I'm an "It" girl

Richard tagged me.

The Game: 7 Weird Things About You
The Rules: If you get tagged, you need to write a blog of 7 weird things about yourself as well as state this rule clearly. Then you choose 7 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

My 7 things:

1. I can't burp. The only time I remember getting a decent one out was when I was in the crowded study room on the 5th floor of the Student Center during finals week and I stood up to get Shilpa's attention. I meant to whisper her name, but instead I let out a huge belch. I was so proud.
   
2. I say the word "accent" with a southern accent. Ack-sayent.
   
3. I used to think that the man in the moon could only be seen from Florence, Italy. When I was a child on a family trip, we got out of the tour bus to wait to be checked into the hotel. While we were waiting, someone showed me the man in the moon. I thought that we'd gotten out of the bus specifically to see him from some magical L'Uomo Nella Luna viewpoint. It wasn't until I was in college and I corrected someone who mentioned it ("What? You can't see him here...he's in Florence!") that I realized how silly this was.
4. I sometimes color my hair so that it won't look colored. I have natural red in my hair that becomes pretty vivid when I spend a lot of time in the sun. My hair stylists always tell me that my natural highlights are what people pay hundreds of dollars for...and I don't like looking like I pay hundreds of dollars for highlights. So I sometimes dye my hair darker in order to cover up my natural highlights.
5. I'm allergic to the sticky side of Scotch tape, pencil lead, and soft stick deodorant.
6. I just realized that the word "deodorant" is de-odor-ant. I always thought it was deo-dor-ant. It makes a lot more sense to me now, and I won't misspell it anymore.
   
7. I usually sneeze in pairs. I only single-sneeze when I eat an Altoid.

Now I have to tag 7 people. Normally I dislike this sort of thing (it's a little too much like a chain letter) but I like to find out weird things about my friends. So I'll subject 7 of them to the game, even though I feel kind of bad about doing it. I'll tag the following: Margaret, Tarik, Erin, Jeff, Rohit, Darin, Mike. Sorry guys, but I wanna know your quirks.

To Flickr or not to Flickr

I'm tired of manually editing the HTML to display my pictures, so I'm trying out the slideshow plug-in from Flickr. There are some limitations to it (captions are not displayed in the slideshow, the screen size cannot be altered...) but overall it seems like Flickr has the cleanest interface and most useful functionality. Instead of posting a new slideshow every time I have new pictures, I'll probably just upload a whole set of pictures every week or so. You can click on the individual pictures to find out the details of who/what/when/where/why. I'll also label the slideshow posts so that you can find all of the pictures easily.

What do you think? Is the lack of captions in the slideshow a deal-breaker? I'm looking at Photobucket too, so that might be another option.

To control the slideshow, mouse over the top of the screen. You'll see icons to pause, resume, fast-forward, reverse or change the speed (I'm too impatient for the 5 second delay, but I can't figure out how to change the default). Mouse over the bottom of the screen to view the entire set of pictures, where you can click on a thumbnail image to skip to that picture. If you want to see the title and description of a picture, click on it while it is displayed in the main screen.

Geek = MC Square

At first I thought this was funny...and then I realized that it describes much of my college experience and I might understand the lyrics a little too well. My friends actually had copies of the manuscript for The Holy Grail, which they let me borrow on the off-chance that I could not recite the entire movie from memory. Granted, it was college, so there was some sort of drinking game associated with the script.

I also remember watching TV at the fraternity next door while they were having a mixer with a sorority. I stayed out of the way, closing the door to the TV room and minding my own business. One of the brothers popped his head into the TV room to round everyone up for the mixer and asked what I was watching. I said, "Star Trek...it's the episode when Spock comes back." (For all you non-nerds out there, this was in 1991 when Spock guest-starred on a couple of the "Next Generation" episodes.) He said, "Spock is back?" and immediately sat down to watch. Another brother looked in and the same thing happened. Over the course of 15 minutes most of the fraternity ended up in the TV room, leaving the sorority alone upstairs. Finally, the social chair for the sorority opened the door to the TV room and found me sitting there, surrounded by the entire fraternity. She gave me a dirty look and I just said, "It's not my fault, Spock's back."

Where else but MIT could Spock trump a room full of sorority girls?

