skating!

my first night back in town and i'm on ice skates...surrounded by palm trees...

one might think i'd go to the beach, or something california-ish...

happy holidays!

i'm off to minnesota tomorrow...and i can't wait! i'm gonna try to take a break from the iphone and laptop, but i'm sure i'll be around. i'm addicted, afterall.  no less, it's gonna be great to have some time with the fam and i'm gonna do my best to focus on them.

have a very merry christmas... and start 2008 with a bang!

(tucker says "Merry Christmas!")

humph. she beat me to it.

i got gifts for my bosses last night and decided to wait until friday to bring them in...'cause i spent more than i usually do on a boss and didn't want either of them to feel like they should go out tonight to get me something big(ger).  ridiculous, but this is the way my mind works.

boss 1 dropped off her gift this morning.  blew my whole plan...and i felt a little silly for not having anything to give to her (my own issue; i realize it's not a big deal).  guess she just has to wait until tomorrow to get her very cool gift...and i guess i should take the time to actually wrap it.

misunderstanding

i thought she said "friend's color," but really she said, "french color." and then i didn't pay attention until she had done a whole hand...and then i ended up with this.

i'm sure it's going to be the new trend.

cut & paste from Karin’s blog:

seriously, i'm stealing this from The Talking Muffin...but she summarized it so well that i can't even attempt to rewrite it from my perspective.  oh, what a day:

Damn. Saturday was a blast. I got to hang out with my awesome friend, Kristie. We were going to have a mellow shopping/drinking day at Union Square, but boy did it turn into an amusing party.

I'm at work and therefore can't post a long blog, but here are some of the highlights:

1) Watching a procession of drunk santas bar hopping down the street at Union Square.

2) Drunk santas humping leg...or at least attempting to.

3) Observing old, drunk santas hitting on much younger, somewhat slutty "Mrs. Claus" wannabes. Train wrecks waiting to happen...

4) Trying to save 23 year old Ohio boys from getting themselves killed. 23 year old boys not listening. Watching fights break out. 23 year old boys getting kicked out of bar, getting chased by the cops and losing shoes while running down the street.

5) Trying to make friends at some tiki bar but without much success. A nice girl gave me an octopus pin that was really cute. (See pin on sweater lapel on main profile pic.) I was in "make friends" mode and said, "Oh you're really cool! We should exchange contact info." Her response: "Uhhhh. No that's okay." She apparently thought I was a lesbian hitting on her! Yeah...even if I was a lesbian...she's not really my type.

6) Kristie's name that night = Ronnie. Love it!

7) And then Kristie's friend, Brian, dropped us off at our parking lot but it was the wrong one. We had to hop back into the car to find the correct one.

8) Once we found the parking lot and paid, I remarked, "Oh there's my car." Then I second guessed myself, which Kristie validated. We agreed it wasn't my car even though the license plate had a "4" and an "H" in it, which mine does. Besides, I said, "My car is the more square version. This one's rounder." The attendant spent several minutes frantically searching for my car. Another attendant even said, "It's coming. Don't worry. And by the way, how old are you and where do you live?" ACK! I'm married for God's sake! Stop hitting on me! Anyway, they finally said, "Hey! Your car's right here on the 1st floor. Why didn't you say anything?" My response, "Hey Kristie agreed with  me, and I thought I had the more square version!" Anyway, this fiasco epitomized the Kristie/Karin adventure. We'll laugh about it for years.

9) We stopped at Denny's on the way home. It ain't as tasty as it used to be...Although the grease hit the spot.

That pretty much sums up our day. Can't wait until next year...rather, next spring! Berkeley...here we come!!!

props to the roommate!

for the past couple weeks i've been pretty focused on school (or talked about it a lot)...spare time is not easy to find.  to help, roommate baked at least three dozen cookies for the work cookie exchange that is this morning, and she picked up two toys for the Giving Tree.  she's good people.

thanks, roommie!

last fall semester EVER

i'm done with my last fall semester of school EVER!!! the test was rough, i'm hoping (once again) that i passed...but it's over. i'm homework-free for over a month!

You Are Somewhat Mature

You definitely act like an adult sometimes, but a big part of you is still a kid at heart. While your immature side is definitely fun, you're going to have to grow up sooner or later.

Are You Immature?

in case you haven’t heard…

...i'm a quitter.

youtube video here

sore loser

i don't wanna talk about, or hear about, the game that happened tonight.  i'm a bad loser.

i'll pay up on my bets, but i don't wanna talk about why i'm doing it.  grrr.

