funniest (scariest? saddest?) video of Palin yet

This about sums it up:


Actually, I take that back. It doesn't even scratch the surface. Palin isn't so much funny as she is scary as hell. (do you think we should charge rape victims for their rape kits? or teach creationism in schools? ban books from libraries? Have you thought about what kind of judges this woman would like to appoint?)

I've added a little thingamajig ("What I'm Reading") to my blog page which shows some of the blog posts I've found interesting. Lately, a lot of these are about politics, and they are very very illuminating. Please take a look!

I read a *lot* of blogs and I've gotten a ton of neat information from the Scienceblogs in particular. In addition to the expected science commentary, there is a ton of really well thought out analysis of current events.

If you are reading my blog through a feed reader, you'll miss this stuff, but I invite you to take a look at a few of these and see if you might want to add them to your feed reader.

I'm a Community Organizer

psst, pass it on!

One of the most disturbing things I saw last week at the Republican National Convention was the open ridicule of community organizers. It shocked even me, already having a low opinion of the politicians in that party, to see the derision aimed at those who work in their communities to make the world a better place. I had assumed community organizers were a shared value of the big cities and the small towns, whose values they claim to be solely theirs, I had assumed that we all held in reverence the idea that grassroots organization and working together was what made our country and democracy possible and great.

I guess I was wrong. Giuliani and Palin made fun of people who work in their communities, and the convention attendees ate it up. Demonizing people who serve their communities was met with laughter and applause.

So, fine. Here it is.

I am a community organizer, and I'm for Obama.

• In the last year, I have worked as part of a team that launched the first year of my company's global service initiative. We had several thousand people all over the world doing service in their communities. I not only organized project in my own community, but as the coordinator of project signup tools and therefor having a lot of work with the project leads, I helped community organizers all over the world! (maybe they're for Obama too)

Before that, I 've been a community organizer in many ways:

• I was part of a small team that took on fundraising and other issues for a motorcyclist friend with a massive head injury stranded thousands of miles from home. We mobilized the community to raise funds and awareness, and coordinate his return home and ongoing visitors and care in the local hospital.
• I've served on planning and execution various large-scale service projects and events with Girl Scouts over the years.

My parents are community organizers. My grandparents are community organizers. This value of service and community has long been the thing I admire most about them. To see this tradition mocked so openly by the Republican Party was shocking and disheartening to me. I expect to differ on issues of politics, but to find that we don't share even the same basic value of people taking action and involvement in their communities was new to me. It tells me there's no place in their view of small towns and small people making big impacts. In this view, a person has no hope or responsibility to make a difference. Maybe they are saying that action and change should only come from big government and trickle down?

I'm a community organizer, and the Republicans think that's disgusting and ridiculous.



I'd like to start a chain here. If you have a blog, please take a moment to talk about community organization in your life. Are you a community organizer? Do you think community organizers are stupid like the Republicans do?
No blog? How about an email, or, heck, even snail mail.


pssst, pass it on!

There is no reason for this

Pther than that I'm stressed, busy, and?
I like cake.

Prezzies!!!

Yesterday was a momentous day for our wedding. We got our first wedding gift!*

And? It was from our justgive.org registry, which makes it ten times better!

Confession: I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel with "gifts" of charity. In my heart and brain, I know it is the bestest and most noble thing. But part of me was doubting how I'd really feel. As honorable as a charity registry might be, wouldn't I feel sad at not having presents? For me? ME? With big bows on them? Of course, we didn't really want more stuff, we don't have room for more stuff, but who doesn't love opening presents? It's a fleeting thrill, yes, but I must admit it is a real one.

In reality, when I got that message in my inbox saying someone had given money to Doctors without Borders in honor of us, I almost cried. I'm almost crying right now. Call it bridal bonkers, but I've always been one to cry at the drop of a hat. Whether or not we need towels or wine glasses (I have broken nearly all of ours in the dishwasher), I am so completely touched by the idea that our love and marriage will grow into something special, not only for us and our family, but for people across the globe who really, really need help. I have a fantasy at least, that this Doctors Without Borders things will impact one life, then many, and spread out like a friendly, healing cancer all over some community, heck, maybe the world?

So even if we are both wiped out by a massive earthquake tomorrow, our love and our loved ones' generosity, has created a real and lasting impact on the world.

I can't do that with a toaster.



*actually, not exactly our first wedding gift, since we have been gifted with our parents' generosities in helping with the wedding, and our first night of married life hotel room (thanks mom in law!) -- no, we won't tell you where it is!

Updated the "chiggers and beer" post to include MY DAD's YouTube video of the barn swallows! Check it out!

chiggers and beer!

preach on!


I spent the weekend in and about Cincinnati, where my mother had planned an amazing feat-- a worldwide reunion of Pulskamps. There were about 209 people there, and 209 is also the number you get when you add the average temperature to the average humidity over the weekend, plus the number of chigger bites I got on my feet.


Friday night, there was a shindig in a beer garden at a German Club not too far from our hotel. After setting up a bit, we proceeded to drink German beer (not my favorite) and spend the evening eating and getting to know people. A visitor from Germany gave a great presentation about the old family farm and Germany in general. The location was very nice, and I secretly wish I had a spot like this available for my wedding. A covered, open-air hall with a bar at one end, adjacent to an outdoor beer garden canopied by trees, adjacent to a little forest with a path winding into it. The cicadas were very noisy but relaxing, and I tried to nap on a picnic table for a bit. At night, there were a very few fireflies.

After returning to the hotel, we all decided to stay up late, so we commandeered the lobby of the hotel and brought down wine and snacks. Grandma led the charge.

Saturday was the main event, out at the tiny town my ancestors first settled when they arrived. Highlights here were a stunning view into the valley, a nice old graveyard with many a family grave in it, from the way-back-whens, and......?


Moonshine!!!


Not that there wasn't "beer." There was plenty of Miller High Life ("The Champagne of Beers") and Natty Light Ice to go around. I choked down one of each, in solidarity.


What did we do there? After traipsing around on the graves looking for our family name (of which there were many instances), we split up to go to the first family farm. How do you get around in the countryside?


A HAYRIDE, of course! Actually, I did not fit in either of the two hayrides, so I went with my family in the rental car, which worked out nicely, since one of the locals was guiding us and giving us lots of stories.


