GwenGwen

Step into the Way Back Machine

2009-09-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ah to be in Athens, the city where ancient history appears along side bustling modern life. We started the day with a trip to the Panathinaikon (Athens) Stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in the late 1800's. From there we headed down to the colossal Temple of Olympian Zeus, with its 15 remaining columns of marble glistening in the sun. Below are the grounds of houses that were built by Romans after they invaded the city.

In the searing heat of the midday sun we made our way up the hills to the top of the Acropolis with the Parthenon, Theater of Herodes Atticus and Temple of Athena Nike. What a sight to behold! The temples are largely encased on scaffolds as the 25 year restoration proceeds, but it takes your breath away to see the scale and contemplate the centuries of human history that have passed through this very spot before you. It is, at times, heartbreaking to uncover the story of these sacred places and the destruction that mas been visited upon them in the name of war, religion and conquerers. But yet so much still stands as a testament to the human story....

We made our way down (after drinking gallons of cold water to stave off dehydration!) to the New Acropolois Museum and viewed the fraises and statues that remained in the area and/or we uncovered in archeological digs. Under the museum is a settlement uncovered during building which is visible through many glass floors around the interior and exterior of the museum.

After having our fill of marble statues, we walked back toward the hotel and stumbled on the Roman Bath site uncovered during the Metro construction of the 90's. There were channels and water heating rooms along with divided bathing rooms full of pillars. I couldn't help but think it must be very challenging to do any construction in Athens that requires digging, as chances are very high you'll hit a significant find! We found some shady refuge in the national garden and tried our best to stay cool and avoid a nice sunburn.

As day passed into evening, we viewed the Parthenon and Temple of Zeus bathed in light against the moonlit sky. We enjoyed some Greek food in another open air restuarant and took in a bit of traditional music at the Syntagma Square just down from our hotel.

In the morning we head out to Delphi, site of the famous Oracle and the Temple of Apollo. Enjoy the pictures!

Proost!

2009-09-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Before we begin, I forgot one key learning from yesterday... There was a profession known as the 'piss profits' who claimed to determine all that ails you by examining your urine. Lucky for us they were discredited by the 17th century, but how did this ever come into fashion in the first place...

Moving right along then. We started off this morning at the Van Gogh Museum and I discovered I am a big fan of Odilon Redon lithographs housed in the museum, especially the very science fiction-esque "As In a Dream" series. In short, Van Gogh was passionate, talented and tragic. Very interesting to see the chronological progression of his works aligned with his life experiences.

Next we headed off to the Heinekin Experience, where you see me in rare form with an actual *gasp* beer in my hand. Gwen is not a beer drinker, and try as they might, the good folks at Heinekin were unable to change this. We did go on a little 'brew you' ride where they 'bottled' us and we got to taste beer ingredients in their pure form, wort form and as a finished product.

We settled in to a canal cruise and learned about the building of the canals and the bridges throughout the city. The evening breeze started to cool off as we finished our ride and headed for the Anne Frank house.

That was truely an amazing place to see, to try to understand what it must have been like to live in this hidden place with eight people and no chance to ever see the sun. I am always moved by small glimpses into Europe during WWII and her short life is tragic and touching - you can feel her presence in each of the rooms.

Tomorrow morning we bid Amsterdam farefell and fly off to Athens for the next leg of our journey. More then!

Put the Mormon Church out of its misery. Please!

2008-11-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

First they spend ridiculous amounts of money on Prop 8 (that could have been used for all kinds of good deeds, but whatever...)

Today I spy this article which covers the fact that the Mormon church has been baptizing Jews killed in the holocost for YEARS.

What is wrong with these people?

In case you had any doubt.

2008-07-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Karl Rove is a giant douche.

Let's see if I can capture his arguements against appearing under the supeona issued by the House Judiciary Committee here (something not even Presidents have been able to find a way out of):

- I don't care who you are, I don't have to answer to you. Neener.

- Laws? What laws? You silly people still think I'm subject to laws?

- And anyway, I don't know why you all hate me so much. What did I ever do to you? I mean, it's not like I was a giant asshole to everyone on the planet. Oh, wait....

:D

Starbucks is getting nekkid

2008-05-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

A new, apparently scantily clad Starbucks logo is coming to a cardboard sleeve near you!

THE HORROR!

I'm starting to think the latte crowd (which usually includes me, but not this time buddy...) is in serious need of some hobbies. Next we'll be draping statues of lady justice with togas to cover the naughty bits... Oh wait, we did that already. Clearly the end is near!

Ferocious.

2008-04-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

Meet Lollie!

Lollie is a sweet creature, charming and clearly helps to overcome many stereotypes about her breed...clearly I've been very misinformed about Pit Bulls.

Time to deconstruct my psyche.

2008-04-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

You Are 5: The Investigator

You're independent - and a logical analytical thinker.

You love learning and ideas... and know things no one else does.

Bored by small talk, you refuse to participate in boring conversations.

You are open minded. A visionary. You understand the world and may change it.

At Your Best: You are sharp, inventive, and creative. You have the skills to lead the world.

At Your Worst: You are reclusive, weird, and a bit paranoid.

Your Fixation: Greed

Your Primary Fear: Being useless or incompetent

Your Primary Desire: Being competent and needed

Other Number 5's: Bill Gates, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Bjork, and Stephen Hawking.

What Number Are You?

Wait - at least half of the other Number 5's are also dead. Hrm.

These are the people in your neighborhood....

2008-04-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

These are the people I hope I don't meet when I'm walking down the street. You can't make this stuff up....

West Metro Police Blotter
MARCH 19
Animal rescue. A distressed squirrel was stuck in a hole in some concrete steps in the 200 block of Morse Avenue.

MARCH 28
Disturbing activity. A snowball thrower was found at the Pizza Ranch, 425 Merger St.

MARCH 29
Miscellaneous. An intoxicated woman in the 6600 block of Pioneer Trail reported that she was afraid of some howling coyotes.

APRIL 5
Suspicious person. Police received a report of an 80-plus -year-old woman peeping into a neighbor's window.

Things that make me crazy.

2008-04-21T09:41:00.001-07:00

The top 5 companies in the US according to Fortune 500:
1. Wal*Mart
2. Exxon Mobil
3. Chevron
4. General Motors
5. ConocoPhillips

Seriously? THREE of the top 5 companies in terms of size and profitability are oil companies. That is completely messed up. Excuse me while I go research plug-in electric cars and biodiesel.

And I must repeat a line from a previous blog here:
180 million people shop at Wal*Mart? Really? Stop It!

Maybe it's just me...

2008-04-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

But the pope looks like he's ready to bite someone.

Mmmm.. Lemony!

2008-04-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

I dig CC Lemon (a very popular soda in Japan). I discovered that The Simpsons are featured in many commercials for the soda in Japan...and then discovered this oddly disturbing CC Lemon commercial on You Tube:

Aloha

2008-03-26T03:16:00.000-07:00

We've made it to the last leg of the journey - Hawai'i! Our first day in Honolulu was spent exploring Waikiki and watching the sun go down on Waikiki beach. Tomorrow we're off for some sun and to test the underwater camera case snorkeling at Hanauma Bay.

On the way here we caught the Origami Museum in Narita - I was completely awestruck by some of the pieces there. Certainly skill far beyond my meager paper folding ways is at work!

I really hope it is finally starting to warm up in Minnesota - all this sun does not make we want to come home to snow and 40 degree days :)

My Grandma

2008-03-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

We got the sad news this morning that my Grandma passed away surrounded by family. It is difficult to be so far away right now, but I'm sending all my love...

Carol Marie Kulenkamp

Off we go, into the wild blue yonder....

2008-03-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

We be travel bloggin'.

We'll try to post as often as possible and share pictures as we go.
(PS Blogger's new slideshow widget is neat-o!)

Tick Tock

2008-03-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

Big Ol' Work Project finally went live Monday. Not great, but OK, and it means my work on that is slowing down. Plus I got to kick start Wikis in my office, which is turning out to be pretty damn cool.
Current Motto: In the end, it will all be OK. If it's not OK, then it's NOT the end!

Weekend Projects: PACK, take the birds to Hibbing and see my niece, prep the basement for concrete smashing plumbers, and did I mention PACK...

Up next: One amazing adventure via plane stopping in Japan, Singapore and Hawaii. Ah-mazing.

