There's Only So Much a Gentleman Can Stand

{subject artist: George Michael Song: I Want Your Sex }

As you all know, I'm passionate about gay rights and if you spoke with me after the Prop 8 decision, you know the feelings I had towards the Mormon church (I've worked through my anger). If gay marriage cannot be legal I at least want to do my part in bringing about some basic rights to these couples. I've included an edited version (shorted to include the pertinent info) of a letter I received from the Human Rights Coalition. Please read and support the cause if you feel the way I do.....otherwise simply ignore. No harm, no foul.

----------------------

Dear Annalyn,

When leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) took a prominent role in ending marriage equality in California, I felt compelled to act.

I'm writing you today because LDS (Mormon) leaders have been trying to deflect criticism by insisting that they're not "anti-gay" or opposed to civil unions, domestic partnerships and other LGBT rights.

If Mormon leaders really aren't "anti-gay," then they should have no problem publicly signing on to these five bills, which include:

Providing domestic partnership rights and responsibilities for same-sex couples;

Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to Utah's anti-discrimination laws for employment, housing, and health care;

Giving domestic partners of public employees insurance and retirement benefits;

Giving domestic partners access to the courts if their loved one is killed because of negligence or malpractice; and

Repealing the second clause of Utah's Anti-Marriage Amendment which is used to prevent gay and lesbian couples from receiving any kind of relationship recognition in the state.

Clearly, these are measures that the LDS Church should support, since they've said they're not opposed to LGBT relationship recognition, health care, housing, or employment rights. And the Church has no reason to be shy about entering the political arena – it did so loudly and boldly in California, raising more than half of the $40 million that funded the campaign to pass Proposition 8.

Ask the LDS Church leadership to back up its claim by supporting pro-equality legislation in Utah.

Click here to send a letter

Eat Me Drink Me

{subject artist: Marilyn Manson song: Eat Me, Drink Me}

What to do - what to do. I was at dinner last night and upon arriving at our table we were served a loaf of delicious pumpkin bread!! I put the plastic wrap around the loaf and took off one slice. The person I was with coughed into their hand (had a cold), then picked up the entire loaf with his coughed-into hand (no plastic wrap) and took off a slice to eat. So now the question.......do I eat any more of it? Admittedly I'm a bit of a germ-freak so I want to know what everyone else would do. Eat it? Not eat it?

Why don't you get a job?

{subject artist: Offspring song:Why don't you get a job?}

I admit that I've been trying to keep this under wraps a bit because I'm still gathering all of the details but I will tell you what I know so far.

1) I applied, interviewed, and was offered a job - yes, it's still with IHG.
2) I accepted it and will start on 1 Dec, although my soon-to-be boss along with my current boss have discussed having me split my time between the two teams while they phase me out of BPT. So I might still be around the office for a few more weeks.
3) This is a home-based position
4) This job will require that I travel to different hotels and train a group of properties on their systems.

Definitely excited for the opportunity. It's involves training (which I enjoy doing), traveling (which I enjoy doing), and a substantial raise (which I enjoy...oh...I mean....which I will enjoy getting).

With all that said, I haven't even let myself think of leaving those people that I've come to refer to as my IHG family (we even have a "family portait" from our trip to New Orleans. haha!)
I'm hopeful that between Facebook, softball, fantasy football, and parties at R&R's house, I will remain in touch with friends. But it just won't be the same not being able to turn around and shoot the breeze with Dan and Dan's Angels, or loiter in Janice and Jeff's area, or chat with Theresa chillin' in RP, and so many others I will miss having regular contact with. *sniff-sniff*

So there's the news.

There ain't enough words to express how I feel

{subject artist: Salt-n-Pepa song: I am body the beautiful}

If you don't already know, there's very little that will get me fired up faster than gay rights issues so you can imagine how this Prop 8 stuff is going over with me! The Mo's are top on my dislike-list right now but I've spent the last two days being angry about it and I'm done. The only one hurt by this is me. And so I figured I'd share an article about gay marriage that lightened my mood and I think will make you laugh (not to mention that it's BRILLIANT!)

