Comebacks for Bad Pick-up Lines

He says: Can I buy you a drink?
You say: Actually, I'd rather have the money.

He says: I think I could make you very happy.
You say: Why? Are you leaving?

He says: Haven't I seen you someplace before?
You say: Yes, that's why I don't go there anymore.

Follow-up to Papelnews

OH MY GOD does this mean Roger Clemens can fit into the rotation now? Has this occurred to anyone else?!?!?

Papel-news

Papelbon is returning to the closer role! I am psyched. It might be more "prestigious" to be a starter, but there's just something about the excitement of seeing Papelbon jogging out of the bullpen and knowing it's lights out for the other team!

Spring Resolutions

Since today is the first day of spring (or is tomorrow?) and I haven't been doing that great on my New Year's resolutions, I'm instituting a new set of spring resolutions:

1. Exercise more. I'm not giving up on running the Bolder Boulder yet, but between ice, injuries, illness, and travel, I haven't really been running. So I am hoping to get running again, start doing some strength training, etc. I gotta get in shape for my bridesmaid stint in August!

2. Read more. I've actually been reading a fair amount lately, but want to pick up the pace a bit. I've been spending way too much time in front of the TV lately (I've even gotten sucked into the American Idol phenomenon, something I resisted for years!).

3. Get the house organized and decorated. My little house is heavy on the clutter and light on the personality. I put a few more framed photos up last weekend, but I want to get some more up, and I need some big prints and maps and stuff like that on the walls. I also need to take the plunge and buy a couch - I'm tired of not being able to invite anybody over to hang out cause I don't have anywhere for them to sit!

4. Save money. I've got some big plans for an awesome road trip through the Southwest to San Diego and back next summer. I'll be in Cali for my cousin Steve's wedding, which is going to be the wedding of the century (and I'm going to be a bridesmaid!). My cousins (and fellow bridesmaids) Caitlin and Betsy are probably going to join me on the way back, and we'll hit Las Vegas (yeah baby!), the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and maybe Arches National Park. I want to save up some money to live it up a bit! I'd also just like to get better about avoiding impulse purchases and putting money in my IRA and stuff like that.

5. Try to be more social. I was thinking the other day, "nobody ever comes and hangs out at my house". Well, I never invite anyone over! Partially that's due to the aforementioned lack of couch. But I want to get better in general at inviting my friends over for dinner, on hikes, out for drinks, etc., and also remembering birthdays and other special occasions.

Okay, that's all I can think of right now. Oh yeah - I did meet one of my New Year's resolutions - I learned to ski the black diamonds! Woohoo!

Al Gore and Global Warming

There was an interesting New York Times article about Al Gore and the science of global warming today. Now, I LOVE Al Gore and think that he's contributed a lot to environmental causes and focused a lot of attention on issues that need attention. That said, I think he went too far with some of the "facts" he presented in An Inconvenient Truth, and I've gotten tired of the constant insistence that there is a scientific consensus on global warming. The precious consensus extends about this far: "The earth has been warming up over the past century, and humans have LIKELY caused SOME part of that warming." There is no consensus on what will happen in the future, even though Al Gore presents his doomsday scenarios as fact, and many scientists take serious issue with his predictions about increased malaria and more frequent tropical storms. Now, I know this might sound nitpicky but I think that if *I*, as someone predisposed to believe anything that Al Gore tells me, find some of this stuff hard to swallow, then a bunch of rednecks who hate anything to do with Bill Clinton and love their big ass trucks and SUVs certainly aren't going to keep listening. I think that overselling the science is a very real danger and does no one any good!

Before anybody goes medieval on my ass about this, please note that even if Al Gore's predictions are WILDLY off, I still think that dramatically reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is the right thing to do, for MANY environmental and political reasons. I heart hybrids, CFLs, public transportation, solar panels, forgoing A/C, biking to work, politicians who campaign on environmental issues, etc.

More 30 Rock Quotes

"I believe that the moon doesn't exist. I believe that vampires are the greatest golfers and their curse is that they never get to prove it! I believe there are thirty-one letters in the white alphabet. Wait, what was the question again?"
-Tracy

"I haven't seen my dad in 17 years. I haven't seen my brother since I bailed him out of Disney jail."
-Jack

"This mess is going to get raw like sushi so haters to the left."
-Kenneth

"You know how much I remind myself of Grace Kelly."
-Jenna

Five Favorites for March

Five things that are making me happy lately:

1. I just read Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer's book about the disastrous 1996 Everest expedition. I am all about mountain adventure stories lately! My boss Kevin recently gave an amazing slide show about his K2 expedition back in the mid-1990s which has definitely piqued my interest in mountaineering stories. Kevin actually climbed Everest with one of the key players in Into Thin Air (apparently these high-altitude climbers move in small circles!). Anyways, the book was totally gripping - I finished it in less than 24 hours! I think I'm just in awe of the fact that these elite athlete-adventurers WALK AMONG US (especially here in Boulder).

