Life & Love & Why

moved again

2010-11-04T16:52:00.002-05:00

my wordpress blog moved to www.debwa.com

There is a very high possibility I'll be deleting this blog in the coming months. Thanks for reading along with me, you can continue to do so at the new place.

cheers!

Moving!

2009-05-25T16:03:00.005-05:00

Ok, I'm officially moving! And after a few weeks, Moving day is here.

Well, not me, but my blog.

All future posts will be at www.debauslaugh.wordpress.com

I am making the switch to word press because I think it will be a better longterm home for my blog. I also think that as I learn more code, I will have a greater abililty to practice and put it to use over there.

As always www.debauslaugh.com will take you to the right spot as well. See you at word press!

Who is Simeon Hobbes? New LOST ARG?

2009-05-16T16:45:00.009-05:00

Ok, here's the thing, there may or may not be a new LOST ARG in the works.

Apparently, someone named "Simeon Hobbes" joined twitter on Friday. They started following a few of the already well established LOST twitterers. @simeonhobbes has been posting cryptic LOST related tweets. BUT here is the kicker. There is now a You Tube video out titled "Who is Simeon Hobbes" and its put up by "ThelostExperience" which was the first LOST ARG. Because it now has the lost experience you tube channel backing, its practically confirmed that it's a new ARG.

Ok, so if you watch the video and read the comments, there is some morris code that is translated. Talking about the Bennu bird which is apparently the Egyptian version of the Phenix. Simeon Hobbs tweeted about "following the Phoenix" about an hour ago, So I searched Twitter and came across @epithetalpha. The only tweet from Epithet Alpha is "I am the Bennu bird, the Heart-Soul of Ra, the Guide of the Gods to the Tuat." (Mythology, Egyptian or otherwise has been a large part of LOST). SO, I started following. No one else is. It could be a hoax, or I might just be the first one to get there. We'll see.

***UPDATE*** If Simeon Hobbes is "real" than so is Epithet Alpha. Simeon Hobbes just tweeted @debauslaugh Phoenix found. YEAH! I actually got to play a part!!!

***UPDATE #2****
Ok, so this ARG for Lost is REAL! woohoo. And, most of the time, I am several steps behind everyone. Not this time!

The best LOST resource on the web is Lostpedia.

This is where I go to read the lastest theories. And when it comes to ARGs, I am amazed how fast they compile information. Well, I am honored to say, I got to give lostpedia a tip this afternoon on twitter, so I got a small shout out of sorts on their recent blog post. "a user" that would be me. :-)

I think my twitter followers is already increasing drastically... Looking forward to a fun ARG for the summer.

Pictures

2009-05-14T21:07:00.004-05:00

Sadly, most of the photos we took were really, really blurry. (Operator Error)

Here is our view of the field from on Wed.

And here is a picture of me & the signs.

The story on the sign, Tim went to an M's game Friday in Minnesota. His sign said "Help. Mariners Fan stuck in South Dakota"
Apparently he was put on TV back home and the broadcasters loved his sign. I was hoping that because that was only five days earlier...if they saw my sign they might think it was funny. More so, I just find it amazing that one of my brothers and I attended away games for the M's in two different parts of the city within five days of each other.

Also - side note - just watch the season 5 finale for LOST. Seriously considering that this show may have a chance at overcoming the place that the West Wing holds in my mind.

LOST the M's game(s)

2009-05-14T00:18:00.002-05:00

I went to the Mariners games yesterday and today. We lost both! On tuesday, I went by myself and really enjoyed watching the entire game. Tonight, I went with 10 other people. We had a grand time. and it went into extra innings. The M's went ahead by one run in the top of the 11th only to have Morrow come in and give up two runs. Game over. Overall, it was a fantastic game, although it broke my heart in the end.

I had a sign that didn't make much sense to most people. And I don't think anyone back home got to see it.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. And explain the sign.

Also - tonight was the season finale for LOST. So if you know me at all, it says a lot that I chose to go to a Mariners game. As much as I love LOST - The M's hold more sway.

Blogging up a storm!

2009-05-08T23:18:00.004-05:00

We are under a tornado watch right now...

Anyway, I wanted to give a penny update. As of today - 1866 Pennies have found a loving home at "Pennies for Debra."

Also for our daily trivia game at work, I started out quite dismally with an 0-4 record. Finally on the fifth day I got one right. Before this week began, I was still at a sorry 2-5 record.

I am happy to announce that I had an amazing 5 for 5 record this week! The best of all participants. So my running record is now 7-5. I have to be honest, I was a little nervous and feeling the pressure heading into today's question. One other individual was also 4 for 4 before today's question, but he did not get it right today. We play in two week segments (after two weeks, the scores are wiped back to zero), so next week, I will be trying to stay ahead and add to my one point lead heading into next Friday.

iamsecond.com

2009-05-08T22:16:00.004-05:00

There is a ministry here in the DFW area that has put together an amazing website that in simplest form - has people telling their stories. Their salvation narrative. How life was empty or they struggle (in both past and presence tense) with a wide range of issue from drugs and alcohol, to eating disorders, pride, and perfectionism. Some faces and names you will recognize. Others you will not. But without a doubt, you will be touched and you will find someone's story that touches the heart of your story. Are you second?

Star Trek!

2009-05-08T22:14:00.001-05:00

I'm going to go see Star Trek tomorrow - woo hoo for super cheep matinee showings! I am very much looking forward to it.

What are you?

2009-05-07T18:05:00.004-05:00

Thanks to TechHermit for the interesting post about types of people online.

In an extremely simplified explination, there people interact differently online as far as social-networking/emerging technology goes.

Some sit on the sidelines and don't participate, others are actively observing, and others are creating what is being consumed.

For a pictoral representation of the catagories, check out the The Social Technographics Ladder here.

And then... Take this quiz to see what you are.

Are you a:

Creator, Critic, Collector, Joiner, Spectator, or Inactive?

(can you guess what I am??? --- hehe the fact that I have a blog practically gives me away: "As a creator, you join an elite 18% of the US online population.")

Another "what did you see" commercial on ABC

2009-05-06T21:05:00.003-05:00

So the "Flash Forward" viral commericals continue during LOST. Actually, I only caught one, but part of the time the tv signal blinked out, so I may have missed some. It looks like they put up several images. The only one I was able to see & remember was a dog.

I googled "What did you see" and the very first site was:

What Did You See?
With the following tag: Help Put the Pieces Together.

My first post on the subject is here.

Fringe Picked up

2009-05-05T21:12:00.002-05:00

I have been semi-regularly watching Fringe. I like it. It's sci-fi. It's J.J. Abrams. It's mystery. It's picked up for a second season.

Progression of a Rain Delay

2009-05-04T20:17:00.004-05:00

Ok, here are some photos:

These first two are from our original seats. They were great seats and for wonderful price - but they were pretty far away.

These next three are from our first move down and closer. As you can see we were just up from the on deck circle, in between home plate and the dugout.

Do you reconginze this back of the head?
I'll give you a hint...Low Rider...A song that was played when he went to bat?
I'll give you another hint: my favorite player in 1995 and a few of the subsequent years.

Joey Cora! He's the bench coach for the White Sox.

We moved a second time and ended up practically behind home plate.

Me. Please excuse the "I look like a drown rat" look. That's about how I felt. My shoes are still drying out two days later.

Finally, this is a picture of me preparing for the M's game next week. I recently realized that I did not have a hat to wear to the game when I go watch the M's play the Rangers, so I picked up a M's circa 1981 design. - I also acquired a lovely retro jacket to wear as well.

More company & baseball

2009-05-04T12:06:00.002-05:00

I had another friend from out of town this weekend so we went to another Rangers game.

It was my first experience with Rain Delays (thanks to the Kingdom & Safeco Field). The game started about 40 minutes late and there were another 3 or 4 delays after that. We got pretty wet, but it was still a ton of fun. The typical three hour game - which was supposed to start at 7 pm, didn't end until after 12.

One really cool thing is that so many people went home with each rain delay is that there were tons of empty seats. The first game interrupting delay came during the 5th so they couldn't call it yet, and each time they stopped, we expected them to just end the game. But they kept resuming and we eventually moved down by the third base line By the top of the 9th, we were a few rows up from home plate.

I'll have to post some pictures of the night and our progression to better seats.

Clean Hands Save Lives

2009-05-01T08:18:00.000-05:00

A school in my town is closed due to a confirmed case of Swine flu. I'm not worried about it. At work we have a saying (thanks to the posters on the washroom doors of our new building) -- Clean Hands Save Lives.

