Scary Landing

My mother-in-law sent this by email yesterday. For some reason my work computer chokes on large media files, so I decided to upload it to Photobucket so I could view it without all the picture choppiness. After I viewed it, I thought it was hilarious enough to share with the rest of you (that is, if you haven't already seen it), and so I thought I'd blog it while the file was still on my Photobucket account. Enjoy!



(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/304873764)

Fragrances

On Friday night I drove straight from work to the Elephant Bar in Santa Barbara, where Allan and his labmates were bidding farewell to Khaled, who just finished his degree and is moving on in life. The evening ended with a round of hugs and well wishes. Then we all dispersed.

When we got home, my nose detected a foreign smell that seemed to waft from my clothes and hair. I sniffed carefully. It wasn't me, as I don't wear anything scented, except maybe hand lotion, and even that's only rarely. Certainly none that night. It wasn't Allan's deodorant/aftershave. What was it? That's when it hit me-- an hour after last saying goodbye to Khaled and giving him a hug, whatever cologne he was wearing, still lingered. Hours later, it was still noticeable, at least to me. I found it interesting, how long perfumes can last, and how well they stick and still emit fragrance when transferred to someone else you come into contact with.

This, coupled with a perusal of old blog entries and reading the "answer questions about you" meme where Jenna inquired about "Eau de Helly", made me think of my own means and choices in fragrance.

As a rule, I don't do fragrances. I wear cologne about as rarely as I wear makeup-- in other words, probably once or twice a year, when I'm all dressed up for a special occasion. Sometimes, when the mood strikes, I'll wear body spray from Bath & Body Works, usually a fruit scent like tangerine or apple. Sometimes I merely use scented lotion. Actual perfume? No way. Not only is it too expensive, but it's too concentrated for me to use. And the bottom line is, finding a fragrance I truly like is difficult.

My sensitive nose means that I can't wear anything too icky or too overpowering (hence the no-perfume rule). I get annoyed when my nostrils are assaulted by women (and even some men) who overdose on perfume or cologne. And if I wore it, I would only be subjecting myself to the worst of the strong fumes.

There have been a couple of scents that I do enjoy, however. One is Navy by Cover Girl, though I haven't worn that in years. The other is Blue Jeans by Versace, something I discovered while in the UK. Blue Jeans is actually the male cologne, the female cologne is called Red Jeans-- and lemme tell you, Red Jeans smells NASTY. I have a small bottle of Blue Jeans at my disposal. It's only a 7.5mL bottle, but as sparingly as I apply cologne, it will last me a lifetime :-)

So yeah... if ever you meet up with me in person and think you smell something, chances are, either I need a shower or it's just my natural scent :-D

I thought I'd close this blog entry with a scent-related blogthings quiz, something I haven't blogged in ages:

Your Fragrance Profile

The best calming fragrance: jasmine The best fragrance for everyday wear: sandalwood The best fragrance to boost your sex appeal: rose The best fragrance for energy: peppermint

What's Your Fragrance Profile?

Hehe, I'm not sure I agree with this assessment. I have no idea what jasmine and sandalwood smell like, but I am NOT a fan of the smell of roses, and though I love EATING mints, I am not too keen on any minty-type of fragrance. Oh well, better than vanilla, I suppose (I love the taste of vanilla, just not the scent)

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/304468764)

Easily Amused

... by geekish things, that is.

At work, I'm currently working on a web application, which, like most web apps, involve a web-based user interface interacting with a database behind the scenes. Yesterday I was busy checking out some of the entries (test entries, of course) in the database to see if my data had been stored correctly. In the process, I came across several other pieces of test data from previous programmers' work.

And I came across some amusing choices of names for the "Protein Name" field.

There was the usual bang-on-the-keyboard "asdfafds" and "kljkklj" entries.
The regular 'test' names like "test protein".
Some guy obviously named Joe had entered "joe's protein".

