For Your Viewing Pleasure...

Long weekend's coming up, so if you have an extra three and a half hours to spare, I suggest watching Das Boot. Seriously one of the best films I've ever seen. Edge-of-your-seat, claustrophobic thriller. Bravo, Wolfgang Petersen.

Merry Christmas!

Grandma (Dad's mom) is flying in from St. Pete on Wednesday evening. I'll see Grandma and Mom on Thursday when I meet them for lunch at Tyson's.

Holiday Rush.

The Chistmukkah party held last Saturday was wonderful! We had roughly 30 people over and successfully messed up the thermostat for the rest of the building! (Too much body heat in the apartment with the thermostat--i.e. mine--makes Darrell and the other neighbors grumpy and cold.) At least they were nice about it.

Highlights:
-Getting a mini living Christmas tree from my Secret Santa at work. My apartment is too small for one (and/or I can't afford one), and the tiny Juniper looks sweet on top of the TV.

-I've finally figured out what my upstairs neighbor watches every morning at an obnoxiously loud level of volume: ESPN. Around 5:30am every day it comes on and wakes me up (I don't have to wake up till about 7am). Granted it's cool that a chick watches early editions and reruns of Sports Center every morning, but c'mon!

-Wednesday night I cooked dinner for Aaron and I (yay cooking!) Chicken, wild rice, and green beans. And I made a dump cake (cherries, pineapple, cakemix, coconut, pecans, butter-- bake at 350 for an hour) for surprise. I still have loads of dump cake left if any one wants to bring a tupperware over!

-Later Wednesday night, Aaron and I ended up going to Pub Quiz with John L. John was at a holiday party which ended up at Four Provinces. We weren't going to meet up at first, since it was the coldest day so far this winter, but after a few grunts and howls and the rhythmic thumping of my upstairs neighbor's bed and/or other furniture (as this time it sounded like it was coming from the living room), Aaron and I decided to drive the 1/8 of a mile to the Pub. We had a fun time-- Although we're peeved that we got the James Joyce question wrong.

-Last night I watched one of my favorites, Chungking Express.

-Ice on the roads this morning was no fun. Beware Kate's Red Jeep. You know, the only Jeep in the world w/o four-wheel drive. And I think I need new tires.

-Work is slowing down before the holidays a bit. But it'll be good to come back after the New Year with loads and loads to do as we have a huge release coming up. Next week we're having two big holiday lunches. One with the whole division (the Colonel's wife is buying us a ham, or hams) and one with just our documentation team! Yay for free food and Secret-Santa/Hanukkah Harry gifts!

-One week until Christmas (and Hanukkah!)! My shopping is done, I just have to do a tiny bit of wrapping and I'm good to go! And baking. I might do some more baking.

-Two weeks until we head up to Massachusetts again! We took December 30th off of work and we're going up to Pittsfield for the long weekend. We had so much fun seeing my cousins and thought this time Aaron and I would spend more than just two days there!

Tonight I think we're going to see King Kong! Aaron just Netflixed (verb?) the Fay Wray version last week. It's one of my favorite old movies. I hope P.J. does it justice.

Heat.

So, I was wondering why my apartment was so cold. Come to find out my front radiator was off. Only took a simple turn of the valve. I think everyone can assume how I feel about that one.

I just finished my movie, the wonderfully campy/horrible Barbarella, now dinner and my book.

I'm broke.

I blame Starbucks and the Human need for instant gratification. Or myself. Or the fact that I finished my Christmukkah shopping in record time instead of spacing it out as usual.

And I miss my cat very much.

To an Old Friend.

Thanks for being our best bud.

Thanksgiving

Look what I made!

Home for the Holidays (In record time)

This morning I was supposed to be at work at 6am. I planned to come in early so I could leave work around 1pm and head out to my parents' house in Warrenton before traffic got obscene (I'm not saying bad since traffic is always bad).

Set the alarm for 4:30am, giving me enough time to get dressed and pack for my Wednesday and Thursday night on the sleeper sofa. I heard the alarm, but made the mistake of turning it off. I rolled over at 5:59am on the dot.

Sprang out of bed, threw on something to wear, grabbed some already folded clothes from the clean laundry basket and shoved them into my messenger bag, popped my contacts in, brushed my teeth, slung my ID badge around my neck, and headed to work.

Locked the door and on my way out realized I forgot my purse. Came back in, grabbed my purse, and drove over to Skyline (where I work). Arrived at my desk at 6:24am. I think it's a new record.

This afternoon I have to bake pies. I've never made a pie before. Cakes, yes. Pies, no. Two pumpkin, a pecan, and an apple pie. Earlier this week I was under the impression that I was only making the pumpkin and pecan pies-- Mom called me and told me she bought apples for my apple pie. My apple pie? Must have missed the memo.

Hiking in PA

Yesterday, BR, Cherie, Aaron, and I went on the Hosac Run 8-mile hike near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It went like this: Up a ridge, down the ridge, switchbacks up the next ridge, hike along the ridgeline, double back a bit, and down the ridge we went up the first time. Like a giant figure-eight.


Aaron and BR.


On top of the ridge.


BR and Cherie.


GORP!


Awww.

The hike was a lot of fun, tricky at times, but a lot of fun. My legs were jelly afterwards, but my knees held up, which was excellent. The view was incredible, but looking and walking simultaneously wasn't an option as the terrain was hard to walk on. The leaves had already fallen, so the trails were covered. It made it a little slippery and you couldn't really see where your feet were going. We made it down the ridge just before the sun set and in enough time to stop by the "mighty arm of Gettysburg," our favorite memorial:


Because it's that cool. It's actually quite random and bizarre. An arm? With a saber? Sticking out? OK, let's do it!

After the hike, we drove into Gettysburg looking for food. BR told us to pick a place, so Aaron chose The Gingerbread Man on Gettysburg's main touristy drag. It looks quite nice on the outside: It's an old building with a large guilded sign over tavern-like windows; the menu is posted outside the paned glass door and it's surprisingly cheap. Well, cheap by Fairfax County standards. We chose non-smoking and were seated in the very crowded front section. The dark panelled walls were covered in framed posters and prints of paintings of the Civil War battle. A large Jesus-like painting of JEB Stuart hung above a family of five with small kids-- an ironic statement, or a proclamation of heroism on behalf of the Union Army as he showed up too late with his cavalry for battle?

There was a table of four seated cozily next to us. Although in modern garb, the two women (the oldest I'm going to guess was maybe 32) still had their hair pulled back in low curly buns held in place by what looked like antique combs. The men were older, in their mid to late fifties; one had the whitest, most frazzled long hair and beard. He was wearing blue jeans and a red and black flannel shirt-- like a Civil War Santa Claus almost. The other reminded me a little of Roman Polanski. He was shorter and I thought he was normal until I saw his shirt: take a seemingly normal, white Oxford shirt and then make the sleeves as full as possible only contained by his very cinched up cuffs. He was a Confederate; his vest was a grey wool. Their conversation consisted of the Battle of Gettysburg, no more, no less, for over an hour.

We parted ways with the Gingerbread Man and all it's Gettysburg history and headed south to Virginia. We were all pooped, and it was time for bed.

Oh, and if it's too cold for Aaron in the car, he'll tell you.

Lazy Wednesday

Tonight I plan on staying in and watching Pulp Fiction as it will be rainy and stormy outside.

I've never seen Pulp Fiction. I hear it's good.

Dangers of the Internet.

Since work's been really slow, I've been spending more and more time poking around the Internet and spending literally hours on Flickr. So much so, that this weekend I had a dream that I was using Flickr and having a cup of coffee and conversation with Jason Kottke. I woke up not only feeling weird, but like a total geek. Aaron didn't know whether to laugh or drive me to therapy.