"What did you see?" - ABC

2009-04-29T21:29:00.011-05:00

***5/6/09 New Week, New LOST => New Commercial. Blogged a little about it here.***

Is there a new viral campaign possible Alternate Reality Game (ARG) being launched by ABC?

During each of the commercial breaks during LOST, there was moment of black screen with one small portion as a picture, followed by the words "What did you see?" What ever this is, we know it was brought by ABC because of the logo on the lower right of the screen.

Is this directly related to LOST? I had ABC on after the show and the commercials stopped, so I would guess that it is.

After a little sniffing around online, I found a blog Magnificent Vista with some addition information.

Basically during and shortly after LOST, if you googled "a site went up, the mosaic collective, and was found via google. Now, you cannot find it by googling, except to blogs. Anyway - if its the start of a new ARG, I would welcome that. The season 5 finale is only two weeks away.

Last year, Octagon Recruiting was launched during the finale. I, Debra - "workwoman, bricklayer in the Dharma initiative," can only hope that a new ARG is being rolled out.

UPDATE #1: in the last few moments, there is some new info which says it might be a viral campaign for a new show and not LOST related. We'll see. ****shoot. looks like a false alarm.

UPDATE #2: See the video clips here.

Update from "Penny"

2009-04-24T21:18:00.006-05:00

Three new things on the Penny front.

First, the current count is 1626.

Second, today in a penny contribution, I was given a nickel. I tried to return it but the contributer didn't want it. When I saw it was from 1940, I insisted they take it back. They said "no! why do I want a dirty old penny. I would just want to throw it away". So in addition to 129 additional pennies from this contributor (one of which was a 1955 "wheat-head"), I received a very old penny.

Third, we are playing a daily, afternoon Trivia game at work. It just started this week and before one could participate, they needed to have a nick name. While my family had nick names for me growing up (Miss Chif) and some people occasionally call me Deb, neither would work for this. Therefor, my co-workers had to come up with one for me. And so, in the game, I am Penny.

Spring Vacation

2009-04-21T20:24:00.002-05:00

On Thursday one of my friends from Washington came for a visit. We had a wonderful time just relaxing, exploring Dallas, going to a Rangers game, and taking a trip to Austin.

It was great to catch up with her, have our usually heartfelt conversations, and laugh until we cried. In this particular case, the laughing until crying came while we were on our way back from Austin. It's a little over a three hour drive there, so 6 hours round trip. (and we made a day trip out of it.) So as you can imagine, we were a little tired on the trip home.

About an hour out, we stopped off at Dairy Queen to eat some ice cream and take a break from driving. That's about it. A little ice cream, a little tiredness, and the "Starship Pegasus" will have you laughing so hard you cry. I'm still not quite sure what the purpose of the Starship was (in Italy, nonetheless) other than some roadside tourist trap, or something, but it is closed now. Anyway, it was fun.

Austin is a pretty cool city. Pretty funky and reminiscent of Portland and Seattle. We had an amazing BBQ lunch at Stubbs. Pork Ribs with incredible bbq sauce. They also had the most incredible homemade Blue Cheese dressing I have ever eaten in my entire life.

It was a great trip.

Yes I follow aplusk

2009-04-16T08:05:00.011-05:00

So if you haven't heard, aplusk (Ashton Kutcher) is trying trying to beat CNNBRK (CNN breaking news) to 1 Million Followers on Twitter.

Why does this matter? Why should you care? Because it's a blaring example of the way the world is changing. Out with the old broadcast model, in with the new, conversational, participational, multifaceted, I'm not sure what the new name is, model.

One person (yes, he may be famous, but there are cases of the "non-famous" or "not yet famous" having a similar impact on the world solely due to online means) can speak to as many as an entire network.

Anyway Check this out and then if you are on twitter, please consider following @aplusk (and dropping @cnnbrk):

***Update. I just skimmed an article on CNN.com that helps prove the point of the breakdown of the broadcast model. Everything in the article was a rehash of stuff I already knew via twitter. For example, I read the following a minute after it was posted "Kutcher, who challenged CNN to be the first to 1 million followers on the micro-blogging site, had more than 949,000 Twitter followers as of 11 a.m. ET Thursday. CNN's breaking-news feed had about 15,000 more Twitter fans, with some 964,000."

Well guess what. At around 11 EST, I was already aware of the status of the numbers and I didn't need CNN to tell me.

Vacation!

2009-04-15T18:41:00.003-05:00

I don't have work for the next five days because a friend from out of town is coming in! WOO HOO!

It's going to be a great, super-long weekend which will even include a trip to the Ballpark in Arlington.

Now I must finish cleaning and go grocery shopping.

He Is Risen!

2009-04-12T11:00:00.003-05:00

I'm about to start making a salad, and then head up north for Easter lunch with the family.

For the last few minutes, I have been watching on search.twitter.com all of the times people are saying "He Is Risen" and it's really cool, kind of like seeing a multitude of believers, the body of Christ made up of millions I don't know all celebrating together. Granted, this is a voice of the technology driven West, (so many poorer Christian' voices are not able to participate in this manner) but it is really astounding and joyful to see all of the people celebrating together.

And even some recognizable names out there too. for example - someone just replied to @MilieyCyrus "He is Risen indeed" So I checked out what she "tweeted" : HE HAS RISEN!!! praise the LORD! / 1 peter 1:3.

(which is: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead)
Amen.

borrowing the internet

2009-04-11T23:53:00.004-05:00

Ok, there are only 9 minutes left of today, and yes I am "borrowing" the internet....
BUT I had to blog about today. Today is:

Happy to be Alive Day!
(the anniversary of my open heart surgery).

It's kind of rad that this is the day right before Easter, the truest "Happy to Be Alive Day" there ever could be.

That's it. Got to go to bed....Got get up early for an 8 am service.

(hope there are not severe storms tomorrow!)

Oh, I forgot, A penny up date: 1392!

Huge Contribution

2009-04-07T17:05:00.003-05:00

After several more small contributions - I had a large one. The new penny count is now 1312!

An ever Bigger contribution: I wanted to give a shout out to the anonymous person who contributed 5000 "virtual pennies." The Lord Provides through the work of his people. thank you!

Settlers and Pennies?

2009-03-31T11:23:00.001-05:00

I might get to play Settlers of catan later this week... Whoo Hoo.

Also, Pennies for Debra is now at 833. Please consider Contributing all Pennies you find while doing spring cleaning.

Finally.... 6 days until opening day!

Crazy Cool!

2009-03-20T11:32:00.000-05:00

So Michael W. Smith has a concert at my church tonight. I heard about it a few weeks ago, but with ticket prices, could not go. (it's a charity concert).

Found out this morning that someone at work purchased several tickets in order to donate to the charity, but was giving them away free to anyone who wanted them. SO, my self and 3 friends from church are going! Very excited about this!

ALSO - yesterday we were talking about Chipolte. I haven't had a chipolte burrito in a very long time and the conversation made me crave one. I got home from work and there in my mail box, the only piece of mail, was an ad for Chipole that contained a Free Burrito! No strings attached. Nothing else to buy. One free Burrito - I'm going to go eat it for lunch.

Oh, yeah, and "Pennies for Debra" is now up to 640.

March Madness

2009-03-19T16:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have Washington, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, and Oklahoma in the final four. For the finals, I have Pittsburgh beating Washington.

How about you?

Search for the Shamrock Shake

2009-03-18T12:01:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the reminder from someone at work, many of us at Pursuant talked about how we wanted a Shamrock Shake. One person drove down to McDonalds to try and get one, but they did not have them.

This made me sad, so I contacted McDonalds. Here are the results of the Search for a Shamrock Shake:

I wrote McD’s and said:

"I just moved to Texas. Is it true that they do not have shamrock shakes here!?!?! Our main local McDonald's doesn't. Is that true for the entire state?

That makes me very sad."

Their Response:

"Hello Debra:
Thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's. We appreciate your interest in our Shamrock Shake.

The Shamrock Shake is a "promotional" product offered for a limited time only. Since the decision to offer promotional products is made on a region by region basis, I have forwarded your comments to the McDonald's regional office in your area for their consideration in deciding if they will offer the Shamrock Shakes to their customers next year.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's and sharing your comments with us. Hopefully, the Shamrock Shake will be offered at your local McDonald's next year.

McDonald's Customer Response Center"

(The moral of the story is…have everyone you know email in for shamrock shakes and maybe they will show up next year)

Penny Update

2009-03-16T12:59:00.001-05:00

So, the count is now up to 617! And 600 have already been rolled.

