Dear Alaska,

I'm so sorry about bitching and moaning about having to travel here. You've gotta understand that last week was a pretty tough week for me, and I was a little overwhelmed that I was going to have to travel on my 'free' week. It was no offense to you - I was excited to come here. It's my first time in Alaska. I know it's a beautiful place. I was just crabby that I had to travel.

Even with me being so bitchy about it last week, you greeted me with such beauty as my plane came to land in. Dark blue waters, white capped mountains, green forests and islands in the ocean were all I could see. Coming out of the airport I could smell the crisp saltiness of the air. It was as if the longer I stood there the more I got energized about my trip.

So thank you, thank you for accepting me and for showing me the beauty that is you. I'm sorry for being so mean to you and not wanting to come here.

Love,
Christine
p.s. Tomorrow, I shall post pictures!

I'm off to Alaska in a couple hours so I don't have much time to write. I'll give my Oscar recap tonight. The Oscar party was a success and we all had a lot of fun and stuffed ourselves silly. Thanks to everyone that came!

So, give me something to read after I land and figure out where my hotel is...

What was your favorite Oscar moment? Were you surprised at any of the winners? How do you think Chris Rock did?

See y'all after my 8 hour flight! That is, if they have the internet in the middle of nowhere!

So I'm getting ready for my Oscar party tonight. I'm pretty behind because yesterday I was out with the in-laws all day for their anniversary, so I didn't get a lot of cleaning and cooking done that I had wanted to.

So I'm doing all the prep right now, and Dave's doing a lot of the cleaning.

I have no idea how many people are coming, but if three or four people come I'll consider it a success!

So the menu so far is lasagna, pigs in blankets, wings, brownies, peanut butter cookies, sugar cookies and cupcakes with little Oscars on them.

Enough procrastinating! Off to the kitchen I go!

This week's Unconscious Mutterings

1. You’ve got a friend:: Song
2. Immigration:: Green Card
3. Waitress:: Diner
4. Snickers:: Bar
5. Recognize:: me?
6. Concept:: Car
7. Birthday:: Party
8. Told you so:: Smug
9. Unlikely:: Ending
10. Extension:: Cord

Best Picture
• THE AVIATOR  
• FINDING NEVERLAND  
• MILLION DOLLAR BABY  
• RAY  
• SIDEWAYS  

  I think that that this one is going to go to 'The Aviator'. It just seems like the type of movie that Oscar voters love. If it were my pick, it would be Sideways. I've heard so many things about it, and I'd love for a movie that no one has heard of to win.

  ---

  Achievement in Directing

• Martin Scorsese for THE AVIATOR  
• Clint Eastwood for MILLION DOLLAR BABY  
• Taylor Hackford for RAY  
• Alexander Payne for SIDEWAYS  
• Mike Leigh for VERA DRAKE  

  I think that Martin Scorsese is gonna go home with the Oscar on this one. I'd pick him, too.

  ---

  Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Don Cheadle for HOTEL RWANDA  
• Johnny Depp for FINDING NEVERLAND  
• Leonardo DiCaprio for THE AVIATOR  
• Clint Eastwood for MILLION DOLLAR BABY  
• Jamie Foxx for RAY  

  Jamie Foxx!!! Is there any other choice? And if he got all teary at the Golden Globes, I can only imagine what he will be like at the Oscars.

  ---

  Best Supporting Actor

• Alan Alda for THE AVIATOR  
• Thomas Haden Church for SIDEWAYS  
• Jamie Foxx for COLLATERAL  
• Morgan Freeman for MILLION DOLLAR BABY  
• Clive Owen for CLOSER  

  This one may go to Alan Alda. He's a seasoned actor and is really old - just like the Academy. My choice would be Morgan Freeman. He's been nominated several times, but has never won.

  ---

  Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening - BEING JULIA  
• Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE  
• Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE  
• Hilary Swank for MILLION DOLLAR BABY  
• Kate Winslet for ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND  

  Hillary Swank is gonna get this one, because she's lucky when she plays manly roles. Hopefully she doesn't forget her husband this time. My pick would be Catalina Sandino Moreno. She's new, but her performance was unforgettable. SO I've heard.

  ---

  Best Supporting Actress

• Cate Blanchett for THE AVIATOR  
• Laura Linney - KINSEY  
• Virginia Madsen for SIDEWAYS  
• Sophie Okonedo - HOTEL RWANDA  
• Natalie Portman for CLOSER

  This is a tough one. I think it might go to Miss Blanchett. As for who I would like to see win, I'm torn between Natalie Portman, and Laura Linney. I think I want Laura Linney more - I've never seen her in a performance I didn't like. Nat, on the other hand, had Episode II.

  ---

  Do you have any predictions? Go ahead and make yours - we'll see who has the most right in the end!
  Posted by Yano at 12:35 AM | Comments (0)

Don't have much time to write because I'm pooped. Right after work, Dan, Fatima and I headed out to Milwaukee to check out the US Short Track Championships. Drove a couple hours and came in right on time. We had a blast, and it was fun to pop Fata's short track cherry. I didn't take as many pictures as I normally do, for several reasons, the main one being that I didn't have much time there so I didn't want to sit there with a camera in my face.

One thing I love about short track is seeing old friends, and although not all the people I wanted to see were there, it was nice to see familiar faces. Paula and Peter were there, and it was good to see them - haven't seen them since my birthday beach party. Just like Madison, I didn't have time to work the crowd, but I was able to say hi to the few people I saw. Dan, of course, was an embarrassment when he called out, "I LOVE YOU, MAN!" as Rusty stood on the podium. But I admit, I dared him to do it. It was nice to introduce Fatima to my partner in crime, Denise.

What was the highlight of the night?

It was the sausage race! You know the sausages from the Brewers games? They were there and raced a lap around the ice. We were cheering for the bratwurst to win, but it was a close race between the brat and the italian sausage. But in the end, the brat won by a blade.

Best quotes of the night:

Fata: "Sure, he's nice, but I like Coke!"
Dan: "Come on Rusty! Beat that prima donna!" (then the dirty looks - he was kidding! kinda.)
Pablo: "That bratwurst has really hairy arms. Wow. I never thought I'd ever say that."

Good times!

Some of you may know my fixation with the sport of short track...well, there's a new site out that ROCKS! It's called American Short Track and it's centered around the US Elite skaters. Check it out. The design is simple and easy to navigate through, and the photography is AMAZING. Some of you may recognize Pablo Galvez' incredible photography, and the mastermind behind it all is Denise D'Aguanno, a loyal YWIM reader.

If you're a fan, it'll make you love the sport more. If you're not, you just might find yourself liking it.

...and I'm not pimping it because I've helped out with the site.

OK. I am.

Photo Friday : Ghostly

Two submmissions for today, because I love these two pics:

Christ Church Burial Ground - Philadelphia, PA : February 2005

The Wrigley Building - Chicago, IL : April 2002

So I'm back in the office, for only a day. I'll be out all of next week in Alaska and the week after that in Philadelphia.

Still a little grumpy today but I'm going to try and stop complaining. As I had posted last week or the week before that, there are so many GOOD things that are happening in my life that I should stop dwelling on the things that make me unhappy.

Although I alluded to the inner circle yesterday that I think that there is a conspiracy with the powers-that-be to prevent me from being happy. During one of the more dramatic turns in the conversation, I think I said, "Is the thought of me being happy so evil that they will do everything in their power to prevent it?"

I won't let them win.

Nobody puts Baby in a corner!

With my crazy travel schedule, it's been hard for me to watch any TV programs regularly. I feel so out of touch with what's on!

So tell me, what shows are you watching? Give me two shows that I should check out!