2. Baseball spring training is under way! The Red Sox and Yankees are playing RIGHT NOW! And the Red Sox are winning! Woohoo!

3. The mercury is finally rising here - we've had some beautiful weather the past few days. Of course, I didn't get to enjoy any of it today cause I didn't leave the office for 10 straight hours, but yesterday I enjoyed a gorgeous ski day at Eldora and then sat outside in a T-SHIRT drinking a beer! After the winter we've had, my pasty white arms are a surprisingly welcome sight.

4. That new show 30 Rock has been completely cracking me up lately. Alec Baldwin is a comedic genius. I love it when he insults Tina Fey: "I like you. You have the boldness of a much younger woman." I also think that the page Kenneth is hilarious!! "Didn't you tell me to live every week like it's Shark Week? And that nothing's impossible except dinosaurs?" And Tracy Morgan is ridiculously funny too, especially when he is completely mangling the English language: "Ken, I'll be gone soon but I just wanted you to know that I loved being your mentor and it's been an honour having you be my manatee." I'm bummed to hear that the show isn't going to be on for a while - I hope they don't cancel it. It's just so unexpectedly crazy.

5. This bit of Red Sox trivia: When Terry Francona (current manager of the Red Sox, who led them to the 2004 World Series victory!) was applying for his first job as a major league manager, who called the GM and gave him an enthusiastic recommendation (uninvited)? You'll never guess this one: the one and only Michael Jordan. Why? Because when Michael Jordan played minor league ball, Tito was his manager. God bless the internet for making these little details available to the general public.

My Wild and Crazy Weekend in California

Almost immediately after we entered the Wild Animal Park, a zookeeper stepped out and announced loudly that he was about to walk a cheetah through the park (with a dog escort) and that we were all to stay at least 10 feet away. It was awesome!


Some of the animals were pretty lazy...

But this cub was very playful!



Me, Nanny, and Mom at Judy and Ron's engagement party:

Judy, Nanny, and the boys:

Judy and Ron, the bride- and groom-to-be:

Sarah's funny little dog Samson:

Quote of the Day

I tried being reasonable, I didn't like it.
-Clint Eastwood

Ooh La La Pt. 2

Okay, a couple of reactions, in no particular order...

ELLEN! SO AWESOME! I once got into a bit of an argument in which we were deciding who we would clone if we could pick two people to clone (not for the purposes of repopulating the earth, mind you, just two people that we think the world would benefit from having two of) and I picked Ellen, and nobody agreed with me, and now I feel totally vindicated.

Why is Jack Nicholson bald? I'm thinking either (a) cancer or (b) a show of solidarity with Britney?

I loved those shadow dancers. I thought the whole show was really well written and produced, not lame like so many of the recent Oscars. Although, on the flip side, I felt like a lot of the acceptance speeches were quite dull, except Forest Whitaker's. And I liked it when Alan Arkin thanked all his teachers.

Is it weird that I was disappointed that I didn't recognize many of the "in memoriams"?

Can Will Smith's kid read?

I want to BE Beyonce.

The Departed is so awesome and I don't understand why Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio didn't get nominations along with Marky Mark. Even though I still think Eddie Murphy shoulda won. I just bought the Departed as a birthday gift for someone but I'm thinking about keeping it for myself...

So I think I did fairly well with the predictions, huh? I got Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Documentary, Adapted Screenplay, and Original Screenplay.

Ooh La La, Oscar Night

Watching the "pre-game" show...loved Al Gore saying that if there was a movie of his life, he would want William Hung to play him! Big question of the night - is Gore REALLY going to announce his candidacy for '08?!? I don't know.

A couple predictions...

Best Picture: The Departed (SO amazing!)
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker (I didn't actually see ANY of the movies in this category)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (that's all)
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy (his scenes were my favorite parts of Dreamgirls!)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (so talented)
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, the Departed (finally)
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth (duh - I'd bet the farm on this one - did ANYBODY even see any of the other nominees?)
Best Animated Feature: Cars (I love the way the windshields are the eyes instead of the headlights, like most animated cars)
Best Song: Listen from Dreamgirls (why the heck wasn't that I'm Telling You song nominated?)
Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine (this movie's gotta win SOMETHING)
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed (only one I saw in this category)

Okay, I'm not doing all the lame categories like film editing and sound mixing. BOR-ing.

Okay, back to watching the show...we'll see how psychic I am!

Excuses, Excuses

So, if anybody's wondering why I haven't been blogging, I enjoyed Vegas SO much I decided to quit my job as an energy consultant and become a showgirl. But it's a cruel, cruel world, so I'm back. ; )

Vegas, Baby!!

I'm heading to Las Vegas in the morning!

