This is my boss.

This is my boss - the storyteller:



Only in the storytelling sense, my boss isn't really at all like the pointy-haired boss from the Dilbert strip.

Michael if you are reading this - I LOVE your stories! ;)

Getting back into 'regular' TV

Those of you who know I grew up in a household where the only channels we got were ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, the God channel, and some fuzzy versions of local channels such as KSTW, KCPQ, KTZZ, and later KONG. Sometimes if we were lucky we also got CBUT, but it was always hockey and really who wants to watch fuzzy hockey at 8am on a Sunday? This was my exposure to TV until I started doing housesitting/petsitting gigs during graduate school.

I can remember it as I am sure my brother can as well; we were housesitting for someone and she had (gasp) CABLE TV. We watched Emeril Live for a whole week, just fascinated that there was a whole channel devoted to cooking - cooking shows ALL THE TIME. When I moved out on my own and into a townhouse with Joe and Andrew, I probably watched TV for a solid month just totally enamored with the glory that is cable TV. Years later I realize that there is a lot of nonsense on the 100+ channels as well and although the programming has gotten more expansive we really enjoy FoodNetwork, Travel Channel, History Channel, BBC America, HGTV, Smithsonian Channel, and the random Ted Turner owned channels for the movies. I don't consider these 'regular' TV though as my train of thought associates 'regular' TV with the major networks.

This past Christmas, Joe was saying that we had to start watching How I Met Your Mother and he proceeded to gift us the DVD pack of the first 3 seasons of the show. We are hooked! Last night I saw Big Bang Theory and found myself this morning wanting to read more about the show. More thinking (I know, a dangerous thing sometimes) into this and I realize that I haven't watched much 'regular' TV. I don't count my obsession with Dancing with the Stars as regular TV as in plain-sight the show SHOULD end due to the cast of characters they have lined up - I mean seriously they are reaching for the bottom-dwellers with the latest cast.

My co-workers have been urging me to watch 30 Rock so I may have to look into that as well. I don't really need to spend money on more DVDs, but the DVDs of entire seasons of shows are awesome. I never thought I would say "wow, I want to watch TV shows on DVD", but the shows are really funnier that way - also you get the chance to really get immersed in the plots and the characters. I watched Battlestar Galactica on DVD - definitely a good experience. Same with HIMYM.

I wonder what other shows there are out there for me to start getting obsessed with!

The Blendtec Blender - it blends

Will it Blend? That is the question. Over the weekend Joe bestowed a wedding gift to us - a Blendtec blender. This thing ROCKS - I love it and it is freaking awesome. It does blend and it blends extremely well. We immediately tried out some homemade strawberry margaritas; freshly hulled and halved strawberries, fresh lime chunks, a few shots of tequila, grand marnier and topped it off with ice. In literally 5 seconds everything was blended together as it took us longer to pour the drinks than to make them. AMAZING. After the strawberry margaritas Heather and Joe made a milkshake type of drink with bailey's, frangelico, and something else. It looked good. Later on we did make another type of milkshake.

Yesterday we enjoyed a morning and an evening fruit beverage. Admittedly we purchased some ingredients to make Blendtec's version of lactose free ice cream (french vanilla coffeemate ew I know, but hey if it is lactose free and yummy I'll give it a try). I cannot wait to see what else this magical whirring machine can do.

For those who have not witnessed a Blendtec Blender go out to Will It Blend? and check out the videos. Yes the videos are quirky and yes the machine is expensive, but soooooooo worth it. The machine slows up and down as needed. Maybe I should get one for work so I may have homemade frappucinos...

This is for Krista

This week just flew by. I got some new clothes, learned some new Bridge skills, had a great time at trivia night, and had lunch today with Shawn and Krista. During lunch I made a sad attempt to bust out in Young MC lyrics and Krista had no clue. So Krista, this is for you!

Thank goodness it is a three day weekend. So go on fatso, just bust a move!

Spot is clever

My Mom told me that Spot had to wear an Elizabethan collar and apparently he already "lost" it. Keep in mind my parents house is larger than average, but still - how can you not find a cat Elizabethan collar? I am hoping that someone got to take an embarassing photo of my cat (think large orange tabby), but in the mean time I found this photo courtesy of Google and Wikipedia:

Come to think of it, I had a cat that kinda looked like this a long time ago, but he never had to wear a collar especially one like this...

This is for my friends who need a kick in the pants about finding a new job...

You know who you are...now go out and find a new job or else the stork will be very upset with you.

One more video, I couldn't resist...Bewitched Bunny

Let's go eat the goodies, the goodies, the goodies...

This unlike my finding of Bonanza Bunny, is the full length cartoon.



