Month of October, 2002

Much rejoicing. I submitted my

Much rejoicing. I submitted my grad school application. Now we wait.

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Quote of the Day "Measured

Quote of the Day
"Measured with a micrometer then cut with an axe."
- Dad, in regards to business

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Bagotronics Through a little

Bagotronics

Through a little insider information, I've learned that this is indeed a marketing ploy (no duh). I even know which big blue company it is. But I think it will be even more exciting for you all to wait until tomorrow to find out. Of course, you could just head over to Metafilter where the beans have been spilled. Or check the New York Times article which also points us in the right direction.

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Fog

I love how the fog deadens noise. It was so quiet while Tiger and I were walking this morning I almost thought I was in the country. If only I were.

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Busy, busy This week is

Busy, busy
This week is going to get busy. I should be busting my butt getting ready for everything but instead, last night I got home from work and watched TV. Like 3 hours of it. I'm feel so guilty when I've got stuff to do but then all I do is watch TV. Bad Erica.

So I should have been finishing up my application essays. Karen has been kind enough to help editing them (now that they're written), but I still need to go over them a billion more times before I'm comfortable. No matter how much work I do, I'll probably never be 100% happy with them. The application is due on Thursday so I have little choice than to just get it done and upload it. Much rejoicing after that happens.

I should also be preparing for the garage sale I'm having on Saturday. It's amazing how much junk I've already dug up, but I need more. Then I have to attempt to make everything somewhat presentable. At least put everything in mildly organized piles for people to look through. Mom heard an interesting thing from one of her friends who just had a garage sale. She said they caught quite a few people trying to steal stuff from them. (Like filling up a suitcase with stuff then trying to buy the suitcase.) Sad state of affairs when people are stealing at garage sales. Oh, and signs! I need to make lots of signs! So plenty of preparation needs to happen in the next few days.

It'll be the end of the week that things get really crazy. Rumor has it that Tina is going to have a Halloween party. (I want to hear ghost stories!!) Friday is officially Kristen's birthday. I'm sure there will be some celebrating of some sort. Saturday is the garage sale. In the afternoon, we're going to Greyfest - a festival for Greyhounds Unlimited. Then Saturday night is Jessica and Billy's Halloween party. Whew, I'm already tired just thinking about it!

Tiger Boots Tiger would look

Tiger Boots
Tiger would look SO cute in a pair of these little boots. Too bad I doubt he'd wear them for very long.

Bagotronics Anybody seen this? Apparently

Bagotronics
Anybody seen this? Apparently there's a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal today advertising an annoucement Bagotronics will make on Thursday. Looks interesting - magic business beans, magic business pixie dust, and business reality detector. Dad pointed out that someone is spending a lot of money on this. It will be interesting to see the purpose. I hope it's art for arts sake.

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Blogdex 2.0 Blogdex got a

Blogdex 2.0
Blogdex got a new look and apparently a new backend as well. Now, why can't I get a new backend?

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It's hard not to laugh

It's hard not to laugh
It's so hard not to laugh when your customer is listening to Nelly in the background. "It's getting hot in here..."

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Crappy

Today was really crappy but sometimes Mondays are like that.

Lots of kitchens
The weekend consisted of lots of time in the kitchen. Friday night I hung out all night in Anbei's kitchen with her and Never. Then Saturday night I spent time with Summer in her parents' kitchen. Lots of good conversation this weekend with awesome women. I'm so thankful for these friends.

Getting to spend time with Summer was really a blessing. We haven't seen each other in a really long time and so much has happened! The biggest thing was Summer and Greg's move to Colorado. Sounds like they're settling down and are loving all the outdoor activities that exist there. I'm sure they'll love the winter sports just as much. I'm going to have to visit them soon and get a piece of winter! We talked a lot about work and goals and where life is going in general. (Something I've been thinking about a lot lately.) It was so good for me to have someone I trust so deeply and someone who has known me for so long to talk with. Summer is totally and will always be my soul mate.

