tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21989805737628188792011-07-12T11:00:34.854-07:00Further proof that I have no life, and other musingsMichellenoreply@blogger.comBlogger431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-56353744719079353602008-02-14T20:34:00.001-08:002008-02-14T20:35:58.985-08:00

this blog is closed. I've decided that I'm a better consumer of blogs than a producer of blogs. I do like Flickr though, both the photos and the discussions. You can find me (and plenty of pictures) there.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-78169761186087367772007-12-11T13:06:00.000-08:002007-12-11T13:11:04.756-08:00

My four year old now loves to answer the phone when it rings at our home. Yesterday it rang, and here's how the conversation went:Olivia: Hello?Caller (my mom): Oh Hi OliviaOlivia: Hi Pau-pau (meaning Grandma)My mom: I was calling to see if you guys could come to a christmas dinnerOlivia: I already had dinner!!

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-78490403232001041522007-11-15T13:27:00.001-08:002008-12-12T18:09:40.849-08:00

Oooh the L.A. Auto Show starts tomorrow. I have to admit I'm a bit surprised since I'm used to it being in January or February. I wonder if it's possible to take a 1 month old baby to the auto show. I suppose it could dampen the experience. Speaking of damp babies...

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-53367690184816068352007-10-06T19:50:00.000-07:002007-10-06T19:59:04.206-07:00

We took Olivia to the local pumpkin patch this afternoon. We had a star sighting. If she had been older I could have said, "look honey, that's Spiderman". Yeah it was Tobey Maguire with his wife and year old daughter Ruby. I saw him mostly because we were meeting another family at the pumpkin patch, and I kept scanning the area for them. Then I noticed all the paparazzi. Pretty amazing.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-91989392963365530532007-08-11T23:16:00.001-07:002008-12-12T18:09:41.155-08:00

I read a newspaper article about Webkinz, it's a bit old news now, but I guess a few months ago these were pretty difficult to get a hold of. It's sort of a beanie baby coupled with an online web version of the stuffed one that you feed and take care of like a Tomodachi. So anyhow I walked into Aahs the other day and picked one up for my daughter. She already likes a Catz game on her GameBoy

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-45790604134576939522007-07-17T20:41:00.000-07:002008-12-12T18:09:41.350-08:00

Sure, young, crazy-in-love couples run off and get married in Vegas all the time. But what about my 70 year old mom and her 71 year old boyfriend!?! It's true after living together for 6+ years they finally decided to tie the knot. The happy couple chose to exchange their vows at that venerable Asian casino the Imperial Palace. Mom reports that it was just too smoky for her to enjoy playing

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-23487017605334134682007-07-13T21:24:00.000-07:002008-12-12T18:09:41.524-08:00

It's not the sort of thing I would have expected, but it happened. I watched An Inconvenient Truth and I can't recommend it enough. It's a compelling documentary, and it makes me want to buy a hybrid car and install solar panels on my roof. Even if you don't buy the argument (and I don't see how you couldn't), it's worth seeing, just to see what a really good PowerPoint presentation should

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-87209738323000231062007-06-21T22:22:00.000-07:002007-06-21T22:30:46.511-07:00

Lately my daughter's school has been teaching the children not to use mean or hurtful words. They call these words S-Words which I assume means swear word. Now I've got this little cop going around saying "S-Word Mommy!" every time anyone says the words "stupid" , "hate" or "ugly". If a T.V. character says "I hate vegetables" I'll hear "character so-and-so said the S-word Mommy".So today,

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-14639855687277132212007-06-06T14:37:00.000-07:002007-06-06T14:43:57.188-07:00

Here's an intriguing article from the NY Times. It's about how people are making some major money by selling their photos on sites like istockphoto.com for just a few cents a photo. Sure sounds easy. Maybe I should take up amateur photography.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-9313274228182363912007-06-03T21:06:00.000-07:002008-12-12T18:09:41.690-08:00

No, I didn't sign up for Burning Crusade. Yet. Blizzard must be getting worried, they even mailed me a 10-day free trial DVD. I did however sign up for the the Warhammer Beta. We'll see if they want a middle-aged gaming mommy, not exactly their target demographic. Then again at least I can write more than "wtf ur game suxxxxxx" when I beta test. Speaking of mommies, looks like Olivia won't

