A couple of weeks ago I heard an NPR piece that shocked me. NPR called the economic advisors of the top 2 contenders in each party--Democrats Clinton and Obama and Republicans McCain and Romney--and asked them what their candidate's first economic priority would be. Here's what they said:
Obama: fixing the economic slowdown and then health care reform
Clinton: passing a universal health care plan along with health care reform and then fixing the real estate market/economic slowdown
Romney: completing the free trade agreement and then making permanent the Bush tax cuts
McCain: bringing federal spending under control (no earmarks on bills) and then reforming entitlements (health care, social security)
Wow! I don't think it can be clearer than that. I don't understand how anyone, apart from the small percentage of millionaires out there, could vote Republican. It must be the scare/regligious tactics they use - gay marriage, abortion, etc.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
I Need to Get the Previous Post Off This Page ASAP
On that note, here goes...so my brother and I are planning a trip to NY. We've been working on this trip for a few years and we finally booked our tickets for mid-April. He even got us tickets to the Yankees vs. Red Sox game (he likes the Cowboys and Lakers too, but he's my bro so I gotta love him). We'll also check out the major sites and hopefully indulge in good food and drink. As I was trying to sort out our hotel, I found out that NY is RIDICULOUSLY expensive. You can't get a decent room with a private bathroom for under $250. And since this is NY, the rooms will probably be tiny. Fortunately our friends S and L will host us for a couple of nights and I was able to have my company travel agent use her connections to book us a room at half price for the rest of the nights.
I am in the process of getting my annual review at work. My boss is pretty happy with me so now I'm hoping for a good raise. So wish me luck! And if I don't get a good raise, I hope I have the courage to argue for a better one.
A while ago I made fun of my husband when I sent him to the store for cilantro and he came back with parsley. Well, it turns out that many people have trouble with the herb. Over the weekend I went to the store and bought some parsley. The guy at the register, Carlos, rang it up as cilantro. I didn't point out his mistake because the cilantro was on sale. Maybe since I grew up using only cilantro, I don't get the two confused since I know when I see cilantro and the other stuff is just parsley.
While I was at the store, I also bought some shrimp to make shrimp scampi. The guy behind the counter was extra flirty with me. Here's a highlight:
Fish Guy: How's you day going?
Me: Great, thanks, how about yours?
Fish Guy: It's better now that I'm helping you.
He then gave me a handful of cooked shrimp as a sample. It was sweet.
Our kittens are really into treats, especially Noodles, the orange three-legged munchkin. Getting treats from their daddy is part of their morning routine. We have some all-natural, pressed raw salmon pellets that are quite stinky but Noodles and Sluggo both love (we got them at Costco). Well, Noodles has figured out that if he picks up his treat and carries it over to where Sluggo is (sniffing his own treat) and growls a bit, Sluggo will get scared and leave his treat and Noodles will end up with both. The first time this happened we thought it was funny. Now we're a little worried. What other plans could he possibly be crafting in his little head?
As I write this post, I'm sitting next to my husband on the couch, while he plays xBox. Something scary happened in his video game because he just screamed and jumped. This happens often. He once spilt wine all over the computer keyboard because something scared him in the video game he was playing.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous this weekend (no snow). As a result, we had to spider-proof our house, or as best as we could.
I am in the process of getting my annual review at work. My boss is pretty happy with me so now I'm hoping for a good raise. So wish me luck! And if I don't get a good raise, I hope I have the courage to argue for a better one.
A while ago I made fun of my husband when I sent him to the store for cilantro and he came back with parsley. Well, it turns out that many people have trouble with the herb. Over the weekend I went to the store and bought some parsley. The guy at the register, Carlos, rang it up as cilantro. I didn't point out his mistake because the cilantro was on sale. Maybe since I grew up using only cilantro, I don't get the two confused since I know when I see cilantro and the other stuff is just parsley.
While I was at the store, I also bought some shrimp to make shrimp scampi. The guy behind the counter was extra flirty with me. Here's a highlight:
Fish Guy: How's you day going?
Me: Great, thanks, how about yours?
Fish Guy: It's better now that I'm helping you.
He then gave me a handful of cooked shrimp as a sample. It was sweet.
Our kittens are really into treats, especially Noodles, the orange three-legged munchkin. Getting treats from their daddy is part of their morning routine. We have some all-natural, pressed raw salmon pellets that are quite stinky but Noodles and Sluggo both love (we got them at Costco). Well, Noodles has figured out that if he picks up his treat and carries it over to where Sluggo is (sniffing his own treat) and growls a bit, Sluggo will get scared and leave his treat and Noodles will end up with both. The first time this happened we thought it was funny. Now we're a little worried. What other plans could he possibly be crafting in his little head?
As I write this post, I'm sitting next to my husband on the couch, while he plays xBox. Something scary happened in his video game because he just screamed and jumped. This happens often. He once spilt wine all over the computer keyboard because something scared him in the video game he was playing.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous this weekend (no snow). As a result, we had to spider-proof our house, or as best as we could.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Bummer
I think the Super Bowl was one of those games that could have gone either way. And unfortunately it didn’t go the way I had hoped. The Patriots have been on the other side of the score in previous games. Even this perfect regular season, there were a few games that they won by 3 points. Those are the games that can go either way and lend to the saying, “on any given Sunday…” This time the Patriots were unlucky and the Giants got lucky. I won’t take away Eli’s and other Giants players’ outstanding games. But anyone watching the game can’t deny that the football gods smiled on Eli as he kept the Giants alive when he escaped getting sacked and got off a 32 yard throw to Tyree, who held on to it using his hands and helmet as he got tackled. Amazing.
What I am most sad about is that the Patriots didn’t get the 19-0. They had the perfect season but not the Super Bowl ring to go along with it. My husband is most disappointed that they didn’t win the Super Bowl. But for me to have witnessed history at a time in my life when I really am excited about football and the Patriots would have been truly amazing. We watched every single Patriots game. We would often have to go to the local sports bar and sit as the lone Patriots fans in a room full of Steelers, Cowboys, and non-Patriots fans. I loved talking about football and would do so with anyone that would listen. My parents started following the Patriots because we were so excited about them.
Let’s not forget that the Patriots did go 18-0. No other team has done that. It’s probably hard to imagine what that really means unless you are there. As a soccer player, it’s often hard to keep my consistency and excitement for the game going from week to week, let alone that of my teammates. But football is so much more physically and mentally demanding. So whether you are a Patriots fan or not, you can’t deny this accomplishment and its magnitude. It will be a long 8 months before football starts up again. I can’t believe I just said that.
Update: Someone else said it much better than I did:
"Sports is one of the few areas of endeavor in which perfection can be measured. But achieving perfection is rare because it requires good fortune as well as skill and execution."
Update 2: Thank goodness for elections. Nothing like another competition to help ease the pain from the previous one.
What I am most sad about is that the Patriots didn’t get the 19-0. They had the perfect season but not the Super Bowl ring to go along with it. My husband is most disappointed that they didn’t win the Super Bowl. But for me to have witnessed history at a time in my life when I really am excited about football and the Patriots would have been truly amazing. We watched every single Patriots game. We would often have to go to the local sports bar and sit as the lone Patriots fans in a room full of Steelers, Cowboys, and non-Patriots fans. I loved talking about football and would do so with anyone that would listen. My parents started following the Patriots because we were so excited about them.
Let’s not forget that the Patriots did go 18-0. No other team has done that. It’s probably hard to imagine what that really means unless you are there. As a soccer player, it’s often hard to keep my consistency and excitement for the game going from week to week, let alone that of my teammates. But football is so much more physically and mentally demanding. So whether you are a Patriots fan or not, you can’t deny this accomplishment and its magnitude. It will be a long 8 months before football starts up again. I can’t believe I just said that.
Update: Someone else said it much better than I did:
"Sports is one of the few areas of endeavor in which perfection can be measured. But achieving perfection is rare because it requires good fortune as well as skill and execution."
Update 2: Thank goodness for elections. Nothing like another competition to help ease the pain from the previous one.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
More Random Thoughts
The statistics of Boston sports:
"No city, let alone Boston, has ever fielded a threesome in the most popular national team sports as dominant as the current Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics. The closest — fittingly — was New York from 1969 through 1970, when the Jets won Super Bowl III, the Mets won the 1969 World Series and the Knicks won the 1970 basketball title. But New York had multiple baseball and football teams, which Boston does not. That inspired Carl Morris, a statistics professor across the Charles River at Harvard, to calculate the chances of a monofranchised city having the three best teams in one year: about 1 in 29,000."
But they forgot about the Revolution, also owned by Bob Kraft (Patriot's owner) who got 2nd place last season. Second place is pretty good.
Last weekend we went to our local Irish bar in downtown to hang out with our Scottish ex-houseguest and some soccer friends. This is a typical Irish pub, dark, lots of wood, so-so pub food, good beer. But around 10 pm, they dimmed the lights, cranked the Justin Timberlake music and music videos, and started charging a cover. The crowd changed and it basically became a meat market. But the weirdest thing, was the pole dancers in the middle of the bar. There was a table (like the kind that you stand around at a bar) with a pole connecting it to the ceiling (hadn't noticed the pole before). The two ladies were wearing weird outfits (as pole dancers should), were terrible dancers, and had total muffin-top. They shouldn't have been up there. At one point during the night I noticed that the tv's were still showing Timberlake videos, and that the ladies pole dancing at the bar were wearing the same thing as the ladies in the Timberlake videos. Odd. I guess that's what you get in the suburbs.
So far this weekend has been a lot more mild. Had soccer practice (coaching) this morning and it was COLD! I am still working a lot with the goalies and they have been improving significantly. I feel accomplished.
I went shopping earlier to get supplies for our mini Super Bowl get together. A couple of the husband's cousins are coming over to cheer on the Patriots with us. Go Patriots!
I love Trader Joe's. I don't go there enough becuase it's in the WalMart shopping center. I usually make the rounds between Safeway, Whole Foods, and the Milk Pail (like a farmer's market, but stationary). I don't really want to add another store to my shopping list, but the good thing is that everything is within 1/2 mile of each other.
"No city, let alone Boston, has ever fielded a threesome in the most popular national team sports as dominant as the current Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics. The closest — fittingly — was New York from 1969 through 1970, when the Jets won Super Bowl III, the Mets won the 1969 World Series and the Knicks won the 1970 basketball title. But New York had multiple baseball and football teams, which Boston does not. That inspired Carl Morris, a statistics professor across the Charles River at Harvard, to calculate the chances of a monofranchised city having the three best teams in one year: about 1 in 29,000."
But they forgot about the Revolution, also owned by Bob Kraft (Patriot's owner) who got 2nd place last season. Second place is pretty good.
Last weekend we went to our local Irish bar in downtown to hang out with our Scottish ex-houseguest and some soccer friends. This is a typical Irish pub, dark, lots of wood, so-so pub food, good beer. But around 10 pm, they dimmed the lights, cranked the Justin Timberlake music and music videos, and started charging a cover. The crowd changed and it basically became a meat market. But the weirdest thing, was the pole dancers in the middle of the bar. There was a table (like the kind that you stand around at a bar) with a pole connecting it to the ceiling (hadn't noticed the pole before). The two ladies were wearing weird outfits (as pole dancers should), were terrible dancers, and had total muffin-top. They shouldn't have been up there. At one point during the night I noticed that the tv's were still showing Timberlake videos, and that the ladies pole dancing at the bar were wearing the same thing as the ladies in the Timberlake videos. Odd. I guess that's what you get in the suburbs.
So far this weekend has been a lot more mild. Had soccer practice (coaching) this morning and it was COLD! I am still working a lot with the goalies and they have been improving significantly. I feel accomplished.
I went shopping earlier to get supplies for our mini Super Bowl get together. A couple of the husband's cousins are coming over to cheer on the Patriots with us. Go Patriots!
I love Trader Joe's. I don't go there enough becuase it's in the WalMart shopping center. I usually make the rounds between Safeway, Whole Foods, and the Milk Pail (like a farmer's market, but stationary). I don't really want to add another store to my shopping list, but the good thing is that everything is within 1/2 mile of each other.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Rain, Rain, Don't Come Back
It rained here for about 1 week straight. We finally got sunny, but cold weather. I don't care if it keeps raining. I kind of like the rain since it's usually warmer when it's rainy. Last night was cold. We keep the heater thermostat at 50 F so it won't turn on (since it's so inefficient), but it turned on a few times during the night. Major and Sluggo snuggled themselves between the husband and me, trying to leech our warmth.
Monday night we had our indoor semi-final game and we lost. We were sure we were going to win and advance to the championship game later that night so we scheduled a party between games. Instead of it being a between-game charge-up, it was an end-of-season party. We lost pretty badly too - 8-3 (or something like that). After ending the season undefeated, it was sad to loose so badly to a team we had beaten before. But at least I scored!
I had posted previously that I did not think glamorous celebrations were appropriate in sports, especially in pro-football. I don't necessarily think they should be illegal, but I do have more respect for a player that scores a touchdown and then just hands the ball back to the ref and jogs off the field like it was nothing. When I score in soccer, I tend to jog back to midfield for the kick-off. However, Monday night we were down 5-1 when I scored and threw my hands up in celebration and relief. When I got back to midfield and my teammates cheered me, I threw my hands up again. So when Wes Welker and Randy Moss score their touchdowns this coming weekend, I will celebrate with them.
So my ribs feel much better. I finally took Advil and they felt better almost instantly. Imagine that. Advil, the miracle drug.
Sometimes people do things that don't make sense to me. I made invitations for a family friend's daughter's Quinceñera. I told them I would mail them out for her if she would give me a list of addresses. But she said she would hand deliver them so that I wouldn't have to wast money on stamps. What?! What about the money wasted on gas to drive all over town and the time (time is money!) it will take to hand deliver 50 invites. For me time is the critical thing and I would rather spend 41 cents to send something off and forget about it. You can always get more money but time runs out.
We are in the middle of re-watching HBO's Rome, season 2. That's a great show. We were bummed that it got canceled after only 2 seasons. One of the viewing options it to turn on notes that pop-up during the episode and give trivia on Roman life and history. They are very good. For example, did you know that Romans could keep ice for a few days in holes in the ground? It was obviously only something that very rich people could have. Pee was also saved and sold which aided in the treatment of animal hydes (I think it was the ammonia or something like that in the pee). Anyway, so I was looking for the Caesar's eulogy given by Mark Antony (it is referenced in the show), but all I find are Shakespeare's versions. I don't know how accurate that is. You know that famous Shakespearean line from Caesar's murder: "Et tu, Brute"? Well, it turns out that historians don't agree on whether or not Caesar spoke as he lay dying on the senate floor. Maybe I'll look up some Caesarian historian and see if I can get the eulogy from them.
You know how the stereotypical wife is usually exasperating her husband by constantly going out shoe and purse shopping? Well, for me it's house stuff. I'm always looking for stuff that will make our place more organized, especially our kitchen. I don't usually go crazy but I will admit that we could do without most of the kitchen toys we have. So when I recently gently suggested to my husband that he should stop buying video games, he came back with the thought that maybe I should stop buying house AND craft stuff. Damn! I probably have enough craft stuff to keep me going for a while, but I'll have to only daydream about getting an ice cream machine and some more, pretty kitchen towels.
Well, I've been working on this post long enough so I better just stop here. But I have a lot more thoughts and now I just need to find the time to get them on the blogosphere.
Monday night we had our indoor semi-final game and we lost. We were sure we were going to win and advance to the championship game later that night so we scheduled a party between games. Instead of it being a between-game charge-up, it was an end-of-season party. We lost pretty badly too - 8-3 (or something like that). After ending the season undefeated, it was sad to loose so badly to a team we had beaten before. But at least I scored!
I had posted previously that I did not think glamorous celebrations were appropriate in sports, especially in pro-football. I don't necessarily think they should be illegal, but I do have more respect for a player that scores a touchdown and then just hands the ball back to the ref and jogs off the field like it was nothing. When I score in soccer, I tend to jog back to midfield for the kick-off. However, Monday night we were down 5-1 when I scored and threw my hands up in celebration and relief. When I got back to midfield and my teammates cheered me, I threw my hands up again. So when Wes Welker and Randy Moss score their touchdowns this coming weekend, I will celebrate with them.
So my ribs feel much better. I finally took Advil and they felt better almost instantly. Imagine that. Advil, the miracle drug.
Sometimes people do things that don't make sense to me. I made invitations for a family friend's daughter's Quinceñera. I told them I would mail them out for her if she would give me a list of addresses. But she said she would hand deliver them so that I wouldn't have to wast money on stamps. What?! What about the money wasted on gas to drive all over town and the time (time is money!) it will take to hand deliver 50 invites. For me time is the critical thing and I would rather spend 41 cents to send something off and forget about it. You can always get more money but time runs out.
We are in the middle of re-watching HBO's Rome, season 2. That's a great show. We were bummed that it got canceled after only 2 seasons. One of the viewing options it to turn on notes that pop-up during the episode and give trivia on Roman life and history. They are very good. For example, did you know that Romans could keep ice for a few days in holes in the ground? It was obviously only something that very rich people could have. Pee was also saved and sold which aided in the treatment of animal hydes (I think it was the ammonia or something like that in the pee). Anyway, so I was looking for the Caesar's eulogy given by Mark Antony (it is referenced in the show), but all I find are Shakespeare's versions. I don't know how accurate that is. You know that famous Shakespearean line from Caesar's murder: "Et tu, Brute"? Well, it turns out that historians don't agree on whether or not Caesar spoke as he lay dying on the senate floor. Maybe I'll look up some Caesarian historian and see if I can get the eulogy from them.
You know how the stereotypical wife is usually exasperating her husband by constantly going out shoe and purse shopping? Well, for me it's house stuff. I'm always looking for stuff that will make our place more organized, especially our kitchen. I don't usually go crazy but I will admit that we could do without most of the kitchen toys we have. So when I recently gently suggested to my husband that he should stop buying video games, he came back with the thought that maybe I should stop buying house AND craft stuff. Damn! I probably have enough craft stuff to keep me going for a while, but I'll have to only daydream about getting an ice cream machine and some more, pretty kitchen towels.
Well, I've been working on this post long enough so I better just stop here. But I have a lot more thoughts and now I just need to find the time to get them on the blogosphere.
Monday, January 28, 2008
What?
There's a spy satellite that may contain hazardous materials that has fallen out of orbit and is heading towards impact with earth. They don't know where on the planet it might fall. Even with computers. What surprises me the most is that
"Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly."
Really? Where was I? I don't remember hearing about these. I do remember when Cassini went into orbit in the late 90's and there was a big uproar because the satellite contained plutonium (for power). It had a 1 in a million chance of falling back to earth (the chance of plutonium being released during takeoff was much greater) and yet everyone was freaking out. And now we've had a bunch of satellites that have fallen back to earth, and I didn't hear anything about them. I must have missed something.
"Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly."
Really? Where was I? I don't remember hearing about these. I do remember when Cassini went into orbit in the late 90's and there was a big uproar because the satellite contained plutonium (for power). It had a 1 in a million chance of falling back to earth (the chance of plutonium being released during takeoff was much greater) and yet everyone was freaking out. And now we've had a bunch of satellites that have fallen back to earth, and I didn't hear anything about them. I must have missed something.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Soccer (and Wine) Weekend
This past weekend I was at the Paso Robles soccer tournament with the spring tournament girls team I help coach. Paso Robles is in the central California coast, prime wine country (remember Sideways??). I tried to convince the husband to go with me so that we could go wine tasting, but he stayed home to work on his book (which is almost done!!!).
The girls did a great job. They came out strong and aggressive. The central California area does not have club soccer, only AYSO or recreational soccer. Club soccer is a lot more competitive and you have to tryout for a team and commit. While AYSO lasts a couple of months in the fall and everyone plays ½ the game, club soccer is year round and you have to be good otherwise you sit on the bench. So, without this club presence in the central coast area, the AYSO teams are very good. And our girls came out and played their hearts out..they won the first game 2-1 and lost the second two games 0-1. This is by far the best a team has done in this tournament.
Between games I went wine tasting. There are probably 100’s of wineries in the area, but I only had time to go to two: Sylvester and Firestone. When I was looking up wineries, Sylvester sounded interesting. It turned out to be a small winery with some great wine for the money. They had the best Zinfandel I’ve ever tasted, and it was only $9/bottle. I also got a sparkling white wine and another red. Firestone was a name I recognized. I’m sure I’ve tried the wine or at least seen the bottles at Costco. The tasting room was much bigger as was their attitude. The tasting fee was $5 and it was not waved with a purchase because I got a big wine glass with the Firestone logo on it. And, I was limited to trying 6 wines. I guess $5 is cheap compared to Napa, but I don’t want to pay to taste your wine, especially if I’m going to buy, and I don’t want a glass with the Firestone logo on it. As I went through my tasting, following their tasting menu guide, I skipped over a red (because I was driving and had soccer to coach later) and discovered a $60 bottle on their list called The Ambassador. I asked if I could try that, and after they confirmed that I had only tried 5 wines (remember my 6 tastes limit), they poured a tiny amount of wine into my glass – it was less than a gulp of wine. How pathetic.
In other soccer news, our indoor team finished in first place and so playoffs start next week. I played a coed outdoor game last week and got injured. I was always nervous about playing coed because of the guys, but in this game, the women played dirty. They often went for a body shot instead of going to the ball. During an attack, as I was running down the middle of the field, looking for a cross, the defender just ran into me from behind and I fell and skidded on the Astroturf. It was painful. In another case, a defender just ran into me and I heard cracking in my ribs. I know I didn’t fracture a rib because it’s not super painful, but it’s still quite sore (a week later!) and it hurts to stretch out or breath deeply. I guess I’ll just wait it out a few more days and hope it gets better. I’ll start taking some Advil and see if that helps.
The girls did a great job. They came out strong and aggressive. The central California area does not have club soccer, only AYSO or recreational soccer. Club soccer is a lot more competitive and you have to tryout for a team and commit. While AYSO lasts a couple of months in the fall and everyone plays ½ the game, club soccer is year round and you have to be good otherwise you sit on the bench. So, without this club presence in the central coast area, the AYSO teams are very good. And our girls came out and played their hearts out..they won the first game 2-1 and lost the second two games 0-1. This is by far the best a team has done in this tournament.
Between games I went wine tasting. There are probably 100’s of wineries in the area, but I only had time to go to two: Sylvester and Firestone. When I was looking up wineries, Sylvester sounded interesting. It turned out to be a small winery with some great wine for the money. They had the best Zinfandel I’ve ever tasted, and it was only $9/bottle. I also got a sparkling white wine and another red. Firestone was a name I recognized. I’m sure I’ve tried the wine or at least seen the bottles at Costco. The tasting room was much bigger as was their attitude. The tasting fee was $5 and it was not waved with a purchase because I got a big wine glass with the Firestone logo on it. And, I was limited to trying 6 wines. I guess $5 is cheap compared to Napa, but I don’t want to pay to taste your wine, especially if I’m going to buy, and I don’t want a glass with the Firestone logo on it. As I went through my tasting, following their tasting menu guide, I skipped over a red (because I was driving and had soccer to coach later) and discovered a $60 bottle on their list called The Ambassador. I asked if I could try that, and after they confirmed that I had only tried 5 wines (remember my 6 tastes limit), they poured a tiny amount of wine into my glass – it was less than a gulp of wine. How pathetic.
In other soccer news, our indoor team finished in first place and so playoffs start next week. I played a coed outdoor game last week and got injured. I was always nervous about playing coed because of the guys, but in this game, the women played dirty. They often went for a body shot instead of going to the ball. During an attack, as I was running down the middle of the field, looking for a cross, the defender just ran into me from behind and I fell and skidded on the Astroturf. It was painful. In another case, a defender just ran into me and I heard cracking in my ribs. I know I didn’t fracture a rib because it’s not super painful, but it’s still quite sore (a week later!) and it hurts to stretch out or breath deeply. I guess I’ll just wait it out a few more days and hope it gets better. I’ll start taking some Advil and see if that helps.
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