Well, I know I’m a little late, but the Chicago White Sox are on their way to the World Series.

It’s kinda weird to think about it, because whenever I thought of the World Series and Chicago, I thought it would be the Cubs. That’s always the hype around here. No offense to the White Sox, but I think that the White Sox fans know that their team has been hidden in the shadow of their cross city counterparts. Wrigley Field is sold out for pretty much every game, when US Cellular still had empty seats even during their phenomenal winning streak.

I remember when we had the crosstown classic - the Cubs against the Sox, how the fans teased each other - the Sox teased us that we never won, and we teased the Sox that no one went to their games.

But look who’s laughing now! The Sox have made it to where the Cubs have so wanted to be - the World Series.

Although this has brought on a period of sadness and almost mourning in our household, being that Dave is a diehard Cubs fan, I’m happy for the Sox. Sure, I love the Cubs, but hell, I’m happy when any Chicago team does well! Unlike Dave, who has said he’ll never step into The Cell unless the Cubs are playing, I’ve been there several times. They’ve had a great season, and they deserve to be there.

I’m not saying that Dave isn’t happy for the Sox. He is. He just wishes it was the Cubs.

But Ryne Sandberg, beloved Hall of Fame Cubbie, puts it all into perspective in a Yahoo! Sports article:

Whether you live on 35th Street or in Wrigleyville, the White Sox reaching the World Series is a great accomplishment for the city. How long have the White Sox and Cubs been mired together in baseball mediocrity? Now, the White Sox are going to the Fall Classic and I believe the Cubs aren’t far from getting there themselves.

Cubs fans, be patient. Give it some time and your team will be there, too. Chicago should rally around the White Sox and understand that a White Sox win is a win for the entire city, not just below the river.

So revel in your happiness, South Siders! There’s still 4 more games you have to win to bring that title home….and I really hope it’s against the Cardinals. I mean, if the Cubs can’t stick it to ‘em, then I wouldn’t mind it being the Sox. Before tonight I thought it was going to be the Astros, but Pujols really did a job on ‘em in the last inning - silencing the home crowd with his 3 run homer.

So yeah, I’ll be watching the World Series. Because as much as Dave might wish it was the Cubs in their place, I know that sports superfreak in him won’t be able to help cheering for the home team.

Tags: Daily by Yano
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I’m posting this up this week….haven’t done it here in a while, which is pretty funny considering I’m the one who runs the damn thing!

10 Favorite People from History

….in no particular order

1) Cleopatra
2) Martin Luther King, Jr
3) Mother Theresa
4) Jesus
5) Leonardo da Vinci
6) Princess Di
7) Thomas Edison William Shakespeare
9) Abraham Lincoln
10) Rosa Parks

…and Walt Disney gets an honorable mention…

If you’re looking for ideas, check out Life’s top 100 people of the last 1000 years.

Next Week: 10 Great Things About Autumn

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I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had a chance to make this post…

A few weeks ago, my coworker Sam, better known to the internet world as “Aquaman”, left my company when he got a better job. I hadn’t seen him as much before he left because I had worked from home so much, so we never really got any ‘quality time’ before he left.

So I just wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to my friend, who I got to know over the year that we worked together. It seems that I shouldn’t become friends with coworkers - because they just end up going away…first Derb, then Sam #1 (the original, and much cooler Sammy), then Jerry, and a whole bunch of others. I admit that I was a bit cold and distant to Aquaman when he first started working at the office. Of course, like toe fungus, he grew on me. Probably because the guy just wouldn’t stop talking. So eventually, we became friends.

….and now it’s over. We’d had a lot of good times. Liquid lunches, face tracing, drunk karaoke at our ski trip, guest posting, the water taxi, walking to the train, the yeti olympics, pokerstars, weboggle, rock bottom, the teddy graham tiki, birthday brownie mix, redpac abuse, the best new friend of 2004 and body butter thrown on the balls. There’s a lot more, but I can’t remember it all.

Now it’s all gone. Aquaman is dead to me. It’s easier that way. Really, though, it’ll be tough to maintain our friendship. I’m horrible at keeping in touch, even with my best friends, and the ex-coworkers that I still keep in touch with either email me first (thanks Jer!) or just work down the street so we can have lunch every now and then (Cool Sam!). So chances that we’ll be maintaining our friendship are slim, Aqua, I’m sorry.

But we did have some great times, didn’t we?

So goodbye, Aquaman!

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end is right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Ok. You are dead to me now.

*wink*

Tags: Daily by Yano
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So I’m having family over tonight to hang out. Tomorrow, the cousins might stop by after the game…

Come on by, if you’re a relation who we have no access to through the phone.

Yes, I’m talking to YOU!!!

You better have my # or you’re getting an ass whoopin’!

