2002 Recap

Well I guess a recap is kind of in order ... last year on this night I was out of a job ... living in a windowless basement with David paying a fortune in rent in NY ... now we have jobs and a new condo we should be moving into soon and some money in the bank ... I would say that is a bit of progress ...


I have found some fabulous blogs to read ... in fact I probably skew their stats cause I am always checking for something new to read ...


I live close to my family again and I think that makes everyone happy ... we are all getting along [i am the peace maker in my family] and we all do stuff together ...


David got his passport this year which means we can jet off to Europe sometime ... hahahahahahahaa ... yea we would need money and vacation time ... but if the opportunity arises we could go ...


Kramer still loves David more than me ... but I am alright with that ... they look adorable spooning with each other ...


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Now weird as it may sound I have been looking forward to 2003 for ages ... I have known it is going to be my best year yet ... so I am entering the year with that frame of mind ... I am not making any New Year's resolutions ... I tend to forget those as soon as I make them ... but I am going to make some changes ...


on January 2, 2003 David and I are going to quit smoking ... I am happy we are doing it but at the same time I can't believe we are ... I told him ... "this is the last time we are quitting ... it is too hard ... and I can't keep doing this" ... we got $150 in Target gift cards and spent $127 of it on Target brand patches [half the price of name brand] ... which is enough for the two of us to quit smoking ...


I am going to see if I can start using the treadmill in the morning before work ... I am not making any promisees to myself ... but I need to prepare for The Urban Challenge ... and it would be good for me ... and I have always said I would like to get pregnant after a year without smoking so it would be good to be in better shape for that ...


wow so much coming up in the new year ... woohoo it is almost 2003 ... I'm so excited ... :)


HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you out there ... :)

Urban Challenge

oh my goodness ... I am in desperate need of a "home team" for Urban Challenge ... Jason and Jenny were supposed to be our home team ... Jenny knows everything about DC and my brother can find anything online ... well I had thought it was on August 31st ... but when I signed up today it said August 30th ... my brother just called and said that was Jenny's birthday and they didn't know if they could be our home team ... we can't place in the top 10 without a home team ... hummmmm ...

URBAN CHALLENGE RELEASE AND WAIVER

By checking the box below, you agree, warrant and covenant as follows:

URBAN CHALLENGE RELEASE AND WAIVER


The undersigned certifies as follows:

* I wish to enter and participate in Urban Challenge.

* I understand that Urban Challenge is an arduous athletic event.

* I am physically fit. I understand my physical limitations and am sufficiently self-aware to stop physical activity before I become ill or injured.

* I am aware that there is no set race course.

* I am aware that all streets adjoining the race course are open to regular vehicular traffic during the race.

* I am aware no water stations exist on the course.

* I am eighteen years of age or teamed with my parent or legal guardian.

* I commit to carry at least one liter of water with me at all times during Urban Challenge.

* I am aware that no aid stations exist on the course.

* I will carry a telecommunications device to alert emergency personnel if I become hurt or incapacitated.

* I possess a validly issued driver's license issued in my name.

* I will return the digital camera to Urban Challenge at the conclusion of the event. I agree to pay Urban Challenge $200.00 if I fail to return the camera.

* I will obey all traffic laws and regulations.

* I understand that by signing below, I am waiving my right to assert any claim or cause of action against Urban Challenge in exchange for my participation in this event.


WOOOOOHOOOOO ... I just paid our entrance fee for the Urban Challenge Washington DC ... I can hardly wait till August 30th ... I need to come up with a team name for David and I ... my brother and his wife are going to be heading our command center at home ... with maps ... internet and books galore ... I am just so excited ...

not digging my blog

I am not digging my blog ... and I think David has gotten me sick ... but I wanted to work on it tonight so that I could post the new blog by tomorrow ... it may have to be something I work on new year's day and post sometime on the first ... if I can come up with something I really like ... we'll have to see ...

trading spaces

take the which one of the trading spaces cast are you? quiz!

most admired women?