Not quite adequite

I just saw a commercial featuring a woman (I think I'm supposed to know who she is but I don't) talking about the importance of education. The commercial is launching a scholarship contest for high school girls.

"My parents made a lot of sacrifices in order for my sister and I to be able to get a good education."

Now, I think it's great for famous (even if I don't recognize them) people to support education and encourage young people to pursue their dreams through education. But if they're going to be on a commercial about education, shouldn't they at least use correct grammar? I can't imagine that they are just talking off-the-cuff and there is no opportunity to edit or re-shoot. Isn't someone writing the script for them? Shouldn't that someone catch things like this? Or do they just not notice or care?

P.S. I know I break grammar rules all the time on this blog, but this is a place where I informally jot down thoughts. I am very careful with my grammar when I am in my professional role. I would expect that shooting a commercial about education would be considered "professional" for an actress.

P.P.S. Right after the education commercial, there was a commercial for car insurance that ended with "...drive away quicker". Sheesh.

More ponderings, less filling

I'm not a chocolate person

I've always assumed that I am one of those stereotypical women who lives for chocolate. This morning I realized that I'm not. I don't eat much chocolate. I don't crave it. I got a box of Swiss chocolates in September and I've only eaten 4 pieces. When I have a choice of desserts, I rarely choose the chocolate option. I like penuche and peanut butter fudge, sugar cookies, angel food cake, coffee ice cream. I don't drink mochas. This isn't earth-shattering, but it is interesting to me. It's like looking in the mirror and realizing after 30 years that your eyes are green instead of brown.

Jared Leto and Sienna Miller are not attractive

Margaret and I once sat in the hot sun for 10 hours, just for a chance to see Jared Leto . This was when he was still Jordan Catalano. Yes, he was short, but he was beautiful. And now he looks like a zombie. I suppose he's a "serious arteeest" and he's making a statement, but still... And I've never thought Sienna Miller was beautiful (too ordinary to be beautiful), but she used to be pretty in a common girl-next-door kind of way. Now she just looks haggard and cheap. Fake smiles, dead eyes, leathery skin, desperate need to be noticed and taken seriously. Maybe her upcoming movies will show some talent other than hooking up with her co-stars and she can become a serious arteeest like Jared Leto and embrace her inner (and outer) zombie.

I'm a gadget geek

My favorite new gadget is the MP3 player Chris gave me for my birthday. It's the iriver clix and I love it. It's small, it's easy to use, it's full of great functionality, and best of all, it's not an iPod. It's awesome. Now that we have a NAS (network attached storage), we've loaded all of our music to a shared folder that we can both access via our wireless network (don't worry, it's secure). So now I don't have to sneak into Chris' CD collection to steal his music anymore.

Canon is cool

You may remember that I broke my camera during the honeymoon. I got an emergency replacement in Venice and have been using the replacement since. It's a great little camera, but it's more of a Ph.D (push here dummy) set-up than I like. I've been missing my old camera, so I decided to send it to the factory to see how much it would cost to fix. I sent in my warranty information as well, pretending not to notice that

1. I never actually sent in the warranty card to register the camera in the first place;
2. Even if I had registered the camera, the warranty expired several months ago; and
3. The warranty explicitly states that it does not cover impact damage -- which is clearly what happened to my camera ("Well uhhhh...I was taking a picture in a very responsible manner when suddenly the LCD screen burst into fragments...I have no idea how it happened").

Within a week of sending it in, I've got it back -- fixed at no cost! Yay! Yet another reason I'm sticking with Canon.

Out of all of the random ponderings of the day, the one that still strikes me the most is the fact that I'm not a chocolate freak. I've always thought I was. How odd.

