Kobe Special

Saturday night we went out to dinner with the Cross' and the Lopez's to celebrate the birthdays of Jeff, George and myself. I had the Kobe Special. Normally, that is a tasty cocktail they serve. That night, it was a whole different story. If you've been there, you know they have a large Koi pond out front, with a bridge leading to the front door. You may know where I'm going with this by now. After dinner on our way out to continue our party at the casino, I walked over the bridge, and ate shit. Not only did I fall, I fell INTO the Koi pond. All the way. Holding my purse, containing my BlackBerry. Yes, it's true. Yes, that was me.

The valet told us it has only happened to about 6 other people before. OK people, Kobe has been there literally forever - well 20-something years. I find that hard to believe I am one of only 7. I'm not even clumsy! I'm having a hard time writing this out because I'm still laughing at myself.

After Mike helped me out he and Maria immediately start snapping pictures of me with their camera phones( damn those things) I put my hair up in a clip and Stacey whisked me off to Mervyn's to get a new dress, and we showed up at the casino looking brand new. Her car seat was a little wet, but oh well.

Now onto my victory - the BlackBerry. It was ruined. But I remembered over the summer when Chase ruined his Razr on the boat that I read on the internet about recovering water damaged phone. I disassembled the phone and left the parts in my purse. When I got home I set it on top of the cable box, and left it there to dehydrate. The low heat is enough to gently dry out the phone without burning it. After 24 hours I tested it, but the display was still soggy. I removed the battery and left it to sit another 12 hours. This morning I put the battery in and boot it up. Amazingly, it works fine! No data loss (it was backed up on my computer anyway), no display issues, nothing. The warranty is void because the water damage indicator is red now, but it's in perfect working order. Had Chase not ruined that Razr, I wouldn't have know what to do. A sacrifice of sorts, but I can get a Razr a lot cheaper than a BlackBerry!

I can't wait to go back to Kobe. Hopefully they'll serve me up a Kobe Special - the cocktail this time - on the house.

HB to ME!

I got the cutest voicemail from the Cross family today wishing me a happy birthday, at 7:59 am, no less. I thought Maria was on crack for giving me such a wakeup call until I realized she was dropping Austin off at school. Much to my surprise the two of them plus little Skye sang (quite well I might add) a happy birthday tune to me. Then each one chimed in on their own to say happy birthday. It was all so adorable I saved the voicemail so I could listen to it later on today when I had road-rage or something. I can't wait till next year to get my birthday voicemail from the Cross'. I think it was better than the monitor (with integrated speakers and ipod dock) my parents got me or the ipod I made Mike buy me a couple months ago as an early present. I know it was better than a couple years ago when Chase called me like a week early to wish me HB, and it was certainly better than yesterday when my boss/Dad said HB to me from his desk. When I responded "it's tomorrow" he said wryly "what if I forget it tomorrow?".

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was kind of a monumental event for me. I think I grew up, er something. I say this because I made the Thanksgiving turkey. Actually, it was two turkeys. I made other stuffs, too. This is not something I do. I can't remember the last thing I cooked, seriously. The fact that my husband and my mother trusted me with this task blows me away. The fact that it came out really good blows me away even more. I should have made someone take my picture with my achievments - for proof. I feel like I was just accepted into some sort of exclusive club. I want like some sort of badge or something. A pin. Maybe a patch like the Boy Scouts get. Something, come on people, this was a big deal!

Palm Treo 680 Officially (and 710 Unofficially )Announced

Palm announced (finally) the future release of the new Palm Treo 680. Basically, a different looking Treo 650. No announcement on when this will go on-sale. Really no 'news' per se.

I called a local Cingular store to ask if they knew the on-sale date. The girl there was pretty cool (read: knowledgeable), but said they haven't been notified of an on-sale date. She did however confirm the future release of the Palm Treo 710p and 710w (Palm and Windows OS, respectively), which are AKA the Cingular GSM versions of the 700p & 700w. The 710's are what I'm excited about. Curiously, she also stated the 710 won't have an antenna (as the 680, but also 750v doesn't). There has been a lot of speculation and confusion about what actual GSM versions of the 700 series will be released (710, 750, etc).

The difference in the model is price points - 680's are geared more towards the general public, 710's are for gadget nerds who like cool stuff, but that's my personal opinion, and I'm a gadget nerd.

I don't know why more people aren't using qwerty phones. My plan is to get myself a 710p, and get my husband the 680. I'm going to try to force him to love it as much as I love my 650 and my Blackberry 8700c, but I think his thumbs are too big to type on it. Plus he's SO low-tech, he's really considered no-tech. The fact he can ditch his ipod and carry one device should entice him.

Anyway, a 650, Blackberry 8700c, and a Razr will soon be listed on eBay in favor of a set of the new GSM Treo's. Can't wait.

Palm site 680 link

Palm site 700p link

Treonauts 750v article

Treo 750v (Vodafone) link

Chase is Legal!

Congrats Chasey-boy for passing your driving test today! You're 18, have a full-time job, a Drivers License, and are starting college in January. What is there left for me to bitch at you about? Oh well there's always your bathroom...keep it clean!

3 Teeth for the Virgin Mary

Last night I watched Miami Ink. There was a woman getting a tattoo on her boob of her beloved grilled cheese sandwich that "depicted" the Virgin Mary in the char marks - supposedly. It looked like Joan Crawford to me. I guess she sold the toast for $28k and was so torn about letting it go she wanted to have it inked on her booby forever.

