Events Are Indeed Cowards

I'm reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and last night this quote leapt out at me from an otherwise unassuming page 13:

"It was a Friday afternoon.  Richard had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead would run in packs and leap out at him all at once."

Ain't that the truth...and fitting too, as it happens to be Friday afternoon.

RIP Rocky Mountain News

I loved this newspaper and it has been such an important part of Colorado history.  I'm so sad that it closed.

Final article:

Goodbye, Colorado

The Rocky

Published February 27, 2009 at midnight

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Photo by Rocky Mountain News

The final front page of the Rocky Mountain News.

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today.Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over. Thousands of men and women have worked at this newspaper since William Byers produced its first edition on the banks of Cherry Creek on April 23, 1859. We speak, we believe, for all of them, when we say that it has been an honor to serve you. To have reached this day, the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday is painful. We will scatter. And all that will be left are the stories we have told, captured on microfilm or in digital archives, devices unimaginable in those first days. But what was present in the paper then and has remained to this day is a belief in this community and the people who make it what it has become and what it will be. We part in sorrow because we know so much lies ahead that will be worth telling, and we will not be there to do so. We have celebrated life in Colorado, praising its ways, but we have warned, too, against steps we thought were mistaken. We have always been a part of this special place, striving to reflect it accurately and with compassion. We hope Coloradans will remember this newspaper fondly from generation to generation, a reminder of Denver’s history – the ambitions, foibles and virtues of its settlers and those who followed. We are confident that you will build on their dreams and find new ways to tell your story. Farewell – and thank you for so many memorable years together.

Happy Friday

Things that make me:

• Happy - waking up to pale morning sunlight, birdsong, and seeing determined flower buds pushing up through the dirt.
• Both glad and sad - fresh flowers on gravestones
• Sad - watching people run to catch the bus and miss it anyway, and then see them slow to a jog, then a trudge, as they stare after it

This is what was in our yard this morning:

On Resin

Joh: are you gonna make art with Resin?

Me: i havent really had time to give it much thought since we talked about it yesterday, but it definitely would be cool

Joh: im gonna try to get to the ac moore this evening and pick some up

Me: rehzin

Joh: sounds like a drug

Me: youre right

Joh: purskripshun rehzin

ask ur doctur kitteh

Me: dew u effur getz teh harbls, coff, oar depreshun?

dew u effur feal tiurd, oar hungree?

if sew...plz 2 acks ur doktrkitteh abowt rehzin

Joh: dew u getz teh dizzenis?

Me: sumtiems feel teh knead 2 yooz teh littrbawks?

Joh: lawl

Me: if u haz wan dis simptimz, plz 2 acks ur purrvidr fur a perskirpshun rite awae

Joh: syde effix inklude bent tail

Me: n reseevin msgs frum teh spaeshipz

Joh: u finks u canz ryde invisibul bike

Me: yah! liek ceiling cat. deviyn helusinashun.

Joh: 50 minutes!

Me: woooo!  ahhh...another blog-worthy conversation

Joh: woooooooo

it's almost quittin' time, baws.

quirks

˙ɯǝɥʇ sɐɥ ǝuoʎɹǝʌǝ 

If I may say so without sounding full of myself, I like to think my quirks can be endearing and make me unique.  I don't know if they drive other people nuts, but at least they don't drive me nuts or keep me from getting any work done.  

I've been really into paranormal fantasy fiction lately, and have really enjoyed reading for pure pleasure and indulgence.  At least, being someone who loves classics, ethnographies, poetry, etc., I've been quite indulgent.  I go through phases where sometimes I'm more affected by what I read, so I have to stay away from heavy and/or depressing material.  I'm going through one of those phases, so I'm just having fun with my lighter fare and allowing my imagination to run away with its lovely self.  I just started a young adult series (Vampire Academy), and I navigated to the library's website to place a hold on the second book (successful), then went to reserve the third book.  I was baffled to find that nowhere in the Free Library system is there a copy of this freaking book.  Surprised at how deflated I felt, I tried to evaluate why; could it be the injustice of its absence as it was released months ago and is really popular?  Could it merely be an issue of impatience (clearly, I must have the book now even though I haven't even finished the first book yet)?  Finally, I concluded that my disappointment sprung from the fact that my unwavering faith in the library had been shaken (ever so slightly).

