Hostage Situation

The rain woke me up today, which I don't mind. It has such a diverse portfolio of sounds. There's the pitter-patter on the window, tapping on the roof, rushing through the storm pipe right outside my window ...

My wake up call came at 6 a.m., and since it's Sunday, I rolled over and put the eye pillow on my face to catch more zzz's. Doing so, I started dreaming, a strange dream.

I was at some function, I'm not quite sure what. It was night time or dusk, it was in a fairly large building. There were two main rooms and about six smaller rooms where the activities were being held. The building was a basic rectangle with two stories. On the first floor was three small rooms, two on one side of the hall, one on the other with the restrooms on either side of that rooom. The larger area was at the back of the bulding. Up the stairs and there was a similiar layout only the large room was on the opposite end.

There was music and the lights were set for that typical event, mood lighting. Everyone was having a good time. And for some reason, I decided to go upstairs to see what was going on in the room up there.

I was just about to go up the stairs when a man came down. He was around 6'7" with a strong looking physique. He had shaggy dark hair that was somewhat oily. His complexion was very pale and eyes were sad.

He blocked my way as I tried to ascend the stairs. I tried to side-step him with a quick glance and a polite nod. Instead he took my hand in a handshake and said hello. I returned the gesture and tried again to climb the stairs. Instead he kept his grip and led me back to the hallway. There was some chairs next to the coat rack, and in one smooth motion we sat, his grip tightening slightly around my hand.

He asked about what was going on, about how many people were here. Then he asked if I read some book. I had and he was surprised when I said so. Still holding my hand, he asked what I thought of the book. We had an odd little literary conversation and I thought I had extended enough pleasantries. I stood and said I really should be going because I had to go to the restroom. He stood with me and I noticed a gun outline in his pocket. I tried to move in the direction in of the bathroom. I forced another polite, nonchalant smile, hoping to keep the panic off of my face.

He released my hand and I continued making my way to the bathroom, but he caught my arm from behind and pulled me around to face him. This time he had the gun drawn. My knees gave under me, but he held tightly and pulled me up to stand.

With the gun pressed into my side, he pushed me forward still with the vise-like grip on my arm.

I don't remember too much from this point. He held us hostage in this room, but the whole building was on lock down, I'm not sure if he was working with multiple people or how he was able to hold us all captive alone. The phone lines were cut and he had a device that scrambled cell signals, so no one's cell phone worked.

Somehow the police were notified because they caught the guy as he was trying to put everyone in bus and take us someplace else. It was a scramble to find everyone who was in the building.

So anyway, that was my strange dream. I woke up at about 9:15, which was a shock. While I don't start my Sunday's too early, I'm usually up and around by 8 at the latest. Guess the dream threw me off.

And with a wave of my magic wand ... I bring you this post

First, I have to confess to you.


I'm cheating.


I'm writing this Saturday and scheduling it to post on Sunday, so I don't miss that traditional post. There, I just let all the mystic and wonder out of my sails. The white rabbit in my hat has been exposed and I really didn't make the Statue of Liberty disappear. Damn.


I'm doing it this way because I'll have to be a busy bee this morning *wink, wink* to make a big birthday brunch for my parents. And to write, post, adventure and cook would mean I'd have to wake up by at least 5:30. And dagnabit, Sunday is my day! I ain't getting up at no 5:30 AM! So there.


The sun just went under. It's windy and cold. Now it's back--still windy and a little chilly. I don't know if I can take it much longer. Okay now I'm inside and there's this bit of dandelion fluff following me around.


A couple of weeks ago I found mojito mix in the store. This was thrilling because it's quite labor intensive to make mojitos. Totally worth it because they're oh-so-yummy. You have to mull the mint and sugar, make sure all the sugar gets dissolved (the part I never completely succeeded at) and juice probably three or four limes to make a good sized drink. Limes aren't too cheap, so I rarely was able to enjoy a mojito.


I had my first mojito at Ruby Foos in NYC. It was a Ginger Mojito and was absolutely fantastic it was also huge, so thankfully we ate a lot so I was able to walk through the City that Never Sleeps with a good buzz instead of stumble through it.


The mix I bought was pretty reasonable and it makes an awesome mojito (and I love that word!). I also got pear-ginger, which is good but doesn't hold a candle to Ruby Foos. And I have a passion fruit mix I'm enjoying right now ..... err, last night.


