I was there. See? Right there. Yup!

I found my ticket stub from the July 13, 1994 Grateful Dead concert in Highgate, Vermont. I was there with my then boyfriend and we had an incredible time, despite my kinda-disinterest in The Dead. I know we were just there for the experience, but it was definitely an enchanting one.



For photos of that event go see Jim Anderson's site. If you can pick me out in the crowd I'll give you a cookie. :P

See the space between my fingers? There isn't any, because they're touching. I'm this close to running away. Just running. And not looking back. This day is impossibly hard.

(Yup, this would be a private post if BLOGGER DID THAT.)

Flattery gets you to NYC

I think Dawg is sweet on me. He snacks on me almost weekly.


(Okay, okay, he snacks on Avi every week too, so maybe he's sweet on us both. :P )


Thank you, Dawg. I never think I have anything interesting to say anymore but you keep proving me wrong.

No SGP today. Cleaning out my house before the ginormous dumpster is stolen away by the deft man with the big truck. Bye!

gah!

Who knew there was so much crap in my house? You know who knows now? The ginormousest dumpster I've ever seen that's sitting in my driveway. It's filling UP.

I know, I know, I keep talking about the dumpster but not showing you the dumpster. I will show you later when it's filled up. Because it will be. This cleaning out the house is, pardon the punny, cleansing.

Off to get a mocha as reward for all this hard work. :)

This just in...

Instrumental Christmas music makes Georgie severely grumpy:



It's what was in my CD player/alarm clock. I never listen to the CD player. I wake up to the BEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEP noise.

We have switched to iTunes shuffle. Georgie is now happily cleaning her leg.

fairly weighed

Went to the fair last night and ate lots of yummy food and fed ameenals and watched people screaming on rides and ignored carnies but secretly watched them out of the corner of my eye and allowed myself to enjoy the time.



Today I am throwing things away since we have this massive dumpster sitting in our driveway. I'm starting out by throwing away clothes, and I'm torn. I used to weigh 50 lbs more, less than two years ago. I gained those 50 between 1997 and 2005, steadily over time for the most part. And now I'm just a little nervous about throwing away 3/4 of my wardrobe, ya know? But I'm doing it anyway. Because, just like with being scared, what's wrong with being a little nervous? :)

currency is just made up ridiculosity

I was just informed by a co-worker that $100 US = $6910 JMD (Jamaica).

Redonk.

If I were a private post where would I be...?

I wrote my private post. It's three sentences. Many of you know what's going on with me. On Monday I take another step. I want to blog it, but I can't. So, I remain silent.

It annoys me that I cannot do private posts on my blog.

It annoys me greatly.

tiger balm

How old am I? 33, right? Right. So, why the hell is my skin still so oily? Isn't that, like, a teenager thing? Does my body actually still believe it's a teenager?

... Yar. :)

Are you just trying to piss us off?

(Mel, sweetie, avert your eyes. This one's not nice.)



Full rtardedness over at CNN.

We were briefed for an entire day after this incident by our chief of police. We are working on implementing an alert system since we have so many buildings and it's difficult to reach everyone at once.

It's not like you just expect some kid to go fucking mental and start shooting, wander off, then wander back. We can plan for it now because it's happened. And really we're just planning for what we think might happen, not what we know will happen "next time". But, in the moment the administration thought they were doing the right thing. Sometimes we're wrong. We're fallible. We just are. It's because humans are not as predictable as we all hope each other will be, especially when a human is off his (or her) fucking rocker.

So, allow us to learn the lessons that are actually helpful to learn from this tragedy and not just point the finger and walk away with a repeat of history.

(To the one person who is going to argue this was not a tragedy, definition: a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair. It was that, Sir. It was that.)

by the way...

work hell is over :)

(Sorry, Mikey.)

I still haven't collected on the last rootkit scandal

Of course we bought CDs that had the Sony rootkit on them. Luckily I don't have a microvault which has the newest rootkit on it! :

From Reuters here:

Software included with high-end memory sticks sold by Sony Corp can make personal computers vulnerable to attack by computer hackers, according to researchers with two Internet security firms.

Sony’s MicroVault USB memory stick and fingerprint reader includes software that creates a hidden directory on the computer’s hard drive, researchers with Finnish security software maker F-Secure Corp reported on the company’s blog on Monday.

Such software that hides itself, which is known as a root kit, leaves room for hackers to secretly infect personal computers, they said.

F-Secure’s blog posting said it attempted to contact Sony before alerting the public about the software, but the company had not replied.

On Tuesday, researchers with McAfee Inc. said they had confirmed the vulnerability described by F-Secure.

“The apparent intent was to cloak sensitive files related to the fingerprint verification feature included on the USB drives,” said McAfee spokesman Dave Marcus. “However, software creators apparently did not keep the security implications in mind. The application could be used to hide arbitrary software, including malicious software.”

This is not the first time F-Secure has found Sony software installing hidden directories on the drives of its customers. In 2005 there was a similar situation involving the electronics maker’s digital rights management software, security experts say.

On F-Secure’s blog today, the security group confirms that the rootkit can be used by malware authors to hide any file folder.

This new rootkit (which can still be downloaded from sony.net) can be used by any malware author to hide any folder. We didn’t want to go into the details about this in our public postings, but we suppose the cat’s out of the bag now that our friends at McAfee blogged about this yesterday. If you simply extract one executable from the package and include it with malware, it will hide that malware’s folder, no questions asked.

Nested quoted quotes! :)

Thanks to Pat who passes me some tasty geekery.

astronauts are NOT drunk!

