The thing about having two sisters, is that what you do for one, eventually you’ll have to do it for the other. My father had always raised us to be fair and to be equals. Constantly growing up, I had to split EVERYTHING with my sisters. So now, Claudine gets her share of Christine blog-lovin’. So where do I start? Claudine is the middle sister. She has all the middle sibling hang ups - in the shadow of the oldest sibling, not getting as much attention as the youngest. I’m three years older than Claudine, and her and Fatima are nearer in age, so they’ve always been closer. That, and they’ve shared a room forever. However, me and Fatima are close, too, just because we share similar interests and style. That’s how the alliances have been within our family, me and Fatima, or Claudine and Fatima. It hasn’t been often that it has been me and Claudine - basically because Fatima could beat us up if we ganged up her. But I’ve always been the big sister. And I’ve always used that fact to my advantage. Did you ever watch ‘The Hogan Family’? I’m the just like the oldest brother in that family - born to torture and wreak havok in the lives of my younger siblings. So I give Claudine a lot of grief. We don’t always get along. And yeah, there have been times I’ve said to her ‘I have the biggest urge to punch you in the face right now.’ But the thing is, I really admire Claudine. She’s the best kid of us all. Me and Fatima won’t deny it. She’s the daughter that every parent wished they had, and I’m not saying that out of jealousy or with any sarcasm. She’s the smartest. She’s responsible. She’s tortured by guilt laid upon her by her parents. She obeys. She easily makes friends. She cooks and bakes. That, and she can fit in most household garbage cans. Ha ha ha. She is really a role model, someone you could look up to. Well, you’d have to be lying on the floor to look up to her, because she’s only, like 4 feet tall. Anyway, me and Fatima have been joking about replacing Claudine with another sister, because she’s been away at school. And I know Claud feels horrible about it…but I gotta poke fun at her - it’s my favorite hobby. But really, no one could replace our Claudine. We love her too much. And who would bake me cookies and let me lick the bowl?

Uh oh. This post is longer than Fatima’s. I’ll come up with more accolades for Fata later.

FYI - looks like yanowhatimean, yanosworld and gotyano are in the lead for my domain name!

Tags: Daily by Yano
Comments Off

Oh…and it’s

Dave’s Birthday Today!

Tags: Daily by Yano
Comments Off

OK, so you guys helped me name my page, howabout helping my pick a domain name? I have domain name envy. Everyone has a domain name but me! OK, not everyone. But I’m planning on buying a domain. And does anyone know any good web hosts? (ahem, KATHY) Here’s a couple that I’ve come up with, if you know of another that has a cheaper, or has a comparable package, I’m looking!
Blue Domino
IPower Web
WSS
WebSytz
Webmasters.com
Prohosting

And domain name should I get?

www.yanosworld.com
www.gotyano.com
www.yanowhat.com
www.the-yano.com
www.yanowhatimean.com
www.yanosweb.com

Vote for your favorite, or suggest a new one. I want the name to be generic enough so it will stay the same, even though I change my web page name (which will be often!) I’m planning on making the plunge on Monday, so vote/suggest quickly!

Tags: Page Update by Yano
Comments Off

Well, we went to the church yesterday and we were supposed to meet with the priest, but he never showed. The receptionist said that he had left for a dinner not 10 minutes before we arrived. She tried calling his cell a couple times (why does it seem weird to me that a priest has a cell?) but he never called back. So we left. So we’re still without a date. *sigh* That’s ok, we still have an appointment with Dave’s church.

Me and Bryan went to Nordstrom for a midday snack and ran into the huge Hagrid display. This was made entirely out of Legos, and it was built by kids and parents that stopped by the mall. They each got a project sheet, a rubber hammer, and legos to complete their piece of the big Hagrid. It was really cute to see all the little kids work so hard. It’s pretty huge, as you can see here. It took 2 days to complete.

Speaking of Harry Potter, I’m heading out to watch it again tonight. Should be a good time. Hopefully I don’t fall asleep.

