It's rare to see Freeney (#93) and Manning together cuz one's defense and the other's offense. But, here's my boys in all their glory. I'm in SERIOUS lust with Freeney. Dunno why I can't dream about him instead of Manning!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Freeney and Manning In Da House
Here's a pic of my two fave players on Sunday . . . in the Raider house. The Colts won, which is good, because Kansas City had knocked the Raiders out of the hunt that morning by beating the Titans. So, if the Raiders can't go to the post-season, definitely want the Colts going (though both would be good unless they ended up playing each other again).
It's rare to see Freeney (#93) and Manning together cuz one's defense and the other's offense. But, here's my boys in all their glory. I'm in SERIOUS lust with Freeney. Dunno why I can't dream about him instead of Manning!
It's rare to see Freeney (#93) and Manning together cuz one's defense and the other's offense. But, here's my boys in all their glory. I'm in SERIOUS lust with Freeney. Dunno why I can't dream about him instead of Manning!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wowee, Tough Day
So, it was harder than even I imagined it would be. As a compromise, I didn't wear my Raider gear but wore all black in honor of the Raiders and wore a blue coat in honor of the Colts.
The first half was super close and fun cuz it was anyone's game. I cheered for both teams enthusiastically but the Colts were making bigger, better plays. One of the guys in front of me turned and said, "I can't figure out who you're rooting for, you're clapping at all the right places for the Raiders but, other times you're clapping when you shouldn't. Hey! You're wearing all black but your coat is BLUE, YOU'RE ROOTING FOR BOTH OF THEM!"
I admitted I was and endured ribbing from all the guys around me but they were nice about it. They all said that they were being nice cuz I was a girl, that if I were a guy they would be thrashing me. Thanks.
The second half was close too but it was obvious by mid-way through the 4th Q that the Raiders were going to lose and . . . I became super bummed. Still cheered both on the big plays but, my heart wasn't in it. Manning had a great play at the end where he ran for 27 yards, that had me laughing and jumping up and down but . . . then it hurt.
Sigh . . . thankfully they only play each other once every 3 or 4 years.
The first half was super close and fun cuz it was anyone's game. I cheered for both teams enthusiastically but the Colts were making bigger, better plays. One of the guys in front of me turned and said, "I can't figure out who you're rooting for, you're clapping at all the right places for the Raiders but, other times you're clapping when you shouldn't. Hey! You're wearing all black but your coat is BLUE, YOU'RE ROOTING FOR BOTH OF THEM!"
I admitted I was and endured ribbing from all the guys around me but they were nice about it. They all said that they were being nice cuz I was a girl, that if I were a guy they would be thrashing me. Thanks.
The second half was close too but it was obvious by mid-way through the 4th Q that the Raiders were going to lose and . . . I became super bummed. Still cheered both on the big plays but, my heart wasn't in it. Manning had a great play at the end where he ran for 27 yards, that had me laughing and jumping up and down but . . . then it hurt.
Sigh . . . thankfully they only play each other once every 3 or 4 years.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
All I Want for Christmas
Is a picture of Dwight Freeney without his shirt on. Or, Dwight Freeney without his shirt on.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Raiders vs. Colts
It finally dawned on me how to describe what I'm feeling about this game. It feels like I've been cheating on my husband (the Raiders) with my lover (the Colts) and the two are about to meet and . . . I have to choose between them.
The problem is, I love them both very much and while I can't really choose between them, I have more loyalty to my husband (the Raiders) since, we've had a longer relationship -- through highs and lows, for better and for worse, and we've toughed it out and are as strong as ever.
The boyfriend (the Colts) is exciting and new and he's always great and does the right thing but, we've never had to survive any adversity until this year. The two met three years ago but, the husband was in a pretty weakened condition and the boyfriend was strong so it really wasn't a matchup to stress over but this year, they're more equally matched and, whoever wins the matchup will dash the post-season hopes of the other.
That's what makes it even harder . . . how can I watch my husband have his hopes for this season shut down like that? Even though I know, his chances really aren't that great . . . I just hate seeing his hopes dashed.
But, how can I bear seeing my exciting new-ish boyfriend beaten by my husband when I know that my boyfriend actually has a real shot at doing something post season? Knowing it's a lose/lose situation because even though my husband wins, he has no chance of going post-season so, all he's accomplished is stripping my boyfriend of his chance (though, in a real husband/boyfriend scenario, that might be all the husband wants).
So, here I sit, bummed. What I'll do is go to the game and cheer for both teams but no matter who wins, I'll be happy and bummed. I LOVE my Raiders but the chances of them going to the post-season are slim-to-none, despite their optimism so, to see the Colts chances of a post-season dashed by a loss to the Raiders will be heartbreaking.
Does that make me an undevoted or bad fan? I don't think so . . . the funny thing is, I would never admit to my Raiders that I felt this way but . . . I would admit it to a Colt. What does that say?
The problem is, I love them both very much and while I can't really choose between them, I have more loyalty to my husband (the Raiders) since, we've had a longer relationship -- through highs and lows, for better and for worse, and we've toughed it out and are as strong as ever.
The boyfriend (the Colts) is exciting and new and he's always great and does the right thing but, we've never had to survive any adversity until this year. The two met three years ago but, the husband was in a pretty weakened condition and the boyfriend was strong so it really wasn't a matchup to stress over but this year, they're more equally matched and, whoever wins the matchup will dash the post-season hopes of the other.
That's what makes it even harder . . . how can I watch my husband have his hopes for this season shut down like that? Even though I know, his chances really aren't that great . . . I just hate seeing his hopes dashed.
But, how can I bear seeing my exciting new-ish boyfriend beaten by my husband when I know that my boyfriend actually has a real shot at doing something post season? Knowing it's a lose/lose situation because even though my husband wins, he has no chance of going post-season so, all he's accomplished is stripping my boyfriend of his chance (though, in a real husband/boyfriend scenario, that might be all the husband wants).
So, here I sit, bummed. What I'll do is go to the game and cheer for both teams but no matter who wins, I'll be happy and bummed. I LOVE my Raiders but the chances of them going to the post-season are slim-to-none, despite their optimism so, to see the Colts chances of a post-season dashed by a loss to the Raiders will be heartbreaking.
Does that make me an undevoted or bad fan? I don't think so . . . the funny thing is, I would never admit to my Raiders that I felt this way but . . . I would admit it to a Colt. What does that say?
Sunday, December 19, 2010
December 19, 2010
I hate when I encounter Raider fans who live up to the stereotype. The Colts game was a nail biter so I got to the Raiders game around the beginning of the second quarter. When I got there, there was a guy sitting in my seats. I told him that he was in my seats and he said, "No I'm not." I said that he was and he said, "Too bad, I've been sitting here the whole game." I told him that didn't matter and that they were my seats.
He then told me that I had to show him my ticket to prove it. I told him that I actually didn't have to show him my ticket. He said that they were his seats and I pointed out that the ticket hanging around his neck showed that they weren't, in fact, his seats. He said, "So, what? They're not your seats either." and flat out refused to move. His idiot friends sitting in front of us turned around and told me that my tickets were fake (even though they hadn't seen my tickets) and that they'd never seen me there before and that he wasn't going to move, etc. They were amazingly idiotic.
So, I went and got a security guard who made him move. I had seats 1 and 2 and he moved to seat #2. I told him that was my seat as well and that he had to get out of it and he, again, refused. So, I got the same security guard and they made him move. The stupid idiot asked why I had two tickets and I said, "So I can make sure that I don't have to sit next to idiots like you." The funny thing is, he stood there for a minute and then said, "By the way, you're really pretty." :-\ I just stared at him.
His friends were talking shit at me and harassing me about it. I ignored them for a while and then it was starting to distract me from the game so, I got to try something that I'd never done before -- the Raiders have a "fan code of conduct" that everyone has to comply with and they have a number you can text to if you're being harassed so . . . I sent a text, they came and told them that if they continued, they'd be ejected from the game. It was lovely.
Shockingly, at the end of the game he came back and he and his friends apologized. They said they were just trying to defend him -- I pointed out that he was about 6' 4" and 300 lbs and asked what was there to defend against considering our size difference. They laughed and said it was funny how I held my own against them all. I said, "Hey, I'm a Raiders fan." The jerk then asked if I liked to dance. I said, "Only as a means to keep warm." which seemed to thoroughly confuse him and they left me alone.
The Raiders won, Yay!!!! The Colts won, Yay!!!!! All is right in my world . . . for now.
Next Sunday, Raiders vs. Colts . . . my worst nightmare. Don't know what to do. Any advice?
He then told me that I had to show him my ticket to prove it. I told him that I actually didn't have to show him my ticket. He said that they were his seats and I pointed out that the ticket hanging around his neck showed that they weren't, in fact, his seats. He said, "So, what? They're not your seats either." and flat out refused to move. His idiot friends sitting in front of us turned around and told me that my tickets were fake (even though they hadn't seen my tickets) and that they'd never seen me there before and that he wasn't going to move, etc. They were amazingly idiotic.
So, I went and got a security guard who made him move. I had seats 1 and 2 and he moved to seat #2. I told him that was my seat as well and that he had to get out of it and he, again, refused. So, I got the same security guard and they made him move. The stupid idiot asked why I had two tickets and I said, "So I can make sure that I don't have to sit next to idiots like you." The funny thing is, he stood there for a minute and then said, "By the way, you're really pretty." :-\ I just stared at him.
His friends were talking shit at me and harassing me about it. I ignored them for a while and then it was starting to distract me from the game so, I got to try something that I'd never done before -- the Raiders have a "fan code of conduct" that everyone has to comply with and they have a number you can text to if you're being harassed so . . . I sent a text, they came and told them that if they continued, they'd be ejected from the game. It was lovely.
Shockingly, at the end of the game he came back and he and his friends apologized. They said they were just trying to defend him -- I pointed out that he was about 6' 4" and 300 lbs and asked what was there to defend against considering our size difference. They laughed and said it was funny how I held my own against them all. I said, "Hey, I'm a Raiders fan." The jerk then asked if I liked to dance. I said, "Only as a means to keep warm." which seemed to thoroughly confuse him and they left me alone.
The Raiders won, Yay!!!! The Colts won, Yay!!!!! All is right in my world . . . for now.
Next Sunday, Raiders vs. Colts . . . my worst nightmare. Don't know what to do. Any advice?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tweeting
I've been playing with twitter lately and haven't decided if I like it or hate it. I kind of liked it when no-one was listening because I could go there and write stupid stuff and send it out into the void. It was slightly cathartic. Also, I've had a few tweet interactions with a couple of fave Colts (no, not Manning or the other one that I lust after) which have been kind of fun and funny (I've been harrassing one of them about his spellling and tweeting him correct spellings and notice they've creeped into his tweets).
But, recently, a friend of mine found me, not sure how, and is now "following" me so it changes things.
Today I was working from home and the dichotomoy between the complexity of what I deal with all day at work and the stupidity of my tweets struck me as really funny. I was bouncing between work and tweeting and the dichotomy between -- on one hand dealing with issues of complex algorithms, minute intricacies and variances in an infinite variety of data from all over the world and the infinite problems that presents, etc., plus having info fed to me by 4 teams made up of about 30+ people -- all of whom are working on completely different things but which are all inter-related but where I am the singular person who has it ALL tied together - the complete picture - and where they all have information, needs, ideas, problems, etc., which I have to singulary analyze, understand, resolve, decide, and lead them on, etc., (I often wonder why my head doesn't pop) and on the other hand tweeting about football, ex-boyfriends, bra sizes, etc. -- started cracking me up.
So, I tweeted about it but, with the 140 character limit . . . made things tough.
Ha!
But, recently, a friend of mine found me, not sure how, and is now "following" me so it changes things.
Today I was working from home and the dichotomoy between the complexity of what I deal with all day at work and the stupidity of my tweets struck me as really funny. I was bouncing between work and tweeting and the dichotomy between -- on one hand dealing with issues of complex algorithms, minute intricacies and variances in an infinite variety of data from all over the world and the infinite problems that presents, etc., plus having info fed to me by 4 teams made up of about 30+ people -- all of whom are working on completely different things but which are all inter-related but where I am the singular person who has it ALL tied together - the complete picture - and where they all have information, needs, ideas, problems, etc., which I have to singulary analyze, understand, resolve, decide, and lead them on, etc., (I often wonder why my head doesn't pop) and on the other hand tweeting about football, ex-boyfriends, bra sizes, etc. -- started cracking me up.
So, I tweeted about it but, with the 140 character limit . . . made things tough.
Ha!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Sometimes I'm Slow . . .
Usually when I workout, I'm focused on distance and time. In the last week, I've been focusing, instead, on calories burned and . . . it just dawned on me, today, that I could use that to my advantage. For example, if I wanted to have an Ultimate Cheeseburger - which is 990 calories, I could just work out longer and burn 990 calories and . . . voila! Should be no weight gain, right?
Don't ask me why I just figured this out.
Don't ask me why I just figured this out.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
December 9, 2010
Where to start . . .
