The Office

Ok, it is ironic that I work from home yet I love both versions of "The Office". I did work in various offices for 10 years (including another telecommuting stint) and that is why I find the show(s) so darn funny. Of course, it is why I love Dilbert also.

I have been a fan of the US version of The Office for a while. I admit I even pay to download episodes I missed (available on iTunes- someday I will have TiVo). I realize I am outing myself as a huge nerd, but hey internet, I *am* a huge nerd. Let out your inner nerd and switch on this show, at 9:30/8:30 Central on Thursday nights.

Now, I realize this is a type of comedy that a lot of Americans aren't used to- you have to pay attention to it because the humor of this show is not always spoken, it can be carried in a glance or an awkward moment of silence. Once I "got" the humor, I was hooked. Now I can't wait to find out what's up with the office crush of Pam and Jim, will Pam really get married, what is the office boss Michael screwing up now, how will Jim mess with Dwight this week, what's going on with the perfect match of Dwight and Angela, and oh my goodness I need to get my own life. But you see, this half hour is the funniest half hour of television all week. You will laugh because you know someone like that guy or you know exactly how that girl feels. It's even funnier if you've ever actually been to Scranton, PA.

I may have created my obsession backwards, because I finally rented the DVD for the UK's version of The Office (Season I) and found it to be as enjoyable as the US version. Part of the fun for me was exploring the history behind every character. Yes, the UK version came first. (Is Season 2 available yet on DVD? Must rent.)

For those of you who didn't get tonight's "The More You Know" commercials starring The Office cast, Happy April Fool's Day, silly. You can find them on the website under "Videos", although you might have to sort through some commercials to get to the good stuff.

And if you ever find your stapler immersed in Jell-O, perhaps you should tune in to "The Office" to find out why!

* Photo credit: NBC, www.nbc.com

Cooking up a storm

So today I am venturing out into the unknown- I'm going to my very first ever cooking class. I will let you know how it goes. I've only signed up for 2 classes in case I don't like it. It should be interesting!

I have been cooking more and more since I have been fortunate enough to be working from home. Yesterday's meal- my version of chili:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 large sweet onion (Vidalia is best!), diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes, undrained
4 tablespoons chili powder
Red pepper and hot sauce to taste

Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain the fat. Put meat in the crockpot. Then saute the onion and red pepper until the onion is translucent. Add to crockpot. Add remaining ingredients in crockpot, stir. Cook on Low for 6-8 hours or High for 3-4 hours. Top with cheese to taste, serve with bread for dippin'. If you want to make this the true texas way, omit the beans and add another pound of ground beef, double the onion and tomatoes.

Enjoy, y'all!

"Stick this on your blog and shove it"

I am not a morning person.

After over five years of being together, my husband should KNOW this about me.

This morning, he decided it would be a good idea to come snuggle with me, and then while I had my arm raised over my head, he was tempted to pick at a pimple in my armpit.

My armpit, people.

I reacted as any normal person would- I'm ticklish, after all- and jerked my arm down in defense.

My elbow made solid contact with his NOSE.

Ouch.

It is not broken, but I am quite sure that hurt like hell.

His only response?

"Stick this on your blog and shove it."

Weekend thoughts

As the weekend draws to a close (and because Grey's Anatomy is a repeat! A repeat), it affords me some time here to relay my weekend to you, oh dear Internet.

1) Making crank calls to my house at 2:30 and 3:00 in the morning with the intent to make me feel miserable the next day- hey, you succeeded. Congratulations.

2) Went to the beach expecting some of that fantastic California sunshine (hey, I do pay a sunshine tax to live here, after all)- nope, I was freezing my tucchus off, so we turned around and left.

3) Went to the mall where I am now the proud owner of my first pair of designer jeans in well over a decade (since the last century, you could say!) Doubtful I will model them here, so sorry to disappoint. You seriously have no idea how long it has been since I bought new clothes. I'm quite sure I have clothes from middle school hiding in my closet (that is, sadly, not a joke).

4) Am now hooked on The Next Food Network Star. Darn it. As if I needed more to add to my viewing schedule. I need TiVo!

5) Finally concluded the Kill Bill series (and did I hear the Encore channel bleep out part of the movie? I've never had a cable movie channel bleep a word before. Now I'm curious to find out what it was).

