The Worst Feeling In The World:

Standing at baggage claim and all of a sudden realizing you are the only person left waiting for their luggage and there are no bags coming up the belt anymore. And then realizing that you're in Zurich and this is only your connecting flight....there is no way you're getting home with your stuff.

On another subject, have you ever been in a hotel where the shower is in the middle of the room and not in the bathroom? Well as of today, I have!

Also, I think this hotel might be owned by McDonalds. There is a McDonalds in the lobby and I think they're trying to send subliminal messages through the headboards.

Assuming everything goes well (which hasn't been my luck on the logistics side of things this trip), I will be home at 3:00pm tomorrow! Pray for a smooth and safe trip for me.

Things I Would Have Bought Trey (if I wasn't so cheap...)

Land of Vikings...any wonder that half the things I see make me say "That's something Trey needs"?

Here are a couple of things I would have bought Trey if I wasn't so cheap. :)

1. Viking Masks

2. Lots of little trolls
3. One GIANT troll (Thats right, this guy was for sale!)

Also, here is a picture of the variety show people that I said is Maggie's dream job. They performed again the second night of the conference. :)

Tonight is the Swedish Midsummer, the celebration of the Summer Solstice. It is apparently a bigger holiday here than Christmas is! The city is pretty much deserted because everyone goes out to the country for Midsommer, but there is a traditional festival going on at the Open Air Museum Skansen, so I think I'll head down there pretty soon.

Tomorrow evening I am leaving Stockholm. Its been fun, but I am definitely ready to be home!

Toto, I don't think we're in Texas anymore...

I left Stockholm Monday evening to come out to Tammsvik, the conference center about 30 minutes outside of the city. Things have been very...interesting since I got here.

Maggie's Dream Job
I went to dinner on Monday night and found two people who have Maggie's dream job. By day, they run this place, which is very similar to a bed and breakfast. At night, they do a two person variety show - one man and one woman. In between courses of the meal, they did a medley of songs from different decades: 60's before the first course, an Abba medley before the main course, 80's before dessert, and I ended up leaving before the last act. They had a stage and microphones and lights and everything and sang and danced to songs (90% were Swedish, so I didn't know any of it!) All I could think of the whole time was "Maggie would LOVE this!"

Norwegians, Icelandics, and Danes
After I left dinner, I met up with three Britons who where here with Sabre as well. Two have been to this conference every year and warned me "Stay away from the Norwegian, stay away from the Danes, and REALLY stay away from the Icelandics!" Apparently their drinking makes the Irish look like the picture of sobriety. They also gave me a tip - get a Coke, tell the Scandinavians it was Rum and Coke, and don't really drink it, because if you have an empty glass, it WILL be refilled for you. I took their advice and was extremely glad I did. Those people were partying all night long and when we got up the next morning, they started off the day with another beer! It is crazy!

Caution: Men in Underwear
Bet that headline got your attention! Yesterday was a networking day with different contests for the clients. One was to build a raft that they would row around a course in the lake out of barrells, wood, and rope. They had about an hour to do it, and about halfway through, all of the European men started taking off their clothes, and most ended up in just their underwear! And we're not talking Boxers here, or even Boxer-Briefs. We'll just leave it at that. Can you imagine going to a conference with your coworkers and a bunch of people you don't know and stripping down to basically nothing? I am definitely not in Texas anymore!!

Well, its lunch time, so I'm going to go get something to eat. Tonight there is a boat outing after the conference, so I'm sure I'll have some interesting stories there. Stay tuned!

Blogging From Sweden

As with most of my traveling posts, I was going to start this one out saying "Hello" in the native language....until I realized that I still haven't figured that out here! I have learned not a single word of Swedish so far, which is really unusual for me. I vaguely remember Ryan telling me about calling his friend Jonas and saying "He San" or something like that, but I certainly haven't tried it to confirm it.

This trip has been my most stressful trip ever. I had some extremely close calls on the way over here that almost caused me to miss my connecting flights and almost lost my luggage. Once I got here, I was so exhausted from the past couple weeks and jet lag that I slept from 5:00pm until 6:00am the next morning. But that got me nice and rested for a great day yesterday when I saw most of the good stuff in Stockholm!