And then there were the beer varieties (ostensibly because beer is fermented, as were these proteins. Or maybe these entries were created on Friday afternoon, when Happy Hour loomed close by): "test beer", "icy beer", "foamy beer", "tasty frothy suds", and my favorite of the beers: "godzilla likes beer"

My personal favorite overall? "brainless monkey" (sounds like a moniker I could slap on a few people I've encountered, but that would be at the risk of offending monkeys the world over)

Okay, enough giggles for now. Just had to share it in case anyone else (probably only my geek readers) finds it funny :-)

(originally posted at:  http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/303042701)

T-shirts, Lawyers and Other Musings

Having a job that entails spending 8 hours a day sitting in front of the computer, is not without its health hazards. Or apparel hazards. This weekend I noticed a hole at the bottom of the buttock area of the pants I wear every day to work. A full year of bearing my weight on these pants had taken their toll. The sad thing is that the rest of the pants were pretty much still in new condition! So it was off to Kohl's for a new pair, as I liked the brand -- fit well, reasonably priced, and most importantly: came in long length. While there, I spotted this T-shirt and got such a kick out of it that I couldn't resist taking a picture. It looks like something you would find in Lucia's "T-shirt" album collection:



Yesterday's paper had a blurb with a reader's reaction to the news of the opening of a law school at UC Irvine. Their take on it? With the nation's dearth of nurses, shouldn't we be opening up a nursing school at UC Irvine instead of a law school? After all, nobody complains of a shortage of lawyers! It reminded me of my cajoling Lisa to move here, with her many years of nursing experience, she'd be a highly prized commodity in these parts :-) Guess the same isn't true of lawyers. Maybe that's why they're all in Oregon ;-)

If I can remember, I need to keep a notepad and pen in my car at all times. Every day on my commute to and from work, I pass by cars with interesting vanity plates. Most memorable was a luxury car I encountered last week whose plate read "MAN H8R". Some British expats were to be seen, too, with one plate reading "BRIT2US" and another reading "UK YANK". And then there's the usual assortment of lovebirds, with plates like "JK ♥ ML" or some such. I'll have to jot down interesting plates as I see them, and maybe share some of my favorites on my blog from time to time.

That's about it for my random musings of the day :-)

 (originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/301865130)

Cause for Celebration

I know it's only Thursday, but the two friends to whom this blog entry is dedicated live in timezones that are 8 and 17 hours ahead of me, respectively, so I decided to make sure to post this when it's officially Friday, 17 August for them :-)

First up, Willow in Australia officially turns 40. So come join me in wishing her a very Happy Birthday!

Next: Lucia celebrates her 6-month anniversary on Grab, under her new, clean-slate account. It doesn't seem like such a long time, and yet, looking back, it does. Way to go, Lucia!

Here's some cookie for the party (animation courtesy of the animation queen herself, Lucia :-D)
Now feel free to kick off your shoes and unwind!

EDIT: There, I finally pieced together a few songs. Here they are. I hope they all work okay, and that none of the links break between now and tomorrow! :-D

Originally posted here: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/300218139, which is where all the comments, and hence the party itself, are! :-)

Close to Home

While driving to work yesterday morning, I heard a story on the radio about a gruesome murder that took place in the apartment complex right next door to where I work. Today provided updates in the story:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-me-attack14aug14,1,5017867.story

Basically, on Sunday night, a man hacked at a woman (thought to be his girlfriend) and her 6-year-old son with a meat cleaver, killing the boy and severely injuring the woman, who also happened to be an employee in the marketing department of my company.

Scary enough that it happened so close to work, and to someone who works in the same company as I do. Scarier yet that this happened in Thousand Oaks, one of the Top 10 safest small cities in the entire COUNTRY.

So tragic, so senseless, especially when thinking about that sweet, innocent little boy. When I got home last night, I made sure to scoop up my little man when he greeted me at the door, and gave him an extra big squeeze.

(originally posted at:  http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/299520713)

Ventura County Fair

We didn't make it to the Ventura County Fair last weekend, so we went this weekend. It's about 40 miles south of Santa Barbara, so it made for a nice little day-long excursion. We started off with lunch at the mall in Ventura, where we could park for free and catch the free shuttle to the fair, rather than having to battle traffic and pay for parking AT the fairgrounds itself. The shuttles? Big yellow school buses, just like the kind Allan and I used to take when we were younger. Boy, did that bring back memories, and I tell ya-- the interior of the buses seemed a lot smaller than I remember :-P

Here are the two boys, one riding sky-high (literally!) as we make our way to the shuttle pickup point:



We didn't end up going on any rides or playing any games in the carnival section of the fair, but we did end up seeing all kinds of interesting exhibits, such as the art exhibit done by schoolchildren in the local area (some very impressive oil paintings from middle-school kids!), a show where we were regaled with a folk tale while a blacksmith churned out horseshoes to give away to 5 lucky audience members, and of course, a variety of animals, mostly farm animals. Todd got to see cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, rabbits and goats, all up close and personal. Great way to personify all those animals he sings about in "Old McDonald" :-) Our favorite animal exhibit? Why, the turtles, of course! Todd really enjoyed seeing real turtles, some larger and some smaller than the stuffed turtle he carries around with him everywhere.

