Hogs Gone Wild

Jeff has taken to watching a Discovery Channel show called Hogs Gone Wild. I'm shocked there is more than one episode of this thing. It's about these wild hogs... hold on... let me get the official description...

"A new adrenaline-packed series taking viewers to the front lines in the war against an increasingly destructive and invasive enemy: the feral hog."

*horrified shriek*

(That was me, walking into a room and seeing that this boring show is on.)

They go on and on about how the hogs are overpopulated pests who are disturbing the ecosystem and hurting people and animals, yet these hog wranglers insist on trying to capture them alive, putting themselves and their hunting animals at risk. Once captured, the hogs are corralled into hotel rooms, where Joe Francis convinces them to lift their tops and kiss each other on camera.

Heh.

Many hogs are killed during the capture process, with a knife to the chest. It takes them a long, sickening 30-60 seconds to die. They could just shoot them from a distance, right? I guess that wouldn't make for a very "adrenaline-packed series." It's just sort of absurd.


Patrick's Sunday Seven

I found a list of the Top 11 Reasons Why Students Drop Out of College. Which would have been most likely to trip you up on your higher education experience?

Name the seven factors that most likely did or could cause you to not complete college.

Well, I completed my BS, but I'll forever be one thesis short of my MS, so I can answer this one.

1) Moving away. The single biggest reason I didn't complete my graduate degree is that I moved away from College Station. Distance makes research difficult. It wasn't impossible. We discussed my doing research at UT and/or traveling back and forth to College Station. It would just have been an enormous hassle.
2) Moving away to AUSTIN. The jobs available in my field were/are extremely limited here (literally about 3-4 positions in the city), so I was dreading spending all that time, money and effort for what might be an unnecessary degree.
3) Thesis misfires. I was originally assigned to a research project that didn't pan out. That was a whole semester down the tubes. It took another few months for my advisor to get me onto a new project. By the time I started that one, I would have had to stay in College Station for several months after I got married, to complete the research. We decided to find a thesis project I could do from Austin.
4) Advisor change. My thesis advisor ended up taking an industry job at the same time as I left College Station, so I had to be reassigned to a new professor. The new one was great (another prof I knew, just not as well as my first) but I was definitely on the back burner for him, since I was out-of-town. He and I never could identify a workable project over the distance.
5) Finding a surprisingly awesome job. I started working because I was going stir-crazy at home, and the job sounded interesting enough to keep me busy. Turns out I absolutely LOVED it and it paid well and I was in a position to move up quickly in the company. I definitely wanted to stay with it, which left little time to work on a thesis.
6) Changing career fields. My pharmaceutical research job didn't require a masters degree in engineering. They also counted my fully-completed (with awesome grades thankyouverymuch) classroom graduate hours as meeting their requirement for a health-related MS for my position. So graduate school wasn't a wasted year at all.
7) The Girls of Nuclear Physics Gone Wild video. One crazy night at a Society of Women Engineers convention. You never think these things will come back to haunt you.

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What's the Name of the Game?

I've been listening to Abba the past few days. In tribute...

Song Lyrics av Dagen

...Your smile and the sound of your voice
And the way you see through me
Got a feeling you gave me no choice
But it means a lot to me
So I wanna know the name of the game...

Abba "The Name of the Game"


Saturday 9: Monday, Monday

1. How does your day usually go on Monday?
Very well! Although I do all the laundry on Mondays, so it does make for a long and busy day.

2. Who was the last band you saw live?
Al Jarreau's band

3. When was the last time you purchased something over $50?
I'm pretty sure my last tank of gas was over $50 a couple of days ago.

4. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?
Nope

5. Do you wish you were someplace else right now?
No, I'm happy here at the moment, still in my jammies at 10:15 am. :-)

6. Tell us about the last wedding that you attended.
Oh gosh, I think it was Kristy's!! New Year's Eve about 8 years ago.

7. What's annoying you right now?
State legislators who obstruct democracy and shirk their responsibilities by hiding out to avoid a vote by representatives elected by the people of that state. (Very familiar to those of us here in Texas.) Have your say. Vote your conscience and stand behind that. Let the fallout rain all over those who passed the bill. Change it later if you can. That's how this government works. I feel the same way about filibusters and other underhanded ways to circumvent the will of the people, regardless of my personal opinion of the bill.

8. What is your best skill/ability? Why?
Making grilled cheese sandwiches. I make sure the butter is all the way to the edge of the bread, and I squish the sandwich down like a panini while it's cooking. Ask any teenager who has had one of mine. These things are legendary.

9. If someone asked a friend of yours, "Hey, what is one thing your friend is exceptional at?", what would they say about you? Why?
Organization, because they see me at the Container Store a lot.

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Friiiiiidaaaaaay!

