Cinderella or Ariel?

You know you're at "Grandma's House" when the choice of band-aids include only the following:

Ariel, Dora, Cinderella or Snow White



Why can't they make ones for young adults...? I wouldn't mind Master Shake or Meatwad.

Almost 2009

While I'm attempting to work from home - which can be challenging to say the least - I am also prepping/educating myself for a new blog. Not a Ginny by any means. This blog will solely for the purpose of communication within the Ag industry. I am a very basic person when it comes to knowledge of the web and it's endless tools so that is why I am prepping myself prior to my TBD launch date. Seriously, my knowledge on CSS is very limited to the days when I managed the country websites for my job at the trade council ... let's just say, this may be a long education session.

The reason why I want to do this came out of my desire to get back involved in increasing awareness between the Ag community and the rest of the world. I want to throw in a few new (boring?) twists to it. I don't just want to write/report on how the cow's are doing and talk about the market prices. I want to mix the on-the-farm view of policy happening in ALL regions, nationally and internationally and mix them together.

Test:

In Sept of 2008 in China - what was the big scandel about?
Who won the 2008 World Series?

Which one could you answer more easeily? More people could tell you who won the World Series but are clueless to the melamine in dairy (produced in China) scandel.

New question:

Which one of those events affects your life the most?

Yeah...the melamine issue.

98% of us involved in the Ag/Food industry knew about this but still are limited to geting the info - REAL info - out on what is going on, what this means to us (U.S. Ag) and what this means to YOU (the consumers). That makes me more upset than anything. How could somethin SO huge go unnoticed to so many people?

And that is why I'm going to start a new site. It's just a drop in a very big bucket, but hopefully that drop will be met by many more and lead to an overflowing bucket. I hope that by the time I leave this earh the consumer will actually understand the products they take in on a daily basis.


************

If you see a girl at the gym on a Friday night, bouncing away on the eliptical, pumping her fist in the air and yelling at the TV screen that is airing C-SPAN 2 .... it just might be me.

The C-SPAN Plan

I still have PA license plates and ID but by golly I have a gym membership in the closest city to the farm! Can you see what takes priority in my life? The gym isn't anyting fabulous (though, I have to say, the eye candy is quite nice).

Killer Chic

Can anyone explain this to me? When we live in a era where we idolize what the celebs of the west are doing... adopting 3rd world babies, promoting green tech & so forth - it is hard to understand how these people who consider themsleves so righteous (I mean, they do think they are so great that who the vote for is whom you ought to vote for) wear t-shirts and caps with pics of Che. Che, a man who has killed many under communism, is far from a person you should be associatng yourself with if you have any concern for humanity. If you do not know the history of Che you are a very sad person who has been living under a rock and/or we really need to bring our schools up to speed in the history dept.

This is all the more reason of why I refuse to listen to the crap that celebs tout for many of them are just a bunch of hypocrites concerned with money and fashion.

Check out the latest piece on the fashion trend here.

Shot of the Past

So I moved home to the farm in MN. I'm living with my parents for a short while, helping them get ready for the new house they are building and taking a new gander into what I want to do with my fruture. It's day three and I'm already going a tad crazy - but we'll see if I can get use to it.

Now, I DO love my parents and how they have handled me thus far. I have been trying to thank them for the FREE room & board by helping like crazy and making their meals. I almost went as far as packing my mothers lunch for work tomorrow (but she beat me to it).

It will take a bit to get use to...such as my poor car will never be as clean as it once was now that I'm back on a gravel road. Or the fact that I'm living out of the room that I grew out of when I turned 14. I was very happy to leave my home area in the past and move on....now I'm back in it and on top of that having to re-live good portions of it for I have been spending the last few days going through old momentos of Jr. High, High School & college. I'm cool with college stuff seeing it's still pretty recent but I look back at photos, cards, love letter, etc. of years earlier and I think the same few things over...

- I guess I wasn't THAT ugly
- Wow, I was so immature - can't believe they were even friends with me
- How was I that popular then?
- Glad to never have to re-live those years again

Let's just say I have 3 BIG garbage bags full of the past that will be burned and be kept as the past.

Now onward to the future!

The Last Lunch.

I did it. I made it through a year of uncertainty (only to be followed-up on with more!) and the challenges

Dear Cleaning Dude

You seem like a very nice man.

Corner Work Need Not Apply

I have a friend that needed a hobby. Hobby idea given to her: find me a job and potential housing in MN or DC (yeah, I'm getting back into politics....mayyyyyybe).

Once given the task she sarted to find a lot of random jobs that seemed only to be best marked as "interesting".

Jobs Selected:

- Marketing for random group (okay)
- Karaoke manager (umm, no)
- Ad researcher (sounded shady at best)

Before I could let her go on I decided to lay some ground rules....

1. requirement should not include: Must be able to stand at corner for long periods of time and accepts only cash
2. Costume wearing
3. Maid with costume options
4. Involves going into campus bars late at night
5. Wearing a headset
6. Anything that requires door-knocking

Before eHarmony there was Hoard's Dairyman

I'll admit it for I am very guilty of my own pre-"e" days when I was searching for The One. At a young age a lot of the magazines that littered my dad's desk were farming/dairy based mags. Seeing I loved to read anything available I would pick-up the magazines to read about the latest technology with milking parlors or a new way to handle a displaced abomasum.

Soon I learned that whenever they did an article about a farmer, they ALWAYS included age and location. From then on I started to grab all magazines possible....Hoard's Dairyman, Progressive Dairy, Country, Holstein World, etc. to check out the latest crop of elgible bachelors. It was a great pre-screening process cause when you do a write-up about the farmer you typcially include the stats of the farm. As in, number of acres, techniques used, herd head-count and so on. Pop in a picture to show him by the livestock or tractor and then I know which breed of animal and implements he preferred.

My list was a bit particular:

Holstein
1,000 acres
300+ head
John Deere
Chevy
Age: 25-33
Owner (or co-owner)
Uses technology
Belongs to at least one association

I continued this tradition throughout college - it wasn't hard to go into the Dairy Science Dept. reading room and gather up the magazines. But I found that the habit soon waned off once I moved away from the farm life and lacked the subscriptions. It is also awkward seeing boys that I actually knew from my collegiate days in there. But I have a feeling this may start-up again seeing I'll be located back on the farm for awhile and yup, still single! Yeah, there may be technology to do the screening, like eHarmony, but I prefer to do my market research the old school way.

I think I'll make it my new morning coffee break habit.

Best Evite Ever....... I mean EVER

Okay, you got it. I'm moving. Blah, blah, blah...it was tough for me to move away from MN friends & family and then from DC to Philly but it's only getting worse. More than anything it's gonna be tough leaving the quick access (3 hr drive) to DC for a fun weekend of spirits, sports, friends (urban family), gluttony AND political drivel.

But the last time in DC (as an east-coaster) will be spent at a b-day bash for two buddies. As I opened the Evite for the party I realized that all those times I've asked myself, "How is it that I'm friends with y'all?" this evite pretty much sums it up. We are all very much like one another. Humor - check. Ideals - check. Politcs - check. Check, check, check!

So to share - here's what the Evite said:

Join us to mourn the passing of yet another year for these two political hack Valentine babies. Bring your Halloween fatigue, prepare for holidays and family fatigue, and help the two old fogeys trying to lift themselves out of their post-election doldrums and malaise. (Ok, fine - it's really more Tony who can't tell up from down right now; Chris is taking the loss pretty well.)

November surprises aplenty will be in store. We'll have lots and lots of wings. Seriously. Would Tiger Woods and Mammy Ahmadinejad do any less?

Names A-M bring intoxicating liquid spirits. Wine ok, but NO WINE COOLERS.
Names N-Z bring chips, dips, or otherwise tasty snack products.


Updated Gameday odds:
- The milk-stealing rando from the last Pirate Party comes back. 37:1
- Random gunplay. 15:1
- Tony throws (or golfs) something off the balcony. 7:1
- Chris sings karaoke. 5:1
- Tony throws Chris off the balcony after karaoke. 5:2
- Tony divorces the wife again after she brings wine coolers. 10:3
- Chris says something that transforms Shannon into Chainsaw. 4:1
- Something explodes. 3:1
- Chris & Tony get into a fight over Article II vs. Article I of the Constitution. 2:1
- Running out of Bourbon. EVEN MONEY.