This woman has 3 teeth. I 'm not surprised. In the story, she states she was making the grilled cheese as she does every morning - for breakfast. She eats grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast every morning.

Why is it always the Virgin Mary that shows up on random foods? Just because that sandwich looks like a woman doesn't mean its her. I mean it could be Brittany Spears - a grilled cheese sandwich is SO something Brittany Spears would show up on.

Chris Cornell vs. John Locke

The new Audioslave record Revelations came out today. All I can say is - it's good - it sounds just like them!

I bought it for $10 from Best Buy online, and took advantage of their in-store pick up. Convenient. I don't like waiting in lines, looking all around a big-box store for what I want, or buying things I didn't intend to. This takes care of all that, plus the new Best Buy in La Quinta is soooo much closer than going to the Record Alley in PD. I feel as tho I've abandoned the Record Alley - I've been buying music there since it opened over 20 years ago!

The season 2 DVD's of LOST also came out today. I watched the whole Season 1 on DVD earlier this summer in like 8 days. I convinced my husband to watch them, too. While I was watching disc 3 in the bedroom, he started on disc 1 in the living room. We were both obsessed. The guy at BlockBuster even made fun of us (It's OK - because I think we've made fun of every BlockBuster employee we've met there. They hire some...uhhh...interesting people). I knew I was going to like that show, I just never had time to watch it. If I could have taken today off to watch a LOST marathon, I SO would have.

I have heard maybe Season 2 is not living up to the the first, but we'll see. Watching a show like this on DVD with no commercials and no time limits between episodes brings the intesity level way up. It was like watching a movie rather than a TV show. When Season 3 debuts on TV in October and I have to wait a week in between episodes - I'm sure it's not going to be the same.

In other media news :) Dane Cook's HBO special debuted last night. I really didn't find it that funny. I actually love him, so I was disappointed. Maybe he's more college-humory and I'm too old for it. Most of the things that made me laugh I had already heard on his CD's. Disappointed, but I still love him (even tho he stole the BK Lounge deal from De La Soul).

Plug One Style

This weekend while taking Jessie school shopping in some random Pacific Sunwear-esque shop I started groovin right in the store much to the amazement of the Jessa. I couldn't help it - Me, Myself, and I from De La Soul started to play and I was swept back to my 8th grade year (more proof that I'm old: talk about things coming back around again - we were buying her plaid bermuda shorts, which I also wore in 8th grade). Had to download it today because although I do have the record, its on cassette! Dude, that was almost 20 years ago. Definitely going to take that song on the lake this weekend. That and The Dead Milkmen's Punk Rock Girl from the same era.

Perception vs. Attitude

My new moto is "Wish I Were Here". As in the old travel postcard cliche "Wish You Were Here". This is my reminder to BE where you're at, IN the moment, and love IT & YOURSELF. I'm SO SICK of people complaining about lives... their circumstances, finances, weight, possessions, beauty and lack thereof, etc etc. I frickin love my life. Of course I can find things to complain about, but then I just quit looking for them. Amazing how that works. Quit looking for things to complain about!

I'm not saying this because I'm at a point in my life where I've attained the things I wanted for myself. I remember feeling like this in our first house - all old, no grass, sitting outside drinkin a beer, not much money in the bank. I was still the same person then. Now I have a pool. Big deal. Things are more comfortable now, but I rocked then, and I rock now.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't always be motivated to better your self or your life. What I am saying is: have the sense of self that reminds you that you're THE BOMB. Who wouldn't want to be you? Next time you put on a bikini or boardshorts, feel good in them. Next time you have a scrap with family or a buddy, remind yourself how lucky you are to have that person to fight with. If you quit wasting time pining over what others have, it'll probably come true for you. If you're not cool with youself, how can anyone else be?

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Chasey-boy Forever

Happy Birthday to Chase,
Happy Birthday to Chaaase,
Happy Birthday dear Chasey-MAN,
Happy Birthday to Chase!

"It's the Fuel Filter"

Odd trip to the Lake last weekend...nothing about it was the usual. First of all I went without the husband. He had to work Saturday and was going to come out and meet us on the water if he got off early enough (which he didn't). We stopped at the grocery store and came out to a flat tire on the boat trailer. Great time to find out you don't have the right size lug wrench, huh? Luckily there was an Ace Hardware in the same center so I ran over and bought a star, and G changed out the tire pretty quickly. At this point everyone was desperate to get on the water just to cool off.

We got out so late that Windsor was already closed, so we had to launch at Site 6. Since Mike wasn't there to launch the boat George did it and Stacey parked the trailer (after 4 tries, she admitted). While she was parking it we noticed the boat started running a bit rough, and getting progressivly worse. So we docked at the marina and started checkin it out.

After G couldn't get it started again, I said "It's the fuel filter", and he promptly ignored me. He called his service dept, who told us its prolly vapor lock. It wanted to started to bad, but just wasn't. At this point we are realizing we can't get the boat of the water ourselves, so we're kinda screwed. They had him try some different stuff, and nothing worked. Again, I say "It's the fuel filter." G acknowledges my statement this time, but says "Dude, I don't even know if this HAS a fuel filter". An hour and a half into it, we decide to call Tow Assist, who will come walk the boat off the lake for a mere $175 per hour. Immediately after hanging up with them George finds the boats fuel filter. "Here's your fuel filter, Mandy"... and pulls it off..."clean as a whistle, hah". While putting it back on he realizes how loose the fitting was before. I think everyone leaned forward with anticipation as he finshed securing it and went to try the motor. VrrrrOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM. Yeah, it started just fine. It was the fuel filter.

