dissonance

A true friend

Happy Birthday, Cindy!
Thanks for going in the "contaminted" jacuzzi with me. I hope our toes don't fall off.

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wdh = wtf

SYTYCD is down to the wire and I have a clear favorite.

Although this is weird:
Favorite female dancer
..., Mandy Moore,...

What?  I vaguely remember a music video by her and come ON!  I'll even give Britney a nod over Mandy in the dancing department.  what da heck?

Weirder still:
Who are your heroes in life?
Mandy Moore.

Seriously: wdh

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I can't ride a bike.

Wrong answer, Nick. People are surprised to learn that Mandy Moore is your hero.

I'm going to guess it's because she's going out with Braff whom he krushes on.

Fooweezies

Gahhhhh!

That's what I sounded like all night at the Foo Fighters/Weezer (Foozer?) concert last night.  Dang, that was one of the best large venue concerts (Cox Arena) I've ever been to!  I knew more of Weezer's songs but those Foo Fighters... they flippin ROOOCK!  A great highlight was when Grohl let the drummer (Hawkins?) sing a song while he played the drums.  I've never seen Grohl on the drums before (never really was a fan of Nirvana) but sheesh, is there anything the guy can't do?

Three stories:
1)  While in line for the beer garden there was this girl who was jjjjrrrrunk off her butt . She had lost all ability to stand still and would kind of teeter back and forth.  Obviously not a good candidate for the beer line and when some security came by to question her she and her friend pointed to a couple of other people behind them and said "We're with them".  Those people promptly replied, "Uh, NO, we DON'T know who they are."  Ok I just read that, not that funny so you'll have to just trust me that it was funny in real life.
2) I got a signed Weezer guitar pick.  I don't know who it's signed by but definately not Rivers.  It looks like the name starts with a J, but  I just figured out that Weezer doesn't have a band member with a name that starts with J.  I'll upload a pic eventually and mebbe someone else can help me figure it out.
3)  During Foo Fighters, I stood next to this woman who told me she had a fourteen year old son in the seated area (we had floor tix) and then 10 minutes later she busts out the mj. Classy.

Striving for mediocrity

I have been told by various sources that last night's game was exciting because the final score was only 3 to 2 with the Giants scoring all three in the 9th inning.

I have also been told by various sources that there should be no question about me rooting for the Giants since I grew up in the Bay and to cheer for the Padres is disgraceful and worthy of the silent treatment (*ahem*Mabel*cough*).

I think people get addicted to the high that comes with your team winning, but that high is somewhat inversely proportional to how good they are.  After all, if they are just unbelievably good, where's the thrill in seeing them win?  Plus everyone else hates you (case in point: Yankees).  So you want to pick a team that can and does win sometimes, but they have to try kinda hard so you really feel like you earned it.  You don't want a team that's TOO good because you'll be accused of jumping on the bandwagon. But you don't want them to totally suck either so if they do win, it isn't just because they were lucky.

Therefore, to maximize the thrill of victory I am now a fan of the following "a-little-better-than-middle-of-the-road" teams:

Baseball AL: Seattle Mariners (I like Seattle)
Baseball NL: Colorado Rockies ('cause of Colorado snowboarding)
NFL AFC: Kansas City Chiefs (random, open to suggestions)
NFL NFC: St. Louis Rams (I was born the year of the Ram)
NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves (random, open to suggestions)

NCAA standings are too hard to read. Can anyone recommend a team?  I want a team that's a little bit better than just ok, but not super good.

Some parts were actually "fun"

Yesterday was John's birthday "party".  I use the term "party" very loosely.  The event had only the mere effervescent trace of what could be deemed an organized gathering of any sort.  The first clue should have been the title of his eVite: John's 26th Logistical Nightmare.

"Logistical Nightmare" is something I'm more familiar with in the context of Democratic conventions, NSync concerts, and major wars.  So when I saw that title, I thought it was an attempt at being tongue in cheek, witty, or at the very least, facetious.  Errr nope, he was being goddamm serious.

