For the last few days I've been saying to myself, "Tonight I'm going to post about...something." But something hasn't been working out.
I'm still getting settled back into work; the transition has been less painful than I had anticipated. But I'm not yet into the swing of "work, eat, blog, sleep" yet, so I have to ask for your continued indulgence.
I'm getting there, but I'm not there just yet.
July 11, 2005
July 05, 2005
A moment of silence
Please join me, if you would be so kind, in a brief period of mourning. My sabbatical is over. Kaput. Tomorrow it's back to the office for me. Grieving is expected to last for the remainder of the week.
Those of you who have been grumbling about my good fortune can now go back to grumbling about other things.
Thank you, that is all.
Those of you who have been grumbling about my good fortune can now go back to grumbling about other things.
Thank you, that is all.
June 28, 2005
Time killer
Want to be driven crazy by a fun little game for a while? Have at it. I mostly suck at it, but (warning!) it's addictive. There are some parts of it that I simply cannot master. Have a ball!
June 27, 2005
Buildings of mystery
In one of those cruel twists of life, something you treasured as a child -- Summer, that precious, magical time you counted down the days to get to, and which could never seem to last quite long enough before you were back in the stores buying your new school wardrobe -- turns into a vast, tortuous wasteland of television reruns and sundry "entertainment" crap. ("I Want to Be a Hilton," anyone?)
Given this state of affairs, I've found myself drawn into the TNT miniseries, "Into the West," almost against my will, simply because it's new programming and will go on for a number of weeks. I'm not really a big fan of Westerns or, as I tend to think of them, stories of how the West and its native peoples were royally screwed over by European hubris. But TiVo has made it so easy to watch this one on my schedule that I got sucked in by boredom, curiosity, and a preview for the show that made use of the Sarah McLachlan song, "World On Fire," which I happen to really like. (And which you may have heard about, back when the video came out, for her charitable contribution.)
It's not the best miniseries ever, and it can be a bit confusing to follow because there are so many characters in so many places over so many years, but it is interesting. They show the episodes a bunch of times each weekend, if you're inclined to check it out -- I'm sure it would be easy to catch up.
Why am I going on about this, you may be asking? Today I finally got a look at the photos I took during my most recent trip and some of them reminded me of the sad fate of those native tribes.
These pictures were taken at Wupatki National Monument in Arizona, in the Box Canyon ruins. There were other ruins in the area, but if you look at the sky in the first picture you will see how overcast it was becoming, and I chose to head back to the car when the sky opened up.
The enduring nature of the structures is pretty amazing to me, as they have been there for some 800 years and so much is still intact. I didn't learn as much about inhabitants as I would have liked, since my visit was so short, but I do recall that the Anasazi were among the those who are believed to have lived here. As there is so much mystery surrounding what happened to them as a people, it was a little surreal to be standing alone in what might have been a sacred site of the pueblo, with the wind whipping and the thunder and lightening going on all around me. I'd like to go back sometime to explore it further.
Given this state of affairs, I've found myself drawn into the TNT miniseries, "Into the West," almost against my will, simply because it's new programming and will go on for a number of weeks. I'm not really a big fan of Westerns or, as I tend to think of them, stories of how the West and its native peoples were royally screwed over by European hubris. But TiVo has made it so easy to watch this one on my schedule that I got sucked in by boredom, curiosity, and a preview for the show that made use of the Sarah McLachlan song, "World On Fire," which I happen to really like. (And which you may have heard about, back when the video came out, for her charitable contribution.)
It's not the best miniseries ever, and it can be a bit confusing to follow because there are so many characters in so many places over so many years, but it is interesting. They show the episodes a bunch of times each weekend, if you're inclined to check it out -- I'm sure it would be easy to catch up.
Why am I going on about this, you may be asking? Today I finally got a look at the photos I took during my most recent trip and some of them reminded me of the sad fate of those native tribes.
These pictures were taken at Wupatki National Monument in Arizona, in the Box Canyon ruins. There were other ruins in the area, but if you look at the sky in the first picture you will see how overcast it was becoming, and I chose to head back to the car when the sky opened up.
The enduring nature of the structures is pretty amazing to me, as they have been there for some 800 years and so much is still intact. I didn't learn as much about inhabitants as I would have liked, since my visit was so short, but I do recall that the Anasazi were among the those who are believed to have lived here. As there is so much mystery surrounding what happened to them as a people, it was a little surreal to be standing alone in what might have been a sacred site of the pueblo, with the wind whipping and the thunder and lightening going on all around me. I'd like to go back sometime to explore it further.
June 26, 2005
The Scream...in stone
I'm hoping that this fixes the picture problem!Much to my delight, Blogger has finally added a picture function directly into our posts, so (if it works) no more futzing with Hello or the Yahoo! site I've been using these past two months with limited success.
For the moment, I'm going to leave up the picture that has been there for the last little while, as a comparison. It would be great if those of you who continue to not be able to see the one that should be over to the right of this post (which, as cbeck pointed out, may be at the bottom of the page instead) would let me know if you can see the picture that should now be directly to the left of this text. It would be equally wonderful if those of you who have had little or no trouble seeing the pictures on the right would let me know if the size of this one is better versus the other, or any other feedback. (I can change the size if needed.)
I just realized that this will also take care of the problem of people not realizing there's a new picture up, because there will now be a post the accompanies it. I expect to hear rapturous words of praise here, people!
Oh, and about the picture. This is a close-up of a portion of the Mound Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs, in Yellowstone, that reminded me of the painting The Scream.
June 23, 2005
Lightening-a-rama
Greetings from Flagstaff, AZ or, as it should be known right now, Lightening Central.
Who, can you tell me, expects there to be pouring rain, rumbling thunder and wicked lightening in the desert in June?? I certainly didn't, as my wardrobe for this trip could certainly attest. The only pair of shoes I even brought are sandals! (Rita, feel free to express your shock at this.)
There I am in the Grand Canyon, expecting it to be so hot that I'd be near-miserable, running around in my cute little shorts and top and sandals, and raindrops the size of gumballs are pelting me from above. I actually had to shell out for one of those flimsy, plastic ponchos!
