Heading out to an American Idol finale party now. After watching the show, we're gonna play/sing American Idol on Nintendo Wii as well.

Kris! Adam! Duck Season! Rabbit Season! Kris! Adam! Duck Season! Rabbit Season! Kris! I have been voting for Kris Allen all season, but predict Adam Lambert will win.

I thought Adam had it in the bag. But I'm glad Kris won. Actually, quite of few of them came out winners, there was so much talent on it this year.

I like getting email notifications of posts that don't exist.

I know your secret desire Kevy.

My Goddess man, you still use subscriptions? That is so 5 nanoseconds ago!

HERE is Kris Allen's "I'm Going to Disney World!" commercial as the 2009 American Idol winner.

Diego has decided that his favorite place to sleep when I am on the computer is under my chair. I keep forgetting he is there and put my feet down. I jump every time he licks my foot.

Right after I read this post, I happened to glance over at your avatar just in time to see the one head stick his tongue out. After reading the post, my brain interpreted it as he was licking the other head.

Weird

I had a pretty good interview today

Cool!
:)

That's great! :)

Life Is A Banquet, Part I
 

Tomorrow I take my 19 year-old daughter to the airport. She's going to Paris.

I was stressing about my baby going to Paris until she said, "Mom, it's time for fabulous. I'm going to your playground."

It was one of those circle-of-life moments.

Yay Paris. Just remember to write down the name of your hotel in case the tour bus leaves you and you need to find it. Just sayin.

When you get home from the airport I suggest you watch Taken. Then you'll want to marry Liam Neeson in a hurry.

She's up to it.

Just make sure she has photocopies of her travel docs stashed somewhere that she'll never keep her real ones (eg: in her suitcase if she keeps the real ones in a purse or money belt).

And she should leave you a list of the credit cards she's bringing with the "if lost or stolen" phone numbers for each. That way if something happens, she can have you cancel them (and doesn't run the risk of the copies falling into anyone's hands).

Is she going independently or on a tour?

I don't even know if I can encapsulate the following moment:

On the History Channel:

"One of the most famous tales of male homosexual love in Greece is the legend of the sacred band of Thebes..."

J: "Robin Hood?!?"

Me: "No, Thebes..."

Laughter ensues...

I would never have a snake in my house. It is taking me more than 2 years to get rid of the last one.

The weekend has begun for me.

Of course, I had to put in the requisite long day (12 hours in this case) before vacation. And I am sure I will get calls tomorrow.

But I'm on vacation!

I have a meeting tomorrow at 6:30. I may skip it but I can't skip the one at 7. I have to work saturday night from 11pm to at least 4am.

But at least I still get Monday off. Going to be a long weekend.

I am floating, floating in the afterglow of a wonderful wooden rollercoaster.

They're always best when they're new and still nice and tight. Give it a few years and a few thousand rides and that sucker'll loosen up till it rattles like Ghostrider.

Thanks for the nice words about my kid, all (except for you, Alex). It's appreciated.

She's going to Paris on her own for three days, then on a train to Dijon for summer school. She will be writing about her adventures for her college newspaper. And she's excited to see the Madame Vionnet exhibit at the Musée de la Mode et du Textile.

Remind you of anyone you might know?

Hmm, let me think. Its not that guy who works at the deli, is it? Probably not. I am going to need some time on this one. No one tell me.

So not fair!

Ah, cool. Best as I could tell from that site, the exhibit is on a designer who got her start in the post-corseted period following WWI? Should be interesting to see how clothing progressed into shorter skirts, went from feminine to boyish and back to feminine silhouettes, etc. I hope she enjoys the exhibit!

Madame Vionnet introduced the bias cut where the fabric is cut on an angle so that the finished garment clings and moves with the body. Jean Harlow owes her a lot.

The upside of sitting in the waiting room while J is getting an ERCP: I get to see him all weird and loopy.

www.loungeoftomottow.com

That's what I type in to the address bar at least 50% of the time.
Lounge of Tomottow... kinda sounds like Lounge of Tomato or the stuck up way to pronounce tomato... tomahto.

:D

Quick, somebody register that.

Who knew Harlow could do such a spot on C-3PO! But then that is why she made the big money.

I often type "liverjournal.com".

I'm marinating lamb for spiedies. :D

Yay for vacation! Sucks that you had to put in such a long day, but I hope you get to enjoy your vacation!

Enjoy your long weekend!

Color me jealous!

Cool! Now I want to go to the museum, too!

In today's news, I was selected to serve on a jury. I'm not thrilled but I'm resigned. The judge says three days, and I hope he's right, and I hope we don't take too long to deliberate.

In happier stuff, we got dismissed at lunch and husband and I got two hours of kayaking in the harbor. Work tomorrow (no big deal), then Sunday and Monday off. Back to the jury room on Tuesday, though.

I put our autographed Aerosmith guitar up for sale.

I don't know how to feel just yet.

I'm out of bed, but I wouldn't say I'm awake....

Awake is overrated.

What about The Watchtower?

link?

Also overrated. Keeps predicting the end of the world. Keeps being wrong.

Very nice...hope you do get a true fan to buy this.

Hmmm...Rat out of the house a bit, fabric all cut out, maybe I'll get some sewing done today?

I woke up at 7, sneezing. I am now awake again, with a Benedryl hang-over. At some point 2 dogs entered my room and trapped me in my bed.

They stopped doing that in 1995.

Crap.

So now the world will end......

I hope it's not a rolly-desk chair ! :eek:

It is, but it is on carpet, so it doesn't really move.

I can't sleep, so I just finished filling up 3 large garbage bags full of clothes. I will take them to Goodwill Monday morning. I probably have another 3-5 bags left to fill.

Your are my inspiration, Mousey Girl! Our GoodWill is desperate for donations. I should go winnow through my schtuff.

About ready to unload a ton of clothes in the next week or two.

Plus, I feel like I'm about to finally come out of my financial slump and feel comfortable again. New car, doubled insurance, tons of bills (WTF this month?), and Chicago (which will be reimbursed by the end of this week), totalled up to OMGWTFFINANCES, but I'm almost there, almost there.

Phew.

I've submitted my day off requests for the summer! :D

Got my Hollywood Bowl concert dates and my camping trip taken care of. Now I can relax and look forward to fun stuff!

Just spent the night (well, from 11pm to 1:30am) throwing up and having gastric. I literally didn't know which end to put on the toilet first. It was like there was a race out of my tushie and everyone won.

I feel better this morning. Thank goodness. I don't know whether to blame it on the takeaway Gyros, the delivery Pizza, or the Vegetarian Food (we were at my friend Kirk's place playing Dungeons & Dragqueens)

I blame the Vegetarian Food.

Perhaps Kirk had the swine flu?? :eek:

I just got back from seeing Terminator. Not a bad movie, but not great. It was fun, but just not the same without Arnold. Although the stuck some plastic looking naked dickless CGI Arnold in there at the end, then quickly blew his skin off to keep us from gocking. :rolleyes:

Saw Jimmy Buffet Thursday night. What a party! And I bet he still has his package! ;)

Rstar: Nah - he's vegetarian. They don't get swine anything ! :D

At moments like that, it comes down to which is the worst to clean up, doesn't it? I sure hope you're feeling better today.

That's why i won't go see Terminator the movie. I'd rather spend my time riding Terminator Salvation the Ride at SFMM. 1 more week then i'm off to Orlando for vacation. I'm so excited a week can't come fast enough for me.

Finally broke down.....going to spend the $450.00 on a Dyson DC25 Animal Vacuum....the pet hair is not picking up with the Oreck we currently have.

With 10 cats and 1 dog we had to do something. The cleaning service used to do a deep vacuuming every two weeks, but since we let them go we've had to do it ourselves and our vacuum is useless. Have only heard good things about the Dyson, thanks for confirming that.

We did the annual Animal take-apart this weekend. With two long-haired humans and three cats, it was really bad. Easy to clean, though, and easy to put back together.

There is a fungus among us.
 

We live next door to a big, beautiful park. It's got acres of woods and a lake and, in the soil, blastomycosis. If a dog digs in the dirt, spores lodge in his lungs and kill him. It's horrible. People also can get this. It's fatal for us, too.