This weekend was quite eventful (or not). Friday night Aaron and I watched my favorite Sci-fi movie, Forbidden Planet. It's been my favorite since I was maybe 8 years old. It's wonderful and the effects are amazing for 1956. It features a super-young Leslie Nielsen and a babe-a-licious Anne Francis. Forbidden Planet was also the debut of Robby the Robot of Lost in Space fame.

Saturday, we went to Tysons Corner. Aaron and I both needed dress-clothes for work. Clothes are so expensive. But hey, if they want me to dress in business clothing everyday, so be it. Not that I like looking forty. (Disclaimer: There's nothing wrong with being forty, it's just that I'm 22 and wear suits to work almost everyday.) Saturday night we got burgers at Red Robin, I got a new 5.8ghz cordless phone that won't mess up my wireless internet at home, and watched the new SNL.

Sunday I went home to see my family. My cat, Whiskers is going back to the vet; he's lost another pound in the past week. In six weeks he's gone from weighing 14lbs to roughly 7. My parents got him tested and the vet said it was a thyroid problem, but even with the drugs for that and an appetite starter?initiator? he's still not eating. Oh, and 14lbs wasn't fat-- he's a bigger cat and was really muscly. Our other cat, Dizzy is wigging out a bit because she knows something's up with Whisker-doo.

Portrait

Mallory took this picture of me at Burke Lake this weekend.

The Past Week

Wednesday: Maria Full of Grace, dinner with Mallory and Borders.
Thursday: Bike ride to Vienna, Yoga cool-down, read my book.
Friday: First Fridays at Dupont with Aaron, hung out at Carl's house.
Saturday: Home to see Dad, saw Jarhead with Aaron, Theresa, and Jason (who was home from Rochester).
Sunday: Breakfast with Mallory, went to the mall, Burke Lake, The Incredibles, and Firetrucks!
Monday (yesterday): Cooked for Aaron, Keith, and Bill-- Chicken, stuffing, green beans.
Tuesday (today): Voted for Virginia governor, Yoga class, watched Turtles Can Fly.

Yoga.

Last night was my first yoga class at the Sacred Well Yoga Studio (and Healing Center). I was a little nervous about going because I hadn't taken a yoga class since high school, but the minute I stepped into the studio (with shoes off, of course) I felt very comfortable in my surroundings.

There were all types of people there- old, young, slim, and not. We were a hodge-podge group of yoga beginners with all different body types and skill (by skill I mean balance) levels. It was good to know that I wasn't the only one who felt like falling over a couple times! The class was very relaxing; we spent the first 45 minutes doing basic stretches that felt oh so good. Later, I could see how the simple stretches helped me out because I had no problems doing the 'tree' or the 'warrior 1' pose when it came to the end of class. And yes, we all sweated a bit.

I'm definitely looking forward to next week's class. My instructor is so nice and very supportive of all of us in the class and she never hesitated to correct our posture or stance or whatnot (in a nice way, I promise).

Yay for yoga!

Halloween 2005, and other things.

I knew the evening was going to be great when Aaron wore my Minnie Mouse costume for me:


Getting the ears just right.


Isn't he a cute Minnie Mouse?


The gang: Paul, Luke, Curtis, Aaron, Carl, Joseph, and Joey P.


Theresa (the mouse ears got around a lot).


I think I'll still love this picture when I'm 50.


Luke and Justin


Adriane (a vixen), Kate (a beer-runner), Curtis (the "Gobbler"), and Joey (ring-leader of the gray sweatshirt club of which I'm a founding member).


Kate and Theresa (we are each other's Wingmen- or women). Thank you for a wonderful evening, babe.

