not only had a Salvation Army bell ringer, but a tuba playing bell ringer. Wow. They're not holding back!

In the afternoon I was busy making salmon and roast beef pinwheels for Maui's annual Christmas party. I've become domestic! I debated on making brownies, too, but I don't have an 8x8 pan, which is what the recipe required.

We headed out to Maui's party and saw another set of old faces. Maui and Jane had us play some games (a GREAT job, by the way, even though we acted like 5 year olds with no attention span) and there were prizes given out. Everyone brought gifts that were $5-$10, and those were the ones that were prizes. I felt a little bad because I won three times (Christmas Trivia, hot potato and something else) and there were some people who didn't win at all. But I wasn't the only multiple winner, so I didn't feel as bad - that, and everyone had an opportunity to win a prize.

The food was terrific, as were the desserts. Peoplke enjoyed my pinwheels, which is something I'm always worried about. We had a great time and were exhausted by the end of the night, falling asleep while watching 'Dodge Ball'.

Sunday

Dave had told me on Friday that one of his coworkers was having a holiday party and it was potluck. Since I wasn't around to say what I was bringing, he volunteered me to bring some bruschetta. Someone else had mentioned that they wanted to bring bruschetta, but Dave said that I really love making it, so the other guy was told to bring something else. He then proceeded to tell them that my bruschetta is really good.

That's a lot to live up to.

I mean, what if this other guy makes the most awesome bruschetta in the world, and mine is just so-so?

So I labored all day, making my bruschetta, trying to make modifications to the recipe to make it extra-tasty. We headed out to the party and as soon as we came in, people were talking about how excited they were to try the bruschetta. And then the guy who wanted to make the bruschetta didn't even come to the party. We were joking about how he couldn't take the competition.

Dinner was great, everyone made something Italian - lasagna, sundried tomato stuffed chicken, pasta salad. People enjoyed the bruschetta, which was good. Well, I mean they complimented it - they could have thought it tasted like crap, but I'm happy that they were nice about it. Then again, they really could have like it. Who knows!

Then there was a lot of doctor talk that I spaced out during as I watched OTHER doctors do surgery on TV during 'Extreme Surgery' on the Learning Channel. His coworkers are really nice and I had some great talks with them about CostCo, Indian movies, and collecting the Lord of the Rings extended versions. It's really interesting to hang out with doctors - you almost expect them to be proper and snooty, but they're actually really fun, easy going people. That talk about doctor stuff a lot.

So here's a couple of my pictures, I didn't take much this weekend, because I was just busy, but I did take one or two...

This week's Unconscious Mutterings:

1. Perfect Gift:: Present
2. Santa:: Claus
3. Lucy:: Liu
4. Buckets:: Rain
5. Recital:: Piano
6. Stamp:: Santa
7. Teacher:: Band
8. Matchbox:: 20
9. Spit:: Fire
10. Feeling:: Strong

I've been talking about Christmas a lot lately, and I don't want my Jewish readership to feel left out. Anyway, here's a treat for you, brought to you by Redpac:

Happy Hanukkah!

No worries, but Kwanzaa, Ramadan and Festivus celebrating friends (and those Atheist heathens *wink*), I wish you a happy holidays as well - there's just not crap out there for you guys like this.

I'm at Jillian's place right now chillin' with my girl. She just wanted to say 'hello' to you all:

"bkbgggggggggggggggggggggggggggkkff bbbbvvvjfofffffff c hgfllfm g g hlhkd t lhm"

So Fatima and I went shopping yesterday at Best Buy. It wasn't as crazy as I thought it would be. I got about 30% of my shopping done there, which leaves me at 50% left that I still need to do (I had gone shopping earlier in the week at Target before I found out that they were bellringer hating Scrooges). Not too many people are getting gifts from us this year - it's just not in our budget. When I first started working, I bought gifts for EVERYONE, because I had my own money and I was living at home. After a while, it just wasn't a smart thing to do, considering that there were about 30 people on my Christmas list.

So this year, the list is limited to a small number of extended family, kids under the age of 17 and my in-laws. Next year, it might be a different story, because I love giving gifts and I love putting bows on them. I hate wrapping gifts, thought. That's what Claudine is for, at $10 an hour. However, this year it may not happen since I'm at my own place, but we'll see.

I have no idea when I'm going to get a chance to go shopping again. I may just have to do my shopping around Michigan Ave, since I don't have time this weekend to do any shopping, and I really don't want to face the terror of the malls around this time. I know I'm really behind and it's going to bite me in the ass, but I promise to be better next year!

In other news, I get my car back today! Yay!

Well, it's Dave's car, but it's a car nonetheless.

I cannot TELL you how awful it's been without a car for the last several weeks. I feel like a bird with it's wings cut off. Yesterday I came into work at 6 in the morning because Dave had to drop me off at the train station before work, and he had to work early. The day before that, I was stuck waiting outside the train station for Dave who got out of work late. I felt like the little kid who was last to be picked in gym class. For 3 weeks, I had no freedom. It sucked major ass.

But now, I'll be free to wander around the West suburbs once again, terrorizing supermarkets and pet stores, just like the old days.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Rachel, taken on her wedding day. She looked so amazing that day, I got teary eyed as she walked down the aisle. (or maybe it was because watching Manny was making us cry, too) Rachel is my partner in crime - we've had many interesting adventures together - haven't we 'baby'? Now, we're old married women who have to take care of our husbands and our homes. But we really should do another girls night out. The last time was lots of fun, don't you think?

Happy birthday, girlie!

Just wanted to post a concerned letter from a faithful reader pertaining to the 'looks like you're naked' current webcam shot:

"In other news, is your naked picture an indication of where your site is going? I heard yanowhatimean was going triple X, but I didnt think it would happen this fast. I figured you'd wait until readership began to dwindle and THEN hit it up. Thats the standard MO for stars like you, no? Is it for the money? True, there's big bucks out there in porno-land, but at what cost? Is it drugs? Tell me its not drugs."