I didn't upload pictures yet, so I'm going to put placeholders until I have time to do so tonight right before I leave for the Padres (vs. Giants) game tonight (Go Pods! Er, Giants! Trevor! Gwynn!! ohhh the emotional struggle!  At least I know I will always root for beer.)

First of all he decided it was going to be some weird barefoot experience whereby guests are invited to bring various mediums for the bare foot to, well, experience. No I'm not going to explain further because it's exactly what it sounds like.  I woke up late and just brought a six pack of beer.  I had thought about bringing a sack of rice (doesn’t that sound like it might be surprisingly delightful on the feet?) but my lazy ass saved the day because…

we had to HIKE to the "meadow" (the term "meadow" also used similarly to the word "party", see above).  Just last week I thought Mother Nature and I had an amicable parting, but no.  Being John's "friend" we all had to tramp 3/4 of a mile (guided by GPS!) all the while avoiding burrs, poison oak (thanks for pointing it out for us, John), semi-dry creeks with questionable foot holding, and dog doodoo.

<insert pic of "party" guests hiking in a line, whereby I am reminded of refugees searching for shelter)

We were not all so lucky about avoiding traps laid by nature.

<insert pic of Alison's pant whereby burrs have hung on for dear life>

First we end up here:

<insert first pit stop whereby the best quote of the day was spoken: "I'm having a cigarette right this minute and burning this bitch down" (btw, NOT said by me)>

And we had to some fried chicken and beer while John tried to salvage morale and find our intended destination.  When he DID figure out where we were supposed to go, he didn't make things any better with his uncertain directions ("at one point, we will have to walk by what appears to be a hobo establishment but I believe they are gone for the moment") but eventually we got there and the barefoot thing got underway (after popping open a couple of more beers).

<insert pic of me standing in birdseed whereby I am oddly feeling like Big Bird, which is weird because I don't think he stands in his food>

Bird seed feels surprisingly good on the feet.  So does a pink fun fur blanket.

<insert pic of feet standing on pink fun fur blanket whereby I question John's sexuality for owning such a thing at all>

I think John felt bad about all our grumbling because he tried his best to act like an insane piss ass drunk (quite easily done after a Nalgene bottle full of Crown and water).  All I can say is that Steve (John's roommate) is a really great guy for having to drag this home:

<insert pic of John, drunk with filthy feet, rolling on the ground, probably about to throw up, whereby I promptly left before the shit hit the fan>

Happy Birthday, John!  Next year expect a birthday card in the mail.

Up Up Down Down Right Left Up

I have got to start bringing my camera with me to more places.

Therefore, you will have to imagine the following scenario: 8 adults spending a Thursday evening playing Dance Dance Revolution, all the while chugging Vodka Crans, in between bites of Oggi's pizza and Salt 'N' Vinegar chips (mmm sodium imbalance...)

I've never played DDR for any real length of time.  And I consider myself to have a pretty good sense of rhythm... but damn that shit is hard!  I don't think I got anything higher than a 'D' grade and that was at the beginner level.  I have a newfound respect for those geeks sweating it out at the arcade in front of a crowd of other sweaty geeks. Go on with your bad self, it is indeed your birthday.

I was somewhat more successful with the side project going on, which was learning the dance routine to OK GO's music video (mentioned here recently).  The foursome consists of Cindy, John, Robin, and myself (I'm playing the guy second from the right in the video).  The host of DDR night video recorded what we have so far (about 1/4 of the routine) but 1) I want to wait until it's done before its debut and 2) she got piss drunk and I don't even know if she's coming to work so I don't have any videos or pictures to share at all.  Ok mebbe not piss drunk, but JRUNK fo sho.

Those poor eunuchs

I like irreverant comics.

Catch up here.

Ben read my diary

I posted a while back about the pain caused by the song "Tiny Vessels".  Well Death Cab just came out with Plans, and the Tiny Vessels of this album is definately "Someday You Will Be Loved".