Happy Birthday

We celebrated Kristen's birthday on Sunday. It was a little bit early as she actually turns 22 on Friday. Mom cooked an incredible meal - shrimp, salmon, artichokes, salad, and asparagus - which ended with a cheesecake! Then Kristen racked up the gifts! Hopefully she's having a very happy birthday week. We're lucky to have her this many years. (Even though hearing she's 22 makes me feel really old...isn't she supposed to be in junior high forever?)

Adult Syndrome! Ahhh, I soooo

Adult Syndrome!
Ahhh, I soooo have adult syndrome! After staying up with Never and Anbei til 3:30am, I woke up at 10am!! Oh why, oh why can't I sleep in? But to spend such an awesome night with these amazing ladies was such a stroke of luck! So I really can't complain. Now I'm off to a company picnic.

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Good morning!

Good morning!

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Quiet It's been quiet

Quiet
It's been quiet around here because I took yesterday off work. Tuesday night I was feeling a lot of stress about my application essays and wanted to spend some quality time on them. The majority of the day was spent writing though I did find time to complete a few other necessary tasks (like washing sheets).

Writing these essays has been very discouraging to me. It's not that I can't write. (As I seem to write here all the time...though there might be some question to the quality...) It's that I get so bogged down with how I think the admissions committee would want me to write that I start writing poorly. The stuff I wrote yesterday wasn't a very good indicator of how I write. To me, that's really frustrating. But I've enlisted the help of a few people and they are all making wonderful suggestions. A little more work and this will all be over and done with. If I can make it that long.

I had an epiphany last night. I realized that it's not my writing that I'm having a hard time with but the essay topics. I can write easily when it is a topic I'm interested in or feel strongly about. Though I'm very interested in my future and what an MBA can do to make it better; I'm not particularly good at putting it into words. I'm not in rah-rah mode where I'm all excited to be going back to school. Getting an MBA isn't a lifelong dream that I've been saving my allowance for since I was 5. Rather, it just seems like a smart career move when all things are considered. That's the honest truth. I'm just not convinced that an admissions committee would want to hear that. So I must enter the phase of embellishment - making my future look better than I currently feel about it.

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If you're in Lubbock Melissa

If you're in Lubbock
Melissa Guest, the UD Editor, will be on Michael Duff's show tonight at 7pm on KTXT 88.1.
If you're not in Lubbock
You can listen to it streaming at www.ktxt.net/Stream/.

I'm assuming this is going to be an interview about the controversial editorial published last week.

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Shopping for Electricity Texas recently

Shopping for Electricity
Texas recently deregulated their electricity to promote competition. This means I can now choose my electricity provider. The Public Utility Commission of Texas put up a really helpful site - www.powertochoose.org. I'm curious if anyone else has "shopped around" and if so, what did you find?

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It's funny how long it

It's funny how long it can take to get off the phone when two people are being courteous. I just overheard a coworker: "Thanks" pause "Uh huh" pause "Great" pause "You, too" pause "Thanks" pause "Buh-Bye."

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Damn Caller ID I got

Damn Caller ID
I got busted for dialing the wrong number last night. I was trying to call Kevin and hit the quick keys to pull him up in the address book on my phone. Instead of making sure I hit the right numbers, I simply hit send. A man picked up from a very loud location. It didn't take me long to realize I had dialed someone else in my address book. Of course a quick look to the phone made me realize who I had called. Since Max and I haven't talked in months, I was embarrassed that I had accidentally called him up. Instead of telling him who I was, I simply apologized that I had the wrong number. Then caller ID busted me! He asked if I was calling from Texas.

So we ended up having a really nice conversation. I'm so impressed with his memory of the details of my life - like that I live with a herd of dogs. I feel that there was some reason I accidentally dialed Max and a reason that he answered (despite being out with friends). Now I just have to wait and to find out what it is.

I eventually dialed correctly and talked to Kevin. Fell asleep wishing he were here.

Warning Bitching Ahead I'm suddenly

Warning Bitching Ahead
I'm suddenly feeling slightly grouchy and feel the need to bitch. Though overall this has been an absolutely great day! There are just a few things driving me crazy recently.