We still got to see a great deal of the South Rim, although the lighting and clouds were more dramatic than might be best for good pictures. We'll have to wait and see how they look when I get back. If there are any good ones, I'll post them. Because of the weather, we didn't do any real walking about and such, but we got a good taste of the place.
On the drive back to Flagstaff, though, the lightening was truly magnificent. We were up high enough that we could see it all along the horizon, and it was hard for me to keep my eyes on the road instead of the sky. I should mention that my mom hates lightening in equal proportion to how much I love it, so needless to say only one of us was delighted by the display Mother Nature was putting on for us.
Tomorrow we head back to Las Vegas in order to catch our flight home. I wish I'd planned to stay another night at the Wynn on the way back -- the place was so amazing. Hmm, now that I think about it, I'm sure Southwest would be more than happy to switch our flight to Saturday...
Hey, Mom, can I see that credit card of yours again for a minute? :-)
Who, can you tell me, expects there to be pouring rain, rumbling thunder and wicked lightening in the desert in June?? I certainly didn't, as my wardrobe for this trip could certainly attest. The only pair of shoes I even brought are sandals! (Rita, feel free to express your shock at this.)
There I am in the Grand Canyon, expecting it to be so hot that I'd be near-miserable, running around in my cute little shorts and top and sandals, and raindrops the size of gumballs are pelting me from above. I actually had to shell out for one of those flimsy, plastic ponchos!
We still got to see a great deal of the South Rim, although the lighting and clouds were more dramatic than might be best for good pictures. We'll have to wait and see how they look when I get back. If there are any good ones, I'll post them. Because of the weather, we didn't do any real walking about and such, but we got a good taste of the place.
On the drive back to Flagstaff, though, the lightening was truly magnificent. We were up high enough that we could see it all along the horizon, and it was hard for me to keep my eyes on the road instead of the sky. I should mention that my mom hates lightening in equal proportion to how much I love it, so needless to say only one of us was delighted by the display Mother Nature was putting on for us.
Tomorrow we head back to Las Vegas in order to catch our flight home. I wish I'd planned to stay another night at the Wynn on the way back -- the place was so amazing. Hmm, now that I think about it, I'm sure Southwest would be more than happy to switch our flight to Saturday...
Hey, Mom, can I see that credit card of yours again for a minute? :-)
June 20, 2005
Days late, dollars short
I guess I should be more careful when using the word "guaranteed." The weekend was a lot more busy than I had anticipated, so I just never had the chance to sit down and write what I had planned to write.
And now I'm on my way out the door on my trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon with my mom.
So, long review short, Batman Begins is a really good movie, both in terms of how it was made and enjoyability. I never saw the last Batman movie, but I saw the other three and I would have to say that this one is equal to the first one. Christian Bale really pulls off the role and he has a great supporting cast. The only weak spot, acting-wise, in my opinion would be Katie Holmes. But then, there wasn't a great deal required of her character in terms of development.
If you like the comic book, action-adventure type of movie in general, I think you will enjoy this one.
Hasta luego, see you next week!
And now I'm on my way out the door on my trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon with my mom.
So, long review short, Batman Begins is a really good movie, both in terms of how it was made and enjoyability. I never saw the last Batman movie, but I saw the other three and I would have to say that this one is equal to the first one. Christian Bale really pulls off the role and he has a great supporting cast. The only weak spot, acting-wise, in my opinion would be Katie Holmes. But then, there wasn't a great deal required of her character in terms of development.
If you like the comic book, action-adventure type of movie in general, I think you will enjoy this one.
Hasta luego, see you next week!
June 17, 2005
Here a bug, there a bug
Guess what? It's me, and I've actually got something to say. You may or may not have noticed the dearth of posting lately, but it's simply a matter of not having a great deal that's calling out to me to be written about.
Also, frankly, the days tend to blend and meld into one another when they're not guided by the structure of the work week.
Don't get me wrong, I'm completely not bored and I'm enjoying each and every single day of my time off without exception, but it just doesn't seem as long to me since I last wrote as it may to some of you. But today I have not one, but two things to write about. Try to suppress your excitement -- they may not be as interesting to you as they are to me.
As my mother pointed out to me today, I've always had a certain fascination with ladybugs. I think many people do, actually, yet my interest was piqued once again by finding and buying a ladybug "village" a couple months back. Because of my recent bout of travelling, however, I had not yet started raising any little 'uns.
But today I had the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do but never really had a reason to: release ladybugs into my garden. Unfortunately, the lovely roses at my current residence have been set upon by pests -- aphids and something else I'm not certain what they are -- and I decided that it was time to bring in those heavy hitters of the aphid-eating world, the Ladybird Beetles.
So off to the nursery I went and I bought a tub of them (did you know you can do that?) while I was out doing other errands after lunch. According to the advice I read, though, you shouldn't release them until at least late afternoon/early evening, so I carried them around with me for most of the day, lest they get too hot sitting in the car. I kept waiting to drop the tub accidentally and have a small swarm of ladybugs exploding out of the bag, much to the astonishment of my fellow, unsuspecting shoppers. Thankfully, that didn't happen and we all arrived home safely, waiting for the sun to go down.
I watered everything down to give them plenty to drink and thereby encourage them to stick around, draped a sheet over the bush with the worst infestation in order to make sure as many as possible stay in that area, popped the top off the tub, took a deep breath, and started sprinkling them all (a purported 1,500 of them) on the bushes. To my surprise and gratitude, everything went exactly as planned and there was only one confirmed fatality when I put the lid back on the tub. Oops. The real test will be tomorrow when I go out in the morning and see how many of them are still there, brunching on our pest buffet. Wish them (all 1,499 of them) luck.
Oh, my, look at the time. I got so caught up with telling you about my little beetle friends that now I have to get going. It's time to go watch some Formula One action -- did you know that the U.S. Grand Prix is in Indianapolis this weekend? Well, it is; today was practice, tomorrow is qualifying and the race is on Sunday. If you have access to Speed TV, I highly suggest you give it a try -- it leaves boring ol' NASCAR in the dust...literally. (Ladies, the drivers are pretty damned cute and they all speak with these dreamy foreign accents, not regional American twangs. Worth a look-see, trust me.)
