Yuck...

So the last time I was at the dentist, he told me that all of my nighttime tooth grinding (which apparently is a lot more common than I thought – according to the dentist, just about everyone grinds their teeth at night…) has been causing small cracks to form in some of my molars. Obviously I take my tooth grinding quite seriously. None of that half-hearted gnashing of teeth for ME. If you’re gonna do something, do it right. Uh, yeah. So anyway – because I seem to be unconsciously cracking my teeth while I sleep, the dentist recommended placing crowns on the affected molars over the next year or two or three… or at least before I manage to pulverize my teeth into enamel oblivion…

So I scheduled the first crown placement for this morning. Now, I haven’t had any kind of serious dental work in a really long time, so I’d forgotten about how the effects of Novocain linger for hours after the dental office has been left behind. As I sit here attempting to drink coffee with half a functioning mouth and looking like a stroke victim, I wonder if the crowns will truly be worth the trouble… I certainly hope so.

I must say, though, that I WAS happy to see that the dental office has upgraded their distraction-oriented entertainment. Last I can remember, they only offered a radio with AM/FM stations and that’s about it. And honestly, listening to a fuzzy radio station and hoping to hear a decent song now and then, while being subjected to less-than-witty DJ banter and a peppering of boring commercials, really only serves to ADD to the discomfort of a dentist’s chair. So it was nice when they actually offered me an iPod with movies and some nifty movie-watching glasses. In any other situation – say, riding in a car or a plane for a few hours – I would’ve found the set-up quite cool. But it’s hard to find anything very cool when someone is jabbing sharp instruments into your mouth… Anyway, they only had about a dozen movies to choose from, and I settled on Monsters, Inc. Which I suppose was included for kids, right? But I thought that something with lots of vibrant colors and great computer graphics would distract me more than “Maid in Manhattan” or “Groundhog Day” (two of the other choices in the list…).

And for a little while, I was able to focus on the cartoon monsters and their silly story… until, that is, about a half hour into the movie, when it was time to make an impression of my teeth so the crown would fit properly. At this point, I had to bite down on some kind of vile-tasting goop and hold the disgusting concoction in my mouth until it congealed into a vile-tasting replica of my upper and lower teeth. I was no longer able to concentrate on the movie, as the only thing I could concentrate on was trying not to suffocate and willing my breakfast to remain in my stomach. The goop took so long to set that I was certain, by the time the dental hygienist pried it out of my mouth, that the entire movie had gone by without my noticing. But I was surprised to see it had only been about five minutes. Five horrible, gagging, putrid-tasting minutes.

As I sighed in relief and settled back into the movie, I heard the dentist and the hygienist in conversation behind me – there was something about “a bubble” and “another one” and “it should be perfect.” (What? Another WHAT? What are you talking about back there? No… no, no, no. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Really. I don’t care if it’s not perfect. It’s way back behind all my other teeth. No one will ever notice. And I swear even if I notice I won’t complain.) Unfortunately, all of my silent pleading went unnoticed, and the dentist announced that the first impression had a bubble in it, and they’d need another one so the crown would be perfect. Argh!!! Another eternity of trying not to gag on that revolting goopy mess – a witches’ brew created in a pit of sulfur, imbibed with pure evil…

And when THAT was finally over, the hygienist went to work on the temporary crown – which, she told me, is made of acetate and smells like a nail salon. “But it won’t hurt you,” she promised. I did find that a bit hard to believe as she fitted the crown – I’m pretty sure it’s never a good thing for your mouth to taste like you’ve just downed a bottle of nail polish remover. When she was done, I was finally offered a cup of Listerine, which I gratefully swished (well, half-swished, half-dribbled) throughout my chemically-desecrated mouth. There’s no minty-fresh mouthwash in the world that could completely erase all those horrible flavors, but it was probably the best-tasting Listerine I’ve ever had…

The thought of more crowns kind of stresses me out… and when I get stressed out, I grind my teeth… and when I grind my teeth, they start to crack and I need more crowns… oh what a horrible, vile-tasting paradox…

A few more random Hawaii pictures...

These are pictures from mom's camera, and I scanned them into my computer. So they aren't quite as sharp as the other pictures I've posted... but mom always gets more "people" pictures than I get, so I thought I'd post a few of hers...

A plaque outside the hotel where you could leave your lei as a remembrance of your trip... I forgot to leave mine out there (so much for remembrance)...

Here is an example of how I am so blindingly white that I often disappear into a glowing aura when pictures are taken... this was also the only time Rick and I made it to dinner on time and before everyone else, so we had the empty table to ourselves...

Part of the huge swimming lagoon at the hotel...

Rick and me at dinner one night, right before he licked my face... for some reason he thought that would be funny... Rick has a weird sense of humor...

Eric and Debbie...

Dad and mom...

And here is a picture of dad versus the ocean... I think the ocean won this round... but I have to give dad a lot of credit, because he was keeping up with all the twenty- and thirty-year-olds out there... and some of US didn't even want to go out in those waves...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am particularly thankful for the weather today – it’s 48 degrees! It actually feels like Thanksgiving! And it IS Thanksgiving! I’m wearing a sweater! I’m much too excited about this…

I’m also thankful for the fact that dad found a Starbucks that was open today… it’s the little things that mean so much…

So I hope everyone has a chance to hang out with family and friends today – try not to eat too much (as if that’s ever possible…). Have a great day, everyone! :)

Back home...

How funny – a few days ago, I wrote that post about Rick’s sunglasses and used that line from Seinfeld about the angry sea… and today, they actually aired that episode on TBS. That’s a silly coincidence. :)

Anyway… we got home yesterday afternoon, feeling quite exhausted and disappointed in the obvious absence of Hula Pie in the house. Eric left Hawaii a day before the rest of us did, so after we dropped him off at the airport on Saturday, we went to Duke’s to introduce Eric and Debbie to the magical world of Hula Pie. (Eric was uninterested in even sampling the concoction – a bizarre stance I can only describe as “his loss” and “more Hula Pie for the rest of us.” :)) And then we made sure to return to Duke’s once more before our own flight on Sunday night. I guess it’s really good that we don’t have constant access to Hula Pie here on the mainland – I’m not sure I could resist it very often. (Although we WERE wondering if Duke’s could pack some up in dry ice to ship to other parts of the country…) Farewell, Hula Pie… till we meet again…

The plane ride back from Kauai to L.A. was rather bumpy – not horribly so, just enough to be annoying and disrupt the sleep I was attempting to get. And what’s more, for some reason the airline showed the same movie on the way back that was shown on the way TO Hawaii. And I didn’t like the movie THAT much the first time… But I guess I eventually fell asleep for a little while, because I completely missed the end of the movie that I’d already watched on my previous flight (not that I was trying to watch it again…).

I did try to nap when we got home yesterday, but decided to get up when Piva kept using my head as a pillow and attempted to burrow into my neck. Rick took a couple pictures… maybe I’ll post them later. But I slept really well last night – although when I woke up around 10 o’clock this morning, I felt like I easily could’ve slept another two hours or so. (Hey, it was only six Hawaii time…)

Rick apparently only gained two pounds on the trip, but I’ve been unable to will myself to step on the scale – I think I’ll wait a couple weeks. Nevermind the fact that Thanksgiving is only two days away and the grocery stores are already full of holiday-themed, chocolate-covered, sugary-sweet, yummy-looking treats that only materialize this time of year. I’ve already had to make sure I bypass the cartons of peppermint ice cream in the frozen foods section. I think it’s so weird how I really don’t like peppermint in most forms – I hate candy canes and peppermint candy – but I LOVE peppermint ice cream. I just can’t get enough of it if I start eating it. Which is why I must avoid it altogether…

Well, I suppose I should head off to bed and try to get up earlier tomorrow… eventually I’ll be back on Austin time…

Goodbye Hawaii

Sigh... we're packing up and getting ready to leave the lovely island of Kauai... this week has gone by so quickly. We only have about a half hour before check-out time, so here are just a few random pictures from this week:



Surfer on the beach right outside the hotel...

Rick and dad trying out some wakeboards...

For some reason, this island is overrun with chickens... I'm not sure why... I don't think any of the other Hawaiian islands had this many chickens...

And speaking of chickens, Eric was showing off his talents for making napkin animals at dinner the other night... this is the chicken...

... and this is the bunny. Yes, Eric DOES have a law degree...

Brooklyn Law School obviously turns out some brilliant students...

A totally random picture of me looking at something... probably chickens...

The sea was angry that day, my friends...

