Puck U & the Skates You Came In On

I am my own secretary

2009-01-10T16:03:00.000-05:00

I recently made an appointment with someone for work. When I called, I called the individual's secretary and said "This is Sylvia [insert real name here]. I am calling in reference to your email to set a phone meeting with [insert person I am scheduling with here]." She kept referring to me in the third person, which I thought was weird, but whatever. At the end of the conversation, I asked if I should call him or if he would call me. She said she or his assistant would send an email confirming and would indicate that in the email. She asked if she should send the email to me or Sylvia. I said, "I am Sylvia. I don't have a secretary." She seemed flustered for a few seconds and then told me "Well you are doing a good job." Made me laugh. I may not have a secretary, but at least, I fill in well for one.

Warning - TMI - Read at your own risk!

2009-01-08T18:02:00.002-05:00

So I am late - about 2 months late. And if you don't know what I am late for, maybe you shouldn't read farther.

I don't think I can be pregnant since Phollower has been "fixed". And I am not the most regular kind of gal, so I am not too worried, but all the same, I phoned the MD office. They told me I do not need to see the doctor until I am at least 3 months late, but to take a pregnancy test just to set my mind at ease.

So off Phollower and I go to the local CVS to buy a test. I was not going alone. And I figured CVS would be quickest, less store to walk through and run into someone I know. I prefer to post these kinds of personal details on the internet.

When we cash out, the guy running the cash register says "Good luck!" Just struck us funny! I guess at CVS you learn to say "Good luck!" rather than "Hope it's positive!" when someone buys a pregnancy test.

Those were a LONG 2 minutes, but it was definitely negative.

Hancock

2008-12-27T23:43:00.000-05:00

Phollower, Kaaarrrl, and I watched this when he was visiting. I thought it was an AWESOME movie, as good as Iron Man. Phollower thought it was ok. And I think Kaaarrrl feel in the middle.

Me [after the movie ended]: That was a great movie. We should buy it so we can watch it again and again. It is up there with my favorite movies.

Kaaarrrl: Yes, Lord of the Rings, Casablanca, Hancock.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T09:00:00.002-05:00

Here is our Christmas card photo.

What we really wanted to put on them was "Celebrating the holiday doggie-style!"

Incidentally, if anyone (Tysgirl) knows how to make it so the dogs don't have white eyes, we'd love to know.

Grocery Shopping with Kaaarrrl

2008-12-23T10:23:00.003-05:00

We had to stop at the store for a few groceries yesterday. Kaaarrrl and I were going in to the store and we had 6 things to get. Since there were so few things to get, we decided to just remember the list, rather than writing it out.

Me: So we need sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, beer, and oats.

Kaaarrrl: Ok, so I got oats and chocolate chips. Hey Phollower, do you want more eggnog?

Phollower: Yes.

Me: Ok so now we need sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, beer, my prescription, eggnog and oats.

Kaaarrrl: Ok, so I got eggnog and beer.

I am laughing hysterically that he changed what he had from a few minutes ago

Phollower: You guys aren't going to remember any of this and you'll bring 3 6-packs of beer and 2 bags of chocolate chips home.

Kaaarrrl

2008-12-20T19:50:00.003-05:00

My brother, Kaaarrrl, is visiting this week. So there won't be too much from me this week, EXCEPT on Christmas. I put that up weeks ago. :) Have a great holiday!

Also, check out Nate's new photo blog. Tysgirl, you'd like it - there are lots of aquarium photos (mine and Shedd).

Christmas cookies

2008-12-18T13:15:00.002-05:00

Phollower and I were going over the list of supplies for our Christmas cookies this year. I am going to make a new cookies which is a chocolate dough and has a peanut butter cup in the center (like a peanut butter blossom).

Me: We need 36 mini peanut butter cups.
Phollower: Peanut butter cups?
Me: Yes for the new cookies.
Phollower: I thought maybe you meant peanut butter chips and said the wrong thing. Peanut butter cups seems to be a complete treat already - just unwrap and eat.

I tell you - that man has no cookie creativity! But I guarantee he will LOVE the cookies.

The Girl Effect

2008-12-15T20:42:00.003-05:00

A friend sent me a link to this project. I think it sends a strong and persuasive message about how to change the world. In case you want it, here is the link to the actual website which has more info and the video runs more smoothly from there.

Strictly Verboten

2008-12-08T21:02:00.003-05:00

I keep my car keys in a particular drawer. I never put them anywhere else. That way, when I need them, I don't have to search for them. If they are not in the drawer, I know that you know who was using them. A few weeks ago....

Me (looking in the "key" drawer): Honey, do you know where my car keys are?

Phollower: Yes, they are in my jacket pocket, which I realize is strictly verboten.

I started laughing so hard, I just couldn't stay mad at him.

Facebook

2008-12-06T10:35:00.003-05:00

I made the plunge and joined Facebook about a week or so ago. I know I was the last person in the U.S. to join besides my Dad, so this is not exciting news. However, if any of you are on Facebook and would like to be friends, send me an email. I am not good at searching for people. Half the time, I can't even find people I know are on Facebook. If you are wondering if Phollower is going to join, here is your answer:

Me: You want to join, admit it.

Phollower: I don't know. I kind of do, but I don't want it to be a place I don't check regularly.

Me: You'll check it enough.

Phollower (using a sad, dejectd voice): I sent you 16 pieces of flair, a hug, and a sticker. I threw a snowball at you and a tossed a frisbee to you and you didn't reply. You didn't even kick the hacky-sack back.

Anatomy

2008-12-04T22:08:00.003-05:00

I heard a story from a colleague the other day that was about a student in one of her classes many, many years ago.

She was teaching oral anatomy. He had labeled the "uvula" (the little thing that hangs down in the back of your throat) as the "clitoris" on his exam.

She responded on his exam by saying, "I think you are confused."

Phollower, who was there for this story, responded by miming like he was sticking his two fingers into someone's mouth saying "trust me, you're going to like this!"

New Coral

2008-11-30T11:00:00.002-05:00

Phollower and I got 2 new coral for the tank this weekend. One is a second sea whip. We got one in July. Here is a picture of the two of them together. The first one looked just like the new one when we got it. It is amazing all the little tentacles it has grown. There is a picture here of the first one when we got it.

We also got a fragment of Ricordia mushroom coral. It is really beautiful. They had a second fragment, and I am so tempted to go and get it.

Hockey Fight

2008-11-28T10:25:00.002-05:00

On Wed. night, the Sabres played Boston (and beat them!). During the game, one of the bigger Sabres guys (Andrew Peters) got into a fight with a big guy on Boston's team. The Sabres color analyst (Harry Neale) said "the last time two things that big tangled, the result was Secretariat." Just struck us funny. We hate when Peters fights (or plays actually). He sucks. He always gets his ass kicked.

As long as I am advertising products

2008-11-26T21:53:00.000-05:00

Phollower and I took a trip to Trader Joe's for my birthday and found two new products that I love. Both of these are, of course, Trader Joe's brand.

One is Dead Sea Salt Caramels. The caramel is really buttery and creamy. The chocolate is thick. And there are pieces of sea salt on top, for that great chocolate and salt taste. As Phollower said, it is as if Zoe went to the chocolate shop and said, "You know what these need? Bacon. No? How about salt?" (Zoe has not met a food she would not "improve" with salt or bacon (or both).)

The other is apple cranberry butter. I really like the Trader Joe's, 0% fat greek yogurt (plain, blueberry, and pomegranate). They were out of the pomegranate, and since we drive over 1 hour one-way to get there, I asked one of the clerks if they had anymore in the back. They did not. But he said to buy the plain and mix this apple cranberry butter into it. He did not lead me astray. It is tart and yummy and low in calories (20 for 1 Tbsp).

Of course, all Trader Joe's brand products are awesome. But if you have a Trader Joe's nearby, I recommend giving these two a try, in addition to your usual fare.

GOOOOAL! (Revisited) and some donuts

2008-11-23T23:28:00.004-05:00

First, I got a second goal tonight at hockey! As Phollower pointed out, that means I have more goals than Max Afinogenov of the Sabres this season.

Second, after hockey we went to BadunkaDunkin Donuts. The people who work there are so amazingly stupid. They always get our order wrong. We were in the drive-thru today, and we asked what donuts they had left. The guy started listing things, very slowly. We asked if there were any white cream donuts. He said no. He also told us there was only one chocolate frosted one. When we ordered two cups of coffee (one large with 2 sugar and 1 cream and one medium with 2 cream and 1 sugar), he kept thinking we were changing the coffee order, not ordering two cups of coffee. Finally, we decided to go in since he seemed so confused. There were a whole tray of white cream donuts and another one of chocolate frosted. These are kids who were supposedly educated in a very nice suburb, supposedly great schools.

I thought Zoe or I had posted about the last time we went there, but I could not find it. So, sorry if this is a repeat. Zoe, BP, Phollower, and I stopped there for coffee and donuts one evening. We asked at the drive-thru what donuts they had left. We told them we wanted a dozen donuts and to make sure to include a list of 4 donuts, but they could add any of the other donuts except 2 specific kinds. I can't recall the exact kinds we wanted or didn't but the basic request was to make a dozen with 4 kinds to include for sure, 2 to not include. As we drove away, we opened the box. It was full of the 2 kinds we did not want and none of the 4 we did. We went back, told them the problem, and pulled around. They handed us more donuts. Guess what? Same problem. So we tried to explain again. We ended up yelling into the window what we wanted as they pulled them off the shelf. Then we asked if we could have some napkins. Keep in mind, we had 4 people in the car. The kid at the window gave us 2 napkins. By the end, we were laughing our asses off.

