Test your hearing

You are a thirtysomething

You're a little frustrated that you can't hear all the tones that the young 'uns can but will be more than happy if it means you don't have to listen to their damn ringtones on the bus anymore. The highest pitched ultrasonic mosquito ringtone that I can hear is 14.9kHz

Find out which ultrasonic ringtones you can hear!

Back in the USA

Our plane landed at LAX ahead of schedule and we are safely back in So Cal. The FlyAway was a madhouse, but we made it on finally and once again, our first stop was good ol' In 'n' Out. Gotta have it! I took over 3000 pictures in total (of Australia and NZ, not In 'n' Out!) so my task tomorrow is to go through them and write about each day of our trip. There are so many stories to tell!

We leave tomorrow!

I arrived in L.A. yesterday and the first thing we did was go to In-n-Out. Yum! Then hopped on the 405 and sat in traffic. Welcome back! We headed for Nicole's friends' house--Aaron, whom she teaches at La Mesa with, and his wife Kim. They have an 18 month old baby girl, Kara. She is so cute! She was a little unsure of me, but while I was there, she played fetch with Ellie (their min pin), and giggled profusely at the dog's reaction to the squeaky ball. She ran across the yard with Aunt Nicole. She stared intensely at her shelves of books until finally picking out two for her daddy to read to her. And she ate a tomato like an apple! Earlier in the day, Kim had told her that she could go outside after dinner. So when Nicole and I came in with the food, she immediately went to put on her shoes. What a memory!

I tried to sleep on the plane and thought I would do really well, because I was feeling nappy when we first got on, and I figured taking 2 benadryl would seal the deal. But it was still pretty much a very deep "rest" more than a light "sleep." I think the key is the alcohol-benadryl combination! Also, only a 5.5 hour flight, in the middle of the day. The flight to NZ will be 13 hours and overnight, so that will also encourage sleep. The onboard movie was He's Just Not That Into You, which I'd already seen, so I didn't bother watching it. But afterwards was an elephant documentary which was very interesting. You know how most nature films they're like, "This baby has wandered away from it's mother and will surely die. Elsewhere on the plain..." and you're like, "You're right there, why don't you help it for crying out loud??!" Well, this film was about people who DO intervene to help, so that was very satisfying. I saw the part where they had to sedate a baby and its mother to give the baby an injection of antibiotics for its broken foot, which had become infected internally. High drama, because there was a risk that the mama would pass out on top of the baby. Then it looked like the mama was going to land on her chest, blocking her airway. They had to tie ropes around her and use their vehicle to roll her over! In the end everything worked out though. My kind of animal documentary!!

So I made it until about 10:00 pm last night, which is 1am Eastern time, before I had to crash. I slept until about 6:30. I had a disturbing dream in which I took my iPhone out of my purse, and a bracelet I'd brought was wrapped around it. The problem was, the bracelet was magnetic (?) and had messed up the phone pretty bad. (Of course, there is no hard drive inside the iPhone--it's flash memory--which is not affected by magnets. But you know how dreams are!) So in my dream I was very upset because the phone basically wouldn't work, and I could take it to the Apple Store and have them restore it to factory settings, but then I would lose all my content. Not forever, because it's on my home computer, but my home computer is 2500 miles away at the moment! Oh so distressing. I was very relieved when I woke up and realized it was a dream! I do have to call AT&T customer service, though, because yesterday at Dulles airport I was unable to use the AT&T wireless service which is supposed to be free for all iPhone customers. It said something about not recognizing my number. When I called the wifi customer support, they said something is wrong with my account, but of course AT&T is closed on Sundays so all he could do is authorize access to the wifi as if I'd paid, and then I could deal with AT&T the next day. I swear, I've had nothing but problems w/ AT&T. If I was not absolutely head over heals in love with and addicted to my iPhone, I would go back to Verizon in a heartbeat. I have heard rumors that Verizon might be getting the iPhone next year, and if that's the case, I will be switching back for sure. I don't care if I have to pay an early termination fee! At least Verizon doesn't screw up your account twice in 4 months!

Whew! I must be in a mood to type! I haven't posted this much in eons. The plan for today is to get pedicures and maybe go to the movies. Pretty chill. The weather here is super nice. Unseasonably cool for June. I'll take it! Mid-70's all week, while it's high 80's and low 90's with thunderstorms in NC! That is one part of NC I won't miss while I'm gone! I do miss my baby, though. Comet is in good hands, though, and I am just going to keep telling myself that animals don't really have a sense of time, so me being gone 3 weeks isn't different from me being gone overnight. Hard to believe, but that's what they say.

Okay, ta ta for now!

Some web finds

If you're like me, you have a bunch of stuff in the fridge, but when you open it, you say, "There's nothing for dinner!" There's a website to help us! It's called SuperCook, and all you have to do is enter in all the stuff you have on hand, and then it will generate a list of recipes you can make right now! Of course, if all you have is ketchup and Diet Coke, you're out of luck, but even seemingly random ingredients can come together and make a yummy meal. If you sign up for a free account, it will remember your list of foods so all you have to do is update it (out of carrots, but bought oranges, etc.). According to the site, I can make almost 800 recipes right now, including Chicken Cacciatore, Asparagus Risotto, and Breakfast Tortilla Strata. Of course, all I did was boil some ravioli, but it's nice to know I have options.