Following up When good space ladies go bad:

An internal NASA review found no evidence to back up last month's report that astronauts have been allowed to fly drunk, NASA sources told CNN on Tuesday.

The agency ordered the review after an independent panel reported anecdotal evidence of intoxicated astronauts flying aircraft and spacecraft. The review, by NASA's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, is to be released Wednesday.

The NASA Astronaut Health Care System Review Committee in July reported two alleged cases in which astronauts were so drunk that flight surgeons or other astronauts raised concerns over flight safety. The astronauts in question were still allowed to fly, the panel said.

The independent panel's report offered no specifics about the drinking episodes and said no attempt was made to confirm information given in interviews.

It was convened to look into NASA's medical and psychological screening process after the arrest of former astronaut Lisa Nowak. She is accused of assaulting a romantic rival in February.

Nowak has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Following the committee's report, NASA adopted an interim policy saying astronauts are not qualified for flight if they consume alcohol within 12 hours of launch and ordered the review.

The report from the committee said, "Interviews with both flight surgeons and astronauts identified some episodes of heavy use of alcohol by astronauts in the immediate preflight period, which has led to flight safety concerns."

The committee said in another section of the report that it did not provide the space agency with names.

The NASA sources told CNN that Wednesday's report also does not name anyone. (CNN)

Wearing a diaper in the car doesn't mean you're drunk. Just sayin'.

crossroads

This morning in my work mailbox I found an invitation to be included in one of those scammy who's who directories, which I checked out later and learned I want no part in it, but before checking it out my introspection began.

I have always been resistant to being a "computer person". I never wanted this to be my career. I just did it because I was good at it. I did it because, despite my dislike for all things service, it's what my personality type tells me I should be doing.

And then something happened. I'm not sure what. Something changed in me that made me love what I do. Perhaps it's because my employer became more supportive of my professional development and I was able to actually learn more and practice the security side of computing. This is truly my passion. I love all things to do with security. I could wax poetically for hours on the subject. I could eat up every certification there is to do with this field, read every trade material there is on the subject, handle incidents with no objection indefinitely. I would love to become someone's CSO, CISO, security consultant, or similar. I would love to be in charge of security infrastructure, planning, implementation, response, resolution... all of it.

But, what if? I have a fear of responsibility, a fear of committing to the big things. I have a fear of saying yes to something and then disappointing everyone involved. I fear that I don't know enough to do the job well. I fear that everyone will realize I'm a fake. Underneath this confident exterior I'm just winging it like the rest of the world. And somehow that's okay for everyone else to do, but not for me.

I am very strong willed, know what I want, and go full force toward it, but underneath there is a constant dialog of, "[my nickname here], are you really sure you know what you're doing?" No, voice, I don't. But I'm doing it anyway.

The one day several months back when my boss told me, "you know, you could be the CSO" scared the absolute shit out of me. But, is there really anything wrong with being scared?

My eyes just bugged out of my head.

B just emailed me:

Oh, I was looking around at restaurants, and it appears that our beloved Tom Colicchio has a restaurant here in Dallas. Of course, he probably wouldn't be there, but man, just to be in that man's atmosphere would be breathtaking. Sigh...

Oh, mew mew mew... Cannot wait to visit her!!

Hi :)

I still have all my hair!

I'm alive!

I'm awake!

I'm happy!

Really!

Where's my blankie! ?

:)


In other news: My favorite word today is "nose". The nose knows!

cruelty to poppymals

That day I just had?

We helped 80 people.

I have to do it again tomorrow and the next day.

How do I do it? I'm asking.

Attorney General Gonzales removed from post somehow

Pat informs me that Gonzales either quit or was fired. (CNN says he resigned, but I kinda don't trust that they ever know what they're talking about.)

Happy fucking day.


Update: ACW loves me for my zombie brains. Or something. Better link here.

Dublin or bust

My brother and I work in the exact same profession, with the exact same client demographic, at "competing businesses"* across the street from one another. Somehow we almost never see each other, but we're always thinking of each other.

In this morning's inbox I received this message from him:

Just yell if you need anything.

Currently Guinness is the answer to everything. Tasty, tasty Guinness.

Cheers,
Bro.

:) Is there any wonder he is my favorite relative? Once our madness dies down it might be time for a tasty, tasty Guinness together.

Anyone else care to join? My brother is super cool and there's a nice Irish pub down the hill from us.



*I use the term "competing businesses" so loosely that it just fell down around its own ankles. We're not direct competitors, but we do steal each other's clients quite a bit. ;)

wiping the drool from the corner of my eyes

Kim sent me a photo of her boy cuz I'm always all up in her business when it comes to the vicarious living.

Cover your ears. Just do it. Thanks.

ZOMG HE IS FUCKING ADORABLENESS WRAPPED IN A CRESCENT ROLL.

You know the guy from Girls Just Want to Have Fun?!? HE LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THAT GUY, ONLY ACTUALLY COOL.

Kim is freaking hot herself so I'm not surprised. :) I'm just noting. :)

unfairly robotic flowers

No fair! (As in, didn't go, not as in life sucks.) Too exhausted by little kiddos being way too much fun. If Break Boy would let me I'd totally steal his kids and keep them as my own. Two photos from the party...



Me eating a robot an alien (it was a robot and alien-themed party).




My cake and ice cream.


I've finally uploaded photos for Sunday Garden Party! Not too many this week, but they're great no matter. Here's a photo of flowers I cut myself from my gardens then arranged myself in this vase then put on the island for my viewing pleasure:



Rest of the 36-photo set is over at flickr.

à bientôt

Off to a certain adorable boy's 5th birthday party and then probably to the fair. SGP will occur after those events. The Monarchs have taken over the butterfly bush! :) :) :)

Happy Sunday, everyone! Catch ya a little later...