Not much else happening besides that.

Update on Homeless Pennies

2009-03-12T12:11:00.003-05:00

The following is a copy of a blog post on our inter-office communication application. So far there has been a very positive response, including two additional contributions:

A fellow coworker (who shall remain nameless) told me that she throws pennies away! I was SHOCKED! Throw them away? Didn’t her mother ever tell her that money does not grow on trees? (Well, technically, paper money does…but pennies do not.)

Upon hearing this, I asked if she would give them to me instead of throwing them out. She said sure, and handed me three.

This got me thinking…how many homeless and unloved pennies are out there? What would it be like if I started collecting pennies that no one else wants? So I set out a sign with the three pennies. “Pennies for Debra* – Now accepting contributions.” By the end of the day, the three grew to 138.

Do you have abandoned and neglected pennies? Do they sit lonely in a dark drawer? The plight of the penny is tugging on your heart! 138 pennies found a new meaning to their existence. Which penny will be next?

Please consider contributing to Pennies for Debra. Your unwanted pennies need to have a sense of purpose again. Won’t you consider giving new life to a penny today? Drop off any unwanted pennies at Debra’s desk, no questions asked.

*"Pennies for Debra" will be consolidated, taken to the bank, and applied toward college loans or other debts to be determined at the time of turn in date by a very wise and judicious Debra.

Pennies for Debra

2009-03-11T17:06:00.003-05:00

I was talking to a friend at work who told me she throws away Pennies. In fact, up until not that long ago, she threw away nickles too!

I told her she should stop throwing the pennies away and just give them to me instead. So she gave me three that she had in her desk.

Then I decided to make a sign on my desk that says "Pennies for Debra - Now Accepting Contributions"

I also tweeted about it.

A short time later, another coworker came over, read the sign, left, returned with a gigantic handful of pennies.

My ultimate plan is to put them toward some bills I owe on.

So I amended my sign to say "Pennies for Debra('s College Loan) Now Accepting Contributions"

Work?

2009-02-27T12:38:00.006-06:00

Have you heard of the gallon challenge?

This is a challenge to drink 1 gallon of milk in an hour and then keep it down for an hour.

This morning at work, after much hype, talk and excitement, three people gave it a go.

It was HILARIOUS! (and gross)

If you want to see some of the results (although view at your own risk): Click Here
or Here.

Thanks to Cabeeb for the videos.

Sandwiches

2009-02-24T12:39:00.003-06:00

Last week, I got sick of sandwiches.

I had been eating a peanut butter sandwich at lunch. Perhaps I should have added jam, but two things on that: 1. it costs money and 2. I like Raspberry, which means getting seeds in my teeth.

So I ate just plain peanut butter on bread. On Friday, I just couldn't take it anymore. So I went a purchased a sandwich from a local fast food/deli joint. Unfortunately, that sandwich was NOT very good at all.

So that brings us to this week. Yesterday, I brought some left over vegetables and other things that I needed to use up. So this turned into a cheese, bacon, tomato, and avocado sandwich, which I then toasted. Today, I did not have any more bacon, but I did have a hard boiled egg, so that went on the sandwich. Both were VERY good and it was wonderful to not have peanut butter.

Welcome Back Kid

2009-02-19T17:34:00.003-06:00

Yes, I am Stoked Griffey is back!!!!

So far, this has been my favorite article discussing the return of Griffey: http://tinyurl.com/bfoffs

I read it and grin.

"So I'm going get my Ken Griffey Jr. chocolate bars out of storage, wear some flannel and listen to grunge and pretend this is 1995 and four-bedroom homes with a view on Capitol Hill go for less than $500,000 and Microsoft shares keep splitting and the Sonics are still in town and Junior is taking a lead off first base while Edgar Martinez steps in against Jack McDowell.

Yes, that's nostalgia talking. Yes, I'm letting sweet memories of the past cloud my vision of the present. But so what? It sure beats watching Richie Sexson strike out with runners in scoring position."

Click to read the entire article. The "best case scenerio" is pretty nice too.

Ok, I'm off to figure out dinner. AND listen to the Oilers game. They are in town tonight. I wish I could go to the game, or that it was playing on local television, but it is not. So I must make do with local radio. The Oilers are only 1 point, 1 playoff spot behind the stars so this game is pretty big.

Tornado Warning

2009-02-11T18:44:00.005-06:00

I got to "hide in my safe room" - well make that "safe cabinet" yesterday evening as the Tornado sirens sounded. I decided that one of my cabinets makes for the safest place in the house. It's a big cabinet. It was only a little scary.

I don't think there were any tornado's that touched down in our area, though the same storm is responsible for tornadoes and a few deaths up in Oklahoma.

Other than that, life has been decent. Work is still extremely busy (It's a quarter to 7 right now and I am about to head home. I'm taking some work with me to do while watching LOST). We had a HUGE meeting today at work as well. Check out the cool things that are happening at Pursuant!

I am also learning all sorts of new things at work. I hope to learn enough HTML to be able to put together my own blog - as far as the design and lay out go - maybe I'll even be able to move over to www.debauslaugh.com and lose "blogspot" all together. That won't be any time soon though.

I also am excited about how church has been going. This last Sunday I finally got matched up for a small group, so that starts this week and I am looking forward to actually having friends or knowing people at my church. Well, that's not quite right, I do know some people who I also work with, but the church is pretty large so I do not usually see them.

Oh yes, and I am busy reading. Book 8 of the "Wheel of Time" series. I also picked up "Tolkien: Author of the Century" from the library but I fear I need to renew it. Because of a show I watch (LOST) and because I have regreted never taking physics, I am on physics kick. I am reading a biography on Galileo and as well as working through "Physics for Dummies".

All that and no internet, thus the infrequent blog posts and one Very long one. I'm Impressed, you made it to the end of this post!

taxes done.

2009-02-06T17:01:00.002-06:00

Well, my taxes are done. This year, that's a good thing.

And baseball starts soon. Also a good thing.

I also now have the domain name www.debauslaugh.com but it is not working right now. (not that it maters, it is supposed to redirect people to this blog)

That's about it.

Counting down

2009-01-13T18:05:00.002-06:00

Last night I got to go to a Stars game with a group of people from work. This is the first NHL game I have been to in about 5 years and it was SO FUN!

I was rooting for the Red Wings because It is more beneficial for my Oilers if the Wings take the points. Unfortunately, the Stars won. BUT the game was great besides that out come. It ended 5-4 in overtime.

I call this post "counting down" because here a few things I am looking forward to:

2 Days until my parents and one of my brothers visit
8 Days until the return of LOST
32 Days until Pitchers & Catchers report
(and I guess I'll toss this one in as well just for kicks.)
35 Days until the digital switch that I am now ready for happens

Library

2009-01-03T10:55:00.002-06:00

I'm at the library! Free internet - Books to borrow. Even DVD's to check-out. While this is a MAJOR downgrade from the Wheaton Public Library (voted into the top ten in the entire united states in the '90s), it is a Library and I am wondering why it took me so long to get a card.

Well, I need to go check out my books. Book 6 of the Wheels of Time and "Tales From the Perilous Realm" by J.R.R. Tolkien. After that, it's off to the electronics store to use my government provided coupon to buy a converter for my TV so in 45 days, there "won't be a glitch in my Digital Switch." But first I must clear the history and cache on this computer. :)

Christmas Reading

2008-12-29T12:09:00.003-06:00

With the holiday's that means less time at work, More time to READ!

I finally read the Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have wanted to read this book for the last 5 years or so. I started it last January, but did not get very far before life got in the way. So I started over this weekend and read the entire thing. It's so beautiful! And what a great backdrop to better understand the world of Middle Earth. Thanks Vicky for reminding me that I wanted/needed to read this.

(for those who have read the Silmarillion - Check out the Children of Hurin. It's a full book in greater detail of just a portion of the Silmarillion. The story of Túrin Turambar, and his sister Nienor Níniel.)

Next up: The Odyssey.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T11:00:00.002-06:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. We just finished opening gifts and we tried something new this year: Online video conferencing for all the family members.

I received some nice puzzles, great clothes, a Christmas towel to decorate my kitchen, a bath set and a gift certificate for itunes. I can't wait to pick out more music to listen to....perhaps some more Death Cab for Cutie!?!?

I have been hanging out at Lance & Katie's so it was really fun to see the excitement in the girls eyes last night waiting for Santa. And then again this morning as Santa left them a gift and ate the cookies they left out.

So now it's time for naps before the yummy christmas meal.