I got my props, everyone cracked a beer to celebrate, and we were off. George called the service dept to let them know we were OK, but gave me NO credit (typical man).

The water was more awesome than ever after that no-go threat. Later we headed over to Sandbar and met some really cool new people. It got late and we tried to all go to dinner together but hit ANOTHER crazy monsoon (the second we've hit this year there) that thankfully didn't last too long, and just went to the Channel to chill instead. Hopefully we'll meet up with them again - they were great. We ended up dancing on the boat until 10pm. I might add a line about them in the "It's the fuel filter" verse of my famous/infamous Havasu-song.

Mid-life Crisis?

I think I'm having a mid-life crisis. Jesus-God, I'm only 30. I decided I might be having one while I was talking to Noah about the nose ring I just bought myself. I pierced my nose when I was 16 (cuz I was bad-ass...LMAO). Although it's the norm now, back then I'm pretty sure I was the only Junior with 2 tattoos and a nose ring. Anyway, I haven't worn it since I was like 18-19. Lately I keep seeing chicks with diamond studs in their nose and I think its cute. Maybe I'm just looking for another place on my body to put a diamond, but after a few months of mental-debating about it, I bought it. It just arrived today. Haven't told the husband. He'll hate it, ha! He'll see it in about an hour when we go pick up his new truck at the dealer. That should be amusing. My dad just saw it and said my son is rubbing off on me. Seee it IS an age-crisis thing!

Question

Question: Why do we refer to shorts or pants as a "pair" when it is just one garment? We don't refer to sweaters as a pair of sleeves???

Cunning Sock Integer

OK people I just received proof of my ESP. Saturday afternoon while I was doing all kinds of little decor things around my house suddenly a work-related issue popped into my head. I remembered many, many months ago I filed a claim in the Visa/Mastermoney class action suit, and we were awaiting a check. It's a small check so it's not even something I've been concerned about or following.

I don't know if my dad is waiting for something from Ed McMahon or he just has no life, but he's a freak and comes to the office every weekend to check the mail. Today when I got to work I found out the check from the settlement came on Saturday. The same day it popped into my head! I just looked up when I filed our claim, and it was September of 2005. That's 10 months ago people. I don't think I've thought about this issue since filing that claim. That's some spooky ass shit. Not really, but its a weird feeling. Normally my ESP is reserved for knowing what little scandelous things our teens are doing away from home or ensuring my sister in law and my outfits coordinate ALWAYS. No, not on purpose, (gawd no) but it never fails - we always do.

Miss No Booty

It's 3:03 pm. I've had 3.5 hours sleep in the last 33 hours. Whoa spooky...that's a lot of 3's! I didn't really even get to go to bed last night really, it was more like a nap. The husband's car is in the shop so I had to take him to work at the ungodly hour of 5am. It was frickin dark (I wore sunglasses anyway - cuz I'm Corey Hart). Driving woke me up too much to fall back asleep, so I stayed up. I could have come to work hella early and already been outta here, but I just screwed around the house instead and came in at 10. I think it was about 10:02 when I realized how tired I really was, and started looking around the office (to no avail) for toothpicks to prop up the ol' eyelids with. So of course "Murphy" shows up if ya know what I mean. I had to review our Profit and Loss statements for errors before the final printing. Teeny, tiny, black numerals over and over and over. Pretty much the most tedious eye-straining activity one can do for 4 hours solid before going numb. Then random sleep-deprived thoughts started popping up in my head. I want a table saw for Christmas. Chase's room smells. That man at the bank yesterday complimented my camo-skirt. I still want to touch that snake we saw at the Havasu house. What happened to Balki & Cha Cha? Hrmph. Well, despite my low battery - I predict I still won't go to bed earlier than 1am. At that point I'll have had 3.5 hrs sleep in the last 43 hours. Freak.

Independance Day

4th of July pool party at my nephew's house.

Windfall

Recently I watched all 12 episodes of Big Love on In-Demand HBO. I watched all 12 hours over like 4 days. I don't know that it's even that good, I just had to finish the season because I started it. Anyway, if you aren't already aware, its about a polygamist family. The dude has 3 wives, and therefore a zillion kids. He bought the two houses next to him on his street and took down the fences so they have like a communal backyard.

This got me thinking. I have decided if I ever win the lottery, I am going to buy the house directly behind us and take down the fence. We'd have a huge killer backyard which we hang out in all weekend, but more importantly - Mike could live in it. He could even get a dog, I don't care. He can have his shoes and socks everywhere in his own house, not mine. No more salty coffee table. No more lemon slices left on the chopping block. No more clothes on the bedroom floor. Me and Kitty XL will live in our current house - and it'll be spotless. We can play music as loud as we want at all hours of the night. No one will spin my globe and leave it showing South America instead of Africa. No one will break my glasswear, or touch the walls with dirty hands. It'll be a musuem of Mandy muaah haha. OMG I just thought of something...more closet space! See, the more I fantasize about it the better it gets. Oh see another one - no more fighting about the A/C temp setting.

It's not that I want to completely get rid of him. We'd still have dinner together and stuff, but then we go home to our own spaces. He can go to sleep at 9, me at 1, and I won't wake him up. He can sleep over on weekends. Another benefit - our neighbors don't have a pool so we can convert their yard into a putting green. As it is now we just chip golf balls into the jacuzzi from the opposite end of the pool. Put in a killer outdoor kitchen, too. You see? This is a must-do. Oh, but when people get out of the pool to use the restroom, they have to go in Mike's house so they don't drip water and wreck-up my wood floors. Ooh, I can't wait.