I am annoyed with myself today. Ever have those days?

Johnny Cash truly is one badass dead sOb

I found this over at A Feast of Crumbs and I need to share. Here's a list of 10 reasons why Johnny Cash owns pwns Chuck Norris, authored by Xxoozero at Shoutwire:

Reason 1.
Only one man who has ever lived has been bad enough to be called “The Man In Black” and it wasn’t Chuck Norris

Reason 2.
Johnny didn’t have to fight to be a bad ass. He just had to pick up a beer bottle and a guitar.

Reason 3.
Norris made a bunch of films where he killed folks. Johnny Cash went to Folsom Prison and did a concert. You tell me which one takes more balls.

Reason 4.
Chuck wasn’t the first of his kind to kick ass. Johnny was the first rock star to set something on fire. While most artists only set their hotel rooms on fire, Johnny took it one step further and burned down half a national forest.

Reason 5.
When Chuck was five, he was a normal five year old. Johnny had already earned man points by working in his dad’s cotton fields. That is a true bad ass. By the time he was six, Cash did more hard work than most men do in their whole life.

Reason 6.
Chuck never got stabbed in the back by a woman. Johnny never stopped bleeding. Chuck may have gotten punched a few times, but Johnny knew what real pain was.

Reason 7.
Chuck is a republican. Johnny was close with every president except for GWB. It was said he just didn’t trust that son of a bitch. When Johnny didn’t trust someone, you just knew something foul was going on.

Reason 8.
Johnny was invited to play the at White House in 1972 for Richard Nixon. He was given a list of politically correct songs to sing. He instead metaphorically threw up his middle finger at the establishment, in true ShoutWire fashion, and sang a set full of left leaning, politically charged tunes. Chuck Norris has never told the president to fuck off in his own house.

Reason 9.
Chuck Norris made a lot of crappy movies. Johnny Cash never touched anything that didn’t turn to gold. In the 80’s, he made a song called “Chicken in Black” to get himself out of a record deal. Even that became popular.

Reason 10.
Johnny is the only man in history to decline painkillers after a double bypass heart surgery. He knew he liked drugs too god damn much and wouldn’t stop. That shows power over an addiction previously not seen before. Kicking a ninja's ass is easy compared to kicking a drug's ass.

Posted without permission from Joe or Skeletor.

advantages to things I don't like

This is the second Saturday in a row that I have worked. I'd just like to state for the record: I don't like working on Saturdays. I do, however, enjoy shooting the shit with the guys when it's slow. That I like very much. Because they teach me things that ladies just don't get to learn when they're shooting the breeze with the ladies. Because ladies don't talk about "shit". (I do, but I'm not a lady.)

I'm also amused at the fact that clients now tell me how important and awesome external backup drives are. This means they are learning. We discussed losing very important documents and they all cringed in fear and said they never ever let that happen, backup backup backup. I am so proud of them. So very proud. If it were okay for me to pat them on the head and tell them just how proud I am I would, but... touching = sexual harassment, so no touching. :D

This is why I love B

She just sent me a text message totally meant for her DH. I think what she wrote to me is illegal in 7 states.

Just kidding, B, but that was hilarious.

No shit, Sherly!

I is busy.

I had flatbread pizza for lunch.

I parallel parked so well when I arrived to pick up the pizza for everyone at work that my co-worker (we'll call him notPoppy, since we have similar last names, which kinda ticks him off cuz everyone calls him by my last name ;) who came with to carry the pizza told me how impressed he was; he's not easily impressed. (I was 2 inches from the curb and perfectly centered in the space. No idea how. Love my Kia.) notPoppy's hobbies include shooting guns and...um, shooting guns? Great guy, known him since college, but I think all I know is that he lives with his wife in the same trailer park I lived in as a kid and that he (shoots guns!). He also talked me into going to the liquor store to buy soda. Just soda. See?

Big things, big things.

DOOOOOD! YOU CAN ADD VIDEOS DIRECTLY TO BLOGGER NOW!!!!!! WTF!!!!! AWESOME!!! Too bad it doesn't let you actually shoot the video like YouTube.

Back to the scary busy grind. Let's hope I don't go temporarily blind in one eye by the end of the day like I did yesterday. (For real.)

ACK!

Why, do you suppose, I heap quite this much stress upon myself? No clue, perhaps because I enjoy it like the sick and twisted girl that I am.

If this were a body of water it'd be a tsunami. And it keeps on going until next Thursday.

I'm such a lucky, lucky girl.

Yo, vendors, when I tell you I can't do phone calls until September 4 I'm not kidding. Stop leaving me messages. For real. EMAIL.

You wanted to know what I had for dinner, yes?

salad! with Keyser Söze Caesar dressing!

workbook

Dan posted a guide to 5 ways to shine at work. I read through them all because I was curious how I was doing in the shining department. Not so good, if you ask me, but I definitely have that 5th one down, the one about attitude being everything. This little nugget stands out:

"Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it."

The next time anyone tells me that my reaction to a situation is ridiculous or invalid or unimportant I'm going to verbally bitch slap that person and and then shake my beautiful ass as I walk away. Because that's how I roll.


So, raise your hand if you're the one in four American adults who hasn't read a book in the last year. Those of you with your hand raised: wtf? You know reading is, like, really important and stuff? Yes? So, READ! I know I've been slacking in the reading department lately, but I currently have a reserve of about 7 books to read. They're all just staring at me going, "Poppy, read me!" but I need to wait until my busy time at work ends...somewhere in the early-Septemberish time frame. I really cannot wait to get back into reading. I've missed it. Just got burnt out on it from studying for my security cert last year (I really did have to read thousands of pages for that damn thing) and kept this as my convenient excuse to ignore my love for it. No more excuses. Well, except this current excuse. But then after that, no more excuses! ;)

Graphite, my old friend.