Degrees of my life

2008-12-15T17:23:00.006-06:00

Degrees F

Glen Ellyn/Lombard: 12 (feels like -4)
Puyallup: 32 (feels like 26)
Edmonton: -2 (feels like -17)
Wheaton/Winfield: 11 (feels like -3)
Dallas: 29 (feels like 19)

For my Canadian readers:
Degrees C

Glen Ellyn/Lombard: -11 (feels like -20)
Puyallup: 0 (feels like -3)
Edmonton: -19 (feels like -27)
Wheaton/Winfield: -12 (feels like -19)
Dallas: -2 (feels like -7)

Oh - and yesterday, it was 75 degrees here.

Goal Setting

2008-12-12T13:24:00.001-06:00

Do you set goals? I do. In my senior year of high school, we had an assignment to write down 101 goals. Some were big, like the places in the world I want to see in my lifetime. Some were small, like the calculus test I needed to pass the same week I wrote down the goals.

I still have my 101 goals and over the last decade, I have added 94 more. (I know! Only 94 in ten years!?!?) So, how’s it going? Well, out of 195, there are a few that were not met or the issue and life circumstance changed in such that they will never be met, but I am happy to report that 66 goals have been reached.

Some are absolutely imperative to the way I experience life. Such as the goal I set on 9-28-03 and finally reached a year and a half later on 4-3-05. My life would not be the same without that Box set of the Extended DVDs of The Lord of the Rings. Other unmet goals are as equally important, such as that Mystery “who-dunnit” dinner I have yet to participate in. Still other’s are completely out of my hands. “Living to see the Mariners win the World Series” might seem like a stretch some seasons, but it’s there, written with ink in my goal book. I will do my best to see it done. On a serious note, some big things have been accomplished, education goals, financial goals, my trip to the UK, and living in Chicago for a second time. If I write it down and say it out loud enough, I begin to believe it.

Why do I say all this? Because last night I added a couple of more goals. Number 196 is to correctly complete a proof for a newsletter. And on a much grander timetable, perhaps against my better judgment and flying in the face of several decisions I have made in the past two years, Goal 197 finds me starting my doctorate on or before my 50th year of life. I figure that gives me enough time to pay off my current school loans. Maybe the long pondered doctoral name of Dr. D. E. Bauslaugh will not be relevant by then, but that’s not the really the point. The point is that step one of both the newsletter and a doctorate has been taken. The rest is just another step or more away.

If you've never been a goal-writter-downer, I highly recommend it.

Yikes

2008-12-03T12:13:00.002-06:00

It has almost been two week since I last blogged...that kind of makes me sad.

What have I been up to? Well, still cruising through the Wheel of Time series. I started book 4 last night.

I also had a chance to read Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton and am slowly meandering through Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love by Augustine.

I also put together a five hundred piece puzzle and now am on the down slope of completing a 1000 piece one.

Oh yes. And I finished watching Baseball (a documentary put together by Ken Burns). All 9 innings, 18 hours worth. It ended right at 1994, so I figure I know the rest of the story as I became a baseball fan in 1995.

Thanksgiving was great. I spent a couple of nights up at my brother & sister-in-law's house. I made the stuffing. I think this is the first time I ever made something like that from a recipe and not out of a box. It was good. The entire dinner was amazing (and boy did we have a lot of food!).

I had some company over a couple weeks back to play settlers. It was a lot of fun, in spite of the fact that I put in one last frozen pizza before we started playing. Then I forgot about it. oops. One of my guests remembered it, but by that time, it was pretty black.

I still love November

2008-11-20T12:45:00.006-06:00

Thursday already?

So it's been a busy, but good week.

On Saturday, I got to celebrate my birthday with my family. Seriously, there is nothing that makes you feel young like celebrating your birthday with a 3 and 5 year old.

On Sunday afternoon, I headed back up to play Settlers of Catan.

On Monday, I got a new couch! Someone at work was giving away a sleeper sofa so I really lucked out.

Yesterday, I bought a new vacuum. I purchased one at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago, but it was not cutting it and I really needed to vacuum, so I got a new one.

Tonight I am heading out to see my niece in her thanksgiving school program.

And to top off the week, tomorrow I have friends from work coming over to eat pizza and play Settlers. -the reason for needing to vacuum :)

Busy, but good.

Blowing out a candle on my b-day cupcake with the "Birthday Princess" hat.

28

2008-11-14T17:04:00.003-06:00

Yep, I had my birthday. It was a nice quiet event. Opened a few gifts. Then on Wednesday, I went to dinner and bowling with a bunch of friends from work. It was really fun.

Didn't quite match my personal best of 131 from last year, but not too far off with 113.

We played 1.5 games and I started off each game with a strike in the first frame.

That's about it from here. OH, yeah, and I am reading a new book series that I absolutely love. The Wheel of Time So far I have read book one and have now started in on book two. As probably expected for me, it is a fantasy series and while it does not match Lord of the Rings in my eyes, there are some great characters and good story line. There are 11 books total with one more being written, so it's nice that I have so many to look forward to.

And that is the plan for the weekend: to Read.

yeah...life...so it goes

2008-11-07T17:15:00.003-06:00

Well, in addition to the fact that I no longer have internet at home, in the last week, I have transitioned to a new position at work. The result of this is that life is a bit crazy learning tons of new things and I fear the blog is at the bottom of my list even more. My apologies and when the dust settles a bit, I hope to provide several updates on what I have been up to.

Pretty in Pink (or at least I would have been)

2008-10-29T08:26:00.001-05:00

A dear friend of mine was getting married in Portland. Because of the importance of this wedding, I invested time prior to the trip to find the most amazing outfit to wear. While looking for a sweater to spruce up an older dress, I came across the most amazing, cute, affordable, pretty dress I have ever seen. I don’t typically buy dresses, but this one was incredible.

And to top it off, I found the perfect pair of matching shoes.

We got ready for the wedding at my parents house, me wearing the dress, and set out for the three hour trip to Portland.

Two hours into our trip, we stopped at a rest stop to take a quick break and switch drivers. As I got back into the vehicle, I noticed that my slightly snug dress was less snug than it was a second ago. I did not hear it rip, but fear still gripped me as I turned around for my mom to look at it. The nylon zipper had pulled apart! Not just a little, and not just “slide the zipper down past the breakage point and it will fix itself.” NO the entire length of the back of the dress had split open along the zipper. After several minutes trying to fix it, and even fearing that we would have to rip the dress so I could get out of it, the zipper completely separated from one side of the dress. Here we were, 40 minutes to our destination with the wedding starting in jus t under 2 hours, and I no longer had anything to wear but some ratty old clothes I brought for the ride home.

It was all so surreal. Does this really happen to people in real life? I mean seriously, I can see it as a scene in a movie, but in real life??? Apparently, in my life, it does.

After several panicked phone calls to friends who had computer access, we located some outlet stores near our final destination. If there was ever a fashion emergency, this was it. We arrived at the stores and it was “go” time power-shopping like I had never done before! I went to 3 stores, tried on two shirts, one dress, one pair of pants, all within 30 minutes. Upon entering each store, we cut off the employee from their typical “what’s on sale” spiel to say, “look, I am an hour away from a wedding and my dress just broke, what do you have?”

I had people pulling things off the rack for me, creating possible outfit options, even telling me to check the store down the way because as much as they wanted my business, they all wanted me to find a perfect replacement outfit as fast as possible. I had one lady come track me down in a different store because after I left they found the “perfect dress.” I was heading into the changing room to so my mom ran interference for me and headed back to the old store to check out the dress. After going to Van Heusen, Liz Claiborne, Dress barn, I finally found what would work at the Gap.

I snagged a pair of dark blue jeans and turned around to find a lovely brown sweater. After putting them on in the fitting room, I made a decision that “this was it” knowing that in a west coast wedding, a decent pair of jeans would be acceptable. Because of our hurry, I walked quickly to the register, ripping off tags and size stickers as I went. We handed the tags over, paid, and I walked out of the store wearing the new outfit.

We made it to the wedding on time and at the end of the night, I was kind of thankful that I got to wear comfy jeans rather than a dress, even if the dress was amazing.

no more internet

2008-10-20T12:47:00.002-05:00

I moved over the weekend and as a result, I no longer have internet access from home. This means that my blog posts will probably be less frequent.

So, while I have a moment, I just want to say two sports realted things.
1. I am rooting for the Philies in the World Series because I like Jamie Moyer
2. The Oilers have started out the season 4-0

Wheaton Drafted

2008-10-16T22:31:00.003-05:00

Between my trip home to Washington and moving this week, life has been a busy. (that plus I have a nasty head cold) Fun stories from the trip will still be posted, just not yet.

