unseasonal pleasantries

last night, after a fabulous dinner with friends, i got to drive home with my sun roof open to enjoy the 50 degree weather.

this morning i was woken up by a serious thunderstorm.

not too shabby for the end of december. not too shabby at all.

christmas gaming

i mentioned that my family plays games, right? tonight i won a game of Axis & Allies, re-writing history to win WWII for the Axis forces. last night i came in second in a rather long game of Split, and i place somewhere in the middle in two games of Uno prior to that. the first of the Uno games was my niece's first game with real Uno cards. she did quite well. :) the night before i absolutely trounced my parents (especially my dad) in a game of Split. earlier in the week my mom and i split winning at Bohnanza, i came in second at a game of Phase 10 and i won a smashing game of Blokus (after a stunning defeat on my first attempt). i think it was yesterday that i came in second at Pirates Cove, too. and i won a game of Martian Fluxx somewhere in there, too. now to get in games of Sorry Revenge and Five Crowns before the trip home is over ...

favorite nouns

tartlet. gesticulation. prose. velociraptor. ambiguity. sleep.
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rhyming poem

go to bed
my body said.
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favorite game to play

hard to get. ha! kidding. :)

i love games. playing games is what my family does. we may not be great thinkers or world leaders or run very fast, but ... wait. sorry. that's the tribbiani family. we hittles are great thinkers AND game players. card games. board games. computer games. video games. word games. car games. we're gamers at heart. so to pick a favorite is a little tricky.

i really enjoy the game Fluxx. i've played a couple of different versions, and i appreciate it's ever-changing rules and quick game play. it doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's a good thing. plus, the artwork is good and the background story is humorous.

i also really enjoy Phase 10. and Killer Uno. and Unexploded Cow. and Spoons. and Taboo. and Snorta. have you ever played Snorta? you will laugh a lot. and having fun is the whole point.

well, that and trouncing on the competition.
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if you could choose your name, what would you pick?

for quite some time, i've thought about adding Josephina to the front of my name. i'd be Josephina Rebecca Renee. i really like my name, so i don't want to get rid of it, but i think i could pull off the nickname Jo, too.
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favorite adjectives

stellar. superb. fabulous. amazing. ridiculous. clear. sunny. hawaiian.
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who knows me best, part 2

i believe marlana and erin are quite correct. it is, undoubtedly, my mother who knows me best. i love her more than words could ever express, and i'm pretty sure she actually knows me better than she lets on. she's just smart that way. i'm blessed beyond description with her friendship and love.
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who knows you best?

i don't know.
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reality show choice

i haven't had tv service for several years, so i'm sure there are all sorts of reality shows out there that i don't know about. but of the ones i'm familiar with ... i'd choose What Not To Wear. or perhaps The Amazing Race. yeah, The Amazing Race! not Survivor ... i like to watch it, but i wouldn't want to live outside with a bunch of strangers. and i don't always appreciate teamwork even with people i know. ;)
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what's your sign?

i'm an aquarian. according to the first hit on google, that means i'm friendly and humanitarian, honest and loyal, original and inventive, independent and intellectual. it also means i'm intractable and contrary, perverse and unpredictable, unemotional and detached. yeah, i had to look up intractable. it means i'm not easily controlled or directed. i'm not going to claim or deny any of that. and you can't make me. ;)

according to wikipedia, i'm most compatible with folks born under the signs of gemini, libra, aries, leo and sagittarius. i don't know about all that. but my brother's dog is named gemini, and i'm allergic to her.

famous aquarians include: buzz aldrin, geena davis, edouard manet, john belushi, paul newman, eartha kitt, lewis carroll, ALAN ALDA!, tom selleck, oprah winfrey, fdr, carol channing, farrah fawcett, alice cooper, babe ruth, ronald reagan, rip torn, abraham lincoln and charles schwab.

having doubts that aquarians are the epitome of awesomeness? talk to chuck.
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verbs, part 3

did you see the photo april posted with her verbs? it made me say waddle. and that's a pretty great verb. go on. say it. out loud. waddle. waddle. waddle. and that makes me think of yoink, which fred introduced me to last month. yoink. yoink. waddle. yoink. words are funny.

yoink.
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verbs, part 2

as marlana pointed out, i am a big fan of the verb gesticulate. it's just so much fun to say.

what i've been learning recently is that i'm pretty much done with focusing on specific topics. if i was having a conversation and a great verb came up naturally, i'd undoubtedly point out that i love that verb. and then probably go on to point out three others that i'm fond of. but to just sit and think about verbs? my mind isn't currently working that way.

instead, i'm focused on buying fleece remnants at work today. did you know our fleece is currently 50% off? and the remnants are another 75% off of that price? that's right. it's ridiculous. i mean, it's practically 90% off the original price. yup. i'm hoping to find a couple of pieces. to make things. you know.
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my favorite verbs

my favorite verbs are easily those that aren't intended to be verbs, such as photoshop (e.g. sure, i can photoshop those wrinkles right off your face.) and metal (e.g. where have you been? we have been metaling for hours.)
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television-show home i want to live in

so my box of topics is in the office. i'm on the sofa in the living room. today was a long day at work, and i'm feeling lazy. that's right, too lazy to go get the box of topics. so, instead, i asked marlana what she wanted to talk about. she found some listing of topics online and started reading them off. the first was "model organisms" or something like that. and then she went on to find the one asking in which television-show home would you want to live. so that's what we picked as the topic. but, as soon as she said model, i wanted to post the clip from Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip's premiere episode. i'm sure it loses some of its greatness if you don't know the background story. but you can fix that by just watching the entire episode. it's on netflix for streaming ... look it up. ;) but for now, watch this clip:



oh, and apparently i'm supposed to "actually answer the question" today. you people are so demanding. stop trying to box me in.

