Quote of the Evening

"Your hermit plan sucks and it's never going to work, you need a new girlfriend to run around with, someone who you can go to happy hour with, shop with, hang with etc, ya know! And... I think that I am the MAN for the job!"

I had lunch with a birdbath because I'm sexy and do what I want

I received a funky fortune telling email from my friend Mike. My fortune is above, to figure your fortune, follow the directions below.

Pick the month you were born:

January--I kicked
February--I loved
March--I smoked
April--I dry humped
May--I choked on
June--I murdered
July--I did the Macarena with
August--I had lunch with
September--I danced with
October--I sang to
November--I yelled at
December--I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a Mexican
6-------a gangster
7-------my cell phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbor
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19-------myself
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an ipod
29-------a permanent marker
30-------a llama
31-------A homeless guy

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:

White----------because I'm cool like that
Black-----------because that's how I roll
Pink------------because I'm NOT a homosexual
Red------------because the voices told me to
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I hate myself
Purple---------because I'm cool
Gray----------because I was drunk
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange-------because I hate my family
Brown--------because I was high
Other-------because I'm a ninja
None--------because I cant control myself

Gift Time

The Japanese delegation presented me with two gifts in appreciation for their visit to San Francisco. At the top is a wooden box with a Japanese cloisonne pen set. Below are seven figurines. Each represents a deity which bring a specific element to your life like good health, fortune, happiness and beauty.

A very dirty, very bruised martini

The perfect way to toast the end of a long yet successful trip!

Beautiful Fountain, Beautiful Day

Waiting for the valet to bring the car to the main entrance of Stanford University Medical Center.

Thoughts on an amazing day...

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you take a deep breath and wonder quietly to yourself, "how did I get here?"

Well I did tonight.

I was sitting at a beautiful dinner table with five other individuals and took a few minutes to take in the whole experience and was awestruck at it all.

The linens were crisply ironed, the food was amazing, the wine was perfect and the company enthralling. How did I end up in the circle of international business? How did I end up with knowledge that is valuable to professionals from a foreign land?

I was feeling totally like the fate of this journey was in everyone else's hands this morning and with one successful day completed, I think that I may actually sleep tonight!

Today was a GREAT day!

Parking Space Fortune

We parked in a public parking garage near China Town in San Francisco for dinner tonight and each parking space has a fortune painted at the end. Our fortune...

YOU HAVE AN IMPORTANT NEW
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SHAPING UP

Crazy Day in San Francisco

Up to 14 hurt in SF hit-and-run spree
7 critical; driver believed to have struck, killed a man in Fremont earlier

Jaxon Van Derbeken, Steve Rubenstein and Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

More... Printable Version Email This Article

(08-29) 15:56 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- As many as 14 people were injured this afternoon by a motorist who drove around San Francisco running them down before he was arrested, authorities said.

Seven of those injured were in critical condition, police and firefighters said.

Authorities have identified the man who was arrested as Omeed Aziz Popal, who has addresses in Ceres (Stanislaus County) and Fremont.

Authorities said they believe Popal was the same driver who ran over and killed a 55-year-old man walking in a bicycle lane in Fremont, at Fremont Boulevard near Ferry Lane, just after noon. That crash scene is just blocks from Popal's Fremont address, where he had most recently been living.

Popal was arrested at a Walgreens at Spruce and California streets.

In San Francisco, the attacks began around 1 p.m., but it was unclear in what order:

• Two people, one of them a child, were critically injured around by a sport-utility vehicle on the 3500 block of California Street in Laurel Heights.

• Three people were hit at California and Fillmore streets. Witnesses said they included a man with a broken hip and a woman with a gashed head.

• Two people were seriously hurt at Bush and Pierce streets and one person was seriously injured at Bush and Buchanan streets, police said. One person suffered minor injuries in an incident at 1850 Fillmore Street.

• Two other people suffered minor injuries when they were hit at Pine at Divisadero streets, and another two were hit and suffered minor injuries at Divisadero and Bush Street.

"It was like 'Death Race 2000,' " firefighter Danny Bright said at California and Fillmore streets, as an ambulance stood nearby. "Guys were walking down the sidewalk and the guy just came up and ran them over. The guy went crazy.''

Fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge said Mayor Gavin Newsom had been notified and was coordinating the response with the command post at Spruce and California streets.

This afternoon, Newsom left City Hall saying he was en route to a hospital -- presumably San Francisco General, where seven people had been admitted.

"Eleven people were hurt in the field, and police are still finding others," said Lann Wilder, a spokeswoman for San Francisco General Hospital.

Of those, six adults and one child were being treated for blunt trauma at S.F. General, she said.

Wilder did not comment on the patients' conditions, but said she would provide further details later this afternoon.

Three people were taken to St. Francis Hospital, one to Kaiser and two others California Pacific Medical Center, Wilder said.

One victim, Pedro Aglugov, 70, was sitting at a table at a sidewalk cafe at California and Fillmore with his head bandaged with gauze, holding an ice pack to one elbow.

"He was going real fast," Aglugov said of the driver. "I was lucky I wasn't hurt more.''

Eliseo Billones Jr., 24, a canvasser for Greenpeace, was standing on the corner when Aglugov was hit.

"He was going berserk," Billones said of the driver. "It was a red light and he just ran the red light. I saw him (Aglugov) hit the corner of the bumper and tumble.''

Barclay Lynn, 39, of San Francisco, said she and a friend were driving east on Bush when they saw a black SUV driving away and saw a motorcyclist who had been hit.

"The motorcyclist stood in the intersection trying to signal the driver to stop,'' Lynn said. The SUV then "went speeding in reverse on Bush heading west, weaving in and out of traffic. The whole right side of his SUV was smashed in.''

At Frankie's Bohemian Cafe at Divisadero and Pine, a man named William, who asked that his last name not be used, said he was walking south on Divisadero when "we heard the thump, turned around, saw bodies flying.''

He described the vehicle as a black Honda Pilot SUV that looked new and had a windshield that was shattered on the right side.

The driver went down Pine and Bush, "stood on the gas,'' then a couple of minutes later "came flying up through the bus lane'' headed north on Divisadero.

Another man at the cafe, Max Bran, said, "We thought he was going to stop and give up, but instead he just stepped on the gas. It didn't matter, regardless of the lights.''

He saw a woman knocked down. "She was just crossing the street, just crossing the street," he said. "In fact, I had just crossed the street.''

The two men said someone who had been at the cafe earlier picked up a license plate from the SUV.

Authorities believe the same suspect struck and killed a pedestrian in Fremont earlier today.

That victim was walking north on Fremont Boulevard in the bicycle lane when he was struck from behind and knocked several feet into a field, Fremont Officer Alan Zambonin said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The black SUV, a Honda described as a Pilot or a CRV, made no attempt to stop or help the victim, police said.

The vehicle had right front end damage and a shattered windshield.

Zambonin said one witness saw the collision from about 1,000 feet away, then stopped to try to help the man, who was already dead.

Zambonin estimated the SUV was going as fast as 50 mph and sped away with a blown out windshield.

"It's a good possibility (the incidents) are all connected,'' Zambonin said.

Chronicle staff writers Vanessa Hua, Matt Stannard, Wyatt Buchanan, Jill Tucker, Nanette Asimov, Cecilia Vega and Susan Sward contributed to this report.

Evidentially size doesn't matter

The shower in my hotel room is AWESOME! So now I am thinking that I judged the bathroom prematurely and by size alone, which I probably shouldn't have done.

Traveling to San Francisco was pretty uneventful today, so I don't know why I am so exhausted but I am. It feels like it is well past midnight but it is barely past 10 p.m. I think that I will sleep really well tonight!

Teeny Tiny Bathroom

My hotel in San Francisco is comfy room but the bathroom is the smallest bathroom I have ever seen!

Steps 2 - 4

I have figured out steps 2 through 4 of the Doormat Recovery Program!

Step 2 - NetFlix! Lots and lots of movie watching from NetFlix.

Step 3 - Teach myself to crochet and make something.

Step 4 - Working out! It's amazing how much better you feel about everything after 40 minutes of cardio!

New Pic!

The latest addition to the "Cutest Nephew in the WORLD" file!

Solar System Mnemonics

It seems that I was not the only one concerned about what mnemonic school children would use to remember the planets now that Pluto has been taken out of the mix. Follow link.

Am I An Average American?

You Are 70% "Average American"

You are average because you've known your best friend for at least ten years. You are not average since you rate your appearance 4 or lower.

How "Average American" Are You?

What Kind of Shoe Am I?

You Are Big Black Boots!

You can be best described as: attitude You've got lots of it - and you love to give it A guy has to be pretty gusty to hit on you But if he's your type, you'll warm up... a little

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Thursday Morning Randomness

I am surprisingly upset about the demotion of Pluto’s planetary status. I realize that we know a whole lot more about planets then we did when we declared that it was a planet so many years ago and I realize that Pluto doesn't meet the criteria to be classified a planet, but can’t we just “grandfather” little old Pluto in and leave the universe alone.

I remember when I memorized the names and order of the planets; I had trouble keeping them in order so a friend taught me a sentence to aid my memory.

My Very Excellent Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizza’s.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

How does that sentence help now? What about the textbooks, maps, posters, movies and encyclopedias used in schools all over the country? And, has anyone asked Pluto how he feels about the whole situation.

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This message is for the jack&*# driving the J and L Excavation truck on southbound I-5 this morning (cause I am pretty sure that he is an avid reader).

The left lane is for passing! It is not appropriate to enter the freeway, immediately veer across 3 lanes of traffic and then drive along below highway speed in the left lane. I don’t care if you are positioning yourself to be ready for the left hand exit to 405 because it was still 3 miles away.

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Today is a day that has been nearly 7 years in the making. We are launching our new *dishwasher* today. I will be running around like a crazy woman this morning ensuring that bows are tied, boxes are wrapped, champagne is chilled and everything is spotless. Then come 1 p.m. I will be in charge of the launch and am just hoping that everything goes perfectly. Wish me luck!

Sweet Caroline

The people transcribing the closed captioning for movies just kill me. I hate when they don't put the actualy lyrics for songs in the feed but the above screen capture from Fever Pitch cracked me up last night. That is certainly one way to describe Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline.

Couch Potato Spinster Women

2 days, 6 discs, 17 hours, 1 pizza, and 14 soda's later we finally finished Season 5 of Gilmore Girls!

Fire!

The building across the street from Buckley's is the scene of a 3-alarm fire this afternoon!

Yummy

My favorite cookies in the whole wide world are Jenna's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip! :-)

11 episodes and 8 hours

11 episodes and 8 hours later and finally and episode that I have seen. :-)

Equation for Disaster

Princess Grace + Soda Pop in fancy glass + story requiring grandiose gestures = DISASTER

Stage Shot

The BoDeans on stage.

Sunrise over Lake Union

I hate that I am cycle this early on a Saturday.

Kipp's Upgrade

A few months back I started teasing my friend and co-worker Kipp that he was going straight to hell because of his constant teasing of others. I know that I will be sitting in the seat next to him on the way to hell and I am okay with that.

Then I saw a Gilmore Girls episode in which Rory discusses her mother’s accommodations in hell and decided that every time Kipp was especially mean that he would earn an upgrade in his level of accommodations in hell. So far Kipp has earned himself:

Limo service from the Train Station to his custom designed Jr. Suite with a California King bed with Sonofabitch 1200 thread-count sheets, Burnt Orange shag carpeting throughout, a jetted tub, a hair dryer, a mini bar, radiant super heated floors, a stereo with an 8 track player (including special feature of skipping to the next track in the middle of the song) and tickets to a 24-hour long 7th Inning Stretch in a dry King Dome.

Today he earned a very special upgrade. Below is a picture of Peggy. She is Kipp’s personal assistant in hell and will be waiting in his suite to serve his every need.

OSU comes out in the rankings

OSU named in publication in top 100 LGBT-friendly campuses across the nation thanks in large part to student-led effort

by Matt Lewis

In two short years, the OSU Pride Center has come out of the closet and hit the ground running. And the success is not going unnoticed.

Recently, OSU was named as being one of the top 100 LGBT-friendly campuses in the United States in “The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students.”

The book is published by Alyson Books, a sister company of The Advocate, the nation’s largest magazine targeted at a gay/lesbian audience.

“I think this shows a very accurate representation of not only the administrative support we have on campus, but also of the student involvement within the actual LGBT services,” Joscelyne Kravitz, a senior in philosophy, said.