Ponderings

“I had a stick of CareFree gum, but it didn't work. I felt pretty good while I was blowing that bubble, but as soon as the gum lost its flavor, I was back to pondering my mortality.”
~ Mitch Hedberg

Things that I have been pondering lately:

• My mom was right. I have a vague memory of a teen angst experience from high school. There was a school dance, and I was supposed to stay the night with a friend afterwards. At the dance she did something to betray me (this is where my memory gets fuzzy) and I ended up leaving the dance in tears. I ran down to the phone booth by Foodland to call my mom to pick me up. I don't remember many of the details of that night, but I do remember what my mom told me. She said that I "care too much" with my friends. She said that I give too much and that some people will keep taking as long as I keep giving. I didn't understand how someone could care too much -- I thought that caring is good and everyone should care as much as they can. But now I think I finally get it. I finally understand that it's possible to martyr oneself for a friendship. And I'm done with it. I don't have the time or energy to carry someone around, cater to their needs, and sacrifice my own happiness to indulge them. I'm finally letting go. I'm accepting that it's not my responsibility to make sure that everyone is happy, healthy and successful. I love my friends, but I'm making sure that my friendships are based on mutual support, compassion, respect and understanding. It may have taken me 20 years, but I finally learned the lesson.

• My dad was right too. My dad once described a friend of mine as a "black canvas". This analogy has served me well as I ponder. Each of us starts off as an empty canvas, and our lives are filled with people and experiences that add color and richness to our backdrop. Some people have very limited palettes and stay within narrow boundaries. Some people have wild and incoherent disorder, accepting any color that's available and never creating any structure or significance out of the chaos. Some people have a dynamic richness and vibrancy, using balance and consistency to pull the colors together and bring depth and meaning. And then some people have a black canvas, absorbing any colors that are added to it and remaining unchanged. I've recently realized that there is another type of canvas out there: the mirror. This type of canvas doesn't accept color; it merely reflects the colors of the canvases that are nearby. At first, it can be flattering to see this canvas ("Oooh look, it's just like me!") but it becomes apparent how superficial it is, especially since a mirror doesn't have anything to offer for your canvas. You soon realize that a mirror is simply a black canvas with a shiny coating.

I think I need another piece of gum.

What does this say about me?

At my company, we have a concept we call "Green Apron". There are five Green Apron behaviors: Be Welcoming, Be Genuine, Be Knowledgeable, Be Considerate, Be Involved. We are encouraged to give Green Apron cards (the size of a business card, with space for a personal message) to each other to show appreciation for exceptional work or behavior. It's a nice way to recognize one another on a day-to-day basis.

In looking at the Green Apron cards I've received lately, I notice that they are all either "Involved" or "Knowledgeable". Does this mean I'm a busy-body and a know-it-all?

I bet Krispy's thinking, "Glad to know some things haven't changed."

Vorsichtig

I'm not sure exactly what that weather icon means (snow/rain/ice flurries?), but it's the one that's showing up for Seattle today. We are still experiencing a winter wonderland here in our normally snow-free city. We've had snow on the ground for the last week and we got a few more inches last night, so the fun continues. Have you ever lived in a city with steep hills, no snowplows, and incompetent* drivers? It's no fun, unless you stay off the roads and entertain yourself by watching the cars spin out. Then it's kind of like watching an automotive ice ballet. And it's neat to see instant karma -- you get passed by an idiot going 50 down an ice-covered hill in a Miata, only to pass him a few moments later as he's trying to dig himself out of a snowbank. Hee. Das ist aber schade. Or rather, Schadenfreude.

*To be fair, Seattle drivers aren't always incompetent. Only when it's sunny, rainy, icy or snowy.

Yes, I'm in IT

Today I ran an online meeting. I uploaded a document to review with the team, but I could not figure out how to rotate it to the correct orientation (landscape, not portrait). Rather than spend too much of the allotted time futzing around with the viewer settings, I just asked the team to turn their heads sideways to view the document. Nothing like a little technical prowess to reassure my client of my competence...

It's a squirrel thing

In general I'm a neat person. I pick up after myself and I like everything to have its place. I alphabetize my CDs -- by genre of course -- and I notice when something is out of order (some call it anal-retentiveness, I like to think of it as attention to detail). At work, I'm a piler -- I cover my desk with piles of papers, all neatly organized by content and date.

Yesterday at work, I went on a organizing frenzy. I went through every single pile of paper and filed it all away. I took everything off of my walls so that I could update my decor (the 2005 fiscal calendar is nice but so...well... 2005). Another thing I organized was my "stash" drawer.

You see, I hoard. Not everything, mind you -- I'm quite specific. I have no idea why I feel the need to squirrel away these particular items (I can't remember ever suffering from a shortage of any of them), but I am consistent and seemingly incurable. Here is a list of the items I stockpile (in order of personal value):

• Plastic spoons
  
• Push pins
  
• Post-It notepads (the mini size)
  
• Empty manila folders
• 3-ring binder sheet protectors
  
• Rubber bands
  

I have an entire drawer filled with these things. I don't use them that often, other than the plastic spoon I use for my yogurt and clean diligently every day so that I don't have to use any of the other plastic spoons in the drawer. And in spite of the fact that I rarely use the things I have, I continue to collect more. I also have boxes of the same items (other than the spoons -- that's a relatively new obsession that developed while I was at Microsoft) stored in my basement. I've been accumulating most of them since my college days, and I have a few baseball-sized rubber band balls that I made in high school.

And no, I don't "acquire" most of these things from the office supply room. I actually go down to Office Max and buy them, even though they are readily available at work. Except for the plastic spoons -- I grab one whenever I pick something up from O-to-Go (the organic deli in our building).

I guess of all the vices I could have, amassing office supplies isn't that bad. But it is kind of odd.

Looking back on 2006

Before we get too far into the new year, I wanted to take a look back at what we did last year. We had a busy year, but it was pretty relaxed compared to 2005 (started a new job, bought a house, got Cowboy, got engaged and got married). We had a lot of fun experiences and shared good times with our friends and families. We're looking forward to a 2007 filled with just as much love, laughter and Cowboy-vexation!

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January

We rang in the New Year at Mark & Rebecca's Pimps 'n' Goldiggas party, followed by fireworks at Justin's and martinis at Marcus'. Gary was in town with Valentina, so we finally got to meet the Italiana who'd stolen his heart. We also enjoyed some Texas BBQ at Dave & Dawn's Rose Bowl party, lots of sushi at my birthday dinner, and a Sh*tkickers show at the Tractor Tavern. We ended January in North Carolina, celebrating the Chinese New Year with my mom and Manfred.

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February

February was a pretty mellow month. We followed up one of the most beautiful ski days at Crystal with one of the coldest ski days at Crystal. We also attended a Superbowl party at a new bar in downtown Seattle, went to another Sh*tkickers show, and celebrated Valentine's Day with dinner at Monsoon and a comedy show at the Paramount.

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March

We started off March with ski trip to Beaver Creek with Chris' family. We attended the DMQ 11th Anniversary show at the Crocodile, where I won a free pony by bringing 25+ guests. We celebrated St. Paddy's day at Kells, followed by a Corndog Day celebration at Tristan's. We attended the Point B Gala at the Triple Door, went on a few hikes, and had our first BBQ of the year.

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April

Chris went on a trip to Zion National Park with his family. We went to another Sh*tkickers show (I know, it's getting ridiculous). We celebrated Chris' birthday with dinner at Morton's, comedy at the Comedy Underground and martinis at Marcus'. My friend Joel K was in town for work, so we met up with him for brunch at Cafe Flora's. We tried to hike to Mason Lake, but lost the trail in the snow. We got all gussied up for the Bonza Bash -- a black-tie birthday party hosted by a group of Aussies.

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May

We said good-bye to Mark & Rebecca as they left for sunnier skies in Texas. We avoided the Cinco de Mayo crowds by heading to Brauwers in Fremont. I played a dead refugee in the Seattle Opera's production of "Macbeth". We went on a very rainy hike to Otter Falls and I took Cowboy on lots of long and sunny walks around Wallingford, Fremont and Greenlake.

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June

We took Cowboy on his first backpacking trip to Necklace Valley. We visited my dad & Joan in Pennsylvania, where Chris had his first exposure to the Amish. He also had his first exposure to Ohio when we drove up the hill to cross the state line (for his benefit). We went to the DMQ Prom show, where we realized that our cheesy 80's clothing are actually trendy again. We bought kayaks and spent a lot of time on the water. We also spent a fair amount of time in the water, as we tried to pull Cowboy on a raft behind our kayaks.

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July

We spent 4th of July in Colorado, where we visited with Chris' family and climbed Engineer. We saw Lyle Lovett at the Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville. We cut down the giant tree in our backyard and filled up our garage with firewood. We celebrated Tristan & Laura's wedding, spent a lot of time on the water, BBQ'd with Eric & Jen, enjoyed opera in the garden at Wenarto's, and partied with the pirates at the Starbucks' family picnic. We did not attend a DMQ or Sh*tkickers show (much to Chris' relief).