Life is so good it's ridiculous :)

Oh no he didn't

2008-02-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

Romney: I "cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror"

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Caucus cactus

2008-02-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Holy moly - a lot of people were engaged in the political process tonight!

It's super Tuesday, and we knew it would be busy. I had no idea how busy it would be..

We caucus at a school with what seemed like 5 billion other people (probably more like 500-1,000, but whatever :P). We should have known when we had to park a few blocks away and walk to the school that this was going to get interesting.

After squeezing the Highlander into a space it had no business being squeezed in to, we hopped out for our hike to the building. As we neared we were given the wise advice to head to the back entrace as the front doors were literally clogged with people trying to get inside. We wandered into a surreal world of 4th grade art and after rushing the mosh pit in the hallways, we found the single classroom dedicated to our precinct and party. Thankfully the wait in line wasn't terribly long, but when we moved into the room we realized there were about 70 grown-up sized people wedged into a room designed for 20 pint sized people! I *really* wanted to stay and caucus after voting in the presidential preference poll, but I couldn't bring myself to engage in the human origami required to fit myself into the 5 square inches of available floor space. So we voted and ran for the hills...

Part of me hopes this means we see many people engaged in the whole political process this year, and part of me wonders how the heck we'll manage all those people at the polls. :/

In any case, I'm glad we went and I'll be back. Viva la political process! :)

I want a Sven!

2008-01-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this? Screw Blackberries - I want a Sven!

Bizzay!

2008-01-16T20:27:00.000-08:00

Insert much too much boring detail about my psychotic work week here. And its only Wednesday. All I have to say is never schedule a system upgrade and an unplanned system outage for applications you are responsible for in the same week if you can avoid it. Just trust me on this. :)

Tonight I rolled home far too late, ditched a pile of work I probably should have paid attention to, pulled on snuggly pants and plopped myself in front of the fire my darling husband cooked up for me.

As an added bonus my sister and I commiserated about the sometimes endless fun of being a technical resource among non-technical people. I had a fabulous laugh over the notes she took in her last implementation meeting:
"Oh, that's a great point (cocksucker). I wonder why you didn't think of it 6 months ago or during the dozens of conversations I've had at you since. This clusterfucking project is getting to be more of a waste of time every day, assholes. Go to hell."

In turn I filled her in on the guilt trip I got for escalating a nearly week long enterprise application outage:
"Today I got a very serious and stern note saying I should be pleased to know they had to interrupt an SVP on his cruise to give him an update on the outage. I'm such an ass! I mean really, who do I think I am?"

The business world is sometimes crude, almost never glamorous, but is always, always good for a laugh if you look at it the right way.

Pardon me while I chuckle about the absurdity of it all in front of the fire :)

Oh! Christmas Tree!

2007-12-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

I genuinely enjoy the holidays. Really. It's a mad rush to shop and get ready, but it is hard not to be happy when you're spending time with friends and family with a pretty snowy backdrop.

This does *not* however, mean that the holidays are without humor and aggravation.

I submit the evidence:
1. I was held hostage by the Holidazzle parade. I left my office around 7:15 and was accosted by families swarming into Gaviidae as the Holidazzle had just finished. After fighting my way out the door (I think I managed to avoid stepping on little ones, but I can't guarantee it) I continued to swim upstream to the parking garage. I drove out to the street, only to be blocked by the "return parade." I quickly realized the floats do a much less fancy but equally slow parade down Marquette and then turn onto 3rd street, blocking all turning traffic. I was elated.

2. I had to finish up some shopping tonight. The stores were STILL crowded at 9:30 PM. Pretty amazing. Lots of stock on the shelves make me think the crowds of people does not necessarily equal an economy saving holiday shopping season. Bah Humbug.

3. I arrived home to find a holiday card outlining the steps required to have a baby (um, yeeeeah, we already know). This information was followed with a bit of advice on where to (or not to due to some questionable 'health habits' in some parts of the world) look for adoptable babies. The final line was, "There must be some white babies out there somewhere." I wish I was kidding. We put the card up next to the picture card we got from another family member who visited China with her adopted daughter this year.

4. Some of the people I work with sent me a giant jar of imported (and Yummy!) kalamata olives from Greece! For this, I really was elated.

Just a few more baskets to deliver, and a few family events to attend, and soon enough it will be the end of another year.

Sicko.

2007-12-11T21:20:00.000-08:00

Tom is on day 3 of a nasty head cold.
I am on day 3 of comforting my poor hubby while dousing myself in hand sanitizer to avoid catching the bug.

It's amazing how much ickiness a human body can generate in its mission to off a simple head cold. Don't get me wrong, I have great fondness for my immune system and the fabulous things it can do. I'm just not thrilled with the byproducts.

Here's the MasterCard breakdown:

3 boxes of lotioned tissues: $5
1 ginormous box of knock you on your butt cold drugs from behind the counter: $7
Gallons of Ginger Ale: $5

Surviving the first seasonal bout of disease: Priceless.

Corky & The Juice Pigs

2007-11-27T18:40:00.000-08:00

Amber and I used to watch this group on Canadian sketch comedy shows growing up. They rule!

Randomnesses

2007-11-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

1. I am not cancelling my vacation for work. Grr.

2. Some babies are *really* cute. The fact that this particular thought visits me uninvited is disturbing.

3. I love elections. I do however, feel some people should vote and leave. As an election judge, I'm not really interested in your opinion or a conversation. I'm busy, people.

4. It is only by sheer luck that this guy was not elected mayor of my fair city.

5. Having veins taken out of your legs is not a walk in the park. My poor legs...

6. I got my rings properly sized this week. I can finally wear my wedding ring on my ring finger and not on my middle finger!

7. I miss mah peeps. Life has been way too busy, and there are far too many people I haven't seen in far too long.

8. Can we all just acknowledge that talk show hosts of all stripes are in it for the shock factor? I mean, really, when was the last time one of these people told the unvarnished, unbiased truth? They're pot stirrers by nature.

9. 180 million people shop at Wal-Mart? That's half the country! Stop it!

10. I adore fall. Cute wool skirts, tights and knee high boots. Need I say more?

11. Can it really be that I'll make it to Thanksgiving with blooming flowers in my garden? This whole hot planet thing is getting out of control. On the positive side, I'll be planting bulbs in 55 degree weather this weekend.

12. The Hybrid has returned home. We had a bit of an issue, and Tom had a Scion xB while the Highlander was getting fixed. That thing is a box on wheels. The neighbors came over to ask about the new car, and showed clear signs of relief when I told them it was temporary. I believe the exact phrase was "That is not a Tom car."

13. I didn't dress up for Halloween this past weekend. I was a mental patient the week before. Adam & Heather are fabulous company on a Saturday night, hanging at Rob's par-tay and chowing on pizza. Yum!

14. Some day I'll have more time than I know what to do with, and I'll be completely organized. I'm just not there yet :)

I bought 3 pounds of Cheese

2007-11-02T22:46:00.003-07:00

And I'm excited about it!

Woot.

Anyone have good Blue Cheese recipes?

What the...

2007-10-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

I love my birdies. I have my two at home and MANY at the bird rescue I volunteer at. I am constantly amazed by their intelligence, understanding of their environment and their capacity to survive and thrive. They are fantastic creatures...

A few months ago, I heard the CD player in their room fire up and play the "Whistler" CD. After a fair amount of confusion and a brief moment where I determined the CD player was posessed, I caught a glimpse of my crazy red bird (Sammy) climbing the dresser, jumping down onto the side table with the CD player, and proceeding to bang his head against the buttons until the CD started playing! This has happened *many* times since and its clear that he's figured out how to get the result he wants out of that CD player.

Unfortuately, he's also figured out which drawer in the dresser has the treats in it and how to climb behind the drawers from the top to get to them and gorge himself. Rascal!

Must...crochet... thingys

2007-10-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

Our friends Ryan, Denise, Peter and Lisa were over for fish tacos this weekend. Much fun was had and several bottles of wine were consumed. I always have such a ball with this crew.

Denise mentioned she learned how to make crocheted Swiffer covers. I was (am) intrigued so I went in seartch of a pattern. I have no time, but I'm going to have to find an hour to remember how to crochet and make one of these. What an awesome green idea!

Gotta go get me some yarn and a crochet hook :)

Nuh-uh.