First stop was the first farm the family settled, which has recently been purchased back into the family. This picture shows the new barn, obviously not vintage. Inside, a barn swallow nest was full of a protectant parent and several little mouths. The pictures I took with my phone were not stellar, but better photos will come when my sister and dad get their photos out.




UPDATE: screw photos! We have video!!! My dad is so cool. Does your dad have a youtube account???

We proceeded on to an old German town called Oldenburg, where we poked around the church and witnessed the horrors of a Midwestern bridal party.

Then, more farm! We stopped at a farm that is still in the family, where we saw a cousin's John Deere tractor collection, spanning back to the 1930's.

When we returned to the town, Jennifer and I snuck across the street to the tavern. It was everything you would want in a small town tavern. We chatted with locals and drank Smirnoff Ice. There were no taps, just beer in cans-- Bud Light and Natty Light Ice! This tiny town of, I'm guessing, about 100 people, once boasted three taverns! But only Sally's place is left.

After wrapping up the party, we returned back to our hotel, stopping at a gas station along the way, where I was sure I could get some better beer. Not so! There was nothing but mountains of crap beer everywhere.

This about sums it up:
No beer for me!

Sunday we went to Cincinnati to see the conservatory and the Cincinnati Art Museum. They have a good museum, and the park it was in seemed quite nice, but really I had no time to see the city before heading to the airport.

Sunday night I got home to find that my feet had been attacked by chiggers. Ironically, I was wearing shoes and socks the entire time, while my sister exposed her feet with flip-flops, but I ended up with bites all over my feet. They are really not all that bad. Wherever I was when I picked them up, it must have been scenic. The area we were in was quite beautiful, unlike some of the other places I'd been in the Midwest. The old towns were nestled into green forested hills with winding country roads. Almost pretty enough to go back. Almost.

stink

Ugh.
Being in a stuffy place with other people totally icks me out. I don't want to have to smell the remnants of your lunch or your stinky perfume or yesterday's sweat. Please don't join a crowded all hands meeting if you have doused yourself with cologne, skipped showers for a week, or need to sigh deeply every five minutes onto the poor trapped sould around you.

Yesterday? At the gym, a guy came up to the treadmill next to me who smelled like mold. Ick. Like he put away his clothes wet. As soon as he started moving, that quickly gave way to BO, and once he started sweating, there was fresh BO on top of it. Totally gross.

SHOWERS, people! please! no gym if you haven't showered recently! And covering it up with cologne (or moldy clothes) does not count!

yuck.

I've been thinking a lot about imperfection lately, and today is the right day for this thought to be posted.

Maybe this is where my low stress level comes from when planning wedding stuff. Someone asks about linens and I just don't care.
Really? I do not want a Perfect Day for my wedding. Perfect days get filed into the unknown.

The other day, Paul and I rode by the Cycle Gear in San Jose on our way back from something. Every time I go by, I think of the time Charles and I got stuck there. He lived in the neighborhood, and he'd help me work on my bike all the time, so we must have gone there a lot in those days. But I only remember one time, when we got whatever we came for, then returned to the Mighty Festiva, where Charles promptly broke the key off in the ignition. He was pretty unhappy with this. We had to wait for someone to come save us, and in the meantime, Charles was not happy. We went to the bizarro grocery store in the strip mall, and bought a small plastic motorcycle to play with while we waited. It must have cost a whole dollar.

One time, we rode to Los Angeles together. That was memorable, but what was really memorable was when we got to the Grapevine and realized there was no brake fluid in my bike. Well, none that could be seen. And the screws holding the reservoir shut were completely chewed. Charles was apparently slightly terrified. We did make it to the Motel 6 at just off of Hollywood Blvd (you could see Frederick's from the window) without catastrophe, but it was a good story later. You know what would have been a boring story? "One time, Charles and I rode over the Grapevine with perfectly functioning brakes." When we got the the Motel 6, there was an ambulance outside already-- it was a "colorful" neighborhood, and only the finest of hotels.

When Charles had cancer, I would come and visit during the time in his chemo cycle when he was most able to eat (comparatively, but still felt like shit) We'd go eat at the Mexican joint, then go back to the house so he could throw up. Then? Ice Cream! Always throw up so you can have ice cream too!

When you are with the right people, in the right place, perfection isn't necessary. You know everything will be OK, and this will all come out as a good memory someday. I'm sure that we've had plenty of perfectly passable times together, but I simply don't remember them all that well. What I remember most, what I recount to others the most, is all the insanely stoopid things we did and broke and crashed and muddled through. The time we paid the carnie $5 to let us ride the zipper over and over again even though we were completely blotto, all the times Charles rescued me when my ratbike was broken on the side of the road, or bumpstarted my reluctant DR350. When he and his bike slid backwards on a trail into me and my bike, wrapping the four of us into a tangled mess, gas burns and all! Hooray for disgusting burns!

At least the burns are memorable (if not scarring)
I have a vague notion that we must have ridden many perfect miles, but they aren't the miles I'll tell my grandchildren about.

botox bridesmaids! hell yeah!

This is sheer awesome

Becky Lee, 39, a Manhattan photographer, declined when a friend asked her — and five other attendants — to have their breasts enhanced. “We’re all Asian and didn’t have a whole lot of cleavage, and she found a doctor in L.A. who was willing to do four for the price of two,” said Ms. Lee, who wore a push-up bra instead.

I'm totally doing this to my wedding party.

oh, and who in the hell gets surgery at a two-for-one place????

My Broken Heart...

... Rate Monitor

I am again in the market for a heart rate monitor. The one I bought a few weeks back worked great! For like two weeks! And now, apparently, is crapped out.

Any recommendations? NOt the uber-high-end expensive ones, I hope. I don't need GPS or any of that. I just need to keep accurate track of my little hummingbird heart while I go about my day and exercise.



I worked on writing a post covering my Atlanta trip, but who has time to finish such things?

Today

http://action.aclu.org/july4taf

I'm not a big fan of watching fireworks. Fun to set off, not so much fun to observe from a distance.
Flag wavers and "Support Our Troops" stickers worry me, and "These Colors Don't Run" trinkets make me cringe.

When Barack Obama failed to wear a lapel pin depicting the United States flag, his patriotism was questioned. What has this populace come to, that they overlook the substance of a man's body of work for the people, only to complain he is not wearing a pin? A pin that, like the bumper stickers, plastic flags, and yellow ribbon magnets, was probably imported from China?