Theme Thursday : Motion

Fire Dancer - Maui, HI : March, 2004

Still here in Canton. To answer your question posted on the left, Noelle, I haven't got time to go to the Football Hall of Fame this time around. I went there the first time I was here - about 6 years ago. It's a cool place to go.

My patience for traveling is wearing thin right now. Even when I'm in the office, I'm working on special projects or in-house client consulting, so it's almost as if I'm traveling.

I'm tired, oh so very tired. I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately.

I've been on the road so long, two weeks ago when I was in Philly, I forgot what room I was in and I wandered around for a bit (too proud, of course, to go to the front desk) until I remembered where my room was (8 floors from where I first started looking).

Next week, I'm off to an emergency client trip to Alaska. Alaska? Yes, Alaska. Seems like everything's been an emergency trip lately. I had plans for Monday night that I was really anticipating, but unfortunately, I have a hard time saying 'no' to work. Maybe it's because I think all this sacrifice will get me a raise or something. Didn't happen in my last job, don't know why I would think it would happen now.

Normally I'd be SO excited to go to Alaska, but I'm far too tired and burned out to care much.

I was at dinner with my clients today (who I ADORE, they're so great and funny) and I realized that I've put so much of my life on hold for the working lifestyle I lead. No kids (who has time to even TRY?), haven't been able to take the dance classes I've always wanted to take, can't volunteer, can't act because I never make rehearsals, etc. Makes me wonder if I need to reprioritize and maybe stop living out of my suitcase for a while.

Thoughts like this are scary. I love the people I work with - in the old company as well as the new. It's just wearing on me right now. This is grumpy, homesick Christine talking right now....

Don't mind me.

Jellyfish - Long Beach, CA : November 2003

I love taking pictures of jellyfish. They move so effortlessly through the water, and they're just so beautiful to gaze at. I could watch them all day. When I lived in Long Beach, I would go to the aquarium just to go and watch them.

I've been posting a lot of pictures lately - I've been wanting to create galleries for my photography, so this is a way for me to get my butt in gear and start processing my pictures.

Sorry if it slows down the loading time of the site!

I love to hug.

It's one of my greatest talents. If they had an Olympics for hugging, I would take the gold.

It's a little sad, though, that in today's society hugging can be a bad thing. People get the wrong ideas. Teachers are afraid to hug their students. Friends are sometimes hesitant to hug each other. Even something as simple as a handshake - people are afraid of the simplest touch.

I admit, there are times when I don't hug as hard as I'd like to, worrying about how they might take it or sensing that they're uncomfortable with the hug.

But when someone is ready and willing to accept one of my bear hugs, I squeeze 'em so tight I could pop them. There is so much love in me I try to spread it as much as I can with my hugs. I really believe that hugs are therapeutic to people. When someone is having a bad day, or needs a shoulder to lean on, nothing helps more than a sincere hug. Kids love hugs - they're the best huggers of all, running up to you with their arms outstretched, trying to enfold you in their circle of love.

So do yourself a favor - give someone a hug today, or tomorrow. It doesn't matter who - your kids, your parents, your friends. See how much that hug is appreciated. See how happy it makes someone, and how good you feel about yourself.

And I'll be here, in Ohio, by myself, hugging myself to sleep.

:-P

Yes. Drama queen.

Since Sam complained about Jean Claude's dancing, I'll provide my male readers some eye candy, courtesy of Dan

So I bring to you....

Bouncing Beyonce!

Bouncylicious!!!

I'm in Canton, OH right now, at one of my favorite clients. Actually, this is the first client I had ever traveled to, about 5 or 6 years ago. It's hard to believe that I've been traveling this long. My old contacts from here are long gone, but I still have a good relationship with the people here.

Had a good weekend last weekend, with Marilyn and Fata coming by to hang out and spend quality time with me. We sat around, watched movies, like 'Troy' (three cheers for Brad's gluteus to the maximus!) and the girls had a fun time burning marshmallows as they made s'mores. It felt good to have them over. The last several months I haven't been too social and have felt a little like a hermit in the house. So much traveling and being stressed at work made me just want to relax and do nothing at home, but the down side to that was that I didn't really see many people.

So now I'm on the road again, but this time I feel a little more at ease. Maybe it's because I feel comfortable with what I need to do here - even though I'm not really sure what it is. This is a client for the old product, so if I don't know it, I could fake it with authority - with a 90% chance that I'm actually right.

More stuff is coming down the pipeline, hopefully I won't have to travel next week and I get some time off, but that's just wishful thinking right now!

I apologize to you dial-up people, but I just had to post this on the site today. I'll take it down in a couple hours to save some bandwidth, but I wanted to share it with you here for right now.

I present to you, Jean Claude van Damme's sexy dance moves:
Watch Van Damme's Sexy Dance (I've made it a link to save me some bandwidth)

I was entranced for hours.

OK, a minute, but it felt like hours.

How did I ever find this guy sexy?

I'm not really much of a car person. I'm really happy with my Honda and I don't have a need to buy a new one. But it's cool to go to the show and see what new stuff is coming out and all their concept cars.

There were TONS of people at the show, it was really hard to walk around and fully enjoy it. But we still managed to have a good time.

There was one time when Marilyn and I went to take a break and sat in the back of a mini-van. We knew we'd be undisturbed and not pressured to move out because really, who goes there to check out the mini-vans? We were sitting, chilling out, when this little kid, about 10 or so, came with his brothers, and sat in the drivers seat of the van. I don't think he knew that we were in the back, so when he turned around to check out the rest of the van, he was a little surprised to see us back there.

I lifted my hand and gave him a wave hello. He looked at the two of us, then his eyes lit up, and he lifted his eyebrow and said, "Hey, wassuuuuup".

Yes. He was hitting on us.

I bust out laughing. It was the cutest thing ever.

This brothers piled into the car in front of us. I felt like we were on a date, it was the oddest, funniest feeling.

After a while it was just too weird, so I waved goodbye to our new friends and we left.

One day, that little boy is going to break some hearts!

So here are some of my pics:

Yesterday me, Marilyn and Dave went to go and meet Manny and Rachel to watch "Constantine". To tell the truth, I was getting sent to be mildly entertained and maybe a little disappointed. I'm always a little disappointed when I watch comic book movies. Then again, I've never read 'Hellblazer', the Vertigo comic that the movie is based on.

But I wasn't disappointed at all and was really entertained. The movie had a little more meaning to me since it talks a lot about Catholicism and Heaven and Hell. Keanu did a great job, and I have to admit, at 40 he looks AWESOME. He's not the best actor on the planet, but I don't mind watching his eye candy for 2 hours. He's so yummy!

Um, where was I?

Oh yeah. Keanu did a great job as Constantine, although I always feel like he's channeling 'Ted' from 'Bill and Ted' and I wait for him to say 'Whoa!' (which he didn't) People who have read the book have mentioned that he's spot on as Constantine, so what better compliment is that? He's believable as the tortured soul, saving the earth from demons and trying to win brownie points so he can get into Heaven, since he's destined to go to Hell.

Rachel Weisz is gorgeous and spunky in her role, as the hard edged detective out to prove that her sister didn't commit suicide. The chemistry between the two of them is great.

There's an interesting group of supporting characters, from an alcoholic priest, to the 'robin'-type sidekick cab driver, to a sexually ambiguous halfbreed angel, to one of Satan's minions who looks surprising like Bush's frontman, Gavin Rossdale. All these people take part in Constantine's fight to save the world, and for redemption.

The best thing about this movie is the cinematography and tone. It's dark, gloomy and there are definitely parts that make you jump out of your seat. It's visually appealing, even with its dark theme. The movie takes place in the world we live in today, but shows what demons and angels live among us that we never take the time to notice.