Dear Concerned Reader,

The picture isn't naked, I'm wearing a sleeveless top. Contrary to rumors, YWIM is NOT going XXX any time soon. If I keep on losing money at Pokerstars, that may be an option, but not right now. When that time comes, I know of several people experienced with porn and prostitution who can help me along the right path, and of course, you'll be the first I call. Don't you worry your pretty almost shaved head about that. And it's not drugs, though once again, if ever I have the need I know where to get them - as well as all the Skoal Mint I could ask for.

Best wishes and happy holidays,
Yano

So the lesson here, people, is just because I look naked on the webcam doesn't mean I am.

Does anyone know where I can find a font/dingbat that has flowers/symbols like this picture?

I think I may have talked about my latest addiction before, but it's getting pretty bad.

I'm up to about six packs a day (I double up for each cup) of hot cocoa ever since we started buying Starbuck's Peppermint Syrup at work. It's just SO tasty and I can't get enough of it. I have a feeling that today may be an 8 pack day.

I don't know if it's bad for me or if I'll go into withdrawal once the hot cocoa season is over and we don't have anymore. But I'm going to enjoy it while I can. It doesn't matter anyway, because I've got my own bottle of peppermint syrup at home and a big family size can of hot cocoa, thanks to the Swiss Miss and her mini marshmallows.

--------------------------------

So anyway, a few of you may have noticed my birthday post to Rachel yesterday. I called and left her a voicemail telling her Happy Birthday, stating that I wasn't really sure it was her birthday or not. I have such a horrible time remembering birthdays. So she called me back and told me it's not until Thursday, and I felt like a horrible friend for not remembering, but hey, better early than late, right? Yes, I'm a dork. Well, it may have been better late, because then I could have said that I missed her birthday and not stated WHEN her birthday was. So anyway, that post will be coming back on her ACTUAL birthday.

Happy Pre-Birthday anyway, Rachel.

Barry, My Favorite Bellringer : Chicago, IL - December 2004

So I was talking about the Salvation Army bell ringers in my post below. So I decided to go and take a picture of Barry, my favorite bell ringer, who stands outside of Virgin Megastore. He sings songs, dances, smiles and waves at the people passing by - even though it's freezing and windy outside, he's spreading his own kind of Christmas cheer. He rocks! I always keep some spare change handy when I know I'm passing by.

Some people had posted up how Target is banning bell ringers from their stores this year. Target has a no solicitation policy, but in the past as allowed the Salvation Army to solicit. Lately, they've been getting more requests for solicitation, so they decided to crack down.

According to a press release from the corporate offices, "Target does not permit individuals (including political candidates and/or their campaign organizations) or nonprofit organizations to solicit donations, distribute literature, sell merchandise or hold events on our premises.

"We receive an increasing number of solicitation inquiries from nonprofit organizations and groups each year and determined that if we continue to allow the Salvation Army to solicit, then it opens the door to any other groups that wish to solicit our guests."

I understand Target's stance - but why now? Why after all these years? They should have prevented the Salvation army from coming there in the first place. The Salvation Army stands to lose about 15% of their profits because of this, which is a big blow.

"The Minneapolis-based chain had been the Salvation Army's second-most profitable collection point, accounting for nearly $9 million of the $93.8 million bell ringers raised nationwide in the 2003 holiday season. Wal-Mart, whose stores are the Salvation Army's most lucrative collection point, continues to allow the red-kettle collections along with Kmart."

Nine million dollars!

Sadly, other chains are following suit. Sure, I understand that it could get annoying, passing by the bellringer on your way to Christmas shopping, but it's for charity, a charity that's done a lot of good, as proven by my wonderful reader Sue:

"I also have a warm spot in my heart for the Salvation Army. Years ago our home was flooded and the Salvation Army was there every day with food for us to eat. So was the Red Cross but they charged for their food. It really makes me angry that Target is no longer allowing the Salvation Army bell ringers to grace the fronts of their stores. Scrooges!!!!"

So, when you see those bell ringers on the street, give 'em a little loose change - every little bit counts this year.

I love Christmastime - the crispness in the air, the lights creating a sparkling wonderland on Michigan Avenue, the stations playing non-stop holiday music, peppermint hot cocoa and for so many other reasons. One sign that the holiday season is upon us are the Salvation Army bell ringers you find throughout the city. You'll see them every several blocks on Michigan avenue, big red stands to hold money, bell ringers jangling their bells to get people's attention. Some stand there and just bear the cold. Some get creative and sing. My favorite guy is usually outside of the Virgin record store. He sings carols and dances, and makes everyone smile as they pass by.

Now I have this weird little thing - it's hard for me to pass by these people without dropping a little change in the bucket. Why? Because I know that one of my old lolas (old auntie) volunteers for the Salvation Army, and although I have no idea what she does for them, I can only imagine her and her little frail body, standing out in the cold, waving her bell and waiting for people to drop some change in there. So I keep my coat pockets full of change and I give them money, knowing that in some way, this money is helping her cause. But it's also for all the people out there doing it, braving the cold and ringing their bells. In my lifetime, who knows how many hundreds of millions of dollars I've given to the Salvation Army. OK. Not hundreds of millions. A little less than that.

So my next story isn't really related to the my obsession with donating to the Salvation Army, but I'd like to think it is. One of those - what comes around goes around deals.

Several years ago, I was shopping near Christmas at the mall. Of course, it's crazy at the mall at that time. I was in Express, buying gifts (and maybe buying something for myself, who knows) and my arms were chock full with shirts and sweaters. I was in a massive line of other women, waiting to check out. As I'm standing there, an old lady comes up to me and says, "Wow, you sure have a lot of things there." I smile and agree, stating something like having a lot of female cousins to buy for. (this is when I actually foolish enough to think it was a good idea to get EVERYONE presents) We chatted for a little bit, talking about how crazy the shoppers were and how bad it was for me to wait so long to buy presents. She then said to me, "Well, I've gone through the whole store and there's really nothing that I could find that I want to give anyone." I made some sort of joke like there was TOO much I found to give people, and she said, "It's just not my style." She reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Here you go, you need this more than I do," she said as she put the slip of paper in my hand. I looked at it, a little confused. "It's a coupon that I got last time I came here," she whispered to me, "It's worth twenty-five dollars. You go ahead and take it. I'm not buying anything and it expires at the end of the year."