Goodies!!

Bonanza Bunny

I found it! I found Blacque Jacque Shellacque...for those of you who know, I watched a lot of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies as a child. My grandparents quickly learned how to record those glorious Saturday morning cartoons (thank you ABC) on a number of tapes and in the summer months my brother and I got to watch these tapes over and over and over when my cousins were visiting. Anyway there was one episode that I really enjoyed called "Bonanza Bunny" mainly because Bugs Bunny and Blacque Jacque Shellacque play a hand of 21 - I like to recite some of these lines from time to time especially when I am playing some card game myself (or just because I feel spontaneous)...here it is in all of its glory:



Har har, har dee har har!

Jones Soda instead of Coke? Uh no...

So I'm talking on the phone with my good friend Rusty just now -- and I have this uncanny ability to multi-task (although I'm uncertain if drinking a chai latte, talking on the phone, and surfing the internet count as multi-tasking) and I come across this headline Jones Soda replaces Coke on Alaska Airline flights. First of all, ew. Second of all, ew.

Need I say more?

Flight Attendant: Excuse me would you care for a beverage?
Me: Oh yes, I would love a Diet Coke.
Flight Attendant: Oh I'm sorry, we only have Turkey and Cranberry flavor left, is that ok?
Me: WTF!

On another note, I got some emails from Gates Foundation today very swank. They want to bring me in to interview for a position. Haven't heard anything else from UW Libraries yet, but again, working on weekends? Ew. As I'm still at work for this blog, it is time for me to hit the road!

one of those days?

I can't seem to stop spilling things on myself. Or rather flicking them on myself. First it was a pen, then I was eating some fruit, coffee, oh and lunch where I instead of flicking food on myself I actually drooled. Yes, I somehow drooled (I wasn't falling asleep thank you very much) on myself while I was eating lunch.

Fantastical.

I have a crapload of work to do, yet I'm blogging. Does anyone want to read a bunch of industry reports on the future of consulting technologies and summarize them?

I didn't think so.

The sun is out and all of these people are outside walking in their flip flops and shorts, drinking their smoothies, walking like they're on vacation. mmm... vacation. So what if my head is in the clouds and my brain is shut off. I don't think it ever got turned on again from the weekend. Maybe it's time for a trip to Starbucks, where I can get myself a lovely cool beverage and immediately spill some on myself. Good times!

In all seriousness, life is good.

Say it ain't so!

HEADLINE NEWS...Americanized Chinese food is (gasp!) unhealthy and loaded with salt and a lot of fat! The horror! Quick stop the woks and deep fryers and go grab a Big Mac. Ok I wouldn't advise going to McDonald's unless you really had that hankering for you (you know what I mean, you gotta have those fries sometimes). I came into work this morning to my officemate's exclamation of "You have got to be kidding me, like people didn't know this already!" over a Reuters article about how Chinese food was found to be unhealthy (you may read it at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070321/ap_on_he_me/diet_chinese_food;_ylt=AsbaTTc_9.VDAk6_cuSBV_IDW7oF)

OF COURSE anything deep fried or covered with a delicious rich sauce is going to be bad for you. I think the mystique still surrounds Chinese food -- how do they do it? How is this dish made? Unfortunately I know, but I still eat Americanized Chinese food. It is ok. You live once, deal with it.

For those who have wondered -- our vacation was fabulous. The Oregon Coast was marvelous and my new favorite flavor of Tillamook ice cream is Chocolate Peanut Butter. Also note -- very unhealthy for you.

Thrill the World!!

Follow this string of thought:

1. I come home from work, turn on the TV
2. Nothing really good is on, but for some reason I watch 13 Going On 30 -- yes the movie with Jennifer Garner ala Big with Tom Hanks
3. While watching said movie I realize that the best part is when main characters start doing the Thriller dance -- yes the dance from the Michael Jackson hit Thriller from 1983
4. Once movie is over I wonder "how does one learn the Thriller dance?"
5. Google "learn the thriller dance" and come across a site among various youtube URLs that is about a group of people wanting to set the world record for people learning and dancing the Thriller dance

Good times, no? Thrill The World is the site I stumbled across. World record was set in late October 2006 and amazing...who knew the Thriller dance was so "in"?

Pi, anyone?

So I am reading up on some popular news stories of the day. I come across a story about a man who recited Pi to 100,000 places; I kid you not. You may read more about it here. Crazy Japanese people (I'm kidding, I'm kidding, not all Japanese people are nuts, but then again, have you ever seen those weird Japanese game shows on Spike TV?) It made me think--who does this--who memorizes Pi yet alone calculates it just for kicks. I found this other website that has Pi to the millionth decimal place. You can see it for yourself by following this lovely link. I have a hard enough time remembering what I ate for lunch today let alone memorizing Pi to anything past 5 decimals..tragic loss for my memory, I know.