unless you're boxing me into charlie's house on Two and a Half Men. without charlie, please. i just want the house.
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pick your alias

this is my topic. marlana and i have been watching Undercover Boss, and i started wondering how the boss chooses his alias. does he choose it himself? does someone else choose it for him? and if someone else chooses it ... what's the process there? if the boss is aliased as Danny, is that because the boss had a best friend named Danny as a child?

i should say that i love this show. the big guy at the big company is taking entry-level jobs to get a real feel for his employees. he learns how his policies trickle down through the ranks, how his employees are being supported (or not) and how the company can make positive changes to benefit the workplace. it's great. and at the end, he brings the employees he's interacted with to corporate headquarters, lets them know he's really the boss and enlists their help to better the work environment. i've seen employees get sent on extended vacations because they need a break from the stress of their jobs, get promotions because they're awesome at their jobs ... last night the guy from 7-Eleven gave one of his delivery truck drivers his own franchise.

so now that you know WHY i picked the topic, i'll admit that i have no idea what my alias would be. :)
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first holiday baking

i've got cookie dough chilling in the fridge for marlana's cookie exchange tomorrow. even though i have to work during the exchange, i'm going to leave cookies so i can have a big plateful of baked goodness when i get home. and i kinda want to call off and bake all day. :)

speaking of cookie goodness, i got a tin of home-baked yumminess in the mail yesterday. thank you, patti! so tasty!

what are you reading now?

i'm still not reading anything. i wasn't reading anything when fred asked last month, and i'm not reading anything now.

i shoveled the driveway this morning, though. and i made good use of the little photo boxes facebook has added to our profiles. it took some trial & error, but becky's page now reads "wish me a happy birthday" across the top. or, at least, it does until someone else tags her in a photo. :)

so now i have about 2.5 hours before i need to leave for work, and i haven't started the productivity i got up early to accomplish. we'll see how it goes. first, breakfast.
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favorite tv personalities

bobby goren from law & order: criminal intent, hawkeye pierce from M*A*S*H and phoebe buffay from FRIENDS.

i doubt that you find any of those surprising. runners up would include dharma montgomery, liz lemon, olivia benson and, of course, officer tom hanson.
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honesty

you know how i have the list of blogs at the bottom of every Daily Topic post? yeah, i know most of those bloggers aren't posting. i don't even take the time to check anymore. if you want to read someone else's ramblings for the day - click through to the blog of april, erin or marlana. the others abandoned us long ago.
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talents and skills i wish i had

- tempering chocolate
- playing the fiddle
- playing the banjo
- fixing snowblowers
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snow & wind

jobs i'm glad i don't have on days like today:
- pizza delivery person
- chinese food delivery person
- jimmy john's delivery person
- flower delivery person
- grave digger
- utility pole fixer
- taxi driver
- truck driver
- fast food drive-thru window operator
- pharmacy drive-thru window operator
- toll booth worker

time-warped perspective

so i've been posting daily since the beginning of october. i'm actually a little impressed with myself. but today, my heart skipped a beat when i realized i didn't post yesterday. i mean, this far in & i forget to post? really?

nope, not really. i posted early yesterday morning before i'd gone to bed. so i've slept twice since then, and so it seems like a really long time ago. surely more than one day. only it wasn't.

yeah. aren't you glad i shared that?

google your first name & post the first photo

so i decided to search out all of my first-name options. so when i'm formal, i get to be an actress and fashion model.



















and when i'm around my family (and a few friends), i'm a japanese television star. personally, if i had to choose one of these photos to be me - i'd choose this one.


















and during my normal day-to-day life, i'm a girl who attended a conference about stereotyping. and apparently google ignores apostrophes because i get this photo regardless of whether i use one or not.

















and during the weeks leading up to st. patrick's day, i'm a girl at her junior prom. i look like i'm having a good time, don't i? ;)











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the calendar says what?

have you noticed that christmas is only two weeks away? how did that happen? i need to make a list ...

without the letter p

so fred sloshed water all over her keyboard, and no longer has use of the letter that follows O. since she hadn't offered any blog suggestions for the month, i took the liberty of suggesting this one for her. so i can't use the letter that comes after O. the question becomes, do i use words that don't include that letter? or do i use words that use the letter, and simly tye them without it? the first is easier to read, no doubt. but the second is kinda funny.

either way, it's time for breakfast. and then maybe i'll go ee.
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christmas in the mountains

this past weekend was christmas with my mom's family. we rented a cabin in the smoky mountains and filled it with 20 people.

the lower level had two big bedrooms, each with a private bath.

and a theater room (note the large white screen on the wall) with a very comfortable sofa that i claimed as my bed.

the upper level had two bedrooms, a sitting area with a tv and multiple game tables.

the main level also had two bedrooms with private baths. it also had the dining room, kitchen and a sitting area with a tv and electric fireplace.

with the coffee table out of the way, the sitting area had plenty of room for playing railroad tycoon.

and with railroad tycoon out of the way, there was plenty of room for the kids to open their gifts.

the dining room table sat 10, and was plenty big to spread out a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

and plenty of room for the kids to do crafts.

the three balconies afforded some gorgeous views of the mountains.

and a great backdrop for family photos.

you'll get to see the opposite view of this one at a later date. ;)

and it snowed! this was my first trip there when it snowed. doesn't it look so pretty here?

yeah ... not so pretty here. the snow was only about an inch thick on the roads, but the layer of ice underneath is what stranded us on the side of the mountain.

this was the last of the inclines we needed to climb, but we just couldn't do it. and turning around to go back to the cabin wasn't an option because we'd come down inclines just as steep.

so we sat and waited for four hours, along with a handful of other cars who couldn't make it up the hill either. thankfully, there was a gravel driveway we could back into to get out of the way. see where the people are standing? in the last photo, my car was parked right about there. not a good location if someone decided to come down the mountain and couldn't control his slide. the white car to their right is a good example. i'm not exactly sure what he was trying to do (because he was already off the road ... maybe turn around?), but he couldn't stop sliding backwards and he crumpled up the fence at the intersection. it was a slow, gentle crumple ... no injuries to the driver and the car probably didn't get worse than a small scratch from the wood.