Tags: Daily by Yano
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I love Conan O’Brien, and I found this cool thing on the internet somewhere…

————————————————————————-

Commencement Speech to the Havard Class of 2000
by Conan O’Brien

I’d like to thank the Class Marshals for inviting me here today. The last time I was invited to Harvard it cost me $110,000, so you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit suspicious. I’d like to announce up front that I have one goal this afternoon: to be half as funny as tomorrow’s Commencement Speaker, Moral Philosopher and Economist, Amartya Sen. Must get more laughs than seminal wage/price theoretician.

Students of the Harvard Class of 2000, fifteen years ago I sat where you sit now and I thought exactly what you are now thinking: What’s going to happen to me? Will I find my place in the world? Am I really graduating a virgin? I still have 24 hours and my roommate’s Mom is hot. I swear she was checking me out. Being here today is very special for me. I miss this place. I especially miss Harvard Square - it’s so unique. No where else in the world will you find a man with a turban wearing a Red Sox jacket and working in a lesbian bookstore. Hey, I’m just glad my dad’s working.

It’s particularly sweet for me to be here today because when I graduated, I wanted very badly to be a Class Day Speaker. Unfortunately, my speech was rejected. So, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to read a portion of that speech from fifteen years ago: “Fellow students, as we sit here today listening to that classic Ah-ha tune which will definitely stand the test of time, I would like to make several predictions about what the future will hold: “I believe that one day a simple Governor from a small Southern state will rise to the highest office in the land. He will lack political skill, but will lead on the sheer strength of his moral authority.” “I believe that Justice will prevail and, one day, the Berlin Wall will crumble, uniting East and West Berlin forever under Communist rule.” “I believe that one day, a high speed network of interconnected computers will spring up world-wide, so enriching people that they will lose their interest in idle chit chat and pornography.” “And finally, I believe that one day I will have a television show on a major network, seen by millions of people a night, which I will use to re-enact crimes and help catch at-large criminals.” And then there’s some stuff about the death of Wall Street which I don’t think we need to get into….

The point is that, although you see me as a celebrity, a member of the cultural elite, a kind of demigod, I was actually a student here once much like you. I came here in the fall of 1981 and lived in Holworthy. I was, without exaggeration, the ugliest picture in the Freshman Face book. When Harvard asked me for a picture the previous summer, I thought it was just for their records, so I literally jogged in the August heat to a passport photo office and sat for a morgue photo. To make matters worse, when the Face Book came out they put my picture next to Catherine Oxenberg, a stunning blonde actress who was accepted to the class of ‘85 but decided to defer admission so she could join the cast of “Dynasty.” My photo would have looked bad on any page, but next to Catherine Oxenberg, I looked like a mackerel that had been in a car accident. You see, in those days I was six feet four inches tall and I weighed 150 pounds. Recently, I had some structural engineers run those numbers into a computer model and, according to the computer, I collapsed in 1987, killing hundreds in Taiwan.

After freshman year I moved to Mather House. Mather House, incidentally, was designed by the same firm that built Hitler’s bunker. In fact, if Hitler had conducted the war from Mather House, he’d have shot himself a year earlier. 1985 seems like a long time ago now. When I had my Class Day, you students would have been seven years old. Seven years old. Do you know what that means? Back then I could have beaten any of you in a fight. And I mean bad. It would be no contest. If any one here has a time machine, seriously, let’s get it on, I will whip your seven year old butt. When I was here, they sold diapers at the Coop that said “Harvard Class of 2000.” At the time, it was kind of a joke, but now I realize you wore those diapers. How embarrassing for you. A lot has happened in fifteen years. When you think about it, we come from completely different worlds. When I graduated, we watched movies starring Tom Cruise and listened to music by Madonna. I come from a time when we huddled around our TV sets and watched “The Cosby Show” on NBC, never imagining that there would one day be a show called “Cosby” on CBS. In 1985 we drove cars with driver’s side airbags, but if you told us that one day there’d be passenger side airbags, we’d have burned you for witchcraft.
[Read more →]

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So the new season is in full swing, and I wanted to go over the shows that I think will be hits, and the ones that are just ‘eh’.

Sunday: Nothing new on this day, I just stick with “Grey’s Anatomy”

Monday:
“Surface” - I just caught the “Surface” marathon on the Sci-Fi channel the other day, so now I’ve watched all 4 episodes, and I’m hooked. The great thing about the show is that we’ve already seen the monster, we’re not being led on like we are on “Invasion”.
“Prison Break” - Probably my favorite new show of the season. It’s a clever story, much like “Shawshank Redemption”, and the hottest new star on TV - Wentworth Miller. This is one of those shows where when it ends, you think to yourself, “Already?!?! Why? Why can’t this be two hours long?”. Consipracy, intrigue, romance, humor, prison rapes, it’s got it all!

Tuesday:
“Bones” - Oh David Boreanz, how I’ve missed you. I’m so happy you have your soul back so you can play an FBI agent who goes out in the sunlight. It’s a cool show, I’ll keep on watching, but I won’t be upset if I miss it.
“My Name is Earl” - You know, I really like this show, but for some reason I keep on missing it. I always seem to fall asleep at this time. But it’s a clever show and I love Jason Lee. He plays white trash like no other!
“Supernatural” - I’ve wanted to watch this, but haven’t had the chance - is it any good?

