Wednesday, September 26, 2007

ok, with rin asking me if i'm ever going to blog about this topic (i just flipped my phone closed about a minute ago with her), here goes:

rin is pregos!!!

yesh, that's right. another baby is on the way. we found out last monday, but it was confirmed this week. she's 5 weeks along now. so that's it in a nutshell, a cracked nutshell that is...

Thursday, September 20, 2007

the paper bag lunch. remember that? mom packing a sandwich, chips and cookies into a crisp brown bag. i always had a peanut butter and jelly (preferably raspberry). i looked forward to the crunchy cheetos too. the puffy were for wussies.

heading out the door, my mom would hand off the packed goodness, but i always complained about how we only got 2 cookies. i suppose that is the recommended serving size, but don't you usually eat them by the rail? oreos were the preferred choice, but sometimes we got chips ahoy! or fig newtons (again, preferred raspberry).

so shoving the lunch into my backpack i walked to school with my sister and older brother. my little feet could barely keep up with his. i had to practically run to stay in step with him. as soon as we got through those school doors, he ditched us and went to see his friends.

i got to class and already looked at the clock, watching the seconds click down to that beloved period of lunch. each tick seemed like an eternity. each subject passed with another subject hot on the heels until that time came. dig back into the backpack, grab my now messed up bag with my name drawn on with a sharpie. line up next to the door and single filed out to the lunch room. then the trading began.

a twinkie for a cupcake. my cookies for yours. this for that. capri-sun for a chocolate milk. back and forth until everyone was satisfied with their newly found lunches (i can honestly say that i never traded my lunch). after eating, i would throw away my trash. my brown paper bag became recycled. i fold my now used and crumply brown paper bag in thirds and put it back into my backpack only to be reused the next day.

have times really changed though? i mean, sure, i don't "trade" lunches. i pack my own lunch (wouldn't that be weird if my mom still did?). also, instead of the cookies and chips, it's cheese and almonds. usually a v8 or a tuna fish sandwich. and now, it's a white paper bag...

Monday, September 17, 2007

this afternoon, i went outside to finish tying up the last of the loose wisteria vines that have been have been hanging around on the pergola. they are almost all touching, so hopefully by the middle of next summer, the whole pergola will be covered and a natural shade will be over my patio. as i worked my way from one side to the other, i found a little bug catcher hanging out on one of the cross pieces.

i was attracted to the markings and size of this cat face spider. it was about the size of a silver dollar and the abdomen was about the size of a nickel. it was huge (although i have seen some bigger in the yard). after i took some shots, i went inside and showed rin the images. she was kinda startled and then asked "did you kill it?" i am under strict orders to kill any of the eight legged freaks that inhabit our backyard. rin does not like any of the arachnid species.

"uh, no. it's the last one."

her reply? "i want you to kill it. i don't care if it is the last spider on earth."

it is still out back...awaiting its fate.

Friday, September 14, 2007

on huckleberries, dfo put forth the question on his "the way we were" segment:

"do you have a yesteryear photo you'd like to share with the hbo crowd? "

well, here is a pic of me from yesteryear. i know, i know. i liked to eat. ask momma. i still do. go ahead and take the potshots. i've got thick skin (thanks to gary, jeff, matt, etc.). i have a project that i would like to get started on. my mind has been working on this, but i gotta get a bunch of my old photos that mom and dad took whilst i was growing up. sort of a digital scrapbook, but also want to put a real one together. once i get started on it (and get it finished), i'll have it on my flickr page. be looking for it.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

apparently, it is pretty difficult to understand how to commute by bicycle. god bless wikihow.
why is myspace so freakin' popular? yesh, it does have its uses, but also it has its downsides. here's why i (not really) love and hate myspace:

[pros]
1. staying in touch / finding old friends. uber-rad!
2. finding music: undiscovered bands, indie, underground, so on and so forth. area 33 on sirius plays so many djs that only put out digital music. i can go find them and relisten to certain tracks (if possible) and get them later on.
3. being able to send a quick bulletin to the masses.

[cons]
1. haxors. can't stand it!
2. all the jr. / high school games. grow up already.
3. profiles that bog down ram. c'mon. it's a profile, not a scrapbook of html and css.
4. people that think myspace is life.

ok, now this is just a quick short list of the ever popular site, but there is more to life than myspace. really. seriously. no lie. go find out for yourself. and don't go around asking all your myspace friends if this true or not.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007


summer is over. by calendar wisdom, summer isn't officially over until around september 23 but by our accounts, summer is over.

our hibiscus are finally blooming. there are at least 50 plus buds waiting to crack and let out that gorgeous flower. yesh, hibiscus is my favorite flower. i've been waiting all summer to see these blooms and they sure didn't disappoint.

rin's parents left this morning to go back to india for the next 10 months. they've been here for the summer and that is another reason summer is out. they arrived with the beginning of the warm season and left at the end. they fly from seattle to detroit and into amsterdam. then into new delhi and then bagdogra.

yesh, summer is over. now time for fall clean-up...

Friday, September 07, 2007

"this last statistic blew my mind: in the US of all the music releases in 2006, 32% were digital-only releases. they weren't released on a cd. live concerts, independents. look how far we've come. a third of the music released in this country was digital only."

Monday, September 03, 2007

yesterday we went to the town of st. maries for the annual paul bunyan days festival. on sunday night, there is an incredible fireworks display that puts even disneyland to shame.

when we pulled into "downtown", we parked and walked about a block to where the majority of people were. rides were being ridden and tickets were being bought. we walked down to the old football field and laid our blankets down to reserve our spots and then went on the hunt for some dinner. corndogs and nachos (supreme mind you. the biggest nachos i have ever eaten) were consumed only to be washed down with mountain dew and diet pepsi.

afterwards, we walked around and talked, watching and listening. we decided to get some waters and go back down to our spots to just hang out.

soon it got dark and the carnies turned the lights on their monstrous thrilling machines. the clock continued to tick down the minutes until the firework display began. i roamed around the grounds and shot off some frames. i looked at my watch and the time was drawing near. i headed back down to reclaim my spot next to rin and waited with the rest. a lone rocket fired into the air whilst star spangled banner was sung. a half hour of explosions and flickered lights teased our senses and the finale was something to be seen. simply amazing...

click here for more images.


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