...That's What She Said

We watched Steve Carell's sad final episode of The Office last night. I LOVE that his last (off mic) words were "That's what she said." So cute. I'm not enjoying Will Ferrell's deliberately unfunny character at all, but I understand the next episode is his last. We'll see what happens next season!

I have nine official followers on this blog, y'all! And I know only one of them. Considering this is a little free-for-all personal blog that I keep on the down-low, that's pretty cool. *waves to blog followers*


Patrick's Saturday Six

1. Which room of your home tends to be the messiest?
our teenager's room- no surprise there, right moms?

2. Which room of your home tends to be the neatest?
the guest room

3. If you decided you needed to get rid of everything that you no longer want, would you need a bathroom-sized trash can, a kitchen-sized trash can, a yard-sized trash can, or a dumpster?
two yard-sized trash cans

4. If you could get any room spotless and keep it that way for a year, which room would you choose?
the kitchen

5. Have you ever had a maid? Would you consider hiring one to help you get your clutter under control?
We had a twice-per-month house cleaning service for about two years, several years ago. Over that time, their quality went down while their rates went sky high. I'd love to have people come once a month to do a top-to-bottom cleaning, baseboards and all. BTW, maids do not keep your clutter under control. You have to clean all your clutter before they get there, because they are there to scrub and vacuum and dust. If you don't put it away, it's just nice, dust-free clutter!

6. Which desk is messier: your desk at the office or your desk at home?
Neither is messy, but the one at home has a lot more stuff on it.

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Royal What?

I would not have even known today was the wedding, other than my Facebook news feed is awash with commentary. Not that I don't appreciate a good royal wedding! I was up in the wee hours of the morn 30 years ago, obsessed with Diana and Charles' nuptials.

Every time this commercial comes on, I hear, "Announcing... Shit for free."



Eva retweeted this next tidbit yesterday. I specify that because my child was slightly disturbed when she thought it was I who was following the cast of Glee (or as she delicately put it- "following young people") on Twitter...

@Mark_Salling: At dinner with @iharryshum and he just scrolled his menu by mistake as if it was an iPad...

Bwahaha! I love it.

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The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades

Dear Blogger,

I was getting a lot of (likely bewildered and not even vaguely amused) traffic from your search engine and the random "Next Blog" link in the top navbar, so a few weeks ago I changed my settings to make sure I was not included in those results. The next day and every day since, traffic from those sources has doubled.

WTF.

Hugs,
k

So I have a fabulous combination household hint -slash- good sleeping tip for everyone this morning! Yep, even for those random "Next Blog" visitors who are here hoping to see something more interesting, like... multiplication tables.

Your sleep is disrupted by light sources in your bedroom. Some of us are more aware of it than others. I am one of those very sensitive to it. One major source of light can be a digital clock, which, if you're paying attention, actually bathes your entire room in a significant glow. We have one on our DVR that drives me nuts. We've put black electrical tape over all the tiny power indicator lights on our electronics in the bedroom (! bonus tip !), but we want to be able to see the clock, so we couldn't use the tape there.

Our brilliant solution--- in the baby section at Target/WalMart, find that dark, static-adhesive film that you put on car windows to block sunlight. Cut strips and start applying until you get significant reduction in the light. Ours only took two layers! You can still read the clock, but the glow factor is almost zero.

Friends, if you want to try some, we have tons left over from the package we bought. Just hit me up when you see me!

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Happy Easter

May you all have a beautiful day! We're having Easter dinner with friends this evening.

Don't go too crazy with the alcohol, coffee and/or cursing you gave up for Lent. Moderation is key.


Patrick's Saturday Six

1. Do you still have your tonsils? If not, how old were you when they were removed?
No- I was 4 and remember the experience vividly.

2. Do you still have your appendix? If not, how old were you when it was removed?
I still have it.

3. Do you still have your wisdom teeth? If not, how old were you when they were removed?
I have 3 of 4. When I was 35, I had the one removed, because it would swell up and hurt fairly often.

4. What’s the worst injury you remember receiving, and how old were you when it happened?
My worst injury was stepping on a nail that was sticking up through a piece of construction wood I was playing on, when I was 6. It went through my shoe and almost all the way through my foot.

