Left Brain, Right Brain

I actually found this on another blog but it is TOO perfect. It is a description of love by Kim Addonizio:

"It's the timbre of someone's voice, the shape of their hands, the way they open a grapefruit or turn toward something that captures their attention. It's the scar and the history of the scar, the pattern of small moles scattered on the forearm or belly, the words said or not said in love making, the individual, the unmistakable impress of that mouth and not another."

I got TWO packages in the mail today! The Camelbak is PERFECT, I am super happy about that! And the lights look nice, but I haven't put the batteries in to try them out yet. Maybe tonight I will put them on and see how it all goes. I'm actually kind of glad that my old bike headlight got thrown away - this one is nicer, and more low-profile. Plus it's supposed to last longer. \(^o^)/ WooHoo!!!

I got notice earlier this week that my poi shipped from New Zealand. I don't remember if I posted about that, but I'm doing it now because I want to, and it's MY journal. Nyah. What really made me laugh was that when I got that email notification, it said (and I'm doing a direct quote here), "Delivery should take about 7-9 days (*if Canada please allow 4-6 weeks)"!!!! OMGWTFBBQ!! LOL - Poor damn Canadians. Must have to do with customs or something silly like that. They aren't even fire poi or anything! So of course I will post again when those arrive so I can "CHECK" them off my virtual list.

Also, I don't know who this guy is, but I kinda stumbled upon his pictures by accident. They are really nice (check out the BM pics - some of the best I've seen, especially for really showing the participants.) Just looking at them makes my heart thump a little faster... must be getting close to BURNING MAN!!
Here's his site: http://www.pleasuresean.com/

Oh, and for those of you who remember last year being the WORST BURNING MAN EVER, the reason I am still excited is that I am even more motivated by last years general crumminess (in many, but definitely not all ways) to make this year GREAT, and I seriously (maybe foolishly) believe that the tens of thousands of other people who participated in what has been called "The Vault of Meh" feel the same way (eg, the spawning of BORG2).

Sure, there are bound to be more Tourists, Yahoos, and Frat Boys who have more interest in being spectators than participants, but I'm not going to let that get me down. I've got a few things I'm working on, and more motivation than ever to take a strong hand in creating my own experience.

Heh - Jon is in Lincoln, Nebraska right now. He is on his way to a suburb of Denver, Colorado to buy a new car. This all came up 2 days ago.

He has been looking to buy an R32 for several years now. The GTI that he has now was kind of a "good enough" version that was affordable and a lot nicer than the Metro, and more efficient than the Expedition. But he has been watching prices of R32s all the time, and just this weekend he was getting interested in one in Florida that had a supercharger and all this other racer-boy crap added on. The price was pretty decent, but there were a lot of weird things about it that didn't feel right.... the dude selling it didn't have the title - said he had never transferred it over from the guy HE bought it from... weird. Other stuff like that. I don't know. I just got a really bad feeling about it, and what if Jon went all the way down there only to find a lemon?? Ugh.

So then he found one in Illinois that looked like kind of an ok deal, but again, it just didn't feel quite right. And there really wasn't a clear answer between the two of them. The only sure thing was that they both looked like better deals than what he would get here in the Cities. But stilll... :-/

So I prayed. Not to a "god" or anything like that, but I just kind of prayed that the events of the next few days would play out in such a way that Jon would not end up making a decision he was not SURE about, and I prayed that if he really was going to buy an R32, he would find a deal that would feel RIGHT and SURE.

The next morning, Jon told me he had found "the one" in Colorado. The price was great, it didn't have any unneccessary mods that would void any warranty, it only had 5,000 miles on it (that's right, FIVE THOUSAND), and the guy selling it offered $13.1K on a trade in for his GTI! This is unheard of. Jon's friend who works at a dealership here in the Cities said the most he could possibly give Jon was $10K. The MOST.The guy selling the R32 is a wholesaler, and is selling the car for a friend of his who is a slightly older, rather wealthy guy who just decided he didn't want it after all. So the thing is about as close to brand new as you can get, still has TONS of warranty coverage, is selling for peanuts compared to anywhere else we've seen (I wish I could remember what he said the price is. $29K or something)... and he is getting a better trade-in value than he could have ever hoped for!