I'll make my next post about the actual things I saw, but for now, I'll just leave you with a few observations:

1. I have never seen as many natural blondes in one place in my life. That being said, there are more brunettes than I expected from stereotypes (including the Royal Family here), but there are still a lot of blondes


2. This is the first country I've been in besides America where there is a lot of variety in types of restaurants. It is just like the USA from that aspect - any type of food you crave, there is a restaurant nearby.


3. If you didn't know where IKEA was from, you would know it as soon as you got here! Everything looks like it came straight out of an IKEA catalog. Even the McDonalds is decorated in those distinctive straight lines and bright colors. Here is a picture of the McDonalds I went in while I was waiting for the Stockholm Tourist Center to open

Well, I'm off. I've got one more major attraction I want to see before I head out to Tammsvik for the conference this evening.

Fire Update

No fire - just fire alarm...read my last post.

Its now 5:33 AM and the fire department has just now gotten the alarms turned off. Apparently this guy didn't just burn something, he burned ALOT because the entire hallway smells like smoke and my apartment smells like smoke. Ugh. Flashbacks to freshman year of college when the dorm room of two girls down the hall from me in Nelson burned to the ground. They had to hire in special crews to get the smoke smell and soot out. Maybe I can at least get some rent money back!

Looking on the bright side, I met several of my neighbors while we were waiting in the parking garage trying to get away from the noise! Had to do it some time, might as well be now. :)

I'm off to bed to try to sleep for another hour or so. Good morning everyone!

4:50 AM

Its 4:50AM and I just learned a very interesting fact about my apartment: if your neighbor burns something, the entire building's Fire Alarm goes off....and doesn't look like its going off any time soon. Fun.

On another note, this is a good time for me to say I'll see you all in a week! I leave for Stockholm today! :)

P.S. - Now I hear the fire trucks! This should be interesting - its the guy 2 doors down from me who is causing the commotion. He burned something REAL bad!

Milk on a shelf?

I am not a morning person. When I have to get up for work, I basically get out of bed with just enough time to get ready, grab a Diet Dr. Pepper to drink in the car and run out the door. Needless to say, not much time for breakfast in there.

Everyone is always talking about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so lately I've been trading in my Dr. Pepper for a Slim-Fast shake...not quite a full breakfast, but definitely an improvement. For the first time today, I've noticed the first ingredient on the list: Fat Free Milk. Now I know that I bought these off of a shelf - not in a refrigerated section. For the past two weeks I've been drinking milk that has been sitting out on a shelf. Does anyone else think that's kinda weird?

Gotta Love the "Reverse Commute" :)

And this is the part of the freeway where the other side had started to clear up! ;)

Why do I love the airline industry again?

Story 1: DFW has been insanely stormy this spring...it seems like every other day we're under severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. Along with storms comes flight delays. I was flying to Houston for my old roommate, Deborah's wedding on Wednesday and there was a huge storm that morning so everything was delayed. Luckily, I am platinum on American so the gate agents were quick to find me an earlier flight (AKA a flight that should have left already but was still there because of the delays so actually left at the time I was supposed to leave) but there were people who had been stuck at the airport since that morning (it was 4:00pm). The exact same thing happened on the way home and I was able to actually get home earlier than I was supposed to.

I wish I could say I felt bad about using my privileges to get a confirmed seat on a flight with a 25 person standby list, but I really don't! :) But seriously, why do I love an industry that constantly disappoints customers over things that can't be controlled like the weather?

Story 2: Next Friday, I leave for Stockholm, Sweden to speak at a conference. Yesterday, I got an email from one of our sales directors in Europe saying that we had gotten to the second round on a proposal we submitted to an airline in Norway and wanted to know if I could leave two days earlier to take a meeting in person. I called our corporate travel department and it would cost $2000 to change my ticket to leave two days early. $2000! The original plane ticket only cost $1500! You'd think that working with airlines we'd be able to get some sort of break, but no. (Needless to say, I am not traveling to Norway on Wednesday!)

Why do I love an industry that charges one customer $100 for a ticket and the person sitting right next to them $500 for the exact same product? No other industry could get away with that! (Of course, my company is the one enabling to them to do that, so I guess I can't talk too badly about it! Ha!)

Sometimes I really think I'm crazy to love the airlines as much as I do, but right now I can't imagine working in any other industry. I must just be a glutton for punishment. :)

Moving Moving Moving....