after the sun melted through the ice, we were on our way. we hit snow a couple of times, and had a near white out for about a quarter mile ... but after that it was smooth sailing. once we lowered our elevation, the weather was good and we made it home without further incident.

if we go back next year, i'll be investing in a set of chains for my tires. :)

resolutions i'll never keep

stop eating fast food after 10pm. i told myself that last summer when liz & i stopped at wendy's after railcats games two or three times a week. but since i stopped at wendy's last night after work, obviously i'm not concerned enough to stop.

stop eating a giant bag of doritos in a mere two sittings. the truth is, i could eat the whole bag in one sitting, but as i get towards the bottom i realize i've eaten almost the entire bag ... so i stop & finish it off the next day. i should probably be able to get at least 4 servings out of it, right?

dust & vacuum on a regular basis. yeah, unless i start having friends over on a regular basis, i don't see this one ever happening. so if you stop by to see me unannounced (ha!), expect to see a house that needs to be dusted and vacuumed.

stop working FRIENDS quotes into my every day conversation. nah, let's not be ridiculous.
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most embarrassing moment

junior high. it was just a really long moment.
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the last dream i remember

so i'm hanging out with a friend from high school for the first time in years. and we're at a school (perhaps the one where she works now?), and i'm showing her something on the computer. searching for something? or researching something? or ... something?

yeah, i didn't say it was a good dream. or even a complete one. ;)
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facebook friends

the question for today was how many of my facebook friends would i delete if i wasn't worried about their feelings. and, honestly, i don't know that i would delete any of them. i have deleted people - generally folks i knew in high school who in some way or another started bugging me with their posts - and i'm willing to delete more if needed. but currently, my friends list is treating me well.

now if the question was how many friend requests have i accepted because i was worried about the requesters feelings, that would be different. there's a good chunk of requests that i accept just because "well, it'd be rude to say no. i can always delete them later if they bug me." but most of them i don't de-friend later. as it turns out, a lot of my fb friends are pretty quiet. and if they don't raise a red flag, they remain on the list.

but like i said, i'm quite willing to delete them if needed. :)
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the drive

road trips with small children do take more time. we made it safely, though. the cabin is full and almost overwhelming. (sometimes i wonder if i have a bit of an anxiety issue with large groups of people.) the view from the balconies is clear; the air is crisp. it's never a bad thing when the biggest decision to make is whether or not to leave the curtains open on the wall of windows before finally going to bed.
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christmas cards

generally i enjoy sending out christmas cards. or, at least, i enjoy the idea of sending out christmas cards. there have been a few times where it feels like a chore to actually get them in the mail. but i'm always glad when i get it accomplished. and i really enjoy receiving christmas cards and lining them up along my book shelves. december is my favorite postal month. :)
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text test

i'm testing my abilities to blog by text messages. Because i just might need to do that this weekend.

favorite comfort food

doritos. although pizza is a very close second place.
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first snow

it's not much, but at least it's sticking! the forecast calls for it to stop within the next two hours, so i don't suppose we'll get anything too impressive out of it. but i am quite certain that my trees are quietly cursing me for not having their sweaters finished.

can you believe november is over? NaBloPoMo seems to have passed by very quickly. we had 15 folks blogging on the specific topics. three of made it through with complete success - gold stars to april, marlana and myself. that's right, i gave myself a gold star. because i can. ;) a smaller group is going to continue with daily topics through december. so while i've added back my entire link list on the right, my topical posts will have a footer with links to the other topical bloggers. today's a free day as we finish getting all the topics gathered up. the ones i've seen so far are good, so visit often. :)
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creepy!

flying animals creep me out. they're unpredictable and shifty. stupid airborne creatures.

botox creeps me out, too. but for other reasons.
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reading material at the moment

my current reading material includes my netflix queue, the recipe for chex mix and an old issue of mental_floss. because, you know, it's nice to have something to read in the bathroom. ;)
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most recent/worst memories

my most recent memory is of beginning to write this post. is that too recent to be a memory? okay. i remember giving marlana my email & password to order us pizza for dinner. that was a full two minutes ago, and therefore it must qualify.

my worst memory was when my pony died. i mean, you can imagine that it would be bad enough to walk outside and see a dead pony, right? but that wasn't dramatic enough for sly. no, sly died trying to swim in the lake while we were gone for a weekend skiing. so we came home to his bloated corpse floating in the water, hooves in the air, flies swarming.
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if i could visit anywhere in the world

i would rarely say no. seriously. pretty much anywhere that was offered to me to visit, i would go. i'd say no to a few hot spots of violence and general america-hating, but for the most part i'd go anywhere with my trusty camera around my neck.

top picks in foreign travel: greece, italy, france and patagonia.

i have friends who think i think too small when i say this: but i really want to finish my local touring, too. part of that is because i like jumping in my car and going, and that's tricky when where i'm going is overseas. but here in the states, i still need to spend some time in north dakota, idaho, nevada, utah, arizona, louisiana, mississsippi, alabama, the carolinas, connecticut, rhode island, massachusetts, vermont, new hampshire and maine. and hawaii & alaska. that's a lot of domestic travel i still need to accomplish!
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18. take at least 3100 photos

as it turns out, taking 31 photos a day for 31 consecutive days quickly raises the total number of photos taken. especially when i take a couple hundred photos to create stop-motion videos like the letter s. and when i rig up my camera to shoot in continuous mode while on a tripod? well, then i take more than 700 photos in a span of less than 15 minutes. and you get to watch me make chex mix. ;)


i like the end, when i'm tossing the goodies with the sauce. it looks like i went in with photoshop and used the smudge tool. :)

harry potter excitement

You just discovered the world of Harry Potter is real. You've received your letter and you are going to Hogwarts (it got lost for awhile ... ignore the age difference). what are you most excited about?

the train ride. i know, i know ... the train ride? really, 'becca? yup. really. because every thing past the train ride is too much to think about. and have you seen the view from the train? it's gorgeous.
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the greatness that is my parents

today my parents are celebrating their 38th anniversary. 38 years. now i know i've only been around for 31 of those years, and i'm looking at it from the outside ... but i'm gonna say it's been a good ride so far. :)

my parents are amazing. absolutely amazing.
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seven things for which i'm thankful

1. a family that i love to love.

2. friends that are pretty fabulous.

3. a roommate who's not too shabs. (understatement for purposes of inside joke)

4. a job that i enjoy.

5. an upcoming trip with the extended family.

6. dry roads for last night's ride home.

7. this nice fall weather we've been having. ;)

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why turkeys deserve to be eaten

A. because they're more attractive cooked than uncooked.

2. because they're yummy.

and as shown the other day: A+2=Awesomeness Achieved.
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childhood songs that get stuck in my head

that christmas song "sleigh ride" gets stuck in my head throughout the year. for no good reason at all it pops in, and it takes me days to get rid of it.


and "hermie the worm" gets stuck in my head, but that's great fun. it makes me think of working at the library with brenda, and those were good times.


and then there's "mahna mahna" from sesame street. i love that song
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the process of feeding an addiction

wake up.

watch an episode of FRIENDS while reading e-mails and learning the funniness of the autocorrect page julie found.

start a second episode of FRIENDS while posting to blog.

have third episode of FRIENDS playing in background while packing to go home for thanksgiving.

play fourth episode of FRIENDS while fixing broken necklace and reviewing current sale paper for work.

replay funniest scenes from episodes 1-4 in head while taking a shower.

enjoy episodes five and six of FRIENDS while eating lunch.

count the first three hours of the day as a success.
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animal reincarnation, revisted

i realize i made an oversight in my previous post. i'd like to be one of the wild parrots that lives on telegraph hill in san francisco. why? A. i'd be in san francisco. and 2. i'd be a wild parrot.

A+2=Awesomeness Achieved.
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if i could come back as an animal ...

i would want to come back as one of kathy's cats. okay, she might tend to have cats who develop some medical concerns ... but i can't imagine there's a better owner to have. plus, cats get to sleep all day, are expected to be aloof, and have someone to clean up their feces.

second choice - a ring-tailed lemur. have you ever noticed how they always look like they're plotting the world's demise and sneering at their human onlookers?
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they should make a law against ...

not releasing the television shows i like for instant streaming on netflix. that's right. it should be against the law for shows like Law & Order (the original series), Two and a Half Men, Dharma & Greg and Will & Grace to not be available for me to watch at my whim and fancy. it sounds like a lot of work to figure out who's in violation of this law ... but i can take time out of my schedule to do it. not a problem. it's the least i can do for the sake of netflix sanity.
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superheroes: is the cape necessary to fly?

i'm so glad you asked, as i am quite qualified to answer this question. yes, the cape is absolutely necessary to fly. that's why i always wear mine when i'm getting on a plane.
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possible ways to destroy the sun

so i did some research last night to see what other people are saying about the destruction of the day star. they were talking about black holes and antimatter, changing the gaseous mix and colliding it with another large object. yeah, none of it made much sense to me. it was way over my head. what i did understand, though, was that it would be impossible to douse the sun in water to put out the fire. apparently the water would boil and evaporate before it got inside the sun to do any good. stupid sun.

i also found a facebook group dedicated to the destruction of the sun. they pointed out that the sun is the number one cause of sunburn. and that the sun rising after sunday night is the primary cause of monday. excellent points.

and then there was the page destroythesun.com, where he outlines the reasons we need to band together to figure out how to destroy the sun. the reasons include the fact that the sun is basically a beacon for invading aliens to find us and that without the sun's gravitational pull we'd be free to use the earth to explore the solar system. well, right after we devised a steering mechanism for the planet, of course.

so where does that leave us? i'm thinking we sew it a death shroud. we use blackout drapery lining, and we line it (yeah, we're lining a lining ... but it's the sun, people. it's hot. and the blackout lining is going to melt without some support) with the insulated goodness we recommend for inside ironing board pads and oven mitts. because the sun is hot ... but i'm pretty sure it's a heat comparable to that of an iron. then we send up the indestructible flying sewing machines, and we're done!

or maybe i've been spending too much time around fabric. but think of all the uses of an indestructible flying sewing machine. that would be awesome.
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the worst book i've ever read

i'm usually bad with books. i go through phases where i read a lot, but unless i write down what i've read i'm not going to remember in a month or two. or i might remember i read the book, but not what it was about. i'll remember whether i liked it or not, but not what the plot was.

i had an experience this summer (no, this doesn't relate to the topic ... feel free to skip down a couple of paragraphs if you'd like) where i was talking with greg about the koreas. (i think it was greg ... we'll say it was greg.) and i got this feeling like i'd read a book about someone from south korea. or north korea. or ... both? it was a memoir, that much i knew. and the young man who wrote it moved away from korea and then back? something about government jobs? and fish? or ... something? and the family ended up in prison? sure enough, after enough mental fishing (and some googling help), i found the book Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korea Gulag. it's a good book. if you're a fan of the memoir, like i am, you should definitely read it. but i wonder how i could enjoy (can you really enjoy this kind of book?) it as much as i did and then completely forget about it?

that doesn't always happen if i really, really like the book, of course. sometimes i can at least remember the name. ;) and while this isn't a post about books i've enjoyed, i will say that one of my favorite books is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. i first read it in high school, and i've read it multiple times since. my most recent reading of it was this past july. i took it with me on a road trip, and i was actually surprised how much i didn't remember. it had been a long time since i'd read it, but for as much as i knew i liked it you'd think i'd remember more about the plot!