6) Saw The Ice Harvest -while I am a huge John Cusack fan, and I enjoyed him in this film, I didn't care for the movie, it was a little too dark for my tastes. I have to admit I was disappointed, I was hoping it would be more in the vein of Grosse Pointe Blank.

7) Had a fabulous meal at Trattoria Tiramisu. While we did not have reservations, next time I will definitely make some- I think we just got lucky. I've never had a bad meal there. I purposely saved half of my entree so I could get dessert, but then had to choose between my 2 favorites- Tiramisu (yes, it lives up to their name) and Creme Brulee. I chose the Tiramisu, and the portion was so large that I could not even finish it. A +, 5 stars, however you want to rank it. Fantastic!

8) Also had a fabulous meal at Point Loma Seafoods, but after appearing on Rachael Ray's "$40 a day" on the Food Network, it looked like a lot of people had the same idea we had. I have never seen it so crowded, and after a half hour of waiting gave up on getting a table (short of tackling someone, I chose to sit on a bench). If you are ever in town and are jonesing for seafood, this is the place to go. A caveat- they are only open until 6:30pm each night. I had the fish sandwich, delish! Oh, and despite the "Please do not feed the birds" signs, a pushy seagull managed to get away with some of my fries.

That was pretty much it. A nice relaxing weekend. Sometimes it's nice to be a tourist in your own town.

The blogger. A photo essay of thesis hell.

I wish I could sleep like this

Insurance... is it working? And dog park etiquette.

My insurance company must read my blog. They corrected two of the problems I complained about in an earlier post. I'm so happy! They have my name right! They have the accounting right! It's a miracle!

I'm also happy because we're 6 school days away from a much-needed 2 week school break. Not for the kidlet, for me. Whew. I could use a rest! I'm sure before long my daughter and I will be sleeping in past our usual 7am routine, and staying up entirely too late watching movies. I can't wait!

A question for you about dog park etiquette- there was a dog at the dog park yesterday who kept picking on my cute little corgi (see below!). He kept jumping on his back and trying to bite his neck, occasionally he would actually bite (given the yelps my dog would make!). The owner said, "Oh, he's only 8 months old, he doesn't know the word No yet".

I thought this was ridiculous- my dog was trained early on to learn what "NO" meant, just like how you would raise a child. He is well-behaved and I would never let him act that way torwards another dog- if he ever did, I would correct him, and I will put him in "time-out" to separate him from his friends.

The owner never tried to correct her dog, saying they were just playing. I say this was beyond just playing and should not have been permitted. When I felt it had crossed the line, I pulled my dog over to me and tried to keep the other dog away. Eventually, distraction worked, and throwing balls back and forth kept the dogs competing in another way- who could get the ball first? And the biting and jumping stopped.

What do you think? What should I have done? Did I over-react? I had just never seen a dog act this way towards my dog, and I'd never seen my dog "play" that way. I got the feeling the dog was not trained at all, given how impressed the owner was by my dog's actions as a result of my commands. Not that my dog is all amazingly trained, but the basics are definitely there.

Let me know your comments please. Thank you!

Wait for it...

Kona waits ever so patiently for his blue ball to float to the side of the pool for retrieval.

Said blue ball ended up in the pool due to my lack of ability to throw a ball at my intended target.

Kona has learned exactly where the ball will end up. He looks at me as if to say, "Stupid human, why MUST you throw it in the pool? Tsk, tsk. Oh well, I shall go take my place and wait for my bounty to come to me."

The School Project

My daughter had her first school project due today. She chose to do an art project about a farm, the rule being we could only use things we already had at home.

The play-doh worked out ok, but shrunk and cracked as it dried (I'd never purposely dried play-doh before!). She worked very hard on it, but got bored when she realized she would have to do most of the work herself. The wagon wheel on the upper part is made of perler beads, which I ironed for her.

Nonetheless, I think she did a great job! Put it in perspective, this is 2nd grade.

It was fun today looking at everyone's different projects. Everyone interpreted the assignment differently. Some people did collages, some dioramas.

It has reminded me of how much I loved oral presentations in elementary school. I remember the fun things I would make to go along with my presentation, once I made a filmstrip, a book (my grandmother sewed it together for me, and even put a library check out card on the inner cover), and I loved making dioramas. I especially enjoy being able to share a few of these things now with my daughter, and it's fun to read what I wrote when I was her age.

I know as the years go by the projects will change and become harder, but I so enjoyed watching her make this one, her first!

An homage to my hometown

I grew up in Houston, Texas. I haven't been back since 1992, but my folks are there right now. I've been trying to conjure up memories of my favorite things about Houston.



* I remember a flood when I was in preschool, and my parents were out of town. I remember the babysitter picking me up. I remember thinking how cool it would be to go play in the street (a pool! In my front yard!) and being mad when I was told it wasn't safe to go outside.

* I remember our Magnolia tree in our front yard, and our fig tree in our backyard. Smelling either takes me right back. So does the sound of cicadas.

* I remember how much I loved going to the Rodeo, it was a perfectly normal thing to go do. I always looked forward to it because in school we always entered the contests (art contest, writing contest)

* I remember thinking, "Fantastic! It's 104 degrees, we can get any tennis court we want now!" and going out and playing tennis in said heat and humidity. I also remember playing in the sprinklers in the front yard. To this day when I see a sprinkler in the summertime I want to run through it.

* I remember cockroaches as big as my foot.

* Galveston was like heaven on earth. I thought getting covered in tar when you were in the ocean, and having to wash with turpentine before being allowed back in the beachhouse, was a perfectly normal beach experience. I loved eating clam chowder and fried shrimp on the pier. I loved Dickens on the Strand and anything having to do with the Strand or the Galveston Seawall. I remember pushing my then-boyfriend's broken down car from the beach back to his parents' beach house. I remember playing hooky (only once!) in high school to drive to Galveston, and the first place I drove with my brand new driver's license was Galveston. I remember driving down to Galveston and buying shrimp from the fisherman in their boats, and going home to my best friend's house and grilling them up.

* I remember when the Hard Rock Cafe opened, so close to my house we could almost walk there. I remember going there all dressed up with my friends before formal dances.

* Goode Company Barbeque and Ninfa's restaurants- two places that have set an awfully high bar for me, the two restaurants I would visit within hours of returning to Houston. I'm sure these two places top my parents list, too, because they visited both while they have been out there! Goode Company Barbeque is so good that I've never had a barbeque meal that was satisfactory since. Ninfa's has simply the best fajitas you will find anywhere!

* Rice University holds many fond memories for me. Not only did my Dad work there, but I went to (voluntarily!) summer school for many summers, taking fun classes and occasional high school credit (yes, I've always been an overachiever). My friends and I spent most of our summer days between classes at Rice, playing racquetball (yes, I finally figured out it's like indoor tennis with air-conditioning, important in the summer!), hanging out at the library, and going to Astroworld (Six Flags). Those were awesome summers. I loved going over to my Dad's office, too. The only reason I didn't go to Rice for college was I felt like I had already gone there, since I began going to summer school there in 6th grade. I even learned how to drive in the Rice Stadium parking lot. I went to more basketball and football games than I can count, and to this day I still prefer a college game over a pro-game. There's just something in the air that's different about a college game, a level of fun and excitement that is missing for me in a pro-game.

* I remember how I loved all of the museums in Houston. I loved the Planetarium, and in high school they did the laser show of Pink Floyd at night. I loved Hermann park and the Miller Outdoor Theatre. I loved the train around the zoo. I even remember the Jean Michel-Jarre fireworks and laser light show "Rendezvous Houston" which turned used the downtown buildings for a backdrop, and later turned downtown Houston into a giant parking lot with all 1.3 million of us trying to leave after the show.

* I remember when the Transco Waterwall (now called the Williams Waterwall) was built. I remember it was the place to hang out in high school, especially if you had a limo and were dressed up after prom.

* I always loved going to Space Center Houston. Like most kids in Houston, I wanted to work for NASA- only I didn't want to be an astronaut, I wanted to be in Mission Control. Growing up in Houston, we were very fortunate that we got to meet so many Astronauts and hear their stories.

* I looked forward every year to doing the March of Dimes WalkAmerica. I loved exploring Houston's bayou that way.

* I loved going to the Astrodome. I especially loved going to Astros games with my Dad. Of course, the Astros no longer play there (they are now at Minute Maid Park). I also was lucky enough to see an All-Star game played there once, in 1986.

* I remember going on a dinner cruise down the Houston ship channel with my folks. My scrapbook is full of photos I took.

* I loved going to the Houston Symphony and the Houston Ballet in Jones Hall (now the Ballet performs at the Wortham), and seeing plays at the Alley Theatre. I always thought it was so much fun to dress up and go to see a show.

* I remember high school graduation at the Convention Center. My graduating class of over 700 was so large, with my last name beginning with a "T" I didn't walk across the stage until after 10 p.m.

* Anything at the Galleria. I remember ice skating there with my Girl Scout troop, I remember working at a yogurt shop overlooking the ice rink, I remember visiting boys I liked who worked in the mall. Shopping, eating, hanging out- the Galleria was always the place to be. If the Marble Slab is still there, stop and get some ice cream and watch the ice skaters.

These are just some of my favorite memories from Houston. I hope if you're ever there, you'll have a chance to explore the city I loved so much growing up.


*Photo source:http://www.uh.edu/~marnold/profiles/ortegasprofile.html

Vampire Dog

The homework! Gaa!

The husband! He appreciates me! and a cute dog.

Best. Song. Ever.

If you don't know Alice, well, you're missing out. You must go listen to this fabulous song on her blog Finslippy, starring her nephew and her 3 year old son.

If this doesn't brighten your day

The one where I am beaten with a baseball bat

OK, not really. But it sure feels that way.

I woke up this morning with so much pain in my back I felt like I must have been attacked with a baseball bat in my sleep. But no, it's just back pain. My husband says I was crying out in so much pain in my sleep he had to go sleep on the couch- and he says I scared the kitties too!

I will also document the pains of American Health Insurance, volume 1: my personal experience in the last 12 months. With a sidebar, of course, that I know how lucky I am to even have health insurance- I've got until December to enjoy it and then my coverage expires (I'm on COBRA).

1) An ER visit last April. All bills have been paid dutifully by my insurance except the ER doctor bill. For some reason, there is a disconnect between the hospital and my insurance, and my insurance has never received a claim. Meanwhile, I receive a threatening letter every few weeks from the hospital for failure to pay. My insurance says they will cover it in full IF THEY WOULD JUST RECEIVE A CLAIM ALREADY.

2) A routine check-up in June. The secretary was unable to verify my insurance status and forced me to pay cash up front. I charged it to my credit card (at this late date can I get my money back from my credit card?) The office, despite claiming they couldn't verify my insurance, also billed my insurance, which of course, paid in full. Despite numerous phone calls, letters, and even a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, I don't think I will ever see my $225 back.

3) I got married in November. Woo-whee, adding a spouse to my health insurance took from December until, well, this morning, when he was finally successfully added. But first I had to pay for him in January, February, and March.

4) Adding said spouse to the insurance has caused some major accounting glitch in my account. My account is now "UNDER REVIEW", for whatever that is worth. Despite paying on time, they have decided randomly I need to pay his insurance for now THROUGH SEPTEMBER or else they will cut off all of my insurance by the end of the month. Despite reassurances from the salespeople that this is not the case, why don't I feel any better?

5) Changing my name to my new married name. Ha ha ha ha ha!

I spend on average a half hour per day on the phone, sometimes an hour if they put me on hold. Once I waited an entire work day for them to call me back. The next day when I called them back, they asked for my phone number again so they could call me back. When I asked them if anyone was really going to call me back, the woman was so flabbergasted she ended up helping me.

I have begged, pleaded, nay prayed to them for help, as I don't understand why all of this is so difficult. These problems are a symptom of a system so plagued with troubles, it's almost easier to not even go to the doctor at all.

I feel for those of you who have no insurance at all, I really do- and I will likely be joining your ranks in December. It's all such a big mess.

*OK, I'll step off the soapbox now*

In which I am inadvertently the center of attention

I went out to dinner with some friends last night. My chicken piccatta, despite my best attempts, lept onto my shirt so it could go home with me.

Not even my awesome Tide 2 Go pen could save me from embarassment, as witnessed in said photo.












We were attempting a group photograph that horrifyingly became all about me.

Laugh at will.

Reason # 8,274 why I love BMW cars

I am a gadget fan, and when I saw all the gadgets that came with a BMW I fell in love.

Now, here's another reason to fall in love all over again: a BMW that can parallel park itself!

And to think I failed my driver's test on the first try because I couldn't parallel park...

There's not enough coffee in the world

That's right, there's not enough coffee in the world to wake me up today. I had so much trouble sleeping last night that this morning I really hated my dreaded alarm clock.

I'm so sorry, dear internet, for my prolonged absence. I have been so busy I haven't even had time to tell you what I've been up to these last few days!

Thursday I went to the Old Globe Theatre to see Twyla Tharp's Bob Dylan musical The Times They are a Changin'. I went in to it with low expectations because the reviews I had read were cryptic at best, so I'll say they were "mixed".

From the opening note by Michael Arden, I was hooked. What an amazing voice! And he's cute, too. He kept me mesmerized the whole night. While the other 2 leads were also good, I was blown away by Michael's voice. The story line was weak (and that's being generous!), the circus theme a little odd but the acrobatics cool. I also learned I'm actually a Bob Dylan fan, which is something I didn't know about myself.

Long and short of it is, go see this when it is on Broadway. It's a new show so all the little kinks should be worked out by then, and for goodness sakes go see Michael Arden!!!

Does anyone else think he resembles George from Grey's Anatomy??? Which, by the way, was a terrific episode last night. I thought it wise they let Meredith's character shrink to the background last night for most of the episode- there are a lot of people who aren't too happy with her right now!

In other news, we got weather, real honest to goodness weather, down in Southern California over the weekend. We had hail off and on, and thunder and lightning that kept me awake at night. In the more inland areas, they got SNOW, a lot of it. I know many San Diegans drove out there just to see the snow, only to find the roads were actually impassable.

Otherwise, I hung out watching movies- didn't see anything worth raving about, but it did pass the time. Oh, but I did finally see "Kill Bill Vol 1"- yes, I don't get out much! I better go find some more coffee...

Matisyahu

OK, I figured I had a few years before my daughter could out-perform me in the music department. I already listen to Radio Disney (although I admit, I do change the channel whenever she is not in the car!). Most of the time I listen to "alternative" radio stations, but I pay close attention to what's mostly considered "mainstream".

Then a song came on the radio the other day that I didn't recognize. My daughter says, "Oh, that's Matisyahu" and I figure, ha ha ha, there's no way she knows who this is and I don't. After all, she's 7, and doesn't listen to the radio when I'm not around.

But she was right! I couldn't believe it, I was so impressed she knew who it was. And she loves it. And apparently, a lot of you love it too.

The best way I can think of to describe it is Jewish Rap (Jewish Reggae?). Take a gander. I believe the song you hear on the radio is "King Without A Crown".

Matisyahu

And by the way, Matisyahu is Hebrew for "Matthew".

If you're in San Francisco, you can check him out live to on Monday night, to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim.

He'll be CD signing in San Diego on Tuesday March 14th.

Enjoy this peek into my messy, messy house

My daughter, the computer nerd at age 7. I'm so proud of her.

(And that's organized chaos you're seeing, people.)












The dog. His legs are short enough, but here they seem to disappear. And doesn't he look like he's trying to hypnotize you?
















The husband, reading the paper in the late afternoon sun.
Yes, I know my housekeeping skills need some work.


















The cat looks *very* irritated that I am interrupting his moment with Dad.

Hey, it's Monday.

The folks were in town this weekend (Hi Folks!) where my daughter was appropriately spoiled. She was running around school today showing everyone her new wares, saying, "Look, I got spoiled!"

We did go to the San Diego State baseball game this saturday. That was really fun, a nice little stadium, a good game- and they won 13-3! While I've been going to grad school there for a while, I've never been to a sporting event there before. My undergraduate program back east I don't think even had a baseball team, and we were division IIIIIII in football (or something like that- very low on the totem pole! Notre Dame we are not). I do remember the give-aways they had back in the early 90's to try to encourage people to come to the football games. We were such a geeky school, they once gave out 3.5" computer disks (remember those?) and got a good crowd as a result.

My undergraduate school stands in such stark contrast with my graduate school. I look at all the young students at SDSU and they seem to have such different priorities than when I was in school. I can also say this because I got to know many of them when I was teaching there, and I can say without a doubt there is a huge cultural gap between the west coast and the east coast in terms of schools.

And yes, for those who wonder if it is true- we did wear kilts. I'll leave it up to you to decide what we wore underneath said kilts! There's nothing worse than a wet kiltie. Trust me.

The story of the ring

OK, if you know me, you already know this story. So you're going to hear it again!

We went to Maui on our honeymoon. We decided to go all kinds of crazy with the tourist activities- we booked a trip or activity almost every day we were there.

One day we booked a trip with Maui Eco-Adventures. When the travel agent was asked how difficult it was, he said "Easy". HA! But nonetheless. We figured it would be like the last time we were in Hawaii. See photo, case in point- Shawn is wearing a swimsuit and I think flip-flops. I was wearing a swimsuit also, covered with a hawaiian wrap, and sandals.

Here's a happy Shawn before the start of the tour. Basically, we turned around at the top of the trail head where that photo was taken, and then hiked STRAIGHT DOWN that mountain. We were instructed to hold on to the vegetation for support so we wouldn't fall. HA! again.

By the time we get to the bottom, I am very wary of the fact we have to get back UP the mountain somehow. This is the hardest hike I have ever been on, and while only a mile, it was exhausting.

The reward was to swim in a waterfall. An ice cold, freeze your pants off waterfall. A rather rocky area, I decided it was not a wise idea for me to personally go in, but Shawn did.

As soon as he gets out of the waterfall, he looks at me and says, "Where's my wedding ring?' At first I thought he was joking, because he ALWAYS jokes about stuff like that. But he was immediately upset. He realized he left the ring on (we had been married 4 days at this point) and the water was so ice cold, the ring just slipped off his finger. The ring is at this point at the bottom of this cold, murky, gross water.

Yes, his brand new wedding ring is gone!

So we're both immediately in a not-so-great mood, at some point on the hike back up the mountain I sprain my ankle. I'm covered in bug spray and somehow I am getting bitten left and right. Shawn is now inconsolable, and I'm feeling pretty miserable myself. It is clear we had been drastically unprepared for the severity of the hike, my ankle injury and bug bites an indication I was dressed for the wrong occasion.

The fun was just beginning. We still had to drive on the one lane road (that was 2 directions of traffic!) on windy mountain roads all along the Northwest coast of Maui. It took probably another 2 hours of playing chicken with other cars, carsickness among the passengers, and tears on our part. Here is upset Shawn at the Northernmost tip:

So eventually we survived, and we made it back to our hotel. It was not really a relief, the pain was just beginning- Shawn and I were still both upset about the wedding ring being gone, my ankle was now swelling up like a grapefruit, and my mosquito bites really hurt.

We ended up cancelling (and losing the money we spent) our trip to bike down the volcano at sunrise. I was bummed about missing it, but there was no way I was feeling up to something so adventurous. We decided to spend a much needed day together at the beach the next day, where I took photographic evidence of my pain (and I was the only tourist on that hike that got bitten by mosquitos!):

Trust me, this was horribly itchy. I counted up to 50 bites and then lost count.

We hunted high and low all over Maui for a wedding ring for Shawn, but he wanted his ring. We came back to the mainland, and ordered an identical ring from our jeweler. Someday, we will have to go back to our waterfall and visit his ring.

But apparently, this sort of thing happens to tourists in Maui all the time. Make sure you take your jewelry off before you go in the water- I heard from people who lost jewelry surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, and just plain swimming. And also make sure you are well-prepared for your tourist adventures- when it says "Adventure" in the name of the business, you may well be in for a surprise!

From our last night in Maui.

Update at last!

Yes, I know, I haven't been updating as often as I usually do. It's another thesis week and I haven't been getting a lot of sleep. I am way too old for that, I can't take missing out on my sleep. It doesn't agree with me.

I wanted to mention here that I finally returned to the dog park over the weekend. It was my first time back since the plane crash. I kept expecting to feel upset while I was there, but I did OK. I did not walk over to where the majority of the plane was, nor did I park in the parking lot where the plane wing landed next to my car (I didn't want to see any physical marks). I also did not go to the section of the dog park where I was on the day of the accident. I just wanted to get my body used to being there to see if I had any reaction. I stayed an hour and a half and it went well, Kona had a good time playing with a little doxie named Kelly.

I still have the occasional nightmare, and I have no plans to go flying any time soon.

In tech news today, Steve Jobs announced the new Intel-based Mac Mini - Mini it is, at 6.5 inches square, 2 inches tall, and priced beginning at just $599. Yet another reason why I can't allow myself to walk into the Apple store.

I need coffee... lots of coffee...