Lady luck

I've come to the conclusion that lady luck smiles on different people in different ways... some people are lucky with parking and some with cards...

But me? well I'm just lucky. 

Not in any predictable way of course (because that might be useful), but I consider it the very best kind of luck.  I'm lucky when I need it, and sometimes when I don't think I need it or deserve it, like good karma.

Sometimes I win raffles, I get this tingly feeling literally just before it happens, like I just know it's going to happen, and then it does! Sometimes I have good shopping days, where I find everything I'm looking for, and it's even in my size! I've even had days where I'm able to find things someone else is looking for... in *their* size!

I think one of my favorites, was my Dad picking out a girl at a ski swap saying "You look about the same height as my daughter, go pick out a pair of ski boots" and she found me a $275 pair of boots (that still had the price tag on the bottom) which Dad picked up for ~$20... Which I then proceeded to wear for the next 18 years, until they were so completely and utterly packed out they hurt my son's and my feets. I never got to thank her, but I wish I could because they were wonderful! 

Recently I've been contemplating buying a wet suit so I can surf in the "winter" (who am I kidding, I'm acclimated and wussy now), but the trouble is that each brand fits a little bit differently.  I'd been looking at the swap meet because I don't need a new one, but was really struggling with sizing, some looked good in the top but then the legs were for someone with treetrunk thighs and the crotch came down to my knees :/ others were a good length, but were designed with Peter Pan in mind and there was no way they were going to fit over my boobs... 

So this last weekend we had gone to the swap meet with a list, the top item being a surf board bag... and we hadn't found it anywhere (so I bought a punching bag instead)... and then the Ninja found me the leather jacket I've been looking for for ages, and *then* while I was buying a churro because I was starving...

 

she found the surfboard guy we'd missed earlier! He said he didn't usually sell board bags, but since she was so charming and we'd come to the swap meet looking for just that and he *happened* to have an extra one he'd make an exception and sell it to me, and then I spotted this wetsuit over in the corner...

I liked it, and it looked like the most likely to fit candidate so far, but I was still wary about buying it without trying it on... and then he said I can give you a deal on the board bag and the wetsuit together, and tell you what, I'm here every Sunday... if the suit doesn't fit you can exchange it until you find something that works for you. 

*mentally SOLD*

At which point I had to ask the Ninja how much cash she had... *grins* I think we literally walked away from that swap meet with $4 left... in her pocket ;)

Oh, and the wetsuit? Fits like a glove *grins*

How convenient?!

The recipe called for two yolks, and I thought I was going to need two eggs.  Luckily I cracked this one first!

It isn't a wedding until...

Recently before a wedding I found myself with two of my roommates' cousins helping with a few of the last minute things that needed to be done.

With half an hour till "go time" we beat a hasty retreat to get ready.  The plan from that morning was to change at one of the other cousin's hotel rooms which was only two blocks away allowing us to walk from and to the wedding and not have to worry about parking in downtown Boston.

We got there only to discover that the magnetic strip had de-magnitized itself since the morning hand-off...

Great.

E! went down to the front desk to try to get it set it up again... He was escorted back by the host who said something along the lines of "I need you to identify a couple of articles in the room so I know you've been in there before" *totally routine*

*bites lip* well the thing is, we haven't been in there before... and we all knew that none of us were in a position to guess anything other than "uhhhh twin's stuff?"

While all this was going on we had called the room owners who were already at the wedding and kept them on the phone with us, and they quickly described a couple key items to identify (my favorite being "in the luggage closest to the door, if you open it up you'll find a burgundy dress shirt, and multiple star wars t-shirts") They also gave us the names and the address on the account...

He stopped, looking concerned and said "We don't normally do this over the phone, usually it's in person, excuse me for a moment I need to consult with security"

"Of course, no problem" we replied... He retreated down the hall a ways but we could still overhear snippets of his conversation including "This could be a set up" 

Awesome. So we're either about to get escorted out of the building... or possibly arrested...

What felt like 10 minutes later he returned, listened to the few items we'd been given to use as identification and unlocked the room saying "Give me a couple minutes to check this out" I'm pretty sure we were all trying to remain nonchalant and not make him any more nervous than he already was...

My favorite part of the whole ordeal happened, after he took a few steps inside the door and radioed back "Yep, I'm still alive"

Dude! We're standing here with dress shoes and clothes because we need to get ready for a wedding, not because we're trying to break into a room on the 10th floor with your help. Security already knows about this, and has probably positioned themselves appropriately... or at least hit 'record' on their closed circuit camera feed *sigh*  

Less than a minute later, he had confirmed everything to his satisfaction, let us into the room and everything resumed as normal.

Everythin except that we had significantly less time to get ready.

