Magatroid

Finally!

2011-08-03T18:24:00.003-05:00

It's clearly been awhile since I updated my blog. But, today is a big day. Today I accepted a new job. I will continue to work within the same company, but will be transitioning to a new department in a completely different building. More responsibility, with much more interesting tasks.

This has been a long time coming, I've been actively searching for new opportunities for over a year.

I am overjoyed and cannot wait to get started!

Milwaukee or bust!

2010-07-26T13:59:00.004-05:00

So, I spent the weekend in Milwaukee, WI for a bachelorette party for my good friend (and former college roommate), Brooke. It was a total blast filled with 80's hair, a brewery tour, bar hopping and plenty of drinking.

The first night we went out, Brooke wore a wedding dress that was purchased at a consignment shop. The label said Jessica McClintock - but this was clearly not her best work. I am hoping to have more photos soon. But here is Brooke all dolled up and ready for a night on the town.

It was later decided that she is a lost member of the Duggar family...

Pink Ladies

2010-06-20T12:12:00.002-05:00

Sam and Trent came to hang out for a bit at the Back to the 50s car show this weekend at the fairgrounds.

They particularly enjoyed this '56 T-bird!

So cute!

2010-04-18T16:19:00.007-05:00

A few recent photos of my nephews:

GO VIKES!!!

2010-01-18T21:17:00.003-06:00

We had a great time at the Vikings game yesterday!
It was Matt's birthday, and we couldn't have asked for a better outcome.
The Vikings trounced the Cowboys and we had a great view of the action!

As promised - Halloween 2009

2009-11-19T20:02:00.004-06:00

We definitely don't want to be Packers fans when we grow up...

Coming Soon Halloween 2009

2009-11-04T21:59:00.006-06:00

So, the theme to the Halloween party that I attended this year was:
"What You Don't Want to be When You Grow Up".

I didn't bring my camera, so I am relying on someone else to e-mail a picture from the evening.

Once it arrives, I fully intend to post it.

Stay tuned to see a photo of what I never want to be...

Stan's new skill

2009-08-28T09:24:00.002-05:00

At the age of 3 years and 8 months, my nephew, Stan, has learned to ride a bike without training wheels. So cute.

Thanks to Andre for shooting and sharing the video!

Another tower?

2009-07-19T10:16:00.007-05:00

Apparently it is the summer of towers.

Yesterday, Matt and I climbed the 151 stairs to the top of the Highland Water Tower.

The St. Paul skyline

You can also see the Minneapolis skyline.

Beautiful View

2009-07-05T20:06:00.007-05:00

This afternoon, to close out our weekend up north, we climbed the stairs of the fire lookout tower near McGregor, MN. To be specific, we climbed to the top of the Big Sandy Lookout Tower.

This is how it started:

and 93 steps later...

Not a terrible place to find yourself.

It's Miller Time

2009-05-26T17:44:00.003-05:00

A fun-filled weekend included a tour of the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee:

Did you know you get free samples?

Excellent.

Almost too warm!

2009-05-20T14:11:00.004-05:00

I'm not quite sure how to react when it's hotter here than it is in Alabama.

(thanks to weather.com for the screenshots)

My co-workers

2009-04-21T22:43:00.000-05:00

Recently, a co-worker of mine was gone for a day.
Big mistake.
He came back to find that he had been replaced by a big ape.

OK, so it's a costume.

I didn't get a picture from the front because, well, it's kind of a scary face, as it is intended to be used on Halloween.

Now it sits in an unoccupied cubicle nearby and draws quite a few double takes.

The progression

2009-04-21T22:32:00.001-05:00

This is the actual order in which these pictures were taken:

How cute is he?

The Maggie

2009-04-14T23:10:00.005-05:00

Apparently "The Maggie" is where Sam works in Colorado.
They took this picture in lieu of me being there:

Sam and the little guy:

Number 5 is alive!

2009-04-09T09:06:00.004-05:00

Congrats, Sam!!!

2009-04-03T14:23:00.001-05:00

A special thanks to Andre for sending me the link to this video:

New Laptop!

2009-04-01T20:51:00.004-05:00

My new laptop came today. I decided to replace my old one after it decided to not start up a few weeks ago. Matt was able to get it going, but with 2 online classes coming up...and the fact that I bought it in January of 2004...I decided that it was time for a change.

It is better than I thought it would be. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get connected to the internet, because that's just my luck. But I had saved my log-on info to my wireless network, so I was up and running in no time.

I still need to get my iTunes switched over from my old laptop, but other than that I'm good to go.

So far my favorite features are the 17" screen, the keyboard with backlighting and how it doesn't burn my legs after only a few minutes of sitting in my lap. But I've only had 3 hours with it so far, so I'm sure that there are more exciting features to be discovered.

(It's made by Dell and is the Studio 1537 model.)

The best seat in the house

2009-03-25T14:43:00.004-05:00

It is no secret that Stan loves trucks.

So, I can only imagine his excitement when he was able sit in his own front yard and watch this:

Clearly he has camped out to watch every step of the process...

New snowboard

2009-03-09T23:10:00.002-05:00

Sam sent me a picture of his new "shred stick."

