i have many things to post about today, but i'll be merciful and separate them into multiple entries so your eyes don't get tired.
aren't i just the nicest? (and can i just pause here to ask why it isn't "amn't i?" you don't say "i are nice," you say "i am nice.")
anyway, update 1, my foot was feeling better enough today to wear REAL shoes! and not just any real shoes, i might add, but my brand-new, very, cute, black-and-white houndstooth wool pumps with a 1.5" heel! (a wonderful score at off-broadway shoe wearhouse- yahoo!!!)
update 2 is something i keep forgetting to post about: sprint strikes out again. the second time my phone went dead in a 2 week period, and had to be taken back to the sprint store, i missed another important phone call!
this time it was the globe calling to tell me that they were playing my perfect playlist! so not only did i miss my chance to be in an insane contest to see the police, i also missed 5 of my favorite songs being played on the air AND getting credit for picking that combination of songs!!!!!!!! i got the voicemail message from cerphe (the afternoon dj) the day AFTER they played my playlist.
sprint: you suck!
9.13.2007
9.08.2007
who does that?
here's a question for you: who are the spammers, anyway?
we spend innumerable hours installing software, flagging messages as spam so our service providers and heuristics software can identify future spam messages; spend countless dollars hiring IT people to secure our computer systems, install anti-spam and anti-spyware programs. we complain about spam, and spammers, when we talk to our friends and co-workers. we devote so much energy to avoiding these internet harpies. but who are they?
do you know any spammers? i don't.
they don't wear nametags. they don't introduce themselves at parties... can you imagine?
"nice to meet you sam. so, what do you do for a living?"
"well, i'm a spammer."
"oh."
how do they respond to that question? "i propogate electronic advertisements and collect contact information from potential customers."
do they dare show their faces in public? or do they sit at their computers all day long, cackling and mouse-clicking maniacally, "send, send, send!!! cialis for everyone! muahahahaha!!"
really. i want to know. who just wakes up one day and decides to be a spammer? i'm intrigued by the personality that would choose annoying millions of unsuspecting emailers as a pastime. personally, i like to think that my work and hobbies are appreciated by others. or, at least, not driving others insane.
we spend innumerable hours installing software, flagging messages as spam so our service providers and heuristics software can identify future spam messages; spend countless dollars hiring IT people to secure our computer systems, install anti-spam and anti-spyware programs. we complain about spam, and spammers, when we talk to our friends and co-workers. we devote so much energy to avoiding these internet harpies. but who are they?
do you know any spammers? i don't.
they don't wear nametags. they don't introduce themselves at parties... can you imagine?
"nice to meet you sam. so, what do you do for a living?"
"well, i'm a spammer."
"oh."
how do they respond to that question? "i propogate electronic advertisements and collect contact information from potential customers."
do they dare show their faces in public? or do they sit at their computers all day long, cackling and mouse-clicking maniacally, "send, send, send!!! cialis for everyone! muahahahaha!!"
really. i want to know. who just wakes up one day and decides to be a spammer? i'm intrigued by the personality that would choose annoying millions of unsuspecting emailers as a pastime. personally, i like to think that my work and hobbies are appreciated by others. or, at least, not driving others insane.
9.03.2007
weekend update, or: how this is going to hamper my running career
i wasn't planning on posting today, but it seems life loves to surprise, and here i am! where to begin?
well, let's start with the weekend. holiday weekend, and a busy one, at that. it started with wednesday, when i had to make sure to get home on time so that we could get through our whole routine in time to get LM packed for his trip. he was headed off to illinois for his aunt's wedding the very next day, and we had to have everything ready on wednesday night.
everything went smoothly at work; i got to daycare right on time; he got ready quickly, and everything was hunky-dory until we got home. LM opened his backpack to discover that his bag had accidentally been switched with another student's. when i got to the daycare i noticed a tall woman holding a bag just like LM's, who was obviously waiting for her child to get ready. i didn't think anything of it, since we purchased LM's backpack at target and i'm sure hundreds of other kids in the county have exactly the same one. i guess i should have thought a bit more, because this woman apparently just picked up the bag and didn't check to make sure it was her daughter's.