We also stood by the sidelines as a group of Clydesdale horses came by on parade, pulling an old firetruck wagon. The wagon was complete with fireman and a Dalmation, very old-fashioned ;-) And it was the first time I'd ever seen Clydesdales up close, I knew they were big horses but didn't realize HOW large they were until I was standing about a dozen feet away from them!

For a break, we sat in the shade and enjoyed the strumming and singing of a bluegrass band called the Iron Mountain Boys. I snapped this picture of them because I figured Willow in particular would get a kick out of the name of the band:



And of course, what county fair would be complete without its share of vendors? We wandered through the showrooms, chock-full of all kinds of vendors, some demonstrating their products to interested onlookers. One of my favorites was the vendor who sold hand-made porch signs with creative designs and ways to display family names, such as "Barrett's Bar" or "Olsen's Outback". I thought something like "The Knight Castle" would be especially appropriate for when we get our own home in the future. But when I took a closer look at the already-made signs on display, I found that we already had a ready-made one on display:



Wonder if he would've given us a discount for buying the sign off the display rack instead of having to carve one out for us right then and there ;-)

We stopped off back at the mall for dinner before heading home, and enjoyed a lovely sunset (Todd remarked: "what's that red thing?", not realizing it was the sun in beautiful red and orange colors as it got ready to dip below the horizon and go to sleep) along the way.

I thought I'd close this blog entry with one final picture. True to form, I'm again showcasing my tendency to take pictures of things that wouldn't normally capture the tourist's eye, just for fun. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture of wheelbarrows that were EVERYWHERE in the 4-H areas, all identical?

Donut Peaches

Have you ever seen a donut peach? I never knew such a thing existed and so I really did a double-take when I came across these at my local Albertson's:



I couldn't resist taking a picture and blogging it, in the hopes that my produce manager friend Scot might be able to enlighten us a bit further on it ;-)

No, no hole in the middle. But nice and flat and shaped like a donut, otherwise. I wonder what it tastes like. But the fact that I'm allergic to peaches, as well as the fact that $1.99/lb is a bit pricey for my liking, kept me from buying it to try.

Ever sell these, Scot? ;-)

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/298016207)

I Hate Internet Explorer

Last night I spent the better part of an hour re-customizing my blog look. I had found the perfect picture-- an image of a parchment that could tile vertically, and that I could center on the page instead of tiling in both directions. It was large enough that it would look like an ancient scroll sitting in the middle of the screen. I carefully formatted the rest of the blog so the text would stay ON the parchment image and not spill over into the sides. At last, it was perfect. On Firefox, that is. I took a peek at my blog on IE and it was a messy disaster. So I had to stick to my second choice of "paper-like background"-- and you see the results here.

Even more fun was had battling Firefox vs. IE today, on my profile page.

I had inserted some code to automatically resize pictures posted on there, to a maximum width of 260 pixels. I did this to prevent large pictures from stretching out my comment section and knocking the rest of the profile page off center. It worked beautifully on Firefox-- the maximum pic width was always 260 pixels.

But today I looked at my profile on IE and noticed that they were shrunk down TOO much-- to 90 pixels! I played around with the code again and again and again before realizing what the culprit was-- IE treats ALL hyperlinked images as the same. In other words, that includes my friends' profile pics. That's why, Lisa, when you were posting your bug pic comment, everyone's pics were so huge, I was playing around with the sizes. And almost all the pictures posted in my comments section include hyperlinks. So, IE does not differentiate between a Myspace profile pic and a hyperlinked pic that a friend posted in the comment section itself.

