So, visit my website and let me know what you think!
http://www.thebeadedtrail.com
Some of my favorite new creations:
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Why I've been so quiet.
I've been making jewelry like a woman posessed. Why? I entered myself in a craft fair here in town and I'm petrified I won't have enough goodies to sell. So each weekend and most weeknights have been dedicated towards the persuit of making bling. Its in 2 weeks and finally, as of today, I feel that I have enough product to sell.
So, visit my website and let me know what you think!
http://www.thebeadedtrail.com
Some of my favorite new creations:
So, visit my website and let me know what you think!
http://www.thebeadedtrail.com
Some of my favorite new creations:
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
funny spam
Sifting thru my spam-box today trying to locate and email that got lost...
Subject:
New and hot You crave to shoot like a film star…
Date:
Wed, 9 Aug 2006 01:48:39 -0400
Order it on-line and impress your girlfriend with your wonderful
shooting Don’t be afraid I think, yes. Now it’s possible to do with magic tab
You always dreamt to rock hard erections… See our shop:
http://ksader.com/gal/gsm/
Never judge a book by its cover. Better wed over the mixen than over
the moor
I'm still not sure what all of this put together is supposed to mean.
Subject:
New and hot You crave to shoot like a film star…
Date:
Wed, 9 Aug 2006 01:48:39 -0400
Order it on-line and impress your girlfriend with your wonderful
shooting Don’t be afraid I think, yes. Now it’s possible to do with magic tab
You always dreamt to rock hard erections… See our shop:
http://ksader.com/gal/gsm/
Never judge a book by its cover. Better wed over the mixen than over
the moor
I'm still not sure what all of this put together is supposed to mean.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Updates in no partucular order
Following up from my last post, Project “please, lets just find something minorly interesting to watch this summer” has commenced. Watched Eps 1 and 2 of Firefly – good stuff. Watched Ep 1 of Twin Peaks last night with Will. He did not like it. Complained that it was the slowest tv show ever in the history of man. I didn’t remember it being that slow, but then again, I was ~14 when it aired and all I remember was the crazy Lodge and Bob, and the more bizzaro stuff (log lady anyone?).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We didn’t do the Subaru scavenger hunt (that we did last summer). Main reason was that it started practically in Galveston (50 miles away) and we really didn’t feel like driving all over for 5 hours and burning $60 in premium unleaded gas. The finish line was at the bar we frequent by our house. So, we just hung out and watched Firefly in our air-conditioned house and showed up ~30 min before the hunters did. (seriously, we are at that bar too much. We walked in the door and the owner, who was behind the bar, greeted each of us by name. And our usual waitress had Will’s beer waiting for him. AND they kept the kitchen open late for all the Subaru people. THAT is service, people!) Anyways, I think if we did the hunt, we would have fared well, as I had a lot of the random items in my house. Xray of your hand (check – when I broke my thumb in 2002). Pic of teammate in full on ski gear (tons of already developed pics of this, I wouldn’t have even had to dress up for this). Other items (in case you care):
Pic of teammate in a shopping cart holding a block of cheese
Pic of teammate in a porn movie theater holding a mop
Pic of teammate with a stripper (sense a theme?)
Pic of teammate in a dumpster – one with head sticking out, one with both feet sticking out
Pic of teammate doing a handstand in a hot tub
Pic of teammate in a bathroom tub display
Etc etc…. lots of random stuff. This is probably the last Hunt for the Subie crew. Not sure how I feel about that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job update – its going ok. Have had some deliverables. Think I’ve done ok on them. At least well enough to not get yelled at. I’m figuring out personalities now – who’s responsible, helpful, lazy, short-tempered. I think my boss may be on the short-tempered end, b/c she expects perfection. However, she’s very clear about those expectations and seems to communicate things fairly well. So its more like “if I screw it up, its my fault” rather than like at my last place where I did as I was told and they couldn’t tell me I was doing the wrong thing until my review where the slammed me. I just have to remember to keep my edge and stay focused. I used to be more like my boss, with the expect perfection bit, until my last job, which totally just killed any motivation. I don’t want to be a perfectionist again, mainly due to the stress, but I do need to eliminate “oh hell I don’t care this is good enough” attitude. Because, clearly, that is not going to cut it. Still rocking the Fridays off, though. Woo!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swimming update – we’re still homeless. So, when its not raining, I’m swimming outside Tu and Th. Fridays off I’m swimming at the other pool, but its too far away to swim at on the days that I work. I also joined a pilates studio and am doing an hour long reformer class once a week. I have no races to train for, so it seems like I’m in a bit of a rut.
I’m becoming slightly obsessed over trip details to New Zealand. Trip 2.5 weeks in Nov/Dec to the South Island. Only our airfare is booked. I think the plan is to rent a small campervan (think a van with a pop-up top that has a stovetop, benches and smoosh together to form a bed, and a teensy tiny bathroom) and tour around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Typically, when I plan a vacation, I become obsessed and plan everything down to the minute, ensuring that we squeeze as much as possible into our time there. It can be fun – but its also exhausting. And Will is also more of a “hang out and do nothing” type of guy. I’m more of a “if I wanted to hang out, I would have just stayed home for free” type of girl. He is usually a good sport, though, and plays along w/minimal complaining.
So, I’m really fighting the urge here to plan-plan-plan. For starters, this whole campervan thing is wigging me out. Can I tolerate such cramped quarters for 18 days? Can we access all the places we want to go? Will there be enough room for all our luggage (and all the Lush NZ stuff I plan on buying early in our trip when we’re in Christchurch – they have different products that I can’t get here). So, Will and I are going to go (probably this weekend) and look at RVs locally. Just so I can visualize this. Downside is that RV sales people are going to harass us for the next 5 years, thinking we’re buying something. Sweet!
Then the other thing is that I’ve got ~5 months where I can research, research, research. I literally feel like I want to read as much as possible, so we can pick and choose as we go along. My worst fear is to come back and have someone ask “didn’t you do this – it was so cool?” and our answer is no, we didn’t even know that existed. However, there’s a balance for me between crappy touristy junk and doing once-in-a-lifetime activities. How to balance that, I’m not sure yet. And there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of information (online, message boards) devoted purely to the South Island that covers more than main/populated areas of the big national parks. For me to feel comfortable, I want to see pictures, and there just isn’t a whole lot out there (at least that I’ve found so far).