You know how sometimes you lose a sock and later you find it stuck inside another article of clothing from the dryer? (I once discovered a pair of pants I'd folded inside a fitted sheet. Not quite the domestic diva some think I am.) Well, you should have seen the look on Jeff's face when Lauren's frilly girly-panties fell onto the floor out of his shirt. He doesn't want to see them, much less have any sort of contact with them. First-grade boys and dads-- much the same feeling on that issue.

Guess who's on the cover of this week's Newsweek??

I only read it for the articles. I swear.

Speaking of reading for the articles, last week we got the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated at the library. Last year, they put it out on the shelf, and the 10-to-13-year-old boys had it literally torn to shreds by the end of day 1, so the librarian gave it to me for Jeff. While he was perusing it and I was looking over his shoulder (what, I can look!), up came a two-page spread. I said, "Yeesh. She has a huge belly button."

He smiled, shook his head and turned the page.

Gorgeous girl, but I'm telling you, she could use that thing as a cup holder.

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Education Budgets

Seems every day there is a new terrible idea for budget savings for schools across the country. Because the city requires staff to be notified my March 1 if they are going to be RIFfed for the next year, and their budget is not yet finalized, Providence, RI literally pink-slipped every single teacher as a precautionary measure. (Yeah, I've recently learned all sorts of synonyms for "laid off.") Detroit is closing 1/2 of their schools and increasing secondary school class sizes to 60. Six. Zero. Good luck retaining kids to graduation with that ratio. And there is no way to help a struggling learner in that environment.

I don't think I can smile and keep my mouth shut anymore when someone complains, in passing, about the possible Austin school closures. I never get into arguments of politics or philosophy with people I don't know and will never see again, but I just can't take it. It's all sorts of ridiculous to run half-empty buildings. It's a no-brainer to make sacrifices in convenience for the sake of better education.

Kimberly says the schools are doing great in Wyoming! If you're looking to move, it's a beautiful place!

Several people were talking about Facebook's Breakup Notifier yesterday. Yeah, I wonder what your friends think when their feed says, "Joe Smith installed the Breakup Notifier application." All the women in relationships go on alert at that point, wondering if it's them you're stalking. Well, it turns out, Facebook has shut it down, thankfully saving people from themselves.

Also regarding FB, a new and interesting error in notifications: Today I have received TWO notifications that say "so-and-so also commented on whatshisname's post," when I never even saw the post, much less commented on it myself. Shaking my head on that one. Carry on, Facebook. I still like you.

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Quick Hello!

Staff workday yesterday. It was interesting. There was much whispering and commentary during the budget cut portion of the show. Mary's iPhone kept making Words w/Friends sounds during quiet moments. So funny.

Unknown with Liam Neeson is pretty good. If you're wanting to get out to the theater, it's a good choice.

Facebook is being a pill and is not posting many notifications over the past couple of weeks, so you'll have to keep an eye on things as best you can. Also, it's not reliably sending SMS notifications. I thought it was just me, but I've heard it from several other people now. Some items you're sort of anticipating a reply, so you're checking after some period of time, but unless you get a notification, you won't have a clue someone commented on a photo or posted on your wall, etc., unless you just happen to notice.

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Sunday Meme on Monday

Sunday Stealing: The Very Late Meme

Completed Sunday 9:12 p.m.

1. Make a list of 5 things that you can see without getting up:
my neighbor's garage, our cat Kiptyn, Lauren's US History book, Mrs. Potato Head, my home business income tax papers

2. How do you style your hair?
I flat-iron it most days. Every once in a blue moon I let it air dry to its curly, natural state.

3. What are you wearing now?
jeans and a purple shirt

4. What's your occupation?
half-time library assistant and half-time webmaster/SAHM/volunteer

5. What do you hear right now?
Jeff on the phone with his Mom

6. Who was the last person you hugged?
Lauren

7. What is/was for dinner?
I made Rachel Ray's hamburger and onion pizza... and salad.

8. What did you do today?
went to the Livestrong Austin Marathon with Laura and Kelsey and Harrison to watch Megan and Rich run the full marathon, then we all ate at Red's (me for the second time in three days), worked with a website client on getting an ad up for her event, went out for frozen yogurt with Jeff and Lauren

9. Dog person or cat person?
cat

10. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?
Annabella Marcioni

11. What was the last thing that you bought?
an A&M tshirt from the MSC Bookstore

12. If you could afford to go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Russia

13. Where do you see yourself in five years?
doing a lot of traveling, back in my pharm research job

14. Where's your birthmark?
a little, light tan one on my right hip

15. What are you doing this weekend?
Cathy will be in town and we'll do lunch. Probably see a movie and possibly hike at McKinney Roughs with the fam.

16. Which book are you reading at the moment?
None

17. The last movie you've seen?
Just Go With It - very cute

18. What are you doing tomorrow?
Monday- working in the morning. Jeff and Lauren are both off for the day (no fair!), so we'll do something in the afternoon.

