Hooray for fog and drizzle

What a crazy week it has been! As if the anticipated May madness wasn't enough, we had a harrowing week keeping a watchful eye on the Jesusita Fire (do a Google search, you'll find numerous articles) that burned the mountains of Santa Barbara, basically burning out the untouched brush between the east end of the Gap Fire (last July) and the west end of the Tea Fire (last November).

It started Tuesday afternoon. As I drove Todd to after-school care, I noticed a small plume of smoke emanating from the mountains. Didn't think much of it, but that changed quickly as the winds fanned the flames and spread it. That night, we were scheduled to hold a joint celebration at the home of one of our friends from church-- to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, my birthday and her birthday, as well as hold our usual Tuesday small group study after the festivities. By evening, their house, near downtown SB, was inside the evacuation warning zone. Despite the hot temps, we had to keep the windows closed and bake in the house because of the smoky air outside. I was glad to return home farther away from the fire and bask in the fresh air.

The next couple days proved worse as the fire spread and more and more people were evacuated from their homes. Wednesday evening brought the long-awaited party celebrating the February release of the product whose team I've been working on. It, too, was held downtown, and by the time I drove onto State Street, the main drag of downtown SB, I was a bit creeped out not only by the ghost town nature of the normally-bustling street, but by the red haze enveloping the streets. I made a mad dash from the parking lot to the restaurant, to minimize my exposure to the ash and smoke.

Thursday I tried to go swimming with Todd, but we quickly abandoned the pool in favor of the jacuzzi, because the pool had too much debris (ash, probably) on the bottom and too many dead bugs floating on the surface. That night was probably the most worrisome as the fire took a mean turn and, within the span of a few hours, spread quite a ways westward-- I could see the ridges of the hills glowing from afar, every time I looked out my window the flames seemed higher and stronger, and the smoke was finally wafting our way. A quick check of the map showed that the evac warning zone had spread to just one freeway exit away from our place! Needless to say, it took me a while to get to sleep that night.

Friday was an eerily quiet day. Now it was the office's turn to look like a ghost town-- maybe half the people there were out, either taking time off to tend to evacuations, or working from home in case their homes were upgraded from warning to mandatory evacuation orders. We went out to Elephant Bar for a belated birthday dinner, and were surprised at how crowded the restaurant was when we got there. Not too surprising, I supposed, since people still have to eat, right?

Things improved over the weekend as temps cooled, winds died down, and the marine layer came in from the shore. People started being allowed to return to their homes. Our church had been in the now-lifted evacuation zone, but with the fires still burning (albeit more contained nearby) the environment still wasn't very hospitable, with all the smoke and ash, so we held services at a movie theater near our home.

One of the most striking things through all this was the emergence of Twitter as a means for getting information out to the concerned masses as quickly as possible-- in many cases, providing updates even before the news media updated their websites. It quickly became an invaluable resource for residents to stay abreast of the current news, and was especially useful for those who didn't have access to televisions. This was the feed I was glued to for much of the week: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23jesusitafire When the fire raged on at its worst, the feed came alive with updates from all sources!

There's also an interesting article on the LA Times about CJamz, one of the more reliable and frequent updater:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-onthemedia11-2009may11,0,4582973.column

Take THAT, Twitter nay-sayers! ;-)

Today, the fog and drizzle continues. I think this Tweet summed it up nicely: This is the first time I've ever been thankful for heavy fog in May.

Amen to that!

March madness? Try May madness!

... aka, why I haven't had more time to blog other than random bits and pieces on my Tumblr blog, which is still pretty up-to-date: http://hellykwee.tumblr.com

I thought April was busy. And it was. But we're barely into May and I just know I'm going to be in non-stop mode till the end of it, especially THIS year!

We kicked things off with my birthday today (a day I share with FOUR other people that I know of. One of them on the same year, even!). Nothing eventful-- I actually spent 9 hours shopping with my son in a town 40 miles north of here (it has a Wal-Mart, FoodsCo and Dollar Tree, so the savings is well worth the trip up there)-- well, 7 hours shopping and 2 hours driving back and forth. Still, it was nice to let Allan have some peace and quiet in which to work, and fun to hang out with my little man all day.

Since we didn't get a chance to clean up today, tomorrow shall be cleaning day after church, and then I have to head to Todd's school to finish inventorying uniforms. Also planning a trip to the library to get some more books and videos for the little man.

