My little baby bird

So, what's new?

I'm sort of surprised this blog is still even here. It's been almost 9 months since my last post, which wasn't particularly inspired. Then again, most of my posts in the months leading up to the last one were generally uninspired as well. I think I dropped Blogger for MySpace, which I dropped for Facebook, which I sort of dropped for . . . a baby. My baby. I had a baby! That's what I was referring to in my September post when I said things were about to get busier for me. I had just figured out and confirmed I was pregnant. I had a baby girl in May and am home with her now (in fact, she's asleep in the crook of my arm right now, which is why I am actually able to type with both hands at the moment).

Life has changed a lot in the last year. I'll have to take some time to catch up on my blogroll and see who's still out there.

Is there anybody out there?

God Help Us if We Have to Live With This

Hmmm

Wow -- I've been gone so long things have changed. The links for the blogs I used to follow are all gone! Looks like there's another way to track 'em now. I'm so bad. I haven't written a damned thing, here or anywhere, in months! Super busy -- and about to get busier. More later.

Survey

Here's how it works:

1. Go to www.photobucket.com (don't sign in)

2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box

3. Use only the first page

4. Copy the html and paste for the answer

What's your first name?




What is your relationship status?




What is your favorite color?




Who is your celebrity crush?




What are you listening to right now?




What is your favorite movie?




What is your favorite Disney Princess?




Where is your dream vacation?




What is your favorite dessert?




What do you want to do when you grow up?




What do you love most in life?




One word to describe yourself?




I was born in:




My eye color is




Blondes or Brunettes?




Night or Day?




Oranges or Apples?

Neither!

Vega$, baby

I just got back from Vegas today. I was there for 2 days for a conference, stayed at Treasure Island where the conference was held. It was a lot nicer than I thought it would be! I didn't have much time to get far from the hotel, but I did manage to play my first live poker tournament at TI's Poker Room. I busted out right before the first break -- caught a couple of bad beats and started to get blinded down. I thought it went well for my first time out, though. I'll do it again.

The company putting on the conference also gave us tix to see Beatles Love at The Mirage next door to TI -- it's a Cirque du Soleil show -- and that was something else. You don't know where to look first -- or at all, I guess. I'm not even sure how to describe it -- but suffice it to say the performers are acrobats, contortionists, athletes and actors all rolled into one. It was crazy -- very elaborate sets and dramatic effects. I love The Beatles, so it was cool to see something set to their music.

I did manage to take a walk to the Forum shops at Caesar's -- if you ever want to feel like you need a sugar daddy, take a walk in that place. Harry Winston, Gucci, Prada, Agent Provocateur, Spago, Tiffany, Cartier, Bulgari, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Exotic Cars -- take your pick. There were other more run of the mill places there, but that is a place for some serious shopping! Between the shops and restaurants, you could spend a whole day in there -- and if you don't pay attention to where you are and how you got there, you might because there are a lot of dead ends in that place. I guess they don't want you to be able to exit easily.

Last night before turning in for the night my co-worker and I walked up the strip a bit. Monday night at 10 p.m., and no shortage of people walking up and down the street -- or people pimping out their clubs. I wish we'd had one more day to get further out. Anyway, I'm gonna have to plan a trip for Jason & me.

This morning we left the hotel at 11 for a 1:30 flight out of McCarran. When it was about time to board the plane, we were told that our pilots weren't there yet, but that the previous pilots stayed on the plane so we could board and be ready when they arrived. After sitting on the plane for half an hour and seeing two mechanics go into the cockpit and fuss with some computers, they told us the plane wasn't going anywhere and we had to get off the plane and get on another one. Fun. So we got back off the plane, went to another gate, got on that plane (oddly enough, although it was Southwest and there is no assigned seating, most people went back to the same seats on the new plane) and finally took off around 3:00, when we should have been landing in Sac. So we got into Sac at about quarter after 4, waited another half hour for luggage and were leaving the airport right before 5 -- just in time for rush hour traffic. Luckily, it wasn't bad but I still didn't get home til 6 and had to move a 5:30 appointment to tomorrow. It took us all day to get home from Vegas! Gah!

02.21.04

Four years ago tonight the husband and I were partying in wedding attire with our family & friends. Our wedding was a blast. Four years married, nearly 8 years together overall. Now all anyone wants to know is "when are you going to have a baby?"