The movie wasn't life changing, nor will I be telling everyone I see to go out and watch it. But I'll tell my fellow comic book afficionados to check it out, or anyone who wants something entertaining to watch. And, of course, anyone who doesn't mind watching Keanu's pretty, un-aging face for 2 hours.

Yum.

Sunday Shoot - Trees

Autumn - Morton Arboretum, IL : October, IL

I actually wrote this one yesterday...Thanks to Fata and Marilyn for sending it over.

Go ahead and grab it for your own site, but if you do, post a comment - I'm interested to see what yours will look like!

----------------------------------
Welcome to the February 2005 edition of getting to know your friends. What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste it onto a new e-mail that you'll send. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to a whole bunch of people including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:00am

2. Diamonds or pearls? I don't like jewelry, but if it was a life or death decision, diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Hmm, I really don't remember. Maybe the Incredibles?

4. What is your favorite TV show? Lost, Law and Order:SVU, reruns of X-Files

5. What did you have for breakfast? Hot Cocoa and one of Sam's cookies

6. What is your middle name? Sanchez, and yes, I know what a Dirty Sanchez is.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Sushi!

8. What foods do you dislike? Just two things - fruits and vegetables. I'm a meatatarian.

9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Chili Cheese Fritos

10.what is your favorite CD at the moment? The soundtrack to 'Garden State'

11. What type of car do you drive? Currently, my husband's Lexus. He drives my Honda.

12. Favorite sandwich? Grilled chicken pesto on foccacia

13. What characteristic do you despise? people who are mean to good people, people who are filled with jealousy and bile

14. Favorite item of clothing? my Gap jogging pants.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Greece. I've always wanted to see the ancient ruins there.

16. What color is your bathroom? Which one? I have 4. One is pumpkin, one is beige, one is black and white, and one is just white

17. Favorite brand of clothing? old navy. it's comfy and cheap. just like me. :-P

18. Where would you retire to? I love Hawaii.

19. Favorite time of the day? i am a creature of the night.

20. What was your most memorable birthday? this one's memorable, but not happy. I was in Pittsburgh on the day of my birthday and I was going to fly home for a birthday dinner with Dave, and then fly out to a friend's wedding the next day. My connecting flight in Dallas was cancelled and there weren't any other flights straight to where my friend's wedding was, and I had to spend the night in the airport. I spent a lot of time on the phone with ticketing so I missed it when they handed out cots, so I had to sleep in a chair. The whole time I wanted to cry out to everyone - "Hey! It's my birthday! Pity me!"

21. Where were you born? Chicago

22. Favorite sport to watch on TV? Football

23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? None of you. Of course, that's said to guilt you into ALL returning it to me.

24. Who do you think will send this back first? Mike. He loves crap like this!

25. What fabric detergent do you use? Cheer? I think? Whatever was cheapest without being a generic brand.

26. Coke or Pepsi? Coke

27. Are you a morning person or a night owl? night. *hoot* *hoot*

28 What is your shoe size? 7 1/2, but I like 8's

29. Do you have any pets? four fish. I have a rabbit and dog at my dad's place. Dave's allergic to the rabbit.

30. Any good news you would like to share with family or friends? um, not really? we've got a new house, that's about it!

31. What did you want to be when you were little? A blond, blue eyed Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.

32. What are you meant to be doing now? Sleeping.

33. Which of the following could you live without if you had to choose- Sweet, sour, salty, spicy? spicy. we're not fond of each other.

Marilyn's over and we're having a little slumber party since Dave is on call. Just chilling out, watching 'Garden State' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. Two AWESOME movies. I highly recommend seeing them!

For Dave's birthday I got him a new phone to replace his ancient one. This one not only has a color display, but also has a camera. Dave's never had a camera before, so this should be a nice start. After some instruction, he's learned how to use his phone, though I doubt he's taken too many pictures with it. He usually leaves the picture taking to me.

So I was checking out his phone the other day, and I saw that his main picture, the picture that is the background of his start screen, was a picture of his University of Illinois Illini hat. It was what we had used as a sample during his 'photo class'. Being the self-centered wife that I am, I brought it to his attention:

Me: Hey, one would think that you would have a picture of your wife as your start screen on your phone. Why do you have the Illini there?
Dave: Are you 25 and 0?
Me: *silence*
Dave: I didn't think so.

Damn those Illini! Next year, I'm joining the tourney and I'm going to pound their asses so I can get my rightful place on Dave's cameraphone!

Pigeon Watching - Newport Beach, CA : April 2004

On days like today, when it's freezing and windy outside, I like to pretend like I'm back in California, where the only time you talk about 'freezing' its when you're making ice cubes. I'm sure warm weather will be coming here soon, and then you'll hear me complaining about it, but when you're cold, it's nice to have daydreams of warmer days.

I'm going to sign up for a library card at my new suburb, because I can't afford to keep on buying books to read. It will be interesting to see if I go back to my old library habits. When I was a kid, I used to go to the library every week, borrowing as many books as my arms could hold. I pretty much lived there. But I rarely returned my books on time - I'm pretty sure that I paid for half of the books in our library with the fines that I paid!

But I'll be better this time, I swear!

With that said, are there any good books (new or old) that you'd recommend to me? Give me your top 3!

USA Today ran a pretty cool article on DC Comics and comic book movies. Its great that there have been so many lately ('Constantine' is actually based on a comic book called 'Hellblazer'). I only hope that it turns into profits for the comic book industry - we need more readers!

Anyway, they have a little poll here about what character needs to get their own movie, and in the list is a great, but underappreciated book by David Mack called 'Kabuki'. It's only got 1% of the votes right now and I've love to see it move up a bit.

Kabuki is a pretty complex book, and any description I give it won't give it justice, so I'll steal it off http://davidmackguide.com

While working as an operative for the Noh, an organization that polices the interwined realms of business, organized crime and politics in Japan, Kabuki becomes deeply affected by the death of her mother and can only relate to the world through the security of a mask.

She embarks on a quest to come to terms with her family, history, culture and identity - even if her personal crusade brings her in direct conflict with the powers she serves.

from davidmackguide.com

Doesn't it sound like it would be a kick ass movie? I'm also trying to get myself cast as an extra if the movie is ever made. I make a REALLY great tree - really believable.

So go on and vote for Kabuki. I know 'Aquaman' is there, but he's an underwater wuss, only good for beating me at pool, talking on the phone with his girlfriend at work and plugging in my laptop when I'm too lazy to do it on my own. He's not ready for the big screen yet.

DC Comics blazing a superhero trail back to big screen <-Vote for Kabuki in the poll!

I've got my glasses on since I have an eye appointment this afternoon.

When I got my contacts a couple months ago, I had them made according to my current eye prescription, which is way off from the original prescription before my surgery. The vision in my left eye is at about half of what was before, which is pretty awful. But with my contacts, by vision is awesome.

So when I do wear my glasses, which were made with my pre-operative prescription, I'm pretty much walking into walls. OK, fine, I'm not, but I did get a little confused when I got off the train and I couldn't find stairs to the bus. I felt like an old lady!

I've got training at work today, so I have no idea how I'm going to see the stuff on the screen. I'll have to sit right in front of the wall to see anything.

Of course, if I close my left eye and just look out my right, the world is good again. Well, except for that perception thing - you need two eyes for that.

So how long do I have to go through this visually impaired torture? It'll take my left eye about 2 years to return to its original crappiness (which is better than its current level of ass suckiness).

The bright side?

I can see. Plain and simple. It may not be 20/20, more like 60/20, but I've got my sight, so I guess that's what matters.

This post won't make any sense to you, unless you read my angry, tortured, loving post that I left up for a couple hours yesterday. Even with that, you still probably won't understand. But if you don't, then it's not for you to understand.

You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do,
and it's breaking my heart in two,
cause I never want to see you sad girl,
don't be a bad girl,
but if you want to leave take good care,
hope you make a lot of nice friends out there,
but just remember there's a lot of bad and beware,

Oh baby baby it's a wild world,
it's hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh baby baby it's a wild world,
and I'll always remember you like a child, girl.

I love you. Let us in to help you. I know you're going through some tough things right now, but if you allow us to really see you, to know who you are, maybe we can get through this together. But I can't do that if I don't trust you, and I want to trust you. We all love you so much! You're one of the most important things in my life. Trust us to help you.

...and don't make me kick your ass.

So Republican Alan Keyes' daughter, Maya Marcel-Keyes, has come out as a liberal queer. This is a pretty big thing for a young 19 year old woman to do, especially considering her father's stance on homosexuality. It wasn't long ago that he called the daught of fellow Republican Dick Cheney a 'sinner' and homosexuality as "selfish hedonism".

What does Keyes have to say about this? "My daughter is an adult, and she is responsible for her own actions. What she chooses to do has nothing to do with my work or political activities." Hmm, I think it kinda does, don't you think?

What does the man who preached 'family values' do in this situation? Seek counseling? Accept it and keep on loving his daughter? Try to convert her? Nope. He kicks her out of the house and stops paying her tuition.

Don't you love parents?

I applaud Maya for her strength, for coming out when she knew she would lose so much. It would be interesting to hear the people who argue that people who are gay learn to be gay - considering that Maya (and I'm sure Mary Cheney) grew up in such conservative households. Or that people choose to be gay - why make a choice like that when you know you'd go through so much pain?

However, I'm starting to rethink my position after reading this list:

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

Why homosexual marriage should be banned:

1. Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control.

2. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people can't legally get married because the world needs more children.

3. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

4. Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.

5. Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are property, blacks can't marry whites, and divorce is illegal.

6. Gay marriage should be decided by people not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of the minorities.

7. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

8. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

9. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

10. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise children.

11. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven't adapted to cars or longer life spans.

12. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a "separate but equal" institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages for gays and lesbians will.

No more nagging about the comment header - I've changed it from the kitty.

So shut up already, Aquaman!

The Assembly Room of Independence Hall - Philadelphia, PA : February 2005

I was really lucky to get out of work early on Friday. My client suggested I do a little sightseeing since I had several hours before my flight. I walked over to Independence Park, where the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and several other national landmarks are located.

The Liberty Bell has a brand new house. Last time I was in Philly we could just drive by and see it. This time around I had to go through security and go into a building to see it.

After that I had a little time left to take a tour at Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was written and debated over. There's a power in that place that you can't deny, a sense of history so strong you can almost touch it. Amazing things happened in that place. Just to stand in the room, a room where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin all sat in was incredible. Have you ever seen the musical 1776? The songs from it rang in my head as I stood in there. I tried renting it when I got home but my ghetto Blockbuster didn't have it.

On my way back I got to go through Chinatown, which was a bustling, colorful place. I had Chinese New Year dinner there, and it was really tasty. I don't have much time to go to the Chinatown in Chicago, but I have to admit, ours is a little better. Of course, I'm biased.

Philly was a ball to be in. I'm going back there next month and I already have places lined up that I want to see.

I've got more pictures, but I'll be posting them up once I get all the captions together....

A cool picture I got from Brad P.:

Sunset from Space

It's pretty awesome, check it out.

Well, it's that time of the year again.

I really don't think much of this day, it was created to generate more revenue for card companies and candy makers. It gives a lot of stress and empties the wallets of people who are in relationships, and it depresses the people who aren't.

Luckily, I'm married, so for the rest of my foreseeable life (if he plays his cards right), I really don't have to worry about this day. What is he gonna do if I don't get him something? Break up with me? Nope.

I admit, though, that I'm reflecting a bit on today. I'm happy that I have someone so wonderful in my life, someone who is both my complete opposite, yet so much like me. Sometimes, when he's sleeping, I look at him and just marvel at how we ended up together. Ten years ago if you told me I was going to marry this guy I would have told you that you're crazy. I'm lucky to be with him.

And he better think he's lucky, too, or he'll be a dead man.

So enough of my sugar sweet cheesiness.

Happy Valentines, everyone!!!

7pm - 5 bands! Four stages! The Black Eyed Peas start it off with 'Let's Get It Started', the most played out song since 'La Vida Loca'. But I still love BEP, and they did a good job. Surprised Fergie didn't have her tiny tony skirt on. Probably afraid of the FCC. Gwen Stefani and Eve did a good job. The Joku girls are hot. I want to be one. Los Lonely Boys did a good job. The lead reminds me of Jose Feliciano, which brings a tear to my heart. The other guitarist looks like George Perez. For some reason, I'm really attracted to the lead singer of Maroon Five. His voice sounds really high and nasally today, and he looks like Peewee Herman in that suit, but still hot. Love this song by Franz Ferdinand. It rocks! Makes my toes wiggle and dance. Then everyone gets together and has one big smorgasboard of song. And it actually sounds good. Overall? A pretty kickass opening for the Grammys.

7: 20 - Los Lonely Boys win, in what to me is a surprise, beating out Maroon Five and No Doubt. They are genuinely surprised, and it's touching to see their dad all teary eyed

7:25 - Alicia! What are you wearing? White just isn't your color, especially as your foot is banging against the piano pedal. "She looks THICK!" Dave exclaims. "She has a big ass!" You know what, though? Who the hell cares what you look like when you sing like that? She is lighting it up tonight! She looks beautiful, and this rendition of 'If I Ain't Got You' is spectacular. She's amazing - her voice is just, man I can't even find the words! "She's hot. She's really hot!" Dave says, neutralizing his earlier comment. She looks at the camera and Dave cries, "She's looking at me!" Jamie Foxx comes out and channels Ray Charles, very well, I must say. A sweet, sweet rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" Who knew that Jamie could sing so well? And a well deserved standing O for the two of them.

7:32 - Prince wins Best Male R&B Male Performance, and he's not there. I'm a bit surprised that it isn't Usher. Dave's upset that Usher didn't win because he wants to see Usher's date again.

7:40 - Hmm, U2 seems a little chill today. I was expecting a little more. Nice song, though. Gives me a chance to go to the kitchen and get some cookies. Did you see the shot of Quentin Tarantino afterwards? He looked like a big Korean thug.

7:45 - Pharrell Williams is up giving away and award. Yummy! Greenday wins, the first of many, I'm sure. Dave points to the TV and yells, "You saved rock, baby! You saved rock!"

7:55 - JLo and Mark Anthony. Was it worth all the hype? Well, Jlo's dress was awesome, her voice is much stronger than I thought it would be, but she had trouble with some notes. Mark, of course, was fantastic. But he looks like a chihuahua. I admit it, they look cute together - you can really see something in their eyes - for a couple seconds, at least. I wish they kissed at the end.

8:09 - OK, I admit, that although I used the beginning of the Country mastermix performance as a bathroom break, I really loved it when they performed 'Sweet Home Alabama'.

8:14 - ever since I listened to Queen Latifah's jazz CD, I wanted to see her sing it. I'm really impressed. I'm tempted to start waving my arms and chanting 'U-N-I-T-Y". It's been a long time since then, baby! She's now a sexy, sultry jazz diva, and it's obvious that she's lost weight. Looking like a queen, there. I tell Dave that I should start singing jazz, he tells me he's going to start tap dancing. And proceeds to dance. Which isn't pretty.

8:20 - Kanye West loses Best New Artist. To make up for what happened during the American Music Awards where he went ballistic when he lost, he shakes the hand and hugs each one of the Maroon Five guys, who beat him for the award. I guess someone told Kanye (probably Christopher Cross) that Best New Artist translates to "Most People Who Win This Are Never Heard From Again". No wonder he's smiling.

8:27 - What the hell is Quentin Tarantino wearing? I think he's packing heat, yo. He announces Greenday, who are FUCKING AWESOME. Greenday to me represents being young, being stupid, not caring, being an idiot, and just living and loving life. They make me smile, they make me feel good. I adore them. THEY ROCK! *sticks out tongue and makes rock signs with her fingers and jams*

8:45 - Love the Kanye West part. I wish he was at the podium a little more - maybe he'll win some later. This was a great performance.

8:49 - Whew!!! Kanye wins best Rap Album. Come on Kanye, cry. But don't make me cry. Oh, here I go. You go, my Chi-Town boy!!! Nice speech, nice.

8:47 - Kris Kristofferson co-wrote 'Me and Bobby McGee'? That's AWESOME. One of Janis Joplin's best songs. He's up to introduce Joss Stone, who I think is one of the best things to happen to music in a LONG time. Who thought such soulfull sounds could come out of that tiny little British girl? Um, it may be a little insensitive of me, but why is Melissa Etheridge bald? Is she going through chemo? Because if she is, and she's going in front of everyone bald, she's my new hero. Showing everyone out there that bald is beautiful - who needs wigs? Be proud of what you're going through. I was so proud of my mom when she ditched the wig and just went out with her super short do - she looked badass. Joss and Melissa make this one of the best performances of the night!
[edit] Yes, Melissa Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer last year

9:25 - John Mayer sings 'Daughters' and it makes me all tingly. Reminds me of when Maui sang it for his little Jillian. I think I want to be best friends with John Mayer.

9:37 - Anthony Lapaglia speaks. Who? Exactly. Just kidding. He announces a song that is going to raise money for tsunami victims. I'm sorry, but this song is no 'We Are the World'. I mean, Steve Tyler's playing maraccas! Please, stop, I'm hurting here. Looks like Duff McKagan in the back is hurting, too. Dave says, "Who's that guy? He looks like a math teacher!" I tell him it's Brian Wilson, and he says, 'WHO!?!' and I said 'From the Beach Boys'. Dave's eagle eyes notice that Nora Jones' mic is stuck to her dress.

9:44 - Is this everyone wins a Grammy night? John Mayer wins for Song of the Year.

9:53 - Usher is up! He's got the whole package - he's got a great voice, and he's got some sweet moves. Smooth. I can watch him all day. Watching this really makes me miss dancing in college. That fucking handkerchief move kicked ass. And Dave's happy because once again, they showed Usher's date.

9:58 - Ray Charles and Nora Jones win record of the year. Her speech is touching. I was hoping he'd win this one. I can't believe it - they're turning the music on the people who are speaking for Ray Charles! Have you shame, Academy? OK, they turned it off.

- Album of the Year - it could be anyone! But the voters go for the safe choice and honor the late Ray Charles. I love this old man who speaks for Ray. Such kind eyes. Nice way to end the night.

Best quote?

"Everybody wanted to know what I'd do if I didn't win. I guess we'll never know."
--Kanye West

Best commercial?

The one where the guy drops the case of Heineken, and then throughout the land, men stop, scared, frozen, knowing that something, somewhere, has gone terribly wrong. AWESOME.

Funniest post show comment:

"Irony Award: At the one event where no one was likely to yell out "Play 'Freebird,'" they played "Freebird."" <- E! Online

Truthfully, this was the best Grammys I've seen in a while. It moved along, the performances were all pretty good, there wasn't one clear winner, and no big drama. Good times.

The last few weeks have been really tough for me, and I admit to giving in to my darkside, which I rarely ever do. I don't like being an angry, bitter person - it just doesn't suit me. That's a part of me that I really try to keep under control, because when that dark side comes up, I'm not a good person.

I apologize to the people I've hurt, I've snapped at, and I've bitched to. I've really been unbearable over these past few weeks, and I haven't been a nice person.

It's good to be home. I spent yesterday just recharging and relaxing. It was good for me to just be alone, doing nothing, hanging at home. I needed it.

Thanks to everyone who's sent emails of encouragement, IM's, e-cards and positive thoughts, I'm really lucky to know people who care so much about me. I love all you guys.

I was still in a ratty mood yesterday morning, and the pressure and stress had hit a peak, and I needed time to cool off. I was complaining to a friend, and really dwelling on what sucks in my life (which really is just one thing) and she sent me an email, telling me that she was upset with me. Why? Because there is so much that's wonderful in my life that I'm choosing to ignore - the bad stuff in my life is insignificant compared to all that is good.

So here's her list, and yeah, I'm stroking my ego here for a little, but after I read her email, I really did put into perspective all that I have, all that make my life such an awesome thing. (I've also added my comments)

Thank you, dear friend, for stroking my ego and inflating my head just when it was needed. I love you.

Actually, I love all of you.

Life is good. Not all parts of it, but the parts that count? Yeah, those parts are great. Thanks for reminding me.

This story just makes me want to scream:

Two Durango teens thought they'd surprise neighbors with nighttime deliveries of home-baked treats. But one woman was so terrified, she sued and has won.

It seems that two teenage girls, Taylor Ostergaard and Lindsey Jo Zellitti, decided to bake some cookies for their neighbors as a surprise. They left packages of cookies on their neighbors doorsteps, knocked on the doors, and walked away. Inside one of the homes, however, Wanita Renea Young got scared by the knocking and called the police. When they came, they saw no wrongdoing. She was upset to find the cookies on the porch. So upset that the next day she went to the ER due to an anxiety attack.

Normal people would laugh, and maybe, just MAYBE be touched that these girls did such a sweet thing.

But not Wanita.

She sued the girls for her medical bills - $900. Even though the girls sent a letter of apology, she won't forgive them.

The families had offered to pay Young's medical bills if she would agree to indemnify the families against future claims.

Young wouldn't sign the agreement. She said the families' apologies rang false and weren't delivered in person. The matter went to court.

Young said she believes that the girls should not have been running from door to door late at night.

"Something bad could have happened to them," she said.

Is it just me, or does this just not seem right?

If someone was knocking on my door at night with cookies, nothing's gonna stop me from opening it and stealing ALL their cookies.

Photo Friday : Luscious

My Rabbit, Luscious

An appropriate subject for this week's theme!

OK, it actually wasn't.

But it was a good walk to clear my thoughts, rearrange things in my head, and to think about where I'm going to go from here.

Took some pictures around Chinatown which probably won't come out since it was cloudy and kinda dark. I had sushi at this restaurant, but it was pretty bad - I felt like I was chewing rubberbands. Walked around a little more after dinner. City Hall looks pretty nice at night, all lit up. A guy passed as I was taking pictures and said, "I guess you're not from around here." I said yeah, it's pretty obvious. "Well, I am. And I'm moving to California in two weeks. And you know what? I'm not going to miss it here at all." I think I kinda looked like a deer in headlights after he spoke. "Well, enjoy your trip. Goodbye."

Goodbye, weirdo man on the street.

I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes...
Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow...
Every step that I take is another mistake to you...
Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow...


I've become so numb, I can't feel you there
I've become so tired, so much more aware
By becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
"Numb" - Linkin Park

I'm physically, emotionally and mentally tired. Life is just overwhelming right now sometimes I feel like I'm treading water just to keep afloat.