The birthdays continue-- tomorrow belongs to a friend from church. Since Tuesday brings Cinco de Mayo, we're all getting together at her place for a tri-fold celebration.

Then comes Mother's Day next weekend. Weekend after that is the California Strawberry Festival. I've been meaning to go for the past 6 years, but each and every year, SOMETHING has come up that prevented me from going. This year, by golly, I'm bound and determined to go ;-) That weekend is also the wedding of some college friends of mine, so it will be good to catch up with the old geek crowd again.

Then comes Todd's birthday. Little man turns 5! FIVE!! Where does the time go!? He's not so little any more! The weekend following Todd's birthday (if it doesn't already fall on a weekend) is always Memorial Day weekend, so hopefully that 3-day weekend will provide a little breather (not likely, if we're holding the family celebration in LA that weekend).

The last Saturday of May will be Todd's karate tournament, followed by the kiddie celebration (all his school friends) at the playground in our apartment complex, for his birthday.

Whew! Busy busy busy month. It's kinda sad when I look forward to Mondays solely because the routine of work provides a respite from the hectic busyness of these crazy weekends!

On the Bible and homosexuality

I think by now it's no secret that I've been traveling along my spiritual journey for some time now, and it's led to some unexpected roads. Someday I will write more in detail about it and about the events that shaped every turn in the road so far, but for now I wanted to touch on the main thing that has led me along my journey thus far, and that is the wealth of rational, logical arguments for the Christian faith. Anyone that knows me knows that I can't stand abstract thought, I prefer my thinking to be based on concrete logic and firm, tangible facts. It is why I have zero aesthetic sense, wouldn't know the first thing about decorating a home, and cannot appreciate art or music beyond it's immediate sensory appeal.

So it comes as no surprise that it was Christian apologists such as Lee Strobel (a former atheist) and C.S. Lewis (a former agnostic) that made the case for me. I think what made their books all the more compelling was the fact that they themselves came from the same background of unbelief and skepticism that I did, wrestled with the same doubts and questions I did (and still do) and that they also preferred to go about faith using a rational approach. It opened my eyes.

Now, there's no question that I'm still rather new at this journey. There are still things I don't quite comprehend, and while I accept the fact that I will never have ALL the answers, that's not stopping me from thinking about the issues foremost on my mind and continuing to seek out answers. An important part of this journey is studying the Bible. Now, I don't know if the Bible is supposed to be literally true, but even if none of the events actually happened (and we know there's archaeological evidence for some of it) the fact remains that there's a lot of wisdom and truth to be obtained from it. Jesus himself illlustrated his teachings with parables.

Having said that, one of the issues I wrestle with is that of reconciling what the Bible says about homosexuality. On the surface, the anti-gay rhetoric that many Christians spout while referencing Scripture seems to go against every sensibility I have. I have gay and lesbian friends. I voted No on Prop 8. That whole "hate the sin, love the sinner" spiel never sat well with me, and I never for a moment believed that a loving God would condemn people based on something that they cannot change, something that's as inherent to them as skin color.

So, what to make of it? How to refute those that would use the Bible, the same book to which I'm trying to adhere my life, to make such bigoted arguments? Sure, there was the whole argument that if you think homosexuality is a sin because of the Bible, then you should also refrain from wearing clothing made of mixed materials, or going near a woman when she's on the rag, etc etc... but even those arguments, like the ones they were meant to rebuff, only scratched the surface.

Then John Shore, a writer whose blog I follow (despite his having called me a freak and a loser-- all in jest, mind you! :-P) summed my feelings up perfectly with this (putting sin into the perspective of temptation):

But I AM tempted to drink too much alcohol. I AM tempted to gossip. I AM tempted to cheat on my taxes. I AM tempted to have emotional affairs on my wife. EVERY kind of sin, in one way or another, at one time or another, really and truly tempts me--and pretty regularly, too. But I am never, ever tempted to be gay--and I'm sure I cannot be. So ... it... very, very obviously not the same thing at all. There's something categorically different from all the kinds of sins you (and everybody else) ever mentions, and the "sin" of homosexuality. Putting them in the same category is ... not rationally defensible. I'm not advocating any position whatsoever---but I'm not giving up plain, simple reason. I KNOW that doesn't please God.