Click here for the article


Enjoy!

Losing My Religion

{subject artist: REM song:Losing My Religion}

Wow - I'm bored. A feeling I haven't had in a looooong time! I'm taking a break from school, soccer just ended, my website is about 97% complete, my book is printed, Scott is in school (not around to entertain me. ha!) and because I am usually not home at night, I don't even know what there is to watch on television. So last night I went to a movie. Religulous. Yes - Bill Maher proving that religion is ridiculous {it's all in the title folks}. I enjoyed it although I felt it could have been done better. Still, it was funny and informative.

At one point an individual talked about being ostracized due to religion. It definitely hit a nerve for me. Having left the church, I feel like people feel sorry for me (she's been led astray) or feel that certainly I am no longer happy (are you kidding me? have you seen my life) and worse yet - I wonder if people feel sorry for Scott (poor Mormon, married to an Agnostic). But then other times I wonder......is it all in my head? Do people really feel that way? Or maybe people couldn't care less about me and I'm just full of myself.

Opinions? Thoughts? Anyone been there? Or - - perhaps some of you have actually felt that way towards me and Scott (doubt it, cause I pick pretty damn cool friends. haha).

Everybody Loves a Clown, So Why Don't You?

{subject artist: Gary Lewis and the Playboys song title: Everybody Loves a Clown }

Oh hell - please don't let McCain win if for no other reason than this......

Wanna get some gasoline

{subject artist: Seether song: Gasoline}

This morning I stopped for gas on the way into work and suddenly it dawned on me - I don't remember the last time I went inside to pay for gas. No more waiting for the attendant to turn your pump on to get it going. No more standing in line behind a gal with her coffee and a guy with cheetos and a Mountain Dew before I finally get up there to pay. Nope, just slide the debit card, enter the pin, and pump.

I want to fly away

{subject artist: Lenny Kravitz song: Fly Away}

I think most of you know that Scott has his Private Pilot's license. Well now he's working towards getting Instrument Rated - which basically means that he flies solely by reading the instruments instead of looking outside. This is required so they can fly in fog, rain and clouds. So this weekend he and his instructor flew to California to put themselves into some of these conditions (fog and rain). It's been kinda fun to see his progress through an online website. Here are a screenshot from that site (click to enlarge) ....

{this is a shot as he was arriving in Monterey, CA}



















So while he was gone I completely indulged in the worst kind of way. For dinner....cookie dough....for breakfast.....coffee and cookie dough. Yes, I said it, cookie dough. I haven't worked out for a couple of weeks - or at least not faithfully - and this was just part of that spiral. Damn it was good though :-) It's a guilty pleasure and now I've admitted it. No regrets, other than a couple of pounds I'll probably have to work off. ha!

Shock the Monkey

{subject artist: Peter Gabriel song: Shock the Monkey}

Most people that read my blog were probably involved in the lovely zoo-outing that took place last night. It was great to see most of you there even if we didn't get much time to talk. Scott and I took our two nieces - Shaylin and Shyanne - and they absolutely had a blast! They kept saying, "let me see the map so I know what animal we're going to see next!". Here are a few pics.

















Shaylin, Shyanne and Scott by the monkeys
















Shaylin
















On the carousel........again! :-)
















Readin' the map!
















comparing femur's


Afterwards we had a sleepover with the girls at our house. We watched a movie called Aquamarine. Ummmm......ok, so I guess it's a cute show. Shyanne has never had a sleepover so I wasn't sure if she would wake up in the middle of the night and get freaked out, and so I slept on the couch while they slept on a blow-up mattress next to me. I'm sure there was a time when I could sleep through the night while squished on a couch but I can assure you that those days are over! I think I managed 3 hours of sleep but the important thing is that the girls slept through the night! We had blueberry waffles in the morning and talked for a while before my sister picked them up. Even though I only got a little sleep, I wouldn't trade it for the world. We all had a great time!