Anyone seen my pencil? I had it upstairs in the machine room... Hmm. I need to stop losing my writing implements. Or stop writing, I suppose.

i m t3h awsum

I parallel parked (left side) for the first time in 5 years and did so perfectly between my boss's car in front of me and some Audi in back of me. And then just for kicks I gunned it forward then gunned it in the reverse. So much fun...

flower break

Hey, everyone. :) Didn't take any flower photos this week so not posting SGP. Hope you have a great Sunday!

review of Superbad

I've never seen as many cocks in my entire life as I saw in this one film. And when I say cocks I mean penises.

I have never laughed so hard at a movie while in the movie theater.

Michael Cera is a fucking genius, as is Seth Rogen.

Despite some reviews to the contrary, the movie is not carried solely by the McLovin plot line. But that is an excellent plot line...

I will own this movie.

You need to see it. No choice, go now. Right now.

oot n aboot

I'm going to work right now. For real. On a Saturday. When I don't normally work Saturdays. Sacrifices for the greater good, or something.

After that I'm going to see Superbad so it will all be worth it. :D

hmm

I had a bloody nose this morning. It's not dry here. I figured I just haven't had enough water lately and forgot about it. Weeeelllllllll, my nose is bleeding again. Just from the one nostril. Not a lot, not as much as this morning. But still. wtf?

Do you think it's cuz I have to work tomorrow and possibly Sunday so my body's rebelling? Gotta work next weekend too. Very happy about that. Har.

somebody loves me?! ooh, yay!

Just got this craftily worded phishing email:

I`m in hurry, but i still love you...
(as you can see on the ecard)
http://###.###.###.###/

I've received about 1.5 billion messages of this type over the past few weeks, but none professing their love for me. I like how they keep using ` instead of '. That amuses me.

(IP withheld to protect the stupid.)

alternate universe

Today I've had two Starbucks coffee-flavored frappuccino drinks, one venti iced mocha (full fat) with whipped cream, and one cookie dough Peace Pop, and yet my pants keep threatening to completely fall down when I'm walking unless I hold onto the belt loop.

Somewhere in the world a woman who ate healthily today is super pissed that she gained 10 pounds anyway. (Sorry!)

Hi!

So, I'm in better spirits today. There won't be more explanation on the blog about that last post, sorry to "disappoint" anyone.

Yesterday I went to a company picnic during a tornado warning and had fantastic steak on the grill! Also got the biggest hug ever, unprompted, by Break Boy's son. I love his kids so much. They are so sweet and mischievous at the very same time. And his daughter looked sooooo adorable in her pigtails while she fell over backwards and giggled and babbled to me.

After picnic I came home to a power outage, a forced break from the eWorld. I appreciated the break, watched a movie on my laptop and took a little quiet time to just sit on my bed and think in the dark. I love the dark now that it doesn't scare me. I was afraid of it until January. Isn't that weird? No longer scared of it, now love it.

Used the generator for a bit of time to microwave some dinner and watch the finale of SYTYCD. Congrats to Sabra! Apparently I know how to call 'em. Was glad to see everyone back who could be back, but the sparkle was gone from many of the other performers' eyes (most noticeably Pasha's and Sara's). Danny's original partner (whose name I can't remember) was the best of the non-final 4. She is a true entertainer.

After this the power came back on but I was tired so went to the bedroom to do some more reflecting. I enjoy the silence, Depeche Mode-inspired or not. ;) Listened to some Justin Timberlake on repeat and enjoyed life.

The only thing missing: Kitties. They were all busy elsewhere, no time for Mama. S'okay, they're always in my heart.

on the verge

I pushed that boulder all the way up that fucking hill and it just rolled all the way back to the bottom. I'm curling up into a little ball and turning off my brain until next year.

sytycd finale prediction

Loved the Mia Michaels performance between Neil and Danny last night.

I think Sabra might win? Not sure... If a guy wins I really hope it's Neil. I now understand Danny better from his personal piece, but it's too little too late. His coldness throughout the entire competition has turned me off to the idea of him deserving to win. I really wish they'd done this piece at the start of the competition so I had time to get used to the reasons why he's such a standoffish ass.

If Lacey wins I probably won't watch next year. Too many Schwimmers.

more shine

Poppy wants it to be the weekend so she can get some McLovin:



Yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

You know SuperBad is gonna be supergood, at least the parts written (by Seth Rogen) with Seth Rogen in them. ;)

patterns

Let's see if I can articulate this.

Do you ever have those moments where you witness just a commonplace event and suddenly your brain is working on overdrive trying to remember how what you're looking at that very second reminds you of something from childhood?

I was just at the store and one of the entrances was blocked off for the night using shopping carts. When I came out of the store I glanced over at the pattern and my brain knew it to be familiar, it was trying to remind me about something I used to experience as a kid. I still have no idea what, but I love that feeling. Things forgotten but almost remembered... A favorite moment. :)

do not take this as a sign of proliferation

Mandy Patinkin left Criminal Minds (abruptly) so Joe Mantegna is filling the gap.

When I first saw the headline I was thinking Joe Montana... the football player... ehhhhm... Yah. And then I saw the visual and I'm okay.

Joe Mantegna: (He's bringing sexy back.)

Joe Montana: (Sexy never left him.)