5. Have you ever had to have surgery for any reason? Was the recovery worse than you expected, better or just as you expected?
A few surgeries. Recoveries were as expected for the most part. I was the star c-section patient at the hospital when I had Lauren. That was an unusually fast recovery, thank goodness. On the other end of the spectrum, I had an elective hysterectomy a few years ago (because I had the worst periods on earth my whole life- sorry TMI) and that recovery was awful. I ended up with a misdiagnosed UTI for four weeks and also had to have several minor procedures and eventually a second surgery several months later, to close up a tiny part of my incision that would never heal.

6. If technology progressed to the point that you could literally change any one thing about yourself and money weren’t an object, what change would you make?
I would have them zap my brain to make me more patient with idiots. Errrr... I mean, the common-sense-challenged.

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Earth Day Movies and Other Deep Thoughts

Jeff and I went out to dinner and saw African Cats last night for date night. The movie is really sad! A lot of animals are eaten, killed in battle or just disappear. It just wasn't my favorite animal documentary. On a happy note, next year's Disney Earth Day film, Chimpanzee, looks so sweet!



And we saw the trailer for the new Winnie the Pooh movie. Awww.  That takes me back to Lauren's preschool days.

So I saw that on Oprah this week, Chris Rock recalled a story his seven-year-old daughter told him...

Julie (a black girl) liked John (a white boy) at school. Julie went over to John on the playground and said, "I like you, John!"

John said, "Well, I don't like you!"

Julie asked why.

(Chris was cringing, afraid to hear what the boy said.)

"...Because you're ANNOYING!"

Ha! Chris was so relieved it "didn't have anything to do with her 'blackness.'" Kids are awesome.


Saturday 9: Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

1. What is the most “down and out” that you've ever been?
I've never been really "down and out." I did have a significant lack of cash in college, especially the first two years. I didn't have a car. I rode my bike everywhere. I had a dorm fridge and only a microwave to cook in my teensy garage apartment, so I ate a lot of cereal and pb&j.

2. Do you believe there is only one "right" religion?
For me? Definitely. For everyone on earth? No.

Of course, there is only one actual truth, which we will never know in life, and which I think may or may not turn out to be one particular religion. I believe it's my religion, but who am I to say that you should believe it, too? People are extremely likely to belong to the religion of their world region and/or family, which would make it quite disturbing to think that one is damned by whatever the "right" religion may be, simply because one was born in the wrong place. (Could it be Buddhism? Tough luck, Western World!) It's inarguable that your religion is primarily a matter of where you grew up. Unless you've had a crisis of faith, you've probably never seriously questioned it. It's faith after all.

3. If you could get back in touch with one person you've lost touch with, who would it be and why?
Gosh, the answer to this question has been "Doug" for so long that I have to think.

Tiffany, a good friend from high school and college. She is just an amazing person, and so much fun to hang around with!

4. Has anyone ever held the key to your heart, but did not know it?
Of course.

5. If your lover cheated on you and profusely apologized, might you accept them back into your life?
If we were dating, I would most likely not. Although, I have been a sucker in the past for very touching apologies for other things.

If we were married without kids, probably no again.

Married with kids- probably yes, provided it was the only time. I would really try to stay together through stuff like that if at all possible, because kids are better off growing up with both their parents together. If it happens again though- no question it's time to move on.

6. Have you ever gone to work/school drunk or stoned? If yes, do tell.
Absolutely not.

I have been in an 8:00 a.m. college class hungover. Not. Fun.

7. Who is your favorite relative?
My Uncle Klaus. Woot!

8. What annoys you most?
This question being asked every week on some survey.

9. Tell us of one thing you used to do that you are not proud of.
I never bit my fingernails, but I used to pick at them all the time when I was a teenager. They were always super-short.

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Finally Friday

Apologies for the inconsistent posting lately. I did write a long post yesterday about something hilarious that happened in the library, but I decided even with all the names omitted, it might be something I shouldn't discuss on a blog.

*delete*

Remember the old days, when long emails used to disappear into thin air when they didn't send for some reason? Much like those times, I didn't have any desire to write a whole new post. I should have posted a two-line entry, like the email you ended up sending that said, "Well, I typed a really long and awesome message, but the computer ate it. So basically, a super-funny thing happened at the library. LOL. Love ya!"