I just wanted to share this cool bit of info, Wheaton (a Div III school) had its first ever player drafted to the NFL in May. Andy Stuedbaker was picked up in the 6th round, 203 pick overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. While that happened a while ago, he was signed to their practice squad in September and I thought I would pass along the news. read more on the Eagles website here.

vacation

2008-10-10T22:42:00.002-05:00

So I am in Washington with very limited internet access, so I will make this quick. It has been a great trip so far. There have been some hilarious, even unbelievable "movie-esque" type stories which I will share at a future date.

A dear friend got married yesterday evening and it was a lovely occasion. I have seen tons of friends and had a chance to catch up with people I have not seen in years.

And to top of today, the clouds cleared just enough for me to be able to see Mount Rainier.

33 hours until take off

2008-10-06T20:58:00.002-05:00

I am taking a quick trip to the Pacific Northwest and my plane takes off in 33 hours. Between now and then, I will work one full day, get the keys to my new apartment, and start setting up my kitchen.

I have been packing like a maniac tonight. One suitcase for the trip, one small bag for the apartment, as well as boxes to be taken over tomorrow, and now I am sitting here waiting for the dyer to finish up so I can stick my one load in tonight. Its all the clothes for my trip. SO, I may be getting up early tomorrow to pack some more. I am fading now so I don't think I will wait up until this load is also done drying.

after I get back, (really late sunday) I have a full work week and then I move everything else on saturday. It should be interesting. I hope I don't get too run down and get sick. Yuck!

Just went to look for a spiral notebook so I can do some writing while I travel and I ran across my pro/con list for moving from January. I am glad the pro list for moving to Texas won (even though the other two options actually had more pros).

Labels

2008-10-05T20:53:00.002-05:00

I don't think I like the labels...

At first I thought it was a good idea, but then I think I started being too specific and now the labels go way to far down the page.

That, plus there is still a lot of work to catch up, I only have around 300 more posts to label.

Also, uhm...nope, I think that is all I have to say. I just read a John Gruber's recent blog post and I would have to agree. After you get used to tweeting on twitter, (which is "micro-blogging") it is harder to find more than a few sentences to say. Maybe "they" are right, blogging has peaked and will soon start dying off.

Nooo!

2008-10-05T03:36:00.002-05:00

That is not how the playoffs were supposed to go. I really thought this was the year for the Cubs. - As they say "there is always next year" even though I as a Mariners fan, believe that even more for my own team.

I guess this means I am rooting for the Phillies.

Go Cubs Go!

2008-10-04T21:06:00.002-05:00

Same as last year....check out the video here

ohhhh...

2008-10-04T19:16:00.001-05:00

Moyer only goes 4 innings with 90 pitches. That means he can't get the win. BUT the Phillies are only down by two runs so even with a rough start, his team is very much in this. I am fairly confident they will win the series, so Moyer will get more chances.

Cursed?

2008-10-04T18:56:00.003-05:00

Some people say the Cubs are cursed. This week I am beginning to wonder if I might be the curse. Every team I root for, seems to lose. (sometimes they get close, but in the end, they lose.)

I watched just part of the Cubs game one, they lost. I didn't think I would watch game two because it would be too stressful. I decided to give it a go, walked in the room just in time to see the cubs give up five runs and have their infield completely fall apart. I stopped watching. Later, when the rallied in the 7th, I dialed up WGN only to hear the rally fizzle (sorry! should have left the game off)

Tonight I find myself thrilled to be able to sit down and watch one of my favorites, Jamie Moyer, throw a game for the Phillies in Milwaukee. The Phillies have been winning games (I haven't been watching) but I sit down to watch and Moyer has a very rough first inning. They are only through three, and he must be close to 70 pitches.

Well, I am going to get back to watching the game. And I hope that Lance does not ban me from watching the Cubs game tonight.

(oh yeah, and I am borrowing a copy of the 9 innings of baseball by Ken Burns. Watch most of the first inning today, fantastic!)

Sometimes my thoughts keep me up at night

2008-10-01T07:40:00.003-05:00

I know it happens to everyone. But sometimes, I find myself on the brink of utter ridiculousness. “Normal” people would be awake tossing and turning because of things like the financial crisis of which we are all so painfully aware. Nope, not me. What takes away from my precious sleep time? The fact that I bleed blue, green, and a touch of copper – that’s what.

I think it might be some kind of illness I should be treated for. It can’t be normal to stay awake thinking about how the Mariner’s miserable season is finally over or how the Seahawks have a huge game coming up on Sunday against the Giants (the first Hawks game to be on TV this season down here). Mainly I am just excited that (here comes the copper) the NHL season is on the verge of starting and the Oilers are looking great. I think something in my head is a little out of whack.

It all started out in 1995, with a crazy September of Mariners baseball. This was the first time I ever felt any symptoms of the sports fever. Maybe the only cure is to have your team win. I wouldn’t know. Since I started paying attention, my teams have only strung me along on promises of grandeur. The M’s have been two games out of the World Series, twice, while the Seahawks lost in the Superbowl. And my Oilers, they lost the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Championship.

Sport fever is not an illness without ramifications; it has infected a large portion of the population and as a result, unites people across the world. Sadly, this affliction can also divide humanity. I once found myself seething in deep hatred of a new individual I just met because he said he was from Raleigh, NC. For a brief moment, I did not even realize where the disdain came from, as it is very uncommon for me to react this way to anyone. In an instant, I remembered that the Carolina Hurricanes were the team that just beat my Oilers in game seven. Once I discovered this, and learned this new friend did not like hockey, all was forgiven.

Anyway, you can have your sleepless nights over matters of importance; I would rather risk my sleep on the affects of compounded interest in underdog teams that will one day win it all.

uhm. RAD!

2008-09-23T21:35:00.004-05:00

So I just decided to click over to 630 ched to see if there was any new oilers news. clicked on "listen" because it said the sports show was on. Turns out they are playing a preseason game right now. So I clicked on the oilers website which brought me to a very surprising discover.

Live Oilers Game - streaming, online, for FREE! After some quick research, I guess it premiered earlier this year, but I never knew about it. So, here I am watching an oilers game. The NHL calls it Livewire and I believe any team can be watched. (you redwing fans, click here)

Also, again watched house and fringe tonight. Regarding Fringe, its not LOST, and its no ALIAS, but after three episodes, "I'm in."

TLAP!!!

2008-09-18T22:11:00.002-05:00

I don't know if I will have a chance to post tomorrow, so don't forget (it only comes once a year), tomorrow, Sept 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Have a Swashbuckling Good Day, Savvy?

Doughnut?

2008-09-16T21:33:00.003-05:00

Are we in a doughnut? (as any west wing fans know, this is code for the 'r' word - recession) wow...the stock market has been taking a beating.

Two things I heard recently that makes sense to me: In order to have a positive economy, it must be "growing," percentages have to be up. Staying even is not an option, only upward growth counts. Kind of like the idea that track runners will continue to run faster and break records - this kind of economical growth (track time decrease) is not infinitely sustainable. Just as a track runner will never be able to run a at negative time, economy is going to stop increasing at some point...or at least I think this is the case. It cannot grow exponentially infinitely.

Second, I heard someone say, the stock market is like a game and in order to have winners you have to have losers. There is not a magic money making machine at the center of the market, if you make money, essentially, you are taking it out of someone else's hands.

Anyway - I watched House and Fringe tonight. House - uhm, I am not as interested as I was in the past, but I am a little curious to see what happens with the friendship of Wilson and House.
Fringe - had to look away several times (same with House actually) as I am not one for blood and guts. This is a sci-fi show, which I appreciate and I think I am most looking forward to see how Dr. Bishop and his son's relationship progresses.

Oil Country (and I don't mean Texas)

2008-09-16T12:48:00.006-05:00

The NHL season is just around the bend and I hopped on ESPN to see what hockey talk was going on...headlining page: Oilers Have 'It'

Yeah its all preseason speculation, but rather up than down! Go Oil! (after this last baseball season and a rough start for the Hawks...I am loving some good news for E-town)

Evangelical

2008-09-15T20:17:00.007-05:00

An article by John Ortberg that I found interesting discussing the term "evangelical."

References to Bebbington, Noll, and Wheaton, along with other people and places I have studied made this an enjoyable read to me.

Epiphany!

