My March in Reverse

So I went to Chicago, went to San Jose, all is well. But instead of writing posts about them in the order in which they happened, I am going to write in reverse order, basically because I'm really excited about the first....

I have a new man in my life and his name is Oliver. :)

Oliver is a puppy I saw online at a rescue organization and just fell in love with. I knew I couldn't take him until after I finished my travel (I don't have anymore planned in the foreseeable future at this time) and the rescue organization was able to continue to foster him until I got back. So yesterday after I got off the plane, I went to pick him up.

He has really come a long way in just one day. He hated riding in cars at the beginning of the day and although I'm not convinced he's totally over it, by the time we drove home, to PetSmart and back, and to our church guy's softball game and back, he was able to just lay down in the back seat wearing his doggie seatbelt and not freak out. And he slept in the crate just perfectly last night.

Right now he's asleep on my lap while I am working. He is such a sweet puppy and although I know the next couple of weeks are going to be hard with crate training and him getting used to not being around a lot of other dogs, in the end it will totally be worth it. And as a first time dog mama, I'm sure I'll be asking for advice from you guys (Thanks for taking my freakout call today Ashley!!!)

I'll post pictures soon....once I can get the dog off my lap. :)

Quick Question

I am in San Jose this week for work, so I'll have more to post about Chicago and California later, but for now I am wondering about something:

In DFW, radio stations are very genre-specific. One is basically top 20 hits, one alternative rock, a few rap/r&b, classic rock, oldies, jazz, etc. You know exactly what kind of music you're going to get.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, all of the radio stations out here are so insanely random I can't figure out what I'm listening to! It will play a song by Miley Cyrus...followed by some motown....followed by some disco....then some Coldplay....then Snoop Dogg....then Colbie Callait....then Aerosmith. So if you're hoping to hear a certain type of music, you are out of luck. It's driving me nuts!

So I have two questions:
1) Is the Bay Area weird with the random stations, or is Texas the odd man out with defined genres? I'd especially like to hear from anyone out there who doesn't live in DFW area.

2) Which would you rather have? Stations where you know what you're going to get, or all random ecclectic mixes of music?

Home again, Home again

What do you do when you have some time to spare in an airport? Make an attempt at taking an artsy picture. :)

I was in Chicago this weekend for Roomie Weekend 2008 with my college roommates. I'll post more about the actual trip later, but first....my past 2 days.

Tuesday
10:30am: Leave DeKalb, IL for O'Hare Airport.

11:15am: Its a little foggy, so I call AA Information to see if our flight is delayed.

11:16am: Find out our flight has been CANCELLED

11:17am: Get on the phone with the AA Platinum desk to find out whats going on. Find out that because of storms in DFW, all flights are cancelled for the day. Get Deborah, Nichole, and I booked on a flight out the next morning that connects through Indianapolis, IN.

5:00pm: After a couple of extra hours with Lindsay, get checked in to a hotel by the airport so we can have a quick shuttle the next morning.

Wednesday
10:00am: Take the shuttle to the airport

10:08am: Get to the self check-in kiosks

10:09am: Find out Nichole's ticket is booked to connect through Memphis, TN, not Indianapolis

10:30am: Find out AA tried to call Nichole the night before to tell her she couldn't get a confirmed seat on our flight and would either have to take the Memphis flight or fly standby. Let Nichole freak out for a minute before she decides to take the confirmed (which gets in later) and I'll come pick her up after we get home.

1:15pm: Get to Indianapolis. Eat lunch with Deborah and waste time in the airport.

4:10pm: Flight should be boarding. Its delayed. Of course.

6:30pm: Get to DFW. Find out Nichole's flight is delayed too. Proceed to baggage claim.

6:45pm: All the bags have stopped coming and mine is nowhere to be found. Of course.

7:15pm: Finished going through the lost baggage process. Get into the SuperShuttle van.

7:16pm: A guy knocks on the window of the van asking for a ride to the Gaylord Texan hotel (a decent way out of the way but closer than my house.) Driver says yes. Of course.

8:00pm: Nichole calls. She's landed. I think to myself "I wonder if Nichole is parked behind me at my house? Wouldn't it suck if Nichole is parked behind me and I have no way to get back to the airport to pick her up?"

8:02pm: Get to my house. Nichole is parked behind me. Of course.

8:45pm: 2 VERY long days, 4 flights, 1 lost bag, a $40 SuperShuttle, and a $50 cab ride later, we are all finally back to my house! What a trip!

Well, I'm going to relax and go to bed. The weekend was great and I'll blog more about that later. Have a great day!!

It's time for another...