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Politics Sunday

Doggett's Texas-only provision on the federal education funds has been repealed by the House. (I think that instead of being removed, it should be applied to ALL states. They didn't ask me.) Now it goes to the Senate and then the President. Whatever, people. Just get the money down here.

On the Wisconsin issue, I love this article about the power of beer to bring people together.

My favorite part:
"...he agreed with the bill's supporters that, in the state's current budget crisis, public employees can help by paying more for their health care and retirement benefits. But he says the part of Walker's bill curtailing collective bargaining by unionized state employees is 'not about fiscal issues. It's an attack on unions.'"

Now there's a reasonable view! Pick these polarizing bills apart and retain the pieces most constituents think are right, and get rid of the stuff most think is a bad idea. It should be so simple, but it never is. Maybe the lawmakers need to sit down and work this out in a pub.

Lauren has decided to live in a dorm, after seeing the residence life director speak at yesterday's Aggieland Saturday at A&M. The thing that hooked her- "You can roll out of bed and be in class in five minutes."

A couple of very sweet freshmen girls (just students, not volunteers with the event) came over and sat with us at lunch and chatted with Lauren about Fish Camp, new student conferences, classes and dorms, transportation, etc. Just one thing about the day that made Lauren say, "Everyone is so nice here!" That they are.

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It's Friday!!

Lauren and I have started walking when she gets home from school. Very fun! It seemed we were becoming ships passing in the night, between my work and her social activities, so it's so great to have some catching up time each day.

Spent the whole evening out at Chuy's with Laura's school gang last night. I think we were so loud and crazy that we scared some people out of the bar, but that's OK. By 8:30, I was the only one who still had all my undergarments on. Just saying. (I still think Shawn didn't arrive with any.)

They're filming a movie right now in three houses on my street. This makes for a ton of cars and trailers and people around all day and night. Very friendly crew. Last night, they were filming in one of the backyards, with floodlights. The poor neighbors. How did they sleep?

When we found out what movie it is, I told Lauren to look it up on IMDB, to find out if George Clooney is in it. I got the expected eye roll, and she picked up the laptop and looked it up... with a deadpan expression.... until she said, "SHIA LABEOUF is the lead role!" She's been grinning about it ever since. So funny.

Friday Five

1. Nowadays, just about everyone knows a couple who first met online. Among couples you know, who has the best story?
I actually don't know anyone who met their significant other online! I know many people who have dated someone they met online, but never anything serious. Jim and his girlfriend, with whom  he went to grade school, reconnected online via Facebook. That is pretty awesome.

2. Who among your real-life acquaintances might you never have been friends with if you hadn’t gotten to know each other online first?
Angel

3. Of people you know online only, who would you most like to meet in real life?
Eva

4. In the past 365 days, what’s the longest you’ve gone without connecting in any way to the Internet, including email?
maaaaaaybe 24 hours? maybe

5. Who is the least-connected person you know in real life?
my mother-in-law

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Fuggetaboutit

I've sort of stopped playing Mafia Wars. In the past few months, it has changed to become very task-intensive. I used to be able to click over 2-3 times a day, and it took about 2 minutes to steal and buy and murder or beat up everything and everyone I wanted to. Now it takes no less than 5 minutes, and sometimes as long as fifteen. It's mundane and too much dang time out of my day. I'm sorry to anyone who is waiting for me to do something for them. I may be back. Or not.

I spent most of the day yesterday talking with teachers about the RIF. All the people being laid off were told yesterday. A bad deal all around. :(

I received a very cool thing in the mail! I participate with tens of thousands of other childhood cancer survivors in a long-term follow-up study managed by St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. (Hodgkins is considered a childhood cancer, typical in ages 15-24.) They are making an effort to let us know things they learn from our data. That's a rare thing with these types of studies. Usually, if you're interested, you have to make the effort to keep an eye out for articles, etc. on your own.

This first report was about dental health of survivors. The most increased risk of various dental issues, including dry mouth, thin enamel, etc., are seen in people who were younger than age 5 during treatment, those with higher doses of radiation to the teeth, or those who had Cytoxan as one of their chemo agents. Then they give recommendations for people who fall into those risk groups on how to avoid the effects or how/when to have them checked out.

I am so impressed with the way the whole thing is being run. It not only benefits people receiving cancer treatment today in many ways, but these reports will help those who participate in the study as well!

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Words with Spouses

This cat will not stop pestering me for tummy rubs this morning, so I haven't been very prolific with the blogging, though I've been sitting here for at least ten minutes.

J and I played "Words with Friends" for the first time last night... tossing his phone back and forth. I can report that it isn't very fun in that mode. WWF is meant to be played over time and space, turn by turn, so it doesn't really lend itself to live play. When you play Scrabble, you have your letters in front of you and you can plan your next move on the board while your playmate is taking a thousand years to place his word. Especially when you're like me, compelled to place letters on specific squares for maximum points. It takes a while to make sure you can't think of a word to fit M_ _Q. (Triple letter on the Q!)