April 8th is competition day...GOOD LUCK!

#12 in the Nation, #1 in your heart...

2009-02-25T23:50:00.004-06:00

Congratulations to my brother, Sam, who has had a great snowboarding season so far in 2009!

After competing in 3 different competitions in the SlopeStyle event (against other men ages 18-22), he is ranked 1st in his region (Rocky Mountain) with a National Ranking of 12th!

If you are someone who needs the proof, you can see his ranking here (You might have to search for him).

Also, you can see some action shots of him taken during his January competition here.

As far as I can tell, he should be attending the USA Snowboarding Association's National Championships being held at Copper Mountain (Colorado) in April.

Congratulations to Sam, I knew you could do it.

A few more photos

2009-02-16T16:27:00.004-06:00

The boys

2009-02-11T20:37:00.005-06:00

I had an excellent time in Alabama. It was 70 and sunny and definitely the relaxing vacation I needed. I didn't take as many photos as I intended, but here are the best ones.

From the lakes of Minnesota...

2009-01-15T23:20:00.001-06:00

Earlier this evening, I arrived home from a scintillating session of Managerial Accounting to find this envelope in my mailbox:

I would like to point out that the return address has nothing to do with county of residence, my friends. Nope. This is Federal Jury Duty. Those smaller words under the address are "Official Business."

There is a bit of a back story to this. Last January I received a letter from this same court alerting me that I had been selected as a potential jury candidate. The details of the letter mentioned that I could potentially be called any time from September 2008 through August 2009. Seeing this, of course, was a little disconcerting. My friend, Abby, informed me that they sent out a ridiculous number of these letters and that it was unlikely I would ever be chosen.

However, here I sit, officially "on call" for March and April.

Luckily, I am not required to actually show up unless I receive a "Notice to Report." But let's be serious. You know it will happen.

Brothers

2009-01-01T12:10:00.007-06:00

Stan is excited to introduce his new baby brother, Andrew Walter, to the world.

What you can't see is that Stan's T-shirt says "I'm a big brother" on it.

Whoa BABY!

2008-12-31T14:10:00.005-06:00

I would like to officially welcome my new nephew into the world! He was born on December 30 around 7:30 p.m. As you can see from the photo, he weighed in at an impressive 9 pounds 11.9 ounces.

Yep, that's 9 lbs. 12 oz. and he is 21 inches long.

The official name is still to be determined, so I'll keep you posted.

This is the only photo I have so far, but there are more to come!

'Tis the Season

2008-12-22T17:29:00.011-06:00

In celebration of the upcoming Christmas holiday, the woman in the next cubicle row has taken to wearing a bell necklace to work.

The jingle-jangle permeates the office building every time she moves. EVERY time she moves.

Despite her intention, this does not help me get in the holiday spirit.

Seriously, enough with the jingling, lady.

It's Christmas; I get it.

photo credit: www.kinderkorner.com

Minnesota is cold.

2008-12-16T21:31:00.003-06:00

If it isn't bad enough that all 4 of the doors on my car were frozen shut yesterday and I had to climb in through the back, it was also below zero outside all day. But, indoors is supposed to be warmer, right? Wrong. My office building is ridiculously cold. Yesterday I wore long underwear to work and it seemed to help a little. Today my feet finally warmed up when I got home from class and put some slippers on. I hope tomorrow is better; I'm sick of huddling in my cubicle breathing on my hands to warm them up.

Really, who lives in a place like this?

Flooding

2008-12-01T19:20:00.000-06:00

Can you imagine Symphony Chorus having to wade through this???

Random flash back to my childhood

2008-11-19T14:30:00.005-06:00

Today while plugging away at expense reports, I looked over to see my staple remover sitting on my desk at kind of a funny angle. I, for some reason, had an instant flashback to a game my family used to play called "Pig Out." Basically, it is a form of Yahtzee. Only instead of using 5 dice, you have 2 little rubber pigs that are shaken in a cup and "rolled" onto the table. Awesome.

In looking for a photo of said pigs, I found that the game has morphed into "Pass the Pigs", but the same rules still apply. The Wikipedia page has the full scoring rules, but here are the highlights:

Sider - The pigs are on their sides, either both with the spot facing upward or both with the spot facing downward - 1 Point

Double Trotter - The pigs are both standing upright - 20 Points

Double Razorback - The pigs are both lying on their backs - 20 Points

Double Snouter - The pigs are both leaning on their snouts - 40 Points

Double Leaning Jowler - The pigs are both resting between snouts and ears - 60 Points

Pig Out - If both pigs are lying on their sides, one with the spot facing upwards and one with the spot facing downwards the score for that turn is reset to 0 and the turn changes to the next player.

Oinker (or Makin' Bacon) - If both pigs are touching then the total score is reset to 0 and the turn changes to the next player.

Piggyback - If one pig lands completely resting on top of the other then the player is out of the game.

Funny Stuff

2008-11-06T16:26:00.003-06:00

Who doesn't love The Onion?

Here are 2 articles that were recently posted:

Nov. 4 - Bush: 'Can I Stop Being President Now?'