How easily the public is outraged by a student burning a flag in protest, while we ignore the fact that America, our great experiment in democracy and equality, has taken to torturing people. Humans. Illegally detained humans, being tortured, not just on our watch, but at our hands. We've taken to not offering up our own freedoms and rights, as we've allowed ourselves to believe that this is the only way to security.

And even if it were true that such a trade would work, when did we shift to giving up freedom for security?

This day commemorates our independence. It commemorates something huge. A statement that, we, the people, were not going to take it anymore. And that we would fight for this, and it would be worth it. Because it was the right thing, that all of us were created equal, and that we had certain rights and they were worth protecting.

And somewhere along the way, it changed. Now we're told that the patriotic thing to do in the face of terror is to 1.) go shopping, 2.) give up some of those hard-won constitutional rights and freedoms. "You don't need rights. Let the government protect you," we're told, "after all, you're not a terrorist are you? You're either with us, or ag'in' us!"

All around us, people are nodding in agreement. And it's insane, and sad, and terrifying.

Today, of all days, please take the time to do something. This coming week, our Senate will be considering legislation that will essentially let Bush and the telecom industry off the hook for illegally spying on American citizens.

The simple version is that Bush told these companies to illegally spy on American Citizens, so that makes it legal. This logic, in short, says that if the president says something is ok, the law doesn't matter. That is, pardon my french, seriously fucked up. In my mind, this is probably one of the worst things to happen in this president's term (and that is saying a lot), and an extremely dangerous precedent.

Unfortunately, this has already made it through the House. Think you don't need to bother? Think your senator wouldn't possibly do this? The House members who caved on this shocked me. Pelosi voted FOR this. Please, take a minute, and send this on to your friends.

And remember what our ancestors fought to create when they declared their independence. It was not a nanny state where a big government spied on its own citizens, or where the president was above the law of the land.


From the ACLU:

As we are getting ready to celebrate Independence Day, the Senate is getting ready to sell out our freedom by passing an unconstitutional spying bill that lets lawbreaking telecom companies off the hook.

These companies handed over huge amounts of information to the Bush administration, potentially millions of emails and phone calls and more, without getting a warrant.

Without enough public outcry, the Senate will let these phone companies off the hook and let Bush and future presidents keep spying on Americans without getting a warrant. Will you please help stop this horrendous bill?

Send an email to your senators now and help protect freedom this Independence Day. Go to:
http://action.aclu.org/july4taf

Since I am so far behind in blobbing, I'll just take some random events in the past few weeks to yammer about.

Paul heroically propped me up between late April and early June, while I attempted to prep for a PMP training class in Atlanta. When I signed up, I decided to read a book or two before going to class, so I'd be familiar with the vocabulary and concepts. No problem. I was reading (slowly... it was dull) one book and had another lined up behind it, when, six weeks before the class, I received a package from the AMA. It included a copy of the Guide to the PMBOK and a study guide. And instructions. Apparently, I was to read these two riveting works, which could be accomplished in 30 hours, and then do some practice tests, before arriving at the class. In six weeks. WTF?!

It's not that I didn't want to read these (OK, I didn't want to read the PMBOK. I tried once. It is not for reading. Referring to, yes) But dumping this much reading and work into the lap of a busy person with such a time constraint is a bit unfair. Presumably, we all have jobs, else we could not afford the high tuition associated with an AMA three-day course. And, you know, some of us have lives too. Like, kids, friends, school, um, WEDDINGS?

So for those six weeks I did work, and then came home and read, as hard as I could. I mean, this is not engaging reading. It was terrible. Blech. I read on the bus and in bed and when I wasn't reading, I crammed in a few wedding tasks. And fell behind. I never got to the PMBOK, and I didn't even *quite* finish the study guide. I fell hopelessly behind in wedding tasks. There was no way I could catch up on laundry or feeding myself. that's where Paul stepped in. Ever patient, he basically ran the house for that time. No complaining when I said I couldn't go for a walk because I had to read my damn book.

I flew to Atlanta on a Sunday and took the train (sort of like a BART train) to my place in Midtown. they were apparently having a little heatwave, so it was about 97 degrees, and a million percent humidity. I asked at the hotel desk where I might go for dinner, and they were like "there's nothing nearby! The closest thing is probably, like TEN MINUTES away!"

I had a hunch about a restaurant based solely on its name, and walked out to find it. About four blocks away is too far to walk? Probably because of the heat, but this wimpy Californian can rough it. And? It was awesome! The food was OK (veggie burger with dry-ish hummus) but they had beer, and the bestest patio to sit in.

The PMP Prep Express class at the AMA was actually really good. I mean, considering the dry subject and the silliness of trying to learn the PMI's specific vocabulary and processes (versus real-life), the class was pretty helpful. I would recommend it to anyone looking to prepare for the exam, or collect PDUs.

brekkies!

This is what I had for breakfast today.

• Scottish Steel-Cut Oatmeal with ground flax seed and dried blueberries
• a whole bunch of fruit
• Veggie sausage (some protein?)
• and, today only, a tasty, tasty scone

Minus the scone (it was dried cherry and vanilla bean! How could I resist?) this is what I've been eating for breakfast for the past week or so. And? Stopping for a better breakfast really seems to make a difference in the way I feel all day.

Late

I just, finally, posted two blobs I wrote on the airplane ride back from Atlanta. "What?" you say, "you were in Atlanta?!??! I didn't know that from your blog!"

It's true, I've become very lazy and late about posting. All kinds of things are going on that don't get posted anymore. I simply don't find the time these days.

The Dress, or How I lost my mind and turned into a "bride"

This is an overdue post that I've been meaning to process for a while. So now as I sit on an overly turbulent (now they call it "rough air" -- can I use to to exfoliate?) flight back from training in Atlanta, I'm catching up.


I tend to be a fairly pragmatic person, so the big expenditures on stuff that can't be re-used isn't my bag. A lot of brides are buying their dresses used on eBay and selling them after the event. How practical! I'm practical! Why, then am I going through making a wedding dress? And why is said wedding dress being made of silks, with hours of handwork? And a dress that can't be reworn anywhere else? A dress I plan to pack away and carry around with me for the rest of my life, in box? Isn't it a waste? What happened to that reasonable girl???


It is not, as one might think, because I majored in fashion design. Hell, I could have designed it and had someone else make it.