No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Have You Heard The News

{subject artist: Howard Jones song: Have you heard the news?}

This week has been fairly uneventful in my life. I did go to dinner with my friend Lisa and a corporate visitor last night . We went to Em's. Food was delicious and I was in good company so it was very enjoyable.

So, since it's a slow-moment in my life, it seemed like a good time to bring up something that I found very interesting. I was reading an article about a month ago, about a bomb blast in Jaipur. I found a couple of different online newspaper reports on it and the difference in writing styles cracked me up. Check it out........

Report Number One
After nearly six-months of lying low, terrorists today struck in Jaipur, which, in the recent years, had also turned into a hub for business, triggering a series of bomb blasts in a market place, leaving at least 50 persons dead and 200 injured. A dazed Centre quickly rushed a team of forensic experts to Rajasthan to assist the state government in conducting the investigations into the blasts, which seem to have been done through bombs strapped on bicycles.

Report Number Two
Severed limbs, mangled heaps of cycle rickshaws, bicycles and smashed window screens of cars turned the crowded market, crammed the peak-time shoppers in the walled part of the Pink City, into a virtual war zone minutes after serial bomb blasts were set off by terrorists.


Mangled heaps? Severed limbs? I hate to say it, but definitely a more interesting read. Morbid though. Morbid!

Perfect Little Dream

{subject artist: Nine Inch Nails song: Gave Up}

So many people have asked how I enjoyed the NIN show. Where to begin? Trent Rocks!!! Ok…..wait…..back up.
I’ll start with a before-the-show pic and then move forward through the night.











{damn! would it hurt me to smile!}





Scott had school and was joining us later so I met up with my friend Shawn for the opening band (Deerhunter). Great sound! But really - - - I could barely contain my excitement about the act I really came to see. Scott showed up at 9:05pm and we found a perfect spot in the dead center of the floor but back slightly by where the sound set is. It was a great vantage point since there was a small platform that you could stand on that put you about a foot higher (which my 5’6” height needed) and allowed a great view of the stage as well as the swarming hive of bodies moving with anticipation.

At 9:15pm the lights went down and the “hive” erupted with a buzz that was almost deafening! The energy was high and I was about to blow up with excitement if Trent didn’t start singing within seconds of that moment!! I was like a kid at the gates of an amusement park - staring in with mounting suspense at the ride I was about to go on! And then - - - ***BAM*** - - - the music roars across the speakers! Almost overwhelming if it hadn’t matched my anticipation and building energy! And at that moment, I started jumping up and down. Back to the amusement park analogy…..I probably looked like a game of wack-a-mole, popping up and down and up and down, but I just couldn’t stop my body from letting the music consume it and move it! And in true NIN-fashion, the lights were swingin’, the music was blaring, and Trent was spitting his emotion into every rhythm and every lyric as he whipped the crowd into frenzy!
And then I did it – just got too out of control throwing my body around - I hit my hand against the corner of a pole so hard that I had to check for blood. Once it was determine that it didn’t break skin (maybe just bone), I ignored the pain and kept right on a rockin’!

At this point I can only thank Scott and Shawn for being the type of people that did not get embarrassed by the fact that I was dancing as if I wasn’t 35 any more, but was 18 instead (or maybe they were but at least didn't say anything). Crowd be damned – neighbors be damned – I was gonna dance and I didn’t care what anyone else thought of it!

Then it came….the song “Gave Up”….. and I knew that I couldn’t stand back any longer. I HAD to hit the mosh pit!!!! I politely excused myself and pushed up as close to the stage as I could get. And as Trent screamed out, “smashed up my sanity……gonna smash myself to pieces”, I thrashed around with the rest of the crowd, moving around like a woman possessed! The same thing happened when he played “Wish” (“I’m the one without a soul”….extensive moshing ensued). You’d have thought I had just jumped into the water by the way I was sweating after that. After those songs, with beads pouring off of my forehead and a grin on my face, I headed back to meet up with Scott and Shawn. It wasn’t the last time I made my way into the pit and every time was awesome! Oh, did I mention that somewhere along the way I apparently lost part of a toenail. Ick! Guess that moshin’ took a toll but I was too excited to notice it. Oh well.