One for the girls...

2008-11-22T21:14:00.004-05:00

I went to Chicago for a conference this weekend. It was good, but we spent a little time shopping at the HUGE Macy's there when we had a bit of free time from the conference. I really love that place. They have a WHOLE FLOOR of shoes!!!

I tried these Michael Kors boots on, just for fun (look at the price, yikes!). They were too tight on the calf - by a lot. I have fat calves, due to hockey (and ice cream).

I also looked at these shoes in brown. They were on a good sale, but they didn't have them in my size.

So I settled on a pair of black, pin-striped Michael Kors pants. I love Michael Kors, but this is my first clothing item designed by him. I can't find a picture at Macy's of the pants I bought, but trust me, they are really cute.

Voices by Ursula LeGuin

2008-11-20T23:29:00.000-05:00

This was a really interesting book. It is in the "fantasy" and "young adult" fiction genres. It is about a young girl, born during an occupation of her country. She is conceived as a result of a rape, by the occupiers of her mother, who is dead by the time the story starts. The main story is about dealing with the occupation, learning about the occupiers through her eyes, learning tolerance. But what I liked was the story of the girl, finding herself and finding out who she was. It dealt with the importance of stories and history, and the role of reading/writing in society. It was a pretty quick read, and held my interest throughout. I would definitely recommend it if you like that kind of fiction.

Ummmm......really? And something cute.

2008-11-17T23:26:00.003-05:00

Donovan McNabb, QB for the Eagles, really didn't know football games could end in a tie??? WTF?

And now for the cuteness - when I was there tonight, almost 19,000 people were watching:

For Tysgirl

2008-11-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

Tysgirl has been asking for an update on the tank, so here it is. Notice all the purple coraline algea growing on the back of the tank. That has really taken off in the last 2 months.

Our anemone split in half about a month or month and 1/2 ago. It is natural for it to reproduce in that fashion. However, we are not sure if the new anemone will make it. The "fish guy" at our local aquarium said sometimes when they split, each side doesn't get 1/2 of the important internal organs. So we'll have to see. It just moved to the front so I could get a picture of it. Here it is with Zeus:Everyone else is doing well I think. We have new snails and hermit crabs. Here is a nasarrius snail and a blue-legged hermit crab:

Both shrimp are carrying eggs. I couldn't get a picture that showed them. They carry them near their belly in their swimmers. Here is a picture of one of the shrimp (bit of the second below it):

Hera (pictured below in Rose with a turbo snail in the shot too) is doing fine too, as is the Midas Blenny, Squiggy. No picture of him though. He swims so fast. I swear he knows what a camera is.

And my pretty little Marty is still cute, cute, cute. I know this is a little blurry, but it was the closest shot of him I got.

I wanted to get a picture or video of this worm that grew, but I can't get it to show up. Maybe Phollower or Nate can do better. It grew out of the sand a few months ago and continues to get bigger. It has two openings in the sand, and it sends out these long, thin arms to find food. The worms are actually some of the neatest, most beautiful organisms in the tank - and they came "free" (imputed) on the live rock.

Go Blue States

2008-11-05T18:46:00.001-05:00

Our state went BLUE, first time since the 1960's. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!

The Happening....not really happening

2008-11-01T18:40:00.002-04:00

Zoe, BP, Phollower, and I watch a scary movie each Halloween. In the past, we have watched some great ones, including Hitchcock's Rear Window and Psycho. This year we chose to watch The Happening. Notice I don't even link to it. You don't want to check it out. This is the movie with Mark Walberg about tons of people killing themselves in response to a mysterious natural event. Not only is the movie not scary (and that is saying something coming from me since I am a wimp), but it is absurd. Believe me, I am not giving anything important out here when I say that the "toxin" is supposed to be made by plants and carried on the wind. But whenever the plants are sending it out, the wind picks up suddenly. When did plants start controlling the wind? I am willing to suspend a fair bit of disbelief when watching movies, but this one pushed me too far. I could go on and on about all of the idiotic plot twists, none of which made sense, but why torture you too. Lucky for you, you can learn from the 4 of us and not have to watch this crappy movie.

More Politics

2008-10-28T21:24:00.002-04:00

I know you are tired of hearing about Obama, but it is almost over - one more week and I will either be crying in joy or crying myself to sleep and considering moving to Canada.

Obama is going to be on The Daily Show on Wednesday, 10/28. Here is a link with some video of an interview. I am not sure if Obama was on the show earlier and these are replay or if Comedy Central posted the interview early.

Vote for Change, but vote early

2008-10-23T22:03:00.002-04:00

I was making calls today for the Obama campaign, encouraging people in the state I live in to vote early. In my state, they are predicting several hour long waits at the polls on Election Day. In fact, I have heard of people waiting an hour at early voting sites already. The Obama campaign officials in my town are afraid he will lose voters when they can't wait for hours to cast their vote.

So the point of this long-winded, PSA is to vote early if you can, especially if you are planning to vote for Obama. If you are not voting for him, I recommend waiting until Election Day. Yeah...you betcha!

Another Funny Movie Story

2008-10-15T22:54:00.001-04:00

In my earlier post, I referred to another funny movie story. I know all two of you readers have been waiting on pins and needles, so here it is.

Back in 1995, I went to see Apollo 13 with some friends. Toward the end of the movie, someone around us said something about the astronauts getting back. My friend says, under his breath, "Oh great! Now they ruined the ending!"

We all cracked up. I probably have only laughed that hard at a handful of movies, and not usually at stuff that was supposed to be funny, like the blimp scene in The Mummy Returns. That movie made me laugh until I cried!

Opening Night for the NHL

2008-10-10T23:09:00.001-04:00

Before the first game last night for the NHL, Versus showed had footage of a "party" the NHL was throwing for Red Wings fans in Detroit. The feature artists were Def Leppard (and yes, that is the correct spelling). You read correctly, Def Leppard. There are tons, dare I say hundreds, of great bands who are currently making music, and the NHL gets Def Leppard. I heard they have a new album, but I mean bands making good music right now. I really don't think the NHL officials get it.

Since Versus had the only games on at 7 and 10, we had to watch Versus. That is usually an unpleasant experience, but tonight it was especially unpleasant. I would post some footage from youtube from the "performance" but it was so terrible I'd hate to put anyone through watching it. Don't get me wrong. I liked Def Leppard back in the late 80s, but now I am more into music with more complex melodies and with more than 3 lines of lyrics. The lead singer looked horrible. I think he has been eating and doing drugs nonstop since Def Leppard stopped being popular (actually that may have been what he was doing when they were popular). He sounded horrible.

At one point, two of the Red Wings players showed up on stage with the Stanley Cup, riding on a motorcycle. One of them lifted the Cup up, kissed it, and handed it to the lead singer of Def Leppard, Joe Elliott. He took the Cup, kissed it, and placed on a table upside down. The NHL player ran over and righted it. What an ASS Joe Elliott is. Why should his fat ass get to kiss (or touch) the Cup? Could he not even found out how to handle the Cup ahead of time? I am pretty sure it was not a surprise visit.

All in all, it was a black mark on what should have been one of the best days of the hockey season.

Politics, politics, politics

2008-10-09T20:01:00.004-04:00

Another one sent to me from Scarecrow:

PBS has an online poll posted asking if Sarah Palin is qualified.

The poll will be reported on PBS and picked up by mainstream media.

It can influence undecided voters in swing states.

Click on the link and vote yourself.

Because Scarecrow requested it....

2008-10-08T22:35:00.007-04:00

The other day my Dad and I were talking on the phone. He was planning to rent a movie, but he said all the movies he had seen recently were crap. So he was torn about what movie to get - maybe one about Queen Elizabeth (I think Elizabeth: The Golden Age) or one about the rule of Cromwell in England (which I can not recall the name of).

Here is how the conversation went from there.

Dad:...continuing on the topic of the Cromwell movie..."I wonder if they will deal with what he and [some guy I never heard of] did to [can't recall who]. They really screwed them."

(Edit: He said "I wonder if they would deal with Cromwell's invasion of Ireland. He really screwed them.")

Me: "Phollower and I are thinking of watching Iron Man on our new TV."

Dad: "An iron man competition?"

Me: "No the movie Iron Man"

Dad: "Oh I thought you meant that iron man competition or the world's strongest man competition."

Me: "No it is a movie about the comic book character, Iron Man."

Dad: "You are watching movies about comic books? Good thing you're 12 years of college education isn't going to waste."

(Edit: He said that he said, "I am glad I worked and sweated to pay for 12 years of college so you could sit around and watch cartoons." But he's old, so who's memory are you going to trust?)

Yup....good thing - that new TV rules! And by the way, we have not been able to rent Iron Man, so don't ruin it for me. And those of you who watched that Cromwell movie better not say anything either, just in case he hasn't seen it yet. Wouldn't want you to blow the ending or anything!

....which reminds me of another funny movie story.....

Lions, Tigers,....

2008-10-06T21:00:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine sent me a link to a story about a lion kill, live on webcam, in Africa. It was pretty awesome. The story linked to a BBC show called Big Cat Live. I can't get the live webcams to work right now, but the webcam highlights and the show bits did. Pretty neat show. On the highlights tonight, there were lion cubs and then lots of roaring male lions. Check it out and let me know what you think.