Thursday, December 13

...the end of the six months of training...the 911 challenge ...and willlo celebrates a birthday...

the first prediction i've received:
ghouly: Serge will finish, or get really really close....
ghouly: Yak will probably get about 7 down maybe...
ghouly: and you will be right there with him...perhaps 6.....
ghouly: soooo, that's the spread....
me: what kind of money is in on this?
me: if there's money, it's extra encouragement
me: and, to be honest, i'm scared sh*tless
me: no pun intended

(sorry i swore, but seriously...watch the youtube videos)

any other predictions?

wagers

i don't generally bet a whole lot...i'm not that fun at casinos...but when my MN teams come to town, it seems i earn all sorts of things.

so far i've got an indian buffet coming my way from yasuda, serg has to wear a football shirt to the game tonight with a fun sign...and i'm sure the Wild will earn me a few more things tonight.  go MN!

(bethel lost pretty miserably last saturday...that's all i have to say about that)

Go Vikes!

yup, i completely jumped back on the Vikings' bandwagon today...but we had second row seats at the endline, saw a touchdown within the first couple minutes, had to have been on tv and got this great pic with the mascot (who tried to run away from me). what an awesome, awesome day!

i was told the Vikes have a chance at playoffs. huh. go figure.

roommate's mom (my CA mom) hooked us up with the tickets. we had free tailgating prior to the game, too...

Tuesday the Wild come to town and i can't wait for another CA obliteration by MN teams.

eating

i really do want to be healthier.  mainly, i need to eat better 'cause i'm fairly active (though i'll start running more now, too).

anyway, it's really hard to find time to eat right.  i'm already late and i haven't eaten lunch, yet, so i'll probably hit a fast food joint.  it's just the easiest way to eat.  and fairly cheap.  ugh.

sorry, heart.  i'll get better at this.

30

vegas

America’s 10 Best Outdoor Towns

On Page 3 of this list, Ely, MN

linked from MSN.  MSN knows all.

fun friday gone slightly awry

i woke up feelin' pretty good about it being friday...played some fun music, danced a little, sang a little...got to work a little late...am blogging now...it's all good.

but then my doctor called 'cause my blood pressure was high enough yesterday that they want to monitor it.  i gotta admit, it freaks me out a little.  i know i'm old, but...i'm too young for this crap.  and i hate being forced to do much of anything - especially eat right and exercise.

maybe i'll run for the next couple of weeks, eat a little better and fake 'em out when i go back in.  maybe it's the amount of homework i need to do within the next couple of weeks, which will be done by then so i'll be ok.  maybe it's travel.  maybe it's my recently overactive asthma.  it can't be that i'm that unhealthy...yeesh.

getting old is rough some times.

the perfect vacation

it was awesome. the perfect amount of fun, laid-back-ness, food, entertainment, walking, subway-ing, taxi-ing, east coast friend time, etc. really, i'm quite pleased with how it all worked out.

in brief: landed at 6pm, picked up at 8pm, a homecooked hot dish for dinner, up at 9, NYC by 12, Battery Park, Times Square, italian, Altar Boyz, chocolate, sleep, out the door by noon, central park, The Met, lunch with lauraorange, The Met, mexican dinner, Rumours, curb, sleep, out the door by 11, Brooklyn, shopping on 5th Ave, the perfect purse, the cutest dress, crappy dinner at a singing diner, Philly boys, Times Square, sleep, out the door by 10am, connecticut with cousin Michelle & fam, home-made spaghetti, Rock Band, sleep, back in NYC by noon, stroll through the city, Central Park, taxi to JFK, home by 1am.

thanks, roommate...you're a quality travel partner. and thanks to East Coast Friends for making time for me.

thanks and hunter

i have a lot to be thankful for.  on top of my life being pretty awesome, i had a great flight to NYC today...quite a few laughs...a great dinner...and more laughs.  i'm excited to see the sights and be on vacation.

rough news - torii hunter's going to the Angels.  i'd say it's quite likely i'll be in anaheim some time this summer to see a game.  i can't believe he's leaving the Twins...

more thoughts on the $2 lunch

when i asked the guy behind the counter what a dish was, he started with, "it's supposed to be..."

i passed on that item.  he wasn't offended, 'cause he didn't cook it.

settlers of catan

i thought you should know that i played my first game last night.  of course, i just partnered up with someone for the first go-around, but i feel ready to take on the world!