And then I came across this site, which I found from a link through Anita, one of the commenters on his blog:

http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/the-bible-and-homosexuality/

The site as a whole is mainly oriented towards women, but there's a lot of nuggets in there that apply to anyone-- gay, straight, man, woman, child. And that link above? Was exactly what I was looking for. A detailed refutation of the "clobber passages" you hear fundamentalists (and even more moderate Christians) quote. I felt... uplifted by what I read. Between John and Anita I felt like the things I'd been feeling and just known intuitively all along had finally been ascribed words. Detailed words. Which, as everyone knows, suits Helly (aka Miss Verbose) quite well ;-)

Food for thought. Lots to chew on. What do you think?

Friday Five -- favorite foods, in groups

It's Friday and I'm in a mood for food! So come play:

What is your favorite food from each food group?
1. Bread (Grain) Group:
2. Meat (Protein) Group:
3. Vegetable Group:
4. Fruit Group:
5. Sugars, Fats and Oils:

1. German Brötchen. They are bread rolls akin to French bread, but much tastier, in my opinion. Especially when nice and fresh. The outside can sometimes be a bit chewy, but the inside is soft and yummy and melts in your mouth. It's a breakfast staple in Germany, and can be eaten with honey or marmalade or cheese or slices of meat (salami is my favorite).

2. At the moment, corned beef. It has a tendency to be too salty, so Allan takes care of it by doing two things: First he rinses it thoroughly, and then he fills the slow cooker with water and lets the meat simmer there for 6-8 hours. Most of the salt winds up in the water. Get rid of this briny water and voila! A flavorful but not-too-salty hunk of meat! It's also very very tender and all but falls apart under your fork :-9

3. I generally like most veggies. If I had to pick one favorite, I'd pick Napa cabbage. I looooove the taste of cut-up pieces of Napa cabbage stir-fried with a dash of soy sauce and a sprinkling of black pepper :-9

4. I think most people who are reading this know this one. STRAWBERRIES!! Om nom nom nom nom...

5. Well, you can never go wrong with chocolate, so long as it's Swiss or Belgian, none of that crappy American stuff X-P Another favorite of mine is chalk-like candy that's basically nothing but sugar and a bit of coloring. Most notably: Smarties (American name), aka Rockets (in Canada) or Fizzers (in the UK). Finally, there's red licorice. Can't stand black licorice, but I love Red Vines, especially stale ones! Oh, and despite my aversion to spicy foods, I can never seem to get enough of Lay's Flamin' Hot potato chips!

Don't you love how my answer to the junk food question, #5, contained more items than any of the others? ;-) So hard to pick a favorite when it comes to junk food!

How about you?

Bits and pieces

I've found myself more and more apt to blog about the little bits and pieces that go on here, or go through my mind, or capture my fancy, on Tumblr: http://hellykwee.tumblr.com

Don't know why-- something about the concise format appeals to me and seems to make it a more appropriate forum for sharing smaller tidbits like thought-provoking quotes, funny pics, videos, links and other random miscellany.

Blogger is to a novel what Tumblr is to the short story, I suppose.

Anyway, rather than repeat myself, click there for updates on the past week: from mattress shopping to exhausting weekends full of birthday parties, Easter fun and seeing old friends, to building our dream home virtually, to rants (both in words and cartoon form) about inconsiderate people, rants about the water quality here in Santa Barbara, to a cute sea-turtle-rescue news piece, and a hilarious NSFW skydiving video :-D

So come "Tumbl" through cyberspace with me :-)

Medieval madness

A couple weekends ago, we celebrated the birthday of one of our friends (who, by the way, happens to share the exact same birth date as Allan-- only 12 years apart) at his in-laws' house. It was a medieval-themed party, so people dressed as knights and wizards and jesters and serfs and princesses. There were medieval-themed activities aplenty.

I decided to dress as a bubonic-plague-carrying rat. I created mouse ears out of a headband, cereal box cardboard, acrylic paint, and pink felt:



And then dressed in all black clothes (i.e. the BLACK Death), painted my nails black, and donned a sign with the scientific name of the pathogen that actually caused the bubonic plague: Y. pestis:



Allan's costume was a little less elaborate, but funny just the same. Since his name IS Knight, all he had to do was wear a nametag-- and voila! A real live Knight! ;-) Creating his shield, however, took a little more work. I copied the family crest that adorns the keychain and fridge magnet I brought back from my trip to the UK a few years ago. Basically cut a crest out of white printer paper, added a red square out of giftwrap, and then hand-drew and cut out the spur out of an index card, which I painted yellow with Todd's watercolors. A foam sword from K-Mart completed the ensemble:



