things that are making me happy

i'll admit it: i am one of the least religious people i know. i just don't understand it. it makes no sense to me and i struggle to understand how religion makes sense to others, but when i see pictures like the following, it brings tears to my eyes. this is slightly dated because the protests in egypt are over, but i wanted to share this picture because, even for someone who doesn't understand praying, i understand how important this was and how this would never happen in our country.


from this site.

dream apartment - 56

so i love me a comfy couch. oh crap. i just put the picture of the couch in and it showed all of them. i didn't want that. i just wanted to highlight #3. (from apt therapy) i think thats the best. it looks awesome that there is a fun little foldy pillow thing. LOVE it. i dont know if i like the (lack of) color that much. i'd prefer something darker maybe. what do you think? what kind of couches are your favorite?

things that are making me happy

this video is SUPER cute. enjoy.



found here.

i wish i madde that

how about some positive motivation today? saw this video and thought ya'll might enjoy it and/or get something from it.



i'm at home sick today, so thats why this is short. have a great thursday!

[song by will smith!]

he's a pirate

i'm starting to get sick. or maybe, rather, i am sick. head cold. stuffed nose. pounding in my head. ugh. i took some 12-hr medicine at 7am. hate to think how i would feel without that. anyway, because of my sickness, i dont have anything really to say. so i'll post some videos of my brothers baseketball for your enjoyment. these are from last weekend's games.





and then this link here will bring you to a conference update which is kind of interesting, as well. his team has been doing really well and i have some articles that i'll post in the next few days. also, i booked a ticket to head to minneapolis in march to (hopefully) see them play...

[song by tiesto bcs the marauders are pirates.]

walk like an epyptian

so since i've been so lazy, i don't really have anything planned for this week's of posts. so, i will post something that my mom sent me (from my aunt). please note that i did not write the following. nor did my aunt (i'm assuming) and i don't know who wrote it. if you did, i am happy to give you credit and consider this a sign of respect. note that i am not making any money off of this, so if you want me to take it down, i can, but there's really no point. anyway, i post the following in honor of my comrades in wisconsin and elsewhere who should not give up.

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It's noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe is home from work.

He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

those pics are from the protesters in madison from here. another article you should read about how the discourse is changing/incorrect is right here.

things that are making me happy

so this is super quick. i've been a bit delinquent in my postings lately. and oddly, not because of business. out of sheer laziness. i dont seem to get much done when i have a lot of free time and work has been not-so-busy. i have not traveled in... (aside from a quick trip to az) ... a long time. and there is nothing really exciting going on. and thus, free time. and more lay-around-do-nothing-including-blogging-time.

BUT i do have a cool video for your viewing pleasure. this video almost made me tear up. check it out.



and i got this video from jezebel, here. stupid ignorant republicans who voted to ban gay marriage - you do NOT make me happy.

dream apartment - 55

i love me some stairs. i should use them more often. in fact, there are people at work who go up and down the stairs once a day (we're on the 11th floor). i should start doing that. i've also been trying to do at least 10,000 steps a day. its tough. so that would help. but, anyway, stairs. my love. so, obviously i'm in love with both of these, although, also kind of confused. especially the second one. i think for this picture, i would paint each stair a different color.


and for these stairs, i would first figure out how to go up and down them. i can't really tell where they are coming from. maybe they are just random stairs jutting out of a wall with no purpose??? kind of like stairs in a tv sitcom. FABULOUS!


what do you think?

i hear the mumblin...

just a quick post because i only have 20 min and totally didnt realize! i'm on a flight from phx to cvg and then on to bos. was in scottsdale for a work conference. it was good overall, but i wish i had been slightly more prepared and planned to meet some people ahead of time and whatnot. next year. on verra. anyway, the best part about all this is that i only have a 2-day work week! so thats cool. i'm also going to start using linkedin and twitter for work. so thats cool.

anyway, i wanted to write about what i did yesterday and why i didnt get a chance to write... this conference that i was at happens every year and the tuesday afternoon is always open so that people can go out with their clients/providers and mingle and do activities and have meetings and whatnot. so i took my client gliding. not hang-gliding. gliding in a plane without an engine. and it was pretty cool. i was looking forward to it the whole time until monday evening when my client started trying to scare me. he kept telling me stories about what makes it so scary and flipping the plane over and whatnot. so i was slightly nervous. but i just went with it anyway. its not like i was going to stop because i was scared. i've rarely ever done that. if i say i'll do something, i pretty much do it. and i fly all the time and that never bothers me.

so here's what happens: you're in a little plane that is made out of plastic/metal. its towed into the air by a crop plane. you go up to 5,000 ft above the ground and then push this button to let go of the rope. the crop plane takes off on its own and goes back to the ground. then you're just up in the air floating around. its easy-peasy. i was nervous while i was getting into the plane and because i did the acrobatic deluxe ride which meant that i had to wear a parachute in case the wings blew off the plane or something. they didnt. i think that woul'dve made it more exciting and i would've liked it more. but it was actually kind of uneventful. i didnt scream or anything like that. i'm not really a screamer. and it was fun, but not really anything freaky. as soon as we got in the air, i could tell it was really safe and easy.

here is a video of what you do:


i haven't watched it yet, but i'm assuming thats it. its from the company's website.