Nove. 5 - Nation Finally Shitty Enough to Make Social Progress

As it should be...

2008-11-05T08:09:00.001-06:00

Birthday Wishes

2008-11-03T08:59:00.004-06:00

I received this in an email from a man who works in my building:

I don't know him very well; but, with this kind of insight, I'm thinking he must be spying on me!

Apple Season!

2008-10-03T10:05:00.008-05:00

One of the local news stations did a piece on my uncle's apple orchard, Deardorff Orchards!

The news story aired yesterday afternoon, and you can also check out the photos that were taken while the taping occurred.

HAPPY 21st, SAM!!!!

2008-09-11T16:24:00.003-05:00

Sam, enjoying his first legal beer.

If only there was a timestamp on this photo to show that it was taken at 11:30 AM.

Aye Aye, Captain!

2008-08-27T20:00:00.003-05:00

Goin' for a ride in Grandpa's boat!

when summer's beginning to give up her fight

2008-08-22T11:15:00.004-05:00

I did not grow up going to the fair, not a tradition my family had. Because of that (and my aversion to large and sweaty crowds), I'm not usually known as what may be called a "Fair Enthusiast." However, there is definitely something nostalgiac about a trip to the MN State Fair. I've managed to go every other year since being in college. That's what you do in Minnesota.

If you can't make it to the fair this year, a recent column in the Star Tribune, written by James Lileks, will take you there. If you have already been, or are planning to go, read it anyway. It could make a fair enthusiast out of anyone.

The South

2008-08-13T22:14:00.006-05:00

Over the 4th of July weekend, I attended a family reunion in Mississippi. While this was a month ago, I recently received more pictures from the weekend and thought I would share the highlights.

The fam.

My mom and her aunt, Mary Katherine.

My great-uncle Vernon (Mary Katherine's husband).

Sisters :)

A lost treasure

2008-08-05T22:34:00.004-05:00

My mother recently put her photos from Wales in an album and was showing it to me this evening.

I came across this gem:

How have I never seen this photo before tonight?

Quite the crowd in Cabot Cove

2008-07-28T23:01:00.002-05:00

So, this evening I stopped on the Hallmark Channel to watch part of an episode of "Murder, She Wrote", starring Angela Lansbury.

Who knew that one episode could have so many familiar faces. So far, the people I have recognized are (in no particular order) Courteney Cox, the woman who plays the maid on "Two and a Half Men", the boy from Flight of the Navigator and Florence Henderson.

I am guessing that this episode was shot the same year as Flight of the Navigator, because the boy hasn't aged.

In any case, Jessica Fletcher is hot on the trail of the latest murder. This one took place at a circus...and the accused is Jessica's long lost brother-in-law who faked his own death 20 years earlier.

Now that's just good TV. Well, mediocre TV, anyway.

Oh man, this is a two-parter...

Aquatennial Celebration

2008-07-20T12:07:00.007-05:00

This morning, after months of planning and a week-long construction marathon, the crew of the Lady Slooper took to Lake Calhoun in the annual Milk Carton Boat Races. In the first race of the day, the Lady Slipper-themed boat was 1 of 4 boats.

As the race began, the Slooper was steady and sturdy. Captain Ginger and First Mate Emily were nowhere near getting their feet wet. See them in action:

While they came in 3rd for speed, they came in first when it came to creativity. And they have the trophy to prove it.

Check out the coverage of the race from the local Channel 5. Also, the short article from Channel 9, where the only photo they included was of the Lady Slooper! A special thanks to mom's friend, Colleen, who took the time to sew the green Lady Slipper flag!

Best day yet

2008-06-30T17:20:00.004-05:00

I think that this was day #5 that I have biked...I've already lost count. But today was by far the best ride yet. When I left home at 7:00 this morning, it was only 60 degrees, which was excellent. The ride home was a warm one, as always, but it was the first time that I didn't have to make an extended stop to catch my breath (I, of course, had to stop at stop lights and stop signs...).

There are a few things that have contributed to the ride getting easier. The first is that I found an alternate street on the way home. It is not any less of an incline, but is at least it goes through a neighborhood, and not on a street where cars are whizzing by at 40+ miles an hour. Also, I have discovered how fantastic it is when I remember to actually shift gears.

One way, it takes me between 30 and 40 minutes to go 6.4 miles (6.4 hilly miles).

In other news...I just saw a commercial for a Girl Scout Cookie Blizzard at DQ. We're talking Thin Mints, people.

Who would've thought

2008-06-16T08:10:00.012-05:00

Today I biked to work.

Half an hour after arriving, I am on my second bottle of water and the redness in my face is slowly going away.

Only 8 hours until I have to turn around and ride home.

Hmm...I'm not sure that I completely thought this through.

Excellent

2008-05-30T08:16:00.000-05:00

Two things happened this week that I am pretty pumped about.

1 - The people who maintain our vending machines at work finally figured out to add another row of diet coke. I guess arriving week after week to an empty diet coke row and, from what I can imagine, a full row of something else, they decided to make a change. The real issue was in the fact that they fill the machines on Tuesday mornings. This often left us (me) without a diet coke option on Mondays. That's just not pretty.

