Don't boycott gas

Since we just had a holiday weekend I thought I would put this out there.
I saw a piece on CNN recently about how boycotting gas stations actually hurts small businesses, not the honkin' companies. The actual gas stations/convenience stores are owned by individuals. So they are the ones hurt not Exxon/Mobil and others.
Just a little food for thought.

Bubbles

Yesterday when I was driving home I noticed bubbles floating around. I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I looked in my rear-view mirror and the guy in the car behind me was blowing bubbles.
A couple of weeks ago Curt and I were driving somewhere and we noticed bubbles floating around. There was a guy standing on the corner blowing bubbles.
Such a simple thing to brighten up someone's day.

Hooked on a Feeling

I am not sure if this is a joke or serious. Either way it is hilarious.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi2CfuqcUGE

Not even 48 hours

Curt and I were in Tucson this weekend for a wedding. We flew in Friday night and left Sunday afternoon. It was a nice, quick visit. Wish we could have seen more people, but that just wasn't practical.
Saturday morning we headed to The Cup in Hotel Congress with my dad and Hilda. We were debating on whether to walk or drive. It is about a 10-minute walk from their house. Well, some of us are wimpy and we decided to drive. I am so glad we did. I woulda melted. (Note: I wasn't one of the ones voting to walk.) We had a nice breakfast at The Cup.
Afterward we drove to Eegee's. I had to get my strawberry slushie drink while in town. Here is the weird thing, I don't think my dad had ever had the drink before. Hilda and I couldn't believe it. I mean, if you are a Tucsonan you have had them. Crazy! OK, on the Eegee's Web site they have an adult only button. Curious, I clicked it. It gives recipes for Eegee's cocktails. HA!
After that Curt and I met my brother at The Grill. Curt and I just had sodas and fries since it hadn't been that long since we had eaten breakfast. And after I told John we would meet him there I remembered that Curt and I vowed to never go back--unless it was a late night meeting. We met my cousin Mark there over Christmas. We had horrible service and Curt wanted coffee, but they had no sweetner, just sugar. What's up with that??? Anyway, so we had a good visit with John.
Then back to the house to get ready for the wedding.
The wedding was held at the Z Mansion, which was a block from Dad and Hilda's house. So we walked there. It was a beautiful ceremony, short and sweet. The bride was gorgeous and brave to walk down stairs by herself in a huge gown and veil.
The wedding and reception were outside. They had these huge fans to keep it comfortable. At one point I was dying of heat. But for the most part it was fine.
Curt and I were seated with a few of the bride's cousins. We had fun chatting with them. One of the women had a almost-3-year-old. He was a doll. He was doing "squishy face." He would come up to you and grab and squish your face. He did it to Curt and me, too. Funny!
Eventually we sat with Dad and Hilda. We did a little dancing, too. Oh, and this was a Jewish/Mexican wedding. It was a blast! (Of couse, not as good as my wedding. But it would take a lot to top that.)
Sunday we met Mom and Fred at the Arizona Inn for brunch. I love going back there. It is such a great place--esp. for weddings. Hee hee! After the Inn we went back to their house for a bit before going to the airport. We looked at pics from their Greece trip and helped them get their photos off the digital camera and onto their computer.
I have to say flying out of Tucson is so easy. There was no one in line to get our boarding passes and check in luggage. And there was no one in the security line. So we were at our gate super early. We stopped at the bar for snacks and drinks. My father will cringe that we had El Charro Rapido. But that was our only option.
On the way home we didn't have a direct flight. We stopped at LAX. Curt was wandering around and saw NOOOOORM!--George Wendt. I didn't see any celebrities. But I sure saw a lot of pregnant women! Between the Tucson airport and LAX I saw at least 8 pregnant women. It was probably more--I started to lose count.
We got home about 930 to the pouring rain. And now we are back at work. Oh, and it didn't hit 100 while we were in Tucson--just 99. But it sure felt hotter than that. I love Tucson, but I really don't think I could go back there. Though I said that when I lived in Oregon. And I moved back to Phoenix a couple of years later.

I am still here!

I know I haven't blogged lately. Not blogging for almost a whole week is a long time for me to not put down my random thoughts and blab on and on. But I have been in training in the city for the past few days. So I have been out and in the office and out and out.

Desktop training
My training started Thursday. I took two Word classes. Took two more Word classes on Friday. I have learned so much. It is a classroom setting. Two people sit at a desk with their own computers. There is a third monitor in the middle so we can see what the instructor is doing. LearniT! is the name of the organization. I think the way they have things set up makes it so easy to learn. Each section (part or module, whatever you want to call it) is about two hours. So you can attend whatever parts you need.
Today I had Power Point classes. I just learned the basics. But it was still pretty cool. Wednesday I will take the very first Excel class.

Only in Berkeley
This morning I was walking to the BART station at about 7 a.m. (Ugh! Too early. But had to be in San Fran for my 8 a.m. training class). I was standing at the intersection waiting for the light to change when a bicyclist rode by me. Another bicyclist started yelling at him. I thought she was yelling because he went through a red light. She yells, "That f***ing nasty!" I look at him and realize he is naked and wearing a backpack. And he is also laughing. Just what I want to look at at 7 a.m.!

Hanging out in San Francisco
I took the 8-9:45 class at LearniT! and the 1-2:45 classes. So I had a long break.
After my first class was done I headed to Chinatown. I love looking at all the cheap crap they sell in the stores. I only spent a dollar and some change. I mean where else can you get postcards, Bruce Lee posters, Hello Kitty stuff, nasty (sex position) key chains for 99 cents, lucky cat figurines, etc. They also have these Wisemen Hats. They are a crackup. I tried to find a pic online--but failed to do so. Anyway, they are kinda like a beanie with a long braid down the back. One store had a sign that said if you took a picture with the hat it would cost you a dollar. HA!
I headed to a guy shining shoes. I have never had my shoes professionaly shined before. Anyway, my Dr. Martens look much better. I wasn't sure how much it would cost. But there was a guy already getting his shoes shined, so I paid attention to the money transaction with him and the shoe shiner. The guy gave him a $10 bill. He handed him back two $1s and waited a few seconds and then handed him a third and the guy told him to keep it. He did the same thing with me. I told Curt and he said that the guy probably does that so you see him hand you back $2 and you tell him to keep one or whatever and he makes $2 to $3 off you! Sneaky!

Lunch
I met Curt for lunch today. We got some honkin' burritos for lunch and headed back to his work to eat on the patio. After our lunch I headed back for one more training class and then headed home.

Working out
I did a lot of walking today. Yea me! And I also came home and did yoga. The working out overall is coming along OK. I have been walking more lately--but that is because I have been in the city.

What you need to believe to be a Republican

• Jesus loves you and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
• Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find bin Laden" diversion.
• Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
• The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
• A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
• The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
• If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
• A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
• Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism.
• HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
• Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
• A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.
• Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.
• The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.
• Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.
• Supporting "Executive Privilege" for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might be born (in perpetuity.)
• What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, butwhat Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.
• Support for hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail! (Quayle?)
  
  Feel free to pass this on.
  Friends don't let friends vote Republican!

Happy cinco de mayo!

Hoops & Yoyo and Penelope want to wish you a happy cinco de mayo.

Birth by Chocolate

I got this in an e-mail. Fun math!

YOUR AGE BY CHOCOLATE MATH


This is pretty neat. Don't cheat by scrolling down first.
It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read.



1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate (more than once but less than 10)



2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)



3. Add 5



4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the calculator.



5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1756; If you haven't, add 1755.



6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born. You should have a three digit number.


The first digit of this was the number of times you really want to eat chocolate.


The next two numbers are YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!) THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2006) IT WILL EVER WORK.

Germany, here we come!

Curt received the World Cup tickets today.

Photo by Curt Poff.

Words speak for themselves

You all know how yesterday was "A Day Without Immigrants" ...
Well, my supervisor, Terri, told me that she was driving yesterday and saw an older Bronco with a message written on its window: "Go Home Illeagle Aliens!"
Need I say more. (Except that we wish there was a pic of it.)

Happy Monday!

Yup, it is Monday again. Enjoy a little Hoops & Yoyo.

Over the weekend ...

• Well, I hit another McDonald's on Saturday while out running errands. I walked in and noticed a pamphlet on a table letting customers know about the DVD promotion. So I walk up to the counter and they are still serving breakfast. I asked when they would be serving lunch. 5 minutes. But they said I didn't have to wait and could order. So I asked the woman if they had the adult happy meals with the salads. She told me they only had the meals with burgers and cheeseburgers. I said, really, cuz there are pamphlets on your tables talking about the other meals. So I decided not to buy another salad without the whole meal. As I walked out of the restaurant I see a poster hanging in the window about the DVD promotion. Hey, McDonald's, if you are gonna have a promotion let the employees know about it!
• Saturday afternoon Curt and I went to Phil and Lisa's house in Alameda. Phil is Curt's boss. We went over to watch soccer (some game Phil had TiVoed) and the A's Royals game. We watched soccer. The begininng of the baseball game was going really well for the Royals. It was 6-1. Reggie Sanders hit a grand slam. Well, in the third inning they decided to halt for rain delay. Soon after that they called the game. So it is like the game never existed. Grand slam doesn't count, etc. Phil was so happy. (He is an A's fan.) And Curt wasn't happy. So we hung out and ate barbecue that Lisa had picked up. Then we sat around chatting and started watching "Miami Vice" on TV Land. I was cracking up--it was so bad. TV Land was having a marathon.
• After coming home from Phil and Lisa's we watched "Murderball." That was a great documentary. Those guys are amazing. It was a great story. I highly recommend it.
• Sunday I spent the day getting stuff done around the house. I had a pile of things that needed shredding. That pile of mail you don't ever want to deal with. The vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, etc. I also attacked our closet. We have had a slight mold problem in our apartment. (It was WAY worse for our downstairs neighbors.) So I pulled just about everything out of the closet so I could clean the walls. They were way worse than I thought and the job took a lot more enery than I imagined it would. It was pretty disgusting. But I got it all cleaned and everything back in. It worked as a spring cleaning for me, too. Got rid of some clothes. I ordered a dehumidifier from Sears that I will pick up tomorrow. Raining season is over--but we still have moisture. Plus the dehumidifier will help with my allergies. (After I was done Curt got lunch for us at Oscar's--a burger joint. Cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake hit the spot.)
• Did you watch "West Wing" last night? For a while I was bored with West Wing--but lately I am really starting to get into it again. Can you imagine Jimmy Smits as our president? Or should I say President-elect Santos? I love Bartlett as president and now I love Santos as president. It makes me more depressed to think who we are stuck with.