Merry Christmas

I recently got a bunch of old pictures of the family from my Mom so I could scan them into my computer. I started scanning a couple of them today while waiting for family to arrive for dinner. I'm glad that I got the pictures before my sibblings since there is some good blackmail in the stack of pictures (and I intend to use wisely)...

I found this one particularly appropriate (1989)....

Happy holidays all :)

Guide to Proposing to a Chick...if you are one

Step 1: Listen carefully to your girlfriend
If your girlfriend starts pointing out sizeable rocks everytime you pass a jewelry store in the mall that means she probably wants you to buy her one. If you and your girlfriend are helping out a buddy pick out a ring for his/her gal and she starts telling you exactly the size, cut, stone, and metal then she probably wants you to buy her a specific ring. If you suggest all the rings look similar no matter the size and metal and she gives you that look, you should probably write down exactly what she wants because even though you can't see the difference she will...

Step 2: Covertly start shopping for the ring
It's always good to take friends and family for second opinions, even if the sales people think your brother is your fiancee and you are picking out your own ring. This can be a touch embarrassing, but just remind the sales person that although this may be legal down South I happen to be purchasing the ring for a very special girl. Next you watch the look of confusion cross their face and then the giddy realization that if one woman equals one expensive diamond ring that two women equal two expensive diamond rings (all the better for their commission).

Step 3: Cut the crap and find that special sparkle
When talking with jewelers about different rings, they will launch into all of this confusing jargon about facets, clarity, cut, angles, light refraction, and on and on until you're back in vector calculus calculating the gradiant or some crap like that. But honestly, who cares! Just find the one that sparkles the most. You girlfriend is not going to ask "wait a minute honey, how many facets does this really have?" or "is this very very slightly included or very very very slightly included." The best you had hope for is "ohhh sparkly!"

Step 4: Don't leave shopping remnents around
Don't leave ring flyers or ads laying around in say your car or on your desk. If you happen to do something idiotic like this, no problem we can fix that. The next day flip the page to some diamond earrings or necklace and circle it. She think oh yay, I'm getting a necklace. If you're feeling really bold circle the ugliest ring you can find and that when you see her gasp of abhorrence say "yea, can you believe that Chris wants to get Sam that ring? Chris just wouldn't listen when I said it was a bad idea." Problem solved. Also, remember to close Internet browsers after browsing online.

Step 5: Getting a ring sized
Steal a ring that fits your gal perfectly on her ring finger. No it can't be her right hand, if she's right handed that finger will always be a little bigger. Don't steal her favorite special ring her mother bought her that she wears everyday. She will notice it's gone and then be upset and make you help her look for it everywhere. Bad idea. Try to take a second or third string ring that she won't notice is gone.

Step 6: The proposal
Pick a special place that has a special meaning to her or both of you. The humble bagel where you used to have morning dates or the dorm room of your first kiss or the path by your old house you used to hold hands on. Or maybe on the first big trip oversees you take together...

So pretty much the short version of the story, I asked on the first leg of our trip in Paris, she said yes and now Emily and I are happily engaged.






P.S. More trip photos coming soon....

Hello from Florence

I just wanted to do a quick post, since I have not updated my blog in a long time and I just recieved a special request :)

Emily and I are right now in Florence, Italy after arriving in Paris on the 6th of September. After about a week in Paris, we successfully made our way to Rome. We stayed in a particularly interesting B&B there (I will talk more about it later) and we are now in our second day of Florence. Ok, I am off to find Emily so we can grab breakfast.

Ciao

Ack Robots

Check out Rong Cheng! A little creepy...but kinda cool.

Fun With US Airways

So a couple of weeks ago, I flew to DC for a work retreat (or rather Baltimore). Here's my complaint to US Airways customer service people after I missed my connection in NC by5 hours. I wonder how they'll respond...

June 26, 2006

Customer Relations

US Airways

4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd

Phoenix, AZ 85034

I’m writing to voice my complaint with your service on US Airways flight 148 departing from Seattle going to Charlotte (NC) July 15, 2006. Not only did we leave an hour late, but we made TWO Emergency landings that could have been easily avoided. About an hour and a half into the flight we had to make an emergency landing into the Denver airport because the restrooms were not properly emptied in Seattle. Before take off from Seattle, a woman in my row tried to use one of the restrooms and reported to a US Airways attendant on the plane that it wasn’t properly flushing. The attendant said it was probably because the restrooms were being emptied, but no the woman in my row was correct; there was a problem with the restrooms.

Next after landing in Denver, our plane was evidently too large and heavy for the runway and we were forced to dump fuel, making it necessary to stop again in St. Louis to re-fuel and go onto our original destination of Charlotte. Upon our landing in St. Louis, everybody on the plane could hear the pilots clapping and cheering. This does not instill confidence in the passengers! Eventually, we made it into Charlotte at about 2:30am over 5 hours after our scheduled arrival time of 8:30pm. Every single person including myself missed our connection on the plane missed their connecting flight. To make matters worse, there were only three US airways attendants at the gate to assist with re-routing the passengers, one of which looked to be brand new so one attendant spent all her time fixing his mistakes or answering his questions. As the seventh or eighth person in a line of about 40-50 people, I had to wait a little over half an hour. Thank goodness I was in the front of the line.

The compensation we received for all of this hassle was food coupons that added up to $20, a hotel voucher for the Ramada Inn and two cab vouchers. Since I had to catch an early morning flight to Baltimore the next morning for work really the only option I had was to stay in the airport. I had to cancel my reservation at a cushy Marriott (at the cost of $159 for the night for less than 24 hours notice) and sit in an airport. Additionally, I was originally supposed to fly into DC the night before and carpool in the morning with my co-workers to Baltimore for the all day retreat. Instead of a nice dinner and sleep at the Marriott before my all day retreat, I was stuck in the airport up all night (or morning) with a Starbucks dinner (that was the only thing open at the hour) with no shower or sleep before a full day intensive retreat with my company offices from around the US.

As you can see, I am extremely upset with US Airways and cannot believe the unacceptable service myself and the other passengers received. If you want to keep my business I hope that you will compensate me for my time and money lost due to US Airway mistakes. Additionally, my company, family, and friends will hear what happened and how it was resolved. I have flown with you before without a problem so I’m completely in shock at how something like this could occur.

Sincerely,

Karen Matheson

Italy Wins in a Shootout

Hmmm... that title sounds kind of violent eh? Guess that makes sense after the France headbutt. I'm still disappointed that Portugal didn't win the World Cup, I was really pulling for my people in this one. I'm ok with Italy winning over France though.

This has nothing to do with soccer, but I thought it was kind of cool, check out this transformer video.
http://www.blackfilm.com/20060512/features/transformertest_video.shtml

Bad Milk and So Much More

I know I haven't really written for a while, but between my soccer team and two jazz bands I haven't had a chance. I want to know what is so geeky about playing the trombone? I know it's not as cool as say the bass, drums, or even saxophone. I don't know why everybody laughs when I tell them what instrument I play. It sounds all cool that I play in two jazz bands, but then when they ask what instrument, all my cool points get thrown out the window... I admit some pretty weird sounds can come out of a trombone, but a sax? It sounds like a goose for heck's sake!

So in between working, playing, and the bands I stay up a little too late and should probably getting more sleep. I didn't didn't realize this until last week when I got all showered, dressed and ready; then sat down for my usual bowl of honey nut cherrios. I made it through the first bowl and then a couple bites into the second bowl I noticed the milk tasted weird... So I try a couple more bites and yuck this tastes bad. I check the label and give the carton a smell and sure enough the freaking milk was bad. How the heck did I manage to get through a whole bowl of cereal and not even notice I was eating spoiled milk? Crap it's almost bed time gotta go!

Stats are BAD ASS

From our very own University of Oregon Psychology department filmed in Straub Hall, see this kick ass rap video about statistics. Featuring J Lou and Chuckie T

Seriously download it, it's worth the wait... (if you're a math geek like me)

Stats Video

Trombonists = Antisocial

A friend forwarded me this article about this guy's trombone being confiscated. I am completely shocked and horrified and just hope none of my neighbors read the BBC news... I can totally see trombonists being accused of being socially inept but never antisocial! Hah, misguided youths and their antisocial trombone playing, youngsters these days, my golly!

This is taken from the BBC

Last Updated: Thursday, 4 May 2006, 14:37 GMT 15:37 UK

Noisy neighbour's trombone taken

A trombone and other instruments were seized by police A trombone was seized by police in Dumfries after complaints about noise coming from a flat in the town. Other items taken included a drum kit, electric guitars, a television, radio, stereo systems and amplifiers. A 55-year-old man, of Barnraws, in Shakespeare Street, was fined £200 under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 at Dumfries Sheriff Court. The court ordered the forfeit of the sound-making items which police said could "inflict misery" on neighbours. The conviction related to a number of complaints of continuous noise and antisocial behaviour coming from the town centre flat. The complaints were jointly investigated by local police and noise reduction officers. 'Antisocial behaviour' Police said the action showed they would crack down on people causing a noise nuisance. "Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary is committed to addressing community concerns through working closely with partnership agencies," said Ch Insp Michael Collins. "In this case the man concerned has been creating a nuisance to his neighbours for some time. "We are delighted that the court has seen fit to forfeit the equipment this man used to indulge in antisocial behaviour and inflict misery on his neighbours."

Here the link to the full article

Arrested!

To the left is a picture of the president of my consulting firm (M+R) getting arrested today in D.C. It's all in a day's work. To bad all the action is in D.C. and not Seattle. No one can say we aren't hella dedicated!

Five members of Congress (and a few other activists), including Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo) were arrested today when they blocked the front entrance at the Embassy of Sudan in Washington, D.C. Their protest and civil disobedience was designed to embarrass the military dictatorship's ongoing genocide of its non-Arab citizens.

Click here for the full text article.

Click here to send an email to "he whose name will not be spoken" telling him to take action against the genocide in the Darfur region.

I've finally graduated 8th grade!

You know when everybody graduates 8th grade and then that summer the descent upon our nation's capitol... I didn't and finally at age 25 along with thousands of other teeny-boopers, Michael, and his ginormous new camera. The coolest part of the tour was this random metal statue found at Haines Point called The Awakening. It's a five part cast aluminum statue that depicts a 100-foot man half buried alive trying to free himself from he earth. It's creepy and cool at the same time, Michael's favorite is when people put their babies in the statue's mouth and take a picture. See more statue pics.

I thought the Vietnam war memorial was moving and strangely sterile considering how messy war is. The wall is so refective you can see me as I take the picture.

This is the Jefferson or Lincoln Memorial (I don't remember which).

On The Home Front

As usual when I get home from a rainy day, I set my umbrella up to dry in the kitchen. Now mind you, whenever I open my umbrella near the little crapper he flys out of the room like a rabid bat (this is no exaggeration, just look at those shiny eyes). The other day after dashing out of the room he decides to creep slowly back into the kitchen and upon further inspection he decides the umbrella is now his property.



New Friend
I finally got a PDA after a couple of years trying to use a paper planner and finding myself too lazy to write in it. It's so great, it syncs with Outlook and everything; now I never have to write again (except checks).

The amazing thing about this PDA, is that the darn thing didn't come with a case. How crazy is that? It's so fragile why wouldn't Palm at least include a cheapie case and charge and extra five dollars. I was too outraged to buy a case (or really just too lazy to go back to Circuit City to get one) so Emily volunteered to knit this adorable PDA case complete with stripes and button. I don't want to encourage her kniting addiction, but this was a damn useful project. Next she's making me a tie, so I can't complain too much about needles and stash lying around the house. I never thought about it, but after reading the Yarn Harlot's blot about yarn addiction and realizing that kniters talk about needles and stash as their tools.... It really is a drug.

Snow

I get up Friday morning and I see snow outside the window. There was barely an inch of snow on the ground, so I'm thinking no problem I'll take the bus to work as usual right. I mean an inch of snow, that's nothing. So I get all ready and head out the door. I get to the top of my block, which granted is a pretty steep hill and this is what I see. Seven buses all stuck at the top of the hill with the "to terminal" flashing on their signs. They were all stuck not moving, meaning they never got to their route. I felt a little rude taking a picture since the poor bus drivers were all stuck in their buses... but I mean how often do you see seven buses stuck on your street! I can't believe under an inch of snow shut down transit in my area during rush hour, craziness. Needless to say, I worked from home Friday.

Finally at Last!

This is what I've been doing the last few months in Seattle working at M+R

eNonprofits Benchmarks Study

It's about nonprofit performance in the online communications world.

The Poo Apocalypse

Check out this big Canadian news story about the poo apocalypse.

Eight Grade Math

More bus fun.... Still no cat girl on my bus, but the guy across the isle from me had on a sherlock holmes hat (seriously, it was awesome). He looked pretty normal except that the book he was reading was a centimeter away from his face. I kept trying to catch a look at the book he was reading to see if it was a mystery, but no such luck. I just looked weird staring at him. I bet I'm the crazy stare girl on other people's blogs.

Here I passed 8th grade. I can't believe I got a question wrong, what the heck!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

our (pretend) house

emily drew our house! we are in the garden and i have a lovely black soccer ball. the kittens are there too, being kitteny, which is normative for them. check out the picture of our house!

our house!
our house!

Cat Girl Missing

So I haven't seen cat girl on my bus for like the last month! There are however, other characters on the bus in the morning, but it's just not the same without cat girl. There's a new woman who manages to juggle her 1-2 yr. old son one arm and her bag in the other all while walking to the back of the bus while it's moving. Everytime it's like, is she going to drop him? How is this possible to balance a little scrimmy kid and a bag whilst walking on a moving bus. Then there's this woman who had some really high bright brown boots (FMBS) she wore over leggings, I can't describe it but it was a very odd style.

Other than my exciting bus ride news, my all chick band has formed anew after a one week drama in which our leader kicked out our bassist and drummer for no good reason and then accused me of being a brain washed socialist or something like that when I suggested we have a meeting because stuff was getting out of hand. Anyway so we banded together and formed our own band after a meeting and a group hug. Now all we need is a name, right now in our poll Bitches Brew, the Pink Menace, Jazzberry Jam and Bootleg Betty seem to be ahead.

Hey check out this new search "patriot" search enigine google put together after Bushy and his pals wanted to spying rights http://blog.outer-court.com/patriot

Rainy Sunday

I'm actually trying to do some work on this rainy Sunday but can't help surfing the web a bit.
I regularly but an ad on Craigslist for musicians for my band so as I was doing this I came across a post about a violin trio of sisters. Check out their website gothardsisters, so at first I thought hmm kinda interesting. Then I found this in the text of one of the sister's bios

"In their free time, Greta, Willow and Solana have put together several feature-length stop-frame animated films with their dolls and stuffed animals with intricate props and costumes that have also been watched all over the nation. For more information on the dolls, please visit this website: www.ourdolls.net"

I never got to the watching the films; they didn't work on my computer, but man those dolls kinda creep me out. I mean how much time do you think they spend on these dolls and making greeting cards and videos out of them... I guess I can't really talk and all since we dress Yakko and Dane up and sometimes send people cards with them. Anyway check out the doll site, it's pretty kickin.

But Wait, There's More...

More sights of Seattle, here I am picking the troll's nose. For some reason there's an extremely large stone troll under the Fremont bridge. That's an actual VW Bug in the trolls hand. Kinda creepy and a little scary if you don't know it's there and suddenly you see this silver eye looking at you....

So Emily and I have been blog tagged by Bridget and supposedly I'm supposed to write about five things that people don't know about me and then tag five more friends.

1) Emily used to french braid my hair when I went on dates freshman year of college.

2) On Christmas break sophmore year, a fellow RA (Vicki) and a few of us drank jungle juice she swiped (or maybe it was a bribe/gift) from a resident and when we forgot matches at 7-11 I stumbled up to my bosses door to ask for matches so we could have a fire in the Hawthorne lounge.

3) Sometimes we call our cat Dane he's who name shall not be spoken (Voldemort)

4) Once Emily and Vicki (why does Vicki always end up in our weird stories?) scared a guy out of the Carson TV room by making their plastic dinosaurs have a domestic squabble.

5) I have over a hundred Archie comic books

Okay, now the tagging part... you guys are so tagged!

Jess and Jason
Karl
Chris Brunner
Lauren

Sights of Seattle

So here's a random pic we took on the way back from taking Meriel and Mark to the Space Needle a couple of weeks ago. It's a giant revolving pink elephant neon sign! It's so cool, much more interesting than the boring old space needle. The sun from last Saturday broke our 28 days in a row of rain here in Seattle. I didn't even realize how long I'd been seeing rain every day until it mentioned it on the news at day 23. I was really disappointed that Saturday broke our streak, I was hoping for a record. Oh well, there's always next month.

Here's some flash animation that my company helped produce, kinda funny (kinda scary)

http://www.walmartworkersrights.org/

C-mass fool!

C-mass, so this year everybody came to our place!
This was our first year hosting Christmas so Emily and I felt like real grown-ups (I know isn't that crazy!). So for the first time ever, the kids cooked and the adults had wine and played Scrabble. Speaking of Scrabble, don't EVER play with Emily. I played with her last week and we were barely half done with the game and she had 300 points compared to my 150 (GRE here I come). So the big advice from Kaplan for taking the GRE is to read the New York Times and Wall Street journal because theys have the big words. Good thing I spent 35 buckaros on that book. Ok so I digress....
No holiday is complete with out Emily tourturing the Yakko. So I thought I'd show y'all a picture of the horror this poor cat has to endure every holiday. Now I know you think this may be cruel, and I do feel a little guilty for participating and taking the pictures, but hey the little crapper has taken a liking to my hand made speakers and uses the carpeting as his personal scratching post. Which is really not ok because it took me about 2-3 hours per speaker to get the carpeting glued on with rubber cement which accidently got my 17 year old self high because I didn't open the windows. My bedroom reeked of rubber cement for like a week, I don't know why I never bothered to open the windows, funny that?
Back to Christmas, so Dane being the smart cat he is, hid under the tree so unfortunately, he was unavailble for the group picture in which he would wear reindeer ears. Oh well, there's always next year... Other than that it was a pretty normal Christmas: wine, food, family, presents