Can you believe that it's been four years that Dave and I have been married?!?! It's crazy!

Pictures at Wrigley

Thought I'd post up this pic since the Cubs have been doing so well!

Well, well, Mr. Pop Culture has corrected my earlier "Cat Stevens" post, by submitting this comment:

When did Cat Stevens do a Harry Chapin song? I've only ever heard him or Ugly Kid Joe do it.

Of course, I need to make sure, and found this on wikipedia:

Many people mistakenly believe the song to be the work of artist Cat Stevens, and a mis-titled MP3 version is widely circulated on the internet. Jack Black contributed to this confusion, playing part of the song in a Saturday Night Live sketch where Black's character claimed the song was by Yusuf Islam, a.k.a. Cat Stevens. There are no known, verifiable recordings of Cat Stevens performing the song however, and a Cat Stevens fan web site assures readers that Stevens has never performed the song, "not live, not in the studio, and not even privately.

I hate it when I'm wrong!!! It sounds like Cat Stevens, I swear!

She's out in Detroit working her way to becoming Redpac's sugar momma.

Happy Birthday Claudine! Miss you much.

...and YES, I did watch VH1, and homeboy got chunky!

Just a quick happy birthday to my baby sister, Fatima!

Last week, Ben and I went to go pick her up where she works. She works at a community for children and adults with developmental disabilities. In the two years that she's worked there, this was the first time that I've actually had a chance to see where she goes every day.

Two weeks ago, if you were to ask me who the strongest sister was, I would have said Fatima. When our mother was sick in the hospital, it was Fatima who came every day with my Father to help take care of her. Even though she's the baby of the family, she has been our strength, the one who has been through the most.

After meeting her 'kids' and seeing what she does, day after day, I'm even more impressed by her character and her will. It's not an easy job working with people with developmental disabilities. It's tiring physically as well as mentally. I know that I would have a hard time doing it. However, Fatima does it with a smile on her face, and it's obvious how much she loves her kids and how much they love her. She is making a difference in so many lives.

So happy birthday, once again, little sister. I am so proud of the woman you've become, even though I know you're still a boozing whore during the weekends. You're making a difference, and Mommy would be proud. I love you!

...and Claudine, I'm proud of you, too, if you're reading this and thinking, "what about me, bitch?!?!"

F#@&ing spammers!

Die spammers, die!

- FYI, comments are back up again.

Grr. Spammers. There's a special place in he11 for you!

I post this because he cried last year when I didn't post a "Happy Birthday" to him.

So happy birthday, brother...hope you're having a great time in Detroit city!

Just wanted to wish a quick "Happy Birthay!" to Melanie, who's out in Vegas somewhere living like a rock star...

Happy Birthday to my sister Claudine. She lives out in Michigan now and I miss her terribly. I hope Dan is good to her today!

She's a classy gal...I mean, she's so classy she had makes people feed her White Castle Burgers!

..birthday wishes to Marilyn!

...and yes, we'll let you babysit Benjamin for your birthday present!

I used to like Jessica Simpson. I thought she had a great voice, she was down to earth, she was beautiful, and she didn't want to do anything flashy to get attention like Christina or Britney.

But everything "Newlyweds" and after changed my opinion of her. She doesn't even look pretty anymore to me. I don't know if it's all the publicity or that she just looks better with a little more meat on her, or maybe that she's had work done, but I think she looked much better before.

Anyway, I laughed when I went to Yahoo! this morning and saw this headline on the Buzz Log:

I may have said that she's no longer pretty to me, but come on, Yahoo!, you've GOT to have a better picture of Jessica than that! She looks like a 40 year old aunt that comes to parties smelling of strong perfume and who gives everyone smell-kisses. The funny thing is that the headline is saying that she's hot - and the picture is the complete opposite of that.

Man, I'm mean at 5 in the morning.

It's been a while since I've announced the YWIM monthly trivia winners. It's been pretty competitive in there, and we've seen different names up in the top spot. Here's the lowdown on the last couple months:

April

1. Redpac (444 points, 1 wins)
2. Cav (433 points, 4 wins)
3. noelle (428 points, 4 wins)
4. sprout (426 points, 3 wins)
5. soxfan (413 points, 2 wins)
6. zebedest (395 points, 1 wins)
7. crispix (356 points, 2 wins)
8. suki (345 points, 1 wins)
9. short (335 points, 2 wins)
10. grandmakvas (334 points, 1 wins)

May

1. Cav (430 points, 2 wins)
2. grandmakvas (391 points, 1 wins)
3. noelle (377 points, 1 wins)
4. Redpac (373 points, 1 wins)
5. crispix (362 points, 1 wins)
6. PA (344 points, 2 wins)
7. sprout (343 points, 2 wins)
8. yellowledbetter (343 points, 2 wins)
9. TallSteve (325 points, 2 wins)
10. zebedest (315 points, 0 wins)

A big shout out to the biggest trivia addict, crispix, who hasn't missed a day, even after having a baby!

We're always looking for more players, so feel free to come a try it out!

Thanks to Sue and Tiasha for this one...

On Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 AM in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06. That won't ever happen again.

Well, ok, it's lying. It will happen in another 100 years, but are you really willing to wait that long if you miss it?