Street parking is available. Crystal City & Pentagon City Metro Stations are closest, and if you really care about the Birthday Boys, you'll be drinking with them and shouldn't be driving.


~~~~~~~~

Yup. I'll miss these guys!

Resignation

It's done and in the books.

Words present: Challenge - Immersion - Success - Prosper - Rewards - Lessons

Last Day - November 24th

It's quite a relief and (shhh!) exciting. I've come to desire the nomadic lifestyle. I will actually miss living out east for two reasons - proximity to so many cities and my 'urban-family' have been awesome. Not to say that I will not enjoy being back in my homeland and near those family and friends - but I know it will be a difficult transition. So, for those of you there, please note that I love you and am excited to be back; it's just that for a while I may be a bit sad and missing what I've called home since 2006.

So the transition weeks are ahead. Here's to hoping I do not have to replace my timing belt/water pump at the expense of $1,100 that I was quoted this morning and that I will get a decent U-haul trailer this time around. Also, here's to saying goodbye to the things I will not miss.....

1. warm winters
2. tolls
3. nasty traffic
4. expensive gas
5. snobs that consider me from "fly-over" country
6. bad grocery stores
7. scary newscasts
9. slimy(er) politics
10. fake aura & rhetoric

Though as I say adios to them with not a tear, I will hug a dear goodbye to:

1. life-long friendships
2. convienence - transportation
3. the ocean
4. D.C. & policy wonkers
5. early America (history)
6. cheeseteaks & Rocky
7. Rosslyn Beach
8. PCC (both)
9. good shoe smiths & cheap dry cleaners
10. frequent flyer miles

Russia will take the lead.

All I have to say is that I am happy to be looking for a new job seeing that much of what I've been working for in these past three years will now be thrown out or heavily challenged.

Oh and look.......

In & Out

I voted. I surprised myself on a few local. But trust me - I'm still wearing red.

Dirty - One Plate & One Cup

My office is a growing office. When I came on board I was no. 7 in the office. Our sample room doubled as our kitchen and there was no room to sit for lunch. Things have changed a bit - we now have our own kitchen, table and chairs, microwave, ect, yet we are lacking real dishes. So from the beginning it was customary to bring in your own cups, mugs, silverware and whatnot to make it through your lunch period. With that I found it best to just go out and buy a set of 4 plastic cups, 2 microwavable plates, a glass bowl and a nice mug. I made my own little pantry area in the kitchen for my dishes & food. People knew it was mine and all was good.

Until a week ago.

The new person.

Has yet to get it.

Today I found victim no. 2 in the sink. My favorite white cup all dirty and it wasn't done by me.

I have yet to 'see' her doing this but it just seems quite coincidental that this all started after she came on board. So what have I done? I stashed the dishes in my desk drawer. Childish - perhaps but she's rubbed me the wrong way since day one so here it is....No more dirting my dishes pal!

Quotable Matter

"The current financial crisis has startled America from a hypnotic trance of self-indulgence and irresponsibility. But as we return to American fundamentals, we may discover that our political, social and economic system -- despite all the current election-cycle hysteria -- is still by far the most resilient in the world."
~Victor Davis Hanson

"Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the late Democratic senator from New York, once set the difference between American capitalism and the older European version by observing that America was the party of liberty, whereas Europe was the party of equality."
~Fouad Ajami

"Thirty years ago, Hubert Humphrey suggested that the measure of any government was "how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped."
~William McGurn

Hot Under the Collar

I respect freedom of speech in form of civility. I respect your opinion. I respect the electoral system. I respect the office of the President.


I do not respect heckling of average citizens who question the candidates. I do not respect people who make a mockery of an election. I do not respect double standards. I do not respect the media [re: bias].


I believe that voting is a privilege - NOT a right.


I respect the Constitution......

Do you?

Sorry Bob

I can't listen to Bob Seger's song, "Like a Rock" without visions of a Chevy pick-up going through my head. It drives me nuts. I had to take it off my Pandora list for that very reason. Now, don't get me wrong, I like Chevy & and like Seger but that combo when I'm not plopped infront of my TV awaiting for my show to come back on is just plain annoying.

We have a newbie in our office. She's nice. Kinda. Makes me think of an outter suburb mom type. I walked by her office today and well, that perfume sure wafts a LONG DISTANCE. I think it's a sign that you have too much on when someone like me (who has a ruined sniffer!) nearly passes out when walking by your office. Not to mention if you can still smell it when you, the Perfuminator, isn't even in the office. I don't care how 'lovely' it may smell...that is just too much.

And speaking of smelling....

I go to a pretty decent gym. What I mean by that, all the employees and clientle are for the most part curtious, clean and concientious. That was until the other day when I walked into the bathroom section of the women's locker room and smelled it. THE HORRIBLE B.O.! I had horrible flashbacks of 4th grade gym classes with sweaty classmates who had yet to learn about proper hygiene and were nicknamed "smelly" by the other kids. I felt bad those days thinking that they had inattentive parents, but geesh.....when you're a 40+ yr old woman, I think you would catch on to the fact that a little deorderant wouldn't kill yah (and perhaps save a life or two that was in your presence!!).

What else have I done today other than complain like a crazy ol bat and work ??

I shoe shopped. Are they not pretty?!

Yo Playa!

Tonight - GAME ONE OF THE WORLD SERIES! I wasn't excited until it hit me that I may never live again in a city that may potentially be the World Series Champs thus I will embrace my "local" team. **Also it would amuse me to see a huge party-riot happen too....not gonna lie**

I have a mad crush on a Russian in Cali. As in, mad crush on client whom I've never met but has the best voice evah. I'm pretty sure he's probably ugly and scary in real life cause that's how luck typically has it.

What am I doing right now?

Good question and here is a list:

1. Jammin to a new hip-hop fave, People Under the Stairs

2. Quotin' product for another bust in W. Africa

3. Laughing at the poli hatred on YouTube (Karl Rove almost got handcuffed in San Fran)

4. Buzzin' on the Coffee

5. The DRESS came. It's purty. Purty dang hot that is! (pic included) So yup, I'm sitting here and dreaming about twirling around in that dress. Yeah, this is when I know I'm super girly.

Prayer

I typically keep this site for laughs...but I think spreading the word and need for prayer is more important:

A letter recieved this morning -

This is a request for prayer for YWAM missionaries and their churches in Orissa, India. The request came from Mable Hurst, an associate of HCJB Global. Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.

Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India.

We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media.

Let me explain. A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bare the name of Christ.
Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.' Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the bloodthirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.

All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in the house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.' More than 5000

Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen.

This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times. Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long-term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.

What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations....
Prayer works!

~~~~~

Please send one for them...

Really people??

Grow up people.

http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2008/Oct/13/sarah_palin_tshirt_cuntroversy.wow

Grow up.

Update:

It just keeps getting better...! Mac Hater & Dog Pooh!

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7658638&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Update.....

Dentist - not so hot. Damn. Not to mention, I have five cavities. Double damn

All offers on table for move were taken away. Ask me for deets for I care not to share no more via the internets.


Let's just say, a bit of sadness and in hellish "gotta get outta here" mood.

Flip-side: I have my Christmas DRESS!!!

Dentist

I'm going to the dentist in t-minus 15 minutes. I'm nervous. This will be my 3rd dentist......ever. I've DATED more guys than that. So, obviously, this is gonna be hard. It's not that I'm really picky, it's more like I have really awful teeth (genetics stink) therefore I'm going for more than just a check-up. These visits actually determine when/where I need caps/crowns/root canals and so on. This is serious teeth business.

Wish me luck! Cause this is a bigger than going on a first date.

(oh and I have high standards now...last dentist was a total hottie!)

Overheard

There are so many things you should never talk about in the locker room....or in public...or ever. Here is an example:

Women's Lockeroom:

Woman #1: "well she went over to his mothers house to clean and it was a mess."
Woman #2: "Why did she do that?!"
Woman #1: "I don't know, but guess what she found in the kitchen?"
Woman #2: "What?"
Woman #1: "A fetus. And I guess she freaked a little...and he told her that it wasn't his or his mom's." "Oh, maybe I shouldn't talk so loud."

The worst part was that neither one was too 'shocked' by what they were saying. I'm sorry...but you just said the word fetus - that is not a normal word in a daily conversation. Unless you're a baby doctor.

After hearing that bit of the conversation I made sure to get the heck out of there and start my workout. But luck be it, they decided to set-up shop on the machines right next to mine and continue rambling on about odd/gross subjects.

Luckily their workout was only 20 mins long. Phew.

Complex of Work

Let me say this ........

On Friday I flew PHL to MSP for a weekend of family/Gopher fun....and a Monday of interviews with an ad company. After interviews I hop on train from interview with possible future company to go to airport to fly from MSP to DCA. Get into DCA, hop on Metro to Pentagon City for the Ritz to attend BOD meeting hosted by previous employer as current employee of member company to previous employer. Spend two days rallying with DC friends and dodging questions by previous boss on future moves for current company.

Headache? Yeah - I've got one.

What's on the table:

I have 2 companies interested (and interviewed), current company offered to move me & another company wanting to interview me but I not wanting to interview with them.

Not sure what's going to happen, but I should soon cause my car registration is due and I'm just that cheap.