I took the fastest shower I've ever taken in my  life! (faster even than a cold water shower - TC's Mom would be proud) The rest is a blur of E! speed-ironing his clothes and Mr. Beauuuutiful standing in the bathroom in his underwear and dress shirt watching a You-tube video on how to tie a bow tie.  By the fourth or fifth iteration I was ready enough to help him find the elusive hole he was missing and we were on our way!

I put my pretty shoes on in the elevator, and we walked into the wedding half an hour late, which it turned out, was just *after* the bride had walked down the aisle, so all in all we really hadn't missed that much after all ;)

How do you feel?

Well enough to hit a home run, and run all the way around the bases! *grins*

It figures, that the time I'm trying to take it easy while recovering from being sick is the time that I launch it past the outfielders...

But the way that it felt and sounded when I hit that ball... was so perfectly wonderful, that I'm not complaining. In fact as much as it will frustrate me, it's totally worth every second of being exhausted today ;)

Happy Birthday Mama!

My best friend's grandmother is turning 100 this year, or at least they think she is, record-keeping being what it was in the Philippines back in her day, well that and while visiting relatives she found out she was actually four years older than she thought she was...

They put a call out for videos and pictures of everyone "Doing something cool and wishing Mama a happy birthday" This is our submission:

To elaborate a little, we probably waited in line for over two hours, as due to the limited time left to submit we only had one shot at this!

Luckily we were placed in front, and as we waited for the final checks they ran through the plan again.  Ok, it's going to turn right, right, right, right, and then left... So basically when it changes direction, you need to lean as far forward as you can and smile because that's where it takes the picture.

Ok, I got it, I can do that.

We were whizzing through the ride, turning, turning, turning always to the right... the new things they've added for the 60th makeover are amazing and totally capture my imagination, I really do feel like I'm blasting through space!

All of a sudden there's a commotion in front of me, as the Ninja unfurls the banner.  What's this?! We haven't turned yet I think, as her cousin yells "It isn't tiiiime yeeeeet!!!"

It sounded like an angry tarp on the highway beating itself to death, as she tried to stretch it across to her cousin... *pause for blinding insight* she realized there were two things we didn't take into account: the wind factor and that in order to do this she wouldn't be hanging on to anything... *unpause* She caught air on the next right turn where it then acted as a drag chute and pulled her all the way to the left, I thought for a moment I was going to have to grab her leg on the way by!

Somehow she manged to miraculously get it back under control without ripping it in half, her cousin meanwhile was dealing with an ear malfunction, I was laughing uncontrollably... and that's about where this picture was taken ;)

Happy Birthday Mama!

The Engineer's daughter

We were driving along when I saw this billboard and blurted out "They're all turned the wrong way!"

my friend: "What?'

me: "The faucets, they're all open"

her: "How do you know?"

me: "Because of the type of valve they are, those are usually closed when they're perpendicular to the pipe..." 

I trailed off, as I realized just how nerdy the words coming out of my mouth were... smiled and said "My Dad would be so proud of me" I need to send this to him.

And how do you catch a princess?

Why by angling for them of course!

California Surf #2

If someone were keeping score last weekend it would have read something like this;

Waves : 20, rocks : 2.5 and Sam: 1

But that 1 point was totally worth the 2.5 holes I have in the bottom of my left foot, and made it oh so much sweeter when I was finally able to pop up and surf towards shore with a modicum control. It was amazing and incredible and everything I remembered surfing to be from the last time I tried it *grins*  I can't wait to do it again :)

It was ridiculous how many people were out surfing and attempting to surf last weekend, and yet they were friendly and well mannered. 

Of the other times I don't count that I sort of popped up, my favorites include the first when I rode in standing way too far back on my board, awkwardly, like a penguin... and couldn't move to fix myself or do anything other than think about how ridiculous I looked.  The next I was up, and suddenly headed towards a Dad and his kid, I thought I might be able to lean around them until I saw the look of concern and fear in his eyes... I jumped ship with enough room that my board wouldn't bite them, even at the end of it's leash.  I think my favorite of the day though, was losing my balance on the way up and fighting it the whole way... and doing a cannonball butt first, if it were a cartoon my hands and feet would be getting dragged away from where they were trying desperately to maintain their surfing position.

The most pathetical moment of the day was paddling so hard to catch a wave, and then not having enough energy to pop up, and just riding it in on my stomach. *pleh* I obviously need to do more push-ups or something...

Dog Barf... Achievement Unlocked!

After a year of living here, I finally managed to catch dog barf on a scrap piece of paper, rather than with the carpet. My previous attempt at "the football carry" to the bathroom was unsuccessful, and nowhere near the desired outcome. 

I'm sorry blank piece of paper, you may not have been scrap before... but you were the closest one, and I'm willing to sacrifice you for the cleanliness of the carpet.

Dude!

I bought a cheap "foamy" surfboard!!!

The cutest thing was our neighbor literally jumped out of a moving car when his wife said "Oh look Sammy got a surfboard". He was *so* excited for me, and said the best thing about them is that when you get dumped you don't have to cover your head and face like with the old wooden surfboards... he got 15 stitches from one once! 

I'm so super stoked you have no idea! 

Almost embarassing beach story... because everyone has one

I was trying to bodysurf this wave in to shore when I got "Maytagged" (like the washing machine) about half way through I realized the lower half of my bathing suit was making a break for it!!!

I immediately abandoned all pretenses of swimming and caught it down around my knees, with the wave in control I was immediately bouncing along on my head, with my knees and feet flailing around out of the water, while I pulled my suit back into place... 

Sputtering sea water I surfaced cautiously, double checking my suit placement before walking out of the water... acting as though nothing had happened...  judging by the people and their dogs carrying on as though I hadn't just exposed myself to the world... nothing had happened.

Huh. I guess it is true, nobody really cares what you're doing...

I literally brought half of the beach home with me in my bathing suit *sigh*

Darth Paw

Lookout!

Dog with a light sabre!

Thoughts on getting older

It was weird, as I waded through the legal jargon spelling out the representative agreement, and the documents giving my brother power of attorney should something happen to one or both of our parents... I realized it didn't feel personal.  It was like the documents I was signing were for someone else, I mean *my* parent's are "Mom" and "Dad"... who are these people?

When I got to the section dictating the resolution of conflicts I knew that "these people" were one and the same with my parents.  I could see the dissolution of the legal mumbo jumbo into a striking clarity with the statement:

 " ...and any conflicts shall be resolved by coin toss"

Waitaminute... whaaaaat?!?

There they are, those are definitely my parents you're talking about. *smirk* I can just imagine the consternation of the person drafting this document... the mental grinding of gears as they stumble through it while reading it this time, and every time after *satisfied grin*. It doesn't fit the standard, and I like to think of it as a very Canadian, passive aggressive way of throwing a wrench in the works *sticks out tongue*

As Dad said chuckling when we talked about it later... I know you guys are smart kids, and I trust you to make decisions in our best interest. If there's a conflict it's probably because you're both right, and there's no point in agonizing over it.

It echoed this sentiment, something he used to say all the time ...

"Do something! Even if it's wrong..."

It hearkens back to the oldest form of decision making, let whatever gods may be decide the outcome of my fate.

Patience isn't always a virtue

Someone said something along these lines the other day, and before asking if they meant "infinitely" I thought about it... and realized that it described certain situations perfectly:

"There are some people in our lives that we are intimately patient with."

 

Monkey see, monkey do

A friend of mine recently re-laced his ball glove with paracord, which didn't seem like a bad idea... and when I got to thinking, I realized that it meant I could pick from any number of the brilliant colours that paracord now comes in *grins*

Of course having thought that, it didn't take long for the pocket of my glove to blow out... so after limping through an afternoon of catch using a shoelace, I picked up some pretty green paracord and embarked on my own re-lacing journey...

You know that moment, when you reach a natural breaking point in something you're working on? That moment where you should stop and call it done, but you're feeling overly confident with your recent progress so you keep going. Like the longer you keep at it the faster you're going to get... that is until you hit that plateau...

Yeap, definitely should have stopped at re-lacing the pocket and the sides...

I've learned a few things though, be ye so foolish; 

You should undo the lacing around the bottom of the palm first rather than last... as it would have opened up waaaay more options for fishing the other lacing pieces through.  I've learned that although handy, forceps, needle-nose pliers, zip ties and masking tape in any of the combinations you can think of... are not the appropriate tools for the job.  Also the tensile strength of a paperclip is not up to the task of fishing doubled over paracord through a leather hole with pliers...

Paracord does not like to be tied the way nice rope likes to be tied, nor does it melt and shrink up neatly the way anything with the appropriate amount of nylon in it does... but a couple tubes of electrical shrink wrap and a hot glue gun later, I fixed it's little red green wagon. Ha!

So here you go, it may not last long... but I think it looks pretty!

Riding bikes, always better with a friend!

Fast forward a few weeks from our nocturnal laps, and we went from the relative safety of an empty complex loop... to the bustling narrow albeit paved, bike path that overlooks Huntington Beach!

I would like to say that you did an amazing job successfully navigating through wandering pedestrians, other bikers who weren't paying attention, untrained dogs on leashes, more pedestrians, and a hill larger than anything we have at home...

There might have been some white knuckle moments, and perhaps even one or two moments of panic but you did it dude! You didn't run into anything, or even frighten anyone... you didn't crash, or add any battle scars to your bike or your body. As far as I'm concerned that's a pretty good scale to measure against, and classify it as a successful ride.