I got the results from my recent A1-C and . . . (drum roll, please) . . . it was 5.9!!! An A1-C reading for a normal, non-diabetic human is between 4.5 and 6. So, 5.9 is really, really good. If my next reading is as good, my doc says he'll start lowering my meds to try to get me off of them -- I'm tempted to lower them for a week (like, take half) to see what happens.
It's all about the eating healthy and exercising, I'm sure. With drugs I could never get it below 6.6 -- and my goal is for the next one to be even lower. I checked my blood sugar all day and . . . never got a reading above 92. I'm so loving this new regimen.
I can now do 10 sit ups without stopping and then struggle to do another 5. I consider this huge progress compared to my first attempt which took me about 5 or so tries to do complete one. My workouts at the gym have been mostly focused on cardio with some upper body work. I plan to get a personal trainer but want to get in a little better shape first. I have nooooo stamina or endurance. It's scary how little I have.
I generally do the treadmill but thought I'd try something different and got on an ArcTrainer and lasted 3 minutes before my legs felt like rubber and like they were going to crumble. Sad. I've been doing 45 to 60 minutes on the treadmill, usually at 4 to 4.5 mph with 0 incline. This week I've started adding an incline of 3.5 to 4% -- not much but, it does make a difference. The goal is to build up my stamina and then get a personal trainer to start focusing my workout better.
The Colts won!!!! Granted, they beat the Titans who kind of suck, and barely beat them but, it all counts. It was a pretty good game and Manning gave an extended interview afterwards -- it's pretty hard not to love that guy. Three more games to go. The Jaguars, my Raiders, and then the Titans again. Jaguars might be tough. Raiders could be tough. Titans shouldn't be tough but we barely beat them tonight. Two of the three games are home games . . . the third . . . is in Oakland and is my worst nightmare.
I can't root against either team and it drives me crazy thinking about that game. I usually sit on the Raider side of the stadium but for the Colts game, I got tickets on the Colts side. This was before I had decided to go to Indy to see them so I got Colts side seats to get the experience that I ultimately got in Indy. And, my seats for the Raider/Colt game are in almost the exact same spot as they were in Indy.
The economy must be picking up because I got three calls this week from recruiters trying to lure me away. I ignored all but one. Work is busy and I'm having a hard time feeling motivated because there's just too much to do. Maybe they'll fire me. Maybe I should call those recruiters back! :)
I got the results from my recent A1-C and . . . (drum roll, please) . . . it was 5.9!!! An A1-C reading for a normal, non-diabetic human is between 4.5 and 6. So, 5.9 is really, really good. If my next reading is as good, my doc says he'll start lowering my meds to try to get me off of them -- I'm tempted to lower them for a week (like, take half) to see what happens.
It's all about the eating healthy and exercising, I'm sure. With drugs I could never get it below 6.6 -- and my goal is for the next one to be even lower. I checked my blood sugar all day and . . . never got a reading above 92. I'm so loving this new regimen.
I can now do 10 sit ups without stopping and then struggle to do another 5. I consider this huge progress compared to my first attempt which took me about 5 or so tries to do complete one. My workouts at the gym have been mostly focused on cardio with some upper body work. I plan to get a personal trainer but want to get in a little better shape first. I have nooooo stamina or endurance. It's scary how little I have.
I generally do the treadmill but thought I'd try something different and got on an ArcTrainer and lasted 3 minutes before my legs felt like rubber and like they were going to crumble. Sad. I've been doing 45 to 60 minutes on the treadmill, usually at 4 to 4.5 mph with 0 incline. This week I've started adding an incline of 3.5 to 4% -- not much but, it does make a difference. The goal is to build up my stamina and then get a personal trainer to start focusing my workout better.
The Colts won!!!! Granted, they beat the Titans who kind of suck, and barely beat them but, it all counts. It was a pretty good game and Manning gave an extended interview afterwards -- it's pretty hard not to love that guy. Three more games to go. The Jaguars, my Raiders, and then the Titans again. Jaguars might be tough. Raiders could be tough. Titans shouldn't be tough but we barely beat them tonight. Two of the three games are home games . . . the third . . . is in Oakland and is my worst nightmare.
I can't root against either team and it drives me crazy thinking about that game. I usually sit on the Raider side of the stadium but for the Colts game, I got tickets on the Colts side. This was before I had decided to go to Indy to see them so I got Colts side seats to get the experience that I ultimately got in Indy. And, my seats for the Raider/Colt game are in almost the exact same spot as they were in Indy.
The economy must be picking up because I got three calls this week from recruiters trying to lure me away. I ignored all but one. Work is busy and I'm having a hard time feeling motivated because there's just too much to do. Maybe they'll fire me. Maybe I should call those recruiters back! :)
Sunday, December 05, 2010
December 5, 2010
Well, another football Sunday down. Things didn't turn out quite like I wanted but, at least it wasn't a third week of double losses.
First and foremost, the Raiders won - YAY!!!!!! We SOUNDLY beat the Chargers which is good on many levels. First of all, I hate the Chargers because they're a divisional rival and it's always good to beat divisional rivals. Second, it makes me feel vindicated for them beating my Colts so badly last week. Third, it ties the Raiders for second in our division.
And fourth -- I won a bet against a friend who lives in San Diego. He now has to buy me a Stabler jersey, put it on, take a picture of himself wearing it, send it to me and post the picture as his Facebook picture for a week. He gave me the Raiders and 20 points. We beat them by 15. Ha!
But . . . the Colts lost to Dallas of all teams. Dallas stinks this year but have done better since changing coaches. They've lost 3 out of the last 4 games since they fired Phillips. The Colts bounced back from being behind for most of the game and tied it to take it into overtime but . . . alas, victory was not ours. Defense did a decent job but Manning threw several interceptions. The sad thing is, I think this pretty much means we're out of the running for the playoffs. I still love them anyways.
If Jacksonville loses every one of their last 4 games and the Colts win every one of their last 4 games, maybe but . . . that's not going to happen. This is the first time in 9 years that the Colts have not made it to the post-season. So, looks like football will end for me the first week of January. Unless a couple of teams that I really like make it to post-season.
The 49ers and Broncos lost as well so I saved face/bragging rights against my bosses.
The Steelers are playing the Ravens right now. I hate the Ravens and normally like the Steelers but I still haven't forgiven them for beating my Raiders so soundly but . . . do want them to beat the Ravens.
On another note, at my quarterly doc appt on Friday, the doc said I don't have to check my blood sugar everyday anymore cuz my results have been so good -- my last A1C was 6.6. Been checking anyways and they've been pretty much between 90 and 125. I'm hoping this quarter's results are even better with the new healthy eating and exercising regimen.
The most amazing thing about the eating better and exercising is that I haven't had any blood sugar issues since I started. No feeling like my blood sugar is dropping, no monster sleepy attacks after eating, etc. I feel like normal. My goal is to reduce or stop my medication.
Hope you had a good weekend.
First and foremost, the Raiders won - YAY!!!!!! We SOUNDLY beat the Chargers which is good on many levels. First of all, I hate the Chargers because they're a divisional rival and it's always good to beat divisional rivals. Second, it makes me feel vindicated for them beating my Colts so badly last week. Third, it ties the Raiders for second in our division.
And fourth -- I won a bet against a friend who lives in San Diego. He now has to buy me a Stabler jersey, put it on, take a picture of himself wearing it, send it to me and post the picture as his Facebook picture for a week. He gave me the Raiders and 20 points. We beat them by 15. Ha!
But . . . the Colts lost to Dallas of all teams. Dallas stinks this year but have done better since changing coaches. They've lost 3 out of the last 4 games since they fired Phillips. The Colts bounced back from being behind for most of the game and tied it to take it into overtime but . . . alas, victory was not ours. Defense did a decent job but Manning threw several interceptions. The sad thing is, I think this pretty much means we're out of the running for the playoffs. I still love them anyways.
If Jacksonville loses every one of their last 4 games and the Colts win every one of their last 4 games, maybe but . . . that's not going to happen. This is the first time in 9 years that the Colts have not made it to the post-season. So, looks like football will end for me the first week of January. Unless a couple of teams that I really like make it to post-season.
The 49ers and Broncos lost as well so I saved face/bragging rights against my bosses.
The Steelers are playing the Ravens right now. I hate the Ravens and normally like the Steelers but I still haven't forgiven them for beating my Raiders so soundly but . . . do want them to beat the Ravens.
On another note, at my quarterly doc appt on Friday, the doc said I don't have to check my blood sugar everyday anymore cuz my results have been so good -- my last A1C was 6.6. Been checking anyways and they've been pretty much between 90 and 125. I'm hoping this quarter's results are even better with the new healthy eating and exercising regimen.
The most amazing thing about the eating better and exercising is that I haven't had any blood sugar issues since I started. No feeling like my blood sugar is dropping, no monster sleepy attacks after eating, etc. I feel like normal. My goal is to reduce or stop my medication.
Hope you had a good weekend.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Strange Dream . . .
I had the weirdest dream this morning . . . I only remember parts of it. One part was that my mother was sick with the flu. She was lying in bed and I kept checking on her. I was supposed to go somewhere and didn't want to leave because I was worried about her.
Can't remember what happened next but the next part I remember, I was at a football game (surprise!) with my older brother. I don't remember who was playing but our team won. After the game, we went back to where the team was and I was talking with Cooper Manning. He said that Peyton was looking for me and I told him that Peyton and I were fighting. He said that he knew but that I should go find Peyton and talk to him.
I said I'd think about it and we walked away. We were walking down a hall and Peyton came out of a door and grabbed me and said he wanted to talk to me. My brother walked away and Peyton and I started talking. He was cracking jokes and apologizing for something he did and then . . . ewwww . . . we kissed. In the dream, we were married.
The odd thing is, I really, truly don't think of Manning in that way. He's my football hero but . . . that's it.
Can't remember what happened next but the next part I remember, I was at a football game (surprise!) with my older brother. I don't remember who was playing but our team won. After the game, we went back to where the team was and I was talking with Cooper Manning. He said that Peyton was looking for me and I told him that Peyton and I were fighting. He said that he knew but that I should go find Peyton and talk to him.
I said I'd think about it and we walked away. We were walking down a hall and Peyton came out of a door and grabbed me and said he wanted to talk to me. My brother walked away and Peyton and I started talking. He was cracking jokes and apologizing for something he did and then . . . ewwww . . . we kissed. In the dream, we were married.
The odd thing is, I really, truly don't think of Manning in that way. He's my football hero but . . . that's it.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Colts vs. Chargers -- Lucas Oil Stadium
The sideline in front of me, waiting for the kickoff. My seats were great because it ended up that all of my fave players pretty much were standing right in front of me when they weren't playing. Their sideline is really, really close to the seats so they were like 10 to 20 feet away from me at most. The sidelines at home are a good 30 feet deep so they're pretty far away from you even when you're right up front.
The heads in the forefront are the heads of the Chargers fans who were right in front of me, in the front row.
The closeness of the players combined with the fact that all of my favorites stood RIGHT in front of me the entire game explains why I didn't notice how much we were losing by until late in the 4th quarter -- I was too busy watching the guys on the sideline. Which also explains why I had such a great time, I knew we were down in points but figured it was winnable until I saw the 33 to 14 score late in the 4th.
But, I had a wonderful time.
The heads in the forefront are the heads of the Chargers fans who were right in front of me, in the front row.
The closeness of the players combined with the fact that all of my favorites stood RIGHT in front of me the entire game explains why I didn't notice how much we were losing by until late in the 4th quarter -- I was too busy watching the guys on the sideline. Which also explains why I had such a great time, I knew we were down in points but figured it was winnable until I saw the 33 to 14 score late in the 4th.
But, I had a wonderful time.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Age Conundrum
I hate how old I am. When I was a kid, I never understood people lying about their age but, at my current age . . . I fully understand. I've been contemplating lying about my age but hate lying and am so bad at it, all I've been able to do is just refuse to say how old I am.
The only time I enjoy telling my age is for the shock factor. There are two kiosks in the mall near my hotel that try to sell you face stuff. Both of them stopped me and tried to give me their pitch. They start with asking what I currently use. I explain that I use X and that I'm not interested in changing because it works for me.
They then try to tell me how their product can make me look even younger. So, I say, "Really? Well, how old do you think I am?" The first kiosk guessed that I was 28 and told me that her product could make me look 5 years younger. So, I enjoyed saying, "Well, I'm XX. Do you really think your product can make me look 23?" and her mouth dropped open. She asked if I used Botox -- No, I don't. She refused to believe my age and said I was just saying that because I didn't want to talk to her. I showed her my license and she said, "Wow, well, you should continue what you're doing." I thanked her and went on my way.
I had to go back to the mall today and went by another kiosk with the same pitch, same experience but that person said, "Well, since you're asking, you must be older than you look." and guessed that I was 33. When I did the same thing and told her my age, she looked dumbstruck and just stared at me examining my face. I walked away and she just stood there.
What's so funny to me is that I REALLY, truly do not look that young but I do love seeing the shock on people's faces when I tell them my age. The folks that I met on Friday night, when I told them that I was here cuz this was one of my "bucket list" things started laughing and said something about getting a head start on my bucket list. I told them I was much older than I looked and they factored that in and guessed 35.
I think I look like a woman in my 40s but I suppose it's all relative. Since I'm so uncomfortable lying, I guess I'll just have to continue to refuse to tell my age. But, I hate to admit (even to myself) that when I do tell people, for the shock factor, how old I am, it makes me uncomfortable as well because . . . I can't believe I'm that age either. :)
The only time I enjoy telling my age is for the shock factor. There are two kiosks in the mall near my hotel that try to sell you face stuff. Both of them stopped me and tried to give me their pitch. They start with asking what I currently use. I explain that I use X and that I'm not interested in changing because it works for me.
They then try to tell me how their product can make me look even younger. So, I say, "Really? Well, how old do you think I am?" The first kiosk guessed that I was 28 and told me that her product could make me look 5 years younger. So, I enjoyed saying, "Well, I'm XX. Do you really think your product can make me look 23?" and her mouth dropped open. She asked if I used Botox -- No, I don't. She refused to believe my age and said I was just saying that because I didn't want to talk to her. I showed her my license and she said, "Wow, well, you should continue what you're doing." I thanked her and went on my way.
I had to go back to the mall today and went by another kiosk with the same pitch, same experience but that person said, "Well, since you're asking, you must be older than you look." and guessed that I was 33. When I did the same thing and told her my age, she looked dumbstruck and just stared at me examining my face. I walked away and she just stood there.
What's so funny to me is that I REALLY, truly do not look that young but I do love seeing the shock on people's faces when I tell them my age. The folks that I met on Friday night, when I told them that I was here cuz this was one of my "bucket list" things started laughing and said something about getting a head start on my bucket list. I told them I was much older than I looked and they factored that in and guessed 35.
I think I look like a woman in my 40s but I suppose it's all relative. Since I'm so uncomfortable lying, I guess I'll just have to continue to refuse to tell my age. But, I hate to admit (even to myself) that when I do tell people, for the shock factor, how old I am, it makes me uncomfortable as well because . . . I can't believe I'm that age either. :)
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Indianapolis Day Two
Not nearly as fun as yesterday. The bed in my room is sooooo comfortable that I slept a solid 7 hours without waking up once. I was shocked when I saw the clock this morning. I got up and decided to go buy a warmer coat cuz I brought like a windbreaker type jacket and it's not nearly warm enough. I headed over to the mall which was nice but . . . a mall is a mall.
Found a jacket. Not something I love but, it works. Left the store and wandered around the mall a little. My brother called to say that they were at the airport and waiting to get on the plane to Indy and that they would call when they got to the airport here. Got back to my room and then got a call from the Nordstroms sales person saying that they had forgotten to give me back my card so I ran back to get that.
By the time I got back from that it was around 5:00 so I decided to take a nap. Woke up around 6:30 and realized I hadn't heard from my brother so texted him asking where they were and in typical fashion, found out they were here in the hotel. They had landed, gotten here, gone to get something to eat and were back in their room and . . . hadn't called. My brother does this all the time (says, "I'll call you." and doesn't).
Then, around 7:30 they call and say, "We're ready to go out now, are you?" I actually was but, my brother cracks me up. He's under the delusion that everyone wants to hang around with him and that everything revolves around him. So, we went to the restaurant where we had reservations which . . . is the same restaurant that I went to last night. I told him that I was going there on Friday but, he doesn't listen.
Got there and his girlfriend, who I like generally but who is dingy, was taking FOREVER to decide what she wanted to drink so two seats came open at the bar so I just went over, sat on one and ordered my drink. They stood there for another 10 minutes debating what she was going to drink and I just talked with the folks next to me. They ordered her wine and then they were ready to seat us.
We sat and had a decent dinner -- not nearly as good as last night (if you go to St. Elmo's -- the New York Strip is MUCH better than the rib eye) and had a decent time. Nothing wild or exciting, basically just dinner and some small talk. We stayed for a bit talking with the folks at the table next to us and another guy who came up to talk with us when he heard we were from California. That was the funnest part of the night.
We left and went back to our hotel and to the bar in the lobby. Had a couple of drinks and chatted about really stupid stuff while I texted a friend of mine trying to keep myself from going crazy from the inanity of our conversation. They planned out our entire day tomorrow -- where we're going for breakfast, what we're doing after breakfast, where we're eating lunch, what we're doing after lunch, etc., which is funny cuz I don't intend to do anything that they planned.
I know them, they're late for EVERYTHING, and I don't want to be late for the game so I informed them that I'm going to the stadium right when they open, which is two hours before the game and, as a result, that I was not going to dinner with them. They tried to guilt me, etc., but . . . I am impervious. My brother kept telling his girlfriend that he didn't want to be late for the game and that he wanted to be there for the kickoff.
I would bet $500 that they will NOT be there for the kickoff.
We finally left the bar and headed back to our rooms and I am so thankful that my seats are not with them. They're also in for a bit of a rude awakening in that . . . I don't plan on going along with any of their plans. I plan to do what I want tomorrow. They'll be shocked because, as I mentioned above, they think everyone wants to hang out with them but . . . they're fairly boring and I would have had a better time by myself tonight than I had with them.
I don't mean to be mean but . . . there's only so much I can take of him saying, over and over and over and over, "Isn't she so cute? Isn't she so pretty? Isn't she so funny." when the truthful answer to those questions are, "Yes, she is cute but, not beautiful." and "No, I don't find stupid comments to be cute." and "No, she's not really funny, she's kind of stupid. You may find that funny but, I find it sad."
I shouldn't have told him that I was going to Indy for the game, I should have just told him after I got back. But, hindsight is 20/20.
Tomorrow will be interesting. I'm excited about the game!!! I hope he doesn't ruin it for me. He's two rows behind me and about 5 seats over.
Wish me luck. Go Colts!!!!!
Found a jacket. Not something I love but, it works. Left the store and wandered around the mall a little. My brother called to say that they were at the airport and waiting to get on the plane to Indy and that they would call when they got to the airport here. Got back to my room and then got a call from the Nordstroms sales person saying that they had forgotten to give me back my card so I ran back to get that.
By the time I got back from that it was around 5:00 so I decided to take a nap. Woke up around 6:30 and realized I hadn't heard from my brother so texted him asking where they were and in typical fashion, found out they were here in the hotel. They had landed, gotten here, gone to get something to eat and were back in their room and . . . hadn't called. My brother does this all the time (says, "I'll call you." and doesn't).
Then, around 7:30 they call and say, "We're ready to go out now, are you?" I actually was but, my brother cracks me up. He's under the delusion that everyone wants to hang around with him and that everything revolves around him. So, we went to the restaurant where we had reservations which . . . is the same restaurant that I went to last night. I told him that I was going there on Friday but, he doesn't listen.
Got there and his girlfriend, who I like generally but who is dingy, was taking FOREVER to decide what she wanted to drink so two seats came open at the bar so I just went over, sat on one and ordered my drink. They stood there for another 10 minutes debating what she was going to drink and I just talked with the folks next to me. They ordered her wine and then they were ready to seat us.
We sat and had a decent dinner -- not nearly as good as last night (if you go to St. Elmo's -- the New York Strip is MUCH better than the rib eye) and had a decent time. Nothing wild or exciting, basically just dinner and some small talk. We stayed for a bit talking with the folks at the table next to us and another guy who came up to talk with us when he heard we were from California. That was the funnest part of the night.
We left and went back to our hotel and to the bar in the lobby. Had a couple of drinks and chatted about really stupid stuff while I texted a friend of mine trying to keep myself from going crazy from the inanity of our conversation. They planned out our entire day tomorrow -- where we're going for breakfast, what we're doing after breakfast, where we're eating lunch, what we're doing after lunch, etc., which is funny cuz I don't intend to do anything that they planned.
I know them, they're late for EVERYTHING, and I don't want to be late for the game so I informed them that I'm going to the stadium right when they open, which is two hours before the game and, as a result, that I was not going to dinner with them. They tried to guilt me, etc., but . . . I am impervious. My brother kept telling his girlfriend that he didn't want to be late for the game and that he wanted to be there for the kickoff.
I would bet $500 that they will NOT be there for the kickoff.
We finally left the bar and headed back to our rooms and I am so thankful that my seats are not with them. They're also in for a bit of a rude awakening in that . . . I don't plan on going along with any of their plans. I plan to do what I want tomorrow. They'll be shocked because, as I mentioned above, they think everyone wants to hang out with them but . . . they're fairly boring and I would have had a better time by myself tonight than I had with them.
I don't mean to be mean but . . . there's only so much I can take of him saying, over and over and over and over, "Isn't she so cute? Isn't she so pretty? Isn't she so funny." when the truthful answer to those questions are, "Yes, she is cute but, not beautiful." and "No, I don't find stupid comments to be cute." and "No, she's not really funny, she's kind of stupid. You may find that funny but, I find it sad."
I shouldn't have told him that I was going to Indy for the game, I should have just told him after I got back. But, hindsight is 20/20.
Tomorrow will be interesting. I'm excited about the game!!! I hope he doesn't ruin it for me. He's two rows behind me and about 5 seats over.
Wish me luck. Go Colts!!!!!
Indianapolis Day One
The flight to Indianapolis went well. Both flights were early and uneventful -- which is what I like. Got into a cab and headed out to my hotel. When we got close to downtown I saw the stadium and got sooooo excited! It all became real when I saw it.
Got downtown and there was a bunch of stuff going on so it was tricky getting to the hotel. We finally made it to the hotel and when I checked in -- the hotel staff explained what was going on -- the annual lighting of the Xmas lights on Monument Circle -- and that my room looks right over the monument and that if I looked out my window around 7:45, I would be able to see it. Got to my room, got settled in and looked out the window around 7:45 and watched the lighting and . . . the huge fireworks display right after. Here are some pics - before and after the lighting and of the fireworks.
Doesn't get much better than that! Got ready and headed out to St. Elmo's for dinner. As I left the hotel there was a guy in front of me wearing a Chargers jacket and hat. A couple of folks on the street saw him and said, "Boo, Chargers" so I walked up behind him and said, "Chargers fan, huh?" He turned around and laughed and said, "Yeah".
So, I said, "Well, I'm not as nice as the Colts fans. I'm a Raiders fan and I flew all the way out here just to see the Colts kick the Chargers's ass." and socked him in the shoulder. He was a very big dude but he just laughed his head off and said, "Fair enough". It was pretty funny.
Got to the restaurant and got seated. There was a couple sitting next to me and we struck up a conversation and ended up sitting there talking all night. They were very nice and funny and after dinner we all went to a wine bar and split a bottle of wine. It was a lot of fun.
More to come . . .
Got downtown and there was a bunch of stuff going on so it was tricky getting to the hotel. We finally made it to the hotel and when I checked in -- the hotel staff explained what was going on -- the annual lighting of the Xmas lights on Monument Circle -- and that my room looks right over the monument and that if I looked out my window around 7:45, I would be able to see it. Got to my room, got settled in and looked out the window around 7:45 and watched the lighting and . . . the huge fireworks display right after. Here are some pics - before and after the lighting and of the fireworks.
Doesn't get much better than that! Got ready and headed out to St. Elmo's for dinner. As I left the hotel there was a guy in front of me wearing a Chargers jacket and hat. A couple of folks on the street saw him and said, "Boo, Chargers" so I walked up behind him and said, "Chargers fan, huh?" He turned around and laughed and said, "Yeah".
So, I said, "Well, I'm not as nice as the Colts fans. I'm a Raiders fan and I flew all the way out here just to see the Colts kick the Chargers's ass." and socked him in the shoulder. He was a very big dude but he just laughed his head off and said, "Fair enough". It was pretty funny.
Got to the restaurant and got seated. There was a couple sitting next to me and we struck up a conversation and ended up sitting there talking all night. They were very nice and funny and after dinner we all went to a wine bar and split a bottle of wine. It was a lot of fun.
More to come . . .
Friday, November 26, 2010
Goin' to Indianapolis
Thanksgiving was nice, much more mild mannered than previous years. We had a small group (12), for us. My older brother's children all decided to stay up and have Thanksgiving with their mother and come down for Xmas (usually it's the other way around).
I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Indianapolis and should be preparing for that (like packing and stuff) but I'm doing my usual procrastination. An ex-boyfriend of mine (who is a shrink) used to hypothesize that my procrastination before trips was some sort of subconscious fear of flying.
Not sure if that's true because, I really have no fear of flying but I do not like to travel -- just in general. I hate the packing and the journey -- going to the airport, heading to the hotel, etc. I don't mind the flying part or everything else once I get where I'm going. I just hate getting there.
The sucky thing is that I have to pack so much for this little 4 day trip because it's Winter and because I'm going to see a client while I'm out there. So, that means I have to pack warm things (the worst part of this is that I only have super big, bulky jackes for very cold weather (leftover from Tahoe) or lightweight things for Bay Area Winters; I meant go get an in-between jacket but forgot), business apparel cuz of the client meeting, and since I'm on this health kick . . . workout clothes and shoes too. Not to mention my regular clothes for Saturday and Sunday. Bah!
Okay, better get packing.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Indianapolis and should be preparing for that (like packing and stuff) but I'm doing my usual procrastination. An ex-boyfriend of mine (who is a shrink) used to hypothesize that my procrastination before trips was some sort of subconscious fear of flying.