Big diff.

slow the FUCK down

I mean, really. Next Friday is just WAY TOO SOON, not enough days between now and then. I'm not ready for that. lalalalalalalalalalalalalalala

Nope, not acknowledging. Nope nope nope.

Ducking, covering, crying in a little ball.

pick-up/take-out/check-out lines

Apparently me running into the door with my head on the way out Friday did not detour (ahem) deter (at least I catch my own mistakes) the cafe check-out guy from wanting to continue hitting on me. He just used a line on me. Smoooooooth. :)

I can't share with you the actual line he used because it's work specific (as in, specific to my employer) but that's extra bonus points right there. Takes mad skillz to do that, no?

I know I'm cute, but it's weird to me that people I don't know flirt with me. I think it's because I smile and look people in the eye, which is what I'm doing with you right now. (How you doin'? Hehehe.)

a really good friend

Break Boy made me lentil pie at 12:30am last night because he knows I'm in need of pie lately.



His wife added the kitty cat design to it. Do you see it?



That pie? Fucking awesome. Pie crust, tomato, red lentils, onion, and extra sharp cheddar cheese. What is NOT to love?!?!?

This is why I have a friend who I met at age 6 and keep around. He is awesome. I'm pretty sure all the other friends take him completely for granted, but I never will again.

I'm just sayin'

I could use a real, actual hug right now without motivation beyond "I'm here for you". Anyone on their way to France anytime soon who's willing to give such a hug?

In return I give you a really great hug back. And maybe a wet shoulder. :}



(See, this is why I generally post fluffy things. I'm actually very introspective at heart and few people can handle me that way. ;)

night day at the museum

This week's Sunday Garden Party is brought to you by the letters Q and P and the number 7.





The rest of the fantastic 75-photo set is available at flickr.

random thought of the day

I'd pay good money to see William Shatner sing the Violent Femmes song Blister in the Sun in his stilted, pausy Shatner style.




Dunno why I've always loved that song so much, since I don't do the drugs. Maybe it's the reference to "big hands".

SGP coming up later today.

"It's not an iPhone, it's an Altoids tin!"

Are you aware that where I live in France we cannot obtain service for the iPhone? So, we have to go to another state country and start the service then permanently use roaming minutes. Like it wasn't expensive enough to buy the fucking phone and the service plan, ya know? Fuckers. FUCK YAH, LET'S DO IT!

(That last fuck was for Crys who's absent from my life right now and I am not sure I can stand that much longer. I just like saying "fuck" in all its variations. ;)

Two more things Bob Allen could have told the police instead of being racist

Apparently in Florida the state representatives don't know what penises in mouths mean.

As completely ripped off from John Oliver of The Daily Show:

1. I have tonsillitis and I thought that man's penis was a flashlight.

2. I'm bulimic but I hate shoving my finger down my throat.


I sound like a muppet, I'm laughing so hard.

throwing a bone

Even if I were not on hiatus I would be silent here. Work is always, always, ALWAYS complete fucking insanity in August. Always. For those of you who know what I do for work (and where) you know why.

And home life is an adjustment. That's all I'll say. Taking more time to check in with what's going on, including more play time with the girls.

I'll write here when I feel like it but I guess I won't return to my prolific blogging today. :)

I'm quietly reading blogs as my life allows me to do so. I'm definitely "behind" on a lot of your blogs. Thanks for being on summer vacation so that most of you (except PAT, ZOMG) are posting very little.

I'm not addicted to blogging, but I do miss my blog friends, the chatter, the sense of community, the sharing of my totally random and zany self.

And I'm anticipating a comment from a particular someone about this post's title so I'll get this out of the way now: NAUGHTY DAWG! :P ;)

I might be getting punked.

I am back on hiatus, but I'm putting the blog up because it's flipping everyone out to have it be blank. I'll be in touch. Things are tarded at the moment and I am just not going to further that behavior by posting anything here.

My shiny ball below explains how I feel right now. A lot of you know why, and you want me to talk about it, but it's very private and will remain that way here.

I'm off like a dirty shirt. :P

(I am still funny even in the face of total shitocracy.)

Hugs and kisses to you all,
~P

at a loss

I have a lot to say, but it's trapped inside of me.

break it down to the ground, flip it back up to the mound

Oh, that title's kinda dirty. Hmm.

This one's for wHall who is trying to outbreak me. :P



Word 2 ur motha's motha.

Not an actual breakdance, but you knoooooow she wanted to bust out her moves. In case you're not familiar, that's "Top That!" from the 1989 movie Teen Witch. (If you don't feel totally embarrassed after watching that clip then I commend you for your imperviousness.)

Notez Bien

You may see a lot of even more superficial posts than usual here, but I appreciate it that you're sticking around anyway.

I currently have absolutely nothing to say, so here's another photo:



Happy birthday, beautiful girl. Mama loves you more than words can say.

s g random p

The glads are in full swing, as are the caterpillars:

   


Rest of the 42-photo set is over at flickr.


Also, randomly, a video of me slicing open a milkweed pod for your viewing pleasure:

self titled

A tribute to my girl crush

I'm sad Sara Von Gillern got kicked off SYTYCD but it's not for her lack of talent or for her lack of smokin' hotedness as the best b-girl around.

For her farewell I give you her best two performances.

Disco:


Solo:


Yummmmmmmmmmmm.


Update: Since no one can see when I link off to stuff because dark blue and black look similar when the font is small I have BOLDED the link to b-girl. I don't expect everyone to know what a b-girl is because you didn't grow up in my world. So, if you were wondering what a b-girl is please just click the word b-girl above. But not here, because I'm too lazy to link it here. :P ;)

Update 2: wHall explains that I misinterpreted his unfortunately worded comment, and he did actually use my link to learn about b-girls. It's fascinating stuff! I probably wouldn't know anything about them if Karalee hadn't danced with the boys on that flattened cardboard in the middle school cafeteria. She was such a badass...