The NHL hockey season has started

2008-10-04T18:26:00.001-04:00

....insert happy dance here....

I am way overly excited about the start of the season, as usual.

That is all.

Ani DiFranco

2008-10-01T20:15:00.003-04:00

Ani DiFranco has a new album out. I just saw she is on Sirius Satellite radio, channel 33, at 3 PM this week. So just two days left. Sorry - I just saw it!

For those of you who don't know of her, she is a singer songwriter from Buffalo, NY. She is all Indie, has her own record label, and pretty much rules. I tried to get a youtube video and could not find one I love. So I had to settle for one of a song I love.

Craig Ferguson on Suspending the Campaign

2008-09-28T12:22:00.002-04:00

Phollower and I LOVE Craig Ferguson. We think he is a riot. Lately he has been discussing the election quite a bit in his monologues and he is absolutely on the money (in my opinion). Here is a bit from his monologue after McCain suggested the "campaign be suspended." It is absolutely fantastic. If you don't have time to watch the whole 2 minutes, start about 1 minute in where it really picks up.

GOOOOAL!

2008-09-21T23:45:00.003-04:00

I scored a goal during my hockey game tonight! I average about 1 per year, so it is a big deal. And this is the first one during a regular game I think (rather than during a scrimmage). Everyone on both teams was cheering for me.

Communication Breakdown

2008-09-16T22:55:00.003-04:00

Phollower, Zoe, and I just finished our NHL hockey draft for our fantasy teams. For those of you involved in the "pick em" league Phollower and I run, this was a different league. Don't worry that info will be coming to you via email soon. If you are not in that league and want to be, email me.

Anyway, we were drafting with some people in Buffalo, including my brother, Kaaarrrl. We usually use "gmail chat" to communicate. This year, Kaaarrrl got really saavy and made an online spreadsheet document in gmail which could be updated online. Very cool. It worked awesome.

Anyway, Zoe was sitting next to me. We both had the gmail doc open. I had a chat window open to "talk" to my brother. Zoe asked if she should initiate a chat session with me so she could send me her picks. I told her she could just tell me verbally since we were in the same room. That's me, crazy low-tech girl!

Cleaning the Closets

2008-09-13T10:10:00.000-04:00

Ok...you got me. I was not actually cleaning. I was looking for something. I could swear I still had my Madonna Desperate Seeking Susan jacket from the 80s. You may be wondering to yourself why I was looking for it. Well, Phollower and I are going to a college tradition in these parts wherein you show up to the bars early (like 7 AM) to start drinking in honor of a home football game.

And you go in costume. If you are wondering why I have/had something like this jacket, you know where you can go.

And if you are wondering why we are going to be involved in this undergraduate tradition, I really don't know. One moment of insanity and a lifetime of keeping to my obligations is my best answer.

Anywho...I did not find said jacket. However, I did find the following:
a copy of my undergraduate thesis, along with a large packet of notes for preparation of said thesis (threw out)
a diary from 5th grade (saved this)
my yearbooks from junior and senior years (saved these)
textbooks from undergraduate (donating)
my first baby doll, covered in mold (threw out)

Nicer things I found included: love letters to Phollower from me and to me from Phollower from when we dating and our wedding centerpiece.

Sadly, I found the old wedding favor and program from my friend's first wedding. His wife, a wonderful woman, died shortly after of leukemia.

But the best thing I found was all my favorite books from when I was a kid. I had been saving them for my nieces and nephew but I forgot about them. Maybe they will still want some of them. Maybe Zoe will want some for her and BPs little one.

:ok

2008-09-09T20:30:00.003-04:00

For those of you who are waiting to hear the review of True Blood, I am giving it another couple of weeks. Right now, I am not impressed. It seems very reminiscent of the Twilight series.

Instead of a real review, I have a funny story about my Dad to tell, which coincidentally fits with the running theme of "all things butts" here at my blog.

Text message from my Dad: "Colon all ok"
This leads me to believe I have forgotten that something was amiss about his colon. Usually, I am not one to forget cancer scares.
Me back: "Were we expecting something else?"
Dad back to me: "Nope, just routine check. Keeping you updated."

One the one hand, I am glad to have such an open relationship with my Dad. I would worry if I thought that he might not be ok. But on the other hand, I kind of think, "no news is good news" on issues of colons, breasts, and pap smears. Keep that in mind if you are thinking you need to report in. I am assuming you are ok until I hear otherwise.

I told Phollower, BP, and Zoe about the exchange (of course). This led to the usual stupid jokes (of course), which I can not help but share with you - since we are all so crazy funny! :)

Phollower: You should tell him that I checked, and your colon is ok too.
[Then imagine the sound of little, perverted wheels turning.]
Phollower: He could have just typed ":ok"
Zoe: How long would you have stared at that wondering what the face meant.
BP: It's a surprised guy with an open mouth in a bow tie, like the look on your Dad's face when he was getting his colon checked.
[BP then made the face.]
BP: Wow, your Dad has his own emoticon!

So there you have it, Dad. If you are still reading my blog, I am sure you regret it now.

OOOO....More Vampires!

2008-09-04T20:55:00.002-04:00

Sorry I have been scarce lately. Work has been busy with the start of the semester. Things are so crazy this time of year!

But I had to post about this new show on HBO, Trueblood. It looks so cool. I HOPE HOPE HOPE it is as good as it looks. It starts on Sunday so I will fill you in after I watch the first episode.

Google Searches

2008-08-26T22:33:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I had that post a while back about "DP" and I knew it would lead to some unsavory google search points to this blog, but I was not expecting this...

"double penetration husband brother"

Yes, according to google analytics someone searched for that.

And I am really unsure what else to say about that.

To Bear or Not to Bear....

2008-08-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

I have been working on this one for a while. Tysgirl helped me get up the courage to post it. I think this has been a hard post to put out there since I am afraid of what people will say. In short, this is a serious post, but I'll try to keep it as short as I can. I know Zoe doesn't like long posts.

I really don't want kids. To be honest, I don't hate kids. I adore my nieces and nephew. I just don't think I want a child living with me full-time.

I have been thinking about the fact that I don't want any children lately. I don't know if it is because of the number of people I know who are having/planning to have babies or something else. Zoe, my best friend in real life, is planning to start a family soon. Tysgirl is pregnant. Lainey-J, one of my close friends, just had her second child. Almost all the women I know have children. I am definitely in the child-bearing age bracket. Maybe this is my version of the clock ticking.

I feel pretty conflicted about not wanting kids, not conflicted about the choice not to have kids, but conflicted about what that says about me. Lots of women are really surprised, almost off-put, when I say I don't want kids. When I was younger, I used to lie or just not comment since the reactions I got to saying I didn't want kids were so negative.

Part of me thinks that maybe there is something fundamentally wrong with me that I don't want my own kids. Is this some kind of sign of the inability to connect with people or something? Am I completely selfish? Is this decision of mine because I did not have a good relationship with my mom and I don't want to take that role? Part of me worries about what will happen to me when I am old. Will I be completely alone? But it strikes me as a terrible choice to have a child so when you are older, the child will feel indebted to spend time with you. Part of me feels like I am wasting something. I think could have a child (although honestly I never tried). So many women want one and can't have one or have problems. I almost feel ungrateful for not using my physical capabilities (and those of you who play hockey with me know I do not have many physical capabilities).

I know, in the end, that knowing myself well enough to know I do not want kids is good. And not giving in to societal pressure is important. I think my decision is a valid one, which should be as supported in society as having kids. But I sometimes wonder if there are other women like me not wanting kids but not wanting to say it either.

Cool FREE music site

2008-08-19T23:11:00.003-04:00

This site has tons of live songs performed by cool, lesser known bands (and some better known ones). All free downloads, directly into iTunes. So easy.

Check out the music from Big Head Todd and the Monsters, one of my favorite bands.

They also have Ingrid Michaelson who has a beautiful voice. I think some of the songs on the site were on Grey's Anatomy.

Some other notables:
Vampire Weekend
Death Cab for Cutie
The National
Cold War Kids
Of Montreal
Andrew Byrd

Funny Things Heard While Camping

2008-08-17T17:00:00.001-04:00

Phollower and I were camping this weekend. We had a great time, and I had the opportunity to hear some funny things from kids. I love the crazy stuff they say.

I was walking past one of the campsites and heard the family sitting down to breakfast. They had just made some on the open stove. For those of you who do not camp, eggs made over an open flame often have kind of a brown cooked part on the edges, not quite burned, but you get the idea. One of the kids being served asked "Is there mud on them?" His grandfather explained they were "camp eggs." Good to have a fancy name, rather than "Nope they're just kind of burned."

By far the funniest thing I heard, happened on the way to the bathroom. The campsite had pit toilets. Again, for the non-camper, these are non-flush toilets over pits dug in the earth, like an outhouse with several toilets all feeding into one pit. It is not a gross as it seems. Point being, the toilets hover over deepish pits which you can see into when you look through the toilet seat (which I try to do as little as possible). A little boy was coming out of the women's bathroom with his mom. He looked right at me and said, proudly, "I just went poop." I said "That's very good." Then he told me, "It went really far down." I told him "I am glad to hear that." And, to be honest, I was glad to hear the poop was gone from the bathroom.

The Kindness of Strangers

2008-08-13T21:42:00.002-04:00

I have been meaning to tell this story from our Colorado vacation and kept forgetting. For some reason, it nagged at the back of mind for my entire business trip this week. What would Freud say about that?