Lack of updates will be spotty - the laptop is on its last legs (I'm getting pretty tired of holding the adapter for it in that "just right" position so it charges the battery) and I've convinced Dave that we need a new desktop to replace the Windows 98 one I've had for the last 4 years that takes 10 minutes to boot up and randomly freezes up on us.

Just wanted to let you know the Oscar Prediction Winner for this year - it's Linda with 13 of 17 categories right! Great job, Linda!

Here's how everyone else fared:

YellowLedBetter: 9
Noelle: 6
Shannon: 11
Me: 10

Thanks for playing!

----

I also forgot to post the trivia winners for last month. February was an unusual month for trivia - neither Redpac OR Noelle got into the top ten! The competition is getting much tougher! Here's our top ten for the month:

1. crispix (435 points, 3 wins)
2. SusanG (386 points, 2 wins)
3. zebedest (375 points, 4 wins)
4. sprout (371 points, 3 wins)
5. short (354 points, 0 wins)
6. iknewthat (340 points, 1 wins)
7. Yano (334 points, 2 wins)
8. suki (330 points, 4 wins)
9. bruno (322 points, 1 wins)
10. snwchild (288 points, 0 wins)

Of course, Noelle was out of the country for a week...and she's come back this month with a vengeance, currently standing in the #1 spot!

A little late, but I wanted to wish you all a good one!

The US Short Track Championships are this week, which will ultimately help choose what skaters go on to the Olympics in Torino this coming February. There's going to be some tough competition, and as much as I wish I was there, I'm not, so I'll have to cheer from wherever the wind takes me this week.

Best of luck to all the skaters, hope that the competition goes with no injuries and no drama, but I think the drama is a given. We've got some strong skaters coming into the Olympics, and I can't wait to see who makes the team.

Skate fast, Mr. Smith, skate fast.

...and none of that dq-ing crap, either.

This was sent to me by SusanG. I don't know if it's a hoax or not, but hey, you can't be too cautious about these things, right?

Subject: Message from CA HWY Patrol

Please keep this circulating...

You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car, and get inside. You start the engine and shift into REVERSE, You look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space and you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window.

You shift into PARK, unlock your doors, jump out of your car and walk to the rear to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, that is when the car-jackers appear out of no where, jump into your car and take off!

Your engine was running and they practically mow you down as they speed off in your car.

Guess what ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car...

BE AWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME THAT IS NOW BEING USED.

Just drive away. Remove the paper that is stuck to your window - later.
Be thankful that you read this email. I hope you will forward this to friends and family... especially to women!

A purse contains all of your identification, and you certainly do NOT want someone getting your home address. They already HAVE your keys!

Lieutenant Tony Bartolome
Bureau of Investigations
Highway Patrol

To lighten the mood a little, here's something from Chariya - good samaritans pay attention - doing a good deed sometimes comes back to you!

this morning as mykel dropped me off at work, there was a car behind us doing the same thing. when i got out, mykel said "hey look at the guy behind us...he left his coffee on the car!" i went up to the car as the passenger (i thought) had just gotten out, and i told the driver he forgot his coffee on top of the car. he looked at me and said "what?" so i told him he forgot his starbucks on top of his car. with a big smile he leaned over, said thank you, and handed me a starbucks gift card! i looked down and noticed that he had a bag full of 'em in the passenger seat.

i turned around and the guy standing at the bus stop (who i thought just got out of the car) held up his gift card for me to see, and we just started laughing. obviously he had just done the exact same thing! lol.

apparently this is some sort of seasonal promotion, because i found out this also happened to gina last week. it can be any kind of car, anyone driving. just keep an eye out for the starbucks glued to the roof! lol.

dammit, why can't I be in Chicago right now?

A big Happy Birthday to my friend Jen!

I took this photo of Jen last week at her cousin's wedding, and I love it. She was saying her matron of honor speech and the spotlight lit up the contours of her face. I think she looks awesome in it...

Happy birthday, my wonderful friend...may you have many many more!

We don't know the sex of the baby yet. We'll find out in a couple weeks.

People have been looking at me and making quick guesses as to what the baby is. Some people do it by the size of my belly, some people do it by what I look like, some people do it by a 'feeling', some do little tricks.

One thing I was told was that there is a belief that you can guess whether it's a girl or a boy by how pretty the mother is. If the mother is having a boy, then the mother has an abundance of estrogen left over, making her prettier. If the mother is having a girl, then the baby girl is taking some of the estrogen, therefore taking some of the mother's beauty, making her uglier during her pregnancy.

95% of the people who guess what my baby is say it's a girl.

*cries*

----------

To be fair, I've also heard it the other way around from some cultures (like the Brazilians or something) that when it's a girl the baby adds on to the beauty of the mother.

I'd like to think it's that one if the baby is indeed a girl.

However, when I look in the mirror, I think I look the same. The cheeks are rosier and the neck a little plumper, but it's still the same old me.

Happy Birthday to my lifemate, and the father of my unborn child!

He has been so understanding during this whole pregnancy, calmly taking my verbal and physical abuse, doing extra stuff to help around the house when I pass out at 9pm, and making sure that I'm eating ok, even going on fast food runs when I get the urge.