So, the only solution at the moment seems to be: if you're gonna post a picture on my profile, please take out the hyperlink and post just the image itself, then it will get resized correctly and actually be VISIBLE and not a tiny thumbnail like you see now. I posted a couple pics myself on my own profile to test this theory, and yup, looks like that's the culprit indeed. Hyperlinks.

Or better yet-- just get Firefox. Then you won't have to worry about it, it'll show up correctly on your end no matter what ;-)

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/297601218)

New US Passports

Todd and Allan just got their passports in the mail last week. Last year, I applied for my new passport (to replace my expired one) and received it inside of 3 weeks. This year, the new rules whereby you now need a passport and not just a birth certificate to cross the Canadian and Mexican borders, forced my two boys to apply for one, too. They applied 5 weeks prior to our trip. Alas, the anticipated waiting time was more than double of what mine was, because of the huge increase in demand for passports, that this new law required. Projected arrival date (10 weeks from application)? 26 July. We got them in the mail on 30 July, not bad for government timelines!

Anyway, I opened up the envelopes and to my surprise, it was a completely different passport than the one I had! It was one of the new e-passports that the US recently started issuing, and the differences were dramatic.

For one, the entire passport had a theme to it-- a patriotic theme. Even the front page featured an eagle, the flag, and the Preamble to our Constitution (here's Allan's passport):



The front cover the usual passport introductory blurb, but rather than plain text, they were accompanied by old pictures from early American history, quotes, and even a handwritten portion of our national anthem:



And best of all, each individual page, where the visa stamps go, featured 2 things: The top had a famous quote from a famous American (from the early days of the Revolution to modern days of civil rights), and the pages itself were watermarked with pictures of Americana: the Liberty Bell and Declaration of Independence, majestic mountains and free-roaming buffalo, farmers tilling the land and ranchers roping cattle in the Old West, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore, among other scenes:



These new passports are so neat! Just rifling through each of the pages provides something new and fascinating. Some group of people must've worked very hard to not only get this theme going, but design every last detail of it. The results are very impressive. Makes my passport look bland and boring... the only pictures in mine are state seals on the visa pages. Of course, I won't be due for a new one for another 9 years, so we'll see what the theme is by then, if a new one is even adopted.

Hawaiian + Welsh = English?

Ever wonder what would happen if a Hawaiian (whose native language seems to contain too many vowels) married a Welsh person (whose native language seems devoid of vowels)? Well, their children might put the 2 languages together to create one normal language, for starters ;-)

This next series of strips from this week's "Working Daze" cartoon reminded me very much of our very own Welsh friend Lisa. When we crossed the border between England and Wales on our way to her house, I could tell we were in Welsh country by the sudden absence of vowels on all the street signs ;-P Then there's the Hawaiian language, which seems to have picked up all the vowels that the Welsh threw out. Anyway, here's the results of an attempt by stereotypical upper management to increase efficiency. You can see why it made me think of you, Lisa, and why the last strip reminded me of Hawaii :-)

in

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/297256245)

You Find Out Who Your Friends Are

There is a new song by Tracy Lawrence that has been playing on the radio stations a LOT recently, it's called "Find Out Who Your Friends Are". When I first heard it, I didn't think much of it, but the more I listened, the more I really liked the lyrics. I've posted the music video to it here, but since I know that the majority of my friends hate country, I won't make you play it. I would, however, encourage you to read the lyrics, as that's what I was mainly drawn to:

http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/lawrence-tracy/find-out-who-your-friends-are-18288.html

It got me thinking about how this accurately reflects what people are like in real life. And by "real life" I don't mean "offline life", I mean the people you interact with frequently and closely, whether in the flesh or online.

All too often you encounter people who are out to take advantage of you, or are only interested in themselves and their own welfare. All too often you encounter people who show you one face, a face that masks who they really are deep down. And as is reflected in the lyrics, all too often you encounter people who are more than willing to associate with you when things are going great, but will abandon you at the first hint of trouble. At the same time, it's also a good way to gauge who your real friends are-- they're the ones who stick by you through thick and thin, who support you when you're down, who don't abandon you eve when the going's rough, and most importantly-- do so selflessly.

And folks like that are few and far between. This song is dedicated to those selfless folks out there who make a difference in someone else's life, who show what true friendship is supposed to be.