2 - The pool at my apartment building has opened. Not that it is currently pool weather...but it will happen soon, I can feel it.

Was that really necessary?

2008-05-27T22:30:00.001-05:00

This evening I attended the Mtka district retirement dinner, in support of my mother, who has graciously served in the same district since the fall of 1979. Her principal said very nice things about her (all true, of course). At which point we arrive at the gift: a clock/pen desktop thing. On it, a plaque which has engraved her name, and her years of service: "1979-1988 & 1989-2008". Yes, it is true that she took some time off when Sam was born. But, really, was the ampersand necessary?

Another interesting factoid regarding this year's group of retirees: 16 educators, all women, all are outside of the "main stream curriculum" (phy ed, special ed, social worker, media center specialist, secretaries, foreign language, etc.).

Abby-did you know that our 8th grade science teacher is now the principal at Scenic Heights? He has put on weight...if you can believe it.

Marketing ploy.

2008-05-20T10:52:00.003-05:00

OK, this is one of the funnier things I've seen in a while. Apparently one of the major health insurance companies in the area has a new mascot. Watch this video to see who it is (you'll have to click on the video on the bottom left). I didn't watch it with sound yet (cubicles aren't really conducive to that) so I take no responsibility for subjecting you to anything that was said. A few of you may even recognize the location where some of the filming took place...

Real Men of Genius

2008-04-24T09:03:00.003-05:00

It is a rare occasion when I actually laugh out loud over a radio commercial. But, really, the Real Men of Genius spots that Bud Light does are hilarious. I heard 2 yesterday, saluting both "Mr. taxi cab over-accessorizer" and "Mr. scoreboard marriage proposal guy." I found that you can listen to all of them (and even download to your mp3 player) on the Bud Light website. Really, it's worth a listen.

Who knew?

2008-04-17T19:20:00.000-05:00

While driving in rush hour traffic on 494 on Tuesday, I looked ahead to a truck (an average moving truck size) that was maybe 10 cars in front of me. The only thing I could see was what was written on the top part of the back of it. It read "If you can see SKIN you're in!"

Now remembering that this was rush hour, I had to do some serious maneuvering to make my way up close to the truck. When I finally got there, I found that it was an advertisement for The Brotherhood of Bald People. Yep. And they have a website. I'm not sure why there was an entire truck devoted to the advertisement. Maybe they had a contingent of bald people inside, I don't know.

Do you think there is a secret handshake?

2 things, totally unrelated to each other

2008-04-14T18:46:00.001-05:00

This weekend, Matt and I were in the Menards in St. Paul (I couldn't tell you where in St. Paul if I wanted to). In any case, this was the fanciest Menards I've ever seen. Besides the fact that it is two levels, there's a special moving sidewalk/ramp for you and your cart to ride up on. And on top of that, while you shop, there is an older gentleman there wearing a tux and playing the piano.

Secondly, after work today I stopped off at DSW on my way home. Because I never have my rewards card with me, they always have to look up my information. I gave the man at the register my phone number so he could look up my information. After finding my name, he said "do you work in community development at all?" I answered with a wary, "not too much any more". Apparently he recognized my name, but couldn't place it. Then, while I was signing for my new shoes, he shows me the screen of his blackberry and there is my name and my contact info from when I worked at the bank. Weird.

"The fan response to this has been incredible"

2008-04-04T09:33:00.003-05:00

Is anyone else weirded out by the fack that NKOTB is reuniting and releasing a new album?

Check it out. The article in the Strib said that they will also be performing on the Today show.

I guess they really are Hangin' Tough.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T17:14:00.003-05:00

The Chambers children of 1988 would like to wish you a very Happy Easter.

Happy (almost) Easter!!!

2008-03-14T14:30:00.003-05:00

Get it? It's a peep show :)

The highlights

2008-03-11T23:12:00.001-05:00

Mom and Mary Katherine.

Mary Katherine and Janelle (my mom's aunts) cooking a good Southern meal.

Stan telling me not to take his picture.

Mom feeding the birds (they caught the bread in mid-air).

Stan feeding himself (he later threw the rest at the birds).

Playing at the park.

Crawling through the tunnel with his Mama.

Bonus video:

This is a short video of Gabby, Mary Katherine's dog.
As you can hear Emily say, we could have watched her do this for hours.

Alabama

2008-03-10T22:18:00.003-05:00

Alabama was excellent (despite the fact that they lost our luggage on the way there). I even managed to sit in the sun for a bit. As always, the time spent there was too short.

Pictures to follow...as soon as I charge the battery for my phone and manage to get them transferred.

New link

2008-02-29T16:24:00.001-06:00

I have added a new link to my "Other links of interest" list.

Guess my Crime

Awesome.

This is my life.

2008-02-27T15:25:00.007-06:00

Things at work can get pretty dull sometimes. This story, I think, will illustrate my point.

A little background, the company I work for is based in Mpls, but has 21 sales offices located throughout the United States. All these sales office workers must send the expense reports to me, here in my little cubicle. Because we have so many remote sales offices, there are practices in place regarding sending mail to the Mpls campus (yes, we use the word campus...that's another ranting all together). Basically, they should be sending things through the inter-office mail system, and not paying for postage or using Fed Ex to send anything here.