Quirk: my way of coping with not being able to find something (particularly in the case of books) is to scan the shelf (or webpage) for it.  Normal, right?  However - when I can't find it, I scour the selection again while willing the book to appear.  If the book does not reveal itself, I step away for a moment.  Resolutely, I come back to scan, intensely will the book to be there, and tap into my knowledge of zenkitteh mind tricks in hopes that the book will be hand carried over (or loaded into the system) as I'm looking for it, or, better yet, simply that it will appear out of thin air.  Damn you, Epicurus (via Lavoisier).  You were cool and all, but conservation of mass is such crap when you need a book to materialize.  While I'm at it, I'll go ahead and hold chemistry against you too.  Phew.  ANYway.  I digress, as usual.  Moving right on from scolding geniuses who bought the farm long ago (in the case of Epicurus, millennia), my paradigm shifted when I checked, and rechecked, and ((re)^n)checked the online catalogue in vain.  How is it, exactly, that the Free Library of Philadelphia does not have this book?  This is the first time I've ever not been able to find something I'm looking for.  Sigh.

Yep, quirk.

I get really excited when I can peel an orange and manage to keep the skin in one piece.  Peeling the orange without destroying the fruit is a victory in and of itself for me, so you can imagine that having unmarred fruit AND peel - separately - is a big deal.  It would be cool if my fancy new work computer had an SD port so I could upload and post the picture of my peel.

I have 5 different black pens on my desk, neatly lined up beside my right arm.  Clearly, it's very important to have options.  The barrel, ink flow, nibs, and center of balance vary between styles and brands, as well as the type of paper you happen to be using.  Also, what if your hand is cold?Or perhaps you just got done with a workout and have the shakes?  That affects handwriting.  For me, anyway.

I've been so ridiculously busy lately, and when I'm not busy I'm recovering from being busy, so sorry I've been out of touch.  Not to mention the fact that during times like these in which I work a lot and spend 10 hours looking at a computer screen, I try to avoid frittering away my time at home on the computer.  Tonight, I look forward to having no plans, generally vegging out, and doing things I haven't really had much time to do: reading my young adult vampire novels, working on knitting my hat and dishcloths (my thick/thin scarf is getting rave reviews), and watching the movies I checked out from the library. 

Debate Exposes Doubt

The past two weeks have been positively insane. In a (mostly) good way.

I'm currently listening to “The Time is Now,” by Moloko (former band of Róisín Murphy, who is awesome).

Pens v. Flyers game Saturday afternoon. Check my facebook album. I feel like a celebrity because 3 of our photos were published on the coveted thepensblog.com, which is Pittsburgh's primary Penguins fan blog. The game was awesome, but totally nuts, and the fact that I literally got bitched out by my Philly/Flyers fan friends is a testament to just how borderline homicidal some Philly fans are. Drives me nuts…I was totally blown away when I got actual angry responses. Hmpf. I guess I'm just not used to being of the mindset "I LOVE this team, therefore I hate every other team [in our division]."  One thing that was really cool was the camaraderie among all Pens fans; shaking hands, high-fiving, smiling, waving at perfect strangers and generally forming a united front of minorities in a lions’ den. There was a fan brawl – I wish I had more details. Todd and Dan came to Philly for the weekend so that was sweet too. We didn’t get heckled as much as the other Pens fans…my theory is that it was partially due to the fact that a girl was in the group, and partially due to the fact that our group, at 4, was larger than most. Let’s hear it for strength in numbers.