He's the bestest! :-P

Happy Birthday!

It's Melanie's birthday today! I hope she's having fun out in California, getting some good R&R.

Happy Birthday, Mel!

Not too much time today to post...thought I'd take a couple minutes to teach you something I thought was cool. I loved cultural anthropology in college, and I always learned interesting things.

In our society, we've got basically 9 main colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black and gray. Of course, you've got the hundreds of different shades of those colors that have their own names, too, like lime, burgundy, navy, cyan, gold, etc.

What's the least number of colors names that a society has had? Two - light and dark. Of course, there's different shades of gray between that spectrum, but cultures that have names for colors usually start off with two - one for light, and one for dark. For societies that have three colors, the next color to get a name is red. After red, then comes blueish-green (the Chinese see blue and green as shades of the same base color).

Interesting?

Maybe not, but I had nothing else to say today. :)

p.s. Of course, I may be remembering this all wrong, so I apologize if I'm just speaking out of my ass.

A quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my awesome sister Claudine. I have no idea how old she turns today because I never remember how old my sisters are, but I'm pretty sure she's getting on in years. She's getting married next year and she has a HUGE test coming this week, so of course, her wedding has been taking priority. Heh heh.

Love you See-star!

I'm going on vacation next week, and I'd like to open up some guest poster positions to several people.

Is anyone interested? The last time we did it people seemed to have a good time. All I'm looking for are people who can post every other day or so, who can be interesting (funny stories, movie reviews, cool links, etc) and who will behave!

Just comment here and we'll take it from there...

I'm alive.

Happy birthday to my wonderful, crazy cousin Marilyn. She's 18 today, and LEGAL!

You better behave yourself today, girlie!

Dear Readers,

Having a great time in New York. Stayed out late yesterday. Had fun, laughed a lot, and ate good food. More later.

Wish you were here.

Love,
Yano

I'm off to New York City! I'm so happy I'm not going somewhere in the south.

Whee!!!!

Happy birthday to one of the sweetest people I know. Throughout my years at X-Systems, there was only one other woman at the office that I felt at ease with and felt that I could sincerely call 'my friend', and that's Amy.

She rocks.

I hope you have a great birthday, you really deserve it. If your husband doesn't treat you well today, email me and I'll make sure to hide fish and rotting eggs somewhere in his desk so he can't find it, but smell it.

I love you, my friend!

My favorite quote of the day:

"Hey, while you were gone I pulled out, like, 3 nose hairs."

Eww.

edit

Since Aqua didn't like the picture I posted of him, saying that he looked 'too serious', I've posted another, happier, picture of him.

A big Happy Birthday goes out to my friend Sam, a.k.a. "Aquaman", who prides himself in being my Best New Friend of 2005. I would have posted a picture of the two of us, but looks like I don't have any. (well, not any good ones where one of us doesn't look like they're going to sneeze) So this one will just have to do, a picture of Sam doing what he loves - drinking. I would also throw in a whole bunch of accolades, telling you all what a great guy he is, his mad baking skillz, yada yada, but I don't want to turn this blog into an Aquaman fan club.

Hope you have a good day, BUDDY, one where you're dreated like a king and you don't have to deal with any drama.

Because old men don't handle drama well.

Why is it that everytime I hear Britney Spear's 'Toxic' I feel the need to get up, dance, and pretend to be an international super spy?

Does that make me a geek?

I'm watching 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' and just saw the dude who sang that song from the Watabe brother skit on SNL - 'What is Love?' since 'Toxic'. Nice to see someone who can sing do the song live.

'The Knack' did 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' and they were just adorable - they had so much energy and were so happy! How cute.

LOST is on tonight.

It's the very first episode.

Watch it!

Catch up on the episodes so we can have long meaningful conversations about it!

Guess what I saw today?

A black man!

Yep. And it's only the third day I've been here.

I don't feel like a minority anymore.

(see this post if you're confused)

Dear Bruno,

Please come out of hiding and tell us a little about yourself. I have no idea who you are! Redpac has his panties in a bunch because he's got some solid competition in the daily trivia and I think he's worried that he's going to lose his top spot for the month.

So I just wanted to say thank you. It's nice to see that red headed devil sweat.

Love,
Yano

Re: The Bachelor

I take it back, Sarah W. is a little bit of crazy.

But Krisily is crazy, too.

I root for no one now.

That's all.

*cries*

Hey, we were down 15 and came back to tie it late in the second half. We fought hard. It just wasn't meant to be. Had some good looks but they didn't go in.

But hey, what a year! It was a great ride.

I still love my Illini boys.

*cries*

In case you were holding your breath (because I was), Aramis Ramirez has signed on to stay with the Cubs for $42 milliion, four year deal. Yay! He's a great, all around player, and I'm glad he's staying with the team. He's got the option to go free agent at the end of 2006, but it doesn't look like it:

" "That's just an option, but I don't think I'm going to exercise that," Ramirez said. "I want to be a Cub for the rest of my life.""

All we need now is Prior to get back in his groove, and we'll be a force to be reckoned with this season!

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...

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

Happy birthday, girlie!

Today is Dave's big 3-0. Lots of 30th birthdays this year!