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-26456756127778793692007-05-18T15:48:00.001-07:002008-12-12T18:09:41.837-08:00

Oh evil evil things. Yesterday my coworker downloaded the free 10 day trial of World of Warcraft Burning Crusade. It's been four months since I quit and they've been good months. So I sat there watching over his shoulder as we looked around some old haunts and some new areas and characters. Next thing I know I'm looking at my old guild's forums and seeing how they've been progressing through

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-13175181625736239352007-04-30T11:55:00.000-07:002007-04-30T12:11:40.290-07:00

I spent the weekend up at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center reviewing proposals with a room full of UCLA faculty. When we weren't going over proposals we were having cocktails or eating meals together. I've been doing this for about 4 years, but this year is probably the first time that I'm started to feel comfortable with all these brainiacs. Maybe it was the location. This was the

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-87536825803628935682007-04-21T16:39:00.000-07:002008-12-12T18:09:42.019-08:00

Well it took a few years but I've finally solved a Rubik's cube. Of course I was reading instructions in order to do it, but it's a start. I still remember very clearly the only two people in my high school who could solve one. One was a kid who had skipped a few grades, graduated 2nd in the high school and went on to be a doctor. The other was an average joe, who liked to dress up as a ninja

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-26716640055341291902007-04-04T11:28:00.000-07:002007-04-04T11:31:20.056-07:00

I prefer it with the sound off. :-)

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-6092424161577030272007-04-01T22:49:00.000-07:002008-12-12T18:09:42.737-08:00

The weeklong celebration is finally over. There was the birthday party for friends at Child's Play, the dinner with grandma and grandpa, the party at school and finally the visit to Legoland and the cake with Mom and Dad, not to mention the cheesecake with Uncle Frank. Its been fun, but very tiring. At least we don't have to do it again for another year.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-68354577983428332642007-03-17T22:44:00.000-07:002007-03-17T22:50:23.897-07:00

I recently began playing Tribal Wars. I have to admit that it's fun, although a very simple MMO. More fun since there's a whole group of us playing, I'm not sure I'd play it if I didn't have friends also playing it (and not just online friends). But it's starting to take up too much of my time. And it's not even "active gaming". Mostly I seem to be thinking about what to build or raid next,

Michellenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-9407319743773744472007-03-09T19:55:00.000-08:002007-03-09T19:59:04.254-08:00

I think I'm going on a BestBuy Boycott after reading this article. I've never been super fond of BestBuy, but they're convenient, clean and well lit. I've bought plenty of stuff from them, perhaps most recently my beloved PSP. But reading this article, I have to say it just sort of fits with the underlying seediness that you always sensed at BestBuy, like back when they were doing that "free"

Michellenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-73037404525072241502007-03-02T22:17:00.000-08:002007-03-02T22:24:21.169-08:00

I watched The Departed this evening. While I thought it was a decent movie, I can't say I would think of it as a "Best Movie". I was impressed with Leonardo DiCaprio's acting. Jack Nicholson on the otherhand is getting sort of strange. People often accuse Tom Cruise of not acting, but of just being "Tom Cruise". I'm afraid Jack strikes me that way. It wasn't that hard to imagine his "

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-26235638657962638312007-02-24T20:34:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:43.017-08:00

It was very nice to hear that Mike and his "dentist" gave birth to a healthy baby boy today. Sounds like "Mike Jr." is going to be a sprinter, having barely given mom and dad enough time to make it to the hospital this evening, not to mention being 2 weeks early. It's always nice to see good people add to the world's population. There's hope for the world yet. Cheers!

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-13537738843905489932007-02-19T19:40:00.000-08:002007-02-19T19:49:17.063-08:00

As a kid I watched my share of badly dubbed kung-fu movies on local television. As a teen I found them sort of embarassing. Was this the sort of culture "my people" produced? Recently I rented Jet Li's Fearless. The first half of the movie, felt like a hokey kung fu movie, but actually the second half was quite good, and like the main character, I found the movie redeemed itself. The next

Michellenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-74663773288244184192007-02-16T20:14:00.000-08:002007-02-16T20:17:11.546-08:00

Okay, I have to admit, blogging is a pain in the ass. The upkeep can be tiresome, but now I can just use it to keep track of interesting youtube movies. Today I saw the announcement of open beta for Microsoft's answer to YouTube called Soapbox. So I went over there. So far, this t-shirt folding one is my favorite.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-14224509231297824452007-02-14T18:54:00.000-08:002007-02-14T18:58:12.084-08:00