So all I've done for the past few days is pack and move, pack and move. Tomorrow the actual movers come to get the big stuff, and then I'll get to stay in my new apartment for real! Once I get moved in, I'll take some pictures and post them. Happy Moving Day!

Red Sox Attempt 3

Attempt 1: 2006, Red Sox vs. Rangers series was during our big Integrated Project. No go.
Attempt 2: 2007, had tickets for opening weekend. It was FREEZING and miserable. No go.

My friend, Boston Bill called me on Friday morning to tell me that the Red Sox were back in town and we were going. So we hopped in my car and went to the game. No sooner had we gotten into the stadium, it started POURING rain! Our third attempt at seeing this game and it was going to be rained out!Two hours after the game was supposed to start, we looked out and saw the people taking the tarp off the field! We were going to get to see the game!This made Bill very happy. :)Surprisingly (or maybe not!) a lot of people waited out the storm! The stadium was more full than it has been for games on perfect days. Look how full it was!So after 2 years and 3 attempts, Bill and I finally got our Rangers vs. Red Sox game, and I get to cross an item off THE List. :)

61. See the Rangers play the Red Sox

Sorry for the low quality pics...I took them on my cell phone!

Picture Mania!

I was looking through an old memory card for my camera tonight and found some fun pictures I haven't looked at in awhile. So today I thought I'd post as many as I have the patience for (Blogger is annoyingly slow at loading pictures!)


My diehard Astros fan friend, Mike Reavey and I at the Astros vs. Rangers game last summerMy last night as an active Kojie in 2005. This picture makes me understand why my roommates said my hair was so short last when I saw them in March.
I left my camera unattended at a friends house one night and came back to find these












Sweet baby Maisy before Kody and Ginny's wedding

And I'll leave you today with a video of a girl in my MBA program named Dana. I have to preface this by saying she used to be a bartender in one of those Coyote Ugly-type bars and learned all sorts of cool tricks. Do NOT try this at home! :)

I'm Moving....again!

I have been struggling basically all year with where I was going to live once I graduate. I have been going back and forth between Dallas and Fort Worth for months. Most of my friends are moving either to Dallas or out of DFW altogether, but I had just enough people in Fort Worth that I decided to stay here.

The day after I posted the new apartment I found in FW, one of my friends that was going to be staying here decided to move. Two days later, two more friends that were going to be in FW decided they weren't anymore. Two days later, three more people bailed on Fort Worth and I started wondering if this wasn't a sign of some sort. Maybe there is something else out there that I need to be exploring.

So after a loooooooottttt of thinking, praying, and talking to different people, I decided that I was going to revisit the Dallas option. I've been apartment searching for about a week and on Wednesday, I found an apartment that I am so excited about! It is Manchester State Thomas in Uptown Dallas. Its got a great location, hardwood floors, more space than the apartment in FW, and is just perfect for me. So come visit me at my new place in just a little over a week!

Tis Far Better to Give...

Almost 2 years ago, I came home from VBS practice and my parents were waiting with a surprise...a new Sony VAIO laptop that they bought me for graduation. I definitely had the best laptop of everyone in my class.

About 3 months later, I found out that in order to buy my computer, my dad sold his 1983 Les Paul Custom guitar on eBay. If you aren't a guitar fan, you probably don't know that Les Paul Customs are basically the best guitars on the market - you really can't get any better. It made me absolutely sick to find this out.

So this year, I've been saving up in hopes of finding the same guitar on eBay. After being outbid a few times (once by only $25), Ben went to the guitar shop to talk to them and found out that for people who actually play their guitars, a new one is better than an old one. So I bought one and gave it to him on Saturday at Lawry's at my graduation dinner. It was definitely the best feeling on the planet. I have never seen my dad truly speechless before. He's done so much for me, it was great to finally be able to give him something back.

Graduation Day!

This is the Hooding Ceremony for the MBA program...it was as much graduation as I needed. :)

Neeley School of Business MBA Class of 2007
The mandatory "Parents Flanking Child" picture

I went to the Reata Rooftop after to celebrate with some of my friends. I'm going to miss the ones that are moving away!!
Tonight my family is doing our celebratory dinner at Lawry's in Dallas! I can't wait. :)

Guess who's done with Grad School???

WE ARE!!!Had my last final tonight! I'm officially finished!

I have a problem.