Not sure if that's true because, I really have no fear of flying but I do not like to travel -- just in general. I hate the packing and the journey -- going to the airport, heading to the hotel, etc. I don't mind the flying part or everything else once I get where I'm going. I just hate getting there.
The sucky thing is that I have to pack so much for this little 4 day trip because it's Winter and because I'm going to see a client while I'm out there. So, that means I have to pack warm things (the worst part of this is that I only have super big, bulky jackes for very cold weather (leftover from Tahoe) or lightweight things for Bay Area Winters; I meant go get an in-between jacket but forgot), business apparel cuz of the client meeting, and since I'm on this health kick . . . workout clothes and shoes too. Not to mention my regular clothes for Saturday and Sunday. Bah!
Okay, better get packing.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wowee . . .
I got an email from the Susan G. Komen foundation saying I was one of the top 100 individual fundraisers for the walk that I did in September so I'm on the Pink Honor Roll for the year 2010.
They're having a party to thank the top 100 (and, I'm sure, to try to raise more money -- which is fine with me) folks in December so I've been invited. They're making a t-shirt with all of our names on it and posting our names on their web site for a year. :)
I'm amazed that out of the thousands that walked, I was #39 in fundraising. The gal who was #1 raised over $20K dollars -- unbelievable.
They're having a party to thank the top 100 (and, I'm sure, to try to raise more money -- which is fine with me) folks in December so I've been invited. They're making a t-shirt with all of our names on it and posting our names on their web site for a year. :)
I'm amazed that out of the thousands that walked, I was #39 in fundraising. The gal who was #1 raised over $20K dollars -- unbelievable.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Bad Football Week . . .
Basically, my favorite team was beat by my third favorite team. My second favorite team was beat by the hated Patriots (and, unfortunately, it was their own fault). Tough day.
The high point of the day was when Richard Seymour hit Ben Roethlisberger in the face. While I don't condone what he did because he was ejected from the game (which was not a good thing considering he's one of their best defensive players) . . . I hate Roethlisberger and it was kind of funny seeing him get hit like that. I know that's a bad thing to say but . . . it was. Unfortunately, Seymour will likely get heavily fined and possibly suspended for it as well.
When it happened, it looked like Roethlisberger said something to Seymour and that Seymour hit him as a result of whatever he said but, Seymour said later that it was because Roethlisberger came running up behind him -- which he did -- and that he (Seymour) didn't know what Roethlisberger was going to do and just reacted. The two teams had a couple of scuffles prior to this so it seems Seymour might have thought Roethlisberger was coming up to hit him or something
The Colts lost to the Patriots because Manning threw an interception in the last minute of the game during a big drive down the field towards a score. It was heartbreaking.
But, I've found one way to vent my frustration and disappointment is to go onto the discussion boards on the NFL site and make comments there. It's amazing how stupid people are on those boards. Kinda scary.
Anyways, not only was it a really bad football day but I went out to dinner with some friends afterwards and drank and ate way more than I should have . . . and fairly unhealthily too. I was going to try to drown my football sorrows but just ended up with a headache.
Bah.
Hope you had a better weekend.
The high point of the day was when Richard Seymour hit Ben Roethlisberger in the face. While I don't condone what he did because he was ejected from the game (which was not a good thing considering he's one of their best defensive players) . . . I hate Roethlisberger and it was kind of funny seeing him get hit like that. I know that's a bad thing to say but . . . it was. Unfortunately, Seymour will likely get heavily fined and possibly suspended for it as well.
When it happened, it looked like Roethlisberger said something to Seymour and that Seymour hit him as a result of whatever he said but, Seymour said later that it was because Roethlisberger came running up behind him -- which he did -- and that he (Seymour) didn't know what Roethlisberger was going to do and just reacted. The two teams had a couple of scuffles prior to this so it seems Seymour might have thought Roethlisberger was coming up to hit him or something
The Colts lost to the Patriots because Manning threw an interception in the last minute of the game during a big drive down the field towards a score. It was heartbreaking.
But, I've found one way to vent my frustration and disappointment is to go onto the discussion boards on the NFL site and make comments there. It's amazing how stupid people are on those boards. Kinda scary.
Anyways, not only was it a really bad football day but I went out to dinner with some friends afterwards and drank and ate way more than I should have . . . and fairly unhealthily too. I was going to try to drown my football sorrows but just ended up with a headache.
Bah.
Hope you had a better weekend.
Friday, November 19, 2010
November 18, 2010
Wow, time's flying. It just dawned on me that Thanksgiving is one week from today. That means that one week from tomorrow, I'll be flying to Indianapolis. I'm soooo excited!!! I arrive around 7:00 p.m., I think. I figure just enough time to get to the hotel, check in, and grab some dinner. I think I'm going to try that place Emma recommended with the super hot shrimp cocktail.
I figure Saturday I'll wander around downtown. My brother decided to go too so he and his girlfriend are flying in Saturday afternoon so we'll hook up for dinner. Sunday is game time! The game doesn't start until 8:20 p.m. but I have a conundrum . . . I want to go to the Colts game early so I can watch the practice, etc., but . . . the Raiders are playing at 4:00 p.m. so, I either watch the Raider game or the Colts practice.
I kinda figure that since I'm travelling thousands of miles and spending thousands of dollars to go to the Colts game, the smart thing to do is go to the Colts game. But the Raiders are doing well and they are my first football love and the game is a home game so unless it's sold out, they won't be televising it at home so . . . I can't even count on recording it.
It'll be interesting with my brother and his gf there. Thankfully we have separate seats so I don't have to be embarrassed by his antics. He's determined to spend the entire game hollering things to try to get the attention of Manning. Manning will have better things to do than listen to some goofball in the stands hollering about coming all the way from California to watch the game. I will be two rows ahead of him and about 7 seats to the left -- far enough away to not be associated with him. Yay.
On the "getting healthy" front, I'm continuing with my eating healthy and working out routine. Plus, I've kicked caffeine again. This week makes one month that I've been "being healthy" and I like it. I have more energy, almost too much -- I had a little bit of a problem sleeping for a bit but, that seems to have settled down. My blood sugar's been really good too. Morning readings between 90 and 110 (110 is a little high but they've been 120 to 140 for the last year so it's a big improvement). I think the highest reading I've had at any time of day has been 125. It will be interesting to see what my next A1-C is.
Being out of town will be a challenge for the eating healthy part -- the temptation to splurge will be tough. I love to eat breakfast when I'm on vacation (I'm not normally a breakfast person, given my choice I would skip it). The hotel should have a gym so working out shouldn't be a problem, if I'm bad, I'll just work out harder.
One of the areas that I've been trying to work out are my "pecs". But, when I do the exercises that I'm supposed to do for pecs . . . my arms are sore and worked out, not my pecs. I think it's cuz I'm too short for the machine. I moved the seat all the way up but, when I'm doing the workout, I think my arms are too high. Sigh.
The good news is, I can now do 5 full situps before it starts hurting and can do 10 in a set. Granted, the last 5 are hell but, I can do them. Doesn't sound like much but compared to the first try which took 5 tries to get one done, that's progress!! I don't care what anyone says, crunches are waaaaay easier. I can do 100 crunches without sweating. After 5 full sit ups, I start grimacing but, it's all progress.
That's it for now . . .
I figure Saturday I'll wander around downtown. My brother decided to go too so he and his girlfriend are flying in Saturday afternoon so we'll hook up for dinner. Sunday is game time! The game doesn't start until 8:20 p.m. but I have a conundrum . . . I want to go to the Colts game early so I can watch the practice, etc., but . . . the Raiders are playing at 4:00 p.m. so, I either watch the Raider game or the Colts practice.
I kinda figure that since I'm travelling thousands of miles and spending thousands of dollars to go to the Colts game, the smart thing to do is go to the Colts game. But the Raiders are doing well and they are my first football love and the game is a home game so unless it's sold out, they won't be televising it at home so . . . I can't even count on recording it.
It'll be interesting with my brother and his gf there. Thankfully we have separate seats so I don't have to be embarrassed by his antics. He's determined to spend the entire game hollering things to try to get the attention of Manning. Manning will have better things to do than listen to some goofball in the stands hollering about coming all the way from California to watch the game. I will be two rows ahead of him and about 7 seats to the left -- far enough away to not be associated with him. Yay.
On the "getting healthy" front, I'm continuing with my eating healthy and working out routine. Plus, I've kicked caffeine again. This week makes one month that I've been "being healthy" and I like it. I have more energy, almost too much -- I had a little bit of a problem sleeping for a bit but, that seems to have settled down. My blood sugar's been really good too. Morning readings between 90 and 110 (110 is a little high but they've been 120 to 140 for the last year so it's a big improvement). I think the highest reading I've had at any time of day has been 125. It will be interesting to see what my next A1-C is.
Being out of town will be a challenge for the eating healthy part -- the temptation to splurge will be tough. I love to eat breakfast when I'm on vacation (I'm not normally a breakfast person, given my choice I would skip it). The hotel should have a gym so working out shouldn't be a problem, if I'm bad, I'll just work out harder.
One of the areas that I've been trying to work out are my "pecs". But, when I do the exercises that I'm supposed to do for pecs . . . my arms are sore and worked out, not my pecs. I think it's cuz I'm too short for the machine. I moved the seat all the way up but, when I'm doing the workout, I think my arms are too high. Sigh.
The good news is, I can now do 5 full situps before it starts hurting and can do 10 in a set. Granted, the last 5 are hell but, I can do them. Doesn't sound like much but compared to the first try which took 5 tries to get one done, that's progress!! I don't care what anyone says, crunches are waaaaay easier. I can do 100 crunches without sweating. After 5 full sit ups, I start grimacing but, it's all progress.
That's it for now . . .
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Ouch . . .
So, as I mentioned, I attempted to do full sit ups the other night and it was brutal. I eventually was able to do one set of 6 and another set of 3 (whoo hooo) -- doing them "right" -- and, the next morning the only thing that really hurt was my butt cheeks.
But . . . by late afternoon, my stomach and shoulder muscles were starting to feel a little sore as well. Last night I tried to do more sit ups and . . . the first one was easier to do (got it done on the first try) than the first one the night before (which took about 5 tries before I was able to get it done) but it hurt soooooo bad cuz of the sore muscles. I only did 5 because after each one, I laid there laughing and whining . . . sort of an "owwww . . . that hurts so bad, ha ha ha . . ." thing.
The positive thing is, in the video that I watched that inspired this, the person doing the sit ups was a pro foot ball player and, he wasn't doing them completely "right" -- his feet weren't flat on the floor (kept letting his toes tip up) and his arms didn't stay back (he let them come forward a bit which does make it easier) so, that made me feel a little better about being so pathetic. And, the stomach muscles that are sore are the lower muscles which is good cuz, that's always a problem area.
I think I'll take today off but shoot for getting 10 done on Monday.
But . . . by late afternoon, my stomach and shoulder muscles were starting to feel a little sore as well. Last night I tried to do more sit ups and . . . the first one was easier to do (got it done on the first try) than the first one the night before (which took about 5 tries before I was able to get it done) but it hurt soooooo bad cuz of the sore muscles. I only did 5 because after each one, I laid there laughing and whining . . . sort of an "owwww . . . that hurts so bad, ha ha ha . . ." thing.
The positive thing is, in the video that I watched that inspired this, the person doing the sit ups was a pro foot ball player and, he wasn't doing them completely "right" -- his feet weren't flat on the floor (kept letting his toes tip up) and his arms didn't stay back (he let them come forward a bit which does make it easier) so, that made me feel a little better about being so pathetic. And, the stomach muscles that are sore are the lower muscles which is good cuz, that's always a problem area.
I think I'll take today off but shoot for getting 10 done on Monday.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Be Careful What You Wish For . . .
Why does it seem that life becomes so uneven as you get older? I went from a feeling of boredom to the craziest day that I've had in, probably, 10 years on Sunday. I'm still sort of digesting it all. The good thing is that the police called today and said that they sent the case to the DA and that they are going to press charges against the guy who stole my purse.
The odd thing is, two days later random memories from the day keep popping up into my head -- the purse stealing; the play-ah! that kept hitting on me; a couple of things that my friend Drew did (nothing bad, just like, after the game when he saw me he bent over and threw his arms out (he's much taller than me) and yelled, "Heyy!!!! We won!!!" and it looked like he was expecting me to run up and jump into his arms -- that sort of stance -- I didn't, I calmly walked up and hugged him); wandering around looking for him in the rain before the game, etc., and . . . I still can't figure out what the fuck happened to make the day just so damn crazy.
And . . . why do I care? Why do these things keep popping up in my head?
The odd thing is, two days later random memories from the day keep popping up into my head -- the purse stealing; the play-ah! that kept hitting on me; a couple of things that my friend Drew did (nothing bad, just like, after the game when he saw me he bent over and threw his arms out (he's much taller than me) and yelled, "Heyy!!!! We won!!!" and it looked like he was expecting me to run up and jump into his arms -- that sort of stance -- I didn't, I calmly walked up and hugged him); wandering around looking for him in the rain before the game, etc., and . . . I still can't figure out what the fuck happened to make the day just so damn crazy.
And . . . why do I care? Why do these things keep popping up in my head?
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Urban's Crazy Day
Today was a mix of fun and shitty.
I woke up and it was pouring rain which, was a bummer since I was supposed to be going to a tail gate party and the Raider game. So, I got up and went looking for rain ponchos . . . the first place I went to only had ponchos in the colors of the other team. The next place was sold out. The third place had a blue one which was semi-neutral so I got that.
Went back home and got ready for the game. Got to the game, called my friend who was doing the tail gate and he didn't answer. So, it's pouring rain, I'm carrying a gallon of margaritas (which are pretty heavy) in one hand and an umbrella in the other, I'm soaked to my knees and trying to call/text him while roaming around this giant parking lot. He called me back and told me where they were and . . . I went where he said he was and couldn't find him (after walking back and forth in that area like, 8 times) so finally decided to give up.
I called him back and left a message saying I was giving up and going to throw away the margs and head into the game. I started walking towards the stadium and then . . . there he was. By then I'd been wandering around in the cold, pouring rain for about 40 minutes and was soaked up to my knees from stepping in puddles. And, when I got there I realized the jug of margaritas had popped open and half of it had spilled out all inside the bag, and down my pants, and all over the ponchos, etc.
Grrrr . . . I hadn't eaten and was starving and since I was cold and tired, I decided to have a margarita. Well, a margarita on an empty stomach of a non-drinker and . . . got kinda drunk. I decided to eat something at that point so had some tri tip. One of the guys at the tailgate was hitting on me hard but he was a total player so I just flirted with him and left it at that.
My girlfriend Lisa finally showed up at the stadium so I left the tailgate to go meet up with her and headed into the stadium. It was packed (the first sold out game this season) so it took a while to get in and during our wait I was talking with this guy next to me. We were talking about football and the guy said, "How do you know these old players? How old are you?" I told him and he looked stunned (yay!) he said that he would have guessed 15 to 18 years younger and told me I should start lying about my age and that I could realistically tell people I'm in my late 20s to early 30s (he was 42). Deja vu. I think they're crazy but, it was funny cuz it was such a replay of the night before.
We finally got in and to our seats and the two guys behind us were just fascinated with us because they wouldn't stop talking to us and touching us and it was getting ridiculous. They were probably in their mid-20s and stupid. We finally just started ignoring them. During half-time I wandered over to where my tail gate guy friends were sitting and chatted with them for a few minutes but, on my way there . . . I got waylaid by these three guys who wre trying to get me to go out with them after the game.
I was like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." One of the guys was 19. I told him that I had a nephew his age. One guy was saying, "Come on. You're hot. I'm hot. Let's hook up." I told them I'd pass and the guy hands me his phone with an empty contact record showing. I asked what he wanted me to do with it and he said, "Put your name and number in there." I was like, "Really? Do people actually do that?" I walked away from them and this other guy sees me and says, "Were they giving you a hard time?"
I said naah, they were fine. And he starts talking to me, asks what I'm doing, I explained that I was trying to find my friends and . . . he starts hitting on me. Asks if I gave those guys my number -- I said, no -- and asked if I would give HIM my number -- I said, no -- but he was nice about it. Tried a little harder and longer and then I finally saw my friend and ran over to where they were sitting. Sat there for about 5 minutes and headed back to my seats.
And then things got weirder . . . my friend went up to get us food and came back with hot dogs and a bag of Cracker Jacks. As she was setting her drink in the cup holder, her bag of Cracker Jacks disappeared. She was sure that the guys behind us took them so asked them about it. They denied it but they were definitely gone. And, there was an empty bag at the feet of one of the guys. It was weird but we let it go.
Those guys continued to bug us and we continued to ignore them and then one of the guys leaned over and whispered in Lisa's ear, "I took your Cracker Jacks and don't even fucking care." I didn't know he did that until later when . . . my purse disappeared. It was during a big drive by the Raiders and stupidly, I left my purse on my seat and we were all standing and cheering and when I turned around to sit down . . . no purse.
I was a little stunned and looked around to make sure that it hadn't slipped through and then the Cracker Jack stealer got up and left. Well, Lisa got up and told me to talk to security and she took off. I went up to report it and security went with me back to my seat to make sure I just didn't drop it and Lisa came back and said the police had the guy and my purse. Turns out she suspected the Cracker Jack stealer so when he left, she ran after him and yelled for security to grab him, that he had stolen her friend's purse. They grabbed him and searched him and . . . there was my purse.
I can't believe she did that. I owe her HUGE!!! Everything was still in there because he hadn't had a chance to do anything with it so I got soooooo lucky. I talked with the police, they asked if I wanted to press charges and I said, of course! They had the ass there in handcuffs and he kept saying to me, "Come on, are you really going to send me to jail for this?" I only answered once to say, "Of course. You stole my purse you fucking scum bag."
He told the police that we were high school sweethearts and that my name was Cherie. The cop was funny, when he told me that he said, "But, I know that isn't true cuz I saw your driver's license. First of all your name isn't Cherie and secondly, there's no way you were in high school with this guy. I saw your date of birth and . . . I have to say, I was really shocked." Ha ha ha ha ha!! I thanked him for being so nice.
So, I missed a good part of the game with all this drama. The police said that I could go finish watching the game because they had to put him in the paddy wagon (they actually used that term) and do paper work and that I could just meet them at this one gate after the game to sign the papers, etc.
By the time I got back to the game, there was only like a minute left and the Raiders were down by 3. Everyone around me was asking about my purse and when I told them who took it they were stunned. One guy said that he was there with the guy because their companies are working on a project together. He said the guy was married with kids. I told him that he was hanging around with a little thief.
Another guy said the guy was some professiona and that he had given him his card, etc. -- he showed me the card and I should have looked at it closer but didn't cuz I was still kind of in shock. The Raiders got a field goal in the last couple of seconds and went on to win in overtime but . . . I was bummed that I missed so much of the game. After the game we sat there for a bit enjoying the win and then went to meet the police.
They said he would be going to Santa Rita (local county jail) and that since i got everything back it might end up that they don't press charges but that he had flown in from San Diego and would at least miss his plane home and a day of work, etc. The thing that's creepy is, I feel like he stole my purse because he was pissed that I was ignoring him but, who knows.
I signed everything and then went to say goodbye to my other friends. They were trying to get us to stay but I was freezing. My feet were still soaked (it rained off and on during the game) and my pants were still wet to my knees and they had been since 11:30 in the morning and with the time shift, it was dark and cold and I didn't have a jacket, etc., so we left.
I was supposed to go to my brother's to watch the Colts game (he recorded it for me) but went home instead. Got home to see that the Colts lost. Bummer.
I go to Raider games all the time and they're always uneventful, fun games. But today was flatter-Urban-hit-on-Urban-steal-from-Urban-freeze-Urban-but-let-her-favorite-team-win-but-not-her-second-fave-team-day. I blame my tail-gate friend. Told him I was never going to tailgate with him again. But, it could also be Lisa. Or my weirdo-magnetism. I dunno but, overall, I have to say, I didn't like today.
I woke up and it was pouring rain which, was a bummer since I was supposed to be going to a tail gate party and the Raider game. So, I got up and went looking for rain ponchos . . . the first place I went to only had ponchos in the colors of the other team. The next place was sold out. The third place had a blue one which was semi-neutral so I got that.
Went back home and got ready for the game. Got to the game, called my friend who was doing the tail gate and he didn't answer. So, it's pouring rain, I'm carrying a gallon of margaritas (which are pretty heavy) in one hand and an umbrella in the other, I'm soaked to my knees and trying to call/text him while roaming around this giant parking lot. He called me back and told me where they were and . . . I went where he said he was and couldn't find him (after walking back and forth in that area like, 8 times) so finally decided to give up.
I called him back and left a message saying I was giving up and going to throw away the margs and head into the game. I started walking towards the stadium and then . . . there he was. By then I'd been wandering around in the cold, pouring rain for about 40 minutes and was soaked up to my knees from stepping in puddles. And, when I got there I realized the jug of margaritas had popped open and half of it had spilled out all inside the bag, and down my pants, and all over the ponchos, etc.
Grrrr . . . I hadn't eaten and was starving and since I was cold and tired, I decided to have a margarita. Well, a margarita on an empty stomach of a non-drinker and . . . got kinda drunk. I decided to eat something at that point so had some tri tip. One of the guys at the tailgate was hitting on me hard but he was a total player so I just flirted with him and left it at that.
My girlfriend Lisa finally showed up at the stadium so I left the tailgate to go meet up with her and headed into the stadium. It was packed (the first sold out game this season) so it took a while to get in and during our wait I was talking with this guy next to me. We were talking about football and the guy said, "How do you know these old players? How old are you?" I told him and he looked stunned (yay!) he said that he would have guessed 15 to 18 years younger and told me I should start lying about my age and that I could realistically tell people I'm in my late 20s to early 30s (he was 42). Deja vu. I think they're crazy but, it was funny cuz it was such a replay of the night before.
We finally got in and to our seats and the two guys behind us were just fascinated with us because they wouldn't stop talking to us and touching us and it was getting ridiculous. They were probably in their mid-20s and stupid. We finally just started ignoring them. During half-time I wandered over to where my tail gate guy friends were sitting and chatted with them for a few minutes but, on my way there . . . I got waylaid by these three guys who wre trying to get me to go out with them after the game.
I was like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." One of the guys was 19. I told him that I had a nephew his age. One guy was saying, "Come on. You're hot. I'm hot. Let's hook up." I told them I'd pass and the guy hands me his phone with an empty contact record showing. I asked what he wanted me to do with it and he said, "Put your name and number in there." I was like, "Really? Do people actually do that?" I walked away from them and this other guy sees me and says, "Were they giving you a hard time?"
I said naah, they were fine. And he starts talking to me, asks what I'm doing, I explained that I was trying to find my friends and . . . he starts hitting on me. Asks if I gave those guys my number -- I said, no -- and asked if I would give HIM my number -- I said, no -- but he was nice about it. Tried a little harder and longer and then I finally saw my friend and ran over to where they were sitting. Sat there for about 5 minutes and headed back to my seats.
And then things got weirder . . . my friend went up to get us food and came back with hot dogs and a bag of Cracker Jacks. As she was setting her drink in the cup holder, her bag of Cracker Jacks disappeared. She was sure that the guys behind us took them so asked them about it. They denied it but they were definitely gone. And, there was an empty bag at the feet of one of the guys. It was weird but we let it go.
Those guys continued to bug us and we continued to ignore them and then one of the guys leaned over and whispered in Lisa's ear, "I took your Cracker Jacks and don't even fucking care." I didn't know he did that until later when . . . my purse disappeared. It was during a big drive by the Raiders and stupidly, I left my purse on my seat and we were all standing and cheering and when I turned around to sit down . . . no purse.
I was a little stunned and looked around to make sure that it hadn't slipped through and then the Cracker Jack stealer got up and left. Well, Lisa got up and told me to talk to security and she took off. I went up to report it and security went with me back to my seat to make sure I just didn't drop it and Lisa came back and said the police had the guy and my purse. Turns out she suspected the Cracker Jack stealer so when he left, she ran after him and yelled for security to grab him, that he had stolen her friend's purse. They grabbed him and searched him and . . . there was my purse.
I can't believe she did that. I owe her HUGE!!! Everything was still in there because he hadn't had a chance to do anything with it so I got soooooo lucky. I talked with the police, they asked if I wanted to press charges and I said, of course! They had the ass there in handcuffs and he kept saying to me, "Come on, are you really going to send me to jail for this?" I only answered once to say, "Of course. You stole my purse you fucking scum bag."
He told the police that we were high school sweethearts and that my name was Cherie. The cop was funny, when he told me that he said, "But, I know that isn't true cuz I saw your driver's license. First of all your name isn't Cherie and secondly, there's no way you were in high school with this guy. I saw your date of birth and . . . I have to say, I was really shocked." Ha ha ha ha ha!! I thanked him for being so nice.
So, I missed a good part of the game with all this drama. The police said that I could go finish watching the game because they had to put him in the paddy wagon (they actually used that term) and do paper work and that I could just meet them at this one gate after the game to sign the papers, etc.
By the time I got back to the game, there was only like a minute left and the Raiders were down by 3. Everyone around me was asking about my purse and when I told them who took it they were stunned. One guy said that he was there with the guy because their companies are working on a project together. He said the guy was married with kids. I told him that he was hanging around with a little thief.
Another guy said the guy was some professiona and that he had given him his card, etc. -- he showed me the card and I should have looked at it closer but didn't cuz I was still kind of in shock. The Raiders got a field goal in the last couple of seconds and went on to win in overtime but . . . I was bummed that I missed so much of the game. After the game we sat there for a bit enjoying the win and then went to meet the police.
They said he would be going to Santa Rita (local county jail) and that since i got everything back it might end up that they don't press charges but that he had flown in from San Diego and would at least miss his plane home and a day of work, etc. The thing that's creepy is, I feel like he stole my purse because he was pissed that I was ignoring him but, who knows.
I signed everything and then went to say goodbye to my other friends. They were trying to get us to stay but I was freezing. My feet were still soaked (it rained off and on during the game) and my pants were still wet to my knees and they had been since 11:30 in the morning and with the time shift, it was dark and cold and I didn't have a jacket, etc., so we left.
I was supposed to go to my brother's to watch the Colts game (he recorded it for me) but went home instead. Got home to see that the Colts lost. Bummer.
I go to Raider games all the time and they're always uneventful, fun games. But today was flatter-Urban-hit-on-Urban-steal-from-Urban-freeze-Urban-but-let-her-favorite-team-win-but-not-her-second-fave-team-day. I blame my tail-gate friend. Told him I was never going to tailgate with him again. But, it could also be Lisa. Or my weirdo-magnetism. I dunno but, overall, I have to say, I didn't like today.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
The Health Kick Paying Off
I was at Trader Joe's tonight and chatting with a couple of guys in the checkout line about football. We got on the subject of the Raiders and one guy brought up Kenny Stabler and I said he was my all-time favorite Raider. They were all shocked that I knew who Kenny Stabler was. I asked why and they said, "You couldn't have even been born when he was playing."
I pointed out that Stabler played until the early 80s. They said that was their point and one guy said, "You're what, 28? 29?"
HA HA HA HA HA!!!
I told them they needed glasses.
But . . . it felt goooooood.
I pointed out that Stabler played until the early 80s. They said that was their point and one guy said, "You're what, 28? 29?"
HA HA HA HA HA!!!
I told them they needed glasses.
But . . . it felt goooooood.
Another Saturday Night . . .
Sitting here waiting to cool down from my workout so I can go shower. Once showered I'm going to go grocery shopping then come home, eat dinner, and I should work but . . . I don't want to.
Tomorrow -- tail gate party with an old friend that I haven't seen in about 7 years (same guy who was having the giant tail gate birthday party -- I didn't go to that). Before the game meet up with a gal who works for me who's going to the game with me (I'm not bringing her to the tail gate party cuz I'd rather be relaxed and not have to worry about being the boss at the party). Watch the game (hopefully we don't get slaughtered). Then over to my brother's to watch the recorded Colts game and have dinner.
Exciting life, eh? :-|
Tomorrow -- tail gate party with an old friend that I haven't seen in about 7 years (same guy who was having the giant tail gate birthday party -- I didn't go to that). Before the game meet up with a gal who works for me who's going to the game with me (I'm not bringing her to the tail gate party cuz I'd rather be relaxed and not have to worry about being the boss at the party). Watch the game (hopefully we don't get slaughtered). Then over to my brother's to watch the recorded Colts game and have dinner.
Exciting life, eh? :-|
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
The Problem with Working Out
Is how often you have to shower. For some reason, the older I get, the lazier I get about showering. I went to the gym and am sitting here knowing that I have to shower cuz my hair is all sweaty and my skin is all sweaty and . . . I don't want to.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Damn Fine Football
Manning proved, once more, that he is the best to ever play the game. He beat the Texans with only one of his normal starters (Wayne) and beat them soundly.
He's amazing.
I can't wait to go see him later this month!!!
He's amazing.
I can't wait to go see him later this month!!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Football
A mixed football day. Raiders slaughtered the Seattle Seahawks -- 33 to 3 which was great -- it was a better game than it sounds like (being so lopsided) but that might be my Raiders love bias coming out. Other good news was that the Broncos lost to the 49ers -- this was a tough one, I hate both teams but, I do hate the Broncos more.
But my Steelers lost to the Taints 20 to 10. And, both San Diego and Kansas City won today. San Diego beat Tennessee -- bummer, I hate San Diego and sorta like Tennessee (I like their coach). And Kansas City beat Buffalo -- I'm indifferent to Buffalo.
My Colts play the Texans tomorrow. The Texans beat them in the opening game of the season. I hope hope hope hope recent history doesn't repeat itself. Go Colts!!
But my Steelers lost to the Taints 20 to 10. And, both San Diego and Kansas City won today. San Diego beat Tennessee -- bummer, I hate San Diego and sorta like Tennessee (I like their coach). And Kansas City beat Buffalo -- I'm indifferent to Buffalo.
My Colts play the Texans tomorrow. The Texans beat them in the opening game of the season. I hope hope hope hope recent history doesn't repeat itself. Go Colts!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Hilarious . . .
Do you watch "Chelsea Lately"? I just discovered it a couple of weeks ago . . . it's freaking hilarious. Funniest damn show.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
It's a Beautiful Day
Pittsburgh beat Miami, barely (by 1 point) but they won. The Colts have a bye this week. The Raiders were set to play their arch-enemies, the Denver Broncos, and after the humiliation we suffered during the 49er game last week (we gave the 49ers their first win of the season, they were 0 and 5 until they played us) I was hoping that we just didn't get slaughtered. That we'd at least score some points and give them a run for their money.
But wait . . . instead . . . WE WON!!!! It was a slaughter but . . . we slaughtered them!!! Not only did we win, we beat them 59 to 14. We beat them by 45 points. It was truly a thing of beauty. Today was my happiest football day of the year (so far).
AND, the 49ers lost. It just doesn't get any better than this.
Yay!! :)
But wait . . . instead . . . WE WON!!!! It was a slaughter but . . . we slaughtered them!!! Not only did we win, we beat them 59 to 14. We beat them by 45 points. It was truly a thing of beauty. Today was my happiest football day of the year (so far).
AND, the 49ers lost. It just doesn't get any better than this.
Yay!! :)
Friday, October 22, 2010
10/22/2010
It's raining. I actually like rain so I'm sitting here with the patio doors open watching and listening to the rain, eating my big salad, listening to "Summer Day" by Sheryl Crow and resisting the temptation to get up and dance around the house . . . at least until I finish my salad.
I've continued with my "healthy" new eating regimen. It's easier than I thought. I think using my vacation to immerse myself in it was good because I think it's made it easier to stay with cuz it's something of a habit now. I didn't check my morning blood sugar today but yesterday's morning reading (before eating) was 91 which is fabulous (a non-diabetic human should be between 80 and 100).
I've been tracking everything I eat on this web site that I really like (http://www.myfooddiary.com/) and at the end of the day, when you say that your day is complete, it gives you a report telling you how you did. Good news is accompanied by a green smiley face and bad news with a red frowning face. I generally get smiley faces for various things like eating lots of fiber, getting lots of certain vitamin, not having alcohol, etc., and I always get frowning faces for too few breakfast calories (I'm not a big breakfast person, generally speaking).
But, the last couple of days it's also been giving me a frowning face for having too little fat in my diet. Apparently 15% of your calories should come from fat and I've been under that limit. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Okay, back to work.
I've continued with my "healthy" new eating regimen. It's easier than I thought. I think using my vacation to immerse myself in it was good because I think it's made it easier to stay with cuz it's something of a habit now. I didn't check my morning blood sugar today but yesterday's morning reading (before eating) was 91 which is fabulous (a non-diabetic human should be between 80 and 100).
I've been tracking everything I eat on this web site that I really like (http://www.myfooddiary.com/) and at the end of the day, when you say that your day is complete, it gives you a report telling you how you did. Good news is accompanied by a green smiley face and bad news with a red frowning face. I generally get smiley faces for various things like eating lots of fiber, getting lots of certain vitamin, not having alcohol, etc., and I always get frowning faces for too few breakfast calories (I'm not a big breakfast person, generally speaking).
But, the last couple of days it's also been giving me a frowning face for having too little fat in my diet. Apparently 15% of your calories should come from fat and I've been under that limit. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Okay, back to work.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
10/19/2010
It's been a nice few days off but back to work tomorrow. I'm trying to figure out how to sneak in a Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium this season. The problem is, it will require taking a day off and we're getting into a very busy time on a big project and . . . it's going to be tough to take any time off between now and the end of the year.
Went to a bar and watched the Giants game today with my brother and another friend. That was kind of fun. The Giants won which is good. I'm not really a baseball fan but I do like the Giants. I pretty much only watch games that I go to live and it's mostly cuz, I like the stadium that the Giants play in.
My place is a pigsty and I should have spent one of my days off cleaning but . . . I didn't. Instead I spent the entire time focusing on my new healthy eating regimen -- I figured it was a good time to try it out, get used to it, play with recipes, etc. Went to farmer's markets and bought some great looking produce. Ate at home everyday making healthy stuff -- I'm pretty much eating as much as I want but focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. . . . with some other things added in here and there (as cravings dictate). I'm also trying to eat several times a day (as I'm told I should for my diabetes). The bottom line is, my blood sugar's been great and I lost a couple of lbs.
For example, yesterday I had:
Breakfast:
Oatmeal with brown sugar and 2% milk.
Snack:
An apple
Lunch:
Chicken cilantro won tons
Snack:
Big salad with a soy/ginger dressing
Dinner:
Penne pasta with a tomato eggplant sauce I made from scratch
I've also noticed I have a lot more energy. So, it'll be interesting to see how I maintain this type of eating with going back to work. Being home makes it easy, planning ahead isn't exactly my strength so . . . we'll see. I'm going to try to package some stuff up to take to work -- fruit, veges, etc. I've told myself that I'm allowed to "cheat" once a week if I want so whenever I start thinking, "Mmmmm . . . a big juicy hamburger sounds good right now." I remind myself I can have it later.
I think I'm going to try following this healthy eating Monday through Saturday and let myself be bad on Sunday. But, again, I'm not great in the planning and discipline area.
Went to a bar and watched the Giants game today with my brother and another friend. That was kind of fun. The Giants won which is good. I'm not really a baseball fan but I do like the Giants. I pretty much only watch games that I go to live and it's mostly cuz, I like the stadium that the Giants play in.
My place is a pigsty and I should have spent one of my days off cleaning but . . . I didn't. Instead I spent the entire time focusing on my new healthy eating regimen -- I figured it was a good time to try it out, get used to it, play with recipes, etc. Went to farmer's markets and bought some great looking produce. Ate at home everyday making healthy stuff -- I'm pretty much eating as much as I want but focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. . . . with some other things added in here and there (as cravings dictate). I'm also trying to eat several times a day (as I'm told I should for my diabetes). The bottom line is, my blood sugar's been great and I lost a couple of lbs.
For example, yesterday I had:
Breakfast:
Oatmeal with brown sugar and 2% milk.
Snack:
An apple
Lunch:
Chicken cilantro won tons
Snack:
Big salad with a soy/ginger dressing
Dinner:
Penne pasta with a tomato eggplant sauce I made from scratch
I've also noticed I have a lot more energy. So, it'll be interesting to see how I maintain this type of eating with going back to work. Being home makes it easy, planning ahead isn't exactly my strength so . . . we'll see. I'm going to try to package some stuff up to take to work -- fruit, veges, etc. I've told myself that I'm allowed to "cheat" once a week if I want so whenever I start thinking, "Mmmmm . . . a big juicy hamburger sounds good right now." I remind myself I can have it later.
I think I'm going to try following this healthy eating Monday through Saturday and let myself be bad on Sunday. But, again, I'm not great in the planning and discipline area.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Weird Night . . .
Hmmm . . . kind of an odd evening. I decided not to go to Mexico -- I was supposed to leave this morning but I've been battling a cold/laryngitis thing and given my sister's nuttiness, I decided to stay home but still take the days off.
I spent today doing nothing, literally. I woke up, ate a little breakfast, listened to some music, surfed the web, watched a bunch of episodes of a show my brother recommended and then was debating what to do for dinner when my phone rang. I was going to ignore it but decided to see who it was and it was an old friend that I haven't spoken to in a while. He moved to Boston about a year ago and we haven't talked much since he moved. When I saw it was him, I immediately answered.
It was so good to hear from him. Turns out he's out for a few days and he was at a bar with a bunch of folks that he and I used to work with and wanted me to come meet them but they were out in the city and I'm at home in the burbs and by the time I would have gotten ready, gotten there, etc., it would have been over but he and I spoke for a little bit and then he gave the phone to another guy, Matt, that I haven't spoken to in 4 years.
That wasn't necessarily a good thing because I stopped talking to Matt for a reason. Turned out he was a pathological liar and basically a con man (in my opinion) and the last time I saw him he was being fired from his job because they found out he was working for two companies at the same time unbeknownst to each of them. I had seen him at a trade show in August and avoided him and in September a co-worker forwarded me an email from him saying that he was trying to get in touch with me.
I was a little surprised when Omar put Matt on the phone and didn't know quite what to say. He was trying to be friendly and catch up and I was civil. He offered me a job and gave me his number and asked that I please call him to talk about the job. I didn't write the number down and said I'd think about it.
After about 15 minutes he gave the phone back to Omar and we chatted for a few minutes more and then the phone was handed off to another person and it was a guy I used to work with 7 years ago, Chuck. He and I had a nice, quick chat but we were having a hard time hearing each other due to the bar noise so agreed to have lunch next week. Omar got back on the phone and we agreed to catch up next week as well.
I hung up and made myself some pasta for dinner. Ate that and popped on to check email and there was an email invitation to a birthday party for another guy I used to work with 7 years ago, Bob. Apparently it's his birthday this weekend and the 49ers are playing the Raiders this weekend (Bob and I are both die-hard Raider fans) and he's throwing a big birthday/tailgate party at the game. I'm going to the game but haven't decided whether I'm going to the party.
When I looked at the invitation, there are 92 people who have responded that they're going and while I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun . . . I haven't seen Bob in 7 years, I'm going to the game by myself, and don't really know anyone else who will be there so . . . it might be odd. But, I might stop by to say happy birthday.
I cleaned up the dinner dishes and settled down on the couch and was contemplating what to watch -- movie, football, etc. -- when my phone rang. Again, I was going to ignore it but on a whim looked to see who it was and . . . it was an old friend that I've been missing lately and that I haven't talked to in a couple of years. His birthday was the other day and I sent him a happy-birthday email and told him I'd been thinking about him and missing talking to him so . . . he was on a long drive tonight and called.
He and I have been friends for 17 years and can go years without talking but then get on the phone and it's like no time has passed. He knows things about me that nobody else knows -- not even my oldest, closest friends -- and I tell him things I would never tell anyone else in my life. I can tell him anything, admit things to him that I would deny to everyone else in my life, and it's always okay.
When we first met, he was married. Then his wife decided she wanted to explore dating other people so they separated for a bit and then got back together. When they reconciled, she insisted that he give up all contact with anyone he dated while they were separated and all of his female friends. He said he would give up contact with everyone except me. She said she wanted him to give up contact with everyone, ESPECIALLY me. He refused. They eventually got divorced.
When we first met, he lived in New York, then Boston, then Washington D.C., back to NYC and now he lives in the Midwest. During, probably, the first seven years we talked every day, sometimes a couple of times a day. Then he started dating the woman that he's currently with (they've been engaged for 10 years) and we still talked four or five times a week and then that went down to three or four times a week, two or three times a week, and then a couple times a month . . . and now once every couple of years.
It's funny . . . we went through a period, when he and his wife first got divorced, where he thought he was in love with me but I told him he was crazy and kept us as friends and . . . I'm glad I did because I think that's what we were meant to be but I do have to say that one of the things that I really am looking for in a romantic relationship is what he and I have on an intellectual and emotional level.
He's one of the smartest guys I know, maybe the smartest, and we can talk about anything. I don't have to dumb myself down, or pretend I don't know or understand something which I know and understand very well to stroke his ego, etc.
And he's comfortable with himself, emotionally stable, self-confident, and has a great sense of humor. He's mature, responsible, reasonable, rational and a reconstructive surgeon. He's basically everything I say that I want in a guy. I've just never been romantically attracted to him.
We chatted for a couple of hours, he reached his destination and sat in the car talking to me for another 30 minutes or so and then we said goodbye. As I was hanging up, I heard him say something but I was already hanging up so I called him back and asked what I missed and he said, "No, nothing. I was just saying I love you and miss you." I said, "Awww, I love you and miss you." and . . . I do. Not in that way, but . . . he and I have a weird bond.
So, all this put me in a thoughtful mood. Being bombarded with contacts from old friends and co-workers (in addition to tonight, I had dinner with a former boss on Monday and ran into another former co-worker that I haven't seen in 7 years yesterday).
Life . . .
I spent today doing nothing, literally. I woke up, ate a little breakfast, listened to some music, surfed the web, watched a bunch of episodes of a show my brother recommended and then was debating what to do for dinner when my phone rang. I was going to ignore it but decided to see who it was and it was an old friend that I haven't spoken to in a while. He moved to Boston about a year ago and we haven't talked much since he moved. When I saw it was him, I immediately answered.
It was so good to hear from him. Turns out he's out for a few days and he was at a bar with a bunch of folks that he and I used to work with and wanted me to come meet them but they were out in the city and I'm at home in the burbs and by the time I would have gotten ready, gotten there, etc., it would have been over but he and I spoke for a little bit and then he gave the phone to another guy, Matt, that I haven't spoken to in 4 years.
That wasn't necessarily a good thing because I stopped talking to Matt for a reason. Turned out he was a pathological liar and basically a con man (in my opinion) and the last time I saw him he was being fired from his job because they found out he was working for two companies at the same time unbeknownst to each of them. I had seen him at a trade show in August and avoided him and in September a co-worker forwarded me an email from him saying that he was trying to get in touch with me.
I was a little surprised when Omar put Matt on the phone and didn't know quite what to say. He was trying to be friendly and catch up and I was civil. He offered me a job and gave me his number and asked that I please call him to talk about the job. I didn't write the number down and said I'd think about it.
After about 15 minutes he gave the phone back to Omar and we chatted for a few minutes more and then the phone was handed off to another person and it was a guy I used to work with 7 years ago, Chuck. He and I had a nice, quick chat but we were having a hard time hearing each other due to the bar noise so agreed to have lunch next week. Omar got back on the phone and we agreed to catch up next week as well.
I hung up and made myself some pasta for dinner. Ate that and popped on to check email and there was an email invitation to a birthday party for another guy I used to work with 7 years ago, Bob. Apparently it's his birthday this weekend and the 49ers are playing the Raiders this weekend (Bob and I are both die-hard Raider fans) and he's throwing a big birthday/tailgate party at the game. I'm going to the game but haven't decided whether I'm going to the party.
When I looked at the invitation, there are 92 people who have responded that they're going and while I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun . . . I haven't seen Bob in 7 years, I'm going to the game by myself, and don't really know anyone else who will be there so . . . it might be odd. But, I might stop by to say happy birthday.
I cleaned up the dinner dishes and settled down on the couch and was contemplating what to watch -- movie, football, etc. -- when my phone rang. Again, I was going to ignore it but on a whim looked to see who it was and . . . it was an old friend that I've been missing lately and that I haven't talked to in a couple of years. His birthday was the other day and I sent him a happy-birthday email and told him I'd been thinking about him and missing talking to him so . . . he was on a long drive tonight and called.
He and I have been friends for 17 years and can go years without talking but then get on the phone and it's like no time has passed. He knows things about me that nobody else knows -- not even my oldest, closest friends -- and I tell him things I would never tell anyone else in my life. I can tell him anything, admit things to him that I would deny to everyone else in my life, and it's always okay.
When we first met, he was married. Then his wife decided she wanted to explore dating other people so they separated for a bit and then got back together. When they reconciled, she insisted that he give up all contact with anyone he dated while they were separated and all of his female friends. He said he would give up contact with everyone except me. She said she wanted him to give up contact with everyone, ESPECIALLY me. He refused. They eventually got divorced.
When we first met, he lived in New York, then Boston, then Washington D.C., back to NYC and now he lives in the Midwest. During, probably, the first seven years we talked every day, sometimes a couple of times a day. Then he started dating the woman that he's currently with (they've been engaged for 10 years) and we still talked four or five times a week and then that went down to three or four times a week, two or three times a week, and then a couple times a month . . . and now once every couple of years.
It's funny . . . we went through a period, when he and his wife first got divorced, where he thought he was in love with me but I told him he was crazy and kept us as friends and . . . I'm glad I did because I think that's what we were meant to be but I do have to say that one of the things that I really am looking for in a romantic relationship is what he and I have on an intellectual and emotional level.
He's one of the smartest guys I know, maybe the smartest, and we can talk about anything. I don't have to dumb myself down, or pretend I don't know or understand something which I know and understand very well to stroke his ego, etc.
And he's comfortable with himself, emotionally stable, self-confident, and has a great sense of humor. He's mature, responsible, reasonable, rational and a reconstructive surgeon. He's basically everything I say that I want in a guy. I've just never been romantically attracted to him.
We chatted for a couple of hours, he reached his destination and sat in the car talking to me for another 30 minutes or so and then we said goodbye. As I was hanging up, I heard him say something but I was already hanging up so I called him back and asked what I missed and he said, "No, nothing. I was just saying I love you and miss you." I said, "Awww, I love you and miss you." and . . . I do. Not in that way, but . . . he and I have a weird bond.
So, all this put me in a thoughtful mood. Being bombarded with contacts from old friends and co-workers (in addition to tonight, I had dinner with a former boss on Monday and ran into another former co-worker that I haven't seen in 7 years yesterday).
Life . . .
Sunday, October 10, 2010
10/10/10
Interesting weekend. Last night I went to a sake tasting at the family's Buddhist temple. It was fun and funny. They had about 20 different sakes to taste -- some were awful, some were okay, and a couple were really good. They also served bento boxes -- all food homemade by temple members which was really good.
I went to the sake tasting with two of my brothers and two of their friends. My oldest brother went home after the tasting event and the three other guys and I went out drinking. I don't really drink so, I figured I would end up being the designated driver which I did and which was fine with me. It was an interesting experience in many ways.
We went to about five or six different bars and I have to say, it was fascinating watching all of the people there pretty much all of whom seemed to be there to try to meet, pick up, etc., someone. It was kind of icky.
One of the FOBs (friends of brothers) thought I was about 15 years younger than I am. That was nice.
With each bar/club we went to, the guys got drunker and drunker and I, as predicted, ended up being the designated driver. Problem is, we were in one of the FOB's cars which isn't really a problem except that we all agreed that I would take everyone home and then drive the car to my house and he would come and get it this morning.
This morning I decided to go to my brother's to watch the Colts game and figured I'd drive FOB's car and leave it there and then have my bro take me back to my place. That way it'd be easier for FOB to get his car because I was leaving for the Raiders game at noon so wouldn't have to worry about how to get his keys back to him. Well, I went up to my bro's, watched the Colts game (they beat the hated Chiefs -- YAY!!!!!!) but my bro couldn't get ahold of FOB to tell him the car was now at his (bro's) house so I drove the car back in case FOB was going to just show up and get it (which was the plan).
We texted FOB that the keys were hidden in the car cuz I was heading off to the Raiders' game but . . . I got home from the game and . . . the car is still here. But, I just went out to grab the keys and it's gone so . . . I hope it was FOB who took it and that it wasn't stolen.
My nephew was supposed to go to the game with me but he pulled a no-show so I went by myself. On the way to the game, two different guys on BART tried to convince me to take them to the game with me. I was tempted to allow one of them but decided not to.
The best part of the weekend . . . the Raiders beat the HATED Chargers. I yelled so much at the game I gave myself a headache but it was worth it. Great game.
I went to the sake tasting with two of my brothers and two of their friends. My oldest brother went home after the tasting event and the three other guys and I went out drinking. I don't really drink so, I figured I would end up being the designated driver which I did and which was fine with me. It was an interesting experience in many ways.
We went to about five or six different bars and I have to say, it was fascinating watching all of the people there pretty much all of whom seemed to be there to try to meet, pick up, etc., someone. It was kind of icky.
One of the FOBs (friends of brothers) thought I was about 15 years younger than I am. That was nice.
With each bar/club we went to, the guys got drunker and drunker and I, as predicted, ended up being the designated driver. Problem is, we were in one of the FOB's cars which isn't really a problem except that we all agreed that I would take everyone home and then drive the car to my house and he would come and get it this morning.
This morning I decided to go to my brother's to watch the Colts game and figured I'd drive FOB's car and leave it there and then have my bro take me back to my place. That way it'd be easier for FOB to get his car because I was leaving for the Raiders game at noon so wouldn't have to worry about how to get his keys back to him. Well, I went up to my bro's, watched the Colts game (they beat the hated Chiefs -- YAY!!!!!!) but my bro couldn't get ahold of FOB to tell him the car was now at his (bro's) house so I drove the car back in case FOB was going to just show up and get it (which was the plan).
We texted FOB that the keys were hidden in the car cuz I was heading off to the Raiders' game but . . . I got home from the game and . . . the car is still here. But, I just went out to grab the keys and it's gone so . . . I hope it was FOB who took it and that it wasn't stolen.
My nephew was supposed to go to the game with me but he pulled a no-show so I went by myself. On the way to the game, two different guys on BART tried to convince me to take them to the game with me. I was tempted to allow one of them but decided not to.
The best part of the weekend . . . the Raiders beat the HATED Chargers. I yelled so much at the game I gave myself a headache but it was worth it. Great game.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
October 3, 2010
Bad football day. All of my favorite teams lost -- Raiders, Colts and Steelers. The only semi-bright spot was that Donovan McNabb's Redskins beat the Eagles and Vick only got to play the first half of the game -- for those who don't follow football, this Summer the Eagles traded McNabb to the Redskins after he played there for 11 years in order to have Vick as the starter (though they claim that wasn't their intention) and this was the first match between the teams and McNabb beat them. I like McNabb. He's a good quarterback and always seems like a really decent person. Also, Vick is the guy who went to jail for animal abuse.
The other dimly bright spot was that my favorite teams all barely lost. In the case of the Colts it was heartbreaking because they could and should have won. In the case of the Steelers -- they're playing with their 4th string quarterback and barely lost so, not bad. And in the case of the Raiders it was actually heartening. They played a really good team and barely lost (by 1 touchdown) which is way better than getting trounced which is what I thought would happen. The final score was 31 to 24 which means they're getting better (I expected 31 to 0).
I finally figured out why my tomatoes aren't ripening . . . they're yellow/orange tomatoes, not red tomatoes. My brother bought the plant for me so I didn't realize. So, quite a few of them were pretty much mush by the time I realized this and picked them but the others are really good. I'm going to make spaghetti sauce with them . . . I think it'll be interesting to have yellow spaghetti sauce.