If you have a chance, give mojitos a try. And try tequila and coke if you're a tequila fan. Also a quality beverage.


So what do you think about the federal case the national media made about the Packers leaving Favre's locker (untouched) in the locker room?


Were they planning on leaving it there forever? I don't know. I would have put it in the Packer Hall of Fame, then put the bench/stool that he sat on out in the Hall of Fame too. ("Mom, Mom! I just sat on the very bench Brett Favre used to sit on!!!!!") I read that they sent the locker to Favre. I wonder what he's going to do with it ... I'm envisioning a garden tool storage area.


I also read that they didn't want to give anyone the old locker, because who wants the pressure (and maybe bad juju?) of having the Legend's former space.


It's only May for crying out loud. I can understand why the Packers would have left it there untouched in the meantime when they were figuring out what the hell they should possibly do with it. It's a lose-lose for them really. Whatever they chose someone would have read into it.

And they did.


The big talk was that how is Aaron Rodger's supposed to come into the Packers and be the leader of the team when the Legend's locker is there, starring him the face everyday. That constant reminder. YOU'RE NOT HIM.


On some radio show I heard that someone asked Rodgers about THE LOCKER and he started getting defensive.


I really hope AR got defensive because it was nothing and that's not what the media should be focusing on. Because if he was bothered by a locker he is going to have a hard time stepping out of Favre's shadow.

So in review: I'm a cheater. Mojitos are yummy.

And everyone made way too big of a deal over the Brett Favre locker.

Need it like a High

Something has happened that I didn't think was possible.

Something that I never saw coming.

It's a feeling so energizing I am more aware of everything around me. It's all those cliches come true: colors are more vibrant, sounds ring crystal clear and truly resonate all through me. My heart beats a little faster, eyes are open a little wider and my soul is open. Plus, I'm letting out squeals of delight nearly every five minutes.

It's ...

So You Think You Can Dance? !!!!

I've been watching the show since the very beginning and it's never failed to leave me completely thrilled.

I'm not sure why it pulls me in. I have absolutely zero dance ability and no aspirations to be a dancer. But this show gives me the rush only Opening Sunday and Super Bowl Sunday can parallel.

We're two weeks in and there's at least one more episode of auditions. And rather than laughing at the horrible people, I'm more horrified for them and the others I'm willing to do well.

I still remember all my past season favorites: Nick, Travis, Donyelle, Hok, Ivan, Allison Dominic, Neil, Sabra. And I absolutely love when they use some of these past contestants as choreographers and assistants.

I've wrote before that SYTYCD is a great pulse on hot music. I heard Apologize from One Republic here first--months before it was released on the radio.

On Thursday I had two music moments. There was this really toned guy doing push ups like a maniac. He started his pre-interview piece somewhat normally: dance is his passion, it's where he feels the most at peace, etc. Then he said, "When I dance, it's divinity."

Okay.

He walks on stage, waiting for his music to begin.

The first chords sound.

And my heart jumps and then drops into my stomach.

Goo Goo Dolls, Acoustic #3

He's just standing there.

I turn up the volume.

He's still standing there.

"Well do something!" I yell at the television.

He begins.

I hold my breath. Make divinity and don't wreck my song.

*Squeal* Johnny's beautiful voice fills the auditorium.

Nigel cuts the music.

*SIGHS*

Now, I don't remember if Jeremiah made it straight through to Vegas or if he had to learn Travis Wall's *Squeal* choreography. But I do know he eventually made it to Vegas because I remember thinking that I hope he was selected to the Top 20 so he could dance his solos to more Goo Goo Dolls songs.

(and not be so incredibly odd, but I suppose that was just me calling the kettle black)

My other piece of music news isn't so dramatic. I think they played a AvA song (Angels v Airwaves, Tom DeLonge's new band post-Blink182), which makes me hope they play the better two-thirds of that former trio: +44.

And now, I have 1 1/2 pages left in this notebook. Whoohoo.

Sooner or later it's over

Yesterday I learned that irises smell soapy. It's a very interesting smell. I also learned I hate weeding that iris bed.

