When I was making final calls for our ski trip last week, I was double checking what time everyone was getting to the hotel.

Now I rarely use my phone (or answer it, as anyone who knows me will tell you). However, I have a TON of numbers, because I always try to save phone numbers when people call me.

I realized I had my cousin Marlon's cell phone number stored on my phone, so I gave him a call. He had one of those generic voicemail messages that just states the number of the phone. I hesitated, thinking that I could have the wrong number. "Oh well, if it's a wrong number then they'll ignore the message," I thought. Since it was late at night, so I left a message for him to give me a call.

The next morning was crazy busy at work. I was finishing up a conference call when I saw Marlon calling on my cell phone. I got off the phone with my client and went to answer the phone, but too late, the phone went into voice mail.

I called him right back, and there was no answer. Since me and Marlon always joke around, I left him a voicemail that sounded like this:

"Yo, Marlon! It's Deluxe, son! Why you be calling me then not pick up the phone when I call you right back, bitch? Hit me up when you get a chance because I wanna know what's the 411 with the ski trip, homie. Peace out!"

Yes. I'm a dork.

Right after I hang up the phone, Marlon calls me back. I answer the phone with a thuggish, "SUP!"

...and the sound I heard next both terrified me and made me roll on the floor laughing.

"Christine? Is that you? This is your Tita (Aunt) Rosie! Did you call my cell phone?"

Yes. I accidentally called my aunt. Marlon must have called me from his mom's phone.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Tita! Is this your phone?"

"Yes, are you trying to call Marlon? He has his own cell phone."

"Oh. I'm so sorry!"

"That's ok, here's his number."

"Thanks. And please please PLEASE don't listen to your voicemail from me. Just erase it! You don't want to hear it."

"Oh, don't worry honey!"

I wanted to crawl into a hole leaving that ghetto message on my aunt's voicemail! Later on I told Marlon the story and he got a kick out of it. Lucky for me, she doesn't know how to check her voicemail, so I'm off the hook for now!

The Cousins at Karaoke (from Melanie)

We came back from our Devil's Head ski trip yesterday. It was a bitch to coordinate, with a lot of people saying they were coming out, then cancelling at the last minute. Sure, some had valid excuses, but it's hard to plan a trip for a big group of people, arrange the hotel rooms, get a group rate, then have a bunch of people cancel at the last minute. Next time I don't want to take part in the planning! It must have been ten times harder on Dan since he was the one doing the planning.

Dave and I headed out on Saturday morning, since he was on-call and didn't get home from work until 8:30 Saturday morning. Pretty much everyone else got there Friday night, and they got to go to the casino and party without us. We got to Devil's Head at around noon, and as soon as we saw the mountain we laughed. Mammoth Mountain in California had spoiled us - Devil's Head looked like a mere hill in comparision. The top of Mammoth was 13,000 feet above sea level - Devil's head was a tenth of that - a mere 900. saw my cousins Marian and Michael in the parking lot and we headed in.

I had a great time snowboarding and hanging out with everyone. Rather than put it in a long narrative, I'll just throw in the highlights:

- Marian was like the energizer bunny as she was learning to snowboard on the bunny hill. She never used the tow rope, she would take 5 minutes to walk up the hill, 5 minutes ot put on her bindings (which were snap ons) and then 30 seconds to go down the hill - if she didn't fall. Then the cycle would begin all over again for the whole day. She was a trouper - ending the day covered in ice and snow.

- Poor Melanie, who was also learning to ski with her friends Kim and Rainier. She was picking up snowboarding pretty well, but then face planted on the snow - not right on her face, but on the side, but enough for her nose to stop bleeding and the ski patrol to be called in. Then, hours later, as she was going down the hill, she came to a stop, caught on an edge and fell backwords. As she tried to stop her fall, she fell on her arm and was rushed to the emergency room. Yes, the ski patrol was busy. The funny thing is, we weren't around when it happened, and heard it all second hand, and we all thought it was Kim that broke her arm, so I left a voicemail on Mel's phone checking on Kim's condition.

- I spent most of the morning giving Marian pointers on the slopes. When I finally went up the ski lift, I had planned on going on an easy hill, but Dan talked me into going onto an intermediate hill without my easy hill warmup. I was a little nervous, but when I went down that blue, it was SO EASY! I remember last time I was at Devil's Head on skis and I thought that trail was so hard, but with all my snowboarding skills (which are minimal) and living the horror of getting lost on Mammoth Mountain and skiing the advanced there (I haven't told you THAT story yet!) the intermediates were nothing!

- Night skiing was $5 dollars more, so we decided to take advantage of it. Dave talked me into trying out the black diamonds, which made me a bit leery, since it was night skiing and the falls on Devil's Head hurt a lot more than what I was used to. BUt we went on it with Michael (who sees Dave as his snowboarding Mr. Miyagi) and it was AWESOME! It was about the difficulty of the blues on Mammoth, and with the icy conditions, there was a lot of speed on the trail. It was scary to fall, because on the lift you could hear the boards 'skkkkkrrrrrtttcccchhhhh'-ing the snow/ice. When people felt you could hear the *boom* from far away.

- The day wasn't too cold. As Marian went down a couple times, she was starting to get a bit warm. So she saw that Melanie and a couple of her friends were up on the mountain. She takes off her jacket and looks at the one white guy with them, who had been sitting with the group watching and giving pointers, and says, "Hey, I'm Marian! Can you hold my jacket for me?" then ran away to board some more. The guy was left with a quizzical look on his face. Marian didn't know that the guy she gave her jacket to was their snowboarding instructor!

- A group of us raced down the greens, and went immediately back in line. Michael realized that Maui, his partner was gone, so he said, "Hey, where's Maui?" We all turned and saw him come down the mountain, then totally bail and fall. We all let out a "Ohhh! Damn!" and just bust out laughing, because it was a really good fall. He got up, shook it off, then continued down, but he started cramping up and crashed into a guy, which led us to say, "Damn!" again. It was so funny because it all happened in seconds. "Where's Maui?" "Ohhh!!!!" "Damn!"

- Aquaman, a.k.a Sam, did not break any bones and picked up skiing pretty quickly. He had nothing to worry about! Well, except for that whole stopping thing - he still needs to work on that. We introduced Sam to Marian as 'Aquaman'. She called us cruel to be giving him pet names like that, but never bothered to ask for his real name. Later on in the day, we were talking about Sam and she was like, 'Oh, that's Aquaman's real name?'

- Dan bought this game called 'The Shocker' or something. Four people hold these handles with clickers on them, and you press a button that all these handles are attached to. A red light goes on and this eerie music starts playing, and the the light turns green. As soon as the light turns green you have to click your button. Last one to click gets a shock. And this isn't a little vibration shock, this is a full on shock that goes straight up your arm and makes you scream. It was a hilarious game to play, but more hilarious when you weren't wracking your nerves playing it.

- We went to the bar that night for some karaoke. It was a total blast, and I laughed so hard that my tummy hurt. We were drinking, eating and having a good time. Watched Tony, Maui and Eva rocked the house with their singing. We were all a rowdy bunch. Tony sang John Mellencamp's "I Fought Authority", dedicated to his legions of employees. It's fun to see your manager on his knees on the floor singing with a napkin tied around his head. Maui made us all teary eyed dedicating John Mayer's 'Daughters' to his little girl Jillian, who he had left at home. There were some others from Detroit that really got us hyped with 'Bust a Move' (to which Tony was doing the running man, alone, on the dance floor to). I don't think I've ever had so much fun doing karaoke. And no, I did not sing. I will not put people through that torture!

- The trip to brunch the next morning was eventful. Dan said that he knew of a Perkins down the street, which wasn't there - it was a Denny's, so he passed it, and we moved on, all the way to the Wisconsin Dells, and into the parking lot of another Dennys. Then he realized that there was a Perkins down the street, which we headed to after finding out there was a long wait at Denny's.

- I didn't have my camera for most of the trip, since my digital is really bulky and I forgot my film camera at the office. I did, however, take pictures of the boys playing at the pool, doing some very dangerous tricks like jumping into the pool while sitting in the chair. Aquaman also showed his powers over water by squeezing it out of the football.

The trip was a great time. I wish I remembered my camera, but you can see Melanie's pictures which really rock. I really love snowboarding, even though I'm a pretty slow and cautious boarder, I'm still having a great time up there. We'll have to do it again sometime, and maybe everyone will be able to make it this time!

Sammy Sosa - September, 2004 : Chicago, IL

Saturday was the day that Dave had been waiting for months to come - the day the Cubs announced they were trading Sammy Sosa. It's not 100% sure yet, but everyone here is going on like it's going to happen.

I have mixed feelings about this. Dave, however, knows it's time for him to leave. I feel bad that he's leaving on what I think are bad terms - the whole city wants him gone, and people are still sore that he left the last game of the season early because we had blown the wild card.

But as much as we loved Sammy in the years gone by, he just hasn't been producing for us. Sure, he had 35 homers last year, but how many of those where home runs that were needed? When people were on base to score? There were so many times that Sammy struck out when he could have saved the game. He became an over-hyped player.

He was supposed to end his career here. He was meant for that. This is a man who hit 66 home runs in 1998 and, along with St. Louis' Mark McGwire, helped save a game that was sinking from the 1994 strike. To alienate Cubs fans is a very difficult thing to do, but Sosa managed to pull it off. That's more amazing than anything the Amazing Mets did in 1969.

By degrees, it became apparent that, even though he played hard, Sammy was for whatever was best for Sammy. That didn't make him different than other athletes, but he started wearing his sense of entitlement like a crown. It went over in Chicago about as well as winter does.
The Chicago Tribune

Not only that, but rumors of Sammy not being a team player were everywhere. Once the trade was announced, his teammates didn't hold back when they said that this was good for the team. That for a team to go far, to really work together, they have to play as a team, not as a star and his backup.

"But not as bleak as another season with Sosa, who had turned into such a problem last year that an unidentified player took a bat to Sosa's boom box and went deep. It seems like a silly, insignificant thing, but Sosa had taken control of the team's music selection in the clubhouse, a privilege traditionally reserved for each game's starting pitcher. If Whitney Houston is your idea of adrenaline-releasing music, then Sosa was the deejay for you." The Chicago Tribune

"I'm not surprised. I don't think anyone's surprised," outfielder Todd Hollandsworth said. "I think it's going to provide everyone with the fresh start they were hoping for."
AP Newswire

It's sad. He should have had a grand goodbye. One last game at Wrigley where we all cheered him on, made banners, and all chanted 'Hall of Fame!' But it just wasn't meant to be. Things just didn't work out. Sure, he'll make the hall of fame someday, probably as a Cub. But can the city forgive him? We forgave him once for the corked bat. Can we forgive him again for disappointing us?

Goodbye Sammy. I'll remember you fondly - the kisses you threw to the bleacher seats, playing the 'how many outs?' game with the fans, the cocky homerun hop hop. Best wishes on where fate takes you, and I can't wait to see you at Wrigley again.

Hood Ornament - January, 2005 : Wisconsin Dells, WI

If Dan is ever a bad husband to my sister, this is what's going to happen to him. This time it was just a warning.

This was taken at the conclusion of our Devil's Head vacation. More news on that later, but I have to run to the in-laws for dinner.

The weekend was a lot of fun, and we survived with only minor injuries (sorry Melanie!), some really bad karaoke, a city-wide search for a Perkins, and only one of us was hungover today. I forgot my 'regular' camera when I was on the slopes, so I don't have any action shots, but I do have some pictures from when the boys were frolicking in the pool, so I'll post those and my trip report later tonight!

Just wanted to welcome all the people who are playing Michele's scavenger hunt! I'm honored to be a part of it (well, I think everyone who volunteered is going to be part of it, but I'm happy to be in the mix). I would have posted something sooner, but I was busy this weekend snowboarding, drinking, watching my family and coworkers karaoke and driving around looking for a Perkins to eat brunch at.

Hope you enjoy the site and just wanted to welcome you to the site and I hope you have some luck figuring out which clues match to mine, because to tell the truth, when I looked at the clues I couldn't figure out which one was me!

My cousin Melanie's dad is in the hospital. He's been there for a couple days, under observation. I admit that I was a little shaken up when I heard. Her father, Tito Roni, is like a second father to me. They've always lived next door to us. His wife, Tita Ellen, was my mom's best friend. So if you could keep him in your thoughts, that would be great.

Today was an awful day for me. I felt like I was at work forever, and I had conference call after conference call after conference call. I had 6 conference calls today, one right after the other. I was a big ball of grumpiness.

After work, I went to go and visit my uncle at the hospital. Unfortunately for me, he was at the hospital that I know too well - the hospital where my mother passed away. I hadn't been there since the day she died. But I really wanted to be there for my uncle, so I went there. As I walked around the hospital, so many memories hit me. I winced as I smelled that hospital smell, the whole time I was there, there was a bit pit in my stomach and I was filled with sadness.

I tried to be cheery for my uncle, even though it was hard to see him in the hospital bed hooked up to the IV. My heart was filled with grief, my thoughts brimmed with sadness, remembering what I saw the last time I was there. He's doing well and will probably be out tomorrow. We talked for a bit and had a couple good laughs.

Times like this, I really miss my mom. The weight of it hits me so hard, it's difficult to breathe. It's difficult to put into the right words what I'm feeling. Despair? Grief? Sadness? The world seems a little more chaotic, a little more confusing without her here. She was the glue that held all of us together, she was our heart, our conscience.

There's so much drama going on in my life - some you know, some which I can't tell you. Sometimes I wonder how I could be witness to so many crazy things. Then I wonder if my mother's intervention would have made my world a little more normal. It hard to know she's not here, she can't give us her two cents. She was filled with so much love, she had so much strength to endure the challenges life gave her. I only wish she was alive right now to help those she left behind with the challenges of life.

Today, I came home from my various escapades exhausted - physically and emotionally. I've put a lot of things in motion that I can't take back, and I can only see if some good comes out of it, or if I've messed things up even more.

Why does the world seem to fall apart when someone you love dies?

Photo Friday : Youth

Frolicking - Bolsa Chica, CA : June 2004

Work kicked my ass today, and I came home in a really crappy mood.

It started off pretty badly with me being bitchy to Aquaman, but I'm not even going to apologize for it since he really deserved it. I believe that's what sent my day rolling into horridness, so I guess he's to blame.

...and I'm still working as we speak.

Screw you, Aquaman.

-------

OK, I'm over it. Just bring me cookies and we'll call it even.

My best friend Jaygee is currently living in New York, auditioning for musicals and living the life of a struggling actress. One of my favorite things about New York City is Broadway. There is nothing better than going out to dinner, running out to see a musical on Broadway and having dessert afterwards. One of the first things Jaygee did when she was out there was see the musical 'Wicked', which is a twist on the 'The Wizard of Oz'. It gives the background story of the the Wicked Witch, and tells the tale from her side.

She called me after watching it, telling me how much she loved the musical, and how she came to an epiphany.

"Christine, I realized that you have to see this musical!" she said.

"Why?"

"Because she's you!"

"Who is?"

"The main character!"

"You mean the Wicked Witch of the West? She's me? You're saying I'm a wicked witch?"

"No, her character is different. And I'm not saying you're evil, but you're like her."

It was pretty interesting coming from one of the few people on this planet who actually KNOWS me and understands me. Me? Wicked?

"Thanks. Thanks a lot."

"No, you have to see the musical. Then you'll understand. She's not evil, she's just misunderstood. She has gone through her life just trying to have people see her way, filled with so much passion, so many dreams, so many ideas, but it never works out for her. She's always in the shadows, always helping out other people that she never gets to be the one that shines. She has no idea how powerful she really is."

Hmm. When you put it that way, it doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I don't mind being wicked at all.

"Ahh...um, ok. I guess that's ok then."

"Just see it when you get a chance. I know you'll love it!"

Since I'm not in New York, I can't see the play. But it is coming to Chicago later this year, and you KNOW I'll be first in line to see it (and screw setting up one of those group outings people, I suck at that - remember 'Spamalot'?). I did go out and buy the book, though. I've read Gregory Maguire's other book 'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister' and I had loved it, and 'Wicked:The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West' had always been on my list to read.

So I read it. And I loved it. I loved how we see life through the eyes of the Wicked Witch, how there are injustices that we don't see in the movie (of course it's all fiction). Though I admit, I read most of the book thinking, 'Jaygee thinks that I'm like Elphaba? (the name of the Wicked Witch in the book)' Sure, maybe there are some similarities, though I wasn't born green and don't try biting people's fingers off. Fine. That last part is a lie. But there are some parallels in our ways of thinking, in our thoughts, how other people perceive us. But still, it's a bit weird.

Then again, I've heard that the musical is different from the novel, and looking at the photos from the musical, it looks like it. Has anyone seen both? Is the musical different?

Am I really wicked?

I don't think so.

*rides away on her broom with her flying monkeys*

Redpac wanted me to pimp out his January/February contests on his site. All you gotta do is either caption the photo he has there, or guess the closest date and time of the first time one of his companions pukes when they go to Mardi Gras. Easy, right? He always has ultra cool prize packs to give away, so there's no harm in trying!

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

As for the trivia game, there's a new topic up today (Easy General Trivia) and several people have already scored perfect tens. Sam didn't let Noelle's spanking of him yesterday bring him down and came back today with a perfect score of 10 in 59 seconds (yes, time DOES count!) Believe me, he doesn't take losing very well! So if you want to play along, just click on the link on the right navigation bar. Thanks to all who played yesterday, we've got a pretty competitive bunch of people here!

I got this idea from the Bendis Boards.

Does anyone like trivia here? I've started up a trivia game page, where every day the questions change, and you can compare your score against other people (including me). I don't make up the questions, so I get to play, too *wink*. Every month, the top 5 players for my trivia game get written to a Hall of Fame. It's a lot of fun, and you can join at any time, and play on any day you want. Take note, however, that you are being timed for the trivia, so no fair going out to the internet to hunt for answers - we'll know!

So if you've got a minute or two to spare today (there's only 10 questions each day) here's the link:

The Yanowhatimean Trivia Game!

Sorry, but you've got to register to play! Go ahead and invite whoever you want, the more the merrier!

Good luck everyone!

[edit] 21 people have played so far, and the competition is getting intense! Thanks to everyone who has played! Play it again tomorrow!

Who'd have known that posting a picture of me as an awkward teen would have gotten such a response? I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. Better get it out there and done with before anyone finds a picture and uses it as blackmail. *wink*

Beware, I'll be referring to that picture often!

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

The other night I had a nightmare, which is strange because I never have nightmares. It's faded a bit from my memory, which is a good thing, I guess since it was really disturbing to me. Anyway, here goes:

I'm in this big fortress. The whole dream has this 'Lord of the Rings' feel to it. I feel we're at war, and everyone is preparing for a battle. Everyone is nervous, getting their things together and scurrying about. The enemies are coming, we can hear their shouts outside of the fortress. There are different levels, and I'm on the second level and it is difficult for me to see how many people we're fighting.

Suddenly, the fighting starts. I have a bow and arrows in a quiver on my back. I shoot them up into the sky at an angle and can hear them hitting their marks. I hear the sounds of battle all around me. I feel something on me and realize that its blood seeping through the stones above me. I'm starting to get unnerved but I keep on shooting.

Suddenly there's quiet. I take a chance and climb up the steps to peer over the wall. I see that there are just a handful of our enemies left. All around them are bloody bodies from both sides. Our enemies are standing in front of the door to the fortress, and they are dressed in furs and rags with warpaint covering their faces. I have a feeling they will be trying to climb up the wall.

Next thing I know it, a woman is standing on my level of the fortress. I get the distinct feeling that she's a sorceress of great power. I have no idea how she scaled the wall and I don't care. I start shooting my arrows at her, which are these tiny little needle arrows. They are all hitting her all over the place, yet she moves towards us like nothing has happened. I'm suddenly terrified at her, and she looks right at me. I feel like I'm choking, I know that she's causing it. I'm losing consciousness, and the last thing I think is "I've failed my people, we're all going to die."

Then I wake up. It's the afterlife. I'm talking to someone who seems so familiar but I cannot place who it is. I tell them that I've failed and that the evil people have probably taken over the fortress. The person comforts me and tells me I did everything I could. I tell this person that I'm still haunted by the eyes of the sorceress.

Then I wake up.

Kinda creepy, right? A bit of a downer after that silly picture, I know.

I still get chills writing about it. There was just something about that woman that was evil.

What do you guys think of it?

When I say I was the biggest geek growing up, I wasn't kidding.

Melanie, Marilyn and ME

This was during my huge glasses, pre-braces, full on acne part of my life. This is the reason I wasn't popular, I didn't get dates, and I had no self esteem for the first 16 years of my life. The trauma of which still lingers with me today.

Why are my glasses so big? I have no idea! Can you believe I actually thought they were cool? Not only were they as big as my face, but I also had them tinted purple and pink. And yes, they ARE squooshing my nostrils down so I can't breathe. To this day I cannot flare my nostrils, which makes me believe I suffered some nerve damage from my heavy glasses.

So go on. Get it out. I brought this nugget of goodness out so you can have yourself a good laugh today!

Just doing some spring cleaning on the site. If something is broken, don't worry, I'm just messing around. I've been meaning to fix up the messiness on this site for a while, so today's the day I start!

If there's anything that you find that needs fixing on this site (and any of the linked pages on this site), go ahead and post a comment about it. Anyone who posts something legit gets themselves a one of a kind piece of art from me. I'm not going to say it's anything spectacular, but hey, free is free!

Got this one from Melanie:

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY
- Christine
- Yano
- 'Stini

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD
- missyano
- Psylocke
- cyber_pnay (yeah, I'm a geek)

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF
- my sense of humor
- my smile
- my geekiness

THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF
- my horrible memory
- my inconsistent weight
- my inability to argue logically

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE
- Filipino
- Spanish
- American

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU
- the dark
- not being able to have children
- icebergs

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS
- colored lip gloss
- the internet
- my digital camera

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW
- a fluffy hat with a ball on it (i'm on the train)
- my chunky black shoes
- my wedding ring

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS
- Barenaked Ladies
- Norah Jones
- Snoop Dogg

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS
- "On Bended Knee" Boyz II Men
- "Vibrant Thing" Q-Tip
- "You Got Me Up" Daje featuring Cajmere

THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
- playing the guitar
- acclimating a new fish to my tank
- working out at our new gym

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP
- love
- laughter
- equality

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE
- my favorite sport to play is football
- i was born in the Philippines
- i collect comic books

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU
- nice butt
- nice eyebrows
- muscular but not overly stocky

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO
- memorize lines
- not butt into other people's lives
- swim

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES
- working on my site
- collecting comics
- photography

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW
- sleep
- go to the comic book shop
- win 100 million dollars

Michael, Chariya, and baby-to-be

Chariya and her hubby Michael are due for their first baby this coming March. It's so great to see her glowing with that look that all pregnant women get. I'm so happy for her!

It seems like I've known Chariya forever - she's been Melanie's best friend since we were all in grade school. I was the little kid that tagged along with the older cool girls.

It's great to see Chariya so happy and just bursting with life (even though she was like that before anyway). I'm so glad that she found someone as great as Michael, who treats her like a queen and who makes everyone laugh.

The baby shower was a good time, with some EXCELLENT food. Big kudos to Melanie for planning it - she did a great job. And don't worry Mel, we can play games at mine when my time comes! One of the funny things was the place where the party was held didn't have a bartender for us - a waitress was behind the bar making drinks. Maybe someone should have warned them that many of the people attending the party were bartenders or have worked at clubs, so they had some pretty high standards. Chariya was about ready to jump over the bar and start mixing drinks the right way.

I had fun, and it was nice to hang out after a week of work.

Here's some of my pics:

Back from Columbus (actually, we all came back yesterday, but it was snowing and I had lots of stuff to do). The last night was very interesting to say the least. I'm pretty proud that I didn't get so drunk that I puked over any VP's or managers or anything, but I was told that I got a little loud and punched a couple people, not to mention slurred a couple sentences here and there.

All in all, the trip was a blast. I got to meet a lot of coworkers that I haven't met before, most of whom I've talked to on the phone. Had a lot of laughs, lots of great experiences, and made some friends. My anxiety about the new company is lessening, thanks to the warm welcome and helpfulness that our coworkers have given to the new Chicago kids. I had an awesome time bonding with my fellow Chicago people as well, since this was a mini-roadtrip for us.

