Off to the land of rice'a'roni!

Mr. J and I are off to California. We fly into San Francisco at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and the our first stop is just outside of Monterey in a place called Salinas. Mr. J is running in the Big Sur Marathon on Sunday. I've never heard of this town before, but the hotal fare was less expensive than in Monterey or Carmel.

Then we are heading back into San Francisco on Monday for a week. We are staying in the dodgiest of dodgy hotels, so we can afford to do as many things as possible.

I'm not sure if I will have opportunity to make a post while I am there or not, but I will be sure to have lots to say upon my return, so stay tuned!

Until then...ciao!
S

Don't be shy...say something!

I know that this is a common observation among the blogging community, but I too will join in the lamentation of the lurking crowd. I know that you're out there...I know that you've stopped in here...did I say nothing to provoke a reaction? Say something...say anything...

That is all...

S

HNT #17 - "In life as a dance:..."

"...Grace glides on blistered feet." - Alice Abrams

This is a long one, but it's guaranteed to make your day look great in comparison. Pictures are throughout, I'll understand if you scroll ahead, but they may not make as much sense...

Last Thursday was a very trying day...trying, and painful! Here is a story which paints a more realistic view of the real me, as opposed to the glamorous and sophisticated woman I am in my own mind (shhh...nobody asked you!). I am a completed and utter klutz!

As with any story, good or otherwise, I will start at the beginning (and finish at the end).

I woke up Thursday morning and the sun was shining, the birds were singing - well they were honking and cooing because the birds in my neighborhood are geese and pigeons - and I was in a good mood. Tired of looking like a slob at work, I decided to put on my new dress - a cute black shirt dress with a retro 40s flare - my favorite stockings, and my sexy mary-jane heels.

Lunch time rolls around, and the day had only become more beautiful with the passing hours. And I thought, what better way to enjoy lunch than to go for a walk? So off I went in search of some sun and some sustenance. Sustenance was procured in the form of a citrus chicken wrap and a bowl of borscht from a local coffee house - to "go" naturally, so I could enjoying while sitting outside. The plan was to go back to the office, ditch my purse, grab my water bottle and head across the street to a park bench...the worst part about plans is that they often don't work out.

I made it almost back to the office when..."OH NO, DISASTER!!!". I'm still not really sure what happened first, but the bowl of soup slid off the container holding the wrap, and the strap on my shoe came undone just as a couple of ladies were walking in the opposite direction. I thought it best to step out of the way and let them past to avoid further problem. So I stepped onto the grass boulevard, and put the heel of my undone shoe directly into one of the little holes left from a very recent aeration - you guessed it - DOWN I go! Just as the two ladies were walking past too. I skinned my knee on landing (yes, you heard me right...I'm 27 - almost 28 - and I SKINNED my knee), and managed to ruin my favorite stockings in the process. Not to mention the embarrassment of falling in front of complete strangers....I picked my mortified self up and briskly walked the few dozen steps back to the office with my held held in shame, to assess the damage.

Not only had I ruined my stockings, I had a surprising amount of grass stuck to an alarmingly bloody knee, and shin. On top of that, half of my borscht has spilled inside the bag, and onto my wrap - and as I'm sure you all know, borscht it thick and red from all the beets in it...which makes it very very messy!!! I stripped off the ruined stocking, cleaned and bandaged my knee, cleaned up the beet mess, and headed over to the drug store across the street to buy replacement stockings to cover my bandaid shame. Standing at the till paying for my $7 stockings, I noticed another catastrophe...the strap on my purse had torn through when I fell as well.

Needless to say, I am in a fowl mood by this point, lunch is nearly over and I haven't had a bite to eat. So I stomp my way back across the street to the office, into the ladies room and start to put my new stockings on...which I manage to put my finger through in my rage - JUST GREAT!!!! For anyone whose keeping track that's my knee, my purse and now 2 pairs of stockings RUINED in about a half hour!

When I finally didsit down to eat my lunch (at my desk), I am on the verge of tears, and the fact that both my wrap and my soup have gone stone cold is almost enough to push me over the edge...but I didn't cry. I called Mr. J instead. He's good for that, always makes the bad things seem less so!

That evening I went for a two hour walk with my brother's finace, and due to my new(ish) sandles I ended up with a blister on the BOTTOM of each foot. But that was down right pleasent compared to the rest of my day. And they healed up in a day and half!