Today at work and server is down. Product delayed to Chile. Barely breaking even on China shipment. Ship delayed to Guyana. Jealous?

Want to learn

Want to learn who are your real friends???

Move away.


You learn quickly who are people that you value and value your friendship back.

Game Day

This morning I happily waved my roommate away and got settled down with my laptop....today is GAME DAY.

The Gopher football team plays Ohio State at noon and the Twins are playing KC at 3:44 pm. All I needed was my laptop, my credit card and I was set.

(yes, it is sad...I can't watch Big Ten football because Comcast is dumb and doesn't allow the Big Ten Network and baseball - well that's the joy of living 1,000 miles away from your home team.)

Anynow after setting up for football I had the game listening abilities and suffered through a loss. It hurt. Our offense must have thought the trip to Columbus was too far cause they certainly didn't show up for the game. But I'm still proud of my Gophs - the defensive did an exceptional job for what they were given to clean-up.

Then the Twins game time rolled around. I was ready. I purchased my MLB weekend package for $7.95 and was ready to go, and boom. Nothing. All Saturday games before 7:05 pm are considered blackout. Jerks! After an attempt to call the MLB.tv office to 'discuss' this issue and finding out that they do not have office hours during 80% of game time I finally settled down with listening to the radio broadcast. It's okay. Though, it keeps cutting out every 5-10 mins making it impossible to leave my laptop. So here I am, being a huge bum and listening the the Twins tug at my heartstrings with their lead in the first two innings and then falling behind in the 7th. It's killing me.

And now I'm back to listening to the game and PRAYING FOR A WIN.......

I to We

You know when someone is an a relationship when they start replacing all of their, "I"s with "We"s. Maybe I'll understand that some day. But until then, no, I'll just laugh and shake my head at you.

Kudos to the Senate boys running for POTUS. Way to stir-up the election by attempting to do the actual job you are currently being paid for. Crazy MAVERICK moves!

I managed to replace my headlight this afternoon. Yes, I went to NAPA, purchased the bulb and threw open the hood and BAM! Done. Never shall I be considered a Padiddle.


****PAUSE****

Word just in...current job has now offered for me to work from home. And by home, I mean MN.

Case of the ..... Wednesdays?

I thought I had a "case of the Monday's" on Monday but then it came back on Tuesday and now it's back again....Wednesday. It could be allergies, anxiety, nervousness, boredom, anxiousness and/or disbelief. Yup. Feeling all of those things. Weird and annoying, I know. But I have good reasoning for each of those feelings (by the way, be happy that I HAVE 'feelings')

Allergies - never had them till I moved east. Damn!
Anxiety - over possible job (waiting for 'yay' or 'nay')
Nervousness - cause I have no clue what I want to do next
Boredom - current state has become quite mundane
Anxiousness - all above & the Twins
Disbelief - over all of the crazy poli pundits & int'l buyers who I am working with

Plus the news is even boring or sad right now. Between tainted Chinese milk, Wall Street bailout & the election nothing is that exciting.

I am excited the the Twins are only a game and a half behind the White Sox for the AL Central Division title.

Though...one major thing to look forward to - CURLING season. Yes, people it's just around the corner and you will find me chillin' (literally) on the ice throwin' some stones and rocking it out. (Oh yes, all puns totally intended!!)

Before I shut-up....

PETA ohhhh....how I love you and your inability to make cause for sensible issues. Asking Ben & Jerry's to replace all cow milk with human breast milk in their products is beyond ridiculous. Even I as a major dairy promoter would suggest for them to go the soy route to be considered 'more humane'. Sad.

Waiting.....

I'm waiting to hear news back on the next potential move in my life. It sucks. I am beyond impatient. If you know me, you know that I'm basically sitting there...rambling....thinking of the next possible move and trying NOT to call them and demand why they haven't called me yet.

So I wait.

And I wait.

I hate waiting.

So if this doesn't pan out......anyone in need of a live-in maid? In the Mpls/Stpl area?

Vacation - Questionable

I was on vacation. Or at least that is what my timesheet at work claims. No, I was on a week long networking/meeting filled/poli agenda adventure. I spent a total of 12 hrs with family "relaxing".... 4 of them being at the lake, 2 of them with nieces and nephew, 2 with grandma and the rest with parents and extended family.

This vacation was great because I was able to fit in a million things that I love..

i.e.

MN State Fair

RNC Convention 2008!

Seeing friends

Job interviews (well don't totally love but I enjoy meetings)

RNC CONVENTION!

Meetings (for work - yes - I worked on vacay)

Seeing a great friend get married

Attending a jazz festival (I've been WAITING all year)

RNC CONVENTION!

Driving through farm country while listening to country music

and... yes.... of course...family

oh - and the RNC CONVENTION!

It was exhausting and only one night did I manage to get to bed before midnight.

Though, as fun as it was there are a few things I could've forgone:
- Sleeping on floors (ouch!)
- The'greehouse'
- 30 min. accident with dad's pick-up
- $100 spent on cabs
- $550 spent on rental car
- "Planet of the Apes" cops freaking my cabbie out
- Getting lost in the NE
- My phone dying
- Too many Marshmallow Mateys

Great moment of inspriation...

Teaching the newbie at Sterbs how to make a "Skip & Go Naked" (gin, beer, sour & grenedine)

Don't Stop!

I was attempting during the past two hours to put together the most awesome portfolio for my upcoming job interview. But somewhere in the midst of Googling "MN Stockpot" and finding pics of foodshow displays I ran across my video archives from college.

Time Froze.

I was back in a crazy period of my life called 2004-2006.

Some people look back at the crazy, emotional times of high school and love it. Not me. No, I look back at those two years in college where everything and anything that happened was beyond incredible. Whether it was as simple as making a new friend to a (then) 'devestating' break-up(s). Sure at that time my emotions (and yes, friends will totally agree I was a nutcase. A lot.) were beyond anything but the feeling of 'fondness' at which I now have.

The best part is that it's only 2008 - not too long ago were these significant events, but thankfully they seem like ages ago. I say thankfully because it means that I'm cool with all that was past. Sure I made mistakes, people were dumb .... but overlook some of that silly stuff and there was real STUFF happening that has made me (and my friends) who they are today.

Watching these videos from my drive-thru experience with PopPop on our way to West Regionals, to The Boys being dumb at Music City Bowl to sledding avdentures with one of my best friends - I was in hysterics of laughter. I laughed so hard that at one point I about fell off of my bed. With all of this nostalgia I now find myself listening to Journey (shut-up....Sterbs Jukebox MEMORY!) and looking at pics. I don't think I'll calculate what was spent at the bar during those years (that would just make me cry) but I certainly wouldn't have changed that for the world.

There are some moments that will always be remembered.....

- Begging for $1s to put in the Jukebox at Sterbs
- The corner booth on Wednesday nights
- Water nights with Adj
- Thursday night rallys with the girls at Bullies
- The GREAT SmokeOUT!
- Music Mayhem
- Trudging through snow for Jimmy Johns
- Tour de Seven Corners
- Walks to the Dome
- etc.

And yes...I have now discovered about 1/2 doz pics of Ty in his underwear - BOOYA BUDDY!!

Payback is a __________ - well you get the picture!

So um, now I'm turning up the tunes for a little...."Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world....took the midnight train going ANYWHERE......"

From the Porch

It's a Sunday afternoon. I'm sitting on the porch watching & listening to the sounds of my neighborhood. There are teens on the baskball court shouting whatnots to each other, the buzz of Ridge Ave one block down, the neighbors TV and a few dogs barking in the back of our row. This is certainly not the sounds I grew-up with. I grew-up with cows mooing, the milkhuse pumps humming, a random tractor pull through the north part of the farm and ...... silence. Silence where, at times, all you could 'hear' was the breeze.

Not only has the sounds been bugging me lately, but also the sights, mostly, the stars. While driving to Atlantic City last night I saw stars for the first time in two weeks. We threw the moonroof open and zipped through the night with a ceiling of stars. It was amazing.

So two-and-a-half years later, I find myself wondering if I could take the new version of sound and sight any longer? Perhaps, but it's not cutting it for me right now.

Yeah, I'll miss the little neighbor kids peering out their mail slot at me whenever I come home and asking me where I've been. And that dog that wakes me up every morning howling/crying cause its owner left it for the day in a small, cramped house. And yes, I'll miss the neighbors friends who find our front lawn to be the perfect ashtray. Oh and lest we not forget the guy three houses down who thinks he's beyond awesome and showing it by revving his motorcycleat 11:30 pm. Yes, so much I'll miss.

Itch.

There was a moment when I wanted to just swing my car around, fill it with clothes and leave while on my way to work this morning.

I think I'm done.

End of a Chapter?

I have been around. Not around a lot of places, but have moved and a decent amount of times since my first move at the age of three....across the drive-way.

