Heads Up!

Yesterday I spent about two hours on the phone with HP Customer Support regarding malfunctioning hardware in my new notebook. After updating software and continuously telling them the issue was hardware, not software, they agreed to ship me a new part.

Today I was home for lunch and heard the front gate buzz. Thinking that it was probably the delivery man with my new hardware, I buzzed him in the front gate. I walked to my front door, heard someone walking up the stairs, and all of a sudden saw a package flying at my face! The delivery man was too lazy to walk up all of the stairs and decided to throw it up a flight! I don't think that he knew I was standing in the doorway, but PUHLEASE!! Great customer service, FedEx.

Now to put my tech savvy engineering skills to work.

Graphic Tees

Are graphic tees becoming the new dress shirt for guys? I've been noticing an increase in guys going out wearing graphic tees while their female counterparts are all dressed up in fancy schmancy dresses. I'm not against graphic tees, but did I miss the memo?

My brother's friend, Sage, started his own graphic tee company about two years ago, but I had no idea...

Haunted

Skeptic or believer, be what you want, but I can honestly say that I am a believer in ghosts. As a child and through my high school years I had numerous unexplainable personal encounters.

Last Thursday night I was woken up to my television being turned on twice in the middle of the night. After turning it off, I was also woken up around 5 a.m. to the lights in my room turning on. Needless to say, I did not get too much sleep Thursday night.

Trust me, I've been running the options through my head - electrical shortage? imagination? a dream? a prank? sleep walking? What I do know is that I think my parents house is haunted and that I am still recovering from lack of sleep the last two nights I stayed with them.

My parents informed me yesterday that they are looking into the house being blessed. This may sound odd to some, but I guess everything is worth a shot. Would anyone like to throw in their two cents?

Bday Shouts 092808

I'm finally back in SF and wanted to give a couple of bday shouts to Liz Bo Biz, Mo*Lan, Jenn and Marina. Happy bday ladies!

An oldie but goodie, here's a pic from us at Carnaval in Cadiz, Espana. Liz is the one with the purple wig.


Hope you had an amazing bday, Monica!


Unfortunately I couldn't make it to Jenn's crazy night on Saturday, but I'm sure everyone was as sexy as always.
For Marina's bday, we started Friday night with dinner at Zocalo's and then off to Centro and GV Hurley's in Sac.

Woof!

My friend Hilary was telling me about an Oprah episode featuring dogs who knew how to count, add and multiply with their paws. She said that she looked at her dog, Monkey, and asked why he couldn't do that and what was wrong with him.

Hilary then revealed that she has been thinking about figuring out a way to get an assistant sight seeing dog. Yes she is perfectly capable, but she wants a dog to open the fridge and grab beers for her while she sits on the couch. I pointed out that you can see her fridge from the sofa and that it is probably 20 steps round trip from the sofa to the fridge and back. Without hesitation, she is still working on figuring out a way to get one for her dire needs.

Poor Monkey has no idea what he's up against.

Starbuckaroo's

I made my way to Starbucks this morning in an effort to get some work done. While sipping on my soy pumpkin spiced latte, a few things occurred/sprang to mind:

• Since when did Starbucks start charging for wireless connectivity?


• I love Fall because Starbucks brings back the pumpkin scone and pumpkin spiced latte


• Sacramento is a small town - running into people from all walks of life ranging from elementary to college


• BUSTED by my mom's secretary: "Your mom said you were going to be working today. Looks like you're enjoying some online shopping instead." Oops.


• I am addicted to shopping (in-store and online)


• If I'm excited to go to the bookstore for a couple of hours, does this make me a nerd?


• The economy SUCKS. Maybe I'll just lay out all day again instead of actually working and running errands. At least that would save me some $$.

Procrastination

According to Wikipedia:
Procrastination is a type of behavior which is characterized by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Psychologists often cite procrastination as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision. Psychology researchers also have three criteria they use to categorize procrastination. They believe that procrastination must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying.

For an individual, procrastination may result in stress, a sense of guilt, the loss of personal productivity, the creation of crisis and the disapproval of others for not fulfilling one's responsibilities or commitments.

Everyone procrastinates every now and then, right?

This week I made a short list of things that I needed to get done by Friday. While back in Sac, it's hard to get things done with distractions including friends, family, beautiful weather and the Fall TV line up.

Let's see... what did I do today? Dishes, went to the river, laid out in my inflatable pool, caught up with my grandma, checked in with old friends, finished reading a book and I'm about to go for a run. I think that I've had a pretty productive day, but I've also pushed off the tasks at hand.

As far as the Wikipedia definition goes, I am not feeling stressed, guilty, the loss of personal productivity or a sense of crisis. Wish me luck tomorrow!

Quotes from Lola

I could go on and on of funny things Lola says, but here are a few ones off the top of my head:

"Take it easy with the boys." (Her parting words on the phone. Completely unrelated to ANYTHING we talked about during our 15 minute convo).
"I'll pray for you to meet a nice young Catholic man."
"You're lucky. When I die, you get to have all my jewelry."
"That's for your collection." (She gave me a Barbie when I was 20 years old. I still to this day do not have a collection).
In my brother's bday card, "Sorry I ran out of money."
"This is my first french fry in one year." (Just saw her eating french fries one month ago).

My Parents

I heard my mom say to my dad this morning, "See you at salsa class, boy!" My parents met in college and recently celebrated their 30th Anniversary. Still in love, my parents are now enrolled in weekly salsa classes. I tried uploading a video of them dancing and showing off the "cool" turns they recently learned, but I think the file is too big.

Bday Shouts

September seems to be a busy bday month. I have a busy day ahead, but wanted to give a couple of shouts to the bdays:

Melissa - Sucks I can't be there to celebrate. Hope you have a rockin' karaoke bday party!

Brigid - glad we realized we both live in SF a year ago! Happy we became good friends.

Flooders - your name is self explanatory. Wish I could be there to celebrate with you too.
Jack and Kim - Happy bday and congrats on the engagement! Headed to the ranch shortly to celebrate w/ya'll.
Kristen - Happy bday. See you later tonight.
Katiebug - Happy 25! See you at dindin!
And this is only for this weekend. Looking forward to the celebrations next weekend for Jenn and Marina!

"Never Marry a Blonde"

Aside from Lola still "praying" for me, my mom taught me an insightful lesson today - never marry a blonde.

I don't recall what stemmed this convo, but I do know her rationalization behind the advice was that she doesn't want a redhead grandchild. After a couple of minutes chatting about why I shouldn't marry a blonde and the fact that she married a blonde, my mom changed her mind and very PC-ish said, "It's ok. I would love them no matter what."

Thanks, Mom! You know what they say, like mother like daughter. I bet she's praying for me too. :)

Farmer's Market

I took Lola to the Farmer's Market today in Sacramento. The crowd pretty much consisted of a bunch of retired people, but there was one pretty sweet old dude who I thought was wearing a Canadian tuxedo, but it actually ended up being long jean shorts with a jean colored t-shirt that read, "Bring the beer to me."

(In case you needed a visual of a Canadian tuxedo, see above).

Pray for a nice young man

I visited my grandma, Lola, today to catch up and spend a little one-on-one time. After realizing that I am in fact 25, not 23, she rubbed my back and told me that she would pray for me. Here's how the convo went:

Lola: "No, you're not 25. You're funny. You're still only 23."
Me: "No, I turned 25 in August, silly."
Lola: "Ooooh nooooo. I will pray for you."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Lola: "Here are some prayer books." (hands me three prayer books). "I will help pray for you to meet a nice young Catholic man."
Me: "I don't need to pray for that. If I were to pray, there are other things I should be worried about."
Lola: "It's ok. If you need help, just ask your mom. She used to date a lot of nice young men."

My mom's reaction to the convo:
Mom: "Hmm... well, they weren't all nice and they weren't all young. But I'll spare you the details. What Lola doesn't know won't kill her."

Classic.