I actually woke up extra early this morning (which is a great feat in itself and shows how much I love this guy -because he leaves for work at 6am) to make him an extra special birthday breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage. I'm a breakfast making queen!!!

Of course, after making him breakfast, I went back to bed and missed my regular train.

But it was worth it!

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Good times!

Love you, lady!

If you're not doing anything right now, or are one the west coast, watch Smallville.

Tom Welling in all his shirtless glory.

...and he dances, too!

So I was going to develop my underwater pictures from my honeymoon and the cruise (which was a year ago, I know) because I've been putting it off forever. But since I was going to Indianapolis, I thought I'd just do it next week.

Good thing I put it off.

Because the Walgreens by my house exploded last week.

Man, I always miss all the good stuff when I'm out of town.

Another reason why procrastination is good, people!

...on Yahoo Instant Messenger. I'll be logged in for work, and my friend list is oh-so-empty.

I'll still be primarily using AIM outside of work (and at times during work, too) but I'll have YIM on during the day.

So if you're bored at work or whatever, hit me up on YIM. Of course, I'm 'missyano' on it. I've got that name cornered on pretty much every chatting program out there. :-P

I'm watching "From Justin to Kelly" right now. Because I can't find anything else on TV.

And I think I like it.

Just wanted you to know.

Chances are 100% that Mel and Fata will make me change the channel when they get here.

This one is REALLY simple.

First 5 people to email me at kwannon at gmail dot com will get themselves a gmail invitation.

Ready.

Set.

GO!

Go to Starbucks! They're giving away a little bag of coffee and a small book of poems.

Well at least at mine they are. Hopefully at yours they are, too.

But it's a pretty good excuse to go, eh?

I've become a G-Mail inviting whore.

Anyway, this weeks game is this:

Guess what number I'm thinking of - between 1-100.

Closest 3 by midnight tomorrow get a gmail invite.

Just wanted to wish a happy 17th birthday to my favorite cousin, Marilyn!

It's so hard to believe that she's 17 already. She's considered to be the youngest of our generation of the cousins, right after Fatima - a 7 year difference. I know it's been tough for her having such a huge age difference between her and the rest of the kids (the next generation of cousins is 12 years younger than her). But although she's wanted to grow up faster than the rest of us (or at least wanted to) she has always been a sweet, helpful girl, with such a big heart (but with a little flair for the dramatic). We helped raise her when she was little, and she still calls my dad Daddy Vic, she's like a sister to us.

Did I ever tell you that I was the one who helped name her? Her parents had initially thought of naming her Margaret, but I just didn't like the name. So since I got the call of her birth on August 5th, the 25th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death, I suggested the name, and there you go.

And believe me, the girl is as dramatic as Marilyn Monroe. I think she lives for the drama! And although I haven't agreed with all her actions, I still love the girl to death, and worry about her all the time. But I know she has a good head on her shoulders, and that she'll be fine.

As I write this, my phone alarm went off. And I think to myself, 'Why is my alarm going off?' because I didn't set it.

Then I realized that the little freakazoid that is Marilyn had set my phone alarm to go off on her birthday.

Yeah, I love that girl.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

It was commented below that one of my favorite actors (well, he was...til he disappeared off the radar), Rick Moranis, was dead.

I looked around the internet for news of his death in the news archives on the net, but didn't find anything, but for some reason, it looked like other people were searching for it, too. If you search for Rick Moranis in Yahoo, the similar searches will come up as 'Rick Moranis dead', 'Rick Moranis death' and 'Rick Moranis died'. However, nothing comes up.

But thanks to Wilkweb, I found out that the rumor isn't true. *whew* Suddenly Seymore is still alive and kickin'.

I guess it was all a hoax. I can't find the original article that was put up, but I guess it was just a joke between friends that got blown out of proportion. Anyway, they posted an apology.

For more on what happened, go ahead and check out his fansite.

Yesterday, Ray Charles passed away. I don't know but for some reason, in my mind Ray Charles was immortal, he had been a constant in my life, popping up here and there every once in a while. He wasn't someone that would ever die. Sure, I know, his legacy will live on, but what I'm saying is that to me, Ray was someone who I think I took for granted that he would always be around. It's pretty sad that such a legend should leave us.

Throughout his career, Charles ventured past soul and into country, pop, standards, jazz, swing and even hip-hop. He could make a Pepsi soft drink commercial sound soulful.

"He didn't give a damn about the genres," Charles' biographer, David Ritz told Reuters. "He broke down the barriers and said, 'When I was a kid I listened to the Grand Ole Opry, and I like country and I like George Gershwin."'

At the Blues Fest in Chicago, they had 3 minutes of silence for him. And a gathering where their main reason for getting together is music, that's a pretty big feat.

Goodbye Mr. Charles, you will be missed, but your soul and your music shall live on.

_________________________________

So there's a superstition that deaths come in threes. First, President Reagan, now, Ray Charles. Who's next? I posed the question to Dave the other day, and he gave his prediction: Jason Bateman. What?!?! Yeah, I know. I have no idea. I think he pulled out any obscure actor from his head, just for a reply. Weirdo.

Just something to think about...