The last move was from DC to Philly. I didn't think too much about moving to Philly, just ticked it off as "another place to live when I'm young and unattached." I didn't think of a few key things because they were never a worry of mine previously - the number one being - the ability to make new friends. All I have to say, is when you live in a city that hosts a lot of people who were born/grew-up/gonna die here there is little room for a newbie. And I don't blame them. Why let in a new person who probably won't stay around too long? Anyhow, I have found around a handful of people I can call my friends in this current city. Ironically, they are all from somewhere else. But a handful just doesn't cut it in world of being me. I'm just a bit too much of an extrovert who ends up running the handful a bit tired of the needs for activity and time.

So beyond the 'Woo is Me' bit.......

I've decided to get over this place. I, for once, do not have a timeline but certainly am willing to take a looksy-loo around for future opportunities. I'm gonna be somewhat picky but certainly look at all options.

Ideas?

Options?

Networking will be taking place in the Midwest 'hood within a few weeks. Yes, I'm spending my vacation networking. I'm sad or awesome - you choose.

******

The Twins are killing me. In and out of 1st for the AL Central? Killin' ME!

******

Since when has board games at bars become so darn trendy?! Can't people sit around and have great watering-hole debates and conversations?

Breathe........or Stop?

I'm at the gym. I'm stoked about gettin' in a good workout but my regular machines are all taken (yes, I have no clue what they are called...just a mix between an eliptical & stairmaster). Anyhow, seeing that they are full I decide to cruise on the eliptical machine and there happened to be one that was open under the fan (SCORE!!). I hop on and tune up the Ipod.

Then I heard it. "GAHG!! GAHG!! AHHHH ARGHHHH!!"

The guy next to me. Not panting. No. He is literally gasping for life and grunting like a dog. I can't even fully describe how gross I felt being next to him. I've put up wiht bad BO, heavy breathing and the lady who moaned but never a grunting dog noise. There was a point when I wanted to turn to him and say, "Sir, really, if you are having this much difficulty on that easy of a level...you ought to go and visit a Dr. or just sit this one out." But I didn't and instead I just hit the volume button on my Ipod and rocked out to Jock Jams.

Though, speaking of hardcore gym moments (not mine, others) the following day I was there and back on my Eliptimaster and looked over to see my neighbor going to town on a level much harder than myself. As I was putting in only a 30 min. stint he was working toward an hour. After 30 mins he was on one of highest levels and had 5 mins to go..........his "Calorie Count" read 1185. YES! ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE!! I about died - but then I saw that he was about to die and then I was perfectly fine with my measily 450 calories.

Dance Party

It is currently 11:05 AM EST right now. I just sent a message to a friend down in DC saying, "I'm not gonna lie. I'm kinda in the mood for a dance party right now."

That translates to, "I've had too much freakin' coffee and the music from 89.3 is rockin' it right now, thus I must get up and dance the morning away!!"

I blame it also on being Wednesday. I find that Wednesday is best known not as Hump Day but more as Nutty Day. Really, you're over the the first part of the week and pumping out plans for the weekend while staring out the window, wishing you could just jump and run to the nearest Happy Hour spot.

Can you tell I have SCOF?? (Summer Corporate Office Fever)

I haven't traveled in ages. I'm behind a computer all day with a window view of a luscious wooded area. How does a beautiful warm, sunny day not make you want to take a walk and never come back to the office?

So, to get my fix of anxiousness throughout the day I mentally plan my walks at night, I workout during the morning and drink a vat of coffee.

.......and perhaps peruse the www.philacanoe.org website and figure out what lessons and trips I will be taking this summer/fall. Yes, I can't wait. I've taken up canoeing/kayaking. I'm taking my first lesson this weekend and have found myself to be a tad nervous/excited. Scoff at my 'lesson' taking but I assure you, there is a lot to learn and I'm pro limiting my death/drowning potential on the Schuylkill River.

Annoyed.

At people who lack normal correspondence beyond childish social-networking sites.

At people think that they only way to learn is just by calling (speaking) and not hands on experience.

At things that break down.

At month-long vacations that interrupt work.

Straight to Your Hips

Oh....I love honest people.......

So this older gentleman was packing up my groceries the other day at the Acme by work.

I had bought ice cream and fresh strawberries for dessert for the cookout my roommate and I were going to have that night.

As the gentleman handed me the bag [with ice cream] he said, "this is going to go straight to your hips!"

My response, "Thanks. Luckily I'm sharing, hunh?" and then I think I may have mumbled - "It's Ice Cream month get over it....."

As a female I can take this in two different ways. A subtle way of saying, "Hey! You're a fattie!!" OR a bit of small talk in means of, "Oh, ice cream is yummy but unfortunately, high in fat."

And that there, is the difference between men and women. Lie to us! (to spare our feelings on weight and ice cream.)

Mile Walk

Last Thursday night (7/10/08) I may or may not have walked a mile to go buy a 24 pk of PBR.

There may or may not have been snickers by some men who were at one of the bustops on the way back.

And.....it may or may not have been considered my workout for that day.

Born a Little Late

Today is the 2nd day of "The 12 Days of Me." I'm excited but at a different level of excitement this year. Not sure why but I did let on to my DC friends that this years goal was to ....

"...make it past the 10 p.m. mark and to wake up with little dirt and leaves in my hair but a lot of memories re-told by ya'll."

I have no clue if it will happen but I was informed by a special someone that on my actual birthday, we're gonna go all out. Now that, I'm cool with.

All the other days are filled with fun little activities including dessert night, mini golf, karaoke, the 4th and so on.... I'm pretty sure by the time my week(s) end and we start the 12 days for my roommate July will begin to be one big blur.

I am thankful for this month of birthday's though, cause work is a killer. A S-L-O-W killer with clients on month-long holiday, email crashing and my first load docking on the 21st in S. America. I'm basically 'waiting' out the month, and it's only the 2nd....

****

Best Quote from the Weekend:

Scene - stuck in traffic with boy after going and seeing Footloose in Norristown. I put a CD in and the Glenn Miller Band pours out of the speakers and I start to 'dance.'

Boy, "Yeah, your mother was right. You were just a few decades too late."

Aging Oneself with Trends

"........as I was walking down the street one day...."

I'm finding a trend these days - when summer hits - I hit-up the Oldies music. It didn't occur to me until one night I had just downloaded some Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago & Elton John. My buddy called me and I answered with a "Cadilac, ack, ac, ac!!" Love 'ya Billy!

The sad thing is that this isn't the first time I've gong through this. The summer of 2005 I had a huge crush on The Carpenters. I had purchased the Gold-set for my mother on her birthday and then ended up 'borrowing' it (return date is iffy) right back.

This year the Summer of 2008 song list includes:
Tiny Dancer - Elton John
Bennie and the Jets - Elton John
Heart Songs - Weezer
25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago
Say it Ain't So - Weezer
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
Dream On - Aerosmith
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? - Chicago
Saturday Night in the Park - Chicago
You're the Inspiration - Chicago
Let's Grove - Earth, Wind and Fire
Lyin' Eyes - Eagles
Close to Me - The Cure
Lovesong - The Cure
The Final Countdown - Europe
Stayin' Alive - BeeGees
You Should be Dancin' - BeeGees
More Than a Woman - BeeGees

Thanks to Weezer I 'updated' myself.

Throw-up

Tonight I'm trekking my butt out of the 'burbs early from work to sit in 1.5 hrs of traffic so I can head to south Philly to meet my own kind.

Not a chick book club.

Not a group of sales people.

Not MN Alums.

None other than.......

Republicans. (GASP!!) (DON DON DONNNNN!!!)

With the election looming and even more daily saturation of rage against the GOP most notably in my union-heavy town, it's hard to find 'My Kind'. Not that I don't enjoy my opposite party friends; it's just that, even after hearing their thoughts and opinions, sometimes it's fun to not have to feel like I'm constantly in need to tip-toe around subjects and defend my personal beliefs.

This period is what I call...... Myself vs. Generation of the 'Selfish-Lazy'

Argue I'm lazy and I'll be saying sure....lazy about getting out of bed early, lazy at making myself dinner but certainly not lazy about doing something for myself and others to make our community stronger/better/safer.

So I'll try to be remember my 'civic' pride when I'm cursing my way through traffic tonight.

Maybe Ty was right - D) Space Colonization - (R)

Axis of Evil

".......The Axis of Evil, you know....Iran, Iraq and one of the Korea's."

One of my favorite political parodies is where Will Farrell plays GW talking about his "list" of those who belong in the Axis of Evil.

Well, I just realized that today, I just may have my own list of those who belong on the Axis of Evil.

FedEx
PopPop
The new Indiana Jones movie


Why?

FedEx likes to ship stuff back to me and charge me an arm and a leg for it though they didn't even consult me over the fact that customs rejected the product.