My point is, I’m trying very hard to quell my OCD tendencies. The whole point about this trip is to hang out and explore. No rushing. The goal is to focus on 3-4 regions and explore at a leisurely pace. I have regions in mind, but being OCD about this stuff, I have to research to make sure we’ve chosen wisely.
Anyways, the first regional selection is the Marlborough Region, which is the NE corner of the South Island. Tons of vineyards, pretty scenery, hopefully not a ton of people. The Marlborough Sounds is basically a bunch of inlets/finger peninsulas, and most of the land is accessible only by hiking/biking or boating. So, adventure # 1 is sea kayaking here: http://www.marlboroughsounds.co.nz/ Not sure if we’d do a one day tour, overnight camping, guided. I just figure it would be a good way to see some parts of the country that aren’t over-ridden with LOTR crazies, and still have a relaxing adventure. You jealous yet?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We didn’t do the Subaru scavenger hunt (that we did last summer). Main reason was that it started practically in Galveston (50 miles away) and we really didn’t feel like driving all over for 5 hours and burning $60 in premium unleaded gas. The finish line was at the bar we frequent by our house. So, we just hung out and watched Firefly in our air-conditioned house and showed up ~30 min before the hunters did. (seriously, we are at that bar too much. We walked in the door and the owner, who was behind the bar, greeted each of us by name. And our usual waitress had Will’s beer waiting for him. AND they kept the kitchen open late for all the Subaru people. THAT is service, people!) Anyways, I think if we did the hunt, we would have fared well, as I had a lot of the random items in my house. Xray of your hand (check – when I broke my thumb in 2002). Pic of teammate in full on ski gear (tons of already developed pics of this, I wouldn’t have even had to dress up for this). Other items (in case you care):
Pic of teammate in a shopping cart holding a block of cheese
Pic of teammate in a porn movie theater holding a mop
Pic of teammate with a stripper (sense a theme?)
Pic of teammate in a dumpster – one with head sticking out, one with both feet sticking out
Pic of teammate doing a handstand in a hot tub
Pic of teammate in a bathroom tub display
Etc etc…. lots of random stuff. This is probably the last Hunt for the Subie crew. Not sure how I feel about that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job update – its going ok. Have had some deliverables. Think I’ve done ok on them. At least well enough to not get yelled at. I’m figuring out personalities now – who’s responsible, helpful, lazy, short-tempered. I think my boss may be on the short-tempered end, b/c she expects perfection. However, she’s very clear about those expectations and seems to communicate things fairly well. So its more like “if I screw it up, its my fault” rather than like at my last place where I did as I was told and they couldn’t tell me I was doing the wrong thing until my review where the slammed me. I just have to remember to keep my edge and stay focused. I used to be more like my boss, with the expect perfection bit, until my last job, which totally just killed any motivation. I don’t want to be a perfectionist again, mainly due to the stress, but I do need to eliminate “oh hell I don’t care this is good enough” attitude. Because, clearly, that is not going to cut it. Still rocking the Fridays off, though. Woo!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swimming update – we’re still homeless. So, when its not raining, I’m swimming outside Tu and Th. Fridays off I’m swimming at the other pool, but its too far away to swim at on the days that I work. I also joined a pilates studio and am doing an hour long reformer class once a week. I have no races to train for, so it seems like I’m in a bit of a rut.
I’m becoming slightly obsessed over trip details to New Zealand. Trip 2.5 weeks in Nov/Dec to the South Island. Only our airfare is booked. I think the plan is to rent a small campervan (think a van with a pop-up top that has a stovetop, benches and smoosh together to form a bed, and a teensy tiny bathroom) and tour around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Typically, when I plan a vacation, I become obsessed and plan everything down to the minute, ensuring that we squeeze as much as possible into our time there. It can be fun – but its also exhausting. And Will is also more of a “hang out and do nothing” type of guy. I’m more of a “if I wanted to hang out, I would have just stayed home for free” type of girl. He is usually a good sport, though, and plays along w/minimal complaining.
So, I’m really fighting the urge here to plan-plan-plan. For starters, this whole campervan thing is wigging me out. Can I tolerate such cramped quarters for 18 days? Can we access all the places we want to go? Will there be enough room for all our luggage (and all the Lush NZ stuff I plan on buying early in our trip when we’re in Christchurch – they have different products that I can’t get here). So, Will and I are going to go (probably this weekend) and look at RVs locally. Just so I can visualize this. Downside is that RV sales people are going to harass us for the next 5 years, thinking we’re buying something. Sweet!
Then the other thing is that I’ve got ~5 months where I can research, research, research. I literally feel like I want to read as much as possible, so we can pick and choose as we go along. My worst fear is to come back and have someone ask “didn’t you do this – it was so cool?” and our answer is no, we didn’t even know that existed. However, there’s a balance for me between crappy touristy junk and doing once-in-a-lifetime activities. How to balance that, I’m not sure yet. And there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of information (online, message boards) devoted purely to the South Island that covers more than main/populated areas of the big national parks. For me to feel comfortable, I want to see pictures, and there just isn’t a whole lot out there (at least that I’ve found so far).
My point is, I’m trying very hard to quell my OCD tendencies. The whole point about this trip is to hang out and explore. No rushing. The goal is to focus on 3-4 regions and explore at a leisurely pace. I have regions in mind, but being OCD about this stuff, I have to research to make sure we’ve chosen wisely.
Anyways, the first regional selection is the Marlborough Region, which is the NE corner of the South Island. Tons of vineyards, pretty scenery, hopefully not a ton of people. The Marlborough Sounds is basically a bunch of inlets/finger peninsulas, and most of the land is accessible only by hiking/biking or boating. So, adventure # 1 is sea kayaking here: http://www.marlboroughsounds.co.nz/ Not sure if we’d do a one day tour, overnight camping, guided. I just figure it would be a good way to see some parts of the country that aren’t over-ridden with LOTR crazies, and still have a relaxing adventure. You jealous yet?
Sunday, July 02, 2006
My (hopeful) solution to the summer tv blahs
Is is me, or does this summer's prime time TV options suck more than it usually does? You know its bad when you're watching PBS or the Science channel b/c there's nothing better on.