Laura called me last night after her 8:30 bedtime, told me she'd had two margaritas and started sending me several photos of her friend and tablemate, Shawn, from his phone. Two margs is a lot for her, but when I saw the first pic, I realized they (Laura, Shawn and Megan) were at Chuy's. Oy. Chuy's margaritas-- even worse. At some point she was trying to convince me that the Half Your Age Plus Seven rule (as the minimum age you can date) was actually the Half Your Age Plus TEN, which would include Shawn, who is 27. (Or NOT. LOL) Very entertaining. I assume she wasn't driving...

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They Got Nothin' on Youuuuu Babe

Have had that song in my head since the Grammys. ...nuh nuh nuh nothin' on you.

It turns out I actually know several people who weren't Valentining this year. It's always after these posts are posted that I realize these sorts of things.

Last night, Jeff and I went to Izumi for sushi and then went to see Just Go With It. The movie was pretty cute! (There is a running NSYNC gag, which was quite amusing.) Jeff gave me these awesome Chocopod chocolates in various flavors like Panko, Spicy Maya and Firecracker. The Firecracker one is chipotle pepper, salt and teeny weeny pop rocks. It was yummy. We also tried the Coco, which is coconut/almond/cinnamon/coriander. Mmm. Sushi, chocolate and a movie on a Monday night? YAY! Let's do it again next week.

The AISD layoffs (almost 1000 people gone out of 12,000 employees) were handled so incredibly poorly. People found out from a list on the website last Friday that they were being let go, rather than from their principals. This layoff is particularly bad, because people are unlikely to find jobs in other districts, who are dealing with the same budget issues. The least they could have done is have a person deliver the bad news.

Still up in the air-- closures of underutilized schools. WTF. Close those half-empty buildings. Keep some people's jobs instead.

Oh, Jason is back on Facebook. See? No one can escape.

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Grammy Review

Happy Valentine's Day! I don't think I know anyone who is without a valentine this year. Yay!! So snuggle up with yours and enjoy. 

The Grammys are always fun to watch. I've never been a Rolling Stones fan, but man that Mick Jagger can dance around like a 30-year-old. Good for him. If he weren't a rock and roll icon, he would be just a creepy, lecherous old guy.

Sorry, but that Bob Dylan song was a MESS. Yikes. And the banter between the president of the Recording Academy and the guy from Glee was uncomfortable at best. Rihanna was a little off, which is unusual. Katy Perry was a LOT off. I like her, but from all the commentary online, it seems she is one of those who isn't ever good live.

Muse had the most awesome visual effects of the night. The muppets sang a dirty song with Cee Lo. Gwyneth Paltrow was surprisingly good! (Lauren was very confused why Jeff and I were so shocked. She thought Gwyneth was a singer, and had no idea she was an actress.) Justin Bieber is just beyond my mild appreciation of teenybopper pop, but he's a talented guy, and Lauren and I can't help but sing along with "Baby." What. It gets stuck in your head, too.

Lady GaGa wasn't shocking at all. I was waiting for something completely outlandish, but all I got was a teensy moment where I thought everyone on stage was naked. Eh.

We're still trying to figure out who the girl was in Eminem's doctor song... not Rihanna but the other one. She was fabulous.

Lady Antebellum won 800 awards for "Need You Now." I'm so thrilled for them, to have come from nowhere like that.

In case you don't have "Baby" stuck in your head-

Baby, baby, baby ohhhh 
I thought you'd always be mine... mine...

You're welcome.

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Blogging is Life

Really enjoyed a rocket launch with Jeffery et al with gorgeous weather in Waco yesterday. The wind was cold, but it was blue skies and beautiful sun. One guy always launches random household items. Saturday he launched a lawn chair and a plastic table. They are something to see!

Jeff is officially out of the rocket motor business now. Anything that removes extra rocket parts from my house is a good thing, but particularly good since Jeff is very relieved to give up that responsibility to be able to just have fun as a participant at launches.

We were chatting about copyrights while we were there, and how surely you can't copyright this or that word. Turns out Chad's brother copyrighted the phrase "is life." He is the guy who originally designed the tshirts that say "*** is life. The rest is just details." It started out as "football," but he got licenses from all the major sports organizations (NFL, NCAA, NBA, etc.), and went from $600,000 in sales the first year to $25 million the second. Holy. Cats.

So... fifty cents to Chad's brother for today's blog title.

Chad got married on leap day. He said it is their twentieth anniversary in a couple of weeks and even made a comment that the next time they will actually be able to celebrate on the day will be next year. If this were twenty years, it would be leap year this year. So Jeff needs to call him and tell him it's his 19th anniversary before he gets in big trouble... on his anniversary. Never a good thing.