(Of course, what were they gonna do if I posted it and they didn't like it? Fire me? Ahahaa!)

I have Go Go's tickets in hand for August! How fun will that be?! I'm totally excited.

KathyL is finally pulling the trigger on her kitchen remodel and I get to live vicariously through her to enjoy it as well. She showed me all her materials and stuff- so beautiful. Her favorite upgrade will be a bigger island with a pull-out spice rack and cookbook shelves. The contractor begins work next week!

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New Car!

(Well, new to us!)

We got Lauren a car! This was our very first experience buying a used car, and it was shockingly simple and stress-free... much more so than our new car purchases have been. Used cars are impossible to compare, since they are all so very different, whereas new cars are essentially the same anywhere, so once you identify one, you just negotiate your best price wherever you can. Somehow this purchase process went so smoothly though! Not sure if we were just lucky or this is the way to go.

We started with the Consumer Reports research we do on all our big purchases. (The same CR research for which my dear friends always call, to get the Jeff-and-Kathy pre-analyzed and distilled, quickie version. "What fridge am I supposed to get?") We narrowed it down to reliable and safe used car options and then Lauren chose the "cute ones" from that list. That was a several week process that started as soon as she got her job, which was the only reason she needed a car at all.

One night last week, we went to CarMax, which was a great place to look at tons of used cars side by side. CarMax was awesome! Absolutely no pressure from sales staff. Very friendly and helpful folks. No-haggle pricing, so you could compare vehicles very easily and know how much they were going to cost. In about an hour and a half, she had selected the vehicle she wanted- the Hyundai Elantra.

Over the weekend we looked online at all the Elantras available in our year, price and odometer range, all over the state. That was a time-consuming part of the process. It was helpful that a lot of vehicles have the Carfax available for free online.

Yesterday we planned to go back to CarMax and also to one other dealer in town who had two cars we wanted to see. The regular dealer happened to have a particularly great car that we ended up purchasing. Jeff even got them to come down from the sticker by quite a bit, which made it even more fantastic! I couldn't be happier with the deal. And it was so easy!

CarMax has mostly fleet and rental cars for sale. Those have high mileage for their age. Tons of last year's models with around 35,000 miles. Great prices though, especially compared with comparable vehicles at most dealers. All their cars looked like new. I would definitely recommend them to anyone. Everyone I asked about them during the process had the same positive opinion as well.

Last week, Laura said something about "being upside-down" in reference to a car loan. I had never heard that term. (I promise, I do not live under a rock.) In a span of about four days since then, I swear every time I turn around, someone is saying it! It's so funny how that happens!

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The Surly Rain Frog

I saw this little guy on a Discovery Channel show yesterday. He looks rather irritated, but he's so cute!

He's very small, with tiny legs so he cannot hop. He just crawls.

Sunday Stealing: The 65 Questions Meme

1. Tell us who the last person was that you took a shower with.
Lauren is going to come in here and toss her cookies if I answer this with anything other than "never did it"

2. Tell us about your favorite tee-shirt. Extra points if you show a pic. (We know. What can you do with freakin' extra points?)
My newest A&M tshirt. It's a maroon ladies' tshirt and says Texas A&M University on it in white on the front. I got it at the campus bookstore.

3. Has anyone ever hit on you even though they knew you were taken?
Of course. It's my luck that they hit on me then and not when I was single. ;)

4. Do you plan what to wear the next day?
Not usually

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Why?
I'm feeling overwhelmed because of many things that are going on right now.

6. What's the closest thing to you that's black?
The desk chair I'm sitting in

7. Tell me about an interesting dream you remember having.
I can't discuss my interesting dreams here and maintain my PG-13 rating.

8. Did you or might you meet anybody new today?
I meet someone new pretty much every day at work!

9. If you could be doing anything right now (or perhaps after you finish this ridiculous meme) what would it be?
swimming

10. Can you think of a meme question that's never been asked?
"Where was your Facebook picture taken?"

11. What comes to mind when I say China?
that's what Laura's daughter called her girl parts when she was a toddler

12. Are you overly emotional?
You say it like it's a bad thing. :)

Sometimes.

13. If you could listen to just one rock album (CD, vinyl or mp3) which one would you pick?
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
I think I just lick it. I haven't had an ice cream cone in forever.