Good Idea:

Searching Flickr at work for a picture of an extension cord to represent a technical concept.

Bad Idea:

Searching Flickr at work for a picture of an extension cord using the search term "Power Strip."

That FICA Guy Strikes Again!

When I first started my full-time job, I was surprisingly shocked by how much was taken out for taxes. I've worked since I was 16, but it isn't as significant when you're making $6/hour compared to a full-time salary.

Now almost 2 years later, I still get sticker shock every now and then with regards to taxes. Today I looked at a pay stub for my annual bonus that I am getting tomorrow...1/3 was taken out for taxes!! That is just crazy to me! God only asks for 1/10!! Who does this FICA guy think he is??

Springtime!

I love springtime. It is the perfect combination of the winter air smell/feel and the summer warmth. I love going to the park and reading and just being able to sit outdoors and enjoy the sun without either getting too cold or immediately sweating like a pig.

The other thing I like about spring is the pretty flowers and trees. Not sure what the big tree in my front yard is, but last Sunday, beautiful white flowers popped up all over it! I had to get some pictures of it. This is when I wish I had a "real" camera instead of a point-and-shoot. I'm sure these pictures would have come out better.

The next day, it was snowing in Texas. I guess I'll have to wait a little longer for my real spring, but this day was a nice teaser!

Snow and Haircut

Couple of random pictures:


First off - Boston! It snowed while we were there. We went into dinner and it had just started to flurry. By the time we came out, there was like an inch of snow on the ground! Definitely not Texas snow! Outside of Quincy Market after dinner.
Second - I got a haircut tonight! Its really short - first time since probably my freshman year of college that I've had it this short.

If you're in Texas, I hope you voted in the primaries today! And now the fun is just beginning. :)

Happy (Late) Bloggiversery!

Well, I missed my bloggiversery this year (February 14th), so I want to celebrate it today.

In honor of the end of my third year of blogging, I decided to revisit the URL of my blog as well as the ones that I tried to use but couldn't.

My blog address is really rather dumb: lemminggirl. I chose this because nothing normal (like my name) was available and I really didn't think I'd use it very much except to comment on other people's blogs (guess I was wrong there). So I called my blog Lemming girl to signify that I felt like a lemming following everyone else of the cliff and starting a blog. Ironically, nearly all of the "tons of people" that I was starting a blog after have long since abandoned their blogs and I am one of the veterans among my blogging friends! So much for being a lemming, huh?

Now I'd like to take a few moments and honor the amazing, high-quality blogs that have been sitting on some of the names I wanted to use for the past three years. You really should add these to your blogroll - their posts will change your life.
- emilytate.blogspot.com
- lifeofemily.blogspot.com (my personal favorite. A great use of a good URL)
- thelifeofemily.blogspot.com (ironically, this one is in Abilene which is where I was when I started mine)
- emilysadventures.blogspot.com

Finally, I leave you with a few favorite posts:

- My very first "Good Idea/Bad Idea"
- Probably my most serious post ever, but it means a lot to me.
- You may not think this is very funny, but I think its hilarious! I was so proud of myself for this one. :)
- Another favorite "Emily is an idiot" moment.
- Finally, a shout out to my brother's amazing talent. He's taking orders now...you can leave a comment here and I'll get you in touch if you're interested. :)

Happy 3 years everybody!

Some Respect for Our Candidates

Tonight I had a very weird experience that really made me think about a different side of the 2008 campaigns and made me have more respect for all of our 2008 Presidential Candidates.

I am taking it easy tonight, watching Saturday Night Live, when Hillary Clinton makes a surprise guest appearance. However, this morning, my family and friends were in the Stockyards in Fort Worth and stumbled upon a Hillary Clinton rally*.

I hear about them being all over the country, but it wasn't until I thought about being here where I live this morning and then being in New York this evening that it made me think about just how EXHAUSTING a campaign must be. I've taken a few day trips and had some times where I am on the road a lot and am always just ready to die after a lot of traveling. But for the past 6 months or more, these candidates have been on the road constantly. AND, they are scrutinized over every word that comes out of their mouth in this exhausted state of mind**. Regardless of who I personally support***, tonight I definitely want to give props to all the candidates for their perserverence in this campaign.

* Not sure where Patty and Wade stand, but my family will kill me if I let it seem like they actually went to the rally and/or support Clinton. They just took a picture with a sign to make me jealous because I really want to attend a political rally before the campaign is over just to be a part of it.

** I still fully plan on scrutinizing every word that comes out of candidates' mouths. I just have more sympathy for them now. :)

*** John McCain for President!