Around 3am, Justin, Paul and I went over to Denny's for a Moons Over My Hammy feast. It was funny to see the place packed with people in costumes. And at 4am, as usual, the VA state troopers rolled in for breakfast. At four in the morning they can usually enjoy their coffee in peace (I've been there a few times while they're having breakfast), but not this morning! I drove home after I dropped off the boys and crashed till morn.

Saturday, Aaron came over and we played Putt-Putt at Jefferson District Park in Falls Church. I totally beat him! OK, it was by one stroke-- but I got three hole-in-ones in a row (including the three-tier hole 13)! I guess that shows how bad I was playing before the hole-in-ones. That night we watched the new Batman movie and the new SNL with Lance Armstrong. Batman Begins was awesome, I liked it a lot-- much better than all the others. And Christian Bale has grown up a lot since Newsies, I have to say. I've had a crush on him since I was six (OK, so technically nine).

Sunday, I met up with Theresa at Fair City Mall to catch Capote at Cinema Arts. We got there early for some pizza before Bennett and BR showed up. The movie was very well done, the cinematography was great, and everything in it made me want to be part of the literary crowd of the early 1960s. I hope this doesn't make me weird. BR lent me the book, In Cold Blood, as I've never read it. Since Capote claims to have invented the genre of literature of which I want to be a part, I should probably read the book 'that started it all.'

Tonight is Halloween. I plan on cleaning the apartment and handing out Tootsie Pops.

Oh, and I start my Yoga classes tomorrow!

Poetry

Recently, a couple of my friends (Jason and Theresa) have posted poetry. So I thought I would post something I came up with:

i wanted chicken nuggets
so i came home
and made some
in my microwave


Simple, yet profound, I dare say.

The Adventures of Curtis and Joey P.

Working on Curtis' bamboo praying mantis:




See how quickly they turn on each other when the project is due in thirty minutes!


The final project was a success in my book...till someone kicked its head off!

Nintendogs

We love our new puppy. By our new puppy, I mean Aaron's pet corgie he's named Poki. Nintendogs is one of the most popular games produced for the Nintendo DS and I can see why. Even the AARP likes it: http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/gadgets/nintendogs.html. And she named her puppy after me!

I know what I want for Christmas! Now, to choose between the Nintendogs bundle with the teal blue DS or the Mario Kart bundle with the bright red DS....

Plus, you can play two or more player games if your friends have them through a wi-fi connection between systems. Your puppies can play together!

Links for 10/27

I used to collect these, too. Just not to this extreme. I used to have a Clifford the Big Red Dog eraser that I never used. It was my favorite. (via boing-boing)

Interesting site on the state of Copyright in Canada. (via Lessig)

Thank goodness. And the search continues...

Interesting commentary on Condoleeza Rice. (washingtonpost.com)

What is it with Xeni?

Halloween festivities start tomorrow with a party at Carl's house.

Plans Change

It's yucky and cold and I think I'm getting sick, so High Heels will have to wait till next year.

I plan on sweatpants and hot cocoa for the rest of the day.

Othello, Wongs, Space Men, and Heels.

I had never seen or read Shakespeare's Othello, but I have never been more moved by a work of literature. Friday night, Theresa invited Bennett, BR, and I to see Shakespeare Theater's run of Othello featuring Avery Brooks. Theresa's mom is on the faculty there and reserved stand-by seats for us. Although we didn't get to sit together all four of us had the best seats in the house!

After the play got out, we wandered around Chinatown looking for a place to eat. We finally settled on The Big Wong. Walking past the tanks of dead and slightly-living fish may have deterred the faint at heart, but no, we were determined to eat in this subterranean Chinese restaurant. The typical American-Chinese fare was chock-full of MSG goodness, but we were hungry, and it hit the spot.