I have a problem doing things that I think are stupid. This has really come to a head in grad school as they make us do a lot of things that I think are stupid....reading articles that have no point, completing certain "personality tests" and "leadership practices" tests, several pointless items of busy work from my GA that I know will not serve any good purpose, rearranging my schedule to hear speakers I'm not interested in to name a few. I know everyone thinks a lot of things are stupid, but my problem is that I procrastinate until the very last possible moment to do them rather than just getting it over with like most people. Luckily, I am ONE DAY OUT from being finished with my degree, but I have spent the last couple weeks trying to scramble and finish these pointless things, cursing the people that are making me do them all the while. I know its a long shot, but I'm hoping that I will encounter less and less of these dumb things as I go into my full-time job. Anyone else have this same problem?

Happy Birthday To Me!

I know, its a little narcissistic to wish myself a Happy Birthday, but its allowed cause its my birthday. I can do whatever I want! :P

Lets face it, did you really expect any different? Have you forgotten about my countdown last year?

Emily Tate: Shamelessly Self-Promoting Birthdays since 1983.

I'm Moving!!

Today I signed a lease for a new apartment. I'm moving into Amli Upper West Side - an apartment complex in Downtown Fort Worth. Its not the one on 4th street that I told several of you I was hoping to move into (they're full and have raised their prices $300/month in the past year), but its still in downtown and is actually better for me. I am working at home 2 days a week and this apartment has a study that I can use instead of turning part of my living room into an office. I love it!


Unfortunately I found one thing that is less than ideal though...they only offer television service through DirectTV and they don't offer HD service. Who doesn't offer HD service?? But everything else is great enough that I can deal with that....especially since I haven't had HD service in my current apartment either. It was just something I was looking forward to getting. But while we're on the subject - vote in my poll to help me decide what to do about my TV situation.


I'm moving on May 14th - come visit me!

Its Time for Another....

Good Idea:
(Hopefully) impressing your boss by doing decent presentations two days in a row - one of them presenting a new idea that he thinks it going to have good impact for the company

Bad Idea:
Falling down the stairs as you're walking out of the building with your boss in front of about 50 people, immediately following the aforementioned impressiveness, and twisting your knee.

You're Invited!

To a very happy day for me! I'm done with my MBA!!


The Hooding Ceremony is basically our graduation...I'm not going to the big ceremony the next day. If you're in the area, feel free to join for this joyous occasion followed by a reception....don't worry, I'm not expecting anyone but my family to actually come. :)

Its Time for Another....

Good Idea:
Packing socks in your gym bag before leaving for work in the morning

Bad Idea:
Packing one normal crew style sock and one "no show" style sock, waiting only to be discovered once you are already at the gym in North Richland Hills and know you can't just run by home really quickly to get the right kind.

Charla and Mirna....UGH!!

I have GOT to stop watching Amazing Race. At least as long as Charla and Mirna are on it. They drive me absolutely nuts!!! My blood pressure seriously raises every time they are on screen.

• They drive me crazy with the fact that when they talk to people who aren't American, they speak with a foreign accent, like THAT is going to help someone understand you!
• They are 100% self-righteous, acting like they NEVER do anything less than perfect
  
• They whine when people outsmart them saying that the other teams are rude or play a dirty game or whatever but then have no problem getting in peoples faces and completely screwing over other teams when it works to their advantage.
• When other people are trying to get stuff done, they always jump in on their conversations with the airline reps and act like total jerks and basically just yell and act rude until the poor counter workers have no choice but to give in to get them out of their faces.
• They have this ridiculous vendetta against the blondes...in my opinion just because the blondes are both prettier AND smarter than them, so they can't say "Well they're pretty but stupid."
  

And speaking of Dustin and Kandice, here are few reasons why they are my favorites:

• C and M keep saying that they are fake....of all people in this game I think that D and K are the LEAST fake of everyone! They have never pretended to have loyalty to anyone but themselves, and don't try to act like they are going to be loyal to people when they will turn on them at the first chance they get (*cough cough Charla and Mirna*)
• They play the game smart. Yields are not cheating or playing dirty - they are strategic tools to be used wisely and Dustin and Kandice aren't so caught up in being liked by other teams that they become afraid to use them
• They know when to partner with other teams - when it will help both teams equally - but also know when to keep their secrets to themselves
• They have every other team out to get them (and I'm sure thats going to come to a head next week!) but they don't complain about it or let it stop them. I think they realize that its just jealousy that makes the other teams want to try and knock them out. ;)

And finally...I had a dream last night that I was on the Amazing Race. I TOTALLY want to get on that show!! Unfortunately, I don't see myself being able to commit to quitting my job for something like that, so I'll just have to judge people from my couch like I have for the past few seasons. Sad...