Hey, did you know that I can't swim?

The last few weeks have really been tough for me. I don't even remember how much of that I've talked about here. There's just so much to do, so much I need to know, so much that people expect of me, at times, I feel like I don't even have time to breathe anymore.

But at least life throws little blessings my way.

I want to thank my coworkers for being extra awesome, from my X-Systems family in Chicago who have been so concerned about my dwindling sanity, to my new coworkers out in Columbus and other places who have busted their asses trying to help me find my footing and show me the light. Without this support group, I don't know where I'd be right now.

Dave has been super understanding with my rants and raves at home, and also dealing with my extreme moodiness, which is a once in a blue moon kind of thing. He's letting me get some rest and giving me extra TLC to nurse me back to some peace of mind.

It sucks when you're traveling and you're grumpy.

Anyway, I'm going to go take some pictures at Chinatown and then drown my sorrows in all you can eat sushi.

It's been a pretty busy day in Philly for me.

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

I was at a client site today, and when I was taking my notes out of my binder, I got the WORST PAPER CUT EVER. I had accidentally run my index finger along the side of the paper, slicing up the very tip of my right index finger. Sure, there wasn't much blood, but it hurt like hell! It was a pretty deep cut, too, all the way to the bone. Ok, not that far, but pretty deep. And since it was on my index finger, I noticed it all day - I mean, I work with computers - I've gotta type! The cut is incredibly annoying, and I'm tempted to go to the front desk to ask for a band-aid tomorrow. It hurts! Pity me! *cries*

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

I've decided to once again give up red meat for Lent. Not only that, but fried foods and promised to hit the gym at least twice a week.

I didn't go to church to be one of the masses of Catholics with the funny dirt on their heads.

At lunch with my clients, I realized that my fish and shrimp was deep fried.

At dinner today, I order a shrimp dish. Little did I know that there was meat in the sauce. I'm right by Chinatown, so my clients took me out to dinner at a local favorite. The place was PACKED. I was amazed at how active Philly's Chinatown is. Then I realized that it was Chinese New Year. Well, that explains it. Happy Chinese New Year!

So I was down, 2 of 3 Lenten promises broken today.

BUT

I did go to the gym. Actually worked up a sweat on the treadmill. When was the last time I went? I dunno, do a search on this site. Going to the gym is enough of an event for me to post about it. i went to the hotel fitness center and found it empty. Happy at my stroke of luck, I set the TV to my latest obsession, 'Lost'. I started to work out and realized that I couldn't hear the TV over the sound of the treadmill, so I went over to the TV to put on the closed captioning.

As I was walking back to my treadmill, a man came into the room. I was a bit nervous. I was hoping he wouldn't want to change the channel and make me pull out my, "I was here first" card.

He came in, looked nervously at the TV, which was on a commercial. He kinda stood around, looking at the TV. Then 'Lost' came back on.

"You watching 'Lost'?" he asked me.

"Um, yeah."

"Awesome. Mind if I make it louder?"

"Be my guest!"

So he made it louder. And then he asked to turn off the lights, but then opened the door, so I didn't feel trapped. So it was our own little 'Lost' movie theater. Pretty cool, if you asked me.

So cool, I forgot the excruciating pain of my index finger.

"Why" you may ask, "are you typing this post if you're complaining about your index finger?"

Well, it's because I love you, that's why!

Pity me!!!!

Winner! - Long Beach, CA : June 2004

This was a lucky picture. If I had pressed the button at this exact moment, I would have won a gazillion tickets or something. But alas, all I have is the picture.

I'm here in Philadelphia, writing from my super secret location in Center City (I think that's what they call it). Because I'm a cheap mofo, I opted to take a shuttle from the airport instead of a taxi. It took about half an hour for the shuttle to come. Argh!

I love Philadelphia. Dave lived here for several months when he was doing rotations, and I have fond memories of walking around the historical area and watching baseball at their old stadium. This place has so much history, you can just feel it as you drive around. I only wish I had time to walk around during the day so I could take pictures and do some sightseeing.

I was talking with my shuttle driver, and he said that today would have been when they had their Superbowl victory parades and celebrations. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. He said the whole city was pulling for the team and that it was really great to see. So everyone's a bit bummed at the loss. I let out a sad sigh as we passed the Lincoln Financial Stadium on the way to my hotel. Sorry, Philadelphia!

But there's still next year, right?

Cheer up, Philadelphia! Yano's here!

Today is a pretty busy day, so I'll just throw up an old post that I never put up. Go ahead and steal it for your own site - I stole it from Mel's site a long time ago.

Five Things You May Not Know About My Time in School
- I was the drum major when I was in marching band
- I went to an all girl catholic school, but our band consisted of boys from our brother catholic school
- I was Vice President of the Math club - because that office really didn't do anything
- I came in 3rd in State for my division for speech making and essay writing
- I went to homecoming with this really nice guy that I liked, had the time of my life, and he never talked to me afterwards.

Five Things You May Not Know About the Job/s I Have (or Had)
- I used to work at a liquor distributing company in college. as a perk, I got to meet Captain Morgan and we got our alcohol wholesale.
- I worked at the airport during the soccer world cup and met people from all over the world.
- I've worked for the same company for the last 7 and a half years of my life
- I bartended private parties in college. I would make extra money when underage drinkers would give me $10 dollar tips to give them drinks.
- My first job was working for the summer program for the city of Chicago, testing underprivileged kids to give them summer jobs. It was the best job I ever had because we gave these kids the coolest jobs as artists, tutors, guides, and let them see that their lives could be so much more.

Five Things You May Not Know About My Online Life:
- I've had a web page since 1995.
- I have met at least 40 people who I've known online first - and not one of them has tried to kill me....yet
- As much as I hate to admit it, I'm really obsessive with my referral logs and who comes to the site
- The best way to get a hold of me isn't through the phone - it's through e-mail.
- Having a blog is the way I keep in touch with friends and family, because I never use the phone.

Five Things You May Not Know About Where I Live:
- Chicago is the 4th fattest city in the US, and I'm damn proud of it.
- I've been to 46 of the 50 states, and there is no other city that I have found to be cleaner, friendlier, more beautiful or as charming as Chicago.
- I actually live in a suburb of Chicago now, and it breaks my heart that I'm out of the city.
- The best time to come to Chicago is a week before the 4th of July, when we have our Taste of Chicago
- Chicago fans are the best out there - our teams play like shit, and we still love them. Most of the time.

Five Things You May Not Know About My Home Life:
- We've got a pool table and a wet bar with a tap in the basement
- Dave and I have different schedules - he leaves really early in the morning, I come home 2 hours later than he does (most nights)
- Dave drives my car and I drive his - his car has more miles and I only have to drive a couple miles to the train.
- I'm finnicky about how I feed the fish. I usually like being the only one to feed them.
- It doesn't matter if I mop the floors - Dave will always re-do it after me.

Five Things You May Not Know that I Desperately Want:
- A new desktop computer- the one I have is SUPER slow
- An entertainment system and living room set for the basement - it's going to be our home theater down there
- Money. Having a husband with medical school bills is a killer.
- For this whole Red state vs. Blue state crap to end. It's so tiring
- Kids. Eventually. Not necessarily right now.

Five Embarrassing Fannish Admissions I Have That You May Not Know:
- I once wrote a letter to all the New Kids on the Block, one page for each of them
- I gave my business card to an athlete once
- I was called a 'predator' once by someone's family member - affectionately...I think
- Several times when meeting someone I was a fan of I had lost the ability to speak and make eye contact
- My best fan moment? Being on the same plane as an artist that I'm a fan of, then realizing that once he got off the plane he waited for me to walk with me to the baggage claim. Ultra fan-giddiness!