anyway, because i enjoy that book so much, i decided i wanted to try another of Huxley's writings. (this is where it starts to come together with the topic, hang in there for another sentence or two.) so i borrowed Point Counter Point from the library. and, you guessed it, i hated it. i pushed myself through the first three chapters, and when i realized i had no idea what had happened in the previous paragraph - i knew i had to stop reading. the characters from chapter one hadn't even been mentioned again, yet! and apparently my patience for long, uninteresting rambling was thin.

so i returned it and checked out something else. i don't remember what that something else was. i'd have to check my list. ;)
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i'm addicted to ...

random interesting information. this morning, for example, i learned that there was a speech written just in case the men we sent to the moon got stranded there. seriously. in the summer of '69, william safire had to write a speech for president nixon in case armstrong and aldrin weren't coming home. it went like this:

"Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding ... Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts."

now, i'm also slightly addicted to thinking we faked the mission to the moon, so this speech would have never been needed (unless armstrong or aldrin failed to sign the gag order & accept their hush money and needed to be offed by the government), but that's for another day. ;)

(thanks to mental_floss for the speech. mental_floss is one of my more awesome addictions.)
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one million, frivolously

how would i spend a million dollars frivolously? no bills, no loans, no trips to the grocery store. frivolously.

my first thought would be to do nothing. to toss the money into a savings account to be pulled from when i can't get the hours i need at work to cover my rent. but rent isn't frivolous. so that also rules out quitting my job to become a sofa slug, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. :) so ...

i'd buy a dining room set. a good-sized table, chairs, maybe a china cabinet to match. i don't need or really even have room for these items ... so that definitely qualifies the purchase as frivolous.

i'd pimp out my computer set-up. a flat bed scanner, a negative scanner, a wide-format printer, more memory, a larger monitor. a laptop with a battery that works and lets me play facebook games. :)

i'd finish off my collection of fiesta ware.

i'd purchase copious amounts of dvds: all things alan alda and johnny depp. perhaps the entire collection of law & order (original, criminal intent and svu).

i'd travel. while i can't use the money to pay my rent on a regular basis, i can use it to afford to take time off work to travel, right? sure, i can. it's my blog post. :) so i'd travel. greece, patagonia, the east coast during autumn. and i'd pay to take people with me. most of the time, at least. ;) the drive up the west coast would still be a solo trip. but with a million dollars, i'd start at the north end in a fabulous convertible and drive the entire length (even the part i've already driven) with an extended stop in san francisco.

i'd buy a nice stand mixer. and a stick mixer, too.

i'd attempt to put laminate flooring down because if i screwed it up, i could afford to hire someone to re-do it. :)

i'd buy some jewelry tools: a saw, a grinder, a ring mandrel. and then i'd buy a bunch of coins to turn into rings, necklaces and earrings. turning the money into unspendable jewelry definitely counts as frivolous.

i'd buy my dad an old chevy.

i'd throw fabulous parties. and when almost none of my friends from the region show up for the first one, i'd pay for babysitters and chauffeurs for the next one.

i'd buy wiis and mario kart to give to my family and friends for online racing fun.

maybe i'm not thinking big enough. i mean, i'm no where near a million dollars. but maybe that's a good thing. this way i can buy frivolous stuff for a long period of time. and while i'm waiting for the next frivolous opportunity to arise, the money can sit in a savings account and make more money for frivolity. yes, i think that would be better than seeking out a couple of high-priced items to buy, spending all the money at once.
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hidden cameras

one place i'd like to put one: i used to want to put one inside my boss's head, just to get some idea what she was thinking. now i'm not so sure. perhaps behind the scenes of the next tim burton/johnny depp collaboration? i'd like to put one inside my dreams, so i could re-watch them in the morning. for example, i know that last night bobby & i had a couple of heart-to-heart conversations ... but i don't remember what they were about. and i was in my aunt's car with someone when it spun out on the ice and i fractured my leg ... who was i with?

one place i'd never want to find one: in my car. i use my driving as my time to sort things out. i yell at people who aren't in the car. i think out loud about issues that are on my mind. and i sing like a fool to practically every song my ipod plays. :)
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claymation v. animation

as a computer art nerd, i have to give a highly respectful nod to computer animation. the abilities of computer animators is amazing, and i'm a sucker for pixar movies for that reason alone. however ... i have even more respect for those who make magic with claymation. tweak the models to show a fraction of a movement; shoot the frame. repeat 47.8 billion times. the dedication is amazing. regardless of whether the models are made out of clay or not - the stop-motion process is ridiculously awesome. (says the girl who recently started playing with the process herself.)

did you know i'm a tim burton fan? i love his work. his movies The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride are both stop-motion films. so is Vincent, which i just recently stumbled upon and present to you here.

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refrigerator art

refrigerator art is nice, classy and has a good sense of humor.

i have no idea if that's true. i don't know refrigerator art. my refrigerator's name is larry.
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movies/tv shows i can quote

for today's game, we're playing Match That Quote! match each quote with the movie or tv show it comes from - answers will be posted in the comments tomorrow. :)

Quotes:
A. Having a Boo Radley moment, are we?
B. Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.
C. I want to go to there.
D. What's with today today?
E. Think of it as thrift, as a gift, if you get my drift.
F. Ble-blah-blar Blargh!