*crickets*

We went to The Melting Pot for dinner tonight to celebrate. Hey, it's Thursday and we're both working tomorrow, whaddya want from us? We had some yummy fondue in a cute little booth all the way in the back of the restaurant that had ceiling tiles with little sparkling white lights in it (meant to look like stars, I think). Jason had never been there so that was fun. Oh, and I surprised him with a Flame Angel for his tank. It's sweet. I think we decided to call it "Diablo." Should fit right in with the Maroon Clown called "Velvet Jones."

Alrighty, then . . . Happy Thursday. Over & out.

Thrombophlebitis

When I had my wisdom teeth out, I was put under general anesthesia. The doctor put a needle in the top of my hand and injected the drugs through a tube. I remember asking his assistant if my hand and wrist were supposed to hurt like that and they told me somtimes it's a little uncomfortable for a bit. For a few days after that I had a small bruise and my hand was tender. It's been a few weeks now, and the bruise is gone, but the top of my hand and the top of my wrist and lower arm are still tender. For some reason it was uncomfortable to wear a watch. I started feeling my arm and realized I had a swollen vein or something under my skin -- gross!

I called the doctor's office this morning to ask if this was normal and they called me back to tell me the doctor wanted to see me this afternoon. So, I went in and he tells me it's thrombophlebitis. I guess sometimes the drugs irritate the veins and he said he only sees it probably 3 times a year. Lucky me! He told me I need to keep my arm elevated, take anti-inflammatories (aspirin or ibuprofen) and apply heat to it, maybe in the form of a hot wet washcloth. It should subside within a few weeks; if not, I'm supposed to call back and be seen again to be sure it's not getting worse (scarring, clotting, etc.). He didn't seem too concerned, so I'm trying not to be. But really, if I have to be one of 3 people to experience something among of hundreds of people a year who don't, can't it be winning money or something?

Whatever. I gotta stop typing and put my arm back up. Phpthptphphttt.

Oh, how I love a 3-day weekend!

Is there anything better than sleeping in on a Monday? I think not. :o)

Why I would like to throw my alleged "smart phone" into the toilet

It's acting like a piece of SHIT! Gah!

For hours I have been trying to download a ringtone, a graphic to use as a background, and to clear off files because it keeps telling me its memory is full. Full of what? Most of the info I run through it lives on servers in my office.

WHY is my 1G micro SD chip not sufficient for the few things I ask of you? Why are you continually freezing on me so I am having to reset you every half hour? Why will you not sync with my PC and allow me to copy the photos that are stored in your useless metal-colored plastic POS body onto my computer? And why does ActiveSync refuse to launch -- on you or on my PC -- when that @$%$@^! application pops up on my computer every time I log on? Suddenly you're unavailable? I see you there -- in my Start menu, on my desktop, in my applications -- and yet, you fail and refuse to launch.

IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY . . . tell me how it is that something that once retailed for as much as $600 before corporate discounts, company reimbursements, and my signature on a 2-year contract, can be useful for little more than beaning someone in the head?

I give up. Keep the pictures, keep your stupid factory settings, keep freezing up -- because you are getting REPLACED in less than a year. I would skip your sorry ass right into the ocean if you were biodegradable!

Here's my little prayer for the advent of something not yet available -- I want something that will put the Tilt, the Treo, the Q, the BlackJack and even the N96 to shame. And I want it to be cute. Is that so much to ask?

Sniffer

A man had just settled into his seat next to the window on the plane when another man sat down in the aisle seat and put his black Labrador Retriever in the middle seat next to the man. The first man looked very quizzically at the dog and asked why the dog was allowed on the plane.

The second man explained that he was a DEA agent and that the dog was a 'sniffing dog'. "His name is Sniffer and he's the best there is. I'll show you once we get airborne, when I put him to work." The plane took off, and once it has leveled out, the agent said, "Watch this." He told Sniffer to "search". Sniffer jumped down, walked along the aisle, and finally sat very purposefully next to a woman for several seconds.

Sniffer then returned to his seat and put one paw on the agent's arm. The agent said, "Good boy", and he turned to the man and said, "That woman is in possession of marijuana, so I'm making a note of her seat number and the authorities will apprehend her when we land.

"Say, that's pretty neat," replied the first man.

Once again, the agent sent Sniffer to search the aisles. The Lab sniffed about, sat down beside a man for a few seconds, returned to its seat, and this time he placed two paws on the agent's arm.

The agent said, "That man is carrying cocaine, so again, I'm making a note of his seat number for the police."

"I like it!" said his seat mate.

The agent then told Sniffer to "search" again. Sniffer walked up and down the aisles for a little while, sat down for a moment, and then came racing back to the agent, jumped into the middle seat and proceeded to shit all over the place.