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Some of you may remember earlier this week, when I lamented about the passing of my beloved purse.

As with the deaths of 'normal' people, tragedy has struck me in threes. Not only did my purse break last week, but I lost my favorite hat and scarf at the airport. Now my warm fuzzy gloves will not have anything to match with! I loved that scarf! That hat was so cute! I don't have any pictures of the scarf, but I do have my 'Self Dorktrait' that I took last year.

I'll be calling the Columbus Airport today to see if anyone has found them, but I don't know if it's worth asking them to send it back to me.

Until then, I won't post a song, I won't post any favorite memories, I just want to have a moment of silence for my hat and scarf, lost somewhere in an unfamiliar town.

*shh*

*waits a moment*

*cries*

*sigh*

Thanks. Hope they find their way home.

Today at out services meeting, I had to give a presentation on a product I've never seen before. Luckily for me, I had a partner who knew a little more than me.

I'm an actress (sometimes, anyway). I love to be on stage, entertaining people. This, however, was way different. I was relaying information, doing a question/answer session. I was nervous the whole day, much more nervous before my presentation than I am before I take the stage. I kept on reviewing my notes and rereviewing and waiting for the dreaded moment to come.

It came, I did it, there was no blood shed. I survived. Luckily for me, there were other people in the audience who knew the product and were more than happy to step in on questions I didn't know the answer to. Sure, during my presentation I said 'OK' about 7 times (as counted by Redpac, who yes, is alive - he just fell asleep after talking to me and doesn't feel it necessary to answer his hotel phone or the insistent knocking on his door). But I did OK. I even got a couple 'good jobs' by the beautiful souls who could tell I was nervous.

...and tonight - I party.

Get ready for the drunken post people. I'm sure it'll be coming.

I don't know if I told you why I'm in Columbus, but we're here for our annual services meeting. That is, all the employees that do some sort of technical service for the organization comes together for meetings on stuff.

As most of you know, my company had just been aquired by Company X, so my job title has changed a bit, and I've had to learn the new product, and the learning curve has been a but slow for me. Today we had dinner with other people who have the same jobs, so I was able to meet some of my peers. In a couple weeks I'll be doing my first gig on my own, and I admit to being a bit nervous. I felt bad, but I spent most of dinner trying to suck as much information from my fellow coworkers as I could, trying to see how they do their jobs and what their processes were. Everyone has their own way of doing things, so everything is open to my own interpretation. It's a bit unnerving, but at least I know that there are people I can go to who are more than willing to help me out and show me the ropes. Sure, it's trial by fire, but at least I have someone to go to if I have problems.

I'm in information overload - there is so much information that has been presented to me today, I almost wish I had a tape recorder to get everything down.

After dinner, Redpac called and said that the rest of the crew was meeting at the bar across the street from our hotel. (It kinda feels like camp with all of us 'remote' people staying at the hotel) I asked T-Bone to drop me off at the bar since he didn't feel like going out, then called Redpac from there. It's not often that I get to see these people (it will probably be once a year) so I want to spend as much time with them as I can. Unfortunately, Redpac disappeared into thin air - I calle him when I got to the bar, he said he was coming by, then he never came, nor did he answer my calls. I was the lone ex-X-systems person representing Chicago at the bar. *sighs* Called Redpac when I got back to my room, still no answer. Knocked on his hotel door, no answer.

I hope he's ok.

Hopefully, it's a minor case of food poisoning and he's just being jerky and not answering his phone.

Hopefully he didn't get kidnapped, or even worse, so drunk during dinner that he passed out.

Hmm. Passing out. Sounds like a good idea.

Goodnight all.

I'm in Columbus for the rest of the week for some meetings for work. It'll be a great time, because I'm here with Tony, Dan and Tyson. Going on trips with coworkers is the best! Good times!

I forgot my powercord at the office, so I don't know how much online time I'm going to have, so I might be scarce on the updates.

I'm posting up this picture because I wanted you to see the Sierra Nevadas - it's a picture from the trip last year. I've still got to scan the pictures I took last weekend. Scanning sucks! (Why didn't you get a picture CD, Christine? Screw you, I'm not paying extra!) Film sucks! (sorry Mona, I've become soft)

Anyway, I'll see y'all tomorrow.

I'm watching LOST, and it's AWESOME!

On Monday, I lost a good friend. A friend that has been there with me through many if not all of my adventures throughout the last 3 years.

My Purse.

Yes. I broke my purse, and there's no way I can fix it. The plastic clasp broke, and the purse won't shut anymore.

It may not seem like a big deal, but I've used this purse for the last three years. Anyone who knows me will know that this thing is permanently attached to my hip. It's not a real purse, actually, it's a camera bag (and many people have pointed it out). But I've kept my whole life in there - my camera, cell phone, credit cards, money, extra batteries, keys, everything has its special place. This purse has been with me everywhere. It has seen so many cities. It has been with me through all my adventures - if that purse could talk it could tell you some pretty interesting stories about me.

...and now it's done and unusable. *cries*

Unlike many other ladies, I don't have a collection of purses to fall back to. I have two other purses, but they're for formal occasions. I need a functional purse. Unfortunately, the purse I had is no longer available. I had to run to Target yesterday (yeah, it was a short lived boycott) to find another. I HATE HATE HATE purses. I can never find one I like. But considering that I'm going out of town today, I really needed to find a replacement. So I found one that had enough space for all my crap (which looks twice as big) and doesn't get in my way. But I noticed on the commute to work that it still gets in my way. I guess it will do for now.

I also had to buy a wallet. (is that what it's called? I don't even know. My old purse WAS my wallet) I got a pretty cheap one that even came with a place for pictures. It won't fit my 8x10 glossy of myself, but maybe I'll stick a picture of me and Dave in there.

Yes. I'm officially an old married lady now.

*sigh*

I miss my old purse.

I can't remember when you weren't there
When I didn't care for anyone but you
I swear we've been through everything there is
Can't imagine anything we've missed
Can't imagine anything the two of us can't do

Through the years
You've never let me down
You turned my life around
The sweetest days I've found
I've found with you
Through the years
I've never been afraid
I've loved the life we've made
And I'm so glad I've stayed
Right here with you
Through the years

-"Through the Years" by Kenny Rogers

You're my boy, Blue!

...I'm such a cheesey sap.

But that's why you love me!

I had posted my Wizard World Comic Con recap last week, but haven't posted any of the sketches. I have just updated my sketch page, so they're all in there:

Check out my sketches!

Whenever I go to a convention, I bring a sketch book with me, because sometimes artists are nice enough to do free sketches for me. Or sometimes, I'll even pay for them if I think it's worth it. I have a theme for my sketchbook, which contains my favorite character Psylocke.

Here's one of my favorites, a sketch done at a small convention by Gene Ha, who has done a lot of the Superman covers.

...and another favorite, done by Talent Caldwell who is going to be doing Spiderman:

I'm watching American Idol right now.

Since I'm cooking dinner and have nothing to do, I guess I'll do a mini play by play.

- The guy who sang 'You Raise Me Up' looked like he could sing. He even started out OK. And then he remembered the words....and maybe forgot how to sing. The stunned silence of the judges was hilarious. And then the dude burst out crying. Hey, it's ok little buddy, I burst out crying when you were singing, too.

- Does Toni Braxton know that this guy is impersonating her cousin? Was he singing in English? Did he think that singing in Romulan would get him in with Simon? No way, baby, he's Klingon all the way.

- What a story - the lady who sold her wedding ring to pay for her trip. That was mean of Simon to bring in her husband and kid, just to say that he doesn't think she should make it through to the next round. But as happy as I am that Paula voted to let her in, I really don't think she's got what it takes.

- I was almost expecting the girl who's parents were British to suck ass. But she was awesome. With really incredible eyes.

- So that thing with the guy holding his note after singing 'Tomorrow' was SO staged. But funny. He looked a big Grimace - the big purple mascot of McDonald's.

- OK, so I really thought that the guy who was poplocking and dancing (he even did the heartbeat!) and who did the wardrobe change was going to suck at singing. But his rendition of 'Isn't She Lovely' was sweet. And he really looks YUMMY.

- Who would ever choose 'Kissing You' as an audition song? The song is super hard to sing. Doesn't she have family or friends around to tell her that it's a bad idea to sing that song?

- They said 'no' to the boxer? I thought she did a great job...ESPECIALLY for being 17. I think it was an asset rather than a handicap like the judges thought.

- Is Mary the next William Hung? No chance. He was much worse and much more huggable.

Yesterday was my first day at work since my vacation.

There's always a mild depression that comes to me when I have to go back to work after having an awesome (incredible!) vacation. (where is my 'What I did on my winter vacation' post you ask? It's coming. Patience, young padawan) You're not working for a week, having fun, laughing, not a care in the world, then you come back to the place of rules and productivity. Bah! When is my next vacation? When am I winning the lottery so I don't have to feel like this anymore?

A bright point yesterday was when my ex-coworker Sam (the original one, not the Aquaman reproduction that sits across from me now) came by the office with his wife Isabella and his little boy Max. Max is so adorable, all grown up and walking with the biggest brown eyes and cutest smile you ever did see! We all just stood there and watched Max watch us. It was great to see Sammy again, who I haven't seen since our little get together in October. I'm so happy for him, since he and Isabella have got another bun in oven. Little Max will have to share the attention!

The weather is FREEZING in Chicago. It's 2 degrees or something - and that's without the windchill. You go outside and your face just gets frozen. I hope it starts warming up soon, there's some good sales going on in downtown, but it's too cold to walk around outside.

Brr!

1) Lindsay Lohan, her boobs, her lipsyncing and her boyfriends
2) Tara Reid
3) Donald Trump's Hair.
4) Censorship - our country is moving backwards, not forwards
5) Britney Spears.
6) Frivolous Lawsuits, like suing over song lyrics or suing McDonalds for making you fat
7) The Brad and Jen breakup. Leave them alone already.
8) Ashlee Simpson. Singing live at big shows isn't going to help you any! People won't forgive for the SNL incident. Just go in hiding for 10 years and become an actress again.
9) The election recount. He won already, let's not drag it out. We've got 4 more years to regroup.
10) Janet Jackson and Boobgate. It was a boob. Let it go.

Next Week: Ten Things that You Love About Winter

One of the best fundraising ideas EVER.

A whole bunch of restaurants in Illinois have come together and decided to donate the profits from their desserts for one week to disaster relief for the tsunami victimes.

In response to the recent tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia, the Illinois Restaurant Association has organized "Desserts for Disaster" Week, to take place from January 24 - 29, 2005. Participating restaurants will contribute the weekly profits from their dessert sales to the American Red Cross.

Here's a couple of the participating places:
- Harry Caray's Restaurant
- Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
- Mike Ditka's Restaurant
- White Castle
- The Signature Room at the 95th
- Alexander's Steakhouse

Click here for a full list of restaurants. Some restaurants have different level of contribution, so check the site for the details.

I was thinking that this year I'd have a little more audience interaction. It was fun when we had those little ¿yano asks a question? sessions before. So I'll present a question/situation, and you give your two cents on it. Try to read the question first and think of your gut answer, then read the conditions I put afterward and see if it changes your answer at all. Sounds like fun? Yes!

So today's topic is chatting/instant messaging. Namely, would it be appropriate for you to chat with someone of the opposite sex if you're currently in a relationship?

What if it was late at night?
What if you were chatting several other people at the same time, of both sexes?
Is it the same as calling someone of the opposite sex?
What if this person was someone you have never met?
What if your significant other didn't know you were chatting with this person?
What if you were awake already, and not up just to talk to this person?
What if that person was married/in a relationship?

I'll give my answer here tomorrow.

For those of you who've started a blog, but need a way to promote it, here's another site, much like BlogExplosion.

BlogClicker the same premise - you surf blogs and in return, you get points which will cause other people to surf your site in return.

A word of warning - just because you go on these sites and surf your heart away, making your own stats go up, don't have your heart set on getting comments from people. Sure, people will be going on your site, but on BE you only have to wait 30 seconds before moving on to another site. Sometimes people are just waiting for that time to be over to move on. Sometimes that sucks, but there's always that one or two people who see what you have on your site and actually care enough to leave a comment. And you never know - you may find a regular reader or two in the hundreds that pass by your site.

It's a chance you take.

On the other side, there are a lot of boring blogs out there. (If you dare say this one, you're gonna get one in the eye, buddy!) But in surfing these sites, I've found a lot of great sites. I might even start a 'Blog of the Week' or something like that, though knowing me, it'll end up being a 'blog of the month' because I'll be too lazy to do it every week.

So go ahead and check out blog clicker. As what usually happens when I pimp out places like this, make sure that you use the link on my site so I can be your pimp and get points for telling you to join. *wink*

Today we remember a great man, who had a great vision for our country. A vision that, sadly, I don't think our nation has quite realized yet, but hopefully will soon.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

You knew it was coming...my by the minute recap of the Golden Globes. Refresh and watch the show with me!

7:00 - The start of the show. I like the intro song. Or maybe I'm just so happy that it's not a horrible of remix of 'Hey Ya!' like they did last year.

7:04 - Best Supporting Actor in a drama. Clive Owen in 'Closer'. I was hoping that Thomas Hayden Church in 'Sideways'. I haven't seen it, but I've heard some great things about it, and it seems to be the sleeper hit of the awards season. I mean, who wouldn't love a movie with Paul Giamatti in it?

7:06 - Best Supporting Actress - Natalie! Natalie! Yay. I've adored her since 'The Professional'. What an absolutely charming acceptance speech. You can tell she's genuinely surprised. And the part where she says she wanted to be just like her cousin was an 'Awwww!' moment.

7:07 - This isn't part of the show, but DUDE - I used to act with the guy who's playing the doctor in the GE commercial!

7:10 - Oh, Mark Wahlberg you hunky chunk of man-flesh. Yum. Didja check out Charlize Theron's brunette 'do? Aeon Flux is going to rock - she looks bad-ass with that cut. Angelica Huston wins the prize for "Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Series, Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television" - say that 10 times fast. She's like 8 million years old. Nice to see her win. Didn't really see any of the nominees, but it's always have someone thank their assistant.

7:13 - Somebody pinch me. William Shatner just won a Golden Globe! You're almost expecting something wild and crazy during his speech, but it was short, humble and normal.

7:20 - Jim Carrey. Come on funny man, make me laugh! Looks like Robin Williams and Goldie Hawn are enjoying him. Have you noticed that he hasn't aged?

7:22 - Wow. Bill Clinton. Although he's lost weight, he's looking pretty old. I find it really great that Clinton and Bush Sr. are working together to raise money for the tsunami victims.

7:23 - Jennifer Garner has the cutest smile. But I'm pulling for Mariska Hargitay to win best actress Drama.....and it goes to.....Mariska!!! Sorry Jen. Maybe next year. It's a little sucky that they put the camera on Jennifer after the announcement. What a trouper - she kept her chin up, even though you know she really wanted it. Mariska's speech was cute, she kind of started off like a drunk, swaying a bit. But at the end, I was all teary when she thanked her dad and her mother (Jayne Mansfield).

7:47 - Back from a dinner break. Can someone explain to me what Meryl Streep meant when she said 'Congratulations, Natalie'? There seemed to be something I was missing. I'm really happy that Jason Bateman won, though I would have loved for Zach Braff to win. Jason has come a long way since 'Silver Spoons'!

7:51 - Annette Bening wins, and she still looks so beautiful and radiant. When I get older, I hope I look as good. But her speech was a bit boring. Except for the part where she talks to her kids.

8:00 - Nip/Tuck wins best drama. I haven't seen the show since last season, but I really loved it. Maybe I should go back to it because I had no idea what was going on in the clip that I watched! Does anyone know what the hell Liam Neeson was saying when the camera panned to him right before commercial? I have no idea what he said, but he seemed pretty animated about it.

8:06 - Teri Hatcher looks great - much better than the Radio Shack commercials of a couple years ago. But Eva Langoria looks WAY hotter. *whoo*

8:30 - Hmm. I seemed to have zoned out for the last 20 minutes. Not a good sign.

8:33 - I would love 'Eternal Sunshine' to win a prize. The plot is so clever and it was such a great movie But alas, it was not meant to be. But it's all good, because 'Sideways', the little movie that could, won it.

8:36 - Wow, the desperate housewives casta is taking over the best actress in a comedy category just like the sex in the city ladies did in years before this! Nice to see Teri Hatcher win this one. It seemed like only yesterday she was the lady with the real boobs on Seinfeld. Love her speech, thanking NBC to take a chance on her when she was the biggest has-been ever.

8:47 - I'm pulling for Sherk 2's "Accidentally in Love" to win best song. Its just a fun song and it always makes me smile and remember the movie.
...and it loses.

8:56 - Ooh...Prince! As girlie as he is, man, he's a master. He's awesome. He's the king. Oh wait. He's Prince. Duh. But you could see that he's got a lot of respect, by the amount of applause he got.

9:01 - It sucks so bad that Jim Carrey is up against Jamie Foxx in Best Actor, he did such a great job in 'Eternal Sunshine'. But it was SO SO awesome to see Jamie Foxx win Best Actor. If he doesn't win the Oscar for it, there's something wrong with the world. Jamie has come SO SO far. Can I say, 'In Living Color'? His quote from Ray Charles (I'll dig it out tomorrow) was beautiful, about the music being right under your fingers....and if you didn't get a bit misty when he was talking about his grandmother at the end of his speech and he felt she was looking down on him, you don't have a soul! "I used to think it was corny when people would say that people are looking down on you and I didn't believe it, but I got a feeling..." It is beautiful to see him win. On to the Academy Awards, Jamie!

9:13 - Am I the only one who forgot that Robin Williams played 'Popeye'? He had a great speech, telling jokes at a million miles an hour changing characters in a blink of an eye, just like I expected. What was unexpected was his beautiful tribute at the end of his speech to Christopher Reeve. *cries*

9:43 - Kate Hudson looks great! Motherhood has really being good to her.

9:55 - 'Sideways' wins Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy. Wow. I've gotta go see it. Am I the only one who has NOT heard of this movie before the awards season?

10:00 - Um, yeah, the show is over. I have to admit, it lost a lot of steam at the end. I got so bored I just zoned out at the end and surfed the net.

But hey, at least it ended on time!

Got back yesterday. Lots of stuff to do now that I'm back. I don't have many pictures right now since I used a film camera, and need to get the pictures developed. Film? Yes. Film. My digital camera is a little bulky and I didn't want to break it on the slopes, so I brought my old film camera. The anticipation of what I took pictures of is killing me!

Of course, I did take a couple digital. Here's one to hold you until I get the rest of my pictures, taken outside of our condo:

It was the most snow I've ever seen in my life! And I'm from Chicago, so that means A LOT.

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

I want to say a big 'Thank You' to my awesome guest posters. They did a great job while I was gone (even thought they DID break my site for a day. Just kidding). I had internet access, so I was able to check up on their antics, and I'm really proud that they had some really great stuff to keep you all entertained! So thank you to Shannski, Marilyn, Redpac, Rod, Sam and Master Foley. You guys are the best!

Well YWIM-er's it's been swell entertaining you this past week while Christine has been on her vaca. I feel honored to have been given such a job yadda yadda. I feel obligated to say that hehe j.k. I really do feel honored. I beat out over 500 other potential blog-sitters. In yer face suckka's. Anyhoo,I hope you enjoyed at least a lil bit of what I had to say. It's been fun, but the party had to end sometime.

O.k. now it's time for me to shamelessly plug my blog :)
Feel free to wonder over to Fancie_Face anytime. I'm getting better these days it seems at keeping it updated on a more regular basis. So stop on by it'd great to hear from ya.

_ This is Shannski Signing off.WORD.

Sorry about the lateness, Yano-fans, but our internet has been down all day...

Sooo anyway, it's been a sweet ride, but alas we have come to the end. I've had lots o' fun--this has been a great intro to blogging, posting my thoughts and stories out here for everyone to read. And I can't believe it took the entire week before Redpac used this blog to directly harrass me. Yano, thank you for the opportunity, it's been great and I can't wait til next time. I'm assuming I'll be asked again, based on the great responses from your viewers. that's a hint, btw.

The day started a little off though--last night I was snacking on some chips and I thought I would add a little sour cream to the mix, bcuz I'm such an adventurous type of guy. I was eating for about five minutes and noticed that something wasn't quite right. My deductive powers told me to check the expiration of the sour cream [AFTER I had already ingested a nice little portion of it], and lo and behold the suggested 'use by' date was 9/21/2004. Um, gag. I froze in my tracks, half expecting my stomach to empty on the spot [one way or the other], but it didn't happen. The threat is there, though, and I'm keeping an ever watchful eye on the nearest bathroom. So far, there have been no 'repercussions' from the incident, but if there are, I'll be sure to post something about it!

So, in honor of our Dinner/Bowling party tomorrow, here's a great quote from one of my favorite funny movies, Kingpin:

"God has given you a gift, Ishmael. It's round, it's got three holes and you stick your fingers in it."
"You leave Rebecca out of this!"
"I'm talking about bowling."
"Oh."

yano-fans--it's been swell. goodbye [for now...muahahahaha!!!!]

Well YWIM.com readers my time with you has come to an end. It has been such a righteous experience sharing my tidbits wisdom with you. Hopefully, Yano will let me do it again real soon. If not. I want to leave you with a lasting legacy. LOL. More like something to celebrate with friends.

I am a Maker's Mark ambassador and it's my duty to introduce you to this fine bourbon that is Maker's Mark. Maker's is one of the best top shelf bourbon whiskeys you can find. Distinctive with its hand-dipped wax seal. Drink it neat or with a little cola. Nothing beats its smooth amber taste.

As the advertisement says, "I'm dealing my friends in." If you haven't had the pleasure of Maker's Mark, next time you’re out with friends ask your bartender for a Maker's & Coke. You won't me sorry. If you are a fortunate soul who has experienced Maker's, I encourage you to become an Ambassador. One of the many perks of being an ambassador is getting your name stamped on your very own barrel of bourbon. Once it matures you have the opportunity to purchase a bottle from your batch.

Remember the "Red Head" will always be good to you.

If you've tried to leave comments for the last 12 hours or so and saw it was broken and quickly blamed one of the guest posters, shame on you!

The fault lies with the web hosting this site uses. Redpac.com uses the same hosting company and I was down too. They implemented some new security settings and broke a few things in the process. Hopefully they have fixed everything and you can go back to taking potshots at the useless life form that is Sam.

As I am trying to do the very least amount of effort in order to fulfill my duties as one of the babysitters, I've decided to come and post my third entry.

I've worked long and hard to come up with something of wit, substance, entertaining, and thought provoking for you all. So here it goes........

Man lots of rain kinda sucks.

Comments are welcome.

My Pseudo-Uncle finally tied the knot this past Saturday as you all already know. It was beautiful. They had a rather small wedding party. I'm used to attending or being in weddings that have at least 10 attendants on each side. They opted for a small wedding and it was just as beautiful and elegant as any other. I didn't get to take very many pictures due to being errand girl for everyone and their mother for the night proceeding the wedding until the day after. Then I was free as last. Thank God Almighty..
I did however manage to keep a few key highlights fresh in my head. Let me just tell you how difficult a task that was considering I along with everyone else in attendance was piss ass drunk....So without further delay here are my post wedding highlights. ENJOY!

1) I was somehow designated errand girl. So, I was at beck and call for everyone an their mother for 3 days. One of my jobs was to pick up the wedding programs from the printers and drop them off at the church before 1 o'clock the day of the wedding. Mind you I still had my own things to do. Like my hair, nails, last minute errands etc. but I had already been given not even sold into slave labor for the bride. I rush out of the nail salon looking like a crazy lady trying not to mess up my nails and headed over to the printers. I get to the printers and they can't find the order. GREEAAATT. Finally after 20 minutes of fumbling they found it.I grabbed the box and headed out the door and rushed on over to the church. When I got to the church I decided to open the boxes and set organize them in the baskets that Tennielle(the bride) had made especially for them. As I open the box to my surprise I read " Laura and Brian". SHIT.Who the Fuq is Laura and Brian? I knew I should of checked them befoe I left. So off I go again to return them to the printers and get the correct ones. This time I made sure they were the right ones before leaving then hauled my ass back to the church.

2) After packing my things for the weekend and getting ready for the ceremony I went out to my move car to the front. I go upstairs get my things and run them down to the car. Just as I'm walking around the car to climb into the driver's seat some punk ass kid comes flying down the street splashing snow and water all over my pants and jacket. Thankfully, it was just my pants and I'm extra thankul that I had an extra pair in my suitcase.

3) The ceremony is about to begin. Everyone has been seated. The ushers pull the runner down the aisle and the flower girls begin to do their thing. Just as the bride takes her first step down the aisle you hear this loud thud and screams and laughter in the front of the church. So, like anyone would do everyone turns to focus their attention to the chaos. Turns out one of the groomsmen had a can of beer hidden on the inside of his tux. It fell out and once it hit the stairs it exploded slightly spraying the imediate family of the groom in the front 2 rows.

4)The bridesmaids begin to fight outside after all the pictures have been taken cause there was no room for them in the HUMMER limo. Looks like all the groomsmen,friends of the groom and nephews of the groom decided to claim residence in the limo and there was no room left for the fat ladies.

5) The bride's aunt owns a local neighborhood bar in Morton Grove that everyone hangs out at. After the ceremony she had arranged for the bar to be closed down to the public for 2 hours for the wedding party and their guests. Rock on! Everyone headed on over to the bar for the 2 hour delay before the reception. By 5:30 everyone was rocked. One of the groomsmen was puking his guts out right before he entered the limo. Mind you that all the men in the bridal party have been drinking for 2 days straight.

6) Before dinner began everyone was having their picture taken by the photographer's set up in the back. There were around 12 little kids under the age of 8 running around all over. Apparently the photographer had ,had enough. As Garrett goes running by knocking over the light on purpose the photographer grabs him by the arm from behind and whips him towards him saying " little man, please be careful around the photography equipment". Garrett stared blankly at him. I think I was the only one who saw this and I was thinking "Thank God somebody finally did it". *Snicker*Sorri, but this kid is a little terror.

7) Trying to teach someone how to do the "Hokey- Pokey" while the both of you are intoxicated is fun but accomplishes nothing. I lost a toe-nail in that madness and my dress was drenched. *Note to self: take beer out of drunkard's hand before dancing to assure your cuteness *

8) While dancing to Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" the best man decides to let me know that he "Loves" me. Now it could of been the alcohol talking but something tells me that he was speaking the truth. Alcohol, it's like truth serum.

9) I thought against going up for the bouquet toss but after much nagging from the fam I decided what the heck "I may get me a husband outta this" j.k. So with beer in had and all I headed to the dance floor but not before being stopped by a friend of the groom who said " if you catch the bouquet *name not revealed to protect privacy* will drop to his knees right now. I'm all like "WTF" I pull away and continue out to the dance floor. After a quick swig Tennielle tosses the bouquet dead at me. It tips off my beer bottle and lands in the hands of the girl besides me..Ooopppss.. damn beer always getting in the way hehe

10) After the reception the shuttle buses were lined up outside to take everyone back to the hotel for the after party festivities.After going to my room to change into my p.j's me and my cousins headed down to the best man's suite on the 2nd floor. You could hear the noise right as you got off the elevator. They were loud, drunk and obnoxious. We get to the room to see half the dining room table already half full of empty beer cans. We stayed and partied for a bit then decided to head back to our room. The geniuses that we are decided to pack 14 of us into the elevator. I'm pretty sure we were over the maxium weight limit and with the guys jumping up and down it didn't help matters. As we approached the 8th floor the elevator stopped and then fell. It literally fell. It was the scariest shit ever. I'm thinking "Holy Shit" we're gonna fuqin' hit the bottom. Luckily for us it stopped just before the 2nd floor. The guys pulled open the doors and one by one we climbed up and out of the elevator.

Whlep, hope you enjoyed my top ten post wedding highlights...till next time i'm out like a fat girl in dodgeball.

_WORD

So today I would like to pose a question to you downhill sports enthusiasts:
Which would you recommend for a first time participant: skiing or snowboarding?
I am set to go on my first skiing trip in two weeks, and I've been researching a little bit. Seems like everyone thinks lessons are a great way to start, but I don't need no stinking lessons! Actually, I just won't have the time. So, being the gung-ho guy that I am, I'd like to just strap some equipment on my feet and plunge down the hill and hope for the best. My worst fear, besides crashing into a tree a la Sonny Bono, is to get my legs twisted up and do something very bad to my knee, which I have previously dislocated.
Snowboarding looks easier, what with the wide board and both of your legs moving in unison, creating a stronger base on which to move and maneuver. Or maybe it's skiing, cuz with your legs separated, you have freedom to shift from one leg to another. Or maybe I should just rent an inner tube and then I wont have to worry about balancing at all.
So, Yano readers, please give me some advice...We wouldn't want Sam in traction, would we?

Most of my co-workers have ranted about the bathrooms at work. I shall do the same here at YWIM.com.

The other day we got a mass mailing that for to improve the cleanliness in the workplace, management has had Hand Sanitizer dispensers installed. WTF? I said to myself, "If a person is not going to wash his/her hands, is he/she going to use hand sanitizer?" One of those unanswered mysteries of Life.

Also, that must of had some retard install the plumbing in the building because sometimes you can be sitting down taking care of business and you get a little splash on you hiney. I didn't think they installed ba-days(sp?) in the US. Really what is happening is that when the women flush the toilet on their side there is a backlash on the men's side. Not at all plesant to think about.

Finally, I get deeply offended that every time I walk into the restroom the little air freshener goes off. When I walk in! WTF? Do I smell that bad?

In closing, my supervisor from Lexmark would occasionally send out an email called the "Poopie Survival Guide." If you would like a copy of it, send an email to: ukphitau97@gmail.com.

For Sam. This is how the PIMP gets it done.

I look like a thug today. Jeans, gym shoes, hoodie. I'm getting looks from my fellow commuters that don't necessarily convey brotherly love. But who wants to be brotherly at 6:30 in the morning on the way to work? I don't care today.
Haven't shaved in a few days either, getting a little scruffy. Is it cuz my lady made me mad and I'm staging a protest? Is it cuz Yano's absence makes the office 25% more manly? Is it cuz I have a lady already and don't need to impress anyone? take your pick, any or all will do. I don't care today!

Speaking of commuting, public transportation is a great thing. The sights, sounds and especially the smells are what give the train and bus their 'character'. Like when someone enters your ride that happens to be carrying around a viral infection, hacking and coughing, you can think "I wonder if I'll catch that?". Or when you can tell if someone is sucking on lemon or cherry or menthol[ooh, my favorite] cough drops by the aroma they create. yeah, that's the best.
And then there's the concept of personal space. For instance, today I got stuck sitting in a 4 seater this morning with three other dudes, one of which was of the big chunky variety. And he was in hibernation mode. Why is this a problem? Cuz as he drifted off to neverland, the mass of his body expanding and oozing, his leg slowly inched closer and closer to mine. Now, there are certain clauses in my 'personal space agreement' that allow for physical contact, but 100% of those exceptions involve attractive women, not big chunky dudes. I was squeezed as tightly as I could be into my little corner, but it was all for naught. I gritted my teeth and found a happy place as I endured twenty minutes of his meaty limb pressed against my leg. The occassional jostle awoke the slumbering beast, and he even realized his violation and corrected it. But as soon as he drifted back off, his leg was right back where it wasn't supposed to be--rubbed up against mine...ugh. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore--I got up and stood for the rest of the way downtown. Fun times, my friends!

So, I've been noticing that YWIM.com could use a little sprucing up in the "male interest" category. Yano does what she can, teasing us with her fantasies of Angelina Jolie and Jessica Alba. But she doesn't share details, and I think we at least need something to look at. Thus, I give you Eva Longoria, my new, number one favoritest super-hot vixen from ABC's Desperate Housewives.

Oh my goodness are you gifted! Enjoy...

BTW, if you like variety, the fine folks at MAXIM have done a great job compiling some hottie homages. Go HERE and take your pic. There's plenty for all. Don't worry, it's not porn. later, yano-fans!

In the last few years I've been to Vegas, Disney World and Land, Minneapolis\St. Paul, Washington D.C., St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Sandusky OH, Kansas City, New Orleans and I've already got the Memphis music festival planned for later this year.

What I need from you faithful Yanowhatimean readers is suggestions on where to go next. I get more vacation time with this new company and I want somewhere cool to go to. Tell where to go and why. Tell me the cool, secret, off the beaten path places to visit. I want to know about kick ass restaurants, festivals and events I shouldn't miss.

Tell me Tell me Tell me!!!

The Emperor was showing me the first computer he had a kid, the Tandy TRS-80. I said, "You remember that movie Wierd Science?" "Yeah" "I have always wanted one of those modem they used."

The Emperor must be a god when it comes to finding this stuff on ebay. It's called an Acoustic Coupler Modem, and some guy on eBay has two of them for sale. Check it out.

I recalled that I got a lot of my sex education from that movie. You know. More than a handful is a waste. John Hughs taught us so much in the Eighties.

What a freaking day yesterday. I woke up and was on schedule to just make it to the train to catch the last one that would get me to work on time. But the fates had it in for me, and my car battery was dead. Eventually I got a jump, but the next train I could catch would get me downtown an hour and a half late. Then there came the announcement that the train would be delayed 15 minutes. THEN, I catch the bus from the train station and another CTA bus on the road is on fire, causing us to reroute. Needless to say, I was two and a half hours late to work. uggh.

It was very busy at work yesterday; people calling with unsolvable issues and looking for answers from me. Me? "How the hell should I know how to fix your stinking issues? Didn't you read the manual?" Yeah, that's what I'd like to say... My co-workers are good about giving me assistance when I need it, cuz I'm the new guy[after 7 months]. I ask Yano for help mostly, cuz she sits across from me, and she almost always graciously inclines, after grumbling something about the 'bane of her existence'.

But, to top off the morning transportation issues and the irritated customers, I had to use my hour long lunch to engage in an excruciating discussion with my girlfriend about the CODE of CONDUCT. What is that, you're wondering. It's the rules and regulations set up between two parties concerning behavior with each other and with members of the opposite sex. Let's just say without going into any sordid details that I had to cite several violations and mete out fines and punishment. And this fiasco carried over to after work for another double whammy marathon conversation, and more and more citations were issued, and the fines kept piling up. By the time we were done, I was knee deep in apologies, tears and ticket stubs...

THEN we went bowling with some friends, because nothing cures relationship issues like knocking down some beers and drinking some pins [whatever]. I bowled my average, almost exactly: 155 and 156. Last week, I did much better: 167, 170, 176 and 169. Watch out, X-Inc.! Our upcoming dinner/bowling party should be fun.

So anyway, now you see why my post is a day late and a dollar short. I was reeling from the entire day's events, and my post-enthusiasm was very low. Today, though, is another day; who knows what lies ahead? I'm an eternal optimist: after a day like yesterday, things can only get better! Now, to show you all that I've retained my sense of humor, I shall do my happy dance...HERE!

Since I didn't get the form till the last minute, and since I have seem to have forgotten how to hit the reply button.. here is Babysitter Rod's pertinent info!

1) What name do you want to post under?

Rod, Rod-god, Rodimus, R to the O to the D-N-E-Y

2) What's your site address, if you have one?

www.nomoreblogforme.com

3) What are 5 things that you would like YWIM readers to know about you?

Yes, the lips are real.
Yes, my belly does jiggle when I laugh.
I'm easy.
I'm an enigma wrapped in a.......wtf am I talking about?
I'm intrigued by people that are intrigued by me.

4) How do I know Christine?

I once was a shorttrack speedskater and she stalked me.

I was walking to my bus stop this morning on my way to school--trying oh so hard not to slip on the ice...*then thump!* so much for trying...my back hurts now...*sigh*

Since I can use Yano's blog for nefarious purposes while she is gone. I thought I would issue some Birthday cheer for her Aspencomics.com friend, Cross.

Hope it was a good one.

My co-worker, Emerpor Joe, was at SlashDot and learned about Yahoo's beta Video Search tool. Pretty cool thing functions just like Google's Image Search. You type in what you are looking for and it queries its database. Dave Chapelle's R. Kelly spoof videos and most of all the Ambiguously Gay Duo SNL clips are just a few examples of the power of this new search tool.

Now the Emperor is a huge geek and one day wants to build his own robot. He typed in "robots" and received stills of robots in various videos. He scrolled down and there was Johnny 5 from Short Circuit with a green doamahickey, ya know, a whatchmacallit, ok, ok, it's a dildo, attached to him.

*shrugs* I guess Johnny needed more input. Joe implemented the SafeSearch Filter and Johnny and his member disappeared. Doing my duty to the public be sure to have that filter enabled unless you are looking for porn on the Internet.

What am I saying? We all know what the Internet is used for, so disregard this Public Service Announcement.

Some of us have mentioned several times before that we like to play a little poker online. Don't worry, we're not mortgaging our houses or hocking our valuables, it's just play money. Honing your bluffing skills and establishing various betting strategies is a great way to prepare yourself for when all the chips are on the line, and it's free!
Our current play site is PokerStars.com, where the likes of Chris Moneymaker and the recently crowned Greg "Fossilman" Raymer made their poker debut, winning online tournaments and a seat in the World Series of Poker. Both of them won an obscene amount of money for their $40 online registration fee. I think Moneymaker won $2mil, and Fossilman won $5mil. Good god that's about 5000000% return on your investment!
I don't condone doing anything at work besides work, but if you happen to be in one of those 'not so busy' states, contemplating the meaning of life and browsing the internet aimlessly to quell the monotony of your daily routine, log on, get a free account and look me up. My screen name is 'sambgood' [it took me a LONG time to come up with that one]. And I promise I won't take all your chips...except you, Yano.

Last night I drank free beer and ate hops at a brewery, met a giant pickle, watched the Wolves lose, entered a bar through a bookcase, played blackjack with Fantine and The Bishop from the production of Les Misérables and played tour guide to people who have lived in Milwaukee when it was my second time there.

Today I rode in a car that could only go in 1st gear for 122 miles and saw the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile doing 75 down I-294.

Who wants to guess what tomorrow might bring?

House of Flying Daggers has received critical acclaim from the majority of the media, and yet for me it fell short of the four star mark it's been awarded. Sure, it had many elements of a great movie: action, suspense, plot twists, drama, striking landscape and scenery, color and light used to stimulate the soul, and computer enhancement to make the impossible possible. With all that though, there must be compelling characters to back it up. All the actors performed well, but the twists and turns of the plot muddled the story and made the characters ill-defined. Their motivations, sincerity and intentions being unknown is a key part of the movie, yet when their facade is broken, it's hard to tell what they really feel or think. The martial arts aspect of the movie is great, though not entirely a major part of the story. There is plenty of it, strategically placed throughout.
All of this has been done before in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and the Quentin Tarantno produced "Hero". Crouching's love story, and the relationship between the two protagonists was wonderful, and Hero's use of color and intense imagery are to date the most impressive. Both of these movies also displayed superior choreography and action/fighting sequences. "HFD" is directed by Zhang Zimou, who also directed Hero, and while there are many similarities between the two movies, such as imagery and pacing, Hero is definitely the better of the two. Coincidentally, the very cute Zhang Ziyi is in all three of these movies.
This movie was not bad, and I didn't feel cheated when the credits rolled. Seeing it on a big screen definitely adds to the experience, though I wouldn't necessarily say that you had to see it at the theater and not just rent it a few months later.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon................... * * * * four stars
Hero....................................................... * * * three stars
House of Flying Daggers............................ * * 1/2 two and a half stars

More to come, Yano fans! Have a great weekend!

That is all.

Today was Gil's birthday. I was going to post something earlier, but I knew we were going out to eat tonight, so I thought I'd put up a more recent picture of the two of us:

Gil's the oldest of 'our group' of friends, so he's hit all the big milestones first. But since he's in dental school, with people who are younger than his, he leads a younger lifestyle - still going out, enjoying the single life, living it up.

Without Gil, I would still be dancing like a band geek with two left feet. I had no idea how awful my dancing was in high school. In college, I was in his dance scenes for fashion show, and he taught me how to love dancing. I can't watch a choreographed video without thinking about Gil. We used to be really close several years ago, but our life paths have changed a bit. I still consider him one of my closest friends, being there for me during some really tough times.

He's also Dave's hetero-life mate - people always confuse them for one another or think they're brothers. I've mentioned it here more than once how cute these guys are together, whispering secrets, having their inside jokes, giggling like schoolgirls. I swear, sometimes I feel like I should be worried that Dave will leave me for Gil. I mean, Gil's got SKILLZ. I'm sorry. I had to say it.

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my nightlife friend.

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

With that said, Dave and I are off on our California vacation! See y'all next week. please be kind to the guest bloggers and help them feel welcome by giving them comments - some of them are a bit nervous about posting here!

Guest posters: Don't break my blog. Break my blog, I break you.

Just kidding. I made a backup before I gave you accounts. *wink*

Bye!

.what's goin' on ya'll ? since yano is on vaca snowboarding it up in Cali-Cal i'll be one of your many entertainer's here on YWIM.COM. so sit back, relax & hopefully you'll enjoy what i spit at cha in these next few days.

.so i woke up bursting with energy this morning at 9am which happens to be very unusual.i brushed my teeth,threw my hair up in a ponytail threw on a sweater, put on my jacket and added a scarf to complete my ensemble then headed out the door to do some early morning shopping. so i'm at Dominick's picking up some essentials that i'll be needing for the wedding this weekend. to no surprise my nose leads me straight to the wonderful aroma of freshly cooked pizza. i place my order then get on with my shopping. as i'm walking through the dairy section i feel a sudden breeze that came from their back stock room. it was at that moment that i realized i wasn't wearing any underwear...whoops...how'd that happen. i was in such a rush that i was out the door within 10 minutes of waking...then all i could think of was ?what if i was in a accident? what if my scrubs fell off? or what if someone was bleeding to death and i needed to tie up their wound with my pants but i couldn't. you know the usual things that go through your head when you find yourself without any under shielding. im usually pretty good at not leaving the house unprotected.

.now i know what you're thinking. she doesn't wear underwear when she sleeps? well you're wrong and you're right.it depends on my mood i guess. anyhoo story told moving on.

.i finished up my shopping. i went in looking for 4 specific items, razors, shampoo,a tooth brush and batteries. i walked out with 10 items not including my $5.99 scrumptious sausage and mushroom pizza...

.many things happened in between me leaving Dominick's and now but nothing too exciting or worth sharing.

.tomorrow my pseudo-uncle is getting married. i'm pretty excited. i dig weddings. it's been a long and crazy haul for him so i'm happy to see him finally settling down and moving into a new chapter in his life. you can be sure that you'll hear of some "Wedding Highlights" on Sunday and maybe, just maybe i'll include some pics.

.welp, that should be enough to wet your whistle...till next time...

_Peace Love and Guacamole Doritos

This is the coolest thing ever. I am so honored to be a guest author on Yano's blog. I was a Lurker here for the longest time. She was the one that made me go type "What is a blog?" in Google. And now my life is ruined. I kid. I truly have become addicted.

I am know on the aspencomics.com message boards as Ragnarok or just simply rok. Most affectionately call me the PIMP. I have some great avatars with my female friends at parties. See below.

Now for me to whore myself out to all of Yano's readers. =)
My blog is simply called the Legends of the Drunken Master. Here I catalog all the hilarity and drama that plagues my life. Most of which is brought on by alcohol but much of it I'm stone sober.

I hope Yano's readership enjoys my posts as much as I know I'm gonna enjoy writing them. If you enjoy my posts then you'll have to check out the regular commentary in my blog.

This is Sam, Yano's Best New Friend of 2004. If you don't believe it, Check Out Number 38
I'm honored to be a guest poster, and I'll do my best to entertain you. I think a good way to start this off is to relate to you some of the funny, interesting, strange and ghastly things I've seen so far at this new company.

For instance, just today I was blackmailed into allowing Yano to throw body butter at my crotch. And not just the butter itself, but the whole jar. Why would I allow this? Payment for her and Redpac bringing me lunch, while I was stuck answering phones. The terms of this deal were not fully introduced to me until after I had eaten, and the alternative was to pay $40 for $8 worth of food. Luckily, Yano is a girl, and she throws like one too. After THREE tries, my 'area' was only grazed, and the butterflies in my stomach from the anticipation/dread of the whole ordeal lingered only for a couple hours...See? It's not so bad here!

Besides all the computer jargon and industry rhetoric [terms such as 'functionality' and 'bandwidth' get tossed around about twenty times a day], every once in awhile, I hear a great little gem now and then from the twisted and depraved minds of these crazy and fun people:

Top Five Comments

5. "His heart's not cold, but his hands are." Spoken about me by a male co-worker. I'm not going to go into details about this one.
4. "I sprinkled rat poison in the sandwich and he never stole my lunch again." Self explanatory. I don't think I've shared lunch with this guy since.
3. "My ass has amazing powers!" Yano likes to throw her influence around the office. Not that I minded it or anything. You may have read about this one here.
2. "You're not Superman. You're more like Aquaman. He sucks." You haven't heard articulate conversation til you've talked to Redpac. Someone referred to me as Clark Kent when I wore my glasses to work. The intelligent dialogue then ensued.
1. "Did you get it up yet?" From Yano to me, concerning testing an application on my computer. At least that's what I think she was talking about...

Well, my friends, I hope that's enough of an intro to whet your curiousity. I'll do my best to create loads of sparkling infotainment for you all in Yano's absence. I was going to see "White Noise" and post a review, but it's been receiving subpar reviews, so I might end up spending my $20 elsewhere. I have seen "House of Flying Daggers", so maybe a review of that one will be forthcoming. Plus I have tons of other stuff I can talk about. Maybe one day I'll have my own blog...

Yano, have fun on your trip! And don't eat too much powder, it's not good for you!

If so, you're one of 5% who can..

While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.

Your foot will change direction and there's nothing you can do about it.

(from Cth)

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

I tried it....had a small glitch in my leg circles, but then I was able to force my leg to keep on doing the leg circles. The second time I tried it, no problem. Most other people had a hard time doing this...

Just wanted to introduce you to my blog-sitters. They'll keep you entertained while I'm on vacation next week. They might even be stopping by a little earlier to say hello! I gave them a mini interview, part of which I'll post here. So give a warm welcome to the YWIM temp crew:

---

Marilyn

- What's your site address, if you have one? www.xanga.com/sugar_kane87
- What are 5 things that you would like YWIM readers to know about you? - I'm 18, I'm a senior in high school, I'm a computer nerd, I'm really close to my family (especially my cousins)...and uh...I'm an avid scrapbooker!! hehe
- How do you know me? yano's my cousin

---

Master Foley
- What's your site address, if you have one? masterfoley.blogspot.com
- What are 5 things that you would like YWIM readers to know about you? -
1) how you have ruined my life with blogging, I jest
2) im not a geek i'm a 12th level paladin (huge D&D, comic, gaming geek)
3) wants a free iPod so click this link:
4) single
5) I'm the PIMP
- How do you know me? I'm Ragnarok (rok) from the Aspencomics.com message boards

---

Sam
- What's your site address, if you have one? I have no site
- What are 5 things that you would like YWIM readers to know about you? -
a] I'm an artist, a pool player, and I play poker everyday at work.
b] That Yano likes me soooo much that she made me her best new friend.
c] I have a sense of humor that almost anyone can appreciate.
d] I'm an egomaniac who will enjoy seeing what people have to say about me.
e] I'm a hell of a guy.
- How do you know me? I know you cuz I'm your Best New Friend Met in 2004.

---

Redpac
- What's your site address, if you have one? redpac.com
- What are 5 things that you would like YWIM readers to know about you? -
1. I've been on 117 different roller coasters
2. I've lived in Houston, Minneapolis and the greater Chicago area
3. People say I need a haircut
4. I like pie, I don't like Thai
5. Frank Black, lead singer of The Pixies, once hugged me
- How do you know me? I work with you and resist your advances because I love your sister

---

Shannski
- What's your site address, if you have one? www.xanga.com/fancie_face
- What are 5 things that you would like YWIM readers to know about you?
1. I love Frogs
2. I can belch like no other and I'm damn proud!
3. I love to paint and play my guitar
4. I have a weakness for popping pimples. ( i know it's gross but who cares)
5. I always give money to the people on the street, or the ones who come up to my car with their kids at target, or the ones who catch me as i'm coming out of the grocery store and even the ones who scare the shit outta me while i'm pumping gas in 5 degree weather..(maybe, i should also say that it's usually mike's money that i'm giving them hehe. that's probably why i'm so generous.)
- How do you know me? hummm lets see, your my roomie's cousin and my boyfriends cousin so i think that kinda makes you my almost cousin hehe..

---

One more coming....

In tribute to Will Eisner, I'll post up my Comic Convention recap, that I've been too lazy to post up. Sure, it was in August, and sure, Will wasn't there, but I've gotta post this baby up sometime - it might as well be today.

Truthfully, this wasn't the best con I've been to. Not because it was a bad convention, it was just because there was so much going on around the time of the convention that I couldn't fully enjoy all my time there. This was the first time in a long time that I hadn't gone to the Friday of the convention. I spent the rest of the weekend trying to play catch up, which isn't easy, since I was so used to just taking my time, talking to people, getting sketches, going to panels and such. I didn't even really get a chance to check out all of the shops in the back. Nonetheless, I still had fun. I got some great sketches, and saw some familiar friendly faces and some new friends.

Without further adieu, here's my highlights:

- Amber Benson, who played Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was one of the guests of the 'con. She's much prettier in person, and seemed friendly and easy going with the fans that lined up to meet her. Didn't have the patience to wait in line. However, I was in the bathroom at the same time with her, while the infamous Wizard security guy waited for her outside. Had a little eye contact and we smiled. That's about it. Oh, and she washed her hands. That is something important to know. Because if she didn't, well, eew.

- I got to meet Greg Horn, whose art I adore. I was a little bit intimidated when I met him - I don't know what I expected, but he was just a regular guy. When I went up to talk to him, there was a woman who worked at the booth with him. She whispered something to him as I was talking with him, and he said, "Didn't you work at the Aspen booth last year?" I was a little bit stunned. I didn't really think that anyone would recognize me with the glasses, haircut and blonde highlights. I said that it was me, and he said I had looked familiar to him, and the woman was the one who had recognized me from last year. I didn't even KNOW Greg was at the 'con last year. I would definitely have gone to meet him! Anyway, it was pretty cool (yet pretty weird) that he remembered me.

- I owe Sean Chen $10. A lot of the artists were charging for sketches, so as much as I could, I tried to stick to those artists that were free. However, Sean Chen was the very first artist that I asked to do a sketch for me, back when he was doing Wolverine for Marvel. At the time, it was a free sketch. Since he was on his own in Artists Alley, he was charging for sketches. It was $15 for a head sketch and $30 for full body. I asked him to do a head sketch of Psylocke for me, and he was pretty busy and asked that I come back on Sunday morning. I came back Sunday morning, and he already had a couple names in his list. But he assured me that since I came the day before that he would do a sketch for me, so I left him with my book, and he said to come back in an hour. So I wandered around for a bit, after the hour was done, I came back and he had already began my sketch. It was turning out really awesome and I was really impressed. We chatted a bit (tried not to disturb him too much while he was sketching) and he was really cool. He put a lot of work into it, and I appreciated that he took the time - even though I was paying for it. Anyway, he finished up the sketch and showed me the finished product and I praised it and thanked him. Since I loved it so much, I decided to give him $20 instead of the $15 for the head shot. Gotta help the guy make a living. I handed him the money, and he gave me a smile, then a weird quizzical look. I walked away beaming and happy with my new sketch. Later on, after REALLY looking at my sketch I realized that Psylocke had legs. Which I noticed before, but I didn't realize my error. Sean did a body sketch for me, and I only paid him $20. And the idiot that I am was beaming and proud of myself for giving him a little extra - which actually wasn't! So yeah. Somehow I'll get him the money I own him...it's only fair!

- I DID see Jason Mewes again, but I was stuck in a huge crowd of people and he looked especially shaggy and slightly bearded, and it just was too weird. That, and I didn't have anything for him to sign. I was stuck in a mob of people at the View Askew booth who were trying to get him and Kevin Smith to sign things, each of them going up to fans and taking pics, signing autographs, etc. I did, however, get to meet Kevin, and since I didn't have anything for him to sign, I did the dorkiest thing ever. I looked him in the eye and said to him, "I don't have anything to sign, but I just wanted to shake your hand and say that I really love your stuff!" Am I a loser or what? He looked me in the eyes, took my hand in both of his hands and shook hands with me, and said slowly and sincerely, "Thanks." Which was really cool, unless he was speaking really slowly because I thought I was mentally challenged for coming up with a stupid line like that.

- There were a couple people that weren't there that I really missed, who I've seen at cons before and have always been cool and friendly. Mike Wellman, also known as "The Chief", who headed Mac Afro and Gone South, who is one of the first creators that I got to know and hang out with. Mark Brooks (who is finding this entry on google as we speak) who did an awesome Psylocke for me last year and who has one of coolest cats I've met at a 'con. Ale Garza, who calls Psylocke 'that hot Asian chick' (then again, who doesn't?). And Talent Caldwell, who loves comics so much he can talk forever about them - I hope he gets to do his dream comic someday - the X-Men, and who has done one of my favorite Psylocke sketches (and didn't need to look at the other sketches for reference). He's a sweetheart and I hope I see him at a 'con again! I'll even bribe him with potstickers if I have to!

- One of the people I was sad that I wasn't going to see in Chicago was Tone Rodriguez. He gives the best hugs. He likes to call us his little Asian threesome (or twosome, when Mel isn't around). We saw him at the LA 'con and he said he was tired of traveling, so he wasn't going to any more cons. So me and Fatima were surprised when we were walking around the 'con and heard on the loudspeakers, "Tone Rodriguez, artist for Alien vs. Predator is doing free sketches at the booth - ticket holders only!" As soon as we heard that, we wandered around looking for the booth he was sketching at. We finally found it, and saw a huge line wrapping around, waiting for a sketch. Of course, we didn't have tickets. So we stood on the side, just watching, hoping that maybe he'd see us. When he did, he invited us over to hang for a bit while he sketched, gave us a big hug and asked why we didn't stop by sooner, to which we said he wasn't even in the program, so we had no idea he was there.

- Since we were in a hurry most of the time, I didn't get a chance to hang out at the Aspen booth as much as other times, and only got a chance to stop by the booth for the first time late Saturday afternoon, and was reprimanded by Peter for waiting so long. Said hello to the rest of the gang, and saw that one of our buddies from last year was working the booth again. We stopped by again later that day (we had to run to a panel so we didn't get to stay) and learned from Liz that she was leaving the company and moving to Italy. We were so sad to find this out, and we all got a little emotional with Liz. She's such an awesome person, kind of like our den mother, making sure we're okay, taking care of us, and just being really cool. It'll be sad to see her go! But she said that she'd be around at some of the cons, so I hope that we get to see her again sometime soon! On Sunday we went to the Aspen panel, and Peter was the MC. I had a little cold going on that weekend, so I was coughing a bit, and Peter announced, "Hey you, Feliciano, keep it down! Or if you're going to cough, make sure it's a hearty cough! If not, get some water in the back!" I wanted to shrink. But more than that, I was surprised that Peter knew my last name...even if it IS my maiden name now. He poked fun at me a couple other times. And then later, some people I had met on message boards came up to me because they figured out who I was. Which was pretty cool, because I would have had no idea who was who! Later on that day, we hung out at the booth a bit more and took pics.

- Got another Psylocke sketch from Sean Galloway, which makes my total 3 sketches now. He's a cool cat, super friendly and very chatty. Just the kinda guy that keeps fans coming back again and again. Like me!

- I got my first ever caricature done, and I felt like a moron sitting there as people were walking by, while the artist drew my picture as Psylocke. The sketch looks cute, yet nothing like me, but Fatima said the artist was HOT. I wouldn't know. I didn't have my glasses on at the time.

- At the Marvel panel, a bunch of the fans from Brian Michael Bendis' message board planned a surprise birthday cake presentation. Joe Quesada (i still say his name with some distaste, but not as much because of this) went along with the plan, and Bendis was pleasantly surprised when they brought out the cake and candles, and got the whole panel to sing Happy Birthday. I just missed out on getting some cake. That's what I get for being so shy. Another great thing about the panel - one of the writers, when asked if Psylocke was ever coming back (she was killed off. Twice.) returned the question to the audience, "Do you guys want her back?" I whooped and cheered like a moron. If I had a foghorn I would have used that, too. So then he said maybe, maybe they'll try and fit her in. Yay!

- After years of seeing Kabuki artist David Mack at the convention, I finally introduced myself to him. He remembered my secret name from a messageboard (Yano, yeah, big secret name, I know) and he was SO nice. I don't know why I was scared to talk to him before. He was so cool that he hooked me, Fatima and Melanie with a bunch of his books and gave us a great deal on his art. He is genuinely a great guy, so if you ever see him at a 'con, say hello to him. Maybe he'll even dance for you. He didn't for us, but I heard that he took part in a dance off in the lobby later that night. Crazy comic book artists.

- You should read Michael Goodman's CIderview Project. Not only is he a great guy (who is single and good looking) but he also makes good cookies. So I've been told. Because he didn't save any for me.

- Not only did I buy a couple comics and comic-related stuff there, I also stocked up on Pocky - those delicious Asian chocolate dipped sticks. Mmm...tasty! Can you believe that someone was selling them there? Yum!

Yeah...so that's about as much as I remember from my convention experience. Next year I'm definitely going to go all three days and take part in the after-con things, since I'm always hearing stories about the *interesting* stuff that happens at night.

So for now, here's my pictures!

Wizard World Chicago Pictures

I forgot to post this yesterday...

Comic book icon Will Eisner passed away yesterday, at the age of 86. The most prestigious award in comics (the Academy Award equivalent) is named after him - the Eisner award. I'm ashamed to say that I've never read one of his comics - he was before my time - the 50's, 60's and 70's. But his style and his passion have influenced many of the creators today. I've read so many tributes to him, and everyone speaks so highly of him, he was someone that was respected, even idolized, by his peers.

Brian Michael Bendis, writer for Ultimate Spiderman and just about every other book out there:

"You can’t die if you single-handedly invented the language of an entire art form and the concept of the graphic novel. Its impossible. He is immortal.

Will Eisner is the most inspirational, most inventive and most sincerely passionate man I have ever met on this planet. I was not friends with him and my run ins were very brief, but for me very meaningful. They probably could have been more than they were but I felt completely unworthy to be in the same room with him.

A couple of years ago when I was lucky enough to be invited to the Eisner awards for the first time, I was unaware until I got there that the award was actually given to you by Will Eisner.

And any pro who actually gets to win one of those things will tell you that as nice as it is to get a little thing like that the true prize was getting the sincere handshake and little moment of acceptance from the man who invented something you love so much that prior to his inventing it did not exist. "

Neil Gaiman, who wrote American Gods, Good Omens and The Sandman said on his site:

"I was woken up this morning, with the news that Will had died last night, aged 87, and I've let a few friends know, and already had to speak to one journalist about who Will was and what he did ("It's as if Orson Welles had made Citizen Kane and redefined what you could do in film, and then carried on making movies until now," I said, wishing I could come up with a better analogy, and knowing that that didn't explain it. And I didn't mention how proud he was of any of us who did good comics -- how much he cared about the medium -- or how glad I am that I got to tell him that I wouldn't have written comics if it wasn't for him.)

I'm going to miss him enormously, more than I can say. I made a speech last year, where I said how strange it was to discover that the gods of comics, the people who made the medium, were, when I met them, cranky old Jews. Will Eisner wasn't cranky, and he was never old. He was, in all ways, a mensch."

He will definitely be missed, but not forgotten.

After my huge family shindig, we had a LOT of garbage. I remember thinking during the party, 'We need ANOTHER garbage bag? How much garbage are we actually producing?'

On garbage day, Dave was on call (interesting how it always seems to come up days when there's a lot of heavy lifting - garbage day, days when there's 6+ inches of snow, etc.) I had to lug all the garbage bags/boxes on my own.

The Trashday After Christmas

Next to my ultra large garbage can, these bags look pretty small. But there were 21 bags of trash. TWENTY ONE. That's like one bag of trash for every two people at the party. Crazy!

I'll be going on vacation next week to sunny California, which actually hasn't been too sunny. I doubt I'll have internet access since we're going to Mammoth Mountain for some snowboarding. They've had about 90 inches of snow in the last week, so much that they had to temporarily close some trails and the lodge. Hopefully the snow calms down a bit. I'm so excited! Anyone in the California area is welcome to come - the more the merrier - we can fit a bunch of people in our place that we've got!

Since I'll be gone, I thought this would be a good time to bring in some guest posters. If you're interested, submit a comment (make sure to include your email address). I'm not going to choose everyone, and I'll be doing a mini-interview with you to see if you've got the goods I'm looking for. I'd love for this to be a chance for those people out there who don't have a blog to try it out for a week to see how they like it. But if you have your own blog, and want to play around here, that's cool, too. You can even come up with your own secret code name. It'll be seen by a lot of people, mostly my friends and family (and the other hundreds of millions of people that come here everyday *wink*), and believe me, once you start, you won't be able to stop. Unless you suck. Just kidding. So is anyone interested?

Posted on Aaron's site, which has been maintained by his sister and mother (who have that same incredible spirit):

Remembering Aaron, Jan. 16, 6:30 pm

Remembering Aaron: A Memorial

Location: Women and Children First Bookstore
http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com
5233 N. Clark Street, Chicago,IL
When: Sunday, January 16, 6:30pm
View Map

In honor of Aaron's 35th birthday, January 12, we're coming together to remember him with stories, anecdotes, pictures, and of course, coffee.

Women and Children First Bookstore was one of Aaron's favorite places in Chicago. The store has a stage and a microphone, and we'd love to hear from those of you who would like to pay tribute to that Uppitiest of Negroes.

Hope to see you there.

Please let us know you are attending, by sending an e-mail to Val.

I missed the memorial they had for him last year, I'm definitely going to try and make this one. I really don't have much to say about him, since I had never met him and only communicated through email. But I'd love to hear about the impact he had on the lives of others, because in the short amount of time that I knew him, I felt his greatness and what an amazing person he was.

I mentioned several weeks ago that I'm using Firefox as my browser now. One of the hangups was that it takes its time loading images and things, but thanks to Redpac I found a workaround that makes it fly!

Speed up Firefox

Enjoy!

I think when the new year starts, everyone does a little soul searching. OK, maybe it's just me. But I'm looking back at 2004 to see all the things I'd done, all the things I had learned, all the mistakes I'd made. How can I change my life for the better in 2005? I really don't know how. There's so many things I'd like to work on, so many aspects of my life that I'd like to improve on. But sometimes the task seems so overwhelming, I just don't know where to start. It's like how it used to be when I would clean my room (before I married Mr. Clean). I would look at the room in its infinite messiness, and although I KNEW that I had to clean it, I was at a loss at where to start since every part of my room needed to be cleaned.

The sad thing about this is that my room was never completely cleaned, not by the time I moved out. Fatima lives in that room right now, and she's done a great job cleaning it out (maybe I should have her help me clean up my life). But there's still little aspects of me lingering about the room - old books, glow in the dark stars, a Little Mermaid poster on the door. The poor girl will never get rid of me!

I guess 'cleaning up' my life would be the same way. I don't know where to start. I don't expect to fix up every aspect of my life. In a way, I thrive in chaos. In no way am I saying that my life is messed up, because it's not, but it can be better. But how? I don't know. Baby steps. Putting away the clutter that builds up. Reorganizing to make everything fit better together. Getting rid of the dust so I can breathe a little bit better.

Welcome 2005, you should be a pretty interesting year.

Got this from Melanie:

1. What did you do in 2004 that you’d never done before? Buy a house, have an operation, go snowboarding, throw a party
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Never keep 'em, always make 'em.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My cousin had a baby on my birthday.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Nope. The family was death-free this year
5. What countries did you visit? None. But I did go through a lot of states this year.
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? Stability. It's been a rocky year.
7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? The day I found out I had to get eye surgery
8. What was your biggest success? Buying a house
9. What was your biggest failure? Not going to the eye doctor as soon as I started having vision problems
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Got banged up pretty badly snowboarding, twisted my ankle skiing, got a scleral buckle inserted into my eye-I'm bionic now.
11. What was the best thing you bought? My house
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I'd have to say the cousins - we've all been through a lot this year, and it seemed like we were drifting apart for a bit there, but we ended the year strong.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Hmm...at times my own behavior was pretty appalling. Other than that, well, I'll let you figure out on your own.
14. Where did most of your money go? Down payment for the house, credit card bills, comic books
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The house, conventions, competitions, hanging out with friends/family
16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2004? Any song by Snoop Dogg - they played him all the time in Long Beach
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? Happier - Last year was horrible for me

ii. thinner or fatter? I've got way more junk in the trunk - it must go!

iii. richer or poorer? Broke, baby!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Saving money
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Doing absolutely nothing constructive with my time
20. How will you be spending Christmas? We spent it with family at our house
22. Did you fall in love in 2004? I fall in love every day with my husband. Okay, I just threw up a little. :-P
23. How many one-night stands? none
24. What was your favorite TV program? Smallville, and I'm really starting to like 'Lost'
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No, I still hate the same people.
26. What was the best book you read? I don't read books. I read comics. As for comics, I'd have to say that Identity Crisis, Kabuki: The Alchemy and Astonishing X-Men are at the top of my list.
27. What were your greatest musical discoveries? Jason Mraz
28. What did you want and get? My house. I need to come up with a better answer than 'my house' I've answered that for about 50% of these questions. Fine, One night of passionate lovemaking with Angelina Jolie that was approved and watched by Dave. ok, fine, it didn't happen. Yet.
30. What was your favorite film(s) of this year? Kill Bill 2, Friday Night Lights, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
31. What did you do on your birthday this year ? Sat in the airport and slept in a chair because I missed the cot bus. It sucked.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Sharing it with my mom.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? Casual
34. What kept you sane? The internet - it's my fantasy world that I retreat into
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Jessica Alba. Hotness.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? The election and all the spin both sides put on it.
37. Who did you miss? My mom.
38. Who was the best new person you met? I'm going to regret saying this, but my new coworker Sam. Although he can never take the place of my other Sam (no need to take a hit out on him, Sammy Joe), with Redpac's help, he makes work just almost fun. Almost.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004: Things aren't going to happen for you if you sit on your ass and wait for them to happen. You've got to work at it.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
" I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I gotta do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me"

1) Snowboarding at Mammoth Mountain
2) Finally having a REAL housewarming party
3) Getting out of my own debt
4) Buying a pimp ass TV for the basement
5) Finally putting up my photo galleries
6) Getting in shape (I swear I will)
7) Seeing old friends at competitions/conventions
8) Gil's graduation party that he's been planning for the last 8 months
9) Getting a desktop that doesn't take 10 minutes to boot up
10) Cleaning out my half of the closet. Well, I'm not looking forward to it, but I know it must be done sometime this century.

Next week: Ten News Stories/Celebrities that You're Tired Of

I know I was critical before about the response of our government to the devastating tsunami destruction in Asia, but the news today gave a light of hope - not only for the US response to the tragedy, but something that could bridge the gap between the Red vs. Blue that our country has turned into after the election.

Bush, Clinton to Lead Tsunami Fund Raising

Even before the White House campaign, private donations had been running at virtually unprecedented levels since immediately after the earthquake that led to the tsunami.

Under the new fund-raising drive, to be coordinated by the White House's USA Freedom Corps, an office that encourages volunteering, Clinton and the first President Bush will solicit donations by doing media interviews and traveling the country. They also will tap into their own networks of contacts to try to pry donations from corporations, foundations and the wealthy, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

For you comic book readers out there (all 3 of you), one of the message boards I go to has gotten together to auction off art for charity. Go on and click the link below:

I've offered up one of my Michael Turner sketches, and although it's hard to part with it, I know it's going to a good cause. So head on over to that site and see what goods people have to offer - all the proceeds go to tsunami relief.

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

In other news, Barack Obama gets sworn in tomorrow. He's got a lot of expectation weighing down on him, but he seems to be well grounded and has a good perspective on things:

In the capital, Democrats view the freshman legislator's star power as a sort of counterweight to the Republican victories in November.

Obama rejects the notion that he could single-handedly resurrect his party.

"I don't think that we need a Messiah," he said Monday when asked who could return Democrats to power. "We just need people to gather together and create a framework by which it can be done."

This week's Moody Monday : New

The Stroke of Midnight - New Year!

Well, the New Year's weekend is over. After munching on pizza and desserts yesterday, we played a little poker, and afterwards did a little strip aerobics. Dan and Marlon kept on telling us to get out of the way of the TV - they couldn't see Carmen. Then they asked, "Hey, isn't she supposed to get naked? Um, no! Michael stayed in the basement, practicing his pool skills on our table, saying that he feels comfortable playing in our house, rather than feeling like a morom playing in a public pool hall. He was all ready to come and play - he brought his whole CD collectino to listen to. We then watched I Robot, and I fell asleep. I woke up at the end and watched "Curb Your Enthusiasm". People were too lazy to go home, so we brought out the blankets and just had a big sleepover.

I woke up after Dave came home in the morning, and took pictures of all the sleeping guests at hotel Yano. I've always joked to Dave about being the crazy lady who gets out of bed and runs to the White Hen on my block in her pajamas, and today, I actually did it, because we didn't have any milk. Some of the gals were awake when I got home, so I started our yummy breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage.

Since everyone was over, and Dave had taken out the Christmas lights off the house earlier, we decided to have an impromptu 'take down the Christmas tree' party. It's been a while since we had the tree, so the needles were extra prickly. Taking off the ornaments was pretty hazardous, since we kept on wincing when we'd be picked by the needles. We joked about how the tree knew what was about to happen and was rebelling. Needles were flying everywhere!

I had a great weekend, I love hanging out with my cousins and we always laugh and have fun together. It's a shame the weekend had to end!

Today's the first 'on call' party.

The cousins came over and we ordered some pizza and played some poker. This time around I was the first one out, going all in with 2 pair (king queen) and getting beat by Marlon's straight. I had to take a chance.

While we were playing, we had "Honey" playing in the background. We have so many DVD's, but for some reason that's the only movie that people can agree on watching. Afterwards, we did the 'learn the Honey routine' workout, which was pretty tough, but fun. Since we were in a dancing mood, we did the Carmen Electra Strip Aerobics workout. Dan had the webcam on us, so if you were lucky enough to be on the site at that time you may have gotten a treat - though there wasn't much to see.

Michael is loving my pool table, enjoying the fact that he can hone his pool skills in my basement without having to go to a pool hall and look like an amateur. He's making himself at home, bringing along his CD collection and setting it up on my CD changer downstairs.

I guess it's turning into a big sleepover party tonight - since it's late and everyone's too lazy to go home. Fine by me - I could use the company and I love hanging out with these guys.

Aren't holidays on weekends great?

Hello 2005!!! With the new year, comes a new layout. Don't know how much I like the layout right now, but I think that kitty is super-cute.

Hope everyone had a good New Year's Eve.

After watching the Illini squash Cincinnati, we headed over to Manny's to hang out for a bit before going to my aunt's place for our annual family party. My dad wasn't there, and a couple of the cousins missed it, but we still had a great time (sorry for not coming back, Manny and Rachel - we had an intense game of Disney Trivial Pursuit that ended at about 4am).

Our Annual Cousin Picture

Drove home for a bit of sleep, and what do you know, the Illinois Tollway had already switched their tolls to 80 cents. Can you believe that? Eighty cents to travel 20 minutes. We bought an I-Pass yesterday, but haven't activated it yet - I-Pass users only have to pay 40 cents.

Now I'm heading back to the party to eat more food, then going to see a movie with the cousins (probably finding Neverland). Today we're having the very first 'On-Call Party', which is a party/poker tourney I'll be throwing when Dave's on call and I have nothing to do. Interested in coming *ahem-coworkers/mahjubahjus-ahem*? Give me a call. We'll start it up at around seven.