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.
Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both were shot in the head.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners.
Both successors were named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are made of fifteen letters.

Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

(And last but not least... )

A week before Lincoln was shot he was in Monroe, Maryland.
A week before Kennedy was shot he was in Marilyn Monroe.

You know, I'm not a regular American Idol watcher, but America, you best be voting for Fantasia. If she loses, you'll know that this whole competition is a crock of shit.

No offense to little Diana, it's amazing that she has such poise and talent to make it this far.

But if you hear Fantasia sing, she is just amazing!

A big happy birthday to my lovely sister, Fatima. I hope she has a great day today and parties her ass off. She's such a wonderful person and I admire her strength, especially during these past months. She truly deserves to rest and have fun today....wish I was there!!!

A quick Happy Birthday to my wonderful and lovely cousin Marian, who always laughs at my jokes and loves to read my entertainment magazines.

So where are we gonna party?

It's Manny's birthday today! I think...I always forget the actual day. I think it's today, though!

Happy birthday, Manny Fanny!

Yesterday:

- Woke up late
- Headed to Hermosa Beach
- Ate at Zeppy's, had horrible pizza
- Came home, started watching Rockstar
- Went to pick up Dan and Tall Steve, waited for YEARS since punkass didn't pick up his phone
- Went to the Yardhouse for dinner
- It was too packed there, went to Islands instead
- Went to Rick and Lanie's poker night

Today
- Make my special heart and star pancakes (done)
- Check out Newport Beach
- Check out Venice Beach
- Check out Santa Monica Beach and Third Street Promenade
- Eat dinner at the Yardhouse

It's a pretty ambitious schedule, but I think we can do it!!!

Happy Birthday to my ultra-huggable cousin Marlon. I don't have to tell him to go and have a good time, because I'm sure he's doing it as I speak.

Stolen from HuskyBoy

Just a quick Happy "You're Really Old Now" Birthday to my friend Mike. There's still 20 minutes left to it!

Here's a pic from our younger, skinnier days...

Hope you had a good one, kuyabar!

The only reality show I've been keeping up with lately is the Real World/Road Rules challenge. Today, Coral, the badass of badass, said the best thing that just cracked me up. Julie the whiney crazy girl wanted to challenge Coral to a wrestling match.

"I don't wrestle, I fucking beat bitches up!"

Oh yeah. That's my girl Coral. She's all talk, but she says the best stuff. And really wanted her to go apeshit on Julie.

Did Julie really think she had a chance against Coral? Come on! Get a clue, you're scared of Veronica of all people! Does Katie keep you up at night, too?

Just wanted to wish my cousin Michael a Happy Belated Birthday.

As much as he's afraid of my hugs, I'm sending him a virtual one from out here!

I'm off to Atlanta for the rest of the week. Later y'all.

It's been a while since an email has had me in tears. Lucinda sent me this one, and I bawled like a little baby. OK, not that bad, but I did cry a little...it's really beautiful...though bittersweet for me in a way...

- In the heat of emotion we say things, and some people would like nothing more than to take the words that we say and twist them to make a good story. That's what sells newspapers, after all.

- The thing that sucks about truth is just like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder. We can only see the truth based on the facts given to us. But the important thing is what we do with that truth we had created. Keep our minds open for other truths and give people the benefit of the doubt? Or stay with the truth we have constructed and make judgements?

- That's probably why I usually keep my mouth shut during controversies, or I try to give people both sides of the argument. I'm always trying to see the other side, though sometimes I'm not successful and can get as hotheaded as anyone else. But that's pretty rare.

- Maybe it's wrong of my to fight for a utopic world where everyone is happy. But that's me. I'm a healer. I love to fix things, to help people. And I love my friends, I would do anything for them. I'll be there for support, whether I think they're right or wrong, whether we have the same opinion or not. Whether their truth is mine or something I cannot comprehend.

I know none of this makes any sense. I'm a bit delirious after recent events, packing for Maui and a seriously lackluster Academy Awards.

Conversation in the car today, as Britney Spears' "Toxic" came on the radio.

Me: I hate to say it, but this song is catchy.
Dave: Yeah.
Me: But I'm so sick of Britney.
Dave: You have to admit, she's hot!
Me: Yeah, but too bad she's dumb.
Dave: If I met her, and she wanted to sleep with me, and I did, would you be upset?
Me: Um, DUH! Yeah I'd be upset! She's so dirty!
Dave: Oh. Well, what if I hooked up with Jessica Alba? Would you be upset?
Me: Yeah, if you didn't call me to share!
Dave: Whoo hoo! Good answer! Good answer!

There's nothing like watching a movie filmed in your home town to bring back memories of people, places and things.

Tonight, we're watching 'Saved the Last Dance', which Dave has never seen before. It was filmed in Chicago, and the club scenes were filmed at Crobar, a place that we went to many a time. Coincidentally, we were going to go there one night but discovered it was closed, and later found out they were filming the movie there.

Anyway, it's the club scene, and I reminded Dave that the movie was filmed in Crobar. We're doing a lot of comparisons, like how Crobar is usually way more packed, and that it's awfully bright for a club. There's one part where Faith Evans' 'Love Like This' comes on, and it just makes me want to dance. And the reaction that the song gets on screen is the same reaction it would get in a club. But not Crobar - I don't think they'd ever play it in Crobar! But it reminds me a lot of when we used to be club kids. Then they follow the main characters around the bar area. Dave exclaims, 'Hey! I threw up there! That's where I threw up!'