The Big Reveal....

I know you've been waiting in anticipation (sarcasm), so with no further ado, here is my new car!
Okay, thats just the center of the steering wheel, but Maggie's first guess was right! I got a Lexus IS 250....and its so pretty! This is my graduation present to myself, or as I also like to call it, my prize for not being married and having no one to worry about but myself. :) I didn't pick it up until this evening so I haven't gotten to drive it much. I can honestly say I haven't been this excited about driving to work tomorrow morning since my first day!!!You can kind of see the color in this picture...it is a really dark blue that really looks black from a lot of angles. Its actually called Black Sapphire Pearl.
None of the pictures of me standing next to the car turned out well, so this is as good as your gonna get of me. :)

See ya later! I've got a new car to go drive!

A blogilicious teaser....

I bought a car today! Wasn't planning on it, but got a price that I totally shouldn't have (about $2500 less than what the car is typically going for right now) and I have been saving in preparation to get one in June, so I just went for it! I pick it up on Wednesday evening. Details and pictures to come.... :)

THE List: 61-80

I made up number 61 today after it started SNOWING in FORT WORTH, TEXAS on EASTER WEEKEND and made me miss the game that I bought tickets for 2 months ago! I am so mad! Several others were inspired by our freak of nature snow day today as well (see 65-68).

61. See the Rangers play the Red Sox
62. Take a picture of a lighthouse
63. Get married
64. Read the Iliad
65. Build a snowman that is at least 4 feet tall
66. Go to an Ice Bar
67. Go to a weekend Spa resort
68. Learn all the words to "Its the End of the World As We Know It"...not just "6 o'clock...mumble mumble...LEONARD BERNSTEIN!"
69. See Niagra Falls
70. Sing a song in a karaoke bar (possibly number 68?)
71. Have my portrait made by a street vendor
72. Have a chocolate shake at the original Hard Rock Cafe in London
73. Make a kite and then actually fly it
74. Run a 5K (I know I'm pathetic. I can't commit to the marathon or even 1/2)
75. Be a contestant on a game show
76. See Acropolis in Greece
77. Buy a house or a condo
78. Attend a Sotheby's auction
79. Learn how to drive a stick shift
80. Visit the Holocaust Museum

(Number 80 has been edited... I didn't realize that I already put "See the Taj Mahal" on the last segment. Thanks Linds!)

THE List: 41-60

With the excitement I gained today in learning that I am going to get to cross something off my list in June, I decided it was time for another segment! And seriously, I'm getting low...need some ideas.....

41. Drive a convertible down Route 66
42. Attend at least one major sporting event (Olympics, Superbowl, US Open, World Series Final Game, etc.)
43. Tour Pearl Harbor
44. Fly one leg on at least 15 different airlines
45. Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain
46. See a performance of Shakespeare in the Globe Theater
47. Attend a taping of David Letterman or Conan O'Brien
48. Throw a dart at a map and travel there
49. Visit Stonehenge
50. Be an extra in a movie
51. Go to Rio de Janiero for Carnival
52. Take a tour of studios in Hollywood
53. Sponsor an angel on the Angel Tree and do it up right
54. See the Schloss Neuschwanstein in Germany (it looks like Cinderella's Castle)
55. Fly in a hot air balloon
56. Ride the Orient Express
57. Go Grape Stomping to make wine
58. See the Grand Canyon
59. See the Taj Mahal
60. Go to Major League Baseball Spring Training

Any thoughts on these or suggestions for more?

Stephen McBroom - Always the Troublemaker!

I went to Stephen's blog today while on my lunch break at work to see pictures of the sonogram. This is what I got:



Apparently even pictures of a naked fetus are considered child pornography nowadays! Are you trying to get me fired posting filth like that, Stephen?

Are they trying to tell me something?

Yesterday I worked from home in the morning and went in after lunch. I was running late so I grabbed some Wendy's. Today, I only worked a 1/2 day in the afternoon and just got some McDonald's on my way in.