I was at a loss for words for a moment. "Wow. Thank you!"

She patted my arm, "You have yourself a great holiday, and don't go shopping to late next time."

"No, I won't! Thank you so much. This is one of the nicest things anyone's done for me! You're so great. Happy holidays!" I couldn't stop thanking her, this mystery angel that came into my life.

As she walked away, I just stood there, bathed in the warmth of her generosity. Yeah, ok, I know it sounds cheesey, but really, my heart was bursting knowing that there are people in the world who are so nice. She could have just left the store and not used her coupon, but she decided to make someone else happy by giving hers away.

Made me think that maybe someone IS watching me when I throw that change in those buckets, that when you do something good, it comes back to you in some form.

I love this time of the year!

1) It Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus - Harry Connick Jr.
2) The Christmas Song - Johnny Mathis
3) Sleigh Ride (the instrumental version)
4) Winter Wonderland - Annie Lennox
5) Angels We Have Heard on High
6) I'll Be Home for Christmas
7) The Little Drummer Boy (with the Peace on Earth part)
8) Silver Bells
9) Christmas in Hollis - Run DMC
10) O, Holy Night

Next Week: Ten New Year's Resolutions

This year I have my first real Christmas Tree. Well, we had a small mini tree last year, but that didn't count. We went to Bob's Real Trees on Army Trail in Bloomingdale (I'm pimping them out because they were SO great to work with) and it took us almost an hour, walking around, trying to find the perfect tree. Not only did it have to be symmetrical, but it also had to have nice coverage. The tree we picked out isn't the most symmetrical, but it's got nice branches and it's just tall enough for our living room.

Last year we had a small tree, so we hardly had any ornaments. This year, it was a bit of a challenge picking out ornaments and a 'theme' for our tree. We both come from different 'tree' families. Dave's family gets a real tree, and decorates it with white lights and gold/ivory ornaments. My family has our old, trusty fake tree, colored with multicolored lights (that blink in time to music) and a multitude of different colored ornaments gathered over the years and brought over from the Philippines. After some contemplation, we decided on going for a gold/red color scheme with colored lights.

Although it's cool to have a real tree, with the scent and everything, it's a bitch to bring home and set up! Getting it off the top of the car, carrying it into the house, setting it on the stand, finding which side looks the best - it all was a pretty comedic experience. My hands were all sappy and I had a rash from the prickliness of the pine needles. Putting lights on was an experience, since I'm so used to my fake tree decorating, where it's pretty systematic where to put the lights. With a real tree, the branches are not even so you have to be creative when putting in lights. And you also need to make sure that all the lights are evenly distributed, yet look 'natural'. As natural as colored lights on a tree can be.

Once we finished decorating, it didn't turn out glamorous and it's not going to win any awards, but it feels homey, comfortable, and very Christmas-y. Prickly looks nice, and we're probably going to add a couple more ornaments this week, since without the lights he's still pretty bare. But with the lights off and his lights on, he's glorious!

Moody Monday : Crush

Bear Hug - August 2004 : Chicago, IL

Peter Steigerwald, colorist for Aspen Comics (Fathom, Soulfire) gives me and Fatima a huge bear hug, as he wears Christina Strain's bear hat. One of my best experiences in comics is meeting these guys, who are just way cool and I always enjoy seeing them every year.

Sunday Shoot : Beauty

In the Hands of the Makeup Artist : Saginaw, MI - May, 2004

Dan is having a contest over at his photo site. All you have to do is guess what's going on in the pictures, and you'll get a really really cool prize. If the winner is someone I know or who posts on this blog, I'll throw in some extra goodies. Short track fans, you're already one step ahead of the game...

Check out Dan's contest!

Check out the main photo site if you want to see a nice blackmail photo he has of a certain site webmaster who shall remain nameless. Poor webmasters, they get all the shitty jobs to do.

One of the message boards I go to had a little drama yesterday. There was a thread where people were asked to post their pictures, and people did, including me. Everyone had a lot of fun with it, posting serious pictures, goofy pictures, etc. No one made fun of anyone (unless they posted stupid pictures) and everyone was complimentary and good natured about it all. Turns out that another messageboard (who shared the same members) caught wind of it and proceeded to make fun of some of the people who posted pictures (not me), then saying that if they put their pics up on the 'net then they open themselves up to mockery.

That's true to an extent. If you're going to put yourself out there, you've got to be able to take any criticism. It still hurts, though, when someone goes so low as to call you a 'fatHow far do you take it? Is it right to comment and make fun when you KNOW that the person will be reading it, or someone who knows the person will be reading?

The sad thing about it is that these are comic book people, people who themselves admit are not the best looking people in the world. What good does it do to make fun of someone, when you're hiding behind your own anonymity and you're probably not so hot looking, either? Does it make you feel like a better person?

I've been posting my picture on the web for longer than I can remember. I'm not expecting praises or criticisms. In the past, I've gotten both (some of you may remember the 'Wow, you've gained weight since college' poster). Sure, the bad stuff isn't easy to stomach, but it happens. But I haven't gotten anything as cruel as I've seen said about some of the people I've come to grow pretty fond of.

So what do you all think about people posting their pictures on the web? Is it necessary to make negative comments, or should you just bite your tongue? Is posting a picture of yourself just inviting trouble?

Discuss. :-P

Today was a good day.