My boss sent me this clip. I love it. Almost makes me want to go back to providing desktop support. My favorite part is just as the tech is about to leave and he gets called back into the room.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-27553131049844181902007-02-12T18:58:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:43.260-08:00

It's Olivia's favorite food. She eats it for 4 or 5 meals a week. Less than a year ago, she wouldn't try it, but I'd say for the last few months it seems like she eats it every other day. Which is good for me. It's easy to make and cheap. I remember my economics teacher reminiscing about her graduate student days and living off of macaroni and cheese which at the time was something like

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-92230456523676040772007-02-08T21:28:00.000-08:002007-02-07T22:12:13.975-08:00

Interesting article in the NYT today about dogfighting in Russia. What's sort of odd is that this sport doesn't bother me the way bullfighting always has. I could imagine myself watching this, just as I might watch a boxing match. But owning one of these? No way, he'd eat me and Olivia.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-3268492860239748582007-02-06T19:56:00.000-08:002007-02-06T20:00:13.504-08:00

So I've been playing with Moodle for work. Actually getting pretty comfortable with it. But the subversive side of me is surfacing as I try to insert various bits of internet slang into my demos. A discussion of what FTW meant led me to this entry in wikipedia. I LIKE IT.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-74048750299398316002007-02-03T20:49:00.000-08:002007-02-03T21:00:03.345-08:00

Friday was Sophie's "birthday". She would have been 2. Olivia is looking more and more like an only. So anyhow, I was watching a dog show on Animal Planet. I could see getting a dog, on the other hand seems like too much trouble. Like a perpetual toddler. I liked the beagles in the dog show, shar-peis too, but I didn't see all the dog groups, I think labradors are pretty but probably too

Michellenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-78543502903043959542007-01-31T20:59:00.000-08:002007-01-31T21:01:24.468-08:00

Things I do when I'm bored: - shop online - eat - read news online - think about playing warcraft - write a blog posting - view random people's blogs by hitting the "next blog" button

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-55244055316266339702007-01-29T21:41:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:43.682-08:00

Why do some people bathe at night and some bathe in the morning? More specifically, why do most asians (or am I wrong) bathe in the evening and most europeans bathe in the mornings? Is it that agrarian societies take their baths after a long day working in the field, and the behavior is just a hold over? Is it that in humid climates you need to bathe in the evening when it's cooler? But then

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-16844529944152294482007-01-28T20:37:00.000-08:002007-01-28T20:44:15.409-08:00

Can someone explain to me why visits from parents are so stressful? I basically like my mom, and I think her boyfriend is really nice, but my family basically imploded after their three hour visit. My daughter was super sweet and excited when they arrived, by the time they left she was a complete brat and both my husband and I were grumps. Is it that Sundays are the days you shouldn't have any

Michellenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-15920270041225041312007-01-25T22:39:00.000-08:002007-01-25T22:51:41.508-08:00

Mmmmm... yum.... I had another Pinkberry today. I think that brings my total to somewhere around 15. At $5 a pop that's quite a chunk of change, but I tell you, if there was one any closer to me right now I'd probably be having another one. There was an interesting article in the LA Times about the company a little while back. Turns out the owner is a 32 year old Korean woman who originally

Michellenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-45602862063445332262007-01-24T19:59:00.000-08:002007-01-24T20:05:14.714-08:00

There's a great article in the WSJ today about how Microsoft got caught trying to pay a someone to change Wikipedia entries that they felt were inaccurate. I love Wikipedia, I created an account there quite a while ago with the intention of helping edit and create entries, but just never felt knowledgeable enough about anything to start an entry. I suppose the best way would be to begin by just

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-80762690234750002722007-01-23T10:43:00.001-08:002008-12-12T18:09:43.904-08:00

In my effort to find something to do other than play Warcraft I recently converted leftover christmas and birthday money and purchased a PSP. I have to say, so far I really, REALLY like it. It has just a beautiful display and the graphics on the games are outstanding. I haven't tried using it to listen to music or view photos, but the movie quality is excellent. This is definitely something

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-44624919045762982752007-01-21T22:25:00.000-08:002007-01-22T10:14:24.210-08:00