2007-09-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Talbots is having their annual fall sale. When Talbots has a sale, I go shopping. Early, and often. Hey, its right outside my office door and makes it really easy to keep the wardrobe updated.

I was mulling about in the skirt section and had picked out a brown wool skirt I was fond of. One of the sales women came over to see if I needed a fitting room. Now,the sales reps at Talbots are friendly and helpful, which is great because they get to know you and can point you to things in your style quickly. In this case, friendly and helpful resulted in the following conversation:

SR: "Isn't that a fabulous skirt?"
ME: "Yup."
SR: "Would you like to try it on?"
ME: "Yup." (the sales rep proceeds to take the skirt)
SR: (Starts walking and stops abruptly, her face twisting into a look of odd horror) "This is WAY too big for you! We should get you a smaller size."
ME: (Grinning, cause that's nice to hear) "It's the same size as the skirt (from Talbots) I have on."
SR: "NO!"
ME: "Yup."
SR: "NO!"
ME: "Yup."
SR: "Really? Are you sure?"
ME: "Yup."

The conversation ended with me getting half undressed in Talbots to show the sales rep the tag on the skirt I was wearing. I think I'll take the whole incident as a compliment :)

I now pronounce you...

2007-09-24T11:05:00.001-07:00

Today is our second anniversary and my adorable hubby sent me a gorgeous bouquet. I'll post a picture tomorrow. :)

Thanks for 2 fantastic years of marriage and 9 amazing years of joy. Love you!

Back to Boston

2007-08-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

No, not THAT Boston. Tom and I are off to Boston Saturday morning. I figured it would be fun but didn't think too much about it until the hotel confirmation came today.

NOW I'm excited. We're staying at a fairly new Westin on the waterfront in downtown Boston. They offer daily cooking activity classes, morning walk/run groups and guides, in room workouts plus we're in the heart of the world's freshest seafood. There's the Duck tour, the Boston Tea Party Museum, Boston Commons, Harvard Square...This is going to be awesome!

It will be a nice little escape for Tom's Birthday too. Here's to long weekends away.

Your Amazon.com Order

2007-08-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We thought you would like to know that we are preparing the following items for shipment:

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty Item
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1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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Yes sir, tomorrow is the big day. The release of the final installment in the Harry Potter seventology, or whatever the hell it's called.

Oh man, you must be excited. I bet you can't wait to get your hands on this book.

Me, I've had my hands on the book pretty much continuously for the last week, preparing all these orders for shipment. In fact, I'm holding your copy as I write this.

It's kind of funny, when you think of it: you've been looking forward to this book for a decade, probably pre-ordered the thing a year ago; and here I am, some warehouse-working Muddle (or whatever you call us), who doesn't know Hogwarts from genital warts, with the book 24 hours before you.

That's a little something called irony. You'll appreciate it when you get older. Assuming you're not some 37-year old guy who lives with his parents and can recite the d20 stats for a gelatinous cube has off the top of his head.

Well, don't you worry. This book will be on your doorstep tomorrow afternoon, ready to read.

I, of course, could read the book--YOUR book--right now. And I gotta admit, it WOULD be fun to be one of the first people in the world to know how it all ends.

Hmm. So, maybe I'll just read the last page ...

OH MY GOD I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT!! IT WAS ALL A DREAM???!

Hah hah. I'm just yanking your chain. That's not how it ends. Or maybe it IS, and I'm just saying it's not so you'll be doubly surprised when you finish it. You never know.

I really did read the last page, though. The final word is "haberdashery." You can verify that when you get the book. Tomorrow. A full day after I had it.

I gotta tell ya, though: now that I know how it ends, I kind of want to read the whole thing. If I start right now, I could probably finish it and get this book in the mail to you by Wednesday. You wouldn't mind waiting a few extra days, would you?

Also, I dog-ear pages to save my place. I hope that's okay.

j/k. I wouldn't really read this book. 1000 words about fairies? Yeah, no. Besides, who has the time? Some of us have work for a living. For instance, I bust my hump 60 hours a week schlepping your books around.

Besides, I'd rather see the movie anyway. That chick who plays Hermoine is smoking hot. I'd quidditch, if you know what I'm sayin'.

All right, settle down. I'm putting your precious doorstop in the box now. If you've explored the links on the Your Account page but still need assistance with your order, you'll find links to e-mail or call Amazon.com Customer Service in our Help department at http://www.amazon.com/help/

Thank you for shopping with us.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.com... and you're done!
http://www.amazon.com/
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P.s. Dobby dies.

Safe and Sound

2007-08-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

Tom and I are safe and sound at home.

Amber and Blythe are safe too.

The collapse of the 35W bridge is disturbing, to say the least. I hope all of you are safe and sound as well.

FLAMING LIPS!!!!

2007-07-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

We're going to see the Lips. The lips the lips the lips! FLIPS!

Two years running :) Right after Ammer's wedding.

Best. Weekend. Evah.

Mitt Romney is an ass.

2007-06-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

This makes me very, very angry.

In short, on a 12 hour drive with his family some time ago, Mitt Romney found it reasonable to strap his dog's carrier (with dog inside) to the top of the car roof in the summer heat. The dog got sick (shocker) and the man's response was to hose everything down and continue on his way.

You don't do that crap. Ever. When any living thing is suffering, especially one YOU are responsible for, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Be sensible. Would you strap your kid on the car roof for a 12 hour trip? How insensitive can you be?

Oh, and just for good measure, when questioned about the event Mitt's defense was "The dog liked it." I'm half tempted to go on a 12 hour drive in the summer heat with a friggin' Mitt Romney strapped to the roof. Asshole.

Vermont Vacation

2007-06-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

For the last week I've been at a health spa in Vermont with my mom, with a mini-trip to Salem, MA.

The spa was a neat place and I met a ton of neat people. I worked out 5-6 hours each day and survived! I learned about a bunch of new foods and was reminded of some foods I've enjoyed before.

Each morning we got up, had breakfast, and then headed out on a 3-4 hour hike on different trails in the moutains. Afternoons were yoga, pilates, dance, pool workout, Qigong and other classes. The last hike I went on, I took the intermediate trail up to Deer Leap (5.5 miles round trip through thick woods).

When I got to the top, here's what I saw:

It was absolutely breathtaking. And high. Dang high. Top of the world!

(More pictures in My Web Gallery - June 2007)

I didn't read work email the whole week and enjoyed the relaxation. I was reminded how much I enjoy the woods and of the value of pushing up the hill, even when you don't want to. Anyone know any good hiking areas near the city?

It's Business Time.

2007-05-31T22:33:00.001-07:00

Try not to giggle. I dare you.

Any questions?

2007-05-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

I'm pasty. And white. I'm a pasty white Norwegian girl.

It was gorgeous outside Friday and Saturday. I spent hours hanging with Heather, Adam, Dena and Tom in the sun manning the garage sale. It was much fun!

Here's a little lesson I learned. (And before you chastise me...MOM...I was wearing sunscreen)

This is Gwen:

This is the sun:

This is Gwen on sun:

Any questions?

15 Minutes

2007-05-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Scene: A conference room in a tall downtown office building
Players: The boss and a bunch of mah peeps.

Boss: "We need to have fewer update meetings on Big Ol' Project (BOP)."
Peep1: "That's great! We're all super busy. How are we going to do that?"
Boss: "By getting efficient. Project Manager (PM) and I will sit in a conference room for several hours, and each group will have 15 minutes to come through and provide BOP updates."
Peep2: "Great, so what kind of updates are you looking for?"
Boss: "Well, you'll need to create a task list and send it to the update team before the weekly update meetings."
Peep1: "Um, on a project the size of BOP, that kind of custom list is going to take an hour to put together and check for status."
Boss: "Right, so just make sure you send that out the day before your update meeting. Also, I need you all to attend a 15 minute meeting this afternoon."
Peep2: "An update meeting?"
Boss: "No, this meeting will be an opportunity for PM and I to show you a PowerPoint on how the update meetings will work."
Me: "Wait. So we're having a 15 minute meeting to learn how to have 15 minute meetings that we have to use an extra hour to prepare for?"
Boss: (Blank Stare)
Me: "So which update meetings can we take off our calendars?"
Boss: "We'll decide that after we get the 15 minute update meetings running smoothly."

So much for efficiency. The mechanics of a large, multi-national corporation are truly an amazing thing to behold.