Recently many offices have lost their "secretaries" (to quote one of the older male managers). With the admins gone, a few rules have gone by the wayside.

In the last week I have received Fed Ex envelopes from 4 different people. Basically, when this happens, the company is paying double for mail services, because the flat inter-office fees are already being paid, and then the Fed Ex fees on top of that.

(If you're still with me, I thank you, I promise the punch line is coming.)

Today, after receiving the most recent Fed Ex and a phone call from someone in Chicago telling me that they sent a Fed Ex, I decided to alert my supervisor to the new issue at hand.

The subject of my email?

FedEx offenders.

I'm sure that there's a back-up joke in there somewhere regarding registering addresses every time they move...but I haven't quite figured it out yet. I had a little giggle at my desk, but I'm pretty sure that my accounting supervisor didn't even notice it was supposed to be a joke.

If you didn't get it either...I give you 1 week (1 day for some of you) in this cubicle and everything seems funny :)

On a side note, as I was writing this, here's a conversation that took place in the cube next door:
(a cop car with sirens blaring is passing by the building)

Shawn (to some woman I don't know...let's call her Karen): They're coming for you [Karen].
[Karen]: That's OK, I like to get strip searched.

Ah, office life.

Did anyone else see this?

2008-02-22T08:26:00.003-06:00

I found this article on the Strib's website (It could also be in the print version, but I haven't looked). I find it pretty funny, the real kick comes in the second paragraph.

Cell Tower Unlikely to Generate Complaints from Residents

Enjoy.

I don't remember any of these...

2008-02-20T14:39:00.004-06:00

The strangest class I remember seeing in the course catalong at my undergraduate institution was "The metaphysics of Star Trek". But check out some interesting things that go on at other schools: The 25 strangest college courses.

Awwww.

2008-01-26T19:03:00.000-06:00

A recent conversation between Andre and Stan.

Stan (into the phone) – hi, good morning

Andre – Stan, who are you talking to?

Stan – Grandma and Maggie

Andre – Oh, how are they?

Stan – Maggie went night night

Seriously. How cute is that?

A few Stan pictures (and a bonus picture of Dave)

2008-01-16T21:58:00.000-06:00

Yes, I copied Cyndy's format.

Do you think he's a happy kid?

These 2 are way too cool for me.

I don't remember this photo being blurry. Oh well. You still get the idea.

If you've got the time

2008-01-04T16:22:00.000-06:00

My friend, Lauren, is spending 9 months teaching English in Ethiopia. (Her blog is linked through mine, if you have a lot of time, I would recommend it).

But, recently she posted photos from her trip through the country, as well as regular city life. If you have a few minutes, check out her slideshow. A reminder of how different life can be on the other side of the world.

DDR in the house

2007-12-29T14:27:00.000-06:00

It's official.

As some of you may know, I have been talking about this for a while. Today, with the assistance of Christmas gift cards, I purchased a Playstation 2 and Dance Dance Revolution.

Friends, I see a dance party in our future. Who's in?

There's one in every group

2007-12-20T11:06:00.001-06:00

A real life office story.

True to form, she showed up this morning wearing a bell on a necklace (you know...the really annoying kind of Christmas bell). A few minutes ago, already fed up with the jingle jangle of the Christmas spirit, sent an email to my co-worker which simply said:

"seriously. enough with the bell."

I know we must get along, because her response was this:

"I hear ya, and tomorrow she said she is wearing a missletoe hat
She is a strange duck."

A strange duck indeed.

A fantastic waste of time

2007-12-19T11:54:00.000-06:00

OK, this is in honor of all the teachers who may find themselves surfing the internet at some point during their Christmas vacation.

The Internet Anagram Server. It will automatically find anagrams for whatever you enter.

I entered my first and last name and it came back with "17765 found. Displaying first 1000"

Here are my two favorites from that 1000:

Basic Hammer Egg
Gaga Brim Scheme

Anyone else care to post their favorites? (for your name...not mine)

A Christmas favorite

2007-12-13T08:37:00.000-06:00

This is best enjoyed when you have the sound on. Enjoy your time with the Interactive Christmas Snowglobe.

Merry Christmas!

I have arrived.

2007-12-11T10:18:00.000-06:00

A special thank you to my noisy neighbor for this one.

10AM ... Without Being Shot

IT guy: I feel for teachers, because it's not like the good old days when you could take kids under the stairwell and pummel them.

Bush Lake Road
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Overheard by: just trying to finish the day

via Overheard in the Office, Dec 11, 2007

It's not just me

2007-12-07T11:34:00.000-06:00

So, I've talked about the man who sits just over the cubicle wall from me. Well, today as he was yawning loudly, a passerby actually looked over the wall kind of laughing and said "Are you OK?"

Yep. It's that loud.

Holy Shit.

2007-12-06T10:50:00.001-06:00

Fred Phelps followers are at it again.