There was an article in the NYT about Aspen that reminded me about how much I miss going skiing. Buttermilk, Whistler, Mammoth all nice places. I finally gave away my snowboard. Never even got to ride it, figured if I ever did manage to go skiing again, I'd just use my skiboards, but I wasn't likely to ever have the time to pursue snowboarding again. Olivia's almost 4 and I'm sure we'll take

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-30517582568497277762007-01-20T21:04:00.000-08:002007-01-20T21:09:42.043-08:00

Clinton 2008. Wow. Hard to imagine a woman president in the United States, but if someone can do it, perhaps she can. I'd love to see Bill Clinton back as First Husband. Weird to think there have been plenty of female leaders in other countries, but not in the U.S. of A. Analysts are saying as much as a third of the country hates her and would refuse to vote for her. Can't be much better

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-77780181981335297362007-01-19T23:45:00.000-08:002007-01-19T23:45:33.028-08:00

I have a very good friend who has decided to leave L.A. and move to Virginia. She's moving to the winner of Frommer's 2004 Best City to Live in USA and Canada. It looks nice, I'll definitely have to visit. What was sort of odd, was how sad I felt after learning she was leaving. And even though we don't see each other that much, somehow, I just like the thought of her being nearby.It's been

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-16841771855729482382007-01-18T20:03:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:44.198-08:00

I finally followed through with my dentist's referral and saw an endodontist today. It really wasn't until I was sitting in the dental chair after getting an x-ray that I realized how much I was dreading this. I had already put off the referral for about 3 months. It's probably been a good 6 months since I started having some temperture and pressure sensitivity in one of my molars. It's not

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-80971972666923831052007-01-16T21:09:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:44.372-08:00

You know, I saw the ad in the Sunday circular that said that 2 BestBuys in L.A. would be selling Burning Crusade at 12:01am 01/16/07, I wonder how many people showed up? Did I think about it? Well.... I looked at the the interactive preview at the Warcraft sight, but no, I didn't for a second think of myself sitting outside a BestBuy at midnight. I did think I might buy it this morning though.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-18499085668515642502007-01-15T10:17:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:44.467-08:00

Okay, I'm sold. Time to take an interest in soccer. It is the world's most popular sport right? I did enjoy watching the World Cup about 10 years ago. And if my daughter is to get on a local AYSO team I have to learn how to coach or be a referee, so contact me if you want to go to a Galaxy game this season.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-54618349858176141522007-01-14T22:56:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:44.661-08:00

If you've ever driven around with me for more than an hour or so, then you probably know that I have a love of Slurpees. Cola Slurpees only please. When I was a kid I used to like cherry, but it's just too sweet for me now. However, my daughter loves cherry Slurpees. She learned how to use a straw while stealing a sip of cherry slurpee from dad. A proud parenting moment for us both. And

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-30797007635745670012007-01-11T20:55:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:44.938-08:00

My favorite jelly bean is a green apple Jelly Belly. I used to be a fan of cherry and watermelon as well, but over time those have fallen by the wayside. I hate the fact that they are so expensive, $7.50/lb seems a bit pricey so I haven't had any lately. I'll have to try and pick some up soon. Or maybe I can just order them online...

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-9737374688191655792007-01-10T21:10:00.000-08:002007-01-10T22:20:31.087-08:00

I'm grateful that I have a sibling. There were times when my mom or dad would do something really annoying, and I could vent to her, and she would understand better than anyone else. When our father died and my mom needed emotional support, it was a burden that we shared. There are things my sister knows, that my parents never knew.My daughter doesn't have a brother or sister. It wasn't a

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-6853334457800841572007-01-09T21:29:00.000-08:002007-01-09T21:45:33.207-08:00

One of the most important people in my life is my housekeeper. There was a time in my life when I would spend the better part of a Sunday cleaning showers, sinks, toilets, vacuuming. Now I don't. It's great. If you can afford it, I can't recommend it enough. Those first 6 months with our baby, life was so hectic, it was a great relief not to have to worry about cleaning the house. We were

Michellenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198980573762818879.post-16482155469225273572007-01-08T20:39:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:45.022-08:00

So I've sworn off WoW yet again. With all this new found time in the evenings now that I'm not in Azeroth I find myself doing things like shopping on the Internet, or reading random people's blogs. So I figured it would be a good time to start my own blog (again). Welcome to my boredom.

Michellenoreply@blogger.com0