It's a mad,mad world

2007-04-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

What is it about this time of year? Just when it's starting to get nice outside the whole world goes and gets crazy busy.

Work was crazy, CRAZY busy last week, and I had picked that to be the week that we tie up a bunch of house projects in advance of the floor refinishers coming in. We spackled. And painted. And painted. And patched ceilings. And painted some more! And had the tub resurfaced and moved furniture and finished baseboards for the rooms getting floor refinishing and cleaned and organized. Phew.

Then we moved to my sister's house in St. Paul on Saturday.

I'm a friggin technology addict. Staying at Amber's house is really helpful (it's hard to have the entire living area of your house out of commission and still live there!), but it also means we are sans cable, Tivo and internet for a whole week. Ack!

About every 15 minutes I think of something I want to know (a recipe, news, the phone number for the flooring contractor, this week's This American Life Topic, etc) that I would normally look up on that "series of tubes" we call the internet. But no. No internet. I'm starting to feel hoplessly uninformed and disconnected, as though I've been tossed out on the side of the internet superhighway to die. *sniffle*

This also means that the limited amout of TV we're watching over the air (!) includes ALL the commercials. We've been pretty busy so our TV watching is limited to the hours of about 9PM and midnight. Have you watched the commercials they put on TV at these hours? Last night at 11PM I counted 5 "dating hotline" commericals in one 30 minute episode of King of the Hill. All touted the 'hotness' of the people who call their dating lines.

Apparently, hidden away in the apartment buildings and duplexes of the Twin Cities, there are caches of homebound hot people just waiting for your call. They want to hook up, yes they do! These people are so fun and so cool that they are at home mid-week watching King of the Hill in syndication with no Tivo to skip past these blasted commercials. The hotness is radiating like asphalt on a 100 degree day....

You know, I think I'm starting to feel pretty good about my technology addiction.

Love/Hate Relationships

2007-04-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

Love spring,
Hate this stupid drizzly, cold, foggy weather!

Love fitness yoga class,
Hate fitness yoga class.

Love my family & inlaws,
Dislike (no hate in family :>) disorganization.

Love my gardens,
Hate trying to figure out what will grow and look decent in those really shady shots.
Hate waiting for things to GROW DAMNIT.

Love traveling,
Hate leaving.

Love skim lattes,
Hate giving large chunks of my paycheck to Caribou Coffee.

Love my job,
Hate Lumbergh.

Love having refinished hardwood floors (Whoo!) & the tub resurfaced,
Hate moving out of my house for a week.

Love my niece,
Hate that she lives so far away! (The pull of the niece is strong. I don't think I've gone more than 6 days without getting her a present.)

BOW TO MY WILL FOOLISH GROWNUPS!!!!

Overkill

2007-03-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

Love, love, love Colin Hay. He's going to be in town on May 4th, tickets are relatively cheap, and I might just go see him.

Um, yeeeeeeeeeeah...

2007-03-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

I have my own personal Bill Lumbergh.

I have a coworker who calls and leaves me voicemails in exactly that tone, "Um yeeeeeeeah, I'm going to have to go ahead and ask you to do my job for me because I'm being lazy today." OK, the content is totally my interpretation, but I swear the soul killing tone is spot on. It's just painful. Which totally blows because Lumbergh is calling me almost daily right now.

Today he called to ask about reports. REPORTS! I almost referred to a cover sheet for my TPS reports, but caught myself just in time. Lumbergh went on. and on. and on and on and on about reports in the long, monotone drawl for 40 FREAKIN' MINUTES. GAH!

I'm starting to fantasize about kicking down my cube walls and gutting a fish. Seriously.

Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays.

Happy Good Times

2007-03-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

Today's happy note:
Not a single newspaper in my beloved state carries Ann Coulter's craptacular opinion column. Not One! Minnesota is FABULOUS!

Here is a list of newspapers that do. 5 newspapers have recently dropped her column after she spewed her typical venom at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week.

I've never really understood the appeal. She can't hold her own in an argument and resorts to name calling and bashing of groups as a way to draw attention to herself (NOT her cause - she only appears to be interested in advancing herself and cares very little about what the topic is, so long as it gets a rise out of people). It's too bad she isn't capable of understanding just how nasty she is.

Which is why I'm positively giddy the spotlight is swinging away from her. If we're lucky, her next tirade won't even make front page news. :)

It's Cookie Time!

2007-02-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

Last year I went on a rant about the evils of girl scout cookies.

This year, someone else went on a rant about the evils of girl scout cookies.

One cookie to rule them all...
P.S.(I'm pretty sure a thin mint would be the one cookie. Evil bastards.)

Please stand by...

2007-02-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

For your regularly scheduled Valentine's Day! I've had to reschedule this year.

I'm spending a couple of days in Hibbing helping with Blythe. Amber and her gallbaldder had a disagreement, and one of them had to go.

I told my husband that I wouldn't be home on Valentine's Day, to which he gave a cute but sad, "So you won't be at your office on Wednesday?"

I got a note from the admin today that a bouquet showed up and she put the flowers in water on my desk. Awww :)

He did NOT!

2007-02-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

I'm no slave to fashion. That doesn't mean I don't take obscene pleasure at reading about NYC's fashion week ridiculousness!

This one floored me. Witness Max Azria's BCGC collection...

OK, whatever. It doesn't knock my socks off, but it's not "burn out my retinas" bad either. Eh. But then I read this - He sent THAT down the runway to the song "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)."

Hold on, I'm over here trying to decide whether to laugh or cry. BIG?!?! Egos, yes, but big girls? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT BIG MEANS?? These people don't even have HIPS! I doubt they've even seen a big veggie platter! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

On behalf of 'curvier' women across America, bite me Max Azria.

Oh what a weekend!

2007-02-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

This past weekend in Minnesota was something else. I think we hit -20F and I was so less than amused.

Tom and I spent most of the weekend doing woodwork around the fireplace. We're not all the way done yet, but we made quite a bit of progress! For those of you thinking, "Trim work is fun!" let me assure you that mitering crown moulding sucks. Sucks, sucks, sucks. I am happy with how things are turning out so far though...

From February 2007

I'm going to make a few appointments next week for estimates to have the carpet removed and the floors refinished. That one detail will make ALL the difference in the room. Other than hanging out in the garage with the saws, we tried to avoid the cold entirely. I did venture out twice - once to Menards and once to get us dinner on Saturday. Both times we started the cars FAR in advanced but still had to listen to the moaning and groaning of our poor little vehicles. At least they started...

Every time I see or hear the temperature I think of all the plants I put in over the summer and cross my fingers that they all make it through the winter alive. I'm so looking forward to our gardens springing to life come April and May, but I know at least a few plants will not survive the frigid weather without a thick blanket of snow. :(

Not much else to report from our little home on the tundra. I should remember to book a vacation somewhere warm the first two weeks of Feb. next year.

I'm an M&M

2007-02-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

I hate it when they're right.

2007-02-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

You Are 92% Democrat

You are a card carrying Democrat, and a pretty far left one at that!
There's no chance anyone would ever mistake you for a Republican.

How Democrat Are You?

Yummy.

2007-01-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

I am in heaven. These must be health food, no?

Shock and Awwww...

2007-01-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was watching the premiere of American Idol. I'll just give you a minute to go ahead and judge me :)
...
...
...
Anyway, I was watching the various awful auditions from Minneapolis when a woman who flew in from California came on. She was meandering loudly through a song when she threw back her head and belted out full vibrato high-pitched, uh, shriek. Tom was headed up from the basement and had just rounded the corner in the living room when the shriek broke out. He actually got a stunned look on his face and took a half step backward. The whole scene made me giggle for 2 or 3 minutes!

I was also quite amused that the film crew managed to capture the majority of my morning drive route, parking garage and office building. Dang stalkers :)

A trip to Hibbing

2007-01-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

Tom and I road-tripped to Hibbing yesterday to meet our new niece Blythe. She's pretty darn cute and very fond of her hands :) More pictures in my gallery (click the photo below to jump to it).

From January 2007

Blythe Astrud

2007-01-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

More pictures

Ms. Shehadababyitsagirl

2007-01-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

I'm an aunt!

Blythe Astrud was born this morning at 7:50 AM by C-section.
8 Lbs 5oz
19 inches

Pictures to follow soon I'm sure....