• People who are always reminding everyone else that they have the coolest stuff / taste / ideas / etc. You might have the cool stuff (or know where to get it) but it's just STUFF. And if it's not just stuff, have some humility.
• People who ask you how your weekend was but really just want the opportunity to tell you about theirs. That's fine, I like to listen, but don't pretend to care what I have to say. I'm not stupid.
• People who are loud and dramatic. They always need someone to pay attention to them. Especially when it's not worth paying attention to.
• People who are quiet and dramatic. Their whining is too much to bear.
• The music in Wal-Mart which sucks. Badly. Just because the food is cheap doesn't mean the music has to be too. Why not have it just be quiet. Novel idea.

Hmm, feeling much better now.

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A Bright Idea? Garage Sale,

A Bright Idea? Garage Sale, Nov 2nd
Bryan and I were talking about a garage sale in the coming weeks. I've got plenty of things I'd like to get rid of but aren't really worth much money. I'm all for earning a little extra holiday money and cleaning out the closets at the same time. Of course the problem is I don't have all that much stuff. The bigger the garage sale, the more magnetic power it seems to carry. We live in a great neighborhood for it and I'll be happy to drive all leftovers to a local charity when it's over. The only catch is I have ONE free Saturday coming up - November 2nd. So would any of you be interested in joining me for a garage sale?

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Sniper Shootings I heard on

Sniper Shootings
I heard on the radio this morning that they arrested two men in conjunction with the Washington area sniper shootings. It didn't sound like it was the actual shooter but hopefully they're getting closer to him. It's mind boggling how someone can just go out and shoot random people. Not for any other reason than for death. I got a call the other day at work from a woman in Canada. She was asking about Americans' reactions to these horrible circumstances. All I could say is how bad I feel; I can't even begin to imagine the fear people in that area must be experiencing.

Thirteen people (who were doing normal, daily things in a public place) were randomly chosen and shot. The shooter is using a high powered rifle and is apparently a good marksman. The newspapers have reported finding a tarot card and later, at another location, a letter. Authorities announced today that they were preparing a response. Knowing the whole story someday will be extremely interesting. In the meantime, I just hope he will be caught.

And just as disturbing in the news...what is Saddam doing in Iraq releasing all the prisoners? Weird, weird.

*Update* - ends up the men arrested this morning had absolutely nothing to do with shootings at all. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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More evidence blogging is becoming

More evidence blogging is becoming mainstream

Today's Doonesbury strip.
- Thanks, Summer, for the heads up.

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Young, young Tim just sent

Young, young
Tim just sent me some pics from his archives. This one is of me at 16. Everyone else has been cut out of the picutre to protect the innocent.

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Hell of a Show! BoomBoom

Hell of a Show!
BoomBoom HuckJam was absolutely amazing. I ended up going by myself tonight and I'm really, really glad I did. What a totally great surprise for a Saturday night!

Looks like Gianni is going

Looks like Gianni is going to the BoomBoomHuckJam tonight. I want to go too! Didn't even had any idea this kind of thing was happening. Tony Hawk put together a skating, bmx, motorcross show. A bunch of professionals riding for show, not competition. Based on the site's video, it looks absolutely amazing. Anyone else up for this?

Friday Night So it's 6pm

Friday Night
So it's 6pm and I'm the last person in the office. Or at least as far as I can tell. It's raining cats and dogs outside. I can hear it on the room even though the insulation in this building is pretty good. I want to go home and get in bed. A book and some tv sounds like a good plan for the evening.

The rain must have let up just now because all I can hear is the hum of computers.

Sometimes when I'm in the office by myself I want to be really loud. Listen to music loud, talk on speaker phone...just because I can. But tonight I just want to be quiet. I'm going to quit mouse clicking and read a book.

Holy Cow, Someone's Demonstrating at Tech!

It's really great to see an article about students protesting the anti-homosexuality article that was published in Tech's student newspaper. I congratulate everyone who got out there and did something! It's very exciting to see a group of people who feel so strongly about an issue that they are moved to action. Wish I could have been there!

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Wanna Stay Home It's Friday,

Wanna Stay Home
It's Friday, I'm worn out from the week. It's about to start raining here. All I want to do is stay home. Alas, I have to go to work. Bleh.