Arma virumque cano

2007-12-04T09:28:00.000-06:00

I received this article from a friend via email today. Every time I read something of this nature, it reminds me why I was a Classics major. Mention of the language or of it's study, is actually exciting to me. Now, more than 4 years since completing my degree, it seems I have forgotten so much of what I learned (some like to remind me of that more than others...).

But the truth is that studying a language like that sticks with you, and I'm sure that the majority of that knowledge is hidden away waiting for me to tap into it again.

When people find out that I took Latin I often get "Say something in Latin". I always laugh and then don't. This is because so much of my class time was not spent on speaking, or reciting the dead language, but instead of really digging into the texts in front of us. I once wrote an entire paper on one word, furor (which means madness or anger), and how it was only used 8 times throughout the course of "The Aeneid". You would expect to see it more, as this is a story about war. But, if I remember correctly, this word was only used when describing the enemy. In any case, it was actually quite interesting, and I'm sure I still have the paper somewhere.

When speaking to others who have studied Latin in a different capacity than I (say, in preparation for the priesthood...) it is clear that the goal was completely different. I guess the main difference is that I don't feel I was trained to know all the answers, and be able to spew lines of Latin on command, but how to find the answers and the meaning behind it all.

Anyway, that became a much longer post than I anticipated. Thanks for sticking with it, I hope you enjoyed the article.

Oh, Piper.

2007-11-29T08:54:00.001-06:00

I guess Piper's not alone.

(I was going to steal a photo of Piper from either Cyndy's blog or Rachel's blog. However, there was not one to be found.)

Making progress?

2007-11-16T09:13:00.000-06:00

In Mississippi, Poor Lag in Hurricane Aid, is an article Andre was instrumental in getting into the New York Times!

It's definitely worth reading. I also checked the print version of the paper for the article's location. I was happy to find it above the fold on the front page of today's New York Times.

Congrats, Andre!

It's worth a look.

2007-11-14T10:21:00.001-06:00

Cracked.com's list of The 25 most baffling toys from around the world.

so cute...

2007-11-04T10:36:00.000-06:00

Stan looking at the airplanes:

Taking a bath:

We go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong

2007-10-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

For those who don't believe that Rachel and I rallied for the Halloween party this year:

We started the evening of karaoke off with "You're the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights"

There are more photos on Rachel's blog.

Who you gonna call?

2007-10-23T20:55:00.000-05:00

You would think they're joking, but apparently the CIA thinks that this is a good idea.

Public Apology

2007-10-22T11:38:00.001-05:00

I would like to publically apologize to my sister for events that transpired on Friday night, October 19, 2007.

After our dinner out at my aunt and uncle's house, Matt and I bailed on going to a movie and went home. Had I known that Emily would end up going with Mom to watch Tim sing Karaoke at the High Timber Lounge in Chan, I would have never left her to fend for herself.

So, Emily, my sincere apologies for putting you in a position that caused you distress.

Although, because Andre made the suggestion that she go along, he is also to blame.

The Great State of Kansas

2007-10-17T14:49:00.001-05:00

After watching this video, I think that couple from St. Al's should consider moving to Wichita.

Who's with me?

Spelling

2007-10-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

Today at work I got an email with the subject line "Have a Donut to Celebrate....."

I know that donut is technically a correct variant spelling of doughnut, but it still really bugs me when people use it. It's kind of like tonite rather than tonight (except I don't think that one is an official variant, it's just wrong).

Also, I am not a fan of people thinking that they should just use a lot of dots, rather than the standard 3 that constitute an ellipsis.

I do need to remember, however, that this is the accounting department. They deal with numbers, not words.

Although, while on the subject of words. This morning, I had a receipt in one of the expense reports from the Kum and Go. Admittedly, this makes me giggle. Every time.

New neighbors

2007-10-12T09:45:00.001-05:00

This week has been busy here in cubicleland. They are remodeling one of the buildings, which means that they are squishing all the people that usually work there in to the other 4 buildings. Luckily, I didn't have to move, but many people around me were the ones shifting (some only one or two rows over).

This shift in employees puts the accounting department all in the same row, so the rubber band shooting that happens between a select few was rampant. When it comes to leaving welts on others with rubber bands, some boys never grow up.

Now, the downside for me with all this movement is that I now have a neighbor. He resides in the cube where the office supplies/mailboxes were (previously a quiet cube). Not only does this neighbor set his phone to ring at a decibal level to rival a fire alarm, but is also an audible yawner. A frequent audible yawner. I think he also has a kid (kids?) that attends the local posh high school. So I overhear a lot about said high school's sports standings.

This morning, a co-worker of mine came into my cube and said something to the effect of "Does he have to have his phone ring so f*cking loud?".

On another move related note, yesterday the huge rolling garbage bin ended up parked right next to my cube, partially blocking it, actually. That's nice. Thanks everyone.

Lastly, they moved the scanner to the cube behind me, so every time someone uses it, I jump, thinking that my cell phone is vibrating in my purse.

At least it's Friday.

Still laughing

2007-10-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

So, there is something about people falling down that I find really funny. If someone trips and falls (as long as they aren't too hurt) I cannot help but laugh. Like now, I am giggling as I relive the time Rachel almost fell down at Canterbury.