We do not let Jack the beagle romp in the water or dirt in that park. He does get to take long walks there, though. That's safe.

Since we are right next door to Blasto Central, could it be that our garden has it, too? Why, yes. Yes, it could. But let's hope not.

Oh, and 1 in 4 ticks here carry Lyme Disease.

Blasto, Lyme, and the occasional 20 below in the winter - and you wonder why the property values are so very affordable.

But what you entered as the live URL was http://www.loungeoftomo

Why not eBay - I would think you would get better exposure and more $$$

Screw!

They wanted to meet the person so they would know they were a real fan...and shipping would be outrageous.

I live close to the town that gave Lyme its name. Also, I'll see your Blasto and raise you a West Nile virus and H1N1. Who's got the soap and hot water?

We have Bitey Animals. Aussies are proud of this.



...and I'm feeling much better - definitetly food poisoning.

Wofly that's the vacuum i want so badly. With 3 cats and 2 dogs there is so much hair around here.

Yay for repotting stressed plants and working on the garage! I didn't find my corset pattern yet, or the pattern for the cross-stitch I had been working on pre-move, but I did find my two missing (and most favorite) piano books, my box of all patterns *except* the one I was looking for, and Rat's metal toolbox, which did contain the tool he needed to replace what turned out to be a broken sparkplug, which should hopefully restore his car to functional status.

Now I shall work on finishing my crotchless drawers.

Got it today...tried it out....WOW is all I can say, we have carpet again instead of fur pads!

Why do these two posts work together?

I worked a little, played a little and didn't do anything arty or craft at all this weekend. So much for balance.

Watching Planet Earth on Animal Planet HD. First time I've seen it in HD (last time it was broadcast we didn't have the HD and I'm too cheap to buy the set).

Lovely, just lovely.

They're doing a bit right now on the ocean, and all I can say is Sail Fish are gorgeous. I'd be terrified if I was their prey (or hell, in the water with them at all) but on my nice safe television set all I can say is it's like watching art swim.

Drove by the drive in in Riverside on my way home from a party on Sunday early evening just as the sun was going down. Man that place was packed.

3 screens - double feature in each.

Angels and Demons with Star Trek - I would have loved to gone... except for the part about having to sit in the car for that long.

Guess I like the idea of the drive in more then actually going.

Still - I have such fond memories of going when I was a teenager.

Highly recommend the new Cirque du Soleil show, Ovo. Saw it over the weekend in Montreal and had a great time.

Tell me more Steph!

Target often offers a gift card with a purchase of a Dyson. Also check Costco.

Checked everywhere and got the best price at Best Buy.

So I get this letter addressed to my Dad (died 1990) from BYU Annual Fund. Now my family isn't Mormon nor have they or anyone in our family attended BYU. Letter is as follows:

So we know you don't want us to contact you at all. We're just sending you a letter 19 years after you've died to just make sure.

Well, they do actively recruit dead people......

Yeah, don't tell them unless you want him baptized.

So, I think I've got some good news...

Last Friday, J went in to have an ERCP (and a number of other little things while they were in there). Everything looked pretty good, except for this ginormous lymph node. It was big, it looked benign, and of course they biopsied it. The results were expected at the end of this week - but J already got the news that he's now on the transplant list for this region... which... more than likely means it's not cancerous.

So, I'm still waiting until tomorrow, but all-in-all it's good news. Now, time to put some positive energy into J not actually needing a new liver.

Oh, and don't forget to register as an organ donor. :)

Where's the "I don't support people who work to influence discriminatory legislation in another state?" option?

Even though I am dog-tired, I am unable to sleep.
____

In completely unrelated news...

Every year for our anniversary, Susan takes our wedding rings in for a cleaning. We were in Yosemite for our anniversary this year (well, it was the day after we got back), so she wasn't able to properly take care of it this year. She decided that she needed to do it tomorrow, so she confiscated my ring tonight. It feels really weird to not have my ring.

Just got back a little bit ago from my Dad's birthday party. Great event, many of his old real estate buddies from the Valley (my childhood in a nutshell), as well as Trojan friends, high school buddies, and C.A.R. (technically also real estate but on a less "local" level)

All these people had really nice things to say to and about Dad. Several people got up and told their stories on the microphone to the crowd.

And yes, I told the "Paris subway" story. Which, I'm very pleased to say, went over well.

I have had very vivid dreams for the last 3 nights. Not that I mind - I'm just wondering what's up with that?

I'm remembering many dreams every night in very clear detail.

Several about a friend I haven't talked to in quite a while. I need to contact her and see if anything's going on.

Betty: have you been taking any sleep aids? Some give you very vivid dreams.

No... no sleep aid. I have been taking ibuprofin as my knee has been hurting lately. (cut my foot, walked funny for a day and that's made my knee hurt on and off for a week!)

Well, that shouldn't do it... maybe you're just dreaming too much !! :p

Not that I'm complaining. I love dreaming. I'm just wondering why.

My 19 year-old daughter spent three great days in Paris, got on the high-speed train yesterday morning, got on the bus, and landed safe and sound at her university summer program.

I love how intrepid she is. I feel like her dad and I did a damn fine job.

Of course you guys did a fine job!

I loved that high speed train! The Metro was a bit scary, but after navigating it I felt like I accomplished something!

Bob: did you see any short people on the Metro?

I need a Metronome.

Miss you and Stoat, Bear. :)

I spent yesterday catching up with my favorite high school teacher, who had chaperoned a group of us on a trip to Europe the summer after my 10th grade year. One of the best experiences of my life, your daugher's going to have a blast.

Less than 2 days till Orlando! :)

I'm about to go out the door for an errand a few blocks away. I threw on some shorts and a t-shirt, my sandals, grabbed my sunglasses and my iPod, prepared for a nice little 10 minutes walk.

Then I opened the door to look outside for the first time today. That is NOT the weather I expected.

I'll trade you weather, GD. It is hot and muggy here.

I rode my bike today also. Twice. My poor bike had been neglected for a long time, but my neighbor tuned it all up last week and we have been riding a lot. Fun. I think we look silly. I can't describe the hair and clothes, but my neighbor is a nice person so I reckon it doesn't matter too much what we look like.

Same. It has been gross around here lately. Hot is not my thing.

Tomorrow at this time my 15 year old will be at the hospital prepping for knee surgery. It was originally to be June 5th, but a conflict got us moved to (thankfully) earlier. As a freshman she was the starting point guard on her high school JV team, and she loses her summer season, so she's a bit stressed about her prospects for making varsity next year. I keep telling her that she played all last season in pain, so missing summer ball will be ok because she'll have 2-3 months to sharpen her skills prior to her sophomore season.

Pretty minor as far as knee surgeries go (best case scenario she's 100% in 6 weeks, worst case 3 months), but please send some positive thoughts her way for a successful surgery, quick recovery, good rehab, and a pain free sophomore season (and maybe a spot on the varsity team, too).

I have two loaves of banana nut bread in the oven!

I'll be right over ;)

We've got all our tickets and reservations for Orlando, and now Super Shuttle to/from airport.

I can't believe it's really happening...

Have fun!!!:D

Good luck to her! I'll be praying for full recovery as quickly as possible!

That's great that you have company while you ride! That always makes it more fun for me.

I hope things go perfectly for her!

Sounds delicious! You gonna share? :)

Fun!!! Travel safely and have fun! I'm officially jealous!

Tonight's load-out felt like the shift that never ends... And there really wasn't that much to take down but it felt like fooooooooooorever.

Home now, with food, tv, my furkids, and beer. Life is officially better.

So, we were well enough yesterday to go kart racing.

I am sore in new places.

Positive thoughts sent.

Thanks for the good vibes....the surgery went swimmingly well. Doc said on a scale of best case to worst case, it was about as close to best case as it could have been.

Yay! Hopefully her recovery will be speedy and she'll be back shooting pucks um those round orange thingies soon.

Well, my follow up question as to how the swimming went is probably moot.

Really Jeopardy? A subtraction category? Really?