Here is the Knight himself, dressed in his suit jacket, to convey his "suit of armor". He's wearing the nametag from his 20th HS reunion last year, complete with a picture of his 18-year-old self ;-)



There was Welsh beer:



And good food (that's actually the cake):



There was also archery (first time I ever got to handle a bow and arrow!), jousting (where I made a valiant attempt to kick Allan's butt-- funny, none of the other wives were interested in sparring with their husbands), and a marshmallow catapult contest, where half the objective was NOT slipping on all the hay! The birthday boy got to try to slay the dragon pinata with a wooden sword, and I had fun going around spreading germs by blowing bubbles.

Rather than make this post eternally long, I'll stop posting pics here and go upload the ones featuring me and Allan, onto Facebook. Check there for more pics of the aforementioned activities.

EDIT: Uploaded, tagged, and captioned the pics on Facebook. Some of it's a bit silly :-) Check it out:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2349868&id=3605072

The full set of party pics, in far better quality photography, can be found here:

http://digimattphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7755773_tMDCk

Friday Five -- High School Nostalgia

Today's Friday Five takes you back down memory lane to high school. It was longer ago for some of you than for others, but I'm sure you can dig into the recesses of your brain and find some answers ;-)

1. Would you return to high school life for a week? Why or why not? (If you're currently in high school, would you redo your experiences so far?)
2. Who were/are you in high school?
3. What was/is your favorite high school hangout? What did/do you do there?
4. What were/are your favorite three songs in high school?
5. What was the craziest thing you did in high school?


1. I guess that depends on how I'm going back. Will it be my 30-something-year-old brain in my 15-year-old body? Or will it be a complete time travel, with future memories nonexistent? If it's the former, sure, why not. It'd be neat to see the high school days again through the eyes of my current self. I'm sure things would look totally different to me now. If it's the latter-- meh, I dunno. High school wasn't terrible, but it wasn't spectacular, either.

2. Pretty much the same as now-- the shy, quiet, nerdy loner who had few friends and kept to herself most of the time. Only now I have better teeth and hair :-D

3. I guess a lot of kids hung out at the Tommy's Burgers down the street, but I never did. See #2 ;-) However, I always ate lunch in the hallway of the first floor of the English building, with a handful of friends. We had all kinds of silly fun down there, from singing songs to throwing food at each other to playing card games.

4. Well at the time I mainly listened to oldies, but I do remember enjoying the songs that were popular during the late 80s/early 90s. Hell if I can name them right now, though ;-)

5. For a long time (during sophomore year) they shut down the Administration building for remodeling, which meant that all of us who had lockers in that building (including me) had to find a friend with whom to share a locker until the building re-opened. I wound up sharing a locker that happened to be directly below the locker of the guy I had a crush on back then. My best friend and I conspired together and she egged me on to write secret admirer notes and slip them in his locker. Then we made a point of being at my locker around the same time he was at his. I would pretend to be busy with my bookbag while my friend stood back and watched his reactions, then she'd report back to me afterward.

And now that I've written that, I realize that it's pretty tame compared to most "crazy" activities people could speak of, but hey-- just goes to show you what kind of sheltered life I lead, if that's the craziest story I have to share. It was certainly me at my boldest-- and I would never have dared to do that had my friend not encouraged me :-) And there's actually more to that story, but it's probably better saved for a private forum... like email.

So... how about you?

Tumbling through cyberspace

I recently discovered Tumblr, which is basically just another blogging forum. The best description I can come up with is it's Blogging Lite. Or maybe Twitter on steroids ;-) Basically, a happy medium between the 140-character-max text-only Twitter soundbites and the lengthy, detailed ruminations of blogland.

I've also discovered that I'm more apt to update when I have a vehicle through which to deliver smaller, bite-sized chunks that somehow seem too insignificant for a regular blog. Sometimes an interesting link or quote will catch my eye, or I'll have a few words to say, but it's hardly worth signing into Blogger to write about. Twitter is too restrictive for that kind of sharing. And Facebook's current layout has a tendency to drown everything out anyway.

So, I was pleased to find the perfect vehicle for my thoughts-- Tumblr! A place to share those bite-sized chunks according to category: text, link, quote, chat, image, video or audio.

