oo! oo! i love it!

apparently, i share a birthday with Nick Lachey. wooo!

oh, and have i mentioned how *awesome* "the scorpion king" is?

favorite line--"I came for the woman! And your head..."

this is what ugly americans do when they finally realize how stupid they are

they blame somebody else for their boorish behavior and try to sue. not just sue. they sue borat.

i hope that you've seen the movie, and it shows exactly why it's hard for me to respect your standard frat boy. from the ever-lovable wash post, and i quote, 'The young men "engaged in behavior that they otherwise would not have engaged in," the lawsuit says.' And to continue, 'The lawsuit claims that in October 2005, a production crew took the students to a bar to drink and "loosen up" before participating in what they were told would be a documentary to be shown outside of the United States.'

you'll excuse me for screaming a giant

BULL SHIT!

it's hard for us realize that we're shit-heads sometimes, and dammit, let's blame borat for making us look like the idiots that we are. how dare he commit the crime of satorization! can't we at least enjoy the fact that the movie itself is hysterical and delightfully uncomfortable, especially with the naked male wrestling? i think we should be parodied on a regular basis, making us drink the acidic attitude that we pour down the throats of other people around the globe. then we wouldn't be so damn uptight and ridiculously puritanical about things like sexuality. and, deep down, we all like sex. it's true. don't deny it. let's just relax, try to amend our faults and just enjoy life for what it is. agreed? agreed. good.

now go make sexy-time.

hail the process

so of course. the year that i can't vote thanks to red tape and moving, yada yada yada, things actually go the way i want them to go. excellent. o'malley's in annapolis, cardin's still in dc, rummy is OUT OUT OUT, and all is right with the world, or at least we would like to think so. is iraq policy going to change much? are we going to ever figure out what the hell we're going to about immigration, if anything at all? is there going to be a major rewind on no child left behind?

probably not.

but, at least there's a different crowd. so maybe nancy pelosi, et al, can do something. we'll see. and in the meantime, here is a beautiful representation of change coming to the legislative branch:

http://www.rightwasright.us/

enjoy. :)

i forgot, forgot the fifth of november

but that's only because it's chris's birthday today! from now until thursday 8:10AM, chris and i will be the same age. so he can't say that i'm old just yet.

so if you see him, talk to him, send smoke signals to him, please wish the old man a happy birthday!!!!

running, etc.

so i didn't do a marathon this year. or a half marathon. or a ten-miler. that's disappointing after having reached the major running goal the previous year, and it's little comfort to say, "well, life happened, so it's no wonder i didn't get around to it." obviously, i don't find that to be a satisfying answer, even though a reasonable person would accept it. but, i've thrown my energy behind others, most specifically kim and other MCMers. kim was AWESOME! there's also some excitement for the New York City Marathon, as that one had some banner finishers (lance!). annoying thing--i had predicted that our cycling hero would not finish under 3 hrs, mostly because it was his first marathon, his build is all this that and the other thing, etc., etc. WRONG. he finished 2hr,59 min, 36 sec. dammit. but really, good for him. and, here's proof that the man is human:

the man who has scaled the alps on his bike, the man who has completed and WON a 2200+ mile race every year for seven years, the man who has overcome cancer says that the marathon is the hardest thing he's ever done!

!!!!

for some reason, i feel validated. kim, you should too.

hershey's kisses

i did this a long time ago, and now the Post is just spreading the word. the Chocolate Treatment at the Hershey Spa is one of the best experiences. ever. in the universe. this side of creation.

i got a gift certificate to the Hershey Spa as a graduation present, and i can't thank my parents enough. i got the scrub-down (my body exfoliated with ground cocoa bean shells) and the wrap (the chocolate fondue wrap, to be specific). the wrap was my favorite part: after a delicious massage, my lovely masseuse/chocolatier literally painted my body with chocolate. then, i was wrapped in this metallic "blanket" (i'm not sure exactly how you'd categorize it) and then wrapped again in a feather-touch blanket. the lights were dimmed, and i was left in peace and quiet. the only reason why i didn't sleep like a log was that i was too busy enjoying the feeling of being a bon-bon. after awhile, that ended, and i was treated with a mountain shower, to cleanse me of that now-hardened outer layer.

my favorite part of the whole experience was the after-effect; i smelled like dark chocolate for almost two days afterward. i would do it again in a heartbeat.

if i had $150...