Yah, okay, so that was fun.

I'm all done with this blog silence, especially since Hay let you all in on what's going on in our very private life via his comment. He means well, and I'm not taking it down, but I do not want your pity or whatever. This blog isn't about that and it won't become about that. So, um, hi, I'm not going to be talking about that here.

Moving on!

I'm not dead, but I'm still on hiatus(s).

That's all I'll say for now. :) Thanks to everyone who has been checking up on me. Sorry I'm not being very "verbal" about what's going on with me. It's private.

(Poppy has something she won't reveal on the blog?! ZOMG! ;)

7 6 letter word for abandonment

I know lots of other bloggers are doing it too so I'm just going to be added to that pile.

I'm taking a break from the blog to take care of some personal business. I'll still be reading your blogs.

See ya.


Mel informs me that hiatus is not 7 letters. Duh. Although Hay points out I should just spell it hiatuss and then there's no misunderstanding.

One more reason to love Survivorman

The Sun reports:

SURVIVAL expert Bear Grylls faked a bear attack by getting a colleague to dress up as one in fancy dress, it was claimed yeterday.

The star of TV's Born Survivor [US title: Man vs. Wild] was filmed creeping out of a tent in a bear-infested forest, nervously looking at a shadow moving a few yards away.

Back inside shelter Grylls, 33, says: “It might well have moved away, but sure as hell it knows I’m here.”

But an adviser for the Discovery Channel documentary, shown on Channel 4 last year, claimed the sinister shadow was a fake.

Ron Hood said programme makers asked him to find a bear suit when plans to hire a tame grizzly for the shot fell through.

Mr Hood added: “They decided they wanted to somehow dramatise the attack on the shelter.”

A Discovery spokesman insisted that the pantomime outfit was hired as a prank by the crew — and no footage which included the bear costume was broadcast.

Last week it emerged Grylls does not sleep rough in the woods during episodes of Born Survivor but instead stays in hotels.

Thanks to Pat for alerting me. He and I are hardcore Les Stroud/Survivorman fans and think Bear deserves whatever horrible fallout he gets from all this fakery. Why have a pretend survival show? Oh yah, because everyone loves Survivor (Jeff Probst). I've seen probably one whole episode of that and know it's more real than Man vs. Wild.

B rocks so hard I lost my socks in San Francisco

That title makes sense only to me, I think. Just watch the video and see how hard B rocks.

Update: I missed a present! The best present of allllllll!!! B sent me art of ... well, me! Check it out:



This will display prominently in my office (to replace the one we both don't like, B ;). Yeee, she double-rocks!

big fat buddha bliss

I was just able to make myself channa masala with basmati rice in 3.5 minutes, thanks to microwave technology.

I ate all 3 servings of it myself.

I am pretty sure I'm in that state of nirvana everyone's always talking about...

a review of my new favoritest sunscreen products

It's so gorgeous outside today that I used my new fun-in-the-sun products for mowing the lawn.

These products:



work super well at keeping you from being burned. They spray on CLEAR, the best part. They apply quickly. They kinda coat everything around you in the mist so just be careful what's around you. They also make your skin super shiny. And if you get it in your hair it kinda acts the same as hair spray.

I'm not saying those are bad things, I'm just informing.

If you want to know more, Coppertone | Banana Boat.

Yes, I use SPF 50 products because I am very fair-skinned and burn like a lobster otherwise. Poppy Lobster is not sexy.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Just ew.

(You're gonna hafta click that because I am not posting it here.)

Walken, talkin', chicken hockin'

I'm clearly running low on title creativity.

I think about less than a handful of you look at SGP so I am going to start off with food stuff instead. This morning I was feed reading my food blogs and found this post about Ilan from Top Chef having a big announcement. I can't stand Ilan so I went to leave a comment about how I assume his big announcement is that he's having Sam's baby and found that someone had left a "Christopher Walken cooking chicken and pears" comment. Intrigued, I followed the link, and here's what I found.


The ending is my favorite part. Christopher talking about the pear bottoms as tasty cookies is my second favorite part. The unveiling of the cute chicken after it was cooked is my third. Have I mentioned that I used to hate Christopher Walken because he creeped me out as a kid but now that I'm an adult and understand The Man I think he's awesome? No? Well, pretend I just did.

On to SGP. I did visit the in-laws yesterday. Their gardens take up almost all their lawn, save for foot paths in between the beds, so there was a lot to take in. Some of the photos in this week's set are from my gardens but most are from theirs. Some of my most favorite shots:





The full 118-photo set is at flickr.

a quiet rage

Not a rage, actually, but when B and I decided not to go to BlogHer in Chicago* I had no idea it meant I would miss a golden opportunity to MEET MY FAVORITEST CELEBRITY ON THE PLANET, AMY SEDARIS (one and two).



FUCK.

(Merci, Maman.)



*B and I decided not to go to BlogHer because:

a) We've never met in person before, we want our first time meeting to be all about us;
b) we would have skipped going to BlogHer and just hung out in Chicago anyway;
c) there are people at BlogHer that neither of us want to see, so why put ourselves through that?;
d) when I come to Texas to visit in October after my Orlando conference we are going to party at her house like it's 1999 and I get to meet all the kittos while we get drunk and smoke (actual) cigars and eat steak and run around the house in our underwear since her husband will be away at a festival. :D (Yes, we will make videos. No, not while in our underwear or naked.)

