Zero to snark in nothing flat

VOX

2006-07-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

So I've been lured over to VOX by the ever alluring Jax. I like it a lot, though it is a bit lacking in community features. I likely won't be leaving Live Journal, but this could be the beginning of the end of MySpace for me, and the death knell for Blogger. It just seems really stupid to maintain four separate blogs when I hardly have enough to say for *one*.

Anyway, you can find my VOX blog here: http://irea.vox.com/

I've started posting a "Photo of the Day" on my VOX blog, which I probably won't post anywhere else.

I may or may not copy all my posts here as well, so if you want to be sure to read everything, (yeeeeeah, like anything I write is important or even interesting), then look me up on VOX.

Bah.

2006-07-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

We've been living in the new place since December (so I guess I can hardly call it the 'new' place anymore) and just a couple weeks ago I finally got around to decorating our balcony with a new cafe set and bunch of plants. It was the prettiest balcony in our square! And then the heat wave came and now all but one of the plants are just about dead. :/

It's not supposed to be 100 degrees in San Jose!

In related news, a dove has chosen to nest in one of the dead hanging plants... guess I won't be replacing that one. I'll take a picture tomorrow if I can do it without scaring it away. :)

How to not get a second date

2006-07-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

How not to act on J-Date

Guy makes assumption that girl is not interested in him, and INVOICES HER for dinner... you've got to read it. Really.

SONOFA*%^&$#%^!!!

2006-07-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

In reference to this previous post, I have been screwed by Thunderbird or karma, or both.

Some random browsing this morning through my "sent" email brings me to the realization that the email I had sent to apply for the outrageously cool job was truncated. All they got was my intro paragraph. No rates. No portfolio. No contact numbers. NO ACTUAL RESUME.

Fuuuuuuuck.

No wonder they never called. :/

It's GOLD, Jerry!

2006-07-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

Pure.
Gold.

Clueless blogger attacks abortion article in The Onion

Use it for good AND awesome.

2006-06-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

USB teddy bear holds data, scares children

OMG WTF

2006-05-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

http://toddlerpedes.com/

1337

2006-04-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

1337
Originally uploaded by Lissaa.

A picture of our new address sign before it's stolen. Again.

Omaha Zoo

2006-04-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Omaha Zoo
Originally uploaded by Lissaa.

So while Lesly was still here with us visiting Todd, we all took a trip to the Omaha Zoo.

I got *some* decent pictures (the gorilla pic to the right is one of my favorites), including some llama pics for Bronwyn! But now I wish I had purchased my new camera *before* the zoo trip, not the next day.

Oh yeah, I bought a new camera. It's so fantastic I have no freaking idea how to use it yet. More later. :)

Click the gorilla to see the full set.

omg don't point that thing at me

2006-04-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

I love Todd. He's such a shopping enabler.

Feast your eyes on these little beauties! So shiny and orange!

Yeah, so in an attempt to thwart the whole cloud-of-cancerous-gas thing that all bars here have going on, we went out and bought Todd a dartboard, and we each got a set of darts. (Now that Lesly's gone home, Todd isn't so worried about being DARTED IN THE FACE! LOL! Just kidding, hon. Sort of. *wink*)

Unfortunately we haven't found a good place to install the board at Todd's place just yet, so we might just be taking our personal darts down to the corner pub today. No, that clearly doesn't solve the smoke issue, but we can use these darts once we get back to good ol' NorCal too.

I am the big points loser of the group, but every once in a while I get some lucky shots (none so lucky as Lesly's shot to TODD'S FACE though!). It's a lot of fun, regardless. :)

:/

2006-04-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Posted at 1:30am -

As much as I love visiting Todd here in the beautiful state of Iowa, I'll be really happy when we get back to California where we can go out and enjoy some drinks and a game of darts WITHOUT GETTING FUCKING CANCER AND RUINING ALL MY CLOTHES!

Jesusfuckingchrist. I hate cigarettes. So much. I have the biggest fucking headache and my clothes smell like a goddamned ashtray.

Happy Easter everyone!

2006-04-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

We're in Iowa right now keeping an eye out for tornadoes... hope everyone is having a wonderful day/weekend!

new dress

2006-04-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

Here it is.

