Yay! I am not a dumbass!

You Are a Smart American

You know a lot about US history, and you're opinions are probably well informed. Congratulations on bucking stereotypes. Now go show some foreigners how smart Americans can be.

Are You a Dumb American?

Works every time!

So, at some point along her spiritual journey, my crazy ex-roommate decided God hated alcohol. Which is why she is going to end up drowning in a vat of vodka someday - karma is a bitch. My new roommates, though, love to drink. And not only that, one of my new roommates used to be a real bartender! I am learning how to make all sorts of fancy drinks, like margaritas.

What’s that you say? Margaritas aren’t fancy? Don’t forget that I grew up in Milwaukee and thought that Colt 45 worked every time and the only thing worth doing with a can of Bud was boiling brats. My tastes have evolved somewhat over time - meaning Lienie’s has replaced Colt 45, but I still only use Bud to make killer brats.

Anyway, having my very own personal former bartender is incredible. We were watching Grey’s Anatomy last night and I had several of the most deliciously yummy margaritas ever. I cannot drink the blended ones because I suck them down way too fast and get a brain freeze that rivals any of the three migraines I’ve ever had. Plus, they are just too damn sweet and I end up with a tummy ache if I drink enough of them to get drunk. Normally, I find margaritas on the rocks either too salty, or too strong, but the ones consumed last night were the perfect Goldilocks blend of ingredients.

As for Grey’s Anatomy, I was a little bit disappointed with it. SPOILER ALERT: I mean, of course they weren’t going to kill off the main character, but to have her wake up after not having a heartbeat for over an hour and start talking seems a little, well, stupid. Even for tv. Plus, Izzy is really pissing me off. She needs to get off her soapbox and remember that she almost married a man she hardly knew just last season – and she had never even seen him outside of the damn hospital! Don’t get me wrong, I loved Denny’s character, but come on! He was only in, like, 6 episodes. Quit whining about him! Callie has been around for quite awhile now and I’ve always liked her. If I were George, I would have stopped talking to Izzy way back in season 1 when she won’t even him let take a shower in peace. You can’t tell me that there aren’t at least two full bathrooms in the gi-normous house they were living in.

But I am still sad sweeps are over now. I loved my Thursday night routine. It’s good timing though since I am going to be crazy busy at work the next six weeks. Hopefully new episodes won’t come out until April.

Chicken Soup for the Soul! Or whatever...

I have been sick forever. At least, it feels like forever. In actuality, it’s only been about 8 days. And the first two days weren’t too bad. And the last two nights haven’t been awful, but I am definitely not better. I think that what started as a head cold has now turned into a sinus infection or something. And I know that I should go to the doctor, but I don’t have one here. I have been randomly looking for one on the Internet, but that seems like such a crapshoot. And I am dreading having to fill out my medical history. Not that I have any history, really. I’ve never broken any bones, or had any major surgery. I don’t have any allergies. I don’t even have a family history of much, except some type 2 diabetes on my mother’s side, but now days everyone has that in their family history. But I also have no idea when the last time I got a vaccination for anything was. I can’t even remember the name of my doctor in Juneau. And I definitely don’t want to go to urgent care – talk about a nightmare! I have insurance so I can avoid that shit. I just want to feel better with chicken soup and a neti pot, and not have to worry about any insurance cards, medical forms, or awkward encounters with a brand new medical assistant trying to get me on a scale while I freak out and flatly refuse. I think I am going to give it a few more days…



PS - I told you so!

Gore to rock ’n’ roll against warming
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 4:16 p.m. ET Feb 16, 2007

LOS ANGELES - Al Gore, the former vice president and now hit documentary maker, on Thursday added rock promoter to his résumé, announcing plans for a 24-hour concert series on all seven continents to highlight, you guessed it, the dangers of global warming.