That's about it for me. Over and out.
The other dimly bright spot was that my favorite teams all barely lost. In the case of the Colts it was heartbreaking because they could and should have won. In the case of the Steelers -- they're playing with their 4th string quarterback and barely lost so, not bad. And in the case of the Raiders it was actually heartening. They played a really good team and barely lost (by 1 touchdown) which is way better than getting trounced which is what I thought would happen. The final score was 31 to 24 which means they're getting better (I expected 31 to 0).
I finally figured out why my tomatoes aren't ripening . . . they're yellow/orange tomatoes, not red tomatoes. My brother bought the plant for me so I didn't realize. So, quite a few of them were pretty much mush by the time I realized this and picked them but the others are really good. I'm going to make spaghetti sauce with them . . . I think it'll be interesting to have yellow spaghetti sauce.
That's about it for me. Over and out.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
September 19, 2010
Football season is under way and it was a good football day. Raiders beat the Rams and the Colts beat the Giants. Granted, beating the Rams was kind of like beating a chick (as my brother pointed out) and we barely beat them but, the win felt good. We (us Raider fans) need to savor the win because we play Houston next week and will likely get pummelled.
I felt bad for Eli Manning. His team was trounced by his big brother's team 38 to 7. Okay, the final score was 38 to 14 but the last Giants touchdown at the end of the game was a gimme. Eli is a decent quarterback but, he's no Peyton. It sucks that he'll probably be forever compared to his brother and his father and it makes you wonder whether he would be thought better of if he weren't being compared to them but, if you take Peyton and Archie out of the equation, Eli is still only a decent quarterback. I would say he's still young but he's in his 7th year in the pros.
Peyton is a machine. His brain is wired for football. The thing that distinguishes him, in my mind, as one of the greatest QBs that have ever played the game (if not THE best which, I think he is) is that he can take a decent team and bring them up to his level where many other good QBs are only as good as the team around them. He's also a class act. He's always willing to talk to the media post-game but today he refused -- presumably because he knew the questions were going to focus on how badly he'd just beaten his little brother and, I think that was the right thing to do.
Work is busy as ever.
The kits are fat, not-very-dumb but happy.
I love Autumn -- even though it's not officially here, the weather here has become very Autumn-like already. My tomatoes aren't as successful as last year. I'm getting concerned that I have a ton of tomatoes on the plants but about 95% of them are still green. Some are just getting started, some are about mid-way through their growing cycle (based on size) and some seem to be full grown but only about 5 of them are starting to change from green to red. I grew Big Boys (or something like that) and Heirlooms this year so maybe they just take longer to grow but, if they don't ripen soon, they may never get to.
Not much else going on.
I felt bad for Eli Manning. His team was trounced by his big brother's team 38 to 7. Okay, the final score was 38 to 14 but the last Giants touchdown at the end of the game was a gimme. Eli is a decent quarterback but, he's no Peyton. It sucks that he'll probably be forever compared to his brother and his father and it makes you wonder whether he would be thought better of if he weren't being compared to them but, if you take Peyton and Archie out of the equation, Eli is still only a decent quarterback. I would say he's still young but he's in his 7th year in the pros.
Peyton is a machine. His brain is wired for football. The thing that distinguishes him, in my mind, as one of the greatest QBs that have ever played the game (if not THE best which, I think he is) is that he can take a decent team and bring them up to his level where many other good QBs are only as good as the team around them. He's also a class act. He's always willing to talk to the media post-game but today he refused -- presumably because he knew the questions were going to focus on how badly he'd just beaten his little brother and, I think that was the right thing to do.
Work is busy as ever.
The kits are fat, not-very-dumb but happy.
I love Autumn -- even though it's not officially here, the weather here has become very Autumn-like already. My tomatoes aren't as successful as last year. I'm getting concerned that I have a ton of tomatoes on the plants but about 95% of them are still green. Some are just getting started, some are about mid-way through their growing cycle (based on size) and some seem to be full grown but only about 5 of them are starting to change from green to red. I grew Big Boys (or something like that) and Heirlooms this year so maybe they just take longer to grow but, if they don't ripen soon, they may never get to.
Not much else going on.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Cat Pics
I suspect that if Jabba the Hut were a cat, he would look something like this.
Classic Scout.
A rare moment of solidarity -- they're united in their fear of the vacuum cleaner
A rare moment of brotherly love.
Of course, it couldn't last. Jack started hissing.
So, she leaves.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Milestone
She's only 23 and for any other person I would say that was waaaayyy too young to get married but, she and Daniel have been together for 8 years and if you had ever met them, you would just nod and say, "Yeah, that makes sense."
It's funny, she and I were talking the day before the wedding and she was telling me which songs they had decided on for her first dance with her husband and with her father and I found myself tearing up. Totally unexpected. So, I was afraid that I was going to start crying at the ceremony but . . . I never even teared up. No. 1 niece (the oldest and the daughter of my oldest sister) was bawling.
The wedding went off without a hitch (except the officiant mispronouncing their last name when he introduced them) and the reception was fun. The whole affair went on for about 7 hours. No-one got out of control drunk or stupid. The closest we came was when No. 1 niece did a speech and kept going and going and going . . . it was hilarious (she was tipsy). She would pause and we'd all start clapping and telling her "good speech, you're done!" as a hint and then . . . she'd start back up again. One of the bridesmaids (my 16 year old niece -- No. 5) finally, during one of the pauses, took the microphone and moved it along. It was hilarious.
A 7 year old caught the bouquet -- I didn't think little kids should be allowed to catch but, not my call. Didn't bug me since I've never participated in a bouquet toss (I stridently avoid them) but it seemed to irk some of the single women who did participate.
The location was pretty but it was 103 degrees on the day of the wedding and the ceremony was outside so that was a bit tortuous. It caused a little chaos at the beginning of the ceremony because quite a few people were sitting in the air conditioned bar, not willing to go sit outside until it was "time". So, when it was time, there was a little bit of a stampede and some chaos getting seated in time.
Thankfully they kept the ceremony short.
My niece originally wanted to elope and her husband wanted the wedding. They were funny when they were planning -- he would be reading the bride magazines and she was very casual about the whole thing. I think their casual attitude made it a great wedding because they didn't sweat the small stuff and just enjoyed the day and didn't really care about anything going wrong and . . . nothing really did.
All in all, two thumbs up.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
I very sincerely . . .
truly and deeply dislike Barbara Boxer. She's an embarrassment to my state. She debated Fiorina this evening and while I disagree with Fiorina on many issues, Boxer came off as shrill, reactionary (which she always is), petty, unprepared, uninformed and flat out unintelligent. It was embarrassing listening to her. Her answers were partisan political statements rather than answers to the questions.
Fiorina came off as intelligent, calm, prepared and on point. She answered the questions directly and stayed with the question. The bias of the moderator was so obvious it was disgusting. He never challenged Boxer on her answers other than to state, just once, that the candidates should try to answer the questions rather than stray but he flat out called Fiorina out on a couple of her answers which were actually on point, just answers that he didn't like (e.g., when asked about her stand on prop 23, Fiorina said she hasn't taken a position on it yet -- which is fair; he asked her a follow-up question of "So, are you against prop 23? Yes or no?" and she restated that she has not yet taken a position on it). Unfortunately for him, her responses were clear and concise and he really came off poorly.
What a disappointment.
Fiorina came off as intelligent, calm, prepared and on point. She answered the questions directly and stayed with the question. The bias of the moderator was so obvious it was disgusting. He never challenged Boxer on her answers other than to state, just once, that the candidates should try to answer the questions rather than stray but he flat out called Fiorina out on a couple of her answers which were actually on point, just answers that he didn't like (e.g., when asked about her stand on prop 23, Fiorina said she hasn't taken a position on it yet -- which is fair; he asked her a follow-up question of "So, are you against prop 23? Yes or no?" and she restated that she has not yet taken a position on it). Unfortunately for him, her responses were clear and concise and he really came off poorly.
What a disappointment.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
It's a Fine Line . . .
Between "engaging" and "nosey". The other day, I went to drop off my dry cleaning and this is how it went:
Dry Cleaning Lady: Hello, how can I help you?
Me: I'd like to drop off some dry cleaning.
DCL: All-rightey.
Me: I have one dress and . . .
DCL: I will determine what you have.
Me: Okay.
DCL: Let me get your info first.
[Takes my contact info.]
DCL: (as she's pawing through my clothes) So, where do you work?
Me: In San Francisco.
DCL: Oh, how fun. One dress?
Me: I enjoy it. Yes, just one dress.
DCL: What do you do there? One suit?
Me: I work for a software company. Yes, just one suit.
DCL: Oh how fun. What do you do?
Me: (getting irritated with the personal questions) I manage developers.
DCL: Really? How's that going for you? Three sweaters?
Me: Fine. Yes, three sweaters.
DCL: So it's going well? How's the company doing?
Me: (silence because I've decided she's gone too far)
DCL: I bet it's fun managing those developers. "Stop touching me! I don't want to sit next to her!"
Me: (silence)
DCL: So, did you say the company is doing well?
Me: Are we almost finished? I need to get going.
DCL: Sure, is Friday okay for the pick up?
Me: Yes, that's fine.
DCL: Do you have plans for the weekend?
Me: Is that my receipt?
DCL: Yes, here you go.
Me: Thank you.
And I left. I went from there to the gas station and had a similar experience with the gas station guy. He was asking if I wanted him to check my oil and told him no-thank-you because I was in a hurry and he stood there and asked me a billion questions as well:
Where are you going? (to the airport)
Is this a rental? (no)
Are you picking someone up? (no, I'm flying out)
When are you leaving? (sorry, I don't have time to chat, I'm in a hurry)
Where are you going?
How long will you be gone?
Etc.
Even after I stopped answering him he stood there and kept asking questions.
There's a difference between being pleasant and friendly and being downright nosey and irritating. Not sure whether these people just like to talk or if they think they're being engaging or what but . . . it's irritating.
Dry Cleaning Lady: Hello, how can I help you?
Me: I'd like to drop off some dry cleaning.
DCL: All-rightey.
Me: I have one dress and . . .
DCL: I will determine what you have.
Me: Okay.
DCL: Let me get your info first.
[Takes my contact info.]
DCL: (as she's pawing through my clothes) So, where do you work?
Me: In San Francisco.
DCL: Oh, how fun. One dress?
Me: I enjoy it. Yes, just one dress.
DCL: What do you do there? One suit?
Me: I work for a software company. Yes, just one suit.
DCL: Oh how fun. What do you do?
Me: (getting irritated with the personal questions) I manage developers.
DCL: Really? How's that going for you? Three sweaters?
Me: Fine. Yes, three sweaters.
DCL: So it's going well? How's the company doing?
Me: (silence because I've decided she's gone too far)
DCL: I bet it's fun managing those developers. "Stop touching me! I don't want to sit next to her!"
Me: (silence)
DCL: So, did you say the company is doing well?
Me: Are we almost finished? I need to get going.
DCL: Sure, is Friday okay for the pick up?
Me: Yes, that's fine.
DCL: Do you have plans for the weekend?
Me: Is that my receipt?
DCL: Yes, here you go.
Me: Thank you.
And I left. I went from there to the gas station and had a similar experience with the gas station guy. He was asking if I wanted him to check my oil and told him no-thank-you because I was in a hurry and he stood there and asked me a billion questions as well:
Where are you going? (to the airport)
Is this a rental? (no)
Are you picking someone up? (no, I'm flying out)
When are you leaving? (sorry, I don't have time to chat, I'm in a hurry)
Where are you going?
How long will you be gone?
Etc.
Even after I stopped answering him he stood there and kept asking questions.
There's a difference between being pleasant and friendly and being downright nosey and irritating. Not sure whether these people just like to talk or if they think they're being engaging or what but . . . it's irritating.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Urban Gardening
I'm growing tomatoes on my balcony again this year but not doing the topsy-turvy ones, they were a bit of a bust. This year I planted heirlooms and best boys (or big boys) in a really big pot. Last year, the tomato plants got so big that they took over the entire balcony. It was a bit wild. So, this year I put stakes around the outside of the pot and used garden wire to create sort of a loose cage around the plant to keep it somewhat contained. And, since the sunlight on my balcony is a bit spotty, I put the pot on wheels so I can push it around to get good sun and get it out of the way if I want to spend time out there. It will be interesting to see if the plant is adversely affected by being mobile.
I also planted herbs: basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives, garlic chives and mint. I think I need to get some parsley as well. The big challenge is keeping the cats out of the chives. They're drawn to them but I know they're not good for the cats and they give them really bad smelling gas.
I think next year will be my best year because I've already decided I will do some things differently as far as the herbs go. What to plant them in, etc.
But for now, it looks pretty good. Now I have to start cooking at home and using all these things.
I also planted herbs: basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives, garlic chives and mint. I think I need to get some parsley as well. The big challenge is keeping the cats out of the chives. They're drawn to them but I know they're not good for the cats and they give them really bad smelling gas.
I think next year will be my best year because I've already decided I will do some things differently as far as the herbs go. What to plant them in, etc.
But for now, it looks pretty good. Now I have to start cooking at home and using all these things.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