So I guess my other topic -- a review of the newly opened Batman Begins -- will just have to wait until tomorrow. But then, at least I'll have a guaranteed reason to post again sooner than I otherwise might!
Also, frankly, the days tend to blend and meld into one another when they're not guided by the structure of the work week.
Don't get me wrong, I'm completely not bored and I'm enjoying each and every single day of my time off without exception, but it just doesn't seem as long to me since I last wrote as it may to some of you. But today I have not one, but two things to write about. Try to suppress your excitement -- they may not be as interesting to you as they are to me.
As my mother pointed out to me today, I've always had a certain fascination with ladybugs. I think many people do, actually, yet my interest was piqued once again by finding and buying a ladybug "village" a couple months back. Because of my recent bout of travelling, however, I had not yet started raising any little 'uns.
But today I had the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do but never really had a reason to: release ladybugs into my garden. Unfortunately, the lovely roses at my current residence have been set upon by pests -- aphids and something else I'm not certain what they are -- and I decided that it was time to bring in those heavy hitters of the aphid-eating world, the Ladybird Beetles.
So off to the nursery I went and I bought a tub of them (did you know you can do that?) while I was out doing other errands after lunch. According to the advice I read, though, you shouldn't release them until at least late afternoon/early evening, so I carried them around with me for most of the day, lest they get too hot sitting in the car. I kept waiting to drop the tub accidentally and have a small swarm of ladybugs exploding out of the bag, much to the astonishment of my fellow, unsuspecting shoppers. Thankfully, that didn't happen and we all arrived home safely, waiting for the sun to go down.
I watered everything down to give them plenty to drink and thereby encourage them to stick around, draped a sheet over the bush with the worst infestation in order to make sure as many as possible stay in that area, popped the top off the tub, took a deep breath, and started sprinkling them all (a purported 1,500 of them) on the bushes. To my surprise and gratitude, everything went exactly as planned and there was only one confirmed fatality when I put the lid back on the tub. Oops. The real test will be tomorrow when I go out in the morning and see how many of them are still there, brunching on our pest buffet. Wish them (all 1,499 of them) luck.
Oh, my, look at the time. I got so caught up with telling you about my little beetle friends that now I have to get going. It's time to go watch some Formula One action -- did you know that the U.S. Grand Prix is in Indianapolis this weekend? Well, it is; today was practice, tomorrow is qualifying and the race is on Sunday. If you have access to Speed TV, I highly suggest you give it a try -- it leaves boring ol' NASCAR in the dust...literally. (Ladies, the drivers are pretty damned cute and they all speak with these dreamy foreign accents, not regional American twangs. Worth a look-see, trust me.)
So I guess my other topic -- a review of the newly opened Batman Begins -- will just have to wait until tomorrow. But then, at least I'll have a guaranteed reason to post again sooner than I otherwise might!
June 10, 2005
Less than picture perfect
Well, I don't know what to tell you all about the picture. It's there, one has been there each day since I got back from Yellowstone, and I can't understand why it's there sometimes for some people and not there other days, or not there at all, or there every time. I use Mozilla Firefox and it's up there where it's supposed to be each time I refresh the page; when I check it in IE, it's there but the formatting isn't quite right.
Not being a computer geek, that's as much as I can tell you. If the spirit moves me, I'll check out Flickr (unless someone has a suggestion for something better) -- in the meantime, all I can suggest is checking browser settings and/or Firefox.
In other news, I've got my next (and final) trip of my sabbatical planned at long last: my mom and I are heading for the Grand Canyon! I've never been to the South Rim, and she's never been there at all, so after a brief but luxurious stop back in Las Vegas -- staying at the gorgeous, new, $2 billion Wynn hotel -- we'll be off to bump along in traffic in the park with all the other tourists. As excited as I am for the trip itself, I think I'm equally as relieved that we finally just picked somewhere to go...it was not an easy process. I'll be away for this one the week of the 20th. If anyone has any "must see" locales or "must eat" restaurants in the South Rim area, please share them in the comments.
Not being a computer geek, that's as much as I can tell you. If the spirit moves me, I'll check out Flickr (unless someone has a suggestion for something better) -- in the meantime, all I can suggest is checking browser settings and/or Firefox.
In other news, I've got my next (and final) trip of my sabbatical planned at long last: my mom and I are heading for the Grand Canyon! I've never been to the South Rim, and she's never been there at all, so after a brief but luxurious stop back in Las Vegas -- staying at the gorgeous, new, $2 billion Wynn hotel -- we'll be off to bump along in traffic in the park with all the other tourists. As excited as I am for the trip itself, I think I'm equally as relieved that we finally just picked somewhere to go...it was not an easy process. I'll be away for this one the week of the 20th. If anyone has any "must see" locales or "must eat" restaurants in the South Rim area, please share them in the comments.
June 08, 2005
Keeping my hand in
As I have learned that there are certain people (who shall remain unnamed...for the time being) who do not come here unless some sort of service tells them that I have made a new post -- and who have, therefore, been missing all the neat pictures I've been putting up on days I haven't written anything -- I thought I'd better whip up a little something to say hi, I'm back again.
I survived Vegas, even though April tried to kill me by introducing me to the evil joys of poker -- and other poker bloggers...even if they do all speak some strange and exotic language all their own -- and by making me stay out on the town until all hours of the night. (Please note the post time. That's real.)
I now have a working knowledge of many poker rooms in Sin City and have lost my first $20 in a live game of Texas Hold'em. I can also tell you: exactly where my favorite slots machines are in the Excalibur, the MGM Grand, and the Tropicana; how nice it smells in the casino area of The Venetian; how many miles it is to walk from the parking lot of the Rio to their convention area where the World Series of Poker is being held; which casinos have the best women's rooms; which hotels not to stay at in the downtown area; that you should definitely rent a car if you're going to be there a few days so as not to spend an absolute fortune in cabs; that you should valet park said car at every casino possible so as to save some shoe leather for a couple bucks; that you should always tip your dealer when you win a pot; where to get the best steak and lobster when most people in the rest of the country are fast asleep in their beds; and where to get deep-fried Oreos at the Fremont Street Experience. (Yes, I tried them.) Oh, geez, almost forgot the most important one: in which casinos you can now get Krispy Kremes, whether or not they make them on-site.