As always, Trent delivered not just a concert, but a show. It’s hard to even describe it but he puts so much into the show – with screens displaying images, synchronized actions from the band members to go along with the images, and a light show that is out of this world! Shawn has been a fan of his music but this was his first NIN concert. He said that it is the best performance he’s ever seen – not just by a band but in general it was just an amazing show. I agree.

The band played for over 2 hours and so at 11:30 the music came to an end. I was on such a natural high and still so pumped up from the evening that even after I got home, I could not fall asleep until 2am. Man! It was so awesome but it’s sad that it is over now. Well……at least I have a Collective Soul concert this weekend to look forward to. Not quite the showmanship that NIN pulls off (really though – I doubt anyone could top it) but I love their music and it’s always a fun concert!

Ok – so this was a long post. If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! Ha! :-) Here are some pics of the evening…… (P.S. My finger still hurts like the dickens but I’m pretty sure I didn’t break it. Whew!)……


















Rock on, Brother Trent!

















It's hard to see how truly brilliant this screen was. Amazing!
As he walked around, the dark portion followed him.

My camera didn't like capturing one bright spot amongst all the dark. Drat!
















And last but not least, here's a video you can watch if ya want to. The sound reeeaaally sucks! My camera didn't caputure it well at all! Granted, the song is meant to be one of instrument- distortion but my camera turned it from brilliant to crap. Still, it gives you an idea of the screen movement (again, this doesn't do it justice)! Oh....and the tilt of the camera at the end, is because a guy just spilled beer down the front of my shirt!

Just Like a Tattoo.....continued

{subject artist: Jordan Sparks song: Tattoo}

I'm finally home from the roadtrip/tattoo-fest. Here's a summary of the trip.

1. Flagstaff is a pretty cool town but the train that goes by several times an hour - blowing its horn - is quite annoying. Overall, enjoyed my time there.
2. My bro's tat's look great and it has me itchin' to get one. My idea for one has the tatto artist salivating {or at least it seemed} and he told me to shoot some pics to him via email. For now, I'll refrain from getting one.
3. Driving from Flagstaff to Grand Junction is painful! Those Indian's got the raw end of the deal, man! We gave them shit-for-land, that's for sure.
4. Grand Junction seemed like a cool enough place. We'll see if my bro decides to move there or not.

And now I sit at home with a cold that I caught somewhere along the way. Ugh! I'd better be feeling ok by this Wedn when I'll be rockin' out at the NIN concert. But I'll end this for now with a few pics of the progression of my bro's tattoo {not quite done yet}.






















One last pic. Saw this on a street in Flagstaff and it cracked me up!!!

Just Like a Tattoo

{subject artist: Jordan Sparks song: Tattoo}

And so it's day one of tattoo time. Here is my bro's latest. Brand new. This afternoon he will get touchup work on his existing tat and I will post the progression. Until then, check out the new one. In case you're wondering, it is an Egyptian symbol - the Eye of Osiris.

On the Road Again

{subject artist: Willie Nelson song: On the Road Again}

So this afternoon I'm heading on a road trip with my brother. We're staying in Kanab tonight, then on to Flagstaff to get his tattoo finished up. We're going to try and hit the Grand Canyon before we then head up to Grand Junction to scope out the town since he may be moving there. Most of all, I'm just looking forward to relaxing and getting away from work for four days. I'll post pics on Tuesday.

Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone!!

In Your Eyes Forsaken Me

{subject artist: SOAD song: Chop Suey}

I read a story in the news today that really pissed me off. First read this excerpt from the article………

PONCE DE LEON, Fla. - When a high school senior told her principal that students were taunting her for being a lesbian, he told her homosexuality is wrong, outed her to her parents and ordered her to stay away from children.