Both times, I ordered a normal, full sugared drink. Dr. Pepper at Wendy's and a Coke at McDonald's. Both times, they hand me my drink, I take a sip, and its Diet Coke!! Have I gotten so bad that the people at the fast food restaurants are trying to tell me I'm fat?? It's like they're saying "Really? REGULAR Coke? Ummm....I don't think so....."

P.S. I would seriously be paranoid if they hadn't already had the drinks poured before I pulled up to the window. ;)

THE List: 21-40

Well apparently my list isn't interesting to people, but I don't care...I'm having fun with it. :)

Here are items 21-40:
21. Order room service at the Plaza Hotel in New York
22. Visit at least 30 different countries
23. Walk the Macchu Picchu trail
24. Watch a pro soccer match in a country that actually likes it
25. See Cirque du Soleil
26. Go on a cruise
27. Eat a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery in New York City
28. Visit the Louvre in Paris
29. Drink a beer at Oktoberfest in Munich
30. Meet, in person, someone I've become "friends" with on the Internet (Megan? Holly?...)
31. See Pompeii
32. Eat the worm at the bottle of a bottle of Mezcal
33. Go to Carnevale in Venice
34. Visit Anne Frank's house and take a picture of where the tree used to be (cause it'll be gone in the next few weeks)
35. Spend an afternoon exploring Gamla Stan in Stockholm, Sweden
36. Ride an elephant
37. Go to Disneyland
38. Watch the launch of a space shuttle
39. Dance the Tango in Argentina
40. See the Changing of the Guards

THE List: 1-20

At World Market a few weeks ago, I bought the "1001 Places to See Before You Die." I was severely disappointed. I was hoping for a checklist of things that were a clearly defined 1001 items. It is not that at all...its basically a collection of the typical city guide books you get before going places that includes hotels, restaurants, and some sights but without any distinction as to what they're considering their 1001. So I'm making my own...I'm sure I won't get to 1001, but I'll eventually get to 100.

Rather than boring you with them all at once, I'm going to post 10-20 at a time over the next couple of weeks and then (hopefully) give periodic updates of the ones that I've finished. Some I made up myself, most I stole from the Internet. I will say that when I was creating my list (and I don't have 100 yet, so feel free to make suggestions!) I put on a couple that I have already done, but nothing completed before January 2007. So with no further ado, here is my first installment of THE List.

1. The necessary item: Visit all 50 states
2. Bet $100 on Black at a Roulette table in Vegas
3. Cross the International Date Line
4. Look for Nessie in Scotland
5. Kiss the Blarney Stone
6. Sleep in a "haunted" castle or hotel
7. Walk along the Great Wall of China
8. See a Broadway Show
9. Take a picture of me "holding up" the Leaning Tower of Pisa
10. Watch the Cubs play a game at Wrigley Field
11. Spend New Years in an exotic location
12. Visit 6 of the 7 continents (I have no desire to go to Antartica)
13. Watch a Sumo Wrestling match in Japan
14. Take a random vacation not knowing where I'm going until the last minute
15. Take a lesson at one of the Trapeze Schools
16. See the Pyramids
17. Skydive
18. Go to Graceland
19. See the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona
20. Drink Champagne in a limo (nope, I've never ridden in a limo before)

And for my first thing to be crossed off, here is my proof of my FIRST (I hope to have more) New Years in an exotic location...Piazza della Repubblika in Florence, Italy.

You Always Want What You Can't Have

I honestly couldn't tell you how long it's been since I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I've always liked them, but when you are never around children its just not something that comes up. But yet today when I was at the grocery store, I walked past the sad empty shelves that usually house the Jiffy, Peter Pan, and good ole' Walmart brand peanut butters that are gone from the big recall and all of a sudden, I couldn't think about anything but peanut butter and jelly. They still had the large sizes of Jiffy that weren't recalled as well as a couple of "all natural" brands, but it just reminded me too much of my brother's Firestone tire that detreaded back in the day but wasn't included in the recall because it was a 15" and not a 17" or something like that.

After walking around the store for a bit, I couldn't get it out of my head so I finally went over and bought some of the natural stuff. You'd think that someone who has just gotten over being seriously ill for a month would think twice before eating something that has been known to put people in the hospital....and you'd be right! When I got home, I chickened out and made a turkey sandwich instead. But I still have the risky peanut butter. Maybe some day soon when I'm feeling daring, I'll eat some of it. :)

Fun with Photos!