Oh Chasey-boy

At this moment, both the kids are on a plane to Montana - alone. No kids for 2 weeks - woo hoo LOL. I gave Chase a talk about looking out for Jessie because she's only 14, and I know he would anyway. I also gave her her cell phone back for sercurity purposes - even tho it's going right back in the drawer when she gets home. But just when I think Chase is *really* maturing and gettin it together, he goes and loses his wallet 3 hours before he's getting on the plane. He thought it was in his friends car, but turns out he has no idea where it is. I have a feeling it might be in his suitcase and couldn't see it because everything he owns is black, but I had to cancel his bankcard anyway. He's DAMN lucky that he's still a minor. If this was 3 weeks from now, he'd be 18 and you know he ain't gettin on a plane without ID.

My Sunburn Don't Lie

That was an awesome trip to Lake Havasu with the Lopez and Cross families. I've go the sunburn, bruises and cuts to prove it. I knew it was going to be a good trip on Friday when we started off making the trip in record time of 2 and a half hours, instead of the usual 3. I remember that night promising the boys us girls wouldn't stay up past midnight - but we called it a night a 1:30, and still were out on the lake by 10. I think that might have been a record, too.

We stayed out ALL day. I only remember re-applying sunscreen a couple of times the whole day. Normally I always have my cowboy hat on, but this time I didn't use it. No hat and 10+ hours in the sun create a bright shade of red on ones shoulders. My nephew tried many a times to get up on his ski, but just couldn't quite get his buns up. He wasn't very happy about that, and to make it worse for him, Austin was up no problem. He got a little miffed at me for rooting for Austi, which was kinda cute.

We pulled off the lake at 8:30 because it was getting dark. After showering and barbequing for a few hours, everyone went to bed. But Stacey and I stayed up to clean the entire boat. We were cracking each other up and singing to Ozzy the whole time. She did the inside, I did the outside - all 24' of it. Normally this is solely George's job. He was impressed, but I could tell a little worried that we may have done something we weren't supposed to. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were saying "aye, what did these broads do!". We bumped our heads on the garage ceiling and few times and I sprayed myself in the eye with the boat cleaner, but turns out we did a good job on the actual cleaning, and didn't ruin anything.

Didn't matter anyway - we were going right back out on the lake the next day. We all intended on going home that evening, but ended up staying out all day Sunday, too. Nik got right up on his ski. George taught me how to drive the boat. We kinda got stuck in a monsoon when we docked at The Channel to get the kids air-brushed tattoos. We saw some people we knew there and made the best of getting stuck. We actually just by-chance docked next to the same boat we docked next to at Sandbar two weeks earlier. Such a huge lake, what are the chances?

We cleaned up and left for home Monday morning, and I went straight to work. My shoulders are on fire, I kicked a boulder in the lake and cut the top of one foot, cut my other foot when I stepped on something on the shore jumping off the boat to get the Cross' car for them, got boat cleaner in my eye...all that and I think the thing that hurts the most is my cheeks...from cracking ourselves up for 72 hours. Can't wait till next time. Havasu weekends are the dictionary definition of "good times".

Chase's Graduation

June 8, 2006

The event: Very hot - somewhat miserable, and not organized
The Kid: eyeliner smudged, glad to be outta there
The Stepmom: very proud, a little teary eyed

Qwerty phones

The Motorola Q has finally been released yesterday. Verizon is selling it exclusively for 6 months. Verizon also has the same 6-month exclusive with the Treo 700w. They now have released a Treo 700p (which has the Palm OS, as opposed to the 700w OS = Windows).

How wonderful for Verizon customers and other CDMA carriers. I'm still sitting here under Cingular contract with a non-camera/mp3 Blackberry, and a crappy Treo 650. If the Treo had any stability, I'd be all about it. If the Blackberry had a camera and an expansion slot, I'd never carry anything else! I've been hoping the Q would be the Treo-berry I've been yearning for (it's actually sorta cheezy-looking).

Hopefully the GSM Treo 700 will be released next month so I can try it out. The thing is, I gotta use it for a while to ultimately make a judgement on the usability. That would be qwerty phone purchase #3. I have a funny little feeling I'll be buying the GSM Q when it debuts in 6+ months. And I complain about the husband and his golf club purchases.

Your Mom Goes to College

I'm taking my last final of the semester in a few minutes. I'm like jittery and I think it's funny. I only have to get 45 of the 100 questions correct to maintain an A for the semester. Plus, it's multiple choice. So, wtf am I worried about? Those tests always make me nervous because they are timed and I get all tense and scared the power is going to go out and I'll get an F. Although the final IS comprehensive of the whole semester, so we'll see how much I remember from day one:)

Soooooooo looks like I got A's in all 3 classes this semester. It was fun, hard, and easy all at the same time. Sometimes it sucked, and I was up til 3am on weekdays. Now that I have my final grades it feels totally worth it.

In the Fall I'm taking just 2 classes, Java Script/Web Publishing II, and Excel. Hopefully 2 instead of 3 classes will cut down on the stress-level. I actually can't wait!

Crazy Cat Lady Bit Again

I have not blogged because it's just too taxing. The past few weeks have been beyond hectic. I've spent zero time with my husband in two weeks. I've had computers going down (yes, plural). I've had a massive class workload, including final projects and tests. Of course I scheduled time in there to party, too, but I literally almost had a nervous breakdown last Thursday out of frustration. The next day when I got word of earning an A in my Web Design class I was renewed. I proceeded to go home that evening and get myself in the middle of a cat fight - received some nice puncture wounds. I lost my Spys at the immediate care center the next day. It seems like I've got 7,000 projects going on at once. If I can just get through this last week of school and catch up at work by the end of the month, I've got a week vacation coming up. I'm going to get myself caught up at home, cry at Chase's graduation, then hit the LAKE.

Cinco de Maria

A) Happy Cinco de Maria (you know who you are...as if that wasn't a giant hint)
B) The tip of my left middle finger is slightly misshapen from repeatedly alt-tabbing in Windows for the last 13 years
C) I'd like to go to OzzFest this summer to see System of a Down & Disturbed, but truth be told...I'm too old (again...still).

Yes, I'm a Nerd

This has been a trying month for me, but it has now transmogrified into the best month ever. I now have the elusive Alabama state quarter from 2003. I've had dreams about this quarter. It came out the first part of 2003, ('03 had the lowest circulation of quarters since the program began) but until now I've been unable to get my hands on it in a natural manner. Yes, I could have bought it off eBay, or had one of the restaurant managers be on the look out for it, but that's not fair. So far the 5 state quarters that have come out every year since 1999 I have collected simply by having them fall into my hand as change.
Yes, these quarters I collect aren't the cool uncirculated ones. I must really enjoy the 1.3 seconds of anticipation while turning over George to find out what piece of the collection might be filled next. Other than that, I have no idea why I've been collecting these for the last 7.5 years. At face value the whole 50-state set will be worth a whopping $12.50. Nonetheless, I track my progress in a spreadsheet. I even sync'd the
spreadsheet to my nerd-machine for quick fact-checking on the go. I keep my collected quarters in a special velvet-lined jewelry box made from silver. I even keep them in a secure off-site location (uh, my office) so one of the kids doesn't accidentally use them for lunch money. I've got 2.5 years until the Hawaii quarter falls into my hands completing the 50-state collection while simultaneously marking a decade of my life gone by. What will I have to show for that decade of coin dedication? Again, $12.50.

I invested in a mule

Instead of buying quads for next Glamis season, we decided we'd like to get one of those Kawasaki Mule's (basically a 4x4 golf cart). They are fun, and after Mike's injury last Glamis visit last weekend, he feels it'll be a little more safe for him. Well, we just bought one, it's an Amana 5 ton 13 SEER. I know, you're thinking that sounds like specs for an air conditioner. You're right. We just spent $6500 on replacing the aging a/c in our house. Not 4 years ago we replaced the a/c in our old house, too. That one was called my $5k roof-mounted engagement ring. I hate spending money on replacing things I already have. I want new stuff! When I think about it longer than 5 seconds, that makes me feel very bratty and superficial. I'm sure I'll feel differently next month when I'm in my 72-degree living room opening my electricity bill that is only $220 (instead of $420). I think I'll snap a pic of myself in front of my mule tonight.

Educated Horses

This is the weirdest thing...a local radio station here 97.7 has been playing the same song (Pink "Get This Party Started) over and over (and over again) for at least the last 24 hours. WTF? How this could go on this long, I have no idea. I find myself checking every few hours to see if its still on, and sometimes I listen to it just for amusement. Maybe even weirder than Perpetual-Pink is that this station doesn't even play that song in its normal rotation. It's a pro-new wave 80's station. Another mystery to ponder instead of working.

That's Levitation, Holmes

Boo Hoo's:

• My mom was in the hospital for 10 days
• I had to take the adorable "stow-away" stray kitty to the shelter
• Luc Robitaille announcing his retirement from hockey in 4 minutes
  
• The C: drive in one of the restaurants went bad

Woo Hoo's:

• My mom does NOT have cancer
• I earned perfect scores in 2 of my classes last week
• I earned a 98% in the 3rd class
• It's spring - the desert is beautiful

I'm Intercontinental when I eat French toast

I've been carrying around 2 nerd machines lately. I ordered a Treo 650 to test it out in comparison to my Blackberry (I got the 650 because the 700 is only available in CDMA as of yet). I'm not unhappy with the BB, I just really needed (k, wanted) the camera/mp3/expandable storage features of the Treo. Oh and its touch-screen like my old Ericsson nerd-machine. Anyway, I guess I'm a sell-out :(

So I've been using the Treo for a little while now, and just as I suspected...I prefer my Blackberry. These two machines are clearly created for different people. I like the bells and whistles of the Treo, but its just not as solid as the BB. If only they had made a Treoberry.

Why aren't qwerty phones more popular? When the hell is the Motorola Q coming out? Or the GSM Treo 700, for that matter. Do other people not have an information addiction like I? I could NOT LIVE without Outlook. Having that info sync'd between home, work, and in my purse has made me gone mad with power (secretly).

I wonder if all these opposable thumb gadgets like these qwerty phones, PSP, Gizmondo, etc. are going to create a new human adaptation with weird-wiggy thumbs due to all the thumb-typing. Oh, if you were wondering...yes, just like I type with using only one hand on a desktop computer, I type one-thumb on the nerd machines. I guess only one of my thumbs will morph into the weird-wiggy thumb.

NEED. COFFEE. NOW.