OH WAIT! MY BIRTHDAY IS NEXT WEEK!

*hint*

:)

he ain't heavy, he's my brother

so in many ways, my brother and i are very different, and, as we've grown older, our paths have diverged a bit, so we don't get to see each other much. but, that doesn't stop me from being very proud of him and his hard work. within the past few years, geoff has positioned himself in the faculty of Philadelphia University, and he has spent a lot of time and energy making things happen. now, he has made a more than significant contribution to Philly U's curriculum and who knows what else. he has managed to create and get approval for a new Bachelor's of Science degree in Digital Animation. he didn't just teach. he created an ENTIRE DEGREE PROGRAM. that blows my mind.

geoff and i don't always agree, and our temperments and preferences can be polar opposites, but i couldn't be prouder to have a brother like him.

geoff, you're amazing.

mcm

according to nick,


THEY DID IT!


YAY!!!!!!!!!!

great job, ladies! :)

marine corps marathon

GOOD LUCK, KIM & ERIKA!!!

a classic case of idiodicy, with multiple symptoms of stupidity

so the latest comments to add sparkle to maryland politics come from my grandmother's most beloved radio personality.

i love you, grandma, but come on.

anyway, if you haven't heard yet, micheal j fox appears in ads for democrats who are supporting stem cell research, one of whom is ben cardin (yay, ben cardin!). and, if you *really* haven't heard, rush limbaugh comes out of his little radio booth swinging, alleging that fox exaggerates (sp?), even possibily fakes his symptoms of parkinsons for political reasons.

okay, yeah, i would in fact like to pretend to have a debilitating disease day in and day out just so that bob ehrlich would give more funding to higher education.

not only is this one of the more crass things i've ever heard limbaugh saying, not that there isn't a wealth of quotes to choose from, but he also tries to take some swipes in his "retraction." oh, sorry, michael, you're not faking. you're just exploiting yourself. so is limbaugh saying that anybody with condition X who supports a politician for finding a cure is whoring him or herself out?

now, a slate columnist tries to open our eyes to this being a grand old scheme by conservatives--they WANT us to think that such commentators are dumb as a brick. somehow, the author's reasoning would show that they're not really so stupid at all, that the republicans often achieve power this way. well, i think by this point, enough of the public (and by enough, i mean people who actually care) realize that rush's comments are just a waste of airtime. he's not enough to drive votes one way or another, and his attempts to derail politics via bashing-of-the-infirm just... are... stupid.

rush intelligent for acting dumb?

he's not smart enough to do that.

yikes

hampden's kind of gone downhill, and it makes me feel better that i don't live there anymore...

politics....

hahahahahahahahahahaha! ahahahahahahahahaha!!


yeah, now steele will get elected to congress...

Oops, he did it in the first place...

ahhh, the liberation of K-Fed from the shackles of being Mr. Britney. his big break on CSI tonight will rocket him toward television stardom.

in his own mind.

in case you missed it, the story centered on these "fannysmackings" (already there's a problem with the episode...), with the perps dressed in halloween masks and black hoodies. already, the writers have given K-Fed's big part away--we all know he's the bad guy because he didn't even have to wear a costume. and. and. even better. his character's name: pigman. at one point, he mouths off to nick stokes (played handsomely by george eads) and gets his ass kicked. later, towards the end, he rolls up to "da place" in one of those cars that can't decide if it's a truck or a car. you know what i mean--those 70s era concoctions of the open bed in the back but the "cab" of a car. woooooo! he's a man of his own means and didn't have to borrow brit's SUV. and to crown the episode, it ends with him getting his mug shot.



yup, this'll do wonders for his career.