Saturday, after an unsuccessful run to the Halloween shop at Party City, Carl and I grabbed lunch at HaveaBite in downtown Fairfax. He had never been there before (it's less than half-a-mile from his house, go figure). Afterwards I stopped by Aaron's house and we went to Guitar Center to browse. We made our usual Metallica metal-head jokes before heading in, and I almost died in the middle of the store when, after being there two seconds we hear a salesman with a ponytail say to a couple of guys (also with ponytails, one with baby-stroller) that a certain pedal would give them a good Metallica sound. Oh, the tried-to-contain-it-but-failed laughter!

Aaron tried out a Vox amp with a flying-V that I picked out. It was hard to hear over all the pre-teen and teenage boys rocking out on out-of-tune guitars, but the Vox had a good sound. I picked out a nice light-blue Fender that I want. It will go nicely with the baby-Vox I saw.

When we got home we changed and went to the George Mason field house to use the gym. I used the elliptical for an entire workout and I didn't give up. Yay! Afterwards we watched The Day the Earth Stood Still, one of my favorite films, and the new SNL.

Tuesday I'm going to the 17th Street High Heel Race. It should be tons of fun.

From The Washington Post:

Traditionally held on the Tuesday before Halloween, this annual neighborhood event features elaborately costumed drag queens racing down 17th Street (from Q to Church streets) and attracts a large crowd eager to cheer them on.
The race begins at 9, but the real fun takes place before the main event, as the contestants parade up and down the race course showing off their outfits.
To get a street-side seat at an on-course cafe like JR's or the Fox & Hounds, stake out your spot by 6. (There's plenty of space along the sidewalk, though crowds often block the view.) The informal block party continues long after the last Mary Jane (size 13 EE) crosses the finish line.

Good News!

I've been officially accepted into the Extended Studies program at George Mason, so I can start my grad-program this Spring! Yay for not being bored at work (after January)!!

Aaron Snitzer's Personal Spokesperson

And as such, I'm proud to announce that this past weekend, Aaron completed his first metric century. He rode 100+ kilometers (roughly 66 miles) Saturday afternoon. Way to go!

Mile-marker zero on the Mt. Vernon Trail.


And Aaron is now the proud owner of a Welsh Corgi named Poki. Just last night he taught it to sit, lie down, and shake hands! Yay for a new puppy! I can't wait to play with it!

Cutie Pie.

The Great Candy Debate (among other things).

OK, OK, so no one likes Necco Wafers. Your loss.

Last week I applied to the George Mason Extended Studies program after having coffee with my former professor and Writing Center mentor, Terry Zawacki. If I can take a few classes next term in the non-degree program, I can apply them to the Professional Writing and Editing Master's when I start in the Fall (if I start in the Fall).

Friday I got off work early and didn't want to stick around the apartment. Feeling pretentious, I walked through the park and up the street to our Starbucks and sat with my grande soy latte and read this week's New Yorker. I told myself that this week I would read an entire issue and I'm almost finished! Now I want to collect old old maps and visit the Sydney Opera House.

The past weekend went by lightning-fast. Saturday I spent the day cleaning and getting the apartment together in one way or another (I organized my magazines). I also watched Daniel Day-Lewis' In the Name of the Father whichis an excellent film. I gave it five stars.

Saturday night we celebrated Shane's (insert undisclosed age here) birthday. It was a lot of fun to hang out with John's gang. Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so unlike the 65+ pictures of John's birthday, I have none of Shane's. I stink.

Sunday I woke up early to the pulsating sound of jack-hammers pounding away at the giant hole that was once the old Duck-pin bowling alley. I decided that it would be the perfect time to drive back out to Warrenton (it's becoming a weekly tradition that needs to stop until gas settles down a bit more). I brought my mom's birthday present with me: Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin in Beyond the Sea. It's a great film and I loved every minute of it. Definitely check it out.

Sunday night Aaron and I went to our usual spot for Pho (Viet House on Main Street) and then I headed home to catch some zzz's before work in the morning.

We'll see what this week brings.

And it's officially here!

It's Fall in Virginia! Wet and rainy and cool.