PopPop thinks 12:30 am phone calls are 9:30 pm. He's wrong.

Indiana Jones sucked the life out of me. 2 hrs of my life I'll never get back.

CELEBRATE!!

I made my first 'official' sale yesterday. Yes, I'm a little excited and feel a lot less defeated. Woohoo. I was even more pumped for the fact that it was on my mother's birthday. So fitting, I could deliver the good news to a lady who has been supporting me through some of the rougthest and bitchiest moments.

The laugh of the day came from when my sister-in-law called and left a message to congratulate me. The voicemail had here yelling praises and ending with, "I hope you're out celebrating tonight!!"

And if you were wondering, yes I was celebrating. I celebrated by spending two hours going from store to store (and making phone calls) to find a window AC so I could sleep in my bedroom during this 95+ degree weather with extreme humidity.

Yes, I know how to celebrate!

Morning Joe

Good Morning..............USA!

Yes, I'm crazy. Crazy tired that is. I have been enhaling RedBull in hopes of gaining wings to help my fly but it looks like the only 'flying' I'll be doing is my head whamming down onto my keyboard out of pure exhaustion.

Why exhaustion? Perhaps because on Saturday I decided that it would be awesome to go to a concert at Penn's Landing from 2 pm until 11 pm in 95 degree heat and then following that up with little sleep and then another afternoon in the sun hanging out on the Wall at the Manayunk Bike Race...gah.

And now I'm just trying to stay alive. Woohoo to 100 degrees today!

Summer has begun.

Well people, I know that technically it's not summer quite yet. But in all reality, when you are sweating due to heat and high humidity when just standing...I think that's a pretty good sign that summer is in the house. As much as I hate summer (okay, that's a lie) I do like a few things about it. For example, my birthday. Yes,the big 12 Days of Me are coming up soon and I need to start planning now. The other big reason why I like summer.....skirts/dresses. I can roll with the best of them, speaking of boys, but what keeps me grounded in knowing that I'm a full-fledged girl - the fact that I like dresses and cute shoes. Summer gives you the full on opportunity to wear bright colors, flowy dresses and feel pretty.

Sorry if I just made you gag, but I will admit, I'm sitting here and typing away in a summer dress.

I may have mentioned two of the big reasons why I can tolerate summer but there are some others.......

1. Baseball
2. Cookouts
3. Drinks on the deck
4. Sunhats
5. The smell of freshly cut grass
6. The lake with my family
7. S'mores
8. Gin & Tonic in Bubba Keg quantities
9. Chinese lanterns at outdoor parties
10. The lax attitude

Lost: One Phone Call

To: My Generation of Newly Engaged
From: Me

Re: Pick-up the Damn Phone

We all know you can't wait to 'share' with the world your excitement and enthusiasm of locking that special someone down but please think first before announcing. Think of those who are close to you and would love to revel in the excitement with you. These are people who have been by your side through the good and tough times in your life, and that 'relationship' that you are now calling 'engagement'. These people feel a certain pride in your finding that special someone. So I say, think of these people before you announce to the world, via StalkerNet (a.k.a. Facebook).

These people do want to share that excitement with you and perhaps the best way for them to do so is over a quick phone call instead of randomly reading about it in their "News Feed" as they have logged on to check who bought them on the Friends for Sale Application. Really, how can your engagement be one the same level as the Friends for Sale & Green Patch applications?

Think about it. Facebook is a great social tool, but it's not the phone. It's as impersonal as it gets for communication.

So I say, think about it. Think of the family and friends who deserve to know about it before your '1,245 E-friends' or the crazy-ex (who by now has stalked your fiance/finacee).

Have some class and pick up the phone.

Hrm. Gah.

I get coffee about 3-4 times a week....correct that...I get Dunkin' coffee about 3-4 times a week.

Well I'm boring and end up getting the same order: Medium French Vanilla with skim milk and sugar. Sadly, my version of being crazy is swaping between sizes!

So today I decided to get a bit risky, that is, order something completely different. Perhaps an iced coffee?!

I ended-up ordering the Berry Berry iced coffee with a little cream and sugar.

One word: YUCK!

Sorry boys. I'll stick to what I know is good.

And another one gone......

Something must be in the air...

College friends: 10
Me: 0

I must be defective.

The best part of a Wednesday in 2008 is going onto Wonkette.com and reading the "Live blogging" segments for the Presidential debates and Primary concession/victory speeches.

My favorite excerpts from Obama's speech in IOWA after the Kentucky loss and awaiting for his Oregon win.......

10:12 — He's outside in Iowa, as we are now in the 2-month "warm season." This place is loaded now, because of the Farm Bill, which Obama supported so he could give this speech without feeling awkward.
10:13 — He says he has a really good-lookin' family and gives Michelle the bedroom eyes. This is the horniest speech ever.
10:14 — Oh look, he pays his respects to Ted Kennedy, who actually endorsed him. Unlike Hillary, Barack does not list the legislative work he has done with Kennedy, because that is rude. (Also because Barry has only been in the Senate for like -2 years.)

Love it! Wonkette.com cracks me up even when they are mocking some of my favorite people. Since moving I've lacked my daily dose of political junkie talk that you found at every corner and overpriced bar in the Beltway. So between email chains with Beltway friends and Wonkette I can feed my political addiction.

********

I think I've lost my touch.

I no longer have any desire to watch baseball. I see the Phillies on TV and I immediately turn the channel. Other than one glimpse of a clip from a Twinkies game in China, I've got nothing. I check the scores on average once a week in comparison to 2x a day. What's wrong with me?

********

People need to stop getting married for a few good reasons......

1. I'm broke and you getting married makes me even more broke.
2. Sappy crap makes me gag and I'm not a fan of gagging.
3. 85% of married people lose their zest of life that I knew when they weren't married.
4. I hate bridal/bachelorette parties....perhaps too many women "oh'ing and ah'ing" over linens.
5. No offense but I get five days of vacation/yr.....it is not vacation when I have to take those days and fly to some area in the middle of nowhere and pretend to enjoy myself when I'm the only single person in the congergation of 250.

One word - Elope and remember that you're still human and you still need to have fun (whether with spouse or not).

McD's

Being the very-American that I am, I am not ashamed to say that my first meal back in the States was a Mickey D's cheeseburger and a Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

Suffice it to say, one can only inhale so much squid/noodles/rice/pork before they long for a crappy form of American cuisine.

I know I'm not alone on this issue.

PVG to ORD to PHL

I am sitting at the airport in Shanghai and I am so ready to get home. Don't get me wrong, China was amazing but there is something that gets me all giddy about returning to the States/my house (if domestic).
About China-
1. Pudong is amazing with all of its new architecture.
2. I want to lobby for all of the Starbucks to be replace with Dunkin'. Seriously, too many Starbucks.
3. I checked out a McDonalds and the menu looked like homes' (though I didn't try it so I cannot compare taste.)
4. Kiki - my 23 year old interpreter made me ashamed of myslef and other American students.(Our lack of diligence in acedemia)
5. The Chinese food I was served wasn't that exciting.
6. SMOG = Yuck!
7. I was taken for on my first taxi ride.....jerks.
8. One night I ate Italian, yep, I know. Enough.
9. This was my first trip where I wasn't hit on (sad!). I guess big, white Midwestern girl is kinda threatening to the local men! (That's the only logical theory that works in my book.)
10. After one week I remember about five words in Chinese, managed 18 hrs of sleep and made 50 contacts for work.

6:30 to Grape Street

I'm tired. Tired of packing. I hate packing. Don't ask me why, for I cannot tell you with good reasoning. My mother used to say, "Half the fun is planning it!" Well...I think I'm going to contract my mother to do my packing for me from now on. Luckily, I won't be flying for at least a solid 3 wks after the 17th, so I'm sure my stress level will decrease quite a bit.

Oh...point to make. Tomorrow I'm hopping on an int'l flight by AA to Shanghai. Cool right?! Yeah....well it's for work so there's a bit of extra stress involved. Not to mention the last minute 2 hr Saturday pitstop at FedEx that I made today. I'm pretty sure I'll make it to China before my goods do and that - it not good. But we'll just have to make do with what we have. (a very empty booth!)

So it's 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday and I'm all packed for my flight that will be taking off in 13 hrs. I plan on spending a solid 4 hrs at a party being hosted by my friends boyfriend. Awkward but I'll get over it. I'm showing up fashionably late (that's what I'm calling it seeing that I just spent the last 2.5 hrs packing and consuming White Russians). Which, reminds me.....if I ever get product into Russia, and yes I'm working on that, I WILL go to Russia. I DO NOT CARE what people say...I am going to go. If my first country to visit was in the Middle East, I think I can certainly go to Russia.

So we ask. "Why are you sitting here blogging and not at the party?" Simple. I still have a 1/2 of a White Russian left. Hate to waste.

Oh! Story about how the WR came about.