My family is pretty serious about recycling. While we were staying at yurts, cabins, etc. in Colorado, we kept our recyclables separate from our garbage. Since none of the places we stayed had recycling bins, we had to find the little recycling centers in the small towns we went through. Our final stop was Colorado Springs which is a fairly large town. We could not find a recycling center. I think they probably have curbside recycling, so no center for drop-off like smaller Western towns do. Anyway, we still looked, starting with "soccer moms" walking the street and houses which looked like nicer residential areas first. My father thought we'd have better luck with someone like that.

After driving around and asking people for about 30-45 minutes, we ended up back on the outskirts of the main downtown area and saw a couple who looked to be in their late 50s walking their dog. From their expensive hiking-type clothes (like from Columbia sportwear or something from REI), we had a feeling they were into recycling. My brother, Kaaarrrl, careens to a halt by the curb close to them. My father opens his window and asks them where the nearest recycling center is. They don't know of one. But they start asking how much recycling we have. We show them. They offer to take it home to their house and put it in their recycling bin. So they ended up carrying our recycling, about 3 bags of plastic and cans, back to their house. How nice is that? Very freaking nice! So I guess I felt I had to tell them thank you, cosmically of course, since I am certain they don't read this blog.

They may need more donations

2008-08-07T22:41:00.000-04:00

So as those of you who read Zoe's blog know, she and BP are planning to start their family this fall. YEAH Zoe and BP!! But of course, since nothing is sacred in our little circle of friends.....

Phollower: You may go through a lot of sperm.
Zoe: Well you can only try once per month.
Me: Can't you have it on hand, like in the freezer, in case you want to try again a day later, just to maximize the ovulation period?
Phollower (making hand motions like he is squirting something on his neck): But then BP would just be using the extra to go for the money shot.

Breaking Dawn by Stepenie Meyer

2008-08-04T22:36:00.003-04:00

It was awesome! Those of you not wanting to start the series, knowing that in the 4th book, the author could do something bone-headed, need not worry. It is not like the 7th book of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. All I can say is to dive in and go for it. And when you are finished, email me (SylviatheSU@gmail.com) to tell me what you think and what you think will happen to the characters now. Not giving anything away, but I could see 2 more books, not sequels really, just two more stories about the same characters as possibilities. I can't wait to hear what you guys think.

And, the audiobook is out on Friday for those who prefer to listen.

The Twelve-Year-Old Girl in Me

2008-07-31T18:59:00.003-04:00

The fourth book in the Twilight series is coming out on Saturday. I am so excited, I can barely sit still. And EVERYONE around me knows about it! Those of you who read this blog have seen my inept and gushing reviews of the first 3 books, so I am sure you are groaning now. I even took a day off last week and spent about 1/2 of the day reading Stephenie Meyer's (the author's) website and blogs about the books and the movie (coming out 12-12-08). This type of excitement is much like how I felt the first time Zoe, B.P., Phollower, and I went to see Melissa Ferrick. She came out after the concert to sign CDs, shirts, etc. We waited for her, talked to her, and then returned to the car (where Phollower waited) giggling like school girls. In the car on the way home we rehashed what she said, what we said, what happened. Phollower told us we were acting like 12-year-old girls, a comment I (we) have heard many times since then.

Phollower does not mean it in a negative way. He thinks it is cute that I act like that. I have to agree that acting like a 12-year-old girl is alright. To the best of my recollection, as a teenager, I never acted like a teenager. I was pretty serious kid, worried a lot, and never felt comfortable with myself. While I may not always be comfortable with myself now, I do feel comfortable being excited about stuff, showing I am excited. I think part of my comfort comes with the security of knowing, as an adult, the stuff I am excited about will happen. Those things are in my control. But I also know having a husband like Phollower who is so into being happy and relaxed and who is so accepting has gone a long way to helping me be comfortable with showing how I feel on the outside. Spending (wasting) a 1/2 day reading about a fictional book is an indulgence I would never have allowed myself, before Phollower. Finally, I know having great friends who share their emotions with me and who are comfortable with themselves has taught me not to be ashamed of my emotions. So thanks to those of you closest to me, you will all have to endure at least one more post about Twilight (after I read the book, no spoilers of course!)....well maybe 2 depending on how the movie is.

I hope all of you looking forward to the book get some sleep before Saturday!

Liz Phair

2008-07-26T23:23:00.003-04:00

Exile in Guyville came out remastered this summer with a DVD about people involved in inspiring and making the album. Left of Center on Sirius has been playing a pretty cool special with Liz Phair about the album, her writing of the album, the aftermath of its popularity, etc. I really love Liz Phair's old music, and this album. Here is my favorite song (for the lyrics, so I chose a link with the lyrics). THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

Feather Star

2008-07-18T15:18:00.004-04:00

We added to the aquarium this week. This is a movie I took of our new feather star. Hopefully it is not too "Cloverfield"-ish. We named her Fern. She is in the starfish family but clearly a different kind of animal. I hope she lives. I have read that they are hard to care for. I am not sure if it comes across in the video, but she is a really beautiful animal.

We also got a new coral. I think it is a sea whip. It is in the gorgonian family of coral. It is really neat. It has lots of little feathery polyps along its sides (which you can not see in the picture). We'd like to get a few more to add to it so we have a gorgonian forest (kind of), but we want to make sure it will do well in the tank first. Here is a picture:

Here is a picture of fern in case you can't see her well in the video:

Everyone's fantasy???

2008-07-14T22:21:00.002-04:00

Yes, we are back from Buffalo. While there, Phollower, Kaaarrrl (my brother), MrsOz (my sister), and her husband spent a few days on some land my Dad owns. It was a nice time. Here is one of the conversations which occurred while we were sitting around a campfire. Don't ask - I don't recall how this conversation started. I think MrsOz brought it up out of nowhere.

MrsOz: I think double penetration is secretly everyone's fantasy.
Me: Ummm...no I would bet not. Do you know what that is?
MrsOz: Yes.
Me: Ok, what is it?

For this part of the conversation, she acted like I was an idiot for asking her to explain this concept. But the rest of you I imagine can see why I did.

MrsOz: Well you have two guys at once.
Me: Yes, but where do you have the two guys?
MrsOz: Well you have the regular place and then there is only one other place really.
Me: Where is that one other place?

Wait for it...Wait for it...

MrsOz: The mouth.
Me: Ummm...no. That is not what is meant by double penetration.
MrsOz: Oh. In that case, I take back what I said earlier about it being everyone's fantasy.

This left me wondering how even her definition was everyone's fantasy. But maybe that's just me.

Shuffled off to Buffalo

2008-07-03T23:54:00.001-04:00

Sorry I have not been blogging. Phollower and I are in Buffalo with family for a visit. Back soon!

Acts of Random Kindness

2008-06-28T10:19:00.003-04:00

Phollower and I watched Evan Almighty last night - the Steve Carell movie where he turns into Noah and builds and an ark. I had been kind of avoiding it, and I am sorry I did. It was amazing. I am not a religious person really. In fact, sometimes I am not sure I believe in God. But this movie reminded me of the God that I knew as a little kid, the God who loves all of us and wants the best for us, the God who doesn't judge us for who we are but by our actions toward others, the God my Dad taught me to know. Somewhere along the way, I lost track of that God and sometimes I can only see the judging, vengeful God used to explain why gay people cannot have equal right that is so prevalent in media and politics. But the message of this movie was really powerful and quite simple, that God wants us to make the world better by doing small acts of random kindness for each other, such being closer to our families and giving a stray dog a good home. I really do believe the world would be a better place if we treated each other better, accepted each other, and as my Dad always liked to tell his congregations, "let God judge other people's actions, worry about doing right yourself". If, like me, you have been avoiding this movie due to the religious theme, don't. It was wonderful.

The Great Lake Swimmers

2008-06-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another great song. I don't like some of the other songs I have heard by this band. But I love this song. The sex - mountain climbing theme is really unique and well written. I think it is a really romantic song.

Sweet Sisters

2008-06-23T18:28:00.003-04:00

My nephew (who is 3 1/2 years) had surgery on his eye today. He is doing just fine. My niece (his sister), who is about 5 and 1/2 years, was so cute about it. He could not have breakfast because of the surgery, so she did not have it either until she went to Grandma's house. She didn't want him to feel bad. On the way out the door, she told him to "do good on his surgery." How cute is that?

Split Personality?

2008-06-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

I recently saw a car with the following two sayings on bumper stickers.

Sticker 1: "My boss is a Jewish Carpenter"
Sticker 2: "Graduate of the Road Rage School of Driving"

Now, both stickers seemed to be about the same age. Therefore, these are not two car owners' stickers colliding.

So I am left with two options in figuring this conundrum out:
1. The car owner is actually working for a Jewish carpenter, and not THE Jewish Carpenter who is traditionally being referred to by the bumper sticker.

OR

2. The owner has a split personality since, although I am not a religious person, I am pretty sure THE Jewish Carpenter would be pretty against road rage. It seems very not "turn the other cheek"-ish.

Vampire Weekend

2008-06-17T11:00:00.001-04:00

Tysgirl posted some music she liked, so I got the idea to do it. Maybe I will post about music I am listening to regularly, maybe not. We'll see. I am really into lately this band lately. If you like this one, look up "Oxford Comma."