The only new shows I'm currently watching are: 4400, Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency, and Treasure Hunters. That's it. 2.5 hrs per week. My tivo is really feeling neglected!
So, my solution to the "what the heck do I watch at night" issue is to put a bunch of tv series dvds on my Netflix cue. This week its Season 1 Disc one of Firefly (somehow, we missed this show when it aired) and Twin Peaks. I figure we'll work our way thru both of these series and then we can watch old Alias or X-Files episodes to pass the time after that. The series DVDs seems like a good solution b/c its easier to commit to watching 1 or 2 1-hr tv shows than an entire movie.
So, what shows would you like to watch for the first time or re-visit this summer?
The only new shows I'm currently watching are: 4400, Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency, and Treasure Hunters. That's it. 2.5 hrs per week. My tivo is really feeling neglected!
So, my solution to the "what the heck do I watch at night" issue is to put a bunch of tv series dvds on my Netflix cue. This week its Season 1 Disc one of Firefly (somehow, we missed this show when it aired) and Twin Peaks. I figure we'll work our way thru both of these series and then we can watch old Alias or X-Files episodes to pass the time after that. The series DVDs seems like a good solution b/c its easier to commit to watching 1 or 2 1-hr tv shows than an entire movie.
So, what shows would you like to watch for the first time or re-visit this summer?
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Stacy and Clinton - where are you???
My group leader is in major need of Stacy and Clinton's help. The woman is seriously fashion impaired.
Now granted, I've yet to see her wear something even "decent." When I interviewed with her, she had these fakey turquoise contacts (which she wears all the time), and a pants/shirt combo that was just too tight. She's not huge, but well, she's not exactly 21 with a hot bod anymore either. In fact, she's ~38 with a 2 yr old and is still carrying the baby weight. But I digress.
We were meeting with a senior technical guy all day today in preparation for a mtg with a client that's tomorrow. I'm wearing a brown linen eyelet skirt (hangs just below the knee) and a lace necked cotton shirt. Slightly casual, but cute and nice. and WORK appropriate.
My group leader shows up in a tan MINI (micro mini?) skirt and a tan long sleeved beaded knit/ribbed top. She sits down and the skirt is so short, you can almost see up it. Then at some point, she scoots her chair over to this white board and is facing me (and sr technical dude), still sitting in her chair with this TINY skirt and I swear, you could not help but look right on up her skirt. It was horrible. Awful. Then I sat there hoping she had the sense enough to at least let this thing be a skort. I have no idea if it was, but I prefer to think of whatever item of clothing I saw under her very tiny skirt was in fact part of her skort, rather than processing the fact that I just saw my boss' underwear during a meeting.
Now granted, I've yet to see her wear something even "decent." When I interviewed with her, she had these fakey turquoise contacts (which she wears all the time), and a pants/shirt combo that was just too tight. She's not huge, but well, she's not exactly 21 with a hot bod anymore either. In fact, she's ~38 with a 2 yr old and is still carrying the baby weight. But I digress.
We were meeting with a senior technical guy all day today in preparation for a mtg with a client that's tomorrow. I'm wearing a brown linen eyelet skirt (hangs just below the knee) and a lace necked cotton shirt. Slightly casual, but cute and nice. and WORK appropriate.
My group leader shows up in a tan MINI (micro mini?) skirt and a tan long sleeved beaded knit/ribbed top. She sits down and the skirt is so short, you can almost see up it. Then at some point, she scoots her chair over to this white board and is facing me (and sr technical dude), still sitting in her chair with this TINY skirt and I swear, you could not help but look right on up her skirt. It was horrible. Awful. Then I sat there hoping she had the sense enough to at least let this thing be a skort. I have no idea if it was, but I prefer to think of whatever item of clothing I saw under her very tiny skirt was in fact part of her skort, rather than processing the fact that I just saw my boss' underwear during a meeting.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Working hard at home!
I'm working from home today due to flooding. Damn cats aren't helping though - all they're doing is sleeping, and consequently, making ME sleepy! And then I try to put stuff on them for a stuff on my cat photo, and they freak out, which only makes me more distracted with the goal of getting a photo worthy submission.
Yup, getting lots of real work done here!
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Elk, Bears, Mountains and Crown - Montana June 2006
What more could you ask for! If you don't feel like reading the following novel, pictures tell a thousand words! Erin's Flickr Pics - Pages 1-3
I flew out to Billings a few weekends ago for the weddings of one of my college friends. This was basically the last time the 5 of us will be together, b/c two of the crew are moving to Africa for work (yeah.....).
Anyways, commentary on moving aside, I was very excited to head back to Montana as I hadn't been back since my Glacer backpacking trip in 2004. I decided to get a cabin in Cooke City Thurs night and spend Thurs and Friday exploring Yellowstone and the Beartooths. The rest of my friends were a)lame and b)bridesmaids and had to attend the rehearsal Friday, so I was solo for my adventures. Which I loved.
I'd been to Yellowstone/Beartooths twice before. The first time was for a Field Ecology course in college, where we spent a week camping, hiking, learning in the area. Which was bad ass. However, I didn't see anything remotely touristy. And my last time we were there, it was January and we didn't have snowmobiles, so again - no tourist attractions. I decided that this time, if I wanted to see it, I would stop, no matter how "cliche". Old Faithful, check. Geysers, check. Yellowstone Lake, Check.
I got my car at 11 AM Thursday and made a beeline west on I-90 to Livingston, then down to Gardnier to the park entrance. Make kick-ass time - was in the park by 2 PM. Woo! I loved seeing places I've been before with fresh eyes, noticing new things along the way. And since it was the first weekend in June, there weren't too many people (aka idiots) out. Woo! I'd drive and pull over is something was picture worthy. Take a short hike if I felt like it. I had crazy good timing with seeing wildlife and attractions. I pulled up to Old Faithful 15 min before it went off, not even knowing when it was supposed to go. Yay! I can check that off my list. I also saw (from a distance, thru a scope) a pack of 4 wolves with a kill (sweet!) and 3 black bears (close enough to see them w/out binocs [which I'd stupidly left at home] but far enough away where you wouldn't get hurt).
Total wildlife viewing tally:
Bison (tons), elk (tons), white tail deer (tons), 2 bighorn sheep, 1 trumpet swan, 1 blue heron, 3 bears, 4 wolves. Good day!
Some picture highlights from Thurs:
That was all from Thursday. Needless to say, I was a wee bit tired. Got to my hotel at 9:30, ate at 10 Pm. Woke up to the annoying sounds of highway construction at 7, was on my way out by 8 AM. Stopped in Cooke City for some coffee, asked the store owner about some good "quick" morning hikes before I had to head back to Billings. He recommended Trout Lake back in the park, then some stream behind this lodge just outside of the park "there's no trail, but if you follow the stream back for a mile, there's a nice waterfall."...
So, I went to Trout Lake first. Very nice!
I drove around the park some more (more killing time, I know its rough!). Then I tried this "waterfall" trail. It consisted of bushwacking thru hills with some pretty big downed trees. I managed to scratch my legs 3 times (so badly blood ran down my legs - two weeks later I still have a scab on one of my legs), then I saw fresh bear tracks and scat, so I decided to turn around...
Got a sammich in Cooke City, found this nice little waterfall (below) off the side of the road and had a lovely picnic lunch before taking the Beartooth Highway back to Billings.
Some pics of the Beartooths (some of my fav mountains)
Rolled back into Billings at 4 PM. Went to the rehearsal dinner, then out. Much craziness ensured. My friend H got very drunk, then decided to make out with the greasy guy with a comb-over. I so wish I had my camera, b/c she still doesn't believe me!
Saturday morning, we all headed to this tiny salon west of Billings - it was like the MT equivalent of the place in Steel Magnolias. Just bizarre. Anyways, I was the only one of the group who wasn't a BM, so I did errand running, which... whatever.
Then the wedding - they had a cash bar, but we were smart enough to bring 3 bottles of crown. Which about 6 of us managed to drain thru the course of the evening. Anways, the wedding was fun, slightly bittersweet, and beautiful.
The next morning, however, was not so pretty, thanks to the 3 bottles of crown and the fact that we went out afterwards and closed a bar down... But, this is true to how our group usually is, so it was nice to go out with a bang! However, in the future, I will do my best to not fly home hungover ever again, b/c it really, really sucked.
So, that was the last trip of the summer. Now all I have to look forward to is my 2.5 weeks in New Zealand over Thanksgiving! Wooo!
I flew out to Billings a few weekends ago for the weddings of one of my college friends. This was basically the last time the 5 of us will be together, b/c two of the crew are moving to Africa for work (yeah.....).
Anyways, commentary on moving aside, I was very excited to head back to Montana as I hadn't been back since my Glacer backpacking trip in 2004. I decided to get a cabin in Cooke City Thurs night and spend Thurs and Friday exploring Yellowstone and the Beartooths. The rest of my friends were a)lame and b)bridesmaids and had to attend the rehearsal Friday, so I was solo for my adventures. Which I loved.
I'd been to Yellowstone/Beartooths twice before. The first time was for a Field Ecology course in college, where we spent a week camping, hiking, learning in the area. Which was bad ass. However, I didn't see anything remotely touristy. And my last time we were there, it was January and we didn't have snowmobiles, so again - no tourist attractions. I decided that this time, if I wanted to see it, I would stop, no matter how "cliche". Old Faithful, check. Geysers, check. Yellowstone Lake, Check.
I got my car at 11 AM Thursday and made a beeline west on I-90 to Livingston, then down to Gardnier to the park entrance. Make kick-ass time - was in the park by 2 PM. Woo! I loved seeing places I've been before with fresh eyes, noticing new things along the way. And since it was the first weekend in June, there weren't too many people (aka idiots) out. Woo! I'd drive and pull over is something was picture worthy. Take a short hike if I felt like it. I had crazy good timing with seeing wildlife and attractions. I pulled up to Old Faithful 15 min before it went off, not even knowing when it was supposed to go. Yay! I can check that off my list. I also saw (from a distance, thru a scope) a pack of 4 wolves with a kill (sweet!) and 3 black bears (close enough to see them w/out binocs [which I'd stupidly left at home] but far enough away where you wouldn't get hurt).
Total wildlife viewing tally:
Bison (tons), elk (tons), white tail deer (tons), 2 bighorn sheep, 1 trumpet swan, 1 blue heron, 3 bears, 4 wolves. Good day!
Some picture highlights from Thurs:
That was all from Thursday. Needless to say, I was a wee bit tired. Got to my hotel at 9:30, ate at 10 Pm. Woke up to the annoying sounds of highway construction at 7, was on my way out by 8 AM. Stopped in Cooke City for some coffee, asked the store owner about some good "quick" morning hikes before I had to head back to Billings. He recommended Trout Lake back in the park, then some stream behind this lodge just outside of the park "there's no trail, but if you follow the stream back for a mile, there's a nice waterfall."...
So, I went to Trout Lake first. Very nice!
I drove around the park some more (more killing time, I know its rough!). Then I tried this "waterfall" trail. It consisted of bushwacking thru hills with some pretty big downed trees. I managed to scratch my legs 3 times (so badly blood ran down my legs - two weeks later I still have a scab on one of my legs), then I saw fresh bear tracks and scat, so I decided to turn around...
Got a sammich in Cooke City, found this nice little waterfall (below) off the side of the road and had a lovely picnic lunch before taking the Beartooth Highway back to Billings.
Some pics of the Beartooths (some of my fav mountains)
Rolled back into Billings at 4 PM. Went to the rehearsal dinner, then out. Much craziness ensured. My friend H got very drunk, then decided to make out with the greasy guy with a comb-over. I so wish I had my camera, b/c she still doesn't believe me!
Saturday morning, we all headed to this tiny salon west of Billings - it was like the MT equivalent of the place in Steel Magnolias. Just bizarre. Anyways, I was the only one of the group who wasn't a BM, so I did errand running, which... whatever.
Then the wedding - they had a cash bar, but we were smart enough to bring 3 bottles of crown. Which about 6 of us managed to drain thru the course of the evening. Anways, the wedding was fun, slightly bittersweet, and beautiful.
The next morning, however, was not so pretty, thanks to the 3 bottles of crown and the fact that we went out afterwards and closed a bar down... But, this is true to how our group usually is, so it was nice to go out with a bang! However, in the future, I will do my best to not fly home hungover ever again, b/c it really, really sucked.