Maybe it goes back to the sewing machine. I was very tempted to sew the whole thing on my great-grandmother's sewing machine. The sewing machine I learned to sew on. The one I used through high school. The one I will pass on to my son or daughter one day, along with its story? The story of this machine is fairly personal, but the takeaway is that this machine is made of memories of my grandmother (even though we never used it together) My grandmother is quite a seamstress, as was her mother, and...? before her? I can only guess.

My mother taught me to sew by pinning the seams and sending me off to run the stitches. After each seam, I would return and she would pin the next seam. She says she doesn't know how to sew, I guess because I later ran off to art school to learn how to sew *correctly,* which is a lot more stressful.

Whether she sews or not, she embroiders, tats, knits, quilts, does blackwork, and god knows what else. Growing up, there was always a craft, a scrap, a project, something. When I made my dress for a high school dance, I knew the pride in replying "Thank you, I made it." usually met with surprise.

No surprise. This is what you do, isn't it? You learn from your mother, and she from hers, and so on. And when a baby is born, the ceder chest is opened, and all the things laid out. Grandma so-and-so made this piece of lace. This was the veil I made for my wedding, here is you first communion gown...

So of course you make the wedding dress. And of course it is impractical, and hopefully made beautiful for no reason other than, this is what we do. And it will be worn once, and then kept forever, and someday, I will pull it out of my cedar chest and say "here is the dress from my wedding. I made it of silk, and my mother embroidered it. And then it was put away, and all for the sole purpose of this moment, and all the similar moments that will follow as you pass it down in its bits and pieces along with the fragments of lace, linen, sweat, pride, and memory that I have received from my mothers and grandmothers.



If I had the time, I'd love to hand make every element of the wedding, ceremony, and decor. I love crafts and I like design (duh). But that isn't something I have time for, and I know those fancy flowers won't keep.

But the dress, it has to be impractical. No $200 Target dress will do, nor will selling it so that someone else can use it, to keep it recycled. It is a selfish thing, a manifestation of history and personality and love. A thread in the fabric of my family story.

Impractical? Maybe, but not as much as the beer donkeys I also wanted for the wedding.

Stupid Wedding -isms

for reasons that are probably apparent (to everyone except Paul, who thinks I'm crazy), I have been reading blogs and books and such about weddings lately.

I learned this: everyone has a different idea of what this wedding things should be for them (and sometimes for others)

There are a lot of "shoulds" and trends, and emphasis on trying to create "Your Perfect Day"

Martha Stewart is a clumsy preschooler compared to some of the really nice wedding plan and design stuff out there.

So you get poisoning from reading too much of it. Not because it is, like Drano. More like a bellyache from too much candy. It's OK, but not a good full diet.
After reading too many posts about Out of Town Baskets and Chocolate Fountains (I like my chocolate in its purest form, no fountaining, thank you very much) it is nice to take a look at some of the other end of the spectrum. I tend to fall somewhere in the range of "let's just have a big party," and "Oh! Craft Projects! I LOVE crafts!" So I'm a little bipolar. I think Paul has given up on me.

There are a few really terrible phrases I keep coming across in wedding planning propaganda, that are really really terrible.

My Perfect Day
There is no such thing as a perfect day. Or a perfect anything, *unless* you are able to understand that perfect isn't, so it follows that a little imperfect might be perfect. case in point? Paul is perfect. My mother seemed concerned with this declaration, and asked "surely he must have *some* flaws?" Yes! of course he does! If he were totally perfect, that would be an insult to god. He has just the right imperfections to be perfect for me. Duh. So Your Perfect Day will only be perfect if you are ready to roll with the flaws it will certainly give you. Besides, I like challenges, and surprises, to some extent. That said, I am still demanding dolphins.

The only thing worse that The Perfect Day is The Most Important Day of My Life. OMG. That is really pathetic. This bride ought to be shot at the end of the wedding. After all, it's all downhill from there anyway.

Then we move on to, and I really think this is the tagline that makes the wedding industry the most money "It's the Details that really make The Day Special." Kill me! This was not on the practice PMP test I took today, but:
What makes your wedding day special?
a. monogrammed napkin rings and signature cocktails in your colors
b. That guy, the one you are pledging your undying love to and joining lives with
c. the gathering of your friends and family to celebrate this love and commitment
d. the donkey with a sombrero, and beer in its saddlebags.
e. b, c, & d

Answer?
I'm hoping for "e", but the donkey apparently lives in Texas. (damn, and I think this is the one wedding detail Paul seemed on board with)

Am I getting bitter about weddings? No! In fact, I am enjoying it quite a bit.. I just think it's important to step back every so often as you get swept into all these skewed expectations, commercialism, and weird fantasies.

At the same time, the craft and design loving part of me would love to go ape shit and personally hand paint every invitation, after sewing it together out of scraps from the dress I am making. I want to say "I made everything-- the invitations, the dress, the cake, the chairs you are sitting on, the sun that is shining right now (I needed just the perfect hue of light)-- everything!"

Craftiness aside, I need to keep it fairly simple given other things needing my attention these days. I'm just excited about having a party with everyone there.
Repeat after me! "A wedding is not an elaborate photo shoot. It is the unique story and celebration of you two and the family you are a part of." Or, "it is an excuse to gather your family and friends and wear fancy clothes and eat cake!"

Or something
And a chance to rent a beer donkey.

The Birds

Last week it was hot. It was so hot, I said I wouldn't come home Thursday after work. My office is air conditioned, and our house, it was not. It was like 95+ at night.

I have plenty of things I should be doing, but instead, I opted to go for a walk with Paul to the Shoreline waterfront area, to see the sunset. Paul met me at work and we walked out to the Bay.





On the way, we saw jackrabbits and squirrels, and I stopped to drink (I cannot drink while walking)









We had a snack and headed out to the shoreline, where we found a little inlet where the birds were gathering at twilight. We watched as the 15 or so pelicans were joined by more pelicans, which would fly in in small groups. They are master aerialists, flying wing to wing in wide circles as they come in for landing. When there were a good 40 or so pelicans, they all started to swim off together.

Also there were about 15 egrets, maybe 20 night herons, and some avocets, all gathered in the same bay for dinner. It was a scene of incredible beauty, and we are thrilled to have it so nearby.

You asked for it

You asked for updates, here they are. Now you know the true nature of my boringness.

Yesterday, it was Christmas at our house! the mailman brought motorcycle batteries! (how sad is it that my DRZ sat so long the battery died? sniff sniff)

And he brought a blood pressure monitor! As I suspected, my blood pressure appears in the low range. Apparently, there isn't really a low blood pressure range, only a high one. Mine is definitely not high. Sometimes I used to black out a little in the mornings, and I always wondered if it was from low blood pressure.