The guide provides a resource for students looking at attending college to find an educational atmosphere that would be most conducive to them.

“It’s not a guide that tells students where to go to school, but it is a guide that can be used in conjuction with other research to find the best place for them to succeed,” Bruce Steele, editor-in-chief for The Advocate, said.

“I was not surprised,” dean of students, Jackie Balzer, said of OSU’s appearance in the book.

“If you look at the fact that we have a pride center and a full-time coordinator, those are key factors in having a good program to guide us to be better allies or address areas where our community could be more welcoming.”

In fact, it was mostly because of student efforts that two years ago the then Queer Resource Center moved from its office in the Women’s Center, termed a “closet” by those who worked there, into the newly-opened OSU Pride Center.

“The reason we’re in these rankings is because of the students who looked around and only saw a staff and faculty group and a student social organization,” Steven Leider, OSU LGBT outreach and services coordinator said. “The students’ hard work is what sky-rocketed us into this listing.”

Leider, who began working on campus last fall, is the first full-time employee at OSU whose sole job is to coordinate LGBT-related programs and outreach services.

Last fall, the Pride Center entered into a covenant agreement with the university administration, meaning that there will always be a pride center at OSU and that the university will never try to close or defund the pride center without first talking to the student body.

OSU is the only university in the United States to have such an agreement with its Pride Center.

“(The covenant agreement) is remarkable. It shows that campuses are already gay friendly, are working to becoming more gay friendly and that every week, month, year things are changing — for the better in most part,” Steele said.

Even though the students and staff working for the pride center and with the OSU community have already achieved so much, they show no signs of slowing down.

“I would anticipate that OSU will be well on its way to having a much more supportive environment by the time the next edition is published,” Balzer said.

Depending on sales and response to this edition of the LGBT Guide, the next edition could come out within the next two years, according to Steele.

“(Appearing in the guide) is just a demonstration of OSU’s commitment to its students and the centers they create,” Balzer said.

“The stuff we have for LGBT support are for everyone. This gives people the opportunity to become better allies and just celebrate what we’ve got.”

Friday morning randomness

The movie Snakes on a Plane premiers in theatres today. I can't seem to escape this movie. Everyone is *buzzing* about it; the DJ's on my favorite radio station, the Today Show, my colleagues at work, are all driving me crazy with their discussions of this oddball movie. I predict that this will be one of those movies that many people claim to love even if they hate it because they think that everyone loves it and they are supposed to love it.

I am terrified of snakes. It is a totally irrational fear and I know it but I am unable to talk myself out of the fear. I will never forget the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones is surrounded my snakes and proclaims, “I hate snakes!” I am right there with you Indy. I hate them and I will always hate them.

============

My newest guilty pleasure is watching the drama over lonelygirl15 unfold on YouTube. Her videos began appearing in my “Top Watched Video” feed on Bloglines and watched a few and found it juvenile and mildly entertaining. But when I caught on to the controversy that exists on YouTube about the authenticity of her videos I became completely intrigued. I don’t know if they are commercially produced or not but I am enjoying everyone debating it.

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I first discovered chocolate flavored Redi Whip at the grocery store a few years ago and immediately classified it as something that belongs in my self proclaimed 6th Food Group (a food group for things that are just too man-made e.g. Velveeta, hot dogs, SPAM). Last week I ended up stuck with a can of it along with other leftovers from an Ice Cream Social. I finally tired it last night and it was surprisingly okay. Not overpoweringly chocolate and the perfect topping to my homemade mocha. I don’t think I would purchase it again, but will enjoy the remainder of the can I have.

============

My friends Don and Jenna and I are going to see Carbon Leaf in concert tomorrow night! I feel like a purchased the tickets months and months and months ago, because I did and I cannot believe that it’s finally here.

I ♥ Carbon Leaf

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I am so pleased that today is FRIDAY and I have a 4-day weekend! WOO HOO!

Step 1

If the Doormat Recovery Program is a 12-step program, I think I have figured out the first step.

1. Purchase the official doormat and place it outside of your residence.

I will have to get right on that!