I mean, really, this random 12-second scene in the movie While You Were Sleeping gets me every time:

But the impetus for this post was not that clip, but this msnbc.com video.:

Oddball: Ridiculous dives

Enjoy.

Mom is watching you

2007-09-24T21:51:00.000-05:00

Here is the email that Emily, Sam and I got from Mom today:

"Ok, I KNOW you will all want this one as your screensaver - mom is watching you!!! :) tee hee"

You gotta love Ging.

A new level

2007-09-19T23:11:00.000-05:00

This "perfect gift" takes one of Rache l's unfortunate nicknames to a new level.

Can you blame me?

2007-09-19T22:15:00.001-05:00

OK, so I know that my blog is a little heavy on the Stan photos. But, seriously, how can it not be when he's this cute?

The Onion

2007-09-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

On occasion I will find myself drawn to read "The Onion" newspaper online. I find many of their articles hilarious. Today as I was looking around I found an article with the title: Sequel-Hungry Nation Demands Production of Click II. Awesome.

The other thing I find completely hilarious is the "American Voices" section. I was turned on to this section of the paper last fall, when Matt sent me this link. There is a new post pretty much every weekday (some funnier than others). I would suggest perusing them at your leisure.

Sam is no longer a teenager!

2007-09-11T07:07:00.001-05:00

It's the big 2-0!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAM!!!

Not so dead after all?

2007-09-06T13:29:00.000-05:00

A special thanks to Matt for sending me this article today which has amused me to the point of blogging about it. Awesome.

I personally enjoyed the intro, but the entire article is entertaining. Not that any of these phrases come up too often in regular conversation, but I find it interesting to read about their history.

On a similar note, I used the word "lukewarm" this weekend and wondered what the origin of it is. If you are interested, here is what I found.

Bonus video

2007-08-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

Here is another video from the bowling alley:

Alabama or Bust!

2007-08-28T21:52:00.000-05:00

I returned this evening from the great state of Alabama. The trip was a definite success.

The trip began with my flight from Mpls to Atlanta. They had double-booked our gate and our plane lost, arriving second. Therefore, even though we had landed 10 minutes early, we sat waiting for a gate to open up for half an hour. Not normally a terrible thing, but I still had a 2+ hour drive in front of me. I hauled some serious ass off that plane to get my luggage and beat anyone I could to the rental car counter. I managed to throw a few elbows (MN nice doesn't apply in the Atlanta airport) and made excellent time. Within 45 minutes of getting off the plane, I was on Hwy 85 South headed for Montgomery, arriving just before midnight.

Lucky for me, the weather had decided to cool down for the weekend, and the highs were only in the mid-90s. It even stormed a few times...I think I brought the rain with me.

We spent our days hitting the "hot-spots" of Montgomery: the bookstore which has a train set for kids to play with (and a coffee shop for the parents), and when that ceases to entertain, we walk next door and visit all the animals at the pet store. I was able to give Stan his first introduction to lizards and snakes (this area of the store was previously not visited due to Emily's fear of snakes).

Other than that, we hung out in the air conditioning. We also tried out Emily's new ice cream maker. That was a huge success. Here are a couple of pictures:

Stan got his head stuck in the Styrofoam packaging from the ice cream maker. Luckily it was easy to break, so he didn't have to spend to much time in there.

The one picture I got with the all 3 of them all weekend (Andre surprised Emily for their anniversary by coming home for the weekend).

This was taken seconds before a huge downpour.

It also appears that bowling enthusiasm is genetic. Check out this video to see Stan's excitement over the automatic ball return (the blue ball is actually Andre's personal ball which he brought from home).

Also, I am now known as Me-ma (which is what you hear Andre say at the end of the video). Maggie was too much for this 20 month-old. But, a name's a name...and at least he knows who I am.

All in all I had a great time and was very sad to have to say goodbye.

Manna from Heaven

2007-08-15T13:35:00.001-05:00

Well, it might as well have been. It was a box of "gourmet lollypops" from one of the sales guys in Orange County. This "thanks for being awesome" gift was a much needed surprise on a gloomy afternoon. I am currently enjoying a Cafe Latte flavored "lollypop" (yep, that's the spelling on the box). Other flavors include Butterscotch, Chocolate and Vanilla.

Suddenly this day is looking up.

And if you think I'm sharing, you're crazy.

"C'mon, what cop would ticket us?"

2007-08-10T12:13:00.000-05:00

I imagine that to be the logic in this situation which happened recently in Chicago.

Awesome.

Dear office managers

2007-07-24T18:36:00.000-05:00

Much like Abby's complaint, I have one of my own.

In the last few weeks I have received two separate communications from the office at my apartment complex.

The first one, instructions about pool use, included this sentence:

The two major items we want to remind you about is that there is NO SMOKING, GLASS CONTAINERS or PARTIES at the pool.

Today when I arrived home there was an announcement regarding the all-resident party that is happening on Sunday (take note: no pool time on Sunday). Apparently it's a ocean/pirate themed party. Unfortunately, the top of the announcement said:

AHOY MATTIE'S

C'mon people. I know that at least 4 people work in that office. All I'm asking is for someone to be in charge of counting and someone to be in charge of spelling. Is that too much to ask?