So there you have the clumsy side of me as this weeks HNT post. Much more vulnerable than posting a semi clad photo of myself! The photos (from the top) are: the shoes that tried to kill me (but I still love them), my skinned knee as it looked Tuesday night, my poor purse and it's broken strap, and my gone (but not forgotten) stockings.

I won't be able to make the HNT rounds tonight as I will be at the Franz Ferdinand & Death Cab For Cutie concert. Hopefully tomorrow. Also, I'm off to California on Saturday for a week - Mr. J is running the Big Sur marathon - I will hopefully be making a HNT post from there, but I'm not going to make any promises.

And as always, if you want in on the HNT scoop..click the button.

Thanks 'C'!

There's something about a compliment to put a little bounce in your step. And, somehow, it's even more flattering when it comes from someone you hardly know at all...

I walked into Starbucks this afternoon at lunch, and was met by the smiling face of somone I haven't seen in quite some time. He looked me up and down, which would normally weird me out or piss me off, but it wasn't in a sexual sort of way because I'm pretty sure he doesn't like girls...

"You're looking gooood"

Chit-chat followed until our orders were ready and we parted ways, but he left me with a smile on my face and feeling good about myself.

One more sleep!

Tomorrow is the day! Yep, I'm excited!

Death Cab For Cutie & Franz Ferdinand

Also, I will see Mr. J tomorrow for the first time in almost a month. That's too long. But the good news is I will be with him for almost 2 weeks solid! We leave for California on Saturday morning.

Blog Moving???

msn spaces doesn't allow blogger users to post comments...most of my blog community are blogger users...then why am I still posting most items on my msn space? The answer is I don't really know.

I really like that msn allows someone with little to no knowledge of computeriness to create and update a space with many dynamic elements (photo album, customized lists etc.), but I think I have learned enough over the last few months that I could create a dynamic space to represent more accurately who I really am on blogger...maybe. I already have two blogs with blogger - this one, and one for daily photos), but I have maintained my original space on msn for most of my general blogging.

I don't really know what the future of my msn space is...I don't know if this one will eventually become my regular blog and that one will be deleted, or if this one will just be a home for all of the blogger user communication...only time will tell. But for now I have copied a few of my most recent entries from there to here, as a sample. If things turn out well here they may all be copied over in time. Perhaps if things really turn out good here, everything can be combined into one cohesive SUPER BLOG!!!...ok, I think I'm getting ahead of myself just a little...

I'm done ranting now...I think!

Saturday to Myself

It isn't often these days that I get a whole day to myself; very few days when there is nowhere I have to be, no schedule being dictated to me, nobody to please but myself. Today was one of those days!

I spent a great part of the afternoon doing absolutely nothing! I layed in the middle of the living room floor, loaded the stereo with 3 of my current favorite CDs, and just laid back and listened. The middle of the living room floor is the best place for this - surrounded on all four sides by speakers with the sub-woofer directly infront of me. It's not so much simply listening as it is a sonic massage experience. And one of my very favorite things to do!

Some may consider this a huge waste of time, but to me it is time WELL wasted!

Procrastination at its finest

Stolen from Tommy Gunn.

The Rules? Put your music player on shuffle. Press forward for each question. Use the song title as the answer to the question. Post on your blog. Comment back if you post it on your site.

~Will I get far in life?
Love Will Tear Up Apart - Calexico (Joy Division cover)

~How do my friends see me?
Beneath The Stars - King Cobb Steelie

~Where will I get married?
Dust In The Wind - Kansas

~What is my best friend’s theme song?
Virtue - Ani Difranco

~What is the story of my life?
How Soon Is Now - Snake River Conspiracy (Smiths cover)

~What was high school like?
Nursery Lie - The Be Good Tanyas

~How can I get ahead in life?
Steven Smith - The Organ

~What is the best thing about me?
Bi-Polar - Blonde Redhead

~How is today going to be?
Bulletproof - Blue Rodeo

~What is in store for this weekend?
Secret Vampires - Bis

~What song describes my parents?
Everlong (accoustic) - Foo Fighters

~My grandparents?
Say Hello - Drugstore

~How is my life going?
Walk Away - Ben Harper

~What song will they play at my funeral?
Stay - The Tragically Hip

~How does the world see me?
For What Reason - Emm Gryner (Death Cab For Cutie cover)

~Will I have a happy life?
Cry to Me - Solomon Burke

~What do my friends really think of me?
Glass House - Ani Difranco

~Do people secretly lust after me?
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand

~How can I make myself happy?
Out of Focus - Buck 65

~What should I do with my life?
Line of Best Fit - Death Cab For Cutie

~Will I ever have children?
Fortunate Fool - Jack Johnson

~What is some good advice?
Come Rain or Come Shine - Billy Holiday (That IS good advice)

~What is my signature dancing song?
Keep on Dancing - No Doubt (what are the odds - I don't even really like this sone!)