luckily, the girl's name was on her binder, and we were able to call the daycare before they closed and find out the family's phone number so we could exchange packs. it took about 45 minutes for them to call us back, but they did, and we were able to make the exchange. so LM did get his assignments done, we did get him packed, and everything worked out OK (if a little more hurried and hectic than it should have been).
fast forward now to thursday. it's my last day of work before taking off to travel to gettysburg for the wedding of two close friends. honey had to take the day off to take LM to the airport. my work had its own usual flurry of "must complete" assignments that always occurs before i take any time off. poor honey, however, spent seven hours in the airport, as LM's first flight was cancelled and his re-booked flight was delayed. he was supposed to leave at 3:15; he ended up taking off at 7:20 or so. by the time honey got home that night, we were both so pooped that we didn't really have the motivation to do anything, even cook dinner. needless to say, if we didn't cook, we didn't pack our bags, either.
friday was basically a day of rest for us, which was very much needed. i did all the laundry and we prepared for the wedding on saturday. we had planned to drive up to gettysburg on friday and stay the night before, but with the craziness earlier in the week we changed our minds and decided that we both needed a bit of rest. we cancelled the hotel reservation and spent the day having 'adult time' and working on house projects.
now we've made it to saturday. time to get packed up and drive to gettysburg for the wedding. this was a wonderful day! we were all packed just after lunchtime, and headed up to the hotel. even with a stop for food on the way, it is a quick trip, and we made it in just over an hour. our hotel room was really nice- we shared a king suite with carne and her boyfriend, and the place had the biggest shower i've ever seen. it was 6' x 6', with four wall showerheads in addition to the overhead- very luxurious! needless to say, it made primping for the wedding all the more enjoyable.
after we were all ready for the wedding (and unfortunately running a bit late, as our friends got lost trying to find the hotel), we dashed off to the country club. we also got a bit lost on the way in - the directions were a little vague (follow the signs to the golf course). well, there were a gazillion signs all around that all seemed to point you to the golf course. the country club is located amongst a very large new development, and there are signs everywhere saying "golf course luxury condos, this way" (with the words GOLF COURSE very large and luxury condos added as a smaller afterthought). we managed to get there, though, about five minutes late. fortunately, luck was on our side again, as the wedding started just a bit late. (thank you, oh fates!)
the ceremony and reception were wonderful, heartfelt and beautiful. i felt so lucky to be able to join our friends, who have been together for nine years and known each other for much longer, as they celebrated their love and joined together as husband and wife. all of our closest friends were there, and dan and i both felt that it was one of the most touching and fun weddings we have ever attended. i've never felt so comfortable with a group of people at a wedding. both of the families were excited and happy to be joined together, and i didn't see anyone who wasn't having a great time.
one of the highlights was hearing the guys, who have all played music together as "the walk" and "continuous play" in various incarnations, play together again. one of the defining experiences of my college existence was going to see these guys play at various local bars and clubs. they are some of the most talented people i've ever met, and hearing their music again really made the night special and unique. with all our friends together, we went back to the hotel and partied long into...
well, let's start with the weekend. holiday weekend, and a busy one, at that. it started with wednesday, when i had to make sure to get home on time so that we could get through our whole routine in time to get LM packed for his trip. he was headed off to illinois for his aunt's wedding the very next day, and we had to have everything ready on wednesday night.
everything went smoothly at work; i got to daycare right on time; he got ready quickly, and everything was hunky-dory until we got home. LM opened his backpack to discover that his bag had accidentally been switched with another student's. when i got to the daycare i noticed a tall woman holding a bag just like LM's, who was obviously waiting for her child to get ready. i didn't think anything of it, since we purchased LM's backpack at target and i'm sure hundreds of other kids in the county have exactly the same one. i guess i should have thought a bit more, because this woman apparently just picked up the bag and didn't check to make sure it was her daughter's.
luckily, the girl's name was on her binder, and we were able to call the daycare before they closed and find out the family's phone number so we could exchange packs. it took about 45 minutes for them to call us back, but they did, and we were able to make the exchange. so LM did get his assignments done, we did get him packed, and everything worked out OK (if a little more hurried and hectic than it should have been).