Wednesday Morning Brain Dump

I ordered a DVD player for my bedroom last week. It arrived at the office on Monday and was waiting for me when I arrived yesterday morning. It sat on the corner of my desk all day and I couldn't wait to get home and hook it up last night, especially since I just received 2 new movies from NetFlix. When I arrived home I opened the box and took out all the cords, paperwork and electronic stuff. I went to work finding and outlet for it and then once I had it plugged into a power source I went to connect it to the input jacks on my TV. Only one problem, my TV doesn't have input jacks. AAAHHHH! The TV is only a few years old so I just assumed that it would and it didn't occur to me to check before buying a DVD player. I took the owners manual and a glass of wine out onto the deck and paged through it hoping a solution would just pop out from the pages. And right on the front page of the "Quick Use Guide" was the following notation:

"If your TV has only a single Antenna In jack, you will need an accessory RF modulator. The RF modulator converts the video from the DVD player so it can play through the TV's Antenna connector. Refer to your owner's manual for proper connection."

Hooray! A solution, thank goodness! I really didn't want to have to buy a new TV. A quick google search on RF Modulators and I was in the know. I found a small one made by the same manufacturer of my new DVD player on Amazon.

===========

I offered some cantaloupe to a co-worker this morning by extending the Tupperware dish with small chunks of cantaloupe in it towards him and asking, "Cantaloupe?"

He replied, "I am married so I cannot elope with you."

I chuckled very little; his word puns bug me most of the time.

============

I am feeling like a very well worn doormat this week. In order to prevent myself from continuing down the doormat path I am trying to identify what I do that leads to my being a doormat. The first order of business is to remove "my ad" from the universe!

Female seeks friendship - If you are interested in having someone nurture you, rescue you, drive you around, feed you, listen to you, cry with you, support you, love you and bend over backwards for you and help in any way she can just so that you can walk away when you are done; then I am the doormat that you have been looking for. Call and I will let you start walking all over me immediately.

===========

The irony of the week is that the person that has caused a tremendous amount of anger and pain is the person that kept suggesting that I check out Daniel Powter's music. I had heard the song Bad Day on the radio and liked it but had no idea that he sang it. I didn't put it together until I downloaded from iTunes last night. I have listened to it quite a few times since and it is becoming my theme song for the week.

Bad Day by Daniel Powter

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Chorus:
Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work up a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

Chorus

(Oh.. holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

(yeah...)

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Chorus

===========

It can only get better, right? ;-\

Today's WTF News Story

Boy, 12, evades security clampdown

LONDON, England -- Despite a high level of alert at British airports, a 12-year-old boy managed to board a plane at Gatwick without a passport, ticket or boarding pass.

Tuesday's incident has raised concerns over security procedures in the wake of an alleged plot to blow up planes on trans-Atlantic flight.

The boy was detected by member of the Monarch Airlines cabin crew only after he was seated and had been given a drink and a snack.

He was removed from the plane by police officers before the flight took off.

"The boy had passed through a full security screening process and we are confident there was no threat to passengers, staff or the aircraft at any time," said Stewart McDonald, a spokesman for BAA, which operates Gatwick, Heathrow and five other major UK airports.

BAA has launched an investigation into the incident, McDonald said Wednesday.

The boy had run away from a care home in northwest England and boarded a plane for Lisbon at 6 a.m. on Monday before the other passengers, the UK's Press Association reported.

His mother, who cannot be named because her son is in care, said she was stunned he evaded the security checks.

"My worry is that if you have terrorists in these airports they could be looking round for someone who is vulnerable, and get them to take things on the planes for them," she told the Daily Mail.

"What happened is frightening, especially given the state of alert we are supposed to be on at the moment. I want to know how on Earth he was able to get through to the plane and take his seat."

The boy has now been returned to his care home after being held by police and picked up by social workers, PA reported.

He is understood to have arrived at Gatwick by train -- unaccompanied and without a ticket, which he has apparently done on a number of occasions, the agency said.

Reports of the incident come as airlines struggled to ease a logjam of passengers after the British government raised the terror threat level and heightened airport security following Thursday's arrest of 24 people suspected of planning to explode devices on as many as 10 planes destined for the United States. (Full story)

British Airways canceled more flights Wednesday and attempted to reunite thousands of missing bags with their owners.

While many British airports were getting back to normal, BA canceled 46 flights -- 35 at Heathrow and 11 at Gatwick, PA reported. (Full story)

The airline said it would not be until Friday that its full service could be resumed.

Copyright 2006 CNN

The Mountain ROCKS!

My favorite Seattle radio station KMTT "The Mountain" was featured in a recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top five independent rock radio stations in the country. You can read the article by checking out this link.

Another new development this week is that they have started a blog. They put one of the Programming Assistants in charge of putting together a blog entry every day. They only have a few entries and no RSS feed, so I don't know that I will read it daily, but it is somewhat amusing especially if you know the personalities of the DJ's and powers that be at KMTT.

Home to a mess

I arrived home from Vegas this afternoon. Upon arriving home I didn't concur the unpacking immediately but when I did begin the task and opened the sliding door to my walk-in closet, this is what I found...

The rod in my closet had fallen over the weekend and all of my clothes were on the floor, ugh! I don't quite know how that happened, all of the parts and pieces were intacts. So I put it all back together and 31 minutes later it looks like this again.

Welcome Home! :-)

Do you want fries with that?

We all piled our left-over fries on one plate. He, he, he. :-)

Quote of the day...

"We were mowing on the mints until Cat chocked on a dick and we had to put them away."

Funny Ad

In the bathroom at Nine Fine Men Hotel at the New York, New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It's a Guinness ad and it cracked me up!

My first male revue

This is a close as I ever got to any of the dancers which was just fine with me. The other advantage to posting this picture above the rest is that it doesn't embarass any of my friends!

Yard O' Beer

Paula demonstrates to proper way to consume a Yard O' Beer! :-)

A Perfect Day!

This is my idea of relaxing, poolside at Vegas.

Huge Spider

I came back to my desk a few moments ago from taking my trash out and a spider was climbing up my lighthouse calendar. If you didn't know that the lighthouse was a photo from a calendar you may think that the spider is much larger than it really is. I am not scared of spiders but I do think that they are creepy.

Cutie Pie!

This picture makes me smile everytime I see it. I think it's the combination of the expression on his face and the shoes that start the smile fest. Anyway it's just the latest installment to the "Cutest Nephew In The Whole Wide World" file.

Interference

While getting ready for work this morning I watched the morning news, my usual routine. I was surprised to learn about the terrorist plot and the heightened security at our airports. I am attending a bachlorette party in Las Vegas this weekend and was planning on sending an email to everyone so that we could change our plans for arriving at the airport. However, the bride-to-be beat me to it and I received this...

"Damn terrorists interfering with my party…if you haven’t heard yet this morning, there were some terrorists going to blow up a plane with liquid explosives, so now the US is up to code orange, and no liquids are allowed through the check points. So I guess we just buy toothpaste and stuff in Vegas unless someone wants to check a bag?"

It is an hour later now and emails have been flying all over the place. Our plans are changed to arrive a bit earlier and check our bags (so we don't have to buy anything there) because nothing is going to ruin this party!

4 Questions

Another "get to know ya" question and answer email from my friend Mike. Here we go:

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Nanny
2. Wedding Planner
3. Marketing Coordinator
4. National Accounts Manager

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Bridget Jones' Diary
2. Working Girl
3. What Women Want
4. Casablanca

Four places you have lived:
1. Salt Lake City, Utah
2. Corvallis, Oregon
3. Alexandria, Virginia
4. Seattle, Washington

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Gilmore Girls
2. West Wing
3. Gray's Anatomy
4. Desperate Housewives

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Florida
3. Napa Valley, California
4. Cannon Beach, Oregon

Websites you visit daily:
1. Yahoo!
2. Blogger
3. Bloglines
4. My company website

Four of my favorite meals:
1. Plank grilled salmon
2. Mac & Cheese
3. Meatloaf with mashed potatoes
4. Clam Chowder

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In bed
2. A warm beach
3. The library
4. Sippin' a margarita on a deck overlooking water

Cranes Everywhere!

A new crane appeared in South Lake Union today, it's a construction explosion. I think they are doing whatever they can to build things that block my view.

My Inner Supermodel

In the spirit of celebrating my supermodel hair today I decided to take a quiz to find my Inner Supermodel on iVillage this afternoon. Hey, the database is re-indexing, what else am I going to do? :-) So, without further ado, my inner supermodel is...