Available now at your local grocery:

Foozer

Monday night, Aaron, Theresa, Bennett, and I attended the Weezer-Foo Fighters' concert at the Patriot Center. The Kaiser Chiefs were their warm-up act.

It was rockin'.



Patriot Center filling up for the sold-out show.


Theresa and Bennett.


Weezer played first.


Kate and Aaron (we look goofy).


And the Foos with their lasers.


We got stuck in traffic after a moment of confusion on my part-- but my intentions were good. We dropped off Bennett and Theresa (in reverse order--actually, Theresa jumped out of the car) and Aaron and I stopped at IHOP for breakfast. The slew of kids that were sitting in front of us at the show were there and being really loud. Maybe they didn't know they were being loud. We were the ones that wore ear-plugs during the show (all four of us did, it was freakin' loud!).

I got home around 2:30 a.m. and crashed. Aaron gave me a wake up call when he left his house for work and another from his office (thank goodness). Made it to work on time and enjoyed the rest of my day (by picking up my dry-cleaning and watching All the President's Men).

This week.

Pants- tailored.
Clothes- dry-cleaned.
Car- registered.
Oil- changed.
2006 Calendar w/address book- bought.
Dress-shirts- ironed.
Dental floss- stocked.
Bike- ridden.
Danny- cultured.

This weekend we went into a soggy Washington to visit the Corcoran.

Note.

What is it with the one-napkin rule at Subway?

Writing, In General.

"In later years, holding forth to an interviewer or to an audience of aging fans at a comic book convention, Sam Clay liked to declare, apropos of his and Joe Kavalier's greatest creation, that back when he was a boy, sealed and hog-tied inside the airtight vessel known as Brooklyn, New York, he had been haunted by dreams of Harry Houdini."

The first line from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.

And I keep thinking to myself: I will never be as good as Michael Chabon. And I have never used the word "apropos".

Biking and Weekend Stuff.

Friday night Theresa and Mary came over for A Very Darcy Evening which turned into a What Not To Wear marathon. It was fun times.

Saturday, Aaron came over and we rode from my place all the way down to the Mount Vernon Trail. We ended up riding past National Airport and back. 34 miles. I did the first ten miles with my new pedals, no problem, but then I fell. I got my right foot out of the pedal fine, but then put my body down on the left side before the foot was actually out of the pedal. Go me. I scraped my elbow and cut the back of my leg and got my first road burn since elementary school. It was actually kind of funny.

Aaron thought it the perfect time to take pictures. A couple stopped to ask if I was all right (they saw that my seat was twisted), and then the girl got something in her eye. It made a pretty funny picture. I've got to work on hills. Hills suck.

Saturday night Aaron and I went over to Carl's house and visited our friend Dan, who I hadn't seen since June. Then Aaron and I went to his house and watched the new Saturday Night Live.

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm watching What A Way To Go with Shirley MacLaine and every other big name in 1964 Hollywood. It was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. It's still fun-- and funny as hell.

Week's almost over!

Last night I joined John, Aaron, and John L. and crew for Pub Quiz at Four P's. We didn't do as well as last time. The mouse from The Green Mile is Mr. Jingles. Damn.

Today was a trip. After work, I headed to Aaron's house for a bike ride. On my way there, he called and asked me to stop by Spokes and pick up a tube, since he got a flat. I had no problem getting to the shop, but getting out of Vienna on Rte. 123 was horrible. Northern Virginia traffic is impossible. I never want to drive again, but it's a necessary evil.

So, back to the tubes. I got the right size, but I didn't get the kind with the extended valves. So, the tubes go back tomorrow and our ride waits for Saturday. And I'm kinda scared to use my new pedals. Baby steps.

I know it's CNN, but...

Giant Squid are freakin' awesome.

This is the coolest pic out of those available: (from National Geographic)



And this is an interesting article on hybrid vehicles.

Vs.