I lerve it so much, I can't wait to wear it! :D

SoCal Renfaire 2006 - opening weekend

2006-04-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

SoCal Renfaire 2006
Originally uploaded by Lisaaaaa.

So we drove down to SoCal for opening weekend of Faire, and it was pretty awesome. Ericka & Ben flew out from Chicago, and our favorite Dwarf, Todd, flew out from Omaha. It's always good to see Todd - luckily there were no Best Buy outings on this trip, so our credit cards got a rest for once. ;)

And of course it was great to see Bruce & Sara, and Casey & Lisa!!! We never get to see them often enough. Thank you Casey & Lisa for letting us crash at your house! (And thanks Timmy for letting us stay on Sunday!)

Tim and I got a touch of a sunburn, but nothing too bad. I bought a FABULOUS Irish dress that I will have to wait about 3 weeks to wear (since we're not getting back to Faire until then--though I suppose I could wear it around the house, LOL). I've been dying for an Irish dress (my current garb is English), but I didn't want to have to bother making one myself. I was so happy to see some available for sale and in the most awesome fabric. I'll see about taking a picture of it later today. It's just yummy.

While we were at Faire, we had some preliminary talks with the Poxy Boggards' booking agent, and it looks 90% certain that they'll be able to play at our wedding for the price we were thinking. HUZZAH!

We also booked our DJ/MC for the wedding - he's the distinguished gentleman in white and baby blue in the picture above. He's a scream, the reception is going to be fantastic. :)

See more random pictures from Faire by clicking the pic.

I said "ball".

2006-04-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

Tim and I went bowling again this afternoon and I picked up a new (12 lb.) ball.

Unfortunately the one I wanted (reds & oranges) only came in a 10 lb. ball--well, what they had in stock anyway. I had a choice between: red,white & blue (the same one as Tim's first ball); blue, purple & white (which sounds nice, but was a little too "Barbie", as Tim put it); very dark red & blue (and GLITTERY); orange, white & PINK (ugh! it was hideous); and a swirly black, red & white ball. I went for the swirly black, red & white (my high school colors). Because you KNOW the most important part of the ball is the color. No, really. :)

Anyway, so I got my new ball drilled, and we both had our new balls engraved, and then we hit the lanes. The guy at the pro shop offered to give Tim some pointers, so we ended up each getting our own lane this time. Tim did really awesome. Pro-dude also gave me a tip which could end up improving my game, but for now it put me completely back in learning mode. I sucked today, bah. My highest game was 113. If my game doesn't improve soon I might go back to doing things my way... I was really hoping for better scores with the heavier ball. :P

No bowling for us tomorrow, but we DO have an appointment with the taxman in the morning, yay, good times.

To bed with me.

Apparently 10 lbs. of ball is not enough for me

2006-04-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

So we went bowling again today, and played a whopping 8 games. We normally bowl 5 or 6. Damn it's expensive on the weekends.

Anyway, I did pretty good, and I'm beginning to realize that I have to just ROLL the ball instead of throwing it, because when I try to get too much *umph* behind it, I tend to throw it across my body and therefore, crooked.

Back before I had my own ball I was using the 8 lb. house ball. When I bought my own, I jumped up to a 10 lb. (because the 8 lb. they had in stock was hideous, if you can follow that reasoning, lol), and it was really difficult at first, but then again I hadn't been bowling at all in a damn long time. So now I think 10 lbs. just isn't enough, because I'm just winging it around too damn easily.

Tim convinced me to try a 12 lb. and I did really well with it. It's harder to swing, but also harder to throw off course. The only problem was the thumb hole was too small so I had to give it up after a game and half because it was starting to hurt. This will be remedied by purchasing a new ball. OMG yay shopping! :)

lol omg wtf

2006-04-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

The worst music video ever?

oh.

my.

gawd.

::snort::

2006-04-01T00:24:00.000-08:00

Tuttle Tool City Manager wants the emails to stop
What a cry baby.

From the Tuttle Times: City manager misunderstanding prompts international response
Just when you thought he couldn't possibly dig that hole any deeper...

"This is just a bunch of freaks out there that don’t have anything better to do," he said. "When I came in to work Monday morning, I had about 500 e-mails, plus anonymous phone calls from all the geeks out there. [CentOS is] a free operating system that this guy gives away, which tells you how much time he’s got on his hands.”

[EDIT: FYI, Mr. Taylor has removed his email address from the City of Tuttle website. Google cache for teh win: citymgr@cityoftuttle.org]

food for thought

2006-03-28T21:41:00.000-08:00

The Christian Nation Myth

Our founding fathers established a religiously neutral nation, and a tragedy of our time is that so many people are striving to undo all that was accomplished by the wisdom of the founding fathers who framed for us a constitution that would protect the religious freedom of everyone regardless of personal creed.

humor for the unemployed

2006-03-28T14:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, so even though I've only gotten 1 out of 6 recommendation letters so far, this makes me feel a little better:

http://www.oddtodd.com/index777.html

Because 1) that's not me quite yet, but 2) who wouldn't want the life of a 3 year old again? ;)

I do need to start getting my resume out there though. I guess I'll have to do some gentle nudging or just go with what I've got.

Contact the webhost, you TOOL!

2006-03-27T10:16:00.000-08:00

This deserves more attention than just a link in my del.icio.us feed.

This guy is level 60 in Asshattery. Enjoy.
Oklahoma city threatens to call FBI over 'renegade' Linux maker

Skyforest, Lake Arrowhead

2006-03-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

Skyforest, Lake Arrowhead 2006
Originally uploaded by Lisaaaaa.

Hello from Skyforest! We're up here house/pet sitting and having a wonderful time.

The night before our arrival apparently the mountain got 8 more inches of snow. By the time we were driving up, just before noon, the fog had cleared and the roads had been plowed, so it was an easy drive.

It hasn't snowed since we got here, but the existing snow is melting very slowly - we're just now beginning to see bits of bare ground peeking through.

Mostly we've just been hanging out at the house - which you can see from the picture to the right, is just gorgeous - but yesterday we met up with the wedding coordinator at Lake Arrowhead Resort and officially put our wedding on the calendar. Apparently the whole resort is going to be renovated by the end of fall, so it should be just lovely for our wedding. :)

Last night we also drove into Crestline and went bowling - I did pretty well, breaking 100 every game! I'm glad I've stuck with it, it's still a lot of fun. :)

Anyway, that's about it. Tim is playing Call of Duty 2 or something, and I think I'll go start a load of laundry...

Serenity

2006-03-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

So we went out and bought the Serenity dvd the other day, and speaking as a person previously completely unfamiliar with Firefly, I can say without reservation that this movie does a fine job of standing on its own.

Serenity is a f*cking good movie.

So good, in fact, that we watched it twice in two days.

THEN we happened to stumble on a Firefly mini-marathon (4 eps) on the SciFi channel, which made us squeeee with joy - but after that we really had no other choice than to run down to Fry's and pick up the Firefly series on dvd. We watched the whole damn thing in one sitting.

OMG I'm a fangirl.

Real Life Simpsons intro

2006-03-14T01:55:00.000-08:00

Classic Simpsons intro with real people! OMG this is cool!

The Simpsons - Real Life

OMG, scary accurate.

2006-03-14T01:26:00.000-08:00

the Questioner
Test finished!

you chose CY - your Enneagram type is SIX.

"I am affectionate and skeptical"

Questioners are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family,friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

Be direct and clear.
Listen to me carefully.
Don't judge me for my anxiety.
Work things through with me.
Reassure me that everything is OK between us.
Laugh and make jokes with me.
Gently push me toward new experiences.
Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Six

being committed and faithful to family and friends
being responsible and hardworking
being compassionate toward others
having intellect and wit
being a nonconformist
confronting danger bravely
being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Six

the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Sixes as Children Often

are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families,and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Sixes as Parents

are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
worry more than most that their children will get hurt
sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

The Enneagram Made Easy
Discover the 9 Types of People
HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages

You liked the test? so please RATE it...
but remember! it had only two questions!!! ;-)

Link: The Quick and Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Incline Village 2006

2006-03-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

Incline Village 2006
Originally uploaded by Lisaaaaa.

Just before I got laid-off, Tim and I went on a snowboarding trip to Tahoe with friends Todd and Lesly.

Click the image to the right for more pics from the trip!

a clean start

2006-03-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for your kind words and thoughts, I'm doing just fine. Thanks to Bascha and my MOM in particular, who have been furiously networking on my behalf, I have a number of freelance projects lined up that should carry me for a while even if the job market proves tougher than I thought.

Tim has been absolutely wonderful.
He knows when to make me laugh and
when to let me cry,
when to distract me and
when to motivate me.
I'm very happy to be marrying this man. :)

Last week, instead of moping, Tim and I took up bowling. We bought starter kits from the pro shop for really cheap, and I got a super cool purple & dark blue ball, all swirly like outer-space and stuff. Tim had my name engraved on it as a surprise. It's a whole lot of fun even if I'm not really that good at it yet, though it is a LOT more expensive than I thought it would be (the cost of the games, not the equipment). I think we're going to have to look for a cheaper alley, though the one we're currently going to is very nice.

Today I'll be getting a new cellphone (I haven't had a new phone in years) and phone number (so I can stop screening my calls!).

Other to-do items for this week:
* contact 6 people from my old workplace for letters of reference
* start constructing new resume
* work on SymX's myspace page ;)
* contact a couple of freelance clients about their websites

In other news,
Charlie is a little cuddle bug,
and I just want to hug him
and squeeze him
and love him
and pet him...

2006-03-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

Lost my job today. Laid-off, not fired, but still.

I've been telecommuting for 4 years, and frankly I've been waiting for this to happen. It's become increasingly more difficult to be involved with my team since they seem to be pulling away from digital communication and relying more on face-to-face meetings.

It was a shock, but not entirely unexpected. I did cry.

I was given a severance package, which I do appreciate - though after 5 1/2 years of employment, the size of the package is a little insulting.

On the bright side, I've had 5 1/2 years with a very high-profile company, and I expect to have some glowing recommendations. If there are jobs in my field to be had, I should be a good candidate.

I hope.

Now might be a good time to take a Flash class to beef up my skill set - I guess I have some space on my calendar now, LOL.

Well... more later I guess... I'm going to go... um... do... something... maybe hug Charlie for a while.

weekend wrap-up

2005-11-28T10:20:00.000-08:00

Charlie stays warm
Originally uploaded by Lisaaaaa.

Tim and I spent Thanksgiving day at home and had a lovely little Thanksgiving feast with dad.

Friday we drove to the Stover ranch in Lodi so I could help my mom and grandma with our larger family gathering we had on Saturday. There were 16 people at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and that's with a few people missing (some were sick or had to work).

My Grandma and I were looking at some scanned pictures she has on her computer and decided to print them out and put an old/funny/cute picture at each person's placesetting. (Some people like my uncle John had so many funny pictures to choose from, I think we ended up printing 4 of them.) During dinner we passed around the pictures and everybody had a good laugh. THIS is the picture that was at my seat. It's okay to laugh. :)

My brother Tony brought one of his gas powered go-carts to Lodi, so the kids (and adults) had fun riding it around the ATV course in the backyard after "dinner" (which was around 1:30pm). Some minor drama with a stuck throttle and a demolished gate, but thankfully no one suffered more than a scrape. We do respect our safety gear.

We drove home Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend at home with some new video games, cuz we're geeks and that's what we do. Sunday morning was very cold! We snuggled and slept in as long as possible, and Charlie was happy to join us, as you can see in the picture. :)

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T19:43:00.000-08:00

Wishing all my family and friends a happy and wonderful Thanksgiving.

Important things to know...

2005-11-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

Programming Language Inventor or Serial Killer?

LOL, I got 7/10. Damn those programmers with serial killer smiles.

Hrmmmm... that'd be a cool album title... "Programmers with serial killer smiles". hehehe. :)

file under: "um."

2005-11-13T21:03:00.000-08:00

In my frantic online search for black velvet ribbon, I came across this and I'm really quite speachless. 8-o

Work safe. In a weird way.

Generations of Valor

2005-11-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

Pearl Harbor survivor Houston James of Dallas embraces Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Graunke Jr. during a Veterans Day commemoration at Dallas City Hall on November 11, 2004. Graunke, a member of an ordanance-disposal team, lost his left hand, one leg, and an eye while defusing a bomb in Iraq in July 2003.

"Many countries celebrate their honored dead and veterans on this day. This day is not to honor war, but the sacrifice made by others for our freedom."

I'm very proud to have so many family members serve America in the armed forces. My grandfather was a Merchant Marine, my 3 uncles served in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, my father was a soldier in the Army, and my fiancé served in the Navy during the Gulf War.

I appreciate that the sacrifices made by all veterans of every branch, past and present, allows me to live the life that I do in relative safety and comfort. I do not envy your job. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for having the strength and courage to serve our country so bravely.

my little pumpkin

2005-11-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2005
Originally uploaded by Irea.

Charlie didn't like the way his crocodile costume covered his eyes, so he wore his pumpkin costume while helping me greet the treaters at the door.

Isn't he the cutest thing ever? ;)

Family Guy Halloween

2005-11-01T01:02:00.000-08:00

Family Guy Halloween 2005
Originally uploaded by Irea.

I decided to do these at the last minute. I'm pretty pleased with the results - all of our treaters loved them.

Lots more pictures if you click the one to the right.

Happy Halloween everyone. :)

I scream, you scream, we all scream... because there's ZOMBIES!! AHHH!

2005-10-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

Crocodile Charlie
Originally uploaded by Irea.

Charlie loves Halloween because a bunch of strangers come to the door and he thinks they're all here just to pet him! That certainly might be the case this year when people see him in his crocodile costume! He's so cute!!!

(Click the picture on the right to see more Charlie pics!)

We're quite bummed to be missing b.'s legendary Halloween party AGAIN, but we're planning on next year for sure. We might even drive out to NC next year so we can bring Charlie.

[I'm thinking of taking off a Friday and Monday so I don't miss too much work... can the drive be done in 4 days? I was 10 years old last time we drove across the country, so I don't know how realistic that goal is. We'd probably take some vacation time for the return trip so we can see some of the lovely things our great country has to offer.]

Anyway. This year I'll be American McGee's Alice - assuming I get off my lazy butt and finish the costume this weekend. I found some fantastic boots to go with the costume! I could have gotten the same style boot in a knee-high, but with my tree-trunk calves I'm never confident in ordering high boots online. The ones I bought should work out okay - I'm planning to wear them with black & white striped stockings, so it should look pretty cool, even though not totally accurate.

holy crap... WE'RE MOVING!!!

2005-10-20T23:35:00.000-07:00

We finally get to move into the condo we've had our eyes on forEVER!

We start moving in about 3 weeks... slowly moving our stuff over as the current residents move their stuff out. We'll move our servers very last, and might actually take Etheric up on their colo offer - depends on what kind of service we can get at the new place.

It will be so nice to finally have room to store all of our stuff! Room to hang up and put away all of our clothes! AN OFFICE COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM OUR BEDROOM!!!

We'll have a spare room for visitors!

OMG!

There isn't much of a yard, just a small patio, but enough room for a nice bbq. And I looove the kitchen... it was recently remodeled and has new aluminum appliances and a gorgeous black stone countertop.

I can't wait to have our first Christmas tree in our very own place! :)

Oh yeah, and did I mention that the address is 1337 ?
How geeky is that? ;D

pics from NorCal Renfaire

2005-10-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

NorCal Renfaire 2006
Originally uploaded by Irea.

Apparently the Travel Channel is filming at faire this weekend. I haven't seen any tv cameras at all, but we did run into Fred Willard who was nice enough to pose with us. :)

the date

2005-10-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

Assuming there are no problems reserving the venue...

June 9, 2007

A June bride I shall be.

London: September 8-9, 2005

2005-10-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

The first stop on our tour of Europe was London.

We loved London, but it's so expensive there it was almost physically painful. Not only are the prices relatively high (even compared to the SF Bay Area), but the exchange rate is decidedly NOT in our favor.

$512.00 = £250.00

Ouch.

London's public transportation rocks like no other. Our hotel was conveniently located about two blocks from the Euston Station which gave us access to both the tube and trains, and bus stops are everywhere. Our smartest purchase in London was day passes which gave us unlimited rides for both tube and bus. Whoever laid out the tube system and created the tube maps is a genius. We did experience a couple of delays during our visit—one due to flooding, one due to a "jumper" (eeesh, I can think of more than a dozen better ways to remove yourself from the gene pool).

Hard as it is to believe, we didn't come across a single pub offering Newcastle—later we found out we should have been looking for "free house" pubs, as apparently a lot of the pubs are chains that carry only the chain's brand of brew.

From my limited observations over our (split) four day visit, I have come to the conclusion that Londoners don't like cold beverages. And forget the requisite ice water with your meal - if you want water, you have to buy bottled water, and it ain't cheap. Sodas generally came in small glasses at near room temperature with a lonely ice cube at the top melting fast. I don't know if there's a water shortage or what, but it was a bit of a culture shock considering we were *trying* to hold tight to our money. The end result was we didn't eat or drink much while in London, and I began our tour more than a little dehydrated. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying. Of course I realize there are differences in culture, I'm just pointing out what differences I noticed. :P

Our second day in London we visited the Tower of London. One thing I love about the English is the way they respect their history and their historical buildings. Believe it or not, there were places we visited in Europe that have absolutely NO respect for their local treasures—but more on that in another post.

It was fascinating walking through the different towers and looking at all the ancient armour. The Tower of London is also home to the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula. It's the most beautiful chapel I've ever seen, so old and delicate, and so carefully preserved. Walking through door I was filled with such a sense of awe and wonder, it put me to tears.

The original Chapel of St. Peter's was outside the Tower walls until they were expanded by Henry III. The Chapel has served as the place of worship for the Tower community from that time onward. The present form of the chapel dates from 1519-1520 and is a rare example of early Tudor church building.

All of those executed on the Tower Green were buried in the Chapel and many executed on Tower Hill were buried there as well (the executed prisoners had their bodies hastily buried without markers). The Chapel was renovated in 1876 during the reign of Queen Victoria, and the remains uncovered in the nave of the church (some with still intact coffins) were re-interred in the crypt. The remains that were uncovered in the chancel were reburied under the marble in front of the altar. Some of these skeletons were identified: Anne Boleyn and her cousin Kathryn Howard among them.

It was amazing to be sitting there knowing that such notable historical figures were buried just inches beneath our feet. The feeling was indescribable. We have NOTHING in America that even comes close. Bless you Brits for preserving your past—it was more than a little heartwarming to visit my "Motherland" and find so many treasures intact.

Expensive or not, we'll definitely be returning to London.

2005-10-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

one drawback to blogger...

2005-10-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

...all the damned SPAM COMMENTS!

Bastiges. Every one of them.

Things I take for granted in America...

2005-10-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

complementary ice water in restaurants
cold beverages
ICE!
biggie size sodas & free refills
MULTI-SYMPTOM COLD REMEDIES!!!

...more as I think of them...

Voyage 2005: The Complete Trip

2005-10-06T09:18:00.001-07:00

last night in London
Originally uploaded by Irea.

I finally got all my pictures from our trip posted to flickr. If you've seen our travel journal lately, you've probably seen most of these already, but there are a few new ones in the batch.

Clicking the picture on the right will take you directly to the photo set.

Tim still has *all* of his pictures to upload yet... you should all feel lucky we don't strap you down and force you to watch a slideshow. ;)

the ring

2005-10-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

the ring
Originally uploaded by Irea.

This is the amazing "talking" ring. What does it say?

It says: "TAKEN!"

I love it.

I love Tim more. :)

surprise in Germany

2005-09-12T23:55:00.000-07:00

But apparently not a surprise to everyone...

I very much want to make this a long and memorable entry, however the schedule we're on for this tour of Europe is nothing short of brutal. We're getting *maybe* 5 hours sleep a night, and up every morning between 6:00-6:30am. I know we've slacked on updating our travel journal for a couple of days now, but we've been on the move to different countries every day so we just haven't had the time. Tonight is our first two-night stay in the same place since we were in London, so hopefully we'll get a chance to update you all on our outings sometime tomorrow.

But this entry isn't really about our trip. Today after leaving our hotel just outside Cologne, Germany, we stopped in Heidelberg for a couple of hours. Heidelberg is most famous for being host to the oldest University in Germany, as well as being home to a stunning red sandstone castle originally erected under Friedrich V (1613 - 1619). Near the main shopping square, there is a very cool modern fountain that I stopped to take a picture of (and will upload later) - it was raining very lightly at this point of our visit, but it wasn't too cold or too wet, and our trip up until this point had been on the rather *warm* side, so we didn't mind much and weren't hurrying to get out of the weather. It was at this point that Tim got very romantic... he told me how much he loves me, and that I treat him like a King... and from behind his back he produced an engagement ring to rival Loreley Rock and asked if I'd be his Queen.

!!!

There should be no doubt, but I did indeed say yes. :)

And now I find out that just about everybody already knew! Well, I'm very extremely surprised, and you all sure can keep a secret. :)

Off to cuddle now with my fiancé... it feels *very* different, and very wonderful.

::beams::

Somewhere... beyond the sea...

2005-09-07T01:57:00.000-07:00

Tim and I leave for Europe tomorrow!

I considered whether the trip would be inappropriate now, but at this point we wouldn't be able to get a refund on anything, so canceling wouldn't do anyone any good. We gave as much as we could to the relief effort, and that means no spending money for our trip until the next payday. Our travel and lodging is already paid for though, so we should get by okay. I know we each have a little pocket money for food, that should last us a while if we're careful. (Plus my mom is always generous when she drops me off at the airport.) :)

Anyway, I probably won't be checking email much for the next 20 days, and I won't post much here either, probably not at all. Tim made us a »Travel Journal« to commemorate our trip. We'll be updating it as much as time & ability allows, so please do check it out from time to time.

"See" you all in about 3 weeks... and some of you for real in October! 8)

pictures from the weekend

2005-08-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

Beatles Tribute Concert - Lake Arrowhead, 2005
Originally uploaded by Irea.

I like this picture of us, so I had to share. :)

donations for Katrina victims...

2005-08-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

I don't think I know anyone personally in the New Orleans area, but my thoughts go out to all of you affected by the hurricane regardless.

For those of us watching from afar, if you find that you're able to spare a few dollars I'm sure every little bit helps.

FEMA listed the following agencies as needing cash to assist hurricane victims:

American Red Cross, 800-HELP NOW (435-7669) English, 800-257-7575 Spanish.
Operation Blessing, 800-436-6348
America's Second Harvest, 800-344-8070.
Adventist Community Services, 800-381-7171.
Catholic Charities, USA, 703-549-1390.
Christian Disaster Response, 941-956-5183 or 941-551-9554.
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, 800-848-5818.
Church World Service, 800-297-1516.
Convoy of Hope, 417-823-8998.
Lutheran Disaster Response, 800-638-3522.
Mennonite Disaster Service, 717-859-2210.
Nazarene Disaster Response, 888-256-5886.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, 800-872-3283.
Salvation Army, 800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769).
Southern Baptist Convention — Disaster Relief, 800-462-8657, ext. 6440.
United Methodist Committee on Relief. 800-554-8583.

Okay, seriously...

2005-08-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

...can somebody please tell me, WTF??

in the plus column

2005-08-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

The template system here on Blogger is REALLY nice, and that's the one problem I've always had with LJ. Also it looks like Blogger supports multiple blogs without having to log in and out. That might be useful for keeping a separate blog for my art. Hmmmmm...

so true.

2005-08-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

"Music is the greatest of the arts; it is also the one which, in the present state of civilization, brings the greatest misery to those who understand it in all its facets and who respect and honor it." ~Hector Berlioz

so many places to be... so little to say.

2005-08-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, well... as if my Live Journal wasn't enough to keep up with, I finally joined the masses at MySpace -- and since there are a particular few people that seem to have an aversion to LJ, here I am at blogspot as well.

I doubt any of these blogs will receive unique postings, so feel free to pick one and stick with it. ;)