15. Do you like your car?
Yes!

16. Do you like yourself?
Yes!

17. Would you go out to eat with Charlie Sheen?
Definitely. Would love to see the train wreck up close.

18. What was the last song that you listened to?
Kate Voegele "Forever and Almost Always"



19. Are (or were) your parents strict?
No

20. Have you ever wondered what attending a wild orgy (if only to watch or...) would be like?
Yes, but only to watch. It would never be worth whatever STD you'd end up with to participate.

21. I say cottage cheese. You say:
berries

22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
Several. I used to collect autographs (mostly from musicians) when I was a teenager, but I don't have any of them anymore. I'm pretty sure I just threw them away one day. Don't do that, kids.

23. What was the last movie that you watched at home?
Easy A

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
sparkly yellow note clips, a couple of Lauren's cheer trophies

25. What countries have you visited?
England, Germany, Jamaica, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Haiti

26. Have you ever made a phone call while you were drunk that you've regretted? If yes, do tell.
Nope. But I received one call like that, in college. He rambled on for quite some time. I was very nice! I never hassled him about it or anything.

27. Where were you going the last time that you were on a train?
from Austin to Burnet, TX on the Hill Country Flyer

28. Bacon or sausage?
sausage

29. How long have you had a cell-phone?
Not as long as most people. Jeff had one for a few years before I ever wanted one.

30. What other memes do you do regularly?
Saturday 9, Patrick's Saturday Six & Sunday Seven

31. Who is the craziest meme host?
Is this a trick question? Judd Corizan

32. Who invented chop sticks?
the Chinese - thank you Google

33. Who are you going to be with tonight?
Jeff and Lauren- car shopping day 2

34. Are you too forgiving?
Probably, but I'd rather forgive someone than have a grudge eating at me forever.

35. When was the last time that you were in love?
right now :)

36. Tell us about your best friend.
my best friends are funny, smart and independent women

37. What was the stupidest thing you learned in high school?
I used to say anything to do with history, but over time I have acquired an appreciation for it, so I'll go with anything from Trigonometry.

38. What was the last thing that you cried about?
feeling powerless

39. What was the last question you asked?
What would you like for lunch?

40. Favorite thing to do this time of the year?
hike while it's cool-ish

41. If you had to get a (or another) tattoo, what would it be?
if I was forced to get a tattoo, I would get something tiny, like a heart

42. How would your best friend describe you?
fun, always wanting to be doing something or going somewhere, sentimental

43. Have you ever seen all three Twilight films?
I have seen one

44. Ever walked into a glass door?
no. Jeff ran into one and cut up his arm when he was in high school though.

45. Favorite color on that person that you are attracted to?
navy blue

46. Have you ever slapped someone?
heavens no

47. What hair style (for you) would you like to see return?
bilevel- yeah baby!

48. What was the last CD you bought?
the last entire album I purchased was Daughtry's Leave This Town

49. Do looks matter to you?
For someone I'm interested in romantically? To some extent, yes. I'm more aware if a guy has his appearance "together" rather than his rating from 1-10.

50. Could you ever forgive a liar?
Depends on why they were lying. I would never forget a person lied to me, but I would usually forgive them for it.

51. What's the hardest bill to pay every month?
the lawn care people- not mowing and trimming, but the kind who put on fertilizer and weed stuff. Biggest waste of money ever.

52. Do you like your life right now?
I am not in a really good place at the moment, I have to say. But this too shall pass.

53. Do you sleep with the TV on?
I can't sleep with it on, although when Jeff is out of town (very rarely thank goodness) I tend to fall asleep with it on for noise, and then I wake up a few times before I finally turn it off.

54. Can you handle the truth?
Always

55. Do you have good vision?
yes

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
not more than 3 that I think about on any sort of regular basis

57. How often do you talk on the phone?
not often, but usually for at least an hour at a shot

58. What celeb would you like to come home to?
Heh. I'm gonna throw you all for a loop and say Bradley Cooper.

59. What are you wearing?
white shorts and a blue/pink/yellow flowery blouse

60. What is your favorite wild animal?
today it's the rain frog

61. Where was your facebook picture taken?
Oh suuuuure. Take my unasked meme question.
Waxy O'Connor's Irish Pub on the Riverwalk in San Antonio

62. Can you waltz?
yes

63. Do you have a job?
I am a library goddess

64. What was the most recent thing you stole?
First and last thing was a 2-cent bubble gum when I was 8, on a dare.

65. Have you ever crawled through a window?
surely I have, but not that I remember

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That Can Be My Next Tweet

The Bloggess posted a link to this site that predicts your next Twitter tweet from analyzing your past tweets. Here are some of mine, which are actually excellent possibilities:


"Yes! Witty AND insightful."