a friend of mine told me about how when he did it, he got out of the plane and was jumping around on the ground with my client and they were hugging each other and they were both really pumped. so i assumed that would happen, too, but, no... i just kind of walked out of the plane and it was like "ok. great. done. next." i thought for sure i would be an adrenaline junkie after this. but no, no adrenaline rush. i guess i'm pretty even-keeled.

that was kind of the highlight of the past few days.

so what do you think? would you go gliding? would you enjoy it? scream?

fame will not control us

tonight is a great night for a glass of wine or a gin and tonic. alas, no drinking in feb for me. people keep saying that it was smart of me to pick the shortest month. of course, i didnt even think of that. but if i had, that would've been smart. i'm at home, alone (woo hoo!), eating indian food and watching the grammys. actually, i recorded the grammys and now i'm watching bones to get caught up before my trip tomorrow. then i have to wash the dishes and pack for my trip. i was going to clean my room, too, but i went in to the office and was there for a few hours. so i have not been able to enjoy my empty apartment as much as i would've liked. what if my flight were cancelled tomorrow?? that would be AWESOME.

ok, i'm back on the grammy. overall, i ended up liking the bones episode. and after this i'm gonna watch mr. sunshine. has anyone seen that/ anyone want to? who is this band on the grammys right now? i've never heard this song. some lead singer dude with two guitar necks and a back up guy with a brown/red guitar. and pictures above them falling. and the drummer looks bored. fame will not control us or something like that. they KIND of remind me of afi. a more mellow version. i might be bordering on liking them.

anyway, so busy day today (sunday - even though i'm posting on monday). oh. muse is the name of that group. who has heard of them? so back to today. i got up later than i planned, ran to a workout class. did that for an hour (or, rather, "attempted" that for an hour). went home, stopped at starbucks, had breakfast, left to go get a zipcar to pick up my little sister, was TOTALLY late, rushed, drove the zipcar out of the parking garage with the parking break ON (couldn't figure out how to turn it off) until i got out of the garage and then i could call zipcar for them to tell me how to do it, got stuck in traffic in chinatown, zooomed down the highway, picked up my little, went to pick up skates at the skate club of bosotn, then over to the newton skate school for her lesson (boy its tough having kids!), watched her lesson, rushed her home to her parents, dropped off the car, went to work for a few hours, took a cab home, went to cvs, got dinner and came home. its been a crazy day. who is this bruno mars guy? i've heard of him before. NOT what i expected him to look like.

ok, so i forgot what i was going to write about. i think i'm going to buy the janelle monae cd. she's cool.

nobody rains on my parade

another post that i wrote last summer, never finished, and don't want to lose. talking about finances and europe. two themes that have resurfaced! my roommate and i are planning to head to europe this summer AND i had a goal to get my budget in line by end of january. more to come on that...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

so this was a great trip overall. despite the small (EXPENSIVE) apartment, the lack of internet in the apartment (which, admittedly, is our own fault we didn't book a place with it), the lack of WATER in the apartment, the anxiety of heading to europe, the delayed train, etc, i had a really great time. its sad to be back in the US, but i guess its normal - back to the grind. being in paris ALMOST made me want to live there again. but, finalement, je ne pense pas. the bureaucracy, the lack of desire to help others, etc, is not super enticing to me. i really like customer service and hospitality, which are in abundance in the US. i WOULD like to improve my french again (i can't believe how BAD its gotten!), but i dont know if that desire is strong enough to overcome everything else that annoys me. maybe i'll take some french classes in boston. OR... i could just... move to london! i am starting to really really love london. i don't think i've ever been really impressed with it, but the more i come here, the more i like it. and its just a few hour train ride from france! elaine, my closest friend in london, is moving to paris in october, so i will know fewer people in england, but still... can you see me in london? i think it'd be great! i just have to figure out a way to get there... too bad all of my clients are in the US.
so, anyway, back to the trip. again, it was great. and we accomplished most of the things on our list:have ice cream at berthillion on ile st. louis (can't believe i've never been to that island before!) - DEFINITELY FABULOUS ICE CREAM.see St. Chapelle church (on ile de la cite) - actually, this was kind of a let-down. i guess its nice enough, but it was 8 euros and... well, a church. i'm just not into them. and they kind of make me sad to hear about the things the church has done.go to buttes chaumont park. we didn't actually cross this one off. i love this park (even though i dont even like parks, in general). will keep it on list for next timereturn to Reims - we didn't end up going bcs it was so expensive. i'm OK with that. (i technically squiggled this off the list meaning it got taken off the list)Walk from Bastille to Canal St. Martin to the Sacre Coeur - which, TECHNICALLY we only walked from republique onwards, but this totally counts.Musee d'Orsay - did not make it here, either. want to go when van gogh's painting is back (after Feb 2011) and its not tourist seasonWax - i waxed and spent a TON of money. 91 euros. eek!go to slow club and/or caveaux des oubliettes - we didn't end up going to these places, but will keep them on the list.eat at a good resto - i originally intended for this to mean an asian restaurant, which we DID go to, but then elaine wanted to go to a very frenchy french resto, which we did, as well.10) we added when we were half-way through our stay: "get water qui coule" (get running water) - which we DID get! AND we got 70 euros back for the night we didn't have water. who said the french didn't take care of you?? (aside from me, of course...)
this ended up being a fairly expensive trip. (not even counting the briefcase i purchased!) my wax cost WAY more than i expected (they took off more than i expected, too, though!).

[i'm watching glee as i repost this...]

flying on the ground is wrong

so.... i've been going through all my ramblings and found one that i don't think i ever posted. mostly because i never finished it. and since i'm on a flight right now, i thought it would be worthwhile actually posting it. so here it is. a rambling from last summer...

----------------------------------------------------
i pity the fool who sleeps during a transatlantic flight when there are individual movie screens.

well, its five o'clock somewhere, right?? even if i'm in the air, above the atlantic and the time at my origination location (amsterdam) is 4:34 and the time at my destination location (boston) [according to the screens in the airplane] is 10:34 am. i have had... a few glasses of red wine. in fact, i don't know how many. AND they keep filling my glass. "why?" you ask. because i am a FABULOUS airline passenger. :)

for some reason... i have FANTASTIC seats on the plane.

[editors note: the flight attendant JUST came up to me and said "would you like some more wine?" and i said "sure! why not?" and she replied "you're in a great seat." which is true! explanation to come....]

but its true. i do have a fantastic seat. and i have
no
idea
why.

thats maybe 6 glasses... oops! i already know the text message for my roommate when i land:
"i'm thinking tequilla."

how would you respond if you received that message??

so back to now. i am on a flight from amsterdam to boston. i was in london just a few hours ago and had a connecting flight in the dam. my flight in london was at 8:40am, so i hopped in a cab at 6:10am. my friend, with whom i was staying, elaine, and i went out last night and it was super dooper fun. (at least for me) we met up with two other girls we studied with in france. man, that was EIGHT YEARS AGO. geez. i can't believe everything that has happened since then. crazy. anyway, we went out last night to a super fancy resto - coq d'argent (golden rooster). it's a french restaurant in the city center of london (which is basically the financial district). [gerard butler has skinny legs] the 4 of us met at the bank tube stop and then walked across the street to eat. it was great! the food was good. we had drinks to start (i had some drink with chili tequila) and then we shared a bottle of wine along with us each having a 3-course meal (petite salad, entree, and dessert). if you check this link and then download the restaurant menu, you can see the prices of the place. AND thats in british pounds. you have to multiple by 1.6 to understand the actual price for me. BUT.... dum dum dum... we reserved a table on open table or some site that allows you to reserve a spot at restaurants that have tables free for the night. you get a fixed price menu (with specific choices) for a certain amount (and the idea is that you order lots of alcohol or something else to go with it, which we did, of course).

[song by buffalo springfield]

3-point game

greetings. its friday night and i didnt get a chance ALL day to write. it was a CRAZY day. ugh. anyway, players game JUST finished and they won by 3. they're on a roll! and because of the game tonight, i had been planning all week to post this, but just never had time.

background: last week, i watched the game per usual. and to explain what i am about to post, for people to watch games they have to "log in" to the site to view the game. of course, "logging in" means entering your zip code. i've always thought it was funny - you dont have to have a screen name or password or anything. or even enter your email. they literally have NO WAY of tracking you. so, anyway, you enter your zip code to watch the game and there is an option to "chat" during the game. so here is last friday's chat... (hint: i'm obviously Boston, MA)

21:17:15 Boston, MA: does anyone else have feedback? a ch-ch-ch-ch sound?

21:18:08 Beverly Hills, CA: I do too

21:18:11 Beverly Hills, CA: ANNOYING!

21:18:53 Boston, MA: very. i wonder if there is anything we can do to change it?

21:19:16 Beverly Hills, CA: Probably straight up murder someone.

21:20:56 Moorhead, MN: yep

21:21:23 Moorhead, MN: to the sound, not murdering someone.

21:23:51 Beverly Hills, CA: tick, tick, tick, tick, tick

21:23:56 Beverly Hills, CA: maybe it's a bomb!

21:37:24 Moorhead, MN: even worse than the ticking is it keeps freezing or is that just me?

21:37:56 Beverly Hills, CA: works for me

21:38:02 Moorhead, MN: u mary doesnt hav elive stats either arrrgh

21:38:36 Moorhead, MN: lucky you, women's game was fine for me, this one is brutal

21:39:51 Iowa City, IA: even better than it freezing is the trails of motion it leaves as it freezes.. ain't it grand?

21:40:15 Beverly Hills, CA: I'm cheering for U Mary, being a god fearing man such as myself.

21:40:30 Moorhead, MN: Better than nothing i suppose....

21:41:08 Moorhead, MN: maybe that is why your streaming is being blessed!

21:53:43 Boston, MA: yeah, i dont have any issues with the video

21:54:41 Firth, NE: my video has been good tonight

21:54:58 Firth, NE: knock on wood

21:57:10 Minneapolis, MN: video was good here until last 2 min. then it started freezing about every 2 passes.... soooo frustrating!

21:57:15 Iowa City, IA: you are closer to origination site!! :)

21:58:10 Beverly Hills, CA: This ticking is driving me to drink!

21:58:59 Mandan, ND: They do have live stats

21:59:18 Minneapolis, MN: Have a glass of wine and then it becomes a mile background noise- jk

22:00:46 Minneapolis, MN: Back to the good ol' days- we can all just "listen"to the game. I guess we've become spoiled.

22:00:50 Beverly Hills, CA: I bet Mary wins by 14 tonight

22:01:23 Minneapolis, MN: I like the way you think CA.

22:01:59 Moorhead, MN: the next 20 minutes will tell....I don't think it will be by more than 10 though..

22:03:21 Beverly Hills, CA: Live stats are not very accurate haha.

22:03:29 Beverly Hills, CA: They have Williamson down for 1 reb and Novak 8.

22:03:39 Beverly Hills, CA: Williamson has at least 3 offensive rebounds

22:05:14 Moorhead, MN: Trouble for the Dragons if the guards aren't scoring gotta slow moody down if we want to have a chance at the end

22:18:36 Beverly Hills, CA: He's heating up!

22:18:41 Beverly Hills, CA: From downtown!

22:18:43 Moorhead, MN: What happened the fired up Walthall?

22:19:00 Moorhead, MN: Yeah Erdmann went off for 8 straight there ouch

22:19:43 Beverly Hills, CA: Who is this Erdmann kid? Is he any good?

22:20:26 Moorhead, MN: he is pretty good, got a great mid range game and can hit the three, ball screen with moody is tough to guard

22:21:12 Moorhead, MN:

22:21:56 Firth, NE: Erdman can be pretty quiet for a while and then do a lot of damage. He kind of plays to what the game needs

22:22:05 Boston, MA: yeah - whats going on? i missed the first 5 min of the 2nd half - why do they keep talking about things heating up and the coaches having to be in check?

22:23:00 Moorhead, MN: walthall got a T and then the players started jawing

22:23:32 Beverly Hills, CA: And this Erdmann kid has been making everything!

22:23:34 Beverly Hills, CA: He's amazing!

22:23:42 Boston, MA: what was the technical for? language? and what's "jawing"?

22:24:40 Moorhead, MN: Refs missed a call and he wouldn't let it go, then a couple of players where going back in forth or jawing in my world

22:25:13 Boston, MA: ah

22:25:14 Boston, MA: thank you

22:25:23 Moorhead, MN: yeah erdmann can't miss...

22:25:32 Beverly Hills, CA: Boston - jawing is making out.

22:26:00 Boston, MA: i hate it when players just start doing that in the middle of a game. so distracting

22:27:53 Beverly Hills, CA: What is Novak complaining about? Once it hits the backboard you can't touch it. Textbook goaltending

22:28:29 Moorhead, MN: he is complaining because it got partially blocked before he got to it, by rule then it is open season.

22:28:33 West Fargo, ND: which official gave the T

22:28:44 Moorhead, MN: couldn't tell

22:29:11 Moorhead, MN: *Removed*

22:29:17 Minneapolis, MN: At least you guys are entertaining- thanks! The game keeps freezing, so I'm enjoyint your dialogue instead.

22:29:28 Beverly Hills, CA: The short guy closest to us right now called the T

22:29:36 Moorhead, MN: refs are bad both ways, missing a ton of calls

22:29:52 Boston, MA: 90210 - what brings you to watch a midwestern div 2 game this fine evening?

22:30:41 Moorhead, MN: Live in moorhead and a Dragon fan

22:30:47 Moorhead, MN: how about you

22:31:17 Boston, MA: my brother plays for mary

22:31:47 Moorhead, MN: ah who is your brother?

22:31:52 Boston, MA: erdmann

22:32:28 Moorhead, MN: He can start missing anytime soon....

22:33:06 Boston, MA: ha. and i've been a horrible sister and missed half of this half, so i havent even seen a lot of it.

22:33:32 Boston, MA: how does that work for MSUM? i thought when i lived in fargo it was just MSU? or something like that? was there a name change?

22:33:38 Beverly Hills, CA: I choose DII.

22:34:00 Boston, MA: ?

22:34:21 Moorhead, MN: he was on fire he hit two 3"s and a couple of baskets in about a minute and a half

22:34:49 Moorhead, MN: holy cow is moody fast

22:35:07 Moorhead, MN: Mary has to hate the thought of Erdman and moody graduating

22:35:48 Boston, MA: is MSUM graduating a lot of seniors?

22:35:58 Beverly Hills, CA: Every weekend I find a random DII game to watch and I do it.

22:36:13 Firth, NE: & willy.

22:36:14 Boston, MA: ohhh... got it. is this a good game for you?

22:36:14 Moorhead, MN: Nope, no seniors at all....

22:36:27 Boston, MA: thats good for you guys

22:37:00 Moorhead, MN: yes it is, CA guy who is the best team you've watched this year?

22:37:13 Beverly Hills, CA: I've been reading about UMary while this game is going on, won 9 straight?

22:37:14 Beverly Hills, CA: Wow

22:38:35 Firth, NE: Randall Herbst came to Mary last year and really turned the program around

22:38:45 Beverly Hills, CA: Probably West Liberty

22:38:47 Moorhead, MN: yeah they are on fire. I don't think there is a better D2 guard than moody, some maybe as good but no one better. His game fits will with erdmann, beyond those ttow it is short

22:38:55 Beverly Hills, CA: I found Mary because they got a vote in the top 25 this week.

22:38:56 Moorhead, MN: on talent that is

22:40:10 Moorhead, MN: yeah, they are interesting, in my opinion if everyone in the league plays their best game, Mary is about the 4th best team in the league. The conference tourney will be interesting

22:41:00 Beverly Hills, CA: Looks like they are in 2nd in the league. Who you got better than Mary?

22:41:09 Moorhead, MN: HErbst has done a nice job of turning it around.

22:41:34 West Fargo, ND: mankato

22:42:29 Moorhead, MN: I think Mankato, Winona, Augie, and St Cloud are better because they are deeper. If they played everybody 5 times they would lose more than they won to each team

22:44:28 Moorhead, MN: I mean if Mary played everbody in a best of 5 series they wouldn't win a single one, of course it doesn't work that way which is why college hoops is so much fun

22:45:31 Beverly Hills, CA: Refs need to swallow their whistles soon

22:45:52 West Fargo, ND: na

22:45:58 Boston, MA: does that mean stop blowing or blow more?

22:46:23 Moorhead, MN: no kidding, typical of refs in this league if they give a T they start calling everything

22:46:42 West Fargo, ND: he means stop blowing

22:46:56 Boston, MA: got it. thanks

22:47:08 Moorhead, MN: especially when it doesn't impact the game

22:47:11 Sioux Falls, SD: St. Cloud definitely isn't deeper than just about anyone in the league. They're basically only playing 8 guys right now due to various injuries.

22:47:30 Moorhead, MN: dang it erdmann, when moody and erdman are scoring mary is TOUGH

22:47:40 West Fargo, ND: so then if things get loose then u say ..refs let it get that way

22:47:54 Moorhead, MN: I know, but there 8 are better than Mary's 8

22:48:02 Beverly Hills, CA: Mary has the best D in their league and are ranked high in the nation for turnovers (they don't commit very many). I would question whether they couldn't win a series with teams they've already beat

22:48:21 Sioux Falls, SD: Mary is playing solid ball right now. I'd say they are a top 3 team. If Augie hadn't beaten them already once, I'd definitely say Mary was a solid #2 in the league.

22:49:29 Moorhead, MN: Time will tell, I would still take St. Cloud, Mankato, Augie, and Winona if the game was on a neutral court

22:49:59 Sioux Falls, SD: Yeah, I'd agree with that. They're definitely better at home for a lot of reasons.

22:51:15 Moorhead, MN: yeah it will be interesting when it hits tourney time...did augie win tonight? Was hoping last night would have been closer with Mankato

22:51:35 Beverly Hills, CA: augie won

22:51:37 Firth, NE: They were 6-1 on the road in January

22:51:38 Beverly Hills, CA: st cloud won

22:51:41 Beverly Hills, CA: winona lost

22:52:33 Moorhead, MN: NE what is your tie with Mary? Just curious...

22:53:04 Firth, NE: My son played there last year

22:53:48 West Fargo, ND: herbst was an assistant also at Nebraska Omaha

22:53:53 Sioux Falls, SD: The Mankato game last night was closer than it looked. Augie cut it to two with 3 or 4 minutes left but had to foul to try and stay in it and it didn't work out for them.

22:53:56 Beverly Hills, CA: Who is that, firth?

22:54:39 Firth, NE: Ben Cruickshank

22:54:55 Moorhead, MN: Did your son like Herbst? I have always liked him, but players have a different perspective

22:55:15 Firth, NE:

22:55:21 Firth, NE: Ben liked him a lot

22:55:21 Moorhead, MN: On the bright side Ben got to go out on a winner...

22:55:39 Sioux Falls, SD: As an Augustana fan, I'm not looking forward to this upcoming Northern/Mary trip. The Vikes aren't known for playing well up in Bismarck.

22:55:52 Firth, NE: He said it was the closest team he had ever been on

22:57:01 Moorhead, MN: yeah, Mary is a big game for augie and Northern is starting to put it together. I don't think there are any easy ones on the road

22:57:04 Beverly Hills, CA: This Northern Sun conference seems interesting, might have to check out some more games this year

22:57:35 Firth, NE: bring a friend

22:57:48 Sioux Falls, SD: Not even Crookston/Moorhead anymore, unfortunately.

22:57:48 Moorhead, MN: You should it is one of the best DII leagues top to bottom. I don't think the top of the league is as good as it has been in the past, whereas the bottom and middle is much better

22:58:06 Moorhead, MN: As a Moorhead fan thank goodness

22:58:35 Moorhead, MN: GOod night everyone!

22:58:38 Beverly Hills, CA: Well thanks for the good company ya'll!

22:58:44 Beverly Hills, CA: Have a good one!

--------------------------

that was the end. so...?? did you get the rub?? about halfway through the game, i tried IMing homie to see if he was listening/watching when they started talking about mary and player. he doesn't respond. i call him. no response. i text his wife. she's at work and doesn't know where he is. then no response. FINALLY he writes back that he's watching. and then it hit me: Beverly Hills, CA was homie! tricky little fella. go back and read it now and tell me if its obvious or not...

right thru me

just a quick note to say hi to everyone today. i've been oddly busy at work - in a good way, though. not like, crazy i can't get anything done, but just busy enough to be constantly busy. i havent had a lot of mtgs this week, which is nice. BUT i have worked 11 hrs the past 2 days and that is slightly surprising. i'm going to leave by 5:45 today. that would be the earliest in ... who knows when. last night, i was supposed to have a personal training session at this new place i'm going - really like it! - but i cancelled it and went to a play with kc and the sunshine band. it was at the paramount theater, which i've never been to. it was REALLY GOOD. except it was tough for me to concentrate - i think i had a lot on my mind and kept thinking "i have to remember to do this, and don't forget to email this person and oh crap! i haven't planned my birthday yet..." so lots of things going on. anyway, the play was part of irish celebration or something like that. i kept trying to tell if the actors really were irish. i couldn't tell, they had good accents and they kept saying things that my irish friends say. but i dont think they were irish... and it all tied together at the end - that was surprising. but it was super violent and that was kind of surprising to me. and usually violence doesnt surprise me. oh, and also it felt like the stories were very irish, which is sad (because of the actual stories). hmmm... i dont even know the name of the play. i just kind of showed up. terminus i guess. not sure if its new or well-known. check it out some time if you can.

what else? i've been listening to nicki minaj's cd a lot lately and i LOVE IT. its really good. puts me in a good mood even though its kind of mean. ha. what does that say?

ok, so today is thursday. tonight i am doing a workout class and then i might stop at this store that is having a trunk sale on my way home. should be fun. what are you up to these days?

wildflower

so this article had a listing of the world's prettiest airports. i have to admit, i've been to 4 or 5 of those included on this listing and i can't remember being in any of them and thinking "wow. how pretty." if i had to pick one, i guess i'd pick cdg in paris (pictured above for you), but i can't really give good reasons. maybe i just like going to paris?? in any case, i now think i should go to all these airports. mental note: to do.

and the article actually forgot a pretty airport:


that's right, baby! fargo hector international airport.

[song by cmb bcs thats what i'm listening to as i type this]

they say that my behavior is unacceptable

about a month from now, there will begin major flood preparation in fargo. its kind of crazy to think that the 100-year flood which last occurred in the 1890s, happened when i was in high school in 1997 (hence the 100-year flood) and then EACH of the past 3 years! (well, including this year - this will be the 3rd straight year of massive flooding in the red river valley.) the city has been saved from 3 major floods in 12 years. but can they do it again? i'm really hoping so. and i'm wishing people started moving faster to build permanent flood protection. its ridiculous that its taken this long and it could almost be done by now. grand forks was destroyed in 1997 and they now have flood protection. just because fargo wasn't destroyed, we haven't done anything about it. ridiculous.

last week there was an article in the wall street journal - wsj, people! - about oxbow, a community south of fargo (where my dad's best friend lived, actually) and how they will be sacrificed for the sake of the bigger city. its sad, but true: what is best for the greater good?

also last week, i was talking to a client who asked me when i was going to go home to help sandbag. i laughed, appreciating that he recognizes / remembers where i'm from, but i also felt really really guilty. i won't be there to help. and i'm a damn good sandbagger. and a really good director of traffic and teacher of proper sandbagging technique. and i'm not afraid to yell at all the football players for making the bags too heavy. alas, i have to depend on my family and friends and strangers. people i do not know - depending on them scares me. i hope people are starting to get in shape for long hours shoveling gravel into plastic bags. put your valuables in protective containers. back up your media and pictures. store things online. have food on hand. keep gas in your cars (in case you have to outrace the water). and keep me posted on everything that happens.

the river is wild.

[lyrics from harder to breathe by maroon 5 - in reference to the rivers behavior :)]

things that are making me happy

this should say "things that are making me EXTREMELY happy" because i LOVED it. it made me extremely happy.

last weekend on snl, which i like to watch online afterwards (i rarely watch it live - do you?) when they pull out the best clips, had a reunion of wayne and garth. i was in elementary school/junior high when the waynes world movies came out. i didn't know much about them being on snl at the time, BUT i loved the movies. i wonder if i loved the movies because my older cousin, dustin, liked them and i thought he was cool. and probably because i would watch them with my brothers and that was fun. so, anyway, when i found out that dana carvey was going to be back on snl, i thought "hmm... why? what is he promoting." i did not think "AWESOME! waynes world reunion!" silly me. so here's the clip (hopefully it works):



i used to have a waynes world impression, but from the movie. now i want to watch them again. are you a waynes world fan?

are you ready for some football?

happy superbowl sunday folks. are you going to watch the game? i am indifferent to the game but like watching the commercials. last year i was alone in california at a friends house (who was out of town) and i watched the game and attempted to make homemade salsa that didn't really turn out ok... oops! this year higgi and i are having kc and the sunshine band over and we're making some food. i'm going to make homemade salsa and attempt chex mix. i have to go to the store and get some stuff today, so i should get on that. i also need to clean my room and organize things. lots of stuff to do! its gonna be a busy day!

in honor of the superbowl, i put a new poll up. i can't even remember the last time i did a poll! i had completely forgotten about them. i'll have to start them again... feel free to vote. oh, and then also put in here who you're cheering for.

cheering for. therein lies a dilemma for me. here is what i know:

1. my family are die-hard vikings fans
2. therefore, i am a vikings fan
3. one of my best friends is a die-hard steelers fan
4. steelers are known as blue-collar, hardworking folk (or at least pittsburgians are - are they pittsburgians? pittsburgers?)
5. i like hardworking folk
6. i dont like cheese
7. my family hates the packers during the season
8. therefore, i hate the packers during the season (actually couldnt care less, but you know...)
9. i dont know what a packer is
10. i dislike both of the team colors, so can't decide on that

and i'm trying to decide based on all that, but then there is this one thing that rings true for me:

1. roethlisberger is a dick and a menace to society and women.

i think that trumps everything else and i'm going to have to cheer for the packers. oh, and our friends coming over today are from wisconsin, so they'll be cheering for them. i should just not make any waves during the party, right? but then that means i'll be making waves with my brothers... i think i'll have to take my chances. packers it is for me. sorry, homie.

superbowl has been everywhere in the news this week. i saved a few links that i thought would be funny to post here. i like cake wrecks and you should check out this post for fun stuff. i'll post 2 of the pics here for you to help decide who you are cheering for.



oh, and did i mention i just watch for the commercials? according to this, there are going to be some great commercials. (don't read it if you dont want to be surprised) i like funny commercials and will be rating the best ones here in the future... maybe...

ok, gotta get my day on.

my name is

its friday night as i write this. am home watching brothers game. i like this. wish i were drinking, but i'm not for all of february. its a low scoring game and its currently tied. not loving that. ok, the other team just scored. darn.

anyway, i'm watching the game online. its a home game, which is nice because then i can listen to the sound from the video and its our own sportscasters. its not as fun to watch the opponents guys comment on the game. anyway, i'm not sure who monitors the video, but its not usually very good camera work. sometimes the game moves to the other side of the court and no one moves the camera. not cool. and that happened and i was just imagining my little brother, player, when we used to go watch homie's games... player would take the video camera and go behind the stands with all the other video cameras and film homie's game. he was homie's biggest fan. and now homie is his. it brought a tear to my eye because they were both so cute! and they're such great brothers. i'd really like for them to start moving all those games from vhs to dvd... hint, hint, hint. i can still imagine player sitting behind with all the adults filming the game. and i know we have some videos where you can hear player cheering for homie. so fun.

so i'm writing tonight because tomorrow is going to be a busy day. i have to run some errands, then i am going to see my little sister at noon. we may or may not go skating (depends on if she gets skates) and we'll probably spend at least 3-4 hrs together. i have a ton of work to do at work and i want to organize some of the papers in my room. i should probably also think about doing my taxes. i need to be on a major budget because i am quickly burning through my cash. need to rein in the expenses. stop eating out so much. stop buying cds. etc. you get the drill.

oh, and here is another article about my brothers team, this time from the bismarck tribune.

Men continue to roll

Northern Sun coaches always lament that playing on the road is the toughest thing to do. The U-Mary men haven't let the long road trips take away their will to win. U-Mary closed the month of January with eight straight wins, including six straight on the road.

The Marauders (11-4 NSIC, 15-4 overall) are tied with Augustana for second place in the conference. As the wins pile up, U-Mary has gained recognition by being ranked eighth in the region.

"We knew going into Christmas break that we had some challenges in front of us," U-Mary coach Randall Herbst said. "We face adversity with the travel itself and then we have the games. We have played well on the road. We have been able to take care of some business. It wasn't an easy month to get through."

The Marauders' top three stars - Anthony Moody, Eric Erdmann and Jordan Wilhelm - have started receiving help on the offensive end. Jalen Jaspers scored a career-high 19 points on Saturday against Duluth. Post Damon Smith finished in double digits in scoring both nights last weekend. Smith netted 12 in a win against Bemidji State and 10 against Duluth.

"Anytime we can come out with that type of ammunition," Herbst said, "it will make it tough for our opponents. People have been keying in on Moody and Erdmann the whole time. We are tough for our opponent when our other guys start putting the ball in the hole."

Starting guard Cameron Lee, who has been slowed by a sprained ankle, didn't see time in the second half against Duluth. Herbst said the senior is still day-to-day.

and thats about all i've got. what are you up to this weekend?

[eminem sings this song. did you really not know that?]

act naturally

another friday night and what does that mean? mooooore basketball! tonight i might hit up the gym or even re-attempt to get everything i need at whole foods (depends on how long i have to stay at work) and then i will go home and... dum dum dum... listen to a basketball game! woo hoo! player's team is on a roll (knock on wood) and doing really well. they even were voted for! i dont totally know what that means, but it seems awesome. here is the press release:

February 1, 2011

Marauders Garner First Ever Mention in NABC Division II Men's Basketball Poll

Kansas City, MO - Coming on the heels of an eight game winning streak, the University of Mary men's basketball team received recognition in the national basketball poll. In the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll released today, the Marauders received one vote.

The Marauders, who are 15-4 overall and 11-4 in the Northern Sun to earn a tie for second in the conference standings, have never received a vote in the NABC Division II poll previously. Ranked eighth in the NCAA Central Region rankings released last week, the Marauders moved into NCAA Division II competition in 2006.

Just two NSIC teams picked up votes in the poll. Minnesota State University is ranked tenth. In the only game against teams ranked in the top 25, U-Mary is 1-0, defeating MSU 84-69 at home on Jan. 15.

U-Mary won eight of nine games in January, including victories in six of seven games on the road and wins in the squad's only two home games in the month. During the current win streak, only one game was decided by less than ten points.

The 15 wins accumulated this year already equals the team's win total for all of last season with seven regular season games to play.

After playing the past two weeks and four of the last five weeks on the road, the Marauders return home to host the University of Minnesota Crookston on Friday and Minnesota State University Moorhead on Saturday, Feb. 4-5.

NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (February 1, 2011 - Poll #10)

Rec Pnts Pvs

1. West Liberty, W.Va. (8) 18-0 200 1
2. Bellarmine, Ky. 19-1 191 2
3. Augusta State, Ga. 19-1 185 3
4. Findlay, Ohio 17-1 170 5
5. Alabama-Huntsville 18-2 168 6
6. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 18-0 159 8
7. Southern Indiana 18-2 152 9
8. CSU-Dominguez Hills 16-2 141 4
9. Central Oklahoma 19-2 128 10
10. Minnesota State 17-2 121 12
11. Central Washington 17-2 109 14
12. Missouri Southern 16-2 101 11
13. Fort Hays State, Kan. 17-3 97 7
14. Humboldt State, Calif. 16-2 94 22
15. Arkansas Tech 15-3 88 23
16. Incarnate Word, Texas 15-3 73 13
17. Grand Valley Stat 15-4 55 15
18. Georgia Southwestern 14-4 50 18
19. West Texas A&M 16-3 46 20
20. Harding, Ark. 16-3 44 19
21. Tampa, Fla. 17-3 33 16
22. Indianapolis, Ind. 16-4 31 NR
23. Hillsdale, Mich. 15-3 29 17
24. Northern Kentucky 16-4 27 NR
25. Mercyhurst, Pa. 15-3 23 NR

Others receiving votes: Bentley (Mass.) 14, Bowie State (Md.) 12, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 8, Colorado School of Mines 8, Rollins (Fla.) 8, Kentucky Wesleyan 7, Metropolitan State (Colo.) 7, Midwestern State (Texas) 5, Wayne State (Mich.) 5, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 4, Alaska-Anchorage 3, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 2, Mary (N.D.) 1, Stonehill (Mass.) 1.

Dropped out: Wayne State, Mich. (21), Kentucky Wesleyan (24), Saint Anselm (25).

Records are through games of Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. The next poll will be released on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011.

#marauders#

how cool is all that??

[by buck owens]

murder on the dancefloor

yesterday was the first day that i have truly been COLD this year. for some reason, my gloves and jacket weren't warm enough. there must have been a breeze or something unordinary because i generally dont find winters in boston that cold but boston was particularly cold yesterday. i noticed it because i was at whole foods and i missed the bus so i ended up walking home. oh crap! i just realized that i forgot to get cumin. and oils to make homemade yoga mat cleaners. damn. i'll have to go back sometime.

anyway, i walked home from whole foods and it was freeeeezing. i got home and was supposed to work on my expense reports that i keep putting off. and, once again, i kept putting them off. which is why i am up at 4 am this morning. i am going to finish them before i go to work. i need to pay rent, you know?

things have been pretty quiet lately and thats a good thing. i love traveling but i also love not traveling. so thats a good thing. i was in california last week and friday afternoon i landed around 5pm. the whole return to boston thing put me in a bad mood. 1) my cab driver was coughing and whatnot and then his credit card machine "didn't work" ugh. 2) i walked in to my room and the cleaners had changed my sheets the wrong way. that was really annoying. oh and then 3) there was some stupid stuff with work. so that sucked. i was really frustrated so i started yelling at my roommate, but in a funny way. no one seems to get that it was a joke. i was purposefully pulling myself out of a bad mood.

we had no plans for that night, but i quickly convinced him to go to towne with me because i was really craving their salmon. it was delicious when i first had it a few months ago. we figured we should get there earlyish because we didnt have a reservation, it was friday night, and the place is the hottest new restaurant in towne. get it? towne. ha ha. anyway, we got there later than we wanted and just in time to hear the hostess tell a party of 2 ahead of us that the wait was 45 minutes. so we thought we'd get a drink at the bar first. and then, all of a sudden, the manager of the restaurant comes over and see higgi in the morning and, of course, they know each other and the manager says to the hostess "you're showing them to the dining room?" and we get seated right away!

i really only wanted a salmon, but then we felt like we had to be good guests so we ended up having a cocktail, appetizer, entrees, bottle of wine, and dessert. i waddled home, but it was FABULOUSLY FANTASTIC. and so much fun! and also very expensive. but totally worth it.

what else? oh, i went to see aziz ansari last weekend. his standup was relatively clean and super funny. i went with kelly and her friend. it was good and i didnt mind that it was at 945 on a sunday night.

work has been relatively quiet this week, which is good. its gonna pick up next week, i'm sure. oh and the other interesting thing of this week is that i found this new workout place that i really like. i'm gonna try and take more classes there.

[sophie ellis bexter. LOVE this song]

things that are making me happy

i suspect that since we're in the throws of winter and its FREEZING everywhere, this post should make people happy (at least you're not here!)


check out huffpo's coldest places to travel here.

no subject

so its february. one month down in 2011. i dont know how i feel about it. there was a lot i wanted to get done and i ... i think i did a decent job in getting things done that i wanted to, but i feel like there is so much more to do... sigh.

and whats up with north dakota being everywhere?? there have been 2 episodes of criminal minds in the past few months where characters were from north dakota. last week's episode - the two killers had started in jamestown and dickinson and then were getting caught in montana. they were from devils lake, of course. and now there have been some murders in why not minot and its all over the news. i was riding the elevator at work and it was featured on the little elevator tv. i think there was something else in the news recently, as well. of course now i can't remember.

ugh.

portlandia is my favorite new show. or new favorite show. it is awesome. you should check it out. its on ifc.

ok, i was going to write more but i dont feel well so i'm going to bed. bleh.