Birthday Party Revisited

You may remember back in November a certain special person threw a particularly fantastic birthday party for me in honor of my 29th birthday. You all remember that, RIGHT???

I just got some pictures from a friend. We all had a good laugh again over these. There were quite a few other people at the party, but they must have been inside acting like normal people. So, these are the few, the proud, the abnormal.

This was the pre-party "book club" guise used to get me out of the house for the day. These are my wonderful friends a.k.a. "the usual suspects." Arriving in style... This was a little scary....had no idea where I was, or who was there. It could have been a firing squad!

My friend Stacy's little girl Sophia. The first and very best hug of the night!
Yes, that is a tiara, don't act shocked!

Dancing Queens....

Stacey, Vicki and Renee in their "prom gowns."

Nanook of the north....geesh.You can tell I saved the best for last. It's easy to tell this was late in the evening. Yes, those are my two favorite soldiers, one looking mysteriously like Don Johnson and the other with red, painted toenails.

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Has anyone been watching this show? It's hosted by Jeff Foxworthy and has made me really wonder how I'm about to get a college degree and don't know any of this stuff. Did I really learn all this stuff by fifth grade? Here are some of the questions:

1. How many months out of the year have 31 days?

2. If the diameter of a circle is 4 then the radius is what?

3. What is the only continent that is also a country?

4. Is the United States in the eastern hemisphere?

5. If y=3x and 3x=12, what does y equal?



Answers:
1. 7
2. 2
3. Australia
4. No!
5. y=12

So, how'd ya do???

On the First Day of Spring

I've just decided that if I'm ever in a band, I'm going to name the band The Shams. So people can say "boy, do those Shams rock?!?" You didn't see that one coming did you?

Happily today was the first day of spring but there is still snow on the ground from last Friday when we got socked with a pretty decent snow storm which ultimately cancled my Saturday class which was fine with me. I had a home full of guests so we got to start our St. Patrick's Day fun a little early. And, Briguy made it home to party with the girls as well.

I was hoping today would be a little warmer than it was but the dog and I went out for a long walk after lunch. The snow was melting so there were lots of puddles and mud. Jasmine tried to walk over a puddle that had a thin layer of ice on the top which she fell through. The sun was warm but the wind was cold. I hate wind, unless it's a breeze off the ocean and it's 80 degrees outside.

Happy Spring!

Play Dead

OK, I'm on to them, now I know what I need to do to get an upgrade on British Airways.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

When I was in Ireland many years ago, I remember getting a beer and the bartender told me he put a shamrock on the top for me. I thought he was kidding. He wasn't! Kinda looked like this pint here. Have a great weekend everyone!

I Gotta Wear Shades

The past year has been quite a voyage.
I have discovered I am determined, strong, and will meet my goals no matter what hurdles lie before me.
I have discovered who my friends are and to what extent they will go for me.
I'm am so thankful for the lessons I've learned and for the friends and family I have that have supported me every step of the way on this voyage over the last year.
I have learned to never compromise my happiness for a false sense of security ever again.
I'm glad to finally see the person that other people see me as.
I'm glad I don't have anything to angry about anymore.

"Well I'm heavenly blessed and worldly wise I'm a peeping-tom techie with x-ray eyes. Things are going great, and they're only getting better I'm doing all right, getting good grades. The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades."

Sunshine Came Softly

Over this past weekend, we began daylight savings time. As the little ditty goes "spring ahead, fall back" referring to what we do with the clocks when someone decides it's time to change the clocks. There was a lot of discussion over the preceeding weeks that this years daylight savings was beginning early and would our computers, cell phones, etc. know that it was time to change the clocks? It was similar to what we all experienced prior to Y2K. Sunday morning came and my phone time had changed, and my computers all changed with no problem. Again, similar to Y2K. Some people are opposed to the time changes because it just means it will be dark in the morning and stay lighter in the evening. I'm all for it. I usually don't have to be anywhere too early so I'll be sleeping through the dark hours anyway.

It seems to daylight change has brought with it some spring like weather too. Today's high must have been in the 60's. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer! I'll take it!! There's only one more week of winter left anyway. Bring it on!!