If this blog seems too quiet at times, it's probably because I've been busy updating there:

http://hellykwee.tumblr.com

I've only been signed up on that site for a week and already I have more posts there than I have here for the past few months!

Of course, I'll still post here for my longer diatribes and fun stuff like the Friday Five :-) Different types of sharing are best suited to different types of venues, I've learned.

So... if ever you're really bored, come over and watch me "Tumbl" through cyberspace :-D

Friday Five -- all about March 6

It's been ages since I've done a Friday Five. I perused the list of possible offerings and came across this list, posted a few weeks ago. I know it's a little belated, but I thought the question format and the trivia aspects were intriguing. So I couldn't resist. Like they say: better late than never!

1. On March 6, 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev presented the first Periodic Table of the Elements to the Russian Chemical Society.
   What memories do you have of your high-school chemistry course?
2. On March 6, 1899, the Bayer company registered aspirin as a trademark.
   When did you last take medication for pain?
3. On March 6, 1853, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata premiered in Venice.
   How do you feel about opera?
4. On March 6, 1947, American film director Rob Reiner (Meathead!) was born.
   Which of these Reiner-directed films have you seen, and what do you think of them?
   • The Bucket List (2007)
   • Rumor Has It… (2005)
   • Alex & Emma (2003)
   • The Story of Us (1999)
   • Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
   • The American President (1995)
   • North (1994)
   • A Few Good Men (1992)
   • Misery (1990)
   • When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
   • The Princess Bride (1987)
   • Stand by Me (1986)
   • The Sure Thing (1985)
   • This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
5. On March 6, 1972, American basketball-player Shaquille O’Neal was born.
   How do you feel about basketball?

1. I'd have to say that the most memorable part of my high school chemistry class was our teacher, Mr. Fife. He looked exactly like Santa Claus-- from the bald pate to the white beard to the spectacles to the belly that shook like a bowlful of jelly! It was trippy to see him walk around in Santa garb near the holiday season. He was short and stocky, but his presence was large-- he had a sense of humor but he was also no-nonsense. I have vague recollections of my classmates being cutups as well, but nothing stands out as truly memorable.

I do have to add that college chemistry had some interesting classmates as well. My favorite memory was the day I tricked my lab partner into putting her nose directly over a flask of pure ammonia and inhaling. The LOOK on her face! I wonder if she's ever forgiven me for that ;-)

2. Ah, blessed OTC drugs :-) Last time I took anything was probably a week or two ago-- the last time I was sick and laid up with a fever and chills. Then it was Tylenol and ibuprofen to the rescue! I never take aspirin anymore, though. When I'm sick and in constant need of medication just to get by the day, I try to consume Tylenol sparingly, because I don't want to overtax my liver.

3. The extent of my opera viewing consists of little snippets here and there from TV or movie characters going to the opera, like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman". So, I have no opinion, other than to say that I would like to go someday, if only to see what it's like!

4. I've seen: American President, A Few Good Men, and When Harry Met Sally. Don't ask me to pick a favorite. I love all 3 of them, they definitely rank high on my list of all-time favorite movies! And I would highly recommend them if you haven't seen them!

5. I feel the same way about basketball as I do about any sport-- boring! I've never understood why people can spend hours glued to the tube, watching an entire sports game unfold. I can understand catching occasional glimpses and keeping up with the scores, but to watch the entire game!? Or should that be: gameS!? I would much rather participate in a sport than watch it. And I'm neither athletic nor sports-inclined. That being said, of all the sports to possibly participate in: baseball, volleyball, football, basketball... probably basketball is the best of the bunch. And I don't even like it that much, which goes to show you how I feel about other sports! I like basketball "best" because I can fake out playing-- just run up and down the court with the crowd and nobody will ever know that I never really laid a hand on the ball ;-) As you can tell, I'm speaking from junior high and high school gym memories :-)

How about you?

Love your neighbor, Simpsons-style

Some years ago I gave my friend Wayne a book for his birthday. It was called "The Gospel According to the Simpsons". Between the time that I purchased it from our university bookstore and the time I presented it to him, I read it (sorry, Wayne). And was pleasantly surprised. Who would've thought that nuggets of spiritual wisdom could be found in such a profane cartoon? But when you dig a little deeper, you find that deep down, the Simpson characters aren't as evil as they are sometimes made out to be. Moreover, many of the episodes subtly embody the essence of Biblical teachings in modern, everyday settings-- probably getting the point across far better than an outdated translation of the Bible could.

