Social Commentary - Couples

I've noticed over this weekend that couples are quite interesting. I'm at a conference of over 250 people and there are some couples here. Why is it that couples seem to be people who are opposites? Is it really true that opposites attract? I've seen boisterous and bubbly with dry and sarcastic, friendly and open with quiet and negative, very serious with very silly, controlling and bossy with laid back and fun, quiet and pensive with sassy and spunky. 

What a weird phenomenon. I'll have to really start taking note of this and does it play out. Maybe it's the weekend of Social Media that's made me take a closer look at human interaction both in person and online. Hmmm.

I should have majored in sociology. 

Wine Blogger Conference Numero Dos

I'll be at the Wine Blogger Conference this weekend so no real blogging here! Check out my posts here...

The Happiest Video Ever.

It's been a while since I've seen a video on YouTube that cracks me up - we've got David after Dentist (classic), Evolution of Dance (I heart this dude), I'm on a Boat (and all other SNL Digital Shorts), and earlier this week, this gem came to me via K...



This video makes me so unbelievably happy I can't even describe it. I LOVE that they did this, that everyone participated, the slow-mo part, the bride! I just love it. A great blog included this video...The Power of the Unexpected.

Switching Gears

I was going to post about a more serious topic, but Wipeout is on and I'm feeling a tad sillier now so that serious post will have to wait.

Things that are funny:

Wipeout, of course.

The Office

Office Space

Swingers

The Hangover

Men dressed as women a la Bosom Buddies

Sit and Be Fit

Hey - They're getting more exercise than I am.

Funny T-Shirts

I still love these - witty, stupid, hilarious.

Bad Pickup Lines

Do any of these work?

I like laughing. A lot. I'm sure there will be another one of these posts in the future...I can't think of anything else that's funny right now.

Google Ads

Google ads are pretty funny sometimes. They pull from keywords in my blog postings though sometimes I have no idea how they come up with those ads. A rehab and detox center? Hm. Weird.

Quick Post on Weddings

Attended a friend's wedding this weekend and it was just so fun and wonderful and heartfelt and hot and heartwarming and great.

Thank you, that's all for now.

PS - If I feel this way about other people's weddings, I'm sure I'm going to explode with happiness and excitement for my own. Cool.

Famous! Sorta.

If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? If you get something published on the interweb, does it count?

I know that *I* submitted this story to Divine Caroline, but they did accept it after review and that makes me very, very happy!! I made some minor changes, but this is pretty much the story pulled straight from my blog...enjoy it again, at my expense. Just kidding! It IS hilarious.

Read about my worst.date.ever.

WOOHOO!  This is slightly more exciting than getting my third word/phrase published in Urban Dictonary today! Awesome day for some interweb writing action.

Things That Are Rad, Part 5

DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
Naming
Packaging
Spray tans
Weddings
Gadgets
My camera
Weekend getaways
The beach
Wine Blogger Conference
Birthdays

(Note: some of the above may be repeats. That means I think they're REALLY rad.)

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

you: "go away"
little brother: "go away"
you: "stop copying me"
little brother: "stop copying me"
you: "MOOOOOOOM!!!!! he's copying me!"
little brother: "moooooooom! she's copying me!"
you: "I'm stupid."
little brother: "you're stupid."

That always failed. Always.

Of course, my mom probably came back with "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, honey. Your brother just wants to be like you, he loves you." When you're 9 and your brother is 7, that doesn't exactly register. It's just plain annoying.

"Imitation is the sincerest of flattery."
Charles Caleb Colton, Lacon, volume I, no. 183 (1780 - 1832)

As an adult, this makes sense. If someone thinks you're cool/awesome/fun/smart/motivational/ambitious/exciting/happy/an expert/honest/humble/crazy-in-a-good-way/honorable/what have you, then they may, most likely subconsciously, copy you. I realize now that if someone wants to be like you or one of your inherent characteristics, then that is extremely flattering! How nice to be thought of as someone who others want to be like! If you can actually tell that someone is imitating or copying you, it's a tad odd though. And depending on who it is, it can be obnoxious and irritating. (yes, I just started that sentence with a conjunction. Bad.) I guess I just need to flip my thinking and take it as a form of flattery right? Mr. Colton was right.......as long as you take it that way.

Cheers to social media - such a plethora of blog topics!

Movie Mode on Canon 5D Mark II

Quick shout out to Tyler Ginter who posted this awesome tutorial on taking movies with the Canon 5D Mark II...I needed all the help I could get! http://www.vimeo.com/2517472

Couple of Thoughts...Beach Volleyball and Jeopardy

Thought #1: I wish I were a beach volleyball player. Those people are Hottie McHotts.

Thought #2: I'm worried these kids may beat me with Jeopardy answers. Especially the kid with the lisp. A lithp, I mean. Annoying.

Thought #3: Maybe I need cable. Or a life.

Sonoma County

I'm going to be spending the next two weekends in Sonoma County and it makes me get all nostalgic-like thinking about my time there...