Big win for the Red Team on Saturday night. I can’t emphasize how much I love coaching. I thought about playing in the spring league, but I don’t think I’m ready for that and know I would have a blast coaching. I don’t know. I’d rather wait until I’m in better shape and my knees hopefully don't hurt as much when I do stuff. Maybe next year. I’m still waffling about it but may be running out of time to do that.

So the water cooler at work is totally gross and contaminated. I refuse to touch the stuff that comes out of it (that's what she said). The other day, someone got some water out of it, and it literally came out green-tinged with algae floating in it. We own rather than lease the water cooler, so the water distributor doesn’t clean the dispenser for us. Whoever it is here who is in charge of cleaning it “religiously wipes it with a paper towel” between each bottle which…clearly sanitizes it. No one understands that water coolers are breeding grounds for bacteria and other assorted organisms. I don’t get how they all seem to think that patting the inside of the cooler with a paper towel will really clean it.

On Friday, I brought bleach to work. My plan was to fill the reservoir with water and add a capful of bleach to it, so it could work its magic over the weekend. Of course, I would empty and flush it on Monday before putting a new water bottle in. My brilliant plan was thwarted, however, when a science whiz of a co-worker stopped me on Friday afternoon; horrified.

"Are you seriously about to put BLEACH in the water cooler?! It’s poisonous and will make the water taste like pool water."
"Dude...there's algae GROWING in the cooler and the water smells like a pond. Just let me clean this out and it will be ready first thing Monday morning with a new bottle of water. Drink some tap water."
"Tap water? Ew. Why would I drink that when we have purified spring water right there in the bottles [points to bottles that release water through the algae garden]? I'd rather leave it like it is and allow the green stuff to settle to the bottom before drinking it than have it taste like bleach.”
“…”

Durf.

Now I’m listening to “These Fangs” by Say Hi (To Your Mom) and I’m a fan. I think I’ll go see them in March at Johnny Brenda’s.

Ok…mental health break was good. Back to work.

ohhhh yea

see more pwn and owned pictures

The perfect gift for someone crappy in your life.

Spongebob is being really annoying right now.  The best parts of the show are Karl (or whatever the snail's real name is) and Mr. Krabs (especially when he wears a hat whilst golfing in dreamland).

Anyway, the point of this post is to bring attention to a most excellent website offering a unique service:

http://www.poopsenders.com/

I don't know how Abby finds these sites, but I love them!

Thanks Ab.

Stab List

Rules:

If you see a person on your Stab List in real life, you are contractually obligated to stab* him/her.  In real life.

My Stab List:

• Flava Flav
  
• Avril Lavigne
  
• Pearl (from Spongebob)
  
• Mr. Herbert (from Family Guy)
  

*Hint: In order to avoid violation of your contractual terms as well as jail time, it's helpful to choose people you have zero chance of ever meeting in real life.

Friends 2009... 57 Questions

Welcome to the 2009 edition of getting to know your friends.  Press FORWARD then change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your friends including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

 

1.  What time did you get up this morning?

7:30...I overslept.  I've been doing that a lot lately...whoops!

 

2.  Diamonds or pearls?

For what purpose?  I think (genuine) pearls are more interesting than diamonds, and Marla recently informed me that diamonds really aren't "forever."

 

3.  What was the last film you saw at the cinema? 

The Wrestler

 

4.  What is your favorite TV show? 

Oh geez...Arrested Development probably.  I don't watch much TV.

 

5.  What do you usually have for breakfast?

Usually I'm a bad kid and don't eat breakfast because I'm in too much of a rush.  I usually like something lighter earlier in the morning, like granola/yogurt, cereal, or eggs!  If we're talking brunch...then anything goes.

 

6.  What is your middle name?

Hélène

 

7.  What food do you dislike?

Zucchini.  Blech.

 

8.  What is your favorite CD at moment?

I don't really have a favorite right now, but I'm currently listening to "musicforthemorningafter" by Pete Yorn.