So, that covers the high points for the most part. And no, I'm not going to repeat what has become (in my mind) the most hackneyed phrase in America regarding that particular city, but it's not like I'm going to spill all that many details. You kind of had to be there.
I survived Vegas, even though April tried to kill me by introducing me to the evil joys of poker -- and other poker bloggers...even if they do all speak some strange and exotic language all their own -- and by making me stay out on the town until all hours of the night. (Please note the post time. That's real.)
I now have a working knowledge of many poker rooms in Sin City and have lost my first $20 in a live game of Texas Hold'em. I can also tell you: exactly where my favorite slots machines are in the Excalibur, the MGM Grand, and the Tropicana; how nice it smells in the casino area of The Venetian; how many miles it is to walk from the parking lot of the Rio to their convention area where the World Series of Poker is being held; which casinos have the best women's rooms; which hotels not to stay at in the downtown area; that you should definitely rent a car if you're going to be there a few days so as not to spend an absolute fortune in cabs; that you should valet park said car at every casino possible so as to save some shoe leather for a couple bucks; that you should always tip your dealer when you win a pot; where to get the best steak and lobster when most people in the rest of the country are fast asleep in their beds; and where to get deep-fried Oreos at the Fremont Street Experience. (Yes, I tried them.) Oh, geez, almost forgot the most important one: in which casinos you can now get Krispy Kremes, whether or not they make them on-site.
So, that covers the high points for the most part. And no, I'm not going to repeat what has become (in my mind) the most hackneyed phrase in America regarding that particular city, but it's not like I'm going to spill all that many details. You kind of had to be there.
May 31, 2005
I know you've got questions
And the answers are:
1. Yes, I'm still very much enjoying my time off.
2. No, I just haven't really felt that much like blogging for some reason.
3. 18.
4. Purple, of course.
5. I leave for Las Vegas with April in just over two days.
6. Yes, she's going to have to bribe me to go to the Barry Manilow store at the Las Vegas Hilton.
7. Always bet black.
8. Right now I am petsitting two lovely dogs for a little mad money to blow while there.
9. No, on bingo and nickel slots.
10. The picture over there won't be changing while I'm away, so if you have any requests, please let me know!
1. Yes, I'm still very much enjoying my time off.
2. No, I just haven't really felt that much like blogging for some reason.
3. 18.
4. Purple, of course.
5. I leave for Las Vegas with April in just over two days.
6. Yes, she's going to have to bribe me to go to the Barry Manilow store at the Las Vegas Hilton.
7. Always bet black.
8. Right now I am petsitting two lovely dogs for a little mad money to blow while there.
9. No, on bingo and nickel slots.
10. The picture over there won't be changing while I'm away, so if you have any requests, please let me know!
May 27, 2005
Guest Posting
I've got a guest post up over here today, for your reading enjoyment, so I hope you'll stop by. That's me, GWF-4.
Have a great weekend!
Have a great weekend!
May 24, 2005
Episode 247: Return of the Ping
That's right, kiddos, I'm back. They seemed like the shortest two and a half weeks ever, but I went, I saw, I photographed, and I made it back in one piece. I can't exactly say I'm glad to be home because it was fantastic and I wasn't really ready to return, but that's the way it goes, I guess.
I can't even tell you how much catching up I have to do: family, friends, mail, e-mail, blogs, TV on TiVo, laundry, you name it. The upside is that I still have another 5 1/2 weeks left off from work in which to do it! Woo-hoo! (I can see those dirty looks you're giving the screen right now, you know...)
Until I get back into the swing of things I don't know how frequent updates here will be, but if you peer over there to the right -- or, at least, that's where it should be if your browser is set up like mine -- you'll see a rotating gallery of some of the over one thousand pictures I took on my trip. It says "du jour" but I make no promises.
Many thanks to all of you who left comments over the last few weeks. Internet connection turned out to be more elusive than I expected, which I'll probably explain at some point. As a matter of fact, I never managed to connect once with my own laptop and if it weren't for The Best Brother in the Whole Wide World, I wouldn't have managed to post or read at all while I was gone.
Even with the ability to do it, though, I don't know how much more I would have logged on -- it just wasn't a priority while I was out there. The fact that any of you are still coming by tells me that I had my priorities in order, though. Sometimes it really is best to stoppo and smell the pine trees.
I can't even tell you how much catching up I have to do: family, friends, mail, e-mail, blogs, TV on TiVo, laundry, you name it. The upside is that I still have another 5 1/2 weeks left off from work in which to do it! Woo-hoo! (I can see those dirty looks you're giving the screen right now, you know...)
Until I get back into the swing of things I don't know how frequent updates here will be, but if you peer over there to the right -- or, at least, that's where it should be if your browser is set up like mine -- you'll see a rotating gallery of some of the over one thousand pictures I took on my trip. It says "du jour" but I make no promises.
Many thanks to all of you who left comments over the last few weeks. Internet connection turned out to be more elusive than I expected, which I'll probably explain at some point. As a matter of fact, I never managed to connect once with my own laptop and if it weren't for The Best Brother in the Whole Wide World, I wouldn't have managed to post or read at all while I was gone.
Even with the ability to do it, though, I don't know how much more I would have logged on -- it just wasn't a priority while I was out there. The fact that any of you are still coming by tells me that I had my priorities in order, though. Sometimes it really is best to stoppo and smell the pine trees.
May 15, 2005
Greetings from Yellowstone!
At long last, I've got more than five minutes of Internet access! I am having such a great time and I have seen so much wildlife that I could spend a whole post just going on about that. (And, at some point, I will, along with pictures.) It's kind of like a mini-safari; animals and birds everywhere you look.
