The first of the christmas questions...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper

2. Real tree or Artificial? i think we're getting artificial this year. my cat eats the tree... ew.

3. When do you put up the tree? just before christmas

4. When do you take the tree down? right after new year's

5. Do you like eggnog? bring it!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? the hello kitty plush

7. Hardest person to buy for? my sis - i never know what to get!

8. Easiest person to buy for? me

9. Do you have a nativity scene? uh. no.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? MAIL working on Christmas cards after Thanksgiving

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? i can't recall that information, Senator

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Santa Clause: The Movie (circa mid-1980s)... or not really a christmas movie, but Trading Places.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? i try to shop all year round

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? i can't recall that information, Senator

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? all of it!

16. Lights on the tree? usually white

17. Favorite Christmas song? i'm dreaming of a white christmas

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? flying to FL to meet the rest of the fam!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? perhaps.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? angel i think.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? people.

23. Ornaments: theme or color? neither. ornaments that have been gifts from family or are ones we've had forever. so i guess the theme would be ornaments of sentimental value.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? whatever my mom makes! yum!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? gym gear (i've been going!!!)

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? well, it is on my blog - so ... um... no one?


Happy holidays to all!

a moment in the movies

i moved into a new office a couple of months ago - and this office has more cabinets and drawers than the OG cave. i've never really looked in them until today. and i had this moment as i looked at the largest survival kit EVER, and thought - well, if this isn't foreshadowing I don't know what is... other than being followed by cellists who are playing that creepy music often found in movies.

so ... if you find yourself downtown in a natural disaster - my office, 2nd cabinet, 4th drawer down, you will find an emergency kit larger than my gym bag!

though on the other side - i feel comforted that my employer cares about my safety so much that i have the largest emergency kit EVER!

ADDITION: I went through the other 2 cabinets in my office and found 4 crowbars and another 2 of the largest emergency kits ever! so definitely my office in an emergency!!

i think i'm singing the blues

so... last night my friend Heather and I went to the VooDoo lounge to watch some folks i know perform at an open mic nite!

well, heather and i got there a little early and by the time the singing started we were more than a beer or so in! and i think i committed to singing at the next open mic night... in 2 weeks. i think i said i'd do either ella fitzegerald or etta james. i think.

either way... for anyone interested in a good time join the OG and friends (the friends will be singing more than 1 song, i'm only doing 1) for cocktails and tunes... at the voodoo lounge - in 2 weeks.

so stayed tuned when the OG says - and for my next number i'd like to dedicate it to...

what i miss most

i've been missing in action lately. i've received no less than 4 emails in the last week from friends saying "did you fall off the planet?" ok - they didn't all exactly say that - but they said something along that vein. in fact, a friend from DC decided i was taking too long to respond to her letters - that she came to visit and she's currently sleeping on an air mattress in my living room as i type.

i've been in a funk lately. unfortunately it hasn't been a James Brown or Earth Wind & Fire funk. i've just not been interested in taking any sort of initiative to plan anything. actually, i've just not been interested in doing anything that may mess up my routine of coming home from work and sleeping and reading. sushi has been the exception. because without sushi OG goes craZy.

so i find myself realizing that though i've been single for over a year - and living alone (with my crazy feline) for 9 months - it isn't that i miss having a significant other in my life for company, it is something else. don't get my wrong, i miss not having someone to put my cold feet on when i crawl into bed. or someone i can try to kill with my pathetic attempts of cooking meals... what i really miss is someone i can laugh with. someone that i can have that inside joke with. someone i can send a pict msg from my phone to when i see something totally bizarre that i just HAVE to share. or someone i can sit with in silence and just enjoy being together in each other's company reading or playing in the internet. i have some pretty awesome friends that i can share these things with (bar the cold toes) but it isn't the same. but i don't want false sharing of these things either. not just for the heck of it.

i've never been one to be in a relationship just because. but i recognize that the friends i've not seen lately are the connections to life i've been missing.

consider yourselves warned... i'm getting out of the house!!

that natural high...

so i went to the gym this evening for the first time in - well i don't recall how long! but i did it. i walked in the door around 645pm - walked out about an hour or so later. I left, walked to the bus stop and while i was on the bus it hit me - i was feeling good. i hit that adrenaline high. that body-natural chemical experience...

it is tremendous. i highly recommend it. certainly cheaper than anything artificial. with the exception of buying REALLY fabulous shoes on sale.