He suspended some of her friends who expressed their outrage by wearing gay pride T-shirts and buttons at Ponce de Leon High School, according to court records. And he asked dozens of students whether they were gay or associated with gay students.

This outrages me. Not just because the principal outed her – which was completely wrong – but because of his comment to “stay away from children”. Are people really so fucking ignorant as to equate homosexuality with pedophilia? Serious! What the fuck, people! Argh! Interesting that pedophilia, when perpetrated by men with little girls, doesn’t taint heterosexuals, but you get one guy that does it to little boys and suddenly it’s because he’s gay – not because he’s a twisted fucker!

I’ve included a link to the story in case you care to read the rest of the article.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26316235/?GT1=43001

K – I’m done with my rant.

We Can Work It Out

{subject artist: Beatles song: We Can Work It Out}

So last Christmas Scott decided that he wanted a workout video that he saw on an infomercial. Ugh! But.....since he asked for it, I bought it . It's P90X. Heard of it? Muscle confusion - working out six days of the week for 90 days and rotating the workout. So like with most workout videos, it got looked over and then the idea of watching The Office was far more appealing than actually getting our asses off the couch and working out.

Then apparently we both got a little itch to actually use something we spent loads of money on. So for the past three weeks we have been faithfully working out six days a week. This program is an ass-kicker! It is amazingly easy and yet difficult. You can go at your own pace but they encourage you to push it. After just this short amount of time I can already see a difference in my muscles, my flexibility, and my endurance, and I've lost weight and body fat. Each one-hour workout used to make me pray to sweet jesus that it would end right now but now I can get through one and sometimes even feel like going for a jog afterwards. Not that they're easy - they still kick our asses, and the X-Yoga is one of the toughest - but I'm getting more fit.

So anyway, if you really want to whip yourself into shape quick, I recommend it. You can even come and do a workout at my house if ya want to try it first. Come prepared with water, a towel to wipe the sweat, a desire to make a change, and maybe something to catch the tears of pain the first time {grin}! I certainly hope we keep this up and I get in even better shape. Wish me luck!

Feeling like a number one

{subject artist: Abba song: Super Trouper}

All I can say is....Fuck ya! My Legal Environment of Business class has been over for almost two weeks but the teacher hadn't posted the grades until today. It was driving me nuts. Anyway - I maintained my 4.0 gpa! Wahoooooooo......

It Involves the Internet

{subject artist: Barenaked Ladies title: Never Do Anything}

I haven't told many people about my latest project but now it's getting close to being out there. My project . . . . . . my sister and I wrote a book. A small book {17-ish pages} but with a profound message about love. It is officially printed but we self-published and therefore now the tough part begins - - - getting it out to the public. I'm pretty stoked except for one thing. I'm trying to build a website and don't really know what in the hell I'm doing. Ack! So, this may end up being an outlet for any frustration I have. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that it all goes pretty smooth. Once it gets up and running, I'll be sure to share.

I don't want to wake up

{subject artist: The Smith's song: Asleep}

The title of this post is a song about death. Morbid, I know. It's been a while since someone close to me died {thankfully}. In fact, it was a year and a half ago when my grandmother died - three weeks before turning 105.
This post is, admittedly, a little fucked up but I've had death on my mind lately and then I got to thinking of some of the strange ways that my relatives have died over the ages. I'm sure most families have some equally odd tales but here are a handful of mine......

Surprising: my dad's uncle died last year from West Nile Virus

Bizarre: two of my grandma's sisters were killed when lightening came through their house, killing one child standing at the door and then jumping to the other sibling slighly farther in the room.

Saddest: my cousin was murdered by Gary Bishop

Famous: my distant relative was one of those hung (or is that, "hanged"?) at the Salem Witch Trials.

Who Needs Sleep?

subject artist: Barenaked Ladies title: Who Needs Sleep?}

Another bout of insomnia. It's 3:01 am.
I, and about 12 other people in the USA, only have basic television. Wanna know what my entertain options consist of?
~~Exercise Infomercials~~
~~Religious Teachings~~ (believe it or not, none of it was LDS-based)

After two hours of exhaustive channel flipping, I somehow am feeling like I want to be a skinny preacher. WeIrD!

