Unpublished Opinion

My blog is not here anymore

2006-10-10T21:17:00.000-05:00

My blog is here. Please join me.

Married Lady

2006-10-02T20:43:00.000-05:00

Hey! I got married!
Details and photos over here.

You might be missing out!

2006-08-27T17:17:00.000-05:00

Have you been reading my new vox blog?
If not, you are missing the photos of my trip to the location where they filmed the movie Groundhog Day!

You can easily add the new blog to your bloglines or other reader!

RSS Feed: http://simbasmom.vox.com/library/posts/atom.xml

Stop by when you get a chance!

Enough is enough

2006-08-21T21:15:00.000-05:00

I have really gotten tired of blogger. My patience has disappeared.
Please visit me at a new place I have been hiding at lately. It is much more fun and has more to offer a simple blogger like me. My favorite part is that it is integrated with flickr, amazon, and youtube, for easy uploading of photos and videos. They also have a fun question of the day and an even more fun photo scavenger hunt, where each day everyone posts a photo based on the same theme.

So go check out what I have been up to. You have to be a member to comment, but anyone can read the blogs over there. I do have a couple of invites if any of you are interested in joining.

If you check out the new blog you can read all about my bridal shower and see what had Simba so interested in the television last night.

Memories...

2006-08-21T15:09:00.000-05:00

My shower went splendidly. Rather than do typical shower games, we all went to a paint-your-own pottery studio and had a fun time. I am excited to see how my piece looks after they fire it and it becomes all shiny. Prince E turned out to be quite the creative artist, as his piece was the best out of everyone (although my dad with his University of Michigan colored piggybank was a close second).

The best part of the shower was a memory scrapbook that my mom and sister made for me. They had all my friends and family that could not make the shower submit a story about me for the book. Then my mom and sister added photos and stickers to the stories.

When I first opened it, I didn’t realize what it was and thought it was a photo album or something. Then my sister told me to read the first page aloud, which explained what the book was about. It started, “When I realized that many people would not be able to make your shower, I asked them to send...”

I got that far when I started to cry, realizing that all of these people had taken the time to send in their stories. It meant so much to me. There were stories from childhood, college, law school, and the present. It was great. It is definitely something I will treasure for a long time.

Party time!

2006-08-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is my bridal shower! I am taking my wedding dress to my parents’ house so that my mom and sister can finally see me in it. (Don’t worry sister #2, we will take a photo for you!). Luckily I think I am finally getting over the cold that kept me home from work earlier this week. Of course, now the Prince has it so it should be a fun drive to Michigan.

I am also taking some things home with me so that my parents can bear some of the load of transporting things to the wedding site when the time comes. Prince E and I will have his mom and aunt in our car, along with my dress, his tuxedo, and luggage for all four of us, and I am worried all the favors, decorations, etc. won’t fit in our car (even though we are renting an SUV for the wedding weekend. I can’t kill the environment in one weekend can I?)

I remember earlier this year thinking that my bridal shower sounded so far away (in time, not distance) and now it is here. Of course that means it is only six weeks to the wedding. Oddly I am not stressed about it at all, as the stress from work is currently greater, so I can just focus on that. Plus, I am a big planner-ahead-er (new word), so I am done with a lot of things way ahead of schedule.

Talk to me again in about a month and then we can see if I am stressed.

Boredom breeds art

2006-08-15T12:01:00.000-05:00

While waiting at the Honda dealership for Mr. Car to have his latest part operated on (left axle this time), Prince E and I sat at the kiddie table in the waiting area and played with the legos. The artwork in the photo below is mostly Prince E's creation, although I did help a little. We used every lego they had. Some woman that was waiting for her car to be repaired came over and complimented us on our creation.

Little Miss Sunshine

2006-08-15T09:14:00.000-05:00

I have been waiting to see Little Miss Sunshine since at least January when it went to Sundance, although I believe I heard some things about it before that. Typically when I wait that long to see a particular movie, the anticipation is so great that the movie never lives up to my expectations. That was certainly not the case with Little Miss Sunshine. Go see it. I have not laughed this much at a movie since...I do not remember ever laughing this much at a movie. My face was actually a little tired from the laughing/smiling it had to endure.

A brief synopsis: Olive, a six year old girl who does not have a typical beauty queen look, is going to participate in a beauty contest called Little Miss Sunshine. The entire family goes along with her, driving from New Mexico to California in their VW bus. The family consists of her parents (Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette), her grandfather (Alan Arkin, who is her pageant routine coach), her brother (who has taken a vow of silence), and her uncle, played by the always funny Steve Carell. Each of these characters has their own problems, but each is also funny in their own way. The brother, played by Paul Dano is extremely funny, which is difficult to do as an actor when you aren't saying any words.

The movie is part road trip movie, part (intelligent) family comedy, and part something else that is hard to describe, as it is what makes this film unique. I would say more, but in my typical fashion, I believe the less you know ahead of time, the better.

New apartment and kitty

2006-08-06T09:05:00.000-05:00

Check out my flickr page or click on my flickr sidebar to see some photos of the new (not yet settled) apartment and some photos of simba kitty, who is adjusting quite nicely so far.

Scary movie that was actually scary!

2006-08-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

Last night Prince E and I went to the movies. Yes, at night. Shocking what these suburbs are doing to us. We are strictly a weekend matinee couple, but the Prince is working all day both today and Sunday, and we were starving for a movie fix, so away we went.

We have not been to the movies in so long, that I do not remember the last movie that we saw in the theater! According to my sidebar, it was X-Men: The Last Stand. That seems like forever ago.

After being scared a little by the trailer, which is not always indicative of the scare-level of the film, I decided we should see The Descent.

I would like to express a word of caution to those members of my family that scare easily. You might be better off seeing the new Will Farrell movie. This movie actually scared me about four or five times and I do not scare easily. I won't mention that at one point I actually let out a little scream.

The movie is about a group of female friends that go on a cave exploration together. However, it is not an ordinary cave because there are scary things in there. I will just leave it at that, because I don't want to ruin it for anyone.

It is not just a fright-fest or an opportunity for gore, like some other movies that I have seen (like Hostel). Rather, there are actually some interesting sub-plots, although they are not delved into as much as I would like. I am curious to know if the movie had some major edits, because there was one story line that really wasn't fleshed out as much as I would like.

With one exception, all the actresses in the film were British, so I did like it more because of their accents. I really can't help myself.

Using the rating system that I used to do on the podcasts (remember those good old days? When I had lots of free time and a computer that was not the Prince's to use?), I would give this film 3.5 cat paws. As a disclaimer, however, remember that I have not been to the movies in quite a long while, so it may have just been the thrill of the theater experience that made me like the film so much.

Ooh! I just went to the film's official site and the intro scared me. And I don't even have the sound on. Eek. Maybe I am just getting soft. I have already lost my hard city edge.

The Move

2006-07-31T13:42:00.000-05:00

We are finally all moved into our new place in the suburbs. I took the day off. I needed it. Here are some highlights from the weekend.

* I lost my cell phone.

* We had to make four trips over the course of the weekend. All of our things did not fit into the moving truck. We have too many things.

* At various times during the multiple trips, we had three vehicles driving towards us, going the wrong way down a one way street (one civilian, two emergency vehicles, one of which did not bother to turn on his siren before pulling out in front of us)

* We spent about 8 hours cleaning the old place on Sunday. I think steam cleaning carpets is fun. Maybe I should quit my job and work for Stanley Steamer.

* I have 8 bruises, 4 cuts, and 1 puncture wound from a piece of glass.

* I feel like I have been lifting weights all weekend. Wait, I have!

* Did I mention it was in the upper 90s all weekend?

* When I turned in my keys at my old place, I accidentally gave her my NEW mail key, so I have to go back to the old place to pick it up.

Things I like about the new place:

* Simba has lots of room to run around and enjoys watching birds out our window.

* It is really big in comparison to our last place.

* We have exciting digital cable, which means I may never leave the apartment.

* The elevator is fast and there are only three floors, so I can take the stairs when I feel like it.

* I have a nice neighbor that found my cell phone and turned it in to the rental office.

* When Prince E leaves work, it only takes him 10 minutes to get home, instead of 75-90 minutes.

Pictures of the new place to come, as well as the last photos from the old place, once my computer is hooked up.

No turning back now

2006-07-25T17:36:00.000-05:00

My first monthly suburban train pass arrived today.

What weekend?

2006-07-24T15:59:00.000-05:00

I spent the whole weekend packing. I am exhausted, but, thankfully we are nearly finished. The only "fun" thing we did all weekend was go to the grand opening of the new Target in our neighborhood. Yes, a brand new shiny Target, less than a five minute drive from our current place. Figures. There was not really any "celebration," though, and no give-aways, so it was pretty disappointing. We bought cleaning supplies (the excitement!)

On Saturday morning, I also took about a half an hour for what will likely be my last lakefront path run/walk as a Chicagoian. Check out my flickr sidebar for photos from the journey.

So many blogs, so little time...

2006-07-19T21:12:00.000-05:00

I did a very long post on tonight's episode of "So You Think You Can Dance?"
Check it out on my TV blog.

Simba's Thoughts on Moving

2006-07-19T16:29:00.000-05:00

This was Simba Kitty's attitude regarding packing:

However, he rather enjoys the resulting box tower:

Another blog

2006-07-15T07:50:00.000-05:00

I have been invited to join a television blog to contribute my opinions on all the shows that I watch. You can check it out over at What we are Watching.

So far I just re-posted two items that I already posted here, but from now on I think my television topics will be only posted over there. Unless I can't think of anything else to write about and then I might double post.

And the disappointment begins...

