Mr. E

Mystery. A subject that I can not escape. A friend of mine recently talked to me about mystery and it got me thinking. What is so great about mystery? When I think of mystery I think of mystery meat (you know, the unnamed substance in cafeteria food). Other people think of that mysterious woman, novels and movies. Another friend of mine used mystery to her advantage. I always remember her telling me that the only way to get a guy is to be mysterious. That approach never really worked for me. Partially because I talk way too much. I can never hold my feelings back, part of being a Leo I presume.

So here are my thoughts on the subject. A person is only mysterious when you don't know them. As we all know, the best part of a mystery is solving it. To solve the mystery of a person all you would be required to do is to get to know them or google them (which ever works best I suppose). There you go, mystery solved. If what you prefer is mystery then you can never have something substantial. And when it comes to relationships, you can (excuse the language please) fuck mystery but you can't make love to it. You can talk to mystery but you can't communicate with it. You can touch mystery but you can't hold it.

I am a huge fan of the TV show ED. TBS plays re-runs of the show at 9 a.m. At this point a new character has been introduced. Dennis Martino is the new principal at Stuckyville High. No one in the town knows anything about this new mysterious person. Dennis is rude to all of the teachers including Carol Vessey (one of the main characters). Ed (the main character ... obviously) spends an entire episode trying to be mysterious like Dennis (he fails miserably). Carol, insists on revealing the true Dennis Martino. In fact, she becomes obsessed with it. So what does she do? She makes out with him, starts a relationship with him, and uncovers the mystery of him. She does all of this only to find that the man behind the mystery is not as intriguing as the mystery itself. Why? Because Dennis really wasn't mysterious at all. He was a man hiding his past and delaying his future. The point? Well, anyone can be mysterious if they really want to. All you have to do is stop being yourself. Where's the fun in that?

The Cookie

Why is it that whenever you decide to place yourself on a "health" diet you crave things you wouldn't necessarily eat on an average day? For months I have been eating what I consider to be normal meals. To lose a little extra weight I decided to cut some of the carbs out of my diet (chips, crackers, chocolate, etc.). Now that is all I can think about. I actually skipped out on half of my dinner just to eat chocolate chip cookies.

Am I really that weak? I know that it is all in my head, yet, I still can't control the urge. I've come to a resolution. Throw the damn things away. If they aren't around then I won't eat them. Right? So perhaps that solves the cookie problem. Then there are the other carbs. Everything I love has carbs. Even though I am not a vegetarian, I do have a problem eating most meat after reading some choice books (Diet for a New America and Fastfood Nation) I enjoy eating bread, vegetables and some fruits ... all of which contain carbs. The point being, what do you replace your carbs with? To start I would replace chips with fruit ... I miss out on the fat but there is still the lingering problem of carbs and calories. Not every snack can consist of nuts! (The kind you eat ... not the other.)

So what does that leave me with? Salads for the rest of my life? Carbs are a natural substance which the human body craves to make energy. I work out at least 3 times a week plus I strength train. Without my carbs I would be a walking mass of anger. Even though celebs such as Jennifer Aniston claim that diets like The Zone are a way of life, I can't find way to make them work. Most are too complicated and require measuring ounces of food. You must have x ounces of protein in this meal. Don't go over x ounces of carbs in that meal. Who has the time?

Until I can figure it out ... anyone have milk?

Done.

This past weekend was exhasting and that's putting it lightly. For those of you who don't know, Phil is a HUGE Nascar fan. Since I work for a newspaper I was able to snag some garage passes for the entire weekend (consisting of Friday thru Sunday).

Those of you who know me (and you should if you're reading this blog) already know that I am not a big sports person in general. I do share a love of fast cars, but primarily those that I can purchase. Okay, I can't lie. I do hold a little bit of excitement for the sport and yes, I do have a favorite driver (Driver of the #9 Dodge – Kasey Kahne). However, an entire weekend dedicated to 4 a.m. wake-up calls and long days in the sun is not in my enjoyment DNA.

The upside ... I was able to meet and have my picture taken with Kasey.
Isn't he cute ;)

I was also able to meet the Grand Marshall for the event. None other than Larry the Cable Guy.

Get 'er done!
By this point my make-up evaporated off of my face and my hair took on a life of its very own.

No actual journalism took place here. Although we did enjoy the free food and drinks.

The San Francisco Treat

Ah, finally another blog post. I know it has been a while. Hopefully I will get some comments this time around!!!

Well, lets try to put a week into a blog. To start, my Uncle Tim (and a cousin I had never met before) suprised me with a visit this past Wednesday (June 22). He was staying in San Francisco so I ventured down there to help him with his site-seeing. Unfortunately, Alcatraz was sold out so we had to wing our day. Denny (my cousin) seemed to be down for anything and so was Tim. We started with the Aquarium of the Bay. This particular aquarium gets its acclaim (if an aquarium can get acclaim) from being under the bay, offering its guests a true view of the San Francisco Bay. Alas, there was no view of the true Bay. No bodies afloat here, just your average aquarium ... that costs $13.00 per person to enter. Yes, I am sorry to say that if you would like the ultimate experience of the Bay you will have to jump in yourself. No admission required.

Dennis still managed to have fun ...

Onward through our day. From there we took the MUNI to downtown San Fran and walked down Market Street. Then off to the orignial cable cars! We stood in line for what seemed like hours to ride the original cars of our past. Dennis managed to get an outside standing position while Tim and I were forced to stand on the inside of this extremely small contraption. The ride was semi pleasant until the car started uphill. (For those of you who have never travelled to this fair city, the hills are a bitch to ride or walk up, especially if you are holding on for dear life.) Half way through our 3 dollar ride across town, the car broke so we decided to get out and walk since the rest of the trip was down hill. Luckily, it stopped right in front of Lombard St.! So we took a walk down the world's most crooked st. Something I thought I would never get a chance to do (parking is horrible in that area).


Lombard in all of its glory.

We walked all the way back to Fisherman's Wharf from there only to receive a $30 parking fee (for 5 hours of parking!).


Me, Tim and Dennis with Alcatraz in the background.

The best part of the day was going to see the Golden Gate Bridge. All of the buidings in San Francisco are remarkable, but the Golden Gate bridge is an architectual masterpiece. We started at the bottom and actually walked up to the bridge ...

Dennis and I in front of a tunnel leading to the bridge. Look I'm actually taller than the opening!!!

Taken from the bottom of the trail up to the bridge.

The walk was long and hard but worth it!
All in all the day was great. Spending time with my Uncle and Dennis was really great for me. I do not get to see my extended family often and this was a step in the right direction (as far as keeping in touch, etc.). I'm glad to have met Dennis. He is a wonderful kid ... I'm still not sure exactly how we are related but we are cousins to some degree.

The downside to this excursion: After our day, I dropped the two off at their hotel in Japantown so they could get in their rental car and get off to the airport to catch their flight to Australia. While we were sight-seeing, someone broke into their vehicle and stole $4,000 worth of electronics.

The reason I am telling you this: The hotel knew it had a problem with people breaking into rental cars and no one told them about this before they packed their things into the car. Someone from the front desk could have warned them, but no one did. Their things were packed neatly and were not left in the open. Their car was also only 4 spots away from Security. So please, if you do travel and need to leave your things in a safe spot while out and about (and you had to check out that day) a reasonable hotel will keep your belongings behind the front desk for safe keeping. (Once your belongings enter a parking garage or parking lot, the hotel waives all responsibility.) This way, if something does happen, you can hold someone accountable!

That's it for now ... I'll finish the week up a little later ;)

A ... By any other name

So, I work at a small newspaper. I have an assistant named Linda, who hates me. There are a few reasons she hates me:

1. I'm her boss and 25.
2. She's 50.
3. I'm her boss and 25.

Today at work, I received a phone call from one of our advertisers whom I have worked with for almost 3 years. I answered the extention as usual "Hello, this is Laura how can I help you?" The advertiser (who shall remain nameless) quickly told me who she was and what she wanted. I helped her with her advertisement and as we were hanging up she said, "Thank you Linda." Then she hung up.

Thank you Linda??? What the? Linda? Um, hello! My name is Laura! Remember me, the person who designs your ads and makes sure that they are properly placed within the paper every f-ing week. The person who made sure that you stopped flashing your "how are you doing" at every person at the last big Chamber event (she was a little drunk). Uhhhh!

The beginning

I've begun posting blogs here mainly due to my friend Alyson ... but Myspace's lack of cooperation was also a big player in the move to this site. I'm not feeling very bloggy tonight, but I can not figure out how to update my profile ... I think the first blog is required, you know, like an initiation (without the alcohol and nude olympics). In any event, I just returned from Florida and was immediately thrown into work. Since I've come home I found out that my Amanda is leaving the great (I am being sarcastic, I promise ... not about her leaving mind you, just the word "great") state of California for the sunny (yah, again) state of Florida. I will miss having her so close!!! We only took advantage of it twice! *A note on sunny Florida. I grew up there. Lived in some small town in Florida for 21 years. You would think that I would be prepared for it to rain almost the entire time I was there. I wasn't. The worst part, I wanted to see a good thunderstorm. I haven't gotten one of those since we lived in Oklahoma (almost 3 years now). It made me sad.

Back on to news worthy topics. My friend Travis is getting married in a week. I am praying for him. That's all I'm saying about that. Mikey is getting his life back together and I have never been more proud of him. He's been through a lot and I think he is handling himself very well. It was great to see Mike, Alyson and Tom. As I've gotten older, I have learned a lot about friendship. I wish I had held on to all of my friendships a little tighter back in the days of MCHS. I guess that learning the "hard way" sometimes may be the only way. I won't let another 7 years (almost 8) come between us again. At least I won't if you won't.


Me, Mikey and Alyson

Mikey, Me, Alyson, Tom and Jennifer out to eat. Did someone say creamy?

Alright, I am completely blogged out. Until next time!