In Honor of my Dad

2008-06-15T11:26:00.002-04:00

In honor of Father's Day, I thought I'd pick on my Dad. My Dad likes to kid around with us, using our terms. This is a riot since often he gets them just a bit wrong. He used to make fun of "hip" sayings when I was kid, saying things like "Right arm dude." Now, I am not sure if he is kidding with us or if his hearing loss is causing him to hear things wrong.

A few examples:

We have a game we call "Chip Whore" since the point of the game is to collect chips. We are creative namers like that. One day my Dad asked to play "Chipour". Confused the hell out of Phollower and I.

Remember the forklift? He called it the "steam shovel" later on in our vacation, causing us all to laugh our asses off.

Also while we were vacationing, he was yelling for his wife who was inside one of the cabins we stayed in. She did not answer. So my brother suggested she was inside masturbating (note: my family is brutal), causing my Dad to say she was "rubbing one off" (instead of "rubbing one out" as our little group calls the deed).

My Dad is a great Dad and a good friend. I know picking on him is not a nice way to say "Happy Father's Day." But it is the way my family shows love. And I do love him, crazy sayings and all.

Stop #3: The Yurt

2008-06-12T11:01:00.000-04:00

After leaving Coaldale, CO, we went to the State Forest State Park, north of Rocky Mountain National Park to stay in a yurt. This is like fancy tent which has a wooden structure under the canvas (or whatever the material is). It had a wood burning stove in it, a propane cook stove, and a propane light. It was about a 1/2 mile hike from where we had to park to the yurt. Normally, that would have been cake, but the walk was through ankle/knee deep mud and snow. But it was absolutely beautiful there. Here are some pics. On the left, is the view from the yurt. On the right, is a picture of the yurt. As you can see, we got a few inches of new snow while we were there. It was amazing.

We took about a 5 mile hike in the Park on the one full day we were in the Park, and ended up hiking about 1/2 mile through waist deep snow, as you can kind of see in the picture on the left. The picture on the right was taken during the hike. There were tons of beautiful views. It was a hard hike, but a fun one.

We also saw two moose on our hike from the yurt to the car the first night we were there. They were really neat. They were just hanging out eating. We made a little noise to let them know we were coming. One looked up, but they didn't walk away until we were getting close. When we rounded the bend, after they left, we saw 2 guys getting into a car with all kinds of camera equipment. I guess that had been trying to get a picture of the moose and we ruined it. Phollower asked them if they got any good ones and they said "no" but their voices said "ass". I am sure you know what it's like Tysgirl! By the way, if you like good photography, and haven't read Tysgirl's blog, you are really missing out (and she's a riot too).

Being on the Weather Channel must be hard

2008-06-10T22:45:00.001-04:00

Well, it's tornado season in the Midwest which means Phollower and I watch more of the Weather Channel than we'd like to. We were watching it recently, and Jim Cantore, one of the "meteorologist on air personnel," was talking about the severe weather. He was saying how one storm was kicking up a bunch of tornadoes earlier and that there was a spiral pattern to the cloud, indicating more were coming. But some lackey off-screen must have notified him that there were no tornado warnings in that area because he started mumbling about how there should be some soon. Then he said that the storms cycle, go quiet for a while and then suddenly start spawning tornadoes. If you watch, you imagine the "exciting" vocal quality he used for that little announcement.

I thought he should have said: "The storms cycle, get quiet, then BAM a tornado comes swinging out." Like Emeril. He made cooking fun, right? I know, he didn't really, just annoying. But I think it must be a hard job to do. They want to make weather exciting. But the only people watching are people who are living in that weather, and quite frankly, we don't want the weather to be exciting.

Phollower pointed out that tons of old people are also tuned in, those that are not doing genealogy on their computers, that is.

Just a quick redirect

2008-06-10T22:35:00.001-04:00

This post on Limpy's blog was too sweet not to redirect all 2 of you who read this blog and not his.

The "fork-lift"

2008-06-08T12:04:00.001-04:00

When we were rafting, the guide let us jump out and float in the 38 degree river if we wanted to. My Dad, along with almost everyone else, wanted to. I tried it, but it was too cold so I got right back in the boat. That meant I was the one pulling people in when they were ready to get back in the boat. I was the one who tried to pull my Dad in. My Dad is about 6 foot, 2 inches, and a big guy - not fat but really muscular and heavy. I had my feet locked under the boat side (as we were instructed) and was leaned back with all my considerable weight and using all of my meager strength, getting nowhere. So one of the guys who was rafting with us, pushed him from the water underneath to help me. He and his friend were from Arkansas and were pretty funny guys. Anyway the following conversation ensued:

Dad: "Who is grabbing my balls?"
AR guy #1: Shifting away from my Dad to another part of the boat, "That's what we call a forklift in Arkansas."

The conversation continued once we were all in the boat.

AR guy #1: "In AR, when you give someone a forklift, it's go time."
Phollower: "Go time? Where do you go from there?"
AR guy #2 (AR guy #1's friend): "WE don't really call it a forklift. He does."
Me: "What is like to be friends with a guy who has his own name for grabbing a stranger's balls?"

So the forklift was a joke for the entire week.

To be said in the cadence of Jeff Foxworthy...

2008-06-07T15:08:00.004-04:00

"If you piss with a turbo snail just to get his shell, you might be a red-leg."

....brought you by our friend, Knitts, who cracks us all up regularly.

Definitions for the aquatic novices:
turbo snail: big snail in our tank which can be seen here.
red leg: red-legged hermit crab, also can be seen in our tank (and in the picture below).

Why would she say this? Who know. Maybe it is partly because one of our red-legged crabs (the one in the picture in fact), named "Pinch," attacked the turbo snails when we added them to the tank. The story is related in the link above ("here").

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

2008-06-06T10:40:00.000-04:00

I finished the second book in the Dresden series by Jim Butcher, Fool Moon. It was even better than the first, much more surprising as Knitts promised. I am not going to review each one. I am just going to tell you two things:
1. These books are really good. If you like SciFi or magic-topic fiction, you'll love them.
2. Never ask Knitts for a book recommendation, unless you want to become obsessed with a series. Just kidding! Truly, I am really lucky to have a friend with such good book taste.

Which Would You Rather Be?

2008-06-04T22:29:00.004-04:00

While watching the French Open today, Phollower and I saw Max Afinogenov sitting in the stands. He is a hockey player on the Buffalo Sabres and one of my favorite hockey players. In fact, his is the only jersey I have ever purchased. Well turns out he is dating Elena Dementieva, a tennis player. He was there watching her match.

Phollower: "Afinogenov is banging Dementieva. It is good to be a professional hockey player!"
Me: "Actually, I think it is good to be a professional tennis player."

You should have seen that hot hockey player body, especially the arms. Wow! It put Nadal to shame.

Stop #2: Arkansas River

2008-06-02T11:35:00.000-04:00

From Crestone, CO, we headed to the Salida-Canon City area.
The big draw to this area was to go white water rafting. My Dad and I had rafted about 12 years ago nearby with the same company, River Runners. We rafted the Royal Gorge, under the highest suspension bridge in America. It was amazing. Here are a few pics from our rafting adventure.

This first one is before we hit the "photo" rapid. The guide, Kelly, told us the camera was there. Phollower decided we should all stick our tongues out, Michael Jordan style. You can see Phollower doing it there in the left front, and maybe the guide in the left back (unless he's just thinking). My Dad is in the right front, with my brother behind him, and me behind my brother. My step-mother, Baby B, is in the seat in front of the guide.

This is in the following rapid. Seating is the same.

Rafting was excellent. Our guide was awesome, really experienced, and very laid back and cool. I will let Phollower write about the crazy stuff he did while we were rafting. River Runners really is a class act. I would raft them anytime.

We went to dinner at the Laughing Ladies Cafe and had a great meal. If you are in Salida, CO, don't miss it (but make a reservation or you will).

We stayed at the Big Horn RV Park in a little cabin. This place was ok. There was an area in front of the cabin to sit out at night. There were two double beds, but the pull-out couch was trashed. So my brother, Kaarrrl, had to sleep on the couch, but he never complains. It wasn't grimy, but it wasn't 100% clean. It had the smallest shower I have ever been in. You could not turn around without banging your elbows on the wall. I think everyone liked it more than I did. I was glad we just slept there and were pretty busy the rest of the time.

So overall, I'd do the rafting again for sure. And I'd stop for a meal at the Laughing Ladies. But I might try to find a different place to stay.

The Brief Wondorous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

2008-05-31T09:30:00.000-04:00

Well I did not finish it since it had to go back to the library before I had time to read the whole book. After about 1/2 of it, I'd say it was pretty interesting. It is about a family from the Dominican Republic who emigrated to America (the Bronx). It seemed mostly to be about the lives of the first generation kids in the family (Oscar and his sister). If I knew Spanish, that may have made the reading easier. I loved the D&D references - the sister was as hard as adamantine and someone was hurt badly, 6d10. It is not every Pulitzer Prize winner that has D&D-speak in it. If I can get it from the library again, I'd be interested in finishing it, but I am not driven to purchase it to finish it.

Now that is what I call multi-tasking!

2008-05-29T15:38:00.000-04:00

Biology lesson for today: Cleaner shrimp (the kind we have in our tank) are hermaphrodites.

Both of our cleaner shrimp are now carrying eggs. Even better than just the inherent biological advantages of being a hermaphrodites, it seems that even though one is carrying eggs, it can still provide sperm to the other one. Isn't nature excellent?!?

