12/19/06

Good News

Val got a job yesterday and started today.

11/28/06

Thanksgiving

I got in to San Francisco at midnight on Tuesday night. We went straight back to the Enskies' house and I promptly fell asleep.















On Wednesday, I watched seven episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation while Val went to work. I thought I would only watch one, maybe two, maybe three...and then my maybes became seven. Oh well...I was on vacation.




















On Wednesday night, we went downtown in search of healthy food that would prepare us for the overindulgence that is Thanksgiving. We went to La Vie, an organic vegetarian restaurant. We sampled their entire menu of wine, and I ate the best miso soup I've ever had.














After dinner, we saw For Your Consideration, which was pretty funny.


On Thursday, we went to Thanksgiving dinner at the house of Adrienne & Val's family friends, the Cuvados. We played games and ate too much, and our main course was marinated turkey. It was very windy outside.





















































Two problems with Thanksgiving: 1. No yams, stuffing, or green bean casserole. 2. No leftovers. To remedy these problems, Val and I spent Friday planning, shopping, and cooking for Thanksgiving: Round Two. We stuffed a chicken with my first ever home made stuffing and served it with green bean casserole, yams, roasted potatoes, carrots, and celery. And, of course, home made gravy. Mmmm.

Here is our stuffed chicken.














And here's the cute dinner table Val set for us.















On Saturday we picked up breakfast and coffee from my favorite coffee shop in Felton. That's a joke because there are two coffee shops in Felton. Later that day we went to the Natural Bridges park to see the migrating monarchs hanging out in the trees and take a short walk on the beach. Then we went to dinner on the wharf. Mmm, steamer clams. Val's friend Lisa came over that night and we all drank a little too much and got no sleep what so ever.

Raspberry.














Sunday was very lazy but I didn't really sleep in like I had planned. We lounged around all day, stopped by In & Out Burger, and went to the airport. My flight home was late and tiring, and then it started snowing on I-5 on my drive home at 3am. Woo hoo.

So Mission: Thanksgiving was a success, and it marks my last trip to Santa Cruz for a long, long time. Val will be here in four days!!

11/20/06

Quick Grammar Lesson for Idiots

Apostrophes do not belong in plural nouns, except in some cases.

Your Myspace page should not read "New Pic's," but rather, "New Pics."

The exception is for acronyms, symbols, or digits referred to in the plural, such as "CPU's" or "A+'s"



Apostrophes do not belong in third person present verbs. For example:

"She like's me" should be written "She likes me," unless your intention is to say, "She like-is me," which, even a contraction, makes no sense.



The word "its" defies the rules.

When something belongs to it, the word is written "its." No apostrophe.

The leaf fell from its branch.

When using the word as a contraction for "it is," give it an apostrophe.

It's a beautiful autumn day.



Additionally:
Their = belonging to them [Give them their things.]
They're = contraction for "they are," which, in fact, does deserve an apostrophe [They're waiting]
There = a place or destination [Put the things there.]

Please stop with the grammar fuck-ups. You people are killing me.

11/12/06

Three Degrees of Separation Between My Cribbage Friend and I, Discovered Via Message in a Bottle

Okay, so you remember my cribbage friend Frank, the one I met playing yahoo cribbage, and how he lives in Oahu?

So I'm on his myspace reading his blog post about a friend who, while home for his WEDDING near CARLTON OREGON came upon a bottle with a message in it. The bottle was four years old and from a young girl in Yamhill. His friend goes home to Oahu and responds to it, pretending to be a 16 year old boy from Hawaii. He sends the letter, and the media finds out, prompting a news story and several other news stations to pick up the story and contact his friend. All this I learned from Frank's myspace post, "I Laughed So Hard I Almost Crapped my Pants" as well as the video that is posted on it.

Then I read the next post on his blog, which describes the news stations calling Frank's friend, who mistakenly gave his real address, and in the end had to confess to the interviewer that he was really a 34 year old guy trying to give a girl a nicer letter response than "I found your bottle a mile away in the same creek." I read this and watched the video on the post, only to realize that I recognized the photos of his friend's wedding, including the BRIDGE over A CREEK on which they were standing. To see the post and video, click here.

So, the guy who found the bottle was Tom, ANGELENE's sister Khara's now husband, and the bridge in the picture was in Angelene's parents' backyard in Carlton. This was such a strange connection to a friend I have never met, only online, and the way we met had nothing to do with any of these people or places. Totally tripped out.

10/27/06

OEA Voter's Guide

I thought I'd post my union's positions on the 2006 Oregon ballot measures. This is verbatim from them, not my final decision because I'm not done reading the pamphlets myself, but as it stands, I agree fully with their stance on 41, 43, and 48. I'm not so sure about 45, 46, and 47 because they don't intuitively make sense with my politics. Like I said, I still have more to read.


OEA Voter's Guide: Election 2006 Ballot Measures


39 - No Position

40 - NO (Electing Judges Regionally) - Politicizes Oregon courts by requiring Oregon Supreme Court and Appeals Court Justices elected by geographic districts.

41 - NO (Bill Seizmore's Tax Scam) - Allows "income tax deduction equal to federal exemptions deductions to substitute for state exemption credit. Huh? The average Oregon will save $11 a month. The state would loose about $835 million a year in revenues, which are currently used to fund education, health care, and other state services. Measure 41 may sound like a good idea at first, but this complex measure is more of the same empty promises we've heard before from people like Bill Seizmore.

42 - No Position

43 - NO (Government Mandated Parental Notification) - Requires complicated notification procedures before a minor can access an abortion. Allows no exceptions for teen safety.

44 - YES (Prescription Drug Program) - Expands access to low-cost prescription drug purchasing program to all Oregonians. Lowers cost of prescription drugs.

45 - NO (Term Limits) - Limits number of terms for state legislators. The result: less experienced, less knowledgeable, less effective policymakers.

46 - NO (Campaign Finance Laws) - Allows lawmakers or initiatives to limit free speech by restricting campaign contributions and expenditures.

47 - NO (Campain Finance Restrictions) - Limits Oregonians' free speech rights by restricting campaign contributions and expenditures.

48 - NO (TABOR) - Caps state budget for vital services and programs. TABOR will force deep cuts to public education in Oregon, as similar laws did in Colorado. If TABOR had been in effect in Oregon since 1990, we would have approximately 25% less funding for schools and public services now. TABOR is part of a strategy by national interest groups and wealthy individuals at the expense of Oregon's communities.

For governor: Ted Kulongoski

For full text and more candidate picks, click here.

10/16/06

Ally's Baby Boy!

Auntie Sara & baby Aiden


















Super cute sleepy boy


















Me with little lumpy


















Ally & Aiden (en mohawk!)

7/19/06

6/5/06

Saw Beaver at the River House

Belive it or not, this is my first beaver.


:-)

6/4/06

Summer Plans

Holy crap....8 days of school left!

If you want to know what I'm up to this summer, look at the side bar. In true Hos fashion, it is organized and chronological.