So anyway, Jon will be leaving Lincoln bright and early tomorrow morning, arriving in Englewood sometime in the afternoon, and buying the car. (The seller also offered to pay for a night's hotel stay and at least one tank of gas for the drive back! Holy crap.) Looking at this all in writing, it is starting to sound almost TOO good to be true. I hope there are no problems. Of course, with the way I let my worrying get out of hand sometimes, I can't really even afford to start down that path of thoughts right now. (Jon knows how I worry, and he called once from Des Moines, and then again when he had entered Nebraska. And then he said Hi online when he got into his hotel with free wireless.)

ANYWAY, I am up past my bedtime yet AGAIN, and I have to have lunch with a bunch of the NBU managers tomorrow, so I don't want to be too groggy and tired. *yawn* (-o-)

Your Taste in Music:

80's Alternative: Highest Influence

90's Alternative: Highest Influence

Alternative Rock: Highest Influence

Classic Rock: Highest Influence

80's Pop: High Influence

80's Rock: High Influence

90's Pop: High Influence

Progressive Rock: High Influence

Punk: High Influence

Adult Alternative: Medium Influence

Old School Hip Hop: Medium Influence

R&B: Medium Influence

90's Rock: Low Influence

Dance: Low Influence

Interesting.... I guess the only thing that surprises me is how high 90s Pop rates with me! I guess it just got in my head whether I liked it or not back then.

Heh - I had ONE thing I wanted to do this weekend, one planned activity, and I didn't do it! That's ok though, I had a great weekend anyway.

The thing I had actually planned on doing was to go to the Japanese Garden in Como Park. I found it by accident, and then discovered that it's only a dollar to go, so Jon and I made plans to go on Sunday afternoon. Sunday came, and we ran a few errands (mostly just browsing at various fabric stores and talking and having a nice time together), and then we had a late lunch and went to Como Park. We followed all the signs that said "Japanese Garden" and then we just stopped seeing them! We drove all over the place, past the amusement park, past the zoo, past the conservatory, but we never found the Japanese Garden! It was ok though, because it was a beautiful day and a nice drive, so we finally gave up and decided to try again next weekend (weather permitting).

Speaking of weather, right now the entire TC area is under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, and it is AWESOME. Right before it started raining, I peeked out my office door to look down the hall out the big window, and it was DARK as NIGHT. Very confusing. I don't think I can remember ever seeing it SO dark outside during the early afternoon. But cool anyway.

I love a good storm. (Almost mis-typed "I live a good storm"... that would be a good saying too.)

I Live a Good Storm.

Where do you fall on the liberal - conservative political spectrum? (United States)
brought to you by Quizilla

I guess this is kind of accurate, although I would put myself a little further left on *certain* specific issues... but anyway, I guess I won't argue with this. I have self-identified as a Republican for almost 10 years now. This does NOT NOT NOT mean that I voted for Bush, or support everything he does or says, or even what the Republicans in Congress are doing right now. No. I am a Republican because I know what *I* believe Republicanism is SUPPOSED to stand for, even if "The Party" seems to have drifted too far away from that. And by "drifted", I mean they are being taken over by the religious nutcases. Grrrr. I just know that John McCain would be a great president, if only "The Party" would get out of his way. Sometimes I think Giuliani might be good, too... and sometimes I wonder if he is better for mayoring... But his political stance is good. All the moderate Republicans (and some good moderate Democrats) always seem to get shoved out of the running by all the Bleeding Hearts and Bible Thumpers. I'm kind of glad Barak Obama (sp?) won in Illinois though. That was a pleasant surprise. Maybe someday we moderate Americans will have more and better representation in higher offices......

I just ordered a pair of beginner's poi. I had been playing around with spinning long socks that had smaller socks balled up inside the ends (DON'T LAUGH!), and it's really not that hard, even for a clumsy girl like me! So I did some poking around on Home of Poi, and found some not-too-expensive but still decent cloth ones so I can start trying to get more serious about this. I went with a pair that have tails, so I can keep better track of where I am twisting my hands in the wrong directions or making mistakes, and they will also look more neat when I am doing it right!

For those of you who are wondering, the poi I am referring to is not the gooey purple starchy Hawaiian food made from smashed taro root. "Poi" is also the Maori (natives of New Zealand) word for "ball (on a cord)." They are twirled and spun in the hands, often lit on fire for an amazing performance.

Last year at Burning Man, I was very impressed with nicotinequeen's poi spinning (she even used fire!) I told her that I wished I could learn how to do it, but that I felt I was too clumsy and uncoordinated. She told me that anyone could do it, that she had only started doing it AFTER the previous year's Burning Man, and that it could actually help build coordination. I always remembered that, and even looked at the Home of Poi website a few times since then, but I never really bothered trying it with a beginner's set or even socks like I am doing right now. However, now that I have actually tried a few basic moves, I am seeing just how quickly I am able to learn, and how this could really help me get in better touch with my body and become at least a little more coordinated. (Plus, it's actually a nice little cardio workout! I never realized how it can get your heart pumping!)

So today I am being brave, I am doing something new and physically challenging, which is typically outside my comfort level. And right after I ordered the poi, I noticed that they are being shipped out of New Zealand! This might take a few weeks.... ;)

So I keep seeing these commercials for DIET Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, and while I'm not a huge soda drinker (or really one at all, for that matter), I am kind of curious to see what the REGULAR Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper tastes like. I cannot STAND diet ANYTHING (Aspartame, aka NutraSweet, and most other artificial sweeteners taste awful and make me sick). The only problem is, I only ever see commercials for the Diet version of this particular flavor. Would Dr. Pepper be foolish enough to only make a diet version of a great-sounding new flavor??

It turns out, they are only partially foolish. The REGULAR Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper is, according to the website, "available in select areas only." And those areas are Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, plus in select areas of Kansas, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, and Georgia. WTF?? They think only the South will enjoy this treat, while the rest of us deserve only CRAPPY DIET SODA???

This is sick I tell ya, sick.

Wow, when they told me things would move fast with this employment conversion, they weren't kidding! Now it seems that I will actually be moving into my new office on Thursday, and that day will mark my first day as a Veritas employee (direct employee, not contractor like I am now.) I know all of this is confusing - there's really no easy way to explain it, but trust me y'all, things are only getting better and better.

What kind of sucks is that we still have yet to find a receptionist, but that's not really my concern. Still, it sucks nonetheless. We interviewed several people that just weren't that good... apparently the employment agency we were using didn't want to send their "best" people over since we are not a "major" account of theirs anymore... and then we contacted a bunch of people that we found on Monster.com (good site - check it out if you are looking for work), but the only ones who responded were the ones at the bottom of our list, and now we have an ad in the paper, and are actually getting some promising resumes for once.

So I guess the plan is to just put a temp at the front desk initially and only do the basic stuff, and then keep interviewing people to cover the actual position until someone decent is hired, and until that happens, I don't know who is going to take over all the other stuff that needs to be done as far as New Hire paperwork and other databases that have to be managed from that position.... Maybe I will have to keep working on that stuff after I convert over, but I doubt I'll have time. It sounds like they are going to be keeping me pretty busy managing software licensing and all kinds of other stuff that I don't have time to go into right now. Anyway, I'll have a better idea of WHAT I'll be doing once I'm doing it, so maybe at that point I'll post a more informed update.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR FULL TIME WORK IN THE MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL AREA AND HAVE STRONG ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS, LET ME KNOW!!!

Color me Happy!! I just made my second Amber McMuffin with FRANK'S REDHOT!!!!!! From now on, this is the ONLY way.