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: