No Aid at Rite Aid

Bad customer service is probably my greatest pet peeve since it is part of my profession to provide excellent customer service. I know it is not difficult, which is why it pisses me off when others provide crappy service to me. Who is at fault this time? That would be Rite Aid.

It was a dark and stormy night...no, not really...this is San Diego! Anyway, I have several pictures that I've been meaning to print for my photo album and framing, etc. Since I used Rite Aid in the past for prints, I thought "hey, why not use them again?" So, I went online to their website where they have ironically changed the name of the photo center to "My Photos, My Way" (the irony will be made clear in a bit).

I uploaded what turned out to be over 150 photos. Yes, it's been a while since I last printed (6 months or so!). After waiting FOREVER for these to be uploaded to Rite Aid's site, I proceeded to Buy Prints. Everything was going so smoothly at this point...the red flags should've been waving in my face. So, a price was quoted..fine, fine...then, I selected the pick-up store. Voila! All I had to do was wait for the store to call me, right?

Well, not quite. I received an e-mail from Rite Aid the next day saying my prints were ready! Woohoo!! I called the store just to make sure, and guess what? No prints! The person I spoke with said they hadn't arrived yet and to try back later. So, I called the next day. STILL no prints - but my 5x7 prints were available (only 3 of my photos were 5x7's). The manager offered to knock $5 off my price...but I couldn't pay until all my 4x6's were in. lol The NEXT day, I called again, and FINALLY, someone admitted the damn machine they use for 4x6's was broken and that only pics bigger than 4x6's were printed off-site. So, I was told to try another store after getting my 5x7's.

Now, for my "same day" photos, I was on Day 4. I went back to the website and had to re-do the order and then change the location to another Rite Aid. I got another "your photos are ready" e-mail the next day. More of a cautiously optimistic attitude on my part this time around. So, I called the store, and the rep told me Rite Aid doesn't do online prints any more. Color me flabbergasted...excuse me??? The site boasts about "My Photos, My Way"...no online prints??? Are ya fucking kidding me?!?! I told the rep the other store told me no such thing, and she said that her store's machine was broken and that most likely, it would never be fixed. I began to wonder: am I the only person on the planet who uploads pictures online and picks them up in-store?? REALLY??? In this day and age? lol

So, I basically told her I would take my business elsewhere and never buy from Rite Aid again, period. I figure if 2 stores cannot honor my request, why keep trying stores? Horrible, horrible service. And borderline false advertisement as well. I am now trying Target. Fortunately, I do not NEED these pictures NOW, but if I did, I would be beyond livid at the "same day" service Rite Aid did not honor.

Rest assured, I filed a complaint on Rite Aid's website, I called about my service (since the receipt asked for my input lol), and I will probably file complaints with certain agencies. This is hardly the time that a company would want to lose customers, let alone have news of its bad service spread. And when I receive bad service, I spread the news as far as I can. Tales of bad service spread like a virus compared to tales of good service.

And hey, I get a chance to see some nice eye candy at Target as a result of all this...so there's one positive! We'll see how Target's service goes...based on the past, I'm expecting it to be much better than Rite Aid's - I should've used them in the first place! Lesson learned.

Top 5 Albums

In preparation for the release of The Killers' much-anticipated (at least by me) 3rd/4th album (depending on how you perceive Sawdust) on Tuesday, I've put together a list of my top 5 favorite albums of various artists, for the hell of it. Here they are:

Muse is my favorite artist, which is clearly evident on my iPod, as almost all their tracks have made their way there. So, they go at the top with their best and most-recent album, Black Holes and Revelations (2006). Close call, as Showbiz, Origin of Symmetry, and Absolution are all fantastic albums too. Can't wait for album #5! They just started working on it, so I'm guessing we have another 1-2 years to wait, at the very least.



I find very few albums that I can listen to in their entirety, and The Killers' Hot Fuss: Limited Edition (2005), the re-release of their 2004 debut album, is one of those. Absolutely wonderful. Their second album, Sam's Town, was a disappointment (but still good), as a result. I think Day and Age (the album coming at us Tuesday) has the potential to be almost as great as Hot Fuss, especially if "Human" is any indication - I friggin LOVE "Human"!



Next up is Guster's Lost and Gone Forever (1999). While I love most of Guster's albums, this is clearly their best. "Two Points for Honesty", "So Long", and "Barrel of a Gun" stand out.Coldplay...Viva la Vida is very close to being their best, but Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) IS their best. I remember hearing "Clocks" on the radio while waiting for my friend Julie in a Sims parking lot (I think) waaaay back in Dec. 2002, and I bought the album the next day. "The Scientist" is one of the most resonating pieces of music ever...such a sad, beautiful song. And the music video that goes along with it is pretty damn cool too.



Even though I have a hard time stomaching the songs where Robby is the lead vocalist, this Goo Goo Dolls album, for the most part, is excellent. Dizzy up the Girl (1998) contains "Iris", one of my all-time favorites, as well as "Broadway" and "Slide". Also, this is the first album of any artist that I purchased. And Johnny Rzeznik...not sure what he looks like now, but the last time I saw him in concert in 2004, he was quite the hottie!

Other artists I tend to like are Sarah McLachlan (yes, I actually DO like a few female artists!), Keane (Hopes & Fears), Snow Patrol (Final Straw), The Kooks, Switchfoot, Oasis, Travis, Patti Griffin, Mannheim Steamroller, and the Trans-siberian Orchestra (since we're getting close to the Holidays).

Facing the Judge...er, Commissioner

I will confess now. I've kept it a secret from a lot of people for the last 2 months, but back in September, a traffic cop gave me my very first speeding ticket. I was going 80 in a 65...GASP! Of course, I was not alone, but you know traffic cops; they can't multi-task...or catch "weavers" and/or motorcyclists. So, I was singled out...woopty friggin do.

Of course, over the last 2 months, I weighed paying the fine ($196, including traffic school) versus going down to the courthouse in November. I decided, since it would be easy to get time off work, I would give the court route a shot - what could it hurt, right? Plus, I'd never been into a courtroom, so it might be kinda cool to see Judge Judy in action.

So, on Thursday, I got up early and ate a big breakfast, worthy of a speeding maniac. Then, I headed on down to the courthouse (only 5 minutes away!). I had to stand in line for a little while to see a clerk, who I informed that I wanted to see the judge. Then, I was sent off to another department, where I waited (along with about 20 people) outside a court room.

When we were all called inside, we all took our seats and waited for the commissioner (not judge...I guess that's one level below judge?) to come in. I kept thinking "this is so cool! there's a bailiff and court recorder, just like on tv! Dayamn." Then, the commish came in, and the bailiff said "all rise" (just like on Judge Judy...ooooooo!! ahhhhh!!! do I sound like a bewildered country bumpkin yet?), and some words were said, and we all took our seats.

The commish lectured us for a bit, explaining the difference between "Not guilty" and "Guilty" (in case some might have crawled out from under a rock) as well as other terms. Very nice guy, actually. He started calling people up to the podium to mention their violation and ask for their plea. Most plead "guilty", as I did. As long as a person had a clean record, the commish knocked some $$ off the fine and sent him/her on his/her way. Same with me. He reduced my fine to $156! Well worth spending an hour and a half at the courthouse - I'm SO glad I hadn't just paid the fine via mail. Not only would I have overpaid, but I would've missed out on my courtroom experience!! If only I'd been able to take pictures..."will you take my picture as I plead guilty, kind sir? You're a peach!"