If you just realize what I just realized

Another Sunday is here, and unfortunately, almost over. It'll be nice to get some extra time with the coming holiday weekend. Can you believe it's the end of May already? It's the end of May and quite cold might I add. I wish the lovely city of San Francisco would lend us some warmth. They've got record highs and here it's a high probability of frost overnight.

I've been doing my part to help the economy this week (that's code for spending more money then I typically care to spend on a weekly basis). I got my eyes checked and ordered a year's supply of contacts and I bought six pairs of shoes. Now, before you make any judgements, with rebates and a free pair of sunglasses I saved $120 on my contacts and with coupons, sales and free shipping I saved $56 on the shoes.

It's still enough to make my heart palpatate a little .... but with deals like that ... Yeah.

So, what is there for you and I to chat about? Dexter is done, there's still no football for a couple of months, So You Think You Can Dance? doesn't start until next week.

Okay, not too much to talk about. I'm starting to plan to get my masters. I'm narrowing down the different subjects, first goal is to choose, then which school ...

Ahhh life. No manual. All heart.

Happy Sunday to all and to all a good afternoon.

Card carrying (if there was a card to carry) member of Dan Nation

I started my way home yesterday. Hooray for the weekend is finally here.

My radio was tuned to sports talk radio---and my favorite broadcaster Dan Patrick.

I literally heard one minute of the show (the close) and Dan and his gang of rag-tag producers had me laughing so hard I was in tears.

Man am I glad DP is back on the radio.

I am older than the Quarterbacks for the Packers (all of them!)

Morning came too early today. In fact I might just crawl back into bed sometime today for a nap. Either that or the coffee needs to kick in--or get pumped into me with an IV drip.

The Sunday Morning Show is previewing the summer movies. I'm looking forward to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, The Dark Knight and quite a few others. This looks like a good summer for movies. Now I would have watched The Dark Knight regardless, but I have a high level of anticipation since it was Heath Ledger's last complete movie.

He goes so twisted and dark ... I think I might have a hard time rooting against him. I have always had that odd dark fascination for the ... well, the dark and insanely odd (hence my interest in Marilyn Manson -- I certainly would be interested in the psychology that is behind that).

Okay, back from a shower. I am now slightly more awake, if not slightly less tired. And still slightly slippy from lotion.

Onward and forth! (or some such things)

So there was a birthday. And there is some internal struggle. And a lot of external resentment because there's no life manual.

There's also a banana nut muffin, but that has nothing to do with any of it. It's just breakfast.

Wasn't it Elaine and Kramer on Seinfeld who created a muffin tops business?

Sure, it seems like a great concept (and then they had the problem of what do you do with the bottoms) but I like the whole muffin. I do enjoy pulling the top off and eating it separately. But there's different good things about both. The top is caramelized and slightly more crispy. The bottom, oh the bottom is cakey and pure delicious muffin essence all the way through.

So I guess what I'm trying to say here to you is that muffin tops only is a flawed concept.

I think they should have removed the tops, but sold the bottoms also (you'd get a deal if you bought both a top and bottom). They coulda called it: Top of the Muffin to You (and Bottoms too!)

Around a month ago I received a newsletter from some public interest group I found. It's called Free-range Thinking, it raises a point of view and generates discussion from authors and gives "food for thought" opportunities.

As an aside: It has a brown cow in the masthead. I think that cow knows that I drink soy milk and i think in her own silent way (silent because she is only a picture and I'm not that crazy that pictures of cows talk to me) she's thanking me for it.

Anyway, this month's topic is Why Do You Do What You Do? I'm not going to recap the history, etc. (because that's boring and unoriginal and a pet peeve) so if you want that insight google it (again, GoodSearch for our philanthropic friends).

Moral of the story is that many of us don't actually reflect on why we do what we do. And when that contemplation comes ... it's a stirring moment, or series of moments, and creates a genuine reflection.

Now, my answer, at least until I come up with something better, is: to contribute to something greater than myself.

That's ultimately why I write. Yeah, I'm an incredibly vain person who wants to send her words out into the world for others to read, but I'm doing it give something better or more meaningful then just me.

Numbers don't fulfill that need in me, neither does working in medicine. But it's why I have friendships, connect with family, find meaning in music and movies, try to live greener and even sit in the backyard listening to the wind, water and birds.

That's all for today.

This blog wins the award for most random subjects and tangent filled.