I once knew a girl in the years of my youth
With eyes like the summer, all beauty and truth
But in the morning I fled, left a note and it read
"Someday you will be loved"

I cannot pretend that I felt any regret
Cause each broken heart will eventually mend
And as the blood runs red down the needle and thread
Someday you will be loved

You'll be loved, you'll be loved
Like you never have known
And memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved

You may feel alone when you're falling asleep
And every time tears roll down your cheeks
But I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meet
And someday you will be loved

You'll be loved, you'll be loved
Like you never have known
And memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved

I think the folks over at SongMeanings.net got it right when they speculate that this could be considered the "Part Two" of Tiny Vessels.  Anyway, it gives me the same icky feeling. This line in particular just kills me:

But I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meet
And someday you will be loved

It makes me think, "I KNOW there's someone better than you out there for me, you don't need to tell ME, ya JERK!" (haha woah... bittermuch?)

I love Ben Gibbard but why are guys such bastards?

Before I bring this post into a pit of bitterness, check out Lani who concedes that I have good taste in accessories.

The nerdiness, it's overwhelming

I went to Barnes & Nobles last night (to pick up this book for the reading club) and saw a sign that said they are now offering FREE WI-FI.  Guess they were feeling the pressure from Panera who is a couple of stores down from them.

And look what's resolving on the net.

If Google is leading the charge for secure (and maybe cheap or even FREE?!?) Wi-Fi (rumors run rampant), I scoff at Verizon's latest announcement for integrated EV-DO laptops.  SCOFF!

Ok just a little bit kidding. Considering how pervasive their network is, I can see how it would be tempting to jump on the EV-DO bandwagon.  No more wandering around trying to get a decent signal.  But $79.99 a month? COME ON.  It's obvious this is going to initially marketed toward "road warrior" CEOs and such.  Hopefully there will be a quick price point drop as the service becomes more common.

Of course, the best solution would be for a complimentary system where both wi-fi and ev-do can be one happy family. There's no reason to pit them against each other. I'm with this guy who says "EVDO and WiFi are good friends !"

On a tangent, while I'm rambling about wireless technology and convergence, the one gadget that I am completely drooling over at the moment is this wireless enabled Nikon digi-cam.  (And if I put it on my Amazon Visa I get 1649 points which is HALFWAY to a whopping $25 gift certificate.)  That's hot yo, HAWWT!

Camp Camp Revolution

Came back from camping in one piece. A tired, sore, dirty, and itchy piece, but a whole piece nonetheless.

I went with mainly friends from work (italics added for the benefit of said friends from work), plus an extra husband/ boyfriend/dog.  We stayed in Idyllwild, which was pretty nice. Because it's in Socal, I was expecting desert-like camping, but it was actually foresty (yes, "foresty") so there was that pleasant crackling sound as you walked around and stepped on leaves and twigs. In addition to usual camping festivities (s'mores, roasting weinders, sleeping in tents) we went on hikes.  Sar and Vix braved a 15 mile trek up Mt. Jacinto, but Cindy, Darth, Paul and I were content with our 6.6 mile stroll.  And when I write "stroll", it should be obvious I meant "hot, dry, uphill battle over rocks and streams all while encountering weird lizards and crickets".  The view at the top was worth it, although my conscience was a little spoiled by the fact that we were at what I am sure was affectionately named "Suicide Rock".

As the one in charge of food, I think I pleased everyone.  I had to battle some nasty yellow jackets and what I have been told are "biting flies" and I have the bites to prove it.  Shall I mention that three of those bites are ON MY FACE?  Further proof that as much as I love nature and admire it, I would much rather love and admire from a distance.

I uploaded pics but Typepad is being a poo so I'll have to finish it up later.  I suppose I could just publish it with default picture captions (ie "Image_335") but that is a level of laziness that readers do not deserve.  You came to visit my site,  the least I could do is "Here we are camping".

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Update:  Just kidding, it's IE that's being a poo (all hail Firefox!).  Here are the pics.