I hope to have some more time soon to do a more lengthy and hopefully interesting post to share with you. I hope things are going well in your individual worlds and that you'll come by again soon.
I hope to have some more time soon to do a more lengthy and hopefully interesting post to share with you. I hope things are going well in your individual worlds and that you'll come by again soon.
May 06, 2005
Free at last, free at last!
I'm still having a hard time believing it, but it is finally here. Today was my last day at work for two full months, paid time off. After seven long years, I get my reward for hanging in there.
Of course, the last day was crazy and busy and long, so it made it kind of hard to appreciate it while I was still banging it out.
All day long, people kept asking me if I was excited and of course the answer was "yes," but the real answer was "yes...but I've got so many things on my mind that I can't even focus on it enough to be truly excited...yet." But who wants to hear all that? No one, really.
Thank you to all of me who have sent your well wishes and congratulations -- even though I think that, like Norman, you really want to call me names for being so lucky.
So, here's the skinny. Tomorrow I leave for a two and a half week trip, the highlight of which is a week-long stay in Yellowstone or, as it is more popularly known around my house, Jellystone Park.
At this point I do plan on taking the laptop with me, though whether or not I'll be able to connect anywhere may be another thing entirely. So, assuming I can, I do plan to blog from time to time while I'm away. But if there are gaps, or if I don't poke my nose over in your blog for a little while, that's why.
Since there are a couple of things I'm probably going to miss, let me cover some of them here right now: Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the mothers out there -- you're all much appreciated, but my mom is the Best Mom in the Whole Wide World (how else do you think I got the Best Brother in the Whole Wide World?); I hope that your horse wins in the Derby; Please enjoy the season finales of Amazing Race and Survivor -- may your favorite player(s) win their million dollars; and Happy Victoria Day to my Canadian friends. (If someone could tell me what that is, exactly, that would be swell.)
Okay, so I'm out of here. I hope you'll stop by and let me know how the rest of my little blog world is getting along without me even if I can't post as often as normal, or just to say hi once in a while. When I get back, I'm sure there'll be pictures and stories galore!
Of course, the last day was crazy and busy and long, so it made it kind of hard to appreciate it while I was still banging it out.
All day long, people kept asking me if I was excited and of course the answer was "yes," but the real answer was "yes...but I've got so many things on my mind that I can't even focus on it enough to be truly excited...yet." But who wants to hear all that? No one, really.
Thank you to all of me who have sent your well wishes and congratulations -- even though I think that, like Norman, you really want to call me names for being so lucky.
So, here's the skinny. Tomorrow I leave for a two and a half week trip, the highlight of which is a week-long stay in Yellowstone or, as it is more popularly known around my house, Jellystone Park.
At this point I do plan on taking the laptop with me, though whether or not I'll be able to connect anywhere may be another thing entirely. So, assuming I can, I do plan to blog from time to time while I'm away. But if there are gaps, or if I don't poke my nose over in your blog for a little while, that's why.
Since there are a couple of things I'm probably going to miss, let me cover some of them here right now: Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the mothers out there -- you're all much appreciated, but my mom is the Best Mom in the Whole Wide World (how else do you think I got the Best Brother in the Whole Wide World?); I hope that your horse wins in the Derby; Please enjoy the season finales of Amazing Race and Survivor -- may your favorite player(s) win their million dollars; and Happy Victoria Day to my Canadian friends. (If someone could tell me what that is, exactly, that would be swell.)
Okay, so I'm out of here. I hope you'll stop by and let me know how the rest of my little blog world is getting along without me even if I can't post as often as normal, or just to say hi once in a while. When I get back, I'm sure there'll be pictures and stories galore!
May 04, 2005
How am I?
It's raining. No, it's pouring. No, no, I've got it, it's teeming out there. I like rain, really I do, but it can stop any time now. I'm feeling a bit soggy, thanks for asking.
May 03, 2005
"She's doing way better with my mouth shut."
Doesn't it seem like we were just talking about the start of this race, and here it is, the penultimate episode already? Time can actually fly while you're waiting for your sabbatical to start! (Yes, I'm sure that some of you are either: a) tired of hearing about my stupid sabbatical already; or b) don't know what I'm talking about anyway. But that's just tough, because it's my time off and I'll beat it into the ground if I want to!)
So, tonight's episode found us back in Istanbul, waiting to see which of the remaining four teams was going to get Philiminated. To acclimate the teams to once again hearing their native tongue before returning home for the finale, they found themselves heading off to London. But first they had a cultural encounter of the Turkish kind by going to the train station to find a room full of dervishes. In a truly Bolo-worthy moment, Rob managed to mispronounce that, not once but twice, while reading the clue and of course had no idea what it was. It was an eerie but interesting spectacle, though the racers had no contact with the dancers whatsoever and just edged around them to get to the clue box.
We then had the usual airport hijinks, where although Joychenna and Gretchedith got to the airport first, they settled for the first direct flight they found and didn't look for any connections that would get them in to London earlier. RA/RK were having none of that, however, after coming in at the end of the pack the previous leg. RA were very proactive and started researching alternatives immediately, booking something through Frankfurt, then going to the ticketing booth for the direct flight and booking that flight as well, playing it off as though that was the flight they were on. (Does anyone else wonder what kind of arrangement the show has with all these airlines in order to make that work without costing them a fortune?) RK, on the other hand, more or less stumbled onto the connection option and they both managed to get an hour and a half lead on the other two teams, much to Rob's consternation.
Eventually, all the teams were on their way to merry olde England, where the teams started off by having to find the famous crosswalk on Abbey Road from the Beatles album cover, though not a single team took so much as a moment to appreciate where they were. Heathens! Then it was more or less a subway-a-thon for the rest of the race. RA found a local (and cute) guy to help direct them through the maze that is the London Underground, and this was a real boon to them because he stayed with them for quite a while playing guide.
The Detour, found from on high in a giant Ferris wheel, was a choice between Brains and Brawn, with RA/RK taking Brains and having to solve riddles and take the subway to various places connected with Sherlock Holmes, and the other two tackling Brawn and hauling boats around then stacking them up. This was a real physical challenge for Gretchedith and they lost a lot of time.