Tags: Stories by Yano
Comments Off

As some of you know, I reverted back to my natural hair color a couple months ago, after having blond highlights for about 2 years. I’m so-so about the change. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. However, I’m saving a lot of money by not having to go to the salon every 3 months. So I’m back to basic black.

Until now. Maybe it’s been there all this time, and I never noticed. Maybe I should be paying more attention to my hair. Maybe it’s new. I don’t know. But the other day, I was looking at my hair in the mirror, and I saw something. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Maybe it was just a reflection of the light. Maybe some blonde hairs were missed when I got my hair colored. It couldn’t be! No! The horror! Yes, I found a GRAY HAIR. Oh no! Gray hair? The end is coming. And I haven’t even gotten married yet, or had kids. How could I be punished so? Why God? Why me? *shouting out to the heavens as the camera pans away*

OK. I’m being dramatic.

Speaking of…I was at another script reading yesterday (it’s every other Wednesday for me) and we had some really great scripts to read. A couple of you have asked what these little readings are. Well, when I was in college, and a few years after, I acted in a couple of things. However, when I started traveling a lot for work, I didn’t have time to do a production, but I still wanted to take part in the acting community. So my old director often holds workshops for new writers, and I take part in script readings for these writers. A couple writers and actors sit in with the director, and we read the scripts aloud. It helps the writers to hear their work, and to be evaluated by other writers. This goes on for weeks, as the writers do rewrites, and the director picks the best pieces and puts up a production of short skits. It gives me a chance to practice my acting chops. I often miss it a lot. And my director wanted me to take part in a staged reading. Rather than reading the scripts in a room, the staged reading is for the almost-finished product, but it is read on a stage, complete with blocking and a small volunteer audience to critique. It’s nice to be wanted. But I can’t do it! Damn my schedule!

Tags: Daily by Yano
Comments Off

First of all, I’d like to say Happy Birthday to my cousin Melanie. Hope you have a good day!

I finally got a chance to change the colors in the comment boxes to match the original ones here. I know kathy, I know, I should just use an external style sheet. Someday. Someday I will!

Here’s an interesting story to share with you. A friend of mine from work (really, the ONLY female I consider my friend at work) was recently diagnosed with Celiac Sprue, which is a disease where you get a chronic reaction when digesting glutens, which are often found in cereal grains. Because of this reaction, and what it does to the intestines, a strict diet must be followed. It’s not a life threatening disease, but you’ve got to stay away from certain types of grains, like wheat (which means bread) and MSG (monosodium glutamate) which is used in a lot of products. All in all, it’s not a picnic. She’s a tough cookie, so she can handle it.

So the story comes in when she’s talking to another coworker, and this other woman asks her why she was in the hospital last week. And knowing this person, we’ll call her ‘Fluffy’, I know the reason she had asked was not because she was concerned about my friend’s health, but because she was wanted gossip. Fluffy is also in a managerial position in the company, and holds a good amount of power over us. So my friend explains what happened, and that she has celiac sprue, and also the changes in her diet that she has to make. So then, Fluffy says ‘I wish I had that disease. I could lose some weight!’ *gasp* What do you say to that? Isn’t it common sense that you don’t say anything like that to someone who has a disease? I was pretty appalled that she said that. And it’s kinda scary that this person is a manager. Oh well, so goes the drama that I call work.

So if any of you know any recipes that don’t involve anything with MSG or glutin-based grains, send it over. My friend is looking for some good food to eat, now that the orange chicken at the Panda Express is off limits!

And one more thing - Rod finally has a web blog. Now when I ask him how his day has been, he can say ‘Read my blog!’ which is what I always say to him! Welcome to the Bloser subculture, my friend!

Tags: Daily by Yano
Comments Off

Well, my sister Fatima was home this weekend and was a little miffed that I didn’t mention her at all in my blog.