Statues crumble for me

I think last week's blue post was primarily weather-driven. Later that day I went outside and did a little work and walked around on the soggy lawn. I felt better in the cool breeze and warm sunlight.

Better days ahead ... this weekend is/was the NFL Draft. We're that much closer to the start of a new season. And a new season means ... anticipation. The first year without Brett Favre. Now, I'm not ready to do my Brett Favre reflections quite yet. The more I contemplate it, the less I'm sure when I'll be ready.

But what I am ready for is to see what Aaron Rodgers can do. I'm excited to see it. I want to move forward. Not that I have any animosity towards Favre, but the off season chatter makes me feel so stagnant. It's not as easy as putting away the helmet and walking off the field into the sunset. It's a life full of speculation and I'm getting sick of it.

Do I wish they would have signed Randy Moss or a multitude of other play makers? Do I wish Brett would have come back for one more year? Yes. In the same vein, am I ready for Brett to retire? ... yes.

Don't get me wrong, if he could give the Packers 10 more years of his "best level" of performance, I'd take it. Without a second thought.

But it had to happen sooner or later. In a fitting sort of way, it ended on an interception, in the NFC Championship. (and it hurts to even type it)

I guess my point is that it happened. And we all better start accepting it and moving on. Stop reading between the lines "some thing's bound to happen." Stop wishing he'll come back. Don't start booing Rodgers after the second interception and don't start chanting "We want Favre."

Because FYI--the magnificent Brett Favre leads the league in all-time interceptions. Remember we lived by Favre, we died by Favre. And when we died, it was often by a massacre.

I've learned to never say never, but I don't think he's coming back. And I'm even more positive that he wouldn't go to another team. I've said it before, it's a win now league. And to do that Favre would have to invest a lot of time and effort to learn new coaching schemes, a new playbook and new personnel. Mentally tired and 50+ learning hours a week don't skip down any beaches hand-in-hand.

So just stop it already.

Okay, okay, rant aside (I guess I needed to get that out). I think his little stint on Letterman was an audition to see if he had a future in broadcast/commentary. Sports jacket over the jeans and nice shirt. In-depth break down of his last game and the Super Bowl Champions.

And now back to the draft. I'm very happy they picked up a quarterback. They need some depth in that position. Last year at one time, didn't the Packers place one of the wide-outs in the QB slot on the depth chart? I was hoping for John David Booty---but I guess the Packers drafted best player at the time ... and I only know JDB b/c he got a fair amount of air time on ESPN Radio.

I don't know much about the other players they selected, but I'm sure I'll learn more this week. A fan calling in to ESPN Radio just said they should have picked up someone in the secondary and an offensive line tackle. Then they said something about the aging team and the QB they drafted was too short at 6'2".

The Packers do need some more help and depth in the secondary. But this is a better acquisition by free agent or trade. I think the secondary is one of the hardest areas for a young player to succeed. Traditionally, the Packers have done much better to bring in veteran.

Offensive tackle: yes there is some age with Clifton and Tauscher, but in that point of the draft most of the OT's (or maybe the OT's that they wanted) were taken. This should be another position they could get on the free agent market. Plus the current duo have been very reliable and don't traditionally miss a lot of games due to injury.

Aging team---hello, where have you been the past two years? The Packers were the youngest team in the league (and that was with Favre skewing their average).

6'2" too short for a QB (somewhere Doug Flutie spit out his Flutie Flakes): I think the roster lists Favre as 6'2". No more to say here.

It's amazing to see how quickly the screen fills when I'm blogging about football.

I've been doing softcore runs in KoL lately. Really going after trophies/tattoos (and being a mall whore, but it's so exillarating to see the meat roll in). I have 23 trophies, 57 tattoos and 4,531,546 meat.

I think I've gotten all the easy trophies. And I'm working on some that will take forever... 420 herb brownies, 80 around the worlds and the last run I've gotten my first tomato daquiri. Yes, around 23 acesnions, who knows how many exploded chef-in-a-boxes and 1 tomato daquiri. I battled each dungeon of doom monster 120 times and made a pretty good chunk of change from all the bang potions I put in my store.

I'm almost out of Ronin, but I wish they would make it easier to do mass-pulls from Hagnks. It's so tedious to go item by item. After Ronin, I typically just take it all out. This of course makes my inventory huge and makes it a longer process to put things in my store. They revamped the combat format with the new bar. So why can Jick & Co. put a little effort into Hagnks? Afterall, the poor guy just got a new facility, he could use a little help inside too.

I foresee the dark ahead, if I stay

This blogger window sits in front of me ... empty and intimidating. Nothing exciting to write about.

Tempted by the sunshine outside. I hope it stays so I can get out and enjoy the fresh air.

I have a couple of things I brought home from work, but I don't know if I'll do any of it. The past month I've been bringing small projects home to do because there's just not enough time in the week to get to it all. I think I'm getting a little burned out from it. It still needs to get done though, so I'm not sure what my solution is.

Last night on Doctor Who was the last episode with Christopher Eccleson as The Ninth Doctor. Oh, it was such a good show! The new doctor looks funny ... but I'll miss Eccleson.

I'm kind of in a music rut too.

Oh happy days, is this spring fever or Sunday morning blues?

Over and out ... and hopefully, on to better things.

A bag of bricks made of chocolate

I had a chocolate craving, it hit me all of a sudden, like a bag of bricks ... made of chocolate. So I made a devil's food cake. And waited. And waited. And waited while it baked.

Now I'm not hungry anymore. Gah.

The pope is making a visit to the United States. I'm not Catholic, and I'm going to share my views about the religion or the church institution in general, at least, not in this post. But what is up with the Papel Stadium Tour? He's doing a Washington stadium tonight and tomorrow making an appearance at Yankee Stadium.

So what if you're a devote Catholic and a Red Sox fan? Ponder that.

And I swear, if Natalie IS NOT evicted tonight, I WILL NOT watch the rest of this Season.

The risk that might break is the one that could save

Okay, so it was a huge misconception that spring was here. Nothing like three days of snow and a total accumulation of around four inches to put a person back in their place. A miserable place with no spring in sight.


I think it's safe to say that this has been the longest winter in our recent memory.


A Green Living Update: I got my canvas bags and haven't used a plastic or paper bag for grocery shopping since. My next goal will be to use it in other shopping avenues. I've also tried soy milk. Very good, slightly more expensive than that from a cow. Much more drinkable though and the power used to process it is a renewable resource. I find it funny though that I buy soy milk but cream cheese and yogurt. Oh well, I suppose, baby steps.


On a completely different topic, I didn't realize Phil from The Amazing Race was Scottish. I always knew there was something different about his accent. He's doing a story on the sunday morning show, and while putting across Scotland, his brogue (is it a brogue from Scotland? or is it only a brogue if it's from Ireland?) is coming through.

My latest viewing addiction (in this post-writer's strike world) is Dexter. This series originally airs on Showtime, and by some television act of genius, they are re-airing cleaned up versions on CBS. I first was exposed to Dexter when Jeanne gave me a tape of Season 8's (the one with Evil Dick, was that 8?) Big Brother After Dark, the not-for-broadcast-television footage of drinking, swearing and sometimes raunchy behavior---though this 8 hour footage was awfully mundane.

Anyways, as I was fast-forwarding through the commercials (and the less interesting parts of the show), I caught glimpse of Darla (Julie Benz) the immortally evil vampire, sire of Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She played that role so well I still get a shiver down my spine when I see her. I stopped and backed up a little, but it was just a montage of the different series on Showtime. It only showed her and a guy.

But as luck would have it, the next commercial block had more. It showed the average looking man who appeared with Darla, narrating his average looking life ... and here's the twist ... he's a serial killer. Oh yeah I read something about this show, a crime series told by the perspective of the murderer. Interesting.

Dexter, our favorite serial killer, is a blood-analyst at a Florida police department/crime lab. He's the best at what he does, and has killer instincts when it comes to habits of the criminals the detectives are investigating.

We learn Dexter was adopted after surviving (and possibly witnessing) a horrible event. His adopted father, a detective, recognized Dexter was different from other children. He taught Dexter how to act normal and control his urges to do murderous things. Soon, Dexter lives by the code he was taught, only killing people who deserve it--people who escaped punishment from the justice system.

Dexter nicks the cheek of each of his victims, saving a drop of their blood on a slide before he dismembers their bodies and dumps them in the ocean.

