So I really get bored very easily and do nothing about it.

I found this link and wonder if I inspired #24.

I so want to be more and more awesome all the time, but finding that difficult to do, because a lack of a knowledge of the people I live around.

I am looking forward to NCAA '07.

I really need to be entertained by someones voice, cause I need to talk to people. Its one of those crazy things that I am finding myself needing to do that I never thought I really did.

I like ice cream it makes me feel happy. I enjoy cooking with eggs, it makes me feel accomplished.

I need to do the dishes and finish my laundry.

So this is the third time I'm writing this post due to laptop and blogging tag issues. Boooo!

Friday after staying late to make sure the desk was spic and span in case something happened to me during my procedure yesterday (Thank God nothing did), I joined Ric to see our tax consultant in Fullerton. We we pleasantly surprised to find out that, even though we have decided not to buy another investment home because the market isn't right for it right now, we won't be hit as heavily as we had expected with capital gains taxes. This way we can put the profit from the Goodyear home in CDs for now, until a better time comes around for new investments, and we'll make a nice amount of interest on it in the meantime. We tried to go see Pirates 2, but the lines were crazy, so we settled for Red Brick pizza and relaxing at home. Or actually, I napped for four hours while Ric did a bunch of physical rearranging in the house that I just wasn't physically capable of doing. I like having a man around the house. Once I woke up, I helped organize with some of the books we're getting ready to sell.

Saturday after workout and sleep, we took a couple of chairs to the home of some newlyweds in need, to give away. Since the chairs were originally passed on to us when we were newlyweds, it felt nice to repeat the process for another couple. After that we ran a bunch of errands, buying frames, a shelf, a toilet seat, a light, and a birthday gift for Ruth. We spent the evening with the Neals, and Ric finally got to meet Cosette. We all watched Flightplan. I suppose I'll post on the movie later, but let's just say you don't need to fervently seek it out. We had a fun time just hanging out with Josh and Wendy anyway.

Sunday I was bad and skipped church to go to a World Cup party, being given by Dennis from IT at work. He had a few people from the university over to watch. Our food choices consisted of French lemonade, Italian sodas, cookies decorated with the flag colors of both teams, a seven-layer dip that looked like a soccer field on top, burgers, eclairs, and gelato. Gooood eats!

This game was basically what Ruth and I have been waiting for since 1994, when Italy lost to Brazil in the World Cup final during penaltly kicks. We were so nervous when this final went to PKs that we both had racing hearts and could barely stand to watch. Italy prevailed in the end, because Zidane got hot-headed and red-carded and wasn't there to kick for France (what an idiot). Viva Italia! Our dreams have come true!

After some afternoon relaxing at Ric's parents' house, we headed out to Roman Cucina in Fullerton to celebrate Ruth's birthday early since she's going to Houston and Georgia for a couple of weeks. We had some fantastic food and had fun hanging out with Ruth, Gron, Adam, and the Clark clan. Ric and I got Ruth a new workout mat, since we've pretty much destroyed her old one over the last few years. Happy Birthday, Ruth!!

As always, it was a great, packed weekeknd!

yo homies.

i'm kickin it live in farmington, missouri right now. i came home for the summer to work with my cousin jeremy. we clean out dirty-ass forclosed upon houses. it kinda sucks... but it's not all that bad.
i think i'm headed back to california in like mid-august...
i bought a DS and it kicks total ass... i've got brain age, and fifa 06...
hmmmmm..... i read "the rum diary" by hunter s. thompson... and it kicked ass. it made me want to drink. hunter s. thompson is pretty badass... the way that he writes makes me feel a little less crazy.
ehhhhh... i'm also reading a couple of other books, but i somehow i've gotten back into some kind of funk where i don't really feel like finishing anything once i start it... i don't know what i'm talking about... i gotsta BOUNCE
oh yeah... i got a cell phone. my number is (619) 203-5673... so call me if you like. leave a message if i don't answer cause i can't get any friggin reception where i live.
p
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Best show of the year!

Now, some of you may recall that I used to hate Belle and Sebastian. Well, people can change. :) I don't know exactly where it happened. Maybe it was when I saw them at Coachella a couple of years ago with Brendan, or maybe I just finally gave their albums a proper try. But now they're actually a band I quite enjoy.

Erika and I headed out to the L.A. Zoo and took the shuttle to the Bowl. Our bus smelled like diesel fumes and I thought I was going to vomit by the time we got there, but I got over it. We got to the theatre, found our cheap seats up near the top, watched the Shins for a bit, and went to buy some souvenirs at the merch table.

Holy crap. I've never seen such a busy merch table. The crowd was crazy and pushy. I'm guessing that most of them had time to get to the Bowl early, and brought picnic baskets that contained plenty of wine. Anyway, we waited our turns and finally got up to the front, and it was like being at the front of a standing-only concert, being shoved up against the security barrier. By the time we were up there, most of the shirts had sold out. Boooo. The cool thing was that this show was more of an event than we realized. Belle and Sebastian had made special merchandise that said "Belles at the Bowl" just for that night! So with a lack of much else to buy, I got a Belles at the Bowl mug, and fought my way out of the crowd.

We got back up to our seats, had some freshly made brownies for a snack, and settled in for the show. The band was playing with the L.A. Philharmonic supporting them in the background. All of the songs were specially arranged and rehearsed with the Phil, and the arrangements were perfect. For such a mellow-sounding band, and such a large arena, I was surprised at how great they were with getting the audience involved. The lead singer got people to bring him objects up to the stage, invited a girl to come up and dance with the band during "Jonathan and David" (she called herself "Baby Biatch" - no joke!), and often ran up into the middle of the amphitheatre during the songs. By the last song, half the crowd was dancing in the aisles, and several actually made it on stage.. and the band was actually cool with it.

All in all, it was a really great show, and the bus ride home just added to the memories.

This time it didn't smell like diesel, but a guy sitting next to me pulled out a bottle of tequila and was passing out shots to passengers while we drove. People were cheering as the shots were being downed. They also cheered as we went around big corners. The bus was seriously like riding in an amusement park ride. It actually ROLLED back and forth like a cradle as we went along, kind of like the giant rocking wheel at California Adventure. And since the crowd cheered, the bus driver made it happen more often! They offered him shots, and he said no, but compensated by turning off the headlights when he knew it was safe, which got even more of a response from the passengers. I swear, by the time we got back safely to the Zoo, I had laughed the most and the hardest I had in a very long time.

Anyway, we had a grand night. It's great to have memories like that to share with Erika. I've got to get all I can until she moves to Portland!

Erika and I went to see this movie two Sundays ago. Can't believe I've been too busy to get to it yet!

This documentary follows the high school basketball team in Seattle, the Roosevelt Roughriders, through six seasons. The story begins as coach Bill Resler takes over coaching the team. He's a bit cheesy in some of his methods, and also a bit innovative. Whatever he's doing, he is able to get the girls moving forward as one of the best teams in the state.

When Darnellia Russell transfers schools and joins the team, it's clear that she has the potential to become an NBA player. We follow her and Resler through their battle to get the team to the State Championship final, and we can hardly wait to see how Darnellia's personal story ends as well.

This movie did remind me of Hoop Dreams, but the movies have different focuses and take place in very different areas of the country. Here we are focused more on the team and one star player, and Darnellia's personal struggles aren't just drama added to the story - they also make us think about how many guy basketball players are able to get away with more than girls because they're, well, guys.

The Coach is a lot of fun to watch. An accounting teacher by day, he can be seen screaming on the sidelines, telling his girls to follow the "pack of wolves" theme by ripping up their opponents. He has them look at a photo of a wolf's eyes for inspiration for the game. He lets them curse and scare the opposing team by banging up the lockers before the game starts. He has no strategy for the offense so that the other teams will have no idea where his team is going to attack. He also cares a lot for the girls, which makes the story very emotionally rewarding.

I can't tell you the end, but if you're into basketball/documentaries and the like, I can tell you that Erika and I were both swept away into this one. I hope it gets remembered at the end of the year when the Academy is struggling to remember the good documentaries of the year.

Hello from bedrest!