OK, SERIOUSLY

I get it, you're a boy and it's legal for you to run around without your shirt on. But do you have to VLOG WITHOUT A SHIRT ON AND RUB IT IN MY FACE?!

YAH, YOU KNOW WHO YOU (PLURALLLLLLLL!!!!!!) ARE!!!!!

:)


Now, back to watching that video...

(No, Avi, this post isn't [all] about you.)

(Yes, Spénce, this post is partially about you.)

(NO, I AM NOT VLOGGING WITHOUT A SHIRT ON.)

road trip

Going to take flower pictures at the in-laws' today. It'll be an awesome SGP. :)

Mama's girl

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

I'm sorry, I know I just hurt a lot of ear drums. But for a very good reason. Dawg is awesome:

Adventures in grooming

Just the one: When I pulled the cat carrier out of the Kia the door of it popped off and Ripley had a clear shot of the busy highway where people can go 50 mph but go much faster. I FAR-EAKED out and held the carrier at an impossible angle so she couldn't get out then scooped up the door and shoved it inside, holding her at bay. I then scurried over to the entrance of the groomer's which has this gate door you have to undo to get to the main door. I somehow managed to keep Ripley inside the carrier and open that damn gate. I slammed the gate shut behind me, set the carrier on the ground, and refastened the door. I dropped her off with Auntie Joanne then went to the parking lot and saw blood on my thumb and index finger. I guess I cut my thumb open while trying to keep my cat from running out into the street. My maternal instincts are sound. :)

Since grooming Ripley takes 30-45 minutes I went food shopping. When I came back to pick her up I noticed the door was on completely the wrong way, which means it came back off while she was being taken out or put back into her carrier by Joanne.

Oh well. Time for a new carrier.

Taking Ripley to get her belly shaved by Auntie Joanne! Yip!

spection

Quand je parle en français le monde ne semble plus mauvais. Mais, si je parle en français seulement deux personnes peuvent me comprendre.

C'est la vie. C'est la guerre. C'est la underwear.

intro

Do you go into things assuming you're going to win, going to be the best, going to accomplish the goal? Or, the exact opposite?

I'm realizing I'm super fucking cocky which confuses the hell out of me because I'm also an introvert and somehow I have it in my head that introversion and cockiness can't co-exist. Maybe cocky isn't the right word. Maybe I'm confident.

blanking

Other things that generated a spectrum of emotions occurred on my birthday, but I am choosing to focus on just one thing because I'm random like that.

Avi called me around lunch time yesterday after I tried to call him and got one of his employees instead so then emailed saying "YOU SHOULD CALL ME". When he finally did call me he asked me to look outside for a package from him (hehehehehe) and I finally found it next to the garage. I opened it while on the phone with him and now I think he is 10% deafer because I SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEd into his ear. I present to you my new favorite shirt, complete with magic marker:



My plan is to leave the lines blank because I think the shirt's meaning is much dirtier when left to the minds of others, then I'll use the marker for something else completely unnefarious (which isn't a word). Actually, so that the other geeks don't think I'm a tard, I think I will write bLank blAnk bLANk on the lines.

just ducky

Let's just admit it, I wouldn't have bothered to post this if it weren't for Mel guilt tripping me. Which totally doesn't work on me because I don't feel guilt, but I still do owe her a video.



There ya go, sweetie!

in which fauxmicah admits to being from MA

On Top Chef: Watch What Happens all three seasons of contestants come together to answer fan questions.

A fan calls out Micah for her yearbook pics on the web. She admits she's American, that she grew up in Massachusetts, that her dad is South African, that she eats Stroganoff and Hungarian Goulash, all with her South African accent. ... Fauxmicah.

RW, do you believe me now?

Further "proof" from a sibling over at Amuse Biatch:

ABSOLUTELY FAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trust me, I grew up in the same house as her, she is my younger sister!

Our father is from Cape Town, South Africa, and we have been there. But we were all born and raised in Massachusetts, but we absolutely don't have the typical pak the cah accent, but neither our younger brother or me sound like Micah.

All our family and friends have no clue where she invented this from.

Ciao
[redacted], nee Edelstein

I can't confirm that person is really her sister, but let's trust that the person is who she says she is. Anyone else on the planet seems more trustworthy than fauxmicah right now.

sYTYCd real-time blogging

Top 10.

Shane's choreography is amazing. That mechanical spider thing at the start of the routine blew my fucking mind. Pasha annoys the fucking piss out of me when he's not dancing because he is so immature, but I think he and Lauren did a fucking incredible job with the hip hop. Best Russian hip hop dancer? Meh, but still very good. It's his sharp movements and checking in with his partner without making it seem like he's just trying to see what comes next that is so amazing about his dancing.

Jaimie's rendition of Wade's peace-not-war solo is doing nothing for me. Nothing at all. I'm looking forward to the other dancers doing the exact same routine so I can see if it's Wade's solo I'm not connecting with or if it's Jaimie. Wade's choreography is generally quirky hotness. Hmm.

Dominic doing the solo. Ahhhh... I get it now. Yup, Jaimie was just bad at it. Dominic's version connected me. Now I'm curious if it's the aggressive or the fact that he's a man, while Jaimie was delicate and ... feminine.

Kameron and Sabra are paired up for contemporary. Not my favorite style, and Amazing Grace is a song I always feel like I'm supposed to be moved by but never am. Those two strikes against don't stop me from enjoying their performance. Oooh, nice spinny kick, Kam! I wish Sabra didn't have to keep showing her undies. Not a fan of seeing the undies when dancers are dancing, too distracting. I agree with Nigel that Sabra connected with the piece but Kam didn't, and it felt like they were dancing solo next to each other.