I've been up since 4am. It's not been fun. My eyes are so heavy, I feel like I have double eyelids...bunk-lids. Luckily the laptop and Kitty XL accompanied me in the guest room for 4 hours of computing in bed. I like that room. It's cute, and I never get to use it.

At least I accomplished something. I got a jump start on my PowerPoint class that starts today, which is at double-speed of regular classes. It's a full semester class jammed into just 2-months. Suddenly I'm feeling very anxious about my ability to deal - my 2 other classes and this super-duper class, its like taking FOUR classes. Insane. Insane in the membrane. No more midnight decorating for this chica.

The scary thing about working after getting zero sleep is that I'm literally dealing with many hundreds of thousands of dollars while in a moderate (but escalating) state of fogginess. Plus, Balki & Cha Cha aren't here today :(

Uncharacteristic Bimbo-girl Moment :(

I wrecked-up my car today. Less than 17k mi and it's already got battle scars. I may drive like a bat outta hell, but I'm always very safe and defensive, and definitely don't do some of the crazy/illegal $hit the husband does, Mr. Class A Drivers License.

I've never been in an accident. At 16 and idiot hit me in a parking lot and busted my tail-light. When I was 25 I was the idiot and tapped a truck in front of me - luckily it was so light nothing happened except it ripped my front license plate frame from the mounts on my Jeep. I had wanted to take it off for months (which is illegal in CA) so I was kinda happy.


So today after my mani/pedi as I was pulling out of my parking spot (no longer looking behind myself) and some dude jammed by me causing my driver-side rear bumper to rip off his whole rear-bumper fascia. I heard the noise and STILL didn't realize there was a car there - I thought I ran over something. It was another smaller SUV full of young Mexican dudes. None of which really had anything to say. I had to put the guys bumper fascia back on myself, they were all just standing there looking at the ground (admiring my shiny pedicure?) . I had a feeling my little g-string might have been sticking out of my jeans while I was bending over, so I exerted some brut force and shoved the bumper back on, basically told them they were cool with me (which they accepted lol) and split.

I blame my bitchen sunglasses - the frames are so wide on the sides I can't see peripherally. Obviously neither of us were paying enough attention, but I'm very surprised I was involved. I was in a pretty Zen place after the leg massage, what can I say?

Springtime, with Balki & Cha Cha

There are these two little birds outside my office that chill on the balcony railing pretty much all day. I think its a boy and a girl finch, and they have been here since last Thursday. I assume they have a nest in one of the trees downstairs, because whenever a human arrives they both fly down to it. Either that or they're just starting the dating process. I'm not one with nature in regards to birds (cuz they kinda weird me out) but it's been nice having office buddies.

They do this weird little dance periodically throughout the day - they rest their feet on the window mullion, then while facing the window (and me)they do a combination jumping/flying move up and down from a few inches up to about a foot up the window, then back down again. The whole time they are not only singing, but their beaks bonk the window repeatedly because they are so close to it. Chirp-chirp BONK. Chirp-chirp BONK. After a long while of doing this they just go chill on the balcony rail again or into the tree for a break. The sounds they make during this performance are the equivalent to someone whistling while tapping their pen on their desk...repeatedly...for 30-40 minutes...6 times a day. Irritating, yes, but they are my friends now. I named 'em. Balki and Cha Cha, of course.

Wireless Music Server

K I feel like a total nerd: I had an extra desktop computer on my hands (besides Chase's desktop & our laptop), so I decided to use tech-nerd-ology and make a wireless music server out of it. I wanted to be able to listen to my mp3 files on either my home stereo, garage stereo, or outside speakers. I also set up our wireless internet on it too, so I can download new music files straight to this server, access internet radio, etc., throughout the house.

I already had all my mp3 files on an external USB hard drive, so I just copied them over to the new computer. Then I setup a wireless audio transmitter on the computer, and connected its receiver to the living room stereo. I sent all the computer audio out to this transmitter, so when I load playlists on Windows Media Player or Music Match, everything plays on the stereo receiver in the living room. I also have a full stereo in the garage (because evidently I need music EVERYWHERE) so I can send it out there, too. Oh I almost forgot, its got a remote, too. So I can adjust volume, skip songs, repeat, pause, even switch from mp3 to internet radio from wherever I am.

The beauty of this setup being wireless is that it can be located anywhere around the house. Since its an 'extra' computer, I don't want it taking up space around the main living areas . Not that I've decided where to put it yet. For now, since I've been setting it up, its in my dining room. Doesn't quite go with the decor :(

Darol Mata

Darol Mata passed in January. He was one of the kindest souls I've ever met. If you knew him too, visit the Darol Mata memorial website and light a candle for him.

Windence

It's time to wish Windy a happy birthday! Dang, I should wear my WDE06 shirt today, but its still dirty from Sat night. It's probably got sweat from those Whores on it :) I'm already looking forward to WDE07.

This also marks the start of 7 whole weeks of no major holiday, vacation or birthday of anyone I know, so I don't have to stress/plan anything until April (except St Pats day, but all I have to do for that is drink beer). The office has finally slowed down, too. Hopefully March I'll be able to exhale, focus on the upcoming Flash/Shockwave portion of my internet publishing class, and maybe catch a hockey game or 2 before the playoffs start.

Noah

I just wanted to acknowledge my buddy Noah's 30th birthday tomorrow.
Happy Birthday, No, and don't forget to make a wish.