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August

We didn't spend a lot of time at home in August. I started off the month with a trip to the Walla Walla wineries to celebrate Lori's bachelorette weekend. The next weekend, we headed out to Sun Mountain Lodge for the Point B Getaway. Then we were off to Europe for our honeymoon, which we'd delayed for a year. We started the honeymoon in Switzerland, where we hiked for a week in the Berner Oberland. After a quick trip through Zurich and Venice, we boarded the m/s Andrea for a week of cruising along the coast and islands of Croatia. After Croatia, we spent a few days in Venice and then headed back to Zurich for one last day before flying home. It was a fantastic trip.

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September

We returned from our honeymoon in early September. Chris' parents came out for a visit just in time to help us celebrate our one-year anniversary. We also went to the Puyallup rodeo finals with Robin, Glenda & Tatum, where we heard the happy news that Tatum will be getting a little brother or sister in Feb 2007. After two DMQ-free months, we saw DMQ at the Fremont Oktoberfest. The month ended with Chris and Todd finally fulfilling the golfing dream they've shared since college -- they played Pebble Beach and Spy Glass in Monterey.

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October

Things finally began to settle down a bit in October. I did take one trip -- to celebrate Oktoberfest in SF with Trisha -- but other than that, we stayed pretty close to home. Ben & Carrie had an open house to show off the work they did over the summer and to celebrate Carrie's birthday and promotion. We went to a Sh*tkickers show. Margaret and I climbed Granite Mountain, where I took a photo of Cowboy that was published in the Seattle Times. I also dressed Cowboy up as Cownt Dracula for Halloween.

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November

November was a very rainy month -- the wettest month ever recorded in Seattle. We avoided the rain by staying indoors, enjoying a delicious dinner at Chez Garner, our first English Sunday dinner at Ben & Carrie's, and bowling with Mark & Erin. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my dad & Joan in Pennsylvania. When we returned, we got in our first ski days of the season. I was lucky enough to be flying to Vegas the day it snowed in Seattle, so I got to hang out for an entire day in the airport. I spent a week in Vegas at Autodesk University, where I got to be one of those people who walks around the casinos with my branded conference bag and a huge name tag.

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December

We kicked off the month with the Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition in downtown Seattle. I sang with the Coffee Choir, and we won first place in both the Figlanthropy (raising money for the Pike Market Senior Center) and Best Chorale categories. Margaret, Carrie & I baked a ridiculous amount of cookies. Emily & Brett got married, I ran in the Jingle Bell Run with Katherine & David, and Aran turned 30. We helped Jeff move into his new house and wished Mike & Jen well as they left for Truckee. We skied at Steven's and Crystal and celebrated the holidays at Eric & Jen's Christmas party. We spent Christmas in Colorado with Chris' family, where we managed to schedule our flights to avoid the major snowstorms that shut Denver down. We replaced our wood-burning fireplace with a gas insert, so now we have a lot of firewood we don't need. Margaret & I spent the last day of the year snowshoeing, and then Chris & I headed to Ben & Carrie's for a New Year's Eve dinner.

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So that was our 2006! I've been keeping this blog for a year now, and I hope that you have enjoyed following our adventures! And in case you've been keeping track, I did keep my New Year's resolution from last year: I didn't send my friends and family to a porn site by accident. Yay! I hope this year is just as successful.

We probably deserve to be bitten for this one

Having an epiphany

Today is a big day! Not only is it the 12th day of Christmas, Three King's Day, and the Epiphany, but it is also the 70th anniversary of the premier of Porky Pig! And it's my 34th birthday. I'm so happy to be an even age again.

I've had a great day. I normally celebrate my birthday with an all-you-can-eat sushi bonanza with a group of friends, but this year I wanted to be a little more low-key.

The day started on a happy note with a phone call from the Cliff Spa in Snowbird (aka Krispy). Then Chris and I took Cowboy for a snowshoe adventure, this time climbing up towards Kendall Peak. There were no trails this weekend due to the massive amount of fresh snow, so we meandered our own way up the mountain, breaking trail and stopping to play when we got tired. We wore ourselves and Cowboy out, but it was a beautiful day in the mountains. To top it off, when we returned home, I found the most beautiful flower arrangement (plus cuddly blue teddy bear) from Sita. It's almost as tall as Cowboy and it's full of my favorite vibrant colors.