Note: My friend Travis drives a 1981 Volkswagon Jetta with a Diesel engine and gets 50 miles per gallon. Still.

New Gear.

Specialized Comp Carbon Road shoes.



Keo Pedals


So, I guess now I'm legit. Thank God-- my toe-clips were driving me bonkers! Aaron and I are taking our bikes out Saturday morning (on the Mt. Vernon trail, finally). And if you see me in a cast of some-sort, you know what happened. Fair warning.

Stuff.

Anti-drug film strip from back-in-the-day. There's no soundtrack, but strangely you can hear the "boop" when scrolling through each frame. No, I'm not crazy. (boing-boing)

Here we go again. I can say I never learned about evolution in high school or middle school. Still don't know too much about it except for what I've learned through a couple of NOVA specials here and there (I loved NOVA) and from reading Inherit the Wind (which I got in trouble for since I was reading it at school). Although I did learn that the Native Americans were indeed some of the lost tribes of Israel. And no, I'm not kidding.

This is gross. All I did was google Virginia DMV and clicked images. To each his/her own, I guess.

And this is just crazy. Here's the X-ray.

A Very Darcy Evening will be held this weekend chez moi. Should be fun times.

Home, Aaron, and Work.

Dad left for Wisconsin on Saturday, he'll be there for a month. He's driving out there so that he has an available vehicle. He got to Madison yesterday.

I went home Friday and stayed until Saturday evening (to see Dad and hang out with Danny-- James was doing HS band stuff all weekend). Notes from this trip:

1. Don't watch The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. Although I love the Muppets (as Fozzy Bear (wakka wakka wakka) is my favorite), watching a semi-hip-hop The Wiz meets The Muppets Take Manhattan with my parents seemed a little strange-- separately, The Wiz and The Muppets Take Manhattan are great, together not so much. David Allen Grier was really funny (to whom my parents said, "Oh look, it's the guy from Jumanji!"). AND since this is one of their first post-Disney buy-out movies, there are tons of Disney references (which is no good in Muppet-land).

2. Don't buy motor oil and filter and then not change your oil while at a location at which you can comfortably change and dispose of the oil and filter (i.e. home). Now I have seven quarts of Penzoil 10W30 and a filter sitting in my kitchen in a location at which I can't change my oil (i.e. my apartment). If anyone has a garage or safe drive way I can borrow, let me know.

3. If you see your sixteen-year old brother crash on the couch after waking up at 11:30 on a Saturday morning, then it's the best time to run and jump and sit on him and give him a super-noogy (spelling?) because he won't react at all. And Danny's getting rid of the Mohawk. He wants to get a job at the golf course. It will be a sad, sad day.

4. (Last one.) Sometimes getting Outback Take-Away is a better deal than waiting an hour for a table because you can get the food in almost half the time.

Aaron starts his new job as a Documentation Specialist at CSC today. Wish him luck! He'll still work at Spokes on the Saturdays that they need him, which should be fun for him.

And I really like my job, now that I think of it. Not because some days there's work to do and others there isn't, but because I can wake up at 7:30 am and still make it to work by 8. Totally rockin'.

Look Kids!

This is the #10 top-selling book on Amazon.com.

For the children, of course. Because you're never too young to learn prejudice!

Update

Updated my sidebars. My "underlines" are (or should be) all in order.

Also added my resume and fixed a couple of my links including OrdinaryCycles.com.

Coffee

I am one of the millions of coffee-drinkers in the world. And no, I'm not proud of it.

From Wikipedia:
Coffee as a drink, usually served hot, is prepared from the roasted seeds (beans) of the coffee plant. Due to its popularity, coffee is the second largest traded commodity in terms of dollar value in the world (after oil). It is one of mankind's chief sources of the stimulant caffeine. Because of this, coffee's nutritional benefits are disputed, sometimes labeled a cure-all, other times labeled a health hazard (see caffeinism).