I got to work super early today because I drove instead of taking the train ... David is terribly sick so I had the car and figured why not ... I sign onto AOL [my only way to connect to the internet at work] ... and the first thing I see says "Something in Common ... American's say Hillary, J. Lo most admired women"


How can Hillary Clinton and J. Lo be the most admired women of 2002 ... please don't let me offend anyone but those are probably the two women I like the least in the world ... Hillary ... a woman who takes no stand against a cheating looser husband because of his position and what it gets her ... how is that a shining example ... it is despicable ... what kind of example is this to woman out there ... stay with the bastard ... that is bullshit ... no woman should put up with that ... no person should put up with someone cheating on them ... it is the lowest form of human behavior ... and what is it she has done that is so admirable ... I know she was on the committee to impeach Nixon and made some big quote about how the president shouldn't lie to the people ... then "stands by her man" as he lies to the people ... she gives herself diva status when she is really a servant to the people ... ack!!!!


and J. Lo ... I mean come on ... why is she so respected ... I believe there are celebrities that deserve the diva treatment ... but fucking J. Lo ... come on ... what has she done that deserves diva treatment ... and another woman with relationship problems ... not able to work through problems so moves on ... I couldn't be more sick of hearing about someone's life ... soon they will report when she takes a shit ...

The Lemon Twist

Anyone remember this toy ... The Lemon Twist ... man did I love it ... so I found one on ebay and I am buying it ... not sure why but I want to have it ... :)

frustrated

at present I am a bit frustrated ... I have been working on my new site most of the day and I am not digging how it looks ... and it had such potential ... hummmm what to do???

present to myself for 2003

believe it or not I am redoing my blog ... yet again ... I just don't like this one and I thought ... hummmm ... a present to myself for 2003 ... yes a new blogger ... and I would say ... with the work I have done so far ... if it turns out half as cool as it appears it will ... I will be one happy girl ...


but for now I have worked on graphics for about 5 hours so I am finished for the night ... dream time because tomorrow I have another day of working at the condo ... :)

Spam

On Christmas day I was tired of going through spam mail ... so the account that gets the most ... I just turned off ... today I decided to check it to see what was happening ... in 5 days ... on that one account ... I got 229 pieces of spam ... that means about 46 a day ... a day ... isn't that insane ... well I am not renewing that domain ... it was one I used ages ago ... and now it is just a spam collector ...

Jewelry

David has been telling me for over a year now I should sell my necklaces ... but when there are Guatemalan children that make them in seconds and sell them for a few dollars ... I can't see people paying even the cost of what mine are ... but now that I posted pictures of them ... I have been getting emails and comments that I should sell them ... or are they for sale ...


so now I must decide ... do I sell my necklaces ... should I post pictures of the earnings I have made too??? hummmm ...

Christmas was great

Christmas was great ... insanely relaxing ... we didn't do a thing ... we even had left-overs for dinner and they were nothing special ... I think both David and I enjoy having no plans for holidays ... and tonight ... I used my best gift ... David got me a paraffin wax thingy ... so tonight I heated up the wax and did my hand, feet and elbows and boy are they smooth ... David even conceded to have his hands done ... and my hands smell so wonderful ...


I got some groovy gifts ... a beautiful picture frame ... Saturday Night Fever on DVD ... a new set of flannel sheets for our new house ... Season 1 of Sex and the City on DVD ... but I must say I was surprised I didn't get I Love Lucy on DVD ... I was so excited when I saw it was out ... I would turn it on every night as I am going to bed ... so I guess it will have to be the gift I buy myself ... :)

Merry Christmas!!!

de-icing

woohoo I just de-iced down the driveway and had a blast ... I used my dad's fertilizer push-cart thingy ... filled it with deicing salt [not really salt but has the same effect] and pushed that thing up and down the driveway and walkway to the house ... lets hope it works cause our driveway was a mess the last snow ...


so the snow is coming down hard ... and it is starting to accumulate ... good thing we have no where to go for the next 2 days ... well Thursday since I have the day off I may want to hit some after Christmas sales and buy some holiday stuff for next year ... we'll see ...


so I think it is time to pop in "It's a Wonderful Life" ... hang out and enjoy the evening ... :)

other blogs

I updated my blogs page ... grabbed a bit of an image from each of the pages ... I am digging how it came out ...

Lingerie Barbie

Lingerie Barbie ... this is the best!!!

woohoo my email is fixed ... it wasn't working and I had no idea till Kimberly emailed me ... but I finally got it working again ... so thank you Kimberly and if anyone has emailed and it came back ... it is working again ... :)

I have a very bad habit ... a chronic problem if you will ... I grind my teeth ... and it isn't some simple little thing ... I have had people in the hotel room next door come over and tell me to stop cause they can't sleep ...


well I fell fast asleep on the train yesterday ... and I believe I may have been grinding away ... because when I awoke ... I was the only one on my side of the train ... and the other half of the train was packed ... and several people were looking at me ... it was the weirdest feeling ...

I am becoming obsessed with planning for Urban Challenge ... I bought a couple of trivia books ... at our sales meeting on Wednesday Victoria read me questions during down time and it was amazing how many I had gotten right ... I am actually learning this stuff ...


next I need to start studying the bus maps and metro maps ... I mean I have the system close to memorized but I need to know what the cross streets are at each stop ...


I told David my goal is to finish in the top 20 this year ... my dream is to finish in the top 10 so we can go to the finals to compete for $50,000 ... Jason and Jenny go away each year at the anniversary of their wedding but I told Jason last night that they needed to plan their trip after August 31st because I really need them as our home base team ... they would be great ... Jenny knows everything about DC and Jason can find anything on the net ...


it is kind of exciting planning for something that isn't for 8 months ... I just need to start some sort of walking routine so I am in better shape by then ... I mean I need to do that anyway but I don't want to loose cause I am tired of running around the city ...


well I am going to go look for a trivia site online so I can mess around with it while I am at work ... :)

David and I used to work for a company that was quite bad to their employees ... along with being commanded to lie to customers [which I wouldn't do ... I told them the truth always and that is why they liked me] anyway that is off the subject ... we just worked for horrible people ... they stole from the company ... we were required to work overtime without extra pay ... they ripped people off ... it just sucked ... it was great cause I learned a lot and I met David there ... but in reality with 20/20 vision it sucked ...


a little over a year ago David filed a claim with the NY Department of Labor ... stating how they wouldn't pay for overtime ... they shredded time sheets ... all sorts of stuff ... he was persistent ... I was quite impressed with his gumption ... even when everyone told him he would never get a dime he kept fighting ... the D of L sent letters to all the employees asking about work and over time and whatnot ... and he kept on ...


last week they called and left a message ... the D of L lawyers and settled an agreement with our ex-company's lawyers ... they would be sending us checks by the end of the year for our back pay ... I couldn't believe it ... we were dancing around the house ... I told David the first thing I was going to do was do something nice for someone else with my newly-gotten-gains ...


do you know how slow time travels when you are waiting for a check ... I call home every day to see if it has gotten here ...


today David had a terrible day ... I was really hoping the checks would be here instead he found this link when he logged onto his computer ... it is all about how Interliant is going to buy Hostcentric for 25.8 Million dollars ... Hostcentric is the company we worked for ... the company that laid off more than 80% of their staff because they weren't making any money, they were loosing customers ... and they all spent a fortune redoing their office when they thought we would be a big company ... and now some jackass is paying them 25.8 million dollars ...


David is worried that we won't get paid now ... that they said they would settle because they knew this deal was going through ... and the new company will say it isn't their responsibility ...


to show you how important this money is ... and what we are talking about ... in the 2 years I worked there I kept every single pay check stub I ever got ... I also kept a very specific calendar of all the hours I worked ... in 2 years I worked a full year of overtime ... and I was paid on an hourly wage ... the D of L told me the amount of my check and it is about 1/3 of what I would have made in a year but that is fine ... I was willing to settle for that ...


I am still going to call home every day till the end of the year to see if my check has arrived ... and I can almost guarantee David will be calling his friend at the D of L to see if this will have an effect ...


cause I have that money earmarked to do something nice ... and damn it I wanna do it ... :)

yesterday morning David and I had a wicked fight ... actually it wasn't even a fight it was him flying off the handle yelling at me in the car on the way to the train ... I have no idea where his irrational tirade came from ... I hit snooze once yesterday ... we got up at 4:20 instead of 4 ... not really a big deal ... we actually wound up catching an earlier train ... I was early to my bus ... but he started telling me he isn't going to do this anymore ... getting up so late ... I told him he could set his own fucking alarm then ... and wake himself up ... I didn't want all the responsibility ... and then he went off on he isn't going to be woken up by me sneezing ... me sneezing ... yes it is something that happens often in the morning ... but it isn't on purpose ... I mean duhhhh ...


that pissed me off so much I was cursing up a storm and yelling ... I told him he was an asshole and to fuck off he can wake himself up from now on and if he got up on time my sneezing wouldn't wake him up ...


he dropped me off at the train station while he went to park ... but we didn't ride on the train together ... nor did we say anything when I was getting off ... no calling or IMing during the day ... and when we met at the car ... nothing ... not a word ... the whole way home ...


once we got home we were out back smoking and he said ... "sorry I got so mad this morning" ... but to be honest that wasn't what I wanted to hear ... he didn't have a reason to get mad at me ... sneezing ... hitting snooze ... those aren't reasons to be mad ... he should have apologized for yelling at me like a lunatic ...