Then it was on to the Millenium Dome (did anyone else think that the London Tourist Bureau gave the show some sort of discount for them to hit these less-popular tourist attractions instead of places like the Tower of London or Big Ben and the like?) where both the Roadblock and a Yield awaited. Not surprisingly, RA were determined to get there first because they knew RK would Yield them if they didn't, and they had a pretty good lead after their guide expertly navigated the subway for them, so they were able to yield RK instead. That stopped Kelly in her makeup-less tracks and she spent much of the time doodling horns and the like on RA's picture. Thankfully for RA, they finished the Roadblock and got out of there to finish first before RK even showed up. I'll bet there were some cold looks at the Pit Stop that night, though.
The Roadblock required one racer to drive a double-decker bus through a course without so much as touching any of the cones or they had to start all over. Easier said than done and, except for Rob (believe it or not), all those doing the driving were flipping out with frustration. But even with the Yield, RK had enough of a lead over the others that they were a solid second place.
It was down to Joyce's and Meredith's driving skills then and, as much as many of us have enjoyed watching Gretchedith bumble along this far, I was glad to see Joyce pull it off...once Uchenna stopped trying to "help" her from the sidelines, as illustrated by today's title, that is. In a complete flip-flop of the previous leg's result, they came in third and Meredith and Gretchen brought up the rear and were eliminated from the Race.
Next week is, of course, the big two-hour finale. (After which the person who has been dying to tell me who wins because he knows can stop feeling tortured.) However, I do not know for sure whether I will have Internet access at that point because I'll be on the road. I'm just hoping I get to watch it that night as one of the places I'm staying doesn't have a TV. (Yikes.) So if there is no final recap here next Tuesday night, please, no spoilers in the comments! Believe me, once I've seen it and can post, I'll be here to talk about it.
So, tonight's episode found us back in Istanbul, waiting to see which of the remaining four teams was going to get Philiminated. To acclimate the teams to once again hearing their native tongue before returning home for the finale, they found themselves heading off to London. But first they had a cultural encounter of the Turkish kind by going to the train station to find a room full of dervishes. In a truly Bolo-worthy moment, Rob managed to mispronounce that, not once but twice, while reading the clue and of course had no idea what it was. It was an eerie but interesting spectacle, though the racers had no contact with the dancers whatsoever and just edged around them to get to the clue box.
We then had the usual airport hijinks, where although Joychenna and Gretchedith got to the airport first, they settled for the first direct flight they found and didn't look for any connections that would get them in to London earlier. RA/RK were having none of that, however, after coming in at the end of the pack the previous leg. RA were very proactive and started researching alternatives immediately, booking something through Frankfurt, then going to the ticketing booth for the direct flight and booking that flight as well, playing it off as though that was the flight they were on. (Does anyone else wonder what kind of arrangement the show has with all these airlines in order to make that work without costing them a fortune?) RK, on the other hand, more or less stumbled onto the connection option and they both managed to get an hour and a half lead on the other two teams, much to Rob's consternation.
Eventually, all the teams were on their way to merry olde England, where the teams started off by having to find the famous crosswalk on Abbey Road from the Beatles album cover, though not a single team took so much as a moment to appreciate where they were. Heathens! Then it was more or less a subway-a-thon for the rest of the race. RA found a local (and cute) guy to help direct them through the maze that is the London Underground, and this was a real boon to them because he stayed with them for quite a while playing guide.
The Detour, found from on high in a giant Ferris wheel, was a choice between Brains and Brawn, with RA/RK taking Brains and having to solve riddles and take the subway to various places connected with Sherlock Holmes, and the other two tackling Brawn and hauling boats around then stacking them up. This was a real physical challenge for Gretchedith and they lost a lot of time.
Then it was on to the Millenium Dome (did anyone else think that the London Tourist Bureau gave the show some sort of discount for them to hit these less-popular tourist attractions instead of places like the Tower of London or Big Ben and the like?) where both the Roadblock and a Yield awaited. Not surprisingly, RA were determined to get there first because they knew RK would Yield them if they didn't, and they had a pretty good lead after their guide expertly navigated the subway for them, so they were able to yield RK instead. That stopped Kelly in her makeup-less tracks and she spent much of the time doodling horns and the like on RA's picture. Thankfully for RA, they finished the Roadblock and got out of there to finish first before RK even showed up. I'll bet there were some cold looks at the Pit Stop that night, though.
The Roadblock required one racer to drive a double-decker bus through a course without so much as touching any of the cones or they had to start all over. Easier said than done and, except for Rob (believe it or not), all those doing the driving were flipping out with frustration. But even with the Yield, RK had enough of a lead over the others that they were a solid second place.
It was down to Joyce's and Meredith's driving skills then and, as much as many of us have enjoyed watching Gretchedith bumble along this far, I was glad to see Joyce pull it off...once Uchenna stopped trying to "help" her from the sidelines, as illustrated by today's title, that is. In a complete flip-flop of the previous leg's result, they came in third and Meredith and Gretchen brought up the rear and were eliminated from the Race.
Next week is, of course, the big two-hour finale. (After which the person who has been dying to tell me who wins because he knows can stop feeling tortured.) However, I do not know for sure whether I will have Internet access at that point because I'll be on the road. I'm just hoping I get to watch it that night as one of the places I'm staying doesn't have a TV. (Yikes.) So if there is no final recap here next Tuesday night, please, no spoilers in the comments! Believe me, once I've seen it and can post, I'll be here to talk about it.
May 02, 2005
Am I there yet?
Let's clarify and clear up a few things here:
1. There are not, repeat not, 310 grams of fat in a Krispy Kreme doughnut. For crying out loud, that's more than ten times the grams of fat in a Big Mac! There are, on average, a little more than 15 grams of fat per doughnut. (I did actual math in order to figure that out. Please appreciate it.) Now calories, yes, those are in the hundreds. But even I might abstain from the delightful KKs if they were that bad for you.
2. With apologies, Patty is a he, not a she. I've fixed that in the post below. I didn't read your blog closely enough -- sorry about that. And congratulations on your recent nuptuals.