There is absolutely no nutritional value to coffee. That's why there are no nutrition labels on coffee cans. The only value is added when I drop in my one sugar cube (1/2 tsp.) and a dollop of 1% or 2% milk (depends on whether I bought it at Safeway or Giant). My coffee is a nice beige, like a toffee-brown color and still bitter since the single sugar cube doesn't quite add any sweetening power (although I like to think it does). My coffee seems to be right in the middle, like my taste is an equal blend of my parents':

My mother: Three parts coffee, one part evaporated milk, and two heaping spoonfuls of sugar; a creamy color.

My dad: Coffee, black. But with one- third of a packet of Sweet-N-Low.

I drink coffee five days a week; one cup every weekday morning at work. I don't drink it on the weekends for fear of becoming hooked--which may be happening anyway since it's become a part of my work-routine. But here's my dilemma: I can't for the life of me make a good cup of coffee. I use a four-cup coffee maker at work (Mr. Coffee, clock, automatic shut-off in a sleek black color) and I can't get the ratio of coffee-grounds to water just right. It always ends up too dark, too thick--no matter how little grounds I put in the top. McDonald's makes a better cup of coffee than I do.

But I drink it anyway. Thinking that somehow, my hot, semi-drinkable pick-me-up in its red mug will help my day go by. And somehow it does.

Links for 9/20

Lawrence Lessig's new book, Code V.2, is a Wiki that you can contribute to and help edit. (Thanks, Aaron.)

Men's Vogue premeired this month. Yes, another publication from Conde Nast, but will this compete against their other men's mag, GQ (of which I, a woman, have a subscription)? I don't think so. GQ: For men in their 30s and 40s who want to be in their middle-late twenties again, for men who like nice suits but can't afford them, and for people like me that enjoy reading more than shopping lists of items to buy.

John and Shane hosted a GREAT party on Saturday night. Photos can be found here. Happy birthday, John!

I missed work yesterday because I had an allergy attack after visiting the zoo. I'm allergic to monkeys, I think.

I also missed Sunday night's Candid Yak because I thought it started at 6pm. Either Fall for the Book keeps changing their schedule or I can't read time correctly. I think it's the latter.

I have 319 films on my Netflix que. Will I ever get through them?

My friend B.R. has a web-log now.

I've learned how to knit. Winter's coming up.

If anyone wants to join me for a ride on the Mount Vernon Trail this weekend, let me know.

Links.

One of my photos was used at alternet.org.

Saw Steve Amick at Fall for the Book. Hopefully will return tomorrow for a Candid Yak session.


If I make it from the National Zoo in time. Going with my family.

Trying to decide between getting am MBA in Information Systems or going for my MFA in nonfiction. I don't think I want to do the computer stuff that started out as a hobby for me as a career. I'd like to keep it as a hobby. Like this.

Almost finished Seabiscuit, but I left it at work.

Speech

President Bush gave a speech tonight about the state of the Gulf Coast. Two weeks after the hurricane, but I guess better late than never.



I hope people can get home soon. They said that they are opening up the city and businesses in the French Quarter should open up by the end of the month. Cafe du Monde will be serving beignets soon enough. But will the tourists come?

I just hope the kids will be OK.

Bored.

I got bored, so I took some random pictures. There are more on my Flickr.

Experiment

I'm playing around with code, so bear with me while the site changes.

Old School?

I took this from one of Aaron's first posts ever. If only he would have told me...


Monday, March 10, 2003

Posted 6:57 PM by Aaron
I don't like weblogs. I just think that it is cool to be able to post things to the web so simply. Weblogs are still a bit tricky to setup. This filters out some people and leaves the ones with a lean toward geekyness. Posting makes me feel silly.

Fun at the Boys' House

Friday, I went to Carl(and Joey and Joe Hogan and Curtis and Kian and Justin)'s house.

Kate, Carl, and Joe Hogan

Curtis and Carl


My Ode to Curtis...