Rachel, is that you?

2007-07-17T13:17:00.000-05:00

2PM I'm Just Here for the Drinking

Student: Can I get a list of people who write theses?
Receptionist: You mean, the list of typists?
Student: No, I want the list of people who'll write my thesis for me.

California

via Overheard in the Office, Jul 17, 2007

Fun with Mom

2007-07-11T21:34:00.000-05:00

So, Mom came over tonight to work on a surprise for Trent's graduation party, which is taking place on Saturday night.

When I was in high school there was a parent night, when she went and made a life-size replica of me (she also did this for Emily). All the parents went. These cardboard cut-outs then greeted us as we entered our all night graduation party.

Mom still remembers that and so, between fits of hysterical laughter, here is what became of our evening:

I know you're jealous.

Good luck, buddy.

2007-07-11T15:58:00.000-05:00

3PM I'd Like to Pay for It with Monopoly Money

Customer: Do you have The Odyssey in the original Latin?

Haste Street and Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, California

via Overheard in the Office, Jul 11, 2007

Stealing

2007-07-02T21:19:00.000-05:00

Since Andre stole photos from me, I feel it is my right to steal a video from him. Take a minute and watch Stan prepare for a diaper change.

Annoying People

2007-06-28T11:24:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, near the end of the work day, a woman walks up to my cubicle and says, "Did I send you my expense report?" I have never seen this woman before and she wasn't wearing a name tag. I was confused and ended up kind of staring at her until she told me her name, in a tone that implied I should have known it. I'm not sure she realizes that so far in the month of June, I have processed 1,630 expense reports; 130 yesterday, alone. C'mon lady.

I guess the Welcome Wagon welcomes all

2007-06-25T13:27:00.001-05:00

OK, Cyndy officially wins the prize for having the weirdest comment on her "Welcome Wagon" post. From what I can figure out, it is in Portuguese and has to do with creating your own t-shirts. A special thank you to google for coming up with this cryptic translation:

"Oi, I found yours blog for google tá well interesting I liked this post. When to give gives passed for mine blog, is on personalized t-shirts, shows step by step as to create a well personalized t-shirt way. Until more."

No wonder it is called the World Wide Web.

Road Rage

2007-06-20T08:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, while on my way to meet Rachel for dinner, I witnessed quite the road rage encounter.

I was driving in rush hour traffic, heading west on Highway 7. There were many cars coming from 494 waiting to merge in to the lane I was in. They were doing that Minnesota nice thing, where everyone lets one car in front of them, and people pretty much stay in line with that. The problem with that way of doing things is that it often ends up leaving the merge lane empty.

Some guy in a black SUV decides that he is going to use the merge lane and comes flying up on my right. I see him coming and at this point actually think "Good for him, that's what the lane is there for." He sort of tries to get in front of the car in front of me (which had a Quebec license plate). That was a long shot, Quebec clearly isn't going to let him in, so I leave plenty of space for him to merge in front of me.

SUV decides that he has been wronged in the world of driving, and therefore pulls up on the right shoulder so that he is even with Quebec, all the time shouting and gesturing. From what I can tell it was a lot of "What the f***s?" and he was trying to get Quebec to pull over. Quebec clearly isn't going to do that, but with the traffic at a near stand still, because the light at Williston is red (and even when it's green doesn't let all that many people through). There is a lot of swerving by SUV at Quebec, who manages to swerve into the left lane to avoid getting hit, but there's not room for him to actually escape.

Next SUV man gets out of his car and is yelling at Quebec through what I would assume was an open passenger side window. It is at this point that I take my cell phone out and call 911, and when they answer promptly ask for the local police department. While it's ringing, Quebec has now also gotten out of his car and they are fighting in the middle of the highway. There was definitely pushing and shoving. I can't recall if punches were thrown because I was trying to focus on SUV's license plate number. But eventually, (now I am speaking with a police officer) they decide that they've had enough, or are sick of holding up traffic, who knows why? They both get back in their cars and drive off.

I don't know what the outcome was as far as police involvement. I was able to give them the license plate of the SUV, who was clearly the one with the issue and tell them that which direction he was headed.

In the end, I feel bad for Quebec. Welcome to the U.S., pal.

Text messages from Ireland

2007-06-15T10:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I received this text message:

Hi all
ireland is great
we are having a ball
guinness is tasty
love mom

It's good to see that they have their priorities in order!

Today I received this one:

Today we kissed the blarney stone!
Now i am supposed to have great powers of eloquence
yah sure you betcha!
Lots of rain but dont worry
bonnie got me a new red bucket hat!
Just thought you might want that mental picture
love mom

That was a long one and actually came in two separate messages. I laugh thinking about how long it probably took her to type. My guess is she has not discovered the T9 feature.

Just to make sure

2007-06-08T07:37:00.000-05:00

Just so it's in writing, all of the pictures posted below were either taken by me, Bonnie, Emily or Bryna. Oh, and the group photo at the restaurant was taken by our waitress. I wouldn't want a debate to ensue over the legitimacy of them. Thank you.