Dilbert reads my blog

Whatever. Scott Adams reads my blog. I know this because I spotted this Dilbert comic that's suspiciously inline with a blog entry of mine from last year called I Don't Believe in Botox.
As an aside, we're getting new carpet in the office tomorrow. I'm excited - it's long overdue. Not only is the carpet warn, but its MAUVE. Yes, that means "like pink". The previous occupants were art publishers. I'd expect people in an artistic industry to have better color theory knowledge, but as I've always said "stupid people are everywhere". The carpet is hideous. I'm surprised they even make a color of carpeting in that shade. Where it would be suitable, I have not a clue. The new green scheme will be more to my liking.

Another benefit to replacing carpet is a no-choice spring cleaning of the entire joint, another long overdue task. It's amazing what a change in something like carpet can do. It's like BYJ got feng shui'd.

The Hubba's Bday

Saturday is my husbands 39th birthday. His buddy Fred from Bishop is coming down for the festivities (aka a golf fest unofficially sponsored by Miller Lite). K just kidding about the sponsorship. Mike wishes! It's awesome weather right now, so we're going to heat the pool and jacuzzi a little for bbq nights. Sunday we're going to go out quading with the whole gang, and Monday night he and our brother-in-law are going to a Lakers game (against Utah).

I can't wait to give him the Callaway Golf purse I got him. He's going to love it. He just sold his Ping clubs and went back to Callaway, so he couldn't use his fancy Ping bag anymore. I'm a little jealous his golf bag is nicer than any purse I have! He is expecting the Callaway bag that is not quite as snazzy as this one, so he'll be surprised. I love that.

Every year I make dinner for him on his Bday, then we go out for a fancy Valentine's dinner. I do this because he is the household chef the other 364 days of the year. I usually have to take the day off work to prepare for it. This year I figured I was off the hook since we're having so many people over. Then I realized what a jerk I would feel like if I couldn't pull off a dinner for him, so I'm going for it Valentine's night (and I didn't take the day off). I've already got a spreadsheet going for the menu, and another for the shopping list. We'll see how it goes.

I love that he's 9 years older than I am, because even when I turned 30 a few minutes ago (ok like 100,000 minutes ago), I'm still the young one! I hope I still think he's hot when I'm 61 and he's 70.

Windows OneCare goes Live in June

Microsoft Sets Pricing For Windows OneCare Live
Seattle Times - 2/8/2006

Microsoft (America's leading pervayer of buggy software) announced Tuesday that Windows OneCare Live will ship in June. A subscription costing $49.95 a year will shield up to three PCs against viruses, spyware, Window's defects and other cyberthreats.

____________________
Then Mandy's like all:
OK, I get it, you want me to pay extra for you to fix your own holes? Oh, I see you're throwing in anti-viral appeasements to throw me off, hmm.

The only thing I see being a benefit of this service is Norton Anti-Virus subscriptions may come down in price.

3 PC license for $50 = cool
The same company that created the holes in turn protecting the holes = not cool

Gmail to offer @your-domain hosting?

Gmail code hints at coming domain feature.
by Garret Rogers @ 12:03 pm, February 8, 2006
link: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=95

Happy Birthday, Windy!

I <3 Howard

I'm tricky. Mike and I have had Nextel phones for the passed 2 years, and wanted to move back to Cingular. Our contracts didn't expire until January 06, but I got Mike a Cingular Motorola Black Razr V3 in September. I ported his number and got him a new Nextel number, then changed our Nextel plans to a Team Share (both phones share minutes). Nextel didn't realize it was just me using all the minutes and the new phone # was just a dummy number to get out of paying the early termination fee on Mike's phone.

So comes January and I am out of contract with Nextel. Now I need to move to Cingular and get a new phone. I wanted a Blackberry (aka Nerd Machine). I had one a few years ago and desperately missed it. Hopefully the whole NTP vs RIM will just go away. I'm pretty confident they'll strike a deal. Even if not, my device won't end up useless to me, so I'm ok.

At the same time, Chase's TMobile phone is seriously tore-up, but his contract doesn't end until July. If I upgrade through them, I have to extend the contract, and I'd rather just move him to Cingular with us. So again, I get tricky:

Thanks to the wealth of information over at Howard Forums on everything cell-related (I <3 you, "Howard"), I learned how I could get my husbands cell phone unlocked, for free, through Cingular themselves. I got it unlooked and gave it to Chase to use with his TMo. Now Mike has no phone. Trickiness #3:

Amazon has a deal with cell phones that you get a rebate back on the phones you buy through them if you enter into a service contract too (I've bought 3 other phones this way). Sometimes you get like $100, sometimes the full phone price, sometimes MORE than what you paid or the phone. In the case of the Razr, the rebate was for the full purchase price (albeit it takes 3+ months to get it back). So I bought Razr #2 to replace Mike's and the Blackberry 8700 for me, and put them on a family plan. I won't get the rebate for the Blackberry, but I will for the Razr. The Family Plan cost me $10 extra a month, but I got 100 more minutes per month, too. Since all the minutes are shared between the two phone numbers (and the 2nd number is just a dummy number) they're all mine. When the TMo contract for Chase expires, I'll just take out his TMo sim and put in the Cingular dummy phone # sim. Voila. Everyone got a new phone, and all I paid for was the Blackberry. Plus, the extra $10 per month cost for the Family Plan add on was recouped by selling both our old Nextel phones back to Nextel for $30 each. I told you I was tricky. RUN DMC should right a song about me.

Whopperettes

Click here to view some of the Superbowl XL commercials

Vote for the Burger King Whopperettes commercial as your favorite (please)!

Blackberry Post

Test post - sending from my new Blackberry!