In 1997 (holy cannoli I'm old), after a year at the lovely JC, I transferred up to Sonoma State to continue my higher education (aka get the heckfire outta my parents' house.) I still worked at the video store (best. job. ever.) and met awesome people I'm still friends with. So much fun, random, exciting stuff happened the years I lived in Rohnert Park and I still to this day get the warm-and-fuzzies when I go there.

Rohnert Park is a planned city. Not shocking to anyone who has been there. Everything is divided into sections...I lived in B section first, then two places in A section. As you can easily guess, all of the street names in each section start with that letter (they were a little lenient with it, or lazy, considering I lived on Alden then Santa Alicia. Not sure why they didn't just name it Alicia. Whatever.) Most people don't think highly of RP, but man, I do. I loved how close we were to Bodega Bay, Goat Rock and anywhere we could go on the coast, I loved how I could walk pretty much everywhere (and did!), I loved how easy it was to get to Santa Rosa (now, not so much), and how that town holds hilarious and awesome memories of my life back then. Given the choice these days, I'd rather live in Santa Rosa than Rohnert Park, but RP will always hold a special place in this here little heart of mine.

After RP, I moved to SF with Wenis, then back to SR, then up to Sonoma. Somewhere in there, I dated a guy who lived in the Sebastopol area and everytime I go out there now, I realize how much I miss it. There are great restaurants, fun bars, cool people and again, great memories. He lived in a sweet place west of Sebastopol that used to be the scale house for the apple orchards. Of course, all of these apple orchards are now vineyards (except for the Christmas Tree Farm which is rad) but the history of his little place gave it all the charm in the world. We spent almost every weekend out at Doran beach with a huge group of friends, playing volleyball (I didn't, they did. Volleyball hurts my arms. Oh and I suck.), BBQing and just watching the water...my favorite part.

My place in Sonoma holds good memories for the most part except for the very end and pretty much now (long story.) The beginning was great though! Sonoma Square is such an awesome area of town and holds the most fun. Good times had there for sure...

Having been in Santa Barbara this weekend and having lived so close to the ocean gives me that feeling again...the feeling that I need to be a beach bum and sell necklaces to tourists. Oh wait, not that one. The one where I think I'm meant to live on a beach somewhere...(photos and Santa Barbara posting coming soon.)

Good question to ask someone you don't really know...Do you prefer the beach or the mountains? My answer is always "I love the mountains - the way it smells, the clean, crisp air, the views, the snow, the trees - but there is something about the beach that just makes me stop, stare, and relax. There's an inexplicable feeling I get when I go to the beach...one that makes me want to live there, work there, and be there all the time."

Cheers to memories, nostalgia, Sonoma County, the beach and all y'all!

Santa Barbara Rocks

I love it here. Love it. I just wanted to pop in and say that. When I get back I'll blog for real about my mini-vacation but for now, need to hop in the shower and get ready for Something's Fishy. Yum.

Cheers for SDub's b-day and a beach mini-vacation!!!!!

My Parents

I'm 31 now and over last probably 5 years, I've come to realize something about my parents. Now, they don't read this blog and I probably won't admit as much to them outright, but I'll post it for the world (aka my 3 readers) to see: they were pretty much always right.

--They've always recycled. Take it as their inner hippie or what have you, my parents have recycled for as long as I can remember, even when it was more inconvenient. I learned good habits from them and recycling is definitely one of them. Green before their time.

--They refuse to buy bottled water. Bottled water is a waste of plastic. I try not to use bottled water as much as I can, but I'm not nearly as good at this as my parents. In light of yet another article about bottled water being not that great/safe/regulated, I'm going to try much harder to use less plastic and more beautiful red metal water holder thing. They also refuse to buy paper towels...something I haven't yet committed to but plan to this year. Yet again, green before their time.

--Always on time. I like this characteristic they share - and I learned it from them. I don't like to make people wait, especially now that we're all older and all much, much busier than we used to be. Every moment is precious (not to be cheesy but it's true!) and I don't want to waste my time or someone else's. 

--Try it, you'll like it. Now this doesn't always work, but most of the time, I have tried it and I usually do like it: red bell peppers, salmon, red onions, mixed greens (but how good is iceberg...mmmm...oh who do I hear? mom? iceberg is just water? yeah yeah, I know.) Over the years I've tried things I thought I didn't like just to see if I now like them. Seafood I still haven't taken a liking to. I'll try lobster again in like 3 years.

--They used to build things better. Time and time again this has proven to be true. In some things. I love new gadgets...like I've mentioned, I'm a geek. Some old things are just better though...cars. Old cars rock. For my birthday my parents gave me a KitchenAid mixer that still has Hobart on it. Yeah, from back then. It's awesome. Now if I could just learn how to cook...

--When you're not in the room, shut the light off (and the runner up, know what you want before you open the refrigerator.) Now that I pay my own PG&E bills, I know they were right. Period.

--Don't run up credit cards. Yeaaaaah. Should have listened to that one.

--A boy should always come to the door when he picks you up. ABSOLUTELY. I cannot believe I ever stood for a guy honking in his car. I know I can be old fashioned about dating and relationships, but this is common courtesy. I wouldn't ever do that to a friend either.