Take Homer, for instance. The quintessential bumbling fool. As many times as he goofs up, when it comes to serious matters, he does not stray. Though he has been tempted many times, he never cheats on his wife. When he's gone too far, he tries to make amends. And hell-raising Bart? How about that sincere prayer he recited the day before a dreaded exam that could decide whether he would be held back or not? It may have been a little rough around the edges, and contained none of the pious words you sometimes hear in chants and liturgies, but it came straight from the heart, which is by far the most important element in prayer. And to top it off? When the next day his prayers were answered and a freak snowstorm canceled school, he actually followed through his end of the bargain, fighting the temptation to play outdoors while he studied.

A few weeks ago an episode came out called "No Loan Again, Naturally" A brief synopsis: the Simpsons are unable to meet their mortgage payments when their interest rate skyrockets (sound familiar?) and their house is foreclosed and auctioned off. Feeling sorry for the Simpsons, their "Jesus freak" neighbor Flanders buys the house and leases it back to them for whatever they can afford till they get back on their feet. Rather than being grateful, however, the Simpsons take advantage of Flanders' generosity, forcing him to evict them. As he reviews the application of potential leasers, a Christian couple whose idea of fun makes Flanders look like a party animal, he finds himself reminiscing about his irreverent and irrelegious former neighbors-- with fondness. And he realizes that they are the ones he wants to live next to. After all, he says, you are only a saint when you're among sinners.

Now, some people might interpret that as Flanders elevating himself above non-Christians, but I actually think it's the opposite. His statement summarizes the whole of Jesus' teachings: "Love your neighbor". In Jesus' time, he was criticized by the religious leaders of his day-- they scoffed at him when he ate and drank and interacted with the most sordid of characters-- tax collectors (today's IRS agents :-D), prostitutes, rough-talking blue-collar workers, and *gasp* Gentiles! In modern times, self-righteous, so-called Christians do the same-- they plant a very obvious divide between "us" and "them", and heaven forbid anyone should cross that divide!

They are missing the point. How are they suppose to embody the love that Jesus did, unless they reach out to others who are not within their "circle"? It's easy to love people like you-- even the Mafia don takes care of his own. But loving those who are different? That takes some real selflessness. And humility. I read the perfect analogy in a book somewhere (the title and author escape me at the moment, my apologies): "Church is not a museum for saints. It's a hospital for sinners". Jesus himself came to earth to minister to the needy, not to waste time with pious and hypocritical religious leaders.

Sadly, some of today's Christians are little different from the religious leaders of Jesus' day. It is unfortunate that the term "Christian" has such negative connotations today because of such church-going, Bible-thumping, proselytizing religious folk. Isn't it sad that in a culture where "tolerance" is valued, and it is unacceptable to bash anyone for their religious beliefs (or lack thereof), Christianity is the exception? Then it's open season. But... given the current "face" that the general public sees when they think of Christians, I can hardly blame them. I know I sure wouldn't want some self-righteous person treating me with disdain instead of respect. With hostility instead of love. With condemnation instead of acceptance. With judgment when it is not their place to judge.

Now, there are a lot of genuine, faithful believers out there. And they have done a lot of good in this world, no question. On the other hand, there's also been a lot of bloodshed, and the battles continue today (albeit a little less bloody in modern times). Seems like the good ones get drowned out by a few bad apples. And I think that's a shame. Just think-- if more of the Bible-thumpers would adhere to the simple command of "Love your neighbor", maybe the world would be a little more peaceful. Flanders came to understand that. And if Flanders can, so can anyone else ;-) Right?

Voltron, Defender of the Universe

Does anyone remember that show (the one with the 5 lions)? It first aired nearly 25 years ago, in the fall of 1984. I was 7 years old, and remember being glued to the TV set, watching it. It was my favorite show. I loved the lions. The characters were cool. I even had a crush on one of them. I wrote my own stories about them, and, since we couldn't afford the actual lion action figures that were popular in the toy stores then, I made my own out of paper.

Soon I grew up, and all but forgot about Voltron. I perked up a little when I heard rumors of a Voltron movie in the works sometime in the near future, but then forgot about that, too.

And then... Hulu, which continuously adds new movies and TV shows to its archives, made Voltron available. It was regular-Hulu-watcher Allan who first noticed it, and casually mentioned it to me, knowing that I was a fan as a child.