And! The mailman brought fabric! Which I haven't opened yet! So I can't tell you how great it is(n't?) yet! But it should be the fabric I need to start cutting my wedding dress. Having this will actually help me figure out if the pattern I planned will really "work" with this fabric. It may be too stiff.

Also, Paul had a nasty allergy attack. The cat yelled, and I read some of my PMP book. That will be every night. Oh boy!

My job sux.

It is so terrible here. We suffer so much, and my boss is so mean.

Look how miserable everyone is:

Why you won't see me in the coming months

Saturday morning we went to the Road Rider parking lot sale, which was a huge waste of time. But, now we now. Unfortunately, time s something I have very little of these days, so that kind of ticked me off.

Where does the time go?

Oh, right, I am getting married. I was not one of those girls who dreamed about her fairytale wedding all her life. In fact, I didn't plan much of anything, and no here we are, with a lot of decisions to be made and work to be done. I got really excited about lot of crafty projects. I was a Girl Scout, and my mom is super crafty, and, um, yeah, I know how to sew, so I feel pretty strongly about wanting to do all these fun crafty things. Plus, art school and all, right? I spent the past few weeks gathering up ideas and starting to formulate ideas. I have a whole schedule of tasks, their dependencies, and a color-coded, sortable, sheer fabulosity, chart for tracking their status.

I got a lot done in the first month or two, and started to feel pretty good about it. I got a lot done on the dress (still lots to go there, but it's something). We made decisions and signed contracts. We were moving and shaking.

Hooray!

Last week I noticed my boss had commited me to earn my PMP by Q3, in a presentation we are making to the muckity-mucks. Yikes! I had an idea that it needed to be done, but seeing the date like that was a little alarming. Plus? When does Q3 end? 3 days after my wedding?

In a way, that is OK because partly I was thinking I should finish before we go on a honeymoon so I do not study on my honeymoon (lame, super lame, and totally something I would do) But there is waaaaay to much preparation that needs to be one to earn this stupid thing. Goodbye to the handmade crafty projects I had envisioned.

The first problem is that I don't even feel that I qualify to take the test. I need to do some serious brainstorming to recall 36 months of non-overlapping projects. (more, if...)

Second problem? I do not know if they will accept my BFA. If not, 36 months turns into a lot more. Then I will definitely not make it.

If I can clear that hurdle, it is just a matter of a few trainings (one is already on the docket, June in Atlanta for three days, but I'll be required to do at least one more) and then a WHOLE LOT of studying. Pages of charts, formulas, the kinds of things I have not been historically good at memorizing. But? I could do it. If I focused on it.

So last week I powered through reading a crash course project management book, recommended to me to read a high-level overview without the PMI jargon and dry reading. This took up a lot of my weekend, though I did find time to work Saturday night at the 80's club and finish up one of the patterns for my wedding dress.

I'm signed up for a three day PMP class in Atlanta the second week of June, and last week they sent me two books to read before the class. One is the Guide to the PMBOK (NOT a fun read, I have tried before) and one is PMP test study tome. I'm supposed to read both of these before June 9th. Thanks, guys! My plan is to read the study guide, as I already know I won't make it through the Guide to the PMBOK. I'll reference the guide during my reading of the study guide. I need to read four chapters a week. When? I have no clue. While I'm sleeping?

I do want to earn the certification. If I do not, it will be bad. If I do it, it will be good. That's easy math. I want to do it, I am just not sure I can do it right now. But I must, and so I guess, it follows I will find a way that I can.

Paul has been amazingly supportive. I had little time to help around the house before. Now, I have none. Zero. He is totally supportive. If we did not live together, this would be impossible, because we would never see each other. At least since we live together I can still see him sitting in the window watching the birdies and squirrels while I study. Getting this done will benefit both of us in the long run, and he knows this. But it hurts to have the days slipping away, saying "no" to hikes and adventures that used to be so fun.

Eureka!

I have just figured out why I keep finding chocolate stuck to my laptop. Mystery solved!

But I have not decided to remove the chocolate that is already there. Who knows when I might get stuck in a long meeting????

It is hard being me.

We are chugging ahead!

Saturday morning, I went with Paul and my dad to taste CAKE!
Cake is tasty.
We tried a few cakes and frostings, talked with the nice lady for a while, and then left. And then we got headaches and took a nap. Yay cake for brekkies!

We met with a few photographers and hemmed and hawed at price vs. quality for a few days, and finally settled on the one we preferred. Everything adds up so fast, we were tempted to just go as cheap as possible, but I think this will be the better choice in the long run. Once that contract is signed, we'll be able to move on to CAKE. Cake will be fun. You get to eat it. Of course, the cake tasting and the dress fitting are at odds with each other, so that is very sad. I have no doubt about which will win.

Sunday we went to Berkeley to see Paul's old friends and Paul was rather adorable with the kids. He like the Baby Einstein too!

As I stare thoughtfully into the distance...

Here comes the dirt bike
Beware of the dirt bike
Because I hear they're coming to our town
They've got plans for everyone
And now I hear they're over their sophomore jinx, so you had better check it out

All hail the dirt bike
Philosopher dirt bike
Silence as we gathered round
We saw the word and were on our way
Now it's

Brain washing dirt bike
Ground shaking dirt bike
Mind bending dirt bike
In control

Soul crushing dirt bike
Self propelled dirt bike
You see I never thought I'd understand
'Til that bike took me by the hand
Now I ride
Ride
Ride



(They Might Be Giants)

Wedding Poisoning

I realize they make money off of making me stressed

I felt like we got off to a roaring start, getting decisions made, calling down tent people, caterers, shopping for rings, getting things printed and sent! Oh MY! You've gotten so much done! Then, a lull.

I found a ring I was pretty set on, after being told it could be made in a different metal. Then finding out it couldn't be made in the metal I want, and really? Only available in metals that cost real money. I'd rather pay the artist for their time and talent than the metal they use, but we'll find out today whether I'm back to square one on this one. I'm holding my judgment until I get the final price quote. Paul? Found his ring already. Smart boy.

We found a caterer, about whom we just know he's ben doing this a long time and is a straight-forward, no fuss kind of guy. Food is the single most expensive part of this shindig, and with good reason, I suppose. We really like to eat! Having made a decision on a caterer, we now get to met and plan the details. What will we eat?

There's this whole industry built around weddings, which is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it makes it easy to get direction on what needs to be done next, and easy access to resources to get it done. On the other hand, it is there to sell you on all sorts of crap you don't need, at ridiculous prices, and make you stressed out in the process. For instance, six months to go and you haven't gotten a photographer lined up? For shame! Aren't you planning on making *Out Of Town Bags* to leave at the hotel rooms of people who are coming from out of town? You ARE going to take Engagement pictures, video and pre-and post wedding pictures (including getting all dressed up in dress and all, a day before the wedding to take pics at several locations around town), right? I'm supposed to be convinced that instead of one big overpriced wedding cake, I should consider individual mini tier-cakes for each guest. Totally.

To answer any questions you might have, and properly set expecations in advance:

1. I do need to find a photographer. Yikes.
2. Out of Towners will be lucky if I give them a map. By email.
3. We are not taking engagement pictures, video, or pre-wedding pictures, boudior pictures, trash the dress pictures, or any other, as-yet-unknown-to-me, "hot new trend" photo-racket. We do want photos of the wedding and party, but photographers are $$$, and we will probably rarely look at these things anyway.
4. I love me some cake. But I prefer eating cake, to looking at it. No icky fondant! yuck!

In poring over wedding-related websites, I have seen some really funny stuff. But if you stare at it too long, it sort of poisons you. Thankfully, I don't have the situation apparently experienced by a lot of other brides-to-be. My family doesn't care what I do, or don't do, and there aren't any "expectations." Everyone already knows I'm an uncivilized lout. We have some guiding principles that are loosely shaping this thing:

1. People > fanciness. We decided early on that our priority was having everyone present that we could, that we'd cut costs on things that don't matter (flowers, bands, purty cake) rather than guest list (which, unfortunately, seems to be the preferred way to manage costs for a lot of people)
2. DIY > throw money at it. I like making stuff. Making stuff can be stressful, and it can be fun. Hiring a DJ seems dumb when we can just use an iPod. Results may be great, or they may be super-janky but they'll be *our* results! I will make my dress, and the invitations, and anything else I can find time for. So if they suck, at least you know it's my fault. That smudge you see on the invites? The stitch out of place on my dress? That's me!

We're terribly excited to share this day with the people who mean the most to us. We may skip out on some of the trappings, but hope you'll enjoy this party as much as we plan to!

From Charles: Working at Google.

I want a cake now. Dammit.

Fresh baked snickerdoodles, though. It will hve to do.

Bloggy birdies

It is true. I do not write to my blog much anymore.
For one thing, I am busy. I have a job, that I love, and that kes me occupied. Plus there's the whole PMP thing, and the wedding thing. And then, I think I still have hobbies.



One thing I waste entirely too much time on is trying to read the whole internet. You know, the whole thing. Daily. Knowing that is impossible, I keep it to a reasonable bazillion blogs I read in Google Reader. (yes, even before I worked here I was a big fan of the google stuff)

Yesterday I read this wonderful post on my science blogs feed:

Do you remember the first time you ever saw a particular bird species: how the light caressed its feathers, adding fiery depth to color; its innate busyness as it searched for careless insects or plump fruits, or its fierce hope as it courted future mates; the rich sound of its voice as it spoke volumes to its companions; the intense flash of life in its gleaming eyes when it caught sight of you huddled behind your 'scope or binoculars, holding your breath, wishing this singular moment would never end; that special sound of wings snapping through the air as it took flight, leaving you behind, suddenly alone, feet rooted into the moist soil like bricks, while your parched soul rose up alongside?

I encourage you to read the entire post, and see the pictures. Very beautiful, and sad.

Thanks Bernanke!
Nice work!

Not In My Backyard, please!

Despite myself, I would like these damn things to be illegal. Normally, I want nothing to do with legislating people's general behavior. But this? This goes too far? How lazy ARE you?!?!


Leaf blowers. I hates them.
I rarely saw them for the past decade because there weren't very many leaves to blow around in San Francisco. In Mountain View, they are every-damn-where.

I walk to work fairly frequently, and I see a lot of these. We see them on the weekends. We hear them all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've watched some lazy jerk chasing a single leaf around a yard with one of these things.

PLEASE. STOP. There is this new thing out now, that is like a leaf blower, but it's quiet, doesn't pollute, and you also get some exercise. I think it's called a "rake," or something.

Actually, if they marketed rakes on the infomercial channel as wonder-weight-loss machines, we might get somewhere on this.

Given that these things are omg noisy, omg pollutey*, and the fact that we all need the exercise, what can we do to get rid of them? I do not like legislating what people do, but this is ridiculous and harmful. There is no upside to leaf blowers!

* A 2000 report by the California EPA determined that the average residential leaf blower produces 145 times more hydrocarbons, 7.5 times more carbon monoxide, and 11 times more particulate matter in one hour than a 1999-2000 light duty vehicle driven at 30 mph, getting 15 miles to the gallon. The hydrocarbon emissions produced from one-half hour of residential leaf blower operation are equal to the emissions produced from driving 2200 miles, comparable to a round trip from Denver to San Diego. Commercial leaf blowers with more horse power are even more polluting.

Pollution from dust and debris is also a significant issue. Leaf blowers' powerful engine jets have the unintended consequence of disturbing and suspending smaller particulate matter such as dust, fecal matter, pesticides, fungi, chemicals, fertilizers, spores, and street dirt that consists of lead and organic and elemental carbon, according to the California EPA.

Babytown visits us

Success!
Successful weekend!

Saturday we spent the evening with my parents and sister, and drank a whole bunch of wine. We also discussed the relative merits of petting zoos vs. bouncy castles at the wedding (I stand firmly in the petting zoo camp) and, um, "good tarps."

Saturday we knocked out some invitational goodness at Kinkos, and had a damn fine walk around the bustling hubbub of Mountain View. In the evening, we hopped on the Yamabego and met Lionel and Jen at Zeni in San Jose (very tasty Ethiopian food) and were blessed by their inability to find a babysitter. We got to meet Amara for the first time, and what a cutie! Very interactive and friendly. She was pretty good in the restaurant, and damn, did she put away a lot of food.

Sunday we skipped the farmer's market (dang daylight savings) and then cleaned up our shitshack in preparation for having a toddler in the house. Oh noes! Beware! We had not had kids in the house yet, and it turned out OK. Nothing was broken except the cat's trust. Jesse and Amy brought Quinn, who is about two but looks more like four. He had lots of fun with the weightbench, dumbells, wrenches, and pretty much all the big metal stuff he could toss around and "fix." He gleefully screeched at the cat, who hid, and hid, and hid. Then we took him to the park, and then pizza, and then after a little more visiting time, they went home. We do not see nearly enough of them.

Also, we are chugging along on wedding plans. There's a lot to do, but this is still an easier project than others I'm working on, and a lot more fun. I'm terribly excited. I'm working on perfecting my delivery of "IT'S *MY* SPECIAL DAY AND I WANT DOLPHINS IN THE POOL!"

you figure it out

what does it all mean?????

Do it NOW!

https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?alertId=365&pg=makeACall

Ugh

Ugh. This is not even Disneyland, and already it is hell.

Sent from my iPhone

the girl in the box

the girl in the box, the one you hand money to when you want to get in the nightclub? Here are the things she does not think are cute:
1.) most importantly! There is a line. You have been standing in it. You may have even been rolling your eyes and bitching about the line. Part of the line is standing outside in the rain. What is keeping them in the rain? The speed at which the girl in the box can move them through. It is so not funny that, after waiting in said line, you arrive at the box office and then suddenly realize you need to look for your money, in all of the various pockets of you gigantic purse or over-accessorized goth coat. You had all that time to find your money and instead you spent it wondering why the line moved so slow. You, is why.

2.) "one adult, and one child, please!" OMG, you are so clever.

3.) Any sexual banter. It was kind of funny when the drunk british soccer guys tried to slip me a hotel key, but mostly because drunk people with charming accents are less disgusting than drunk people with no accent. Your comments just make you look like an idiot. I can tell, within the few moments I spend counting out change, which of you will be escorted out by security staff in the next ten minutes after entering. Spending $12 to get thrown out of a bar after ten minutes seems really dumb to me.

4.) After I give you your change, I want you to leave. I don't want to watch you arrange your hair, or organize your purse, or argue with your friend about who is buying drinks, while people are waiting for you to leave the window. Who the hell does this? Your purse is a mess and you're a hideous monster, and no one is going to buy you a drink because you are utterly lacking in charm or grace. Just keep moving and no one will notice this shameful travesty.

5.) Do not ask me what the club is like inside. It should be really obvious that, ummmm, I am not inside. I am, as you can see, in a room roughly 4 x 4 feet. There is a locked door separating me from all the goings-on. I like it this way.
"Are there a lot of people?" I have no idea what a lot is to you. Is 15 a lot because it is more friends than you have? Or is 400 not enough because you know that, statistically, it is only every 401st person who does not throw a drink in your face upon first contact?
"Is it a pretty happening party in there?" I assume you are looking for strippers. There are probably very few inside. And there were some really hot girls, but they already left with some guys who came and didn't waste their time with such questions.
"Did so-and-so show up?" I don't know, and I don't care.
"I'm here for a birthday party." Fabulous. I'm here because someone pays me. Now, your money, please?

6.) I know so-and-so. Really? That is SO COOL. Because I don't. And your name is not on the list.

NTI Hotness

Last Saturday, I went to San Francisco to visit my dentist. My dentist is great. And he has a really swanky office. This is the pond outside of the lobby, which extends under the floor of the lobby with a plexiglass floor so you can see the fish:



I picked up the new mouthguard I had fitted when I went for my last marathon dental session (four or five hours of ripping out old fillings and making new fancy, not-so-breaky ones)

Bruxism, you see, is VERY bad. If you are grinding or clenching your teeth, YOU MUST STOP. Seriously. I had cracked a molar last year, just before I had planned to get the preventative work done. But bruxism is very, very bad. Anyway, the big squishy mouthguards you get at the drugstore are OK to just figure out if you can tolerate anything, but they are way big, and worse,, the squishyness may actually inspire me to clench more. It's like having a chew toy in your mouth. Not all that good. Plus, they get nasty.

The new hotness is the NTI. (yes, I realize the website looks hokey) It is small, and it fits really well. It can not fall off. It actually keeps my back teeth from touching at all, so, no more clenching. It was expensive, but not as expensive as the work I had to get done because I had cracked my teeth.

Thje result has been great. After a first night of dreaming about trying to chew a jelly bean that was in the front of my mouth, I have slept well. My jaw does not hurt. Depending on the war over the next few months, I may actually get the front cut down a bit to make it even more natural feeling (to avoid grinders being able to pop their lower teeth out over their upper teeth, there is a little "rail" thing, which sticks out of your mouth a little when you sleep. But I do not grind.)

Grinders of the world, I heartily recommend this NTI dealie. It is awesome so far.

State of the Union

I am so glad this is Bush's last State of the Union.
My liver cannot take listening to another.

um, hai?

I wouldn't try to sum up my views on how we got to the current economic situation right here, right now, but:

Sending us all a little check is your big plan?!?!??!


Let me get this straight. The economy is in the toilet, rather than investing in our conutry, or education, or infrastructure, you are giving the consumer-whore Americans a little more cash to get another hit of Chinamart goods? Just one more hit, man!

And THAT is your big plan?


I know, your plan is to do something dumb, expensive, useless, but very, very popular. Economy be damned. Re-election!


Hai, mr Prez? Congresscritterz?
I gets a check, it goes to ACLU.
And maybe my savingz account.
I no buy beenie babiez or GMC truk.
mmmmmkaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy?
thx. bai.

Sad

Apparently, fear of terrorists has canceled the Dakar Rally for the first time in 30 years.

This makes me really sad.

If we are worried about terrorists starting to take hold in a "largely peaceful Islamic republic"," is it really the right answer to stop engaging? Shall we turn our backs and shut them out, and hope that our isolation will produce a more peaceful people?

Dakar is one of the few great races of the world, and it is a real shame to let this cancel.

And now for th traditional inventory of the past year...

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?

• Saw a woodpecker, and a roadrunner
  
• Survived a company merger.
• Broke rear traction on a TT track... on purpose!
• Explained subdomain MX records to someone who should have known more about DNS than me.
• Got our first christmas tree in "our" place
  

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year, I set a few goals, and only reached one. But! I reached the hell out of it! Here's what I said last year:

-New Career
-Learn Chinese (quantitatively: I want to be conversational and understand movies)
-Sew more (quantitatively: I want to finish at least one project a month, and not be afraid to tackle a wedding dress should a friend want me to make theirs. I felt bad having to say I couldn't.)
-Travel (quantitatively: One big trip out of the country, and several short trips on the weekend)

I got a new job with people I really like, in an awesome company, and then that company was eaten by another well-known company very famous for it's tasty food and employee perks... As finding a new career goes, this path totally exceeded what I thought I could do. This one goal, though, consumed the first half of my year with my deep exploration of career and self, and the second half of the year with "oh shit, what have I gotten myself into?!?" I have a lot to learn to be proficient, so this overrode my other new year's goals.

The other three? not so much. But, I do now have a space for sewing, which should help.

This year....
Career:

• Get my PMP certificate: This is something I'd like to do anyway, but my boss is really keen on me getting done soon. A Project Management certificate would help me in my career, if only for the way it appears to people reviewing me on paper.
• Learn basic Unix for Mac (starting this with a book right now)
• Gain a working knowledge of networking, firewalls, DNS, etc... especially as it pertains to work.
  
• Get involved in the "extra-curriculars" at work to create more connections

Other

• max my 401K
• bolster our emergency savings for the shit economy that is in the mail, coming soon
• Start practicing Mandarin on at least a weekly basis
• Spend a lot more time sewing
• Spend a lot more time riding my motorcycles (now that I am no longer commuting on them-- oh, right, I used to do this for FUN too!)
• Get involved with birding... and maybe some wetlands cleanup projects?
  

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I have a new niece this year! Paul has a new nephew this year! And two of my favorite friends are welcoming a new addition through adoption!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No

5. What countries did you visit?
None... Despite what Texans would like to think, they are just a state, not their own country.


6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Travel and adventure... we did not go on too many roadtrips or do any big trips. I was wrapped up in a career change.

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 11th! I started my new career!
October 20th! We took possession of our new place together!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Scamming five interviewers in person and three over the phone, into letting me work at such a cool job.


9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting time slip through my fingers

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I was pretty sick over Christmas time, but that's about it. Oh, and I cracked a tooth (from bruxism)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The whale watching excursion was a lot of fun, and very worthwhile.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister. I am so very proud of her, and all the exciting things she is doing.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I've been saying BushCo for several years, so maybe I should add to it:

• fundamentalists (creationism is a silly religious belief, which I think people are entitled to. It is NOT science.)
  
• american consumers/homedebtors/"victims" You "bought" your house, you signed the docs, and a few years ago, you were all saying the game was just to "make the numbers work." Now, you were all tricked into something, and want a bailout. You would not have shared the profits you tried to realize, so don't try to share the loss. Oh, and you also re-fi'd so you could buy that SUV you "needed" to get the kids/dogs/beanie babies around? There are entire families in Vietnam riding around on a scooter; you didn't "need" that crap.
  
• Bill O'Reilly declared he'd won the "War on Christmas" Who the hell else in the world groups "Christmas" and "War" together so freely? Maybe it's an abomination, but my family tended to to equate "Christmas" with "Peace" or "Hope" more frequently. I guess we were doing it wrong?

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, motorcycle, food. Savings. I did fairly well in contributing to IRA and 401K, but will do more this year. This year, rent will be higher, but food and motorcycle should be lower (now that we are cooking some, and I don't have a commute to rack up miles)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My new job! duh! And then? My new job getting bought by The Google. Also, my iPhone, San Francisco, and quite frequently: puppies!

16. What songs/bands will always remind you of 2007?
The RIAA has convinced me I should not listen to music anymore.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Happier

ii. thinner or fatter?
Fatter.

iii. richer or poorer?
Richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Riding my motorcycle. Seeing my friends. Having adventures.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Lollygagging at the house...

I feel like too much time has been wasted with poorly planned days... a few are fine, but too many, and there's nothing to show for it

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent it with family, same as always.
But this year, Paul and I have our own tree, at our own place. And it is very cute.

22. Did you fall in love in 2007?
I still fall! Every day!

23. How many one night stands?
No.

24. What were your favorite TV programs?
We don't really turn the TV on. But I do like to catch The Daily Show and Colbert Report on Tivo at the Turner Compound.


(what happened to 25?)


26. What was the best book you read?
Working diligently through Pathfinder helped me immensely in defining my personal path

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Again, not at all inclined to buy music these days with all the RIAA copyright bullshit.

28. What did you want and get?
We moved! And I got a job! And these lovely bird song books

29. What did you want and not get?
A bigger tax refund?

30. What was your favorite film(s) of this year?
I don't think we went to *any* movies in the theaters this year. I did get to watch Memoir of a Geisha while having dental surgery though, and enjoyed it...

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 30 and thought it would be nice to have a lot of friends together. We had dinner with friends at the Beach Chalet (Park Chalet, really-- the brewery downstairs) which was a disaster because we nearly lost our table because of major lateness of many attendees. Once we got seated, all was well, and I drank many the beer with Amy and all.

After, Jennifer, Paul and I stumbled around Ocean Beach and the Cliff House in the dark, which was quite nice. We accidentally wakened a hobo sleeping in the cave, though, which we felt guilty about after.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Better health

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Coming to a screeching halt. AND. the first time I have ever been seen wearing corporate logowear and loving it.

34. What kept you sane?
Paul was very patient and supportive of me while I spend the first half of the year totally consumed by navel-gazing and career-exploration, and then the interview process, and then the hardest part of all-- ramping up for a new world.

35. Which celebrity/public figure(s) did you fancy the most?
I'm liking Obama more every time I think about it.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Now that it is becoming a political issue, I am super-pissed about all these proposed bailouts of idiot home "buyers" who are facing the consequences of their greed. People who lied on their applications to make the numbers work should be facing mortgage fraud charges, and instead are being given my tax money, while they used this fake "money" to skyrocket home prices away from affordability for responsible people. This should have worked itself out, but politicians who have decided to get involved have made it a platform for appeasing these jackasses.

37. Who did you miss?
Grandpa. James.

There is not one day that goes by without me thinking of Grandpa. I still can't imagine a world without him, and yet here we are.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
My new coworkers, who are all geniuses. It is really exciting to be surrounded by such brainy, exciting people.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
It's all about connections. Networking matters (and I've become pretty lazy about it these days)

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Cowards and Heroes,
listen my friends.
If you have money
and nothing to spend.
It'll make no difference
in a hundred years or so.

Sooner or later
we all make the little flowers grow.

(actually, I couldn't think of any lyric to sum up the year... so this will have to do)