I worked the late shift today, which meant I got to sleep for an extra two hours. I got into work and took care of some business, then went out to lunch with some coworkers who were from out of town. A whole gang of us walked over to Marshall Fields, a huge department store here in Chicago. It is all decked out for the season, and every year they decorate their windows with a theme. Not sure what this year's theme is, but you can be sure that you'll see it here in the next couple weeks - I love their holiday window displays!

We ate at the Walnut Room, and we were told that the wait was two and half hours long. Luckily for us, we had called in our reservation a little earlier, so we got to go in the express line, which still took about 20 minutes.

The tree that stands in the middle of the room is gorgeous, the decorations inspired by Jackie O's Christmas tree when she was first lady. The lunch wasn't too pricey for a place as packed and elegant as that. The were a young girl walking around giving treats to little kids, and I was trying to persuade Dan and Sam to take a picture with her. When she was by us, a woman at the table next to us asked her to take a picture of them. After turning around to look at the girl, Dan mumbled, "heyisdatbilycorgnstingbhndme?" "Huh?" I asked? "Is that Billy Corgan sitting behind me?"

I looked again at the table where the girl had taken the picture. Why yes, that young man at the table DID look a lot like Billy Corgan, the ex-lead singer for the Smashing Pumpkins. I looked at one of his companions (he was sitting with two women). "It couldn't be," I thought to myself. The person sitting at the table could not be who I thought it was, considering the very seasonal, very ordinary sweater she was wearing and the simply makeup she had on.

"Hey," I mumbled to Tyson, "look at the table next to us - is that Courtney Love?"

Tyson made a casual glance, and looked at me, "It could be." I mentioned it to Dan. He said it could have been, but she looked to normal and sober. He also mentioned that he thought that Corrigan and Love supposedly didn't like each other. Sam, wanting to get in on the action, turned around so deliberately to look at them he could have had been on fire and have been less conspicuous.

They were finishing up their meal and Courtney was getting up to leave, and I realized it was definitely her. I don't know if anyone else in the restaurant knew, but I tried not to stare. I wouldn't have asked for a picture, either, because it just wasn't the place. Courtney and her friend put in some money and then bundled up to leave. I was surprised that she looked so normal, wearing a big sweater with snowflakes on it (at least it looked like snowflakes). Every time I've seen her in magazine's she's been either dressed up or trashed out of her mind.

After Courtney left, Billy was left to himself, and he looked like he was itching to get out of there, but his bill was taking a while. One of the servers came by and asked him for a picture and autograph, to which he kindly obliged. Luckily no one else bombarded him, he looked like he wanted to just stay anonymous. Our coworkers were trying to coax Dan into taking a picture with him, but he declined - he doesn't do photo ops in restaurants - if it was outside of the restaurant, it would be fair game! But we may have gotten a picture, thanks to Cindy who pretended to take a picture of Dan, but really had Billy in the background. Yes, we're sneaky little monsters.

Yup. That's the story.

But there are also other reasons it's a good day.

- Had a meeting and found out that I have 7 more days of vacation working for the new company.

- Sam made some tasty turtle cookies. He says they're too sugary, I say they're just fine.

- We just got access to our office building's fitness center. We'd been campaigning to get this for years, but our old company was worried about legal liability that they didn't allow us. But now, we can work out whenever we want to. Yay!

- And although it happened yesterday, I still consider it as part of today. Yesterday I went to my eye surgeon to check out how my eye is doing. He said that there's still some fluid there which will take about a year to drain on its own, though there's a very slight chance that it's a split in my retina, which would cause no more sight loss than I already have, but they would have to do more corrective surgery. But that would come in a couple years if anything. Other than that, the eye is healing quite well, and my vision is slowly getting better in the eye, it should be back to it's regular crappiness (rather than the ultra-crappiness it's at right now) in a couple years.

Next year, they're going to do some laser surgery on the right eye (laser, not Lasik). There are some weaknesses in that eye as well, but nothing as major as what happened in the left eye. I won't have to be anesthesized and it's an in and out procedure. None of the crap that I went through in July.

My main concern yesterday was if I could play sports - mainly snowboarding (which is what I suspect caused this to happen in the first place, but don't tell my dad - I don't want him to think he's right). The doctor said I should be fine to engage in any sporting activities, as long as I protect my eyes. Yay! It would have sucked if we planned out snowboarding trip to Mammoth Mountain and all I could do was sit in the ski lodge and read, rather than carving snow up on the mountain (and falling and making myself a human snowball) with the rest of the crew. Whew! My snowboard will get some action this season! Yay!

Thursday Challenge : Light

O'Hare Airport : Chicago, IL - July, 2004

My second home, I cannot tell you how many times I've gone on the pedway under these lights. At least O'Hare makes the journey a little interesting with its glowing lights and musical tinklings.

Awesome article -

Woman warrior found in Iranian tomb

These days, Iranian women are not even allowed to watch men compete on the soccer field, but 2,000 years ago they could have been carving the boys to pieces on the battlefield.

Mismatched Shoes : Chicago, IL - December 2004

This is the man who leads us. My manager. 'Bossman.' The person we look up to when we all need advice and guidance.

...and he came into work yesterday wearing two different shoes.

We're doomed.

Fine, fine, I should be one to talk.

Every year, I write out tons of Christmas cards. I love getting Christmas cards, and I always plan on sending them out.

But I never do.

Well, some.

I just end up getting lazy and after I write them out, I never send them out. Either I never get to addressing the cards or they never get stamped and mailed. So they sit there, and I eventually hand it them in person, or they lay in a box somewhere, never again to see the light of day.

But this year is the year. I WILL send out those cards! I've got a ton of cute Christmas cards, a neat green pen, a new calligraphy pen to address the envelopes, and a couple other ideas. Oh yes. It will be grand.

So this is really going to happen people!

Maybe.

OK, here's my answers to your questions. I've tried to be as honest as possible. Thanks for playing everyone. We just may do something like this again.