Happy Birthday!

{uh...the happy birthday theme}

Ok - so it was my birthday today. The big 35! I felt like I wanted to put something cool here. Reflect on the past year.....do a flashback of memories.....speak of regrets, happiness, and of things to come, but alas - it's 11pm and I spent my big day working, then got the crud shocked out of my legs and.....ahem....spots, so that I'll be hair free soon. OUCH!! Then it was off to school for a test then back home to start packing for Lake Powell (we leave tomorrow). I did take a breather when my parents stopped by to wish me a happy birthday and again when I opened up some gifts from my man. In case you're curious, here is what I got.....

• Women's Soccer Ball
• 2 - Blue October cd's
• A "Mustang" t-shirt
• Ear-buds for my iPod

And so as I sit here exhausted from a busy day, I've decided that this is the best I can muster for a post. A lame ending to a lame way to celebrate my birthday (work and school?! Sheesh!) but I have high hopes for a good year to come ~~or maybe I have hopes of getting high this year! Either way!

I want to fly away

{subject line artist: Lenny Kravitz song: fly away}

Some of you may know - and some of you may not know - but Scott has been going to school to become a commercial pilot. At the beginning of this month he got his Private Pilot License which means he can now take up passengers. So this past Sunday we flew up to Logan to see my brother and his family. It was my first time up with him!
Admittedly I had a bit of anxiety at first. I completely trusted him - I wasn't in fear for my life - I knew we wouldn't crash - and yet this irrational fear swept over me for a couple of minutes. I recovered and other than a few tense moments {after all, it's weird to fly over a mountain at 9,000 feet instead of 35,000 feet in a big plane}, I really enjoyed it. The view was spectacular, I learned about the inner-workings of a plane, and I learned which neighborhood would be best for trick-or-treating {those huge-house neighborhoods give full candybars, right??}.

Here's a short video of our takeoff......










and here's a pic of Sardine Canyon....





















and last but not least, the mountains East of Ogden.....

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!

{subject line artist: Pointer Sisters song: I'm So Excited}

WOOHOO!! I got an A in my Finance class! I was certain it was going to be A- or B+ but alas...... I've maintained my 4.0 GPA!

Let's Get Physical!

{subject line artist: Olivia Newton John song: Physical}

So I did something I never thought I would do. I joined Curves! Well...I didn't exactly join as much as I signed up for their 30 day research study. For $30 I get to try the workout for 30 days. I'm required to work out at least three times a week...which is good because sometimes I have to feel obligated to workout otherwise I won't....and then they get to use my results in their study. I'm sure it's so their ads can say, "if you work out for only 30-minutes a day, 3 times a week, studies show you'll lose X amount of weight and X number of inches".

I worked out yesterday and it did make me sweat a bit. I'll keep ya posted as to whether or not I lost weight, inches, or both {fingers crossed}

What a man..what a mighty mighty good man!

{subject line lyrics from artist: Salt n Pepa. Song title: Whatta man}

Ok, so I just need to brag for a moment. I really do have such a great husband! On Sunday I made the comment, “I wish I would have gone shopping this afternoon because I’m craving some ice cream”. Without saying a thing, he got up from the couch and went upstairs and came down two minutes later with shoes on and keys in hand. I told him he didn’t need to go outside over one of my slight cravings but he said he wanted to do that for me. This is just one of a long list of things that he does for me.

After 13 years of being together, he still sends me flowers, he still kisses me every morning and tells me he loves me, he still cuddles with me every night to fall asleep……and apparently he’ll still go to the store at a whim to take care of my sugar cravings! I’m very lucky to have such a great guy!

Why Can't I Be You!

I haven't blogged in a while and was feeling a bit guilty. Then I realized that NOT blogging was sort of blogging. In other words - I've been so fuckin' busy that I didn't have time to do it. It's pretty much been school-work-homework-soccer-softball. I did go to Jackson Hole last weekend and I kept meaning to blog about that but......