Topped off with a Wile E. Coyote Final Jeopardy. Way to raise the bar Jeopardy!

My grandmother passed tonight. Or maybe it's tomorrow - not sure on the time because it was east coast. That sounds funny to say. Got the call while I was out looking for Boris. She's a cat lover - maybe she'll send him home to me.

Anyhow, her pain is over now.

Geez... what the hell else can go wrong today

Sorry to hear that Pru

I'm so sorry, Prudence. What an awful day.

Sorry about your loss. :(

Downunder Hugs to Pru

(((Pru)))) may Boris find his way home to you.

I have decided that, for the sake of my sanity and the sanity of those around me, I will be taking a complete news blackout for awhile. Too many depressing and infuriating things going on in the world right now.

A new avatar will be coming tonight.

Much sympathy for the loss of your grandmother.

We were woken up last night by the loudest clap of thunder I've ever heard. CP had it right when she said it sounded like a bomb going off. Must have been right on top of us.

So sorry for your Grandmother pru.

I'm still hoping for a miracle from Boris.

Twitter just reminded me it's free root beer float night at Sonic, think I'll run down there :)

Apropos of nothing... But I still think Crown Prince Haakon of Norway is kinda hot.

You'd have jars of herring in the fridge, JWBear. Trust me, I'm married to a Swede.

So, okay: New York. It's the epicenter of the publishing industry and, sometimes, those New Yorkers, they're soooo provincial.

At least that's better than Vegemite.

Until you mix them together and end the world!

'Ey! Who you callin' provincial? [insert various creative hand gestures]

Alas, he's married (to the blond in the second picture).


Vegemite's not bad... in small doses.

Mmm.... not bad. A little skinny for my taste, but not bad.

OMG, my little secret project just took a step forward today. Fingers crossed.

Dying to know what it is!

Reanimating the dead. I knew you'd gotten it to stand up, but now it's walking?! Great progress, but I still haven't stocked up on pitchforks and torches. Better get to Mob Depot.

Actually, that might make a tasty sandwich!

Now I'm scared.....

And you should be.

Yes but does it do housework? This is key.

Soooo, I have Skype now and a webcam. Sorry, no nudity. ;)

I've heard it involves puppets. Her secret desire is to be the next Stromboli. ;)

I can't wait for the movie!

:( Bummer!. Any guy with feet that big...

I haz boysenberry wine, and a receipt for the Disney Grooves Dance Dance Revolution Wii game. LIFE IS AWESOME!!!! :D

The game comes with two dance mats. Anyone wanna come over and play? :)

For some reason d-phile's post works just as well as a response to Bornieo's as it does to NA's secret project conversation.

Damn

She already has all of us as her puppets! NA is THE Puppetmaster!

Wouldn't that be "Puppetmistress"?

Only when she has her boots on - and then it's spelled with an "x"

*Waking up with a start* Sphincter! Um, Prince of Norway!

Look, it's a grey, raining day here. Sleepy weather, if you will.

I wonder what they are building here

Lani says the sign reads:

Green Tokyo Gundam Project

This is Gundam. This appears to be what they're building:



And using her mad Japanese skills I found this blog post with more pictures and information. Apparently the 30th anniversary of Gundam is coming.

So they're planning to kick some carbon emitting ass with giant green robots. Somehow this seems more effective than buying carbon offsets

So today we rode Test Track a few times, and the whole exit area display including Pontiac was just kind of depressing.

I walked over and rode Mission: Space a couple times to cheer myself back up :D

Anybody wanna do a drinking tour of World Showcase tomorrow, to celebrate our last Disney day this trip? (Maybe not, don't wanna be too hungover for the Universal part of the vacation).

:cool:

Have a Beverley for me, Matt !!!!

Keely Smith was a special guest at the dance last night.:cool:

Hey Howdy Hey
 

Just a quick drive-by to check in and say hello to LoT!

All is well here.

Busier than ever as the work load was absorbed by those of us that avoided the ax in April.

and each day seems like, "well, what have you done for us lately!?"

Just keep working and hope that the end of this quarter is different than the last.

I hope you enjoy Magical!

All the Best:snap:

If they ever gave you the ax, Mickey, they'd be sorry. You've got to be the best ambassador for the Mouse ever! Miss you lots, and hope to see you in July this time around!

Hi.

465 posts.

I should keep up more.

Update:

Autobot or Decepticon?

Sooo, looks like I'll be working at the movie theatre again. Thusly only part time. Started the paperwork for the Job at Magic Mtn but was foolish enough to mension my heart murmur, now I have to get doctors clearance - not sure it's worth all that.

At least you'll be back working! Congrats on the job.

I always forget I have a heart murmur so of course I never mention it, so it's never affected my job hunting.

And free movies? :D

So, my husbands MRI came back normal! Yay!

Diagnosis: Panic attacks. (not yay).

Yay! And he (and you) got through it. You need to go out to dinner or something to celebrate.

The good news is that panic disorder is highly treatable. I'm beating it and your husband will, too.

Signed the escrow paperwork yesterday. Hopefully I did it properly and it arrives tomorrow on schedule. Hopefully it closes Friday. Hopefully.

Considering you have almost a thousand more posts that the second busiest poster on the LoT, I think you are doing okay.

So, he was having panic attacks about getting an MRI which led to a diagnosis of panic attacks.

Death Star Grill!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=110399598864

Kinda cool but not that detailed.

Well - yeah - sort of.

The first incident was clearly work related. That sent him to the ER where they wanted to do an MRI on him. Which freaked him out and he left. Any further mention of the MRI immediately freaked him out again and sent him to panic mode. So, while not the main reason for the anxiety, it became a trigger for it.

My wife couldn't step on the front porch without having a panic attack. She had a small touch of it for a long time, but when her mom was murdered is when it got much worse. But with meds and counsiling for about a year she can now go by her self to the store, and rarely takes the meds now.

I hope he gets the help he needs, and can get through it before it gets any worse. Nip it in the bud, so to speak.

Good luck

And {{{{{hugs}}}}}

I'm happy that I only have panic attack's from standard stuff like getting charged by a bear, lighting hitting the tree next to me and NA.

You forgot stepping on the scale at the doctor's office and the realization you cannot get out of a visit to the in-laws.

Okay, so. Today's mail brought some books from France. They are from my daughter and all graphic novels or comics. Here's the list:

1032 pics to go through...

Vacation fun. :)

Does she read French? The David B book and Persepolis are available in English. I have some suggestions for GN's in french if you'd like them. :cheers:

Speaking and reading French is considered one of life's necessary skills in our house. I am happy to say she's majoring in French and Journalism in college and is spending the summer in France.

I'd love any suggestions, Bornieo!

I meant to pick up Persepolis in French when I was there, but I forgot. Graphic novels are very popular there.

Awesome! Can you adopt me?

I've only read these suggestions in English, because I worked for the company that published them in the US, but I found them to be great experiances.

El Nino -
http://www.humano.com/album/35486

Anything by Yves Chaland - Esp. the Freddy Lombard Anthologies.
http://www.humano.com/profil/Yves%2BChaland

L'autre laideur, l'autre folie -
http://www.humano.com/album/35186

La Caste des Méta-Barons - Fantastic Sci-Fi epic.
http://www.humano.com/album/32826

La trilogie Nikopol - Intense but brilliant!
http://bilal.enki.free.fr/details_oe...amp;special=20

NA gives you panic attacks?

I think he means sodium. It must make his feet swell up to the point where only velcroed shoes fit.

So. I made my sister a bday present. She's going to be 50. Want to see? (The model is one of my daughters.) I just finished it today.

Are those two different things or one?

I am trying to envision how stepping on the scale makes you realize that you cannot get out of a visit to the in-laws.



I kid you not; that is how I first read that.

That's why commas are our friends.

Just for my Kevy:

You forgot: 1) stepping on the scale at the doctor's office and 2) the realization you cannot get out of a visit to the in-laws.

Now, Kevy, let's go get Dairy Queen. It's on you.

Can I be dipped in the chocolate?

Gorgeous!!

OK Buddy, that'll be $514.79 Please provide your credit card details and I will be able to process the charge immediately.