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

2008-05-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

This is the new "adult" sci-fi fiction book by Stephenie Meyer (author of the Twilight series). I don't think what I write here will spoil anything if you are planning to read it. On the surface, you could say that it is a story about an alien invasion of Earth. But it is also a story about friendship and tolerance, it grapples with ethical issues, and it is a pretty good romance too. I really enjoyed it, probably nearly as much as the Twilight series. The writing is excellent as always. The story takes some unexpected turns. I cared about the characters. Stephenie Meyer is very good at directing your allegiances through her writing. Overall, I would definitely recommend it.

First Stop: Crestone, CO

2008-05-25T19:51:00.006-04:00

The first place we went on our vacation was Crestone, CO. We stayed at the Willow Creek Retreat House. It was a nice little house. The view from the upper room, which has windows on all 4 sides, was amazing (see picture above). We slept up there and watched the moon set and the sunrise. The only negatives for the place I can think of are that it was hard to get out of the shower since the tub is raised and has high sides and that, for some reason, I kept banging my elbows on the railings. Maybe they were just the right height. Other than that, it was a cozy, nice place to stay with all the amenities of home.

Crestone, Colorado is a neat little town. Very spiritual. There are 3 Buddhist temples, an ashram (I'll leave the natural, but nasty joke to Phollower), and several other religious places. It is very small - just a couple of restaurants, a few stores, a natural food store, no liquor store. Just a heads up in case any of you go there. So we shopped before getting there and brought our own liquor.

Crestone is near the Great Sand Dunes National Park, which is amazing. We hiked in the dunes, played in the river, and hiked in the mountains near the dunes.

We also went for a horseback ride with the Baca Grande Stables. It was really fun, and I got over being afraid of horses. We saw a group of elk and a lone coyote from the horses - although those two sightings were not at the same time. We took the horses into a water pit - well our guide, Jocelyn, my brother, Kaaarrrl, and I did. Phollower did not - too chicken I think. The guide was really nice. And the horses definitely had some personality. Here is a picture from the horseback ride.

More from the trip later, and on Phollower's blog too.

Pay Attention, Will You!

2008-05-24T09:27:00.000-04:00

Me: Honey, what is this thing (gesturing to a latch sticking out of our laptop)

Phollower: It's the thing to make the thing come out.

Me: Ummmm, what does that mean?

Apparently, it means it is something to make whatever you have in the PCMCIA slot come out, although I still have no idea what goes in a PCMCIA slot (and frankly, don't care).

A few days away

2008-05-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

Phollower and I are heading out on vacation to Colorado. So nothing here this week. I know, try to control the weeping! Assuming we live through the rafting trip, when I get back I will tell you all about it and post pictures of the plush places we stayed, like this one, and of the places we hiked.

Since Zoe won't tell it

2008-05-16T10:21:00.004-04:00

So here is the Wii story that Zoe won't tell.

Phollower, Zoe, BP, and I were at Best Buy the other night getting a new Wii game for them. We saw the new Wii Fit advertising. I am not the thinnest, nor the heaviest, woman you will ever meet. But I am pretty self-conscious about my weight. I am always watching what I eat and I work out almost every day. So of course, I am a sucker for the new Wii Fit. I took one of the little brochures and started reading it.

Me (reading to Phollower, Zoe, and BP): You choose a Mii to be you in the game. And, oh no, it says here that the balance board weighs you when you get on it. That's just what I need in the house, another thing that weighs me.

Zoe (moving hands in an outward direction as she talks): I wonder if the Mii size changes depending on how you weigh in.

She claims I just missed the hand movements inward and only saw the outward ones. I have to believe her since she is a good friend and would not say I was fat right in Best Buy. But I can not stop teasing her like she did.

Don't Say...

2008-05-15T00:13:00.000-04:00

Phollower (to me): "What are you planning to do this evening?"

Me: "I am going to do whatever you were going to do."
(Note how sweet I can be - wanting to spend time with him and not caring what we are doing.)

Phollower: "Well in that case, I was planning to give myself a hand job."

I guess that is what I get for my sweetness.

Tegan and Sarah Concert

2008-05-11T15:13:00.000-04:00

Zoe, BP, Phollower, and I went to see Tegan and Sarah the other night. They told entertaining stories, interacted with the audience, played great music. All the things you could ask for in a concert.

It was an interesting crowd - different than we expected. There were the usual teenagers dressed like Tegan and Sarah, of course. And most of the crowd was women, again not unexpected. We had the usual giddy girls around us, who seemed intent on taking pictures of themselves through the concert (blinding us with flashes) and texting everyone they knew. But there were some unexpected audience members as well who I can only say reminded me of the "NASCAR crowd" - nothing against people who like NASCAR, you just don't usually see them at Indie concerts. One woman started giving them the middle finger about half-way through the concert after they asked her to stop screaming for a bit. She had been screaming like a teenager starring in a Friday the XIIIth movie. I, personally, was in favor of her not screaming until after she was far, far away from me.

Zoe has also written a review of the crowd, although different odd ball shenanigans here.

Unexpected crowd dynamics notwithstanding, I think I speak for all of us when I say - see them if they come to your hometown.

Meta-tags

2008-05-09T11:48:00.000-04:00

Zoe told me that BP could show me how to put meta-tags in my blog code so that search engines will find it for particular key words.

Me: That would be cool. I could put tags like "aquarium", "books", and "hockey". And since my blog is so funny, I have to put "funny" too.
Zoe: I think I will put "political" and "spiritual" since my blog is so spiritual.

Apparently Zoe thinks my blog is as funny as her blog is spiritual. For those who are not reading her blog: 1) you should and 2) it is not a bit spiritual.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

2008-05-06T11:40:00.000-04:00

This is the first in what appears to be a long series (maybe 20 books?). The main character is a wizard who works as a PI and is a consultant for the local police department. In this book, he helps solve a series of murders. I can't really tell much else without giving some of the story away. The books were made into a brief series on the SciFi channel, but I did not see that series.

The book is filled with interesting characters who I really came to like. There are few torn allegiances - you know who you are supposed to like and who not, although I can think of one or two characters who were tough to decide about. The plot is not particularly surprising, so I had an idea what the story was from about 70-100 pages in. But that did not make it any less interesting or engaging. Since I became interested in the characters, I wanted to know how things turned out for them. And the writing is nice - plenty of action, good description (but not overwhelming), and clear. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and I am looking forward to reading the next one (or 19).

Women....

2008-05-05T09:57:00.004-04:00

If I said it once, I have said it a thousand times. Women play sports differently than men. Case in point - this softball story.

The long and short of it is that a woman hit her first career home run, as a senior, a game in which playoff berths were being decided. She tore her ACL on her way around the bases. The players for the other team (the team on whom the HR had been hit) carried her around the bases so she could touch each one and have the run count.

I am going to think of this story the next time I am teased for being nice to the other team during a game.

Marty! Again!

2008-05-03T21:55:00.002-04:00

Martin Biron (and the rest of the Philadelphia Flyers) moved on to the Eastern Conference championship! Cheers of "Let's go Flyers!" were heard throughout the living room, much to Phollower's dismay.

This American Life - Live Simulcast

2008-05-02T10:33:00.004-04:00

Phollower, Zoe, BP, and I went to the This American Life simulcast last night.

For those who are not familiar with This American Life, it a radio show where they present a set of stories about everyday Americans, all which fit a weekly theme. I am not doing it justice with that description since it is absolutely fabulous. You can listen to all back episodes by clicking the link for the show (above). You can download a free episode each week from iTunes. In fact, according to the creator, Ira Glass, it is the most downloaded podcast in America most weeks. There is also a new (second season about to start) TV version of the show on Showtime. Info on all of this is, in fact, on their website.

Sorry sounded like an ad there for a minute.

Anyway, the live show was hosted by Ira Glass and features clips of the new Showtime season, outtakes from the season, a Q&A about putting the show on, both radio and TV. It was amazing. I have loved this show for so long, over 10 years. It was such a treat to see Ira Glass live. I guess I don't have anything discerning to say, or least nothing that makes me sound less like a 16 year old at a "boy band" concert. But really CHECK THE PODCAST OUT.

Scare Tactics from the Phone Company

2008-04-30T22:00:00.001-04:00

Phollower and I recently canceled our home phone and plan to just use our cell phones. When I called to cancel the phone representative tried to scare us into keeping a home number.

Phone rep: "My husband and I tried this and it didn't work out for us. Hopefully, it will work better for you and your husband."
Me: "Mmhmm" (undertone - please don't tell me your long story)
Phone rep: "During a thunderstorm, my mother-in-law broke her leg at our house and none of our 4 cell phones would dial out until after the storm."
Me: "Hmmm. Terrible."
Phone rep: "And then our son was in a head on collision and could not call us collect from the hospital."
Me: "Wow." (thinking to myself - you had quite a run of bad luck. I can't believe the hospital did not call from a regular phone.)
Phone rep: "And we started going over our minutes."
Me: "We'll be fine. We don't use all our minutes." (repressing the urge to explain that for the cost of our home phone which we never use we could double our minute allowance per month)
Phone rep: "I guess if you only use about 1/3 of your minutes, you will be ok. It is all those 800 numbers that do it."
Me: "Hmmm." (thinking how many 800 numbers do you call???)
Phone rep: "Now you don't have a security system or anything do you?"
Me: "No." (concerned that now she is casing the house)
Phone rep: "And no DVR or HD service through a satellite provider?"
Me: "They can use the internet connection." (now even more concerned about the casing issue)
Phone rep: "How can they do that? How do you get the internet?"
Me: "Using the cable internet provider."
Phone rep: "Oh I can't get that. I live in the country."
Me: "Too bad. It's really nice."
Phone rep: "I bet." (seems I am a better salesperson than she is!)