~What do I think my current theme song is?
Til You're Dead - Melissa Ferrick

~What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Hello Operator - The White Stripes

~What type of men/women do you like?
Anyone - Weeping Tile (tee hee - that's pretty funny)

When I'm Sixty-four

When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine...

You'll be older too,
And if you say the word,
I could stay with you.

-Lyrics by Paul McCartney

Tee Hee...I thought this picture was cute before, just look at it now! Will we be the cutest darn old couple or what!?! This was done on line at Perception Laboratory's Face Transformer. All you need to do is upload a picture (I spliced the two seperate ones together), and you can do lots of different face modifications. It's fun, you should go give it a try.

Here are some of the other ones I played with

"Joelle & Susan" - tee hee! He makes a much more attractive woman than I did a man!

Whew - this Boy Named Sue sure isn't a very handsome bloke!!!

Let get back to the fun ones!!!

Planet of the Apes style! I think Chimpy Susan is sort of cute!

Mucha - Awwww...she's really sweet!

and my favorite...Modigliani!

And just for curiosities sake, here are the original photos...

Exhausted - HNT #16

I'd love to be doing this...

but instead I'm still at work, doing this...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unable to sleep again...

it could be anticipation for my up coming trip...

it could be the stress of trying to meet deadlines at work...

it could be the random thoughts of nonesense that float around inside my head...

whatever it is, I can't sleep, and I can't seem to stay awake...

I'm in a half-conscious state and it's starting to wear on me...

'I start to feel like I can't maintain the facade any longer, that I may just start to show through. And I wish I knew what was wrong. Maybe something about how stupid my whole life is. I don't know. Why does the rest of the world put up with the hypocrisy, the need to put a happy face on sorrow, the need to keep on keeping on?... I don't know the answer, I know only that I can't. I don't want any more vicissitudes, I don't want any more of this try, try again stuff. I just want out. I've had it. I am so tired. I am twenty and I am already exhausted.'

- Elizabeth Wurtzel (American writer / actress)

As always, if you want to know why we get nekkid on thursdays, go visit Osbasso or click the button!

***EDIT***

It is 9:30, and I'm home finally! I'll be checking a few HNT posts, and then it's off to bed for me, but I will check in with the more of you tomorrow!

Happy HNT everyone!!!

Something fun for today

I first heard about Michael Paulus' character study of cartoon characters skelatons at my friends Chuck and Jamie's house. Chuck had a couple of the Peanuts gang printed and up on the wall, which worked great as conversation starters at their house warming party.

I had almost forgaotten about it until this morning. I had a nose bleed this morning, and while I was waiting for it to stop I looked up "skelaton" in google images (don't ask me why...I don't really know)...but that triggered it in my head. So for your amusement today I present...

A character study of 22 present and past cartoon characters

by Michael Paulus

and...

*Originally posted at: Twisted ramblings from the mouse that runs the brain

85 Sleeps until I have a new sister

Tomorrow is the begining of a process that will result in the marriage of my baby brother...the bridal shower. The wedding is not until July, but due to scheduling, the shower will be tomorrow. I am excited that I will be gaining a new sister (although I already think of her as such).

*Originally posted at: Twisted ramblings from the mouse that runs the brain

An eventful day...

This was too much fun to pass up...

Go to Wikipedia. Type in your birth date (but not year).List three events that happened on your birthday. List two important births and one interesting death. Post this.

May 16...
Events:

• 1866 - Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer.
• 1920 - In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc as a saint.
• 2005 - Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote.

Births:

• 1827 - Pierre Cuypers - Dutch Architect (d. 1921)
• 1965 - Krist Novoselic - American bassist (Nirvana)

Deaths:

• 1990 - Jim Henson - Amican Puppeteer (b. 1936)

*Originally posted at: Twisted ramblings from the mouse that runs the brain

Busy little...BRUNETTE?