Interested, I clicked on it, and haven't looked back since. What a trip down memory lane! I never saw the first few episodes of the show-- the important ones that establish the background story, and now I finally understand it. The scenes where the individual lions combine to form Voltron were always the same, and brought back a flood of memories when I saw it again for the first time in 25 years.

To be honest, it was kind of amusing to watch it now, through grown-up eyes. The acting isn't great, the animations typical Japanese anime (which I loathe), and the writing cheesy. But the fond memories of how much I loved the show as a child, and the excitement of getting to relive it all over again, more than compensated for any "reality, bubble-bursting" factors. I still think it's a cool show.

Anyone else remember the show? Anyone else watch it? What are your favorite childhood shows?

Here's the Hulu link, btw:

http://www.hulu.com/voltron-defender-of-the-universe

Quiz mosaic

Lots to blog about, like ruminations on one of the more recent Simpsons episodes, and my excitement at finding out that Hulu is now hosting one of my all-time childhood favorite cartoons-- Voltron. But for now, I couldn't resist doing a fun little quiz-- it's just your run-of-the-mill questions, and most of you who are reading this know all my answers anyway, but I thought it would be fun to post because of the coolness of the answers: a photo mosaic!

I've decided to leave off my written answers to the questions and let you deduce them from the mosaic-- although even that will be pretty straightforward, as most of the pictures speak for themselves quite obviously :-)

1. What is your name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your hometown?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. What is your favorite movie?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What is one word to describe yourself?
10. How are you feeling right now?
11. What do you love most in the world?
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?



How about you?

EDIT: I forgot to post the instructions with the link to the mosaic generator. Sorry about that!

DIRECTIONS:
- Go to Google Image search.
- Type in your answer to each question.
- Choose a picture from the first three pages.
- Use this website (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) to make your collage.
- Save the image for use in this entry.
- Post it! :-)

Stricter traffic laws...

... just means more opportunities for law-breakers and idiot drivers to abound.

While returning to work after dropping Todd off at after-school care, I found myself blocked by an inattentive lady slowly pulling up to a red light (I was trying to exit out of a parking lot onto the street, common courtesy dictates that if you're stopping at a red light, you leave room for people exiting from the side, right?) As I watched her glide in front of me, I noticed that her attention was occupied by what appeared to be a pen. Okay, I've been guilty of jotting down shopping lists while stopped at red lights, so I was slightly irritated but not too mad. The light turns quickly anyway, so I wouldn't have long to wait.

But when the light did turn green and she started driving off, I noticed that it wasn't a pen at all-- it was a knitting needle. Sure enough, she yanked her handiwork up in the air so she could put her hand on the steering wheel. Seriously!? Knitting while driving!? I was stunned, to say the least.

As I made my left turn out of the parking lot, I noticed a motorcycle cop exiting the parking lot across the street from me. As we crossed paths, I saw that he'd turned his lights on, hot on someone's tail. With delicious glee I hoped that he, too, had seen the knitting lady and was chasing her down to at least give her a tongue-wagging! Now that would be justice :-)

As if that wasn't bad enough, though, knitting lady driver just got one-upped. Check out this lovely little news tidbit about a woman breastfeeding her kid... while driving... and talking on her cell phone (which is illegal now)... in the rain!!

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/02/27/ddn022709breastfeedweb.html

Like I said-- stricter laws may enhance safety, but they also seem to bring out idiot drivers in droves (ha!). You just can't win!

Been far too long...

... since I've updated this! Okay, a little over 2 weeks may not be much by most standards, but in my small corner of the blog world, it's practically ages. I think the last time my blog was neglected for this long was when I was in Indonesia. Which reminds me, I still have one more post to write about some of the sights and sounds of the country.

But for now, a few brief updates.

It started right after my last blog post, but the Friday (the 6th) was when I REALLY came down with a nasty bout of the flu. Fever, chills, aches and nausea-- the whole kaboodle. Ironically, no congestion or cough, at least not until AFTER the fever and chills subsided. Anyway, I was knocked out of commission for 4 days, and was lucky enough that the weekend comprised half of it, reducing the amount of days I had to take off from work. Thank heavens for Veggie Tales, Winnie the Pooh and Professor Fizzwizzle (yes, I ended up buying the download-- well worth the money, though the whole family is now addicted ;-) )!

