it's bananas!

big thanks to zip for sending me this link - wow. fancy. maybe i should put in a request with my sisters to get one of these made for my wedding dress?

>> sock monkey dress

vote for us!

BuisnessWeek online is having a contest - vote for my company as your favorite place to play games online!

>> under "Not at Work" -> "Games" -> vote for Shockwave!

yay!

neat picture

my aunt sent me a link to some pictures of the town in alaska where my cousin is living right now (barrow, ak)... and this one was particularly neat so i'm sharing it with you.

i think that's a rib bone from a whale! i'm just guessing though.

t as in trouble rhymes with g as in gee we're screwed!

i wasn't going to blog again today but man i can't help it!

i just turned on the TV to numb my brain while i ate dinner (honey saffron chicken w/ corn, carrots & zucchini - leftovers from dinner that i made with my man last night... mmm!) and stumbled upon the emmy's, which i had no idea were on.

they were just starting and i had the absolute pleasure of watching conan o'brien do his opening bit -- which completely renewed my love for the man. i knew he ruled when i watched him 10 years ago bring out a human-in-an-ostrich costume during his late night show, that ran around the stage pooping presents out of his butt and ruining the chef's setup, who was in the middle of a cooking demonstration.

pooping ostrich aside, conan just did a hilarious musical number about how NBC was doomed, and TV was too. viewers numbers are down because of the internet, ads make no money because of TiVO and NBC is sucking because all its good shows ended and everything since then has bombed... ha! i love that the network let him sing it, and i love that he performed it so dang well. conan, you rule.

ok, then ellen pompeo came out to present an award, and was grabbing her ass the whole time. hello, get your dress tailored so you can walk in it, girlfriend!!

heh --now conan has bob newhart "trapped" in an air-tight container w/ exactly 3 hours worth of air, and a countdown clock -- in order to keep the emmy's from running over their alotted 3 hour time slot. awesome.

two commercial breaks later and conan brings out the segway-podium so winners can save time by riding it across the stage and doing their acceptance speech in motion...

and here i thought awards shows were dead! i mean, i can't say i'm impressed with who is actually winning (none of my favorites), but the in-between antics rock. sure beats watching star wars episode 2 on the next channel... or, say, doing some chores like i should be spending my time...

100% chocolate...

... tastes gross. don't try it. take our word. in fact, liken it to the experience of eating coffee grinds -- just because you like the drink, doesn't mean you like the source.

that said, we're going to use our 100% chocolate bar to make the worlds best hot chocolate!

oh it will be glorious!


vintage plantations 100% dark chocolate bar

things i don't understand

i don't understand...

... why we keep having lows in the 40's. isn't it august right now?
... why strawberries in california taste better now than they did in march
... why i seem to like the duck confit that conor made
... why my hair doesn't want to be curly now that it's only 6 inches short

another set of things i don't understand is related to a recent discovery that a colleague hates me. and i mean passionately. i mean, to the point where i think they probably have mean nicknames for me when i'm referred to among their friends (which actually isn't hard, since all you need to do is take the g out of my name and you get the word "mean").

i actually sensed it all along -- but for my sources to prove it to me once and for all just leaves me baffled. i guess i just don't totally understand...

... why.
... what triggered it
... why i keep thinking about it
... why it surprises me

it's less the shock value of this particular person that keeps the discovery replaying in my head, and rather the haunting thought that tons more people might be hiding passionate distaste for me, to my complete oblivion.

its a bit unsettling to meander through life thinking you're a relatively nice, likable, easy-going person -- only to find that you apparently made someone's skin crawl.

is it my problem for not noticing? or their problem for being uber-passive aggresive, and never telling me/bringing it to my attention? i would think that if we'd could address it appropriately, then maybe we'd both enjoy our jobs a little more. but i guess that would be too much to ask.

i kind of think that people who carry that much hate in their lives don't WANT to resolve issues -- they get pleasure out of finding a few people to despise. it's like, they're in love with the art of hating.

huh. that's a sad thought.
but clearly i can't do anything to help!
they'd probably spit in my eye.