Movies/TV Shows:
1. Sweeney Todd
2. Friends
3. Benny & Joon
4. M*A*S*H
5. Empire Records
6. 30 Rock
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one decision i'd change & why

i'd not believe the wendy's billboard about their existence at exit 168. because that was a waste of my time. :)
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most interesting 2010 accomplishment

i'm currently torn between choosing my move to the center of the state or my new-found obsession with stop motion video making as my most interesting accomplishment. i guess it all depends how you define interesting. :) so today i give you a mix of the two - a stop motion video drive through my new downtown. enjoy!
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when it rains i like to ...

i'm sure a lot of people will say this, but i find rain to be very relaxing and good for sleeping. however, when i wake up to rain? i like to close my eyes and pretend i'm waking up in ireland. :)

even if i don't fall asleep, i like to relax on the sofa and listen to the rain. i especially like when it's accompanied by lightening and strong thunder.

i like to walk in the rain. not during heavy storms for long distances ... but i like when it's raining as i leave work. i enjoy the feel of the drops on my face, even if i don't like having to clean them off my glasses.

i like looking out the window as it rains, enjoying the convoluted view through the ripples of water streaming down the glass.

i don't like driving in the rain, but i do like driving near the rain with heavy storm clouds overhead or by my side. i like watching the sky change colors and fill with drama. i like seeing the dark clouds in my rear view mirror, relieved to have the storm behind me.
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the letter s

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the clip-on tie

in my research for today's topic i learned that the clip-on tie was invented in iowa. i like iowa. seriously, i do. on my many travels west on I-80, iowa is my favorite state to drive through. it's hilly, it's farmy ... i like it. but now i kind of want to judge it for inventing the clip-on tie.

not that the clip-on tie doesn't have its uses. policemen wear them so the bad guys can't strangle them with their own uniform. that's a smart move. and thinkgeek's 8-bit tie HAS to be a clip-on to successfully 8-bit. so iowa, i still salute you.

i also read an interesting article on how to turn a regular tie into a clip-on tie. okay, it wasn't really interesting, and the end result wasn't really a clip-on. so we'll move on from that now ...

then it occurred to me that if i have to do research, i apparently don't have a strong view on the subject. and then i realized that the topic didn't ask me to have a strong view, it just asked me to blog about it. so, clip-on tie, this one's for you, buddy. this one's for you.
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favorite food at Thanksgiving dinner

it's hard for me to chose a favorite food at thanksgiving dinner. i love thanksgiving dinner. i love the turkey and the stuffing. and mom's noodles ... i love her noodles. and sweet potatoes with all the brown sugar & cinnamon. and mashed potatoes & gravy. and green beans. yum. yum. yum. i love it all. and leftover turkey sandwiches later? love.
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my guilty pleasure

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35 goals

most of you know i make a list of goals every year. so by the time january 24 rolls around, i'll have a list of 32 things i want to accomplish while i'm 32 years old. i am not going to show you that list today. no, not today. instead, i'm going to talk about things i plan to do before i turn 35. some of these are goals i've had set for awhile, some are being made up right now to fill in the list. i'll let you decide which you think are serious and which i never plan to accomplish and/or keep track of. :)

- shower no less than 950 times.

- eat breakfast no less than 850 times. (i'm more likely to skip breakfast than a shower.)

- finish driving up the california coast.

- take a trip to las vegas.

- and greece. i want to go to there.

- work at a job that replenishes my savings account, making the previous three goals possible.

- rally the troops for three more months of daily blogging.

- hang artwork and shelving in my bedroom.

- paint the last of the trim in the house.

- host a halloween party on a boat.

- read mikey's next blognovel.

- get my hair cut.

- start an etsy shop.

- meet vincent d'onofrio.

- master the creation of cheesecake ice cream with sweet cherries and fudge mixed in.

- finish the quilt for my bed. yeah, that one i started five years ago.

- own a monkey that knows how to ride a unicycle.

- make a pair of flannel 'jama pants.

- own a pair of fabulous brown boots.

- keep bill alive.

- can tomatoes with my mom again.

- own a scanner, preferably one that scans negatives and prints.

- meet the man of my marlana's dreams, astronaut mike dexter.

- complete my collection of halloween fiestaware.

- host an anniversary party for my parents' 40th anniversary.

- forget to remember to be scared.

- host a johnny depp birthday party.

- transmogrify into a small woodland creature for a day.

- make a killer fairy costume. (no, not a really cool fairy ... a killer fairy. i want the wings to be detachable with sharp blades for menacing society.)

- visit the grand canyon.

- go on a photo day with april.

- sing karaoke.

- drive the entire length of I-80.

- bring my running total of digital photos to 35,000.

- dress like ross and screech like a velociraptor from behind the bushes in a public park.
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my life predictions for 2011

january: i'll start the year by finishing up TOW 31. then, i'll create a new list for my 32nd birthday. i'll probably also find a second job. Current Job is doing fine with covering my bills for now, but chances are my hours will drop dramatically at the beginning of the year. so i'll need to find something else to supplement it.

february: i'll spend a weekend watching all the Oscar-nominated movies, and i may send out self-designed cards for anna shaw's birthday.

march: i'll realize i haven't accomplished a single thing on my 32 List and start getting busy on that. i'll also be taking a spring vacation with my roommate, as we've started building this into a tradition.

april: i'll start mowing the lawn for the new season; my roommate and i will discuss getting a lawn service. in the end, we'll keep cutting it ourselves because we like saving money.

may: i'll spend at least two days singing about Narwhals for no good reason other than because they are so awesome.

june: having just celebrated my one-year anniversary in noblesville, i'll be hospitalized as a result of having finally driven my roommate crazy with my loud & unruly behavior. (perhaps i should try to limit the narwhal singing to only one day.)

july: i'll do a six-month check on my 32 List, start christmas presents and miss July 2010 when i wasn't working.

august: fed up with missing last summer, i'll quit both of my jobs and assure people that i'll be just fine financially. after all, i've been secretly stashing stolen diamonds in the floorboards for months.

september: i'll take my new-found freedom and finally muster up the gumption to start my own etsy shop. there will be rave reviews, and in no time my crafting obsession will earn me more money than i could ever steal in diamonds.

october: flying high on my etsy success, i'll craft a kick-ass halloween costume and invite a boatload of people over for a halloween party. the party will be at the reservoir, for easy docking of the boat.

november: NaBloPoMo 2011, people!

december: i'll take a final evaluation of my 32 List and decide to pay people to accomplish the remaining goals for me. i'll finish crafting christmas presents within hours of exchanging gifts (because money doesn't change every thing) and land my private helicopter at the elementary school to spend the holidays with the family.
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i wish i could be more like ...

i wish i could be more like april
with her fine art skills and love for life.