Christie Brinkley! As American as apple pie, you share the same wholesome beauty and love of the outdoors as this '80s icon. Like Christie, you exude the same girl-next-door charm and appeal that made her one of the most photographed women of her decade. Your sporty style and naturally great hair and skin paired with your easy, outgoing personality make you the life of the party and the person everyone would love to have as best friend!

I was really pleased with this result but am still self-aware enough to know that I look absolutely nothing like Christie Brinkley!

You make one little change...

I colored my hair last night. I color my hair frequently (usually every 6 to 8 weeks). I used the same brand and color that I have used in the past. When I finished it was after 10:00 p.m. and my hair was wet. At the same time I remembered that I was going to have to wake up extra early this morning and had an extremely important day at the office. So, I made the decision to set up hair in rollers and sleep in them overnight, therefore expediting my morning routine.

Years ago I used to set my hair in rollers on a regular basis. I think my hair looks really good after being set in rollers overnight. The created effect is a full-bodied hair with soft and flowy curls framing my face. And that is no exception today. The natural curl that my hair has just accentuated the effect. I was super pleased with results.

The whole point of sharing this story is that every single person that I have come in contact with today has commented about my hair. On my way into a meeting at 7:30 a.m. one of my co-workers grabbed my arm to get my attention to comment about my hair. While on the phone in the 11 o'clock hour another co-worker interrupted my phone call to gesture to his own hair to compliment my hair. And yet another co-worker who speaks limited English interrupted me in the break room while making my lunch to compliment my hair. I don't think that my hair looks that much better than usual but the change in style is drawing extra attention. It is probably also accentuated by my ultra-professional wardrobe selection for the day, who knows!

Perfect Seattle Sunset

The sunset from the deck at Ray's Boathouse.

Bizarre News Story of the Day

This story was the subject of a very disgusting, yet wonderful, conversation last night.

German cannibal sentenced to 8 years in prison

KASSEL, GERMANY - A 42-year-old German man who confessed to killing, dismembering and eating another man who he said agreed to the grisly act was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

A German court convicted Armin Meiwes of manslaughter on Friday, ruling he had no "base motives" in the crime and sparing him a murder conviction.

The prosecution, who had been looking for a murder conviction and a life sentence, said they would appeal the verdict.

Prosecutors had argued that Meiwes, who met his victim over the internet, was satisfying a sexual impulse.

They said he filmed himself dismembering the victim before he ate him so he could "admire himself as a human butcher."

But Meiwes' lawyer argued that the slaying was a "homicide on demand." He said it was a form of mercy killing – because the victim gave his consent to be killed and eaten.

In his trial, Meiwes confessed in detail to the March 2001 killing of 43-year-old Bernd Juergen Brandes at his home in the nearby town of Rotenburg.

Brandes had travelled from Berlin in reply to an internet advertisement seeking a young man for "slaughter and consumption."

Meiwes testified that Brandes wanted to be stabbed to death after drinking a bottle of cold medicine to lose consciousness.

"Bernd came to me of his own free will to end his life," said Meiwes in a closing statement Monday. "For him, it was a nice death."

Meiwes said he regretted the killing.

"I had my big kick and I don't need to do it again," he said. "I regret it all very much, but I can't undo it."

Music Flashback

Bean was flipping through the radio stations on the way to work this morning and stopped at Movin' 92.5. A new song was just starting and just a few notes into the song I declared, with great excitement, "It's Milli Vanilli!" and then, "I didn't think they played Milli Vanilli on the radio since they were banned from the music world for their embarrassing lip sinking scandal!" Bean looked at me with and inquisitive look as I continued on. "Do you remember when they offered to give everyone their money back if you returned the album?" Bean nodded and I continued, "Well I liked the album SOOO much that I kept it!" I then cranked up the volume and sang every word of "Blame It On The Rain."

This experience caused a whole lot of thoughts to run quickly through my brain. They include:

1. I have something to blackmail Bean with because although she would deny it she sang along.
2. I really need to see if I still have that cassette tape.
3. What ever happened to those guys? (One of them is dead, I had no idea, check the link)
4. I wonder if I can get some of those songs through iTunes? (And my quick search revealed only Karaoke albums, so no.)

Quote of the Day

Via bloglines feed for "Quote of the Day" proves that I am not the only one who does this...

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of."

-Burt Bacharach

Glowing Candles

Somehow these three glowing candles equate to thirty-three, I am not sure how but have been assured that they do if you look at it twice.

Deep Thought of the Evening

"I feel like I just ate bacon cheeseburger!"

My response, "That is because you just did!"

Girlie Birthday Wine

Big House Pink - 2004 California Pink Wine is what we are drinking tonight. It doesn't taste very good, but it's pink. :-)

I think Barney is fired

I heard this news story on the radio in the car on the way to work today and it cracked me up. I would love to see the security camera footage of this, Barney vs. Million dollars worth of teddy bears.

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British guard dog savages rare German teddy

3 August 2006

LONDON - A British guard dog deployed to protect an exhibition of precious teddy bears had onlookers tremble with fear when he destroyed the toy animals in a sudden and unprovoked attack.

Reports Thursday said a rare Steiff bear, which used to belong to Elvis Presley, was among the "victims" attacked by Doberman Barney at the exhibition in Wookey Hole Caves, near Wells in the south-western county of Somerset.

The teddy, named Mabel and estimated at 40,000 pounds (73,000 dollars), was made in Germany in 1909 and bought at auction in Memphis, Tennessee, by a British collector.

"About 100 bears were caught up in this frenzied attack, some were merely little chews, whereas some of them had some quite devastating injuries," exhibition manager Daniel Medley told the BBC.

"Heads pulled off, arms, legs here and there, it was a total carnage really. I've never seen such a mess, there was stuffing, fluff and bear bits everywhere," said Medley.

Security guard Greg West, who was on duty at the time, is at a loss to explain what happened to make Barney go so "berserk."

"Barney has been a model guard dog for over six years. I still can't believe what happened," he said.

"Either there was a rogue scent of some kind on Mabel which switched on Barney's deepest instincts, or it could have been jealousy - I was just stroking Mabel and saying what a nice little bear she was."

America's Got Talent?

Everybody knows that there is are no good television shows on during the summer but I think that NBC has reached an all time *bad* this summer with the poorly named "America's Got Talent." I have only seen it a few minutes of a few episodes because I am disgusted with the entire production.

It almost as though they were trying to take the best of American Idol, which in my opinion are the episodes at the beginning of the season, and make and entire show out of it. This wouldn't be so bad if the performers were bad enough to be amusing but they simply suck! Tonight I flipped on the television just in time to catch the final two acts. The King Charles Unicycle troupe boasts themselves to be the Harlem Globetrotters on wheels. The major difference I noted, having seen the Harlem Globetrotters several times, is that the Globetrotters actually make the baskets that they shoot. The final act was a band from California with the word "demolition" in their name but I didn't catch it because the minute that they began singing their horrible song, I turned the TV off.

When will reality TV finally die? Isn't the trend over yet? I know that there are many talented people in America but their are not on this show!

5 Questions

Shamelessly stolen from the blog of a friend who completed it months ago near her own birthday.

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1. How do you usually celebrate your birthday? It varies. In the past few years it has been marked by small celebrations with different groups or individuals. This is not at all a bad thing because it turns my birthday into a week long celebration.

2. Do you ever lie about your age? No, I am not embarassed by my age so there is no reason to lie about it.

3. What is your favorite flavor(s) of cake and ice cream? I am not a big fan of cake. I do like a super moist carrot cake every once in a while. When I was preparing to celebrate a birthday many years ago (probably 11 or 12) my mother asked what kind of cake I wanted and after much deliberation I declared that I wanted "Cheesecake" because it is one of my favorite things in the world and it has the word "cake" in it so it is indeed cake, right? From that point on my Mom always had some type of Cheesecake for my birthday cake.

4. Have you ever completely forgotten the birthday of a family member or friend? Not that I can recall.

5. What was the most memorable birthday party you've attended? My parents threw my sister and I a birthday party three years ago to celebrate my 30th and her 42nd birthdays'. Many of our friends and family members flew in from out of state. The food was amazing. My mother had a pinatta made to our likeness. It was a truly amazing evening.