Five Things You May Not Know About What I Do in a Typical Day:
- I snooze at least 4 times
- I have a special process when I feed my fish - I worry when anyone else does it
- I work on my webpage or future posts on my laptop when I'm on the train
- I'm sleepy in the afternoon, awake late at night
- I try not to eat anything after 8pm.

Working on some layouts, and I just wanted to ask your opinions:

What do you like in a layout?

What turns you off in some layouts?

What do you like/dislike about my layout(s)?

Are you able to see all my layouts on your monitor (does it fit on your screen)?

Do you have a favorite layout that I've had?

I'm working on some pretty cool stuff right now...can't wait til you all see it!

Gil was showing us this site yesterday. It's uncanny how it works. At first I was skeptical, but I can't figure out how this thing works!!! If any of you figure it out, let me know, because it's bugging me!

Flash Mind Reader"

All you have to do is choose a two digit number, do some math, match up your answer with a symbol, and click on a button. The Crystal ball then tells you what your symbol is. It gets me every time!!! Why?!?! Why?!?!?!

Yep. The superbowl party is going on and I'm here to give you the highlights. Here we go!

5:10 - Alicia Keys channels Ray Charles and sings 'America' with some deaf and blind kids. Sure, we make a couple jokes about blind kids wandering around on the field, but after a few moments, we all start getting a little teary eyed watching these kids belt out the song. *sigh*

5:27 - The combined armed forces choir sings the National Anthem. We have a debate on the war in Iraq, then hush up as they sing. Claudine stands. Dave's dad looks for where he put his beer. Dave's mom tells us Christmas is over and we should take down our wreath. Fatima belches, politely.

5:33 - The best coin flip ever. They bring in a little kid to flip the coin. Lots of pressure to give a little boy. He takes it, we hold our breaths, and the ref tells him to toss it high. He does, but doesn't flip it. Just throws it up, and it lands flat down. Hilarious!

5:49 - The LeBron James Bubblicious commercial just made us go "What the?!? They still make Bubbalicious gum?" If so, do they really need to have it named after a basketball player? The star studded Diet Pepsi commercial fell a little flat (hardee har har). Carson Daly and Wilmer Valderrama driving Pepsi trucks? Do their careers suck that badly? Chetan loves my meatballs. He asks me for the recipe. I tell him, "CostCo!" But then I fess up and said that the meatball sauce is all me.

6:00 - I know a lot of commercials aren't going to be aired because people are afraid of the FCC fining them. Sadly, GoDaddy.com's try at being racy sucked badly.

6:24 - Hmm, been busy 'entertaining' so I haven't been able to watch the game much. I DID catch the Capital One commercial with all the Marvel Superheroes. LAME! Me and Fatima were puking. Eew. Lame! OK, back to eating brownies!

6:56 - Um, I wanted to comment on a commercial, but I don't remember. I'm really full. It's affecting my mind. The Dennis Rodman commercial was interesting. Oh yeah! The Batman Begins movie commercial! Fuck yeah! That shit looks awesome! I'm going to be first in line. OK, not really. But I'm gonna watch that baby - Christian Bale is a perfect young Bruce Wayne!

7:17 - The 'Tomorrow' commercial with the football players singing was really cute, though overhyped. Marian provided what is so far the best quote of the night by saying, "Hmm, someone should make a song called 'Yesterday'." We laughed and said, 'Um, duh! The Beatles!" as Paul McCartney comes on screen to do half time.

7:26 - The half-time show is OK. I like Paul McCartney, but it's so 'blah'. The first part was boring, though the second half was a bit more lively. The stage setup was pretty cool. And having the audience hold up the 'Na Na Na's' was laughable. Come on, Paul! Take off your shirt! I guess not. It's was a so-so, SAFE, halftime show. Grr. This Superbowl so far is so tame!

7:30 - This internet connection I have next to the food is pretty popular. It's like a little internet cafe - people are in line to surf the web and check emails. Marian has deemed this little area "Christine's Computer Corner Cafe".

7:32 - I just sent Gil out to walk my dad's dog. Why do I get this nagging feeling that the dog's not coming back?

7:56 - What's with all the monkey commercials? OK, fine, they're funny, but still. I've also found my favorite commercial of all, the one where the guy is making spaghetti for dinner and chopping some stuff up, then as his wife is coming to the door the cat comes by, drops the spaghetti sauce and he picks up the spaghetti soaked cat in one hand and the knife in the other and his wife comes in and it looks like he's killing the cat. Awesome!

9:01 - The feeding frenzy is over and we're all actually WATCHING the game now. The Eagles just scored a touchdown, but is it too late? I don't think so!

9:30 - Game over. So my prediction was wrong. Maybe if I was watching the outcome would have been different! Anyway, once Michael gets here we're going to watch 'The Grudge' and get nice and scared before sending everyone home. The party was a success and everyone got full and had a good time.

Next - the Oscar party!

Just wanted to congratulate YWIM friend and reader Shani Davis (who calls this site 'fun and well organized') for winning the men's World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Russia this weekend.

When Shani made it evident that he was going to keep on going with short track and long track we all knew it would be tough, of not impossible, to do. We all thought that to excel, he had to choose one or the other. I'm glad to say that we were wrong, with all his successes in long track and constantly showing up in the top 10 for short track in the US. He's been a magnet for controversy, but through it all, he's let his performance speak for itself. He's a force to be reckoned with and there will be nothing to stop him from acheiving his goals.

Next goal: The Olympics - in BOTH short track and long track. I'd like to say 'fat chance', but I think you'd prove me wrong.

Great job, big guy! I owe you a deep dish pizza in the off season.

More photos of Shani can be found at Yahoo! News Images

Well, I was supposed to be traveling today so I told people I wasn't going to have a Superbowl party. But plans have changed, and I'll be home to watch the game, so we're going to have some people over. If you're not doing anything for the game, you are more than welcome to come over. I stopped by CostCo yesterday and got a lot of yummy Superbowl treats! Just give me a call or shoot me an email.

Now, I shall give you my Superbowl Prediction.

New England will come out strong at first, probably leading throughout the first and second quarters. Philadelphia will make a come back in the third quarter, making it a tight game until the last 5 minutes or so of the game. Around the last 5 minutes Philadelphia is going get the lead and should hold it for the rest of the game.

The score? New England: 24/Philadelphia: 27

Dan is in New Orleans right now, reveling in booze, boobies and god knows what else. He got there yesterday morning, and it was a mere 4 hours before he called me, drunk and crazy. At 4 in the afternoon. While he was taking a dump in his hotel room. Yelling into his phone. I put him on speaker and he yelled and screamed at all of us - we had a good time laughing at him.

Then he called about 10 more times. Normally I would be exaggerating, but this time I'm not. He called while he was lost, looking for the rest of his crew. He called to tell us a story that he had told us several times before. He called to tell us to watch him on a live webcam - which we did, and he lifted up his shirt for the whole world to see. He then called again to say, "Did you see my tits?" He called again just because. He called again to tell me that an old lady was slapping his ass, then gave the phone to talk to the old lady.

You know what? I think he's having a good time.

He also wanted me to inform you that you can still enter the contest on his site to guess when someone is going to puke for the first time during their trip. I'm sure there will be a great prize pack, since he's getting lots of good stuff in New Orleans.

I'm out. Waiting for more calls from my soon to be brother in law.

Just found out from Melanie's blog that Chariya had her baby! I'm stealing her pic from her site - isn't this family so adorable?