fast forward now to thursday. it's my last day of work before taking off to travel to gettysburg for the wedding of two close friends. honey had to take the day off to take LM to the airport. my work had its own usual flurry of "must complete" assignments that always occurs before i take any time off. poor honey, however, spent seven hours in the airport, as LM's first flight was cancelled and his re-booked flight was delayed. he was supposed to leave at 3:15; he ended up taking off at 7:20 or so. by the time honey got home that night, we were both so pooped that we didn't really have the motivation to do anything, even cook dinner. needless to say, if we didn't cook, we didn't pack our bags, either.
friday was basically a day of rest for us, which was very much needed. i did all the laundry and we prepared for the wedding on saturday. we had planned to drive up to gettysburg on friday and stay the night before, but with the craziness earlier in the week we changed our minds and decided that we both needed a bit of rest. we cancelled the hotel reservation and spent the day having 'adult time' and working on house projects.
now we've made it to saturday. time to get packed up and drive to gettysburg for the wedding. this was a wonderful day! we were all packed just after lunchtime, and headed up to the hotel. even with a stop for food on the way, it is a quick trip, and we made it in just over an hour. our hotel room was really nice- we shared a king suite with carne and her boyfriend, and the place had the biggest shower i've ever seen. it was 6' x 6', with four wall showerheads in addition to the overhead- very luxurious! needless to say, it made primping for the wedding all the more enjoyable.
after we were all ready for the wedding (and unfortunately running a bit late, as our friends got lost trying to find the hotel), we dashed off to the country club. we also got a bit lost on the way in - the directions were a little vague (follow the signs to the golf course). well, there were a gazillion signs all around that all seemed to point you to the golf course. the country club is located amongst a very large new development, and there are signs everywhere saying "golf course luxury condos, this way" (with the words GOLF COURSE very large and luxury condos added as a smaller afterthought). we managed to get there, though, about five minutes late. fortunately, luck was on our side again, as the wedding started just a bit late. (thank you, oh fates!)
the ceremony and reception were wonderful, heartfelt and beautiful. i felt so lucky to be able to join our friends, who have been together for nine years and known each other for much longer, as they celebrated their love and joined together as husband and wife. all of our closest friends were there, and dan and i both felt that it was one of the most touching and fun weddings we have ever attended. i've never felt so comfortable with a group of people at a wedding. both of the families were excited and happy to be joined together, and i didn't see anyone who wasn't having a great time.
one of the highlights was hearing the guys, who have all played music together as "the walk" and "continuous play" in various incarnations, play together again. one of the defining experiences of my college existence was going to see these guys play at various local bars and clubs. they are some of the most talented people i've ever met, and hearing their music again really made the night special and unique. with all our friends together, we went back to the hotel and partied long into...
sunday, when we all slept off the previous night's revelry, wished the new bride and groom well, saw them off, and then had a really delicious lunch at a little cafe in downtown gettysburg called "seasons." as the name implies, the cafe's menu changes seasonally, offering selections featuring seasonal foods. it's really wonderful, with a friendly staff who take their time preparing meals, and no hoity-toity gourment atmosphere. simply a small streetside cafe serving delicious food! i had a really nice prosciutto and melon salad with wonderfully fresh homemade bread.
then we drove home, recuperated for a few hours, vegged out to disc 1 of the fellowship of the ring, and headed back out, this time to crofton, to join the group at a housewarming party for VGJ and pig's mom, who just purchased their first condo. a laid back and relaxing evening, but very fun, and we ended up staying more than an hour later than we intended. i'm glad we did, though, because tricky was there, as were 2 good friends from pittsburgh, and we don't get many chances to hang out as a group. (yes, these friends were also at the wedding, but it's nice to see everyone as much as we can while they're here.)
and now, to monday, and the reason i'm writing this post in the first place instead of cooking dinner for honey and LM, who will be home in a couple of hours. we slept in and spent the day just relaxing and treasuring our last few hours of quiet and solitude before LM returned. love him to death, but he's a kid and he's loud. honey made plans to play basketball with the guys this afternoon before picking LM up. i would stay home, do some reading, pack LM's lunch for tomorrow, and cook dinner for the boys.