Why, Kevy. Befouling an ice cream parlor violates Section 987, subsection 828R of the Wisconsin Stats. Combine that with a use-of-margarine and you're looking at 5 to 7.

That shawl really turned out beautiful! What a great job you did. :)

At first I thought "wow, your sis looks good for 50!", and then I read on....

She actually does but yeah, that's a kid in the photo. Thanks for the nice works, all. :cool:

So. Matt the World's Best Plumber is here doing major surgery on an old pipe. He thinks I'm hung over.

Yeah, I'm wearing sunglasses inside at 10:30 a.m. and my speech is a little slurry but it's a migraine, I swear!

Migraine: I'll have to remember that one the next time I have an all-nighter on a school night

First she expects us to buy the "migraine" line, then she expects us to buy the "fixing the plumbing line"? It's like something out of a romance novel*...














* Porn is considered a sub-genre of romance novels, right?

Someone animated Persepolis, it's available on Netflix. Very good.

She swallowed hard, lifted her chin, and boldly met their gaze.
 

Mercifully, the moonlight hid the flush in her cheeks. She did not exalt at his male strength, at the cleanliness and beauty in him. He was fixing an old pipe, an actual old pipe. He'd rolled up his sleeves and she'd watched the interplay of sinew as he worked the wrench. It was plumbing and nothing more.

So why did her blood soar with unbidden memories?

ROFL, that was teh awesome.

I love your work, Helen. Visible Mojo.

I just ran across this quote online. It is in reference to Project Runway Season 4 designer Jack Mackenroth. Maybe it's the day I'm having, but I can't stop giggling:

Here's an interesting website: http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/

My phone does not have a notepad-like application. So "jot something down" on the go, I end up using the Task List (which I don't use for tasks so that works fine).

It's been a while since I cleaned it up. I reproduce the entries in their entirety here:

swiss perv
pig
pavement
JASON RUTHERFORD
irish
holocaust
165051
12027

I have no inkling for why any one of those is in there.

I'd say #'s 1 and 2 somehow relate to Kevy.

#3 is a simple typo about a bill for forgot to pay.

#4 I don't think I need to comment on that....


#7 Relates to frustration at work (tilting at windmills)

I can't help with the rest, sorry.

I love it when you do that!

Tell me, tell us, you really are the authoress of a wildly successfull cache of bodice rippers on the shelf at the local library. :D

Escrow just closed. I own a condo - well the mortage company does but I signed a lot of papers that say I promise to pay them back.

Now I just have to move all my crap. ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

Congrats! :)

W00t! Home Ownership. Or Home Debt Slavery. Both are the American Dream! Live it, baby!!!

How dare you accuse me of being Swiss!!!

Here'e hoping for hyperinflation which will make being in heavily in debt very nice!

I liked this story:


Obama Writes Girl's School Absence Note
The rest of the story.

Now how cool is that.

Already posted in YouTubery :)

But yes, it's a very cool story

I figured it out! It's the Oscar Nom Shorts! :)

Oops - sorry for the duplication.

I usually don't venture into that thread because, when I read LoT at work, I can't listen because of the people around me. When I reads LoT at home, I can't listen because we are usually watching TV at the same time.

I also find that I don't have the patience to sit and watch a video. It is really weird, and I don't know why I do this.

Aw, no sweat, Kevy :)

Congratulations, Katiesue!

THIS!

Since Helen's not online to answer...yes. Yes she is.

Okay, okay, you found me out. Here's what I really look like, dahlings:



My poochie Heathcliff Devereaux usually has matching togs.

Helen is being modest here. The pictures posted in her avatar and other places are just designed to throw everyone off. She is better known as

One day, you must tell us your nom de plume, Helen. Don't wait until your deathbed! ;)

And the award for Truly Putrid Customer Service goes to .... Sprint.

Writing directly to their Customer Care VP is the only thing that worked for me. The aggravation of dealing with their Customer Service line was taking years off my life.

Haven't been able to go off roading in weeks... months even now that I think about it, due to lack of a spare tire. That was replaced yesterday and today we spent a lovely day up in Big Bear geocaching. We're not very good at that but still had a great time.

It was sooooo foggy going up the hill and there were so many bicyclists going up the hill at the same time. Not sure what the event was but there definitely was one. I wish they would all ride single file up the hill. I realize they can't always do this - especially when they want to pass the bike in front of them - but it's freaks me out on that little narrow road with heavy heavy fog and WATCH OUT, there's one right in the middle of the road!!!

Besides that though, it was great!

Just go back, took a shower, and am lounging by myself while the rest of the family went to the grocery store. :)

Naked Bike Ride...
 

So around midnight I heard an uproar ourside my window. This is what I saw...

(Probably NSFW)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30041563@N03/3624674356/

This went on for 25 minutes. Judging by the number that pass in the video, that puts the total just over 3700 cyclists.

And yes, they're naked.

Bravo!

In this ever more uptight politically correct society of ours it's good to see folks cut loose with some good old fashion tom foolery. :snap:

Yesterday was World Naked Bike Ride Day.

Ugh... I hate Sprint! I was with them for almost 11 years without a single problem. In 2007, I decided that the price was too high for someone who wasn't using her cell phone, and didn't have the time to, due to full-time college and two part-time jobs. I wish I could remember all the details now, but it goes something like this:

I hadn't upgraded or changed my contract in nearly 3 years and yet I was still charged for two months beyond the end date of the month (about $85/month, if I recall correctly). This was not in the verbiage of the most recent contract with them, but they went for it, anyway. I tried, with what little time I had, to fight the additional charges, but nothing seemed to work. Already in the middle of fighting off other (both real and false) debtors, I decided that the money wasn't worth the fight, and paid them.

Today, I know what I'd do differently if dealing with them and my debt, but they were so unhelpful and unsympathetic to my plight. I'd been a customer of theirs from when Candice Bergen was still a spokesperson, and their branding relied upon pin needles (and wasn't there a dime phase?) dropping on shiny black surfaces, for crying out loud! Gah!

Sadly, my company uses Sprint Nextel. Since it's a free phone, I'm taking it.

Ugh.

I want to post a snarky comment about Stephen Baldwin, but just can't bring myself to actually do it.

Here.

Blech and red thumbs down.

With us, a phone broke. The replacement was defective. The replacement for the replacement was sent to another branch by mistake, or so they say.

My younger daughter needs her phone. She's going out to California for the summer. Could Sprint please send the replacement phone out to California so she could pick it up there?

• Local Sprint store clerk: No

• Local Sprint store manager: No

• Several Sprint Customer Service reps on the phone: Let me transfer you.

• Customer Care (1 hour later): Sure, we'll be glad to! And I notice you're being overcharged about $30 a month for service. Let me do something about that.

When our contract is up in March, you betcha we're switching providers.

I'm feeling a tad less dead today but Chris now has my ick. I'm wondering if his will be a general cold or will it be bronchitis. Is bronchitis a separate disease from a cold or is it a transferable illness?

Bronchitis is indeed contagious.

*SNORT*

Ugh... nonsense... complete nonsense. Sprint's great... until you have to deal with their customer service.

As opposed to every other cell phone provider who has picture-perfect customer service.


ETA: And, to add anecdotal counter-evidence, I called Sprint the other day with a dispute on my bill and they fixed it in a matter of moments without a bit of argument.

I am glad to hear it. Anybody else got good things to say about Sprint's customer service?

I don't have to deal with them? ;)

I've never had a problem at all with Sprint or their customer service. I don't like their stores but I don't like ANY stores and so any other carrier would be the same there.

AT&T was horrible when we had that.

My boyfriend has Sprint and seems reasonably happy. I just wish he had cell service inside the house. But I can't talk him into going Verizon with me, so I guess Sprint has done well enough by him.

I dealt with Sprint customer service over a period of about 8 months (I actually believed them when they said they would fix something so that extended the whole process). I was on hold for about an hour with them the first time but months later I didn't have to wait on hold at all. But their ability to fix a problem did not improve with their ability to answer the phone.

I'm with GD on this one: all cell providers will have their detractors and their fans. I am sure one could find people who have had problems with any one of them and those who have had good success.