But Dexter finds himself admiring the work of another serial killer who drains the blood before he dismembers bodies. And this killer--dubbed the Ice Truck Killer--soon takes interest in Dexter. It's cute mutual admiration with breaking and entering, cut up barbie dolls, kidnapping and mutilation.

This show works because other than the urge to kill people and social awkwardness, Dexter is an all around decent and nice guy.

The opening credits are great too. It's just Dexter getting ready in the morning: shaving, eating, tying his shoe, flossing his teeth. But they show it in such a visceral way that it makes it look like he's in the act of killing someone.

Top two photos: Easter eggs this year. I played with putting wax on to get different colors. I tried to do stripes and polka dots but just couldn't control the wax enough to make it work.

Last photo: A picture of the start of my omelet this morning. It looked so much like a yin-yang that I had to take a picture. Now it also reminds me of Dexter's breakfast scene, but this is much more peaceful than his.

It's been too long

Spring is here. Maybe.

I hope this works ... because those would be awful last words

Last week started out pretty rough. I twisted my ankle Monday afternoon. It swelled up pretty badly. Monday night I put ice and heat on it and Tuesday I elevated it the whole day. And it still hurts when I move it wrong.

Tuesday I burned my finger. I heard the skin sizzle. It turned a weird color and broke open almost immediately.

At work we're doing a time study. It was so complicated and confusing--plus they wanted our numbers from 2007.

I can't remember how many hours I worked on various projects on Monday (literally). So you can only imagine the pain of trying to recall the prior year.

So there was a lot of bickering. And I made sure I very plainly noted the 3.5 hours working on the time study ... in my time study.


Only a short post this week kids. I spent most of my allotted blogging time updating the look of my blog. I wanted to give it a little face lift. I couldn't commit to a color overhaul quite yet, so I added a couple new layout/content features. Enjoy.

Make me wanna drop

I had a very busy, stressful week. Tuesday I barely slept and felt the heavy effects the next day. The toll escalated and by Thursday night all my muscles hurt. They were fighting each other on who could ache and who could be stiff. For whoever won this contest, I received the short end of the stick.

The exhaustion overwhelmed me and I slept well, but the stress hangover still persisted.

So Friday night, I had my fill of DVD special features, so I found my MP3 player. I listened to about an hour's worth of music. I felt the relief almost instaneously. The stress melted out. I felt lighter, clearer, happier.

It was such a strong feeling that I took pause to reflect. I realized it was the first day of the week that I had listened to music.


Above Left: A photo of my messsssssy desk. It was one of those...I'm going so crazy so in an effort to not freak out, I'll divert myself by taking a picture of what's making me so crazy. Yeah.

There is still hope

I have spring fever. Along with everyone else I know. Last night it snowed four inches. Let me tell you about a complete blow to a person's will to live. Utterly disheartening. But this morning, by about 9 a.m. it started melting off the roof. That was one of the most surreal things I have experienced.

All of the snow melted off the roof and was raining down in sheets of water for 45 minutes. The sun was shining, there was snow everywhere else.

And I was behind my very own private waterfall.

Photo Above Left: This picture wasn't from the waterfall day, but one of the many snows after it. Enjoy the bleek grey sky that blends so seamlessly with the bleak grey ground.

No, the snow's still there.

Two nights ago I had two pretty vivid dreams. The first was that the snowbank under my window melted and I could see the grass.

This is out of the ordinary because we have around 90 inches of snow and my coworkers and I are speculating how long it'll take to melt away. The second reason is that I was convinced that I was awake and truly thought the snow was gone. So much so that it took me five minutes this morning to come to terms that it really was a dream.

The other dream was that my class had a high school reunion, held at the high school. The reunion pretty much took place in the hall where our lockers were. There were some heart warming moments. Nothing so interesting that I should share here. Then at the end of the reunion we had to clean out our lockers and say goodbye. Lony turned to me and was somewhat awkward and I said, "Well, I'll see you around on Facebook because I haven't seen any of the people in our class since graduation and I doubt the next six years will be any different."

He laughed and said that's what he was thinking but didn't want to seem rude

My cousin Tim and his son Aaron were in the parking lot.

How very odd.

It's over now

Today, Brett Favre announced his retirement.

My apologies, we're all out of time ...

The black hole month of the year is finally over. This February, compared to most, was okay, but I'm happy it's over nonetheless.