What happens to email when you die?
So I was thinking this morning about death and what happens to one's email when they die. I realize that the computer gods don't know you died so they don't turn off your email account right away. But I'm sure once the money stops rolling in, or the inbox gets too full, the emails bounce back to the senders. What about the ones that don't get bounced back? What about my internet friends who don't know anyone in my real life who could tell them that I'm dead? They'd just be left hanging forever. They'd think I was a big meanie and just never wrote back, but it would really just be lack of access to email in the afterlife. Oh the horrors!

I think I'm going to write an e-will. It will include all email addresses, sites, etc that I run. That way the executor of the will can post that I'm dead and send email back to anyone explaining why I can't write. I'll feel much better knowing my internet friends will be informed. Now I just have to dig up all the passwords.

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Happy Birthday, MOM!!

Happy Birthday, MOM!!

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The University Daily at Texas Tech

My letter to the editor was published today regarding an embarrasing anti-homosexuality opinion article that ran yesterday. Basically, I feel that the university newspaper should raise the standard for their writers and not print this kind of article.

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Happy Hour

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Wallace & Grommit

Wallace and Grommit are back!!

Why do people write this stuff?

This article against homosexuality is so typical of the university I attended. A stupid opinionated article making all students at the school look ignorant. (I'd like to point out to anyone who isn't familiar with Texas Tech and/or Lubbock - there really are liberal people there! Some of most amazing, progressive people I've known, I met in Lubbock.) It's really a shame that they print this stuff. It's controversy for controversy sake. And it's always been like that...there was always one editorial article a year on homosexuality printed in the paper. Every year. Disappointing.

So I commented on the article and got a great email. Go check out Michael Duff's site. At least controversy still means that liberal people find each other.

*Update - appears my letter to the editor will be published tomorrow in the UD.*

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Happy Hour Tonight is DFW

Happy Hour
Tonight is DFW Blogs monthly happy hour. Would really love to see you there.

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Some things just are too

Some things just are too good to give up
At lunch today, Tim asked hypothetically if I would move across the country for a job that paid double what I currently make plus a company car. At the time I said, "Hell yeah!" But after watching my little sister spew water across the kitchen in a fit of hysterical laughter tonight, I have to change my mind. Living here with my sisters, my two best friends, is simply too good to give up. I am so very, very lucky.

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Money Vs. Time So what's

Money Vs. Time
So what's more important money or time? Something I struggle with on an almost daily basis. If I didn't work full time I would have more time for me. If I didn't work full time I wouldn't have any money. It's a conundrum. (I have no idea if that's the right word but that's the word I feel like using.)

This is really becoming an issue in my travel plans. I'm shopping for plane tickets for my next trip to New York City. I've found a really, really good deal. Keep in mind, one gets good at knowing the price from point A to point B when you're at point A and he's at point B. So the tickets are a great deal but the flight makes a stop. One connection. It adds about 3 more hours onto the (already too long) 4 hour flight. But I would save a whole whopping 60 bucks. What is a girl to do?

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Dreams and Anger

Kept hitting snooze this morning because it was nice a toasty warm in my bed. (It's chilly enough that I got the second down comforter out of the closet finally.) When I hit snooze and go back to sleep, I usually have crazy dreams. This morning I dreamt that Tina, Julie, and I were at Starbucks having coffee. It was completely mobbed with high school kids but we didn't seem to mind much. I guess it got to be close to time for school because suddenly the Starbucks cleared out as did the parking lot. We finished our coffee and headed out to our cars. Except mine wasn't there. I freaked out. Then I realized that the security officer in the area was having cars towed for parking illegally. Then I realized that these parking spots weren't marked appropriately so I had no way of knowing I wasn't supposed to park there. Needless to say, I was unhappy and frustrated. Then she told me that the towing company was in Arkansas with my car! I woke up furious and so relieved to realize my car was in the garage where I left it the night before.

Tires
Yesterday on the way to work, I realized that my front tire was going flat. So I switched cars with my wonderful mother so she could get the flat fixed for me. (I had to work that day and she didn't.) Unfortunately the nice men at the tire store wouldn't fix my flat. They said my tires were too old and they wouldn't want to fix it in case something worse happened and then something bad happened to me. How wonderful that they were so concerned about my safety! So I told Mom not to worry and I would get new tires. I knew it was time as I have 80,000+ miles on my car and the original set of tires.