In other noteworthy news--I am losing my personal office tomorrow. There is not enough room for everyone on the team to have their own office so I will be moving in, or rather, moving across the hallway to share a windowed office with Gail. It should be fine although admittedly I will have to get used to the fluorescent lights because Gail always gets to the office before me in the mornings and she likes to work with ALL of the fluorescent lights on (I personally like a dark office with my trusty lamps...). Such is life. The move has forced me to clean up a BUNCH of stuff that was just laying around in my office. I will be sad though since it took me almost 2 years to even get my own office space (I was in cubes for a very very long time in an environment where EVERYONE around you has their own office with a door).

LOST--ok I admit it, I am now a LOST junkie. Krista let me borrow the entire set of DVDs for Season 1--I watched it all this past weekend with breaks to watch the Huskies beat Arizona and meals of course. I haven't seen all of season 2 yet, but Jeff gave me "permission" to watch the premiere of season 3 tonight since I already know what Michael did....... (apologies in advance for those of you who don't watch LOST, I feel your pain)

I should send in my curling registration or else I may not get to be on a league! Eeeek!

Where the Hell is Matt?

This is my new favorite dancing fool on the internet. Where the Hell is Matt? I so have to take dancing lessons from him. And he is correct, the Totem Lake Mall in Kirkland may in fact be the gateway to hell.

pearls before swine

Today is 6-6-06. Oooooh. Work today was definitely a day from H-E-double-hockey-sticks to say the least. Everything seemed to break today, and people in general seemed to be a little more negative than most. I have recently discovered a new comic strip though, called pearls before swine. Check it out. It makes my day.

Uh what else...we have decided to go to Yellowstone in August, so that will be good to get away again. Uh....yeah. I think I'll just stop right now, at least for today.

To save a buck or two?

My parents have always cooked pork chops (rib chops, please!) one of two ways:
1) Shake and Bake Original Pork Coating
2) BBQed with Johnny's Fine Seasoning Salt

If they choose to cook the first way, it requires gravy. Yes, Pork Gravy. Over the years, the cooking and shopping in my immediately family has switched from my Mom to my Dad. So now Dad does all of the grocery shopping--which means Costco, Cash & Carry, 99 Ranch (asian speciality grocery store along the US West Coast) and the bi-monthly trip to Safeway. He shops the others at least once per calendar week. I receive a IM nudge from my Mom this past weekend, asking me about where to buy Pork Gravy in bulk. Yes, in bulk. Apparently Cash & Carry no longer carries Pork Gravy in large bulk container and my Dad is freaking out. Why? The individual packets of gravy you buy at the store such as below:


Apparently the individual packets are too costly for my Dad--they retail from $1.79 to $2.09 each (depending on which grocery store you go to) when not on sale. So I said "Why don't you just buy them when they are on sale?" but apparently that is just not what Dad wants. They are even thinking of driving up to Canada during Memorial Day weekend to check out the Canadian SuperStore to see if they have Pork Gravy for "cheaper".

Oy. Of course, we are also talking about the same man who when I was in high school--loaded us all into the family vehicle one Sunday and we went on a quest for Weed-B-Gon in the gallon sized containers--because as everyone knows, products are generally cheaper if you buy them in larger containers. We ended up driving all the way to Cle Elum (middle of Washington state kind of deal) to buy Weed-B-Gon by the gallon.

Well, today is Monday, but the sun has gone for now...and it's raining. What more will happen today?

Ultraviolet is Ultrabad

I wouldn't normally rant about a movie but let me tell you, Ultraviolet was a horrible movie! Why did I go and see it? Because we had a fun offsite event at work. First we all went out to Dim Sum (at the New Kowloon) which was fairly decent considering we went after prime lunch time on a weekday. After lunch we went to a downtown movie theater and all saw Ultraviolet. All I can say is that if you go into the movie with absolutely NO clue about what it is about, having completely low if any expectations for a comprehensible plot and of course, not caring if the acting or special effects are consistent with the sub-par storyline, then yes, Ultraviolet must have been a great movie!

Basically the storyline if there was one was about the future and Earth is home to humans and hemophages (ala wanna-be vampires who have the ability to dodge bullets and produce weapons like Neo from The Matrix and wear leather all the time). Humans and Hemophages don't like each other and the antagonist of the movie looks a lot like Bobby Flay. The protagonist is Milla Jovovich who IMO did an alright job with the acting considering she probably had to make up the lines. This movie was full of great one liners though including "Are you mental", "Now it's on!", and "It's just the wind". Trust me, if you want to hear more about the context please please please do not spend the money to see the movie, just call me up and I'll invite you over for some cheesecake and tell you about it.

