So, is anyone watching the World Series?
Does anyone care. Really. Come on.
This could have been the best World Series EVER, and a ratings winner for FOX, but alas, now it’s turned into an O-K game. Just blah. The teams that I wanted to be there just couldn’t make the grade.
Sorry Miami and New York.
Is it possible for both teams to lose? Because that’s what I would like to happen.
Yes, I know, I’m a bitter, bitter Cubs fan.
I haven’t bought a new book in ages, so when I was home in Chicago I decided to re-read one of my favorites, Contact by Carl Sagan. The movie with Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughy is based on it.
I love this book because I’ve always been intrigued with life on other planets, looking out at the stars in the sky, wondering what other civilizations are out there, what they look like, if they know about us, if UFO’s are real, when we’ll ever be technologically advanced enough to venture out of our little corner of the universe. Sagan touches on many of these things in this book, and makes the thought of more intelligent beings out there less science fiction, and more of a reality that we haven’t discovered yet.
In ‘Contact’, Sagan uses a lot of scientific terminology, but in a way that a regular person can understand. Throughout the novel, Sagan touches on religion, politics, and science, and gives a profound sense of wonder once the novel is done. He expertly conveys the emotions of his lead character, Ellie Arroway, who’s discovery of a message from outer space leads her on an adventure that involves the whole earth, all of humanity. Her journey, and the journey of her fellow travelers, makes the reader realize how little our little earth is, when compared to the billions of other stars in universe.
I love this book.
Once again, Outkast gives us a song that’s so different from what else is out there. This song just makes me want to throw on my go-go boots and shimmy my way up to the platform. It’s just FUN.
Damn. This book has balls. Because it gives you the nice warm fuzzies about a character, and then BAM! Kicks you in the ass, slaps you in the face, and whispers, ‘You fool, I’ve been setting you up for the past year just to fuck you over!’ Gotta love a book that does that. Although sometimes he’s a little extreme, I’m still loving Grant Morrison’s run on this book. He’s changed the X-Men as we know them and made them tougher, meaner, and much more real.
While in Chicago, for the first week or so, I had White Castle every day. At first, I had people make WC runs for me while I was at the hospital. Later on, I was overjoyed to discover that the hospital cafeteria sold microwaveable White Castles. Oh joy in a sqaure bun!!!
Yeah, I’m the girl who uses up her vacation days to go to the middle of nowhere to watch short track speedskating. My husband is the coolest guy on the planet for being OK with his wife flying out to watch people wearing spandex skate around in circles. For this, I’ll let him watch as much ESPN and Wild on E! as much as he wants. As for me, I’m actually more excited to see my friends at Marquette than I am to see the skating! It’s like going to a reunion. I only wish that everyone could make it, that would make it so much better!
Since Emer always complains that I post up too many pictures of speedskaters, and not enough of him, I present to you the ‘Emer at Betty’s Blue Star Lounge’ collection. Once I get my pics organized, look out for the special ‘Pictures of Emer’ page.
Fatima and Emer
Emer and me
And so the others don’t feel left out…
The birthday boy, Angelo, me and Deo
Sorry Emer, but this weekend there’s going to be LOTSA speedskater pictures being posted. But the next time I see you, I’ll take a more pics. Maybe even start a fan page. *wink*
Well, since my mom has been getting better (though not out of the woods yet) I decided to go back to California. I hadn’t seen my husband in weeks, and I felt it was time to go back. My mom is in capable hands in Chicago, and I’ll be calling to check on her often.
So I got in earlier today, and it’s weird to be back, having a husband again.
Time to readjust again!
My mom has moved to a new floor of the hospital. On this floor, they stress rehabilitation. She’s still unable to walk on her own, but she’s getting stronger every day. The floor that she’s on is something like the summer camp of hospitals. Daily they have bingo, game night, comedy hour, group talks, crafts, and other things. My mom is still too weak to participate, but she’s getting a lot of help on the floor.
The other great thing about this floor, is that they do whatever it takes to help the patients get better. And in our case, they said we could bring Ewok, our dog. It will be beneficial in two ways. Me and my sisters have always joked about how Ewok is our youngest brother, and how he gets spoiled in ways we never way. My mom would carry him around in her arms and sing little songs to him. We knew that she missed him a lot. And Ewok missed her. At home, he was just depressed, following me around like a, uh, puppy. He’s actually sitting on my arm right now.
So we decided to bring him in, a little worried that he would cause a ruckus in the hospital. But he didn’t. And he was ecstatic to see my mom, licking her hands and jumping up and down. My mom was also happy to see him, though all his energy made her a bit tired. But it’s great to see my mom smile again, and laugh, and talk more, and be a little more active.
I’ve been so stressed over the past couple weeks, with my mom, and work, and commuting between the hospita and work, back to the hospital, sleep at home, and repeating the cycle. Half the time I don’t even know what day it is, or how long I’ve been here. Even the thought of being married seems like a memory to me, it’s been so long since I’ve seen Dave.
