Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Just had to repost this

I'm not in the mood to write today (or any day lately, it seems) but I saw this on ecorazzi and had a little giggle. Thought I'd share.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

No Thanks

Millions of phone books hit American doorsteps unsolicited every year, to the tune of more than 19 million trees. If you don't want yours, join the 10,000+ already saying "no thanks" at the new www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org (click on opt-out).

Friday, October 03, 2008

Hangovers Suck

I seriously cannot even think straight today. My vision is blurred and I've got the shakes. Curse you red red wine.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Who's got the time, really.

I'm sad to say I've missed blogging but just really have no time for it. Its just going to have to wait, maybe until the end of the year.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

See...Green IS Sexy!

Before I had my Prius, I would visualize myself driving one and pretend that my then car (a Chevy) was actually a Prius.

Yesterday, I found myself visualizing zipping around in one of these 100% electric Tesla Roadsters.

I immediately felt like I was cheating on my Prius, but if I had $109K, I'd be first in line for one of these bad boys. Sorry Joan.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

LEED makes my brain feel leaky

I'm hitting the books hard this week in preparation for my LEED-CI AP test. I've set a deadline for myself of June 1st, but last night I entered the calculation and formula territory and now I'm starting to flip out a little. I'm meeting with a friend tonight who is also studying for the test and she has a bunch of secondary study material and some practice tests, so I'm eager to see if it looks like I'll actually have to know all of the formulas or just be familiar with what formula is used for each credit.
I'll probably be missing in action for a few weeks as I plan to study at least 2 hours every night. Of course, last night I fell asleep while studying so I only got in an hour, but I think I'm getting a slight cold which would explain why I was so tired yesterday; I could barely keep my eyes open!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Houston to Richland Springs and Back Again

This weekend Blair and I went to Tara's ranch in Richland Springs, Texas. I think the population there is 350. As this was Blair's first trip outside of Houston I was determined to give him a taste of Americana. Unfortunately his only experience of Americana was the movie Deliverance, so understandably he was slightly nervous about getting out of the car.
First stop was Pardners in Buchanan. We pulled up into the parking lot and he decided he wasn't going to get out of the car. Too bad, because the people watching in the bar was priceless. I tried to get photos but most of them turned up too dark but, I have four words for you:Rhinestone Boot Disco Ball! Also, he got hasseled in the car when some cops banged on the window and asked him where he was from. When he said "Houston" they said, "You don't sound like you're from Houston boy". Serves him right, should have gone into the bar with me!

Once at the ranch it was much of the usual:drinking, smoking and fire arms. Oh, and Queso, yumm. It was a really relaxing and fun weekend and everyone got along just swell. Hopefully we'll get to go back soon, maybe Memorial day.
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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Cool Coolness

I have spent many minutes bitching aimlessly about the absence of a program I had on a Kyocera model mobile phone years ago on all new phones since. I probably made about as much sense during those many minutes of bitching as I did in that last sentence (grammar much?).
But lo and behold my days of bitching are over (at least on that subject) as I have just downloaded a program called Tipster to my Blackjack AND it does exactly what I need it to do! Oh, except it doesn't calculate at 17%, only 15% and 20%. Oh well, I guess I'll let that one slide.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Miracle

I got Lasik! I now have 20/20 vision! No more glasses or contacts! I can go swimming and open my eyes under water and actually see stuff! I can wake up in the morning and tell how late for work I am! I can get drunk and pass out and not have to worry about taking my contacts out! I can be stranded on a desert island and survive because I can see!

It is a miracle.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Back and Forth, Round and Round

I do this to myself. I seek out debate. Even if I don't have a firm opinion on something, I will often pick a side and argue my point. Too bad I went to Podunk H.S., I could have been all state if we'd had a debate team! Lately, I've been having a little back and forth with some Conservatives who like to pass on propaganda to me in the form of emails and "articles". I get agitated with them because whatever my response is, they come back with a nonsensical response and usually a personal jab of some sort.

Here is the response that I posted to a long, story email about a father and a girl. The story compares sharing money (via taxes) to sharing grades in college (by the dean taking the girl's G.P.A. points and redistributing the points):

Why do Republicans compare apples to oranges and call it a truth?