I got to talk to another wife this launch. A relative rarity. She came because her husband and little boy made a rocket called "Mama's Rocket" in her honor, and they were launching it for the first time. Her hubby took over the garage and a room in the house to build rockets, so she decided to have her two boys (2 and 4) share a room, so she could have a scrapbooking room for herself. I love it. (I stopped scrapbooking several years ago, and Jeff is actually IN my scrapbooking space.)

Best line of the day- A guy brought his very large high-powered rocket over to set it down near the pads, and accidentally jammed the nose cone into a guy he didn't see behind him. He said, "Sorry about that. I should have taken you to dinner and a movie first."


Sunday Stealing

1. What is your favorite Mexican dish?
at a restaurant- Chuy's deluxe chicken enchiladas omg
in general- good beef fajitas

2. When you were a kid, did you get started on your homework right away after school, or did you procrastinate?
Procrastinated. You have to get in your outside playtime while it's still daylight!

3. What is your favorite store for home furnishings?
Haverty's

4. When you were young, did you like school lunches?
I didn't eat school lunches. Mom made me bring a bag lunch. I thought I was really missing out on some awesome food... but no.

5. Is religion a crutch?
No, but if it were, there are certainly worse things to lean on.

6. In your region, what is the “big” high school sport?
Football

7. Do you consider yourself rich?
No

8. Which of these would you have the best chance administering:
A) CPR
B) Heimlich Maneuver
C) Changing a flat tire
Changing a flat

9. Which dance would you prefer to learn & why:
A) Salsa
B) Hip Hop
C) Waltz
D) Swing
Swing! It's the most fun!

10. What’s the worst news you’ve ever delivered to someone?
Telling Lauren that my mom had passed away. Absolutely unbearable.

11. Name something you learned in college that had nothing to do with classes or academics.
t.u. sucks? :) I learned that having a car at college isn't required, but it sure makes life a whole lot easier.

12. New variation on an old question: If there’s a song in your head that just won’t get out, what is your favorite (or most repeated) line in that song?
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time.

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Switching Parts

Ladies, for the love of all that is holy, I implore you NOT to switch the side to which you have parted your hair for the past several years. I spent the better part of the past 24 hours messing with my hair in window reflections, my cellphone screen and whatever other shiny surface was nearby when my bangs got in my eyes and I accidentally pushed them to the correct wrong side, thus totally screwing up the whole look. You may think, as I did, Oh! Switching my part would be cute and different! It's not. It's a royal pain in the ass.

Egypt! Wow there is so much happening there. Good thing Mubarak is out. He should have left with the first speech. I hope the people get the government they desire. They seem to trust the military, so hopefully that will pan out. Why does the US have to be so involved in these things? Yeesh. Who are we- the world's puppeteer? It's great that we and other countries give our opinions and recommendations to leaders in trouble, but it usually comes off as the United States "strongly suggesting" that a country do XYZ. If they don't, it's a battle of words between Them and Us. If they do, our politicians take credit. It's too bad international agencies can't formulate these ideas and recommend them.

Oh em gee, Jason quit Facebook. He's the first person I know who has actually done it. Many have threatened to do it, but they always decide to stay. I'll have to get the scoop on the girlfriend drama that precipitated it. ("In a relationship" then not, then defriended the girl, then refriended, then GONE after a couple of semi-obscure statuses about how Facebook causes more problems than it's worth.)

Saturday 9: I Saw It on TV

1. What new TV show rocks your world this year?
I wouldn't say it "rocks my world," but Off the Map is pretty good.

2. What is your least favorite ethnic food, and what makes it your least favorite?
Indian food. I just don't like the spices and flavors. At all. *shudder*

3. When does liking someone a lot become loving that person?
After time and shared moments and memories, and after having shared an emotional part of yourself that you don't share with everyone.

4. Is there a job you would do for free, and is it your current job?
I would do a lot of jobs for free, if I had money socked away to live on. But not my current job. With a lack of things to do, I don't feel like I'm serving the needs of anyone.

5. What is one person/thing that inspired you to take action of some sort?
Most recently, Tracy has inspired me to finally learn to play disc golf! She's getting a group together to start playing in the spring. There are courses everywhere, including one in our neighborhood.

6. Though you might not believe in it, would you like fate to exist?
No, because then I would feel like it wasn't important what I did with each day, because no matter what I want or how I direct my life, I will have the same outcome. Society would become very complacent if we all knew fate was at work.

7. Tell us about a news story that truly shocked you.
The other day when Mubarak didn't actually resign, after everyone thought he would.