Carbon Taxes

Great blog post regarding the idea of a carbon tax: A Taboo Link. A highlight: "They know they’ve got an uphill fight, because presidents and legislators would rather hand out subsidies and set long-range targets than inflict immediate pain at the pump and in utility bills. But that immediacy is why the carbon tax appeals to so many experts of both parties (at least experts who aren’t running for office)."

But my favorite part is the "guiding principles" of the blog:

* 1. Just because an idea appeals to a lot of people doesn't mean it's wrong.
* 2. But that's a good working theory.

Five Favorites for January

I meant to start doing this EVERY month, just a way of noting my favorite things periodically so I can look back and say, oh yeah, in October I was obsessed with That 70s Show! (I think I will enjoy that...not sure that anybody else will, but hey, blogs aren't really for the READERS, are they?) Anyways, this month's favorite five:

1. The Office (especially Season 2 on DVD, but also the current season). Nothing better on TV these days. I think it's the best comedy since Seinfeld. Maybe even better than Seinfeld (although they are so different, it's hard to compare). Current favorite Office quote: "The office is like Friends. I'm Chandler...and Joey." (Michael, of course.) Another similar (and classic) Michael quote: "Ryan...is book smart. I am street smart...and book smart."

2. Adobe Photoshop Elements. I have been having SO much fun lately just messing around with Photoshop - I learned some neat effects from a magazine article and I've been digitally altering all my photos ever since. I also have been trying a little digital scrapbooking - I downloaded a bunch of swirly brushes and digital "stamps".

3. L.L. Bean. They are on my good side this week because I saw a suitcase in a catalog for $99, but online it was $119, so I called and asked them to honor the catalog price even though the catalog stated quite clearly that the prices were only in effect until 12/31/06, and they gave me the $99 price! That kind of customer service goes a long way, in my opinion.

4. My new iPod FM transmitter. So I can listen to all my tunes in the car. Frickin' awesome.

5. Soy sauce. Okay, I get that it's basically salt water and probably not worthy of being in my top five. It's just SO tasty! (I'm thinking of soy sauce right now because I made a yummy cashew chicken stir fry last night.)

Wildly Tragic Life Seeking Slightly Comic Attitude

"Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I've had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got not to forget to laugh."
-Katherine Hepburn

Photos from Trip to Maine/Boston

Just a couple of highlights from my recent travels...

One of the best parts of the trip was seeing my nephew Kieran, who's about 21 months old, enjoying the first Christmas he was really old enough to understand (if by understanding you mean playing with the stuffed Santas and snowmen around the house).


This picture is from Christmas Day down at Five Islands:


Outside the famous L.L. Bean store there is a live 40' Christmas tree. This year, they decorated the tree with Nalgene bottles, and it was possibly the MOST beautiful Christmas tree I've ever seen! These pictures really don't do it justice.




On my last full day of vacation, my parents and I went to Boston and checked out the new ICA museum. The "art" was a little contemporary for my taste, but the modern building was spectacular! After the museum, we drove through Boston, past Fenway Park (!) and into Cambridge, where we walked around the Harvard campus, had a lovely dinner, and met up with my college friend Sarah for dessert!

New Year's Resolutions

I can't believe it is 2007! I feel like it only ought to be about April 2006, but sure enough, the calendar tells me it's January 2nd, 2007. Here is my obligatory list of New Year's resolutions:

1. Run the Bolder Boulder. This is the resolution that I tell people when they ask - not that I don't intend to do it, just that it's easier to give a concrete resolution than list off all the less tangible ones listed below. The Bolder Boulder is a 10K race held every Memorial Day weekend. I've never done a 10k before, so this should be interesting. I starting running last October, but due to illness, travel, snow, and the lack of daylight, I've fallen off the wagon! So this week I am devising a training plan, and hopefully in the next few days enough snow will melt that I can safely run in my neighborhood.

2. Read more. I say this every year! A couple of books I'd like to read this year include: Don Quixote, the Jane Austen novels, Barack Obama's book, Robinson Crusoe. Plus, I'd like to stay caught up on the Atlantic Monthly and Time magazine.

3. Organize and decorate my house. Tired of the college dorm room look. I want to paint the walls, get rid of all the boxes, put some art up on the walls, buy a couch, organize my closet, find a nice desk and bookcase, etc.

4. Work on training with Fenway. Fenway is a pretty good dog, but I'd like to finally solve some of his problem behaviors, like jumping up on people, barking, etc. Plus I'd like to teach him to do cool service dog-type commands like putting toys away. That would be super cool.

5. Learn to ski the black diamonds. Maybe not the DOUBLE black diamonds, that can be next year. But I'm definitely ready for the single black diamonds.

6. Make more time for creativity. I'd like to spend less time watching TV and more time doing photography, scrapbooking, playing the piano and other musical instruments, writing, etc.

7. Keep in better touch with friends. I've fallen so out of touch with my Morse and Bowdoin friends - even worse, some of my Colorado friends! So I really want to make an effort this year to remember birthdays, send cards and emails, pick up the phone, and generally be a better friend.