Phollower just left to run some errands. I told him to call if he needed anything, unless there is a thunderstorm.

And the neighbors bought ear plugs

2008-04-27T15:40:00.005-04:00

Phollower and I purchased a digital piano yesterday! It is a full 88 keys. It sounds so much like a piano that it really is unbelieveable. I have wanted a piano ever since we moved here. I took lessons as a kid, until I was about 14. And I really miss playing. We have been waiting to purchase one until we were sure we would not be moving again, since they are so heavy. Even though we have no plans to move, this piano is light (and less expensive than a real one). Phollower and I carried it on our own, meaning it weighs less than the TV (which required Zoe and another friend, Porter, to help Phollower to get it in the door).

Anyway, I have been playing pretty much non-stop since it got in the house. This means the house is filled with non-rhythmic plinking, which is often inhamonic due to the notes I miss. Phollower is being sweet, saying it sounds good and I am improving. Does he want to get laid or what? I am sure the noise is causing the neighbors to wonder exactly how long the torture will continue. My refresher lessons start next week, so I estimate it will continue for longer than they had hoped.

Marty Moves On!

2008-04-22T22:08:00.003-04:00

And I don't mean the fish Marty. Martin Biron, my favorite hockey player and goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers, is now in the second round of the playoffs. He played awesome - which is more than I can say for their defense. But all is forgiven since he is moving on.

Car Shopping with Me

2008-04-21T20:27:00.004-04:00

So Phollower, Zoe, Betty Please, and I went to look at Mini Cooper Clubman. This car is my newest obsession. Here's a little run-down of the questions and concerns brought up by each party to the saleswoman.

I had very few questions, all pertaining to cosmetics. I wanted to see the sunroof. I wanted to see different fabric interiors (do I want leather/cloth, leatherette, different colors) and to know whether the cars on the lot all had the chrome line interior added. I wanted clarification on the Sirius satellite radio. I spent a fair amount of time trying to decide if I wanted the hot chocolate with black bonnet stripes, the lightning blue with black bonnet stripes, or the lightning blue with silver bonnet strips, deciding about interior surface colors, etc.

Betty Please asked about crash test ratings, particularly for side impact. She is concerned about the suicide door, but it is a half door so she is less concerned.

Zoe and Phollower spent the first 5 minutes rooting through the boot of the car in the showroom, muttering to each other. What was the discussion about? I found out when one of them asked the saleswoman where the spare tire was. She said it did not have one. That was okey dokey with me. I don't do anything with the spare but call a repairman anyway. He could bring a tire. But Phollower followed up by asking what to do if you got a flat. It turns out the 16" tires are run-flats. Those are an upgrade from the standard 15" tires, as Phollower pointed out, recalling from his brief perusal of the description of the Clubman I built online I had printed and brought with me. I have spent hours on the website and could have told you lots about options, but nothing about tires.

We did not buy one yet. I am still deciding. But whether I buy it or not, thank FSM I have friends like the 3 of them to look out for me. I'd end up completely screwed. But my car would be CUTE!

Good thing one of us is sensitive

2008-04-14T18:38:00.005-04:00

Our friend, Lucy, has been going through a rough patch with her roommates. Long story short, they had a party she did not want to happen. She left for the night and came home the next day to piss and puke on the carpet and walls, still uncleaned by said roommates at about 4 PM the next day. She was talking to Phollower, Zoe, and I about it shortly after it happened. She suddenly started to cry. Lucy has never cried in front of me, and I think she does not cry easily. Zoe and I sat there for a minute just looking at her, as if we were dumbfounded with what to do at this point. In case you have not picked it up from Zoe and my blogs, sensitive touchy-types we are not. In fact, she and I have been close friends for years, and I could count on one hand the number of times we have hugged one another. Phollower is so much less emotionally stunted. He rushed in and put his arm around her and comforted her. I, of course, followed his lead. Oh yeah - comforting her, that's what you do with crying people. Why didn't I think of that?

Polar Opposites

2008-04-14T18:38:00.000-04:00

Weinercats and Phollower were discussing reseating a toilet the other day. This is a job Phollower and I think is odious, requiring (mostly for my benefit I imagine) a ton of hand washing, tool washing, floor washing,...you get the idea. Weinercats said she and her partner were less "anal" (ba-dum-dum). Weinercats told Phollower a little story to demonstrate the difference. Weinercats' partner works with animals all day. Here is the picture as it was painted by Phollower: Weinercats' partner is holding the butt end of a large animal while they are working on it, reaches over, takes a bite of her sandwich, goes back to holding such animal still. Notice - no hand washing step. Just before he told me this story, I had eaten lunch. I wanted to read the book I borrowed from the library during lunch. Before getting the book out, I had thought to myself - are there too many germs on a library book to read it while I am eating? I would definitely have to wash my hands between butt holding and sandwich eating.

Book MEME

2008-04-08T23:50:00.002-04:00

I saw this MEME at Just Eat Your Cupcake's blog and really liked it. So I decided to try my hand at answering the questions.

1) One book that changed your life
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - I read this book as a junior in college for the first time. I started on a Friday night and read all in one night, through the sound of friends knocking on the door to go out, without getting tired. I am still not sure exactly what spoke to me so strongly in this book. I think it was the main character's strength, her ability to move through anything in her life. I think this was the first book I ever read which inspired me. I ended up writing my senior honors thesis on the book and Hurston's autobiography, Dust Tracks on the Road, discussing Hurston's voice and her sense of self. Working on that thesis changed my life, helped me figure out who I was and that it was ok to go after what I wanted in life.

2) One book that you had read more than once
I seldomly read books more than once. After I know what is going to happen, I tend to lose interest. I am not sure what makes a book qualify for the club of "more than 1x reading" for me. I read all of the Harry Potter Series more than once. And I read the Gunslinger Series by Stephen King more than once (some more than twice), all except the last one. That one would be too hard to read again. Maybe the series draw me for a second reading since I have more time to "know" the characters.

3) One book you would want on a desert island
I liked "Just Eat Your Cupcake"'s answer, a book about surviving on a desert island. Very practical! But since I can't really take her answer, I am not sure what to say. I can not imagine living with just one book. I am too changeable to be happy with just one. Please tell me I can take a trunk of books!

4) Two books that made you laugh
Again, I agree with "Just Eat Your Cupcake." Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris is a laugh-out-loud riot. I loved that book. I also loved listening to it on CD. His voice makes it even more hysterical.

My two answers are:
1)The Areas of my Expertise by John Hodgman. He is the guy who plays the PC on the Mac commercials. This book is absolutely hysterical, especially if you like his humor on The Daily Show.
2) Straight Man by Richard Russo. There were places in that book that made me laugh until I cried. For those who have read it, "Orshe" was the funniest character name I think I have ever read.

5) One book that made you cry
So many books make me cry, it is hard to choose just one. For some reason, I feel things more strongly when reading, than in a TV show or movie. One wonderful book that made me cry but I could not stop reading was Hummingbird House by Patricia Henley. The book I read a few weeks ago - The Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins also made me cry in places.

6) One book you wish you had written
I don't know if there are particular books I admire enough to wish I had written them, but there are definitely authors' writing styles I admire. I love Amy Tan's writing style; it is so personal and engaging. I envy Michael Chabon's descriptions. For example, from The Yiddish Policemen's Union, "The clock on the hospital wall hummed to itself, got antsy, kept snapping off pieces of the night with its minute hand." I don't think I will ever forget that line. You can hear the clock in it. Absolutely wonderful! That is what I wish I could do.

7) One book you wish had never been written
Middlemarch and Bleak House - mostly because I had to suffer through these in college. I am not a huge fan of this literature period in general.

8) Two books that you are currently reading
I have not found a book I want to read since I finished the three Twilight Series books. I am actually reading the third book in the series, Eclipse again since I read it so fast the first time. I want to be sure I did not miss anything.
I can not read two books at once, so even if I had one answer for this question, I would not have two. I am sure I will start something new soon. I am open to suggestions!

9) One book you have been meaning to read
Lucky Man by Richard Russo - maybe I'll get to this one next, if it ever comes back into the local library! :)

Spring is Here!

2008-04-07T21:05:00.003-04:00

I am sure the title of this post just brought on potential sleet here, but I couldn't help myself. My crocuses are opening in my gardens. I have the windows open. Phollower and I went for a beautiful hike on Saturday with the dogs. He took this picture of the wildflowers while we were out. I know it is not many wildflowers, but they are the first here.

Must Be Something in the Water

2008-03-31T22:12:00.000-04:00

The anemone has grown a ton. Here is a pic of her from a similar viewpoint around the time we got her. This is a pic taken this week.

Hopefully she is not going to keep growing at this clip, or we will need a MUCH larger tank!

Look Ma! It's a Reef!

2008-03-30T09:17:00.000-04:00

We got our first two corals - "beginner corals" (meaning we can not kill them easily). This one, a daisy polyp coral, was the coral I wanted from the first time we went to the aquarium store. It is so gorgeous.

And the rock came with 3-4 fan worms on it! You can't see them in the pic, but I posted a pic of other ones which came on some of our live rock here. Phollower pointed out this coral is very similar to the fan worms. Needless to say, I love our fan worms - and my new coral.