Oh yes, sweet memories indeed.

There seems to be some sort of X-Files marathon on TV, or O'Fallon is a magical place where X-Files is on TNT all the time. No matter, I'm in heaven and it doesn't look like I'll be sleeping.

Just saw the episode where Mulder and Scully save the world right before the millenium. At the very end, Mulder and Scully kiss for the very first time (of their own free will, that is).

Mulder - "The world didn't end, did it?"

Scully - "No, it didn't"

No...it didn't. The world ended when they cancelled your show!!! Man, that kiss still makes me all gooey and happy. I'm a shipper all the way.

God, I loved that show.

For some reason, we get a lot of wrong numbers and telemarketers on our home phone line. I don't remember if we asked to be unlisted or not...But I had an interesting wrong number today...

Me: Hello?
Caller: Hello, is John there?
Me: sorry, wrong number
Caller: really? is this 562-xxx-xxxx? (my number)
Me: yeah...
Caller: But there's no John there?
Me: Nope, sorry.
Caller: oh, well, this is a courtesy call for my company...are you interested in getting some deals on steak and seafood?
Me: uh, no thanks...
Caller: Are you sure?
Me: Yeah, that's ok
Caller: Well, howabout a date, then...you sound pretty cute!
Me: *giggles* Uh...no...that's ok.

Bizarre, isn't it? I don't think I have the type of voice that people would ask someone out on a date over...but it still was pretty flattering! Dave got a big laugh over it and told me to stop flirting on the phone with strangers.

I was just watching 'Legends of the Fall' the other day. What a great movie. I can watch it over and over again.

Many men I know love this movie. Maybe because it's a man's movie, a drama that a man can cry during, but it's cool, because they're not crying because of some stupid romance stuff. They're crying because these are manly men having manly problems. Which is OK to cry during. Kind of like it's ok to touch another man's ass ONLY when you're playing a sport and it's a quick slap.

Just babbling.....

We're thinking of going to Maui for our overdue honeymoon. Does anyone have any suggestions, like things to do, where to go, where to stay, helpful tips, etc? I've never been there before, but we'll be staying there for about a week....

This is the first time that Dave had ever asked me to post something.

During his daily internet sports rounds, Dave found the MLB's best pictures of 2003, and the very best was none other than our Sammy Sosa. So he told me to post it on my site, because it was really cool.

And now Dave shall speak:
"Faces of Death - 2003. Sammy's Sosa's death, if not for the helmet. Heh heh."

Just wanted to wish Noelle a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May the upcoming year bring you joy, happiness, and mind blowing experiences to rival the ones you had in the last year...you deserve it!

One of the biggest searches to my site is 'what does milkshake by kelis mean'? I had mentioned the song once before and everyone seems to be wondering what the hell Kelis is talking about.

So they end up here.

And find nothing to aid their quest.

Until today.

Today, I tell you, straight from Kelis, what the Milkshake is.

Brought to you by BET.com.

CaitGregs: what does "milkshake" mean in your song "Milkshake?" I love the song but I don't know what it means. People say all different things but I wanna know the real answer.

Kelis: "Milkshake" is just that thing that makes a woman stand out from everyone else. It's a thing that makes you sensual and warm and maternal. It could be about breasts but I don't have huge t*** so you gotta work with what you got.

And now you know!

In my quest to make everyone in my world happy, I have found someone sad, and I'm going to try my darndest to make her happy again.

If you've got an extra hug lying around, can you send one over to my cousin Melanie? She's going through a really tough time right now, and she really needs some support. I'm not in Chicago to be there for her and hug her sadness away, but I can send her some cyber-lovin'.

I love you, girl!!!

*hugs*

Real quick, happy birthday to DEO!!!

Here's a pic from WAY back...

Got this one from the Onion...

That last one just kills me.

I've always wanted to be a mermaid. Now I know how!

I have not yet bought Nelly Furtado's latest CD, but I really loved her last one, so I'll prolly end up buying this one.

I'm watching her perform on Jay Leno as we speak.

I saw her a couple months ago on TV singing songs off her new album. I was with Fatima at the time. I looked at Fatima and said, 'Whoa, Nelly Furtado has gained some weight! Look at her face...'

'Um, Christine,' Fatima replied, as if speaking to a child, 'uh, she's pregnant.'

Oh.

Yeah.

I knew that.

Watching her now, she looks great. For a pregnant woman. She's got that glow thing going on, and her eyes sparkle even more with her preggie chubbiness.

Man, when I get pregnant I'm going to be SO FAT. Karma.

Just wanted to give an almost belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Gil.

He's 30 now....ohhh....scary!

But still looking as young as ever and the young ladies are still lining up for him.

Pace yourself during your party. Don't want you to pass out an hour into it and miss all the fun!

Guess what I've changed on my site...

Why? Because I've been working really hard today and I needed a break!

Don't worry, I'll be changing it again soon.

[2:45 PST - I have changed the color again. The light yellow wasn't doing anything for me.]