Survey says: Miami's peeps are HOT

A recent Travel + Leisure survey revealed that Miami residents are amongst the best looking/hotest residents in the U.S. I visited Miami w/the UCLA high rollers back in May and do not exactly agree with the majority. Beautiful city and yes, there were some gorgeous women and men who knew how to shake it, but we also came across a bunch of characters. Time to start gettin jiggy wit it...

I loved Miami and would go back in a heart beat. Nothing like a vacation of just hanging out by the pool / ocean all day with amazing girlfriends and pomegrante margaritas.

Full article appears here: Miami is HOT.

I'm Pretty Popular

This week I'm planning on doing absolutely NOTHING and catching up with old friends. Sactown friends, if you would like some personal DWilly time, you may need to plan accordingly:

Monday - Tropic Thunder w/Hilary and Josh; froyo w/Marina after dinner w/the fam
Tuesday- Catch up w/Erin

Wed - Dinner w/brother and Christine; DREAM w/Marina to visit Jeena

Thurs - Becca's show in ModestoFriday - OPEN
Saturday - Katie's bday dinner at Dragonfly

Sunday - Katie's family bday brunch

Note to self: I also need to squeeze in some Rhi & Kiki, Joe, Brewskie, Jenn and Kristen time

Yuppity yup yup. I'm sure most of you have heard me say this multiple times, but heck... I can't help it if everyone loves me!!!

Saturday Night Live

Hilarious SNL skit of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PxJfaNgDoE

Sac*town to the Mac*town

Headed back to Sac for the weekend means that I get to hang out with a bunch of people who dress a little white trashy. This was a white trash bash, but I'm a little hesitant about going back since I normally am not around the best influencers.

i.e. putting babies in ice chests...

A Day of Rememberance

I don't think it's really appropriate to blog on a day like today. I personally still think that it's too soon to really hash into everything that happened on 9/11 and to cipher through the millions of photos.

Without sounding too cliche, take at least a minute today to remember.

Idiosyncracies

Think about it. We are all probably hidden closet freaks with little secrets that not many people know about. Mine just happen to be a little humorous.

Today at lunch I revealed the following about myself:

• I have an odd "fear" of pickles and dislike anything having to do with them (taste, smell, the word itself, etc.)
• I can't swallow pills
• I'm allergic to caffeine

Need I say more?

Meg, a newbie at work :) , put the whole thing into perspective by explaining to me in front of the rest of the team, "You're pretty easy-going for someone with so many issues." Nicely put, my friend... this coming from someone who dresses up like a ballerina in her spare time.

Just kidding. I couldn't have explained my "issues" any better.

Timber!!!!

On Sunday at the DMB concert in Berkeley, I was able to see first-hand the hippies on the side of the road supporting four activists up in a tree. After nearly two years (21 months to be exact), the "longest urban tree-sit in history" has finally come to an end.

The San Jose Mercury News tastefully describes the end of the long fight and tumultuous day: "But within hours, the crowd had dispersed. All that was left were logs, construction equipment, and one lonely redwood." Full article is available here.

You know what I have to say about all of the madness??
The estimated total for security and surveillance of the tree sitters was $1.5 million. Twenty bucks says this news is going to be all over the TV in SF for at least the next week. Oh joy!

Lipstick on a Pig

For the latest controversial statement in the presidential campaign, see below. FYI - this is about as political as I'm going to get...
What's the difference between the presidential campaign before and after the national political conventions? Lipstick.
The colorful cosmetic has become a political buzzword, thanks to Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's joke in her acceptance speech that lipstick is the only thing that separates a hockey mom like her from a pit bull.
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama told an audience Tuesday that GOP presidential nominee John McCain says he'll change Washington, but he's just like President Bush.
"You can put lipstick on a pig," he said to an outbreak of laughter, shouts and raucous applause from his audience, clearly drawing a connection to Palin's joke. "It's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still going to stink after eight years." Full article provided by the Associated Press.

