Archive | September, 2003

Happy Campers

29 Sep

I’m back from another wonderful weekend, where I enjoyed the beautiful Indian Summer weather. I went camping with both of my brothers and their families, a few friends, and my new man (we’ll call him JB).

We were in California, camping at Lake Francis Resort. It’s a pretty little lake, and it was nice and warm.

We were a short drive from Bullard’s Bar Reservoir, where we mountain biked and boated. It’s a beautiful alpine lake surrounded by evergreen trees and with turquoise water. Here’s an arial pic:

Saturday night, it was so warm that JB and I decided to sleep out under the stars, which was so peaceful. I stared up at the stars, reveling in the fact that one year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to see any stars without my glasses. Laser surgery rocks.

After everyone in our group left on Sunday, JB and I swam around in Lake Francis and hung out on the pier. We practically had the lake to ourselves, and it was easy to just relax and let the time slip away. I got back home last night around 10… And woke up this morning a bit groggy and sore, but happy.

It was probably the last camping trip of the year, but it was a good one.

Shelby the Flying Dog

26 Sep

All of the kids in my family, including myself and my two brothers, grew up and flew the coop. In other words, we all left our home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico to pursue our careers and our dreams.

That left Mom and Dad back there without any of their kids, though. Being that they are retired, Dad spends the majority of his time at the golf course, and Mom’s hobby is her dog Shelby, whom she admits is a ‘replacement’ for her kids since we all up and left her.

Mom spends multiple days a week training Shelby in flyball and agility. She sent over the following pictures of the two of them doing flyball, and I thought you all would be entertained by them. I swear this dog could literally fly if she learned how to use her ears like Dumbo.

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Babies on the Brain

25 Sep

Now before you get too excited after reading that headline, I want to state that I’m not pregnant, nor am I plotting anything.

I found out today that two of my closest friends in the world are expecting, and I’m so very happy. I’ve had perma-grin all day long.

And two of the women in my office are trying to get pregnant, so the conversation all day long at the office has been baby, baby, baby, pregnancy, delivery, Lynnette freaking out about the delivery conversation, then more baby, baby, baby. It’s all in good fun.

So to those two people, and you know who you are, congratulations, and may I just say that if the people in my office wouldn’t think I’d gone off my rocker, I’d be getting up and doing leaps of joy and high kicks around my office.

My Day In Court

24 Sep

One month ago today, which was a Sunday, I crawled out of bed and decided to take Tucker the pooch on a mountain bike ride with me. I loaded him in the truck and my bike on the rack, and I was off. It is like a five minute drive to the trail head.

About three minutes later, I saw flashing lights behind me. I pulled over, and the officer informed me that I had been speeding. Strike one. He then asked for my license. Considering I was so close to home, I hadn’t bothered with bringing my license. Strike two.

Then he asked for my insurance. I pulled out my insurance paper and realized that I hadn’t replaced the expired papers with the new ones. Strike three. I’m out.

The officer graciously gave me a warning on the insurance and the license, but wrote me up for 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.

Now back in 1999, I had received one ticket for 10 miles per hour over the speed limit, and that ticket cost me $50/month extra on my Trans Am insurance until it finally fell off my record in 2002.

Since I didn’t want the ticket hitting my record, I decided to opt to go to court and ask to go to traffic school. Thanks to street closures and crappy parking downtown, I ended up parking 2 blocks away from the court and about 20 minutes late. I ran those two blocks in my suit and high heels. Not fun.

When I showed up to court, there were over 100 people in the court room. I was number 97. It took so long that I began to fret about my parking meter, knowing that I was running out of time on it.

After pleading no contest and asking for traffic school, I marched out of there and rushed to my car to find seven minutes left on my meter AND an angry parking ticket glaring at me from under my windshield wiper.

Yes, Mom and Dad, I let out a few explicatives at this point. The ticket was for not having a front license plate on my car.

Now come on, people. It’s a Trans Am. It has this beautiful pointed nose with a firebird emblem where the license plate is supposed to go. Sports cars look stupid with front plates. My front plate is conveniently stashed in my trunk.

So, after $90 for the speeding ticket, $20 for school, and $45 for my parking ticket, I now have a sparkling clean driving record again. I’d like to say that’s ‘priceless’ as they say in the Mastercard commercials, but it was rather pricey. All because I wanted to go mountain biking on a Sunday morning.

I hope all of you have a better day than I’ve been having.

Update On My Life

23 Sep

As many of you know, my life has changed a lot over the past few months. What you may not know is that there is a new man in my life. I haven’t directly mentioned him here because, well, I guess I didn’t want to freak him out or take the chance of jinxing things.

But things between us are going really well. It has actually been hard for me to keep doing regular blog postings without mentioning him. Now don’t get too excited, because you won’t be getting all the gory details on us, but I can give you some highlights.

Need I say that it was an excellent weekend?!

Warped

18 Sep

I seriously think I have found the most warped person on the Internet. I managed to stumble across The Date My Sister Project, where he sets his sister up on dates and then follows her around with spy equipment to document the dates.

I’m not quite sure why I got sucked in by this wacko, but then I discovered The Stinky Feet Diaries, where he infects himself with athlete’s foot, and The Fat Project, where he convinced two people to try to gain 30 pounds in 30 days.

Some people have too much time. Evidently, today I’m one of them because I read these projects in their entirety. I totally need to get a life.

Isabel vs. Samantha

18 Sep

I’ve been playing phone tag a lot lately with my friend Samantha. Samantha and I became close friends while we were both living in the Detroit area. The two of us had grown up in New Mexico, and both happened to end up in Michigan. Our brothers and mothers had been friends, so we had a lot in common.

One of the biggest things we had in common was our dislike for Michigan. We both wanted OUT, and after I had been there four years and she had been there seven, we both plotted our escape routes. Within a few weeks of each other, we moved to the places we had been dreaming of going. I headed to Nevada, and she headed for Virginia Beach, VA.

We haven’t seen each other since, and I really miss her. She bought a condo in Virginia Beach, and I can’t help but think of her this week as hurricane Isabel nears her new home. But you know where Samantha is? Europe. She is a flight attendant, and evidently was sent to work overseas during the hurricane fiasco.

I feel really bad for her being in a foreign country, wondering what will become of her new place. I don’t even think she had a chance to board up the windows.

I just read this quote in an article:

In the coastal resort of Virginia Beach, the police chief urged those staying behind to write their names on their forearms so authorities could identify their bodies and notify their next of kin.

Now, that is serious.

Isabel, please be nice to Samantha. And Samantha, I hate to say ‘I told you so’, but Nevadans don’t have to worry about hurricanes.

Where’s Waldo

16 Sep

I received the photo CD I purchased from the High School Reunion yesterday. Can you find me in this picture? You get double points if you can find Amber, too.

Random Thoughts

16 Sep

Bringing Mrs. Fields Cookies in to work should be against the law. I have developed a will power of steel, but macadamia nut white chocolate cookies cannot be resisted. Why did you have to bring in 15?!

Why must I get sick the week before my Sharkfest Swim?! I’ve been planning for the swim since March, and now I’m wondering if the swim would send me into full scale pnemonia.

Overdosing on over-the-counter medicine is a bad thing. I learned this Saturday night when I started to feel really strange. It was almost like an out of body experience, and I was seeing halos of light around people. That’s when I started to go back in my head to chronicle all of the pills I had popped that afternoon… Yeah, I way overdid it. Good thing I didn’t have wine with dinner.

Enjoy the room with a view while it lasts. This time next week, I’ll be sitting in my new office, which will not have a window. However, it will be a mere five minutes away from my house… So I won’t have a view during the day, but lunchtime naps at home are a very real possibility now.

Is there anything sexier than a man who will help you clean dog puke off your carpet? There really isn’t. Enough said.

That’s all for now. I’m going to go wallow in self pity until I get over this damn cold.

Variety is the Spice of Life

11 Sep

I got bored with the previous site design, so I did a little rearranging today. Do you like it?

Be sure to use the Comment feature below… For a while, my comments were really Cookin’ (no pun intended), but they have died off lately.

I installed the Comments functionality for my brother Chuck because he requested it, and guess who has never made a comment on my site?! That’s right, Chuckles himself.

9.11.01

11 Sep

In honor of the two year anniversary of September 11, I post what I wrote on the six month anniversary of the event.

I was working in downtown Detroit, on the 23rd floor of the GM World Headquarters. I had organized some disability training for GM’s HR managers, and during our first break, my friend David said ‘A plane has hit the World Trade Center’. Although everyone was talking about it, we all thought it was an accident, so we continued on with the training.

On our second break, we heard that the second tower had been hit. That’s when the fire alarm started going off, and the building security stated over the intercom that anyone who did not feel secure was free to leave.

A few minutes later, the same voice came over the loud speaker, stating that terrorists had hijacked planes and ran them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. He then said that there were still four planes unaccounted for, and they were assumed to be heading West, targeting large buildings.

Now that was scary. I was in the largest building in downtown Detroit. Not only that, but I was 23 floors up.

Hence, the training was cancelled.

So I left. There was a traffic jam getting out of my parking garage and heading towards the freeway. I couldn’t help but think that if a plane hit the GM World Headquarters, all of us stuck in the traffic jam would probably be killed by the falling building.

Our staff had actually planned an off-site meeting that day at a park, so I headed to the park. It was a beautiful day, but needless to say, we ended that early, with our managers telling us to go home to our families.

I think that September 11 is my generation’s defining event, like the assassination of JFK and Pearl Harbor were to our parents and grandparents. This will be the event that we remember sadly, and will always remember where we were when we heard the news.

May God be with our troops as they fight to protect us from terrorists.

It was just days after September 11 that I accepted a job in Reno and decided to change my life forever. As much as I miss working for General Motors, I love my new life, and wouldn’t change it for anything.

***Update***
I received this in e-mail yesterday from Karen and thought it was a great write up. Enjoy!

This is a comment I was going to post to your 9/11 entry. It wound up pretty big so I moved it to this email. So much happened that day that should be remembered. This is just my perspective. It was way too close to home.

Take care,

Karen

It is so interesting to hear what happened throughout the United States as the news of this tragedy was reported. Other big cities closed up to avoid the worst. While it seemed like it happened far away to the towns out in the middle of no where. At least those are the perspectives I have heard.

Here in Northern Virginia things were crazy. (Though I am sure not near as crazy as NYC.)

My morning commute to work was awful; worse than normal traffic. Little did I know it would be horrendous less than 2 hours later. The traffic stopped me on an over pass where there is an awesome view of Dulles airport. I remember thinking wouldn’t it be nice to take a flight somewhere away from this crazy traffic and work. Not that I was getting on a plane nine months pregnant, but the thought was nicely distracting.

The planes crashed into the Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon after I had arrived at work. I came out of my office to get some water after no success of getting an outside line to make a callback to troubleshoot an issue. I heard someone mention the World Trade Center was bombed. When I returned to my desk my friend instant messaged me about the first tower and sent me a web link where I wound up watching a streaming video the second tower attack. When the Pentagon was hit we all had trouble believing it. Seemed like some sort of sick joke to further scare people; as if the Trade Center attack wasn’t enough. When we started hearing the commuters on the radio stations calling in to describe what they had seen it was then the report of the attack on the Pentagon became more believable. I can’t imagine viewing that on my way to work and to comprehend what I watched happen to those poor people. I mean what a terrible person I was for complaining about just having to sit in bad traffic on my way in to work just hours before. At least I don’t have the memory of this traumatic attack to remember for the rest of my life.

Then another hijacked plane went down in Pennsylvania.

My boss was learning to pilot and was on one of her first solo flights when the Air Traffic Control ordered all planes to land. After she left the airport, she was able to call me quickly from her cell to tell me to make sure everyone went home and that she would not be in.

Shortly after this call, AOL sent everyone home since many families in this area had loved ones working at the pentagon and for the airlines. I work just down the street from Lockheed Martin. As I crept passed it on my drive home the reality of the situation really hit me. The guards were heavily armed with large rifles and they have been there since.

All I could think on the drive home was how my friends were and how could I raise a child in a world like this. Many of my friends had relatives at the Pentagon or for fire and rescue. One of the dads from my birthing class was a paramedic. Across the television screen for the rest of the day was a call for all rescue workers to report to work. He dutifully left his wife and two week old baby to tend to those who needed aid. He was able to return to his family about 3 days later. I worried about him every time that message flashed on the television.

My friend’s dad was working just a section away from where the plane hit. The newly renovated area where the plane collided was slated to be his group’s new office area when it was completed and was scheduled to be ready for them to move in the next 2 weeks.

The phone lines were so busy we were told not to make phone calls so that family members of the pentagon workers and flight passengers could locate their loved ones. Due to traffic, Paul was stuck at work off of I495 until the late evening. I knew he was ok but it was hard not having the ability to talk with him.

That day, I worried and mourned, like many others, for all of the loss of life and the people involved. I thank God that my family wasn’t involved first hand in this tragedy. I also give thanks that the people I knew and their families were all safe. It goes without saying; I will not forget what other families went through who were involved with this attack on September 1, 2001. It is amazing how so much changed in such a brief amount of time.

Thanks, Karen!

Kids Say the Cutest Things

10 Sep

My sister-in-law just told me that my 2 year old nephew, Jack, got in one of his toy cars the other day and told her that he was “going to Reno to see Net”. (Net is what he calls me.) She also said that all red SUVs are “Net’s truck” in his world (I have a red Blazer).

That is so damn cute. I could just eat that kid. But I won’t.

Bubbles

10 Sep

Here is an adorable picture of my brother and his new bride at their reception this past Saturday. All of the guests gathered around them and blew bubbles while they danced. It was too cute.


Look directly behind the groom’s shoulder and you’ll see me in my purple bridesmaid dress blowing bubbles. Look right above the bride’s head and you’ll see my mom, and my dad to her right. We are one happy family. (Click on the image for a bigger version.)

So Long Sweet Summer

9 Sep

There is already a chill in the air. It’s only getting into the seventies this week, putting me in a slight state of mourning for the passing of my favorite season. Dashboard Confessional puts it well in their song So Long Sweet Summer:

So long sweet summer
I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet summer
I fell into you
Now you�re gracefully falling away

Hey thanks
Thanks for that summer
It�s cold where you�re going
I hope that your heart�s always warm
I gave you the best
I gave you the best that I had
You passed on the letters and passed on the best that I had

So long sweet summer
I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet summer
I fell into you
Now you�re gracefully falling away

I hate the winter in Lexington
I hate the winter in Lexington
Lexington
Lexington
Lexington

I heard it snowed in the mountains last night. Perhaps I have a good ski season to look forward to as consolation.

Up, Up and Away

5 Sep

This weekend, the Great Reno Balloon Races are happening. Both yesterday and today, my drive to work was decorated by the balloons’ beautiful sprays of color across the bright blue Nevada sky.

I’m tempted to go to the actual event, but alas, I grew up in Albuquerque, home of the world’s largest balloon fiesta, where over 750 balloons take off at once. Reno’s is much smaller in comparison.

Going to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta meant getting up at about 4:30 am, dressing in crazy layers, bringing hot chocolate, and watching the crews set up and then launch at mass assention. Two years in a row, I happened to be dating two different guys named Chris, who both had connections to get me free hot air balloon rides.

My first balloon ride, when I was a senior in high school, was extremely quick. As soon as we got up in the air, the pilot noticed we were getting low on gas, so he landed us about five minutes later. I remember I had worn really tight jeans that day, and lifting my leg up to get into the gondola was extremely challenging.

Once we were in the air, I looked down, and realized you could actually see through the basket to the ground, and the swaying of the balloon really made you feel unbalanced. Although I’m not afraid of heights, I remember shaking uncontrollably, and once I almost lost my sunglasses, which were perched on top of my head, as I happened to look up into the balloon. I barely caught them before they plummeted a few hundred feet towards the ground.

My second ride was much more impressive. I had the priviledge of riding the balloon up from mass assention, where I was surrounded by hundreds of balloons as I floated upwards. This time, I wasn’t nearly as scared, and it is definitely one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I remember there was a balloon that was in the shape of a magazine with Cindy Crawford’s face on it, plus I floated by balloons shaped as a boot and a cow.

As the balloon took off, hundreds of thousands of spectators watched and waved to me like I was a celebrity. I waved back, knowing that any of them would gladly switch places with me.

Riding in a balloon is so peaceful. It is absolutely silent, and the only sounds are the occasional firing of the flame to keep you afloat. It is undoubtably one of the best ways to take in the surrounding scenery, as I had never seen my home town look so beautiful.

So now I think you see why I don’t think I’ll be getting up at the crack of dawn this weekend to simply be a spectator at the Reno Balloon Races. As much as I’ve enjoyed the balloons on my way to work in the mornings, I think I’d just be disappointed because it just couldn’t possibly compare to my experiences in Albuquerque.

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

4 Sep

This weekend, my brother will be marrying his fiance… They are two of my closest friends, and I’m really happy for them. This weekend will be jam packed, and I’m looking forward to (in no particular order):

  • Seeing my aunts and uncles and one cousin that I haven’t seen in years
  • Listening to Dad’s toast, since he is the best man. He is considering telling a dirty joke that uses the word A$$. Dad, you rebel.
  • Watching my nephew be the ring bearer, as he walks towards ‘Uncle Truck’ (he hasn’t picked up on the difference between Chuck and Truck)
  • Everyone getting a bit silly from the alcohol
  • Swing dancing with my Dad
  • Slow dancing with my hunky date
  • Hanging out with Joe, who has always been like a third brother to me
  • Wearing the bridesmaid dress that used to be too tight, and is now loose (yippee!)
  • Decorating my brother’s Corvette
  • Officially getting another sister-in-law
  • Spending quality girl time with Mom and my current sister-in-law

It will be a fun and memorable weekend. Congratulations, Love Birds!

The Inevitable

3 Sep

I knew it would happen someday, and today was the day.

I go trail running twice a week, and have been doing so since May. There are a ton of rocks on the trail, and I’ve always known that one day I would bite it and fall. I’ve had many close calls where I’d trip, but would get a little adrenaline rush and could pull out of it. Not this morning.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. My left foot caught on a big rock, and I knew there was no getting out of this one. As I plummeted towards the dirt, I put my hands down, but made sure to roll on my back as soon as I could. Remarkably, I managed to avoid getting all cut up, which is appreciated, since I’ll be wearing a strapless dress at my brother’s wedding on Saturday. However, my palms on both hands are significantly bruised, making typing a not-so-fun task.

After the crash was over, I sat on my butt and tried to reorientate myself. I was then overcome by Tucker the pooch and his concerned kisses. After assessing my miraculous lack of injuries, I got up and trotted on my way, but this time a bit more carefully.

Old School

2 Sep

I watched Old School this past weekend, and though it was extremely corny, I really enjoyed the references to the red Trans Am in the movie, known as the Red Dragon. I totally need a shirt like this:

I Swear I’m Not Crazy

2 Sep

I really enjoyed this comment about my Naked Rock Stacker post. It proves that I’m not crazy…

Nasty Man Magnet

2 Sep

Friday night, I went to see a local band playing at a bar in downtown Sparks. I asked all kinds of people to go with me, but no one was able. Determined to not let that stop me, I threw on a sundress and some slutty shoes, and I was off.

I showed up and grabbed a chair about 10 feet away from the band. I may as well have been raw meat in a shark tank. It was really unbelievable how many random and nasty men were suddenly interested in me.

It started with a geeky guy who came over and struggled to make conversation. He talked all about his work and hobbies, and would then fall silent. Except for when he pulled out the line of ‘You have beautiful eyes’, and I laughed, because for a second I honestly thought he said ‘You have beautiful thighs’. I digress. But this makes a good point for all of you single guys out there. The best way to pick up on a woman — ask questions about her and listen to her answers. No woman wants to be the sole audience for your monologues. He asked for my number, and when I told him I was dating someone, he said ‘He’s a really lucky guy’. OK, at least that line was sweet.

Nasty man number two was extremely drunk. He came up to me and started dancing in front of my chair. He then said ‘You’re really cute’, and next thing I knew, he was tugging on my toe. I laughed at him, and noticed at that time, that there were a bunch of people watching him make a spectacle of himself. He’d dance away, but then would come back, and would try to kiss me. He got my cheek and my thigh before I had to shove him away. And he was mesmerized by my toes. Strange, I tell you.

The third nasty man had to be like fifty, was bald, and had a huge handle-bar mustache. At this point, I started wondering if it was just the bar I was in, or if there was some strange vibe I was sending out to attract all of these random men. The old baldy kept asking me to dance, and I kept telling him I was too sober to dance, so he kept coming back and checking on me. I eventually gave in and danced with him, keeping a good 4 feet between us. Oh, and he came up to like my chest.

After a while, I decided to go sit outside the bar to get some fresh air. That was when I was approached by the two stooges. They started lavishing on the compliments, and my favorite was that I had a ‘classic beauty, like what you’d see in the 40s’. I said ‘Please don’t tell me I look forty,’ and he clarified, saying that I had the classic beauty you would have seen in the 1940s. Hey, he gets a few points for originality at least, though I don’t know how platform shoes and a really short dress could remind him of the 1940s. The two stooges then started going off on how cool scooters were, and ‘aren’t you impressed that that scooter over there can go sixty miles per hour’.

I looked at them and simply stated, ‘It’s a scooter’.

‘You mean you wouldn’t like it if I showed up for a date and picked you up on a scooter?’

Once again, my response was, ‘It’s a scooter’.

‘But they’re really cool in Europe.’

‘We live in America.’ I said.

This guy then started saying that that scooter could take any vehicle I had and could beat it off of a stop light. Now that was when I burst out laughing, knowing that no scooter would have a chance against my 400 horse power Trans Am. Geesh, boys, get a life.

So that was my Friday night. I guess it did a bit for my ego having a trail of men picking up on me, but I was very disconcerted about how wacky they all were. Man, the bar scene can be scary…

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