So, traffic school comes next. I have 3 months to attend (probably will do it online) and pay my fine. Maybe I'll do that on Christmas Day since I'll be by myself! Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like traffic school.

I guess I've learned my lesson...no more 80 mph for me these days. I stick to 70-75 mph. Well, unless I have one car behind me and one car in front of me, and we're all happily driving 80+ together. Not many cops have the courage to pull over several cars at a time...just the caboose of such speed trains gets caught, normally. So ends my criminal tale.

I Won't be Home for Christmas..and other uplifting Christmas songs

The downturn in the economy is finally affecting my credit union. And by finally, I mean that in a "knew it was coming, but not happy about it" kinda way. We are now experiencing major cutbacks, such as layoffs, hiring-freezes, bonus decreases, etc. One of our newest branches (we have 17) is closing the day before Thanksgiving, meaning 10 of the 12 team members there will be leaving the credit union for now. This is the first time my company has had to lay off employees in all of its almost-70 years. And unfortunately, more layoffs and changes are coming.

My branch, also a newer branch (but much stronger), is facing some anxiety, as we will be losing 4 of our 13-member team by the end of the year: our branch manager, the assistant operations manager, the financial services manager (my supervisor), and my work sister and fellow financial services rep. My branch manager will be moving to another branch while another manager co-manages our branch and another branch. My supervisor is accepting a great job opportunity with another company, the assistant operations manager is being let go, and my work sister (if she were reading this, she would love that I'm calling her that lol) is taking maternity leave for 3-4 months.

Of course, this is all happening right before the holidays when I normally take a week-long vacation to GA to visit family and old friends. With things as they are at work and with many eyes watching how I handle my current situation, I must stay in CA for Christmas this year.

This will be my 2nd Christmas away from family (the last being in 2005). I will definitely miss sharing the wonderful traditions with them. As in 2005, I'm sure the melancholy feelings won't hit me until Christmas Eve, but I'll have my own decorations, Christmas music, phone calls, and of course my little girl to get me through it. And I think it will be fun to work on Christmas Eve with my work family, so that'll help some! I always enjoyed working Christmas Eve back in Georgia with my work family there. Weird, I know. But that's me!

Sierra's definitely going to be happy that I will not be abandoning her this year lol. Hopefully, things at work will improve soon - I am confident we will ride out the storm, though. I consider the cutback that eliminates our uniforms (and replaces them with business casual attire) to be a HUGE improvement already.

But now I'm starting to ramble. I suppose this blog entry is just to somewhat explain to those who care why I will not be in GA at Christmas. It's hard to believe it's only a month away!

Election Day 2008

I think the most amazing thing about this year's presidential election is how many people voted. It's fantastic that so many more people were inspired to get out there and exercise their too-often taken-for-granted right. Still, it's surprising that almost half the country did not vote at all. That I don't understand.

Moving on, it was hilarious to watch the media try to make Election Night into a dramatic event. They used the phrase "too close to call" often, hoping to keep people engaged for as long as possible, even when Obama had racked up 206 electoral votes...with CA, OR, WA, and HI still not being included (their polls had not closed yet). Brian Williams would completely disregard CA, trying to pretend that it might go either way. lol At 8 pm PST/11 pm EST, when the West Coast polls closed, it was over: Obama won in a HUGE way!! I LOVE California's 55 electoral votes. Yeah, baby!!! And even sweeter, we stole Florida, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, Indiana, Nevada, and most likely North Carolina from the Reds. Florida was the sweetest betrayal of all...WOOHOO!!!

In California, chickens were egg-static over the results of Prop 2. They were practically running around like their heads had been cut off. They now will be able to fully turn around in their cages, enjoying a little more freedom before the Grim Reaper comes to visit.

Yes, California voters seem to care more about chickens than about gay people. Might I propose that we gay people adopt Chicken Little as our new mascot? He can tell everyone, in typical melodramatic religious conservative tones, that the sky will fall if equality is not restored. And he can do it in a cute, wittle chicken way. AND to draw even more sympathy, he can give his speech from a newly-expanded cage that his fans gave him, where he can do a little twirl.

Yeah, I'm a little upset (make that a LOT upset) about the turnout of Prop 8. Religious conservatives and their American Family Association won this battle, but not the war. We WILL persevere, we WILL have equal rights. And the next state where religious conservatives WILL lose a battle is New York, thanks to an incoming Democratic government. 2009 will see more blows to the conniving, manipulative group who oppose the rights of others. Take that, Pat Robertson, Joyce Meyer, and the rest of ya! You will not prevail with your backwards traditions.

It is ironic that on a day when civil rights reached great heights for African Americans via Obama's election, civil rights for gay people were damaged once again. But Election Day 2008 is still a momentous, glorious day (if tainted by Prop 8), thanks to Obama, a growth in the Democratic Congress, and the defeat of other religious conservative ballot measures.

Here's to the next 4 years and to the heave-ho of Dubya!!!

A Late-Summer Night's Blog Posting

I tried and tried not to fall asleep before 10, but I did, worn out from my workout. And now here I am, wide awake at almost 2am, typing a blog entry! I'm sure if raccoons could type, they'd be doing this in addition to hunting for food at this time of night. But what would they type about? Mean ol' cars? Global warming? Bailouts? America's Top Model? Hmm...

Anyway, yet another week (and month) is flying by here in San Diego. Work has been much busier, thanks to the little scare at Washington Mutual (aka Wamu or Wamoooooooo, as one of my customers likes to pronounce it). Yes, Wamu is in a bit of trouble, but I think people are over-reacting, especially those who are fully insured by the FDIC. However, my credit union, is reaping the benefits. Our branch alone has received over $2 million from Wamu in the last week and a half. See, stuff like this happens to people who conduct good business practices - most, if not all, credit unions did not get directly involved with the sub-prime lending frenzy. But I'll stop there because I could blow a fuse thinking about how all the bad, bad, Leeroy Brown...er, businesses put us in this crisis...and are about to get away with a hefty slap on the wrist instead of being fed to the alligators or being forced to live with Kim Jung Il for eternity.

Moving away from work, I was invited to a beach birthday party for my friend Erick last weekend. Despite some confusion as far as where on the beach we were meeting (lol), it was a lot of fun. Perfect weather, some great frisbee tossing and volleyball. It had been a while since I hit a volleyball, so that hurt a little. :-( And we were near a lot of volleyball courts, so the eye candy was an added bonus.

Also, of important note, I was very happy to get to go to Cold Stone with my friend Matt...I can always make time for ice cream!!!...and spending time with Matt too! ;-)

So, can I make this a stream-of-consciousness blog and be random now? Well, it's my blog, so yeah, I guess I can! Wow, I feel like Ahmadinejad and Kim Jung Il and Venezuela's leader all of a sudden...*shudders* .... I was at the gym tonight, and I heard what sounded like a man roar on the other side of the room. Usually, you would see a beefy guy trying to squeeze out just one more rep from the overloaded barbell he's working with. Nope, not this time...this well-muscled black dude was just having a grand ol' time walking around, roaring and grunting like a wild animal. He then shouted "I just enjoy myself SO much!! YEEEEAH!!" and then marched through the room, chest puffed out, probably waiting for the females to start lining up (some suppressed giggles, at least). It was almost like something you'd see on Animal Planet. Interesting...

Moving briefly into politics...I think McCain's "suspension" of his campaign for the time being is definitely a stunt, most likely organized by his campaign manager. This has not won him any points in my eyes, just skepticism. I also think Congress does not need his or Obama's theatrics while trying to "fix" our economy. Their presence, no matter what, would only serve to polarize the parties, which is definitely not what we need right now. I whole-heartedly agree with Obama that the debates must go on. Yes, we have a crisis on hand, but we also have this itty bitty thing called a presidential election coming up in a month and a half. The debates are integral.

Moving to sports now...I almost dread Saturday's matchup between Michigan and Wisconsin. It could be bloody, or Michigan's newbies could finally come into their own. It's more likely that Wisconsin will go on to become the Big 10 champion this season.

Time for me to wrap up and get some (more) sleep.

Class triumphs cockiness and Michigan gets a W!

Today was a SWEET sports day for me! Class-act Federer sent cocky, arrogant Djokovic packing during the semi-finals, moving Federer into his 5th straight US Open final!!! Djokovic made a huge mistake when he made some insulting remarks directed at Andy Roddick AND the fans after he defeated Roddick a few days ago. As a result, the crowd was most definitely not on his side during his match with Federer. I would hate to see a man like Djokovic become the #1 player in the world someday; I much prefer the classiness of Federer and even Nadal (who IS #1... for now).

Tropical Storm Hannah's arrival in New York caused the thrilling Nadal-Murray semi-final to be postponed till tomorrow (damn!) along with the women's final. What REALLY blows is that the men's final will have to be pushed back to MONDAY in mid-afternoon (my time). Ugh! So, now I don't get to watch it live. Stupid tropical storm...grrrrrr.



Michigan got its first W today, but they still are struggling. The defense will probably do fine against the tougher teams on the schedule, but the offense is still very much a work in progress. It was good to see them get a win today, but the fact that they mostly won because Miami of Ohio played pretty badly too takes a little bit out of the triumph. I'm betting they will have a few more losses this season and be much better next season. It's obvious many of the players have talent; they just need to fine-tune it, and that could take a little while.

I heard that the game's attendance was one of the smallest in quite a while, but I think that had more to do with who Michigan was playing than what happened last week. Michigan's fans aren't the fair-weather fans of all of San Diego's pro teams, after all lol.

Over in Columbus, Ohio State barely survived an upset from Ohio. Damn!! But one good thing to come from this will be a drop in the rankings for Ohio State...hopefully. Their very small win over Ohio should shake the confidence of the voters in the next poll.

I love that I don't have to work many Saturdays nowadays, so I can enjoy the college football season!!

Whitney

Over the last 28.5 years, I've come to enjoy the fact that I have a pretty unique male name: Whitney. According to facts on Babynames.com, my name ranked #563 on the Social Security Administration's list. I'd say that's not very popular. My name (of English origin) apparently means "white island", which in many ways fits me very well (I'm pretty independent and very much enjoy my alone time, though I'm not a complete recluse!).

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I had to endure constant references to Whitney Houston, whose heyday came at the worst time (for me). Kids constantly called me "Whitney Houston"...even my 5th grade art teacher got in on the fun, giggling every time he said my name with "Houston" added on. Bastard. lol

It got to the point where I begged my parents to let me change my name somehow. I tried changing my name to Whit, a nickname many family members and friends had already been using. But of course, my peers remembered that I was really Whitney, so that didn't work out too well.

Shortly after my parents got the school to make sure my name was listed as Whit on the teacher's rosters, I started to realize I was letting the mean kids win. This led me to embrace my name, my full name. I corrected teachers, telling them my name was Whitney, not Whit. I then made the "Whitney Houston" joke my own, turning tears and frustration into laughter. I still use it when people can't understand my name - "like Whitney Houston", I'll say with a smile.

In college, I was inducted into an unofficial club known as The Boys with Sissy Names club, along with guys named Brook and Lindsey and possibly another I've forgotten (sorry). lol

Anyway, my parents did admit that Whitney Houston did in part play a role in my name...they liked her name (and music) and then discovered that it was a unisex name. When I first found out Whitney Houston inspired them partly, I was horrified, but now it's kinda funny. In retrospect, I'm glad my parents gave me a name that isn't common, that isn't easily forgotten, especially since it is often regarded as just a female name.

Unfortunately, some people are so shocked upon hearing my name, that their mind registers something completely different: William, Whitley, Wesley (oddly, very often get this one), Courtney, Wilford, Whitey, Wiley, pretty much anything that starts with a W that sounds like a male name. Sigh...

When I am assisting people at work and they see my name on my desk, I still get the "where's Whitney today? Are you filling in?" or "That isn't really your name!" remarks. I still get mail addressed to Ms. Whitney Wells. And there are still a few people in my company who think I am a female. But I roll with it and have fun with it. I love my name; it's pretty darn cool.


p.s. As a sidenote, I found that my dog's name, Sierra, means either "mountain", "mountain range", or "saw" (?). Kinda cool. Another interesting tidbit I wasn't aware of when I named my dog is that Mt. Whitney is a part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Also of note (I've known this for a while) is that Mt. Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous US - now THAT could've been a good reason for naming me Whitney, had my parents known my growth potential.

p.s. #2: This post was inspired by my friend Erick's recent post about his name.

Not just another week in San Diego

It's been quite some time since I last posted a blog entry, so this will probably be a big, fat, juicy one! I just capped off a jam-packed week (for me, at least) and enjoyed a few new experiences.

Monday, as a part of my Employee of the Month "duties", I visited a few branches along with my supervisor, branch manager, and my executive of choice, the lady in charge of all the branches. All three are a hoot and a half, so we had a blast. Our visits involved drawings for gift cards at each branch, all resulting from superior service awards. They took a picture of me and the winners at each place (not one of my favorite things lol), and it's amazing how many people are waaaay shorter than I am...made for some hilarious pictures!

After our visits, I was able to pick a place to eat lunch..and after some helpful advice, we went to The C Level on Harbor Island, where we spent at least 4 hours, and ate so much food! This restaurant, part of the more expensive Island Prime, is located right on the bay with a fantastic view of the San Diego cityscape, and we got a table right in the corner of the patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather and view. I got to try steamed mussels for the first time (delicous!) along with a few other appetizers, a scrumptious entree involving lobster, and a small key lime pie as dessert. A few beers and wine rounded out the huge meal. I will definitely have to go back there someday. If only every work day could be like Monday was, I'd really, REALLY love going to work lol

Wednesday, I went to our company's "Circle of Excellence" awards banquet at Qualcomm Stadium's Stadium Club, where I and about 30 others received gift cards and certificates for our performance last quarter...along with a nice dinner and an open bar! This was my 2nd time going to this event and I hope to make it to at least 1 more, especially the annual event, which I hear is phenomenal. What I really love about these events is that I get to mingle with some of the executives I don't see very much. It reminds me how awesome they all are, and how fun they are. These banquets are actually very enjoyable.

After the dinner, a few of my coworker buddies and some new people I met went out to a bar down the street, got some more beer, and hung out till midnight. This was totally out of the norm for me, since I usually go to bed at like 10 on weekdays lol. But it was worth it...such a fun night!