Distribution of wealth isn't just about those people who don't 'deserve' to have anything because they don't work as hard as everyone else, but about those who are prevented from doing so, usually by illness or injury. Certainly there are those who take advantage of the programs currently available, but even prisons wouldn't exist without government funding, and I don't hear anyone arguing to cut those programs.

(The response makes a lot of sense in the context of the story's details).

Here's what someone wrote back to me:

I guess we should all go live in Russia so we can all live on the government and prisons will be available with no complaints.

WTF does that even mean? Are they referring to Communist Russia? Because last time I check Russia is a Democracy (albeit nearly a dictatorship with Putin's recent actions). I told this person to go read a book (I was frustrated and tired and didn't have time to compose a lengthy response).

Next, the original poster of the story wrote this (Reply All):

First of all, let me say thank you to those of you who cheered on this comparison that is being dubbed an "apples to oranges" comparison. It's so nice to have so many people taking this election so personally. I hope that everyone will exercise their fervor with the power of the secret ballot. The reason that I am responding to this so pubicly is because I have been spurred on by a few and, let's just be honest, pride has perhaps got the best of me at this moment. Honestly, I haven't taken politics personally until this moment. I personally think you should be paying closer attention to your local representatives, judges, etc. as they make a bigger impact on you in the great scheme of things. Maybe I am wrong on that though, and am sure to hear the brunt of your opinion if I am. Republicans have their faults, but sometimes we must choose between the lesser of two evils, especially given the representatives from which we have to choose. The office of presidency has no doubt an instrumental hand in your life and mine. And furthermore, we want to put Bill Clinton, George W on a pedestal/guillotine. But the truth of the matter is that they, as all presidents do, is thrive in an inherited environment. In other words, as a student and once-upon-a-time, teacher of history, one will find that, as they study the chronology of former presidents, that they spend the bulk of their time in office sifting through the former president's old trash-good and bad. Much like the swells in an ocean, they have been building deep in the vast sea long before you or I ever see them on shore. That out of the way, I have but one thing to say in response to the what I would call a sarcastic response, at best, to my friends:

Would those of you with a brain please get out there and vote later this year?

Much like the swells in an ocean??? Again, WTF is this person even talking about. Sadly, I'm pretty sure she's a college graduate, although I think she got a teaching degree, which speaks loads about our educational system. Actually, maybe she just recites the curriculum given to her and her inability to form logical thoughts only comes out in personal correspondence. Additionally, this was before Texas held its primaries, so I'm not sure if she's including herself in the group of people who have a brain because otherwise she meant vote later this week, right S?

Next, same chick posted this "article", which for sake of room I will provide the Snopes page to which I referred her and this was my response to her post:

Someone I know posted this *idiotic* bulletin which, considering I'm still fired up after the primaries yesterday, has really struck a nerve with me. I get so irritated when I see propaganda like this: pseudo-scientific, illogical babble passed around by conservatives who for some reason seem to be threatened by the hoi polloi or the "welfare nation" as they see it, without realizing that many of them them rank amongst them (Dear middle class and rural Americans, you fall below the line even though you've been led to believe you fall above it). This is the 2nd such attach I've seen in a week, and it almost laughable to realize that some people get stuff like this in their inbox and swallow it whole, print it out and pass it around to their friends and family, saying "OMG, You've got to read this great article", all the while not realizing (or do they??) its essentially a hoax!

Okay, I'll cease my rant, refer you the Snopes (http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp) article that invalidates ALL BUT ONE (!!!Even the quoted sources are made up!!!) of the suppositions below and hope and pray that the people of this "Great" nation learn to look up the facts (Seriously, everyone should already have Snopes and Wikipedia bookmarked) once in a while instead of passing along garbage like this:

Which, granted was more incindiary, and prompted the below exchange:

From: S
Date: 05 Mar 2008, 17:39


Why do you react to things like this in such a bitchy manner? If you don't agree with something, why do you even pass it on? You give so much negative energy to things you say you don't agree with. You should really watch 'The Secret.' It may help you.

My Response:
Actually, S, I read (underline) The Secret, and its not about being 'bitchy', its about responding to something that I see being passed around and recognize to be erroneous in its assumptions. Its about pointing out Snopes articles and saying "Don't believe everything you read, and only half of what you see" and then passing that information on.

The definition of Apathy is having an absence of concern or interest, emotion or feeling, especially concerning matters of general importance. To sit around and visualize a better tomorrow for myself is passive and bordering on apathetic, so no thank you.

I'm not trying to change your mind or your ideology. But any time I see a post, by you or anyone else, and happen to read it and recognize it to be erroneous or invalid reasoning (see http://virtualschool.edu/mon/SocialConstruction/Logic.html for the rules of logic), and if I feel like it, I will probably repost it with a correction, if it is indeed wrong. And sometimes I'm wrong about things, too. But usually its about men or which top goes with which pants, not politics :)
----------------- Original Message -----------------

So the moral of the story is I think its important to not just roll over and take it. If you see something you don't agree with you have the right to response or to silence and when people put statements, stories, whatever out there that are just plain fallacious and/or made up, perhaps they shouldn't be so surprised when someone calls them out on it. (Obviously, I'm short on time again, as what I really want to say would take much longer but be much more elegant and meaningful, but oh well).

Monday, February 11, 2008

Step 2???

I just bought my first pair of MANOLO'S! Obviously I am uber excited. My feet feel so good in them - It was meant to be. They are my new best friend and I am taking them everywhere with me. Chilling, really, when I think of how retail theraphy has the odd, serene effect much like darvoset and a couple vodka tonics. Or really, really good sex...the kind I haven't had in, oh, say 7 months. PS, Don't tell my checking account.
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Very Very Very Sad

With the crash of my hard drive last month I lost all of my Quicken Data from May 2007 to the present. This sucks! Not just because I'm anal retentive and meticulously log every financial transaction I make, but because this information is actually critical to this year's tax return. I had hopes of recreating the info by re-entering the information from my bank statements, but the matrix of accounts and transactions is so complicated, it would take several days to get it all right. And even then some of the information is too old to be recalled - like checks written for which I only know a date and amount, not to whom or for what. In a rash and bold move, I just decided to delete everything I worked on last weekend and start from scratch as of Jan 1 2008. But a little twinge deep in my gut makes me feel guilty for giving up so easily. Really though, I think it will be fine, I just have to get over wanting to have everything be exactly so. This is the same sort of gusto that led me to shred boxes full of files and receipts that I had been holding on to since I was in high school. Of course, during that shredding incident I destroyed two of my diplomas (though not my B.A., phew), so maybe that's why I'm worried about having a 7 month information gap. I think I'll go get a bottle of wine and drink it all and then just not worry about it. Ahhh, now that sounds responsible.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Notes on Being a Grownup


There was a time in my life all I needed to feel like a grownup was to pay bills. Silly now, and it was silly then. I was 18 and had my first apartment. Actually it was my second, but it was my first me apartment, the first of many small, quirky and most importantly, inexpensive, places that I have a knack of finding. I remember the conversation - I was on the phone with my mom and had just received the electricity bill. It was low, but higher than my mom thought I should be paying. And I told her I liked it, that it made me feel like a grownup.
Now things are a little more sophisticated. Tonight I feel like a grownup because I'm going to sleep in my new bed for the first time. Its a queen size bed. I bought wrinkle free cotton sheets, 300 thread count, and they look and feel like fresh cream. My duvet was purchased from my favorite store, West Elm, and makes the bed look like a cloud. My dream bed, well almost, as the duvet wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but very very close.
Oh, and not exactly my dream bed because the only thing sharing it with me will be the kitties, but again, very close. And I did it all by myself.
Another grown up thing happened today, but not as pleasant as a beautiful new sleeping spot. I spoke with my mom and dad about the estate. A conversation we've had several times since my grandmother passed away. We discussed the division of current and future properties and debt and I expressed my desire for a new will now, while we were thinking about it, that would make me trustee of my brother and would give me control over his portion. Not because I'm an evil sister, but because I don't know for certain that he would be able to manage his portion wisely, considering his current path. Namely the fact that he's in and out of jail and court, constantly in trouble and, I suspect, back on Meth. This part of feeling like a grown up I don't like as much. But its still something I can do all by myself. And for that I help myself to another serving of ice cream, bedcause I'm a grownup and I can do what I want.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Wack in the Brain

I just consumed an entire portion of Pad Thai with Tofu from Pei Wei. It is really my favorite thing there, but I always feel like an enormous lard ass after I do that. And that's where I'm wack, because according to this chart and many others like it, I am mid to low range on my weight for a person of my height. (I'm 5'11 and weigh 150 lbs).