Practice Makes Perfect

As a runner prepares for a long race, we, the few and the proud have been practicing for our big day which happens to be fast approaching. Next Saturday as you all probably know is St. Patrick's Day. It's a big deal around here anyway. I've had my shamrock flag hanging outside for a couple of weeks and we've been practicing our consumption of alcohol in preparation of next week. There are several Irish bars that have sprung up around town over the last couple of years. I think our most favorite is Ceoltas. The food is great, lots of good beer on tap and they actually play Irish music! I know, unheard of! Last night when we were there practicing, there was a group of Irish dancers performing. The girls and boys that danced last night ranged from about 5 years old to about 12. They were a lot of fun to watch. The Harrisburg SPD parade is being held today and these kids will be dancing again in the parade.

Now, it seems that this SPD is going to be bittersweet for, well at least one person in our group of friends. It seems duty calls and NittanyBri will be working for the U.S. Army that weekend. Aw...I promise we'll send pictures!

So, the gang is going to a local place to celebrate SPD where our favorite band The Luv Gods will be performing. I think the bar opens at 7:00 a.m. (yikes, that could get ugly.) There will be food and of course lots to drink. Today we will be making our SPD t-shirts. Maybe we'll make it a yearly thing with new logos every year. I'm sure pictures will follow.

When I Was A Kid

Thanks to Coyote Mike for giving me something to write about. Play along if you'd like.

When I was a kid, I wanted a pony or a horse. I wanted one BAD. I swore I would take care of it, and that it could live in my suburban backyard. I still think it wouldn't be a bad idea. The consolation prize was that my dad mostly would take me to see horses, you know the kind that are just out standing around. He'd usually remember to pack carrots and apples so they'd at least come to the fence.

When I was a kid, I wanted my ears pierced. I wanted it BAD! All my friends had their ears pierced but not me. I had to wait till I was 18. Guess what I did on my 18th birthday? Now I have a total of 4 holes in my ears. I think I'm done.

When I was a kid, my best friend and I had the same first name and same date of birth. She was one year older than me. I even remember that we had the same winter coat. It was an ugly red, yellow, orange plaid with a really ugly yellowish woolly collar. It was the 70's what do you expect?

When I was a kid, I went to a babysitter because both my parents worked. My mom told me not to take my bike to the babysitters (which was just down the street.) But, the kids wanted to go bike riding. So, I ran down to my house, got my bike and we went riding. We were careening down a hill and around the curve and I slid in a pile of stones. 10 stitches in my knee kind of explains why I shouldn't have taken my bike to the babysitter.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a school teacher. I had my own black board and would have class all the time. I would sometimes get extra papers from my teachers so I could use them in my class. My favorite part of being a teacher was sending kids out to the hall and reprimanding them for their behavior. Hmm, wonder where I would have ever gotten that idea?

When I was a kid, I also wanted to be a Go-Go dancer. You know, dancing in a cage, knee high, white patent leather boots, funky dress. Still sounds like a cool idea!

When I was a kid, I was in love with Donny Osmond and Richard Thomas (John Boy Walton). Go ahead, laugh.

When I was a kid, I wanted a pet. Not just the horse or pony but a dog or cat. I used to bring home all kinds of animals but wasn't allowed to keep them. I did have fish every once and a while. I had a salamander once too, but he got out of the container I had him in and dried up near the furnace in the basement.

When I was kid, I made prank phone calls with my friend. You know, "Is your refrigerator running?" "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" Or we'd call and hang up on the one neighbor we didn't like. I ratted us out thinking I was being really slick about it but she was on to me. Thank goodness she didn't tell my parents.

When I was a kid, my family always thought I was doing bad things. Smoking, drinking, messing around with guys, when I really wasn't. Instead, it was all my supposedly innocent friends that were doing all these things. And yes, now I'm making up for lost time!

Hey This is Fun!

I stole this from Michael over at Smoke and Mirrors. Play along if you'd like!

“If your life were a film, what would your soundtrack be?”

So, here’s how it works: 1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc) 2. Put it on shuffle 3. Press play 4. For every question, type the song that’s playing 5. When you go to a new question, press the next button.