3. I had a really, really crappy day, for reasons that I am not going to go into here. But, trust me, it sucked and it left me feeling as though I'd been kicked in the metaphorical nuts and hung out to dry. Therefore, I'm not really in the mood to come up with much else to say at the moment. I will say, though, that my upcoming time off could not be more welcome for many, many reasons.
1. There are not, repeat not, 310 grams of fat in a Krispy Kreme doughnut. For crying out loud, that's more than ten times the grams of fat in a Big Mac! There are, on average, a little more than 15 grams of fat per doughnut. (I did actual math in order to figure that out. Please appreciate it.) Now calories, yes, those are in the hundreds. But even I might abstain from the delightful KKs if they were that bad for you.
2. With apologies, Patty is a he, not a she. I've fixed that in the post below. I didn't read your blog closely enough -- sorry about that. And congratulations on your recent nuptuals.
3. I had a really, really crappy day, for reasons that I am not going to go into here. But, trust me, it sucked and it left me feeling as though I'd been kicked in the metaphorical nuts and hung out to dry. Therefore, I'm not really in the mood to come up with much else to say at the moment. I will say, though, that my upcoming time off could not be more welcome for many, many reasons.
April 28, 2005
Are those sprinkles or are you happy to see me?
The gratuitous Krispy Kreme portion of yesterday's post got me thinking.
First, Patty: What are these "grams of fat" you speak of? Anyone? I have no idea what he's talking about. Pass the box, please.
Second, which camp do you fall into: doughnut or donut? It's something I'm always curious about and have asked people in the past, but I don't think we've ever gone into it here.
Third, if you like doughnuts at all (I know there is at least one person reading who doesn't!): What is your favorite kind?
That should be enough to get us through the weekend. Bon appetit!
First, Patty: What are these "grams of fat" you speak of? Anyone? I have no idea what he's talking about. Pass the box, please.
Second, which camp do you fall into: doughnut or donut? It's something I'm always curious about and have asked people in the past, but I don't think we've ever gone into it here.
Third, if you like doughnuts at all (I know there is at least one person reading who doesn't!): What is your favorite kind?
That should be enough to get us through the weekend. Bon appetit!
April 27, 2005
Revenge of the Gnome
What a day yesterday was! It was, apparently, just too much for one browser to take. I had so much to say and no outlet that wouldn't make me absolutely batty. I had no choice...but to sleep.
The evening got off to a great start, going out to dinner with a dear friend at one of my favorite restaurants and having an award-winning pizza that was just delicious. (I had the one with the very Californian prosciutto, caramelized onions, Gorgonzola and apples topping.) Yum-my.
Then it got even sweeter. Finally, finally, FINALLY the day had arrived. A day I had been counting down to and anticipating and salivating over for months. No, not my sabbatical; still have a few lil' ol' days left on that countdown. Yes, in fact, the Krispy Kreme in my area opened after months of rain-induced delay! (Apparently my clue was not obscure enough, because you were able to guess that it involved doughnuts, darn it.) Surprisingly, it wasn't swamped like other new ones out here I had been to, so we were able to escape with our dozen...after getting our complimentary hot Original Glazed right off the line, of course...without delay. And it was heaven!
Lastly, it was time for Amazing Race and it was a corker. I was surprised to see how little time there was between Joyce and Uchenna (or, as they have become on TVgasm, Joychenna) arriving and leaving in first and RA/RK, who came in 2nd/3rd. It must have taken Joychenna a really long time to find the head-shaving guy.
Anyway, it was off to Istanbul, but not before Rob was able to shoot himself in the foot by being just a little too cocky. Now, I've been an RA fan from the start, but Rob ticked even me off last night by trying to play his little mind game on Gretchen and Meredith (or, another TVgasmism, Gretchedith) and then being so smug right up until the time he learned the truth.
By trying to freak Gretchedith out by making them think there was an earlier flight to their destination from the connection in Delhi, he prompted Joychenna to make a call and find out that there was indeed an earlier flight that, inexplicably, RA/RK were unable to procure. The race was on, but RA/RK were blissfully ignorant for hours and Rob spent that time busting on the other teams. Not nice, Rob. May I introduce you to Mr. Karma? Perhaps you've heard of him?
During this time, RK were in a cab and Kelly made her already-infamous comment about Ron being a commitmentphobe, as demonstrated by his becoming a POW (he was in Iraq, did ya know?) and thereby "getting out of" his military service. It wasn't quite the grenade (so to speak) that the preview the week before had us anticipating, because Ron took it better than I think many of us would. He was sarcastic (but he didn't call her a bitch like, um, I would have) and, while you can practically see their relationship dissolving before our very eyes, the moment passed.
Once they arrived in Istanbul, things really got moving, much of it by sea. After a pair of boat rides, teams had to search an island lighthouse for something. What was it? A can of cold, refreshing Coca-Cola? A bag of Star Wars-branded "Dark Side" M&Ms? No, in a prime moment of true product placement abuse, four of the Travelocity Roaming Gnomes were hidden about this spit of land, which the teams then had to take with them for the rest of the leg and deliver to Phil at the Pit Stop. (Along the way, Meredith named his gnome Jerome, which I thought was pretty clever.) If we hadn't realized by that point that Travelocity is putting out major bucks advertising with this show, we were beaten about the head with it last night. WE GET IT ALREADY! The Race is all about travel, you are all about travel; these teams are trying to win big bucks, you can save people big bucks on travel so they don't have to compete in these harebrained reality shows. Now please take your gnome and stick him somewhere...unpleasant.
It was about this time that RA/RK realized that they were actually trailing the other two teams and they tried to kick it into high gear. The Detour unwound in its normal fashion, with Joychenna banging it out and moving on, Gretchedith wandering around looking clueless but getting it done, RA funnin' with the locals and making short work of it, and RK being passably competent as Ron showed he can follow a grid real good, by golly.
Finally we were to the Roadblock, "Storm the Fortress," wherein one person had to scale a tower, run around and find a key that was hidden in plain sight, then rappel back down the side of the tower to unlock a book with the next clue. Uchenna did Team Baldy proud and tore up the ladder -- I looked down for a moment and he was up the darn thing -- and they finished in first place again.
We anticipated that whether it was Gretchen or Meredith who took this Roadblock on, it was going to be a killer challenge for them. In true Gretchen fashion, however, she assessed the situation as they read the clue, whined, decided "this doesn't look good," whined some more...and decided she'd do it. I think she felt guilty over the whole elephant debacle and went for it without thinking it through. She struggled, but by damn, she did it and Gretchedith pulled off a miracle by coming in second!
RA/RK couldn't make up much time on the others, though RA got ahead of RK just enough to come in third as Ron looked on from atop the tower while still searching for that key. As we knew (by, you know, keeping track), it was going to be a non-elimination round, so RK hit the mat last and had all their money and belongings taken away from them.
But, in the midst of all this bad news, there was a ray of sunshine-y happiness for this season's Team Dysfunction: their stupid gnome won them $20K worth of Traveliciousness and a luxurious suite at the local Four Seasons for the night...which they could enjoy with none of their own possessions. How would you have liked to be a fly on that very expensive wall to hear The Beauty Queen wail and bemoan their fate that night? Yeah, me neither.
The evening got off to a great start, going out to dinner with a dear friend at one of my favorite restaurants and having an award-winning pizza that was just delicious. (I had the one with the very Californian prosciutto, caramelized onions, Gorgonzola and apples topping.) Yum-my.
Then it got even sweeter. Finally, finally, FINALLY the day had arrived. A day I had been counting down to and anticipating and salivating over for months. No, not my sabbatical; still have a few lil' ol' days left on that countdown. Yes, in fact, the Krispy Kreme in my area opened after months of rain-induced delay! (Apparently my clue was not obscure enough, because you were able to guess that it involved doughnuts, darn it.) Surprisingly, it wasn't swamped like other new ones out here I had been to, so we were able to escape with our dozen...after getting our complimentary hot Original Glazed right off the line, of course...without delay. And it was heaven!
Lastly, it was time for Amazing Race and it was a corker. I was surprised to see how little time there was between Joyce and Uchenna (or, as they have become on TVgasm, Joychenna) arriving and leaving in first and RA/RK, who came in 2nd/3rd. It must have taken Joychenna a really long time to find the head-shaving guy.
Anyway, it was off to Istanbul, but not before Rob was able to shoot himself in the foot by being just a little too cocky. Now, I've been an RA fan from the start, but Rob ticked even me off last night by trying to play his little mind game on Gretchen and Meredith (or, another TVgasmism, Gretchedith) and then being so smug right up until the time he learned the truth.
By trying to freak Gretchedith out by making them think there was an earlier flight to their destination from the connection in Delhi, he prompted Joychenna to make a call and find out that there was indeed an earlier flight that, inexplicably, RA/RK were unable to procure. The race was on, but RA/RK were blissfully ignorant for hours and Rob spent that time busting on the other teams. Not nice, Rob. May I introduce you to Mr. Karma? Perhaps you've heard of him?
During this time, RK were in a cab and Kelly made her already-infamous comment about Ron being a commitmentphobe, as demonstrated by his becoming a POW (he was in Iraq, did ya know?) and thereby "getting out of" his military service. It wasn't quite the grenade (so to speak) that the preview the week before had us anticipating, because Ron took it better than I think many of us would. He was sarcastic (but he didn't call her a bitch like, um, I would have) and, while you can practically see their relationship dissolving before our very eyes, the moment passed.
Once they arrived in Istanbul, things really got moving, much of it by sea. After a pair of boat rides, teams had to search an island lighthouse for something. What was it? A can of cold, refreshing Coca-Cola? A bag of Star Wars-branded "Dark Side" M&Ms? No, in a prime moment of true product placement abuse, four of the Travelocity Roaming Gnomes were hidden about this spit of land, which the teams then had to take with them for the rest of the leg and deliver to Phil at the Pit Stop. (Along the way, Meredith named his gnome Jerome, which I thought was pretty clever.) If we hadn't realized by that point that Travelocity is putting out major bucks advertising with this show, we were beaten about the head with it last night. WE GET IT ALREADY! The Race is all about travel, you are all about travel; these teams are trying to win big bucks, you can save people big bucks on travel so they don't have to compete in these harebrained reality shows. Now please take your gnome and stick him somewhere...unpleasant.
It was about this time that RA/RK realized that they were actually trailing the other two teams and they tried to kick it into high gear. The Detour unwound in its normal fashion, with Joychenna banging it out and moving on, Gretchedith wandering around looking clueless but getting it done, RA funnin' with the locals and making short work of it, and RK being passably competent as Ron showed he can follow a grid real good, by golly.
Finally we were to the Roadblock, "Storm the Fortress," wherein one person had to scale a tower, run around and find a key that was hidden in plain sight, then rappel back down the side of the tower to unlock a book with the next clue. Uchenna did Team Baldy proud and tore up the ladder -- I looked down for a moment and he was up the darn thing -- and they finished in first place again.
We anticipated that whether it was Gretchen or Meredith who took this Roadblock on, it was going to be a killer challenge for them. In true Gretchen fashion, however, she assessed the situation as they read the clue, whined, decided "this doesn't look good," whined some more...and decided she'd do it. I think she felt guilty over the whole elephant debacle and went for it without thinking it through. She struggled, but by damn, she did it and Gretchedith pulled off a miracle by coming in second!
RA/RK couldn't make up much time on the others, though RA got ahead of RK just enough to come in third as Ron looked on from atop the tower while still searching for that key. As we knew (by, you know, keeping track), it was going to be a non-elimination round, so RK hit the mat last and had all their money and belongings taken away from them.
But, in the midst of all this bad news, there was a ray of sunshine-y happiness for this season's Team Dysfunction: their stupid gnome won them $20K worth of Traveliciousness and a luxurious suite at the local Four Seasons for the night...which they could enjoy with none of their own possessions. How would you have liked to be a fly on that very expensive wall to hear The Beauty Queen wail and bemoan their fate that night? Yeah, me neither.
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