i have done three of those four things. sadly, i will not be cooking any dinner. i was preparing to make LM's lunch: gathering bread, snacks, napkin, peanut butter, and jelly, when the jelly jar suddenly sprung to life! our refrigerator's shelves (on the door) have guard bars to keep items from falling of, and they are rather deep. you have to lift things out of them. as i grabbed the huge economy-size jar of jelly, it suddenly went tumbling from my hand and landed directly on my very innocent and unsuspecting right foot. the lid had not been screwed tightly onto the jar, and the full jar, which is very heavy with all that jelly inside, just dropped away from the lid (still in my hand).
i now understand the expression "blinded with pain." i'm not a sissy about injuries. this was really, really painful! i now have a large lump about the diameter (and color) of a plum just above the point where my two middle toes meet my foot. i've been sitting with it elevated and on ice for about an hour and a half now, and while it's up it feels better, but if i lower it even by one pillow it starts to throb.
so that explains why i have time to write this post. and why i'm not cooking dinner. and why, if i can make it in to work tomorrow, i won't be walking much.
then we drove home, recuperated for a few hours, vegged out to disc 1 of the fellowship of the ring, and headed back out, this time to crofton, to join the group at a housewarming party for VGJ and pig's mom, who just purchased their first condo. a laid back and relaxing evening, but very fun, and we ended up staying more than an hour later than we intended. i'm glad we did, though, because tricky was there, as were 2 good friends from pittsburgh, and we don't get many chances to hang out as a group. (yes, these friends were also at the wedding, but it's nice to see everyone as much as we can while they're here.)
and now, to monday, and the reason i'm writing this post in the first place instead of cooking dinner for honey and LM, who will be home in a couple of hours. we slept in and spent the day just relaxing and treasuring our last few hours of quiet and solitude before LM returned. love him to death, but he's a kid and he's loud. honey made plans to play basketball with the guys this afternoon before picking LM up. i would stay home, do some reading, pack LM's lunch for tomorrow, and cook dinner for the boys.
i have done three of those four things. sadly, i will not be cooking any dinner. i was preparing to make LM's lunch: gathering bread, snacks, napkin, peanut butter, and jelly, when the jelly jar suddenly sprung to life! our refrigerator's shelves (on the door) have guard bars to keep items from falling of, and they are rather deep. you have to lift things out of them. as i grabbed the huge economy-size jar of jelly, it suddenly went tumbling from my hand and landed directly on my very innocent and unsuspecting right foot. the lid had not been screwed tightly onto the jar, and the full jar, which is very heavy with all that jelly inside, just dropped away from the lid (still in my hand).
i now understand the expression "blinded with pain." i'm not a sissy about injuries. this was really, really painful! i now have a large lump about the diameter (and color) of a plum just above the point where my two middle toes meet my foot. i've been sitting with it elevated and on ice for about an hour and a half now, and while it's up it feels better, but if i lower it even by one pillow it starts to throb.
so that explains why i have time to write this post. and why i'm not cooking dinner. and why, if i can make it in to work tomorrow, i won't be walking much.
8.27.2007
missed it by that much
i was recently asked to be in one of those crazy radio contests. you know the kind: they're giving away this really amazing car, but to get it you have to stand with your hand on the car for as long as possible to prove that you're the most worthy of winning the car.
i always thought that radio stations had some prequalified list of nutjobs out there who are willing to give up their precious time to stand with their hand on a car. come to find out that if the prize is good enough, regular citizens like me will actually be crazy enough to sign up for something like this! yes, the candidate pool really does come from that large anonymous crowd of average joes (or josies).
now i know you're asking yourself, "self, what prize could be so good that julie would actually sign up to do anything so weird?" ok... the details:
my favorite station, 94.7, was holding a contest to win two tickets to see the police in atlantic city and spend the night at the borgata. the police... their own show... atlantic city... the borgata... just me and honey... you get the point.
the deal was that you had to be willing to sit at mattress discounters with your hand on a mattress and outlast the competition. the last one with his/her hand on the mattress would win the tickets and the hotel room (and, i'm assuming, the mattress.) i was on the 94.7 website, and, as a lark, i signed up to be entered into the pool of potential contestants. this is definitely worth the pain and boredom.
i never win anything, so i didn't give it another thought. fast forward to last week, when my phone came back from the sprint store after being out of commission for a week (that's an entirely different story). i charged it up and saw that i had a voicemail. it was the promotions guy from the radio station calling to see if i wanted to take part in the contest!!!!! woah!!! unfortunately, the message was a week old! he called the day after my cell phone died, and i didn't know about it until the following week!
aaauuuggghhh! i called back immediately and left him a message saying i was interested. i'm sure by that time they had already written me off as a no-go and filled their contestant pool, because the contest was last weekend and they never called me back beforehand.
bummer. i could have won!
i always thought that radio stations had some prequalified list of nutjobs out there who are willing to give up their precious time to stand with their hand on a car. come to find out that if the prize is good enough, regular citizens like me will actually be crazy enough to sign up for something like this! yes, the candidate pool really does come from that large anonymous crowd of average joes (or josies).
now i know you're asking yourself, "self, what prize could be so good that julie would actually sign up to do anything so weird?" ok... the details:
my favorite station, 94.7, was holding a contest to win two tickets to see the police in atlantic city and spend the night at the borgata. the police... their own show... atlantic city... the borgata... just me and honey... you get the point.
the deal was that you had to be willing to sit at mattress discounters with your hand on a mattress and outlast the competition. the last one with his/her hand on the mattress would win the tickets and the hotel room (and, i'm assuming, the mattress.) i was on the 94.7 website, and, as a lark, i signed up to be entered into the pool of potential contestants. this is definitely worth the pain and boredom.
i never win anything, so i didn't give it another thought. fast forward to last week, when my phone came back from the sprint store after being out of commission for a week (that's an entirely different story). i charged it up and saw that i had a voicemail. it was the promotions guy from the radio station calling to see if i wanted to take part in the contest!!!!! woah!!! unfortunately, the message was a week old! he called the day after my cell phone died, and i didn't know about it until the following week!
aaauuuggghhh! i called back immediately and left him a message saying i was interested. i'm sure by that time they had already written me off as a no-go and filled their contestant pool, because the contest was last weekend and they never called me back beforehand.
bummer. i could have won!
8.26.2007
true colors shining through
i took the "true colors" quiz for the first time today. strangely enough, despite my love of quizzes and personality tests, i had never seen this one before. anyway, for those who aren't familiar, it's similar to the myers-briggs personality test in that it divides the personalities into four groups. however, it's a much simpler format. you're either an orange, a gold, a blue, or a green. it gives you your total score for each, and some people can be a balance of all four. i'm primarily a green, with a score of 12, blue came in a close second at 11, gold followed at 7, and then orange at 6.
what this supposedly says about me as a green is:
"I am conceptual. I have an investigative mind, intrigued by questions like, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I am an independent thinker, a natural nonconformist, and live life by my own standards.
I like to do things that require vision, problem solving, strategy, ingenuity, design, and change. Once I have perfected an idea, I prefer to move on to a new challenge.
I value knowledge, intelligence, insight, and justice. I enjoy relationships with shared interests. I prefer to let my head rule my heart. I am cool, calm, and collected. I do not express my emotions easily."
i do relate to the green description (and the blue too, although i won't post it here), but i feel that my inner orange has been underrepresented. i really enjoy being with others and doing things, and i thrive in a party situation. i love to be the hostess with the mostest!
perhaps my results lean heavily away from orange because i'm taking this quiz from the perspective of a mother? i feel like i'm a very different person when i have to set an example for my child, as opposed to who i am when no one else's well-being depends directly upon my actions. when i know it's not hurting anyone else, i love to let go and just be carefree... but when i know there's a little one depending on me, i have to judge each of my actions carefully. i guess that's where my "cool, calm, and collected" green leanings come in handy. i can think of my tasks intellectually and determine what needs to be done instead of acting first and thinking later.
go figure... being a parent really does change things.
can i go back to college now? where's the keg? who lost the twister spinner? anyone know how to make a woo-woo?
what this supposedly says about me as a green is:
"I am conceptual. I have an investigative mind, intrigued by questions like, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I am an independent thinker, a natural nonconformist, and live life by my own standards.