So she gets her own paragraph. She came home last weekend to play Ricebowl. She did a kick ass job playing center on the O-Line. Too bad the championship game is delayed for a couple weeks. She also watched Harry Potter with me and Dave. Her friend (and our sister in training) Thara came, too. You know, I think the reason I’m online all the time is because my sisters are gone. I really miss having them around. Not only to talk to and play paper rock scissors with when it’s time to wash the dishes, but it’s nice to have a sibling there for you, when you just need someone to talk to or watch TV with. And who’s gonna help me pick out clothes to wear? I think I’ve been making horrible fashion choices lately without them here. Ewok can’t answer me when I ask, ‘Does my butt look big in this?’ It sucks being an only child, even if it’s only for a couple months. So I miss Fatima and Claudine a lot. Even if I don’t show it on the rare occasions that they DO come home. I’m so happy when they do. And even when Fatima DOES finally graduate, we won’t have much time together because once I get married, there’s a good chance that I’ll be relocating. *sigh* Oh sisters!

This or That Tuesday…

1. Long or short hair? Long hair. Tried the short hair, it gets in my face too much.
2. Microwave or conventional oven? Microwave. Fast. Now.
3. Plain or Peanut M&M’s? I like the crispy rice ones. Tasty!
4. “101 Dalmations”…animated or live-action version? Animated. Definitely.
5. Drink out of bottle/can or pour into a glass? Glass, lots of ice.
6. Sunlight or moonlight? I love the bluish tint of moonlight.
7. Kermit the Frog or Miss Piggy? Piggy. She kicks ass. And she’s damn sexy.
8. Glasses or contact lenses (or neither)? Contact lenses. Wearing glasses is too traumatic.
9. Action movies or chick flicks? Chick flicks. I’m a sap.
10. Toilet seat…up or down ? UP! UP! UP!

Tags: Daily by Yano
Comments Off

Haven’t done a quiz in a while…In honor of the movie, I give you the ‘What Hogwarts House are You?’

There’s also a bunch of other quizzes for you there, too. So what are you?

Tags: Tests by Yano
Comments Off

I got a call from the priest of my first choice church today. Didn’t think that he’d ever call back, and I was kinda discouraged about the rules of the church, but he may be able to pull some strings. I’ve posted a little on My Wedding Blog, and I’ve also put in a couple dresses that you can post.

Today was a boring day, so I’ll talk about Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’. I’m really finding myself drawn to the song, and it’s suprisingly inspirational, which is something I would never have thought Eminem to be. There’s just something about how it talks about taking chances, and really going all out Anyone watch 8 Mile? I haven’t heard a bad review for it yet, and I’ve talked to about six or seven people about it. There’s just something I find strangely appealing and sexy in that guy, I don’t know what it is. And is it me, or does Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter look like young Eminem?

Don’t forget to get up early tomorrow morning to watch the Leonid meteor shower. It won’t be that good for another hundred years, so be sure to check out. Make up your wishes so you can make a whole bunch tonight.

Tags: Daily by Yano
Comments Off

Today (well, yesterday night) was the first real snow of the season. It wasn’t much, maybe about an inch. There’s something thrilling about the first snow of the year. It almost makes you want to burst out into song as the snowflakes fall apon your face. I bursted into a little rendition of ‘Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!’ in the Barnes & Noble parking lot. It snowed some more overnight, and I love waking up in the morning and seeing the fresh snow on the streets and the trees, driving near the forest preserve and seeing the snow on the trees.

We went to go watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets yesterday. We were originally going to see the 8pm show, but it was sold out online, so I bought tickets for the 9pm show. Of course we get there right before the movie starts, and there aren’t any seats together. So we were able to switch our tickets for the 10:30 show. I really like the movie. From what I remember of the book, it held pretty true to the story. But I’ll have to admit that Dobby was annoying the fuck outta me. Get in the corner with Jar Jar Binks, Dobby! But the acting was well done. I love little Ron Weasley…he’s got the cutest facial expressions. And Hermione is getting to be quite a looker, she’s got the prettiest eyes. There was a good lot of funny parts, and even some scary parts - Moaning Myrtle kinda creeped me out a bit. And Kenneth Branagh was meant to play Gilderoy Lockhart. He was great at the part! The movie was kinda long, though - Dave fell asleep. Then again, he didn’t read the books, and had only gotten past the 2nd cassette that I gave him of the audio version. But to me, I enjoyed it. Not as much as the first, but I liked it!

Tags: Daily by Yano
Comments Off