So the ocean here at the hotel is rather animated, and has a tendency to be very wavy -- meaning it's not exactly the calmest water. After venturing into the water a couple days ago and being knocked over by a few waves, I haven't had the inclination to go back in... not when there are so many pools full of calmer water around here. In fact, the last two days the water has seemed even MORE agitated, with large, fast-moving waves overtaking anyone brave enough to move close. Yesterday, I think everyone went in except me and maybe Debbie (and mom, who refuses to give the ocean the time of day -- ever since it tried to mow her down over on Maui...). So Debbie and I sat on the beach, watching everyone disappear under frothing water and then reemerge laughing and gasping. And Rick, whose eyes have been very sensitive to light ever since he had LASIK, decided to risk wearing his nice pair of sunglasses into the water. Amazingly, after being hit with several huge waves, the glasses remained firmly planted on his face. Debbie even commented on how Rick was the only person in the water with a pair of sunglasses on his head. And no sooner had she said that than a straggling little wave washed over Rick's head and claimed his sunglasses as its own...

Yes, we lost some good sunglasses out there yesterday... a moment of silence, if you please...

And now some pictures from the last couple days:

This was the "spouting horn," which is just down the road from our hotel. The ocean water runs underneath these rocks and is forced out like a geyser -- they have signs posted to keep people from walking too close, but as you can see, Eric D. is a rebel...

We went to a luau last night, which we've actually never done any of the times we've visited Hawaii. It was pretty cool -- there was lots of purple food. Seriously -- purple rolls and purple sweet potatoes and purple cauliflower. I had no idea they loved purple so much here! I need to come back more often. Anyway, I believe this was Rick's favorite dancer... (I had a favorite, too, but I don't think I got a picture of him... darn it... :))

Eric D. gets a hula lesson...

This guy was cool -- he was twirling these flaming batons and perching them on his feet and somehow managed to NOT catch on fire, even though he was wearing lots of grass on his legs... maybe it was flame-resistant grass...

Today we drove up to Waimea Canyon, which Mark Twain called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." And it may not have been quite as impressive as the Grand Canyon of Arizona, but Arizona doesn't have an ocean...

More of the canyon...

Me at one of the canyon overlooks...

A picture of dad taking a picture...

Tiring day...

We drove up to the north shore of the island today, and took tons of pictures of the scenery. It was warmer and more humid than I expected it to be, and after a day of driving and exploring, I think we're all a bit exhausted. So, without further ado, a few pictures from today's collection:

A nene -- the state bird of Hawaii. We were actually really happy to finally see one of these -- every time we're in Hawaii, we inevitably run across a sign in a park somewhere about how the nene is a protected species, and we should be careful not to disturb them or run over them with our cars... but we've NEVER seen one anywhere. Until today...

Lighthouse on the north shore...

Waves hitting the cliffs near the lighthouse...

Hawaiian church...

Rick caught a great picture of this wave...

A picture I have entitled, "Lisa with windblown hair and cheap purple sunglasses." (One of those tiny little screws fell out of my nice pair of sunglasses, so I had to buy these at the store at the hotel...)

Sunset near the hotel...

Hello from Kauai...

We made it to Kauai, after a long day of travel. We had a five-hour layover in Los Angeles, which I didn't think would be too bad. After all, it's the Los Angeles airport -- one of the largest in the country, right? So it must be huge -- there must be all sorts of shops and restaurants and long, meandering hallways to explore. When we landed, we met up with Eric and Debbie, who'd arrived first, and decided to get some lunch at a Chili's (there's one hour down...) and then made our way to the gate, where we discovered our flight would be 45 minutes late taking off (okay, so only 15 minutes down...). So with all that time to waste, we decided to take a walk and see what was in the airport. What we discovered was that we appeared to be trapped in a tiny little terminal that consisted of two bookstores, the aforementioned Chili's, and, inexplicably, two Starbucks. (Honestly, when you can walk the entire length of the terminal in two minutes, is it really necessary to have one Starbucks situated 30 seconds beyond another? Those West Coasters must reeeeaaaaallly love their coffee...) Needless to say, it was a rather boring few hours at LAX...