For Auld Lang Syne my dear....

2007-01-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely New Year's Eve with a few of our fabulous friends. Amy, Andy, Adam K., Heather, Adam V. and Dena ventured out in the snow to Psycho Suzie's for some fantastic pizza. By the time we were done with dinner is had finally stopped snowing and we made our way back to Adam & Dena's for games and champagne. Thanks Guys!

It's hard to believe another year has come and gone so quickly. I'm not exactly sure how this works, but time passes faster the older you are. By the time I'm old enough to retire (like that's ever going to happen) a year will pass in 5 minutes!

2006 brought the following:
Our 1st Anniversary
A trip to Tokyo (10 amazing days!)
A trip to Orlando/Disney World
Me starting up yoga
62 pounds less on my frame
A promotion and new office
A fantastic renovation of my front yard
LOTS of planting, digging and gardening
Building in-wall bookshelves in the living room
A wonderful big birthday party for Tom at our house
I learned that Curling is damn confusing!
Set up a photogallery for my pictures
Refinishing our den
I took Fridays off all summer!
Attended 3 weddings (Gary & Rhonda, Jesse & Emily, Adam & Dena)
Went to see The Flaming Lips with my sister
Was head election judge for the primary and general elections
Welcomed our friends Mary & Ben's daughter Isabel
Welcomed our friends Ryan & Denise's daughter Zöe
Volunteered many, many hours with MAARS and Habitat for Humanity
Got "Just Because" flowers from my hubby
Received many wonderful Christmas presents
Actually made my hubby dinner several times
Enjoyed many wonderful times with friends & family
Laughed and cried many, many times

In 2007, I hope to:
Spend a week at a health spa with my mom
Travel to Boston with Tom for his birthday
Travel to Europe or Hawaii
Meet my niece/nephew in January
See Sue graduate and head to college (she's growing up so fast!)
Finish planting my front gardens
Landscape the driveway berm
Finish our fireplace (the granite slabs are on order!)
Get a second bathroom roughed in in our basement
For the second year in a row: Organize more and procrastinate less
Play lots of Wii!
Practice Yoga at least three times a week
Refinish my bird room
Refinish the hardwood floors under the ugly carpet in the living room
Enjoy many more memorable times with friends & family
Love my husband more and more and more....

Happy Whatever You Call It.

2006-12-28T22:25:00.000-08:00

The holidays have finally come and gone. Well, sort of. We still need to exchange gifts with Tom's family, but I'm hoping we'll finish that tomorrow. As Tom says, his family can't organize their way out of a wet paper sack. I'm just sayin'. The holidays are mostly over and I'm actually good with that.

I like this time of year, but I hate crowded places even more. I had to go to Target on Saturday. Just a brief trip to pick up one last gift. I learned the hard way there is no such thing as a quick trip to Target on Dec. 23rd. I'm just sayin'. I thought some lady was going to poke my eye out while I was browsing in the yoga section, and that's just wrong. "Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men," doesn't apply in December in the retail world.

As usual, I was utterly spoiled by my husband for Christmas. He cooked a fabulous meal for my family Saturday night, set up the Wii and entertained my father with Golf, helped wrap presents and gave me a fabulous present - a TomTom! I'm super excited about having the navigation system in my car because I have no sense of direction and really, really hate being lost. We gave the TomTom a snooty British voice so it has the added bonus of making me feel like I'm accompanied by a bossy English woman at all times. :)

It was a good holiday and I'm happy to bid it adieu.

GET. ME. OUT. OF. HERE.

2006-12-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

There are currently a host of packages at my home, at least one of which (I'm convinced) is singing a siren song audible from 8 miles away through office building windows and walls.

It's just sad that I am, at 31 years of age, no better at containing my excitement than I was at, say, 3 years of age. That being said, I don't care! I must go home to experience Wii!!! Now, now, now, now, now :)

Work is so booooooring and the prospect of a Wii is so fun....

Finding My Zen.

2006-12-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Late this summer, as a part of my focus on losing weight, I started taking up yoga. My employer made this shamefully easy by offering Monday and Friday 1-hour classes in the auditorium literally steps away from my desk.

I absolutely LOVE my yoga classes. We don't have class this week or next due to the holidays, and I'm feeling an urge to stretch almost constantly! I miss stretching, I miss being sore after the hardcore Monday sessions, I miss relaxing after the Friday sessions - I just miss it! Our YMCA offers sessions on Tuesday and Thursday - I'm going to have to make sure to attend at least one per week or I'll be dying over here.

If you haven't tried yoga before, I highly recommend it. You can make your sessions as easy or hard as you want to by changing up your poses to match your ability. A good yoga instructor will inspire you to focus and do your best at each pose, but will not push you into doing anything that hurts or doesn't feel good. And while some poses might be challenging at first, it feels SO GOOD when you get to the end of your practice.

Now if I could just get my coworkers to stop giving me funny looks when I do forward folds in my cube....

Deeply Disturbing

2006-12-13T12:22:00.000-08:00

I don't think it comes as a surprise to anyone who knows me that I am deeply disturbed by many things happening in the US these days. I just read an article interviewing a career military man about the rise of Evangelicals in the military. It's a fairly shocking read - right down to the part where his children (3rd generation military) had to take insults to their Jewish faith from higher ranking officers.
The officer being interviewed runs a foundation to oppose religious intimidation in the military. He mentions that 96% (96%!!!!) of the reports regarding religious intimidation the foundation receives are from Christians being told by Evangelicals that they aren't Christian enough (and are going to hell as a result.) The officer talks a bit about history and pulls out a quote that really struck me:

“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” - Sinclair Lewis (1930s after visiting Germany)

I often wonder why a religion needs to hang threats (like hell) over the heads of both followers and non-followers. What's the purpose? (I should say 1. I fully understand and acknowledge that not all religions use threats. Some do. I'm just sayin'. 2. I don't understand the concept of eternal damnation. I don't accept that good people who don't follow a certain path are to be punished while positively horrid people who do follow a given path are "redeemed." Makes zero sense to me.) If your faith offers such a wonderful life to people, shouldn't that be enough? I don't understand trying to beat people, in a variety of ways, into believing what you believe. Just accept that some people don't want your version of salvation and get on with it already, wouldjya...

Which is where things are going horribly, horribly wrong in this country. Religion is a powder keg you don't want to mess with, and I'm tired of the controlling agendas pushed into the public realm based purely on the Evangelical picture of a perfect world. Here's a concept: let's try using logic and not faith to govern. A land where decisions are made based on science and research, not ideological whimsy. A place where institutions are not used as weapons against people who think differently. A country where people are treated with respect REGARDLESS of their religious beliefs, orientation, family status, skin color or pretty much anything else for that matter. Novel.

Enough ranting for today. I must go as Christmahanukwanzica is almost here and I am not yet shopped out. :)

Some People's Children.

2006-11-27T12:45:00.000-08:00

Troy Lee Gentry makes me sick. The "Country Music Star" label is enough to start the nausea, but he cemented it by coming to Minnesota, buying a tame bear and essentially chasing it around in its pen until he shot it with enough arrows to kill it.

Nice. I hope it makes you feel like a big man, you dirtball.

He got a bit of a punishment, but it's not much. Essentially he can't keep the hide and can't hunt in MN for 5 years. Not enough. I vote for locking him in a pen and shooting arrows at him....

Congrats! You voted!

2006-11-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

Everyone who voted Tuesday deserves a big ol' wet sloppy kiss or something. Go you!

Voting *can* send a message, and I hope
1. Tuesday's message was heard and
2. the new "powers that be" are good stewards of said power.

Our precinct was busier than all get out. I believe we ended up around 75% turnout here. I had a really crappy morning since people were lined up out the door before we opened AND our ES&S box was not working at 7 AM. I had to open the polls for voting using a locked compartment on the voting machine until the ballot reader could be brought online. Talk about stress.

A couple of friends (I don't think I can technically say your names, but you know who you are...) stopped by early in the day to register and see me with my game face on :) It was nice to see them along with all the people almost looking eager to vote. Can you imagine - EAGER to vote! It does this small town political junkie girl's heart good to see that.

Speaking of things to see, I'm planning to watch an HBO special called "Hacking Democracy" this weekend. It all started with an investigation into how one Florida County ended up with a total of MINUS 16,022 votes for a presidential candidate in a recent election. Apparently no one knows why because the software logic is a "trade secret" of the manufacturer and there are no paper ballots to go back to. Riiiiiiiight.