As I had said before, I haven’t seen too many of my friends, or called anyone while I’ve been here. But yesterday, a friend called me out of the blue. Seriously, Jamie, I don’t think you’ve EVER called my phone before. But being a faithful blog reader, *wink* he knew that I was in town, so he invited me out for Angelo’s pre-birthday night. There were only a few of us out, and me and Fatima were the only girls for a while (just like old times) but it was great to hang out. The music was good, the dancing was fun, especially with crazy cool Jerry and sexy Emer. Rounding out the Angelo birthday gang was Deo, Derek, Jamie and Tim and Cathy came later. We had a lot of good laughs, and reminisced about college a lot. I had a great time, and I really miss the gang. It was nice to put away my worries for a night and just have fun. Thanks guys…
Good times.
The billy goat.
The Bambino.
Why have they cursed our cities?
Well, I don’t feel as bad now that the Cubs didn’t make it. The Sox are still in the same boat as we. I’m sure it was a gut wrenching game for Boston fans, stretching out to 11 innings.
Sorry guys. Let’s drown our sorrows in beer together.
I’m in Chicago, so I don’t have access to all my other pictures, so I’ll post an older picture that I’ve posted before.
It seems like the whole city of Chicago is in a state of depression. Well, the North side, anyway. The train to work was filled with long faces and Yano Cube talk (which is the equivalent of Office Cooler talk) was sad. It’s not a happy day in Chicago! At least the clouds have cleared up and the sky is blue.
We went to Mother Hubbard’s for lunch to drown our sorrows. I pigged out on my favorite nachos with guacamole and chihuahua cheese, and had a drink. It was only one, so it didn’t affect me too much, but I was FULL from the nachos!
I came back to the office with a full belly and a bit groggy. My coworker was showing me how to install one of our partner’s new products. We were walking through it, and I was clicking away, my eyes getting heavier and heavier by the minute. When we were testing the integration to our product, I clicked on a toolbar, then started dreaming. I snapped out of my mini-dream and was really disoriented. My coworker was like, ‘Um, Christine, you don’t have to click on that. Click on the other thing.’ For a split second I had no idea what he was talking about, since I had just awakened from a 5 second dream. I was able to play it off by saying ‘Oh, I just wanted to make sure that this works’ or some crap like that. I felt like a dork. Afterwards, I went to the bathroom and did some jumping jacks to get my blood flowing again.
I need sleep!
My heart is broken.
Got this from the wonderful spelling-ace Kaylene in e-mail today, and rather than emailing it around (which i’ll probably do anyway) I’ll post it here. Feel free to copy it and answer it on yours. Comment your link here so I can check it out!
More Getting to Know You
Welcome to the next edition of getting to know your friends. What you’re suppose to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste it onto a new e-mail that you’ll send. Change all of the answers so they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know *INCLUDING* the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you’ll learn a lot of little known facts about your friends. It’s fun and easy. You might be surprised with some of the things you learn about people you ‘think’ you know……
IF YOU COULD BUILD A HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
Hawaii, along the water, by a green mountain.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?
Pajama pants
FAVORITE PHYSICAL FEATURE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?
I’m an ass gal
WHAT’S THE LAST CD THAT YOU BOUGHT?
Outkast: Speakerboxx
WHERE’S YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PLACE TO BE?
In Line. I hate lines.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE MASSAGED?
Shoulders and upper back
WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT, STRONG IN MIND OR STRONG IN BODY?
Mind
WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
If I’m working at home, around 8:25, 5 minutes before I start work.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
I don’t go into the kitchen.
WHAT MAKES YOU REALLY ANNOYED?
People who talk during movies
If YOU COULD PLAY ANY INSTUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Guitar
FAVORITE COLOR?
Purple
WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV?
SUV
DO YOU BELIEVE IN AN AFTERLIFE?
Yup
FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOK?
Grimms Fairy Tales
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Spring
WHAT’S YOUR LEAST FAVORITE HOUSEHOLD CHORE
Taking out the trash
IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
That if I touched something, I could create an exact replica of it in the location of my choice. If I had that, I don’t need money, and when I shop, I can touch it and recreate it in my house.
IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
Nope.
CAN YOU JUGGLE?
I tried once. Too many people got hurt.
THE ONE PERSON FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK WITH?
My grandfather
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
Saturday. It’s my sleep in day
WHAT’S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR?
Other than bodies of speedskaters I’ve kidnapped, I also have a SLC 2002 knit hat, ice scraper, towel, blanket, umbrella, and a toolbox.
WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR A HAMBURGER?
Tough call. Gotta go with sushi
FAVORITE FLOWERS?
Orchids, Hydrangea, and hibiscus
FROM THE PEOPLE YOU E-MAIL THIS TO, WHO’S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
I’m not emailing it, but if I did, it would be Mike
WHO’S THE LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Every one else!
IF U HAD 2 CHOOSE WHO U WERE GONNA MARRY RIGHT NOW, WHO WOULD IT BE?
Well, if it wasn’t Dave, it would be whoever was #2 on the ‘People in line to marry Christine’ list. However, that list was burned soon after the wedding.