I didn't realize what i was missing until I found it again. and now that i have - i'm ready to go back to the gym again tomorrow!!

the monster is back!

growl!

A quote for hope

the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" is far and away my favorite movie. the 1994 classic starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman is an amazing story that i watch whenever i need something and i don't know what that something is. for those of you who haven't seen this film - rent it! rent it right now! or you can borrow my copy. i have it on DVD and VHS.
A friend sent me the following quote this week from the movie and i want to share...


Andy Dufresne: That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?

Red: I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here.

Andy Dufresne: Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.

Red: Forget?

Andy Dufresne: Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours.

Red: What're you talking about?

Andy Dufresne: Hope.

Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.



Andy Dufresne: [in letter to Red after his escape from prison] Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.



Red: [narrating after his release from prison while breaking parole to leave the country] I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

on the road again!

this time i'm in the great state of Texas. the weather is quite pleasant and definitely better than last time - which was snow/sleet/ice and a 3 hour delay at the airport.

heading home friday. hopefully without a delay!

only in town long enough to hang everything in the closet and then put it all back in the bag to come home.

waiting for it to be morning

I find I’m anticipating the results of the election, as if it were Christmas eve and I’m waiting for it to be Christmas morning. Never has it been so painful to wait! it is a nail biting experience. check cnn.com. no information. darn. check msnbc.com. no information. darn-darn. abcnews.com. oh look celebrity gossip. election coverage? no new news. darn-darn-darn.

I find waiting for Santa less agonizing! yes, Santa still visits me! I think he'll keep on bringing pressies until I'm married or have kids. Sorry sister, no more pressies for you! :P

I just hope I wake up tomorrow and there are really reasons to celebrate and not to commiserate.

today's horoscope

Leo (7/23-8/22)

An opportunity to go on an interesting adventure arrives today -- are you ready?


The above is my horoscope for today. "opportunity to go on an interesting adventure, today"??? this should have been yesterdays.

i can't possibly imagine another interesting adventure crossing my path. 24 hours, 2 interesting adventures. 1 woman. sounds more like a movie than my life.

can't wait for the day!!!

A bizarre Halloween - part 3

if you haven't read parts 1 and 2 - please scroll down - none of what i'm going to relay here is going to make sense otherwise...

so - the last time we left our heroine, she was returning from the flight deck... so my new friend and i get back to our seats and we talk about work, travel, where we're originally from, etc. the plane finally takes off (i'm no longer in the pilot's seat) and off we took off for SF.

my friend and i talk about travel, etc. he talks about having several hundred thousand miles from traveling and i ask why he never uses them, etc. by this point we've been chatting for at least 2 hours. fortunately the flight to SF was uneventful and we landed with only minimal bumps on the way down. nice landing, captain!

so the steward comes on and starts talking about the various gates for other flights. portland gate X, boise gate Y, honolulu gate Z, etc. well the honolulu comes up and i say, i've never been to hawaii, had he? he says, yes. you wanna go?

EXCUSE ME!?!?!

hawaii with essentially a stranger. ok, yes after 3 hours next to each other on a plane we're practically married, but what??!?1 HAWAII??!

so we walk over to the counter for giggles to see what it would cost. long story short - 25,000 miles each (which he had), $5 each, and $100 charge for it being day of.

ok - this is reasonable cost!
BUT I JUST MET HIM! yeah, we could talk up a storm - but i don't know anything about him, really. as my friend Devon said when i called her - she said, he could be an axe-murderer!! of course, Cat on the other hand wanted to know why i was calling from my car and was on my way home after an offer like that!

suffice it to say, i declined the offer.

but it has to be the most BIZARRE Halloween on record for me. in a 6 hour time frame, one man gives me jewelry (even if it was plastic) and another a trip to Hawaii...

i can't wait for next year's halloween!