"And... it's roly-poly season! I also loved Inception."

"What do you wanna do? Ahh! I can teach American sex slang."

"I'm not playing. Your ass is a technical background."

"George Clooney hasn't tweeted anything. We are both on a frozen custard sort of vacation."

"Piven does rock! Squeee!"

"Looking for a B&J's? I've heard that about you."

"My afternoon is the UPS guy. We had dinner with Wendy in March!"


I am totally on the floor laughing at these. I should really stop drinking before 6:30 a.m.  work  blogging.

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Pre-TGIF

Yesterday, I spoke at length with a retired teacher, who is currently subbing on occasion. I was telling her how ridiculous I think it is that school districts think it best to simply get rid of the newest hires, rather than letting their least effective staff go during RIFs. She said that it is the union who thinks retaining people on the sole basis of years worked is smart, to the detriment of the profession in her opinion.

Then she went on a tangent rant about teacher pay... how it is underestimated by everyone. A few highlights:

1) teachers work about 30 years and are eligible for retirement, whereupon they receive 75% of their final salary for the rest of their lives- only the military can compare to that

Me- "...if you can hang in there for 30 years without being driven insane by students and/or parents..."

2) retire/rehire allows teachers to retire and lay out a couple of months and then be rehired into the same position to receive retirement benefits plus their regular salary

3) teachers get a guaranteed raise every year- she said around 3.5% in her district- because they are paid ever-increasing amounts based on years worked

My only knowledgeable comment on teacher pay is that they work 10 months a year, so you have to multiply their pay by 1.2 to get a somewhat equivalent reference to a non-academic job.

She said she's enjoyed (and continues to enjoy in retirement) all the benefits and thinks they are very well-deserved by all teachers; she just doesn't understand the complaints.

Jeff and I finally had the landscapers out to give us a bid to re-do all our landscaping, front and back! YAY! All our overgrown bushes are being ripped out, replaced by appropriately sized species for the spaces they inhabit. (Tract home builders have no sense of proportion.) Flowers, a boulder and other garden goodies are in store as well!

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Guten Tag!

Pictures from St. Patrick's Day in San Antonio-- No, there are no photos posted, because someone was supposedly there "on business" and can't have evidence of their non-business dealings floating around the internet. I do have the photos. My current Facebook profile pic is an extremely cropped version of one of them. Angel also holds in her possession one pic from our amazing hotel bathroom. I can assure you there is no video. Anymore.

I upgraded my Yahoo mail to the new fancy version the other day. It was buggy as all get-out. It has now mysteriously disappeared, and we're back to the old version. Probably for the best.  I like how they tried to sweet-talk me into thinking I was getting some very special, early opportunity to try out the beta version because I have been with them for so long. Ooh, Yahoo. You flatter me so.

The always brilliant Eva has recommended the HBO series Rome, for my quality Roman Empire era drama fix. I'll be looking for it on Netflix today!

Song Lyrics du Jour

...She said, "Boy, can I tell you a terrible thing?
It seems that I'm sick and I've only got weeks.
Please don't be sad now, I really believe,
You were the greatest thing that ever happened to me."

Slow, so slow, I fell to the ground on my knees.

So don't fall in love, there's just too much to lose
If you're given the choice, I'm begging you choose
To walk away, walk away
Don't let it get you, I can't bare to see the same
Happen to you...

Mayday Parade "Terrible Things"

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Spartacus

Cathy got an iPhone! And the big data plan, too! I think Julie is literally the only person I know now who doesn't have a Droid or iPhone. She isn't interested in them, so that doesn't even count.

:)

Jeff and I have been watching the Starz Spartacus: Blood and Sand series on DVD. (That's the first season.) Andy Whitfield is a small guy to be playing Spartacus, but once they cut off all that hair and beard, I must say he is pretty cute. Cute doesn't help one kick the arses of countless ginormous neanderthals though. It must be the power of love that makes the little guy a killing machine.