Last night I was coming back from downtown and making mental notes of what I have for food that is perishable and should try to consume before I leave. Well, I noted that I had just bought a 1/2 gallon of milk and being a dairy girl, there is NO way I can let that go to waste (sidenote: my roommate is lactose intolerant...sad, I know). So I'm thinkingl.."Hrmmm....I have milk, and A LOT of vodka! (another story) I should have WHITE RUSSIANS!" So I drove over the the local liquor store and bought a HUGE thing of Kahlua and have been consuming White Russians since last night with long pauses to work.

Don't worry....Kahlua isn't perishable.

beyond a girl

In a matter of 8 hrs I managed to leave a major gash on my left leg from a new razor and then drop my curling iron on my right leg giving it a second degree burn that is puffing up and getting all nasty.

It's awesome. Glad I leave for a hot, sticky climate on Sunday where skirts were in my wardrobe plan.

You know....if I wasn't a girl....I wouldn't have had this happen. Damn X chromosomes...

p.s. Tonight is the night I have been looking forward to for months is finally here! I am going to see my favorite non-political-crass-book writing-bat**** crazy blogger - Jen Lancaster. I'm so freaked out and nervous. I've met major political leaders and haven't been this nervous. Not sure what that says about me?! ha.

Thursday Night - Drink Night

It was declared 6 months ago. We have fallen through one too many times.....but tonight, tonight we remembered and even created a fabulous drink.

So far the duration of my Drink Night has included the following.....

- Scrubs & The Office
- Me preceeding each scene of Superman with details and quotes for my roommate
- Downloading a bunch of Chicago songs and listening to "25 or 6 to 4" eight times over...
- 3 text msgs telling friends what I just downloaded
- Downloading Earth, Wind & Fire

I would be embarrassed but technically it's still Drink Night; therefore I could care less.

Happy BIRTHDAY!!

Minnesota is now 150 yrs old. I feel so proud.....*sniff* I will toot my own horn by mentioning that I have an entry on the MN 150 page talking about the MN State Fair. I swear, nothing screams MN tradition more than the fair. Read the "Runner-up" section...I'm there!

And my rants of the week...

* Women at the gym annoy me. one lady took over 10 minutes to get dressed and another lady walked right infront of me, stealing a shower without even looking back. Luckily the staff rocks and are friendly.

*Drivers in Philly are scared of the rain, I swear...when it sprinkles they freak out and cause a number of traffic accidents.

*I love my porch and the ability to sit outside and enjoy the weather....but I don't enjoy the three screaming neighbor kids and their chain-smoking parents (seriously, these people have THREE ash trays on their porch) and not to mention, all the cigarette butts on our lawn.
**story: with the continuation of the butts being thrown on our lawn my roommate one day collected them all and put them on their porch. Bold move but got us no where. Regardless, I'm still proud of her.


I think someone here needs a happy hour and soon!

We All Need a Little "Amazing" in Our Lives...

This young man saw a picture of a windmill in a book and from that was able to build his own working windmill in Africa to power his family's compound.....

My, "Oh my gosh, he is amazing," moment of today.

Makes you feel pretty darn lucky and naive.

Stress = No Funnies

Here I was sitting at work, alone in the office - 7:15 p.m. read the clock. I'm chillin' and reading some old blogposts (reason: because of a convo earlier in the day). Anyhow, as I read from past to more present posts I realized that they progressed into more depressing posts. Not saying where was the fun? Where's the laughs? Okay, there may be a few less laughs lately but my life hasn't become that dull!

So to those faithful ones..........

I promise:

To be a bitch that you can laugh at again.

To pause and think twice before writing something that makes me come to tears of sadness instead of tears of "I think I'm going to pee my pants, this is SO funny."

To give a sarcastic view on Philly that will make the cast of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" cringe.

To share the crazy-ass stories that come out of this little thing called international travel (seriously, I've made it across the Mexican border with a bag full of white [dairy] powders, I just may have a few more things to share about my encounters with foreign custom agents!)

Next post.....tommrow. Right now I need to finish packing.

p.s. I loathe packing.

Slurp. Sip. Gulp. Missed. Crap! Repeat.

A favorite female blogger, who's site I visit religiously, just recently posted about summing up life in six words. This was nothing original. She took it from a story about Hemingway making a bet with a man in a bar. The man won and Hemingway owed him. It got me to thinking of at the mere age of 25, what would my six words be? They would be simple, no? I am young, am I not? It is only assumed that I am lacking the experience of someone who is 20-30 years my senior.

But I will disagree. I have experience. There are many places and people that I have been to and met along the way that others will never experience. I have moved away from my home, attempted to do my own taxes, argued with mechanics, traveled to places that people would not want to travel to while carrying milk powder (another story), etc. Not that I'm the only one doing this but I gurantee my independence is great than most who are in their twenties. I hate dependence therefore I learn and experience many things the "hard way" (and yes, I admit, I am the sole reason for that). But I like it. I like the challenges, the stress and the lessons.

Therefore, my six words would be: Slurp. Sip. Gulp. Missed. Crap! Repeat.

This came from the moment while reading Jen's post about the six words and her thoughts I had reached for my coffee, and moved into slurping, sipping, gulping and then missing. I exclaimed with a, "Crap!" but then right back to slurping, sipping and gulping, perhaps a bit more cautiously. Again, I'm 25 and holding the hand of no one. I grab at life and either sip or slurp my way along in hopes of satisfying my needs and wants. A good number of times I miss. Whether it was with whom I decided to date or a job that I took. I may yell crap and get a bit angry but I eventually get over it and repeat. Though perhaps the repeat won't include the 'Crap!' and instead come out with another exclamation. Regardless, I learn everytime and if it is positive, great! If it isn't....fine, I will try again and repeat the motions, just in a different style.

So, it's okay to slurp, sip and gulp your way through life. Well...I hope so cause it looks like I'm not going to be rerouting anytime soon. And, umm, yeah. I see the two new coffee stains on my chest. Beautiful!

See you later.

It's final. NWA merged with Delta. I'm not happy. There will be less flight options and the service will be rendered differently. The most upsetting part - NWA, the airline name that I have depended on since I flew for the first time, will no longer be. It will be Delta. Gah. Delta?! MN is not considered to be "down in the Delta"...seriously.

So I say goodbye to my old airline. I have now been a faithful WorldPerks Miles member and WorldPerks Visa Signautre card holder for a bit of time now. I will not have to fully let you go, but it won't be the same. I guess I'll just treat the next 6-8 months (the time that the entire transition will be under process) as if nothing is happening. I'll continue to go to my 'favorited' nwa.com site to book flights and redeem miles and dine at the Dining for Miles restaurants.

Maybe come 2-3 months down the road you decide that this was a bad decision............please.......hint!

They Trained Me Well

It's official. I have been living out east for two years (Easter sets 2-year mark). Sometimes it seems like much longer seeing that during these past two years I have moved to yet another city and job, gained a nephew, been through several relationships (short-lived obviously), seen my father's condition worsen quite considerably, and basically solidified my future plans. Even though it has only been two, it has felt like five. I'm a bit worried because five is the magic number; that is, if Plan B doesn't have to come into action (Plan B: my father condition gets close to endpoint I head back to MN ASAP). Plan A involves me considering my next move on my five year anniversary. Yes, I'm a planner. How could you tell?

As I am becoming more aquainted with Philadelphia I have found to have a love-hate relationship with it. Some days I find myself loathing it but then I think of moving and well, I freak out and and I grasp onto it like a frightened little child. Perhaps I just know I cannot handle the stress of moving again at this moment. Perhaps it's some of the people that I have latched onto and the fact that my best friends in DC are still just a hop, skip and a jump away from me. Or maybe it's because I love my job too much and don't want to lose the awesome challenges/opportunities that it has given me. I love the thrill of not knowing a place or its people. I love the challenge of being the 'newbie' in groups. It gives me that 'different' vibe and people get to know me by me only. The only association they can give me is the fact that I'm originally from MN or I was raised a farm kid.....which I'm darn proud of both.

The great thing about my two year mark was that my parents were here [in PHL] to help me celebrate. I hosted Easter for them....yes, I PLANNED and MADE an Easter dinner. We had fresh cut veggies, dinner rolls, CK special salad, marmalade glazed ham, baked mashed potatoes and a layered lemon pound cake topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. The only thing I didn't make from scratch was the dinner rolls. I was pretty darn proud of myself and my mother and I both took pics of the food. Sad, but very true. At one point during our meal my mother looked over to my father and said, "All of those years of trying to domesticate her and it paid off!" My fathers' response, "Finally." (And all of those years I'd get mad at them for saying that they needed to domesticate me.....and I end up loving Martha Stewart...go figure).