8. What's something you're looking forward to?
Next weekend- Aggieland Saturday in College Station!

9. What characteristics do you despise?
arrogance and insincerity

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America's Edgiest Home Videos

One of my old high school peeps has suddenly taken to posting artistic, emo videos of himself on facebook. They are compelling, edgy and massively creative, as his projects always were, back in the day. I finally figured out that the whole time I'm watching the evolving series, I'm mostly waiting to hear him talk, which he has not, although he's singing along with a really loud song in one of them. People always sound exactly the same as they did twenty years ago. Find someone you haven't seen in forever and meet up, or get on the phone or Skype. It's very weird and cool.

Ironically, the most recent video features him holding up signs with sentences written on them. Seriously?

I was listening to BT's old Emotional Technology cd yesterday. It's been quite a while since I've run through the whole thing. I love almost every song.

One of the best tracks- "Somnambulist". The complexity and movement of the sound is just mesmerizing, and best heard through awesome headphones, which I don't have at the moment. :(



My favorite part- the second verse- begins at 1:30. Favorite moment of the whole thing at 1:55. "...DARK..." And the rewind at the end is pretty cool. That's on the album, not just for the video.

Simply being loved is more than enough...

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Oh Say Can You See

I'm two days late on this, but I forgot to comment on the whole Christina Aguilera Super Bowl national anthem thing.

She has one of the best voices in music, today or ever. That being said... What actually bugged me more than the screwed up lyrics, which could happen to anyone I guess, were the constant riffs and runs. You can feature your voice and interject some of your personality into that song with a simple run or two, and hitting the "land of the freeeee" with some extra zing. No need for a bunch of theatrics.

While we were watching, I commented, "This isn't a concert. It's the national anthem." But she actually finished with her hand up in the air and a "thank you!"

Unless you are under the age of ten and/or it's your MakeAWish, I don't want to see you perform your own special version of the Star Spangled Banner and then practically take a bow and blow kisses to the audience afterward. It's an honor to sing the anthem, not your second encore at Madison Square Garden.

*bows*

*blows kisses*

*steps down from soapbox*

Quote of the week (technically last week, but we just watched the episode on DVR) goes to Laurie on Cougar Town, when she was doing the boudoir photo poses and she did the "Yeah, I Sit Backwards on a Chair Cuz I'm a Rule Breaker."

LOL

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Feel the Burn

I've lost five pounds in the last several weeks, but my clothes are not any looser. I must have lost muscle mass while I wasn't able to work out after surgery. Blah! Good news is I'm back to regular workouts since last week, and I didn't lose any of my stamina, although I do notice a little difference in my strength.

I read an article the other day that said that of the common workout regimens, aerobic kickboxing burns the most calories per hour (800). I never understand why people look at it in that way. Like, I've worked off 600 calories! Heck, the treadmills even give you that info. It's irrelevant to me. I don't exercise to run off a particular piece of food; I exercise for aerobic and cardiac fitness so I can feel good when I climb the stairs or otherwise exert myself, for muscle tone, and for an increase in metabolism (from increased muscle mass) so I can eat what I want.

You can use those absolute calorie numbers for a comparison of relative exertion, which then indicates a more effective and strenuous workout. Excellent, because my favorite thing to do is kickboxing! So glad I can finally do it again!

KathyL recommended the Wii walking game Walk It Out, particularly for Jeff, who is just starting to work out. (I like playing but I'm still doing my FitTV workouts.) It's really fun, except for two things- your steps aren't easily registered either on the balance board or by holding the controller, and it's difficult to aim at the items on the screen while your controller is bouncing around as you walk. Jeff ordered a dance pad controller to see if it will work better. You walk around an empty space and for each step you earn points towards populating the scene with plants, signs, benches, etc. You have to aim and shoot the symbols to get the items. You also shoot and collect "rainbow spheres," which do something I have yet to figure out.

It has good music, too.

We also got Wii Fit Plus, which I haven't played yet. Lauren says the Kung Fu is hilarious. My favorite thing on Wii Fit is the hula hoop, which hurts so good after twenty minutes. Abs of steel, baby. They have it on Wii Fit Plus as well, it seems. KathyL also recommended the running game on that one. I like the one on Wii Fit, and this one is supposed to be better.

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Saturday Nine on Monday

Saturday 9: Margaritaville

1. Tell us about a time that you had way too much Jose Cuervo.
The Jeffs and I were at the Hyatt Regency on Town Lake several years ago. The Hyatt had several sizes of margaritas back then, with useless names that indicated only the relative volumes of the glasses, and I accidentally ordered the one that came in something like a fish bowl. When it arrived, I asked if the guys would share it with me, but they said I ordered it, so I had to drink it. I didn't actually plan to drink it all, but I did. It was one of those things where I felt just fine, until I stood up from my chair. Then the room started swaying. I didn't get sick or anything, but I absolutely hate the feeling of being that "out of it." We went straight home after that... I think...

2. Do you agree with the following statement: "The older you get, the faster time goes by."?
Nah. It seems to go by at the same rate it always has.