--In it for the long haul. My parents have been together for 33 years. Thirty-three years. That's inspiring in and of itself! I can only hope for the same.

If I can think of more, and I know I will, I'll add them. Got any good ones?

Busy

Countdown to Santa Barbara...T minus 1 day! I am so looking forward to celebrating SDub's birthday with her in such an awesome place. On the way down, we'll be hitting up Hearst Castle (never been!) then do some wine tasting in Paso and SB, and then head to our cute vacation rental about 5 min from the beach and downtown Santa Barbara. 

Roadtrips = awesome. The beach = awesome. Wine tasting = awesome. Birthdays = always awesome. Summer = awesome.

I. can't. wait.

Cheers to mini-vacations!

PS - 47 minutes until Wipeout.

Monday

K just came to town to do some Baby Belly Photos and we had such a blast! I am so excited to meet Baby K - and I'm writing it here - I'm still hoping for a girl. Of course, I'll be happy for a boy too, but I am crossing my fingers (and toes) for a girl. 

Cheers to Baby Belly Photos, a Rutherford Grill smorgasbord, and seeing K!

Love This

Urban Word of the Day: FACEBRAG 

To use Facebook as a platform to brag. Normally about a job, internship, trip, purchase or anything else that nobody really needs to know but you'd like to tell everyone because you're awesome.

I LOVE THIS URBAN WORD OF THE DAY.

It's one things to share excitement and tell your friends and "friends" good news and it's another to brag about having things or that your life is awesome. all. the. time. What happened to good old humbleness?

This Guy Is My Hero

Curly is my hero. Not the Curly from the Three Stooges, but this guy. He's 107, born in 1902 (yes, obviously.) One hundred and seven. I thought I'd write that out since the number is so awesome. He's seen things I can't even begin to imagine and he's happy. Undeniably, consistently, fantastically happy. He's all about eating right and exercising, which he attributes to his striking physique and tip top mind. I am too, I just have a more difficult time with the actual execution of it.


Curly, you've inspired me. If you can lift weights everyday, so can I. If you can ride your bike around until you're 102, I can at least TRY at 31. You rock and I hope everything works out for you. Cheers!

In Response to My Food Idea...

So I know I said I was going to try to become a Flexitarian, but now I'm not so sure. Check it, yo: an article on how being a vegetarian makes your bones weak. Yeah, I already have the female thing working against me with bone density and though I'm an avid milk drinker, I worry about osteoporosis. Ok, maybe not as much as how I worry about diabetes or if the Richmond bridge is going to fall into the Bay, but I do think about it.

Granted, I don't believe everything I read because in a few days, there will be an article from some other source that being a vegetarian is better for your bones and prevents psoriasis or something. I take all this stuff with a grain of salt. But just a grain, I'm watching my blood pressure.

Cheers to the news - you never know what you're gonna get.

Nerd Alert Nerd Alert

With the help of this smart dude (chick?), I have gotten my Samsung phone to talk to my computer via Bluetooth and move all of my contacts off of my phone and onto my computer. Now, hopefully, when I get home, I can take the zip file of contacts, unzip them on my Mac, upload them into my address book, push to MobileMe, and on Friday, when I get the iPhone, it'll all sync up and I shouldn't have lost a thing.

Cross your fingers for me - I'm in way over my geeky head.

Cheers to people helping people!

PS - I warned you with the title of this post. It is SUPER NERDY.

UPDATE: I just imported my vcards from my super duper cool Bluetool transfer to Address Book on the Mac...Took about .654 seconds and BAM....they're all there!!! Now, by Friday, I'll know if my mad computer skills paid off....the true test. iPhone day.

UPDATE 2: I forgot to update this...got the iPhone on Friday and connected my Mac address book to my iPhizzle and BAM (again)....contacts loaded. AWESOME.

Happy Hump Day

It's Wednesday - the tipping point between last weekend and this weekend. I try not to live for weekends, but sometimes I can't help it. Especially when the coming weekend is a FOUR DAY weekend! WOOWOO! Thank you for becoming independent, USofA, I appreciate the day off.

Friday is iPhone day...I'm still not super excited but I think that's mostly because of AT&T. They suck and though I swore I'd never return to that fateful company, here I am, handing over a boatload of cash. Oh well, what's two years of my life? Ultimately, I think the iPhone will be great for me...great for organizational purposes and my business. I'm defintiely looking forward to downloading the most random apps I can find...an app(lication) about app(etizer)s would be AWESOME. I'll have to see if that exists. If not, I'll make one and become the richest person on the planet. Muuuwaaahhaaahaahaaaaaaa.


Saturday, we're celebrating the 4th in Sonoma Square - my old stomping grounds! I'm looking forward to being outside and they have killer fireworks.

I have finally convinced K to do maternity shots on Sunday... can't wait to capture this exciting time in her life!! We'll have so much fun!

Sunday and Monday are clean-my-house-work-on-projects days. It's been SO long since I've tended to anything at my house....at this point I'd rather live in Motel 6. Oh, excuse' moi, Chateau Seis. At least they leave the light on for you.


Cheers to long weekends!