I have learned during the show that ancient Romans and other peoples of the region did not wear undergarments. (I remarked, "They're all naked under their clothes!" Yeah.) With all the sex going on, underwear would just get in the way. There's already been one scene where I wanted to rewind to figure out exactly what Ilithyia was doing to Crixus. Very educational.

On the down side, some of the acting isn't that great. And anytime someone is hit with something, about two buckets of blood fly out of them. Still, I keep watching. It actually makes me wish there were a really good series made about that era, revolving around something other than gladiators.

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Saturday 9 on Sunday

Just to clarify, the shirt Jaxon tossed on stage at Lady GaGa's show was one he made himself. The kid is a talented artiste, planning to go to art school.

Yesterday Pedro was working cameras for a multi-band concert and met Jason Castro. Pretty awesome!

Angel is always meeting some big musical act. The girl is laid up post-surgery right now, but will no doubt be visited at home by Chris Daughtry or Rob Thomas. Or No Doubt.

Went on a triple-date last night with Jim & Carla and Scott & Julie. It was a great time at Austin Pizza Garden! Love that place!

Saturday 9: Sweet Soul Music

1. Do you listen to music at work, and if so, do you use a mp3 player, play it through your office computer, or do you listen to it collectively via a separate radio you keep nearby?
There is a radio in the workroom by my desk. I listen to that if I'm in there for any reasonable length of time- which is rare. When working at home, I listen to music on my computer.

2. Tell us something about people that you absolutely hate.
uncompromising partisanship

3. What is something someone has done that you'd like the world to know about?
Lauren runs the two-year-olds class at church, and she is fantastic with the kids. Last weekend she even ate very well-intentioned offers of spitty Goldfish crackers from several little hands. She'll be a great mommy someday!

4. Where is your favorite place to sit when at home?
Snuggled up in the corner of the sectional in the living room

5. How did you come up with the title of your blog?
it's a line from Duran Duran's song "New Religion" and a nice, bloggy phrase for this space where I can say pretty much anything

6. Tell us about the one who got away.
He didn't get away! Mwahaha!

7. Have you ever had a big birthday party?
Super-huge, "rent a space" big? Nope.

8. What was the biggest bash you've ever attended?
AMD's company party with Richard Marx playing at our Austin venue (the Erwin Center) and Rod Stewart live via satellite from Sunnyvale. AMD's heyday!

9. With my kids and an always changing life, I find myself sometimes unable to focus! Do you have that problem, too?
Maybe that's what's happening with me right now! I am constantly remembering something I need to do or something I need to add to a list, etc. I'm afraid I'm going to miss an appointment, which is totally unlike me.

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Stop Telephonin' Me-e-e-e-e-e-e-eeee

Sitting here wondering if I'll ever get used to bookmarks on the right, in Firefox 4.0. Love it otherwise. You can add another occurrence of bookmarks on the left, but it would drive me crazy to have two of the same buttons. Just let me move it, Mozilla. I can change every other detail of that thing.

Real Housewives of NYC began a new season last night. It's always been my fave of the three I've seen at all. First strike against them is that Bethenny has her own show now, and she was my favorite person on there. Second, there is a new woman who I don't like at all. (Who ever likes the new girl at first? I know.) And third, those ladies are getting so incredibly catty and mean that it's uncomfortable to watch. Sad!

And now... a concert moment story!!! But not mine. At Lady Gaga's concert Wednesday, Lauren's friend Jaxon tossed his hand-painted Lady GaGa tshirt onto the stage. And she put it on! Too cool! (He was only there because he lucked out and got a floor admission ticket standing outside the venue before the show.)

At about 6:50 in this vid:



And a good still:



And here it is close up, from when we took the kids to the concert in Dallas:

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Deleted Post

Well, I had a whole entry written up about rights to privacy and other wildly important grownup issues, when I realized my comments would ironically have identified me by name and address to anyone visiting this blog, including those who accidentally pop in searching for "anal girl." (Yeah, if you missed that story, you're pretty new around here. Welcome!)

Despite my lettering in journalism in high school, I took quite an impressive stand here against a local news organization and the way they are handling a certain item with blatant disregard for the privacy of the people involved. It was an awesome post! Instead, you get...