Nav:
1. What do you think of Pres. Bush? I didn't vote for him, but he's the president we've got. I don't trust him, and I'm interested to see how he does in the next four years - he's made a lot of promises, and if things go down, he has no one to blame but himself.
2. Have you ever tried weed? Nope. Been in the room when other people have smoked it, but never actually tried it. I've got a natural high.
3. What's your worst memory? Being in the room as my mother passed away and listening to the wailing of my relatives.

Joy
1) What kind of favors did you have at your wedding reception? My mother in law got these seashell boxes made. The outside kind of looked mother-of-pearl-ish and the top has some decorations in shells. Inside were mints.
2) What kind of gifts did you give your groomsmen? We gave our whole wedding party a gift certificate for a 30 minute massage at a nice spa in Chicago.
3) What is your favorite memory from your wedding day? Taking pictures at Wrigley Field. We had so much fun we didn't want to go back. We were married and we were surrounded by our family and our best friends.

Linda
1. If you could live in any country (but the U.S.), which would it be? Italy. It looks like such a beautiful country!
2. What one food can you not live without? Rice. Grew up on it. Can't imagine life without it!
3. If you could live in the shoes of any celebrity, who would it be? That's a tough one. Maybe Natalie Portman. She's sophisticated, beautiful, but not too full of herself. She seems to lead a very charmed life.

Bumblebootie
1. Do you prefer living in Chicago or LA? Chicago. That's where my heart is.
2. What was your favorite high school memory? Going to Disneyworld with the band. Tons of fun!
3. What do you want for christmas? I dunno. It's so hard to decide! I think a food processor of sorts - something that minces so I don't have to chop as much!

DeAnn
1. Your favorite band/musical artist? Right now, Alicia Keys.
2. Your favorite book or author? Anne McCaffery
3. Your favorite movie? The Princess Bride

chris
1. You take such good pictures... What kind of camera are you using? I use an Olympus Camedia C-750. It's got a 10x zoom which is about 3 times stronger than most other cams out there.
2. 2 part... Do you use an html editor to make your pictures pop up from the thumbnails, resize the window, and move to the front... or do you write the code yourself? If you use an editor... which one? I use javascript to make the pictures pop up. I wrote a tutorial that went over something similar. However, instead of coding it from scratch each time, I have an excel spreadsheet that has all the necessary coding and I just have to input the picture file name, and then copy and paste the code into my posts. When writing posts or anything like that, I just use notepad. When I'm trying to visually place layouts, I use MS Frontpage.
3. From fish owner to fish owner... Do you think fish drink water? Hmm. My gut says no. Water goes through them, but they don't drink it. Drink it as we humans drink it, that is. Does that make sense?

mipmup
1. where did you find the clip art for this site design? Its the cover of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Linda Karl. You can find it here at Barnes & Noble.
2. does dan think he is truly superman? Sometimes, yes. The rest of the time he thinks he's God. In both cases, dead wrong.
3. what is the temperature outside today? Mid thirties. About average for this time of the year.

carla
1. How is fatima (and yourself) doing? We're doing ok. Fatima's just chillin' at home since the downsizing. I'm getting my house prepared for Christmas.
2. Are you and fatima coming here anytime soon? If so, when? (sorry, i know that's 2 questions). I don't know the next time Fatima can come out, but Dave and I will be heading out there in early January to drive up to Mammoth for some snowboarding. Wanna come? The more the merrier, and the cheaper the place is we rented.
3. What drink would you recommend at cha for tea? I'd always been fond of the Iced Coffee with pearls, but the Thai Iced Tea is good, too. I don't think I've ever had anything there that's bad. The green concoction looks tasty - 'Golden Dream' or something fancy like that. I think I may have a card somewhere that's one point away from a free one. Want it? It does me no good here!

Marky Mark
1. Who cleans the bathroom the most, you or Dave? It's actually both of us. Dave does daily maintenance by vacuuming the floor and such. I do the shower and whoever cleans the toilet first is the winner.
2. Does Dave still get haircuts from Gil? Not in a while. Dental school has been keeping him busy. Dave's found another barber who he is content with, but his hair just hasn't been the same without Gil's special touch. However, I've notified Gil to shave Dave's head next time he asks him for a cute - just to give him a different look.
3. Can you tell Dave that Art Ledda says hi? Art thinks that he is a really good guy!! (in a non-gay sort of way) Done! Dave says, "Tell Mark and Art that I said hello and happy holidays. And that I think that they're good guys, but in a manly way."

Shannon
1. What's your happiest memory? My wedding day. It couldn't have been more perfect - I was surrounded by friends and family and I was having the time of my life.
2. If you could change one thing about yourself what would that one thing be? That's a tough one. I think it would be my memory. I want a better one. I'm constantly forgetting things and it causes me a lot of stress. Life would be a lot easier if I had a better memory.
3. If I could grant you one wish what would you wish for? Pay off my mortgage so I could use the money to buy lots of geeky things like comics and a new desktop.
and as a bonus... When's the real housewarming parrrttaaayyyy??? Christmas is a family housewarming. Not sure when the 'drunk til you drop' keg tapping housewarming is.

Wally
1) does Dave enjoy anal probes? (ala Cartman) Only from aliens. He doesn't enjoy carrots like some people we know.
2) Rank em (who's hot): Oz, Angel, Spike, Xandar Pre-Angel sitcom Angel, then spike, then Xander, then Oz. I'm not into Werewolves.
3) How does it feel that you're going to be 30 soon and that you have yet to bear any children? Rub it in, why don't ya? My clock is ticking. Since Dave wants 1000 children, I guess we should start soon. Hopefully the rest of my friends will get knocked up around the time I do so my offspring will have friends to share the embarrassment of Uncle Brian's crazy antics.