You're tired and out of breath but we rode a whole lot further than anything we've ever done before, so that's exactly as it should be.  Tomorrow, and possibly even the next few days you may be sore in places you didn't even know had muscles, but the secret is that's what means you're still alive.

It will get easier, and it will come to be more enjoyable. I promise.  When it doesn't take every ounce of concentration to ride, you'll be able to appreciate the places that we're riding and the beautiful views there are to see.

What I'm trying to say, is In the end it will be worth it.

Eating leftovers. So much easier with a microwave

I'm the first person to go "Really? $70 to install that for me? I bet we could probably do it..."

Long ago, my father tried ever so hard to teach me that your time is worth something.  So while you might be *able* to do something (like changing the oil in your car). You should assume that your time is worth at least $30/hr and if it takes you any longer than that (plus parts) then it's actually totally worth the $40 - $50 they charge at the drive through oil change places which only take ~15 mins ...also sometimes there are some really cute guys working there ;)

So while my brother and I are both extremely cheap in this regard (we must be related) and will err on the side of "doing it ourselves" I think it's good to have that sober second look.

Someone who points out that the new microwave weighs in at 69lbs, and that the old one is probably heavier.

Someone who says with a dubious look on their face... "Yeah we probably *could* do it... but we would have to move the stove"

And as I sit here watching two big strong men manhandle the old microwave almost literally out of the wall, I'm satisfied that it probably would have taken us much longer, and there would have been a whole lot more heartache involved.

Soooo hot-pockets for dinner?

New to me dresser

It became apparent that I needed a dresser, to try to tame the entropic pile of clean and semi-dirty laundry in my closet... being that it was going inside my closet, I didn't want to pay a whole lot for it.

We looked and looked and looked, scoped out prices at the local thrift stores and finally I settled on one.

It was a little larger than I had envisioned, but I was excited to get it home and see how it was going to transform my life!  That excitement was short-lived when we discovered we couldn't actually get it in the back of the car *sigh*... They were nice, and despite being busy refunded my money, only giving me a mildly hard time about it because they "don't do returns" until I pointed out that I literally could not get it out. of. the. parking. lot.

I was a little bummed... but we resolved to keep looking, as that must not have been the right one anyways ;)

The next one I liked I found at the swap meet, I was happy with the drawers -they slid nicely, it was a decent price, and it wasn't made of particle board like everything else these days.  I ended up tipping the guy $10 after he single-handedly manhandled it up the stairs like a hero, carried it 30' down the sidewalk and deposited it into the back of our car.

When we got home I was even more impressed when we unloaded it, and considered it well worth the extra $10.

I spent the next ~3 hours cleaning, wiping, and pledging the dirt and grime off of it. While removing the drawers to clean them and vacuum the dust out I was rewarded with a clean pair of socks, and guys boxer shorts -also hopefully clean- from where they had fallen behind.

Moving along, this far into a cleaning project I'm in the groove... I'm working away, I've got the shop-vac swishing around inside doing it's thing, pushing out enough white noise to drown out the dogs next door, when suddenly there's something there in the drawer... something that wasn't there before. Not so far from where I was *just* vacuuming. Something black. and shiny. withlegsandfricken' HUUUUUUGE!!!!!!

I levitated backwards at least a foot and half screaming obscenities I'm sure the neighbours 3 doors in either direction heard.  I also scared at least a year and a half off of my roommate who had been working away behind me on something else...

She was yelling at me for scaring her, until I pointed out the *size* of the black widow that had started the whole thing.

We skipped the raid and went straight to the heavy duty bug barrier that's supposed to kill things dead in their tracks. She sprayed it, and dripping it staggered sideways and then just continued along?!? She sprayed it again and it dropped down, but kept walking towards us! I whipped out a trusty flip-flop and *splat* it was all over.  We figured that it had probably eaten everything else in sight, but I very carefully double checked anyways ;)

And now? Here is the dresser that has transformed my life closet, see what a good job it's doing?  I would have taken a before picture, but you'll just have to trust me... it was much too embarrassing to show the world.

What? you like my Granny's buns?

Heh, don't worry... you aren't the first person to say that.

It always takes me a few tries when I move to a new place, but I think I finally "got it"

Here are my Granny Buns:  

There's magic in the air

One of the most wonderful sounds, is that of unbridled glee bubbling up out of someone unbidden.


As I ran alongside in the dark for moral support, at an hour in which most people are in bed, it was a rare treat, listening to my best friend giggle in the nervous pitches of an elementary school-girl...


The look on someone's face when they are simultaneously thrilled and terrified... the expression of loving going faster than you can run, tempered with the knowledge -born of the wisdom of your years- of how much it will hurt if you fall... and throwing all caution to the wind for the wonder of it all.