Honey! i'm wearing my halter top! Let's have babies!

are they serious? are they only getting this just now? are we only figuring out now that women dress not-so-subtly sometimes? GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ.

what i really want to see is a study of men and how/why they dress during their monthly cycle. now THAT would be interesting. guys, what do you dress like when you're feeling like you don't even need a wingman?what are your hormones like at that time? how is your body doing? how about how you dress when you're not feeling awesome? do you still hit up the a & fitch cologne and urboutfitters shirts *even* when you're bloated, cranky and fatigued? help us all out and enlighten us ladies.

:)

monkey reunion `06

aug 26, `06: the umbc gang hits patapsco state park, west of ellicott city. the occasion? to celebrate the 10 years that had passed since the founders of the umbc gang met. met... at playfair. silly umbc.

anyway, there was more than just a playground, but hell--those are the best pictures. in the top row, we have truffer doing his best Cheetah impression, then dustin showing his upper body might. then there's kim evading the snake pit by swinging from handle to handle, and erika showing that donkey kong is nothing (she was actually the first to jump on the playground equipment). it looked like so much fun that i tried it next. then we just felt like we had to swing in tandem. yeah, we're not 8 years old... sure... then we have dave, the pseudo-monkey (note that his feet are actually touching the ground--THAT'S CHEATING, DAVE!), the gang's all here, and cheryl and me. i hadn't seen cheryl since mary and nick's wedding, and that was... 2001? wow.

anyway, like i said, there was more than just the playground, most important being the food and alcohol. and the foreplay cake.



...


don't ask. long story.

;)

it's been a long time, so

i haven't posted pictures in awhile, so here's group #1, Beatty Beach Trip `06. unfortunately, you don't see dad here b/c he was pretty sick, but he's feeling better now! :) anyway, the top three pictures are pre-beach at my parents house. benicio, manny and clara are prepping for the ocean spray via the fisher price hydrant fountain. middle three: tai chi manny, pensive clara, and geoff, mia with clara, and mom. bottom three: chilly benici, chris and manny annoyed at excessive picture taking, and a salty guy and a drowned-rat girl in OC, MD.

what a vacation!

whoa......... duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude....

who knew that star trek might actually happen?!

(shush, i know it'll take forever to happen, but it's still pretty remarkable.)

questions:

1) what would you teleport?
2) if you had to choose, would you rather be spock or data?

good lord, i'm a nerd...

my dog must have a death wish.

so tonight, toby was trying to play "dodge the bus and the escalade." now he's lying on the floor incredibly proud of himself. way to go, toby.

and all of you that hate him, shut up.

Paradise Cuts

yeah, but i bet they're not man enough for a bikini wax...

ups and downs. well, pretty much just downs...

this was a tough weekend. yesterday, my parents had a yard sale for my grandparents' old things. it was very weird. it made me realize how much the combination of household items came together to create the atmosphere of visits. as of saturday, all of that was officially disassembled. i hadn't been to my grandparents' house since before grandpa died, so seeing the stacks of dishes and walls bereft of the familiar family photographs hit me pretty hard. it was also a very frustrating morning for my parents; they'd spent hours and hours separating and organizing, sorting and moving tons of stuff, and after all of that, barely anybody came. i think that they might have made a grand total of $50, and that was just because we sold three fairly valuable photographs for $30. there's easily a few hundred dollars' worth of stuff in that house. i was given a jewelry box with some necklaces, a few linens, and a whole bunch of pictures to have for myself, to now inhabit my apartment. i felt complicit in the breakup of the environment that i'd loved so much. i don't see it as gaining lovely things, at least not yet, and i don't see it as holding onto some special family belongings right now. instead, it's more a matter of pieces and separation, and i don't want that. i'd much rather have my grandfather back.