Wednesday:
“Freddie” - I caught it last week, and it was just ok. But Freddie is just so cute! If I have nothing else to do on Wednesday, I’ll watch it just for the eye candy.
“LOST” - I know it’s not new, but I love this show so damn much. It fucking rocks!
“Invasion” - This show is dragging on forever, but I keep on watching just in the hopes that it actually GETS somewhere someday.

Thursday:
“Smallville” - Not a new show, but it feels like new to me. I didn’t catch the season last year because I started watching lost, but with the Thursday move, now I can watch the amazing adventures of Clark Kent again. Looks like a good season - now that he’s dating, there are a lot of shirtless Tom Welling scenes. Hubba Hubba!

Friday:
“Ghost Whisperer” - I’ve only had a chance to watch this show once, but it was pretty good. Which is a rave review since Jennifer Love Hewitt annoys the hell outta me.
“Three Wishes” - I have yet to watch this show and not end up as a tear stained, bawling mess. I’m a pushover for these heartstring pulling shows! I wish it wasn’t on a Friday, though, because my schedule on Fridays is crazy!

Well, that’s my new fall line up…what shows are you watching??

Tags: Reviews by Yano
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This is my favorite time of the year, when the temperature starts getting brisk, the leaves start changing colors, you have that crisp feeling in the air and Halloween, my favorite holiday, is around the corner. I need to start bringing out my Halloween decorations! Maybe even buy some more, if I can find some cheap ones.

I don’t know if I’m going to have my annual Halloween party this year, because Dave is going to be out of town, and I’m going to be out of town the week before that. Maybe I’ll just have a small get together this year, hmm, I don’t know.

Maybe I’ll take the day off on Halloween, soak in the day and make sure I’m home to give out my custom made halloween candy/activity packs. You know what, I think I will!

My Halloween Path

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A pretty fun test:

Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?

I’m Princess Leia:

A strong-willed herald of causes against injustice, you passionately strive to right the wrongs around you.

Somebody has to save our skins!

Tags: Tests by Yano
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When I think of where I get my quirky sense of humor, I assume it comes from my dad, who’s humor is a little off the wall and he’s quite a prankster. But then I see pictures like this, I realize my goofy gene comes from both sides:

I found this picture a while ago, and scanned it in because I had forgotten that she had taken it. Her humor was a little more silly than off the wall, and she loved to laugh. I wish I had that laugh on tape! Maybe I do have it somewhere on video, but it would be too painful to look for it. Give me another year, maybe I’ll have the strength to.

I wish I wrote more about my mother before she passed away, or had a journal while growing up. Sometimes I sit here and realize my memories are fading - which is the reason I started this blog in the first place. It saddens me, to forget bits and pieces of my time with my mother.

It’s funny when you’re a teenager, and you think to yourself, “I NEVER want to be like my parents when I grow up.” Looking back, I can’t even remember why I thought that - maybe because I thought they were too strict, maybe because they were too stubborn or sheltered me too much. But now I realize that it made me the person that I am today, a person that I think turned out pretty ok. My parents raised three very different girls, and they all ended up being good people. I can only hope to be that lucky.

So now, I don’t mind when people tell me I’m like my mom, that I look like her, or that I act like her. It makes me proud, and gives me hope that yeah, maybe I’ll grow up to be amazing person she was.

Tags: Pictures by Yano
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I’m not really a big fan of pink (I don’t think I have any pink in my wardrobe), but in honor of this month being ‘National Breast Cancer Awareness Month‘, I decided to suck it up and make this layout to increase awareness for the cause.

Actually, this layout has been in the works for the last couple weeks, but I’ve been so busy and exhausted that I haven’t had much time to put it up. But I had some free time this weekend.

But I wanted to do something to show people how important this is. Every 13 minutes, a woman in the US will die of breast cancer. Every year, more than 211,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. My mother had breast cancer. There’s a strong chance I will get it, too.

It’s been great to see this media blitz promoting breast cancer awareness month - I’ve seen spots on the Today show and other talk shows, as well as various stores offering merchandise and providing the profits to research. Chicago even has it’s skyline in pink for the month.

There’s a lot of ways you can help - there’s marathons, walk-a-thons, merchandise you can buy, or at the very least, you can click on this link to the right, which will provide someone with a free mammogram. Make sure to click on the link on the page that pops up - that’s how you’ll ensure that your click counts. And the next time you come to this site, take a couple extra seconds and click on it again. Let’s help them reach their goal.

Throughout the month, when I’ve got the time, I’ll point you out to ways you can support the cause. Every little bit helps!

For more information on breast cancer and breast cancer research, go to The National Breast Cancer Foundation website.

Tags: Page Update by Yano
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