3. What do you usually do during your "down time?"
surf the web, play video games or do logic puzzles

4. When it comes to the opposite sex, do you feel you have a grasp on 'em - or do they continue to just surprise you?
I think I have an excellent understanding of the opposite sex. I've had several close male friends through the years. Also, five years of engineering school.

5. What is your home town famous for?
NASA

6. How many romantic relationships have you had?
Serious boyfriends? Three. JohnH (1.5 years), Evans (2 years) and Jeff (23 years in total, not counting the year lapse in 1988). JohnN was a significant romantic relationship for about 3 months in college, but I hesitate to include him in the "boyfriend" list.

7. What's the best concert that you've ever been to?
Duran Duran, Sing Blue Silver Tour, final night at Wembley Arena in London, Dec. 23, 1983

8. Which famous person would you like to meet? Why?
Anderson Cooper. The guy has got to be one of the most interesting people in the world. He's been everywhere, in every sort of situation. He's got a big heart and a great sense of humor. Considering his privileged background, he is remarkably down-to-earth. He's experienced a lot of life's extreme ups and downs, and I would just love to hear his stories and get his personal take on important issues. Our politics differ on some things, so it would be fun to debate a bit. And I would have to tell him I grew up hanging out on the beautiful, sandy shores of the Mexico Ocean. Heh.

9. Has a newspaper or television reporter ever interviewed you? If so, what were the circumstances and what did you think when you read or saw what you said?
As a school newspaper reporter, I interviewed a whole lot of people, but I've never been interviewed myself. I think Anderson should interview me about my expert understanding of the opposite sex.

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Mock Surgery

We went to Mock Surgery at Brackenridge yesterday. SO cool. Lauren wants to be a NICU nurse, and some of it was geared towards young people wanting to go into health careers. She talked with several awesome people there about nursing school, including a nurse in charge of Seton's RN residency program, a student from Texas Tech nursing school and a NICU nurse from Seton.

They had a wide variety of stations set up all over the Clinical Education Center. They use robotic mannequins for simulation training, chock full of nifty features like pulses, voice, breathing, etc. In all the stations, you could do (or help with) procedures on them. In one room, there was a very specialized one that GAVE BIRTH.

The experience of watching the birth simulation was many things:

1) Weird. Not only because it was a room full of people pretending that this was a real person having a child, but because a mom let her two-year-old daughter volunteer to be the one to deliver the baby. The nurse helped her, but I kept thinking there would have been way too many questions from my own two-year-old, had she been doing it back then.

2) Amazing. A plastic dummy was actually ejecting a gooey, plastic baby from its girl parts. (Jeff saw the "Mannequin Lube" on the counter. I could not make this stuff up, folks. Sounds like something they would carry at the Adult Superstore for less than the hospital pays for it.) The baby and mother breathe and move. It's really something to see!

3) Hilarious. There was a staff member doing the mannequin's voice from another room, and she was screaming and asking for her husband. A woman from our group went up and gently pushed the mannequin's hair from her face and said, "It's going to be fine. You're doing a great job. I'm here." Everyone was laughing. When a couple of Texas Tech nursing students walked in, the dummy said, "Oh yay! My nursing student friends are here!" When the nurse was helping the two-year-old deliver the placenta, the little girl was somewhat disturbed by it. She asked "WHAT IS THAT?" More laughter from us. Right about then, Jeff discovered the lube. Oh man. It was like a party in a labor-delivery room.

Some mannequins are male and some are female. Problem is, they all have the same manly head. So, the female ones looked like men with breasts. (When we hit the plastic surgery station, I commented that this was where the men would come to have their breasts removed. Ha.) It turns out, those mannequins are modular and have interchangeable genitals, so the nurses said they are never sure of the sex of the dummies unless they look, and you can't tell just from the boobs or lack thereof. One nurse's comment- "This is Austin! We see everything and it's all OK with us!

At the plastic surgery area, the surgeon showed us the teensy-weensy needle and thread they use to suture veins. The sewing has to be done while viewed through a surgical microscope, which he let us look through. Then Lauren screwed a metal piece onto a shattered skull. All in a day's work.

The most amazing piece of equipment we saw was a new machine that uses sonography to visualize veins. It just shines like a light onto the skin! Perfect for people who have bad veins that are difficult to locate, to get blood samples or place an IV.

Lauren's Veins

Cool, eh?

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What is 'BTHO LSU'?

Two people came to this blog last month via the keywords "what is BTHO LSU?" I'm very thankful to have a platform by which I can educate the public on Aggie sports jargon. It stands for "beat the hell outta LSU." We say it for every opponent each week. BTHO Baylor/t.u./Tech/etc.!

 
Of course, people are still arriving in droves from the slight variations of the search term "anal girl." I just have to embrace it at this point.