i guess i'll just go back to being perplexed about trivial things like weather and the quality of produce. everything else seems to make sense in my life -- and i'm very lucky to have someone who loves me as unconditionally as my fiance does. so who cares about immature colleagues?

back to eating these deliciously perplexing strawberries!

taking flight x2

in two weeks from today, conor and i leave for montreal. TWO WEEKS!

and in four weeks from today, we leave for a new england visit -- i haven't been back to boston in over two years. TWO YEARS!

what does it look like? how cute is the apartment my sisters live in? how's my dear charles river? think i'll be able to snag a crew shell one morning? is the new media lab building done? what bars are hip in cambridge these days? how are all my friends doing? due to stops in nyc and connecticut, i only have 2 days to answer so many questions and see so many people! TWO DAYS!

man oh i can't wait to go vacationing. my friend is leaving for greece on saturday and i'm super jealous. another just went to london, and another is in amsterdam...

i definitely have the "need to get out of SF" bug.

thankfully i have two great trips to look forward to! TWO TRIPS!

yes, what ARE the armor of God pjs?

>> armor of god pjs

"inspired by ephesians 6:10-18"

cute. plush. silvery...

a little too tranny in style for such a christian concept, i would think... but maybe thats just because of the sparkly veil (and OK, maybe also because i live in san francisco and all things sparkly and veil-like make me think of the sisters of perpetual indulgence).

one important question, however:

why the lack of flammability information?

i'd hate for a child donning the armor of god to get caught in a house fire and have the words "truth" or "righteousness" melt onto their delicate skin... poor innocent child, cuddling up with his faith shield pillow...

the us consumer product safety commision probably wouldn't approve of this product info (or lack thereof)!

and why the strange smoke billowing out of the top of their website??

(ok i asked my co-worker that question and he said it's just the little-known <holyspirit> HTML tag)

snakes in a hoax

it was all a mean joke!

some poor little rattler was just underage and trying to sneak into his buddy's movie, where he had the starring role... there was no malice...

and he just got swept off in a tupperware bin instead.

i hope he was able to enjoy some popcorn before being escorted out.

>> snakes in a theater turns out to be a hoax

snakes in a theater

ok this is messed up... there is a huge difference between rubber or gummi snakes and REAL ones.

>> Live Rattlesnakes Released In 'Snakes On A Plane' Theater

oy.

challenging manhood

new time wasters for you!

first, make yourself a little "brawny" greeting, with the brawny man's "innocent escapes"... let him serenade you, or rub your toes, or... ew ok its kind of creepy. you have to take a peek:

>> brawny innocent escapes

second, my cuz sent me some funny budweiser radio commercials. i've linked my personal favorites here because there are too many to choose from...

these link to mp3's so pop on those headphones:

>> real men of genius: mr. fancy coffee shop coffee pourer

>> real men of genius: mr. company computer guy (the ruler of the RAM)

>> real men of genius: mr. way too proud of texas guy

>> real men of genius: mr. gangsta rapper posse member

>> real men of genius: mr. boneless buffalo wing inventor

>> real men of genius: mr. tiny thong bikini wearer

20 days and counting!

... 20 days until i run my stinkin' marathon!

all hopes of qualifying for boston are out the window as i feel like crapola when i run anymore... but dreams of finishing are still very real. dreams of finishing under 4 hours are also still very real... it's that 3:40 i just can't promise...

mapped the run this weekend, and elevation looks good - mostly flat with a downhill finish. all things seem to be in my favor except the dang heat.

c'mon montreal, cool down!
it's winter in SF... i'm not ready for your sun!

gummi snakes on cardboard planes

if you don't like snakes

-or-

you don't like genitalia being attacked by snakes

-or-

you don't like seeing dead people oozing with venom

-or-

you don't like laughing at all of the above

-then-

don't see snakes on a plane.

-but-

if you don't mind any of the above

-or-

you don't mind terrible dialog

-or-

you don't mind watching a movie that makes you want to drink excessively

-then-

by all means, check it out.

i mean, it was kinda funny. at least, the parts i could hear through the noise in the theater were... and it was definitely action packed (kapow!)... once you get past the snakes that do sneak-attacks in the airplane bathrooms... thats when the real fun begins.

heh.

well, our costumes turned out great... and the event on friday was a freakin' blast. my friends who put it on all got jumpsuits w/ their names embroidered on them, and that also said "grounds crew" -- and they walked around with glowing airport grounds crew sticks, directing us through the theater while we meager souls stumbled around looking for the room full of booze and bad movies that they promised us.

there were people dressed as cardboard planes, slutty stewardesses, real stewardesses (ahem, us), snakes, snake charmers, airline captains, you name it.

all during the movie, people threw rubber and/or gummi snakes on everyone else. i even came home with a fake tattoo of a cobra on my chest. great fun!

oh -- and we megans even won some (one-man) costume contest! in the eyes of some random dude, we apparently had the best outfits. he even gave us small bottles of whiskey as our prizes (which are still sitting unopened in the bottom of both our purses...).

cliff, your site impresses me

"When I was a small boy, I wanted to become a flight attendant."

so, tomorrow night, i'm attending the opening of the new movie, snakes on a plane. but it's not just any opening -- my friends are renting out an entire theater, hiring a bartender, and dressing up. it's what they do for any bad movie that opens up... (ok usually they just get drunk & dress up, but for snakes on a plane, they decided to go all out and make it a party).

in an effort to hone in on my outfit for the night, i found this site...

this dude from the netherlands has the most exhaustive collection of flight attendant uniforms that i think probably exists... in the world. his site is simply amazing. he has images of over 400 uniforms on it.

go on... click the link and check it out! because you know you're curious what SAS Scandinavian Airlines wore in the winter of 1971...

>> cliff's stewardess uniform collection site

sport beans

because inquiring minds want to know.



>> "the ideal portable power™"

mmmm

oh!

oh yeah! and i cut my hair!

flake-central!

man! what a flake i've been lately!

i washed my running shorts (my team uniform ones) not once, but TWICE with food/candy in the pockets... the first time i put a starburst in the back, that i got handed during my 1/2 marathon, and proceeded to forget about it.

ew pink strawberry goo.

the second time, i put some endurance jelly beans (green) in the front pocket (i prefer them to gels) and proceeded to forget about THEM... ew lime goo! i'm lucky i haven't ruined the shorts yet. yay conor my laundry savior for salvaging them.

then yesterday, i ran out the door to practice and grabbed the wrong keys. locked myself right out. i had to run to range afterwards to get conor's keys so i wouldn't freeze and starve after practice! to the rescue again...

today - i walked right out the door without my bank card or my MUNI pass. i had to sweet-talk my way on the train in the morning to get to work. i'm still not sure how i'm going to get home. i think i need to go hit up a co-worker for some change. ugh.

i've also had to charge all my food on my credit card today. i hate that!

what else? i feel like i've been flaking left and right. like the time on monday when i dropped mustard on my foot and then proceeded to later get that mustard on my hands and then rub it through my new hairdo while running a meeting. that was really slick. wow.

big company news!

wow - big last minute 9 am meeting today... i'll be working for MTV soon!

>> Viacom's MTV Networks Agrees to Acquire Atom Entertainment

lost hope

so, i have a few days still... but i'm mentally prepping myself for losing the food network contest. i will officially let go of the dream next tuesday, august 15th -- since that marks the "middle of the month" which is when i was told they'd have a winner picked. but... i need to mentally prepare now.

chances must be slim.
i can't imagine we have any hope to win.

as disappointed as i am to admit this, i think it's time that i come to peace with a loss...

i think it's better to ease my way into the idea that they don't ABSOLUTELY LOVE US (i know, hard to imagine! it's nonsensical) than be hit like a truck when they don't call us over the weekend. alas.

but don't worry. our wedding will still be cool! even if it's not in hawaii...

synchronized treadmills

this is awesome. makes me appreciate treadmills so much more...

>> OK GO on Treadmills

the ice-skating-esque walk they do just makes me giddy with glee!