Not to take away from the bad experiences discussed above - those are all legit. I just believe the grass is not greener anywhere else.

No, it probably isn't any greener anywhere else. After all, I had 11 years of what I would have called awesome service with them.

Maybe if they made vibrating bicycle seats

Random photos. Some interesting... some not.

How's that for an enticement?

It was worth it for this:

I am going to guess that's Klaus Kinski and a guy leaning on an imaginary pedestal.

Or if you just remove the seats.......

Supposedly escrow closed on my condo, but no funds for me or the mortgage company until the title company's legal team reviews, in microscopic detail, the specifics of the divorce settlement so they can be properly convinced that they shouldn't just send all the money to my ex.

Did they mention this any of the dozen times they kept calling to make sure I was going to be home to receive the documents? Did them mention it any of the dozen times I asked if there was ANYthing else they needed, when I stressed that the mortgage had to be paid off by today or I would be reported to the credit bureaus?

(B of A, you know. Won't even accept "but my sale closed escrow" as a legitimate reason to be even a day late on the mortgage payment - no, better pay up immediately because clearly after 6 years of timely mortgage payments I'm clearly a deadbeat and should be reported to the credit czars.)

Or, did they perhaps wait until 3pm on the date of closing to tell me that oh, they were going to need to do this additional level of review and gosh, my closer has been out sick all week and the earliest anyone can start will be Monday, and gosh, they just can't say how long this all might take -- could be several weeks.

I'll let you guess which option they selected.

Oh Pru I'm so sorry. I had a super stressful closing last week. I hope they get it all worked out for you asap.

I assume the manufactured delay is so that they can hold onto my funds for the maximum time and thus accrue more interest they shan't be sharing.

Hmm, one of the best little quotes I've read in a while comes from the 1916 valedictorian speech of the grandfather of my company's co-CEOs.

:snap: Wow, snaps to that.

Well, back working at a Movie theatre again. Was hesitant because of the pay but it's income. Went in tonight to brush up but it was like I never left. I did, however, miss the free passes. ;)

That reminds me, El Capitan is hiring an attractions host to help with the side event stuff. Also part time, if you're interested.

There are a lot of hot men in Iran.

How's that for a non-sequiter, folks?!

JW, I'm not sure if that's not needlessly crass, when hundreds of thousands are in the streets in the greatest civil unrest in decades, and a few of them being killed. I hope they didn't kill the hot ones. (See how that can seem sorta uncool at the moment?)


In other news for you, if you're still staying away from the Daily Grind and the Parking Lot, the California legislature has crafted a compromise on the AIDS budget cuts: $8 million instead of $80 million, none of it from ADAP and not enough to trigger an end to matching Federal funds.

This coming from someone who went to protests looking far a boyfriend?

It was just an observation. Get over it.

And yes, I had heard about ADAP. Thanks.

Going to protests looking for a boyfriend is how Cadaverous Pallor categorized it. I take issue with that, as it's patently false.



I have the internet for that. ;)

That's not good... You know the kind of people you meet on the internet... ;)

Speaking of hot, I wonder how Mumbai's recovering from the terrorist attacks.

"Semper frosting." ~ Stephen Colbert

I love him so much.
lol
:D

well, in defense of CP she merely took your written word as truth (as suspect others may have) - sometimes sarcasm fails like that.

Yes, apparently we need a sarcasm emoticon. I often forget that sarcasm or any kind of humorous twisting of reality is regularly misinterpreted on the internet.


But sheesh, it's quite a stretch from a expressing some disappointment that my new connections to dozens of gay pals did not lead to so much as a single date -to- my purpose in being a gay activist was to land a man.

That's more than misinterpretation, it's really rather insulting. I blame the limited smiley selection.

I have to back up JW on the hot guys observation- I sort of noticed that many of the men in the pictures I've seen out of there are indeed very good looking. I'm somewhat surprised by how fashionable they look as well- I guess I assumed that since they live in what is basically an Islamic theocracy (would that be an accurate description of Iran these days?) they might be more conservative in their apparel. Instead,they are wearing pretty up to date western style clothing. Anyway, I don't feel badly for thinking that they are good looking- our movie action dudes always seem to manage to look hot while they are in peril, and I don't have a problem with that either.;)

Who's laughing?

Perhaps I should have said "people are dead, I don't see the hotness." I thought the correlation was obvious enough.

I think the first couple of times you said it everyone saw the humor, sarcasm, whatever. It was the fact that you seemed to mention it every single time you brought up your involvement that made her (and others) start to question just how joking it was.

Soooo... I'm just waiting out the time, feeling helpless and far away. My dad called last night to tell me that they've moved my grandma into hospice care. The awful part is that we've been trying to talk to the doctors for almost a week, and no one got back to us. Yesterday, my aunt gets a call from a doctor, not our doctor, or any of the other attending doctors, but some other doctor saying simply that "she's a perfect candidate for hospice."

Well, yeah, I knew that. This isn't my first time around the block with quickly degenerating illnesses, and I knew it was downhill, fast. But I'm hurt for the rest of my family. The doctors were entirely too optimistic, given the facts of the situation.

My family, on my father's side, is the kind that wants the truth; in our faces. It's easier to deal with and recover from tough facts than it is to recover from confusion and lack-of-communication. We've expressed this.

It's our mother, our grandma, our friend that's dying, and I guess it's easy to forget how hard that is. I just didn't realize how hard it would be to feel so far away. I'm just a quick plane ride away, but to what avail? She could go any minute now, and I got to have that "last conversation" with her last week, before and after they worked on her collapsed lung. How many people ever get that? Do I go back for a funeral, a memorial, a celebration of a life well-lived?

My aunt, the one I like to listen to in my moments of grief and confusion, said that I should probably just hold off on flying out, but to call. Yeah, tried that last night, and the bitch in the third bed said:

"Evelyn's watching TV."

"Oh, this is Erica, her granddaughter, is she able to talk?"

"Yes. Okay... bye!" <click>

Yeah, doesn't sound bitchy, but I've met the lady, and she's just like that.

I guess I'll try calling again today, and continue waiting until they say to come out.

I don't think there had been any deaths yet at the time I posted that. (And if there had been, I hadn't heard of them yet.)

So... lets compare the two:

Seeing pictures of a peaceful protest and thinking that many of the men are attractive.

Hearing reports of terrorists systematically rounding up people and slaughtering them, and think that this would make a good idea for a fun party game.

Yep. Same thing. :rolleyes:

Erica, I'm so sorry you're going through that. Having just been through a major loss, your frustration with the staff and the too-far-away lost feeling is all too familiar. I hope for peace for you and for your family. Thinking of you.

So, I just spoke with another aunt, and I guess it isn't that lady I met. Woah - who the F was that, then?

Who cares? So somebody made a joke. Get over it -- everybody. There is not one here among you on LoT who has not told, posted (or laughed) at an inappropriate joke, so this phony indignation is just plain dumb. We are all morbid in our own way, and it is even healthy to laugh at that which we most fear. I am sure we are all creative enough to find a way to express our displeasure without trying to shame another.

I have NEVER done such a thing, so I get to be pompously self-righteous!

I think you should come back when you feel the need to come back. Airfare isn't that horrible and if it helps you through the process then...

I agree with BTD.

As I grappled with whether or not (or how long) to return to Michigan, a few people told me that whatever my decision was, whatever the consequence, I would not regret any time I spent with her. And I really didn't. All I can recommend is doing what your heart tells you to do.

Yeah, i don't read Soooooo so often, so I'm so late in responding to so much.


I realize I went overboard with my no-boyfriend-yet activist stuff. I won't deny it was on my mind, but it was always said in humor and I didn't realize until CP pointed it out that it was seeming a bit protest-too-much.

That was a great service to me. Sometimes I don't realize I've said something a zillion times before if it's still on my mind. Pfft, I just posted something in the Post Prop 8 thread today about Obama that was almost a word-for-word retread of what I posted yesterday. (There was a new wrinkle, but I would have left out the Obama part if I'd remembered I'd posted it just the day before).