But we arrived safe and sound... and I have to say the flight from Los Angeles to Kauai was one of the best flights I've ever been on -- practically zero turbulence, and a perfectly smooth landing. Although it was a little strange when the pilot asked the flight attendants to prepare for landing, and I looked out my window into absolutely nothingness. All I could see was stars... the runway didn't appear until about two seconds before we landed. Hey, at least it DID appear... (I guess the lights of Kauai were only visible on the LEFT side of the plane, and I was on the right...)

So we mostly hung out at the hotel today, which is a huge, sprawling resort. I was reading reviews on Trip Advisor before we arrived, and some people actually complained about this hotel because "it's so far to walk to your room." I have to say that after the dinner I just ate, I am extremely grateful that I had to walk a little bit to get back to my room. :) We went out to the beach this afternoon, which was nice -- the ocean is a bit crazy here, and the waves can get a little aggressive, but the water is really warm once you get used to it. I waded in for a little while and tried to stay on my feet as the waves hit me, and I was doing okay until an extra-crazy wave came along and knocked me right over. Not two seconds earlier I'd been saying that I wasn't sure I wanted to dip my head under the water because I was afraid of losing a contact lens -- and then I was underwater anyway, with salt water in both my eyes. What was really funny was getting back to the room later on and taking the swimsuit off, only to discover I had sand in places that I didn't even know I had places...

This hotel is known for its pools -- there are tons of places to swim (where you can be safe from rogue waves) and they have a waterslide that everyone discovered this afternoon. Eric and Eric were taking turns sliding down the slide and seeing who could yell the loudest continuously on the way down. I didn't try the slide myself today, but everyone was giving me a hard time about that, so maybe I'll try it some other time... maybe... (but I'm not yelling on the way down...)

Here are some pictures from today:

Parrot in the lobby of the hotel...

One of the many swimming lagoons...

A view of the lobby from the grounds...

A road on the way to the hotel, which the person at the rental car counter called a "tree tunnel"...

Yes, Eric IS holding his swim trunks...

Eric D. on the waterslide...

At dinner, before I ate WAY too much (but the chocolate lava cake was worth it...)

Off to Hawaii...

I got up too early this morning... well, early for me. And I won't be going to bed until we get to the hotel in Kauai, sometime after 9:00 tonight. 9:00 Kauai time... which means it'll be like 2 am here. So by the time we drive to the hotel, check in, and get settled, it'll be like 3 am before I get to sleep. Oh well... can't complain too much... :)

Will hopefully post soon with pictures and, I'm sure, fascinating anecdotes about our trip... or at least semi-interesting anecdotes that might possibly hold someone's attention for a couple seconds...

Almost time to leave for the airport... have a good Monday, everyone! :)

First prize...

We did some last minute shopping today at the outlet mall for a couple new suitcases – we needed some new ones before our trip. I’ve been lugging around a beat up black bag with two broken zippers – the only way to close it is to grab a hold of the luggage lock and slide it around. The front pocket is completely useless, because the zipper was ripped right off by some overzealous baggage handlers a few years ago. I’ve been making sure to buckle the whole thing up with a canvas strap every time I use it, but I’m always waiting for it tumble down onto the baggage claim conveyor belt and burst open…

We also wanted to get TWO medium-sized suitcases. We used to have only one medium-sized suitcase, plus two small ones and two giant ones. Which meant for long trips, I’d usually have to haul out one of the giant bags, inevitably resulting in an unwieldy 70-pound suitcase. They’d have to attach one of those “heavy” stickers to it to warn the baggage handlers. So instead of taking one huge bag, I thought perhaps if we had two medium-sized bags it would be easier. And since the only medium-sized bag we had was the aforementioned beat-up zipper-deficient piece of luggage lunacy, we decided to just buy two new medium bags. Makes sense, right?

It’s funny how many things we humans buy and acquire… luggage, furniture, cars, books, clothes… little knickknacks and picture frames and stuffed animals… all kinds of things that fill up cupboards and spill out of drawers and line shelves… I don’t ever even realize how much STUFF I have until I move somewhere. When you have to pack up all that stuff and actually transport it, it suddenly becomes exhaustingly clear how much of it you own…

And out of all of those possessions, which ones are the PRIZE possessions? I mean, if I have all these things that require such attention when I’m moving from one house to another, is there anything that stands out as an extra-special item? Is there anything that I wrap up more carefully than the other items? Anything I would consider irreplaceable? Something I would drape in a few extra layers of bubble wrap, just to be certain it arrived at my destination unscathed?