I'm working at home today and Dave has the day off, so he's sitting on the couch watching ESPN. They have a Charles Barkley special on, and he was discussing how people had made fun of his weight gain after he had retired from basketball. Then he said the funniest thing:

"I used to be fat.
Now I'm chubby.
I'm trying to get to'Big Boned'"

Gotta love him!

[I originially posted this yesterday before passing out on the couch, but I guess I forgot to publish it]

Had a WAY busy day today. So busy that I'm going to take a nap. When I wake up (if I wake up) I'll give you a nice account of my day. Til then, here's a funny joke for you...

I'll just steal a pic from Melanie's site of the drunkards of Saturday night...

I'm wearing my boots today, because I'm wearing jeans at work today, but I can't wear gym shoes with them, so boots are the way to go. Since it rained a bit earlier, my shoes are still a bit moist and have been making weird noises. Only now have I realized that as I'm walking it sounds like I'm letting out little farts.

But I swear it's coming from my shoes.

Maybe.

I admit, I had bought Christina Aguilera's CD the week it came out. Though sometimes she can be something of a skank, she has a kickass voice. When I listened to the CD, I immediately fell in love with The Voice Within. It was just such a beautiful song, and it had such an awesome message. When Beautiful came out, I loved the video. It was so far away from the image that Christina had when she first came out with the CD. The video wasn't about Christina, it was about all the beautiful people in it - drag queens, gay lovers, an anorexic girl...I was pretty impressed.

So I was happy to finally hear The Voice Within on the radio, and couldn't wait to see the video.

But then I saw it, and it was all Christina. Hmph! She could have done SO much with a good video for that song, but she reverted back to the 'Look at me!' of her first videos.

Oh well....it's still a good song....

Man, how could I almost forget to post this...

Now give me mah sugah!

Is it just me, or do the titles for my posts look weird??

From Jerry, who is always watching out for the latest advancements in the world of porn.

I almost forgot...today is Emer's birthday. He's, uh, I don't know how old he is today, and I really don't want to know, because it'll make me feel old. He'll always be my little freshman. I'm happy he's grown up to be such an smart, upstanding, sexy and sober young man. Um, ok, just a smart and sexy young man. I wish I was there to party with you. Have a car bomb for me!

Cubs play the Marlins tonight in Chicago. Although the circumstances that bring me here not the best, it's amazing to be here during this time. I only wish Dave was here to experience the electricity that is going through our home town right now! And in honor of tonight's game, I bring you the song that every Cub fan holds close to their hearts, and a picture of the man who's even closer, harry Caray:

A one! A two! A three!

Take me out
To the ball game
Take me out
To the crowd
Buy me some peanuts
And Crackerjacks
I don't care if
I never get back

So it's root, root, root
For the Cubbies
If they don't win
It's a shame
For it's one, two,
Three strikes you're out
At the old ball game!

*roar of the crowd*
*ahhhhhhhhhhhhh*

We miss you, Harry. Wish you were here, but we know you're working some magic up there!

Let's go Cubbies, let's go!!!

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

On a different note, I've updated the links to add a couple new people: Deo, who I've been bugging to add me to his 'Friends' list since I'm actually a 3D friend of his, Chris F, Chris C, Lissa, Leonard and SHELLY!. I've also updated the links of Raven, Teri and Chariya.

She's going to kill me for doing this, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY DENISE!

She's one of the kindest, most selfless, sweetest and funniest people I know. Yes, you ARE funny. She has been such a wonderful friend and has been there for me during some tough times, and I just wanted to wish her a wonderful birthday, and many more to come.

So if you see her around, make sure to give her some birthday greetings!

Guess who's back...
Back again...
Yano's back...
On her super-fast DSL connection that has been shut off for a week...

Let the good times roll, baby...

Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa, died yesterday of a brain tumor. She was vivacious, energetic, and always gave a memorable performance. When you hear her music, you can't help but move your body. Her name and her music will live on, and she will be dearly missed.

I know that with her and Tito Puente up in heaven, there's some good singing and dancing going on.

Is it just me, or a lot of people dying off?

Celia, my ass shakes today in your honor.

It's 4:25 pm.

I had the new Guacamole Doritos for breakfast.

And lunch.

For dinner, I think I'll put some cheese on them.

They're mighty tasty, people!

Here I am, sitting in my hotel room, watching 'The Lost Boys'.

As the rest of my family watches 'The Lion King' at the Cadillac Theater in Chicago.

As much as I love The Lost Boys, I'm thinking my experience isn't as visually impressive as what my family is experiencing at this very moment.

But no one said life is fair.

*cries*

OK. I'm done. Maybe I'll go work out.

A quick story while I'm waiting for my dinner date...

So at Maui's 4th of July party, his friend came with his newborn twins. They were absolutely adorable. Now the father is Filipino, and the mom is Irish. The babies are fraternal, but you'd never know it! The little boy is almond brown eyes and cocoa skin. The little girl has big blue eyes and is very light skinned. We laughed just imagining these kids telling people that they're twins when they grow up. No one will believe them! But dammit, they've got good looking parents, and they're mixed, so you know that they're gonna be gorgeous!