All in all, you should be very proud of your elections process if you live in Minnesota. From what I see, we are leaps and bounds ahead of most of the country on process, machines, and voter turnout. We have paper ballots in addition to the electronic counting, well documented and communicated rules and regulations governing the elections, city and county election officials who work their buns off to make sure polling places have everything they need, and dedicated election judges who work tirelessly for 16-18 hours on election day (with precious little time to take a break on busy days) to make the entire thing look easy.

Yes, despite our (soon to be former) Secretary of State's attempts to mess it up, things continue to run pretty smoothly in Minnesota and we should all be thankful for that.

Want vs. Need

2006-10-30T11:40:00.000-08:00

I've had a few opportunities lately to reflect on the ideas of "Need" and "Want."

I was watching a home improvement show where the couple noted their 3,000 Sq. Ft. house was too small to raise their three children and they "needed" more space. Not to be picky here, but generations (centuries worth of generations!) raised MORE than 3 children in less than half that amount of space. And most of those kids turned out well adjusted, no?

I also read an article that said the new "must have" for homes is two sets of washers and dryers "so you don't have to spend an entire afternoon on laundry." Convenient? Sure! But millions of people living today and in the past managed just fine without any washing machines - much less two!

So many excesses are commonly described as needs. Yes, the examples are extreme and not indicative of how most people live, but I've been innundated with the amount of stuff "required" for gardening, babies, gourmet cooking, holiday gatherings, blah, blah, blah. And by far, very little of it is "needed."

Its OK to have "wants," but I'm developing a strong belief that for our own good we, as a society, must do a better job labeling wants as wants and not creating an artificial sense of what is neccessary. Next time I find myself thinking I "need" something, I'm going to try to step back and examine where the desire is coming from. Is it really a need? If not, what I am trading to get this "want?" Is it worth it?

All I *really* need in life is love and happiness, neither of which come from having a 4,000 sq ft house with two washers and dryers.

Life is grand

2006-10-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a good day. Really, an absolutely fabulous, stuff of legend kind of day.

The evidence:
- Virtually no traffic on the drive to work. Whoo!
- A reasonably paced day at the office - no giant fires
- I reported an issue that got a lot of attention in Canada, and my theory on what is causing the issue across North America sparked some interest and is being investigated by the vendor as we speak
- I had my annual review which was even more complementary than I expected, since I have only had my manager title for 3 months.
- Was told I am "rock-solid" in an area I have long considered my weakness
- Heard that a few other nice work recognition pieces are coming my way
- Had a coworker tell me I need to eat more chocolate because I'm too skinny for my pants (heh.)
- Got home while it was still daylight (something that's been rare for me in the last month)
- Discovered a bunch of plants I ordered awhile ago were delivered just in time for me to come home early today and plant on the nicest day of the week.
- Discovered a check I had forgotten about, yielding a chunk of "found money"
- Opened my email to find the sweetest, most heartfelt love letter from my hubby
- Spent the remainder of the evening snuggled up with aforementioned cute husband catching up on TV and eating yummy spinach pizza.
- Passed out at a reasonable hour and got plenty of sleep (also rare for me!)

Now that I think about it, the whole week starting with Adam & Dena's wedding on Saturday has just been spectacular, filled with family, friends, recognition and love with a big side of fun. As I said before, life is grand :)

My Favorite Alphabet

2006-10-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

If a had a kid (and that's a big IF) I would teach him or her this alphabet. It's so much more fun than the plain old boring alphabet song...

Color Me Confused.

2006-10-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

I was pretty sure *I* had my name, but this website doesn't seem to think so!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Busy Little Bees

2006-10-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

My life has been *really* busy lately.

In the last 30 days I:
Attended 3 baby showers
Attended 1 wedding
Celebrated 1 bachelorette party
Celebrated our 1 year anniversary
Returned from Tokyo
Traveled to Orlando
Worked many, many hours of overtime (I realized this morning I have not had a day in three weeks that didn't involve work to some degree or another)

I'm going to try my best to sneak out of my office early one day this week, go home and veg...

Sage Advice

2006-10-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things."

Have a Magical Day.

2006-10-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

Question: How many things can you put Mickey Mouse's head on?
Answer: Appears to be unlimited.

Mickey Mouse pasta forks, Mickey Mouse snow globes, even Mickey Mouse manhole covers.

I'm in DisneyWorld this week for a conference. It's an interesting choice of venues for a business conference....

That said, Disney is really tops on entertaining people. They do it, they do it well, and they do it almost invisibly so you don't notice all the time and effort involved in entertaining you. Simply amazing.

Last night was the Halloween fireworks as seen from the top floor of the resort. Pretty neat, and well done fireworks. I've been to Downtown Disney two days in a row, and tomorrow is an excursion to the Animal Kingdom.

As they say at Disney, Have a Magical Day!

Crap like this...

2006-10-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

Is why I refused to make a permanent move to Florida. Living there for 6 months made me feel dirty enough.

Florida man charged with caging, abusing 9-year-old son

Speaking of which, guess where I get to go next week? ORLANDO. Gah.

I've been looking so long at these pictures of you.

2006-10-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Our Japan pictures posted in my lovely Picasa Album:

Japan

Sep 14, 2006 - 348 Photos

Look what I got!

2006-10-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

I know the picture is a bit blurry, but the note says, "Just Because. *smooch* Love Tom"

*melt* Awwwwww....Isn't he the cutest? And he just knows how I love the golds and deep burgandy reds of fall :)

Happy Anniversary To Us

2006-09-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

Although we were exhausted from our trip, Tom and I celebrated our first anniversary with a quiet takeout dinner at home.

It was a uneventful day but full of little moments and reminders that I married the most amazing guy on the planet.

Cool Musician in Tokyo

2006-09-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Stranger in a strange land

2006-09-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...Japan! What an amazing trip we had. What follows is part one of my rather lengthy day by day description of the adventure. Stop by my gallery (link at right) for some pictures.

Day 1 (9/14/06): After packing and picking up the house, we left home at 8:30AM for the airport. We drove the car to Tom's office (they let employees leave cars in the lot when they are out of town) and headed for the light rail. We were at the airport in a matter of minutes and checked in for the flight to Chicago. We putzed around for a bit and boarded the plane at 11:00AM. The flight was rather uneventful and we landed at O'Hare around 1:00 PM. We switched airlines and double checked to make sure our luggage was being transferred to the Narita plane. Satisfied that all was well, we got our last American snacks and boarded the plane for our 12.5 hour flight to Tokyo.

Day 2 (9/15/06): Half a day disappeared as we crossed the International Date Line. We were chasing the sun so it was daylight the whole trip! About 8 PM I just *had* to look out the window - we were over remote Alaska. The mountain peaks flowed out endlessly and were gracefully divided by glaciers. Alaska looks like a giant meringue pie....I did manage to get a couple hours of sleep despite my excitement and was positively thrilled to find guest toothbrushes in the bathroom before landing. One note - sleeping upright sucks. Like suckity suck sucks.
By 6PM Tokyo time, we had landed at Narita international airport (about 45 miles from Tokyo). And waited patiently for our luggage. Fewer and fewer people were standing around the carousel until finally a "Last Bag" sign came out on the belt. Since Tom and I had not seen our luggage, we flagged down one of the airline agents and asked about our bags. The woman grabbed a clipboard, flipped through a list and noted our highlighted names. Hrm - this is not good.
"No worry," the baggage claim agent told us, "We find your bag in 2 or 3 days." Right. Because wearing the same clothes for 3 days is, I'm sure, as culturally acceptable in Japan as it is in the US. Riiiiiiight.
We filled out the "lost luggage" forms and breezed through customs since we had nothing to declare. Waiting just outside the customs area was our friend Takumi and his friend Toshi. Toshi was born in Chicago and moved to Japan when he was 10, so we spoke both languages with ease. This was much appreciated!
After a bathroom pitstop, we were introduced to Japanese vending machines to get a beverage for the 90 minute trip. We zigged and zagged through Tokyo traffic and spotted Tokyo Disney on the left. We stopped by Takumi's office to see the beginning of his movie "The Gift of the Trip" (roughly translated). After a visit to the Japanese style toilet for me (which was, um, interesting), we were on our way to dinner. We were to an amazing little restaurant run by a woman who called Takumi her Tokyo son and fed us well.