So, that was the last trip of the summer. Now all I have to look forward to is my 2.5 weeks in New Zealand over Thanksgiving! Wooo!
Reno trip
So, this would be a lot more vivid if say, I'd written this post right after I got back instead of a month later..... but all you really care about are the pictures anyways...
Erin's Flickr pages - Reno is pages 5 - 7
I needed some R&R between jobs and my HS friend Rochelle had M-W off, so with my handy dandy free ticket (me looove Southwest Airlines!) I booked a trip out there for 5 days to visit. And go gambling. And camping. And stock up on Moose Drool.
So, Monday we just vegged, went to the casinos that night. She went thru her allotted $40 like water, I played for ~1 hr and only lost $10.
Tues we decided to take her dogs and go camping in the Sierras. Now, I like dogs, but I don't actually own dogs - and camping with 2 very large dogs is well, different. Especially when you are all sleeping in a 3 man pack tent and the biggest dog (Griffin, 120 lbs) decides to use your torso as a pillow.
I can't remember where the heck we camped now, but it was by Truckee, CA by a set of 2 reservoirs off an old forest service road. Very isolated and pretty. Unlike anywhere I've camped in TX (except for Big Bend). I was a happy camper.
Pretty Sunset:
Wednesday we woke up, ate, packed up and took the dogs to the lake to play:
Had a nice picnic lunch lakeside, then headed back to Reno.
Thurs, Ro had to work, so I rented a car and decided to head to Tahoe. Because if you absolutely *have* to kill some time, then Tahoe really is a pretty good place to go. I know, it was rough, but I was a trooper. So, more photos!
Thurs night we made tacos, drank Moose Drool out on the patio. I miss cool, dry nights. Friday, I went back to Houston... Booo!
It was really one of my better ideas to head out that way to play. I came back grounded and relaxed - not to mention I got to hang out with one of my best friends and see mountains!
Erin's Flickr pages - Reno is pages 5 - 7
I needed some R&R between jobs and my HS friend Rochelle had M-W off, so with my handy dandy free ticket (me looove Southwest Airlines!) I booked a trip out there for 5 days to visit. And go gambling. And camping. And stock up on Moose Drool.
So, Monday we just vegged, went to the casinos that night. She went thru her allotted $40 like water, I played for ~1 hr and only lost $10.
Tues we decided to take her dogs and go camping in the Sierras. Now, I like dogs, but I don't actually own dogs - and camping with 2 very large dogs is well, different. Especially when you are all sleeping in a 3 man pack tent and the biggest dog (Griffin, 120 lbs) decides to use your torso as a pillow.
I can't remember where the heck we camped now, but it was by Truckee, CA by a set of 2 reservoirs off an old forest service road. Very isolated and pretty. Unlike anywhere I've camped in TX (except for Big Bend). I was a happy camper.
Pretty Sunset:
Wednesday we woke up, ate, packed up and took the dogs to the lake to play:
Had a nice picnic lunch lakeside, then headed back to Reno.
Thurs, Ro had to work, so I rented a car and decided to head to Tahoe. Because if you absolutely *have* to kill some time, then Tahoe really is a pretty good place to go. I know, it was rough, but I was a trooper. So, more photos!
Thurs night we made tacos, drank Moose Drool out on the patio. I miss cool, dry nights. Friday, I went back to Houston... Booo!
It was really one of my better ideas to head out that way to play. I came back grounded and relaxed - not to mention I got to hang out with one of my best friends and see mountains!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Further evidence of my freak magnetism
I had to go to Atlanta for a safety coordinator training session. I have never had so many safety-related trainings for a job ever. Its craziness. Anyways, they flew in several ppl to our Atlanta office for this training. Our instructor (regional safety mgr for the company) was an hour late, claiming he forgot about the training. And he also was happy to report that at least he wasn’t hungover today, b/c he’s had to teach this class hungover before, and he sure didn’t think that was too much fun. Professional, huh?
Anyways, training was supposed to end at 5 PM, and I had a flight back home for 9:30. Well, despite starting an hour late AND taking an hour lunch break, we finished at 3 PM. A group of 5 of us decided to head back to the airport and try our luck at booking earlier flights. It was me, another girl named Erin, a guy from Florida who was cool, and 2 people from Ohio who were older, and well, socially challenged (a man with terrible teeth who kept fishing for work saying he was very good in the field, yet couldn’t figure out how to calibrate sampling equipment…. and a woman who just got her ears pierced 5 times 3 days ago, to prove her 15 yr old daughter “wrong” that she was indeed cool enough to have multiple holes in her ears….)
I was lucky enough to get an earlier flight, but we still had a few hours to kill, so we went to a restaurant for beers and food. We had a decent time eating and chatting. Then it was time for me and the other Erin to leave for our flights. We all left the restaurant at the same time, stood around saying our good-byes. The Ohio woman (fueled by her Long Island Iced Tea during dinner) hugged the 3 of us younglings good bye.
Then the guy takes my hand. I thought he was going to shake it. Um, no. I do not have that kind of luck. He takes my hand and KISSES IT. I just stand there. He said that I had the furthest to fly, so that’s why he kissed me. The other 2 younglings stood as far away from him as possible and did the kind of handshake where your fingertips barely touch.
I’ve never wanted to wash my hand with OCD tendencies more in my entire life.
Anyways, training was supposed to end at 5 PM, and I had a flight back home for 9:30. Well, despite starting an hour late AND taking an hour lunch break, we finished at 3 PM. A group of 5 of us decided to head back to the airport and try our luck at booking earlier flights. It was me, another girl named Erin, a guy from Florida who was cool, and 2 people from Ohio who were older, and well, socially challenged (a man with terrible teeth who kept fishing for work saying he was very good in the field, yet couldn’t figure out how to calibrate sampling equipment…. and a woman who just got her ears pierced 5 times 3 days ago, to prove her 15 yr old daughter “wrong” that she was indeed cool enough to have multiple holes in her ears….)