Todd came down with a fever himself that weekend, and my mom drove up on Monday (the 9th) with some victuals I could stomach, and to pick up Todd. She had planned to pick him up on Thursday (the 12th) anyway, since Todd got 4 days off for the President's Day weekend. So, he just got an extended weekend :-D

Illnesses aside, the Todd-free week was well-timed, because the following day, the 10th, we released our long-awaited product for sale to the public (it had been in Beta testing for nearly 2 years). Release night went rather smoothly. We usually start at 10pm and finish in the wee hours of the morning (typically 2-3am) unless something goes horribly wrong. But that night, we actually started at 6pm. The 4-hour head start proved well worth it, as most of us were done before midnight. I got to enjoy a normal sleep after all.

The next day was another rare treat-- we developers got to spend time in the customer care department, sitting in with customer service reps (CSRs) and listening in while they handled support phone calls. This was about as close to the customers as we would actually get, and it was neat seeing not only what things are like for our customers, but what it was like for the people in the front lines, fielding their questions.

The entire week was full of festivities, too. Day after release we all enjoyed pastries for breakfast instead of our usual bagels on Wednesdays. We also got fleece blankets (the "s(ch)wag" I referred to in my Facebook status) with the GoToAssist Express logo emblazoned on it. Came in handy for keeping Todd warm in the chilly nights that ensued. Drinks and debauchery (okay, not really) at Happy Hour on Thursday night. And Friday afternoon was champagne toasts and a chocolate fountain in which to dip a variety of goods-- strawberries, marshmallows, pretzels, potato chips, bananas... all in all, good stuff! What a way to end the week and start a long weekend!

I also got new glasses! For the first time in my life, my prescription has not changed significantly since my last checkup-- which was 6 years ago, to boot! My left eye is still the same and my right eye has only worsened by 1/4 diopter. Took me a while to find suitable frames, but I eventually found a pair that was similar in size and shape to my original ones, but only have a frame over the top half of the lenses, and are overall much lighter. Took a bit of adjustment, but I'm happy with them now. Pictures shall be forthcoming soon!

That was my past couple weeks in a nutshell. How about you?

Drumming means you have a job

In case any of you were wondering what mine and Allan's Facebook statuses on Monday meant, well, we spent Monday morning at a hotel conference hall for our company's annual summit, AKA the "All Hands Meeting". Many sales reps flew in from out of state. We enjoyed free breakfast before sauntering into the conference hall, where I promptly stopped in my tracks and wondered if this was the correct room, since every chair was adorned with a bongo drum. After the usual presentations and spiels about how we did last year and where we're going this year, the fun started. Drummers from the Drum Cafe performed some African drumming for us and then had each of us participate with the bongo drums we found on our seats at the beginning. It was supposed to be a whole exercise in communication and teamwork, but honestly, I was having too much fun beating the bejesus out of my drum at an upbeat tempo to really notice the main message. After getting all worked up, we exited for our free lunch, where Allan promptly noticed bruising on his thumbs from all the exuberant drumming. Hehehehe...

As for the title of my post... well, just like many other companies are doing in the face of the souring economy, ours decided to trim jobs in an effort to reduce costs and remain profitable. So last Thursday and Friday, we lost about 10% of our workforce. There was a subdued atmosphere on Thursday as we waited with bated breath and gnashed tooth to find out if any of us would get the dreaded visit from the manager/HR/whoever was bringing down the ax. I was getting an eerie sense of deja vu, as most of you will recall what happened in October 2007. At last, Thursday ended, the announcement came that all the US-based layoffs had been completed, and Allan and I were still there, breathing with a sigh of relief. Back to work :-)

In other news-- life is... well, life is going smoothly. Todd still enjoys school. Not thrilled about after-school care, so every once in a while when one of us is having a slow day, work-wise, we'll stay home with him in the afternoon and work remotely. Little man is also slowly starting to warm to karate, now that he's starting to get the hang of it, he doesn't loathe practice so much. I'm still in the choir at church, although, if I thought our numbers were small before, they're dwindling even more! First day back after winter break, there were only 4 of us. Interestingly enough, all the parts were there, so if all else fails, we could make a good quartet. Allan's making headway with his degree, and has been keeping busy on nights and weekends! Go Allan! :-)

Not much else in the way of updates... we're just grateful to still have our jobs and be where we are. Moving onward, now!

And how have you been?