Helping out with a baby for the weekend...

I went to visit my best friend in the whole world up in NC this past weekend, and it was SO great to spend time with her! We have only seen each other at Xmas for a couple hours or at my bridal shower, etc. and I felt the need to spend a few days with her and her son and husband. You only live once.......... We went around her town, to UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke, the NC Natural Science Museum in Raleigh, and a GREAT Mexican restaurant called El Dorado. It's ALMOST as good as Los-I would say close second! And that is saying a lot!

I also got to see first hand what it would be like to have kids right now, and honestly, I am not ready for that yet. hahaha It is SO much work... getting up with him at 6 AM, feeding, playing, putting him down for naps, bathing, car seats, strollers, high chairs, sippee cups, toys, crying (and laughing too!-he really is a happy kid :) ), diapers, stair gate things, protective things for the outlets, daily routines, etc. They are such good parents though, and I know I learned some things from the best: especially that I am not ready for this. hahahaha I was good for the weekend, but glad that I could just go home after work and chill out or go anywhere I wanted or wake up when I wanted. Maybe in 4 yrs I will change my mind. ;) Well, I have to change my mind bc we already planned to take trips so our kids can play together!

UGH

I am so sick of lazy and irresponsible people. "Oh I forgot" (when I reminded them every day). "Oh your paperwork got messed up". "We fixed your leak" (for the second time, and now there's no hot water). "Oh I didn't know that" (could have looked it up on the internet and it takes 5 min.). Can no one do anything right anymore? Do your jobs! I sound bitter, but it's not just me who has been saying this. Friends, family, other people have been complaining about people too. I am just speaking for them. ;)

A very very very good friend of mine (one of my best in Tallahassee) passed away a week ago. It's been a hard week......................

Turkiye is (and will be) sizzling!

According to accuweather.com:

Thursday, Jun 28
More Details
Sizzling sunshine and very hot. Winds from the N at 9 km/h.
Realfeel®: 46 °C
High: 38 °C

Or, in the US system:

Thursday, Jun 28
More Details
Sizzling sunshine and very hot. Winds from the N at 6 mph.
Realfeel®: 115 °F
High: 102 °F

Garage sale mania/UK politics

I was out of town this weekend, and my friend had a garage sale. She made a TON of money there!! But, that is not the reason for the post. The reason I am writing, as usual, is to say WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? First, the sale started at 8 AM. Guy shows up at 7 asking what she will be selling, when it starts, etc. She has to say to him 3 times to come back at 8 (as the article in the paper said). Then at 757, a FLOOD of people come. I guess they are part of a big neighborhood area garage sale interest group. By 930, half of the stuff was gone. My friend had a pair of pants on sale that she had gotten her husband at a warehouse for over $100 and was asking $2 for them. $2. The lady that wanted to buy them said I'll give you a dollar. (Are you kidding?) My friend said no, and the lady says (in a really nasty tone): "WELL, this IS a garage sale after all" and walks away without buying them. Talk about cheap! Then, a guy was buying $2 worth of stuff (VHS tapes, etc.) and said I'll give you $1.50 for everything. WHAT DIFFERENCE IS 50 CENTS?? At that point, my friend was so pissed that she said fine. But really. Trying to negotiate at a garage sale? Isn't there any protocol for that?!

On another note, Tony Blair is gone. I am really wondering what UK politics will be like with Gordon Brown as prime minister.........................

Tally food establishments

What is going on in this city??

1. For the first day of summer, Bruegger's Bagels is having a snow celebration with fake snow, snow angels, iced coffee, snowmen, etc. If only people here knew how awful snow is! Some people haven't even seen snow before! And why would you want to ruin the first day of summer by thinking about it? Apparently it was so crazy that it made the newspaper in Syracuse too.

2. I went to Subway and on the receipt it said "Subway for the Glory of God" as the name of the restaurant. I have talked about this so much over the last day that I don't even know what to say about it anymore. Other than I am STILL dumbfounded.

Age of Love

**Disclaimer: I am only watching this show b/c Mark Philippoussis is a tennis player. I usually hate reality tv (except Real World and the reunions/challenges).

So does it make me old that I am hoping he picks a 40-something and that the 20-somethings are just SOOOOOOOOO annoying???? Go older women!! They look absolutely amazing!!

Miss Manners

I write a lot about manners and basic courtesy because I think people don't have them anymore. Well, today I was proved wrong. I was getting into the elevator after lunch and a guy was already going up and the door was about to shut. I said "don't worry about it" but he stuck his hand inbetween the doors and said "oh, I have a chemical in this bottle and it might smell so I didn't want you to get in and have to smell it. I just didn't want you to think I was being rude [by not keeping the doors open so I could get in]". Wow. So, again, he opened the doors just to say that he was going to close them and didn't want me to think he was being rude by not letting me in.

(Then I got into the other elevator and a lady got out and the elevator smelled like fart, so maybe I should have been in the original one hahahahaha).

Just thought that was nice. (The first part, not the fart).

International current events

Two things have left me disheartened (it's another list-I like to make lists for my blog):

1. The blasts to Sunni mosques in Samarra, Iraq have made me sick to my stomach. Literally. These are HUNDREDS of years old. The Al-Askariya Mosque has now lost its minarets from this attack, and its dome back in 2006. When I heard this news, I felt sick and nauseous. It's just so sad. It was built in the 900s! According to Wikipedia, Al-`Askarī or the `Askariyya Mosque/Shrine (Arabic: مرقد الامامين علي الهادي والحسن العسكري; transliterated: Marqad al-Imāmayn `Alī l-Hādī wa l-Ħassan al-`Askarī) is a Shī`a Muslim holy site located in the Iraqi city of Samarra 60 miles from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shī`ite mosques in the world, built in 944.[1] Its dome was destroyed in February 2006 (see al-`Askarī Mosque Bombing).
The remains of the tenth and eleventh Shī`a Imāms, `Alī l-Hādī and his son Hassan al-`Askarī, known as "the two `Askarīs" (al-`Askariyyān), rest at the shrine.[2] It stands adjacent to a shrine to the Twelfth or "Hidden" Imām, Muħammad al-Mahdī. The `Askariyya Shrine is also known as the "Tomb or Mausoleum of the Two Imāms", "the Tomb of Imāms `Alī l-Hādī and Hassan al-`Askarī" and al-Hadhratu l-`Askariyya.
Also buried within the Mosque are the remains of Hakimah Khatun, sister of `Alī l-Hādī, and of Narjis Khatun, mother of Muħammad al-Mahdi.[3]

2. FIFA decided last month to prohibit international tournaments and World Cup qualifying matches above 8,200 feet (2,500 meters). That rules out the capitals of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and the stadiums of leading teams in Peru, Chile and Mexico. (La Paz is the world's highest capital BTW). In protest, Evo Morales of Bolivia and some of his staff played soccer at above 19,000 feet and said they were fine. Here is the rest of the article: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/06/13/bolivia.football.ap/index.html Totally unbelievable and NOT FAIR!! It's not their fault that their cities are high. They still want to host international soccer events! Players will be fine.

Being foreign is my dream...

... and I think I have come as close to that as possible. :) Especially because the other day when I was walking down the hall to work, my coworker says "it's the girl from Ipanema" and I said WHAT?! and she said yeah, I didn't recognize you because you looked foreign. Mission accomplisted!! I went nuts! I told her that was the greatest compliment she could have ever given me. Really the greatest compliment ANYONE can give me would be to say something like that. Like in Turkiye when everyone said I look Turkish... and the airline stewardesses spoke to me in Turkce!

Just some things

1. I wish immigration didn't take so long. :(
2. I am SICK OF PARIS!!
3. All these blasts from the past this year-Baby Jessica is back, new things about Princess Di. I still remember back in 1997 right when I arrived in Madrid at my host family's house, the first time I saw my host mom she was watching her funeral. Later that fall I went to Paris and flowers were still fresh (put there by mourners) at the place where she died.
4. Yesterday at the French Open, the tennis players could speak multiple languages. Of course they could-they are not from the US. Nadal knows Spanish, English, and probably others; "Guga" (Kuerten) knows French, English, Portuguese, and probably Spanish; Federer speaks French, English, German, and probably others. *sigh* Why can't we all be like them?? Even the commentators (McEnroe, Carillo, and the other guy who I can never remember) said it puts Americans to shame. DUH.
5. This morning I had a little panic attack-I woke up and my boncuk necklace from Turkiye was missing from my neck. I said OH NO what if I lost it in the pool, while playing kickball yesterday, or somewhere else ...... After investigating, I saw the chain on the strap of my PJs, but the charm was nowhere in sight. Then I panicked less because I knew the charm had to be in my apt. somewhere. I tore off all the blankets and shook them, looked under the couch cushions, on the table, then finally in my gym bag. Phew-I heard the "tink" and the charm fell out. Relief!!!!!!!!! I would have cried!! I guess it got there by falling into the bag as I was getting something out of my purse this morning.

Why I take time with friends and call and email and everything else..... :)

The Hug Drug
Friends are just as effective as Prozac.
By PsychologyToday.com

It just may be that no drug is more effective than a good, meaningful chat. A British study has demonstrated the healing power of friendship. A group of chronically depressed women living in London were randomly assigned to receive a volunteer "befriender" or were placed on a waiting list for one. The befrienders were instructed to be confidants to the depressed women, meeting them regularly for chats over coffee or outings.

Tirril Harris, of Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' schools of medicine in London reports that among the women who saw their volunteer friends regularly throughout the year, 72 percent experienced a remission in depression compared with just 45 percent in the control group. That's about the same success rate as antidepressants or cognitive therapy, says Harris.

The women who benefited most from the friendship prescription typically experienced some kind of "fresh start": they reconnected or made amends with a person who was estranged from them, or left an unpleasant job for another that seemed more promising.
In one case, Janet, a depressed woman who took part in the study, had been working overtime for no extra pay. Her befriender pointed out that this was unfair and suggested she ask for compensation. Janet approached her boss, who was "amenable and apologetic," Harris recalls. "These types of experiences—an acknowledgment of respect—made the formerly depressed women feel differently about themselves and about the world."

:)

http://health.msn.com/centers/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100161793&GT1=10102

How do I do it??

How is it that I have been to Costa Rica 6 times now, and still managed to take 355 fotos this time?? Oh well-they are still great. Unreal pics of the sunrise over the Caribbean. :)

Sneaky

So at Curves, sometimes it gets way too hot in there, and the ladies that are working out go to the thermostat and turn it down w/o the Curves workers knowing it. Well, apparently they knew what was going on, and when we went to work out yesterday, the thermostat was covered by a locked box. LOL I laughed so hard. One of the ladies I go with pointed it out to me and I could not breathe from laughing. hahahahaha I am still laughing! I can't stop! Maybe I will take a picture and put it up sometime.

Weight

I weighed myself at Curves yesterday and since I started Curves, I have lost 14 lbs. :)

A camel kills someone in Florida?

Well, since I have been away for a while, I haven't heard a lot of the news stories around here. Work was just ending today, and one of my coworkers came in and said did you hear about the camel that killed a woman on her farm (I don't remember how we got on the subject... maybe because I start blasting Arabic music in my office at approx. 440 PM every day)? This happened to be in the same town another coworker is from, tiny little Wewahitchka, FL, and she ended up knowing the woman. If you have ever been near or on a camel, you will know that this death could not have been pretty. It's really sad.

It even made the LA Times too:

Fla. Woman Dies After Camel Sits on Her
By Associated Press6:46 PM PDT, April 24, 2007
WEWAHITCHKA, Fla. -- An owner of an exotic animal farm has died after being kicked and then sat on by a camel. Cathie Ake and the 4-year-old camel were being filmed by a local television station on Sunday when the camel kicked her and then sat down during a break in filming.The station was doing a story on Mini-Akers Exotic Animals, the 15-acre farm Ake owned with her husband.Cathie Ake's husband, Donnie Ake, said he would find a new home for Polo, the camel, The News Herald of Panama City reported Tuesday. He believes the 1,800-pound animal was agitated by mating season.The couple bought the camel at an auction three weeks ago and kept him in a 50 foot by 80 foot pen."My wife did a lot of rescue," Donnie Ake said. "She wouldn't let an animal suffer."We might not have food in the house, but she made sure they had something to eat."A reporter called 9-1-1 when Ake fell under the camel."To be honest with you, I don't think there's much that she could have done," said Gulf County Sheriff Dalton Upchurch.A deputy and paramedics moved the camel and recovered Cathie Ake's body.Donnie Ake said he believes his wife either suffocated or was crushed by the animal. The Akes started their exotic animal farm nearly 10 years ago.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-camel-death,1,896120.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

:(

Discovery Channel is amazing

So if you have not been watching the mini-series on Discovery called Planet Earth (made in cooperation with the BBC b/c you know the Brits are smarter and better than we are!-that's the truth-I am not making fun of them), you are really missing out. Just the opening makes me have goosebumps! The music together with the various habitats and animals around the world... it's spectacular.

It's an 11 part series filmed in over 200 locations over 5 years. Wow. Animals and places no one has ever seen or visited. Chacma Baboons wandering through flooded water in Botswana which I have NEVER seen before, lions attacking and killing an elephant, tiny little Pygmy Seahorses only a 1/2 inch long in the Indo-Pacific seas, wild yaks, birds dancing, Bactrian camels in the Gobi.... it's awesome!!

I especially love it because it bounces around the world and each episode focuses on a particular habitat. :)

www.planet-earth.com GO TO IT!! I love the Earth! I want the DVD.

Also watch Deadliest Catch Tuesdays at 9 on Discovery. It showcases the most dangerous job on Earth in my opinion: King Crab hunting off the Bering Sea. There are 5 fishing boats with captains, deck bosses, etc. and it goes through the crab season and weather, personal conflicts, boat breakdowns, and other things they have to endure.

This world makes no sense

A Zamboni is a VEHICLE, no? And he was drinking, NO? Isn't that DRUNK DRIVING?


No drunk driving charge for Zamboni operator
N.J. judge rules that ice rink-grooming machines aren’t motor vehicles

Updated: 11:24 a.m. ET April 3, 2007

NEWARK, N.J. - It’s not drunken driving in New Jersey if it involves a Zamboni.
A judge ruled the four-ton ice rink-grooming machines aren’t motor vehicles because they aren’t useable on highways and can’t carry passengers.
Zamboni operator John Peragallo had been charged with drunken driving in 2005 after a fellow employee at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown told police the machine was speeding and nearly crashed into the boards.

Police said Peragallo’s blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent. A level of 0.08 is considered legally drunk in New Jersey.
Peragallo appealed, and Superior Court Judge Joseph Falcone on Monday overturned his license revocation and penalties.
“It’s a vindication for my client,” Peragallo attorney James Porfido said after the hearing. “It’s the right decision.”

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph D’Onofrio said no decision had been made on whether to appeal.
Peragallo, 64, testified at his trial that he did drink beer and vodka, but not until after he had groomed the ice. However, he told police he had a shot of Sambuca with his breakfast coffee and two Valium pills before work.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17930215/?GT1=9246

YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK GOD APRIL IS FINALLY HERE!!!! That means not very long until my wedding!! :) <3

Girls

I just don't understand them sometimes. And I AM one. Go figure. Why aren't they happy with a man who treats them right?? And who is nice, smart, funny, has a good family and nice friends...?? Why don't they want to keep him?? Help me understand.