I was lucky enough to get an earlier flight, but we still had a few hours to kill, so we went to a restaurant for beers and food. We had a decent time eating and chatting. Then it was time for me and the other Erin to leave for our flights. We all left the restaurant at the same time, stood around saying our good-byes. The Ohio woman (fueled by her Long Island Iced Tea during dinner) hugged the 3 of us younglings good bye.
Then the guy takes my hand. I thought he was going to shake it. Um, no. I do not have that kind of luck. He takes my hand and KISSES IT. I just stand there. He said that I had the furthest to fly, so that’s why he kissed me. The other 2 younglings stood as far away from him as possible and did the kind of handshake where your fingertips barely touch.
I’ve never wanted to wash my hand with OCD tendencies more in my entire life.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
this goes under the "only this could happen to me" file
I was just in the ladies room, and the lock for the stall door got stuck "locked". Like the threading in the latch got stripped or something. So, I had to wait for ppl to leave the bathroom before I got on the floor and shimmied out from under the door. I barely fit.
I am *so* special.
I am *so* special.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
home..... what's that?
Sorry for the lack of updates, I really haven't been home much. I still owe a post on my adventures in Reno. And I just got back from Montana for a wedding, and have plenty of stories/pics to share. But I don't seem to have much time these days, and once again, I'm oot this weekend to swim in the Danskin Triathlon. So, I'll do my best in the next few weeks to at least do a photo post, b/c I took some damn fine pics this past month.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
So far.....ok
Not much to report, and I still don't have time to do a proper Reno post....
Work is ok, except for the fact that my assigned "buddy" was in a car wreck last week and is still to sore to come into work, and my boss was out today, and I spent most of yesterday in orientation, then today I twiddled my thumbs b/c there wasn't anyone around to ask...
However, its not a disaster, the ppl are nice, things seem to work, my work phone delivers voicemail messages to my email as .wav files (cool!), and yeah, thats about it so far.
Still haven't figured out how to get AIM to work..... May have to do some research or something.
Later!
Work is ok, except for the fact that my assigned "buddy" was in a car wreck last week and is still to sore to come into work, and my boss was out today, and I spent most of yesterday in orientation, then today I twiddled my thumbs b/c there wasn't anyone around to ask...
However, its not a disaster, the ppl are nice, things seem to work, my work phone delivers voicemail messages to my email as .wav files (cool!), and yeah, thats about it so far.
Still haven't figured out how to get AIM to work..... May have to do some research or something.
Later!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Cross yer fingers!
I still owe a post about my adventures in Reno, but well, that will be posted later (complete with photos!).
I start my new job tomorrow! Cross your fingers for me :)
I start my new job tomorrow! Cross your fingers for me :)
Nationals
I had all sorts of witty stuff to post from my adventures in Florida, but its been a week and now most of it is *poof* gone from my head.
So, a summary:
My events: Sure, I came in last in all 3 races, but I improved my times (all best times since joining Masters).
For those that care, my times:
Splits for 200 Free
Leg Cummulative Subtractive
1 38.32 38.32
2 1:20.29 41.97
3 2:03.30 43.01
4 2:46.59 43.29
Splits for 100 Breast
Leg Cummulative Subtractive
1 45.60 45.60
2 1:35.92 50.32
Splits for 100 IM
Leg Cummulative Subtractive
1 40.46 40.46
2 1:27.41 46.95
The only sucky thing was I DQ'd in the 100 breaststroke because - get this - I wore my watch while I swam. Uber lame. *sigh*
Other cool things:
* my friend was the queen of second place, but got best times since joining masters.
* lots of sun :) I have tan lines now :)
* seeing lots of incredible swimmers
* Matt Damon!!! He was there watching someone (we're thinking his dad) and he was behind the blocks with his uber-pregnant and disgusting beautiful wife watching. I took a photo then walked past him, close enough to touch him. Sadly, he really isn't tall and he wasn't buffed out a la Jason Bourne. But still - cool!
And now, picures!
me on the beach, with a tan....er sunburn....
cool shot of the men's 18-25 100 free start (I'm proud of this shot)
Tobi's backstroke start (again, I kick ass as a photographer)
That damn watch!!!
Matt Damon!!! (super zoom.... I'm not really a stalker, I swear!)
And to conclude - my ass, thanks to one of my smartass friends...
So, a summary:
My events: Sure, I came in last in all 3 races, but I improved my times (all best times since joining Masters).
For those that care, my times:
Splits for 200 Free
Leg Cummulative Subtractive
1 38.32 38.32
2 1:20.29 41.97
3 2:03.30 43.01
4 2:46.59 43.29
Splits for 100 Breast
Leg Cummulative Subtractive
1 45.60 45.60
2 1:35.92 50.32
Splits for 100 IM
Leg Cummulative Subtractive
1 40.46 40.46
2 1:27.41 46.95
The only sucky thing was I DQ'd in the 100 breaststroke because - get this - I wore my watch while I swam. Uber lame. *sigh*
Other cool things:
* my friend was the queen of second place, but got best times since joining masters.
* lots of sun :) I have tan lines now :)
* seeing lots of incredible swimmers
* Matt Damon!!! He was there watching someone (we're thinking his dad) and he was behind the blocks with his uber-pregnant and disgusting beautiful wife watching. I took a photo then walked past him, close enough to touch him. Sadly, he really isn't tall and he wasn't buffed out a la Jason Bourne. But still - cool!
And now, picures!
me on the beach, with a tan....er sunburn....
cool shot of the men's 18-25 100 free start (I'm proud of this shot)
Tobi's backstroke start (again, I kick ass as a photographer)
That damn watch!!!
Matt Damon!!! (super zoom.... I'm not really a stalker, I swear!)
And to conclude - my ass, thanks to one of my smartass friends...
Thursday, May 11, 2006
So, what do you swim?
So, we spent all day blissfully happy on the beach. I only have one strip of my shin sunburned....
Anyways, the hotel we're staying at has free happy hour - I got a Dolphin Daquiri :) So, we're outside drinking and decide to go to our room to order sushi delivery. These old guys see us leaving and yell "Hey Girls!" and block our path. They're regulars - claim they've been visiting this hotel on this very weekend for the past 5 years, and now was time for their "happy hour game" and it would be something "we'd never forget."
Understandably, we were afraid. We got to talking (well, them talking, we trying to figure out how to leave...) and we said somewhere along the line "we can't play your drinking game - we have to swim tomorrow."