Anyway, thanks to CP or anyone who calls me on my sh!t or anything hinting of ulterior motivation. Often we don't see ourselves as well as others see us. Sometimes those observations are incorrect, but it never hurts to check them out with a self-reality-check.


I quit gay activism this week. I wasn't feeling the post-Supremes-Decision passion nearly as much as I'd imagined I would. I feel perfectly comfortable with others carrying on, and with my life not so inundated and dominated by gay activism. But in all honesty, if a few of the dozens of pals I made had become good friends, I might have continued just for the fun of it.

I won't deny that a major benefit, perhaps THE major one, of anything I get involved in is the friendships that might form. I can't be sustained by the "thing" alone, even if that thing is somewhat important. While I would have been happy finding a boyfriend, it wasn't something I expected or demanded in order to be satisfied. But no social friendships among the many, many pals I've made after six months is a great disappointment that I cannot abide.

Sure, if I still felt as passionately about The Cause, no close friends or lovers would not make a difference. But the lack of real friendships was indeed a deciding factor in me dropping the SGA from my name.


It's going to be a difficult transition from constant activity to really nothing going on.

Heck of a time to be tempted by the new iPhone. :(

<<<Hugs>>>> Miss Erica.



And yeah, JW, I over-reacted about the hot Iranians. The shootings were just fresh in my mind at that moment.

That's ok... Goddess knows I've never overreacted to something posted here here... :rolleyes:

Not necessarily... We make lots of comments about how cute you look with the beard and how we all want to get down and... well, you know. Anyhow, we say it lots, but you still know we're only joking.

right?



...or are we ? :evil:

Love you guys, warts and all.....

:snap:

Those are beauty marks, mister.;)

I've decided I really like the perks that come with Hubby's new job. We are off for 3 days to stay in a Villa in La Quinta (by Palm Springs) for no charge. He has to start checking out the properties he represents...and over course he needs his assistants to go along with him. Woohoo!

Proposal at the zoo
 

Some friends were at the zoo the other day...

http://www.livepdx.com/video/19780895/index.html

Jeannie was a little surprised...

Led me to:

More zoo video...
 

Yeah, well, it's that time of year!

Our concert series kicked off last night with Femi Kuti and Positive Force. Great show!

http://www.kgw.com/video/?z=y&nvid=372414&shu=1

Krista is my boss. Okay, technically my supervisor. She's great!

Yeah, cute. But I'd kill the man who proposed to me on TV, or even in front of a group of people. Put me on the spot like that so that a refusal would embarass everyone, and the first person I'll embarass is YOU, buddy.

Arg. I keep trying to deliberately sabotage myself. I think. Example: I'm filling out my own evaluation because my supervisor doesn't know how. And I really want to mark that I am not recommended for the regularly scheduled promotion because I honestly don't feel that I've really done anything here. Not that it's my fault - they refuse to allow me to move outside of my narrow little data entry box. But, I haven't really "grown" or learned much, so from an objective view I don't merit promotion. But, no one gives a **** except me. No one else in the universe will care that I sat in my cube and surfed because I literally had nothing else to do. As far as the culture here goes, it's strictly a butt-in-chair issue; my butt has been in the chair the required length of time, so I go up. And my supervisor will sign whatever I put in front of her - either way, since she won't read it. A reasonable person would probably check the promotion box and send the forms on their way. However, I am not a reasonable person. I'm a neurotic twit who feels that is dishonest and that I should remain at my current level because I haven't earned a promotion yet.

And that is just one of the many things on my mind today as I try to figure out what punishments I should accept/encourage and which ones are psycho-brain sabotage.

I really hate being me most of the time. It's exhausting. I need a nap.

Well, you don't have to be you. Be whomever you'd like to be.

Being the you you're used to, and the you your mind is wired to behave like is NOT the same as being you. You don't have to be the default you. You can be the new you anytime you have the will to.


I'm not recommending that any version of you lack integrity.


But a you that believes you're not worthy of promotion simply because THEY gave you no opportunity to demonstrate that worth is a you that should be jettisoned.


imho.

Stop thinking only about yourself. Put the needs to the company first. After all that's really what these reviews are all about. So step back for a second and ask yourself: Would the company be better off if I was promoted?

I think you know the correct answer.

I am now officially a Creepy Uncle©

My late step dad's grandson (aka my step sister's son, aka, my step nephew) was in attendance last weekend for the memorial.

He.
Is.
Gorgeous!

Fortunately (in this one sense) it was sunny and I could keep my sunglasses on while I oogled him from across the room. I felt dirty, but could not stop staring. :eek:

Heheh, it was a few years ago, but there were a bunch of gorgeous boys (and girls) at a party I was at, and I was ogling them all day ... um, and then I found out they were the grown children of friends, kids I hadn't seen since little kidhood. Yep, felt creepy dirty.

But not enough to stop ogling.

I am rocking and rolling today. Doing some much needed housework - already tossed a ton of paper crap, and cleaned and organized underneath the kitchen sink. After lunch, I'm dusting the living room, dining room, and bedroom. Also scored two more web design projects, in addition to now adding in layout and optimization duties to my current ones (for more pay, of course).

And, I need the housework to be done by 5'ish so I can shower since we're going out with some friends tonight. I'm thinking I still might need a small miracle to finish it all. Can someone please send Mary Poppins over?

From Australia?

I wish!

Damn, and I was going to be happy if I vacuumed and hit the grocery store. Rock on, woman!

In other news... I'm craving some fish tacos. A field trip to Rubio's may be in order.

Pictures? :evil:

I'll make a note of that.

I don't think Mary does windows...

Resolved:

I hate my job. My job is unsatisfying. It will never be satisfying, because the federal GS system is designed specifically to make sure that no one with an ounce of intelligence ever makes it up the chain. I need to be practicing law. I will get off my butt and apply for clerkships again because hey, maybe they'll be confused and think that being a PMF was something impressive. I will apply for the AG's honors program once the application system is online the end of July. And if neither of those pie-in-the-sky routes works out, I will start the full-court press on other options. Because, Bob damn it, I am fvcking brilliant. And I deserve a job where I get to think.

Yay, good for YOU PRU!!! DO IT!!!!

GOOOOO PRUUU!!!

It's funny watching a trending topic on Twitter, as you're reading more comments popping up on the topic than you can read... it's like watching information spread around the world before your eyes.

(Noticed that Pixar was a trending topic, so I clicked to see what was Up)

Sadly, no. I did not bring my camera. The only pictures I found of him around the house were from his elementary school years or younger. Definitely NOT hot! (I may be a Creepy Uncle©, but I'm not that creepy.)
You GO girl!! :snap:

Off to the Villa in La Quinta....woohoo!

Have a great weekend!!

Down 1.1 pounds since Monday. :D

And because, unless you ask, you're saying "no" for the potential employer.

Do it. Godspeed. Now go forth and rock the world, Prudence.

So. Carmel, CA has a very high concentration of overdone eyelid and lip jobs.

ROTFLMAOPIMP!

Check it out... there's an entry in the urban dictionary all about me! And if you don't believe me, note the name used in the example. Hahah.

(Okay, it's not actually me, but it totally describes me... )

A friend of mine submitted an Urban Dictionary acronym about me years ago. For the longest time, his original definition was the only one there. It looks like others have added different definitions, but I know mine was the first. (As of this writing, it's definition #6.)

I'm not kidding, it really was written about me. That's his nickname for me.

LOL, you've been thumbed down.

Brought home a new hanging cat scratcher pad with a toy attached to the top. Emmy ripped the toy off and hid it under the bed within the first 2 minutes.

That cat is a sheer joy...

I'm so glad your enjoying our little bundle of joy! Miss seeing her (sorta)!

The Rat just sang, from the kitchen: "Rice-a-roni, the satanistic treat!" Which is now how I will forever think of that product.

I found that out when I got the oil too hot before pouring in the box of said product........

The first squabble I ever had with the hubbo was over Rice-a-Roni. I loved it; Tom said it was cardboard + salt. It was a long-running squabble, people. Sadly, I slowly turned against Rice-a-Roni and I now make it from scratch. Never, ever would I have predicted this state of affairs.