I was just so hurt and tired I went to bed at 6:50 last night ... this morning his alarm went off and he hit snooze over and over again ... it is now 5:26 in the morning ... he should be on the train right now ... instead he just wandered out of bed ... I wasn't going to but I went in twice and told him he should get up ... but he didn't ...


now that I have vented everything I feel much better ... it was just a lousy day yesterday ... today should be better ... I have to sit in a sales meeting all day but that is alright ... :)

I stumbled upon the Urban Challange site this morning ... and now I can't wait till David gets up to see what he thinks ... I think it sounds just awesome ... and I hope he is into doing it ... they have one in DC at the end of August ... check it out ... there may be one near you ... :)

Phish

groovy ... Phish is on SNL ... i will never forget my first Phish show ... i was blown away ... :)

groovy ... Phish is on SNL ... i will never forget my first Phish show ... i was blown away ... :)

my friend Jason called me last night ... it has been ages since we have spoken ... and it was like no time was lost ... I think we spoke for almost 2 hours ... he is living in Kansas again ... boy do I miss that place ... I would love to take a little vacation and visit Heather and Joe and Jason and Jill and Regina ... it would be so fun ...


I am off to the post office ... the art store and coffee ... I need to maximize my weekend time ... and since David is off this weekend we actually get to spend some time together ... :)

sometimes it is hard to keep the blogs I am reading from effecting my writing ... days when I write hardly anything are usually because I am reading so much of others ... tonight is one of those nights ... but I still feel the impulse to write ...


at the bus stop today I danced in the rain ... all week I have been out of it ... feverish ... moody ... nauseous ... but I trudged on ... I don't get sick days ... or any vacation until late next year ... and it is a blessing to have a job and make money after having nothing coming in for way too long ... besides it is one of the busiest weeks at work all year ... so by 3 PM when I am catching my bus it was pouring ... and cold ... but I suddenly felt more alive than I had all week ... I was soaked but the tunes on my radio seemed to be better than ever ... and I boogied ... and I was smiling ... it was a good feeling ...


I am 32 years old ... since I can remember 3 has been my favorite number ... many monumental things have happened to me on the 3 day of the month ... I was born in the 3 month of the year ... I have hit the number 3 playing Roulette in Vegas more times than I can count ... I have always looked forward to my 33rd birthday ... I mean double threes how could I go wrong ... but for some time now I worried that maybe I was kidding myself ... that maybe my life wasn't moving forward ... that I would never feel as if I were growing up ...


but shit looks like it might be coming together ... and that I can make 33 my most amazing year ...


there is more in me but I am not sure how to put it into words yet ...

"dog years"

Today is our 14th anniversary ... 14 years ... wow ...


actually that is a bit misleading ... see David and I worked together and lived together ... then we were laid off together and spent 24/7 together for 6 months in a 500 square foot apartment underground ... then another 10 months living with my parents ... that is more time together than most couples spend in a lifetime ... and we are still together ... so it is really our 2 year anniversary but with that much togetherness we celebrate the "dog years" we have spent together ... making it our 14th year anniversary ... :)


he is still my hero ... I break into a smile whenever I think about him ... and I never thought I would say this about anyone but I sleep better when he is all curled up with me ... this weekend we will partake in watching It's A Wonderful Life together ... and boy it sure is ... :)

I am hoping for this guy ... and soon ... if it is raining ice/freezing rain [however one says it] then I will be able to work from home tomorrow which is what I want to do ... so I saw this guy on weather.com and thought ... hummmm I am going to sleep tonight dreaming of him ... :)

SNL

I am watching Saturday Night Live from last night ... and I can't believe Robert De Niro could do this opening scene without laughing his ass off ...

I am watching Saturday Night Live from last night ... and I can't believe Robert De Niro could do this opening scene without laughing his ass off ...

Concerned

my friend Mike emailed me today [this is going to be hard to write I am already tearing up] ... his brother went to the doctor because he had been dehydrated for about a week ... he learned he has Acute Myelofibrosis Leukemia ... Mike and I have been friends since we were 9 years old ... I have know Chris [his brother] since he was 5 ... he is only 29 years old ...


as soon as I got the email I wrote Mike back and told him I was ready to go for a bone marrow scan at a moments notice ... it would be the very least I could do ...


when I was in 2nd grade I lost one of my best friends to Leukemia ... it was so hard to watch someone go through the pain and suffering ... I think about her all the time ... how hard it must have been at such a young age to endure all she did ...


I am thinking as many good thoughts as I possibly can for Chris and his family ... and I am here for anything they could possibly need ...

My friend Tracy sent me this Michael Jackson baby dropping game ... it is quite funny ... have a try ...

woohoo ... snow day x2 ... David and I are home again today ... he didn't know if he could get onto the base ... many of them are closed today so why spend the 1 hour plus getting up there only to be told no entry ... and my boss sent me an email telling me she couldn't even pull into the lot at work cause it was all ice so stay home and work ... so woohoo ... plus I have been authorized to do all the overtime I want this weekend and David is working Saturday and Sunday so I am going to push for 18 hours overtime ... that way we get a big check a week before Christmas ...


now I am so happy I don't have to go out in this horrible weather ... but ... it would have been nice to sleep past 4:15 this morning ... I guess maybe a nap is in order for later today ... :)

Woohoo ... SNOW DAY!!!!! ... working from home ... we are up to 8 inches and it hasn't let up ... I took these pictures early this morning ... I think I might go take some more because it looks even better now ... boy I love snow ... I love having snow days ... growing up in Cali there was nothing that got us out of school ... now I get out of work ... and still get paid ... could life be any better??? I think not ... :)

Two years ago David and I went to Disneyland with Kris and Chevy for my birthday ... we had a blast ... it was utterly fantastic ... until our last 10 minutes in the park ... the boys got ancy and were ready to go ... so they went to get our jackets out of the locker while Kris and I did one last run through The Emporium ... less than 15 minutes later Kris and I exited the park and found Chevy ... for the next hour and a half we looked for David ... walked all over the entrance to the park ... even went back in to see if he was shopping ... he was no where to be found ... we wondered if maybe he was at the car but really ... who takes the tram out to a car that they don't have keys for at an amusement park ... alone ...


but we were cold and tired and after walking so much my ankle was as big as a baseball so Kris and Chevy decided to go to the car and I would stay at the front in case he came out ... as they started to walk to the tram they saw him get off ... I couldn't believe it ... he went to the car and was standing there for an hour ... I tried not to be mad ... it has turned into a pretty funny story ... and it makes the 4 of us laugh whenever we talk about it ...


this morning while on the train we realize I don't have my car keys and David doesn't have his cell phone ... I'm always the first back to the station and I go to the car and sit with the heat on ... but since I didn't have keys and him without a phone I said "lets meet in front of the station and go to the car together ... it should be a bit warmer up here [it is an outside station] besides we will have no idea if one of us is at the car already since we can't call each other" ... he said "OK" so I thought he heard me ...


it was at this point in telling Kris the story that she said "Did he pull a Disneyland?" ...


he did ... he pulled a Disneyland ... and not just that ... he moved the car closer to the station ... but I patiently and frigidly waited in front of the station like we had planned for 2 hours ... in 27 degree weather ... 2 hours ... 2 ... it was unreal ... I was crying at one point I was so cold ... I lost feeling in my fingers even though I wore gloves ... a part of me was worried about David ... he is never that late ... I just didn't know what to do ...


when I was actually at my wits end ... where I was so cold my body was just shaking and I could feel pin pricks in my legs I hear a honk ... see a car that looks like ours ... and someone waving to "come here" ... it was David ...


I immediately filled with rage ... but it was so painful to walk to the car that it all subsided ...


he had been in the car the whole time ... with the heat pumping ... he got in before me ... and thought the plan was to meet at the car ... after we had both calmed down [he was filled with worry that something had happened to me] ... and he apologized profusely for not paying attention when I was talking this morning ... I said ...


its alright ... it is just Disneyland all over again ...

from across the sky this morning I saw the most amazing shooting star ever ... it was like nothing I have ever seen ... it was so close to us and the sky was so dark at 5 am that we could see red and yellow and blue and purple streaking from the star ... I was awestruck ... never before have I seen such an awesome display in nature ... there are hardly words to describe the image but at that moment I felt so privileged to be alive and awake to witness such beauty ... what an amazing way to start a Monday ... :)