The first man was really grossed out by this behavior and couldn't figure out how or why a well-trained dog would behave like that, so he asked the agent "What's going on?"

The agent nervously replied, "He just found a bomb."

Random

So we buy this dog food (and now cat food) called Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance. It's a lot more like human food than a lot of the dog foods out there (except the kibble -- I can't think of anything we eat that's like that) and the dog likes it, plus it doesn't make him sick like some of the crap out there. And of course when I read Dick Van Patten I thought of the dad on Eight is Enough (if you're not old enough to remember who that is, shut up). It didn't occur to me to look it up and see if it's the same guy, but I read something on, of all places, Perez Hilton the other day saying it is. And on top of that, the same story said Adam Rich (the cute little kid Nicholas on Eight is Enough) owns 4 America's Tire stores in the Sacramento area.

So, I buy my dog food and my tires from some guys from an 80s television show. What are the odds of that?

Who knew?

I was watching The Today Show this morning and Matt Lauer pointed out that his favorite part of the Grammys last night was when Morris Day and the Time performed. Me too!

Me and Matt -- old skool Time fans. Who knew?

I want Alicia Keys' skin!

Even the color. Is that so much to ask? Her skin and makeup are always flawless -- but not in that cakey, begging-to-be-airbrushed, way overdone, borderline drag-queen way I see on so many women. You know what I mean? Those women whose makeup looks like they remove their heads and give it a full-on MAC assault before screwing it back onto their bodies? I wanna attack those people with wet wipes.

I want Alicia Keys' skin! Actually, I wouldn't mind her bank account, either.

Holy crap!

I think I might be a Libertarian.

I need to do some research.

hahaha

A woman goes to her boyfriend’s parents’ house for Sunday dinner.

This is to be her first time meeting the family and she is very nervous.

They all sit down and begin eating a fine meal.

The woman is beginning to feel a little discomfort, thanks to her nervousness and the broccoli casserole. The gas pains are almost making her eyes water. Left with no other choice, she decides to relieve herself a bit and lets out a dainty fart. It wasn’t loud, but everyone at the table heard the poof.

Before she even had a chance to be embarrassed, her boyfriend’s father looked over at the dog that had been snoozing under the woman’s chair, and said in a rather stern voice, “Skippy!”.

The woman thought, “This is great!” and a big smile came across her face. A couple of minutes later, she was beginning to feel the pain again. This time, she didn’t even hesitate. She let a much louder and longer rrrrrip.

The father again looked at the dog and yelled, “Dammit Skippy!”.

Once again the woman smiled and thought “Yes!” A few minutes later the woman had to let another rip. This time she didn’t even think about it. She let a fart rip that rivaled a train whistle blowing.

Once again, the father looked at the dog with disgust and yelled, “Dammit Skippy, get away from her, before she shits all over you!”

Buh-bye, January!

Okay, so January is done. What a waste it was for me! I got sick on the 3rd and struggled with it for WEEKS -- only within the last week have I started to feel normal. I still have a bit of a cough but thankfully the rest of it seems to have run its course. Still, the damage was done -- it really took a toll on me in terms of getting to work and taking care of the house. I did what I needed to, maybe a little more, but nowhere near the level I usually do.

Today I had my wisdom teeth out, so I'm ending January with a bang. I've never had any kind of surgery -- never been hospitalized, never been put out for anything until today. I really didn't know what to expect but from what my friends and other acquaintances have told me, things have changed a lot and I am SO glad I didn't do it 9 or 10 years ago when it was first suggested to me! They knocked me out and when I woke up it was done. The gauze wasn't fun, and I've been having to ice my swollen face every hour and eat things like Jell-o and applesauce, but other than that I feel completely fine. I can't even put into words how grateful I am for that right now!

I have tomorrow off to keep icing and taking my pain killers, then back to work Monday. I've really got to kick things into gear if I am going to get anywhere. I did manage to finally get to the gym on Monday, and am looking forward to getting back into a routine (long since lost). We already have lots of things planned for this year and a lot to do to get ready for it. Jason and I just applied for passports for the first time; he's planning to join me at a conference I am attending in Toronto (it's something I go to for work every year toward the end of April). We're going to stay an extra day after my conference and go see Niagara Falls. THAT should be something. I hope it stops snowing like crazy back east by then!

Alrighty -- so I am still unpacking the boxes I packed up when we started remodeling, and deciding what stays and what goes. It's not all coming back in. I can't tell you how much stuff we've already given away to friends, family, or goodwill. We do not have the space to be pack rats!