So now it's Friday. Scott surprised me by getting me tickets to The Cure. Wahoo!! Yes, Robert Smith is a little chubbier than in the 80's (who isn't) but he still had the classic ratted hair, white face, black around the eyes, red lipstick, and sad sound to his tunes. Lovely!

It's the beginning of Memorial Weekend and I have 20 school reports (at least each one only has to be two paragraphs) and a test to do before Tuesday. ~sigh~ So much for a relaxing weekend!

I wanna get hiiiiiiggghhh

Ok – so this is just some random shit because…… I’m feeling random (that one is for Mike!).

So I mentioned school in my previous post. You should hear my teacher! He sounds completely unsure of any decision he makes.

“Would it be ok if I had you turn this assignment in tomorrow? I know it’s a lot of work for one night but would you mind?” I wanted to say – “hell yes, I mind. I want to watch American Idol tonight!”

Oh, and the much-overused phrase he says is, “does that make sense? Is that ok?”. Uh…..yes, it makes sense that if you put 30 dollars a week into a savings with a 2% return on investment, you’ll have a greater savings than if you spend that 30 dollars on coffee (yes, that was an actual example). Duh! And why are you asking us if it’s ok? That doesn’t make sense!

Actually though, he is a really nice guy, just quirky. But overall I’m enjoying school quite a bit! It’s been rough to go to class in the morning and then work until 8pm at night though. But alas – my sister-in-law is always good for a laugh and to break up the monotony of the work day. I received the following email from her and thought it was worth sharing.

I’ll set it up just a touch……..She is a Virgo whereas I am a Cancer and her co-worker (whom she’s dubbed as my twin) is also a Cancer. This is a horoscope – along with her commentary – that she sent to me today……

Subject: some daze are better than others

The fantastic fantasy world that you have built for yourself is a pleasure to delight in, dear Cancer.
[sage-kat: wow]

People frolic in your world and have a grand time.
[sage-kat: HEY – you let people frolic? How long has this been going on??? Sage-kat is insulted. (sniff)]

Your presence delights people with pleasure.
[sage-kat: yes – yes it does]

Today, however, this world may be threatened by harsh realities that are coming in the form of electronic information.
[sage-kat: wow – LIKE THIS EMAIL – riddled with jealously. Because apparently I’m NOT INVITED to frolic!!! But now I KNOW. I know about the frolicking. And I know about the fantasy. And I know about the world. I KNOW! MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!]

This force is powerful, and apt to be quite erratic and spontaneous.
[sage-kat: I AM POWERFUL! Prepare to share! Your chocolate! (sob – why won’t you let me in?) HARUMPH!]

Be prepared to stand your ground.
[sage-kat: darn – I’ll frolic somewhere else then – maybe some nice Gemini will let me frolic in their world… or maybe… (sob)]

Rock 'n Roll High School

Last week was sort of laid back. Softball and a few soccer games occupied my evenings.

But now……the madness begins! I’m taking an accelerated college course which means 3 ½ months of school is crammed into 2 ½ weeks. Yikes! I’m curious if anyone has done this before? Am I going to be pulling my hair out at the end of class? I’m proud to say that I’m sitting at a 4.0 in my college career…..which makes up for hanging on by a thread in High School (when hanging out with friends was far more important than an edgukation). Holler if you’ve done this before and let me know what I’m in for.

The Winner Takes It All

Most of you may know that I play soccer, amongst other sports. Usually I play defense but last night we switched it up a bit and I tried out forward. It was awesome....and I scored my first goal ever for my outdoor league (I've scored on my indoor league)! Yeah! Ok - I had to pat myself on the back for that one. I was so excited! Oh - and we won the game. Sweeet!

Colors all look brighter when you're near....

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s an underlying theme to the blog subject titles – song lyrics. Seems appropriate since I love music, and yet this will be my first post ABOUT music.

Surely the universe is smiling down on me. I don’t know what I did to deserve this but I’m runnin’ with it!

