A "Big Kid" Bed

When they were little, both Applejack and Zoe could fit snuggled together in their little bed.

Today, however, it became obvious that Applejack has out-grown it and now needs a "big kid" bed.

Kitty Hole-Punch, Part II

Zoe.
('nuf said.)

I totally called it!

(Warning: "24" season finale spoilers)

All season long I've been wondering how they're going to end the season - what cliff-hanger will drive us all crazy until the next season begins in January 2007. I know, I know, it's silly to think that far ahead when the plot twists and turns every hour.

But I TOTALLY called it: the Chinese catch up to Jack. The whole reason Jack "disappeared" at the end of season 4 was because he killed the Chinese consulate and Cheng was going to kill him. That plot line had to come back around. I was almost surprised that they didn't make an appearance until the end of the "day", but I guess there were half a dozen other plot lines that had to be taken care of.
But what about the dudes sitting in the comfy chairs drinking scotch and talking to the jerk president on their little ear pieces? There was zero resolution with them.

Season 6 = the Chinese and the dudes with the ear pieces join together to make it the 6th worst day of Jack Bauer's life. Sheesh - he's already asking them to kill him.

Post script: Bad ass Agent Pierce ranks second only to Jack.

Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget

a.k.a Saab
My coworker's son lives in Germany and he and his wife recently bought a Saab. Here is the beauty of the Saab buying experience.
1) Choose specs (U.S. or European vehicle regulations, navigation systems, etc.)
2) Pay for car
3) Get free trip to Sweden to pick up car on Saab's dime
4) Save 20% by not having to pay tax because you're not a Swedish citizen

Dude. I'm totally getting a Saab.
I've never been more excited about not being a Swede as I am at this moment.

No pictures, please

Caption: "The paparazzi greet one of the penguins as it walks into Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport."

[giggle] That picture is just too funny!

This penguin is one of 19 who, along with 2 otters, has just taken a trip home to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans after being displaced by Katrina last Fall. They flew via FedEx cargo jet from California where they had been sheltered at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

5.15.06 News of the Day

1) I had a mild wardrobe malfunction this morning and I didn't have any safety pins. I ALWAYS have safety pins. I'm the girl that people come to when they need safety pins. I'm really disappointed in my unpreparedness. I'm more disappointed in that than I am in the seam that came apart in my pants. Thankfully I was able to bring back the classic style of the jacket tied around the waist all day.
2) I wore the wrong socks for these boots today. They keep snuggling down under my heels.
3) I had a Saladelia chicken salad wrap for lunch - BOOYAH!
4) I have a Blockbuster coupon ($0.99 for ANY movie) that expires today. I'm trying to think of an exciting new release that I can save $4 on.
5) I'm going to be wearing a nametag 44 hours this week.
6) I don't like the taste of bottled water. Whenever I get a bottle of water I can't wait until I'm done drinking that water so that I can put other kind of water in the bottle. That's what the French call L'ironieaux.
7) Saladelia is catering my breakfast and lunch for 6 freakin' days.
8) I have to call the University of Michigan to figure out why they sent our check back.
9) Amazon.com said they had a book in stock but then after we ordered 10 copies they emailed me today and said "fake out!"
10) My friend Mike gets to go to Oregon this week and I'm very very jealous. Oregon is awesome. I told him to go visit Powells bookstore, aka "The City of Books". I've always wanted to go there.
11) I had beer brats last night and they were awesome.
12) I have to leave right now to go feed cookies to a room full of future faculty members.

Pinecones...yummy.

I had a number of strange dreams last night. I don't know if it was all the cheese & chocolate fondue I'd had, lingering energy from the party, or the fact I was sleeping on a couch in a place I'd never been before...
A bunch of people from my lifegroup were in Italy, driving around in this old-school Daddy Warbucks car that fit like 20 people. I'm driving this scooter/bicycle thing and I pull up along side them and was like "hey, how's it going?" because I think we didn't expect to see each other there. Then their car turned into a platform of diner/cafe tables and they were chillin' and eating and having a jolly old time. I end up sitting down with them and realize that Chris Daughtry (the recently and unjustifiably eliminated American Idol rocker stud who I just heard got an offer from Fuel to be their new lead singer) is sitting there and he's munching on something strange. He's got this platter of huge pinecones in front of him and he's pulling off all the bits and eating them. I said "what in the world! Pinecones are for decorating and spraypainting gold." (I guess I said that because in real life we used to do when were kids) But he told me I should try it and sure enough, it tasted like bark. Then the dream morphed into something else totally different.

Kitty Hole-Punch

Zoe's fondness for paper has become an obsession. Post-It notes are her favorites and she'll carry them around the house and then huddle with them and chew on them. This was a Post-It note that we put on the chair she sleeps on: "Reserved for Zoe". Before I took this picture, she had, almost in one motion, jumped onto the chair, grabbed the Post-It with her teeth and then jumped down off the chair and ran away with it. And there's the "after shot".




For the last month or so she has been waking me up at 5:30am because she's chewing on cardboard, or folders, or paper, or magazines in my room. She's insane.



I get mad, but then she's just so darn cute...

The Great Quake

From the Ferry to Van Ness,
you're a God-forsaken mess,
but you're the damndest finest ruins,
nothing more or nothing less.
-- Poem by San Francisco businessman Larry Harris, 1906.

___________________________________________________

April 18th was the 100th year anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fires in San Francisco. At about 5:14am, on April 18, 1906, the city was rocked. Modern analysist estimate it measuring between 7.8 and 8.3 on the current Richter scale.

(Around the anniversary, I became fascinated with the disaster and read a lot of articles and parts of books. This post got lost in my "drafts" box, so here it is, almost a month late.)

It's interesting to look back on this natural disaster in the context of Hurricane Katrina. How did the citizens, the city officials, the fire department, the military, the president, the media, and aid workers all respond to the destruction caused by the earthquake and the fires that followed? There were bad decisions that cost lives. The mayor and general tried to bring the fire under control by detonating blocks of buildings around the fire to create fire breaks, but the powder they used often set the ruins on fire which added to the destruction. There were tensions involving immigrants and the poor - and many of their deaths went unrecorded. 250,000 people - more than 60% of the city's population - were left homeless, living in tents and tiny 'earthquake shacks' (see picture). The mayor told police and troopers to shoot looters on sight, and roughly 500 people were shot.
There was disorganization in the government and the military, and the fire chief was fatally injured just after the quake struck, leaving the fire department scrambling for direction.




Below, the information in italics come from the timeline at
The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.

As with many major disasters, in the midst of all the confusion, disorganization, and destruction there are inspiring stories of citizens coming together:

"April 21, 1906
The fire that swept the Mission District was stopped at 20th and Dolores streets by three thousand volunteers and a few firemen who fought the blaze with knapsacks, brooms and a little water from an operating hydrant at 20th and Church."

_________________________________________________

"April 23, 1906
Imperial decree on the 30th Day of the Third Moon from Empress Dowager of China to send 100,000 taels as a personal contribution to the relief of the San Francisco sufferers. President Theodore Roosevelt declined the offer, as well as donations from other foreign governments."

Why do governments often refuse offers of assistance from the global community? Is it pride? Politics? Are pride and politics really what suffering nations need to worry about? Grrr.

_________________________________________________


Panoramic view of the destruction.

Happy Friday

Alright everybody...
time to do THE FRIDAY DANCE!!!

Recognition Irony

Our department manager brought donuts in to the office today to celebrate State Employee Recognition Week. I didn't even know it was State Employee Recognition Week.
Anyway, she sent an email out to everyone thanking us for the "great work" we do and how much our work "is appreciated" at our office. The irony: she doesn't show much sign of respect for or appreciation of many of the people who work here (I'm very much included in that population) the other 364 days of the year.
And that, as Karin says, is poops.

But I did get a donut with sprinkles on it.
In the end, that's all that really matters.