I'm Fine and I had a Nice Christmas

I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay incase any of you heard about the tragedy that happened recently in a nearby town and were worried about me.

I had a lovely Christmas with Steve's family and I'm now the proud owner of new toasty slippers and both "Glee" season 1, part 1, albums. Yay!

Also in the, "YAY!" category: I was officially promoted today and my pay raise will be retroactive to when I started my new duties. Woohoo!

Happy New Year everyone!

Season's Greetings!

Happy Hanukah!

I hope you are all having a good holiday season so far. I spent Saturday night with my cousins Jonathan & Page; Jenny, her husband Jason, and their 18 month old Joslan; and David along with my Uncle Les & Amy and Aunt Marjorie. We had a lovely time talking, eating the yummy dinner (complete with Jonathan's latkes) that Page cooked, and lighting the Hanukah candles. That side of the family sends their love and holiday greetings to the rest of the family and hopes you are all well.

Snow, Snow, Snow

Yay! We got our first real snowstorm of the winter. 9 or so inches collected in our yard and Susan valiantly shoveled it off the most important parts. Our plow guy came a just the right time to get me to work on Wednesday and I, mostly, enjoyed the drive in because the snow looked so pretty. Sorry, I don't have pictures because I was focused on getting to work. Unfortunately, I still haven't tried out my snowboard because now the snow is covered with ice. Oh, well, maybe this weekend since it's supposed to be warmer.

I have a Snowboard!

Thanks to my cousin Jonathan's advice I am the proud, and excited, owner of a primo board. I got up early this morning and went to our local Lions' Club's Ski & Skate Sale. I was able to get a nice used board with really good bindings and boots for only $90. That's cheaper than renting a board and buying a lift ticket! It snowed all day today so I might even get to try it out tomorrow. Woo hoo! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am grateful for all of my friends and family and hope that you all have a wonderful holiday. :)

It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere...

Yes folks, I have the "Red Dwarf" theme song stuck in my head. I'm all alone more or less. I just can't seem to stop singing it. I want to fly, far away from here. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I've watched 6 episodes of the show in the last 3-4 days. Fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun.

For those of you who have Absolutely (Fabulous) no idea what I'm gibbering on about, "Red Dwarf" was a BBC show that lasted eight seasons during the 1980's and 1990's. I want to lie, shipwrecked and comatose... It was a hilarious science fiction comedy series starring Craig Charles, Chris Barrie (The actor who played Lara's butler in "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" and who might just have been the best part of both movies.), Danny John-Jules, and Norman Lovett. Drinking fresh mango juice. The basis for the series is that a slobby, normal, space-going, guy named Lister awakens from stasis, where he was confined for 18 months because he refused to turn in his contraband cat for dissection ("With all due respect sir, what's in it for the cat?"), to find he's been asleep for 3 million years and that everyone else on board is dead. Goldfish nose nibbling on my toes. His only companions on his journey back to Earth are the ship's AI (Holly, that has an IQ of 6000), a cat-man descended from the cat he refused to turn in (and to whom he's now a deity), and finally (and causing the most laughter) a hologram of the person who annoyed him the most prior to his extended stay in stasis (his roommate, Arnold J. Rimmer, Technician 2nd Class *insert goofy wobbling salute here*). Fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun.

If this post makes no sense to you whatsoever, watch this (it's a slow build, but worth it):

Congratulations! Now you too can have the "Red Dwarf" theme song stuck in your head. (Btw, who knew there was a third verse?!?)

"Parallel Lives: The Kathy & Mo Show"

I thought this play (written, and originally performed, by Mo Gaffney & the amazing Cathy Najimy) was hilarious when I first saw it during the summer of 1994 or 1995 in the black box at the theatre where I was an intern. It was groundbreaking then---dealing with abortion rights, coming out, age & race relations, and feminism in ways both funny and poignant (but mostly funny)---and still made me laugh when I saw it again last night.

Times have changed, however (for the better in terms of acceptance of sexual orientation), and parts of the play didn't impact me as much as they did fifteen years ago. Some of this is also because I've changed for the better as well. Yesterday, I found that I couldn't identify with the alcoholic single mother who shares about the empty place in her spirit because I don't feel that way anymore. I believe a few minor rewrites were done in attempt to make the play more relevant to this decade and our local area.

The show's producer, a former neighbor who started her own theatre company in order to provide roles for women onstage and off, is very cognizant of her audience and the fact that they are accepting, open, vocal, and exuberant. There was much cheering and laughter in the audience when a local spiritual retreat was mentioned by name.

I'm really glad that I went to see this play last night. I went on my own but ended up sitting with an old friend who was there. It was also nice to support theatre by women for, mostly, women. Those of you in my local area will soon be getting an email from me encouraging you to see this show. It's well worth seeing.

Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street!

As I was driving home tonight, "Fresh Air" was replaying interviews with key writers and creators who worked on the show. Some of it was funny, while other parts were sad. I was nostalgic and melancholy but grateful to have heard this retrospective. I grew up watching the show, have many fond memories of it, and am glad it's still around educating a new generation. Here's to you Sesame Street!