Sarah's solo. She's a bgirl so she has the aggressive movements needed, and incredible facial expressions. Best solo so far, best interpretation.

Pasha's solo. Wow, so much different than the other interpreations. So much more fluid, and tender without the aggression. He may have finally hit the correct interpretation of this peace-not-war thing. His emotion is spot on. (But he still annoys the shit out of me. It's the "I'm a good boy, right?" look. Be confident, man.)

Lacey and the kiss of death Danny are paired up. Lacey is a sex kitten and Danny calls her out on it in the interview. They are dancing the samba, and their extensions and lines are very clean. I read: Danny is disconnected from Lacey while she tries to pull him into her world. He is resistant to her feminine whiles, which isn't a good thing for a samba. Ooh, but he knows how to griiiiiiiiiind (by himself). Thanks to hot Dmitri from last season for choreographing. I totally disagree with Nigel, I think it was Lacey connecting with Danny while Danny didn't try. Nigel said the 100% opposite. Mary and Mia got it right.

Lauren's solo -- great extension! Wow, I cannot believe how high she gets up in the air! K, this is my favorite version. Hands down. So glad she didn't get kicked off the show last week.

Neil's solo is boring for me, except when he does the jumpkick.

Sabra's turn ath the solo, and WOW she does a powerful scream. I've decided I don't like it when they all perform the same solo. It gets dull. Love Sabra, but... I'm over the solo.

Ooops, hi Kam. His solo is sloppy and the extensions are fumbly. He looks like he's in a mosh pit. It's not supposed to look like he's in a mosh pit.

Jaimie and Dominic couple up for the Viennese waltz with Spanish flair. Jaimie just isn't doing anything for me. Hmm. Let's hope this resolves for next week but Dom is still around. Nigel saying Dominic overcharacterized was not true for me. Nigel, the reason you weren't focused on Jaimie is because she was boring. Ugh, Mary! You too? It was Jaimie who sucked!! Mia brings the sense, her bluntness focusing on the technique is what makes me warm up to the idea that anything wrong happened with Dominic.

Lacey's solo. Someone was (not heckling, but being very loud) and threw her off during a big portion of the performance. I didn't enjoy anything about her solo.

Danny has clean lines for the solo but does not connect emotion to the piece.

Sarah and Neil do disco. Have I ever mentioned I love disco? Sad, but true. Oh, this performance is hot, and Sarah does incredible movements. My bgirl knows how to clean up! I'm sure these two wouldn't mind being paired up every week. Incredible...

Hmm, I think Sarah is suddenly my favorite. Sexy with awesome technique, and HUGE THIGHS. YAR. :)


Ending on a euphoric note. Kick off Jaimie and Danny, SVP.

Yes, it is true.

It is my birthday today. :) Yee. :)

And I have the day off!

I was supposed to be on my way to Texas to visit B but unforeseen circumstances changed that so now instead I am going to see her in October.

Today, I blog my perfectly round age:

33

Hi, I'm 33 and I'm drunk as a skunk. *giggle*

Thanks to Avi for the great post, you big softie. :P

in which Poppy reveals her true self

What color is your soul painted? Orange Your soul is painted the color orange, which embodies the characteristics of balance, heat, enthusiasm, flamboyance, playfulness, aggression, over-emotion, danger, desire, strengthens the ability to concentrate, attraction, adaptability, and stimulation. Orange falls under the element of Fire, and symbolizes glory and fruits of the earth. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

stupid, sad, half-assed, drunk

My home internet keeps going down at the most inopportune moments.

CheezyCatz is all done, or rather Sour's and my participation is done. We had discussed it a few times in the past, held on, but our hearts are no longer in it. I'm very sad about that, but it's time. (B, K, Spénce -- sorry.)

Last night Hay and I went to the movies to see Harry Potter but for spur of the moment less hassle reasons saw Transformers instead. The first hour rocked so hard I wondered why I had been told that this movie was so terrible. And then Megatron showed up and the movie went stupid. It was so bad after this point that both Hay and I zoned out during the ending and totally missed it. We were whispering to each other, "what the fuck just happened?" While walking out of the theater Hay was still saying he had no idea what happened so I said, "I know someone who could just tell us." I pulled out my cell phone, turned it back on (cuz I do what the theater tells me to do, like a monkey), and called Avi, except I called his cell phone number instead of his work number and got all flustered when he didn't pick up (because he and Amy were in a theater watching Harry Potter) so I didn't leave a message. When I got home I signed into chat and B was there and she said hi to me almost the second I signed on, and I knew her husband had seen the movie, so I asked her. DH explained what had happened, but it still seemed lame. Then Avi IM'd me and we discussed the whole ending, the one redeeming part of the ending being Shia LaBeouf's comedic timing genius. I really did laugh quite hard for the first hour, so I'd like to see that half again.


So, tomorrow's my birthday and I'm pretty sure I'm going to spend the day drunk. Advice on what to drink to get to that state of mind? (Please, no wine recommendations. The smell of it still makes me queasy from the last time I poured an entire bottle down my throat in 30 minutes. Thanks. ;)

eeek

Do you suppose if I change my name it gets me off the hook for the hyperbolized number of tasks my current name is attached to on this big, long list?

Oh well, worth a try.

STOP!

DAMN YOU, iTUNES, NO MORE SAD SONGS!

I am not shuffling any more ever again. *mutter*

knitted robots

All you knitters and all you geeks, you're coming together for a moment to witness the phenomenon that is the knitted robot:



*bzzzt bzzzt*