Even though my father has become quite lethargic and needed to sleep a good portion of his visit I am still happy that he came. It will more than likely be the only time he comes out east to see me and I'm coming to realize that's okay. I just hope he knows that I love him just as much now as I did years ago when he was the father I will remember not the man who has taken my father on....leaving him a completely different man. Damn you MS. But thank you God for letting me have my father as long as I have and for a bit longer.

It's the Little Things

That warm my cold heart. Happy to see Grandpa made it to Iraq too!

And finding my lost phone.

Or the gossip that has engulfed a certain club about me, the newbie.

Along with perhaps that I have spent many hours of my work time deciphering government documents about product standards and regulations in China. Yeah, the irony.

A weekend well spent by ALL!

What's a Heat Wave to You?

8:45 a.m. EST listening to Philly's 104.5.....weather announcement....."Brrr! It's cold this morning! Right now it's a freezin' 32 degrees!"

9:05 a.m. EST listening to 89.3 The Current (Minneapolis) from my desk.....weather announcement......"It's a beautiful sunny/warm day out with a temp of 33 degrees. Enjoy folks!"

I'm guessing it's all a matter of persepective. The kicker is that my mama'mobile (an older Volvo) is what I like to call a bit 'prissy.' Back a few months ago when it started to get chilly in Philly I noticed a bright orange light turn on when I would start my car. Now, I was still a bit new to all of the functions of my car so I got a bit worried (I hadn't noticed that this light was located by the thermometer). I look up the function and found out that this little light is just to let you know when the temp has dipped below 40 degrees F.

Now, I know I brag about liking the cold. Albeit, I'm not sure why I do, but I do. Anyhow, I am curious as to what engineer at Volvo HQ was sitting there and thinking, "People are too dumb to figure out the temperature via feeling and/or reading the thermometer, let's help them out by having a light come on when it dips below 40 degrees!!" I can only assume he brings this to the board of engineers and they applaud his great idea, pay him $1,000,000 and then require it to be installed in all of their models and jack up the price of the car by another $5,000.

So this morning (after a number of warmer mornings) I was SO happy that I had this light tell me that it was 'chilly' out. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't have known to put my heater on for a bit or to wear the coat that I was already wearing. Thank you Volvo.

**I do love my Volvo - I just find this one piece of 'extra' a bit unnecessary**

p.s. I'm sincerly lazy.

Point: Last night I was in a wickedly horrible light sleep and woke up instantly when my fan quit. I laid there and listened to the would be normal sounds, but there was nothing. Dead silent. It was as if the entire neighborhood hushed for a moment. I got out of bed and fumbled my way to the light switch. Nothing. I went downstairs and heard some roucus outside; my neighbors were chatting and having a smoke (the norm). I go back upstairs and decide it's just a minor power outtage.

But wait? I didn't look to see if anyone elses power was out. Gah! After a few minutes of deliberating I get up again, blindly find some pants and throw on a sweater. I head down to our freaky dungeon of a basement and grab the flashlight and then go back upstairs to put contacts in (I'm blind as a bat, let me tell you.). I'm cursing the entire time thinking that our house is scary in the dark and the shadows created by the flashlight does not help. I managed to walk outside and see the neighboring blocks and rec center all lit up. "The transformer blew-up." I jump, my older neighbor lady was barely hanging out the door and I hadn't noticed her. There was a lot of commotion and flashing lights everywhere down the street. We make some minor small talk and bid each other a good night.

I managed to get back into bed but of course laid there completely awake and kept thinking, "They better fix that soon or else I'm sending a bill for all of the fresh fish I bought tonight at the market." Even I amaze myself sometimes....the power is out and all I think of was my fish.

"OW! My thong!"

I'm not a great curler, but enjoy the challenge and being on ice (since there's never ice here in the winter). Slowly PCC has become my home and I have grown to a great comfort level. That level has led to some amazing conversations. And when I mean by amazing, I mean pathetically ridiculous.

A few weeks back a conversation on the ice came to the topic of thong underwear. I and a fellow female curler were speaking of how one needs to remember to pack regular briefs for when working out or doing any other form of sporting activity for maximum comfort. This conversation continued on after the game and, of course, the men were thoroughly disappointed that we did not use that as a tactic to win the game (really...how low would that be?). As fun as it was to see the one single guy in the group get all flustered the best part was when a girl stated that she could not endure wearing one while working out and enhanced it with a, "Ow, my thong!" That, of course, became the new saying for Mixed night (**yes, rolling eyes**)

Of course, the conversation came up again a week later during the Belle's League. Many of the woman agreed that it's a must to change. This topic is not dying, obviously.

Well it had been another week and I'm back on the ice for the first time in a week. I'm moving around 'swiftly' and knew that a certain someone was watching our game from the warm room. As I moved in to push one of the stones with my foot after the score call on the 2nd end I slipped and fell. Now remember....a guy was watching and there were over 15 woman there who saw - I was a spectical. What would you assume would first come to my mind? Pherhaps a, "Oh crap, this is embarrassing." or "Ow and $*@%!"

Nope. Instead my first thought was....

"Glad I didn't wear a thong!"

It's obviously not going to die off quite yet.

The Days End

I'm in a crunch but yet need to find some quiet time (i.e. get away from the ringing phone and ignore the emails beeping at me).....so I ate my lunch with my headphones (at my desk) and read the daily food industry breifing. Sad life. I know. But here's some interesting finds...

I was interested to find that there is a bit of movement for a grocers union in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area passed a heft contract that would increase wages, health care, etc.

The USDA is still getting a spanking on not covering (err...busting) the Hallmark/Westland slaughterhouse that founded for its animal cruelty acts. People....if you are not familiar with slaughterhouses....trust me...this is one of those 'bad egg' types. I can't tell you how many of these places I have been to and this does not happen. But I also want to point out that some of the footage may have been taken out of context. People who have not had to work with moving a downer cow doesn't understand that difficultly in moving it. If you want more on my opinion on that, inquire within. Though, I leave this as no excuse for cruelty to be performed on animals. There's just a great line of understanding that most don't know when you get biased footage.

I am amazed to this day that people even decided to grow anything in the Central Valley (Fresno, CA area) seeing that it is literally this vast, flat land with zero of a watertable (they channel a good portion of their water in from the mountains). So this just proves as to my confusion of "Why did you even do this.....aside from great climate....seeing you knew you would be facing water issues?!"

And I am proud that America is attemtping to give Canada a run for their money in the honey world.... TAKE THAT CANADA!! ha.

Sorry if I bored you. I guess you can now turn around and go and gossip about Spitzer and his little frolics and how you didn't even know who he was until yesterday.

All Male Dance Squad

A friend of mine just sent this to me....her God-sister is the coach.

My life will never be the same again.

FDA is Bad...No USDA....No FDA.....No USDA

Clearly we have some flip-flopping going on when it comes to the Dems and their statements on the USDA and FDA (Re: Feb 29, 2008 post)

Oh and remember when it was the 2007 Farm Bill? Yeah....I'm pretty sure it'll end-up being the 2009 Farm Bill. And to think that I considered working on it. Glad that there is always people needing milk around the world.

Happy Leap Year 2 Million

I like to think that Leap Year (Leap Day) was created way back in the day by a bunch of type A Catholic math-junkies that had a bit of time on their hands and thought...."Hrmmm...our calendar is getting messed up because our rotation around the sun isn't a perfect 365 days of the year." "Let us fix this! To the blackboard!" Two days later they have figured out the solution.

Leap Day

Now I know that was a fairly bold statement and, essentially, it's a great idea. But sometimes you wonder, is it SO terrible if we didn't throw in that extra day every four years? How much different would everything be? I'm curious. It isn't something I've pondered much beyond a moment last night while watching the news (and now, of course).

If anything, it gives me an extra day to get stuff done. Positive thinking, no?

Though, I do feel bad for those who are born on a Leap Day....you're just kinda odd cause the 29th only comes around every four years. Really, I adore my birthday date. I adore it so much (the 12th) that I celebrate for 12 days! I couldn't do that if I was a Leap Day kid. I'd have to wait every four years to have my big bash for it to be legit. And that, I do not approve of.

***

Shout out for my MN friends....think about becoming an MPR member. Yes, they get funding via Govn't (~ 8%) but I know some of their best stuff (think The Current) could always use a better budget to keep up the fantastic job they are doing (and no, I'm not supporting a budget cut at this moment). I love 89.3 so much I still streamline it religously at work to get me through the days.....and yes, I'm a contributing member.

And if you're in the public radio shopping mode - XPN (Philly public radio version of MN 89.3) is a great one. They are my No. 1 pre-set in my car for those lovely daily commutes to work. They need love too. If anything, get on their mailing list. Good stuff.

$1.24 and Out

First of all....I am going to throw this out there. I'm an ESTJ. So is Hillary Clinton. Interesting eh? I will put it this way, I'm not the most thrilled about it but then again, who cares right? I'll give her one thing - she's a crazy, strong-minded lady. And well, if you know me, that will kinda sum me up too. Granted I have a feeling I cry more than she does.