One of the guys at the table decides to guess what kind of swimmer we are....
He looks at Tobi - "you're a backstroker". Errily correct.
He look at me - "you're a freestyle and breastsroker." Again, scary.
His wife looks at the expressions on our faces and says "oh, he could only tell that because of your breast size".
Upon which, Tobi and I began to fold over in laughter and tears and make our escape for one more round of drinks and back to our room. And sure enough, we won't forget that little moment....
Anyways, the hotel we're staying at has free happy hour - I got a Dolphin Daquiri :) So, we're outside drinking and decide to go to our room to order sushi delivery. These old guys see us leaving and yell "Hey Girls!" and block our path. They're regulars - claim they've been visiting this hotel on this very weekend for the past 5 years, and now was time for their "happy hour game" and it would be something "we'd never forget."
Understandably, we were afraid. We got to talking (well, them talking, we trying to figure out how to leave...) and we said somewhere along the line "we can't play your drinking game - we have to swim tomorrow."
One of the guys at the table decides to guess what kind of swimmer we are....
He looks at Tobi - "you're a backstroker". Errily correct.
He look at me - "you're a freestyle and breastsroker." Again, scary.
His wife looks at the expressions on our faces and says "oh, he could only tell that because of your breast size".
Upon which, Tobi and I began to fold over in laughter and tears and make our escape for one more round of drinks and back to our room. And sure enough, we won't forget that little moment....
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Cha-cha-changes
For starters, I quit my job.
Now, pick yourselves off the floor. I have a new job to go to. Sure I hated my old job, but not enough to be unemployed.
Then I reported both of my bosses to HR for harassment and unethical conduct. Wheeee!!! I'd been documenting various harrassement/negative emails my boss has sent me over the past 6 months. The kicker was they pulled a bait and switch with my annual review. Had my face to face back in March, got the finalized review in April, with my supervisor swearing that "nothing drastic had changed". When in fact, everything had changed, and the dumbass (in writing over email - I'm trixy) denied me both a chance to review my March version and the opportunity to discuss the changes face to face. And that my friends was plenty of documentation for HR to have fun with.
Lesson: do not fuck with me. I'm way smarter and craftier than I make myself out to be.
Anyways, I have a new job starting May 22. Last day at crappy old job was yesterday.
So what am I going to do for the next 2 weeks? Vacation!
Today thru Sunday I'm in Florida for the US Masters Nat'l Championship. Not because I'm fast.... its b/c my friend who's fast is going and talked me into entering with her. She bribed me with a hotel on the beach that has free happy hour. Its pretty easy to twist my arm. I'm swimming once a day - 200 free, 100 breast, 100 IM. May have to scratch the breast as I pulled a leg muscle last week and it still hurts. But that's not until Saturday, so we'll see. But I did get a pedicure and now my toenails match my swimsuit (dark hot pink). This way, if I can't be fast, at least I can be stylish. Hey, its the best I can do.
Then next week I'm off to Reno, NV to see my best friend from HS. She just moved there and her hubby is working nights (he's a cardiac care nurse). She's lonely and has M-W off from work, and I have a free air ticket, so voila! Camping and casinos!
So, I'll be MIA for a while, but you can be sure I'll be having a blast :)
Now, pick yourselves off the floor. I have a new job to go to. Sure I hated my old job, but not enough to be unemployed.
Then I reported both of my bosses to HR for harassment and unethical conduct. Wheeee!!! I'd been documenting various harrassement/negative emails my boss has sent me over the past 6 months. The kicker was they pulled a bait and switch with my annual review. Had my face to face back in March, got the finalized review in April, with my supervisor swearing that "nothing drastic had changed". When in fact, everything had changed, and the dumbass (in writing over email - I'm trixy) denied me both a chance to review my March version and the opportunity to discuss the changes face to face. And that my friends was plenty of documentation for HR to have fun with.
Lesson: do not fuck with me. I'm way smarter and craftier than I make myself out to be.
Anyways, I have a new job starting May 22. Last day at crappy old job was yesterday.
So what am I going to do for the next 2 weeks? Vacation!
Today thru Sunday I'm in Florida for the US Masters Nat'l Championship. Not because I'm fast.... its b/c my friend who's fast is going and talked me into entering with her. She bribed me with a hotel on the beach that has free happy hour. Its pretty easy to twist my arm. I'm swimming once a day - 200 free, 100 breast, 100 IM. May have to scratch the breast as I pulled a leg muscle last week and it still hurts. But that's not until Saturday, so we'll see. But I did get a pedicure and now my toenails match my swimsuit (dark hot pink). This way, if I can't be fast, at least I can be stylish. Hey, its the best I can do.
Then next week I'm off to Reno, NV to see my best friend from HS. She just moved there and her hubby is working nights (he's a cardiac care nurse). She's lonely and has M-W off from work, and I have a free air ticket, so voila! Camping and casinos!
So, I'll be MIA for a while, but you can be sure I'll be having a blast :)
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
If your TiVo does this, you're basically f*cked
We turned on the TiVo on our big tv and this is what was on the screen....
The YELLOW screen of death! Sure, it says its powering up all friedly like and seems cheerfull with its very bright yellow sunrise. But having this vision on the screen for 20 minutes, all the while fearing you're burning that very cheery bright yellow sunrise onto your tv is *not* a good thing. At all.
I'm so sad. Hard drive cratered. 70 hr memory, less than a year old.... Good thing we got it for free.
I made Will call customer service last night (I was too drained after quitting to take care of it myself). Turns out, the CS guy he got was also a Broncos fan, so they talked about the Draft and the future of the team. They got along so well, CS is not only sending us a replacement unit (as they should), but he waived the 2-day FedEx charge! Woo!
We should have our new unit Wed. I'm just glad we kept our old unit (hooked it up in the bedroom). I moved it to the living room so we can watch our shows on the big tv. The only sucky part is that we lost shows on the old hard drive, and I still haven't caught up on Prison Break, but I'll deal.
Go Broncos! And this is the *only* time I say that and mean it.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
More adventures in swimming
So, once again, my normal pool is unavailable. This time, the high school fired the varsity swim coach and changed the locks to all the doors. But didn't tell us. Or give us a copy of the new key.