Every night is Friday night

When I was at UCLA, here's how the weekly schedule normally panned out (feel free to pitch in if I've messed it up or forgotten a few days/places):

Monday - Margarita Mondays / pinnings / raids
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday @ Cabo Cantina or Pint night at Sepi's / raids
Wednesday - Can't remember (raids or date parties?)
Thursday - Frat night / party night
Friday - Recover from Thursday and go to Maloney's
Saturday - Boring night
Sunday - pint night at Maloney's

Living in SF is kind of like I never graduated from college. Haven't you heard that Thursday is the new Friday? Actually, in my opinion, every day except for Friday is the new Friday. :)

I told myself earlier in the week that I wouldn't go out until at least Thursday, probably Friday. However, Marissa is trying to convince me that I should go to Taco Tuesday tonight at Blue Light, but there's also Beach Chalet and Nick's Crispy Tacos! You can just see it in her eyes... T-R-O-U-B-L-E.


On the other hand, who can say no to two for ones of beer and tacos?!?!

With my MUNI pass gone and me trying to be good, I'll probably end up staying in for the night. Thoughts?

p.s. Mom and Dad, I really did study and learn a lot in college. At least I'm stable and have a job, right? :)

A Day of Beer

That's right. It's that time of year again... Oktoberfest is right around the corner. Last year I attended SF's Oktoberfest w/Kimbo Louie and had an amazing time. Day drinking, free beer from our friends, dancing, beernoculars and more, vaguely encapsulates most likely one of the most fun days / fests in SF during the year!

So get ready for a day or night of drinking beer, yelling "Prost!", and seeing men dressed up in leiderhosen.



For more information and to purchase your own ticket check out: http://www.oktoberfestbythebay.com/index.html

Chocolate

Andrea and I had a sudden craving for chocolate today in the office. After a few instant messages, we discovered that there was chocolate ice cream in the freezer upstairs. I'm now sitting at my desk eating chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup. Awwwwwesome.

Managing Up

I'm working on a PPT preso right now on how to Manage Up. Thought this cartoon added a little humor to the seriousness of the matter.

A couple of tips & tricks to help you out in your career courtesy of Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist:

• Know What Matters to Your Boss - If it's a high priority for your manager, it should be a high priority to you
• Prioritize - Your manager doesn't always know everything that's on your plate, so when they ask you to work on a project you don't have the bandwidth for - Don't just say NO - tell him/her what is on your plate and ask them what their priorities are so you can shift yours to align with theirs
• Talk Like Your Boss - Convey information to your manager in the way that s/he likes so that they're more likely to retain it
• Toot Your Own Horn - Let your manager know each time you achieve something s/he cares about
• Lunch with Your Boss - Find a common ground with your boss
• Seek New Responsibilities - Your manager will not only appreciate your foresight, but also your ability to do more than your job
• Be Curious - Read, listen and ask good questions
  

MUNI hates me

I "misplaced" my MUNI pass again today. If you ask me, the guy that was giving me weird looks on the bus probably pick pocketed the pass out of my back pocket.

Upside, you ask? I guess I'm forced to walk uphill back home every day after work for the next three weeks. Time to get my butt back into shape. Especially after the whole mono fiasco.

DMB Tonight

Tonight I'm going to the Greek Theatre in Berkeley with Margaret to attend what will most likely be an AMAZING Dave Matthew's Band concert.

Last weekend Margaret (a.k.a. Woogie) showed off her mad skillz with the ribbon dance. I'll be sure to bring a camera to capture the impromptu moments again.

Cab Ride with Buzz Brooks

The ride home last night leaving the Mission was an interesting one. Introducing the jazzy funky driver who swerved between cars and ran red lights. His signature look included red rimmed glasses and a spunky hat.

Oooooh San Francisco.

Lebowski Fest Tonight

My brother and his friends are in town to attend the Lebowski Fest in So. SF tonight. Apparently people pay $30 to dress up and go bowling for four hours. If I could, I would dress up like this guy:


Did I mention I went to bowling camp for two weeks in 7th grade? I'd kick some butt!

Doctors are Clueless too

Went to a doctor today to get a second opinion about being sick. She completely refuted everything the first doctor said and now I'm even more confused.

Time for a third opinion?

Second Time Around is a Charm?

Britney Spears will be performing at the VMAs again for the second year in a row. Fingers crossed for an actual comeback this year. Fingers crossed that we see this....

and not this:

First Post - w00t!!