So this morning, first thing, I went to Discount Tire with the intention of spending a few hundred dollars. (Why does everything car related cost so much?) They were very helpful in picking out a new set and didn't hassle me about rims or anything silly like that. Then zip, boom, bang; they had my new tires on and I rolled out there feeling nice and safe. The said if I was happy with their service I should tell a friend. I'm happy.

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Forgot Over the weekend, Kristen

Forgot
Over the weekend, Kristen went to visit Mom's family in Florida. During the visit, she got to see our 91 year old Aunt Fidy. As one would expect of someone her age, Aunt Fidy's memory isn't what it used to be. Apparently Aunt Fidy forgot she ever smoked cigarettes. So she quit because she didn't remember starting.

Camping was the Best! Kevin

Camping was the Best!

Kevin and I spent the weekend camping in New Mexico and briefly visiting his parents in Lubbock on the way back. We had an absolutely incredible time. Pictures and narrative are up.

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You know what's funny? I

You know what's funny? I mean besides the fact that I'm posting this here instead of writing you an e-mail, making your hundreds of readers wonder where the hell I came from and what I'm all about? What's funny is that I just got around to finishing one of the books you sent me last year for my birthday, and doing so the day before I got it.

I think that's odd.

As is this.

Absolutely loved it, by the way. Very good and very inspiring. Thanks again!

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Camping Kevin arrives tomorrow morning!

Camping
Kevin arrives tomorrow morning! We're going to then drive to New Mexico to camp between White Sands and Cloudcroft. On the way back, we'll stay in Lubbock with Kevin's parents. I'm now doing all the camping preparations for our trip. The pressure is on me because I'm the only one packing the car. Of course Kevin is sending email reminders to help. My favorite so far:

"i guess we need lotsa water, flashlights, food. lighter. suntan lotion. hat 4 u. pocket knife. bug stuff? soap,towels."

Saturday I set the tent up in the backyard just to make sure everything was in order. Just like the package says, setup in less than 5 minutes. (Assuming you know what you're doing.) Why does camping gear only come in one or two colors? Blue or green seems to be the colors of choice...but I want pink.

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My friend, Kris, works in

My friend, Kris, works in a bar. He said he was sweeping the other night and felt something fleshy. Naturally he leaned over to investigate. It was one of those fake boobs that you put into a bra! BUT it was only ONE. He said, "Was she too drunk to realize that she was lopsided? Its not like a contact you know...Hey, nobody move! I lost a tit!"

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Haircut.

Haircut.

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Rainy Day

It's rainy again today and I found it tough getting out of bed. Tiger had me up at 3:30am, but I had no problem going back to sleep. The covers were so warm this morning. Now at work I'm very cold. Wish I was sitting around the house in sweatpants with a good book. Here comes yet another winter that I spend freezing my butt off. Anyone know where I can get some good long johns?

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Character

Last night Min Jung cooked fabulous Korean barbeque dinner. Min Jung was visiting from San Francisco along with Tim Thompson from Austin. It was a great excuse to get a bunch of people together to eat. There may even be a Mirror Project photo coming soon. Mark and Jeremy were wonderful to have us over. Thanks, guys.

After dinner, Dave and I were catching up. He brought up the topic of character and we had a great conversation. It's good to know my friends are thinking about such things. I think about character quite a bit. I was definitely raised with a notion of right and wrong. For a bit of my life, I didn't concern myself much about character. It didn't take long for me to realize that this wasn't really how I wanted to live. For the past two and a half years, I have been working very diligently to demonstrate I have good character. Conversation with Dave reminded me of this and made me feel good that for awhile now, doing the right thing has been easy for me. I'm not constantly thinking about character and choosing it; now it's coming naturally. What a wonderful feeling.

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This is NOT my

This is NOT my house.

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Friday night After work just

Friday night
After work just stayed home for girls night. Kristen had Shelby and Nicki over for running around in our pj's fun. Everyone helped cook a really great dinner. Then we watched Crossroads, the Brittany Spears movie, and gave our hands a hot wax bath. It was a perfect night at home to do silly girl stuff.