I can't believe it's almost March. I've been in the City of Brotherly Love for more than 4 months now. In a million and one ways, it doesn't feel that way. Perhaps because I've spent 2/3's of my weekends all around the east, midwest and overseas instead of learning about my new hometown. There are days when I'll be at work and totally forget that I'm even in PA. I guess that's good. For the most part, its quite homey.

And speaking of homey, I am absolutley in love with my new curling club. I liked my prior club but it didn't quite do it for me. First of all, I joined late in the season and lived too far away to go often for social events. Also, they tended to be a bit more systematic......
Now my new club is literally just like going to a family gathering. I, again, joined late (due to my move). I wasn't sure about the club from when I had first walked in one night to inquire about membership and was flogged down by people willing to help me out.

But they grew on me. I didn't feel as bad when I got out on the ice and threw some rough shots (guards that ended up in the hack!). They were supportive and I will say that helped my game improve. I've become more confident. I've spent more time skipping and focusing on strategy. The women have called me and invited me to numerous events. I have grown to love them so much that I've traveled for MACA (Mid-Atlantic Curling Assoc).

Though all of these little things (including our midnight pantry raids) are not even close to what this club has done to prove their FAMILYESQUISH style. This past weekend I spent the majority of my weekend at the club not just hanging but being a part of a curl-a-thon for a member who is now a quadriplegic. This group got together and said, "We need to show support for our member.....our family who has had a major change in his life." And after spending most of the weekend meeting more members, curling, eating and etc. - I knew it was the club for me.

Funny how while this curl-a-thon was ultimately for Jeff and his family, I think I benefitted just as much as the Harris family. The biggest benefit; it gave me a family that I was lacking in my new city.

Feeling Stabby

I may be frustrated with 20 things right about now. That's all fine and expected, especially after one moves to a new city (with zero friends) and starts a new job (with zero leads and guidence) but really, if I have to deal with one more idiot on a personal or professional level, I will get, STABBY. (no worry TC, I will not stab you, for you keep me semi-sane)

At this moment, my steal away moments of solitude are found playing Brickbreaker on my BlackBerry. Sad. Very sad.

The cherry-on-top after a weekend of 'stabbiness' (weekend: long and girly story....only good for those who like movies such as the Notebook gone sour - gah! I think I just threw-up in my own mouth over that thought) I met the ultimate stabby moment. The one and only main lead I've been trying to hook over the past 3.5 months (and I had trashed all thoughts two weeks ago after many rejected calls/emails) contacted me at Monday morning and said he'd be calling.

That's good no? Yes. But no. Monday was President's Day. The ONE Fed holiday that we have off and due to the Notebook End Bad weekend, I wasn't in the mood to move. BUT what seemed like fate (damn you irony) led me to throwing on enough clothing to call myself appropriate and hop over the 20 mile-away land called Malv-rn. I got there and recieved his detailed requriements. I was literally salivating over this. All I needed with a final CIF quote for SMP. Simple right? Cause once he recieved that, I could send it his merry way and await for a call from his bank and "POW!" a sale! But nope, I couldn't because it was President's Day. Everyone was off. The only stupid product I had to quote had to be brokered - meaning a call had to be made. The 'oh-so-close' moment was there and POOF! gone. And hour and a half later I walked out of the office, defeated, again. Thanks Washington.

And that, makes me feel stabby.

Along with Aharpdog. But we won't go there. Yet.

I wuv ooh

This is sad. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is bankin' on Valentines Day now. I'm okay and used to the commercials for flowers, Hallmark and jewelry. And yes, you are seeing a lot of the E-harmony commercials come into play for those who are like me (i.e. without a significant other). But, I do have to say that one of the most sickening things about Valentines Day isn't seeing the lovey-dovey couples, it's the fact that EVERYONE is trying to make a dime off of those lovey-dovey types(and some of the ones suckered into it). I'm not even going to get into the whole timing of commencing the retail froth (perhaps 6 days after our Lord's birthday is a little early...ya think?!).

So yeah, retail...you're going hard for the saps and now you have a new one on crew.......

www.m-w.com

Yes, even Merriam-Webster online is lookin' for some V-day action. It makes sense that there are people who are attempting to be poetic with their sonnets and soliloquies and need that little extra help (and I can't blame them seeing I'm an avid visitor, granted my visits are solely to keep from looking like a complete idiot when writing to clients). I fully love the fact that their main page is plastered in a red/pinkish colored background with pictures of roses, an ad for FTD.com and section titled "Merriam-Webster's Romance Language." OY!!!

I think I'll write a haiku for kicks. Maybe I'll give it to the UPS guy. He's lookin' pretty good these days.

I asked for this...didn't I?

I'm tired. Crabby tired. And to top it all off.....I think I ruined a good thing. Damn. All because of an early morning call. Not a call that I made, but one that I recieved and it was for work. A man calling with barely audible English requesting pricing for milk powder. I wouldn't be mad if he had

A) Not called me at 4 AM
B) Read the email I sent to him yesterday that said I wouldn't have pricing until Friday
C) At least attempted to email/call my phone at the office instead of my crackberry

So needless to say, I was up early. With that I thought going to the gym in the am would be a good idea cause I can't afterwards today (Ash Weds service). And I decided to be 'healthy' and forgo my daily Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I was trying that whole "Endorphans = Engery!" to take over the previous "Caffenie = Energy!" All I have to say to that.....dumbest idea ever.

It was a worthless day. I got nothing significant done and was rejected on three quotes that I worked really hard to put together.

But I can't complain too much seeing that it is the start of Lent and well, I'm pretty sure Jesus went through some worse days than I.

Are you fo' REAL!?

I'm on holiday. Seriously, I should be cause it seems like everyone else is. I'm saying this because of a bit of frustration I'm having right now in my little world of sales on the international side of life. I'm in the midst of a few 'big deals' and they aren't just big....they are my first. That's right; after a few months of toil and hard work, it should be paying off. But they are stalemating.

My first big one was to break the yay or nay to me last Friday but seeing the dropping markets they decided to wait until after Carnival (i.e. a week later). I'm scared of a major anticipator of a bummer deal.

Next thing. The Lunar Holiday. I'm at all ends with a few new companies who would LOV$E to discuss some deals before I head to that way for a show. BUT they will not get back to me unil around the 14th due to the Lunar New Year. Yay (there was sarcasm there).

AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW....Some ships anchor snapped two big daddy cables in the ocean which disrupted much of the internet service for the Middle East. And the timing was......bad. I'm (fingers crossed) on the verge of a deal (that has been in the workings for over two months) and the last thing I need to do is send over the final sales files. Can't do it via internet cause the e-mail is not going. Next move, fax. Yep, that too is failing. I may as well hop on a plane and carry the product over myself.

Irritated? Yep. Gonna live? Probably.

"Connecting people, not just Computers"

Look closely and you'll see why I laughed....

(this was found during a company search at work)

SOTM - Shadowplay

Shadowplay a Joy Dvision cover by The Killers....most excellent song. It has become my song of Jan. 08. No good reason why. Read the lyrics and it doesn't fit me seeing how my month and relationship(s) have gone. But the undertone is quite haunting and I think that is was has allured me into playing the song over and over and over.

It's like that time on 90210 when Dylan dumped Brenda and she wouldn't stop listening to one song......I think it was by REM?? and don't laugh at me, I KNOW that you know what episode I'm talking about!

Shadowplay by The Killers
To the centre of the city where all roads meet, waiting for you
To the depths of the ocean where all hopes sank, searching for you
Moving through the silence without motion, waiting for you
In a room with a window in the corner I found truth

In the shadowplay acting out your own death, knowing no more
As the assassins all grouped in four lines, dancing on the floor
And with cold steel, odour on their bodies made a move to connect
I could only stare in disbelief as the crowds all left

I did everything, everything I wanted to
I let them use you for their own ends
To the centre of the city in the night, waiting for you
To the centre of the city in the night, waiting for you

Good song. The music vid....not quite sure what to think. Unique but not brilliant in my mind. If I had known more about Joy Division, I'd may think differently.

Less is More?

From favorite Ag blogger......

I guess you could be frustrated by this lack of action. On the other hand, a spin on the accountability axiom being followed is: The less they do, the less damage follows.

Steve Kopperud, Inside DC on the Brownfield Network

Sad but true. Thank you to our national leaders, way to be passive.

I'm thinking about taking that approach at my job. I figure if I would just sit around, whine a bit and start to do some finger pointing, surely they will keep me on board. Who really needs to make a sale anyway?! Oh I know what I'll do.....I'll spend the next week revamping our kitchen.

What? I figured if the people that lead our nation can do that, I certainly could too.