Ah, memories.

So. The humidity is steaming up the windows today.

Rice-a-Roni is one of the few dishes on my "every meal originated in a box" upbringing that I have shed. Once I got to college and had good rice, there was no going back.

But I am still more than willing to consume my share of Top Ramen, Kraft (or even Generic) Macaroni & Cheese, Chicken Shake 'N' Bake, various non-beef Hamburger Helper products, etc. Not often since Lani doesn't eat these things (except the ramen) but if given the opportunity.

I lived in San Francisco for over a decade, and never once had Rice-A-Roni.

Here's how I make homemade Rice-a-Roni:

1 T butter
1 handful angel hair pasta, broken in pieces
1 t chopped garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 c mushrooms, sliced
1/2 t dried dill
2 c chicken broth
1 c rice (whichever kind you like best)
1/2 t salt

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over med. heat. Stir in pasta and let brown. Add garlic, onion, mushrooms, and dill weed. Sauté until onions are opaque.
2. Stir in broth and bring to a boil.
3. Dump in the rice, bring back to boil, turn down heat, cover, and let cook however long the rice needs.

Voilà! It's really good with a handful of toasted pine nuts. Just sayin'.

I grew up with Rice-A-Roni and never looked back once I discovered basmati rice, risotto and sushi. I will have to try your recipe Helen, looks like fun!

I live alone. I hate to cook.


Needless to say, I love Rice-a-Roni.

For years I have wanted to make a movie set in San Francisco. In every single shot of people eating, even in the background, they would be eating nothing but Rice-a-Roni.

Yes, I am easily amused.

Followed by a misfortune cookie for dessert? Mine says

I love Rice-a-Roni. And Pasta Roni. And Hamburger Helper, Spaghetti-Os, Chef Boyardee ravioli, and instant mashed potatoes. Love love love. I know it's disgusting. I'll make something gourmet one day and something from a box the next.

In other news: another thread reminded me - I have no idea what to do on the 4th. I like things that go splody in the sky, but super mega overwhelming crowds/traffic sometimes blow my circuits and send me offline for the rest of the evening. Don't want to sit home bored, though. Dunno what to do. Any suggestions? Go somewhere? Sit at home with board games and hope someone wants to play? Run naked through the streets of Torrance with squid on our heads?

No idea what to tell you. I'd hang out w/you except I'm going to be stuck at work with the great unwashed. On the bright side I may get a glimpse of splody things.

Well, you'd want the 4th to be something special, not just the same-old same-old, so the last option's obviously out.

You could always drive to one of the towns in SoCal that still allow "Safe And Sane" fireworks (Lakewood is the only one that comes to mind immediately) and drive around the neighborhoods to see a nostalgic look at pre-safety cocooned America.

Garden Grove does too, as I recall.

Lake Forest basically allows party poppers. But they package them to look like fireworks, as if that makes it better.

We will probably be in Chino with friends for said S&S

It's been a few years since fireworks at the beach swank.

Screw safe and sane, 4th of July is all about Dumb & Dangerous!!

So, just another ordinary day for you then?

Well, if anyone else is looking for something to do and wants to combine forces, call or PM and we'll concoct an appropriate level of silly.

Maybe everyone could just draw fireworks?

I think that's illegal here.

Yummy !! Thank you thank you thank you.
Mine says: "Everything's better with monosodium glutamate" which truly is a misfortune, seeing as how I'm allergic to it. Those cookies are spot-on !

Nothing says Happy Birthday America like blowing stuff up.

I'll probably spend the day learning Fireworks (CS4). ;)

Oh, and I've now got a fast big kitty (Leopard) on my system now... and I'm about to install Avid Media Composer.

I am in video geek heaven! :D

Chino?

I'm sorry to hear that. ;)

I say any holiday that promotes the use of alcohol, barbeque, and explosives all on the same day is a real holiday!:snap:

Are you kidding, Chino is dairy central. If you like milk or milk related products Chino is the place to be on July 4th. Chino is also the only city in California that is often mistaken for a pair of lightweight cotton trousers.

So do some areas not even allow safe and sane? I'm going to my sister's in Clark County Washington (outside Vancouver), and EVERYTHING is legal there, my brother-in-law is a bit of a pyro (although a very safe one, so I don't spend the evening waiting for the major burn to happen), and they live on the end of a cul de sac, so everyone gets together and blows things up from the middle of the street.

AND they haven't been having a heat advisory since last week!

I was considering driving up to Vancouver, WA, for the fireworks show (I'm not a fan of personal fireworks, they annoy me more than entertain me, but the city puts on a huge pyrotechnic display) but am saddened to see it has been canceled this year for lack of funding.

Scariest place in the universe to spend July 4: Wyoming. The fireworks start at noon and go until midnight. People are out in the streets letting off biiiiig fireworks so do not attempt to drive anywhere because someone is likely to throw a lit firecracker under you and you're sitting on a big tank of gas. People are shooting off their guns loaded with (you hope) blanks.

A couple of years ago, we were catsitting in tiny Lander on the 4th. Nonstop mayhem. Lots of dry grass. Tiny fire dept. Poor kitty suffered a great deal from the rootin' and tootin' out in the streets.

People here in Garden Grove use the cover of legal fireworks to light off the bigger illegal ones. But since the implamented a $1,00 fine for the first offence it got a lot better last year. And it did seem less rowdy as well. I bet it's even tamer this year as people feel the economic pinch. I know I will.

Awww, but it's such an efficient way of getting these winners out of the gene pool.

Well, my morning has started out good: Yesterday (as related in Tori's B-Day thread) someone took Tori's new HP mini comp at Fred Meyers. (She'd had it less than a day, and ironically she'd just bought a new bag to carry it in there). The only person who could have took it that we could see was the maintenance dude who was vacuuming the entrance- we'd left it in the cart, but realized it was missing when we got to our car. We'd parked just three car lengths away so it had only been about 10 seconds, but when we ran back in to check the cart it was gone. We could see the guy pushing carts together and walking quickly away, and there was no one else around. I stopped him and he just sort of smirked at me and claimed he didn't see it or anyone, even though he'd been in the foyer the whole time and the cart we saw him pushing in with the others was the same one we'd used. I went to Customer Service where we got the usual 'not our fault' runaround. (She did acknowledge that the guy was a weirdo). Normally it wouldn't be their fault, but since it had been only a few seconds and he was the only one there I thought perhaps they should review their security tape. I insisted on speaking to the manager, and once I made it clear that I wasn't going to let this go she agreed to do so and call us back.

Well, no word until this morning. I was beyond bummed- Tori was so excited to get this, and we were locked into a data package for an item we no longer possessed. Anyway, the store called today and said it was found at the other entrance, at the opposite end of the store. How it migrated to that entrance I can only guess, but I'm just really grateful they found it!!!!:)

Yay WB, that is awesome news!

My guess is the maintenance guy started feeling some heat from management and decided the computer wasn't worth his job, so left it somewhere it would be "anonymously" found. Glad you got it back!

I hate to say it, because it's a terrible thing to be accused of something if you're innocent, but I think this as well. How else could a cart have gone from one end of the store to the other without something like that being noticed? Even if someone had grabbed the cart, shopped, and gone through checkout you'd think they would have seen this and turned it in. Either way, we're just really happy to have it back.

It's a postcard kinda day here. Lovely blue sky, wisps of fog. I wish I was on staycation to enjoy it!

You're kidding me!? I had Gary extend his hotel for the weekend so we could see the fireworks from the Portland side, danm1!

It is a very nice day but from here (Financial District) I see not a hint of cloud or fog.

Yes, it's true. At least assuming that this page on the City of Vancouver web site is accurate.

I can see the Golden Gate from the office in Emb II, fog coming in there.

This has been the most solidly June Gloomy June ever. Not one morning of sun, and many afternoons of no sun either. I think if the entirety of June is actually June Gloomy we may have some sort of cataclysm.

Well, you get the better view! I spend all day looking at the Federal Reserve. and the very tippy top of Emb III.

I am so over this weather. As much as the temperature is fine, we need SUN!!!!!