 

9.  What kind of car do you drive?

Toyota Corolla

 

10. Favorite sandwich?

Impossible to answer!  I like turkey, PB&J, egg/cheese, grilled cheese/tomato...

     

11. What characteristic do you despise?

It's probably a toss-up between pretentiousness and rudeness

 

12. Favorite item of clothing?

I really like to wear scarves, but I don't know if they count as clothing, so I guess I'd pick this black turtleneck sweater I LOVE.

 

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

Hmm...if I have to pick someplace I've never been before, it would be nice to go to Australia, Italy, Greece...

 

14. Favorite brand of clothing?

Probably Gap.  I have a hard time finding pants that fit me right anywhere else.

 

15. Where would you retire to?

       In the US: Colorado

       Abroad: Austria

 

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?

24 on 1/29/09!  Kim took me to lunch, then Dante surprised me at work with stargazer lilies in hand, took me to a jewelry store and told me to pick out whatever I want (I'm still looking for something plain and involving a star garnet), then took me to Ruth's Chris, THEN surprised me with a cannoli birthday cake at home!  The next night, we went to Manayunk Brewery with the Reeders and Sean (who treated me and made me cards and all that goodness) and then we went to the Reeders' apartment for the most epic game of Balderdash.  Ever. with a superb group of kids.  It was a wonderful birthday :)

 

17. Favorite sport to watch?

Fly fishing!  And by that I mean hockey.

 

18. Farthermost place you are sending this?

Umm...California

 

19. Person you expect to send it back first?

I really have no idea.

 

20. When is your birthday?

January 29, 1985

 

21. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Night (though I prefer to workout in the morning which is weird)

 

22.  What is your shoe size?

8.5 or 9  

 

23.  Pets? What are they?

        Mobley (love of my life) and Rudy: Congo African Grey parrots.

        Kiki and Ike: pwnd kittehs.

        I'm the proud aunt of Rabbit (zenkitteh extraordinaire), Jasmin (lovely dog), and Max (toughest cat on the block who says "Noooo" to everything)

 

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?

Hmmm...my brother is getting married in May

 

25. What did you want to be when you were little?

A doctor.  Or an inventor or explorer.

 

26. How are you today? 

HR Coordinator/Generalist.  Woo!  (I actually do like it a lot)

 

27. What is your favorite candy?

I don't like to discriminate, but I might have to pick Caramellos

 

28. What is your favorite flower?

Stargazer Lily

 

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?

February 21, 2009 - I'm going to the Penguins v. Flyers game with Todd, Dan, and Dante!

 

30. What is your full name?

Sherri Hélène Long

 

31. What are you listening to right now?

"For Nancy (Cos it already is)" by Pete Yorn

 

32. What was the last thing you ate?

A carrot stick with hummus on it.

 

33. Do you wish on stars?

Absolutely

 

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

Cerulean blue or Raspberry

 

35. How is the weather right now?

Sunny, cold, and dry which I love

 

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?

Randi

 

37. Favorite soft drink?

Ginger ale

 

38. Favorite restaurant?

It depends on the cuisine!  Chinese - Lee How Fook, Italian - L'Angolo's, Macaroni&cheese = Noodles&Co, etc, etc, etc,

 

39. Real hair color?

The color of my hair now and how it's always been.  Dark brown with bits of blonde, red, black, and gray.

 

40. What was your favorite toy as a child?

Legos?  The outdoors?

 

41.Summer or winter? 

Winter

 

42.Hugs or kisses?

Hugs!  (Get your free hugs, here!)

 

43. Chocolate or Vanilla?

Twist.

 

44. Coffee or tea?

Tea

 

45. Do you want your friends to email you back?

Yes, and if they don't we won't be friends anymore

            ;)

 

46. When was the last time you cried?

Saturday night.

 

47. What is under your bed?

Dust bunnies...it's hard to keep them out of confined spaces with hardwood floors.

 

48. What did you do last night?

went to HOCKEY!