I like to do things that require vision, problem solving, strategy, ingenuity, design, and change. Once I have perfected an idea, I prefer to move on to a new challenge.
I value knowledge, intelligence, insight, and justice. I enjoy relationships with shared interests. I prefer to let my head rule my heart. I am cool, calm, and collected. I do not express my emotions easily."
i do relate to the green description (and the blue too, although i won't post it here), but i feel that my inner orange has been underrepresented. i really enjoy being with others and doing things, and i thrive in a party situation. i love to be the hostess with the mostest!
perhaps my results lean heavily away from orange because i'm taking this quiz from the perspective of a mother? i feel like i'm a very different person when i have to set an example for my child, as opposed to who i am when no one else's well-being depends directly upon my actions. when i know it's not hurting anyone else, i love to let go and just be carefree... but when i know there's a little one depending on me, i have to judge each of my actions carefully. i guess that's where my "cool, calm, and collected" green leanings come in handy. i can think of my tasks intellectually and determine what needs to be done instead of acting first and thinking later.
go figure... being a parent really does change things.
can i go back to college now? where's the keg? who lost the twister spinner? anyone know how to make a woo-woo?
8.24.2007
i would be REALLY good at this game!
a friend at the office emailed me about this youtube video...
my first thought was to brace myself to keep from falling out of my chair.
my second thought was that i would be REALLY, REALLY GOOD at this game!
seriously, can you think of anything i could be better at? this is totally for me!
tetris
my first thought was to brace myself to keep from falling out of my chair.
my second thought was that i would be REALLY, REALLY GOOD at this game!
seriously, can you think of anything i could be better at? this is totally for me!
tetris
8.14.2007
what's going on
sorry, folks! it's been a while since i've last posted... i've been spending most of my spare time trying to race through harry potter and the order of the phoenix (reading aloud to my stepson) so that we can go see the movie on friday.
we're not too far from the end now. two more nights of reading should do it. i wish i could read for longer at a stretch, but reading out loud for too long makes my throat hurt! i guess it might help if i didn't try to do the voices, but liam has a lot of fun with those.
hagrid is particularly tough, but fun. harry, hermione, and ron end up sounding a lot like the movie actors. my favorite, so far, has been umbridge. i just love doing a sickeningly sweet, breathy voice that evokes a girlish mask for evil! i'll be interested to see (hear) how she is portrayed in the movie. from the stills i've seen, she doesn't look a whole lot like rowling's description of the character, but perhaps her voice will be like the one in my imagination.
other than pottering, i've been reading watership down (to myself, not aloud) because that was what the bluepyramid.com book quiz told me i am, and i've never read it! i've also been planning a small fete for saturday night, running a bit, and taking care of all the usual errands. oh, and working. can't forget that one.
after the harry potter bum rush is over, i'll probably post more often. i'll also work on my other blog- a creative piece... it's an experiment for now, but i have good feelings for it.
oh, and i want to do some posts about my four cats, because they are fun and interesting!
yes, there are four, and yes, we are a crazy cat family. you got a problem with that?
we're not too far from the end now. two more nights of reading should do it. i wish i could read for longer at a stretch, but reading out loud for too long makes my throat hurt! i guess it might help if i didn't try to do the voices, but liam has a lot of fun with those.
hagrid is particularly tough, but fun. harry, hermione, and ron end up sounding a lot like the movie actors. my favorite, so far, has been umbridge. i just love doing a sickeningly sweet, breathy voice that evokes a girlish mask for evil! i'll be interested to see (hear) how she is portrayed in the movie. from the stills i've seen, she doesn't look a whole lot like rowling's description of the character, but perhaps her voice will be like the one in my imagination.
other than pottering, i've been reading watership down (to myself, not aloud) because that was what the bluepyramid.com book quiz told me i am, and i've never read it! i've also been planning a small fete for saturday night, running a bit, and taking care of all the usual errands. oh, and working. can't forget that one.
after the harry potter bum rush is over, i'll probably post more often. i'll also work on my other blog- a creative piece... it's an experiment for now, but i have good feelings for it.
oh, and i want to do some posts about my four cats, because they are fun and interesting!
yes, there are four, and yes, we are a crazy cat family. you got a problem with that?
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