On the 8^th of April, Nine Inch Nails release a new double-disc album. Trent continues to amaze me time and time again as he steps from one style to another to another, all the while keeping with the underlying “trent-isms” that make it the NIN I’ve loved from the very beginning. His latest cd is completely instrumental. Who would have known that the man who was once screaming, “Head like a hole, black as your soul, I’d rather die, than give you control” would release a collection of songs so thought provoking and beautiful.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he put a new song (presumably from an upcoming album which may be a sequel to his Year Zero cd) on the web and made it free to download. Brilliant! Apparently he’s learned what Metallica never could grasp – in this day and age your devoted fans are still going to buy your cd’s and you’re still going to make money, so go ahead and give them some free music ‘cause it’s gonna be out there for download whether you like it or not.

And so it seems appropriate for my car to give tribute to NIN…..(halo 11)

867-5309

So I don’t like talking on the phone and I met someone who dislikes it as much as I do. My friend Randi would rather text, email, write a MySpace message, send smoke signals, send carrier pigeons, whatever it takes to actually avoid getting on the phone and talking with someone. I thought I was the only freak out there like that. I won’t even call Domino’s to order pizza – I make someone else do it.

Back to life....back to reality

I'm back from my trip. It was nice and yet it's surprising how NOT-relaxing a cruise really is. We were on the go from the moment we woke up until we finally crashed from exhaustion each evening. And yet, there really isn't any pressure to do anything in particular. That was nice. The trip down consisted of a stop at Six Flags.



Here's a pic from Magic Mountain.
It was Batman's turn to say the prayer???











The first stop on the cruise was San Diego. Unfortunately my friend took all the cool pics with her camera so nothing to show right now.

Second stop was Catalina Island. It was my first time to go to there. It was beautiful! If only the dude taking the picture had more of the island instead of the parking lot in the picture. *sigh*
















And then there was Mexico. Last time I was in Ensenada I was nine years old and I have two vivid memories from that trip - hanging at the beach, and seeing two drunk guys get in a fist fight in an alley behind a bar.
Dad - nothing that interesting happened this time

Shanna and I posing as Natives. Too bad our pasty white skin gave us away!













And now.......back to reality.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

Today is the day. By 2:30pm I will officially be on vacation. Wahoo!!

Couldn’t sleep worth a damn last night (2 hours of sleep) and it was really starting to make me crazy. I mean….. Mike Tyson biting ears off, kind of crazy. It’s sad but true. So I watched tv for several hours and learned….

1 - I can have rock-hard abs in less than three weeks

2 - a juicer will help me add years to my life

3 - there’s only one vacuum out there for all of my cleaning needs

4 - with three simple steps, I can stop suffering and start living with clear skin

5 - I can quit doing crunches and simply let an ab-belt sculpt my stomach

In case you’re ever in the predicament that I was in last night and tempted to purchase a product out of sleep deprivation, check on this site before doing it. http://www.infomercialscams.com/

Back to my vacation. Here’s the itinerary:

11^th – spend night in St George

12^th – drive to LA and have dinner with Uncle Fred

13^th – spend the day at Magic Mountain

14^th – Board the cruise ship

15^th – Dock and spend the day in San Diego

16^th – Dock and spend the day in Catalina Island

17^th – Dock and spend the day in Ensenada Mexico

18^th – Arrive back in Los Angeles and spend the day/night with Dave!! {smile}

19^th – Spend time, and the night, in Vegas

20^th – Back to reality

Good times! Good times!

Movin' On Up

My friend Laurie just moved to Tokyo for a few months and I'm soooo jealous! I can't figure out why I haven't moved. Comfort zone? Fear? What keeps people in one spot for so long?

You "Spin" Me Right Round Baby

http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/news/headlines/n214296388.shtml

Yes, there was mention of protests for the upcoming Beijing Olympics but it was at the bottom of the page and really made it sound like the whole world was behind China with the exception of a few troublesome folks.
Hmmmm......