My dad bought me a fantastic new printer for Christmas - one that is made for printing photos and CDs and things like that. Because of several things, I didn't actually get it set up until this weekend. Since then I've had so much fun printing out photos that I've been wanting to print for a long time. They look fantastic!

One picture in particular is one that I took in Austria 2 years ago. I've always said that this picture looks like a postcard except for the power lines and red crane in the background.



So tonight I decided to see if I could take them out. Now I don't have photoshop. I can't create cool things from scratch like Stephen or put people's faces on other people's bodies like Megan, but I have been known to do some pretty great things with Microsoft Paint! :) I took out the crane and powerlines and I think I was right...it does look like a postcard! I know, I know...you can tell where stuff used to be if you look hard, but at first glance, I think this pretty impressive for an inferior graphics program.

Random Thought for the Day

WARNING: This post discusses bathroom habits. Should that make you uncomfortable, stop reading now. :)

Girls, have you noticed that whenever you go into a public restroom with multiple stalls and someone is in one stall, most people will skip the next stall and go into the third? Its like we create a "buffer stall" if at all possible.

Guys, do you do that too? Or are yall much less neurotic and go to whatever stall/urinal is closest?

Told you it was a random thought....

I Hate Apartment Living!!

I have been living in apartments for the last 4 years. I know that it requires a certain amount of maintenance, but I am seriously being driven insane. At my apartment in Abilene they always seemed to wait until I was ready to take a nap before they invariably started leafblowing or mowing or something extremely loud and annoying. I was so excited when I moved out of there thinking that I wouldn't have to deal with this phenomenon anymore....until recently.

I am really starting to believe that the maintenance workers from University Park Apartments all decided to move to Fort Worth and started working at River Park Place. For the past month, it seems like I am never in my apartment without somebody outside my window with some sort of motorized something that is so loud I can't do anything! Right now at 5:45pm, I'm sitting on my couch with my television up almost as loud as it will go and I can't hear what is going on because of a stupid leafblower! Add to that the incessant sound of planes from Lockheed Martin down the road and the BNSF train that rolls through and blasts its horn as loud as possible several times a day and I'm in corporate Fort Worth noise pollution hell! If I have to deal with noise, can't I at least be in a fun location? I can't wait until May when I'm out of here...downtown living is definitely the place for me.

I Watch Too Much Scrubs

Today, I spent the first half of my day in the emergency room because of some side effects from the medicines they have me on - mainly insanely high doses of Prednisone (don't focus on the ER part...this is supposed to be a fun post!)

I think the people probably thought that I was insane because everything that we did, I was trying not to laugh because I kept picturing scenes from Scrubs in my head! The absolute worst was when a doctor was wheeling me down a hall to get a chest x-ray...I could seriously see the end of the "Everything Comes Down to Poo" song being performed in the hallway. It really made me realize how good the directors are at getting the perfect camera angles on that show and how great the set designers are!

I've put the video of the song below if you haven't seen it...its around 1:51 (or :25 if its counting backwards) when it hits that perfect angle that had me laughing even though there weren't really people in front of me. What do you think, is Scrubs really that great...or is it just the fact that one of the side effects tends to be hallucinations? I think its the power that is Scrubs! :)

Pneumonia!!

So I've been out of commission for 2 weeks now and the diagnosis on Monday was pneumonia. And of course, having asthma just makes everything worse. But I got to the doctor just in time - he said 2 more days and I would have been in the hospital. But I got on steroids and antibiotics, crossed my fingers that there would be no random drug tests for anything (ha!) and prayed that it would work. I'm not well yet, but finally on the way up!

In other news, the next cycle of America's Next Top Model started this week and made me VERY happy! I love that show!

I'll write more later, but now I get to go study for a midterm and a final in two classes, neither of which I have attended for two weeks! Wish me luck!

Still not better....

Well, I'm still sick. Its not fun. Went to the doctor today and he put me on a bunch of medicines. I'm going to work tomorrow no matter how I feel - hopefully it won't be too tough to make it through the day. I hate being sick!!

Yesterday's Grocery List

In case you couldn't tell, I've got the....well I'm not sure exactly what I've got. I don't think its bad enough to be the flu, but I can't breathe, my throat is swollen, and I've had fever since Tuesday. The things I've learned since I've been sick:

1. There is nothing worth watching on television between Noon and 7 pm. After the first day, I depleted my full stock of Tivo reserves, including 2 episodes a night since the beginning of the month of Scrubs that I hadn't seen yet and have spent the rest of the time drowning in the wasteland of daytime programming crap.