The second one is a candy coral. Phollower picked it out. It adds so much beauty to the tank. I don't know how well it shows in the pic, but it has beautiful brown and green colors. Great choice!

New Moon and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

2008-03-28T19:54:00.003-04:00

I am going to review these two together since I read them one right after another. These are the 2nd and 3rd book in the Twilight series (reviewed the first book last week). I am not sure what else to say except these are excellent, even better than the first book. My recommendation would be to buy all 3 books, take a couple days off, and use them as a vacation. You won't regret it. I am actually depressed to be done with them. I miss the characters, especially the vampire, Edward, who is smolders off the page. I have not been this depressed since I finished reading The New Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.

The Midas Touch

2008-03-26T19:59:00.005-04:00

Meet our newest fish, a Midas Blenny named Squiggy. Get it?

No? Say it aloud - "the blenny squiggy." Still nothing?

Think of Laverne and Shirley. Got it now?

Hopefully you got Phollower's and my stupid sense of humor before the sitcom reference. He is a neat fish. He is mostly yellow with blue eyes and blue stripe along his back fin. He hides in a rock with just his head sticking out and then darts out to eat and swim. I have been wanting one since I first saw him in the aquarium store. I am so excited!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

2008-03-24T21:22:00.001-04:00

This book is the first in a series. It is considered "young adult" fiction, but I thought it was a good adult fiction book.

Brief plot overview (no spoilers): This is a series about vampires. That should be all I need to say to get B.P. and Zoe to read it! It is set in high school, but very little of that crap we may recall from high school is going on. It is a love story.

I have always had a thing for vampires. As a kid, if it had Dracula in it, I read it or saw it. There is just something so appealing about vampires. The main vampire in Twilight is very appealing, to the point of making Dracula seem ugly and uncouth. I would have begged to be bitten to spend my life with the main vampire in this book.

Review: I loved it, maybe even more than Harry Potter. That should either cause Nate and Knitts to read it or never speak to me again. I read it in about a day and a half, could not put it down. For young adult fiction, it was pretty erotic. Now before Zoe, Tysgirl, and Limpy get all riled up, there was no sex in it. This may have you (or more specifically, them) asking, "Well what was erotic then?" My answer: the descriptions of falling in love. I remember falling in love with Phollower as being distinctly different from any other experience, and the descriptions in this book reminded me of that. I don't know if you all went through this or not with your significant other. But sometimes I'd get dizzy when he kissed me or touched my face or my heart would flip-flop when I looked at him. I still have those experiences, not every time he kisses me, but still sometimes. Sometimes when I look across the room at him at a get-together with friends, my heart does flip-flops at how remarkable it is that he is my husband. Maybe it was different with him because I knew he was the one, from very early in our dating relationship. Either way, I really enjoyed her descriptions of them falling in love. And the plot has a fair amount of action, keeping it going.

I can't wait to read the second in the series. Phollower went out a bought it for me today. So sweet. My favorite scene was the one where the two main characters are on their first date, sitting in the sun in the meadow. So romantic. As always, if you read it (or have read it), let me know what you think and what your favorite scene was. But if you've read the next two books in the series, NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

A Little Holiday Puzzle For You

2008-03-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

The Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins

2008-03-22T00:08:00.002-04:00

I just finished this book and wanted to post my review right away.

The quick plot overview, no spoilers: The main character is a writer, who wrote a biography of a photographer (Edward Curtis). The narrative moves between the past and present. The writer's past, the writer's present, the life of the photographer. It is a tale of relationships, fathers and children, husbands and wives, told partially through pictures - those from her life and those taken by Edward Curtis.

The review: I loved it. Her writing is superb. Her voice is strong and the characters are very real. The mix between the fiction and non-fiction is so seamless, it is difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. I personally love that feel. The narrative felt like it had really happened, as if the writer had lived the story. She allows you to see into her characters, so you understand them, forgive them for their faults, so to speak. The symmetry of the narrative is a bit too perfect, but works in the narrative. If you like historical fiction or books about relationships, I highly recommend it.

If you read it, let me know what you think.

Tournament Update

2008-03-20T21:54:00.002-04:00

I am writing this now - since it has never been true before and won't be true much longer than it takes me to type this post. I AM IN FIRST in the little "family & friends" league. Yes, I am even beating my brother, Karrrll. Somehow I doubt this will keep him up at night.

Kids these days!

2008-03-18T22:19:00.002-04:00

Lucy, Phollower, and I were driving back from hockey tonight with another girl we play with. She had recently seen Horton Hears a Hoo and said they had called the mayor a "boob" which she thought was kind of weird. Phollower explained that when Dr. Seuss was writing, in the 60s and 70s "boob" was a slang term for idiot or moron. Lucy says, "How do you know that? You guys weren't alive then were you?!?" Yes, Lucy, we were alive almost 40 years ago - thanks for asking.

Tournament Brackets

2008-03-17T20:56:00.002-04:00

I fill out tournament brackets for the NCAA men's tournament with my brother, Kaarrrl, my Dad and his wife, and some friends. I am completely ignorant about men's basketball. I just lost about 90 minutes reading all about the match-ups only to be sure I am crazy for picking the upsets I did. So any GOOD advice (I am looking at you Limpy - don't mess with me) would be much appreciated.

Sign You Are in California

2008-03-16T10:47:00.003-04:00

This was a sign on the boardwalk in San Francisco. In case the cell phone pic is too hard to read, it says "No thongs except on feet." You'd never need a sign like this in the Midwest.

Are there FOB shipping costs on the ironing board?

2008-03-10T22:59:00.003-04:00

I am home. Last night, we stayed at an airport Ramada. This was not a fancy hotel by any stretch of the imagination. And there was a placard in the room which struck me as funny. It started by stating, "Due to the popularity of our guest room amenities, our Housekeeping Department now offers them for sale."

Yes, I know this is their way of saying "don't steal the room supplies" but really - "due to the popularity" - really??

It goes on to list the various expected items (sheets, towels, comforter from the 1970's for $80, etc.) and some unexpected ones:
alarm clock: $25.00
iron/board: $30.00 (ea.) - At first I thought, how did people fit the ironing board into their suitcases and get it out unnoticed? Later I met the nighttime and early morning desk crew, and I concede, with them on duty, you could carry that bad boy out completely unnoticed.
hairdryer: $45 - really? the one screwed into the wall?

Regarding the front desk personnel, I asked about the shuttle to the airport. The conversation went something like this:
Desk person: "The first shuttle leaves at 4 AM then shuttles run every 45 minutes after that. So at 4, 4:45, 5:10..."
I interrupt: "Um, 5:10?"
Desk person: "You want the 5:10 shuttle?"
Me: "No I am just wondering why there is one at 5:10."
Desk person: "Oh I don't know. Maybe I am doing that wrong."
Me (to myself) - yes maybe

Jesusland by Julia Schrees

2008-03-04T17:31:00.003-05:00

This will be a short post about this book, mostly to explain how it disappeared from the "Currently Reading" without a review. I did not finish it. Her writing is excellent. Her voice is engaging. It feels like she is talking to you. But the subject matter is so disturbing. Her parents were so abusive and manipulative. It was too hard to read. The account of race relations (or really lack thereof) in rural Indiana is a tough read as well. If you can handle the subject matter, I imagine you would find it an interesting read. I commend the author for having the courage to write so unflinchingly about what happened to her and her brother as teenagers. I hope she has found a better place and has better people in her life now.

Directionally Challenged

2008-03-03T22:17:00.003-05:00

This weekend, between games, I spent about 2-3 hours sitting at the sign-in table for teams at my hockey tournament. While sitting there, a large number of people (I bet close to 20 different groups of people) came to the table to ask how to get out of the building or to get to the parking garage attached to the building. Now, I will admit that this is a large building, and it could potentially be a bit confusing if you are not used to an ice arena. And there was a large motocross contingent in town for an event (I'm not saying, I'm just saying...). But I still could not help being baffled by the number of people lost. I really wanted to tell them to follow the route they took to get into the arena, assuming of course, that they were not born there.

Ahhhh....Dominance

2008-02-28T23:14:00.000-05:00

The clownfish are cute together. Zeus (the male clown) won't stray more than a few inches from Rose (the anemone) without Hera (the female clown) with him. He spends most of his day rubbing against the anemone, enclosed between her little arms, like this:

But Hera goes all over the tank on her own. But sometimes, it seems to us that Hera takes up the entire anemone, not allowing Zeus in. When that happens, Zeus just flutters around the outside of the anemone, rubbing against the outside of the anemone, kind of waiting for a chance to get in again. It is kind of sad since Zeus is the one who feeds Rose, not Hera. Zeus brings little pieces of shrimp in his mouth to Rose and spits it at her mouth - very cute. He is much more of a "caretaker" than she is. I mentioned this to Phollower who responded "huh." I wonder if he is trying to say something.

Guess I am a Sabres fan

2008-02-25T21:31:00.003-05:00

The Sabres played Philadelphia. My favorite goalie (and hockey player in general) is the Flyer's goalie, Martin Biron. I had been considering picking up a second team to root for since the Sabres make such bone-headed choices, like not signing Briere and Drury and Campbell and Biron. Side note: hopefully they make a better choice by tomorrow about Campbell! Either way, I always root for Biron to do well. His eyes are so blue.....Anyway, I cheered just as loud when the Sabres scored on him, so I guess I like the Sabres even better than Biron. Oh well. Too bad the Sabres traded him. Too bad for me I am a Sabres fan for real. Stupid home teams!