Thursday, June 29, 2006

Wicked

A while back I got into a "Wizard of Oz" phase. It started with reading the book Wicked, which is a prequel of sorts to The Wizrd of Oz. It continued when we won a silent auction at the library for the first three books in the original series. The culmination of this phase began with a newspaper announcement for Wicked the musical in Orange County! After two long hours trying to connect via phone and internet simultaneously, I managed to purchase two tickets in tier three. Not the greatest seats, but hey, we're in. So we'll need to find some binoculars before August 11. Maybe I can find some to match my new dress ...

Friday, June 23, 2006

Bizzare People

Erin is out of the house for the beginning of the evening, so I can watch the movies that won't interest her. I'm sure she would watch them with me anyway, but I won't bother her. I checked out from the library two documentaries: Trekkies and Trekkies 2. Hilarious! What people will do, I'm dying laughing. It's amazing how many people will decorate their homes to look like the starship Enterpise. One guy is trying to sell his custom made condo for 2 million dollars. Another lady showed her portrait of an actual alien, drawn by the artist who met him. She said that the aliens are here to help us from hurting ourselves. And she was telling that to another lady who was famous for wearing her starship outfit while jurroring for the Whitewater Trial.
I'm not a Star Trek fan, I'm a Star Wars fan. For those of you who don't know the difference, disregard this post, you won't enjoy these movies at all.

Pirates of the Caribbean

So, Jackie and I went to Disneyland last night to ride the newly updated Pirates ride, but found that the ride was closed still to the general public. Which is okay, I guess because the entrance was being blocked by some huge set of stadium seating. We walked around the bay to get a better look and I snapped four pictures for this panoramic shot. The screen was twice the size of a normal movie theater and sitting on the tip of Tom Sawyer's Island. The seats surrounded the bay on the opposite side of the water. (If you click on the picture you'll get a much larger view.)

We can't see the movie here; you have to be invited by the movie production, since this is not a Disney event, they're only hosting the event. So I need to become quick friends with Jerry Bruckheimer (the producer) before Saturday.

I hadn't been to Disneyland since February when we let Erin's pass expire. The crowds are far too big with this whole 50th Anniversary celebration.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Father's Day

We spent Father's Day with my dad and siblings at Hero's restaurant in downtown Claremont. We had a great time talking, laughing, eating, and throwing the peanut shells on the ground!
Here we are ... Dad and the kids.
How could I leave out Joshua? Doesn't he look handsome in that fancy shirt?
After lunch we walked around the village and found an adorable little dress shop. Jennille and I each bought dresses for the upcoming wedding festivities. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Congratulations, Jackie!

Last weekend my little sister graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Here we are before the ceremony. Our smiles were a good deal less bright after the three hour outdoor ceremony during which we had no choice but to sit in the blaring sun and listen to name after name being called over the loud speaker. Of course, we would do it again with pleasure for our dear Jackie.
After the graduation, we went to lunch at Mimi's where the rest of the family (Joshua, Gary, and Jennille) joined in the celebration. (Jackie only got four tickets, so immediate family only were invited to the actual ceremony. She mailed Gary's, Dad's and mine. Dad got his right away and mine came on Friday, but Gary's never made it to his house. Darn those square-shaped envelopes! They should all be required to say on them that extra postage required.)
With our tummies full, we went back to my mom's house to relax and hang out. We ended the evening with a game of Dominoes that is to be continued.
We are so proud of you Jackie! Posted by Picasa

Ten Year Reunion

I can hardly believe ten years have passed since I graduated from high school. I got an e-mail yesterday that our reunion has been scheduled for a Friday night in October. It will be held at a hall local to the school. After going to Joshua's runion and leaving heavy with dissappointment, I'm wondering if we should bother with mine. My closest high school friends have moved away and will probably not make it out for the evening. Do I want to make small talk with a bunch of people I no longer know (or never really did)? Has anyone else ran into this same dilema? Your thoughts are appreciated. :)

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Upland, CA: Proud to offer public disservice!

Today, Erin hired me to video record a friend's wedding while she was at her sister's graduation. The church was a short drive from Erin's mom's house in Rancho Coucamonga through Upland to Ontario. Only three major streets were needed to direct me to my destination: Carnelian, Baseline, and Euclid. I found my way to the church without any problems. But on the way back I could not find Baseline again. I just kept travelling north up the hill, and in Upland the hill just gets steeper. I knew I had gone too far, but where did I go wrong? Apparently Upland decided to only list the name 16th Street instead of Baseline, which is how it's named everywhere else.

What is the point of a street name? It's to help non-locals navigate around town more easily. What do locals care about street names, they know where they're going already. So to create street names is a public service, and names should remain consistent for the general public.

When I lived in Saipan there were no street names whatsoever. My home address was "Across the street from the Dan Dan Shell Station". Dan Dan was the area of the island, and the Shell gas station was a common landmark. But when the island was only 13 miles North-South by 5 miles East-West you knew how to get places within a week. No road names necessary. (Saipan is the capital of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. They are a protectorate of the United States. They speak English and use US currency. If you wanted to know.)

When I lived in Georgia the roads were frustrating there as well. Whenever you travelled between cities the road name would change. Who designed this system. It doesn't work. Let's tear it down and start from scratch. Let's use names that we can pronounce unlike Cohuenga, and who was Lankershim anyway? If a road goes between here and Prince Edward Island, let's just give it one name. No memorial highways, in 50 years nobody will care who that person was. Roads should be easily understood by the general public, heck we're paying for it.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Sad Flowers

Remember the beautiful flowers I planted last week? Well take a look at them now! Yes, I have black thumbs. Sad, but true.
Actually, my darling husband helped out with the wilting of the flowers. I was out of town with the girls last weekend (we had a blast by the way, but I'll save that for later) and I asked Joshua to water the plants. Hmmm, I think he forgot. Oops. Posted by Picasa

Friday, June 09, 2006

Our New Computer

I just built a new computer for us. (Okay, more like assembled) Just in time too. Out of our two computers that we had, the first one won't boot into windows anymore, and the second one had it's power supply fail on me. It's not a pleasant sight to see when you turn on a computer and it blows smoke at you.