In the evening, Ben, Carrie, Margaret and Travis joined us at Feierabend for some delicious German food. Ben & Chris tried the beer sampler, which turned out to be a bit more extensive than we'd anticipated -- 12 glasses of beer. We enjoyed our Schnitzel, Wurst and Spaetzle while watching the Seahawks pull out a last-minute win over the Cowboys in the NFC wildcard playoff. I got ferried again by Margaret (after all, a ferry card is appropriate for every occasion) and Chris decided that he liked the women's restroom better than the men's. I wore a really loud shirt (as evidenced by the pictures below), which I think is entirely appropriate for the birthday girl.

I've had a wonderful birthday, and I've been spoiled rotten by my friends and family. Thank you all for your thoughtful wishes and gifts! I feel very lucky to have such good people in my life.

Thank you Kelly!

I've finally knitted a hat that FITS! No more rasta-hats for me! Kelly took me under her knitting wing and gave me a pattern, some beautiful yarn and some great little tools (I had no idea stitch markers could be so helpful) at Christmas. I was nervous to start because I didn't want to ruin such nice yarn, but I finally got it out on Wednesday night. I knitted half of the hat on Wednesday and finished it last night. Then I added a pom-pom, because I like pom-poms. My pom-pom is a bit wobbly, however.

And yes, I did take this picture with my phone at work. That's my lovely institution-gray cubicle wall (with the pin-up of the IT Project Framework Flowchart) you see behind me.

Attention to detail

I changed the layout of my blog (moved the sidebar from the right to the left side) because it bothered me that the "archive" hierarchy was left-justified while the rest of the sidebar content was right-justified. I don't know if anyone else noticed that, but every time I looked at my blog it screamed, "Look at me, I'm out of alignment!!" Sheesh, I'm glad I'm not my client -- I would drive me crazy.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

...except without the chestnuts (I'm allergic) or the open fire. We just replaced our wood-burning fireplace with a gas fireplace. So I guess it's more like "peanuts warming by the gas-lit fire". Not quite as festive-sounding, but boy it's great!

We haven't been using our fireplace due to burn bans, a chimney that hadn't been cleaned in years, and my fear of the spiders living in the woodpile. Since I am always cold and would benefit greatly from a fireplace, and Chris would like to stop heating the entire house when we only use a couple of the rooms, we decided that our Christmas gift to one another this year would be a gas fireplace. We love it.

Now maybe we'll do something about that hot tub that's been sitting empty in the backyard for the past two years...

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year with a low-key celebration at Ben & Carrie's. They are the ultimate hosts, providing great food, drinks, music and games. Oh, and they're pretty fun to hang out with as well. (My internal grammar police just blew a whistle and wants me to rewrite that as "...they're pretty fun with whom to hang out" or something equally unwieldy. I'm going to ignore it.)

I was very impressed with Carrie's assortment of serving dishes. It's almost like she's a grown-up or something. When we entertain at our house, our version of serving dishes usually includes paper plates, bowls of chips, and a platter of steaks fresh off the grill. Or cardboard pizza delivery boxes. (Notice that my grammar police isn't as bothered by sentence fragments as it is by ending sentences with a preposition.)

Anyway, back to New Year's Eve. We socialized with Ben, Carrie, Angie, Luke, Kaleen and Mark while the kids (Peyton, Shelby and Addie) played with the dogs. Cha Cha was not very enamored with Cowboy, so we had to keep them separated -- Cha Cha & Kiki in one place, Cowboy & Baxter in another. Luckily, the humans got along much better.

After dinner and dessert, Kaleen and Mark had to take the girls home as it was several hours past their bedtime. The rest of us sat down for a rousing game of "Apples to Apples". We watched the fireworks over the Space Needle at midnight, finished up our game (Ben won), and headed home for some much-needed sleep.

It was a very nice New Year's Eve -- much less hectic and crazy than the past few years have been. I really enjoyed it. Does this mean I'm getting old? Or is it OK as long as I'm still staying awake until midnight?