Just One Club Card is a website for those of us with a multitude of plastic "loyalty" cards. All you do is enter the barcode numbers from the back of the cards and choose the store names from drop-down boxes. The site then generates a credit card-sized image with up to 8 barcodes on it, which you can print out and even laminate if you wish. Not only does it save room on your wallet or keychain, but it makes it much easier to find the card you need. Mine has Kroger, CVS, Food Lion, Borders, Lowes Foods, PetSmart, Hallmark, and Dick's Sporting Goods. You can also do library cards via the "Advanced" tool.

And finally, if you like kaleidoscopes, you will like Repper. You can do stuff with the images that result if you want, but I just think it's fun to play with.

Best SNL skit in years

Leave it to Will Ferrell and a surprisingly hilarious Tom Hanks to produce one of the funniest skits to appear on SNL in quite some time. (Well, those Tina Fey/Sarah Palin ones were pretty entertaining!)

Piedmont Wildlife Festival

A couple weekends ago I was the "official photographer" for the Piedmont Wildlife Festival in Durham, NC. I volunteered for the role, and was pleased as punch to be taking pix of animals all day. Here are a few of my favorites:






I came to know the Piedmont Wildlife Center when a coworker tried to trap a mouse in my office and it went terribly awry. Only the poor little guy's leg was caught. I tried to release him into the woods behind our building, but he didn't want to leave the box we'd put him in. So we took him to the wildlife center, where they accepted him with no hesitation, with as much care as they would a grander animal. Alas, he didn't make it, but I was so grateful to be able to take him somewhere that would give him a chance.

Susan Boyle's makeover

From what I've read, half the world is up in arms over Susan Boyle's recent makeover. Detractors say she is losing her "ugly duckling appeal," and risks becoming too polished. I say she looks fantastic, and more power to her! All she did was cut and dye her hair, trim her brows, and get a new outfit. It's not like she got lipo and a fake tan, people. She still looks like a "normal" person. Just a bit more fashionable. Trust me, if you've seen any interviews with her, you know--stylish locks will not strip away her somewhat awkward, down to earth personality.

Lately

• I am set to end the week having answered the most tech support calls in the department. Go me!
• Comet was up at 3:30 hurling...but not just his usual one time. There was nothing for him to bring up. Poor baby. I think he might be working on a hairball. I hadn't been sleeping well anyway so I just got up and went online. Yay for buying memory cards on New Egg at 4 in the morning!
• I am not bringing my laptop to Australia so I want to make sure I don't run out of space on my camera. I should be set for 5,000 photos with 2 8GB cards. The one I bought this morning was actually a micro SD and included an adapter AND a USB reader for about 20 bucks. This is in stark contrast to the memory stick duo I was forced to purchase in Florence, Italy in 2004...128 MB for over $100. We have come so far.
• I have been listening to the audio book In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson on my drive to and from work lately. It is so enlightening and funny! I am beside myself with anticipation and excitement for my upcoming trip. It is going to be too fabulous for words. That I get to spend a few days in L.A. before and after is serious icing on the cake. I cannot wait for the Dario's buffet brunch...here I come, cheese enchiladas! And that I will have 3 solid weeks with my BFF Nicole is like a giant scoop of ice cream on top of that piece of iced cake!
• On Wednesday, I went to a "mixer" for the newly formed UCSD alumni chapter of the Triangle. We all unanimously agreed that there is NO good Mexican food to be found here.
• It is going to be in the 90's here this weekend. Yikes. I'm hoping to see the new Disney movie Earth. It should be quite the spectacle.
• At work, my manager is making having us read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. I find the book to be, for the most part, repugnant. It is an easy read and has many illustrative anecdotes, but it is basically a user manual for manipulating people. The author is always reinforcing that you must be genuine about this or that. If you genuinely cared about other people, you would not need a book to tell you how to get friends. And you certainly would not actively be seeking to influence them. My rancor towards this book has brought out a negative tone in me that I don't like. I've tried to just stay mum but now I am in charge of leading the (online) discussion. Hmph.
• Oh, I never did write about Easter, did I? I was originally going to be in Washington, DC but that fell through, so I ended up picking up Cassidy and having her Thursday and Friday night. Friday we went to Pullen Park here in Raleigh and she had so much fun riding the train, the boats, and the carousel.

Friday evening we decorated Easter eggs.


Sunday was the Easter egg hunt...of the plastic, candy-filled variety, not the chicken embryo variety. I still get a rush when I see an egg peeking out from its hiding spot, even though I helped fill and hide them. That girl ended up with enough candy for 20 kids. We helped her eat it though. :)

More old pics

This is the best old pic I've come across. I love Matthew's expression, my dad would probably still buy that t-shirt today, and the backdrop is beautiful (no idea where it was shot though--some western national park no doubt). My hair is hideous, but I was in junior high...who looks good in junior high??

Then there's this one...those are some stylin' shades! Much improved hair. And my legs are actually not a blinding shade of white!

Time capsule

I scanned in a handful of old pics this evening and hope to do more in the days ahead. Here's a little taste of what's in the mix:


When I taught 7th grade world history, for the Middle Ages unit we did a Medieval Faire. This is the year I dressed in costume like the kids! I think it was 2001 or 2002. I remember the night before going over to my parents' house and asking my mom to sew the cape for me. Because she's such a good mommy, she did.