i wish i could be more like brian
with his warm heart and genuine kindness.

i wish i could be more like erin
with her passion for helping children who need her.

i wish i could be more like fred
with an amazing voice for breaking out into random song.

i wish i could be more like holly
with the ability to make the piano sing.

i wish i could be more like jessica
with her heart towards worship and ability to rock leopard-print shoes. ;)

i wish i could be more like jody
with a heart for changing the world - one person, one child, one cause at a time.

i wish i could be more like jonathan
with ridiculous amounts of knowledge for both geekery and greekery.

i wish i could be more like kerri
who has completed the chicago marathon.

i wish i could be more like laure
devoting time to the passions of her heart.

i wish i could be more like liz
constantly trying to find ways to support her friends.

i wish i could be more like marlana
with the ability and gumption to lobby for change in the government.

i wish i could be more like melanie
with her patient positivity and infectious laugh.

i wish i could be more like mikey
who can create whole other worlds using only his words.

i wish i could be more like patti
able to pick up a paintbrush and create peace.
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sidenote: today's post officially complete goal 8 - i've blogged 31 days in a row!

featured menu items

if i opened my own restaurant, i'd feature pork on the menu. that's right - pork. you see, the pig is an amazing animal. so versatile. so multi-functional. so tasty.

for breakfast i'd offer sausage, bacon and ham steaks paired with killer home fries and scrambled eggs. (yes, scrambled eggs. you can order them any way you want ... but they're going to come out scrambled.) biscuits smothered in sausage gravy and cheddar cheese. and maybe some bacon-wrapped pancakes: crispy on the outside, light & fluffy on the inside, and easy to dip in a pool of maple syrup.

i'd offer a variety of pulled pork sandwiches: jamaican jerk, puertorriqueno and bbq of every sort (honey, chipotle, garlic, tangy and hot, hot, hot!). and i plan to perfect the bbq pork sandwich topped with macaroni and cheese and crisp bacon, served with an order of pork rinds, of course. for the less adventurous customers i would offer the classics: grilled ham and cheese, ham salad and the blt (with avocado by request), perhaps with a bowl of ham & corn chowder or ham & bean soup on the side. and the cuban sandwich would be amazing, served with fresh, hot potato chips and a homemade bacon-ranch dip.

there would be pork burritos, pork tacos, pork quesadillas. pork ribs, pork chops and pork roast. honey glazed ham, spiced ham and ham-burgers cut from ham steaks and grilled to caramelized goodness. bacon-topped mashed potatoes. bacon and onion infused green beans. and a ham and potato casserole like you wouldn't believe.

and dessert? chocolate covered bacon. peanut butter bacon cookies. chocolate chocolate bacon cookies. flourless chocolate cake topped with bacon-infused chocolate ganache. bacon-infused fudge that's been striped & cut to look like bacon slices. caramelized bacon ice cream.

pardon me, i just drooled on my keyboard. i think i'll go make myself a bbq pork omelette for breakfast ...
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i believe my calling in life is/was ...

calling in life? like some grandiose reason for getting out of bed each day? if there is one for my life, it hasn't presented itself yet. unless, of course, you count any of the following as callings. :)

- enjoy life: there's no sense getting out of bed in the morning if i'm not going to enjoy what i'm doing. no, it doesn't mean i enjoy every moment of every day, but on a whole i enjoy what i'm doing or i stop doing it.

- entertain the people around me: if i can help other people enjoy life, why not?

- organize bloggers for NaBloPoMo: sometimes it falls on me to rally the troops. who am i to say no? ;)
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NaBloPoMo prep

welcome to National Blog Posting Month! i love NaBloPoMo. i like the challenge. i like that there's a great group of people joining me. i like that it indulges my inner nerd by giving me a reason to do prep work. :)

- topics gathered & pulled: check!
- blog header updated: check!
- blog list on right updated: check!
- facebook group set up: check!
- post template updated: check!

and perhaps my favorite so far ...

- top sites updated: check!

i love that Safari has this Top Sites feature. it lets me save specific web sites, keeps a gallery of thumbnails for those web sites, and marks the one that have been updated with a star in the upper left corner. love, love, love! i can arrange them any way i want, so my NaBlo partners are the first ones listed, in alphabetical order of course. ;)

did i mention i like indulging my inner nerd?

can i make a skirt?

i'd like to point out that i've been working at a fabric store for a full five weeks now, and i'm just starting to seriously think about buying fabric to make myself something. that's impressive, right? we have this fabulous crushed taffeta - or something - that will make the cutest skirt! i love it in purple, but i'm thinking i'll use the black and put some colorful netting underneath it. that way i can wear it to work and still be mostly following the dress code. and mostly is good enough when it comes to a dress code.

offset weekend

i worked 9-5 today, but now my weekend has begun. i don't go back until 4pm tuesday - yay! don't get me wrong, i'm loving my job. it's just always nice to have back-to-back days off. :)

items of note for the day

- no matter how in love you are, it's not acceptable to swat your partner's fanny while at a fine retail establishment.

- if you ask me for directions, don't walk the opposite direction and get upset when you don't find that for which you're looking.