Here's mine:

Opening Credits: Amerika--Rammstein
Waking Up: Shut It--The Damned (well if that ain't the truth!)
Life: Drank My Wife Away--David Allan Coe (hilarious!)
Falling in Love: Private Idaho--B52's
Make-out Scene: Head Over Feet--Alanis Morissette (wow! )
Breaking Up: Talk Talk--Talk Talk
Mental Breakdown: Jane Says--Jane's Addiction
Driving: Blues From a Gun--The Jesus and Mary Chain
Getting Back Together: It's Five O'Clock Somewhere--Alan Jackson (can't make up with out a couple of drinks now can you?)
Wedding: Breaking the Law--Judas Priest (am I marrying my cousin?)
Birth of Child: Personality Crisis--New York Dolls
Final Battle: Out All Night--The Pietasters
Death Scene: Genius of Love--Tom Tom Club
Funeral: Only Want to be With You--Hootie and the Blowfish (aw!!)
End Credits:Ferry Cross the Mersey--Pat Metheny (now that's a fine ending!)

A Lovely Day

I couldn't ask for a better day than today to have virtually nothing to do. No school for another week, no work, at least for today and the sun is shining and the temps have got to be close to 50 if not over. I have the heat off, the windows open and the snow and ice we had over Valentines day is quickly melting. This is a good thing since I never got around to completely shoveling my sidewalks. That is like a cardinal sin for homeowners, at least around these parts.

Spring seems to be imminent. The breeze outside is a soft one, like in the spring. You can smell the earth and you can see the water running down the sides of the streets from the melting snow. Even the spring flowers are poking their heads up. That Punxsutawney Phil was right!!

Mid Terms

It's mid-term week already. My one and only mid-term test is on Thursday in my East Asian class. So, I will be studying hard because you know what comes after mid-terms?!? Spring Break! Whoo hoo! Cancun here I come! (not really!)

Illegal Aliens

Lately I've not heard too much about the illeagal immigrant issues in the United States, but with Anna Nicole dying and the new season of American Idol, I can see how there's no room on the front page to talk about this issue.

I was recently reminded that this is a huge issue for some politicians at least here in PA. Mayor Lou Barletta of the city of Hazleton, which is north of Harrisburg, is one person that isn't tolerating illegal's in his city. I think most people would agree, that if you are from another country and your here illegally, you should be sent home, punished. Then there is the issue of employers employing illegal immigrants and landlords who house illegal immigrants perhaps unknowingly. So, what do we do? The mayor of Hazleton has pioneered the way of resolving this issue and has gotten city council backing with what is called Illegal Immigration Relief Act. He has enacted a plan that would revoke the licenses of business owners that hire illegal aliens and fine landlords that house illegals. He and city council also voted that English would be the official language of Hazleton meaning all city documents would be in English. (This part gripes me a little. What language should it be in?)

While I hear most people say that illegals shouldn't be in this country and should be sent back to where they came from, what I don't hear is what the naysayers think should be done about it. The mayor of Hazleton has taken some abuse about these new rules and has even been called a Nazi. It's always amusing to me to hear people backing a guy like Mayor Barletta but when asked if they would uphold new policies like this, they become shrinking violets and claim these new rules are too harsh.

What do you think? Has he gone too far? Would you like to see policies like these enacted in your city?

Being Green Part 2

You can stop getting junk mail! How sweet are those words? We don't like junk mail in our in boxes, I'm sure no one likes getting a mailbox full of junk mail either. My new friends over at Terrapass have partnered up with GreenDimes. This organization will put you on a list which will stop junk mail from coming to your mailbox AND, they'll plant a tree for you on a monthly basis.

GreenDimes has provided some interesting statistics on junk mail. About 100,000,000 trees are chopped down and 28 billion gallons of water are wasted EVERY YEAR producing junk mail. You know, the stuff that usually ends up right in the trash or recycle bin.

According to these guys junk mail is a major source of identity theft as well. Yet another good reason to get rid of the stuff. The basic service only costs $4 a month! Or you can give them a one time amount of $360 and they'll plant 240 trees for you right now and clean out your mailbox. Where do I sign up?? Click here!


P.S. It's Engineer Appreciation Week! Stop by and say "thanks...for all the widgets 'n stuff!"

It's Easy Being Green

The Environmental Science class I'm taking has brought us to the discussion of fossil fuels and how their usage is what is creating somewhat of a blanket around the earth's atmosphere which is going to make us uncomfortably warm in the upcoming years.

We then got to watch the Al Gore movie An Inconvenient Truth. Now whether or not you are Republican or Democrat or something else, that all needs to be put aside. Global warming is not a political issue, it's should be everyone's issue. Everyone needs to watch this movie. What Al's got to say makes sense. What would be the point of him yanking our chain about the dissolution of the arctic ice caps, or the fact that malaria has moved to higher elevations in Columbia, or that many animals could be extinct by the year 2050? You know, I just don't want to wait around and not do anything and see if all this really happens. Let's just pretend this is a hoax. Is there really anything to lose by discovering alternative fuel sources?? I actually saw a sign on the PA Turnpike this weekend for a bio-diesel product. Is there anything wrong with planting more trees?

Michael over at Smoke and Mirrors has a friend that runs his VW Bug on veggie oil. Watch this video to learn more about it.

I learned about this groovy website where you can basically buy redemption for your CO2 sins. The folks at Terrapass will help you evaluate your CO2 emissions for your car, for your airline travel and how much you emit while at home. I have found that my home emissions of CO2 are average for the state of PA. Fortunately, I'm obsessive about turning off lights when I'm not in the room, though I do need to buy some compact flourescent bulbs instead of the incandecent ones I currently use. Terrapass will tell you how many terrapasses you should buy to offset the estimated usage and will provide you with tips on how to cut down on energy usage. TerraPass funds clean energy from sources like wind farms, methane capture facilities (poop collection), and you get a groovy decal and bumper sticker to show how green you can be.

There's a link on the site that tells you all about Terrapasses business partners. For all you eBay folks out there, check out the green shipping alternative called UShip.

I hate to contradict Kermit the Frog, but it's pretty easy to be green!!

Click Here!

There's Booze in the Blender

So, what do people do in Pennsylvania when they are stuck inside on Valentine's Day due to a raging on-going snow storm?

They make margarita's and invite the neighbors!

Hearts and Snow

What a day so far! It started snowing here yesterday morning and hasn't stop precipitating in some fashion since then. There's a couple inches of snow on the ground crusted on top by a layer of sleet/ice and about a gallon of water with each shovel full. I only did the driveway, my arms are screaming for mercy! I think I'll leave the rest for my Valentine! I know, I'm too generous!!

My favorite radio station WXPN from the University of Pennsylvania is counting down the top 88 and 1/2 love songs today. You can see the complete list here. You have to love a station that plays The Doors, White Stripes, Neil Young, The Beatles, Joy Division, LL Cool J, Ike and Tina, Barry White and The Clash as part of a Valentine's Day countdown. You can listen to this station live from the link on my sidebar!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bei Kunrong

In my East Asian class we had to find out our Chinese names inspired by our English names. You can get your Chinese name here if you want to.

The first character or surname was chosen according to the spelling of my English name. The middle character of my name-Kun means earth, feminine, female. This name would traditionally be chosen by the grandparents. The last character of my name rong means appearance, tolerant.

I was born in the year of the horse.

In our last class we had to use traditional Chinese paint brushes made from animal hair and bamboo to paint our names.

Boycot Exxon

I've been taking an Environmental Science class this semester which often leaves me angry and fearful for the future of the planet.

This past week we were discussing the recent news release that scientists have determined that global warming is due to human activity. Duh! I think we all knew that. The plus side is we can certainly slow the process down, the down side is that it can never be reversed, that is unless someone knows how to make ozone. That's way out of my league.

The other disturbing thing we talked about is that it was reported recently that a thinktank funded by Exxon tried to pay off scientists so they would say global warming was a farce. Ironically, this little tidbit of information was released the same day Exxon reported its 5 billion dollar profit for 2006-a good reason to never buy their products. As if we needed yet one more reason.