Song Lyrics of the Day

...It took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
...So don't come back for me
Don't come back at all
Who do you think you are?

"Jar of Hearts" Christina Perri

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Your 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Champions!

Congratulations Coach Blair and the amazing Lady Aggies!! What a fabulous game. We had to watch it late last night on DVR (and stay off the internet!). Danielle Adams is an all-around super-athlete. Sydney Colson is a beast handling a basketball. All of the girls are such talents. Fun to watch!

OK, so, I finally asked Lauren what Lady GaGa is saying in "Born This Way"- "...Me llamo... what?"

Lauren: No, it's 'Mi amore' something... means 'love needs faith.'

Online consensus is it's "Mi amore vole fe, yah!" Which they think is some sort of mix of Italian and Latin. And a 'yah' for good measure.

Until someone is sure what she is saying and what language it is, I'm sticking with "Me llamo Revolefeyah."

The old corporate campus was turned into generic office space years ago. Lots of interesting little businesses there in our old offices! I showed Lauren around yesterday when we had an appointment, regaling her with many work tales from 17 years ago. I told her about walking the parking lot at lunch with Ina when we were both pregnant. Showed her the surprisingly pretty smoking area you had to visit on occasion to chat with certain coworkers who sort of lived there all day, the receptionist's area which used to be very high security but is now empty, the train tracks, the old break room, the office where one of our QA folks had a seizure while I was talking to her (scary!), the Data Entry room, the picnic tables... everything!

She mostly texted. She likes my A&M stories better. Stories of my work days don't include bonfires and nuclear reactors.

I was dying to show her the bathroom where I spent the first half of my pregnancy throwing up, but I let it go.

Back in the day, the data analysts were in cubicles in a big room. That room had two individual offices in it, which housed me and the other senior analyst. Very nice digs. I had a whole wall of windows, floor to ceiling! I couldn't get in there yesterday, but here is my glorious view, taken from the adjoining hall (my office is on the other side of the left wall):

The building is built into a hill, and this is the second story, at the back. It wasn't actually that bad if you stepped into the room, and especially from my desk. Just look up and you'd see...

So pretty! The tree was big then, but not that big. Memories!! I really loved it there. The people were so awesome. Not a one of them is still with the company.

Bit of trivia- Doug worked at the company after I left, while neither of us even knew the other lived in Austin. Hmm!

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Hello World

Friday I got an mail from "Old STNY," which I figured was spam from some pothead flower child, which was doubly weird because Yahoo is da bomb at screening spam. Turns out it was Dad. He calls that account Old STNY because it's his old addy from stny.rr.com, where the STNY refers to Southern Tier New York. He's gone gmail now. He's more with the times than I. He has a droid phone as well. No, I won't whine about my phone. Today. :)

Ever notice that men on Facebook have profile photos with their wives far more often than women include their husbands in theirs? And... if women include anyone else in their profile photo (they usually do not)... who is it typically? Their kids. Occasionally, hubby is in there with the family as well. I find this sort of thing fascinating.

Got a slew of birthday messages on Facebook this weekend. They group them together in the notifications as "So-and-so and # other friends posted on your wall." Oddly, a few were pulled out and mentioned in their own special notifications, like "Mary Smith posted on your wall." I finally figured out what is different. Anyone who posts from a smartphone app is seen as an individual notification in the list. Isn't that special.

Nope. Not whining about my phone. Just saying. *bats eyelashes*

We watched Easy A yesterday. Oh my gosh- it is REALLY funny! Who knew?! I didn't even want to see it. She wears an A on her shirts, well... bustiers, while what she did has absolutely nothing to do with adultery. The only similarity between her and Hester Prynne is that they are publicly ostracized for sexual misbehavior, so it's a real stretch to make the entire movie a reference to The Scarlet Letter, but it was so entertaining that I will forgive them even that. And Stanley Tucci is in it, which is always a great thing. Definitely rent it!

Rosemary: I had a similar situation when I was your age. I had a horrible reputation.
Olive: Why?
Rosemary: Because I slept with a whole bunch of people... Mostly guys.
Olive: Mom!

Principal Gibbons: This is public school. If I can keep the girls off the pole and the boys off the pipe, I get a bonus.

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