 

49. What are you afraid of losing?

Control of my mind

 

50.  Salty or sweet?

Sweet

 

51. How many keys on your key ring?

Let's count...Two to my apartment, one for my house in CO, one for my office building, one for my car, one for my bike lock...6.

 

52. How many years at your current job?

1.5!

 

53. Favorite day of the week?

Probably Saturday?  Maybe Friday because the workday is slow and I get to look forward to the weekend.

 

54. How many towns have you lived in?

Oh geez...(family, correct me on some of these?) Homestead, Stuttgart, Hefersweiler, Frankfurt, Patch Barracks, Izmir, Colorado Springs, Philadelphia...8?

 

55. Do you make friends easily?

I'm friendly and have a lot of close/friendly acquaintances, but it takes a lot for me to call someone a true friend.  My mom once told me that in life, you should consider yourself lucky if you can count the number of TRUE friends you have on one hand, like the type of friend who would drop everything and come to you if you needed anything, and with whom you have a timeless relationship.

 

56. How many people will you send this to?

you'll never know.  

 

57. How many will respond?

maybe a couple

This one can't go unposted

me: o hai iz bak

Ebbs: ohai!!

 

me: hai joh!

 

Ebbs: hai sharee

wuz happnin?

 

me: iz gon hafta acks u to kom in awn caturday

 

Ebbs: :o

mai stayplur. u taeks it

 

me: dis wan jamz.

 

Ebbs: wut is pc lode ledder?

me: da fuk duz dat meen?!

Ebbs: it feelz gud tew be uh gangsta

me: wuz nuffin rong wif it...til teh no-talint assklown got faymis n strtd win grahameez

 

Ebbs: lawl

i taek duh spekz frum custewmurs tew da ngineers

me: iz A PEEPL KITTEH!!!!!

kitteh kitteh?

 

Ebbs: lawl

kitteh cat

 

me: ooooh good wan!

solushunz. u haz dem.

Random snippets of a cult classic in LOLspeak?  Priceless.

no one will surprise me unless you do

I'm eating kumquats.  

Last night, the lady who works at Loop, a hip yarn store a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square, called me to say that the yarn I ordered for my cardigan has come in!  Fittingly, the color is "Pomegranate."  Christine has been patient in helping me to knit slightly more advanced/structured things, and I'm going to finish my hat before making my clothing debut.

This is the cardigan I want to make, but with longer sleeves in a lovely deep scarlet:

I'm excited about the sweater, but nervous too because I love it and really want it to look good!

Hockey last night was fantastic.  Mental Health Monday was fantastic.  

Donna keeps encouraging me to play Spring League hockey.  I thought it was a pretty competitive thing similar to regular season until last night, when I found out that it's just in-house, casual hockey where the girls all just go to have a good time.  

The scary part of all of this?  I'm actually starting to seriously consider it.

thunder makes her contemplate

I had a couple important doctors' appointments last week and I'm happy to report that they went very well.  Better than expected actually.  Interestingly, they were not lupus-related appointments, so I didn't know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised.  It's going to be another busy week, but not stressful like the last one.

The weather has been so gorgeous the past couple days...I just want to spend all my time outside!  I brunched with my totally prosh porkchop yesterday but our time together ended too quickly before I had to head to West Chester for a hockey game.  No comment on that.  I set a goal for us to win the 3rd period, which we did 1-0, but I won't tell you the final score.  

Cindy kicked me in the arm (accidentally) while hopping the boards, and was about 1.5cm away from my radial artery.  Sheesh.  Luckily the cuts are perpendicular to the blood vessels.  They are perfectly spaced, of even depth; like train tracks.  In sum, it's morbid, but an interesting method of confirming that whoever sharpens her skates does a good job.

Hockey practice tonight, with Mental Health Monday therapy session afterwards.  Stoked!  Tonight will be a good one.  Plus, I love skating.  Sam Adams Cherry Wheat (perhaps Stella Artois, Shock Top, Winter Ale if there's any left on tap) and plain personal pizza with my ladies are in order.  I have to go home, finish my practice plan and get to the rink early so I can get my skates sharpened...maybe I should find out who sharpens Cindy's skates.

I like the way things are shaping up at work.  I require chapstick.  I'm not wearing my watch today and therefore feel stark naked.

Peace out (think Kip from Napoleon Dynamite).

Dis dae livz in infummee.

Backstory: Some people got laid off at Joe's work yesterday, and today, the company decides that they have enough money to host an office-wide pizza party.

me:  wuts fur lunsh joh?

Ebbs:  wait till you hear this…yesterday they let people go. today? pizza at noon.  i'll eat my sandwich, thanks

me:  shit..yeah i just saw your tweet. so dum.

Ebbs:  laaame 

*lunch break* 

me:  o hai joh! u partaek in peetza or no? 

Ebbs:  nope 

me:  gud fur u…i woodnt eethr 

Ebbs:  thanks! 

me:  pees teh rizistans or sumfin 

Ebbs:  yeah, pretty shiesty.  sylunt protest…viva la resistance 

me:  yah.  u fast.  liek teh gondee. no peetza!  iz tayntid! 

Ebbs:  lol, well nawt liek dat. i ayted mai sammich 

me:  ya well...peetza fast at wurk on 2/6. tayntid peetza is liek no good srsly 

Ebbs:  i remembransh - blud peetza 

me:  yah mark ur kalindurz kittehs!
im sorry i cant help but laff at “blud peetza”
do you know how ridiculous we are?
i love it

Ebbs:  hahaha we are pretty silly
yeah, blud peetza may not be politically correct. but it is damned funny

me:  since when are we politically correct?

Ebbs:  nebah! dey can taek r fweedum!
*cant
fweedum. i cant haz
* u cant haz
i mess up teh joeks

me:  iz k. eethr wae.  dis dae goze down in infummee.  injustis.  innisint kittehs haz it.

Ebbs:  ya! i haz dreem, in it i nawt eet peetza

    me:  i haz a dreem, dat wun dae kittehs will rize up n nawt eet tayntid peetza aftur komradz fall off payroll.  troof: "all kittehs dizurv peetza."
I haz a dreem awn teh dai befor caturdae.

Ebbs:  that is epic
Bravo…standin ovashun. u gets wan

me:  lol kthx srsly.
bao, bao, kurtzee.  i wood liek 2 fank mah chzfrends n teh akadimee? n moast of all...Ceiling Cat

Ebbs:  ramen! i fank mai teechurs n mah mudder n fadder

me:  n mah fanz, fur the capshunz.  5 guise chzburgr maekrz

Joseph:  n fris!

Best. LOLspeak convursashun.  Evar.

Happy Dae-Befor-Caturdai!

Restless

I need to do something.  I'm sitting here being useless yet jumping out of my skin at the same time.

I'm exhausted but I don't feel like sleeping.  I have all these things I want to do, I just haven't been motivated lately.

What's stopping me?  What am I waiting for?

For Savah: Her Morning Elegance

I have a new song obsession, thanks to Savah and her excellent musical taste.

Bezren, for some reason your blog won't let me post comments.  I just want to say that this song is exactly you, but in more ways than you had in mind: it's also amazingly beautiful.

This song has been playing on loop for literally 3 hours.  And I'm not tired of it at all.

How To Make a Snow Angel

From Poladroids

From Poladroids

From Poladroids

From Poladroids

From Poladroids

From Poladroids

From Poladroids

From Poladroids

...and that's how it's done.

Security Breach

Oh lawdy:

"

	New USAA Credit Card View Accounts | Privacy Promise | Contact Us	Online Security Guarantee

Dear Sherri Long, We were notified that your USAA credit card information, such as your name, account number and expiration date, may have been compromised. Unauthorized access to non-USAA systems may have occurred through a merchant where you shopped or dined, or by other fraudulent activity. Specific details about the compromise were not reported to USAA. To reduce the risk of unauthorized transactions, we're sending you a new credit card with a new account number and expiration date. You should receive it within 10 days.

blah blah blah blah.