Sam
1) What's it like being an internet icon? It's pretty easy, actually. I actually had no idea I was. Thank you. Would you like some hot peppermint hot cocoa? Truthfully, I know a lot of people read my blog, more than the people that post. I find it a little weird that people could be so interested in my quirky life and the dorky things I choose to post each day. But I also think it's really cool that they care enough to come back.
2) Can you teach me how to make my own cool blog? Buy me food, make me hot cocoa the right way and shovel my snow and we could strike a deal.
3) When's the next company outing? You have just volunteered yourself to be the organizer! So I ask you, my friend, when's the next company outing?

Here's my list, part serious, part wishful thinking:

1) A new, superfast desktop computer
2) An X-Box
3) A Turbo Broiler
4) Some sort of gizmo that chops, dices and makes teenie tiny pieces
5) Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, special edition
6) A new car. Hell, right now, ANY car
7) A scanner that scans negatives
8) Tickets to 'Spamalot'
9) A trip to New York to visit my best friend
10) A big screen TV for my basement

(mel, I'll send you the list soon!)

Next week: 10 Favorite Holiday Songs

I love my new place. Every day it's feeling more and more like home.

We haven't had an official 'housewarming' party yet, and the aunties and uncles are itching to check out the new pad. We've just been so busy lately, with Dave being on call and my traveling schedule, we haven't been able to plan on a day.

So I did something stupid. Crazy. Maybe even deadly.

I volunteered to host my family Christmas.

By 'family' Christmas, I'm not talking about my dad and my sisters. I'm talking about my 'Family'. All the cousins, aunts and uncles. We have Christmas every year and it's always a big crowd and a crazy affair. Sometimes with some big event, like the Christmas I almost died. There's enough food to feed a small African country for a year. We go to midnight mass together, a gang of Filipinos taking up several pews and falling asleep mid-mass. After mass we head out to the house to a Christmas tree surrounded by presents (usually taking up half the room) and an Uncle acts as Santa and distributes the presents. After that's done, we all open the presents together in a blur of ribbons and gift wrap. It's a sight to see!

Afterwards the parents play mah-jong in the basement and the kids play games or watch movies. This lasts for most the night til the early morning when everyone falls asleep at around 7am, only to wake up several hours later and eat whatever is left.

...and this year, I'm in charge of it all.

It's crazy. I need to think of what to cook. I have no idea. My world famous Bruschetta won't be enough. I'm already planning on making gingerbread cookies, but I have to think of a main dish. What? I don't know. I have three weeks to figure it out! But what can I make that could compare to Tita Ellen's pot roast, Tita Rosie's eggrolls, my dad's fried turkey, Tito Dot's pancit, or Dave's mom's pineapple ham?

Wish me luck!

Got my Madison gallery up in record time. Probably because I only had pictures from the one day that I went. Here's a couple of my favorites:

Check out the full gallery here!

I had been debating for the longest time if I should go to Madison or not. At first, the world cup was in Vegas, and that would definitely have been a no-no for me, with all the activities that my family does around this time of year. But since Madison is only a couple hours away, the chances of going for at least a day were pretty good.

Then I crashed my car and had no way of getting there.

Luckily, Dan came to the rescue. Ever since I had asked him to help me do some research for me in preparation for my SLC interviews, he's been interested in the people he'd read about. That, and he really wanted to see Rusty skate.

Then Rusty got injured, and wasn't going to skate for the rest of the weekend. But Dan still wanted to go, which was great.

So we headed out, early in the morning, and I was actually ready on time because Dan kept on nagging me to be ready. Then he came half an hour late to pick me up. Chump! We made good time to get to the arena, which was the Alliant Center near downtown Madison. After settling in (I felt a little stupid saying that I was Rusty's webmaster when really, I had nothing to do there since I couldn't report anything for the site) we walked around the arena to check things out and find a place to sit.

We found a nice place off to the side and just watched the races. The crowd size was a bit disappointing. But I know it's due to several factors. The venue was really big, so even a good amount of people there would still make it look empty. Also, it was Thanksgiving weekend - people would rather get those great shopping deals than watch short track - also, the college kids were on break. The Madison planning group also got the bid for the cup at the last minute (after Vegas fell through), making it hard to advertise and really push for a good crowd. But oh well, all this calculated into us getting really great seats. It was great to see all the regular fan faces there - the team has a solid group of fans following them!

I only went to the press area once or twice to see how my pictures would turn out, but the quality of the other cameras there really intimidated me. Speaking of intimidation, I finally got to meet Pablo Galvez, whose pictures I've been drooling over for a while now. His pictures of skating that is - not pictures of him. Although if he were a skater he'd surely have a fansite or two. He was really cool. He showed me all the fancy things he can do with his camera, as well as his pictures that he had so far. I contemplated just grabbing his camera and running off with it, but he looked pretty fast. And he was bigger than me. I knew I had no chance. So I left the photographers area - I didn't really have any legitimate business being there this time around anyway, unless I wanted to give my pictures away to the sites of the respective skaters (which I'll be doing anyway).

For most of the competition I just sat back, stayed under the radar and low key, and had a great time watching some great skating. I felt like I needed to get my 3 days worth in that one day. Dan had a good time, too, with the peak being the women's relay. "Women touching each other's asses, what could be better than that? Why aren't they using that as a marketing point? They'd make millions!"

Without team Korea there, it was a different kind of competition. For one thing, it was a lot cleaner. But it was also just a bit easier without the #1 team out there. I felt bad because I knew that Rusty would have made some magic out there but unfortunately he was back in his hotel room resting, and wishing he was on the ice.

The US team did a great job. The men were led by Apolo Anton Ohno, of course, but Shani Davis had a great competition as well, ending up in the top 6. It was great to see him do so well. Hyo Jung Kim, in her first year, was on fire! She won the 1000m (which was the race that was being run that day) and her victory lap was one of happiness and relief - her first world cup medal is a gold. That girl is the shyest thing, but she's the biggest sweetheart! Canadian Amanda Overland also got her first World Cup medal. I met her when I was in California, and I'm so happy that she won! Allison Baver, who's been skating for a while, is finally in the spotlight as well, getting a silver medal two days before. She's been skating so strong since the season began, it's great to see. Our US ladies are finally a force to be reckoned with!

After the competition, I stuck around a bit to give out congratulations. I said hellos to the usual people, and I had the highlight of my trip - getting a picture with Satoru Terao. Sure, he isn't the strongest skater out there, nor is he necessarily the best looking, but I remember watching him on TV during the Olympics in '02 and thought, 'Wow! He's got great arms!'. I'd been trying to get a picture with him for the last two years! (I'm a dork, I know)

Later on, we went to give Rusty a visit to see how he was doing. He was pretty bummed that he couldn't compete, but it was obvious by his slow, deliberate movements that he wasn't in skating shape. Since he hadn't eaten anything for the whole weekend (other than some Coke and chips) so we brought him out to fill up on food. Dan had also brought his mom's fudge cake for us to share. On the way to car we ran into Shani, and I gave him some. The guys went to the car and I waited around for the others and I saw Fabio, who requested a piece. Who could say no to an Italian stud? Not I!

Dinner was good. Had a lot of laughs and we were happy to see Rusty's spirits lifted. We went back to the hotel to say our goodbyes - it was getting pretty late and we had a long drive home. I tried to stay awake, but I kept on drifting. Dan and I talked a lot, but there were times where I started spacing out and speaking in jibberish. But we made it home in one piece!

It was a good time. Short track has one more fan - and he's a guy. And my almost brother-in-law. But hey, one more voice can spread the word, and maybe get more people to these events.

Women touching each other's asses, people! It's fun!

This week's Unconscious Mutterings

1. Delightful:: Tasty
2. Impact:: Deep
3. Consolation:: Prize
4. Donation:: Money
5. Blue moon:: Night
6. Grinner:: Smile
7. Smoker:: Breath
8. Muse:: Tenth
9. Tweet:: Bird
10. Guitar:: Electric

The University of Illinois Fighting Illini will most likely be the number one team after their defeat of Arkansas today. Whoo hoo! Even though today's win hasn't been as strong as others, we're off to a great year with a great team. Although we do have our stars of the team, these guys know how to pass around the ball and play team basketball. Whoo hoo! March is going to be a very good month for us!

Go Illini!

Come on, U of I people, let me hear you, I know at least one of you read this thing!

I - L - L!!!!

A couple weeks ago Dave and I were at home, just hanging out. Dave went upstairs to do something, and then called out my name. "Christine! Come here! You gotta see this!"

I went over to the stairway and he stood there pointing at the wall. I looked to where he was pointing and saw one of the biggest, strangest bugs I've ever seen. It looked like it would have been the love child of a millepede and a daddy long legs. It looked huge and hairy - like the Chewbacca of bugs. In a word, we were terrified.

"Kill it." Dave said.

"What? No way! You kill it!"

"Come on! Kill it!"

"You're the man, you kill it."

"Fine, we'll both kill it."

So we tried to figure out to kill the beast. We knew that we may only have one shot, and if we failed it would attack us and quite possibly, kill us. We were thinking of using the slipper as our murder weapon, but the monster was a bit out of reach. We thought of the rubberband method, but we couldn't find any rubberbands. I then told Dave of a method that I used at home to kill millipedes and silverfish - 409 cleaner.

"What?"

"Yeah, I think the chemicals burn up their insides. It works for me."

"But that thing is a lot bigger than your average bug, Christine!"

"What other choice do we have?"

"Fine. You get the 409."

"Ok, but you're the first one to try it!"

So I got the 409. Dave dangled off the stairway and aimed it at the bug. He sprayed several times. The animal started scurrying. We both ran down the stairs screaming like little girls.

"It's on the move!" we cried to each other, waving our arms around and running in circles.

The 409 did nothing. Well it did something. It just made the supermillipede-beast angry. We had to try again. I was sure my idea of the 409 would work. I grabbed the 409 from Dave and ran up the stairs. I sprayed the bug, screaming as I did so. I followed the bug as it moved across the way, running down the stairs as I did so.

Nothing. Just a wet wall and an even wetter bug. I'm thinking that this 409 mutated bug was actually getting stronger and bigger as the night wore on. After a couple more failed attempts, the bug was within reach. I ran down and grabbed Dave's slipper. I measured the distance. If I missed this time the bug would be getting a lot more pissed that the repeated sprayings with 409.

I raised the slipper and hit it.

When I raised it again, there were only the furry legs left on the wall. The body was gone. The body was gone!!!

Then something fell from the slipper. The lifeless carcass of bug-beast.

I screamed, dropped the slipper, and ran down the stairs, leaving Dave for cleanup duty.

If we could have mounted the head of that thing on the wall we would have. We were the victors that night! Master hunters of the thousand legged beast!

Went to lunch with the guys today at Cafe Iberico. For some reason, it was exceptionally great today! The croquetas de pollo were nice and plump, the grilled octopus was juicy and soft, the bread fresh and tasty, the sangria sweet and refreshing. Definitely the best meal I've had there so far! Anyone who goes there knows its the best tapas place in Chicago. (Tapas are like Spanish appetizers that everyone shares)

Walking there we saw that they are opening up two more Brazilian Churrascurias. Be still my beef eating heart (not beef heart eating), I'm going to eat myself into a coma once those are opened!

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Did a pokerstars tournament today. I outlasted Dan and Sam, and I came in 851st place out of 3658 people. Not too shabby!

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Last call to ask me questions in the Question thread. Thanks to everyone who've posted some questions. Pretty interesting. My answers will be up tomorrow or Sunday.

This morning I returned my rental car that I used in Milwaukee to the Avis center, which is several blocks from work. Had a interesting conversation with the lady at the counter.