2008-09-14T21:24:00.002-05:00

I only live 15.5 hours from Peoria, AZ!!! I'm just saying it would be possible to drive there. It would be possible to go to MARINERS SPRING TRAINING!!!! Yeah, I know, we are still finishing up this dreadful season. I am not planning a trip yet, but it just occurred to me about three minutes ago that it is possible...

closer

2008-09-14T14:30:00.002-05:00

I bought the domain name I want. So I am a step closer to redoing this blog. I am hopeful (and with what I have been told, this is entirely possible) to transfer over all my previous blog post along with all comments. Hopefully tags/labels will transfer too because I have started the massive task of going back to all my posts and labeling them. (this feature was not available three years ago when I started blogging.)

3.39

2008-09-13T09:36:00.005-05:00

Thats how much per gallon I paid to fill up the tank on Thursday morning. Looks like that was a very fortunate decision.

Ike is pummeling Texas, south of here. I think the first rain band just made it over DFW but its very small here and the there is barely any wind to speak of. The forecast for this afternoon has been slightly downgraded, but it looks like well get a couple inches of rain and some strong wind. Nothing, of course, compared to Houston or Galveston.

We planned for possible power outages.

Here's a funny story: Last night I was going to make a trip to the store. I was asking my brother and sister-in-law if they needed anything (pre-Ike), and then writing down their requests. My five year old niece decided to take advantage of this "wish-list from the store" and sweetly requested that I purchase "Hi Ho Cherry-O" (a game she saw at the store that morning and wanted her mom to buy, but it was not purchased at that time). At first, I thought she was requesting I get it down from the closet shelf, but quickly realized she wanted me to add it to the shopping list. I had to say no. She understood but again very nicely said "well maybe you could get that for us some other time when you go to the store." No wanting to accidentally promise something or give false hope, I explained that I could not promise that, but (along with a suggestion from her mom) pointed out it was a great thing to put on her christmas wish list. It just made me laugh. I don't know if she was purposely being sneaky (probably not) but it certainly was clever.

Ike

2008-09-10T21:41:00.002-05:00

I guess Hurricane Ike is on its way toward Texas. It is a Cat 4 and may even be a tropical storm still when it gets to DFW. I was thinking about Ike today. I was thinking about how people talk about prayer and storms in the same sentence. I understand praying for safety and not too much destruction, but can you pray for it not to hit? Isn't that the same as praying for it to destroy somewhere else, hurt other people? It's kind of like praying for you team to win; inherently, you are praying for the other team to lose. Praying for Ike not to hit your home town means praying that Ike hits the town down the way. I was just thinking about this today...

I Learned

2008-09-10T19:27:00.003-05:00

Today at work, I learned how to edit audio clips. I kind of already knew the basic idea because of a cd I made for my nieces, but now I know how to do it with the sound clips and the software I have on my work computer. Everyone kept telling me, "Oh, that's easy!" and they were right, it is. But I still think it is fun to learn something new.

I watched the Fringe yesterday. I missed the first 10 minutes because I forgot about how central time works with tv shows. I practically missed the next 30 minutes because I was trying to get my antenna to pick up the signal and have a clearer picture. Over all, it seemed ok, but I did miss a good 40 minutes out of about 90. Maybe I will catch the encore on Sunday before I make up my mind.

it's coming (matey)...

2008-09-08T19:33:00.003-05:00

11 days....

Stuck in my Throat

2008-09-07T21:29:00.003-05:00

Do you ever take medicine and get a feeling that it is stuck in your throat? Sometimes I do. Like tonight for example. My head has been pretty stuffed up due to allergy issues. I took some benadryl (so I only have a few more minutes to type this before I no longer make any sense at all).

When I swallow pills, I just swallow them. Typically I will try and follow them up with some type of liquid so that I don't feel like the pills are just sitting in my throat, refusing to go down. Thats what I did tonight, swallowed the pills then gulped down some water. I still got that "stuck in the throat" feeling. I decided that if I ate a blowpop, it might help. It didn't. Fortunately, I think my eyes are starting to droop and I can probably fall asleep even though it still feels like I have benadryl that didn't quite make it down. It's so silly because obviously, it made it to my tummy, thats why my eyes so so tired and my brain is turning off even as I complete this sentan

New Do

2008-09-06T12:23:00.006-05:00

I finally got my hair cut! I did take in choice "f" as what I wanted.

news bulletin

2008-08-29T19:57:00.006-05:00

Found an apartment. Applied and was approved today so I will be moving in Oct. w00t!

Apparently a game is on the docket for this evening. Settlers of Catan!!!!!!!!! I like that game and I haven't played in a long time.

There is a large storm approaching. It's arrival in DFW might coincide with the Grubers attempt to leave.

I was wrong about my prediction several months ago. I thought for sure McCain would pick Huckabee as his running mate. Nope.

My wood block came in the mail. It will hold my new Ronco knives. My new knives coming in the mail.

I don't have to wake up early on Monday.

The M's are in town in a couple days.

That is all.

Yep

2008-08-28T21:40:00.002-05:00

I still haven't given this thing an overhaul, but I though this visual change would be refreshing.

If all goes well tomorrow, I will be turning in an application for an apartment I would like to live in. The move would take place, early October.

Looking forward to this weekend. 1. Labor day is nice. 2. The M's are in town. I am not planning on going to a game because it is a bit too hot, but maybe it will be on tv.

The Grubers are here visiting. Perhaps we'll get in a game of Settlers of Catan.

Lastly, I decided that once I move and have my own coffee table, I will use my "Where's Waldo" books as coffee table books.

New Glasses

2008-08-27T21:09:00.002-05:00

Here is a photo of me wearing my new glasses. They are similar to my old ones, but these are slightly wider and they are dark blue and light blue (not black).

Sorry the photo is not the best. It can be pretty difficult to take a photo of yourself.

Vote!

2008-08-26T19:19:00.003-05:00

CLICK HERE! Vote for the Faunts!

A couple of these guys are NABC alumni. Class of 2000 I believe.

Go Alberta!

I paid

2008-08-25T06:34:00.002-05:00

I paid 3.35 for a gallon of gas yesterday. A few miles away from where I bought gas, I also saw it selling for 3.28 a gallon. There are perks to living in the DFW area.

Well, I might have found an apartment. Later this week, I am going to go take a look at the smaller floor plan. It is cheaper, plus, the plan is more open feeling in the kitchen area and has a kitchen bar. I have a feeling this will actually make the floor plan feel bigger than the one with 20 more square feet.

I started packing. Most of my books and movies are now in boxes. I think this time around I might have to pick up a couple more boxes. I think I threw some out after the last move because they were so worn out.

How is that possible!

2008-08-21T19:57:00.003-05:00

My Blogging Anniversary slipped right by me! on 8-18-8 it was my 3rd anniversary of blogging. In those three years, I have 612 posts (including this one) and 23,375 visitors (from the time I started counting).

In the most recent months, my hit count has slowed down considerably. I attribute this to a more accurate site counter that does not count my own computer. I probably visit it the most to re-read, check grammar and look to see if people have commented. So I like that it no longer counts me in the hit count.

I have also noticed in recent months that there has been a severe drop off in comments. I attribute this to a change in requirements needed to post a comment. Because nothing I say is anonymous, I felt that it was better to extend the inability for anonymity to commenters. As most of you know, this means to comment, you have to have a google account.

So there you go: three years and a little generalized analysis.

A week already

2008-08-20T20:38:00.002-05:00

wow, here it is wednesday evening and my last post was almost a week ago.

Lets see, I have been spending a ton of time researching apartments. It has actually been a very frustrating task. They are more than I want to pay, or not safe. I think my budget is right on the line between the unsafe section of town and a little too expensive.

I saw the Dark Knight again on Saturday, loved it!

I have been thinking about how I need to start packing, almost bought some more packing tape.

I have also been strategizing about how I can potentially ship some of my belongings here. I could organized it in October when I am in Wa. Any one driving from WA state to Texas anytime soon? Want to take a couple boxes on your trip?

Things I am looking forward to

2008-08-14T13:01:00.002-05:00

If you are wondering if I fell off the face of the earth again, I have not. It has been an exhausting couple of weeks. Whatever it is about the 40 hr work week wears me out! With a commute that I wish was shorter, I get home at the end of the day, eat a fantastic dinner (much thanks to Katie) and then zone out or go to sleep or (in the case of the last few days) watch the Olympics. That being said, this should change in the next few weeks.

Things I am looking forward to:
1. Moving closer to work and church. I am currently looking for an apartment.
2. Getting a new hair cut. I have an appointment set for early September
3. Getting new glasses. Only because mine broke on Monday and the temporary fix is driving me nuts. I have an apt tomorrow.
4. Going to Washington for the first time in over 14 months. I will be back for a very quick trip in early October.
5. Attending a dear friend's wedding in Portland during my trip home.