Congrats to Chariya, Mykel and baby Ayden!

I'm home from Boston! Took me about an hour on tech support to get my internet back up, but I'm sure you're happy to know that not once did I break down crying screaming, 'Why? Why me?!?!?' to the heavens.

Since my client was across the street from my hotel, I didn't need a car. However, I did need a cab to drive me to the airport. The secretary called the cab company, and by the time I was done with work, the cab driver was downstairs waiting.

He came out of the car and the first thing I thought was 'He looks like Quentin Tarantino.' A shorter, hairier, creepier Tarantino with bad posture. He was nice, though, trying to make conversation and helping me put all my stuff in the taxi.

So we're in the taxi, making small talk (which I hate) and he has some foriegn accent, sounding Eastern European. Then my mind started wandering - if I would have guessed his ethnic background, I would have said Transylvanian. It just had a very Dracula sound to it, but a deeper, slower Dracula. Then I realized who he reminded me of. Igor. The hunchbacked guy that's always in the dark recesses of any castle, always ready to help Dr. Frankenstein or make sure that the lab is prepared.

He asks me where I'm from, I say Chicago. He laughs, and then states that it doesn't look like I'm there because I have such a dark tan. (What?!? I'm totally turning Redpac white!) He was nice enough. I felt bad that he probably lost his job at the evil scientist's lab in the homeland.

Then he asked me, "Are you a scientist?" Which really made me want to laugh out loud, since only a moment before I was imagining him, as Frankenstein, hook up Frankenstein's monster to the table, waiting for lightening to come. I shook my head no. "I work on computers," I informed him.

"Oh! Computers! So you're still a scientist - a computer scientist!"

"Um, yeah, I guess I am!"

"Wow. That's great," he said, and I swear he looked wistfully out the window, thinking of happier days with his own scientist boss, bringing monsters to life in the middle of the night and casting spells with eye of newt.

Ahh...never a dull moment in a cab, I tell ya.

Changed the page design, yet again. If you loved the kitty, no worries, she'll be back in full effect after Valentine's day.

I love the art of Tara McPherson. She's done some covers for several Vertigo comic books. She's got an interesting style - go and check out her site. When I ran across this picture, I knew I had to use it for this site, and Valentine's day seemed perfect for it.

I've shown a couple people preliminary designs for this layout, and several of them had mentioned that it looks a bit creepy and morbid. That didn't even run across my mind when I saw it. But then again, I think Valentine's is an over rated holiday, especially for single people. Didn't want to have a cutesy cupid layout all covered in pink and lace. Eew. I was also told that this layout doesn't seem to fit my personality, though I think it suits it just fine.

What do you think?

Photo Friday : Distorted

The Bean - Chicago, IL : August 2004

Sorry this is a bit late, but thanks to Erina for the heads up.

Tomorrow, February 4th is 'Wear Red' day, to bring awareness to fact that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.

So if you have a chance, wear some red tomorrow.

This was sent to me by several wonderful women. Thank you for notifying me about this:

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important legislation for all women.

Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you are receiving this it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go and vote on this issue...and send it on to others you know who will do the same.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy.

It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home hours after surgery against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.

PLEASE!!!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

Sign the pledge here

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family.
THANKS

There is a nice article that you can read about this bill in the link provided.

Most of you know that my mother had breast cancer. I only remember bits and pieces of the day she came back from the hospital, but I know that it's a very disorienting, depressing, confusing time. I don't know how long she was at the hospital but I don't think it was 48 hours. I think having that time to recover from the anesthesia, as well as to come to grips with the reality of the situation would be beneficial to women. Anything to make the process easier. Going into the hospital and being sent back home right after surgery because insurance won't pay the bill isn't right.

So when you get a chance, click on the link and make your voice heard.

In Boston right now, and although this picture wasn't taken on my way here, I thought it would be nice to show that traveling doesn't suck ALL the time. This is a picture of sunrise from a plane window. I loved the colors and how you can see the sliver of the moon there.

I love Boston, I wish I was here longer. I'm only here for two days for work, so I don't have much time to go sightseeing, nor do I have a car to drive around in. Some of my clients asked if I wanted to go out for drinks with them, but I'm a little sick and very tired from work and life.

I was really excited to come here, because I went to this client site several years ago, and since they were a non-for-profit organization, a millionaire had given his old mansion to them to be their headquarters. It was the coolest mansion on a hill, complete with the creepy New England garden with an ivy covered fountain, a library, a ballroom with ancient paintings and caretakers. It was like a big haunted house.

However, I found out that they moved to a new office. A regular office. No drive through the enchanted forest to the haunted house on the hill. Oh well, at least it is really close to my hotel.

It's nice to be back, I've got a good, easygoing bunch. Normally I don't enjoy training, but this group is talkative, friendly, and eager to learn. It makes teaching so much easier for me! I'm actually having a good time helping them learn the product and go over their data setup.

Who'd have known. I'm enjoying work!

*checks temperature*

Aquaman, better known as Sam my whipping boy/man slave, has finally gotten himself a blog. After months and months of debating, he's taken the plunge and entered the blogging world.

If you get a chance, stop by his undersea world and say 'hi'. The layout is still a blah, but no worries, we'll be decorating his new home in the next couple weeks and make it into a wondeful underwater haven for him and his little marine friends.

He's a little nervous about writing, what to put out there, what not, or if people would even care to come and read his ramblings about life. And let me tell you, the guy can ramble on!

Which brings me to my question for all of you readers out there -

What makes a good blog?

What about a blog sparks your interest? Is it funny stories? The way someone writes? Someone who pours out their soul? Interesting pictures? Long posts about politics? What keeps you coming back again, day after day? Does it need to have a good design? Are there things that turn you off? Do you have any advice for a blogger who's just starting out?

I'd love to hear your feedback on this. There are many bloggers out there who want so much to get an audience, but it just doesn't happen - even with traffic generators like BlogExplosion or BlogClicker. Sure, that will bring traffic to your site, but will they come back? Returning readers, to me, shows that you're doing something right.

I've remarked many times how I love the community I've built here - its grown slowly over the last several years, but I see it as my little YWIM family, made up of family members, real life friends, internet friends, and people I've never been in contact with. Why do you all come back? I'm not exactly sure why.

So tell me what y'all think about what makes a good blog. Feel free to use examples from this blog or any others about do's and don'ts (of course you can only write nice things about YWIM or I will edit your comment to say that you love hot monkey sex with bananas....just kidding.)

And don't forget to visit Aquaman!

Since I've been working my ass off at work over the last weeks, I haven't had much time to myself (i.e. surf the internet), so usually I just do it at home.

When I got home yesterday, my wireless wasn't picking up a signal.

I went up to my desktop, and there was an error on the screen that said the broadband connection was gone. Uh oh.

So I tried everything. Renewing the ip address, turning off the router and turning it on again, logging off my account and logging in again. Oh snap. I don't remember my password. I created an account for me and Dave to log into SBC, and I forgot the password.

I pulled out my laptop and attached it to the phone line, dialing in to AOL. I tried 5 million times to log into the sbcglobal page with 100 iterations of every password I had ever. No luck. What the hell was the password I made for this account?

I struggled for a while, and Dave was sitting at this desk studying.

"Are you panicking?" he asked.

"No."

"Really?"

"Maybe just a little." I replied as my hands started twitching.

Finally, I sucked it up and called tech support. The automated attendant told me that the SBC DSL service around my area was down. Duh, if I called earlier I could have saved myself some grief! I was able to change my password on the phone, but I won't be able to use it til the service comes back up again.

So the lesson to this, kiddies, is just stay at work and use the internet there and don't go home.

...um...just kidding.