NaBlo around the corner

NaBloPoMo officially begins on monday - yay! i'm having some trouble coming up with my topics, but i'm sure they'll come to me. i read mel's blog this morning, and she has a friend who's going to join us, too! that made me very happy. there's still time to join. just let me know you want to participate, and give me a few topics you'd like to see every one blog about. the bigger the group of bloggers, the more fun. :)

weather-related productivity

my plans for yesterday included grocery shopping, boot shopping and getting my hair cut. i decided that could all wait until the wind died down, however. so i finished my san francisco scrapbook instead. the san francisco scrapbook i started after my first two trips to the city. 11 years ago. yeah. that scrapbook. after i finished that one, i worked on my duck scrapbook. you know, the fiberglass duck april & i painted for the town of highland's outdoor art exhibit. 7 years ago. yeah. that duck. every thing is now completely organized and in order, broken down page by page. all i need to do is actually get it into the album. i'm thinking it'll be done in another ... 4 years?

weathered

the online radar says the worst of the storm is past us now. pardon me while i go collect the pieces of our fire pit from the neighbor's yard.

must. sleep.

i've been sleeping horribly lately. when i finally do fall asleep i'm tossing and turning all night. that's not normal for me at all. generally i move a total of 2 times per night. lately it's been more like 22, at a minimum. so i'm thinking tonight i'll pop some tylenol pm around 8 and hopefully be in bed before 11. with any luck, i'll actually feel rested in the morning.

lazy morning

after a few long days at work, it's nice to start a sunday with a mug of hazelnut hot cocoa.

what?

early this morning three people from Old Job moved in my parents. there was an obnoxious hedge planted around the oak tree, and the garage and the neighbor's back yard had been commandeered for a science experiment. the experiment was being led by my brother and two friends from high school. two metal rockets were built and filled with pine cones. one pine cone per rocket, as the pine cones were 3' in diameter and 5' long. the point of the experiment was to see if the pine cones would generate enough oomph to launch the rockets. i don't think it would have worked, but the smoke set off my alarm clock before i could see the end.

not being 9-5

the whole TGIF-It's-Friday-Wahoo! commotion has less meaning when you work weekends. :)

bullets

- last night i dreamed i took over the advertising department at Old Job. i told my new subordinates that i knew i was crazy for taking over.

- apparently the words dreamed and dreamt can be used interchangeably.

- my automatic spell-check does not like the word dreamt.

- i find it nearly impossibly to say the word dreamt without adding a p sound between the m and t.

- my ten hours at work today went by very quickly. hopefully tomorrow will be the same.

- while i was sleepy during my break at work, i am now wide awake.

- i opened my laptop to renew my library books, but i posted instead.

tactical switch

so this afternoon i realized that the cast list of Law & Order: Criminal Intent i was working off of wasn't complete. it listed cast by the number of episodes appeared - but it ended with 2-episode appearances. but half the point of the research is the guest stars who are only in single episodes. so now i'm going through the cast list by episode, which includes every person credited. with each new name, i'm realizing how ridiculous this undertaking is. i'm only on the first degree shows. somehow i'm doubting i'll make it through second degree shows. i mean, there are well over 800 one-degree shows.

without actually counting, i think the show with the most links is currently either Third Watch or The Sopranos.

NaBloPoMo, anyone?

november is National Blog Posting Month. the goal is to post to your blog every day. last year a group of us all submitted topics, and each day a new topic was drawn as a focus for our blogs. topics included gratitude, panic, 5 ways to lose a fight, orange and peg leg or hook? it was a lot of fun to see how each blogger approached the subject, and it gave us something new to talk about each day.

so ... anyone want to join me this year?

dreams remembered

a. i was driving home from a shopping trip with my sister in the seat next to me and my mom in the back. my car was freaking out. first it told me i was low on fuel, which i knew wasn't true because i'd just stopped on my way home from work the other day to fill up. (i had actually done that in real life.) then the blow up gauge started rising. seriously, in the dream, i knew it as the "blow up" gauge. so apparently i didn't want my mom & sister to know there was possible trouble because i asked my sister to open up this fleece blanket set (like we sell at work) for me. so she did, but when she opened it the blanket expanded and made it so i couldn't see. that was bad because the blow up gauge was still rising and i couldn't see where to turn off into the animal clinic's parking lot to fix it. fix it? i was going to stop the car and start it up again. that fixes all problems, right?

2. some guy i knew in the dream came home, but he knew there were people inside. sinister people up to no good. so he called 911, but found out that because of where he lived no town would assist him in his emergency. (i actually have this fear sometimes, and i think it stems from the fact that the good pizza place won't deliver to us because we're on the very edge of town.) but he can handle it. he waits for me to arrive, and we go in quietly and wait in the dining room, hiding around the corner from the top of the stairs. when the sinister people come up the stairs, we jump out & each push one down the stairs. then a chase through a manufacturing building ensues.

dreams rock.

did i see you today?

i'm pretty sure i saw you today. yup, pretty sure. because you see, every one bought fabric today. every one. so you must have been there, too. yup, pretty sure.

random day

i didn't want to get up this morning. my roommate is sick, and i'm trying to avoid catching it. i'm thinking a good 16 hours of sleep would help that, right? :) but that wasn't in the plan for today. instead i set my alarm for latest i felt would comfortably allow me to get ready for work without rushing around. so as i'm pulling things out of the fridge to make my lunch, i double-check my schedule. hmmmm. i wasn't supposed to be start at noon - i was supposed to start at 11. that meant i should have left 15 minutes ago. oops. thankfully i usually give myself extra time for the drive - i clocked in at 11:03.

i came home and got the mail, which included an envelope from my mama. (have i mentioned lately that my mom rocks? i love her.) my previous employer had sent something to her address for me. yeah, that was two addresses ago ... and they've sent things to me at both newer addresses ... but whatever. it's a check for about $25. why did they send me a check for $25? because i asked them to, apparently. only i asked them to do it in january of 2007 when i purchased some supplies for the marketing department. kid you not. it's money they've apparently owed me for almost four years.

today's strange.

pay day

i'm pretty sure i get a check today. not a bad thing. :)

the beginning

disclaimer: i know i'm a nerd for doing this. please don't comment telling me i have too much time on my hands or anything equally derogatory. i will delete it. judge quietly amongst yourselves. :)

so, i spent a couple of hours today looking at actors/actresses in Law & Order: Criminal Intent. i haven't hit all the guest stars, yet, but the main characters are accounted for. currently, there are over 250 tv shows just one degree away. meaning that the main characters in Law & Order: CI have been in more than 250 other tv shows (not including talk shows, variety shows or bio pieces). the most common shows? ER and Third Watch - each with 8 common actors/actresses to Criminal Intent.

autumn on the drive