I think that's it.

The End of the Day

2008-08-14T12:38:00.003-05:00

At 5:30 on Tuesday, I nervously awaited the scheduled pick up of an overnight letter. As the minute hand ticked ever closer to the six, I was fearful that UPS was not coming. Still burned into my mind was the false hope I experienced at 4:50, I saw the truck drive by, but it never came into the parking lot.

The truck came down the road again, but I was skeptical it would do anything other than pick up the items from the drop box down the street. (The drop box is always the backup plan, except that in this case, the last pick up for the box was also 5:30 – if our scheduled pick up did not come, it would be too late for the drop box.) I handed the letter off to Lance, thinking, that if someone needed to sprint down the road to catch the truck, he would be much faster than I. To my pure delight, the truck did not pass the parking lot; it turned in. And this lead to the most magnificent event of my entire front desk experience.

Did you know they are considering a new event for the Olympics? It’s called “the 3m Man to UPS truck relay,” an event that I happened to miss while looking away for a fraction of a second. I caught a glimpse of a quickly moving brown truck through our parking lot. My first thought was that we missed him, which then changed to confusion. How was it that Lance no longer held the letter?

In fact, Lance had actually won the above mentioned Olympic event. With letter in hand, he stepped off the curb to hand the letter to the UPS truck driver. He thought he was saving the driver some time. Right. He thought the truck was going to slow down. Wrong. He did not realize how much time (an extra 2.326 seconds) he was saving the driver. The truck continued to barrel down the road, not slowing down. Lance leaped onto the curb, lifted up the letter, and jammed it into the outstretched hand of the driver, who was still going the same speed, had rolled down his window and stuck out his hand. Apparently it was amazing. I missed it, but Lance experienced it and Slay witnessed it. Gold medal.

So ends my time up front.

Cement Patch Please

2008-08-14T12:37:00.000-05:00

I discovered a down side to my favorite reason for being up here. Once again, I was fortunate enough to notice the large chunk of missing cement with my eyes, not my chair wheel.

Wednesday was a bit calmer than Tuesday. It went by pretty quick and I don’t really remember it so it must have been ok. As to be expected, both Thursday and Friday were quiet.

I decided Friday was the perfect day to try using a scooter for the first time. Apparently, the task is more difficult than it appears. On my first attempt, I inadvertently started to do a wheelie, which resulted in a near crash. The next several tries resulted in either a shaky scooter (which is impossible to have good balance on) or going so fast I could not turn. Fortunately, I was confined to a small space so my idea of “fast” is extremely relative. Also in the fortunate category, I quickly learned how to jump off to stop. Sweet. Thus concludes the five minute long event which will hereby be referred to as the “Great Scooter Olympics of 8-8-8.”

Will I be acquiring a scooter of my own any time soon? No. I think it would look one part silly and another part ridiculous to wear a helmet and knee and elbow pads while working at a desk job all because of the interoffice transportation.

The rest of those two days were as follows:

And I answered the phone. And I learned how to listen to voice mail. And I proofed a few sends. And I went home at three (on Friday, five on Thursday).

Stories from the Front lines

2008-08-14T12:31:00.003-05:00

***Qualifyer: the following post, as well as the next two, are from my work blog. They chronicle my time filling in at the front desk. It has been slightly edited for content***

As most know, I am filling in at the front desk for the week (and a couple of days next week, but who’s counting?). The following is an account of my first two days in exile.

Each day, I enjoy having so many people come visit me, but I do see through the “Hello Debra” façade, to the true, “I really just want chocolate” reality. That is perfectly ok with me. (*edit, please don't complain about lack of chocolate selections. It is what it is.)

Day one started out with a scanner that would not scan, and then proceeded to a printer that would not print. Moving past the fact that the operator of said printer tried to print a page two that did not actually exist, these two technical problems were quickly resolved.

The telephone gracefully gave me an entire three hours before it decided to ring. During this time of peace, I inadvertently locked myself out of a needed program due entering an incorrect password too many times. Fortunately after a two-hour waiting period, this problem remedied itself and no harm was done. While waiting to be allowed back into the program, I only fielded one prank call (you know who you are!) as well as a accidental hang-up on one person. Again, my on again-off again good luck pulled through and the person I hung up on was a Pursuant employee, not a client.

Then we all went home, so ends day one.

Day two was busy. With the help of my fulfillment friends cranking out work, a personal best was set in tasks completed. Day two also saw an improvement on how to use the telephone, with the exception of my ignorance in how to simply pick up the phone and call someone else in the building.

In the afternoon, the front door blew open on several occasions. At first I thought it was just someone exiting the building while I wasn’t looking, and then running away as fast as they could, which is why I didn’t see them outside when I looked up. My next idea was that someone was trying to escape by crawling out the door. It turns out that neither was the case and we were just being hit with a bit of wind. Thanks Edouardo.

So ends day two.

I must note that Kelly has an extremely difficult job, at which, she is fantastic.

To conclude, my favorite thing about sitting up here is the speed at which this chair slides across the cement floor. Carpet sure slows us down.

Until next time (should I survive to see more days), have a marvelous one.

Olympics

2008-08-10T23:54:00.002-05:00

I love the Olympics! We enjoyed watching a bit of gymnastics tonight as well as swimming. Men's 4x100m freestyle Relay, WOW!

Also, Don't forget Megan Jendrick is competing in the Women's 100m Breaststroke. I know she was not part of the Women's 4x100m freestyle relay, is she part of the 4x200? I don't know. I get confused with the time change and trying to figure out when events are going to take places and when they will actually air on tv. Last I saw, Jendrick swam one heat, and the semifinals were coming up. I believe those are actually over now but at this point, who knows.

Ok, time to go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I am filling in for the front desk gal at work (have I mentioned this already?) and Tomorrow and Tuesday are the last two days of this. I better be bright-eyed for the day, which means going to sleep now.

how's that?

2008-08-07T20:43:00.003-05:00

It's just a quick fix, but it will work for now. The other photo background was feeling too busy and too dark.

still thinking

2008-08-07T20:33:00.002-05:00

I know it needs to be done (just like I need to do other things: call apple, get my computer fixed, find an apartment, etc) but a new blog....so overwhelming.

I am filling in for the front desk gal at work this week. It's ok. No longer my cup of tea, but hey, it's all part of team work.

Do you know what twitter is? Apparently it's "cutting edge." I twitter. I didn't realize it was cutting edge. Apparently my work and the people I spend so much time with (co-worker) are those cutting edge technology type people (aka early adopters). I don't think I am in the early adopter's group (seriously, I don't actually have texting let alone a new iphone) but does blogging for what will be 3 years on the 18th of this month count for anything?

And now the story...

2008-08-03T13:53:00.002-05:00

of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who... Just kidding (but if you know and appreciate the reference, it makes me laugh).

We've been in the triple digits for the last week. It's hot. Heat index of 110 today.

I am thinking about redesigning this blog, maybe even moving over to word press.

Survived

2008-08-02T22:29:00.003-05:00

Well, it's August now, which means my medical insurance has finally started up again. That was a long 6 months, but I am glad to report no doctors appointments while uncovered. No medical emergencies to speak of. I still need to find out the specifics about waiting periods on Pre-existing conditions (so it may be another year before I am able to have my "annual" cardiology exam), but I am glad that uninsured period of time is over.

I even have dental. I have Texas plates, and a new driver's license. I even registered to vote here, so I guess it's time to find a dentist and a primary care physician. Maybe I will even give it another go on trying to rid myself of these sinus headaches/migraines/whatever they are.

Reunion Review

2008-07-31T19:13:00.003-05:00

I have mostly recovered (after sleeping about 23 hours) and wanted to follow up on the happenings at the Reunion.

First, the mouse which stared in the movies below, thankfully did not have any family members show up.

Also, we had a great time playing Putt Putt with one insane hole that included a huge jump with no one landing on the green several yards away. Brent got the ball in the hole in 4 (everyone else got the limit of 8 strokes) only because of a lucky chip in. Yes, we have photos of us using our putters on the grass, it was our only option.

We celebrated my Grandma's birthday (I don't think she is shy about her age, so I will just state it, 80). Unbeknownst to most in attendance of the surprise birthday party, there was an additional surprise in store. One of my Aunts did some hard work, some research, and some letter writing to come up with the best birthday gift ever. My grandma got her honorary high school diploma. Many years ago, she had to drop out after her mother died and there were younger sisters to take care of. Here is a photo of her Graduation Day.