Stay tuned....

"I Voted"

2006-09-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

Did you?

Most of you know I am the head election judge for my precinct, so I spent the day today working the polls. Polls, people, not poles. Get your head out of the gutter.

My day started at 5AM with a cold shower. I threw on some makeup, pulled my hair back and dashed out the door. On the way to my precinct I grabbed some chow since judges cannot leave the polling place on election day. I arrived shortly before 6AM and our team of judges started the hour long process to open the polls.

From 7AM to 8PM we were busy! Be nice to your election judges - we work 16-17+ hours days on election days and are constantly trying to remember and follow a million new election rules and laws. I learn a lot about the process every time and find people's reactions to the rules and regulations interesting. It's now 11PM, and I'm exhausted, but the results have been delivered to the election officials. :)

Anywho, make sure you vote. Even in primaries. As Deb says, "You all get the government you deserve!"

Do You Realize?

2006-09-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

This song always makes me smile and cry all at once. I find it especially fitting today...

Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space -
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

Do You Realize -
Do You Realize - that everyone you know
Someday will die -

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize

Artist: Flaming Lips
Song: Do You Realize

First Shot at a Gallery

2006-08-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'm trying out Picasa's new web gallery - I may not keep things there, but for now you can see some of my recent pics...

http://picasaweb.google.com/gwendolynjorgens

Crazy. Part II.

2006-08-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

She's at it again.....

Katherine Harris said.. wait, let's make sure I get this right...

"If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin," Harris said.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeah. She said that. AND THEN she added that she's been supportive of pro-Israel legislation and legislation to recognize the Holocaust. Because she doesn't want anyone thinking she's not a good christian, I guess?

Note to Ms. Harris: I don't care where you are, or who you are talking to. Never, ever believe the voices in your head when they tell you it's OK to ride the crazy train.

Party Harty, The Aftermath.

2006-08-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated my dear husband's 31st birthday with a party at our house. Its always so wonderful to be surrounded by our friends...we had a fabulous dinner, cake and all kinds of munchies. In a strange twist, we ended up with more liquor than we had before the party started.

Thank you to each and every one of you who came over to celebrate! Tom had a wonderful time (actually a little too good a time...) and it certainly will be a birthday to remember :)

Flaming Lips are....

2006-08-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

Fun, fabulous, entertaining, exhausting, deafening and well worth the trip!

So we haven't really had rain in 3 months, but the skies decided to open up about an hour before the show. This storm was kickin' butt and takin' names - I saw water shooting fountain style out of one of the manhole covers downtown! One of the opening acts (Magic Numbers...blah) was cancelled due to the weather, but Sonic Youth came on at 9:00PM followed by the Flaming Lips at around 10:15PM. The universe may have conspired against us, but the Flaming Lips fans ultimately won...

My sister had two tickets and invited me to join her for the show. I wouldn't classify myself as a *huge* Flaming Lips fan, but I saw them at a Lalapolooza stage in 1994 and have rather enjoyed their recent CDs. I really, really, really enjoyed the show and would love to see them again. I sang my heart out on some of my favorite songs and, in a rare moment for me, didn't give a rip what anyone around me thought of it :)

So the show starts with the lead singer surfing the crowd in a big, inflatable hamster ball....

There were TONS of streamers and confetti, an inflatable dolphin could be seen rockin' out for most of the show and a pink plastic pony made an appearance in the crowd toward the end. A boxing nun sang about a robot-defeating Yoshimi and 5 foot tall foam hands punctuated a faboo protest song. On the right side of the stage we had the dancing santas, and on the left we had the dancing aliens and elves (local folks who won contests on the Current from what I hear). The crowd was a little lethargic after the long weather delays, but the band did an awesome job loving what they do on stage and drawing people in to the fun. Towards the end two state fair gopher mascots got up and boogied down to "Do You Realize?"

It's now past 3 AM and I've made it home from my great big state fair Flaming Lips adventure. Time to go fall over in bed. Good thing I get to sleep in tomorrow!

Ridiculously Cute

2006-08-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

Oh that's just so cute it hurts.

"Duz the witty bitty monkey want to suck on a thumb? Oh yesyoudo! You're just a witty bitty cute ball of fuzz, you are!"

Look Out Tokyo!

2006-08-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

Our plane tickets are *finally* booked and I've blocked my vacation days. Tom fired up the "Learn Japanese" CDs and we know how to say 4 whole words and ask a question! "Eigo-ga wakarimasuka?" means "Do You Understand English?" So I'll be a dorky American tourist, but hopefully not an ugly American tourist.

We are making headway on how we'll travel from Tokyo to Kyoto and what we'll be doing while we're there. Everything looks so cool I don't even know where to start :) We'll be in Kyoto to see the premier of Takumi's (my Japanese brother) movie on the 18th and the rest of the time is pretty wide open at this point. Could I be going on a cooler vacation? I think not....

Happy Birthday to You....

2006-08-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

Last night a bunch of us (Rachel & Pat, Adam & Dena, Deb & Terre, and Tom & I) went out to celebrate Deb's birthday at Ichiban's All-You-Care-To-Eat sushi moat/buffet. We got our fill of good sushi, a funky cake with a candle for Deb, and I had more cucumber salad than you can shake a stick at. Going to Ichiban's is *always* a great time with good sushi, and its made even better when its shared with friends in celebration. Happy Birthday Deb!!

I paced myself well through the sushi and made it out of Ichiban's feeling full and satisfied but not stuffed. The group toddled over to The Local for some fabulous "Big Gingers" after flopping down on a couple of couches and wingback chairs.

I'm reminded by these events how insanely lucky we are to be happy, healthy and surrounded by such fun and interesting people. Here's to food, fun and friends!

This time its personal.

2006-08-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

*sigh*

That's it. My parents are no longer allowed on international flights.

My father has been on business in Europe for the last week and a half, and he is due to return to the US on a flight from London's Heathrow airport today. While it sounds like he'll make it home as scheduled, he will be packing up all his luggage, including his laptop for the cargo hold.

While talking to my Mom about this whole thing yesterday, I remembered where the two of them were on 9/11: In Newark, NJ, boarding planes. My parents were returning from South America via Newark with seperate flights to Minneapolis. My mom's flight took off around 8:43 AM, a few planes behind United Flight 93. My Dad was slated to fly at just after 9 AM and never made it off the ground. The remainder of that week is a looooooong story, but it is sufficient to say they were both too close for comfort.

I can only take so many calls telling me that one or both of my parents is in the midst of a terrorist ruckus. Since we are now up to 2 such events, I'm banning my parents from planes! Enough is enough already :)

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2006-08-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

Amazonites review MILK!

I have been trying to determine how to activate the various features associated with this product ("Kosher", "Grade A", etc.) but without the associated documentation, I haven't been able to do so. I don't think this product should be sold without adequate documentation to allow consumers to get their money's worth.

Usually I don't pay much attention to what is in my refrigerator, but this Tuscan Whole Milk has got to be the greatest thing I've ever seen. I carry it around with me all the time now using its convenient handle. Just the other day, I saved a busload of nuns careening down a precipituous mountain by placing this object in their path. While on vacation in the Swiss Alps, Tuscan Whole Milk protected me and the tour group I was with from a terrible avalanche. And one afternoon, finding myself trapped in a nuclear submarine beneath the Antarctic ice, I was safely transported to the surface by Tuscan Whole Milk alone. I just can't imagine what would happen if I drank some. And weighing in at 128oz, it makes an excellent paperweight!

Rant-o-rama

2006-08-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

I've been so disheartened by the stories in the news about animals the last couple of days.

First was the story seeking a man who broken the necks of ten crying puppies in front of his girlfriend, apparently to threaten her. What kind of person does this?

That was bad enough, but then I read this. The story is about meerkats at the zoo that had to be put down. Why you ask? Watch out, here comes the rant...
Because a 9 year old girl was at the zoo. Whomever was with her was not keeping an eye on her, and she climbed up 4 feet of rocks and stuck her hand in the enclosure, resulting in a bite. These were rabies vaccinated, non-aggressive animals. They had to be destroyed because the girl's parents refused to get her a rabies shot.
How callous can you be? First, you're irresponsible enough to let the kid climb all over and put herself in a dangerous situation, and THEN you cap that by deciding that saving junior the pain of a shot is more important than the lives of 5 animals who did nothing wrong?
Jackasses.