2006-07-13T21:10:00.000-05:00

Tonight was my first disagreement with the judges' dismissal on "So you think you can dance?" SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE IT ON TIVO AND HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET

I realize that it is getting down to all good dancers, so it is more difficult for them to choose who should go home. My problem with Musa's dismissal (besides that fact that they rushed it at the end because they were running out of time, yet we had a useless three minute clip earlier in the show about how much the Pussycat Dolls love the show) was that it continues the judges' pattern from last year of valuing ballroom dancers over breakers/hip-hop dancers. Even though Dmitry is not that great at pop or hip-hop he gets to stay. Because Musa hasn't learned ballroom styles well, though, he is sent home.

Apparently I wasn't paying attention previously when Cat Deeley (did you see the shirt she had on that she tried to pass off as a dress?) explained how the rules were going to change, because I was surprised when she said that starting next week who goes home will be in the hands of the viewers. Crap. I suppose that means Ivan is going to win, because the girls love him. And they will probably vote off Allison because she gets to dance with Ivan and they want to dance with them. Either that or Benji will win for the same reasons. Then again, apparently they are all changing partners, so maybe that won't hold true.

Oh, and since I didn't get a chance to post on it yesterday, I wanted to mention that I was so happy when Donyelle and Benji danced to a song from Hairspray, my favorite musical.

Anything for a husband!!!

2006-07-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

I was watching Bridezillas yesterday and they repeated a soundbite from one of the women that had aired on last week's episode. I had hoped when I heard it the first time that I had just heard wrong, but last night's re-airing of the segment confirmed it.

The bride in question had been overweight. She told the camera how she had done some "crazy" things to speed up her metabolism. She stated that she had lost 80 pounds in 3-4 months time. The tone in her voice, as well her expression, showed concern about what she had done and I think her next line (had they aired it) would have been how she regretted the drastic measures she took to lose all of that weight so quickly. Instead, the chipper voiceover woman stated, "She lost the weight and soon gained a fiance!!!!!"

The lesson here ladies: do whatever it takes, even sacrificing your own health, so long as it result in a husband!!!

Despite my major problems with this show, I cannot wean myself off it. Luckily I will have to go cold turkey when we move because we don't get the WE channel at our new apartment.

"Celebrity" sighting

2006-07-08T20:09:00.000-05:00

We were at the giant mall today, buying the most comfortable furniture I have ever sat on for our new apartment, when I saw that something was going on at the center of the mall. The last time we were at the mall, when we picked out our wedding bands, we were subjected to the constant and annoying singing of guys dressed like carpenters singing the Sears father's day sale jingle that was sung to Christmas music.

This time, MTV was in town, doing a promotional tour and auditioning people to get a VIP pass to the 2006 VMAs. I saw a sign that said "featuring MTV celebrities." I got a twinge of excitement. Who would it be? I hoped it would be LC from "The Hills" (and "Laguna Beach") or maybe some of the kids from "8th and Ocean." It was not that good. It was former Road Rulers and perennial challenge contestants Rachel and Veronica. It was mildly interesting to see Veronica, just because I feel like I have known her forever...because she was first on Road Rules seven years ago. It is amazing how they can stretch their fifteen minutes so long.

Below is our new furniture, only we ordered it in chocolate brown. It should arrive at our new place shortly after our move. In the meantime, we are trying to figure out how to erect a giant bubble around it to prevent Mr. Kitty from scratching it.

Eggs and stubbornness

2006-07-07T20:20:00.000-05:00

When I was in the second grade, I was in the local newspaper. The week prior, I had won our class "safe egg drop" project. We had to create some kind of carrier for an egg that would protect the egg when it was dropped from a ladder. I think I remember my dad helping me pack a small box with newspaper and something else to cushion the little egg. I cannot remember exactly what it was. When my teacher dropped my box from the ladder, I ran up to my box and carefully unwrapped it. The little egg was still safe and sound and I was the only student who did not have only a box full of yolk.

The next week my teacher pulled me and my friend Trusti (that is not her real name) from class and said that a reporter was there from the paper to interview me about my egg and to take a photo. The teacher gave me a cardboard box with tape wrapped around it. I didn't realize what it was for. After I met the reporter, she said she wanted me to throw the box into the air and she would take a picture. I did not think to protest the unethical nature of this phony re-enactment (which would play in the newspaper as though it were a photo of the actual contest). I was only seven years old and shy beyond belief. I just did as I was told.

A few days later the photo of me and Trusti appeared in the paper, along with a caption about how I had won the egg contest. My dad bought seven copies of the paper on his way home from work. I was famous. Later that year, Trusti would announce that she could no longer be my friend because I was stubborn (a word she no doubt heard her mother use about me). I had only heard the word "stubborn" in reference to a goat. I thought she did not want to be my friend because I was a goat. A very confusing time in my life. In retrospect, I think she just could not handle my stardom and being second fiddle to the egg champion.

Dreams, TV, and Judges

2006-07-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

My poor mother is now having wedding stress dreams. She dreamt she was on a flight to my wedding, although it was in another country. She realized that she was on the wrong plane and that they thought she was going to a different wedding. It was a package deal, so she couldn't get out of it, even when she explained that it was the wrong wedding.

In other news, I watched "Big Brother All-Stars" tonight because there was nothing else on. I have not watched since season two. Watching it brought back memories of when I watched season one with my sister back when we lived together in Ann Arbor. It was so scandalous then how we could see people showering (not the nakedness though) and people appearing to get busy under the covers. This was before "The Real World" got all skanky and now nothing is shocking anymore.

I am sure that last paragraph will get me all sorts of crazy google hits.

Oh, and for those of you who watch "So you Think You Can Dance?," what was with Allison and Ivan being in the bottom three couples? Allison and Donyelle are my two favorites. I told Prince E tonight that if Allison got kicked off I wouldn't watch anymore. Luckily she stayed, thanks to the judges. (everytime I say the word "judges" now I pronounce it like Cat Deeley does. I am sure most of you have no idea what I am talking about. Sorry).

Independence Day Ice Cream and Other Excitement

2006-07-04T14:34:00.000-05:00

I hope that everyone has had a great Fourth of July! I had today off of work and used a vacation day for Monday, since Prince E had the day off. It is a rare occurrence that his work gives him a day off that I don't get. I certainly could not let him have a day off when I had to be at work! Despite having four days off, I feel like it went too quickly. Here are some of the things we did.

On Monday, we went on an architectural boat tour along the Chicago River. It was through the Chicago Architecture Foundation and I highly recommend it, whether you live in the area or are in town for a visit. You get to see the city from an angle that most people never do and you learn a lot about the history of the architecture in Chicago.

Unfortunately, it rained the entire time we were on the boat, except for the last twenty minutes. We had an umbrella and rain coats, but my pants were still soaked. It was worth it, though, I think. You can see several more photos from the tour in my Flickr sidebar or by clicking here.

Our narrator informed us that while the Chicago River once had a designation of "toxic," it is currently only "highly polluted." The mayor apparently wants to have the river be sufficient for swimming at some point in the future. The picture below is what they mean by "polluted." Swimming, anyone?

If you click on the above picture to enlarge it, you can see a large, dead, bloated, beaver/woodchuck kind of animal in the center of the photo. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Today we went to Zephyr, which is a restaurant that specializes in ice cream (although it has regular food too). Prince E went there with his mom when he was a little kid, so he wanted to take me there. The food was very yummy. I had my very first banana split and the Prince had a sundae.

Other things we did:

* Signed our lease for our new apartment in the suburbs. We are moving in on July 28.

* Saw two movies: Superman Returns and X-Men: The Last Stand. I, to my tremendous surprise, enjoyed them both. Kevin Spacey is a fabulous bad guy. And he looks great bald.

* Went to a birthday party at the home of a family that Prince E grew up with. I had not met them before and I enjoyed hearing all the stories of the adventures of the pre-teen/teenage Prince.

* Watched the July 3 fireworks in Grant Park...from the comfort of our apartment. We had the fireworks coverage on the television in the background, so we could hear the orchestra playing, while watching the fireworks out of the window. We could see everything, except for the fireworks that did not make it very high into the air, because they were obscured by buildings. It was a much better alternative to sitting in the hot night with a couple of million people (and then trying to get home).

Did my fanny pack give it away?

2006-06-29T17:02:00.000-05:00

Prince E and I were waiting for the bus yesterday, when a man came out of the subway exit and said "hey there newlyweds." I thought it was sort of sweet, the way he could tell that we were in love, even though we weren't being smoochy-smoochy or anything. In fact, I am sure pretty sure that I had an unpleasant look on my face, because (1) I hate waiting for the bus; (2) it had just gotten really hot out; (3) the bus stop was really crowded and it should not have been for that time of the day.

After a few moments, the man approached us again and said, "Hey there. Where you newlyweds trying to go?"

Then it hit me. He didn't think we were newlyweds. He thought we were tourists. And lost tourists at that, in need of directions to Water Tower or somewhere in exchange for a few bucks.

Insulted, I snapped, "We aren't newlyweds. We live here!" He apologized and recoiled in horror at my extreme rudeness. I realize that the concepts of "newlyweds" and "tourists" aren't really mutually exclusive, but I was too irritated to make a sensible pronouncement on the matter, so that was how it came out.

I feel bad for the guy, who caught me at a bad time. Although when I am waiting for the CTA, it is always a bad time.

Who has time for exercise?

2006-06-27T16:34:00.000-05:00

Even though it is summer, when new television shows decrease, I feel like I am watching more television than I did during the regular season. (I almost said "during the school year." Will I ever grow out of that?)

Here is what I have been watching:

Sunday: Bridezillas, My Fair Brady
Monday: Shalom in the Home, also just started watching Hell’s Kitchen
Tuesday: Kathy Griffin: My life on the D-List, King of Cars
Wednesday: So you think you can dance?, The Hills
Thursday: So you think you can dance?
Friday: Single in the City

It is nice when they shows have new episodes in the summer. It gives me a chance to watch things I might not otherwise.

He's just lucky I had a snack first.

2006-06-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

I saw the face of evil in Chicago today. Well, sort of. This morning I headed over to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange after I read this article. I got there just as the end of the motorcade headed down into the underground parking area. I decided to wait until his speech was over, so that I could see him leave. I was hungry so I went to Cereality. I love that place. I came back out and surveyed the scene. Approximately 10 motorcycle cops waited to begin the motorcade again. Cops on foot prevented traffic from walking on the sidewalk in front of the building. I saw local news anchor Darlene Hill, along with several other local news affiliates filming. I watched from across the street. When I saw the motorcycle officers putting their helmets back on, I knew he was coming out again. The motorcade, which contained about 5 or 6 vehicles, emerged from underground. Within the motorcade were two matching dark sedans, so I do not know which vehicle he was actually in. Both had dark tinted back windows so I could not exactly see him. I did not boo or hiss (he would not have heard me anyway), nor did I hurl a shaving cream pie like Prince E feared that I would. I just gave him a REALLY dirty look. If this does not sound like much to you, it is probably because you don’t know me and have never seen my look. It is VERY intimidating. Just ask Prince E. Then he was gone. Rather anti-climactic. There were not even any protest groups. Just me and my look.

Recycled Dream Plot

2006-06-23T08:19:00.000-05:00

I had a dream last night that I was running in a 5k with my brother and a little blond boy, about six years old. I think it was my younger nephew, just an older version of him. Somehow I managed to get ahead of them in the race and I was very excited to beat my brother in a race. Then I looked and noticed that I did not have my Garmin on and there was no timing chip on my shoe. I started to think that this was not so much a race, but three people just running down the sidewalk for fun. Yes, we were on a sidewalk in Chicago. And there were slow-moving tourists (which is redundant) that I had to navigate around. I got to the corner and realized that I did not know which way the race went. The course was either poorly marked, or there was no course.*

My brother and the unidentified kid caught up and I pretended that I had slowed down so we could all finish together. I could not admit that I was lost. We turned the corner and there were some balloons, which I guess was the finish line. As I crossed the line, I looked down at my shoe and was relieved that no timing chip had magically appeared, because I knew my time would not have been good.

Do any of you remember your dreams so vividly?

* This is the second "lost on a race course" dream that I have had. I think that it results from feelings of upheaval/change in my life and my mind’s fear that I will not be able to navigate through those changes. Also, my concerns about my inability to complete a specific task manifest themselves in my inability to find "the finish" of the race.

Free show at the grocery store

2006-06-22T13:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wore my (fairly) new linen pants. They are so comfy. Then I did the laundry and washed them. When the Prince came home from work, I put them back on to make a quick run to the grocery store. (The level of my Pepsi One stash was at Defcon-1). As I was walking through the aisles, the Prince said, “You have a hole in your pants!” Indeed I did. A small (about an inch) hole. Of course the pants were dark green and my, um, underthings, were light blue. Nice choice. I made the Prince walk behind me the rest of our time in the store, which really put a crimp in my plan to make him always push the cart.

I am hoping beyond hope that the washing and drying of the pants caused the hole and I did not, in fact, walk around all day at work with a hole in my pants. I am sure someone would have told me. Right? I noticed later that the whole backside area of the pants has gotten very thin and it looks like a couple more holes might form. I guess I should not have dried them on high. I did not know this. Either that or my rear has gotten too big for my britches. Let’s go with the dryer as the culprit, okay?

I want treats, please!

2006-06-21T20:41:00.000-05:00

Goin to the chapel...*

2006-06-19T20:34:00.000-05:00

I hate to make this an "all-wedding" blog, so I am promise to cut down on wedding-related posts. However, I didn't really do much else this weekend, so I will have to mention some wedding tidbits. Prince E picked out and got measured for his tuxedo. He is going to look so good. My little nephew (the ringbearer) is going to match him. He is going to be adorable. We also bought our wedding rings. I just finished talking with my wedding coordinator and she seems very excited about our ideas for menu and decorations. (It sounds so hoity-toity to say wedding coordinator; she is the event planner at the place we are having the wedding, not someone we hired from the outside).

The Tigers swept the Cubs over the weekend. This made for a happy Simba's Mom and a not-so-happy Prince E (although I think he has already given up on the Cubs for this season).

We went to see The Omen. It was a very good movie, although not nearly as scary as I had hoped. A full review to come on the next podcast. We had seven commercials before the previews even started! It reminded me why we always go to the Century Theatres in Evanston: no commercials! They previewed a couple of scary movies. One of the previews made me jump. I think it was for the new version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, although I can't remember. I like scary movies. I do not like it when the preview is scarier than the actually movie. It can be such a let down.

* I had this song in my head all day yesterday and I kept singing it. I am not sure why. I am not even going to a chapel.

Some things are more important than hair.

2006-06-16T08:48:00.000-05:00

Last night I had another wedding dream. It has gotten so ridiculous that I was actually laughing in my dream thinking “here we go again.” It is like the dreams I still have where I have to take a college exam in a class I thought I had dropped. I know while I am dreaming that it is a dream so I am not stressed.

In this latest wedding installment, all the bridesmaids went and sat in the first row of the pew (yes it was another wedding-in-a-church dream; not sure why I keep doing that; maybe some residual Catholic guilt or something). I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t stand up by me. Then I realized I still wasn’t dressed and my hair wasn’t done. (I wasn’t naked, I just had regular clothes on). I walked back out of the church to get ready.

Then I woke up. Originally I thought what follows was part of the first dream, but now that I have reflected on it, I realize that I woke up at 5:30am, then went back to sleep for 20 minutes. In those 20 minutes, my dream turned horribly dark.

I ran out of the church to find a bathroom. I said, “I can’t say my vows with a full bladder!” I ran down the street and found a train station. I was able to cut the line by telling people that I was late for my wedding. I got into the bathroom, looked at my watch and saw it was after 6pm, so I ran back down the street.

I met up with actress Sarah Chalke (from Roseanne and Scrubs). She showed me the way to go. We had to maneuver around a parade that was going on to celebrate Jerry Garcia. All the people on the floats had on tie-dyed shirts. Then I heard a ticking sound and looked up in a tree. I told Sarah that I thought it was a bomb and she said “do you smell that? It is butane!”*

Then I saw a big old farm house explode. It was scary. It was the kind of explosion you see in big blockbuster movies. Then I realized that the farm house was where my wedding was taking place! All of my family members were inside! It seemed so real. I just kept saying “they’re all gone! they're all gone!” I cried--in the dream and in real life, evidenced by the tears on my cheeks when I woke up.

Prince E appeared in the dream as I was packing up my stuff at the hotel. Even though I knew he was still in the farmhouse/church when I went to the bathroom, Sarah Chalke told me that he came looking for me when I took to long, so he was saved. He kept chuckling about something, which made me mad.

As I was checking out of my hotel, I yelled at the desk staff for not giving me my room free, despite the fact that my wedding had blown up. Then I had to fight off chickens to make it out of the lobby. They kept jumping on my head. I think this was my brain’s way of making the dream funny again since I was sad.

* The mention of butane comes from the part of Angels and Demons which I read yesterday. My brain is a mysterious thing.

Podcast: Double Feature

2006-06-14T17:34:00.000-05:00

Listen online here or download here.

On today's show:

I went running!

Movie Reviews:

An Inconvenient Truth

A Prairie Home Companion

Where did everyone go?

2006-06-14T06:59:00.000-05:00

I had another wedding-related dream last night. This time I was at the reception, which was apparently over, and I didn't remember anything about it. I walked around and asked over and over again "Is it over? Is it over?"

I could not remember who was at the wedding, if the photographer had shown up, if my friends were there, or any details at all. My mom was in the dream and she told me the wedding was over and she was furious with the DJ because he charged me an extra $100 because he went into overtime by one second!

I do not know where the Prince was or anyone one else for that matter. The only other person in the dream was my oldest sister, who was drunk. Apparently the Prince's friend had been giving her a lot of alcohol. For some reason I was wearing the bridesmaid dress that I wore to my other sister's wedding.

Maybe I should stop watching wedding shows on television. Although I love them. Especially Bridezillas because it makes me feel better because I am not as psycho as they are. At least not yet.

Gotta start somewhere

2006-06-13T16:42:00.000-05:00

I ran/walked a little today. Only about a mile.
Then I went for a little walk along the lakefront, cooling my feet off in Lake Michigan.
I am out of shape a little. (well, more than a little)

Chicago Botanic Garden Videos

2006-06-12T16:41:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of videos from the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Chicago Botanic Garden

2006-06-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Prince E and I went with some friends to the Chicago Botanic Garden. Here are a couple of photos. I uploaded many photos to my flickr account. Check out the sidebar to see all of them!

They have a great garden model train exhibit there right now, which, although it costs an additional fee ($4/adult, $2/kid), was definitely worth it. They had replicas of various U.S. landmarks, like the Hollywood sign, the Space Needle, and Wrigley Field. Our friends' kids really loved the trains, especially the Thomas the Tank Engine.

Unfortunately, the Japanese Garden (my favorite part) was under construction. All the water had been drained out, so they could reinforce the shore wall. It made for not such a pretty sight.

I have a video of a swan, as well as a video of one of the trains that I will upload later. Despite the construction, I definitely recommend this as a fun activity if you are in the Chicago area.

"I'm not a witch, I'm your wife!"

2006-06-11T17:39:00.000-05:00

As seen over at APL, which makes me like her even more.

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Podcast

2006-06-09T16:42:00.000-05:00

New podcast is available here or download here.

My running update.
Mini Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Thanks everyone!

2006-06-08T15:58:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Here is a photo of the cake that Prince E made for me. I had to crop it because he put my real name on it.

Today.

2006-06-07T06:59:00.000-05:00

I do not like to post photos of myself on my blog, but today, for my birthday, I will make an exception. Sort of. Head over to Shore Turtle's blog to see a photo of me celebrating my birthday.

Sears Tower Appears!

2006-06-06T17:05:00.000-05:00

Turns out that the view from my roofdeck is even better than the view from my apartment.

The day before

2006-06-06T16:48:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my brother and sister (and their spouses!) for my early birthday gifts!

The day before the day before

2006-06-05T17:18:00.000-05:00

I had a fun time at Cedar Point this weekend with the Prince, my sister, and her hubby. I was really looking forward to playing the "Guess my Age" game. If the person manning the game could not guess my age within two years I won a prize. I thought I would win without any problems. I am often told that I look young and people most commonly think that I am early 20s. And remember that one woman that thought I was 14?? There was NO way I could lose.

I left everyone behind, fearing they might make me look older, went up to the stand, tried not to sound too mature, and forked over my $5. The man guessed I was 27!!!! I am 28 (well, I will be 29 on Wednesday!). I was so disappointed. Do I really look my age? Did he see another gray hair on my head?

I did win a prize on Saturday though. I won this game in the arcade, where you had to push a button and stop the arrow on certain numbers (both negative and positive). You had three chances to get up to 5. I won. Still not sure how. I got a Sirius One satellite radio. I might hook it up when we get the new car. Whenever that is.

My sister and I were going to go running Sunday morning, but it was a little rainy. And I was tired. So we watched three hours of "Whose wedding is it anyway?" It is a show that follows wedding planners through their various tasks. It was pretty entertaining.

On our way back to Chicago yesterday afternoon, Prince E and I decided on the spur of the moment to stop by our wedding location. It was still standing and still looked as pretty as we remembered. We got some Kilwin's ice cream (Prince E's real reason for wanting to stop). I got Superman flavored. I haven't had Superman in years. It was as yummy as I remembered. We had great weather this weekend in Michigan, so we walked along the lake while we ate our ice cream. We were going to go on a dune buggy ride, but I thought we needed to head back because traffic in Chicago was going to be bad (it always in on Sundays when we come home from a trip). I always feel like the weekends are too short and Monday comes too soon.

I had another weird dream over the weekend. I was eating something and realized that my tongue was split it half on one side. (have you ever seen people that have forked tongues? it was like that but on the side). I kept shouting that we needed to go to the hospital, but Prince E wanted to take photos of it! I would like think that he wouldn't do that in real life. Actually, he would probably take me to the hospital, but take photos of me while we are in the waiting room.

Guess I shoulda gone at 4?

2006-06-02T06:40:00.000-05:00

I have the day off today (Yay!) and what better way to spend my morning that doing laundry (Boo!). But, I had a plan of attack. No sleeping in. Get up when the Prince leaves for work and head down to the laundry room. I would be done by 7:30 or so and then have plenty of time for a life of leisure (or a life of folding laundry and packing for our mini-vacation this weekend).

So, I get downstairs to the laundry room at 6:00 (that's AM). It was FULL. Only one empty washer and it had an "out of order" sign on it. I understand that the laundry room closes on Sunday for two weeks for repairs, but I never imagined that the whole building would turn out at 5:00AM on a Friday to do their laundry!

I came back upstairs and had some cheerios and some caffeine, grabbed a book and headed downstairs. By then several of the ladies had moved onto the drying phase and I pounced on the empty washers. I better head back down now to stalk the dryers.

I hate doing laundry.

UPDATE: I am sure you are all waiting anxiously to hear whether or not I managed to properly dry our clothes....I did!! Although the level of excitement never really died down, I did manage to time it correctly so that there were enough dryers for me to use. The scene reminds me of a grocery store, just before a snowstorm, when everyone is stocking up on bread, water, and batteries. All anyone was talking about was "BLACK MONDAY," when the laundry room will close for two weeks. I saw the woman down there that thought I was 14. She was with her adult daughter this time and I thought I was in for another exciting round of "guess how old she is!" Luckily they were too busy talking in excited tones about "BLACK MONDAY." This building has not seen this much excitement since I don't know when.

Seismograph

2006-06-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

I am watching the live telecast of the National Spelling Bee. I can't believe they are doing play-by-play coverage of it, like it is a sporting event, complete with Robin Roberts. Her co-announcer gives the little facts, like "the last time someone from Illinois won..." Kind of like in baseball when the announcers say "the last time a pitcher struck out four batters in a row named Frank was..."

I can't stop singing songs from the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

I remember when I was in my school spelling bee in sixth grade. I knew how to spell my last word: seismograph, but I got over-confident and spelled it too quickly and forgot the 'm'. Of course I knew it had an 'm,' I just went too fast. Following the rules, I knew that once I started spelling the word, the sequences of letters already spoken may not be changed. So I was done. Fourth place. My arch-nemesis Russ told everyone on the bus the next day that he had fourth, when he really came in fifth. I can't believe I still remember all this in vivid detail, 17 years later. And that is without it being stored in the ABC television archives.

Highs and Lows

2006-05-31T18:35:00.000-05:00

High: THE TIGERS ARE ON ESPN2!! THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!!

Low: there is a rain delay so they are showing us the white sox. they are on tv here every damn day.

Maybe I should have worn a hat

2006-05-31T06:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday it was four months to the wedding, which of course caused me to have another wedding dream. In this one, for some reason I forgot to get my hair done or get dressed, so my mom and sisters and I were in the back of a church putting on my dress. Then I tried to create my own up-do. I looked into the church and saw that the ceremony was going on without me! I didn't mind too much, though, because it looked like a long religious ceremony and I would have been bored.

After telling Prince E about the dream this morning, he assured me that the ceremony could not start without me. What a relief.

I also blame My Fair Brady, which I watched on TiVo last night, for the church part of the dream. In that episode they were looking for wedding locations and were in a pretty church. What is funny about the show is that they were planning the wedding in Joliet, Illinois and the reception site they picked is where a friend of mine got married. How many people can say they had their wedding reception the same place as Peter Brady?

The Many Adventures of Simba's Mom and the Prince

2006-05-29T19:13:00.000-05:00

We had a busy weekend. I was just going to do a short summary, but this post ended up really long. Enjoy!

Friday
* Watched the series finale of Alias (finally). I am sad that it is over.
* Spent time reading Lost blogs and articles.
* We are party animals, what can I say?

Saturday
* We decided on our new apartment. Starting July 28, I will be a suburbanite. We will have a lot more space, will be less than a mile from a forest preserve, and very close to IKEA. We checked out the actual unit we will be renting and it is very lovely. Brand new kitchen and bathrooms (2!!) Mr. Kitty will get his own room!

* We saw the Da Vinci Code. I managed to finish reading the book Friday night, just in time. I will do a review on my next podcast, but the short version is that I enjoyed it alot, but it is not as good as the book (as I knew it would not be).

* Finished the wedding invitations.

* Watched the DVD Palindromes. It was weird. It is by the writer/director of Welcome to the Dollhouse, which says a lot if you are familiar with his style.

Sunday
* Participated in Bike the Drive, which takes place on Lake Shore Drive, which is a 45 mph, three lane, highway that hugs Lake Michigan. The city closes it to car traffic from 5AM to 10AM. Below is what it looked like from our window, after we had finished.

It was a lot of fun, although it got very hot by the end. Also, there were some very steep inclines, where the road goes up, so that another road can pass underneath it, allowing Lake access. We saw some people having to walk their bikes up the incline right before Randolph Street, but we made it through just fine. I was proud of us. One car lane perfectly fits two cyclists, so we were able to ride side-by-side the whole way. Except for the downhills, where Prince E was just a red blur. We did about 16 miles total. The north end of the route was right by our apartment, so we were able to just head home. Below is a photo that Prince E took from our apartment window. He got to go up to the air conditioned apartment, while I waited for my photo opp. That is me in the red and black.

* After a shower and some food, we headed to Wisconsin. Our first stop was Burlington, home of the Chocolate Fest. We somehow had come across the website for the event and thought it sounded magnificent. Go ahead, look at the website. It is beautiful. Watch the video. It makes it sound like a three day chocolate orgy. Um, yeah. It wasn't. I have more chocolate in my cupboards than we saw at this so-called chocolate fest. It was really just a small-time carnival, with rides and games. Oh and everyone got a MINIATURE Crunch Bar upon entry. They did have a chocolate carving contest, with only 8 participants, and a chocolate carousel. (see photo below). The carousel was very cool, but not, on its own, worth the hefty admission price. I was beyond disappointed in this event, made all the worse by the 90+ temps we had to deal with. One plus was that there was a Mackinac Island Fudge booth in among the cotton candy and beer vendors, so we were able to buy some fudge to snack on later. It was delicious, of course, because Michiganders know how to make fudge! We were able to get a ride back to the parking lot in a wagon being pulled by an authentic John Deere tractor, which the coolest part of the whole event.

* Our next stop was Milwaukee, which was were we would be spending the night. We stayed at a modest Best Western in downtown Milwaukee. The reason for our visit was to see the Milwaukee Art Museum. Prince E wanted to take photos of the beautiful architecture of the building, which was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. It was a gorgeous structure. My photos are below (Prince E's are better). I really liked the modern art in the museum, although they have extensive works from earlier eras as well. The museum is right on Lake Michigan, so there was a great lakefront breeze. Their lakefront path was just as busy with runners and cyclists as is the one in Chicago, although I saw a lot more men without shirts on (which was not a good thing). Not sure why.

We had to head out of town in a hurry, because as we were walking back to the hotel, we saw people setting up chairs to watch a parade! We didn't want to get stuck there, so we hurried to the car. Two blocks over we encountered the start of the parade, getting geared up to head out. I am guessing that another 10 minutes and the streets would have been closed and we would have been stuck.

* The final stop in our journey was Pleasant prairie, Wisconsin, home of the Jelly Belly Center! We donned paper hats and got on a little train for a FREE warehouse tour, where we learned how they make Jelly Belly candy. (short version: lots and lots of sugar). The tour was cheesy, of course, but I loved it. Where else can you see jelly beans dance? After the tour, we got a couple complimentary little bags of jelly belly candy! They also had a big store, where you could try samples of various flavors. I tasted a new sportbean flavor: fruit punch. It was yummy. Below is a picture that was made entirely out of Jelly Belly candy.

We then battled thunderstorms to check out the nearby outlet mall. Then it was time to head home. On the way, it got super dark and I told Prince E I would look out for funnel clouds. A few minutes later he said, "This is tornado weather." I said, "I know, that is why I am looking for funnel clouds." "Oh, I thought you said 'fun clouds.'" As you can tell, we both were tired from our long weekend.

The Princess Has Lost Her Crown

2006-05-25T12:08:00.000-05:00

Last night, the Prince and I were watching the Lost finale and I decided I would put some cookies in the oven for a nice snack. I scooped the pre-made batter onto the pan and then snuck a little bite of the dough. Then my tooth felt pokey on my tongue. I then realized that my crown was missing. The one that I just had installed less than two weeks ago!! I must have swallowed it. Pleasant thought.

Of course, I went back to watching Lost (how could I not), but I was fretting about it. I called and left a message on the "emergency" number of my dentist during another of the (many) commercial breaks. She never called back. Luckily, I was not in any pain, I just wanted to see if I could come in first thing in the morning to see her. But, still, why have an emergency number if you don't answer it or return the messages?

I had some trouble falling asleep, partly because of the adrenaline resulting from the whole fiasco and partly because I was worried that I might do something to the remaining part of the tooth while I slept (it was only a 3/4 crown). This morning I came to work as normal and proceeded to call the dentist office every 20 minutes until someone finally answered at about 7:45. The receptionist conferred with the dentist and said to come right over.

When I walked into the office, the entire staff (5 people) stared at me. My dentist said, "Simba's Mom! You're missing a body part???"

I didn't laugh. I think I was supposed to laugh. Truth is that I was pissed off. And tired. And hungry. (too afraid to eat anything)

She put in a new temporary crown and said they would order a replacement from the laboratory. When I was finished, I went to the desk to make an appointment for the return visit. The (other) receptionist apparently did not realize what had happened and thought I had lost the temporary crown. He stared at me (too long) with his mouth agape, so I snapped at him, "can we just make the appointment? I need to get back to work." I didn't realize that his computer wasn't booted up yet. Oops. He was still rude, anyway. And what do you except from a grouchy toothless woman?

As a result of this drama, I have had the Weird Al song "Toothless People" in my head all morning. It is off his "Polka Party" album, which, if I remember correctly, was the first ever cassette that I owned that was mine and mine alone!

Videocast: May 22

2006-05-22T19:12:00.000-05:00

New videocast: get it here or download here.

Movie Review: High Tension

Reenactment of why Prince E and I didn't do our scheduled bike ride on Sunday.

To my oldest sister: due to a slightly violent portion of the movie review, you probably would also deem this one not nephew-friendly. Sorry! I will make another kid podcast for them soon.

Cutest Kitty in the World

2006-05-22T18:02:00.000-05:00

New Podcast: Another Reenactment

2006-05-19T21:01:00.000-05:00

Get the new video podcast here or download here.

On today's show:
I reenact the shocking discovery that Prince E made last night!

Here are a couple of hints as to what it was:

2006-05-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

Lots of topics not fitting under one title, 2nd Ed.

2006-05-18T06:47:00.000-05:00

So my big work thing is over and it went pretty well. Sorry for the vagueness. I am glad that it is over and now I can start thinking about other more important things, like Lost. And vacuuming. I won't even tell you how long it has been since I vacuumed last (mostly because it was so long ago I can't even remember when it was!). The sound of the vacuum yesterday scared the kitty more than usual, just because it is such a rare occurrence these days. He probably thought that scary loud purple thing was gone and not coming back. (yes, my vacuum is purple)

When I went to do laundry last night, I noticed a sign that the laundry room will be closing in a few weeks for remodeling. It is going to be closed for 11 days! That means we are going to have to drive to a Laundromat, because there is no way I can go that long without doing the laundry. Maybe if it was just one person's clothes, but with two people, we would lose the cat under the mounds of dirty clothing.

I am still contemplating whether to sign up for the half-marathon in August. They said the course map should be posted on the website next week, and that will help me decide. They said it will be an "exciting, new downtown course." Last year's race was long, boring, and lonely, as it went from Grant Park south on the lakefront path and back up again.

I got my haircut this week. It had been way too long for that, too. I think December maybe? I might post a picture later. (just the back, though)

Have any of you ever been parasailing? Where? Do you think it was worth the money? What about zip lining?

I just noticed that each paragraph is shorter than the last.

Funny.

Podcast: Movie Reenactment

2006-05-15T17:01:00.000-05:00

The new podcast is up. It is video! It takes a bit of time to download, but I think it is funny. Download it here or visit the podcast page here.

On today's show:

My new (purple) wedding shoes!

Movie Review: Hostel
(I reenact the movie using stuffed animals!)

Happy Mother's Day!

2006-05-14T16:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, especially my two favorites: my mom and my sister.

Friday Test

2006-05-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

How much do you know about me?
Take this TEST to find out!

I totally stole this idea from Dawnie. I even stole some of her questions because I couldn't think up any good ones.

Enjoy!

Lots of topics not fitting under one title

2006-05-12T11:44:00.000-05:00

I wore my winter coat to work today. Not the full length sleeping bag coat, but the shorter winter coat. It has a snowflake on the zipper pull, so you know it is meant for the cold temps. My calendar must be broken because it says that today is May 12. Hmm. Then why did I have to wear a knit hat today to prevent my ears from turning red and becoming little ice blocks? Oh, and it is rainy too. And windy.

I have to go in this afternoon for the last (hopefully) step in my tooth repair. What a way to start the weekend. I also have a big work thing next week, which is looming over me, which I keep ignoring. If I pretend it isn't happening, then it will go away, right?

We got the wedding invitations the other week. They are really nice. Hee Hee. That is all I can say, because my family reads this and I want it to be a surprise when they get theirs in the mail.

I was walking by Sears on State Street this morning and saw what I thought was a running skirt in the window. I went in and was surprised to find it was actually a skort, although I am not sure if it was meant for running or perhaps some other aerobic activity. Tennis, perhaps? The sign said "40% off," so I went and tried it on. I liked that it looked cute like a skirt, but I didn't have to worry about the thigh chafing that wearing a skirt to run would likely cause me. It also had a nice little pocket. I decided to get it. When the clerk rang it up, though, we realized that it wasn't 40% off. It was on a rack with another brand of clothes and they were 40% off. So I couldn't get it. I really couldn't afford it at 40% off, either, so I guess it is okay.

Wanna be on a podcast?

2006-05-08T16:12:00.000-05:00

Now is your chance to be a part of Unpublished Opinion: The Podcast!
Just send me an audio message HERE.
All you need is a couple of minutes and a microphone.
I will include messages in upcoming episodes of the show!

Also, check out the latest episode of the podcast here or download here.

On today's show:
Race report from the Burns Park 5k
Beverage review: Coca-cola blak
Contemplation of future races

Family of Runners

2006-05-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

I went to Ann Arbor this weekend to run with my mom and sister in a 5k. It was a lot of fun. I wished that I lived closer to them so that we could run together more often. It was a race with lots of children in it, since it benefited an elementary school. At one point, I saw a dad yelling at him 8 year old son to "move it, already" and "run faster." The child was obviously spent, but the father didn't seem to care. I was going to keep my mouth shut, but after the fourth or fifth one of these comments I said "He is doing the best that he can." The father than said "great job (name)" and patted his son on the back. I regretted my big mouth, but I was worried about the boy, so I guess I shouldn't regret it. All of the other parents that I saw were great and encouraged their children, trying to make the race fun. Shortly after we finished, I saw a very young boy finish. He was probably 5 or 6! I was very impressed and was happy to see a giant smile on his face as he crossed the finish line.

Due to the recent car problems we have been having, we rented a car for the weekend. Although the class we rented was labeled as "Toyota Corolla or other similar," we ended up with a Dodge Magnum. With leather seats. And a Hemi engine. We looked online and it is a $30,000+ car. It was lovely. It got pretty rotten gas mileage though, but was nice for the short time that we had it.

Glad I gave up swimming...

2006-05-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

I just got this e-mail from my old gym:

Dear Frequent Swimmers:

The pool will be closed for the remainder of the evening for cleaning and sanitation (vomit in pool).

We plan to re-open it tomorrow morning (Saturday) at 8:00 a.m.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Campus Recreation

More Weird Dreams

2006-05-04T09:13:00.000-05:00

I had a dream last night that while I was having my wedding dress fitted, I was having a conversation with Brooke Shields on speakerphone.* We were discussing the implications of gender and wealth as it pertains to women in the workplace who have children. The discussion had something to do with the expectations of women as mothers and as employees. She said that she wished I had spoken up more in class about this topic. (Some residual guilt for not participating more in class discussion in college?)

Warning: The next part is about birds. Mom, you may want to stop reading now.

Two nights ago (actually it was in the hour of 5am-6am Wed morning, after I fell back asleep after Prince E went to go start working on the car), I had a dream that I saw a pony in the local grocery store parking lot. He asked me why I was running late. Then I was back in my apartment, which was filled with pigeons who started flying at me. I blame this part of the dream on Anne and her story about visiting the location where "The Birds" was filmed. There was also a nest with eggs up in the corner of the bedroom. I blame this on Runner Susan's posts about finding a bird nest.

* I just finished reading Brooke's book "Down Came the Rain," which explains why she was in my dream. I would recommend the book.

Evil Radiator Bypass Hose

2006-05-03T17:53:00.000-05:00

I was on the way to work today (on the bus, about a 10 minute walk from home at that point), when Prince E phoned me and said he needed my help fixing the car. Specifically he needed me to bring him some supplies to help with the repair. Keep in mind his car was stranded many miles from our home. I went back home, gathered the supplies, and took a cab out to him. Since I had no idea how long the repair would take, I didn't want to get the I-go car, since they charge by the hour. When I arrived, he had determined that the hose that he had purchased the night before from Murray's was not going work. So began what I like to call the "Auto Parts Store Trail of Tears."

We started walking. We stopped at a tire shop/repair shop. It was 7:35. The store had opened at 7:30. We had to wait for someone to help us. Then he was rude. He said they didn't have the part we needed, which was fine, but if he starts his day that cranky I hate to see what he is like by the afternoon.

Then we went to Midas. They didn't have the part either, but the man who helped us there was very friendly. He told us what kind of hose we needed and suggested we check at Autozone. That was where we were headed, but had stopped at the two shops on the way, because we assumed the Autozone wasn't open that early.

When we arrived at Autozone, we were happy to find that it was already open. I thought it was very interesting that the two people that were working there were both female. Usually the testosterone is oozing out of a store like that. The woman that waited on us was very helpful and, although they didn't have the exact part we needed (a radiator bypass hose for a '95 Honda Civic), she let us look through the rows of hoses that they did have and we found something that was almost an exact replica. We bought it, but decided to go to one more store to see if they had the exact hose that we needed.

The other store, a Pepboys, was another two mile walk. Did I mention it was the hottest day of the year thus far? (about 80). We were tired and hot by the time we reached the last store. They had the part, so they said, but it actually looked less like the hose we were replacing than the hose we bought at the Autozone did. We bought it anyway, after asking about the return policy.

After lunch (it was 9:30am at this point), we began the walk back to the car (about 3.5 miles). Upon returning to the car, Prince E began the replacement. I sat around bored, except when I got to hold the clamp. Fun! He managed to get the hose replaced (using the first hose we bought today).

Below is the broken hose, in all its evilness.

After the repair, we went to test drive the Honda Fit. I am totally getting one, but probably not until the fall.

Late night.

2006-05-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

I just got home from picking Prince E up at a Walgreens several miles from our apartment. His car broke down (again) on the way home from work. Thank goodness for I-go cars. And thank goodness I kept my membership even though I didn't need it anymore. It is now after 9pm. Too late for dinner, so I am going to have some ice cream. His car is parked on the street across from the Walgreens now so that they wouldn't sick the mean tow people on Mr. Car. I might stay home from work tomorrow to 1)help him fix the car or 2)take it to the Midas (again) and drive us back home in the i-go car. Or I might just go buy a new car instead.

New Podcast

2006-05-02T17:57:00.000-05:00

Listen to the latest show here or download here.

My race report for the Run for Rett 5k.
Movie Review: United 93

Unhappy Kitty

2006-04-30T18:28:00.000-05:00

I spent part of the afternoon sorting the clothes in my dresser and putting some aside for donation to charity. It had gotten to the point where the drawers were overflowing, so I had to do something. Simba was a little upset that I did this because that meant that the pile of clothes on top of my dresser were no longer there for him to nap on. Out of protest, he decided to jump into my dresser drawer in an attempt to thwart my progress. We decided to put an extra pillow on top of the dresser, which has made him happy.

Gloomy Weather

2006-04-30T15:57:00.000-05:00

It has been cloudy/rainy for most of the weekend. Only now is the sun coming out a little...at 4pm on Sunday. Perfect. The race yesterday was okay. Not overly fun or exciting. I finished with an average time for me, but really had to struggle. There were some small hills that I was not expecting. My first mile was too fast, a big problem for me when I am in a small race. I get all swept up with the pace of the people in front of me. When I am in a large race, I start farther pack and am more likely to be with people of a similar ability. When there are only a 100 or so runners, that is more difficult to do. I ended the race with my face beat red, a sure sign I was over-doing it.

I went for my first dress-fitting yesterday. It went well and I am glad to moving along in the dress department. Did you read about how I got my dress? It was a long time ago, so if you are new to reading this blog, maybe you haven't read it. You can read it here. It is probably the most popular post I have done in terms of people arriving via search engines. It is because they are looking for photos of women without clothing. I am happy to disappoint them.

Strange Dreaming

2006-04-26T18:08:00.000-05:00

I can only remember small parts of a dream that I had last night, but what I do remember is funny and strange. I was running in a race, but it had something to do with my wedding. I cannot, unfortunately, remember the details. Would the race lead me to the altar (or, in my case, the non-altar arch by a pond)? Am I symbolically "training" for the wedding? Is it just a product of me getting more involved in the details of the wedding planning and that has manifested itself as a race?

I remember during the dream I passed a water station and it was decorated fabulously with a navy-colored tablecloth with pretty silver ribbons. Those were my sister's wedding colors. There was a giant punch bowl on the table.

I am disappointed that I cannot remember more of the dream. Usually I can remember my dreams in fantastic detail. Maybe I will remember more as the day goes on.

Videocast

2006-04-26T17:22:00.000-05:00

I did a short videocast today. Check it out here or download here.

SIMBA!

Our "new" couch!

Decadent Dessert

2006-04-24T19:49:00.000-05:00

Tonight Prince E and I made chocolate molten lava cakes!!!
Photographic proof below.

Okay, I will admit that it was from a mix. Fancy powdered sugar topping courtesy of Prince E.

New Podcast!!

2006-04-24T16:51:00.000-05:00

Listen to new podcast here or download here.

On today's show:
Musical Review: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Movie Review: Brick (3.5 cat paws)

Running with Family

2006-04-24T15:29:00.000-05:00

During Easter weekend, I had a chance to run with my mom and sister. They both just started running this year. It was so much fun and I am excited for us to have our first race together in a few weeks. I am so proud of both of their accomplishments. During our run, we ran on a path at a local park. The map of it is below, courtesy of google earth. The strange blur at the left side of the photo is where the satellite coverage of the small town ends. My parents' house didn't make the cut and is just part of the large blur over the town.

Snakes and Swans

2006-04-23T20:43:00.000-05:00

Today the Prince and I went to the Nelson Lake Marsh Nature Preserve in Batavia, Illinois. I posted several photos, which you can see by looking at the flickr sidebar on the right side of the blog. (yes, you actually have to leave the confines of your RSS reader and actually come to the page, sorry!!)

We saw lots of geese (not too exciting), as well as two pretty swans (they were too far away to get a good photo). We also saw a water snake, which I was able to get a picture of (it is the fourth photo down on the sidebar). We also saw several cranes and a couple different species of colorful birds. I really wished I had a bird watchers guide so that I could identify them all. We also heard several frogs, but I never actually saw one. I think I sort of saw one swimming away after the Prince saw it jump off a log.

A lot of the foliage at the preserve reminded me of the woods behind my parents' house; like what we used to call "umbrella plants." Not sure what the real name is, though. It is the top photo on my sidebar.

The preserve has a mowed down grassy path that goes in a loop around the marsh. The website lists it at three miles. There were lots of opportunities to be a little more adventurous and take the dirt path down closer to the action. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. I would recommend the trip to anyone in the Chicago area.

I couldn't pick just one.

2006-04-23T16:10:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of the stories. I couldn't decide which one to do.

How Tom and Katie's baby is like a llama:
Suri- a kind of alpaca, native to South America (alpacas are in the same family as the llama)

Why Prince E doesn't know me as well as I thought he did:
I discovered a couple of days ago that he didn't know how to spell my name. My first name is a common one and the nickname I go by is a shortened (also common) version of that. The spelling, however, is not common. He filled out an online form to register us for something and he spelled my first name wrong. He admitted it was not a typo and that he had sat at the computer trying to remember which was the right spelling. He chose wrong.

My latest "You are how old?" story:
I was in the laundry room and an elderly woman asked me, "is you a teenager?" I responded, "No, I am a grown up." "Really??," she said, with a shocked expression. "I couldn't sworn you was about 14." When I told her my true age she was shocked again and couldn't stop staring. Yes, I look young for my age, but, really, 14??? She must have not noticed the tattoos on my ankles or the bags under my eyes. Or the engagement ring.

Then, yesterday afternoon, Prince E and I were in the elevator with a friend of ours. Who should get on the elevator but laundry room lady. She looked at me, as I was holding hands with the Prince, who does not look 14, and said to him "I told your lady I thought she was a teenager, but she said she is a grown-up." The Prince, sensing my embarrassment responded, "That's good because she didn't finish her Algebra homework." Luckily then the door opened and I could escape her peering eyes. The Prince got a good chuckle out of the fact that the woman thought he had a child bride.

Contemplating running two races in one weekend:
No more story there, I am only going to do one next Saturday and skip the Sunday one. I will admit that I chose the Saturday one, in part, because the only reason I was going to run the Sunday one was that registrants got tech shirts and by the time I went to register they only had L and XL left.

Why my tongue was numb

2006-04-21T14:55:00.000-05:00

Still taking votes for which of my stories you want to hear about. First up, #2.

Yesterday I went to get a temporary crown put on my tooth. You may recall the gross picture that I posted of my broken tooth. The procedure overall wasn't too bad. The most annoying part was the plastic thing that I had to bite down on on the other side of my mouth, in order to keep my mouth open. It was too large for my mouth so it was digging into my cheek and gums. I have started going to a new dentist and she has a TV set up so I was able to watch the Discovery Health Channel (which I don't get at home) during the procedure. As a result of the two shots, the left side of my face was completely numb, as was my tongue. I had trouble drinking the cup of water to take some advil and dribbled on myself. After the procedure, my dentist informed me that because I am so small ("a little peanut"), she had to use the child-sized instruments on me. At least they gave me the adult dosage of the numbing agent!! My face was frozen the whole way home and, for some reason, I kept poking my cheek, delighting in the fact that I couldn't feel it. I called Prince E and told him to bring me a shake and french fries for dinner. I guess I am sort of childlike.

Guess who's back...back again? Simbasmom's back...tell a friend.

2006-04-20T17:30:00.001-05:00

So, I am back, with lots to talk about. Let me know which of the following topics you would most like to read about. I will pick the top two or three selections.

1. Why I have been busy at work and why I will be busy again soon.
2. Why my tongue is currently numb. (with bonus topic: why I am like a child)
3. My latest "you are how old?" encounter.
4. My recent run with my mom and sister.
5. Why Katie Holmes's baby is like a llama.
6. What "old school" DVD Prince E and I watched over the weekend and how it was different this time.
7. The new show TV that I like to watch, which involves a blue genie.
8. How I am contemplating running two races in one weekend.
9. Why history may repeat itself.
10. How I discovered that Prince E doesn't know me as well as I thought he did.

*Most effective when sung to the tune of "Shady's back," by Eminem.

Just a suggestion...

2006-04-18T17:35:00.000-05:00

I got this announcement in an e-mail from Petco. I didn't realize I was eligible to receive Mother's Day Gifts!

Busy Simba's Mom

2006-04-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting, but work has been very busy for me this week. This afternoon, the Prince and I are heading to Michigan to the family compound for Easter. RussianLlama and her hubby are accompanying us as well, so it should be a fun weekend. Work should calm down a little after Wednesday, so I promise more posts and a new podcast at the end of next week!

Flower girls and easter bunnies

2006-04-09T19:58:00.000-05:00

Today we went to Target and I found a purple basket to use as a flower girl basket. Yes, I know it is supposed to be an Easter basket, but it is purple and has daisies on it. Plus, it is My Little Pony! The flower girl should love that. In the basket are two little bunny friends that Prince E insisted I needed. They are so funny looking that they are cute. The basket came with a stuffed pony on the side, which we surgically removed. It was not meant to stand alone, though, and now permanently sits with her rear in the air.

Shamrock Shuffle 8k: Race Report

2006-04-04T20:07:00.000-05:00

Here is the race report, audio version: download here or listen online here.

WARNING: I curse A LOT!! I didn't realize that I swear so much. Also, be sure to turn the volume down after my intro.

Enjoy!

HAPPY OPENING DAY!!!

2006-04-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

Go Tigers!
I would make the joke about how on opening day everyone is in first place, but the Sox opened their season early last night, so the Tigers are already in second place! At least the Tigers are still undefeated!!

Update: YAY!

Race Report Coming Soon

2006-04-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

I recorded audio from the time Prince E and I arrived at the race site up until the time we headed back to the car. The sound is pretty good throughout, with the exception of the start of the race, where there was a lot of background noise. Twenty thousand runners nervously chatting before a race can get pretty loud. Rather than do a typical written race report where I talk about interesting things that happened a long the way, I am going to try to do the report just using the audio. Don’t worry, I will edit it way down, because you don’t need to listen to a lot of dead air. For those of you don’t listen to my podcast, but do read my blog, you should check it out when I post it. (Maybe you will like it!) It will take some time to edit, but I hope to have it up tonight or tomorrow.

P.R.!!

2006-04-02T12:52:00.000-05:00

I shaved 40 seconds off last year's time in today's Shamrock Shuffle 8k! More details later, including (hopefully) the audio I recorded during the race. Congrats to Prince E who rocked the 5k walk in 45:20!! Yay!

Podcast: Running with Bettty

2006-03-31T18:18:00.000-06:00

Get the new show here or listen on my podcast page here.

On today's show:

Listen as Betty and I run.

Movie review: Thank You For Smoking

Human Salt Lick.

2006-03-30T17:37:00.000-06:00

I just got home from a nice run/walk with Betty. I sat down on the couch to take my socks off and Simba jumped up on the couch to say hi. He then proceeded to lick my arm. Maybe he needs more salt in his diet.

Here are the details of our lovely run/walk:
Moving Time (h:m:s) 0:38:21 12:37 pace
Distance (mi) 3.04
Moving Speed (mph) 4.7 avg. 10.6 max.

The weather today was beautiful. I can only hope for this nice of day on Sunday for the Shuffle.

I recorded some audio during the run and the next podcast should feature some conversation with Betty!! I didn't do the whole show on the run, though, because when I was running by myself, people were looking at me funny when I talked to myself. We ran down by the museums so there were a lot of tourists and I didn't want to upset them or anything

Chicken Bones and Broken Tooth

2006-03-28T21:20:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, after the car was safely in the hands of the nice folks at Midas, we decided to go to lunch. Since our day had taken a crappy turn, we decided to treat ourselves and head to PF Chang's. I had the yummy honey chicken. It is a breaded boneless chicken. We were very hungry. When my food arrived, I jumped in and started devouring it. It was the lunch portion and I made fairly quick work of it. When I was on my very last piece, danger struck. I bit down and something felt hard. I thought at first it was a piece of uncooked rice or one of the crispy rice noodles that garnished the meal. When it was clear that there was no biting through whatever it was, I tried to spit it out. Luckily I am not too lady-like, so spitting out my food is not something I mind doing. It took three good attempts to get the offending piece of matter out of my mouth. I am sure that was a pretty scene. I showed it to Prince E and he cleaned it off and said he was fairly sure it was a chicken bone. I looked at it again and agreed. Just then the assistant manager came by to see how the meal had been. Prince E told her that the food was great, but that I nearly broke a tooth on a chicken bone. She apologized profusely and took the bone (there goes my lawsuit) to show the manager. He came over immediately trying to determine how angry we were, if I was injured, and how big of a raucous we were going to make. I think he was happy to find that we weren't that pissed off. The situation would have been different if I had broken a tooth or nearly choked on the thing. When the waiter brought the bill a few minutes later, we saw that my lunch had been comped. Pretty great since I had eaten the whole thing.

I went to the dentist today and it turns out I DO have a broken tooth. It predates the chicken bone, though, so I won't be suing PF Chang's anytime soon. (When I made the appointment last week, I already new I had something wrong with that tooth. I mistakenly thought it was something simple like a cavity). Here is a photo of the tooth. WARNING: it is gross. That is why I linked to it on another page. As you can see, my filing leaked and seeped into the tooth, causing part of it to decay or something. I will be getting a crown next week.

UPDATE: An inquiring reader, Amy, asked how I got such a good photo of the tooth. I forgot that part of the story. To show me what the broken tooth looked like, the dentist took several photos of the tooth with a fancy camera and printed them out to show me. When I was checking out, the receptionist made a joke that the pictures would be great on the fridge. I asked if I could have one. He thought I was kidding. I, of course, was not. He went and asked the dentist and she let me take one of the photos. I was planning the whole time to put in on the blog. That is just how my mind works. Also, they called to reschedule today, so the crown appointment won't be for a few weeks, if you are keeping track at home.

Not your typical salesman.

2006-03-26T18:05:00.000-06:00

Fresh off our most recent disappointment with Mr. Car, we headed to the Toyota dealer downtown to look at Corollas. Our initial entrance into the dealership was met with the same reaction that our previous two trips into car dealerships has been: no response. I suppose we don't dress like we have money, or my young looks make us appear less adult-like, but, for whatever reason, sales people are not eager to help us. After touring the inside, we went across the street to look at the used cars. No one over there offered to help us either. When we went back inside, we asked one guy that wasn't doing anything if we could take a test drive. He said he was with a customer, and immediately sat down at a desk where another salesman was helping a customer. Then another man came over, we mentioned which car we would like to test drive and he went off to "get the keys." He never came back. It was then that Hyper Boy came into our lives. More than likely he was purposefully sent over because he was inexperienced. Normally the car salesmen that I have dealt with are macho, overbearing, arrogant jerks that try to make you feel stupid while simultaneously trying to talk you into buying something. That was not the case for Hyper Boy.

Hyper Boy walked over (or should I say bounced? skipped?) with much energy and enthusiasm. He looked young and was dressed in something straight out of GQ. He immediately asked Prince E if he was Filipino, and when Prince responded affirmatively, HB said "Really??!!! Me too!!" (think sort of Valley Girl-ish). They exchanged pleasantries in Tagalog and off we went to look at the used car lot. He talked non-stop, but not in a smooth-talking salesman way. His manner of speaking was like someone on four large cups of coffee. He laughed after nearly everything he said, as if not believing his own B.S. at times. And he was really flinging the B.S. After the Prince mentioned we were getting married in the fall, HB told us that we would have the cutest babies, because his brother had married a girl that looked like me and they had really cute kids.

We decided to check out the new Corollas, so we headed over to a different lot. Prince commented that he liked the color of a Rav-4 parked in the lot. Turns out that was HB's dealer issued car. He would admit later that the cool new car was his main reason for liking the job. We went into the warehouse and looked at a bunch of Corollas. He talked so fast that I couldn't really keep anything he said straight. When he was talking about rebates or something, Prince E mentioned something about a deal at the Honda dealership. HB stated, "that is because they can't sell their cars." To which I actually responded, out loud, "Well, now you are full of it." HB laughed because he knew I was right. He was really making a hard-sell, saying he would do everything he could to give us a good deal. He even offered a $1000 off for a "Filipino discount," because "Filipinos are cool and I have to support my countrymen." He also stated that a lot of his customers were Filipino. It made me believe even more that he was intentionally sent over by the bosses to wait on us.

We test drove a very nice Corolla S, dark gray with black interior. During the test drive, we learned all about HB's apartment in Lakeview and that he can't really afford it on his salary. He even told me later exactly how much he made last year. I didn't believe him. Unless he spent all of his money on clothes. I think it was just a tactic to make us feel bad. I didn't.

After the test drive, HB showed us around the vehicle, pointing out the various features. It became fairly clear that he knew very little about cars. He did not seemed ashamed of it. When he popped the hood, he basically said "this is the inside of the car. Isn't it pretty?" (not in those words, but you get the idea). He said "this is where the wiper fluid goes." Prince E explained to him that he thought that was that brake fluid. HB said "I really don't know anything about cars. I can tell you all about the options and how much it costs, though!!!" Then he skipped around to the back to show me the trunk. He seemed relieved when I asked him an easy question about putting the rear seats down.

Despite all of his best efforts, Prince told him that we would not be buying a car today. He seemed disappointed. He took us inside to get our information. He then told us that the manager wanted to come over to say "good bye." Right. A stern, mean (but very short) man came over and said he wanted to put us in a car today and would knock off $1000. I am not sure if that was on top of the $1000 "Filipino discount," but we said no thank you and headed out for some ice cream instead.

Long Day.

2006-03-25T21:35:00.000-06:00

All of these things happened to me today. Let me know in the comments if you would like to hear more about any of them.

1) I went to the Chicago Bike Show.
2) The car started leaking fluid again.
3) The car started smoking.
4) We had another car repair divine intervention.
5) I nearly broke my tooth on a chicken bone.
6) I contemplated adopting a cat.
7) We test drove two cars (Toyota Corolla, Honda Element).
8) We spent time with an odd car salesman.
9) We spent all day walking/taking public transportation.
10) We watched Aliens and Simba really liked it.

Runcast #2!!

2006-03-23T17:24:00.000-06:00

The latest podcast is up! Listen here or download here.

Recorded while running!

Movie Review: Unknown White Male

I ramble a lot.

Ready for the apocalypse...or Halloween.

2006-03-21T16:35:00.000-06:00

Podcast: back to the movies!

2006-03-20T17:21:00.000-06:00

Latest show is up! Listen here or download here.

When fitness comes in handy in everyday life
Movie review: V for Vendetta

Reading the Fine Print

2006-03-20T12:05:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Prince E and I went to the grocery store and bought a lot of frozen meals. As a reward, Dominick's gave us two free tickets to see Ice Age: The Meltdown. We were, of course, less than thrilled. I tried to figure out who I could give it to, as our association with children is somewhat limited.

Today I was looking at the tickets again because I was going to email details of them to a friend to possibly give them to her brother and sister-in law, when I noticed some small, exciting, fine print. GOOD FOR ANY MOVIE.

Ha! Despite the large cartoon drawings of animals all over the front of the tickets, I can actually redeem them at our favorite art cinema! Imagine going to see a foreign language film with free Ice Age tickets. Fabulous! The best part is that they are good up to $12 each! We might actually go see a move AFTER 3pm. Actually, we probably won't, but we COULD.

Yes, I realize it is selfish of me to keep them now that I was going to give them away, but I hadn't told the friend about them yet, so it isn't like a take-back.

As playful as a kitten

2006-03-17T12:47:00.000-06:00

Is there something he's not telling me?

2006-03-16T19:10:00.000-06:00

Prince E got this invitation in the mail today. Hmm. Not sure how he got on that list. We might go. It would make an entertaining blog entry, I am sure.

Videocast #2

2006-03-16T16:09:00.000-06:00

Snowing in Chicago and Simba bathes himself.
It is only about two minutes long.

Download here or if that is not working, go here and click on the arrow.

Podcast: Retro Edition

2006-03-14T17:38:00.000-06:00

A new podcast! Listen online here or download here.

On today's show:

The triathlon training officially begins

Two reviews of movies from my childhood:
Cloak and Dagger
Electric Grandmother

The things she could do!

2006-03-13T18:04:00.000-06:00

I was sad to read today about the death of actress Maureen Stapleton. She is best known to my family as the Electric Grandmother. I always wanted to be able to pour chocolate milk or orange juice out of my finger like she could.

A tale of two rides.

2006-03-12T16:09:00.000-06:00

Ride #1: From Foster Ave to Milton Lee Olive Park (southbound)

This morning, Prince E and I set out for a bike ride. The sun was shining and there was a light breeze off the lake. I felt very comfortable and even fast at some points along the way. E was super fast. I wish I would have given him Garmina to wear just to see how fast he got at one point. I was very happy with my choice of clothing: two longsleeve tech layers on top and my new cushiony bike shorts on the bottom. I was also wearing my new biking gloves and helmet. I was looking rather sporty. We had a lot of fun. We stopped for a break and a snack and decided to keep going, even though we had planned to go to a movie. (You know we were having fun if we decided to continue the ride rather than go to the movies!) We decided to head over to Milton Lee Olive Park, a place that Betty and I have run through on several occasions. I like to run in circles around the little fountains. This time I biked around them.

While in the park, I noticed that it was much colder than it had been thus far, but I thought it was because it was right on the edge of the Lake. Then we decided to head back home. Fastest mile this ride = 4m 36s; Slowest mile this ride = 7m 16s

Ride #2: From Milton Lee Olive Park to Foster Ave (northbound)

We headed back northbound, hugging the Lake. It was at this point that I noticed a rather strong headwind. Funny, I hadn't noticed the wind at my back coming towards the city. I just had thought I was fast. I am estimating the wind gusts at close to 20 mph. The steady wind was probably about 15 mph. It was brutal. And cold. I tried to stay close to Prince E so he could block some of the wind, but I couldn't keep up with him. I became cranky. Part of me wanted to yell to the runners/cyclers heading south to not go too far, because they would regret it on the way back. But another part (the mean simbasmom part) wanted them to suffer as much as I was. I scolded myself for letting us go so far to begin with. If we had only gone 4 miles south, we would have been home already. Now we still had another 7 miles to go. I regretted not wearing pants instead of shorts and not wearing gloves that covered my fingers (oh, no, I had to look cool). Although my legs were a little tired, I knew that I could go faster if this wind wasn't so strong. At a few points I actually felt like the wind was going to blow me backwards. I struggled to pass runners. It sucked. I tried to divert us to an inner path, away from the lake, but it ended and we had to turn around. I was in no condition to be riding next to motorized vehicles on the street. When we got further north, there was some tree cover, but the wind was still just as strong. At one point, Prince E said "do you want to take a break?" and I snarled back "I just want to be home!" Too bad I didn't have the digital audio recorder going. Would have made for a great podcast. Finally I could see our home. My fingers were frozen. My face was (extra) pink. But we were home. Another person from our building followed us in. He had just finished bike riding too. He said "Wish we had yesterday's weather again." I didn't even say anything. I was too cranky. And too cold. And mom always says if you don't have anything nice to say...
Fastest mile this ride = 6m 17s; Slowest mile this ride = 9m 34s (which is close to my 5k running pace!)

Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:46:41 6:55 pace
Distance (mi) 15.40
Moving Speed (mph) 8.7 avg. 15.1 max

Kitty and his artistic replica

2006-03-10T18:26:00.000-06:00

Photo by Prince E, painting by me.

That's a lot of popcorn: movies I saw in 2005

2006-03-07T17:56:00.000-06:00

On my most recent podcast, I promised to post the list of all the movies that I saw in the theater in the calendar year 2005 (the tie-break question from the Oscar contest). I forgot to mention on the show that no one guessed the number of movies exactly (it was 31). I was going to put ratings by each one and hyperlink them to their internet movie database profiles, but that would be a lot of work. Let me know if you want me to review any of these movies. I would be happy to. This list excludes movies I watched on DVD, TV, and airplanes. I saw them all with Prince E, with the exception of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Batman Begins
Broken Flowers
Capote
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Closer
The Constant Gardner
Dark Water
Good Night, and Good Luck
Grizzlyman
Hide and Seek
A History of Violence
Hotel Rwanda
House of Flying Daggers
In Good Company
King Kong
Ku Fu Hustle
March of the Penguins
Million Dollar Baby
North Country
Pride and Prejudice
The Producers
Red Eye
Sideways
Sin City
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Skeleton Key
Star Wars: Episode III
Syriana
Vera Drake
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHORE TURTLE!!!

2006-03-07T06:52:00.000-06:00

Everyone be sure to go visit Shore Turtle today and wish him a happy birthday!