Saturday
The day just kinda ran away from me. Tiger woke me up at 6am but I couldn't go back to sleep. So I got up and wrote a rough draft of the first application essay. Then around 7am, I headed over to Mom and Dad's hoping they would be up and in a mood for breakfast. They were rather surprised to see me at that hour but were happy to include me in their breakfast plans - french toast. *Drool* Afterwards, I came back home and wrote some more.

Then Grandma called for a ride from the salon. On the way home, stopped to buy Mom a birthday card - her birthday is October 17th. After dropping Grandma off and got home, Karen and Kristen dragged me to the anniversary celebration for our little town. It's 50 years old this weekend and they had a little fair at the park around the corner. Of course we took the dogs with us and Tiger got SOOOOO much attention. I actually got worn out talking about Greyhound rescue but it was fun. Came home to write some more but by late afternoon I was exhausted. So I took a nap. Got up to write some more but only did a little bit.

Decided to treat myself to a movie last night, because I did manage to get a fair amount of work done. Dustin, Karen, Bryan, and I met out at the Angelika to see Spirited Away. Excellent movie!! The story is so imaginative and fun. Then came home and tumbled into bed.

Sunday
Already today I've made breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen. The lawn is next on my list. Then I need to gather all the camping gear that Kevin and I will need for our trip. We're leaving Thursday. It doesn't feel like enough time to get everything done that I need to get done. So I'd better run!

Phone conversation Me: Hello. Caller:

Phone conversation
Me: Hello.
Caller: Is Ms. Lucci there?
Me: Which one?
Caller: The mom.
Me: Hmmm, she doesn’t live here, sorry.

I don’t think he was real pleased with me. But he needs to realize not all family units are the same.

Congratulations, Jeff, for the mention

Congratulations, Jeff, for the mention on MSNBC Weblog Central!! I'm glad lots of other people will be able to enjoy your weather writing as much as I do.

Kevin linked Electric Sheep and

Kevin linked Electric Sheep and I've been lost in comic book world since. They're so beautiful yet bizarre. I'm really amazed at Patrick Farley's storytelling abilities. My favorite right now has to be Spiders.

In the same vein, go check out Ninjai.com which Phil turned me on to about a month ago. It's an animated film that is released in chapters. Absolutely amazing stuff. I'm now hooked and can't wait for chapters to come out. The latest one was published today. I'm anxious to get home to watch.

Tonight I had drinks with

Tonight I had drinks with coworkers. It was nice and relaxing but I didn't get home until almost 10pm. And I just now finished eating dinner. It sucks to work so late because "happy hour" is officially over and it's more like "dinner hour." But I didn't want to eat out tonight so I waited. Now I'm just tired and ready for bed.

In general, not much is going on with me. Kevin is coming to visit next week and I have lots of preparations to make. I also need to finish writing my graduate application essays. Not something I'm exactly looking forward to and keep putting it off. Hmm, Saturday will be D day for the essays. Then I'll have a couple days next week to have people proofread. The goal is to get the application in before Kevin gets here. That way I can be stress free. I'm looking forward to the visit, it's been way too long.

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Dinner with Gary tonight

Dinner with Gary tonight was literally a boatload of sushi.

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Cars, Cars, Cars Yesterday was

Cars, Cars, Cars
Yesterday was car day around the LucciHouse. First it was Dad calling me before work asking for a jump. The battery on his car died and he needed to get it going so he could buy another. Unfortunately he still had to call a tow service to jump him because my car was too weak. Yeah, I drive a whimpy car. Last night Kristen got a new car!! Well, she actually bought it on Saturday but got to pick it up last night. It's a white Honda Civic. She's VERY excited as this is her first new car. It looks so cute in the garage next to my red Civic. Though, hers is super clean and mine is not. Then late, late last night Dad needed someone to pick him up after he dropped off his other car at the garage for a tune up. Yes, I was nominated. Despite not wanting to go, it ended up being a great night to drive with the windows down and I know Tiger really enjoyed it too.

Cars are cool and certainly useful but sometimes I just wish I could just be a passenger instead of the driver all the time. I wish I could ride the subway or a bus so I can just sit and read. Those of you with public transportation are very lucky indeed.