Bearing witness to it was incredible, thank you. It's only been about 20 years... but I do believe it's true what they say about riding a bike ;)

I am an IBMer

It's always exciting for me when I get business cards, I always have to show them to everyone I know.

Like "Hey look! I really do work for this company!" *glowing*

I think partly, its a sign of trust. Because once my name is associated with the company's name, I'm an extension of their reputation. 

I think being in IT, since you often aren't customer facing... there isn't usually much "need" for business cards, and quite frankly you're replaceable.  So getting business cards is kind of a big deal, like the company thinks you're going to be around long enough to be worth getting them for.

It's so good it makes you cry

This is some goooood horseradish she says to me...

Almost brings a tear to your eye? I ask

She nods, smiling through glassy eyes

It's so good I keep putting more and more on, although I probably shouldn't she said... just before a giant crater opened up where her nose used to be...

Yeap, might've put a little too much on that one ;)

Ladies

When you're angry enough to bite your own ass, bite a Mars bar!

New bite sized Mars bars. Small enough to fit your diet, enough chocolate to take the edge off a jaguar.

Number of lives saved today: 1 and counting

It's the little things

I recently had a one on one chat with my manager's manager, and she opened the call with the most important question.

Are you happy?

The straightforward simplicity of it caught me off guard, it was naked and sincere.

I would say I'm significantly more satisfied in the company I'm working for, and the people I'm working with, given that you just took the time to ask me that.  The fact that you expanded upon it to include life both inside and outside of work touched me immeasurably. 


The full impact of our chat didn't really hit me until just now, but it resonated deeply and reminded me something about my Granny. No matter what you were involved in, doing, or going through in your life, she used to ask that same question... then sagely nod her head and say "well then, that's all that matters"

Are there things I would like to change in my life personal, professional or otherwise? Sure, but overall, I am happy.

Thank you for asking.

Wrapping up last weekend's project

You know when you put something together, and things fit the way you had envisioned... Does that still scare you, or do you have enough practice now that you know how to do it properly?

Because it still scares me a little. Like when mechanics used to have pieces left over after putting cars back together, and they would still run...

Nevertheless, behold! It could probably use a few more things holding the two trellisesss together, but all in all I think we did pretty well. 

*high five* team

$5 Garage sale jade plant score! (except that it came with spiders!)

New meaning to the term "sun dog"

 Once when she was let out before the sun was actually *on* the deck, she leaned into the patch of sun on the wall... Absolutely pathetic and adorable all at the same time, like she doesn't get enough sun down her in California *rolls eyes* 

Remember me?

I don't know if I was sleeping backwards or what... but its already broken in.

It's memory foam!

Well it doesn't remember me then!

How hungry were you?

(In your best Filipina accent)

If I'd seen a cow, I would have taken a bite out of dat cow!

Wherein "smart" is not a reference to the person using the phone...

I saw something once, that people back in the days of Einstein would be appalled if we told them that we carry something in our pockets that had near-instantaneous access to a vast accumulation of human knowledge... and we used it to talk to each other and take pictures of our food...

It brings a little perspective to the power we literally hold in the palms of our hands

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully guilty of this also... but I've realized that having this literally at my fingertips, means that I don't make the effort to remember things "because I can just look it up again"

In some ways we're a generation of idiots...

"Weekend" DIY projects

We are in the midst of working on a "minor" weekend deck project that went big.  In fact, we're took it into the next weekend.

We decided last weekend that we wanted to put up a trellis, like the one our cool neighbors have, but in wood because it just looks so much warmer.  Of course the fence we want to put it on top of isn't level... and it's a 12' gap where prefab trellis comes in 8' lengths, aaaand then we decided we should put in a shelf for planter boxes... yeah, you know how it goes ;)

Anyways we spent a good couple hours wandering around Home Depot figuring out what we were going to do, comparing prices, sorting through wood all the way down. to. the. bottom. to get pieces that weren't bent and warped and otherwise munched or weird, and gathering random other supplies...

Checked out and realized that at the end of the day the prefab trellis was going to cost pretty much the same as all the parts AND wouldn't require nearly as much monkeying around with. 

We turned around right there in the parking lot, and returned half the stuff we had just purchased, went back to the lumber section and sorted down. to. the. bottom. to get the two prettiest prefab trellisesss.  As an added bonus it also fit in the car better, and was easier to tie down ;)

Once home, we cut, dismantled and otherwise mangled the one prefab section into a beautifully framed shorter trellis... only to discover that we had done it to the wrong half. *facepalm*  Seriously I was so proud of us, it looks like it came like that! (For those of you doing the math in your head and thinking that shouldn't matter because we cut the one trellis in half... I lied. The space is actually 12' at the bottom and ~146" at the top - It's California! Things get shifted and re-settled regularly)  Annnnd of course, the way we did it meant that we couldn't just "undo" it and "do" it to the other one... yeah, we "did" it good.

Two "emergency skype" calls to my Engineer Dad later and we had a few different options... along with various notes of things to watch out for, things to remember, and things to be careful of... and most importantly, how to level the fence. 

Another trip to home depot for paint... a few jugglings of which pieces are going where, an evening of painting the various pieces, and we're just about ready to put it all together! *phew*

Despite my worst efforts

My orchid is blooming again,  I didn't kill it!!

This has been so cool to watch it open over the course of about the last three days :)

Debunked

Straightened misconception from my childhood/highschool years: Fried green tomatoes is not about smoking weed.

You're right,  I'm crazy but the only thing I can think of is:

a) I did not at any point see a preview or trailer and b) the only thing that got talked a lot about at my highschool was weed, and so in the absence of any other logical explanation (because really, who would want to eat fried green tomatoes?!), I assumed it was another euphemism for smoking that I just wasn't cool enough to know anything about...

Hehe, it is a pretty good movie though, I'm glad I finally saw it ;)

ADDDDDDDD

You might have ADD if in the amount of time it takes between one turn and the next... you forget that you've already got *two* hits, but haven't actually sunk the battleship... and then start looking for the next one :p

Sometimes it's better not to wonder...

Last night for instance...

One moment I was wondering what would happen if while gargling Listerine I relaxed my throat just a little bit more... aaaand the next moment I was gagging on the fresh burning sensation on the back side of my nose flap, and drooling profusely.

I've often wondered, where that point is. When something switches from you thinking about it, to the reality of your body following through with it.  Especially when it wasn't something you ever intended to *actually* try...

*sigh*


Sometimes, it really is better just not to know.

Some things never change

Her: Are you all done with that sir?

me: *hehe* yes, I am thanks

Her: *apologizing profusely* I'm so sorry, I wasn't really looking, and I saw your R2D2 hat and I just assumed...

me: It's ok, no worries

The ninja: Dude. You're like a 36-D right now!

me: I know, and it still happens to me from time to time *shakes head*

Wonderful

Some of the best things in life are free.

Like lying on the deck blowing bubbles into the night sky, and watching them sparkle like gems in the reflection of a flashlight... although the surroundings are a little bit different, its still as magical as the first time I saw it at Girl Guide camp.

If you've never blown bubbles at night before you should try it.

Look we found nature!

I am loving the green from all the rain we've been having, and as you can see there's more on the way!

It was a beautiful day for a walk!

Oh right...

That's why you shouldn't leave things open in the shop...

Well that was exciting

Let's go for a soak I said, relax a little I said...

Half way in to our twenty minutes of bubbles we hear shattering glass and the sound of a screen door being wrenched off it's hinges.

We look at each other like is that seriously happening? Is someone actually breaking into a place in the middle of the complex? Are you kidding me?!?!

Aaaaand we're sitting in the hot tub. Awesome.

The ninja has the presence of mind to tell me to call 911. It took forrrrreeeeeever like a dream in slow motion to dial the number, and then time caught up *zap!* like an elastic band back to reality as I explained to the dispatcher we were witnessing a break in.

I gave her the address, described what we saw and heard... she asked me to stay on the line with her until dispatch arrived. Yep, not a problem... aaand no sooner than that...

*wuppa* *wuppa* *wuppa*

Damn! That's some response time! Well that's good to know! Buuuuut now we're sitting in the hot tub in the helicopters spot light... and I'm still talking to dispatch.

me: So uh, should we get out of the hot tub? (Nothing like being on the phone in a tub of water, safety first you know ;).
Dispatch: No, stay there, they know where you are.
me: Ok, well at least it's warm in here.

Dispatch: Can you describe the person? me: Nope, it's too dark.

Dispatch: Do you know the aparment number?
me: Nope sorry.

*thinking* I don't live in that one... and I'm not about to walk over and check, that's why I called you guys.

Dispatch: Which side of the complex is it on?
me: Well it's on the right when you drive in...
Dispatch: *prompting* East? North?
me: *visualizing Google maps* looking at the palm trees trying to get my bearings and muttering under my breath "Never Eat Shredded Wheat" East! It's on the east side of the complex. *phew*

So much for relaxing, with skill testing questions like these.

I honestly don't know why they can't follow the damn instructions, turn right when you come in. I know a lot of guys who use compass directions all the time and that's great, admirable even, but I don't think in compass directions. So any that I give you are translated, and I'm pretty sure the chance of an error goes up tenfold under duress.

So dispatch has me meet the squad car out front and direct him to the apartment,  at which point he casually radio's in "yeah, I think it's the same one from earlier today"...

The helicopter was still doing loser laps over our complex, and it was clear after the third squad car arrived that they didn't have anything more important going on...

Anyways, turns out it's this bipolar chick who used to live here... like 3 months ago. Her ex has moved out, changed the locks, and shut off all the utilities, and even obtained a restraining order but every once in awhile she forgets, decides she lives there again and breaks in... Apparently this will be the third time.

The disappointing part though, was that despite their record response time, we were the third call in that day... So even with this unfolding in the same way it usually does, I guess they can't *do* anything until she has broken in again?

Which just seems kind of silly to me. What happened to "keeping the peace"?

Dinner bell

You're in timeout at least until I'm done cooking, because steam does not constitute an emergency situation.

Are you sure I was there when this happened?

Sometimes we have these conversations where its like I'm having it with someone else...

I guess you do too though, it's like my alter ego answers for me and then doesn't bother to tell me about it...

You can't take me out

The only trouble with eating at nice places where you have a napkin on your lap... is later when you're eating and wipe your hands like you *think* you have a napkin on your lap ;)

Ahhhh!

Look Mom! I have the coolest roommate ever!!

I don't even know how many years ago, I got balloons and a pump for my birthday so I could learn how to make balloon animals... unfortunately the pump was broken :(

After all this time though, I'm still fascinated by the things you can make... with a little imagination ;)

This is Jango, and he's a little scared, that's why his tail is straight up, not because I made his body too big okay!?!

Oh California...

Apparently since its "mostly hot" down here, they don't bother insulating the hot water tanks...

And while I don't think it'll make any significant difference in any of the bills we're paying, it hurt my little hippy heart to heat the garage. For no reason whatsoever.

So it's not the prettiest, but I think it'll do!

Pleeeeeease, can I go play outside?

Yeap, I think it might be time to move them outside... Yah think?

Let it rain, oh let it rain

It's been raining for four days, and I'm loving every second of it!

I've missed the sound of rain on the roof, the raging torrential downpours, and the softness of rain caressing my skin... and pictures like this.

Abdomen riot!

"My uterus just punched my kidneys with her fallopian tubes"

...

"Now she's throwing eggs at them"

Because it's obviously not French...

The inquiring mind of my friend's daughter wants to know...

A1: "Mom, how come after they make an announcement in English they make it again in American?"

Mom: *closes eyes and smiles* "That's not American sweetie, that's Spanish..."

Announcing experimental Watson weekends!

That's right, food around here is about to get a whole lot crazier!

I have been invited to take part in beta testing for Chef Watson, Iamsoridiculouslyexcitedaboutthisyoujusthavenoidea!!!!

No 'nuggles for you!

Our theatre room air mattress decided to stretch the other night... and burst a seam.

I would like to submit this as a new product line: The double bed featuring "The great wall of Riguedell"

Useful for keeping children and others you're sharing with, on their own side.

*self safisfied grin*

Countless attempts and an unknown number of years since I got this for Christmas, and I finally *got* it!

I can't seem to put the damn thing back together, but then that isn't the point now is it?

Moment of inspiration

Sometimes you have to take time to make time for emergency arts and crafts...

Everything is better now!

After almost a month of working from a jet pack and worrying about going over our usage limit, fighting with various providers, and other ridiculousness... you have no idea how happy this makes me *relieved sigh*
 

One of those days...

Yep, I probably shouldn't admit to it... but I just did this...

Its not as hot as it feels

I think it feels hotter just *knowing* that we are going to have working air conditioning soon.

Arrrrrrchiving paper I might need later

Slowly getting things into some semblance of order here... Order and chaos, the eternal balance.

Work in progress

I thought maybe this morning I would save a little time and add my cream *before* the coffee maker poured me my cup...

Clearly I use my eyes more than I thought, this coffee is a little anemic even for me ;)

Time zone trials and tribulations

That point part way through your morning routine when you realize you only shaved one leg

*sigh*

Spaceman Sam

It's been a long day, it started at 7:00am when I got up and went until 9:00pm when I made it back to my hotel room... but it hasn't been long in the way I expected.

Instead of feeling drained, I'm invigorated and refreshed and... excited!

I have done so many cool things in my life, far more in my few years than some people will do in a lifetime... but I have always been searching for something, like there was something I hadn't found yet that I was supposed to do. I think that is part of why I've tried so many things, just incase I didn't recognize it unless I was *doing* it...

I could describe it, but even in that I couldn't put my finger on it... its *just* that thing you do that motivates you to do more, to grow more... to be more.

I've heard that the things you do when you're supposed to be doing something else... are probably the things you *should* be doing... and this evening I experienced an hour long parking lot conversation bouncing around just such a project. I was almost giddy with the excitement of new ideas and spontaneous inpspirations.

I feel like I'm in University again, only this time I know I've got a lot to learn... but with all that practice I got at University, I also know I can do it.

The possibilies are endless, and I'm excited all over again to learn about everything I don't know.