I got a much needed haircut on Thursday, and am quite happy with the results. I'm growing it out a little. Back in the day when my hair took three hours to dry, it didn't seem like a big deal to grow hair. Now it's a painfully slow task. There were many awkward hair days in this growing out period.

Thank goodness for the person who learned how to "thin out" and layer hair. I love him/her. I truly do. And oh happy day, I'm still able to use my hair wax with this new cut. That's another marvel of mankind I enjoy. The day after look is always enjoyable too. Nothing like hair standing straight up to start the morning.

What else, what else. Sundays are so empty without football. I thought the joy of the Super Bowl would last me until at least April. Don't get me wrong when I hear Super Bowl Champion Giants and 18-1 Patroits my heart soars. But it also feels eons ago that it all happened. At least the free agency period has started (Dear Randy Moss, Green Bay maybe?) and the draft will be here in April .... oh but then the long summer months until August preseason. *Sigh*

On ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning, Greenberg suggested that the ultimate wide out pairing would be Moss & Owens (order purely alphabetical) in Dallas. Whoowee. Can you imagine? Here, I'll wait a sec, try to imagine it.

...
...

Wow! That's truly mind blowing stuff, isn't it? Other than the fact Dallas would become the new Patriots (and I'd be afraid to draft either in fantasy football, because with that much ego looking for the ball, I'd be nervous that neither would get it, but of course I'd also be sick to pass up on any of the action) I would pay some money to see the drama.

Last night they had a Jimmy Kimmel celebrates Jimmy Kimmel (three year, nine month anniversary show). I think it was previously aired ... so that leads me to believe that the only reason it was on was to further push the phenom that is the Sarah Silverman-Matt Damon-Jimmy Kimmel-Ben Affleck video hype. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, hop on over to You Tube and search it. Watch the Matt Damon video first. Truly hilarous. I favor the Matt video, but I am a biased party.

If the powers that be aired that show last night to push the hype, I applaud them. Because I watched that hour for the last four minutes---and it was entirely worth it. I knew what joke was coming, how they would play it out, and I probably could have imagined it, but it was still worth it. I don't think I'd go as far to say the whole farce is comedic genius, but Kimmel (plus Matt & and now all the celebrities who are playing along) get uber points for sticking with it and being so committed.

Well, that's about all I have for this morning. Thanks for stopping by.

Inflation never hits the items you need it to hit

The inevitable happened. I got sick, again. This cold hit me much harder than the one in January did. Miserable, completely miserable. The only thing that makes me feel better is that I don't have the horrible flu bug that's going around (knock on wood).

Yesterday it was really warm. Now, I'm trying to quantify it, but not sure if I have the capabilities to do so. Is it warmer because spring is coming? Or is it warmer because we've been averaging a high of zero?

I'm starting to get out of my writer's block. Which is good, considering about 75 percent of my job is writing. Can we say screwed? Oh yeah, I was saying it about 20 times a day for awhile.

Eating while you spin 360 degrees is fun, but cold

Many apologies for the lack of posting. January flew by ... very busy at work and lots of changes.

Then February came in, complete with the Best Super Bowl Ever. Yay! New York Giants World Champions! Who had Eli's back this whole season? Yeah, that's me. I believed, baby.

The prep for this day was epic. Not really, but it sounded really cool in my head. Well though, I did cook all Saturday and Sunday morning for that awesome spread. And then toasted the Giants' win with sparkling wine. That's right, that's how I roll.

Someone must have put something in my tea. The words typed by my fingers this morning are silly.

We just got back from a conference in Indianapolis. Nice city. Not nearly as warm as I hoped it would have been. After all we were south of Wisconsin, right? I thought at least 40's were in order, instead of 20's. True, WI weather was about 17 degrees colder, but still.

Our hotel was in the center of downtown (at least, i'm assuming it was the center). The capital was on our right (and right out our window) and the RCA Dome (home of the Indianapolis Colts) was on our left. Awesome.

It was an enjoyable conference. The first night we were treated to a keynote speech by the CEO of the national organization. And I was able to enjoy two sessions with the ultra-hot-and-sexy national director of my department. ohhhhh yeah. (I learned stuff too.)

That's about all i have to say. The trip lent quite a few ideas for my book. So I'm excited to get to that.

Until another time ~