Anyway, aside from the horrible way my year ended and the sickly way it started off, I am now feeling optimistic about the rest of the year. I have so many ideas swirling around in my head, I'm not sure where to start. So I guess I'll do what I always do and start making massive lists and figuring out where to go from there.

I hope everyone else's year started off better and that only good things lie ahead!

12.23.07

My aunt Angela passed away today. I still can't believe it. Yet another reminder not to take things, or people, for granted. You just never know.

Happy Thanksgiving

I still can't believe we're already at Thanksgiving. I'll be sure to spend some time today thinking about all the things I have to be thankful for. I'm reminded of it more than occasionally just by virtue of the fact that I work downtown and see a lot of people who don't have much, if anything. Today I get to spend the day hanging out with family and enjoying all the food & drink we can manage in a nice place without any thought about how the food & drink got there. All I had to do was run to Safeway and BevMo. I know for many people that isn't an option.

I have a lot to do this morning before we hit the road -- laundry, dishes, walk the dog, bathe the dog, bake a coffee cake, and clean up (to the extent I can) around here so we can get back to the remodel tomorrow. I'd better get to it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Small World

I went to Taco Bell tonight to pick something up for the husband and me, and ran into my best friend from when I was about 14-16 years old and she was about 16-18 (i.e., 20+ years ago). We've seen each other off and on over the years but the last time I think I actually saw her was about 7 years ago. We got in touch again through Classmates.com within the last year and have been talking about getting together for lunch but just hadn't done it. I think we will now. It was nice to see her. She looks great -- and her firstborn is now NINETEEN years old! Gah!

Funny thing . . . she and I used to always go to Taco Bell. We would often get burrito supremes and enchiritos (when they still put the little slice of olive on top for garnish). It just hit me, also, that less than a week ago I was at that very Taco Bell where I ran into her tonight and I actually ordered a burrito supreme (minus lettuce) and an enchirito (yeah, we eat at Taco Bell a lot). I never do that -- and I thought of her when I did it. I must have willed our little run-in. I made a split decision to go inside rather than hit the drive-through and there she was with her family -- the only other people in the place. What are the odds?

GO SOX!

A little nod to my dad. One more inning between them and the World Series!

This is my cat

. . . minus the bat.

Try this

I got this in an e-mail tonight (I claim no responsibility for the problems with punctuation and sentence structure):

This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over
again to see if you can outsmart your right foot, but, you can't.
It's preprogrammed in your brain!

1. WITHOUT anyone watching you (They will think you are GOOFY)
and while sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer,
lift your right foot off the floor and make Clockwise Circles.

2. Now......while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your
Right Hand. Your foot will change direction.

I told you so!!! And there's nothing you can do about it!

You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done,
You are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.

Send it to your friends to frustrate them too.

It worked on me!

Decisions, decisions

It's 9:07. I haven't really done anything productive since getting home from work. Do I have the third beer?

I believe I will.

Life's too short to clean your own home

I got a piece of mail the other day that said this on the front. A cleaning service, of course. You know, I'm starting to agree. I never thought I'd feel like I wanted a housekeeper, but the longer I live with other people the more I feel like I need one. Everyone else who lives here has one -- me! How the hell did that happen? Not that they don't help at all, but they don't usually do it without some prodding (from me) and they don't usually do it that well. As the saying goes, "[i]f you want something done right . . ."

I need a housekeeper

And a chef

And a trainer

Is that so much to ask for? I thought so.

The house is still totally torn apart with this remodel and I am trying to get stuff put away but I just don't know where to put everything -- and I really don't feel like it! Why can't a crew show up at my door ready to take over, send me on vacation for a week and let me come back to a completely renovated and redecorated house? Where's my extreme home makeover? Oh, right -- I don't have a terminal disease or comparable sob story. Yeah, yeah, I'm grateful and all, but why can't I be visited with such great fortune? Nope, instead we have to give the credit card a major workout and earn all this so-called "sweat equity." Sweat equity sucks!

Alright, back to work.

Helloooooooooooooooo!

You know, I kind of forgot about my blog for a while. A long while. Where have I been? Work was super busy all summer -- then straight into the fall madness. Things probably won't really settle down until after the first of the year. Even then, it's really just back to the regularly scheduled chaos. We went to Maui again in August, which was nice, but it took me days to unwind. I'm not sure I ever really relaxed. Then, right back to work -- and the husband decided to start tearing into the house, and starting some remodeling that we've been talking about since we moved in nearly 5 years ago. So, the bedrooms have been gutted, down to bare concrete floors, acoustic ceilings scraped off, ceilings and walls re-textured, painted, new carpet laid down, and now they just need to be trimmed out and put back together. For 2 weeks we slept on a mattress in the middle of the living room while the rooms were torn apart. It was surprisingly un-fun. Did not enjoy camping out surrounded by floor to ceiling piles of crap that normally lives in the bedroom!