Now with the new computer we can watch movies and TV on it as well as listen to the radio, and I can edit my home movies on it. So be prepared to find me with a video camera more often. Video blogs anyone?

If you're a geek like me and are interested in the parts I put in it, just click on the link below.
Tech Tips: My New Computer

Inspired!

After seeing the amazing corpse flower (and the rest of the Fullerton Arboretum), I felt inspired to do some gardening of my own. We bought this darling plant stand several months ago and it has been holding two empty pots and the ivy. (It actually was holding three plants originally, then two dead ones, and finally the empty pots.) But look at it now! We'll see how long these new plants can survive my black thumbs.
I didn't stop with tiny indoor plants this time. Check out my adorable "garden"! These four pots have been holding dirt since our wedding. I'm really going to make an effort to keep these flowers healthy this time. Really! Posted by Picasa

The Corpse Flower

Joshua heard on the news that the world's stinkiest flower was soon to bloom at the Fullerton Arboretum. Well, who could resist seeing such a sight! Off we went to see this huge floral wonder, only it hadn't quite bloomed yet. But here it is anyway ... that thing is a giant!
Well, we talked my mom and Jim into going back with us once we knew the flower had opened.
Voila! If you really want to know what it smelled like, go find a full dumpster, open the lid, stick your head in, and breathe deeply. Isn't God creative?

Sunday, June 04, 2006

San Francisco

We went to San Francisco primarily to visit our friend Evan perform in the musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." at the Post Street Theater. It is a pretty amazing city. The parking garage has marble floors in the fire escape staircase. We parked in Union Square area by where the theater was and took the city by foot.

We wanted to take the cable car trolley, but on Memorial Day Weekend the lines were way too long to start at the beginning. We trotted uphill to the next stop of the trolley to get on there, but the trolley didn't stop. So we kept going up. But the trolleys never stopped unless they were going back the way we came. Eventually we made it to the top of the first hill and did some sight seeing. The old cathedral was a fun thing to see, but since it was Sunday, mass was underway. "Oh yeah, this is still a working church." We used the public bathrooms near the nursery and went on our way.

Lombard wasn't too far away so we walked over there. It wasn't a straight line that we walked, it was more like a sine wave. Erin was glad to have her puffer with her. The roads we took weren't tourist routes; it was just us and the locals walking their dogs. So many people have dogs in the city!
Once we left Lombard street (pictured above) we headed down the hill (finally) to Fisherman's Warf for lunch by the barking sea lions. Boy was that place crowded. We heard from my sister the day before that the Ferry Building was a sight to see, so we walked around the bay to see it. When we got there it wasn't much to look at, but it definitely was a scent to smell. One of the vendors inside had every kind of cheese imaginable. Some people should just stop imagining things. Stinky.
Outside the Ferry Building was a great view of the Bay Bridge. It's shaped like a boomerang. So just wait there it will come back. Also in the park was a giant bow and arrow. I could make up a reason for it to be there but it would be even more dumb than the monument itself. The sign next to it only said. "Do not stand on grass." Weird.
When night came the show curtains went up and we enjoyed one of the funniest nights of theater we've ever had. I highly recommend it if the show ever comes to your town. I especially like when they "use the word in a sentence, please." Downright hilarious. (for the title of the show see the beginning of post) Posted by Picasa

Weekend Northward

Last weekend Erin and I drove to visit friends and family in San Jose and San Francisco. The drive is great when you start it at 12 o'clock midnight like we did. Unfortunately my sister and her husband had made previous plans to see family in Redding, California. So we only had five hours to spend with them.
We Arrived at 6:30am after our midnight drive up the middle of the state. After the Muellers had a chance to clear the sleep from their eyes we went to Flamers for a big breakfast. I had a bite from everybody's plate, it was delicious.
Since we don't get a chance to see our nephew William very often, we have to spoil him every chance we get. William loves toy trains. He especially loves playing with his Brillo Thomas Trains. We got him a toy that was updated from my childhood and some Sandals that he didn't like to wear because of the "thing between the toes". The Big Loader, but now it looks like the Thomas trains. William had a hard time realizing that he shouldn't touch the Big Loader because it does all the work itself.

Once the five hours were up we had to give our hugs goodbye. Erin and I were allowed to use my sister's place for the rest of the weekend.
After visiting with my sister, Erin and I drove to the neighboring city of Morgan Hill to visit a High School friend of Erins. Michelle and Raleigh moved there two years ago a week before Erin and I became engaged. They have two beautiful children Natalie and Matthew. Matthew had just been born 10 weeks ago and we were very excited to be able to meet him. Natalie, now just two, has a wonderful taste in clothing, in Terry Gilliam's world. She had on all pink with rain boots, fairy wings, sunhat, and a magic wand dancing on the deck in the cool afternoon breeze.

I'm sorry that we don't have any pictures to show you of them. They were all quite cute. Raleigh barbaqued a juicy marinated tri-tip, and Michelle prepared perfectly seasoned potatoes for dinner. It was fun for Erin to catch up on all the school friends she had lost touch with, and myself to get to know the Nielsen's. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Translator

My coworker, Keith, turned me onto a clever little website. Babblefish.com

It's a free translator. English to Spanish, or French to English, etc. Check it out.