College of the Desert

My Web Publishing 1 class starts today at COD's "Virtual Valley", aka online courses. Its part of the Computer Information Systems degree curriculum. In the early 90's when I was going to COD, they didn't have $hit "booop" (that's my ASCII sound effect) for computer courses, and they were oblivious to the Internet. Back then, everything was DOS based (dang, that was a long time ago). Now, not only do they have actual programming courses, they have all types of classes online. So after registering for the Web Pub class, I decided to order my transcripts to see what I actually accomplished back in the day. Turns out I only need a couple of classes of general ed left, and if I follow the CIS curriculum I can get an AA degree. Since I can take all these courses online, I've decided to go for it. Why not?

Actually there is one CIS course I can't take online, which is Windows and Internet. I had to get a prerequisite override from the department to take the Web Publishing class. Hopefully I'll be able to get credit by examination for it, if I have to go to COD for 5 months and take that class, I have a feeling I'll pull my hair out.

When I was at the campus taking care of the pre-req override, walking around (lost) was bringing back so many memories of when I first attended at 17. For one thing, I remember my mom had bought a Motorola cell phone, and I used to take it with me on the days I went to COD. It was smaller than the brick style, (it was actually a flip-phone) but it wasn't much lighter! I also remember there were no internet dialup numbers local to the desert yet. I had to call long distance to San Diego to use the internet. One night I was up late screwing around and I fell asleep with it logged on. Not only was there no "unlimited plans" like today, but as I said it was long distance to SD. I didn't do that again.

Jan 27th

Happy Birthday, Jess!

Go Fish

I can not be held accountable for anything that happens today. I've been up since 3am, on 3 hours sleep. I tried to go back to bed, I just couldn't. I hate being a sleep-freak. I also hate people. I know this because at 5am when I gave up on my failed attempts to sleep, I got on the computer and read another Intelligent Design vs. Evolution debate. It actually started as a discussion regarding a recent lawsuit filed by parents regarding a Fresno high school for teaching ID in a "Philosophy of Design," elective course in which they were to discuss "evolution as a theory and will discuss the scientific, biological and Biblical aspects that suggest why Darwin's philosophy is not rock solid.", and "relies exclusively on videos that advocate religious perspectives and present religious theories as scientific ones." BTW, the teacher's husband is a pastor, and, its a public school.

You know what I don't get? Why is it that often times super-religious people attempt to recruit others? Wtf do they care what people they don't know believe? I mean...OMG you're not going to believe this, I just got a piece of spam titled "Free King James Bible". K that's freaky.

Uhhhh, anyway...I treated myself to a Starbucks for getting to work early/on-time today (however you look at it). It's wearing off because I already feel my eyes going a little comatose. Not the rest of me, just the eyes.

Glamis

I got a chicken fajita pita from Jack in the Box today for lunch. My drink cup is sitting on my desk, and i just noticed on the advertisement on it. "Jack Cash Card - great for gift giving" then it lists different gift giving occasions. Among other things, one of the occasions is "wedding". It made me wonder...what if I had gotten a JIB gift card for a wedding present? How would I feel about it? A bit odd, I think. A bit odd.

We went to Glamis last weekend, sandy, but fun. We are now officially saving to buy a few quads and a toy box. I don't mean officially as in I've already put money aside, I mean officially as in I told Mike "I want a toy hauler" and he said "Ok. Save for it and we'll pay cash". Then I informed him I wanted the Kawasaki KFX 400 quad, mostly because it's green. What? I like green!

So far I've kept my '06 resolution, as I took more than a few pics of my nephew on his quad in the dunes. However I didn't take that many, so I'll try to do better next time. We might go out to Joshua Tree Sunday, should be a good opportunity.

Cats are Democrats

Plenty of people would say cats are extremely lazy. But when you domesticate an animal, it no longer gets all its needed exercise, entertainment and nutrition from its food-hunting job. The only dues a house cat must repay you are the contract killing/torturing of the odd cricket/moth in the house. Other than that, its nap time, or time to expend excess accumulated energy..by wrecking up furniture. Why? You gave him a home, bowls of food and water, a warm fuzzy place to nap. No chores. For your cat, its always Sunday afternoon. Your turned him into a Democrat, you Commie.

Citrus Country Club

Panaramic view of 12th Green from the house
Taken by my mom from her patio

New Year's Resolution

This year my New Year's Resolution is going to be not only to remember to take my camera with me on the weekends, but to actually use it. I go for the more realistic/not-that-hard resolutions. I can end world hunger next year, and if '06 goes as planned, I can document it with pictures!

I have a total inability to take photos for some reason. Last weekend I made a mental note to take it with me to the New Year's Eve party we went to, but of course I forgot when it came time to leave. Normally I put it in the purse I'm taking with me. Which really, just makes it a "purse-weight", cuz that's where it stays. Christmas Eve I successfully took like 7 pics. I looked pretty good that night too - I shoulda had someone take one of me LOLOL.

So they say its 3 weeks to a habit. This weekend is Skyler's birthday party, so I am definitely going to make a point to take some real pics. She's so dang cute, it won't be hard. Next weekend we're going out to Glamis to take out the quads (hopefully I won't run over the camera). The weekend after that, which is the 3rd week to my "habit" we currently have no plans. I'm "screening a death-ray" to this weekend until we get some real plans for it, or else it'll curse my photo-documenting resolution.

BTW Happy Birthday Stacey Lee. "Sisters by Marriage, Friends by Choice"