Yesterday Ric and I got up early and were at the Center for Outpatient Surgery by 6am. By 7:15 I was in a fun little gown, booties, and cap, and strapped up to the usual EKG, blood pressure, etc., along with having a "just in case" easy-access needle sticking out of my vein in my right hand. Oh, and had some Valium. They rolled me into the operating room, rolled me over on the operating table, prepped the area, numbed up the injection point, and unleashed a good amount of pain for a quick (but never quick enough) amount of time. I was quickly rolled over, rolled back to my little station, and Ric came and got me.

Ric took me to get a breakfast burrito at Del Taco, got me situated in our bed with the computer, phone, DVDs, and book, and I was all set. I spent yesterday and today reading The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands (review not necessary, but it's basically filled with horrible examples of what women do to their husbands, while also letting women who are on the right track--hoping that's me--glean some good ideas on how to accept, affirm, and appreciate their husbands), resting, playing with Pip, watching the Plague Dogs (review to come), and watching TV. It's kind of boring, but refreshing at the same time. I've also been able to keep up with a lot of work emails.

The back was pretty sore yesterday after the numbness wore off, but today I feel a lot better. Only time will show us how effective the epidural was. It worked a bit last time, but I'm hoping we might have a longer-lasting effect this time around.

Ric has been getting me food and taking care of the house. It's great to have him taking such good care of me, and after my reading material for these two days, I wanted to make sure and voice that for everyone else to see. :)

Pip has pretty much been my mirror image companion by day.

And staying at home all day helps me capture the cute moments in life.

President Bush is boasting that 2006's budget deficit is significantly smaller than expected. It was previously projected to be $423 billion dollars, but due to increased tax revenues, it will actually be $296 billion. Sounds impressive, no? Well, it depends on your perspective.

NPR has a chart showing America's annual budget surplus/deficit since Bush took office.

Last month I wrote a post here about Fred Phelps holding anti-gay demonstrations at military funerals. I tried to express what I genuinely see as a backlash against homophobic bigotry as a direct result of his actions. I referred to the protests in a relatively light-hearted way because people like Fred Phelps thrive on the public controversy and anger that their words stir up, and I believe that nothing galls these people more than NOT being taken seriously.

This week, though, I realized the way I talked about those protests may have been insensitive. That's because this week Fred Phelps paid a visit to my own little town of Kirksville, Missouri, to demonstrate at the funeral of a young man who died in Iraq. In a small town like Kirksville, such a loss is felt by the whole community. Being on that community side of the funeral, I realized what is truly awful about these protests.

A funderal is not about politics. It's not about war or flags, or patriotism. It's not about spreading a homophobic message, or countering bigotry. It is about a boy who died, and his family and community who want to do what people always do in these situations: mourn the deceased and lay him to rest. That's all. And that sacred moment in which the family was to honor and bury their child was marred by protests, counter-protests, and media attention. That should not be taken lightly.

I swore to myself I would go to bed long ago but sleep just isn't happening. Today Chris and I saw Pirates 2. I liked it. I thought Davey Jones was really cool and I'm looking forward to the third one. I'm also looking forward to the premiere for that one since I plan on working that day. This year the premiere occured during my vacation and i missed out on all the fun. I also got level 31 on WoW. 9 more until I get my mount which is going to be sweet and then I can ride around the countryside instead of walk briskly.

I'm looking forward to the next two weekends. This weekend I have Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off. I don't know how that happened but I am thanking the scheduling gods. Next Friday I am going to see Clerks 2 at the Arclight. Kevin Smith is going to be there doing a Q&A after so that is super sweet. That Saturday I am going down to San Diego for Comic-Con. Kevin is going to be there as well as Sam Raimi with some Spiderman 3 stuff, Frank Miller with his new movie project, Nicholas Cage and the Ghost Rider crew, as well as lots of other neat things. I was going to go on Friday to see Samuel L. Jackson and the Snakes on a Plane panel but it conflicted with Clerks 2. Oh well. Priorities, man.

Southland Tales Book 1: Two Roads Diverge by Richard Kelly

Mallrats (10th Anniversary Extended Edition)