Patrick's Saturday Six

1. What do you fear most about flying in an airplane?
crashing during takeoff

2. Have you ever had a provider lose your luggage? If so, how long did it take for them to find it?
I vaguely remember being in the lost luggage office at an airport (maybe our Toronto trip?). I'm pretty sure they sent it to our hotel within hours.

3. Where would you prefer to sit on an airplane: by the window, the aisle or in the center?
Aisle, which is based 90% on being able to get up whenever I want to, without disturbing anyone else in the row... and 10% on being completely claustrophobic in the window seat.

4. Take the quiz: What Airplane Seat Are You?
You Are a Middle Seat
You are an outgoing, friendly, and likable person. You enjoy being in the middle of the action. You trust others freely. You enjoy cooperating and collaborating with people from all walks of life. While no one likes being in the middle seat, you're happy to make the best of it. Your positive outlook creates a lot of stability and security... both for yourself and for those around you.

5. If you had to book a flight this evening, which airline would you prefer to fly with?
Delta

6. What’s the last place you flew to?
Miami

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TGI-Snowday

My father-in-law was lucky to get home from Africa via DFW airport. Yeesh, man. It's been downright treacherous up there all week long.

Snow day today! Got a call from the district at 5:45 am. Then a call from the school at 6:20. And just now a repeat call from the district. Good grief. They're pretty proud of their automated phone system, aren't they? The parents are all complaining on Facebook now.

We have a pretty blanket of snow outside. Can't wait to go out and play!

Friday Five

1. What’s your favorite kind of cracker?
I like the ones that have lots of texture and substance, with all kinds of seeds. You live in Austin long enough, you start eating twigs and stuff.

2. What part of your residence gets the best natural lighting?
the gameroom

3. What song have you frequently listened to lately?
"Show Me How You Burlesque" Christina Aguilera

4. What could you use a little break from?
the Foundation website

5. What’s going on in your town this weekend?
Carnaval Brasileiro at Palmer, Mock Surgery at Brackenridge Hospital, many Super Bowl parties and viewing opportunities--- and game night at Scott and Julie's :)

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Joke du Jour

No, I cannot post PowerPoint files on Blogger. I'm not coming to your house to click through the slides and narrate either. :p

Joke of the day... (thanks to my hubby for this one!):

I met a genie today who said he would grant me one wish. I told him, "I want to live forever."

"Sorry," said the genie. "I'm not allowed to grant wishes like that. That violates the rule against perpetuities."

"Fine," I said, "then I want to die after Congress get their heads out of their asses!"

"You sneaky bastard," said the genie.

Bwahaha!

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Revisiting Tuesday

Have I mentioned how much I detest coding html by hand? Just because we can doesn't mean we should. If WordPress weren't such a wretched biotch...

...ahem... Good Morning!

It's actually a great morning. I hope yours is as well. :) And happy Groundhog Day, too. Something tells me we're in for six more weeks of frozen tundra. Brr!

Grab a cup of coffee and make your way to the conference room. If I see any of you on Facebook during this presentation, you'll be retained and forced to watch it again.

A PowerPoint to accompany yesterday's post:

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Random Tuesday

Thank you, Laura, for calling just to say, "NICE RACK!" I'm touched. *wipes tear*

First, Clooney gets malaria, and now I see Mark Sanchez wipe a booger on a teammate. The sexy quotient is going down rapidly for these two.

These random thought blog entries should be in Powerpoint format with lots of bullets. Hey. You know you like it. It's beats the crap out of an entire post on education finance.

My awesome Dad is still using his slightly-off version of English. He calls image thumbnails "thumbprints." Prints--photos--- I get it. Thank goodness I'm not five and won't use the word "thumbprints" incorrectly myself for ten years, like the infamous "nightgallon."

I read somewhere a long time ago that one of the reasons we fall in love with a person is the way we feel about ourselves when we're with them. It was borne out in this oddly-worded observation Brad made on The Bachelor last night, which, if you're watching too much reality TV paying attention, is a comment on his being pleased with himself, that he affects her in that way. He smiled and said, "Whenever I'm around Shawntel, she just lights up!" Too cute.

Shawntel. Sounds like a communications company.

I will second (or ten-thousand-and-second) the sentiment by other viewers that if the bachelor is 38, the bachelorettes should be older than 24-25. Lauren and I have both commented that the girls seem really young for him.

Yeah, yeah. Mark Sanchez is all of 24. I'm not looking to marry the guy. Especially after the booger incident.

I made one of my famous amazing soups last night, after it was almost 80 degrees yesterday. Should have waited until tonight, but there is plenty left over, so that works! This one is called Chicken Pot Pie soup- all the stuff that's in pot pie- lots of chicken and veggies in a somewhat creamy base... and then I bake a pie crust and everyone crumbles some on top of their soup bowl. Neat, eh? It takes FOREVER to make, because of all the veggie chopping, but it's worth it, because it makes probably almost two gallons of soup. It'll be perfect tonight by a fire.

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