:)

Ballgame over, World Series over, Yankees win, the Yankees win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I was too tired after the game last night to post this)

Read My Friend's Book!

Chelvanaya Gabriel recently published a book on skin care that looks very interesting. I haven't read it yet but I'll be buying a copy soon, from a local bookstore---not a chain, I might add. As I told her in an email, skin care wasn't really something I cared about until a year ago or so. I was having trouble with my face drying out and have been using moisturizer ever since. I used to think that was something only hoity-toity women who wear makeup do. Anyway, her book is called "Mindful Beauty Is In Your Hands: Natural Skin Care Tips and Recipes". Please support her, and take care of your skin, by buying her book.

Yankees Win!

Yay!!!!!! They lead the World Series 2-1. Since I happen to be on the computer right now, and I just finished watching the game, I thought I'd share. :)

Happy Halloween!

Tonight, I went back to a town I used to live in because they usually go all out for this holiday. I really had fun making my costume and most people seemed to enjoy seeing it. I thought you might like to see the pictures I took:

I had a lot of fun this weekend.

The masquerade party we threw at work this weekend raised a nice chunk of change and everyone liked my costume. I'd been telling people all week that they'd have to wait until the event to find out what I was going to be, but that it would be funny. I'll be posting a picture soon so you guys can laugh too.

On Sunday I went to a local comic store and learned how to play two new games. One game, Tsuro, wasn't too exciting to me but I think it's because we were only playing with two people. The other game, MyWord, was a lot more fun and we played it with seven people. I liked it so much that I ordered it and it was nice to meet some new people.

It's SNOWING!!!!

Yay! The first snowfall of the season. It isn't sticking but it looks pretty. Casey, Susan, and I popped outside for a few minutes to enjoy it when I came home. I know it's early but it made me happy. :)

Very Special Post!

As promised, here is my very special vlog post. "Glee" was the inspiration for this (and, hopefully, a series of future) post(s). One of the main characters posts a video of herself singing every night on her Facebook page. I can't keep up with that pace but I've decided to reinvigorate my talent by periodically posting karaoke videos here for you to enjoy. I'm my own worst critic so I'll admit there are some rough spots, but overall I think it's not a bad first attempt considering I haven't had a voice lesson in a couple of years. Thanks to the website www.karaokeplay.com for providing the means to do this online for free and of course the music and lyrics are copywritten by Elton John and Tim Rice and I intend no infringement. Enjoy!

I wrote my first press release today.

I told my boss that I don't want to be a marketing director, however, I was asked to do this because of the writing skills I've demonstrated. We are going to be throwing a Halloween party fundraiser near the end of the month and are putting together a lot of publicity in a short amount of time. In addition to the press release (which was kind of fun since I had free reign) I'm also producing a video PSA spoofing the popular "Where the Hell is Matt?" videos on Youtube. It's nice to flex my creative muscles. Yay!

Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.

That's partly because I'm planning a very special blog post that will be up soon so keep checking back here.

In the meantime, I need to apologize to Caissa and Becky for ignoring their comments on this blog. I'm sorry you guys. I didn't realize I'd gotten any comments because the email folder they are automatically forwarded to no longer appears on the sidebar in my inbox. I only discovered the comments today and I do appreciate them.

Finally, if you aren't watching Fox's new dramady (I think that's how you spell that word), "Glee", I highly recommend it. I know I'm a chorus geek but you don't have to be one to love this show. You also don't have to be a teenager. I think it's a bit like "Desperate Housewives" for the gentler generation. "Glee keeps making me laugh out loud, want to see what's going to happen next week, and enjoy the musical numbers. For you "Criminal Minds" fans out there, never fear. I've been watching "Glee" each week on www.fancast.com because the two shows are on at the same time. Enjoy!

More car stuff, but it's better now.

So, my car was all fixed from the transmission stuff on Wednesday but on Thursday night my brake warning light came on as I was driving home. I slowly drove to my mechanic's on Friday and they replaced my two rear brake cylinders, one of which was leaking. I went to a local fair on Friday night and ate my way through it while my friends and I walked around. I enjoyed fried whole belly clams, cheese fries, and funnel cake. Yum!

Saturday I bummed around the house all day and watched season 2 of "Heroes". They kind of cleared up the questions I had surrounding the season 1 finale and that was nice.

Now, I'm watching the U. S. Open Women's Final. The two competitors are very powerful so it's a good match to watch. I'll be happy no matter who wins.

Not the weekend I had planned

I had planned on being a homebody during Labor Day Weekend. I was going to get in some relaxation time between chores. However, my dad called while I was having breakfast (around noon, see my previous post) on Saturday. He told me that he was in a nearby state and asked if we could get together. Meanwhile, Steve had been asking me all week to visit his family with him. I made plans to do both and we arrived at Steve's mom's late that day. On Sunday morning, as Steve and I were headed to meet some friends before I headed to meet my dad, my car died. AAA rescued us and later towed my car back across the state to my mechanic's garage. AAA Plus is a great thing! Anyway, Steve and I spent another night with his family and they drove us back home late Monday. Yesterday my mechanic discovered that a valve connecting the transmission to the radiator had failed and let all of my transmission fluid gush out. He fixed it today and I get to sleep in my own bed tonight, which is good because I'm exhausted.