Here is almost of the entire clan. We were missing 3 cousins and two cousin-in-laws.

So Tired

2008-07-29T19:35:00.003-05:00

We got back at 4:30 Sunday Morning (after driving 19 hours). I still have not yet recovered. I don't know if it is the heat, the fact that I am so tired, the cold air of the A/C, congestion of sinuses due to a high pollen count, or a combination of all of the above, but I have not been feeling to great.

With a headache, stuffy nose, upset tummy, and achy hands and legs, I may be getting sick. I have tons of people I need to call and email and such, but it might be a day or two before I get back to y'all. (my deepest apologies.) I am about to go to bed (and its only 7:30). For so many reasons, its a bummer to be feeling lousy, but one additional reason is that the M's are playing TX right now so the game is on TV. But I am going to miss it, since I am now done for the day.

Family Reunion

2008-07-22T23:47:00.006-05:00

Well, we are in Ohio at a family reunion. Surprisingly, here in the middle of Amish country, we have a wifi connection (there is someone out there who may be a click away from being banished).

So far some highlights are as follows:

Arriving to the reunion 8 hours too early and spending some of that extra time parked in a random parking lot so we can sleep.
Playing our new game "Amish, Not Amish" (similar to Grover and his "near, far" game)
Finding that our cabin is infested with mice.
An Amish Traffic Jam
Laughing

Part 1

Part 2

Vacation

2008-07-18T22:11:00.003-05:00

I am going on vacation. I have not been to a family vacation or family reunion since 2001. There have been a few that I missed just because I was a student and the summer was my only time to make money. There have been other times I missed (like christmas this year) when I just did not have enough money to go home. While I am not going home, I am excited to see some of my family that I haven't seen in years. AND some of my immediate family that I have not seen since last July.

I will be heading to Amish country so probably no internet access. Most likely you won't hear from me until I get back, but in the mean time, GO SEE THE DARK KNIGHT! It's incredible.

Wow

2008-07-16T00:59:00.002-05:00

Just got back from the advanced screening of TDK. Don't worry, no spoilers here. All I can say is Wow! It was fantastic. Yes, you must see it in the theaters.

It took me just over 30 minutes to get home. Would have been less, but when I got just outside the street where I live, the entire town's police & fire departments had blocked off a section of the road. Something must have happened at the gas station so they had to seal of the area. I am still kind of new, so I was not sure how to get home if they wouldn't let me drive on that road. Turns out it was easy enough, but the asking of directions and driving a little out of my way put me just over the 30 minute mark. Not bad. Google maps says 41 minutes and up to an hour & 10 minutes in traffic. Good thing there is not traffic at one in the morning.

Oh yeah, the All Star Game...I just remembered it was on tonight, and I hear it was a long one! Go AL. ok, night I have 5 hours until morning.

2 Days

2008-07-13T22:32:00.002-05:00

Only two days until The Dark Knight! I bought a copy of Batman Begins. I watched a little yesterday and I am going to finish it tomorrow so it is fresh in my memory for Tuesday.

I read a book this weekend. Twilight. It was ok, but I honestly don't get the all of the intense excitement surrounding the series. The best part, it is set in Forks Washington. They even mention Mt. Rainier.

Ha Ha Ha

2008-07-10T23:22:00.005-05:00

I was supposed to be asleep hours ago BUT the coolest thing happened. Remember when I explained what ARG's are? (fun with ARG's) Well tonight was the big payoff.

Two nights ago, the ARG for The Dark Knight had a live gathering in both Chicago and New York City. A Bat Signal appeared on a building in each of the cities. Tonight (corresponding with some other online activities) the bat signal was Jokerized. All of the Gotham sites were jokerized as well, which lead to a puzzle. The puzzle then pointed the way to...

FREE ADVANCED SCREENING IMAX TICKETS!!!!!!!!

So Tuesday night I am heading into Dallas with friends (it worked out amazingly that a friend from work and his girlfriend were also able to get tickets) to see an advanced screening of the Dark Knight. From seeing Gotham a year ago to this, such a fun ride!

I got involved with the ARG because I like batman and I was hoping to get a copy of the Gotham Times. This is way better!
And I am so excited I can't sleep!

Doom is heavy

2008-07-07T23:23:00.002-05:00

The weight of impending doom is a horrid thing to be burdened with. While the Mariners may have lost yesterday 2-1 and are currently in the top of the 9th down by one (one out 2 men on) there is no longer doom that just hovers in the air. I don't assume the m's are going to lose. Earlier this season, it wasn't really a matter of "if" they would lose, but how. And at times they sure made the "how" to losing pretty incredible.

No, now they fight. There is hope. A small breath. A taste of life. Air. Not heavy, noxious doom poisoning all within reach. No longer do the ominous clouds stand overhead. It may still rain, perhaps an occasional deluge, but there is also a glimmer of sun. Light. I can sleep better at night knowing they are maybe going to have posted a win when I check in the morning.

Not tomorrow morning though, they just finished the last out in the 9th leaving the tying and winning run aboard. But still, its easier to watch a well fought loss than to see them give up.

Non-spoiler Hancock

2008-07-07T18:47:00.002-05:00

Yes, I saw Hancock this weekend. I just want to say there is a twist, but seriously, I saw it coming a mile away like a freight train heading toward your house in the middle of the night in a planned "surprise attack." Trying to be sneaky doesn't work when your loud and obvious.

Even though I picked up on the truth of the film really early on, it did not ruin it. It was still ok. Tons of swears (I could have done with out that) but it was ok. Compared to TDK next week, hancock was garbage. :-)

I should not be:

2008-07-06T22:13:00.001-05:00

blogging.

The Countdown(s)

2008-07-06T22:10:00.003-05:00

12 days! Until The Dark Knight comes out!!!! (I saw a movie this weekend and they showed a trailer for TDK. I have seen it before, but it was fantastic on the big screen.)

13 days! Until I get to go to Ohio! (assuming we leave saturday morning and not friday night)

I should be:

2008-07-06T22:06:00.002-05:00

1. Sleeping. Or at least heading to bed. Its after 10 and I have to get up around 6, but I am not sleepy

2. Cleaning. If I am not going to go to sleep yet, I should do something useful with my time. My room is in need of some straightening up. Plus, I got some laundry done so that should be hung.

3. Reading. I have about 50 pages left in a book I started this weekend. I want to know what happens, but I think the story has slowed down here at the end.

4. Listening. If I listen to some music on my ipod, I could get the cleaning done and then use the ipod music to help me fall asleep.

What is the world coming to?

2008-07-06T19:17:00.002-05:00

Jamie Burke, Catcher for the M's is now pitching! They are in the top of the 15th and what a game it has been.

I am watching a movie on tv, so I decided to game cast this instead of listening to KIRO online. Perhaps later today I will go back and listen to a few innings, I am curious how dave & rick are reacting to what is undoubtedly a team that ran out of pitchers.

Ouch. They just scored. Burke is going to have a terrible ERA.

Dancing

2008-07-05T11:50:00.002-05:00

Ok, yes, there is a swear in the title of this video. If you can disregard that, watch this 4 minute video. I LOVE it. Why? It's beautiful and it makes me think of Heaven (ironically).

Enjoy.

Olympics

2008-07-04T22:02:00.004-05:00

Do you remember Megan Quann, Olympic athlete from Puyallup who won gold in Sydney? On Monday, Megan Quann Jendrick qualified for a spot on the 2008 team. YEAH! One of my favorite sports memories of all times was her 100 meter breaststroke at the Sydney games. I was living in Edmonton at the time so I was watching the CBC. Another swimmer in the race trained in Calgary so they aired the race live. There I was all by myself in at 3 am in the dorm lounge jumping up and down with silent screams as Quann came from behind to take the gold.

A few weeks later, while at home for Christmas break, I even called up KIRO as they were discussing the best sports moments of the year and added her win to the conversation. Good times.

Good luck Jendrick, I will enjoy watching this time as well.

Love/Hate relationship

2008-07-04T16:24:00.006-05:00

Somethings are fun. Somethings are not. Other things, are in between. Love and hate at the same time. That's how I currently feel about Twitter. I am "this close" to saying "Meh. I'm out."

I think it might rain. I look out the window and see some dark clouds. The sky most certainly does not have its typical sunny, 4:30 Texas afternoon glare. Bad for fireworks, good for grass. If it comes now and leaves by 9, in the end, it's good for fireworks too. Fire prevention from the sky is helpful. Ooooo. I just heard thunder!

Which means I should unplug the computer.