I'll keep you all updated throughout the years.

If this blog lasts that long.

I'm surprised it lasted 3 months!

Buddy Ebsen, better known as Jed Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies, died yesterday. Goodbye Jed. Goodbye Barnaby Jones. Goodbye man who would have played the Tin Man if it hadn't been for an allergic reaction to the silver paint. You'll be missed.

Superstitious folk such as I always believe these things come in threes...who's next?

Goodbye to Barry White, who passed away yesterday. He was the master of mood music, smooth, sexy and full of good lovin'. Here's my little tribute to him, the lyrics to my favorite song by him...'Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe'.

After years of trying to make it to the top, I have finally become the #1 search for 'Yano' on Google and Yahoo.

Take that, Akiko Yano, Sho Yano and Yano's Digital Garage! And my name isn't even Yano! Whoo hoo!

I'll enjoy it while it lasts. Probably a week.

It's the little things that make me happy.

Now if only this page would come up when you search for my REAL name.

Message in my voicemail at work this morning, from my coworker Bryan...

"Christine....listen to this message I got this morning...

'Hey Bryan, it's Dan. Um...I might be late tomorrow...even though I'm late shit, uh shift...yeah...You can't tell I'm drunk...But...um...I'll trytobeontimeasmushas I canbe...but...I might be a lillate....*hiccup*...[pause]...uh...yeah, you like that muthafucker?!? .....alright.....I'll be a lil late...'"

I love drunk messages. Especially when it's not me leaving them.

What Heals Me

Driving

Where In The World Is Yano?

Los Angeles, CA

So I decided to start a new thing, since I've been traveling so much, the 'What's outside the hotel window?' picture. This trip has a pretty good view, since I'm in a pretty swanky hotel in downtown LA.

Yesterday's party was tons of fun. Had some REALLY good food, and we stocked the cooler up pretty well with yummy things to drink. I don't know if I said this before, but my little (yet not so little) cousin David is in town, so we took a 'Sanchez' family pic. Me and all my first cousins that live in the US on my mom's side. We're a small bunch here, there's a lot more in the Philippines. Maybe someday we'll have a reunion or something. Marilyn and David haven't yet met their cousins in the homeland yet.

Party at my house for Fata's graduation. Come on over for some free food and drinks.

This pic was taken last week, after we saw the sun come out following a quick rain shower. Me and my sisters were in the car on the way home, and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. "Find the rainbow!" I cried. Being the driver (as I always am), it was hard for me to look, but right before we pulled up in front of the house my sisters found it. Fatima ran up the steps and screamed for me to hurry and take a picture before it faded away.

That's the Feliciano Girls, always looking for rainbows after the rain...

I've finally gotten a couple moments to go over the birthday greetings and such for my birthday. A special thanks to my parents, Claudine, Fatima, Tita Ely, Jaygee, Linda, Rod, Sonisa, Jerry, Don, Lucinda, Sarah, Alan, Kathy, Noelle, Joanna, Butta, Mike, Lisa, Melanie, Vernimal, Candace, Sheilah, Denise, Mike, Deo, Emer, John Jay, Jamie, Gil, Vanessa, Stephanie, Ramona, Lara, Blue, Bernadette, Sarah, Zen and anyone else I forgot for all the pre-, during and post birthday greetings. You all are the best!

Seems like there was an email sent out about me, and I wasn't a recipient of it. What, is That Damn Jones scared of a little Asian girl? Why Jones, why? Luckily, a good soul had sent to me.

It's a fun little ditty about my ass. I'm honored. Though I'm wondering if I should be concerned that someone even took the trouble to make up a song about my ass.

A quick post because my Texan cuz' Kathy is in town today.

A wonderful, beautiful, ultra-cool chica named AMY sent this to me today.

When's the last time you got a compliment?

neon yellow drink
keeps eyes open while working
thank god for the dew!

Still here. I'm starting to get something akin to Cabin Fever. Conference Room Fever.

All work and no play makes Yano a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Yano a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Yano a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Yano a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Yano a dull girl.
All work and no play makes Yano a dull girl.

Starbucks is my friend.

Ok, being as I'm paid by the blog for this week, I figured I'd throw in my own little birthday spiel for the sister. Happy birthday, sisterfriend, and many more to you. And thanks for calling this morning and telling us you're on the beach. You suck. But tan well, travel safely, and don't drink the water (or the ice, for that matter). Oh, and don't agree to carry anything for anyone.

Hello. Claudine here. Making sure her highness's website continues on in her temporary absence. Yup. Ok, done.

9 hours after coming home from Seattle, I'm off to Des Moines!

How exciting!

NOT!

Head hurts. Should have drank more water....

And now, let's have a moment of silence for George, the bunny next door who passed away last friday. Condolences to Melanie, his mama. Luscious will miss the friend he never met, and Ewok will miss the bunny he never chased. He was a good little floppy ear, may you hop around with Milo in bunny heaven!

A good friend, and all-round beautiful woman sent this to me today.

These are beauty tips by Audrey Hepburn, who to me was a stunning human being. The poise, beauty and class that you saw on the outside couldn't even compare to the beauty and class that she held within. She's definitely someone that I look up to.

So thanks for this email...

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you