With a powerhouse lineup of acts from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Snoop Dogg to Bon Jovi, what's being called "Live Earth" aims to gather more than 100 of the world's top musicians on July 7 — and attract 2 billion viewers, most of them via television, radio and the Web.
Gore said that the push, which includes a new campaign called Save Our Selves, has the potential to reach far beyond his earlier audiences. "In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," Gore said in a statement. "We hope to jumpstart that movement right here, right now, and take it to a new level on July 7, 2007." The SOS campaign was founded by Kevin Wall, the producer behind the Live 8 global concerts in 2005 that raised money for Africa.

Wall said that these performers had already signed up: Pharrell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Snoop Dogg, Lenny Kravitz, Bon Jovi, Paolo Nutini, Sheryl Crow, AFI, Melissa Etheridge, John Mayer, Damien Rice, Corrine Bailey Rae, Duran Duran, Snow Patrol, John Legend, Black Eyed Peas, Akon, Enrique Iglesias, Fall Out Boy, Mana, Keane, Kelly Clarkson, Korn, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Ray LaMontagne, Robin Thicke, and Kenna.
The concerts will take place in Sydney, Australia; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Shanghai, China; London, England; Kyoto, Japan; Johannesburg, South Africa; and a U.S. city that has yet to be determined, Wall said. Gore added that the campaign even plans to stage the first-ever rock concert on Antarctica.

Home Sweet Home

I have been living in the DC area (meaning I don’t actually live in the city, but out in burbs of Northern Virginia, which means I get all the joys of DC traffic and all the yuppie-ness of living in one of the highest income communities in the country) for just under a year now and I think I am finally starting to get used to life in a big city. There are, of course, some things I will never enjoy. Driving anywhere during rush hour, which is pretty much always, for example is a lesson in patience I will never learn. And there are nice bike paths, but you have to be willing to share the road with dog walkers incapable of picking up dog shit, packs of power walkers, joggers, kamikaze squirrels, other bikers, homeless people, and hordes of sullen teenage boys who seem to think that it’s far better for bikes to ride off the trail and into a bush instead of moving over 2 feet to let you pass. But there are some nice things about being here too. My new apartment fucking rocks. Cherry blossoms in the spring. Quirky stores. It’s not Juneau, but I could have done a lot worse.

What is that...velvet?

One of the coolest Xmas presents I got this year was a subscription to NetFlix. I have no idea how I survived 10-months with my crazy-ass roommate and no NetFlix. I am afraid though, that it is making me a tv-aholic. And I love it. No one will make me feel bad about the amount of time I now spend in front of a television! I’ve always wanted to be one of those super active, always busy, people that don’t have enough time for television, but that’s just not me. That describes my older sister perfectly, but it’s about as far away as you can get from me. Laura is kayaking down the Colorado River – the entire thing – in April. She thinks sea kayaking is ‘for pussies’. She shattered her thumb in 3 places playing a pick up game of ultimate Frisbee and had to have two pins put into her thumb. She has dislocated her knee snowboarding and broken ribs doing other crazy shit. The only time she ever watches TV is when she is recovering from some injury. Or the Daily Show is on. I wish I was more like her, but being fat and lazy is more my thing.

Anyway, I was trying to decide on which movie to select next and I knew I wanted a funny movie, so I decided to go with the funniest movie of all time, Coming to America. I think it’s safe to say that I can recite about 85% of the entire movie. And while I was looking at all the movies that will eventually make their way into my mailbox I started thinking about my all-time favorite movies. So I decided to try to come up with a top ten list. Not an easy task! Here is what I’ve come up with:

1. Lord of the Rings (as a trilogy, with the extended versions, of course)
2. Forest Gump
3. Last of the Mohicans
4. Sound of Music
5. Silence of the Lambs
6. Coming to America
7. Shrek (I think this is a 3-way tie between Cars and The Incredibles though)
8. The Princes Bride
9. Glory
10. The Empire Strikes Back

Whew! I keep second guessing myself. There are about 6 more movies that were very close to making the list. But I think that’s a solid list. It doesn’t have any of the classic Casablanca-type movies on it, which I enjoy and appreciate, but I don’t watch over and over again. So adding movies like that would make me such a poser. But I’ve watched Happy Gilmore and The Last Unicorn at least 1,000 times, so maybe I am a poser for not including those. Sigh. Lists suck.