Tracy Lawrence Find Out Who Your Friends Are

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Self-checkout Lane Woes

So, one of my old "pet peeves" blog entries inspired Scot to write today's blog entry with similar peeves. And that in turn inspired me to write this :-) Funny how that works out, eh? Will it become cyclical? I wonder...

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday on my way home from work. It's a pretty nice one. It is big and is not usually crowded, but I always opt for the self-checkout lanes, as I've grown rather adept at ringing up my own purchases efficiently and speedily. I got there and all 3 lanes were occupied. In Lane 1, a woman was putting a whole bunch of small items on the conveyor belt, having just arrived there herself. I figured she'd take a while and scanned the other lanes. Lane 2 showed a teenage couple scanning just one or two small items and getting cash out to pay. And Lane 3 showed a woman having trouble with her credit card. I thought: cool, she's paying, so she's almost done.

I watched the Wal-Mart employee come to her aid and then turned my eyes back to Lane 2. The teenagers were putting coins into the machine. Okay, I figured maybe they bought some snacks and were getting rid of a few dollars' worth of change. I looked at Lane 3 again. The Wal-Mart employee was gone and the woman was signing the screen, a sure sign that she's done. I waited patiently and looked back at the teenage couple. They were STILL throwing coins down the register like it was a casino slot machine! I started to wonder if they were paying in pennies, or if their small purchase was actually a lone $200 iPod, paid in quarters.

I got ready to move to Lane 2, but to my utter disgust I watched the woman grab her receipt, study it, then, as slow as can be, opened up her wallet, stuck it in, and then even slower, opened up her purse. The teenagers were still playing coins. And the woman in Lane 1? The one with the 30-odd small items? She was down to her LAST item, and she wasn't even moving that fast! If she hadn't had trouble ringing up her last item, she would've been done before the other 2-- THAT's how slow the other two were moving!!

I grew more impatient, and as soon as I saw the woman in Lane 2 start to reach for her shopping bags, I charged forward. She was still standing there grasping at her bags when I pulled my shopping cart up to the register and began taking items out of my cart. I didn't much care about granting her "personal space" or whatever. I may grant her the benefit of the doubt that she was ailing and couldn't move as quickly as everyone else, but standing there reading her receipt while making the rest of us wait? I'm sorry, but THAT's inexcusable.

I thought I'd never get out of the store, but here I am. The teenagers were still playing slots while I was busy ringing up my own purchases, so I never got to take another proper look at them or even find out if they were still there when I left.

It never fails to amaze me at how folks think they're the only ones in the world. I mean, I know some people are going to fumble a bit getting their stuff together before they leave the store, but come on-- is it that hard to move to the side, out of the way, where you can collect yourself in peace and take all the time you need without getting in someone's way and hampering them?

My Top 5 List

I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and see if I could populate my "Top 5" list. It proved to be harder to do than I thought. There were my usual top 2 all-time favorites that never wavered, but coming up with others was a challenge. Sure, there's no shortage of lookers out there, but few REALLY catch my eye enough to merit a place in this list o'mine.

And, I have to say-- Catch has a point. "Visually appealing" doesn't necessarily translate into "I wanna jump your bones". So, I modified the rules a bit: rather than involving getting down and dirty, I thought I'd populate my list with the celebs that possess the "holding" factor-- that is, the ones who will consistently strike my fancy no matter the ravages of time, and the fickleness of media attention.

Here's my woefully short list (suggestions for my last 2 are more than welcome!)

1. Kevin Spacey



2. Tom Hanks



3. Country singer Josh Turner



4. ???

5. ???

I'd never had a same-sex pick until recently, after watching Julia Stiles' "Raving". That's when I learned of Zooey Deschanel:



And in case you weren't able to deduce it, my pattern is pretty obvious: I don't go for the "hot, sexy bods". I don't go for the "smoldering good looks". I definitely don't go for the "bad boys". I go for the classic, clean-cut, clean-shaven, well-mannered, smartly-dressed guy. THAT, to me, spells sexy many times over.

That taste even spills over to my same-sex choice, as I find Zooey elegant and classy-- she looks gorgeous and sexy without having to adopt the trashy "show as much skin as I can" look.

I realize I'm probably in the minority as far as my tastes go. But I'm unapologetic, and display my list and tastes with pride :-)

What's *your* list look like?

(originally posted at:  http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/294913545)