Lady: Was everything ok with the car, Ms. um, Es-tay-co? Is that right?
Me: It's Es-TAH-she-OH. Like 'pistachio'. (actually, Dave pronounces it es-TAH-see-OH)
Lady: Ahh, Estacio. And your first name is Christine? Christine Estaci o. I like that.
Me: Yeah. I'm still getting used to it. (then I show her my ring)
Lady: So you just got married?
Me: Hmm, about a year ago.
Lady: Well, he's got a good name. I like it. Estacio! Sounds dangerous. Like you could be real nasty to someone and they shouldn't mess with you. I'm Christine Estaci o!
Me: That's why I married him. I love a last name with danger!

Photo Friday : Reflections

Millenium Park Bean : Chicago, IL - August 2004

This post is dedicated to Dan's mom, who told me that she reads my site. She asked me to call her by her first name, but I just can't. I'll come up with something better than Dan's mom, though, because there are just those times when I'm sure she was someone else's mom. :)

Dan had brought some leftover fudge cake from his party to Madison last weekend, to give to Rusty since he had been injured. To tell the truth, Dan just wanted to get rid of it because he didn't want to eat the whole thing. Anyway, Rusty didn't eat a lot because he didn't want to spoil his appetite, so we were pretty much giving it away as we were heading out to dinner.

We later called Dan's mom as we were driving home to tell her that her fudge cake was a hit. We threw out names and their claims to fame, but I thought she would like to know what these guys actually look like.

(this is actually part 2 of my madison pictures)

So here they are - the Olympians who have eaten your fudge cake!

Rusty Smith, 2 time Olympian, Bronze medalist in the 500m - "Wow. This tastes great. Did Christine make it? No? I would have been surprised if she did!" I didn't have any pictures of him skating this weekend, but you can see that after eating your cake he's much happier than the other two!

Shani Davis - First American to make both the national Long Track and Short Track world teams at the same time. "Ohh. I like chocolate! It tastes good!"

Fabio Carta - Six time European short track champion. "What is that you have there? Can I have a piece? Maybe a little bigger than that! It's good!"

They all loved the cake and they said to thank you for it!

Next time you serve that fudge cake, you have a great story to tell.

Samples of mentioned fudge cake can be mailed to my home address. Thank you, Dan's mom!

Thursday Challenge : Animal

You know, I realized just now that I never posted up my pictures from the San Diego Animal Park. I'll have to do that sometime before the year is over! Anyway, here's two of my favorites - feeding time for the giraffes.

Today is Jen's birthday. She's one of my best friends, and she moved to China a couple months ago. I miss her tons. The city isn't the same without her here. She's an incredible woman - a fantastic friend, always thinking of you, making plans for people to get together, smart, funny, beautiful inside and out, and she has a huge heart. She's been there for me during my best times, she's seen me at my worst. Around this time of the year she'd be planning our yearly Christmas party, or making plans on how we're going to celebrate her birthday. Because there's ALWAYS a party for Jen's birthday! I'm sure she's in China somewhere conning her students into throwing a party for her because it's the way people do things in America. :-P

So to my wonderful friend Jen, a happy happy birthday today. I miss you so much and I can't wait until you get home!

So I met one of the people from my new company today. He's from Dallas, and since we were staying at the same hotel, we had decided to meet up in the morning. We met downstairs, and headed out the door. We both had rental cars, so we did that awkward, 'Um, maybe we should take one car' deal, but you're debating who is gonna be the driver.

Since I had my stuff in the car, I volunteered.

It snowed last night, so there was some snow and ice on the car. I started the car and brought out the snowbrush and proceeded to do my duty. He stood outside in the cold and made conversation with me so I wasn't too lonely. It was too late that I realized that as I was swiping snow off the car, I was actually throwing the snow on him. Oops!

So we're in the car, and I'm pulling out of the hotel parking lot.

"Um, I think you're going to hit the curb." Why yes, that is true. Who knew the driveway was so narrow? Oops.

He hadn't had breakfast yet and asked if we could stop by McDonalds. I say sure and go to the drive-thru. I roll down my window to make the order and...oh wait, let's back up a bit. My window is frozen shut. I can't roll it down. So I open my door and make the order. I drive up to pay and pray that my window opens, but nope. I'm about to get out of the car to pay, but he beats me to it. He gets out of his side of the car and walks up to the window and pays, then walks up to the other window to pick up his food.

Yeah. I'm cool. REALLY cool.

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I hate to admit it, but I'm watching the 'Nick and Jessica Christmas Hour', or whatever the hell it's called. It's like watching a train wreck. Jessica's acting is awful. And as much as I love her voice, I can't stand to watch her spasms as she sings. It's just too much. You don't even listen to her voice anymore.

I think the highlight was the reunion of 98 Degrees. The song they chose to sing ("i'll be home for christmas") was well done - great harmonies, great arrangement. Most of the other songs were pretty bad - especially the Bing Crosby trio they did. The one I was most disappointed in was when Brian McKnight came to sing "Oh Holy Night", which is my favorite Christmas carol. How tall is this guy? He's as big as a Christmas tree! Anyway, he sang it well. Jessica, how ever, was too over the top. That song needs to be sung, sung for the sake of singing. When she sang her part, it was as if she was singing to perform and entertain. For people to look at her and be amazed at her vocal tricks. No thank you. I'll stick to Brian's heartfelt, soulful rendering.

Isn't there anything better on TV? I don't know. I'm too lazy to change the channel.

Today is Tom Brokaw's last day as an anchor for NBC's nightly News. He was just on the Today show and got pretty much everyone, including himself, a little bit teary eyed.

Be sure to watch it. It will be worth it!

For you short track fans out there, here's a couple of my pics from Madison. I was only there for a day, so I didn't have much time to play around with the adjustments on my camera, so I got more crappy pics than usual. But I did manage to get a couple good ones!

Hyo Jung Kim, the newest US superstar at the tender age of 16

Matthieu Turcotte - Second place for the weekend, he's got his share of adoring fans

Allison Baver and Hyo Jung Kim follow Japan's Yuka Kamino in the 3000m race.

More later. And maybe a story or two, if you're good.