Today, I woke up at 4am (no big deal to me!) to go volunteer at a triathlon/duathlon at the Imperial Beach Pier. Not only did I get a free t-shirt and food out of the event, but I also got to be around more hot guys than I've ever seen in one place! Dayamn! I was assigned (along with 4 other volunteers) to wait after the finish line to collect the tracking chips from everyone. These chips were attached to a band that was velcroed around everyone's legs, near their feet. Since the athletes were not supposed to bend over, we had them put the leg on a chair and removed the bands for them. I ended up being the person who reminded the athletes to let us get their chips and not to bend over, though I did get to take bands off too (and I loved that part a little too much when it involved one of the studs lol).

While one guy did puke (3 times) just before I got his band off (no one else wanted to go near him for fear of another upchuck lol), it wasn't too bad. We had to wait about 3 hours for everyone to finish. I really admired all those people for finishing such a strenuous event, especially those who were older. I definitely plan to volunteer again next year.

So now I'm ready to just sit back and read for most of today...and prepare for the new week and a more mundane Monday than the last.

What's shakin?

There was a whole lotta shakin goin on here in Southern CA today! Well, just 10 seconds or so... In case you live under a rock, Los Angeles experienced a 5.4 earthquake that was felt here in San Diego (a 2-3 hour drive away). This was my first earthquake experience...I'm not an earthquake virgin any more!!! Booyah!! One of my friends who also moved here from Michigan had been waiting forever to experience an earthquake as well, and he just happened to be in LA when it happened...lucky guy!

I know, I know..I should be a little worried about "The Big One", right? Nah...if it happens, it happens. My chances of dying in an earthquake are much smaller than dying by lightning or tornado in the East...or dying by car accident...or elephant stampede...or Rage virus.

In other news, I found out that one of our credit union members did not want to do business with me yesterday because she is a bigot...er, a devout Christian who is not permitted to do business with homosexuals. That is what she said to my manager, at least, when he asked her why she was so adamant that I not assist her. Funny, she let me assist her a few times before...I guess she got too much of a good thing and needed to resist temptation? Hmm... She had a horrible facelift performed on her that makes her look like she was once a man or is a drag queen, so I almost felt like calling her and telling her I don't do business with transsexuals. lol

How she could tell I am gay, I have no clue...I don't think I'm THAT obvious. Those good ol' bigots...gotta love 'em. Such sad people who are so closed-minded. I should also remind her that one of her fellow conservatives recently tried to shoot a bunch of more liberal Christians the other day...at a church. Now, how many homosexuals (that are out of the closet) go around shooting people because of differing beliefs? I think the bigots have us outnumbered on that one.

I'm not really all that offended...just thought I'd point some things out lol. And I thought I'd heard it all...

Myspace vs. Facebook..and the winner is...

I created a profile on Myspace over 2 years ago and have seen Myspace undergo quite a few changes in that amount of time, as most websites do to keep up with the times. I created my Facebook profile a year or so ago and have seen a few changes there as well. Both sites have been great ways to keep up with most of my friends (except for those who are too lame to create a profile! lol), but I have decided to retire one profile, my Myspace profile.

Why? Well, over the last year, I have constantly compared my experiences with both sites. Myspace, for all its grandeur and popularity, has a horribly faulty server that allows a plethora of technical difficulties. I can't tell you how many times I will type out a message to a friend, click Send, and watch as all that typing goes into a black hole when the words "Sorry! An unexpected technical error has occurred." It happens so often that I usually copy my text before sending so that I don't have to re-type it when the error occurs. Not good at all, Tomboy.

Another thing I have grown to despise about Myspace is the explosion of ads on the site. Now, it's so bad that I have to wait until the latest movie trailer plays through before being able to sign in. Absolutely ridiculous. Then, when you are in, you are bombarded by huge ads throughout the page..they take up way too much room, compared to the space occupied on Facebook's pages. How annoying are the guys and girls pretending to talk to us via Match.com or True.com? I'm tempted to try to contact them and tell them their make-up artist missed a spot. This tells me either Myspace is hurting financially and needs lots of advertisers, or that Myspace is greedy for $$$$.

Yet another grievance is that Myspace is a chaotic mess, compared to Facebook's more pristine, Apple-esque look. Myspace looks like it was put together by a bunch of teenagers (hell, it practically was)...and because people can customize their page in any horrible way possible, it can be a nightmare to visit a potential friend's page lol. Scrolling photographs, videos galore, backgrounds that make reading a person's profile an exercise in futility. Maybe when I get a computer with more RAM, I will appreciate such freedom of expression lol. But most of the time, I cringe when someone wants me to check out his/her page, fearing Mr. Freeze will visit my 5-year-old computer yet again.

Facebook, on the other hand, is a bit more organized. I can visit profiles without fear of my computer overloading. I can message friends without an error occurring. In fact, I can barely even recall 1 or 2 errors occurring on Facebook. Myspace's technical team should give Facebook's a call. Facebook is more appealing to the eye, as well. AND the ads are much less than what you find at Myspace. I can sign in without having to watch a movie trailer..woohoo!! Also, it's important to note that Myspace has been playing catch up and copycat with Facebook for the last year or so. Look at Myspace's news feeds that showed up recently...looks very familiar...and Myspace started letting users move boxes around on their profile...also familiar.

Facebook is the Apple to Myspace's Microsoft. I am pleased to announce that in the battle of Myspace vs. Facebook, Facebook wins by 1,942, 342 points.

To any of my Myspace friends who aren't on Facebook or who haven't friended me on Facebook, go to Facebook now and either set up a profile and/or Friend me...time's a-wastin...hop to it! lol

I'll be deleting my Myspace profile on July 31st...can't wait!! Sorry, Tomboy...

The Dark Knight: best movie of the year?

With The Dark Knight, Director Christopher Nolan has delivered his best feature film yet. Definitely the most incredible film I've seen in quite a while, even with a running time of 2.5 hours. And yes, Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker is absolutely riveting...if this performance doesn't give the late actor an Oscar nomination at the very least, I'll be more than a little disappointed.

Going back to Christopher Nolan (since he deserves a bit more praise than even the stellar actors)...once I knew he was going to be involved in the Batman sequel, practically since the end of Batman Begins, I was pretty sure he'd have another excellent movie under his belt. I became a huge fan of Nolan's after seeing Memento (one of my top 10 favorite movies) for the first time in 2000; it is also one of the few movies I've watched multiple times. Following Memento, he directed Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and of course, The Dark Knight, with Insomnia being the weakest, in my opinion...and really, only because of Al Pacino, who annoyed me in that movie...hell, he always annoys me. Also of note, every movie Nolan has directed has scored at least 75% or more on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer...very impressive.

The only Nolan film I haven't seen is Following, which is his directorial debut - I do plan to eventually see it. As for the future, I'm not sure what Nolan's next project will be, but I intend to see whatever he brings to the screen next. And I certainly hope he will be directing a third Batman movie at some point in the near future...I anticipate that news in the coming months! Go Warner Bros.!!

So, to sum it all up, if you didn't contribute to the biggest, baddest, most splendiferous box office money madness ever this weekend, put on some white face paint and smeared red lipstick, and get out to your local cinema and see this movie!!! And when you get there, fight the temptation to see such gems as Meet Dave and Space Chimps instead...it'll be hard, but you can do it!

p.s. If you haven't seen any of Christopher Nolan's other films, rent them...now.

The George W. Bush Sewage Plant...has a nice ring to it.

In the News:

"Voters to decide on naming sewage plant for Bush" - that's the kind of headline that I LOVE seeing!! Go, San Francisco voters! If this gets passed, it will be hilarious. I can just see Democrat families visiting San Francisco and having their pictures taken in front of the sign that reads "The George W. Bush Sewage Plant". A very small portion of the just desserts our current leader deserves.

If you want to read the full (very short) article, I hope you noticed the hyperlink above. If you didn't...well, how the hell do you survive on the Internet?? lol


On another note, San Diego's Gay Pride festival is this weekend. If you live in San Diego, you might've noticed a large increase in the number of guys out jogging and working out over the last few weeks. It's because they are proud of themselves and the gay rights movement, not because they are preparing for a big hookup weekend...neeeever that. lol Anyway, I really, really, really feel for anyone who is a housekeeper at a hotel in San Diego this weekend...they are going to see some weird shit...

Wimbledon's King dethroned in a match for the ages

Federer shakes Nadal's hand as Nadal keeps repeating "Mine!" "Mine!" "Mine!"

Sports:

This morning, I made the effort to get up at 6:00 to watch what I thought would be just another Federer-Nadal Grand Slam Final match. Instead, I witnessed the most thrilling, most engrossing match in my years of being a tennis fan (the commentators consider it to possibly be the greatest match of all time).

The match stands out for several reasons: 1) it was the longest match in Wimbledon history, clocking in at 4 hours, 48 minutes, not including the rain delays, which in reality dragged the match out over 7 hours! 2) From what the NBC commentators were saying, it was the latest-ending match (the court was almost plunged into darkness just after the end of the match - there are no real lights for nighttime play). 3) Federer and Nadal now have faced each other in more Grand Slam finals than any other pair. 4) Both men brought their best game to the court and put on a show that even overshadowed the excellent Venus-Davenport Wimbledon Women's Final match that wowed the world a few years ago.

While Nadal came away the champion, Federer cannot be considered a loser. Hopefully, there will be more fantastic showdowns in the future (with Federer coming out on top next time! lol). Now, just another month and a half until the US Open!! Tennis really is the greatest sport there is...uh oh...I think I might've offended the rabid soccer fans...gasp! Time to skidaddle...

Venus is still Queen at Wimbledon...and my surreal day at the office.

Venus and Serena Williams, holding their new dinner plates that they bought at Costco.

Sports:

This is my favorite part about the 4th of July weekend: the Wimbledon championships!!

The Williams sisters put on a pretty good show today in Wimbledon's Women's Final. Venus, of course, prevailed...these days, she is the better sister. Woohoo!! The highlight for me was Game 3 of the 2nd set, which lasted quite a while as Serena gave her all to break Venus one last time before Venus ran away with the show. I am hesitantly looking forward to tomorrow's Men's Final...hesitantly, because I'm not so confident Federer will win this time. We'll see...


All About Me:

A special version of my work nametag.

Since something like this rarely happens to a guy like me, I have to shout it from the rooftops lol. On Tuesday, I was given the shock of the year...hell, the decade...when I was awarded Employee of the Month!! I know to some people, it may not seem like a big deal, but I have a very strong work ethic; to me, this is one of the highest honors I could ever achieve.

Here are all the details (hope you have a big cup of coffee): When I showed up for work that morning, I was expecting our usual branch meeting. When several executives and employees from other departments/branches showed up, that's when many of us were wondering what the hell was going on. We all assumed our branch was being thrown a 1-year-anniversary party (since our office just celebrated that on our own).

So, after we were all seated, the director of Human Resources addressed us all (about 30 or so in attendance) and finally told us she and everyone else were at our branch to award July's Employee of the Month to someone sitting among us. As she gave us hints, I kept looking at two of my teammates until the part about "high value on accuracy" and the sense of humor remark. Then, this giddy smile appeared on my face as my name was read out, and that giddy smile was glued on my face for about an hour lol.

So, I had to stand in front of everyone and listen as others made some very touching comments about me...and then I was asked to say something. Speaking in front of that many people is not my forte at all..and I don't really remember what I said..I hope it was good, as I was being videotaped too! lol

This is how cool my credit union is...I received a really nice plaque, a watch, a gift certificate to use to detail my car, a special nametag (pictured above), a nice dinner with my managers and an executive of my choice (easy decision), and a $500 check!! I will also be put into the running for Employee of the Year, along with the other 11 EOM's; should I somehow win that even higher honor, I might faint, especially since I would have to speak in front of the entire company (400-500 people) at our annual meeting. But then there's a $3000 bonus involved, so....

It was such a surreal event...I'm not used to being the center of attention (except when people read this blog, of course lol), and I don't really seek out the spotlight. Like I said before, this is one of the greatest accomplishments for me in quite a while, so I feel justified in writing so much about the experience lol. I am still so excited, but part of me feels a little guilty because I think that 2 of my teammates deserve this award more than I do.

Still, I love where I work and am looking forward to what the future holds there!

Wimbledon, WTF, and Variable's bad day

Sports:

Wimbledon 2008: Week 2 begins at 4am PST! So many big names have already packed up and gone home (Roddick, Sharapova, Ivanovic, Blake, and aging Davenport). I'm most looking forward to the Federer-Hewitt match tomorrow, even though Hewitt isn't quite at his best; Federer seems to have come out of whatever fog he was in earlier this year. Nadal's match with Youzhny ought to be good too, especially if the outcome involves Nadal hopping a plane back to Spain on Tuesday.

With the women, I am rooting heavily for Venus Williams...she's looking fantastic, but then, she hasn't been really challenged yet either.


In the News/All About Me:

California's law forcing drivers to use headsets while chatting on cell phones goes into effect Tuesday. It's been interesting watching the growth of Bluetooth users over the last couple months. More and more, people are sprouting robotic growths on their ears...it's an invasion!! As a past Star Trek watcher, I can only think of The Borg when I see Bluetooths on people's ears...where are the red eye-scanners and the black leather suits?

As for me, I will probably forego the Bluetooth for now. Hell, my 2-year-old cell phone isn't even compatible, so I'll have to get a new cell first. I love my little cell phone; I've dropped it so many times, yet it keeps on ticking, war wounds and all. So, if you call me while I'm driving, expect my lovely voicemail.

For the record, I think headsets are a good idea to help relieve your arms. However, I don't believe a person holding a cell to his/her ear contributes to accidents (stick-shift cars require only 1 hand on the steering wheel, after all); it's the depth of the conversation that distracts...and the searching through the address book and texting that cause trouble. With some headsets, a search through the address book will still be necessary, especially for those who can't figure out voice-activation. Good job, Congress...now get cracking on a "no applying makeup while driving" law, please.


Odd News:

A couple of articles caught my attention this week. One, about a man named Variable who had a really bad day...he wanted to change his name to "Fuck Censorship!", but his request was denied, for obvious reasons. I mean, imagine the horror if he works at Wal Mart and was summoned to the phone: "Fuck, Line 1...Fuck, Line 1 is for you". I love his current name, though...and his previous name, Snaphappy Fishsuit Mokiligon. Sometimes, I forget that our legal system has to deal with such idiocy.

Link: N.M. court refuses obscene name change

The other article involves license plates that were issued in North Carolina that start with WTF. This cracked me up because some people (the elderly, mostly...and the NC DMV) have no idea that it means anything obscene. Grandma driving around saying "What the fuck" to the world...that's kinda funny, don't you think?? lol Eh, WTF...tough audience.

Link: WTF...abbreviation on car plates makes Americans blush

Odd news: watch out for people armed with frozen chickens!!

Odd News:

Ypsilanti, MI made the national news!! That's my former place of residence. Apparently, some really cool dude decided to stab his mama with a fork and beat a neighbor with a frozen chicken. Both mama and neighbor are okay. Chicken shit obviously doesn't know how to properly thaw a chicken. Sheesh!

On a related note, this tale made me think that maybe the Clue makers should include a frozen chicken as a weapon in the next edition. "I believe Professor Plum murdered the poor fellow with the frozen chicken in the Ball Room!"

Link: Man Stabs Mom, Assaults Another Woman with Chicken

Summer begins, and the heat is on!

Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, Frosty found himself in the clutches of Martha Stewart.

All About Me:

I'm meeeeeelting!!! Yet another record-breaking heat wave descended upon San Diego and much of Southern CA a few days ago and is expected to release its scorching hold on us tomorrow or Tuesday. Whew! In the eastern part of San Diego County, where I work, it was 110 degrees at 1pm on Saturday when I was leaving the office. But hey, "it's a dry heat"...no worries, right? lol

20 miles west, where I live, it was 95 degrees and has been in at least the mid 80s for the last few days. Just like many others who live closer to the coast, we have no air-conditioning, so this heat has been very brutal. I'm sweating as I'm typing this, and it's only 10am! Blech. I know...bitch, bitch, bitch...gripe, gripe, gripe...hey, I'm cranky when I'm sweating while doing absolutely nothing lol. I cannot wait for seasonal temperatures to resume (low to mid 70s is the norm for San Diego in June-July).


Moving on...every month, my credit union (North Island Credit Union), gives away a car (usually a Prius) to lucky members. This month, a member of our office won, and on Saturday, she and her husband came to pick up their brand new Prius! We put balloons all over it, a banner, cake (not on the car), the whole enchilada. It was a lot of fun, and she was ecstatic, to say the least. She introduced herself to other members "Hi..I'm the one who won the car!!! The one outside with the balloons on it!" It was very cool to be part of such an uplifting experience. And she should do great marketing for us, as she will probably tell the entire world. lol


In the News:

Rigging elections...just another day in the life of Robert Mugabe, dictator extraordinaire.

Mugabe, Zimbabwe's worst nightmare, will remain in power, according to an article I read this morning. His opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, dropped out of the upcoming election runoff, unfortunately...but had he not, he most likely would've been assassinated or imprisoned. It's a very, very tragic situation that Zimbabwe has been in and will continue to be in for who knows how long. We may grumble about our idiotic president, but Mugabe is much worse as one of the most despicable people ever to come onto this planet; when he dies, I hope he is happy with himself for almost destroying Zimbabwe.

Link: CNN's article on Mugabe's re-election


A blog I read indicates that one airline would like to help make your flight experience more enjoyable and care-free. How will they do this? They will lighten the load in your wallet by taking your money for any and all drinks (except tap water)! Yay!!! The airline in question is US Airways, and drinks will go for the low, low price of $2! Woohoo!! That's a STEAL! Those crazy airlines...what WILL they think of next? (I like how the blogger quips about pay toilets...you never know...)

Hmm...I'm thinking more and more planes will spend more time on the ground with passengers on board to get them hot and sweaty and thus see the cash start flowing in...very clever!

Link: US Airways to charge $2 for soda, juice, water


Entertainment:


The Dark Knight opens in less then a month - July 18th (25 days, 9 hours, and 56 minutes, to be exact, according to the clock on Yahoo's movie page). As I'm trying to be good with $$, this is one of the few movies I WILL be seeing on the big screen this year...can't wait!!! I think the only bad aspect of the movie will be the reminder of Heath Ledger's recent death.

Ok...enough typing...time to go sweat some more!

Lakers sink, Japanese elders get naked, and The OC

This is Kobe Bryant's best look...I hope it sticks.

Sports:

I didn't watch the NBA Finals after the Pistons lost to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, I always, always root against the Lakers, and I was so delighted that not only did they lose the Finals, they lost in Game 6 by 39 points (131-92)!! It sounds like the Celtics won by the biggest margin in NBA history in a championship-winning game. And at one point, the Celtics were up by 42 points (just minutes before the end). While I wish the Pistons could've been the ones to knock Kobe Bryant and his backups off their pedestal (a la 2004), I'll take what we got. Woohoo!!

Over in tennis land, Wimbledon is just a couple weeks away!! Cheerio!


Odd News:

Is this what you've been downloading on iTunes? Naughty, naughty...

I stumbled across an article on Time.com about the growing audience in Japan for "elder porn". There may be hope for Joan Rivers and Barbara Walters yet. And Ed MacMahon...he needs some extra money, it sounds like, so maybe he should fly out to Japan and audition... Yeah, I'm still trying to keep an open mind about this one...but hey, I guess it's a new spin on "respect your elders".

Link: Japan's Booming Sex Niche: Elder Porn


Entertainment:

Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie), M...whatever, and Luke (Chris Carmack)

If you recognize the three above, you watched The O.C.! Don't try to deny it... I'll even confess that I just started renting this series, after hearing so much hype while it was on. That, and I've had a crush on Chris Carmack (who plays Luke - on the right in the picture above) for years; he has these dreamy eyes and chiseled face, sexy voice...sigh...I should stop now before I am shot by an NRA member.

Anyway, I am halfway through the first season and find it to be a very worthy "guilty pleasure". Also, I have to note that Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan) is sexy as hell too. Personally, I think Marissa should get lost, and Ryan and Luke should make a love connection. But that's just me.

Since it's so damn hot here in San Diego, I think it's appropriate to close out this post with 2 more pictures of the hotties from The O.C. Enjoy...

Aww...he saved me a seat...what a gentleman! (pictured: Ben McKenzie)

Chris Carmack, studmuffin

CA Gay Weddings a Go, Coldplay, and Lovey Dovies

This ought to be an interesting week, as the California Supreme Court's ruling that now allows gay couples to marry goes into effect. Of course, all those in favor of discrimination will be out protesting, waving their big cardboard signs...that's fine with me...let them damage their vocal chords and miss hours of work. Tough noogies for them. This is a momentous week for those of us in favor of gay rights and human rights in general. Hopefully, the momentum will carry through the ballots in November. In the meantime, my proposals to Richard Simmons continue to go unanswered...

Entertainment:


Coldplay's new album is finally out in the US today!! I just downloaded my copy from iTunes and can't wait to give it a run-through on the way to work...woohoo!!

All about me:

Over the last few weeks, 2 very stubborn doves made themselves at home on our side porch, in a hanging fern. Now, they managed to do this, despite my roommate furiously disposing of their first nest (he loves his fern and plants very much, and a nest in the fern doesn't exactly help it). So, the doves returned, quickly built a new nest, and would not leave it. I should also note that either these same doves or others like them used this exact same spot last year. lol

Eventually, 2 babies were born, and mama and papa would disappear for the day to find food. I sometimes caught a feeding in the early hours of the morning ("early bird gets the worm"!!). But I'm guessing the parents have taught the babies to be very, very quiet, so that predators won't catch onto their nifty location.

Now, they have "flown the coop", and my roommate has his fern back (he quickly discarded the nest last night...I HOPE the babies were gone...because they were there yesterday morning). Anyway...here are some pictures I snapped while the coo coo cool family was visiting:

Mama and one of the little squirts

The two baby birds (one is kinda hidden by a leaf)

Mama and Papa keep watch from the neighbor's roof across the driveway.

Week in Review (also available in Southern: Week Done Gone)

Friday ended with news of Tim Russert's shocking death while on the job. He was an incredible political journalist/analyst/host, and the political world will most definitely not be the same without him. The news world will be hard-pressed to find another like him, and finishing this historic election year without his involvement will be a darn shame, to put it lightly.

Tomorrow, Tom Brokaw will be hosting a tribute special in the normal timeslot for Meet the Press...I plan on giving it a look-see.

Link: Time.com's appreciation


Odd News:

Changing the tone to something more humorous (I hope), I came across an article about a squabble over apparent manhole danger in Mumbai. I'm not sure whether the alliteration in the headline or the contents of the article amused me more lol.

Sports:

With tennis' French Open over with, there's not much in sports really occupying my interest, since all my baseball teams (the Braves, Tigers, and Padres) are playing like little leaguers. However, I was delighted to read about the results of Game 4 of the NBA Finals: the Celtics erased a huge 20-point lead that the Lakers held for more than half the game...and won the game...HUGE comeback!! I don't like either team and am not watching since the Pistons lost, but I always, always root against the Lakers and the pompous Kobe Bryant. Oh, how I still cherish the 2004 finals when the underdog Pistons topped the almighty Lakers...sigh...nostalgia is threatening to overwhelm me...moving on...

Entertainment:



Only 3 days remain until Coldplay's newest album is released in the US (that's Tuesday the 17th for those who can't count)!! "Viva la Vida" is so wonderful, and "Violet Hill" is not too shabby either, so I hope the rest of the album follows suit. I've been hearing good things...3 more days till I press download on iTunes...woohoo!! I'm not excited...not at all...*wipes drool off mouth*



If you watch Battlestar Galactica and haven't seen the Season 4 "mid-season finale", stop now and run for your life!! Away with you!! That goes for any who are calling me "dork" under their breath too. lol

This season has been ho-hum for the most part, but the "mid-season finale" was frakkin awesome!! So much happened that I'm still reeling...the President and company were rescued, the incognito Cylons were revealed to all (with fascinating consequences), and most shocking of all, the fleet found Earth! And there are still at least 10 episodes left before the series ends. I knew after we saw all the characters celebrating finding the legendary lost colony that something bad would happen.

Sure enough, Earth is practically a wasteland in their timeline, most likely the consequences of nuclear devastation. One scene showed what looked like the remains of the Brooklyn Bridge and New York. It's looking like some people made it away from Earth and founded the other 12 colonies, eventually creating the Cylon robots, who would turn on their human masters and start another detrimental war. I guess that's where the phrase "It's all happened before, and it will all happen again" comes from.

I can't wait to see how the series ends, even though the second half of the season may not begin until next January or February! Ugh... The tv season is now officially over for me. That gives any non-Battlestar fans plenty of time to catch up...hint, hint.

Admiral Bill Adama and President Laura Roslin take in the disheartening wasteland that is Earth.

Well, that's about it for now. I must now endure a weekend without my cell phone AND ipod Nano; I absent-mindedly left them behind at work today and can't retrieve them until Monday...oh, the horrors!!! Yeah...I'm a dork AND dumb lol.

Special Report: Tales from the East

Me, Kari (cousin), Ryan (cousin and groom), and Ashley (my sister)
Ryan and Heather's wedding, June 6th, 2008

My vacation is over; I returned to San Diego a little after midnight Tuesday morning. While it was hot as bloody hell in Atlanta and Florida, I did have a really good time back in the East! Here's a somewhat brief recap of my trip back to the homeland (excuuuse me, where do you think you're going? This is good stuff!! lol):

Thursday - Around 5:30 am, I made my triumphant return to Atlanta. The jaws of life had to pull me out of my seat on the airplane...not really, but I felt like I was inside a clam all 4 hours. lol After my dad dropped me off at his and my mom's house, I spent some time catching up with some relatives that were staying there too. Then, after a few hours' sleep, many of us headed off to a funeral. I felt so bad for my cousins Danny and Betty, who lost their 39-year-old son, Jason, days before. It's so much worse to see parents bury a child, no matter how old the age of the child. Danny gave such a touching, tearful eulogy. It had been a few years since I last saw Jason, but I will always remember him being so full of life and love for his family, his extraordinary musical talents (incredible pianist), and of course his fantastic sense of humor.

It was a nice to have some comedic relief at the gravesite, where a little girl took off during a prayer to steal flowers from neighboring graves. Her mother, when she opened her eyes, had to chase after her lol. They'd better watch out for ghosts wanting their flowers back!!

Another brightside was getting to see many relatives I haven't seen in a while, Danny and Betty being some of them. They are all a wonderful, loving bunch of people. It's a shame it takes such events to bring all of us back together, but that is life, I suppose.

I ended up rounding out the day with my old friend Julie and her husband, Matt, at a Cheesecake Factory in Dunwoody. Good times! And I didn't pass out in my food, so that was quite an accomplishment after a jam-packed day.

FYI: If you see a scene like this while heading to FL from Atlanta, you're going in the wrong direction.

Friday - around 6am, my dad, mom, sister, and I embarked on a 5-6 hour drive to Gainesville, FL for my cousin Ryan's wedding. It was like old times...the entire family on the road to FL in the wee hours of the morning! My dad was concerned we might not have enough time before the wedding as it was. I agree...we only had about 3-4 hours to prepare for the wedding when we arrived at the hotel.

The only bad thing about the wedding was that it was outdoors. Beautiful, humid 95-degree day. And my grandmother wanted to know where my suit jacket was! I asked her if I looked insane lol. It was a wonderful, amazing wedding, even as sweat dripped down my back and pooled above my belt. The bride and her father were carried in via horse and carriage. Very cool. Also, my cousin the groom and all the groomsmen wore black and white converse tennis shoes to symbolize the running the unwed men do before being tied down by commitment/marriage.

Heather and Ryan walk down the isle after officially tying the knot!

I hadn't seen Ryan and the rest of his family in at least 4-5 years, so I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to see them again, as well as spend time with other relatives on my dad's side of the family. He and his wife are stationed in Italy as part of their tour of duty with the air force. My sister and I may visit them next Spring, I hope! If not, who knows when I might next see any of them?

My grandmother and Tyler (her great-grandson) at the wedding...I love this picture

Saturday - my family and I returned to Atlanta by late afternoon. My parents treated me to a nice dinner out at a really cool new restaurant out in the middle of almost-nowhere, and I treated them to a movie outing to see Iron Man. Now, THAT is a blockbuster superhero movie...and maybe it was something I ate, but Robert Downey Jr. was damn sexy in the movie. I think I had to fan myself a few times...not really, but almost. We then spent further quality time watching a few episodes of Law and Order.

Sunday - finally, a nice, quiet, relaxing day...AT LAST, I was able to try out my parents sweet new pool (they put it in over the winter). It was so hot outside, the water temp was 86 degrees lol. We had a blast. My mom even challenged me to a race across the pool, breast-stroke, followed by free-style. I won, even after pretending to have a cramp in my leg! lol

That night, I did go out to meet up with an old Michigan friend/date, who recently moved to Atlanta. He took me around Midtown, visiting a few very cool bars. Fun times! And we even got to see the Celtics giving the Lakers a whoopin on tv. Woohoo!!

Monday - I always intended to not even leave my parents' house until before my flight that night, so I just hung around with my parents' black lab, Casey. I sat out by the pool, reading, did some more swimming and "tanning" (that means burning for us fair-skinned people). I felt bad for not being able to see more of my friends, but I really, really, really, really did not want to leave the house lol. I needed the cleansing the chlorine gave me. I know...I'm selfish, possessed by the tiny-hearted Grinch.

My parents and grandmother took me out to eat before I went to the airport. Delicious meal. It's always hard to say goodbye, especially to my grandmother, who along with my grandfather, I can't stand to see get old. Same with my parents, though, they seem to be retaining their youth well!

My flight looked to go without incident, until we were all herded onto the plane and forced to sit for an hour before take-off. This without proper a/c..just circulation of hot, sticky air from outside. Blech. We had to wait for our flight attendants...and other passengers to arrive in Atlanta. Something tells me if the flight attendants hadn't been delayed, those poor connecting passengers would've been left high and dry lol. By the time they all arrived, a thunderstorm loomed. It was kinda thrilling to take off with lightning striking way too close by for me. But I had told my parents earlier that I was disappointed in not seeing any storms while visiting...a genie must've been listening in.

So, now I'm back in sunny, cooler San Diego and reunited with my little girl, who I missed so much!

End of a looooooong entry. If you stayed with this till the end, give yourself a pat on the back...you deserve a nice bottle of wine (at your own expense, of course!! lol).

Vacation cometh and Obama has a new favorite number

Mr. Wells goes to Atlanta:

Tomorrow night, I will be headed back to the Mothership aka Atlanta, GA. I just love them good ol' red-eye flights (said like a true Southerner)! 10:30 pm PST departure time, 5:30 am EST arrival time. But as any Georgian will tell you, time is of no concern at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport...so, who knows when I might get into town?

I will be in town from early Thursday morning until late Monday night. To say that my trip is jam-packed is an under-statement. During that brief span of time, I will be attending a funeral, entertaining many of my mom's relatives at my parents' house, taking a family road trip to Florida (16 hours round-trip), attending a wedding/reception with many of my dad's relatives, hanging with old friends, and maybe sleeping and eating too! Whew!! It's the American way to not relax while on vacation, after all! You can bet I will have many pictures and tales to share... For those of my friends who I won't get to see, I will definitely see you at Christmas!


Politics:


So, Obama now has enough delegates to pretty much call this thing a done deal. While he's not the candidate I would like to have as the Democratic nominee, it could be worse. Even though Hillary hasn't conceded yet, I am sure she will soon. It will be interesting to see if she is invited to be Obama's VP; he may have little choice. But at the same time, Hillary might not want to stay up all night waiting for a phone call. Especially if George W Bush starts drunk-dialing her to poke fun at her. "Hey Hills, guess what?? I was in the white man's house as preseedent for um...one, two, three, four, five....(long pause)....six, seven, EIGHT YEARS...and you ZERO...tee hee hee!! oh, and is your referidgeratiator running?" *click*

Meanwhile, Obama and his friends might be overheard singing "Ding dong, the bitch is dead" into the wee hours of the morning. Sigh...

Odd News: Woman finally comes out of the closet!

Most days, I read the Odd News on Yahoo.com, which usually provides for some nice entertainment; true stories from around the world about some of the crazy things people do or discover. I felt compelled to share one of the articles from today about a Japanese man who found out a woman was living in his closet. I hope he threw her a "coming out" party! Here's the article:

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man who was mystified when food kept disappearing from his kitchen, set up a hidden camera and found an unknown woman living secretly in his closet, Japanese media said Friday.

The 57-year-old unemployed man of Fukuoka in southern Japan called police Wednesday when the camera sent pictures to his mobile phone of an intruder in his home while he was out on Wednesday, the Asahi newspaper said on its Website.

Officers rushed to the house and found a 58-year-old unemployed woman hiding in an unused closet, where she had secreted a mattress and plastic drink bottles, the Asahi said. Police suspect she may have been there for several months, the paper said.

"I didn't have anywhere to live," the Nikkan Sports tabloid quoted the woman as telling police.

Local police confirmed that they had arrested a woman for trespassing, but would not comment further on the case.

Click here for the source of the article.

Week in Review: Lost, Sports, and Politics

Entertainment:

It's June!! And that means that the main television season is now officially over. We are all now free to go find something else to do on week nights. But before that happens, I have to shed my feelings on the spectacular Lost season finale.

First of all, the new format that was in place this season and will be in place for the last 2 seasons works very well. 16 episodes per season (well, the infamous Strike shortened this season to 14), starting in February, ending in May. No breaks (minus Strikes) during the run of the episodes, and then one huuuge 8-month break, during which some may jump off a bridge (kidding...I hope!). Seasons 2 and 3 had too many "filler" episodes, but this past season proved that a shorter season given to us all at once provides much better entertainment; this season was the best since the first, hands-down.

So, with the finale behind us, lots of surprises for me. Penny and Desmond were reunited...totally wasn't expecting that to happen so soon, but what a great reunion!! That can only mean that something bad is coming for them later on (as in Ben following through with his threat to kill Penny..nooo...bad Ben, baaad!).

Walt discovered puberty while away from the Island, and I think the writers handled this by having the future/present Oceanic 6 be 2-3 years in the future from the Island scenes, which are still occurring in 2004. It's hard sometimes to keep up with the timeline. I have to keep telling my parents that only 4-5 months have passed on the Island, so it's still 2004! But the future timeline we've seen is anywhere between 2004 and 2008. Anyone else need an Advil?

Walt's daddio, Michael, saved the day for some of the people on the freighter (and the soon-to-be Oceanic 6), but he went the way of a suicide bomber's Hello Kitty backpack. Poor guy...he never got to say goodbye to his little, tall boy. :-(

Jin and Sun were ripped apart...very excruciating to watch Sun scream for her hubbie, though I think the baby inside her was screaming for her to shut the hell up. I don't think Jin is dead...no way. Jin and Sun will be reunited in the end..mark my words. They are the Island love story, not Jack and Kate or Kate and Sawyer.

And the Island pulled an Osama bin Laden...*poof*, thanks to Ben...and the mysterious Jacob. Where are all the Islanders now? What "very bad things" will happen to them between the time the Oceanic 6 were rescued and the time John Locke aka Jeremy P-something supposedly died??

And most importantly, what happened to Vincent the dog? I guess we'll have to wait until February 2009 to find out.


Sports:

In Sports, the Pistons pist-off their fans, once again. Now we have the Lakers vs. the Celtics in the Finals. *YAWN* I would like to see Kobe Bryant lose, though. Detroit does have hope in the Red Wings, though. They are 1 game from taking the Stanley Cup!!



I'm also delighted that my man, Roger Federer, is still going strong in the French Open, heading into the 4th round!! Unfortunately, Nadal is still in the race too. Here's hoping he pulls a muscle while flexing for the crowd. Yeah, I'm mean.


Politics:

Hillary is like the Energizer Bunny, much to some Democrats' dismay. I myself am a Hillary supporter, and if she thinks she can win somehow, I am all for it. Even with today's big win in Puerto Rico, she still is behind, and Obama is almost at the "magic number". It's been an interesting spectacle the last few weeks, which is thrilling the media to no end. For the first time since "chad" became a household name, many Americans are tuning in to what's going on in politics; this year has really highlighted what a convoluted process we have in electing presidential nominees. That makes the Primary Election this year's most exciting reality show. What will happen next? Will Obama and Hillary soon start sneaking up on each other with cream pies in hand? Wait and see...


End of post. Go find some Visine...