So, I'm swamped at work, swamped at home, and some things or people in my life are generally irritating the shit out of me so I'm trying to figure out how to eliminate those people from my life or at least eliminate, to the extent I can, my interactions with them. I know I can do it. Fuck those people -- why should I stress out over anyone else's bullshit? I've got my own problems.

Before I wrote this I clicked through some of the links on my sidebar and it looks like a lot of other people have been too busy to blog, too. I totally understand. Right now, I've got to get back to work on putting the bedrooms back together so we can start ripping apart the dining room! The credit card is getting a major workout right now, and we might as well be signing our paychecks over to Home Depot and Lowe's. Thank God the husband knows how to do so much of the work we are doing -- we could never afford to pay someone to do it! The best thing about the remodeling, aside from the fact that the house looks so much better, is that I get to get rid of stuff. I like to clear out the clutter. I try to do it now and then but now I am really looking at things with a more critical eye. I don't want all this crap in my house! And, I want some new crap! Heh.

I actually came to my blog today thinking I might delete it. I deleted my MySpace page today because I was not really using it and was bored with what I was doing on there. I may create another profile but at this point it was just one more thing I was logging into every day for no apparent reason. This blog was not so easy a decision. I've had it a little longer than the MySpace pages, going on 3 years now, and though there's nothing Pulitzer-worthy in it, I started looking back through a few posts and thought I'm just not ready for that yet. So let's add to it!

Did I say something about getting back to work? It's going on 9 o'clock and I keep telling myself I need to go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier in the morning but that's just not any fun. I like staying up late! Anyway, I'm starting to feel like it's about time to shed my skin or something. I don't like that visual, though. Turn over a new leaf? Bust outta my cocoon? Why is that? Probably because I'm 35 and fixin' to turn 36. All I know is, I'm getting to that point where I don't want to put up with other people's shit. Whatever your problem is, don't make it mine, mmmkay? I don't want to carry my load and yours as well. So get off my back and pull your own damned weight!

Wow, that was a bit of a revelation. I spend too much time worrying about other people, and whether things are handled, or will be handled, and on and on. I realized the other day that I don't really even ever get to do the things I enjoy anymore. Movies, concerts, reading, shopping, spur of the moment day trips . . . all exchanged for work at work and work at home. And that sucks. Fuck that. Some things are about to CHANGE around here!

Ciao for now.

Denied!

It takes me forever to post anyway . . . and then it won't even publish? WTF.

oooh, dang

I just realized it's been a month since I last blogged. I suck!

Why is my blog all FUBAR'd?

All my links and my profile & stuff are at the bottom. When did that happen? Damn you, Google! Everything was fine before you took over!

Your Tax Dollars at Work

So . . .

According to federal law, it's illegal to sell pot. In this state, of course, there was a Proposition passed legalizing medical marijuana -- but federal law controls and therefore it's still illegal. Please tell me how, then, the feds can rationalize TAXING the sales of POT. Why not just shut the places down? You know where they are -- but hey, since they're generating money, Uncle Sam's gotta get his piece!

Sometimes I wonder about this country. I hate taxes. I'm no fan of pot, but I fucking hate tax. Income tax, property tax, sales tax, tax tax. It's bullshit. Other states have one or the other or maybe more than one but no where near the tax we do in California. Don't get me wrong; I like California, but it's expensive to live here and getting more expensive every day. So this whole taxing pot thing annoys me!

KCRA.com

..>..>

..>..>

Officials Tell Medical Marijuana Dealers To Pay Up

POSTED: 12:21 pm PDT April 7, 2007

UPDATED: 12:25 pm PDT April 7, 2007

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The taxman is going after the medical marijuana man.The state Board of Equalization is telling the estimated 150 to 200 medical marijuana retailers in California to pay sales taxes on pot.The 1996 initiative that decriminalized use of marijuana for medical purposes did not address how state tax officials should deal with medical marijuana sales. The sales weren't covered before Proposition 215 because they were illegal.The board ultimately decided that medical marijuana was not exempt from sales taxes because it was not dispensed by a pharmacist or approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a medication.The board's action has divided the medical marijuana community, with some sellers saying it helps legitimize their businesses. But others worry that any tax information they report will be used against them by the federal government, which still bars use of medical marijuana.