I remember being thinner in high school, but I also remember passing out in the shower almost every day because my blood sugar was so low. This mental idiocy pisses me off. I've read some really interesting articles detailing society's dictation on body type and basically it boils down to being fat is currently associated with being poor (because cheap food is often high calorie, low nutrition and makes you gain weight).

Being thin is associated with being elite. I've never wanted to align myself with elitist. But at the same time I wish I could be borrowing my girl Shelley's size 4 jeans. Double wack, b/c no telling where they've been ;).

Friday, January 11, 2008

Recommended



**Not Teen Pregnancy, the movie you silly**

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Camping NYE 2007

I do not recommend camping on NYE if you live in the Northern Hemisphere. I hear its the thing to do South of the Equator where its summer right now, but we froze our butts off. Here are some photos of my trip with my pals to Inks Lake near Burnet Texas. We ate, we drank, we played poker, and we tried to go fishing. Then we drank and played poker some more. Got way wasted on NYE and made an ass of myself by falling down and cutting my hand open. Also the heater went out in the Cabin that night and it was 25 degrees with a high wind. But I still love champagne and luckily, my friends still love me!!


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Wednesday, January 02, 2008

New Year's Resolutions:2008

I've done pretty well with my resolutions from last year. My final 07 Update is as follows

Resolutions '07

1. Improve Finanaces
-Create a budget and stick to it - Budget created although it is a very vague, general budget with lots of room for "extra expenses". Basically I just have my core expenses and I keep them as low as possible, then everything else goes towards debt.
-Pay off credit card debt - Okay, I paid all of my credit cards off in August, but then immediately incurred a bunch of moving expenses, so I'm back to where I was. But if I did it once I can do it again.
-Open a Roth IRA & Start saving for retirement - I opened a traditional IRA and rolled over my previous job's 401k into it. I'm eligible for my new employer's 401k in about a year, so I'm focusing on paying down debt and then will try to catch up and max out the 2008 contribution amount for the 401k.
-Buy a Toyota Prius (maybe even a new one) - Ha! Bought it in June - a break up present for myself.
2. Remember Birthdays and Keep Up with Friends More Often - I did well with this one. But it did cause me to realize I really have a LOT of friends, so I've focused on my real friends and let the acquaintances mostly slip.
3. Improve Personal Appearance
-Become more physically fit (goal measurements 36-28-38) - hit goal in October
-Spend more time caring for hair, skin, nails & teeth - ummm, not so good here
-Update & Improve wardrobe - an ongoing process
4. Maintain a Clean and Organized Household
-Clean & Straighten house often - doing good with this most of the time. Still hate doing dishes
-Finish all renovation/remodeling/improvement projects - Moved, so have a whole new batch of projects.

And that's it!

So now on to my 2008 additions:
1. Goal Measurements 36-26-36.
2. Continue Improving Personal Appearance -
The goal is to spend more time looking like an attractive girl and less time hiding myself in baggy clothes with my hair pulled back and my glasses on.
3. Get Lasik Surgery - I already went in for a consultation and they told me I'm not a good candidate but I'm going in for a second opinion.
4. Stop Drinking....okay - Reduce Drinking - I drink too much. Period. I'm too old for this shit and it needs to stop.
5. Read at least 12 Books - an average of 1 per month.
6. Make New Friends - I have lots of good friends, but I don't have someone I would call my 'best friend'. Actually, Chris is my best friend but he lives in L.A., so I need a new BF, one that lives here.

So there's definitely fewer things I want to work on this year, but I feel like I've kinda got things under control for now, so I have fewer 'big' things I want to work on. I guess I should resolve to be careful not to become too content with my life as is and to always be striving for more. But being content for once in my life will be a nice change. And it hasn't happened yet, so I'll worry about it when it does.