A bizarre Halloween - part 2

ok - yes, i should have written this blog backwards so that that story is in order, but oh well!

so i make it to the airport - and low and behold, my flight to SF is delayed. don't get me on the topic of SF weather and the delays it seems to cause. so i get some lunch - grab my book, buy some water and settle in for a wait. just when we are supposed to be taking off - the podium guy who helps us board - gets on the speaker and says, the pilot wants to board, we're going to take our chances and see if we can get an earlier spot to take off... if not, we'll be sitting on the tarmac away from the terminal for up to 1.5 hours. (ugh)
well, i take my chances, board the plane and settle in. we pull away from the gate - and yup - the captain informs us that we'll be sitting on the tarmac for 90 minutes, but that once we get parked "in our parking space" they will be opening up the 'flight deck' and the co-pilot will be offering 'flying lessons'. i thought this was a joke. so did the guy next to me. so the guy next to me and i start chatting. me chat with a stranger? the heck you say. so we chat about the crap movie they are showing us ('swing vote' starring kevin costner, dennis hopper, nathan lane, kelsey grammer, stanley tucci, george lopez- yes even with a cast like this - it was crap, i didn't need audio to tell you that) ...
and we talk about the reason we're flying, me - home, he's doing a snowboard convention thing... turns out he's a photo editor for a snowboarding magazine... interesting...
so time for drinks - we're not going anywhere for 90 minutes - so a round of beers is in order. we chat. we enjoy our beer. and finally, the captain reminds us that the flight deck is open - come up for your flying lesson...

well - we did. here's the photo to prove it.



yep, that's me in the pilot seat... watch out!

so the co-pilot takes me through the infinite buttons and dials (it was just like that scene in Airplane). It was interesting that there wasn't a 'steering wheel' just a joy stick for the up, down, left and right of the plane while it is in the air and a disk next to that for when on the ground. and for those of you who wonder if there is a speed limit on the ground - it is 30 mph and other planes will tattle if they think you are going too fast. i know i've been on a few planes that the pilot has been bookin' it on the ground.

well, my new friend, joined me for the grand tour of the flight deck and the pilot thought we were together and he took out his camera and took a picture of us both. the pilot then gave me his card with the photo reference number on it - and said to email him with that number and he'd send us the picture. we set him straight that we'd just met but thanked him for taking the picture. i thought it was SO cool - that the pilot would take pictures of folks and send them copies.

so random... or really... how bizarre!

A bizarre Halloween

Yesterday was a bizarre Halloween - and i didn't really go out last night or dress up in costume (unless you count a suit as a costume, which I usually do).

I started the day in Irvine/Newport - and went to go visit one of the managers that I coach as he's in a development program... well, the leader who we call the 'lobby leader' was doing his job and asked how he could help etc and i said i wanted to speak with the manager. he said he'd let him know i was here and went to let him know. the manager, let's call him Bob, and the lobby guy, Frank - for the sake of ease... anyway, frank comes back and says Bob is busy - so i sit in the chairs and wait. Frank is, i'm guessing about 23/24 - and he proceeds to be conversational as he should - doing is job - he helps other customers and then he comes back and starts to flirt with me. now, in fairness to Frank - he didn't know i worked for corporate. he thought i was a customer. he asks me to join him this halloween evening - i decline saying that i had to fly home in a few hours. later he says, "so i guess you won't be visiting me later in the store". later he's over at the halloween candy table that they have set up in the store for the kiddies... and he goes over pokes through the candies and trinkets and hands me a green plastic pumpkin ring. i must have looked AWESOME (more than usual) yesterday for a guy to know me 10 minutes and hand me jewelery. you get the gist of where this is going... and Bob is finally finished and we go and chat for 15 or 20 minutes and i have to get going as i have a plane to catch.
well Bob reintroduces me to Frank - and tells Frank who i am - from corporate, etc. and the poor chap just got very nervous all of a sudden. i think my favorite part of the exchange was i was telling bob how frank had been very nice and had done a great job of talking to me, etc. and frank says, well given you're corporate, it's a good think i wasn't hitting on you.
i almost lost it!
well i look at my watch and my plane is scheduled (note the word usage there) to take off in an hour - and i have to get going as i have to return my rental car, etc.

it was a lovely compliment to have this young guy hit on me... definitely made my afternoon... but then... i got the airport and it all became even more bizarre...