By the way, it's hard typing a blog post while watching tennis, but that's exactly what I'm doing. Earlier I watched Melanie Oudin go down to Caroline Wozniaki (sorry, I know I spelled that incorrectly) and now I'm watching Roger Federer (hopefully) defeat Robin Soderling in three sets. Some parts of this match have been exciting but it's been pretty quick.

Alicia's Activities

Getting together with friends is important to me and I feel like I don't do it enough. To that end, I've decided to send out an invite each month asking you to join me in a variety of activities. I sent an email recently to some of you that live nearby but I was really tired when I sent it and may have missed some folks. If you didn't get the email, and you're in the area, please let me know and I'll send you a new one. Anyway, I'm also really tired now because I just came back from the first activity. I went to a midnight showing of "Beverly Hills Cop" with my friend Curt, his two sons, and some of their friends. There were about 20 of us in the theatre but we enjoyed ourselves. Now I'm headed for bed. Goodnight. :)

I need to kvetch about "Heroes"

I just finished watching season 1. It was really good (Joss Whedon-esque lines like, "Didn't I throw you out a window?" come to mind) for the most part (it was a bit soap opera-y for a short time) but the final few minutes were a bit of a let down. I kept saying, (yes, I occasionally talk out loud to the TV or DVD player) "Peter, you can fly!". I really, really, hate plot holes, especially big ones. A brief synopsis for those of you not familiar with the show: it's kind of like "X-men" and "Wildcards" because normal human beings realize they have extraordinary powers and are learning to control them and interact with the rest of the world. Some of them find out that a giant nuclear explosion is going to destroy half of NYC and they want to stop it. Peter Petrelli's power is that he can copy the powers of any other person. He's a really good guy but he finds out that he's going to absorb a nuclear radiating power that he can't control and then he's going to explode and cause the catastrophe. He's also absorbed his brother's power of flight. Oh, and he can regenerate. To me, this seemed liked a no-brainer. As soon as he was about to explode he could just fly high into our atmosphere, explode (yes, I know there would still be environmental problems but one thing at a time), regenerate, and come back down. NO ONE suggested this the entire season. Finally, at the last moment his brother flew down and flew him up into the sky sacrificing (we assume) himself in the process. I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any on screen explanation for this necessity, such as Peter concentrating so much on trying to stop the explosion that he couldn't fly or that he could only use one power at a time, but if I did, I apologize for my criticism. If not, however, I stand by my irritation and disappointment with the season one finale. GRUMP! GRUMP! GRUMP! Thank you for you attention. :)

Well, it's September

The weather turned pretty quickly, but it's still nice. I wore a sweatshirt this morning but was sweating when I took my walk (in my short sleeved t-shirt) this afternoon. Whenever I start to think about the changing seasons I stop and appreciate how beautiful my surroundings are and I come right back to the present.

Work is busy, I've been updating that blog a lot because we are upgrading. Check it out because I've been posting many pics and details. My boss liked my idea for a new show so I may be producing some more.

I'm tired and need to go to bed. I'll post more later. :)

I won!

Woo hoo! Our local Trader Joe's called me yesterday to let me know that I'd won their weekly drawing. Everyone who brings in their own shopping bags gets entered to win a $25 store credit and this time it was my turn. Yay!

Brunch with my family

Yay! I got to spend more time with Page, Jonathan, and Aunt Marjorie today. We went out for brunch at a local place famous for its' "no frills dining". There were seven of us all together, as you can see from the photo, because Jonathan and Page had two friends over (Lonnie, who is practically family since she lived with Jonathan, David, & Uncle Les during the summers while she was in college, and Jake who lives around the corner from Jonathan & Page) and Jonathan asked me to invite Steve because the two of them get along really well. In addition, Page used to canvass for PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) so she and Steve have similar experiences. Anyway, I ordered a dish called "El Paso" which is cornbread topped with scrambled eggs, cheese, black beans, salsa, and sour cream. Yum! I also ordered a side of grits because this place makes them really well and I haven't had them in quite awhile. Thankfully, we walked to the restaurant from Page & Jonathan's so I did burn some calories. :) I'm really grateful that I'm getting to spend more time with my friends and family now. This was a really nice morning, nice weather, good meal, and fun conversation. I can't really express it but I feel warm & fuzzy inside. :)

Partying with Jonathan & Page

I spent most of today helping my cousin Jonathan, and his wife Page, celebrate his being cancer free for three years. It was really nice to meet more of their friends and neighbors, eat a really yummy cake, and see my Aunt Marge for the first time in 12 or 15 years. The party began at 3PM and I just got home a few minutes ago. Check out these pics! Obviously that's Jonathan cutting the cake. Below his single photo is one of Page eating the cake, then their adorable dog Lila---who didn't get any cake, and finally my Aunt who enjoyed the cake as much as the rest of us.