Thank you, 

USAA Savings Bank"

Bugger.  I checked my credit card online statement and nothing looks amiss, so that's good!  Plus my old card was getting pretty hard to read.

And the piano’s this melancholy soundtrack to her smile.

This is currently my favorite LOLcat:

more animals

Hehehehehehehehehe.

I think it’s funny when some of my coworkers look at me like I’m a freak when I bring in my pint of milk some mornings.  Invariably, at least 2 people ask: "Whoa…dude.  Milk?!"  Yet no one gives a second thought when people start downing their first of 5 colas at 8:30am.  Interesting.  Here’s a PSA for everyone:  Milk.  It does a body good.

The past week or so has been such a whirlwind.  My birthday was phenomenal.  Kim took me out to lunch and a few other coworkers came along, then Dante came to pick me up around 4 with stargazer lilies in hand.  My favorite J.  The first super-secret destination was a jewelry store in King of Prussia…we walked in and told me to pick out whatever I want.  I would like to wear a simple garnet, but that store didn’t have anything that wasn’t super-fancy, so we’ll go elsewhere later.  The second super-secret destination was Ruth’s Chris, and not only was the meal entirely phenomenal, but I also discovered that I am a fan of merlot – try 14 Hands.  It will knock your socks off.  When we got home, Dante presented a cannoli birthday cake.  Man.  What a generous birthday!  My folks got me a scanner (I’m a nerd), Marla gave me a “Gobias Industries” t-shirt (if you haven’t seen Arrested Development, please watch it ASAP), and Raro sent me some fancy tea and a really cute little dish in the shape of a leaf to rest used tea balls or bags.  Usually my birthdays are either a mixed bag, or just plain bad, but this is the best one I can remember having.  24 is going to be a great year, I can feel it already.

One notable update in my life is that I have a new dear old friend.  Christine and I went to middle and high school together and had a few mutual friends, but never really had occasion to hang out or talk.  I played lacrosse with her older sister; did karate with her younger brother, and our dads work in the same place, so that was about the extent of our connection.  Well…now that I actually write out the connection, I suppose it’s closer than I thought.  Hm.  Last month, I got an email from her, telling me that she had moved to Philly!  I was/am thrilled.  We chatted online and hit it off, and then we hung out on Sunday and had a BLAST.  Brunching, knitting, chatting, mutating into psychotic football fans during the Superbowl equated to a 12-hour long hangout session.  Along from the fact that we meshed so well together and felt like we had been friends for years, she felt like “home” in a way.  Even though I’ve lived in Philadelphia for awhile, there’s still something lonely about being in a place where no one knows anything about my formative years or where I came from, especially since it’s drastically different from here.  Sure, I get lonely and homesick (especially since Rocky Mountain folks and Philly natives are entirely different breeds completely), but until Sunday, I didn’t realize there was an underlying loneliness that has since been quenched.  Anyway, hanging out is going to be a priority.

Hockey last night was amazing.  I got great feedback on all the drills (including one I made up on the way to practice) and one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced is the joy and pride of watching my team improve visibly from one practice/game to the next.  Not to mention that whenever I step on a fresh sheet of ice, I immediately feel exhilarated.  Mental Health Mondays after practice at Cocco’s are also very therapeutic, but I always pay for it on Tuesdays because then I’m really tired from staying out late.  Especially last night, because there wasn’t practice last week, so we had to make up for it!

It’s snowing (real snow, not rain/snow) and it’s supposed to keep snowing.

Yes, I’m still obsessed with the song “Sometime Around Midnight,” as you can see from the Title.

Khoda hafaz!

GO STEELERS!

That was - hands down - the most amazing football game I have ever seen.