Shhh...

So, apparently I am pretty bad at keeping secrets, and I've got a whooper, so I thought I'd clue in all 5 of my fellow bloggers and spill the beans today. Basically, this is the only cool thing going on at my job right now and we're finally allowed to talk about it on Monday anyway, so I figure it can't hurt too much to tell y'all.

Okay, so here goes. During the Grammy's this weekend, there is going to be a (supposedly big) announcement about a huge Live-8-type concert called S.O.S. (Save OurSelves). Go ahead, google it. I can't find anything about it, so obviously there are a lot of people out there who really can keep a secret. Anyway, it's taking place on 7/7/07 and will be simultaneously broadcast in Sidney, Capetown, Kyoto, NYC, Rio de Janeiro, and some other cities I can never remember. The point of this concert? To raise awareness about global warming.

And what do I work on every day?

That’s right – I confront global warming on college and university campuses every day! So my organization is (keep your fingers crossed) partnering with the S.O.S. concert organizers. They are going to help us promote our Chill Out contest, which is no where near as cool as S.O.S., but we might have Jack Johnson do the soundtrack and Cameron Diaz host, which would be pretty sweet. It's all still up in the air but it's sounding more and more like it's going to happen. So again, keep your fingers crossed. And watch the Grammy's. And don't tell anyone that you heard it here first.

(And for the record, I am much better at keeping secrets for my friends. But then again, none of my friends have ever organized a concert that is trying to reach 2 billion - yes billion with a 'B' - people. I think I would be more inclined to keep my mouth shut if it meant helping out a friend. For example, I didn't tell Becca when her husband asked me to help him pick out an engagement ring. And man- that would have been one helluva reaction, I am sure! But I am not the one that ruined that secret. So please, feel free to confide in me. Seriously.)

Some Sailing Pics...FINALLY

Miami Sunset - Normally, the Gulf Stream makes sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas a real bitch, but we lucked out and it was so calm I was able to helm most of the way back to the U.S. (And trust me, no one wants me steering a boat when there are huge swells and gusting winds.)

Our boat was so badass! The seats on the front were the perfect place to catch some sun and do a little reading. And the tramp was the perfect place to pass out after a hard day of drinking...something we all did at least once. (And Becca, I am refering to the TRAMPOLINE on the front of the boat, so don't leave a comment like, 'you never go wrong when you pass out on a tramp!', - it's just too easy, even for you.)


My sister's boat and crew. Our boat was way better. But theirs had the whole 'Rum Tum Tiger' name going for it. So maybe it was a draw. That's Laura's boyfriend, Mike, in the red swim trunks. I really hope they get married and have some Italian babies. Dutch-Italian babies. They would be wicked cute. And since I don't want kids, if one could have brown eyes and blonde hair, I would be ever so happy.

I love, love, love being out on the water. I bet I was a mermaid in a past life.

Gmail chat with Becca this morning:

becca: so get this
jordan's ex girlfriend moved to colorado when she and jordan broke up
and then she was engaged to a guy there and they just broke up
and now she is moving to texas
girl cant settle down

me: i wonder what texas is like
i would only move to austin

becca: that is where she is moving!
san antonio kinda rocks
that is the only place I have been

me: yea, i could do san antonio the way debbie did dallas

Just so Jorge doesn't have the only fun sailboat picture...

Spinnaker flying is the coolest shit ever. I highly recommend it. (Especially if you happen to be named George and are working on a catamaran. You lucky, shirtless, bastard.)

Okay, today is my birthday, so I am off to get my drink on.