What’s surprising is that my own answers to those questions reveal that my “prize possessions” really aren’t the kinds of things anyone else would be interested in. Musty old books from my grandparents’ house… a little vial of pink Bermudan sand I keep on a shelf in the foyer… the black binder on my bookshelf that is full of things I’ve written over the years – some of which I’ve never made copies of (I need to make copies, don’t I? )… the carved wooden cat on my fireplace hearth that Aimee gave me as a housewarming gift when I moved into this house. And of course there are the pictures – everyone says that if their house were burning down, they would want to rescue their pictures (assuming all family and pets were accounted for). And I'm certainly no different.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that our prize possessions should rarely be worth much in monetary value. Instead, they’re worth very much in emotional value – they represent our memories and our happiness and our struggles and our accomplishments. I’m sure Eric would tell you that one of HIS prize possessions is Chester the Ratty Old Stuffed Dog. I can’t imagine anyone else would understand Chester’s appeal. You wouldn’t even be able to sell Chester on eBay… and you can sell just about ANYTHING on eBay. But, as I’m certain Eric would tell you, Chester is one-of-a-kind… (and hey, he doesn’t look THAT bad for a thirty-year-old stuffed dog… ) Is he worth money? Absolutely not. But is he worth SOMETHING? Absolutely.

I could probably fit all of my “prize possessions” inside one of my brand new medium-sized suitcases. And let’s hope THIS time the zippers never break…

Lovely letter L...

I read the strangest article yesterday. It claimed that we are unconsciously drawn to whichever letter of the alphabet our names begin with. This means that without realizing it, we gravitate towards things and places for no other reason than the fact that they begin with the same letter as our names. Since my name is Lisa, I should be driving a Lexus and living in Louisville or Las Vegas, where I would be working as a lawyer and eating linguini and lingonberry pie…

The article also stated that this subconscious draw to our name-letter is so strong that students actually strive for the grade that corresponds with their name. An Alice or Adam would study extra hard, apparently, because the “A” seems so much more appealing when it’s the first letter of your name. Whereas a Carl or a Carrie would simply coast along, hoping to be average. Um, okay. So I guess I’m supposed to believe that Faisal, for example, was a complete underachiever in school? You’re telling me that he was subconsciously drawn to F’s, just because his name begins with an F? So he’d be taking a test, and think, “hmmm… I DO know the answer to this question, but for some reason I really want that F… I think I’ll leave it blank…” That just doesn’t make any sense to me…

And what’s more, the article said that baseball players whose names begin with “K” are more likely to strike out. I mean, c’mon, isn’t this study kind of grasping at straws? I mean, sure “K” is used to signify a strikeout, but what about the fact that “strikeout” starts with an S? What about the S players? What about H players – do they hit more home runs? Do B players walk a lot? Well just in case, I guess I won’t be drafting Konerko or Kotsay for my fantasy baseball team next year…

I didn’t take this study too seriously, especially after I started trying to think of “L” things that I’ve been drawn to. I dunno… I have some lemons and limes in my fridge… I do a lot of laundry… if Rick ever hears from the elusive Dell Chicago job hiring manager, we might be moving to Lincoln Park… But at the moment, I live in Austin, drive an Acura and an Audi, have three pets I named Echo, Allegro and Piva, eat a lot of chocolate, love travel, and occasionally get paid for proofreading or writing. I mean, if I was honestly drawn to things that begin with an “L,” I would’ve been suggesting we visit the island of Lanai next week… instead, I’m quite happily looking forward to Kauai…

Well, Kauai, Lanai – it’s only one letter off…

I'm waiting for someone to say "begonia"...

So last night I was watching “Bones,” which is another CSI-type show. Television has been taken over by CSI and all of its successors. But hey, it’s better than a few years ago, when television was being taken over by Law and Order and all of ITS successors. I mean, how many shows about the legal system do we really need? Law and Order, the Practice, Boston Legal, Law and Order Special Victims Unit, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order Meter Maid Division, Law and Order Royal Canadian Mounted Police… when does it end?

Anyway, like I said, I was watching “Bones.” And I was also looking at some websites so I can start thinking about Christmas presents. I like to do most of my shopping online, and if I can, I like to order as much as possible before Thanksgiving. That way I can have a bit of extra time for anything that happens to be backordered or for when the UPS truck goes careening off a cliff and none of my packages arrive (hey, it could happen…). Of course, this year it’s going to be a bit tricky, because we’re leaving for Hawaii next week, and then Thanksgiving is the week we get back home. So I’m not sure I’ll make my “order everything before Thanksgiving” deadline. But I figured I’d start looking around for ideas, anyway. So I was surfing through this website, and came across an item called “Daffodil socks.” They were multi-colored knit socks, and had nothing to do with flowers of any kind, so I’m not sure why they’re called Daffodil socks. But never mind the why and wherefore (Gilbert and Sullivan? H.M.S. Pinafore? Anyone?) – it doesn’t matter. The point is, at the precise moment I clicked on “Daffodil socks,” a character on the TV show said, “I know what your password is – it’s daffodil.” To which I thought, “what – did he just say daffodil??” and backed up the Tivo to make sure I’d heard correctly. I mean, it’s one thing to be reading the same word that someone on TV happens to speak, but it’s another thing entirely when that word happens to be “daffodil.” Is it a sign of some sort? Should I be planting daffodils in my garden?

Wait, what am I saying – I don’t HAVE a garden. And if I DID plant daffodils in a garden, they would no doubt wither and die rather quickly. I’ve never had much of a green thumb. Okay, I’ve never had ANY kind of green thumb… unless I’ve written on it with magic marker at some point. And it’s weird, because I come from a very green-thumby kind of family. Mom’s parents AND dad’s parents always had gardens. There were always fresh strawberries for the homemade vanilla ice cream we used to eat at family dinners (I believe I may have even eaten a few of those strawberries myself, back before I developed my bizarre aversion to seeds…) and there were always homemade stews and pies and jams and jellies – made from fruits and vegetables straight from the garden. Not to mention flowers and trees and vines and shrubs… you name it, my grandparents have all grown it.

And mom picked up at least a bit of this love of greenery – I remember plants scattered throughout our house when I was a kid. Spider plants and aloe plants and African violets… I even have a memory of digging a hole in the dirt for some kind of flower bulb… a tulip maybe? I planted it out in our backyard by the pool… I can’t remember if it ever actually grew into anything. (I’m guessing no, since I’m the one who planted it…) And mom still hates to see weeds anywhere. There have been many times when she is out in front of my house, and can’t seem to help stopping by the front walk to pluck offending growth out of the ground. Whereas I, in contrast, don’t even pay much attention to such things (which I suppose would explain why I always kill the plants I’ve tried to grow…).

So I really hope all this “daffodil” nonsense was just a coincidence… because by tomorrow I will have forgotten that I was even considering the idea of planting a flower…

And I didn't even have popcorn...

As mom pointed out, it’s no longer Friday – which I think was a nice way of saying, “update your blog already!” Hey, I do a better job than SOME people… (Nick and Cindy, I’m lookin’ at you… :))

So I made the mistake of watching the last little bit of “United 93” on HBO this weekend. I have, up until this point, successfully avoided every movie made about September 11 – but it was almost over, and whatever was on next apparently interested me, so I thought, “eh, I’ll just catch the last few minutes…” And of course it’s the LAST FEW MINUTES that are the worst, because the movie ends with the passengers storming the flight deck and the image of a green field filling the windows as the plane spirals toward the ground. All this movie did was remind me that I am STILL completely unable to watch any sort of 9/11 stories without dissolving into sad tears. And I NEVER cry over movies… but I have immense problems with watching the final moments of crashing planes, or even the ASSUMED final moments of the people on flight 93. There’s that part of your brain that KNOWS when something is “just a movie” or when it’s real – and I still have a problem with the 9/11 movies because they’re too real…

Isn’t it weird how prolific technology has become – to the point that terrible disasters can be watched live, in vibrant color, on everyone’s television sets? September 11 was horrible enough, but what made it even worse was the live news coverage. There are so many cameras out there now – even on cell phones – that someone not only “accidentally” caught footage of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center, but the second plane was recorded from every conceivable angle possible thanks to all the news cameras in the city being on the scene. That’s probably why it’s so much harder for me to watch a movie about it now – because I SAW it happening in real time. I KNOW it was real. Whereas I can watch, say, “Titanic,” and not be quite as dismayed by the images. I mean, the Titanic disaster was definitely real – but no one was there to film it and replay it over and over again. I wasn’t watching that ship sink as it was happening… so it’s easier to feel more removed from it…

Fortunately, my brief depressing movie-viewing was countered by a couple really funny movies. Rick and I watched “Knocked Up” and “Meet the Robinsons” this weekend. Two very different movies, yet both were hilarious. If you’re under the age of, oh, I’ll say forty-five, and haven’t seen Knocked Up yet, you have to see it. (Or if you’re OVER the age of forty-five and don’t mind a movie with bad language, rampant drug use, and a reminder that forty-five year olds aren’t automatically admitted to the “cool” night clubs anymore, you should also check it out… :)) And Meet the Robinsons was great – I think I liked it more than Rick did, because there were a few parts where I was laughing hysterically and Rick was staring at me with a look of confusion on his face. Okay, so maybe not everyone will appreciate the humor as much as I did. But it’s a REALLY funny movie, and appropriate for all ages… under forty-five, over forty-five, whatever…

Well, I should go add some steps to my pedometer… I had over 18,000 steps yesterday – it was a good walking day. But I have yet to hit 2000 today… I’d better get moving…

Friday random thoughts...

Well, Halloween is over, which means it is officially the start of the Thanksgiving/Christmas season. I saw the very first holiday commercial of the year yesterday – for, strangely, Boston Market. I would’ve thought the frontrunners in the race for early Christmas commercials would be department stores or Toys R Us… but no, it seems that Boston Market has won. So everyone is getting coupons for free roasted chicken this year – my shopping is done…

I’m already wondering how my Christmas tree will fare this year, what with Piva in the house now. She has a habit of chewing on just about anything she finds intriguing. When that tree goes up, she’ll be gnawing on branches and batting at ornaments… and, quite possibly, launching herself from the couch into the middle of the fake foliage, where she will no doubt attempt to wrestle it to the ground. I wouldn’t put it past her… she’s already launched herself at ME several times, apparently because I resemble some sort of human-sized scratching post. Yes, Christmas is going to be interesting…

So we have about a week and a half until our trip to Kauai, and I’m pretty happy with my eating/working out/weight loss progress. We had dinner at Rick’s parents’ house last night, and his sister asked if I’d lost weight recently – it’s always nice when people notice. Right now, I believe I’m at the lowest weight I’ve been in about ten years… and I’m only a few pounds away from weighing the same as when I met Rick back in 1992. Hopefully we’ll be walking and swimming a lot in Hawaii, because there’s no way I’m skipping out on the Hula Pie…

Does anyone else hate those stickers that people put on the back of their cars that advertise their kids’ names and extracurricular activities? And are those popular anywhere else but Texas? Sometimes I wonder if it’s a Texas thing, because I can’t remember seeing them in New Jersey or Chicago or any of the other places I’ve visited recently. Texans ARE rather proud of their kids’ participation in extracurricular activities. I only need to look across the street at the 20 million dollar HIGH SCHOOL football stadium to know that. Only Texans would spend that kind of money on a high school stadium. And those stickers on the back of cars really annoy me, because why would you want to advertise your kids’ names and interests to the whole world? It just doesn’t seem like a prudent idea… too many crazy people out there…

I just got over a cold, which I’m sure I caught from Rick… it’s weird, because my immune system is usually so much stronger than that. I’ve now had TWO colds this year, which hasn’t happened in years and years… like probably since high school or something. But perhaps this was a particularly strong strain of the cold virus, because it lasted much longer than my colds usually last. So that’s IT for the rest of the year. And maybe for next year, too…

Did anyone hear about that flight to Denver where both pilots FELL ASLEEP, and they didn’t wake up until the air traffic controllers were trying to get a hold of them to tell them their plane was approaching the airport too fast? That’s just great. Super. I REALLY want to know about this stuff a couple weeks before I get on a plane to fly to Hawaii. I mean, honestly, that’s like a scene from a sitcom or something – where two people are in some kind of vehicle, and the camera shows a shot of the person on the passenger side sleeping peacefully, and then it slowly pans to the driver’s side and THAT person is asleep too. And then of course someone wakes up and begins yelling hysterically, pointing out the window at the tree or street sign or (in the case of an airplane) mountain the runaway vehicle is about to hit. It’s funny when it’s a sitcom… not so funny when it’s an actual commercial jet…

Well, I pretty much have nothing interesting to say today, do I? :) Hope everyone has a good weekend…