So, Friday we showed up and couldn't get in. So, its 5:45 AM and my hair is in need of a shower before I go into work. Only I don't want to drive alllll the way back home to take a shower. So, I drive to 24-hr fitness (I have a membership there too) for a shower. No workout, just a shower. Which was odd. But whatever - I was NOT swimming with more freaks like I did last time our pool was dead.
Monday I was a bum and didn't work out. hee
Today, coach rented some lanes at a different pool for practice this morning. An outdoor pool. And as it turns out, a long course pool. 50 meters per length vs our usual 25 yds. Which makes a BIG difference.
So, the air temperature was in the upper 60's so that wasn't a big deal. There were other issues, though. Like it being completely dark at 5:30 AM. So dark that if I wanted to read my watch (for pacing), I had to hit my indiglo button. And my goggles are tinted dark purple, which (go figure) makes swimming in the dark even darker (yes, there were lights at the pool, but only a few and none under the water). Also, they don't cover the pool and there's pine trees everywhere, so I had to get used to the sensation of having long pine needles stick to me as I swim, and not freaking out thinking its a huge hairball or bug stuck to me. Although, I think I did swallow a bug today.... And they had this weird aeration system - like BIG sprinkler jets shooting water into the air and back into the pool in big drops. Cold drops. And the drops were so big you couldn't help but swallow water as you took a breath, no matter how careful you were.
And if that wasn't enough - we ran out of hot water in the showers! But (sadly, this is considered luck), we were lucky b/c they turned the water off at the main about 10 mintues after I was done showering b/c they had a pipe rupture.
I think our team just attracts facility issues.
Overall, it was just ok. I didn't like the sprinkler system spraying me the entire time or the dark. But it was nice swimming outside and the light was very pretty when the sun came up - everything was pre-dawn glowing and the water was a lovely shade of blue. And it was better than swimming with the freaky people at the public gym, so I'll take this over the gym any time (as long as the air temperature is above 60, that is...)
So, Friday we showed up and couldn't get in. So, its 5:45 AM and my hair is in need of a shower before I go into work. Only I don't want to drive alllll the way back home to take a shower. So, I drive to 24-hr fitness (I have a membership there too) for a shower. No workout, just a shower. Which was odd. But whatever - I was NOT swimming with more freaks like I did last time our pool was dead.
Monday I was a bum and didn't work out. hee
Today, coach rented some lanes at a different pool for practice this morning. An outdoor pool. And as it turns out, a long course pool. 50 meters per length vs our usual 25 yds. Which makes a BIG difference.
So, the air temperature was in the upper 60's so that wasn't a big deal. There were other issues, though. Like it being completely dark at 5:30 AM. So dark that if I wanted to read my watch (for pacing), I had to hit my indiglo button. And my goggles are tinted dark purple, which (go figure) makes swimming in the dark even darker (yes, there were lights at the pool, but only a few and none under the water). Also, they don't cover the pool and there's pine trees everywhere, so I had to get used to the sensation of having long pine needles stick to me as I swim, and not freaking out thinking its a huge hairball or bug stuck to me. Although, I think I did swallow a bug today.... And they had this weird aeration system - like BIG sprinkler jets shooting water into the air and back into the pool in big drops. Cold drops. And the drops were so big you couldn't help but swallow water as you took a breath, no matter how careful you were.
And if that wasn't enough - we ran out of hot water in the showers! But (sadly, this is considered luck), we were lucky b/c they turned the water off at the main about 10 mintues after I was done showering b/c they had a pipe rupture.
I think our team just attracts facility issues.
Overall, it was just ok. I didn't like the sprinkler system spraying me the entire time or the dark. But it was nice swimming outside and the light was very pretty when the sun came up - everything was pre-dawn glowing and the water was a lovely shade of blue. And it was better than swimming with the freaky people at the public gym, so I'll take this over the gym any time (as long as the air temperature is above 60, that is...)
Thursday, April 20, 2006
My redneck neighbors
I swear, I could not make this up if I could..... I came home from Subaru happy hour tonight (I just go for one beer and dinner - Will stays later) and I hear this monstrous roar outside. I open the door and see this:
That is a mailbox next to the truck. This fucker is that big. I regret that I did not actually see the person who drove the truck. I suspect he's about my height and has a small d*ick. Its all about over-compensation....
This house is a rental - they moved in the beginning of Februrary. During Rodeo time. They couldn't park their normal monster trucks in their very long driveway b/c they had a horse trailer parked there. So they had to park their ginormous (although, not as big as the Don't Hate truck pictured above) on the street. And our street is pretty narrow, so this made it so I couldn't easily back out of my driveway, which is something that's helpful at say, 5 AM.
Anyways, when rodeo was over, the trailer went away, and now they only park one monster truck in the street, which is ok, I suppose.
Will and I are thinking they're Aggies. As in Texas A&M (I'm getting ready for the hate mail now.....) But as Will and I say when we refer to our neighbors across the street, they're "fucking Aggies". Hee.
BTW, this was a hard picture to grab - cars driving down the street would stop cold to look at this behemoth (a mustang was next to it - completely dwarfed.) Then the rednecks would randomly come outside. And I had to take this with a flash, so it was probably very obvious....
That is a mailbox next to the truck. This fucker is that big. I regret that I did not actually see the person who drove the truck. I suspect he's about my height and has a small d*ick. Its all about over-compensation....
This house is a rental - they moved in the beginning of Februrary. During Rodeo time. They couldn't park their normal monster trucks in their very long driveway b/c they had a horse trailer parked there. So they had to park their ginormous (although, not as big as the Don't Hate truck pictured above) on the street. And our street is pretty narrow, so this made it so I couldn't easily back out of my driveway, which is something that's helpful at say, 5 AM.
Anyways, when rodeo was over, the trailer went away, and now they only park one monster truck in the street, which is ok, I suppose.
Will and I are thinking they're Aggies. As in Texas A&M (I'm getting ready for the hate mail now.....) But as Will and I say when we refer to our neighbors across the street, they're "fucking Aggies". Hee.
BTW, this was a hard picture to grab - cars driving down the street would stop cold to look at this behemoth (a mustang was next to it - completely dwarfed.) Then the rednecks would randomly come outside. And I had to take this with a flash, so it was probably very obvious....
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