Another Brush With Fame

Last night I was this close to John Hodgman, the actor who portrays the PC in Apple's Mac vs. PC commercials. I was on my way to meet some friends after eating my dinner at a local park, (local musicians perform for free at the park each week and they are really good), when I noticed an acquaintance of mine (a local radio personality) walking towards me in a group of people. As I said, "Hi!", I recognized the person who was walking next to him. They both smiled at me and I went on my way with a spring in my step. (C'mon, you already know I'm a geek!) :) Anyhow, I wasn't really surprised to see Mr. Hodgman because he has family in the area and he guest hosted a local radio show recently. I love living in this area! :)

Whoops!

Okay, so I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I've been busy since I got back from vacation. I've done way too much shopping because I had to stock up on everything I was out of. On the upside, while I was at the mall (yes, I went to the mall, pick your jaws up off of the floor now please) I purchased "Torchwood: Children of Earth" at Best Buy for $20. That's a great price for 5 episodes of a BBC series. I also found the "Dr. Who: The Beginning" three episode collection at FYE for $15. Woo hoo!

Anyway, what I really want to blog about is that I did my first professional voice-over recording yesterday. One of my co-workers is creating a promo for us and he asked me to do a couple of readings for him. I sat down to capture them in our radio pre-production studio for the first time and it felt great. I told my boss how much I enjoyed doing it and he said that he'll try to give me more opportunities in the future. Yay!

I'm baaaack!

I had a lovely time with my family and I will be posting pics and perhaps some video soon. We took the boys to the Crayola Factory and to Northlandz. At Crayola Jacob got to paint, draw, and create while we all learned some interesting facts about the crayon business. Northlandz can't really be described, it has to be seen to be appreciated. I think Becky took some pictures that she may post on her Facebook page. Northlandz took years to plan and, I think, 4 years to build. It is a miniature train landscape, containing about 400 trains, housed in a 50,000 square foot two-story building. The details are amazing and a lot of humor is revealed as one travels through the displays. It was really cool. Anyway, I'm really tired. I got home late from work because I had to stay late. I goofed and accidentally set my alarm for 8:30PM today and woke up about 15 minutes after I was supposed to be at work. Thankfully, Scott was really nice about it. We made it work but it caused a few problems. Oh well, it was still a good day.

Fun, Food, but no fireworks.

Last Thursday night I met up with Wendy, Lynette (accompanied by, now toddler, Aisla Rose), and Lynette's parents to attend a two-part concert at a local church. The first half featured "Rising Tide" in the church's sanctuary while for the second half we adjourned to the, slightly damp, lawn for dinner and a carrillon concert. I had a really good time and it was nice getting to see everyone again.

This weekend Steve and I went to his mom's to celebrate the fourth. We had lots of fun teaching his mom & sister to play "Magic: The Gathering". We also lit sparklers.

I'm really tired so this isn't the most well written post. Oh well, I at least wanted you to know what I've been up to. Happy Summer!

In the category of things you shouldn't say on national, live, TV...

the winner is---Jeanine from "So You Think You Can Dance". Susan got me hooked on this show and tonight Philip & Jeanine did a really good, hard-hitting, hip-hop routine that centered around them being chained together. After the routine Kat Deeley, the emcee, asked them about problems rehearsing with the chain. They explained that it had broken several times and that they just kept practicing with it all week, attempting to figure out what they would do if any of the seemingly limitless possible tragedies that could happen with it did. Jeanine went on to say that, as a result, they had chains all over their apartment. The audience couldn't contain themselves and the look on Jeanine's face, when she realized what she'd said, was priceless.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to an extra day off this weekend and, surprisingly, doing a little clothes shopping. Oh, one more thing. In my bargain hunters column: I picked up a practically new Trivial Pursuit: Book Lovers Edition at the Salvation Army today for $6! Woo hoo! Now I just need to get some friends together to play it. :)

Whoo boy! It's been a few weeks.

Mostly, I've been chicken to post on here because I really wanted to tell you all that I rode on a motorcycle for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, I can already hear my mom and my sister lecturing me about it. :) It's not something I want to do all the time, and it was completely unexpected (I needed a ride a short distance down the road and the only one of my friends going with me only drives a motorcycle---thankfully he had an extra helmet with him), but it was fun. I was scared of falling off but I also saw the appeal of being open to nature and feeling gravity as you make turns. I would probably enjoy it more in the future if I have a chance to drive one (slowly, on a closed course somewhere with no traffic!). :)

Today I went to my dentist's office for a cleaning and got a good bill of health. Then I had another routine doctor's appointment which also went well. I had the day off and got some things done around the house, in addition to getting some R & R. It was nice. I hope you are all well and that some of us will be going to a local concert soon.

Yay! More DVDs! :)

I had a busy week and an even busier weekend. Saturday was a very long day that started with me getting up at 4:45AM so I could meet some friends and drive out to the eastern part of the state. I arrived home around 6:30PM and Steve came over at 7PM with sushi. (I had called him when I was an hour away from home and asked if he could meet me there with healthy food because I was going to be too tired to make something. He was wonderfully obliging.) We ate and then played Magic: The Gathering until around 9 or 10PM. I must admit that I have gotten Steve addicted to Magic and he has started buying his own cards. (I may have created a monster. I'll let you know.) Anyway, I slept for about 12 hours and then went to the mall today. I purchased "The Dresden Files" season one (which is pretty much the complete series since Sci. Fi. Channel was stupid and cancelled it after that) for $13 at FYE. Later, Steve and I went to a local used DVD/CD store and I bought "Heroes" seasons 1 & 2 for $16 each, the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" movie (which completes my Buffy collection!) for $5, and both "Fantastic 4" movies for $5 total. I haven't really bought too many DVDs in awhile so this wasn't too bad. I may also breakdown and buy some "Doctor Who" stuff on Amazon.com since a lot of it is really cheap and comes with free shipping if I spend $25 in one order. Oh, did I mention I got a raise and that I may get a promotion and another raise in the next few months? :) Yay! (Don't worry, I'm not going crazy with my spending. I need to increase the amount I'm giving Susan each month for household expenses and I'm still saving. It's just nice to splurge once in awhile.)

Dagnabbit! I must be writing posts in my dreams.

I could have sworn that I had posted about what I did during Memorial Weekend but I don't see anything about it here. I worry, sometimes, that I'm losing my marbles. Anyhow, I want to let you know that one of the fun things I did over the weekend (in addition to house sitting and taking care of some really cute puppies and kitties) was to go see the new "Star Trek" movie. It was awesome! The first half was amazing and the second half was really good (it slowed down a bit so it doesn't get a totally amazing throughout review). J. J. Abrams rocks! I'd add details but I need to go to bed soon.

Tonight, after work, I walked to my car experiencing the beauty of Spring. It was cool, and rain was misting into my face, but it was just lovely and I wanted to share that with you.

Finally, I want to add my voice to the dismay, disappointment, and outrage over the CA Supreme Court upholding Prop. 8. I wasn't listening to NPR today, so I didn't get the details, but I noticed an article about it when I got online a short time ago. I know that sometimes judges have to vote for something they don't like because it's, technically, legal but I am saddened that hate & discrimination have been upheld.

So, do you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in a day?

Hmmmm, it's been three weeks since my last post. Where does the time go? I've been working a lot of different hours and participating in social events. I thought I had posted on here since I saw Rising Tide perform (loved the concert!, btw) but, since that was May 6th and my last post was May 3rd, I realize that wasn't correct. Oh, well. There really isn't a good way to fit emailing/blogging into my morning routine (I'm still trying to figure out how to put my 15 minute walk back into it. That got blitzed when I was sick.) and when I get home at night I prepare for the next day. Once I'm done, it's usually time for bed, or a snack, some TV, and bed. I've been limiting my TV watching, though, and that's allowed me to get more done, but it's still hard to hop online. At some point I'll kvetch about the movie ("Wolverine") & season finales ("CSI: Miami" springs instantly to mind) I've seen lately and thought were "eh". On the other hand, "Dollhouse" and "How I Met Your Mother" had great finales! I almost can't wait for next season. :)

I got new sneakers!

I did a lot (for me) of clothes shopping this weekend. I spent a couple of hours at Goodwill yesterday and came home with a cute pair of jeans and two dressier (than normal for me) tops for just $10. Today I went to JCPenny and, using a $20 mall gift certificate along with a leftover balance on a gift card from Aunt Nancy & Uncle Robert, got a pair of $50 sneakers that were on sale without having to pay any money out of pocket. I'm really glad I had that opportunity.

Food, Glorious, Food!

I had a yummy salad for dinner tonight at a local Mexican restaurant. The salad starts with hot rice and black beans on the bottom of the bowl. They are topped with Mesclun greens, some kind of lemon & garlic dressing, guacamole, and pico de gallo. Yum, yum, yum! :)

Okay, okay, I know I haven't been posting much lately!

I hope you are all doing well. I have been enjoying the lovely weather here and rediscovering Magic: The Gathering. That's a fantasy trading card game for those of you who don't remember watching me play in my college days. Steve and I have been playing a lot and I'm really enjoying it. In addition, one of the guys I work with is a rabid Magic player and we may get to play soon. I even checked out Wizards of the Coast's website and it's pretty cool and really helpful. Other than that, not much has been going on. I'm working a lot (I think I mentioned it's meeting season) and getting back into my daily routine.

I met a governor today!

Massachusetts' Governor Deval Patrick was in our studio today at work to film an interview. I thought you'd all like to see this pic of me, my co-workers and friends, and the Gov! Btw, he was funny and gracious and he brought his adorable dog, Zoey.

"Dollhouse" is the best show on TV right now!!!!!!!!

I know I haven't posted in awhile but I've been sick and working a lot. I will post an update about some of the time between posts soon but, for now, I just need to state that "Joss Whedon rules!". Ditto for Jane Espenson! Dollhouse isn't flashy but it is well written and acted, the characters seem genuine (I realize the irony---and I did use that word correctly), and the plot is extremely interesting. I really is the best show on TV in, what feels to me, a quiet way.