I am red no more...nor blonde for that matter...


As long as I can remember, I have fought with my hair colour... I started colouring it in my teens because I thought it lacked a certain oomph (it's dishwater blonde naturally, with a definite red undertone, for anyone who cares). I started by bringing out the red full force, but quickly grew tired of it. Much to my dismay, the red wouldn't go away...try as I might to cover it up, the red always seemed to creep back in unless I went very light blonde (which has a tendency to look a little on the green side).


My last visit to the salon resulted in an end of my struggle to cover the red, when Stan convinced me to embrace the red, and love it...that did the trick. Stop fighting it, and it will go away. Not completely, but the vibrant red faded within two weeks to my usual strawberry blonde..which everyone commented on as looking very natural (duh, it pretty much was!)

I've grown tired of it again, and the spring weather has inspired me to change it once more. This time, a little lot more drastic than the usual blondish shades...and so there is a new me to face the glorious days of spring ahead! I present the new BRUNETTE me!!!

There is still a definite red undertone, but it would be a stretch to call it RED...but, I wonder how long it will be until this fades to red, and eventually strawberry blonde perhaps...must be my Irish heritage coming through.

Now I must be off to finish the work I brought home with me...busy, busy, busy...work, work, work. I will have to look at HNT posts later.

Happy Half-Nekkid Thursday to all, and to all a good night!

Lover vs. Friend

"With lovers there can be 'goodbye', but with friends there will only be 'Hello' and "Glad to see you again".
- Unknown


"You and I will meet again, When we're least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again”
- Tom Petty

*Originally posted at: Twisted ramblings from the mouse that runs the brain

The funniest man on the internet!!!

Have you ever started laughing while brushing your teeth, spraying tooth paste all over the nearest object? Not really a pleasent experience...in my case the nearest objects consisted of my desk, my monitor, and myself! Now before anyone says "Eewwww gross, she brushes her teath at the computer!".. yes, and up until tonight I never had a mis-hap that would lead me to believe that this could cause a problem...believe me lesson learned!

Anyway...I have no clue how I wound up there...but I happened to find myself at the blog of the funniest man on the internet (Gideon Boomer) while I was brushing my teeth this evening. I burst out into a full on cackle (not giggles and not just laughter either)...after a brief pause to clean up the damn toothpaste (eeewww gross!) I returned to http://touchmybelly.blogspot.com/.

I command you to stop reading this and go there NOW...
What are you still doing here...get lost man...

Still here huh? Ok, well, I guess you need a bit more convincing. This ought to do the trick...

A project by Gideon Boomer, "Touch My Belly" started in 1999. The concept is a simple one: Convince stranger(s) to touch my belly while being photographed. There are only two rules for the project: I can't know the person touching my belly and I can't pay anyone for doing it. Gotta be a stranger who will do it for free. The real art of the thing is in the pitch. "Touch My Belly" is updated as often as possible! Enjoy.

I can't even look at this without laughing again...maybe it's the sleep deprivation (I've got a story to tell about that, but it will have to wait for tomorrow), now I am off to bed...probobly to dream about strange skinny men who ask strnagers to touch their bellies...lol!!!

Goodnight!

S

*Originally posted at: Twisted ramblings from the mouse that runs the brain

What do all of these women have in common?

They all look like me to some degree!

I found this really interesting face recognition program online tonight at http://www.myheritage.com/ that will search a dtatbase of thousands of people (celebrity or non - you specify) to find recognizable traits that match your own. I ran the program with several of my own photos as well as with photos of family and friensd. The results are really interesting. It matches traits, and not specifically by gender either. I uploaded male pictures that came back with female results and vise versa...photos of me only resulted in one male match (Elton John??? - maybe it was because of the glasses).

Here are a couple of the pictures I used to come up with these matches... You should go try it! Let me know who your best match is if you do!

And here are the trait match percentages from the collage above...

Rachel Leigh Cook - 58%
Christina Ricci - 73%
Avril Levign - 64%
Winona Ryder - 70%
Drew Barrymore - 75%
Elisha Cuthbert - 74%
Scarlett Johansson - 61%
Jessica Alba - 62%
Goldie Hawn - 71%
Kate Hudson - 70%
Meryl Streep - 64%
Audrey Tautou - 71%
Meg Ryan - 64%
Tata Young - 57%
Jang Nera - 63%
Mena Suvari - 66%
Aishwariya Rai - 60%
Sarah Michelle Gellar - 67%
Naomi Watts - 66%
Keira Knightly - 63%
Rachel Bilson - 71%
Cate Blanchett - 66%
Jodie Foster - 67%
Michelle Pfeiffer - 63%
Christy Turlington - 68%
Jennifer Anniston - 71%
Paris Hilton - 67%
Sophia Coppola - 70%
Christina Agilera - 72%
Song Hye-Ko - 74%
Pricilla Presley - 68%
Ashley Olsen - 63%
Alyson Hannigan - 61%
Hilary Duff - 63%
Kristin Kreuk - 70%

*Originally posted at: Twisted ramblings from the mouse that runs the brain
Comments:

They are all very attractive but the bottom 3 are the best;)
April 06
11:04
PM
Published by: The silent citizen

Little Drummer Girl - HNT #14

My love of the Djembe has recently been rekindled. My best friend and I took lessons in the art of West African hand drumming last summer, and I really wanted to buy a drum then. Unfortunately, I faced one problem...the beautifully hand craved drum that I had my eye on was nearly $400, and I just couldn't find a way to fit it into my already tight budget.


Then in mid-March our office took part in a Circles of Rhythm team building seminar. Where we worked as a team to create intricate drum rhythms while blowing off some much needed stress and having fun. Even the most skeptical of my colleagues seemed to have a great time! That was it...I NEEDED a djembe! There was no getting around it. I still could not justify such extravigance for an instrument I just barely know how to play, so I sought out alternate means of procuring said drum. Two days of research, a week of waiting and less than half of what I originally thought I would have to pay have resulted in a drum more beautiful than I had selected in the first place.


I have had it for a week today, and have played it for at least 10 minutes since it arrived. Ten minutes was all I could take on Friday because I played so long Thursday evening that my hands hurt...soon I will have beautiful drummers callouses...YIPPIE!!!


If for some strange reason, you're still in the dark about what all the Nekkidness is about you should click this ---->

Anonymous and Nekkid

For anyone who wants to prance around semi-unclad with the rest of us nekkid blog souls every thursday, but hasn't worked up the courage to for whatever reason, Osbasso is starting an ANONYMOUS HNT site just for you! He will be announcing the address of said site in his post this Wednesday evening.

Os says: "This new site isn't intended for those who already feel comfortable showing all parts of themselves. Rather, it's intended for those who want to step up their regular HNT nekkidity. A chance to get a little more risque. Or a chance to actually join in on the HNT without doing so on their own blogs."

He also warns that because it is completely anonymous that there could be anything ranging from PG to X rated posts (although he's suggesting nothing more than R rating). And he stresses that the intent is to keep the site ANONYMOUS, so if you recognise someone...keep it to yourself or emal them directly! Be sure to check it out won't you!

Oh, and as always, if you're unsure what all the HNT talk is about you should click the button...go on, click it...it wants to be clicked!

"All music is f-ing yours..."

I stumbled upon a very interesting essay written by (Eugene) DJ Hütz of Gogol Bordello. It seems to have been written as an introduction to a list of music the band keeps on the tour bus with them while on the road. Although the list is not particularly to my taste - in fact, with the exception of a dozen or so of the entries, I've not heard of the majority of the list <hangs head in shame> - the introduction makes several strong points about the importance of music in society (globally) and the mis-popularization and promotion surrounding it. Definitely worth a read. A word of caution however, he is extremely opinionated and the language could be offensive to some (you've been warned)...and in the words of DJ Hütz... "all music is f-ing yours..."

The following is an excerpt from INTRO WORD

There are many of us for whom music is an irreplacable part of life... We rely on it to take us out of sadness, preassures of poverty, youth, age, etc... Mixed with alcohol it seems to be a remedy for just about anything...Be it a rapid fire of notes exploding in catharsis all over the major key or an obsessive marathon of soul-searching sounds crawling around minor...it all appears somhow more solid and present in our lives than materials... something we can always address and hold on too... At it's best music connects us to a feeling as large as the whole goddamn universe itself...
MORE...

*Originally posted at: Twisted ramblings from the mouse that runs the brain