As a kid I thought I wanted to be an astronaut.

Someone described the next phase of this project as "riding an even bigger rocket ship" than the last big thing that they did... which aptly fits into my life right now.

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, I'm strapped to a rocket ship like a mechanical bull rider... I *think* means I'm gonna need some lucky rocketship underpants!

How I unmake my bed, is the way I lie in it

I like the look of a freshly made bed, but I simultaneously hate when they undo all my hard work of untucking the covers just right and I have to do it all over again.

It's enough to tire a person out...

Delta, I have a sack for you...

No, it isn't for a potato sack race... you put it the other way. Over your head.

Running out of sandwiches on a 5+ hour flight that spans both lunch and dinner due to a delayed start is not cool... Seriously though, how do you run out of food that people are willing to pay handsomely for?!?

Following on the heels of recent memory where the last time I flew with you I almost missed my flight due to an errant notification about a non-existent delay.

Which was immediately followed by, the complaint I submitted to customer service rather than ranting about here, being answered in overly polite verbage agreeing with everything I said.

I was too disgusted to respond further.

I'm not impressed.

Update: A day after posting this I received an invitation to a customer satisfaction survey... Coincidence? I think not... I would rather they just read this post though.

Thanks Dad...

I ran past this sink hole of sorts above a culvert and thought to myself "they have a problem..."

It then occurred to me that this is not something a normal person would think. This is something that only engineers and their unintentionally educated offspring would think.

I stopped, chuckled, and took a picture for you Dad.

One of the things that has been dredged to the surface of my conciousness is that the way we see the world is shaped by our past experiences... for better or for worse ;)

Step 1 - Place foot in front of other foot... Step 2 - Repeat

After a prolonged unintentional hiatus it would appear my muse is back,  I fully comprehend the influence of inspiration on a writer, in a way I hope never to experience again.

I would like to sincerely apologize to anyone who still checks back here from time to time (Mom and Candy I'm mostly talking to you ;) I will try to fill in stories and photos from the blank depths of the abyss that swallowed the last couple years of this blog.

On that note,  let's dive right in shall we?

So I'm staying in the results of a one
night stand between a dorm room and a hotel.

It's small,  but the bed is comfy... and not a bunk,  and there's a terry bathrobe for me to lounge around in, as well as a hot shower, coffee and room service.

I'm at the first day of orientation for my new career with IBM.

It's funny, they make people who are transferring departments,  or coming back after an extended absence take this orientation session which is a bit of a joke for them... but what they don't realize is how great it is as a brand new employee to interact with someone who already embodies the culture.

A number of people that I've met today have worked here for more years than I have been working, some longer than I have been alive,  and we're finally at a point where that is actually quite impressive! A few are coming back from extended periods away which I think is really cool, one lady retired,  did something else and then came back... Time and time again I've heard IBMers say that it sounds like a long time 10, 20, 30 years but that it just flew by because they were doing something fun,  or interesting or something nobody had done before,  or something nobody even knew if it was possible or not...

There are so many things that IBM has done that have changed the world. Things you probably don't even remember as working any other way,  or things you had no idea they were even involved in... how cool is that?!?

In 10 years I want to be able to look back and say I learned a lot,  had a lot of fun, met some great people and that something I did changed the world. Sounds kind of crazy, but then sometimes it isn't so important what you can and can't do, as what you *believe* you can or can't do.

They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and I'm excited to see where this step will lead.

Work in progress

I think it is entirely obvious to anyone paying any attention that I don't do this very often...

I just stood up to get dessert and managed to drop my napkin (which to be honest I forgot was protecting my pants from me) and my purse on the floor *sigh*

Also, I didn't notice until I got back. Clearly I haven't mastered "business casual" yet.

Drunken hercules helicopters

Giant drunken miniature airborn tanks.

You can *hear* them coming... a large droning buzz like electricity through power lines before a lightning storm.

They fly lazily, like it's their first day with their new wings... huge slow loops and turns, so slow it doesn't look like they should stay aloft.

Once I finished freaking out about getting "buzzed" by what looked like an enormous black bumble bee on steroids... I ventured close enough to get a couple pictures, and look they're beautiful!

And, after quenching his thirst on the finest of nectars he unsteadily lifted off, flew into the wall twice, and then almost a *third* time before barely clearing the garage roof and staggering out of sight.

It was so awesome we nearly died laughing!  The next one we saw performed similarly uncoordinated flying antics, which were even funnier!!

There's a hole in this cake!

Have you ever made Angel food cake before?

Sure! At least I think so... how hard could it be? I know you need a special pan,  and I'm pretty sure Betty Crocker knows how to do the rest of it ;)

But this cake has a hole in it!

That's okay,  I fixed it!

The progression of delicious awesomeness... One

Two...

Yum!