In other news, I went to the most amazing Seder last night. My friend, and fellow alum, Opeyemi, co-hosted a Seder for "Passover Orphans" (people who can't go home for the holiday and aren't hosting their own). I felt really comfortable and loved even though Opeyemi was the only person there that I had known before the event. The Seder was open and welcoming, while still being traditional, creative, and humorous. During the story of the exodus from Egypt, there were two lines that cracked me up while I was reading them. I had to stop laughing before I could finish reading them aloud. They were about when Moses petitioned the pharoh to let the Jews go: "First he tried asking, then he tried magic, then he tried plagues. That seemed to work!" (Did I mention this was the VERY abbreviated story of the exodus?) When we got to the part in the Seder where we open the door for Elijah, Opeyemi's friend David came in bearing candy to share and dressed as Elijah. Opeyemi accompanied him dressed as a mystery woman. While she acted out her character, we had to guess who she was. When she threw some of the candy over the table, to express her displeasure at being left out of the Seder and forgotten by history, we were all laughing too hard at her antics to guess. She turned out to be Lillith, the first woman (yes, before Eve), and she was representing all the women who've been forgotten by history. Oh, one more funny bit; I told our intern (who's a big role playing and fantasy card gamer) that I was going to a Seder I had to spell it out for him like this: S-e-d-e-r not S-a-t-y-r. Hee, hee.

I hope you are all well. I will post more soon.

My Taxes are Done!

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finished my taxes before April! I just wanted to shout that to the rooftops. Thanks for listening. :)

Weird & Wonderful Work Stuff

I worked with an amazing volunteer on Tuesday night. She's 9 years old but she's really together. Her father, who used to volunteer with us, suggested she help us out because she makes music videos with her friends and writes plays. She reminds me a bit of me when I was her age. It turned out she had a great eye for camera shots and all the folks at the meeting thought she was adorable. I felt like I had another little sister when I was showing her around and teaching her how to direct. I think I was smiling the whole time.

today, we had weird hardware issues. One of our PC's keyboard became waterlogged and a computer kept shutting down on it's own. Scott finally had to take a panel off of the side of it because we could smell something burning. After that, it seemed to go back to working normally. :)

I'm feeling much better now!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I was really sick. I went back to work this week but am still resting a lot. Last night I watched the series finale of "Battlestar Galactica". It was good but I was blubbering for most of the last hour of it. I was still thinking about it today as I got ready to go see the Metropolitan Opera's live simulcast in HD of Bellini's "La Somnambula". That was also quite good though the setting of it was a little odd. They decided to stage it as a play within a play but then they kept blurring the lines of what was "real life" and what was rehearsal. I found it a bit jarring but kept getting back into it because the music was melodic and upbeat and the singers were very good. Unfortunately, just going to see the opera has exhausted me and all I really want to do is take a nap. I decided I should probably eat something first so I'm waiting for a pot of water to boil. After I eat some spaghetti I'll, hopefully, sleep. Oh, and I'm writing a radio play. :) I'll tell you all more about that soon.

Checking in

Hi everyone. I just wanted to let you know I'm still here, still sick, but here. I went to the doctor yesterday and may be starting an antibiotic tomorrow. Thankfully, my boss is being super understanding and I've been getting lots of rest & drinking lots of fluids. I know you don't want my detailed symptom history so I'll just tell you what I've been doing when I can't sleep: watching TV and putting together the Puz3D cottage I got at the dump awhile back. Please keep sending good thoughts my way. Thanks!

I'm sick :(

I had a productive week and an eventful weekend. I had a great time dancing on Saturday night but I arrived home to a bit of a medical issue with Susan. I helped her and went to bed around 4AM. Now I'm sick. Between the weather and feeling crummy I didn't go to work today. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Pic & whirwind day.

First up, as promised, my "mugshot" from the MDA fundraiser. Thanks to my cousin, Page, for sending me that. As you can see, I really did have a lot of fun.


In other news, as I write this, snow is falling quite rapidly outside. Steve called me earlier to let me know that it's wet and heavy, but Susan is actually on her way to play tennis (indoors, but still). I'm staying here because we're expecting a moderate storm and I don't want to drive in it since I don't have to. Unfortunately, the forecast caused Steve and I to have a bit of a whirlwind day yesterday. We had planned to drive out to the western part of the state in the early afternoon to celebrate his sister's birthday. Afterwards, we were going to spend the night and then help his mom and sister with some errands today. However, once we heard the weather report we decided not to spend the night. We also ended up with more errands to do than we thought so didn't arrive at Steve's mom's house until 6pm. We got to dinner around 7pm and stuffed ourselves almost silly on awesome Sushi. After Nancy opened her presents (she loved the earrings I made for her, btw) we ate yummy cake that Steve's mom had baked and I frosted and decorated. Around 10pm we headed over to Steve's sister's apartment to help her stock up on supplies since she's having surgery this week. Steve dropped me off at home around 12:45am. It was a long, but enjoyable, day.

I went ice skating!

Every winter, for the last several years, I have yearned to go ice skating and, every spring, I've lamented that I didn't. This year I made a commitment to myself that I was going to go even if I had to go alone. Several weeks ago I checked out ice skating options nearby online. I discovered that for $9 I could skate at a local college's rink, including the skate rental. I sent an email to some of my friends in the area to see if anyone wanted to join me. Unfortunately, their schedules didn't allow them to but Susan and I gamely slid onto the ice this morning. I had a blast! It was really nice to be on skates again and it came back to me like riding a bicycle. I held the wall a bit at first but quickly moved into the traffic flow around the rink. It was a lot of fun and I think I had a smile on my face almost the entire time. Susan said that I can tell you guys that it started out about 20% fun for her but it went up from there as the time went on. She even mentioned wanting to take some lessons.

In other news, for those of you who like good television, Joss Whedon's new series, "Dollhouse", premiered on Friday night. I liked it. It's definitely different from his other shows: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", and "Firefly". It isn't funny all the time but there are some humorous moments. It does, however, have quintessential Joss mythology and the teaser-like end of the episode left me wanting more. In addition, Eliza Dushku is a great actress and it's really nice to see her dominate the screen mentally as well as physically. Unfortunately, Fox's promotions for the show are terrible. They are trying to make it seem like their Friday night line-up is only about beautiful, sexy, young women kicking butt and blowing stuff up. There is so much more to the show than that (and also, not any of that in the first episode at all) but I think it's going to alienate some of the audience who might otherwise watch this show. Please give "Dollhouse" a chance!

Thanks to those of you who sent support and donations to me for my participation in the Muscular Dystrophy Association's "Lock-up" Fundraiser. I raised a lot of money and had a great time. I sent most of you the link to the youtube video I created about my experience, but if you need me to send it to you again just let me know.

My sister reminded me again that I haven't really posted much about my trip to visit my family. I had a great time and it was nice to see Dad & Jan, Aunt Katherine, Uncle JB, Jocelyn, Sam (not Sammy anymore), Mom, Becky, Ken, Jacob, & Tyler. There was an awful lot of driving involved but I'm glad I did it. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my friends from high school and college but I will try to schedule another trip at some point, just to do that. Highlights from my trip (besides getting to see everyone) were watching football with my dad (even though my team lost), walking Sadie (the adorable dog) with my Uncle, and holding my baby nephew Tyler. I also got to play on my nephew Jacob's Wii (evidently I ski jump really well). Okay, this was a pretty long post. I think I'll stop this one now. :)

I'm going to jail!

For those of you who missed my email, I'm getting locked up tomorrow. Yup, you read that correctly. "They" are putting me away "for good". A good cause, that is. From 2pm to 3pm I will be "locked up" to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I've raised almost $400 so far. If you'd like to help, please either contribute on the secure website the MDA set up for me (I emailed most of you the link a couple of days ago, I know it took me two tries, sorry---insert sheepish grin here) or bring it to my office and my co-workers will get it to me. You can also call me on my cell if you need more info. Thanks for helping out. I'll let you know how it goes.

How to Stay Warm

So, I was walking by the bank clock again on my way home tonight and noticed that it was 15 degrees out. I, however, didn't feel particularly cold. I realized that this was due to all the layers I was wearing and thought you all might appreciate me sharing. To that end, from the ground up, here's what I was wearing today:

Hiking boots
Wool Socks
Longjohns
Pair of Jeans
Long sleeve t-shirt
Short sleeve t-shirt
Lightweight wool sweater
Fleece vest
Down jacket
Heavy, Thinsulate-lined, Gloves
Fleece, neck wrapping, hoodie
Knitted cap

I hope you all enjoy our six more weeks of winter! :)

Wild Turkeys!

Yesterday morning before I went to work I found myself looking out our kitchen window. To my pleasant surprise I saw a flock of wild turkeys crossing our driveway. They were big birds and there were quite a few of them. It was a nice image for me to start my day with. I don't think Casey was quite as happy about it, however, because she'd been barking on and off for awhile prior to my seeing them.

Puns & Pals

I'm quite proud of this one (mainly because I haven't done this in a long time): Steve brought over Sushi on Saturday night. After we had eaten we were discussing which car we should take to his mom's house the next day and who should do the driving. He looked at me and said, "I figured that since I bribed you with raw fish you would offer to drive." To that I replied, "So, this is a squid pro quo?" We both burst out laughing and had to tell Susan, which started her laughing as well.