No sun? Finally, LA tempts me to move there.

Maybe it's because I'm an LA newbie, but I'm loving this "June Gloom". I know that lurking behind that muggy layer is a blazing hot brutal sun. I also know that we'll be enjoying bright sun and high temps for a few months. If this is as close as we get to "seasons" down here, so be it.

I'm a California native and I'm perfectly happy to continue the gloom.

As much as I don't want the blazing temperature that comes with the sun, this gloom just zaps my energy.

sunny & 70* here in SD

but yeah, been grey every morning here too...

Not true.

As someone who is trying to get a tan for summer, I can tell you that there have been many mornings - - in fog-enshrouded West L.A. - -that have been sunny. Only once or twice on a weekend, but many more "unavailable" to me on weekdays. (I wondered how all the barechested boys at Gay Pride got tans at this time of year ... they must all be out of work).


That said, it has indeed been the gloomiest June in years ... prompting many to rejoice at the return of the not-beloved-till-gone infamous weather pattern. The apocalypse was defeated.

Um, until it RAINED.


Never in June.


This is not your Papa's June Gloom.

It's the New Joon Koon Gloom ... of the Apocalypse!! :evil:

Love love LOVE June Gloom :) Pretty consistent with the "natives love it, transplants hate it" trend.

I remember a summer a few years ago (4 or 5 summers ago) where it was remarkably cool most of the summer. There were a few hot days, but overall it was a pretty cool summer. I'm pulling for a repeat of that :)

LOVE the gloom. Being outside most of the day, gloom makes me happy in ways that extreme heat makes me grumpy.

Oh, and secret project had progressed to the "offer" stage.

Actually, MP is a transplant and loves it. CP is essentially a native (here all but the first few months of her life) and hates it. So that's not much of a trend, really.

I don't know how I feel about June Gloom. On the one hand, it's strangely comforting. On the other hand, I did move down here for the sun factor. I suppose I will appreciate the grey more once I've survived a summer here.

Ask a wider variety of people and the trend becomes more apparent.

What does indifference mean?

I don't know what it means and I don't care.

Put this man in cell #1, and give him a drink.

Born and raised in HB, hate it.

So Cal Native - love it.

Nor Cal native - hate it.

Lapsed Lutheran and former Jehovah's Witness - Don't care one way or another about clouds but if the start and ending temperatures for the day are below 60 then I'm a happy man.

Another SoCal native that loves it.

Eastern transplant - - hate it in June, would love it in September. Go figure.

It's 80 and partly cloudy here in Simi Valley. There's a nice breeeeeeze though. Nice!

Actually, the more people I complain to ask, the more apparent it is that I'm in a minority, regardless of place of origin. Apparently most people that live here - whether born and raised, or transplanted - hate the hot summer. I find it hilarious. I seem to have the right body metabolism/chemistry/whatever for this climate, as I'm cold all the time and adore heat. Yes, I'm a reptile, give me a hot rock in the sun any day.

This ugly, brooding, makes-you-squint weather is the worst possible for me. Puts me in an awful mood, even if, or rather, especially if it clears up. Stupid f'n wishy washy weather. SHOULD I WEAR A SWEATER OR NOT????

I do love rain, but that's probably only because it's a novelty to me, and nicely decisive.

Ugh, HATE when it clears up. I mean, I like the clear. But you never know which days will clear and which won't, so I never know how to dress in the mornings that are blecchy.

Also, for my attempts at a summer tan ... I can only do this in the relative morning. Once my day gets going, I have no time to sunscreen my entire body and sit in the sun for long enough to make it worthwhile. Plus, my pool gets all crowded in the afternoon ... and in the mornings it's my private oasis like the rich life I was supposed to have.

Wow, they're cancelling basically the whole darn thing. That's disappointing. We always just stay at my sisters, but the sister who lives in Hillsboro and will be visiting will appreciate not having to deal with the traffic that creates.

At 9:00am on Saturday, as I was finishing up a training walk, the radio said the park I was leaving had a heat index of 100 (I think they were off, but it was well above 90!) It actually might rain a little here soon, but the roads are buckling from the heat and lack of afternoon thunderstorms. This may be the first afternoon thunderstorm this month! When the NWS issues heat advisories that continue on for days, that's bitch-worthy weather, in my book!

I am truly shocked that they are canceling the Vancouver fireworks display this year! I'm really glad we didn't reserve a riverview room last year for this year and hopefully we don't have any other ressies. Maybe we can go to the beach and watch them over the bay or just watch all our neighbors illegal displays.

In fact, in a move to save the economy after nearly 14 billion dollars of taxpayer money have been given away to banks with absolutely no loosening of the credit system .... Independence Day is being cancelled this year entirely. America has nothing to celebrate.

I long for sitting by the pool in the sun - but I seem to save that activity for October & January and sometimes April.

Not any more. There are very few dairies in Chino any more.

"She said to take that thing I play with and put it where it stinks. So I took my bowling ball to Chino."

It is more about spending time with friends than the locale.

You could always catch the Portland display on the Willamette. Come down during the day for the Blues Festival and stick around for the fireworks!

is it wrong that I laughed so hard at that ?


...and all the talk of the Joon Gloom etc makes me want to transplant myself to LA.

Sigh. Maybe when we retire we'll get a holiday house there. Right next door to Disneyland.

Awesome! :snap:

I am normally like this...the hotter the better IMO; Houston rarely bothered me. However, the recent KC weather is killin' me. We've had heat indexes of 110*+. Bleh. Not even the pool (where we spend 3/4 of the summer) is refreshing. I'd be happy to have some nice cool rain about now. (As an example, it was 95* today and actually felt pretty comfortable.)

I love rain on an occasional weekend, especially when it's chilly and I can curl up by the fire with a good book/movie. I also love rain at night (w/out the thunder), it lulls me to sleep.

Really?

I found that a LOT of people in So Cal complained about June gloom, and then proceeded to complain about the heat later in the summer. Same in Utah, same in Michigan, same (presumably) everywhere.

Utah example: we just had nearly a month of rain every day. Up until this week (Monday, Tuesday Wednesday(yesterday), to be specific) we only had two days without rain in June. Everyone was bitching and moaning about OMG we just wantz the sunz! I just think isn't it awesome that our reservoirs are between 80 and 100%?! Plus, I know I'll hear the bitching come July/August. By the time August comes around, all this pretty growth will be dead. The real dog days of summer.

Michigan example: I remember this from being there, but Facebook has served as a reminder that all that complaining takes place there too. First it's the snow, how cold, how cold, how cold. Then, for about a week, everyone was all stoked about the awesome weather. Now, it's time to cry about the heat and humidity.

I guess all I'm thinking is that no matter where you are, there's always something for someone to complain about. It may seem like everyone feels a certain way, but a lot of times it ends up being random people voicing an opinion. It's why there's a Storm Watch for a drizzle, and local TV personalities making the same damned comments no matter where you live - and it's always "What about this ____."

Well, I better go get to work. I'd rather complain about work.

I may love heat, but I'm not superhuman. Bleh indeed.

What I've encountered when I say "This June gloom is awful" is almost always variations on "well it sure beats the heat, delaying summer is fine by me, I like it this way."

I may be extra biased because I grew up near the hottest part of the San Fernando Valley without central air conditioning. We had a wall unit in my parents' bedroom and when it was too hot to sleep we'd all bring sleeping bags in their room. We couldn't afford to run it all the time though, and even so, who would want to stay in the bedroom all day? Summer days were spent in the sprinklers as it was almost impossible to stay inside otherwise. I'd wake up in the morning and put on my swimsuit. To me, summer IS 95 degrees plus. (Now that I live and work in a/c I'm sure I'm no longer as tough as I used to be.)

I'm a transplant and I like June Gloom to a point. I like it more than September Hellember.

I don't mind the cool temperatures that come with June Gloom and I'm not really fond of 100+ weather, even though I have AC now it makes it much more tolerable. The lack of sun in June Gloom (and December/winter) zaps my energy and significantly changes my mood. The days where we have had sun you can find me in it, sucking up as much vitamin D as I can get.

No matter where you survey people will bitch about the weather.