No More Slanty Stoop!

2006-08-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

Ahem.

2006-08-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*pounds head against cube wall*

That is all. Thank you.

I know, I know...

2006-08-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

It reeks of Schadenfreude. But I can't help it. Katherine Harris just plain looks crazy.

GOP tells Harris her campaign is too damaged by crazy talk to win

Its not the heat, its the lack of attitude.

2006-07-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

1. Its friggin hot. And I mean hundreds of degrees HOT. Like I only went outside to make sure my gardens weren't dead and pick ginormous zucchinis. Since the landscaping is in limbo until the concrete guy makes it out, this is bad. Concrete guys have a super hard time getting any work done in the heat. Blah.

2. I totally need to get my behind in gear planning our trip to Tokyo. Mid-September is like 7 weeks away!

3. I spent Saturday night singing my lungs out at the Jackson house with the Jacksons and the Kooyers. There is some video footage of the event we all hope will never see the light of day :) Thanks for the fun!

4. I have 3 weddings to attend in 3 months. Weddings are great, don't get me wrong...And the events this year will have plenty of joy and excitement. I'm just hoping we soon reach the age where we are all either happily married or happily not! The first is next weekend and I really need to go buy a new dress 'cause my old clothes simply do not fit.

5. Big changes coming on the work front. Stay tuned....

Landscape Progress

2006-07-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

About one week into the great landscape project and things are looking good. Hopefully in another week I'll have a brand spankin' new landscape to enjoy!

Below are the "before" and "in progress" pictures - after photos to come soon :)

Walking in the Garden - Part II

2006-07-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

And on Saturdays, God created The Tick. And it was good.

2006-07-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

Late last night, Tom and I threw ourselves down on the couch after a long weekend of landscaping in the nasty, humid heat of the weekend. Since its summer and there is nothing on TV, I planned to quickly skim the TV listings before settling on the Star Trek:DS9 DVDs we have from Netflix. I pulled up the guide and set to surfing with my last ounce of energy...

Suddenly, something popped out on the screen. THE TICK! Holy cow - and not any of the OK newfangled stuff - the hardcore, old school cartoon! Little Wooden Boy and the Belly of Love was the episode playing. The Tick is probably my favorite cartoon of all time. For reasons I never understood it was not replayed on TV, nor was there a DVD or other such fun stuff for me to go back and relive my early college years rising early (10AM) on Saturday just to watch the Tick. I have some rather hazy VHS recording of my favorite episodes, but its on VHS for cryin' out loud. (My husband would disown me if he caught me watching VHS on his fancy home theater equipment.)
Finally, after years and years of not seeing it, there it was :) Every night at 9:30PM on Toon Disney (WTF?) I can pretend I am 19, sleeping on a futon and eating cold cereal while I revel in the humor that is The Tick. SPOOOOOOON!

And oh was it good. Like a tall drink of water after a week in the desert. Duh dwee duh duh duh dwee dow. Duh dweeeee duh duh duh dwee dow......

Watch what you eat!

2006-07-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned this to many people in the past... the infamous "diet" coffee from Caribou marketed as "low carb." Notice the use of the word "Skinny" in the name of the drink. Pure evil!

Seriously?

2006-07-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

I had the unfortunate need to contact my bank today. I hate calling the bank - they're just insanely unhelpful and usually repeat the same line over an over again in response to questions.

In any case, despite noting that I had a no solicitation request on the account, Wells Fargo decided to try and sell me stuff anyway (like a savings account). I was feeling slightly annoyed by the whole thing until the sales guy on the phone directed me to a web page for more information on their checking accounts. As the page loads, I see this:

Being an analyst, I usually read graphs and charts carefully. This is the short bus of graphs. I like the upward trend that basically tells you saving $100 a month for 6 months will get you $600! If you need a graph like this to explain how saving money works, I suggest a bank is possibly not the best institution for you to visit. Ha ha!

"Mark Kennedy is a 0.0% match"

2006-06-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

According to the MPR "Select a Candidate" quiz, Mark Kennedy and I are polar opposites. Shocker. I think the sight of the guy raises my blood pressure 10 points. He epiomizes everything that is bad about politicans - slimy, self-serving, backstabbing, blah, blah, blah. Ford Bell and I are practically mind-melded, except for that pesky war issue :)

Select your candidate for the state gubinatorial, senate and house races here. The quiz presents you with a series of statements on issues from the candidates and asks you to rate the importance of the issue to you. Democracy in action!

I'm a loser, baby.....

2006-06-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

Its official - my (apparently) noticeable weight loss efforts have resulted in a loss of 50 pounds!

Gardening this spring, I had some 40 lb bags of dirt that I needed to haul up from the driveway...and they were HEAVY! It was a fabulous feeling to realize I've shed even more weight than that from my body. No wonder I feel more energetic. :)

Thanks to everyone who has complimented me on the changes - its really inspiring to hear y'all noticed!

Insufficient Dramady

2006-06-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

Almost two weeks without a blog post - you'd think I'd have gotten a life or something! In actuality, I just have my nose to the grindstone on many fronts right now and I am enjoying the late stages of spring....Nothing really leapt at me to blog about so I just keep on keepin' on.

On the "nose to the grindstone" front:
1. I've had three landscapers out for quotes on ripping the deck off the front of the house and re-doing the front entry and retaining walls. I should have the last full plan and quote by the end of this week and if all goes well I've have my landscaping underway by the end of July!
2. The garage clean-up project I initiated is well underway. The garage door guy comes Friday to install a new door and garage door opener (can I get a whoo-hoo!?!). After the door is in the walls are getting a fresh coat of paint, some slatwall and a couple new cabinets, and the floor is getting a fancy roll-on coating treatment. I'm excited to get that over with!
3. The vegetables and flowers are all off and growing - and I am just trying to keep up with watering and weeding. WHY, oh why, do the things I like have to be so particular while the weeds grow like, well, weeds. WHYYYYYY????
4. Just as I was lamenting to Tom my boredom at work (for, like, two days) the workload picked up and its kinda non-stop from the minute I get in the door these days. Which is great, but keeps me from keeping up with blogs...
5. We've had a smattering of family type stuff to do - we went to the Body Worlds exhibit with my family, had a little family BBQ, and had Tom's parents over for drinks.
6. Trying my darndest to keep exercising - it sucks, but someone's gotta do it!

All this lacks a dramady component, but really, I like it that way.

Wandering in my Gardens

2006-06-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

Today I went out and wandered in the yard with a camera. I really like the way things are shaping up!

A pretty Iris near the fence....

One of my MANY planters, planted last night....

The fountain Tom and I built...

The hanging baskets and my freshly planted vegetable garden...

And my "Royal" Geranium....

I love to see all the color, and I'm even more excited for everything to get growing already! I never in a million, bajillion years thought I would enjoy yardwork :)

Hippo Birdie to Ewe

2006-06-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

This year for my birthday Tom decide to get a whole heapin' lot of our friends together for dinner at Bennihanas. Ideas just don't get much better than this!

The cast of characters:
Jon, Keri and 6 week old Ian Jackson
Amber (my sister)
Tom & I
Deb & Terre Heiser
Andy Masters & Sarah McDonald
Adam Vernier & Dena Triplett
Heather Kooyer (Adam had to be in Mexico.. you missed a good time!)
Pat & Rachel Elwein

WHOO! We all arrived and I was surrounded by gifts....many fabulous bottles of wine and FANTASTIC books! I'm all set to sit out on my patio for the summer. In addition, Adam & Dena gave me the George Bush "dumbass head on a string" car air fresher - I love it! Its adding manly conservative scents to my car right now....

Terre bought a bottle of wine which I enjoyed immensely. Dinner was, as always, faboo. The chef at our table was lacking in enthusiasm, but the group made up for it.

I had an absolutely smashing good time - as I told Dena, we RAWK :)

Thanks to everyone who came out - I hope you had as much fun as I did!

I heart Fridays

2006-05-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

So apparently my employer has modified their PTO policy in such a way that I am required to take 26 days off before the end of October.

While it kind of sucks that the PTO policy is changing, this DOES mean that I am taking Fridays off for the rest of the summer. WHOO HOO!

What in heaven's name will I do with all that free time?