In other news, I attended another "Free Soup & Games Night" in the town where I work. I only had one bowl of soup this time (potato & cheddar) because I also had a slice of flatbread pizza (new potatoes, caramelized onions, and-yuck!-bleu or gorgonzola cheese) and an amazing (hot out of the oven) pecan roll. Yummy! My co-workers couldn't come, and I didn't see the producer I was supposed to meet there, so I ended up at Tom's table again. This time I met two nice older women and we played Scrabble. I didn't do too badly. I came in third, but I put down some good words. After Tom and Johanna left, Faith taught me a game I hadn't played before. It's called "Quiddler" and it's a word game with cards. Each card has a letter, or two letter combination, on it and a point value. You are dealt and increasing number of cards each hand (from 3 up to 10 as the game progresses) and have to make words with them. It was fun and I picked it up quickly. I'm going to see if I can find a copy of the game for myself. I almost forgot, Tom also introduced me to a word game that only requires two people, paper, and writing implements. Each person picks a secret, five letter, word. The other player guesses a five letter word and the player whose word it is tells them if any of the letters in their guess are in their secret word. Play continues back and forth until someone correctly guesses the other person's word. It sounds like a game I'd like to try.

I weathered the storm. :)

I worked from home yesterday so I didn't have to brave the sleet & freezing rain we had. I really love being able to work from home occasionally. I stayed in my PJs all day and got to pet Casey whenever I felt like it. Today, on my way back to my car after work, I noticed a couple of pretty things. The first was a conjunction of a planet (Venus maybe?) and the quarter Moon. The second was the lights pointing up at a statue from under the snow and ice. That was cool! Oh, and I had an interesting dream last night involving my family and the TV show "The Eleventh Hour". I wrote it down and will hopefully post it on my dream blog soon. I hope you are all well. Oh, and I will probably post soon about my recent trip down the coast to see my family. My sister pointed out to me that I haven't really mentioned it on here yet. I had a good time but have been recovering from a cold since I returned. I'm focusing on getting enough sleep and fluids so I haven't been posting as much.

I had a great time at Jessie's wedding.

She was a beautiful bride and she and Matt are a great couple! I'm exhausted but I sang well, ate yummy food, and danced a lot. I was really nervous about singing because I've been sick and I was terrified that I would embarrass them. Everyone was impressed and I was relieved. Unfortunately, I think I may have overdone it because I don't feel so hot right now. I'm glad to have these wonderful memories of a beautiful, loving time that involved lots of friends coming together. :)

What a great inauguration speech!

I'm really glad I got to watch it. We broadcast the three hours of special coverage by "Democracy Now" from Freespeech TV and I turned the sound up because we ended up with about 15 of us crammed into the small foyer in our office where the TV is. It was a nice way to get to know some of the other tenants in our office building. The folks from Community Action were having trouble with their reception so they asked if they could join us. Some people cried, a lot of us clapped, and everyone was glad they had seen it. I really hope this begins some positive change for our country and it was amazing to watch history taking place. It's about time! :)

Sara & Grissom, yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CSI SPOILER ALERT!:

Hooray for Jerry Bruckheimer! He put Sara & Grissom together for a happy ending on tonight's CSI. I even teared up a little but I'm really happy. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Wow, two posts in one night.) :)

Kids still say the darndest things!

Guess what my sister told me today? Last night my five and a half year old nephew asked her, "Mommy, do you know where babies come from?" With a smile on her face my sister replied, "we get them from the store". Jake said, "no! The daddy puts his penis in the mother's vagina". (Jake got a book about the human body for Christmas and he really likes it. The other day he was telling me all about the organs and systems of the body. He also asked Becky what a fallopian tube is. I guess he found the part about the reproductive system!) :)

I have a digital camera!

Mom got a new one so she gave me hers. Yay! I'll post a pic as soon as I get some batteries for it. :)

Stupid Giants! :(

Arrrggh! Why is it that when I get excited about a team, and actually watch or listen to a game, that the team I root for loses? Oh, well. Now I'll be rooting for the Baltimore Ravens because Trevor Pryce (Price?, I can't remember how he spells his last name) and I were at school together. For those of you who don't know, he was really nice and even stopped kids from picking on me at one point. Go Trevor! :)

Ice storm today!

I am home today due to the storm and I'm getting some rest and relaxation. There's a "Stargate: Atlantis" marathon on Sci. Fi. Channel because they are leading up to the series finale that will be shown on Friday night. I'm taking care of some necessary chores and then I'll probably go back to bed for awhile. I still feel like I'm fighting a cold or something.

Susan and I had an adventure today!

This morning, Susan and I awoke to discover that the furnace had conked out again. It was 56 degrees in here at one point! Susan spent a good part of the day cleaning out a part of the exhaust system, with me assisting towards the end. Somehow this always happens on a weekend or holiday but we called the heating & plumbing company that installed the furnace and they sent a guy out to look at it. He quickly diagnosed the problem and began to fix it. The next thing I know, I'm hearing a small explosion from the basement. Susan and I both went running down the stairs asking if the guy was all right. We found him sitting on the floor of the room saying, "I don't know". The furnace had backfired and sent extremely hot air, soot, & ash directly into his face. We brought him upstairs and I called 911. The paramedics quickly arrived and, eventually, took the repairman to a local hospital for more treatment. He was in good spirits and kept asking worriedly if his goatee had been singed. A short time ago the company sent someone to pick up his truck and they told us that he's doing well and will be seeing an eye specialist tomorrow. Susan and I are just glad that he's okay. Oh, and the company sent another person out this evening to finish the repair so we aren't living in a refrigerator anymore. :)