Trust me, I did not pay--my company paid for the offsite fun that we all had, so I don't feel as bad about seeing this movie.

Cheesecake is finally done. I had time to make it today and it is currently cooling in my kitchen. It doesn't look nearly as good as the cheesecake that Mrs. Roberts served us, but it sure smells good.

To end this blog entry on a more positive note--here is my new favorite e-card from Hallmark:
Belly Up! -- go on, send it to someone today!

Chicken and Cheese!!

The time has come to have our own webspace apparently. It is "under construction" until who knows. I'm still catching up from being out for a week. I feel that every time I get caught up, there is a new surprise or a new task to tackle. Job security? Or just too much to do at once?

My rotator cuff (right shoulder area) is killing me. Curling is safe! I just fell, that's all. I get to have the second part of my root canal done tomorrow. I hope that it isn't as painful as last time. And then...a crown to look forward to. Oh boy!

Vacation was fun. It was SO nice to get away to somewhere quiet, with no internet, and no one to bother you. I got to reread Harry Potter 5 and 6 and watch the birds. Boring to some, but wonderful to others. Unfortunately Chris was sick for the entire week, but I think he had a good time just the same.

Oh yeah, if you have any idea of what we should put on www.chickenandcheese.org, please do let us know. Why .org? Someone else had purchasd .com and and and..well, and that's that.

Possessed Cat?

Does this cat look possessed to you? I think it is ... well....shocked as hell that some freaking idiot thought it would be a swell idea to place a collar and a bell around its neck. That is what I think. No really, I think this is just an average looking siamese cat. Anyway, I've been asked to replace this picture (it is currently my IM picture) by many people, and I'm just not sure why... :)

Tomorrow is the beginning of a 2.5 day long event with the rest of my co-workers. This will be the 3rd annual offsite for the ALKS team (of which I am a member). We are heading up to Semiahmoo Resort (www.semiahmoo.com) for some goal-planning. Should be fun! I am then taking Friday off and going to Victoria. How exciting!

Have you see that Sears commercial...

You know, the one where the man comes home and the woman is sitting in their kitchen--surrounded by food. She is seen eating large serving spoon sizes of ice cream and the man assumes that she is pregnant and wanting to tell him something. He askes "is there something you want to tell me?" and she replies "Yes, the fridge is broken".

Well I am most definitely not pregnant, and our ice cream was not worthy of being eaten, but our refrigerator is dead. No longer cooling anything without the aid of the 21 lbs. of dry ice we purchased after our brief shopping experience at Albert Lee Applianace. We woke up Saturday morning, opened the freezer and things were squishy. Ugh. What a way to start the weekend. After a lovely phone call to our landlord, we had his permission to go to the appliance store of his choice and purchase a new refrigerator. The appliance store was very nice and the salesman was very helpful, but we knew that we didn't exactly have a lot of choices to select from considering our landlord's budget constraints, the size of the space and the fact that we need the new fridge NOW. We ended up getting an average looking fridge (no ice maker, but I think we'd need to redo plumbing for that anyway...rats) but it won't be delivered until TUESDAY. NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Which puts us driving around Ballard/Fremont looking for Allied Ice. Yes, the little penguin icon that represents ice. Did you know they are located at 615 Bright St. in Ballard? Well, they are. We eventually found them, purchased a large amount of dry ice and a 40 lb. bag of regular ice (both good deals, if I ever had a need for gregarious amounts of ice I am definitely going back to them), drove home and proceeded to turn our now room-temperature freezer into an ice box with the dry ice. So far it is good, 0 degrees, but the dry ice is reacting faster than told, so we may have to go and get more of it tomorrow to last until the delivery man shows up on Tuesday. Anyway...that is the story with the fridge

Now, my friend Joe on the other hand--he may be purchasing a nice new tv soon (with our help since my car is larger than his and can in theory hold the purchase). But if you want to read about it, I'm sure he'll be blogging about it sooner than later, I don't want to steal his thunder. :) Let's just say, after the fridge fiasco, he came over to visit and we went tv shopping/browsing. Lots of sleezy sales people, and lots of awesome TVs. Did I mention awesome TVs? There is a great deal on a flat-panel LCD at the Woodinville Costco (also, only 7.6% sales tax as the building is located in a different county), it is a 37" Sharp for $1999. I think it is a good deal... just the same. More to come about the fridge (and Joe's new tv?) in a while.