2. Watching Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, Lost, etc. in real time is tough! Due to Lesson 1, I've had to actually watch primetime shows live. It is nervewracking to have to sit through commercials after the cliffhangers they give! What did we do before DVR?

3. Internet games can only go so far before being boring. I am now the #2 arcade champion at drakeshangout.com with the highest score on 11 games.

4. CNN does not update their content enough. Sure, they do a really good job. But when internet games have been exhausted and no one is updating their blogs 3 or 4 times a day (which is what it would take to entertain me), I go through all of the current CNN content pretty quickly. And MSN. And AOL. And Fox News.

5. I need to start collecting more books for a rainy day. I thought I had several on my shelf that I haven't read yet, but I guess I cleared all of them off in all of my traveling last semester.

I guess thats the end of my whining. Hopefully I'll finally start to feel good tomorrow...or at least will get rid of my fever so I can get back to life.

Couple of Random Posts

So I was just going to post about the Davey O'Brien dinner that I went to on Monday, but found a picture on my camera that I had to post first:


Kroger - you officially got grocery stores "Off Notice." I found these 2 days after I posted my open letter. And of course, my mom came through with another box on Valentine's Day as well. :)

Now for the real post:

This Monday, I was lucky enough to score a seat at the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Dinner. This year's winner was Troy Smith from Ohio State. The dinner was absolutely fantastic! Gourmet food at the Fort Worth Club combined with a few celebrities always equals a good time... I met Troy Aikman, saw Eric Crouch, and actually hung out with Jim McMahon, Gino Torretta, and a couple other former winners after the dinner was over! And of course, met Troy Smith.

I didn't get any pictures at the actual dinner because it wasn't exactly an event suited to taking candid pictures without looking completely stupid, but here are a couple I got later in the evening.

Me and Jim McMahon

My friend Erin from TCU, Gino Torretta, Me, another winner I can't remember the name of (anyone recognize him?), and some guy they call "Doc"


Overall, it was a really fun night! I won't be doing consulting work for the O'Brien Foundation next year, but maybe I can find a way to get a ticket again! :)

Open Poll

So I recently got a new Blackjack....Samsung's version of the Blackberry. I just discovered that rather than having to buy premade ringtones like you do for other phones, I can cut clips of music on my computer and then import them as an mp3 to be my ringtone! So now comes the difficult decision that I need your help on - what should my ringtone be? Keep in mind, it has to be something that I wouldn't be too mortified of if it went off during a meeting at work. TV themesongs are always fun, but I'm open to other songs too. Help me choose my ringtone!

An Open Letter to Grocery Stores

Dear Grocery Stores,

Starting in January, it begins. The red and green of Christmas goes away, the silver of New Years fades, and the red, pink, and white takes over your aisles.

You force me to remember that THE holiday is coming up - the one where if you're single you're supposed to either be 1) really bitter about it, 2) overly dramatic about how great it is to be single or 3) like me, are considered weird if you're neither - Valentine's Day (or as the second breed calls it, "Single Awareness Day." Gag me.)

I have always taken this in stride because I've had faith in the unspoken agreement that we made many years ago: I'll put up with your ridiculous giant mylar balloons and overabundance of wilting roses without complaining as long as you provide me with an endless supply of the highlight of my culinary year: Chocolate Covered Cherries. I've been looking for weeks at several different stores and not one delicious juicy, fruity chocolate ball can be found!

Don't try to pretend that you've fulfilled your end of the bargain by just throwing around some "samplers" and calling it Valentine's Day candy. Nobody is fooled. Just because the crappy filling in the center is pink doesn't make it equal to the ultimate Holiday candy - the Chocolate Covered Cherry. You have clearly fallen down on your job, and I am NOT a happy camper!

You've been put on notice, grocery stores. We've got a little more than one week left before February 14th. I'll keep on being content with this season as long as you hold up your end of the bargain. Don't let me down this year!

Best regards,
Emily

The REAL Reason Trey Isn't Married

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile - my blogger account wouldn't let me log in and it took a while for them to figure out what was wrong. Short post - got a Super Bowl party to get to...but I figured out the true reason that Trey isn't married. Here is a glimpse into his future: