Arr you going to be in San Fran?

If you arr, please go to this store on my behalf!

The store at 826 Valencia

I got all excited because I saw this store linked from a friend of a friend's blog whom I thought was Toronto-based, but alas, the store is in San Fran. But a definite MUST SEE next time I'm out there.

Writing workshop and Pirates? How could I go wrong?!

Definitely tacky

...

It's not that I have too much time on my hands. I am creative. I like to multitask. What else am I supposed to do with old business cards while I'm on the phone?
...

Explanation Update - 10:34pm

That "tacky" box is actually made out of old business cards.

My company changed logos recently so I have a box of out-dated cards. They're perfectly good little pieces of paper that I just don't have the heart to toss, so I Googled what to do with them and came up with this and voila:


But of course just a little cube wasn't enough. While I could probably take the time to build a little city out of these babies (heaven knows I collect enough damned business cards around here), I wanted to figure out something a little more practical...so I've begun with tacky boxes. :)

Song of the Moment: "Can't Bring Me Down" - Karina

I'm crying inside but filled up with pride.
I won't let them see no tears in my eyes
I'm mad at the world, it can be so unfair
The judgment, the jealousy; still I'm not scared
I'm focused, determined, I'm ready to win
The critics I see, won't doubt me again
Darkness is gone, I'm ready to shine
Right now it's victory time

They can't bring me down, No
Test me I know they will try
But they won't bring me down, No
I know what I'm made of inside
They can't bring me down, No
It ain't over until the last round
Will they bring me down? No
If I stumble I won't hit the ground
They can't bring me down

My heart beating hard; my adrenaline's high
I'm raging like fire, I aim at the sky
Cause I know what I want, I'll rewrite the rules
I know my value I'm God's precious jewel
I've given my heart to the dream that I choose
It's time to turn back I simply refuse
I'm flying high, over the wall
Try and catch me but I'll never fall

They can't bring me down, No
Test me I know they will try
But they won't bring me down, No
I know what I'm made of inside
They can't bring me down, No
It ain't over until the last round
Will they bring me down? No
If I stumble I won't hit the ground
They can't bring me down
...

It's how I feel on a sunny day with the right music; it's how I know I am always. I may have stumbled a couple of times, but I've never fallen, and I've always kept pushing on.

Don't stay too long

    "Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively."
    --Voltaire
...

There's a method to my own madness, and since this is my madness in words, it's okay for me to linger. But for you, I don't know, but I'm sure that I am fully capable of driving you mad. >:D

10 types of people in the world

...those who understand binary and those who don't.

hahahahahaha

My nerdiness reached a momentus sort of peak tonight. At the request of someone I love, I've been fiddling around with building a spreadsheet for this one, and, wanting to do a GREAT job, I've learned SO MUCH about EXCEL.

IT. IS. AWESOME.

Shit I learned tonight:

• =vlookup


• =sumif


• list validation


• =IF(AND (well, I kinda knew this one already)


• summing date ranges

While I'm sure there was more, I was just so damned proud of myself for building the crappy spreadsheet and reports that I did. I clapped when my formulas worked, I cheered when I corrected logic errors, and I got all warm and fuzzy inside when values would fill themselves in the way I wanted them to.

*sigh*

I never once doubted the power of Excel, nor the sheer enjoyment of knowing how to use it (Roomie and ehbaba are proof enough that it's damned exciting) but I've never gotten to experience it myself...until tonight.

wooooooooooooooooooooo!

The sheet is still a work in progress, but like a good book you can't put down, I can't stop working on it!

Pet Peeve

When people come by and just help themselves to stuff on my desk. Get your own stuff. And if you like my stuff better, then stop ordering the crappy stuff!

Now what am I supposed to do with all of the refill blades that went with my GOOD x-acto knife? grrrrr...

Something new

    "Where are you?"
    "At the store."
    "Are you buying me something pretty?"
    "Well, I was buying things for work..."
    "Oh, well, after are you going to buy me something pretty?"
    "Oh, of course!"
    "Yay!"
...

While a constant teasing remark, it's never actually serious. But then when it comes true, it's a sweet surprise.

I'd have to say it's a little more cute than pretty, but regardless, I wake up in the morning, see it, and smile.

Today's window

    "Peace, if possible; truth at all costs."
    --Martin Luther

    "The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."
    --Allan K. Chalmers
...

I am happy.

There's a difference

m - My head still hurts a little today.
m - And the cat bit me this morning!
c - Please get that bite cleaned, okay?
c - you should keep him out of your room when you sleep
c - and make sure you drink enough enough water today. I don't want to sound like I'm nagging...
c - ...but I'm worried about you.
m - you're not nagging me, you're loving me.

Have I mentioned I love Pirate jokes?

Best t-shirt line ever.

There were a ton on this site that I would have loved to own.

Close runners-up:
Video games ruined my life. Good thing I have two extra lives.

Plot. It builds character.

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator
...

Hey, it's Friday. While I mildly fret about readers of my blog, I can't frickin' WAIT until MBA (Yes) reads again...

Notes

She pushes the mints off of the bill towards me so that she can see how much is owed.
    "You don't want any?" I ask, popping one of the delicious candy rings into my mouth.
    "Nah, it's okay. I know how much you like them."
And in that one deft statement, I pause to be sentimental. It's really the smallest, simplest things that get me.
...

It's interesting to ponder that one of my biggest fans is also one of my biggest foils. Aware of that audience member, it begs the question of whether I write to make them happy or sad.

Frankly, it doesn't matter to me. If you don't like me, don't read me. I'm good at telling stories, but I'm best at telling stories about the truth and we all know what the truth is capable of.

Holding on

I woke several times through the night, but each time I woke, I woke to find his arm wrapped tightly around me. It was as though he was afraid I might disappear should he let go. I felt better; there was no where else I wanted to be.

Quote of the Moment:

    "It was one of those movies where I went and paid for the whole seat, but only needed the edge of it!"
    --Brodder, at just the right moment so that dimps and I nearly snorted rice

By hand

Flowers, letters, sparkles...whatever happened to those? Eye contact, gentle caresses, seduction, inhalations, and spontaneity...have I missed the memo on those too? Love songs, chocolates, surprises wrapped with ribbons. Perhaps I should just give up.

Dear ---,
    You were a very good wooer. And then, for whatever reason, you forgot how to do what you were good at. I'm sorry. For both of us.
...

"Words calculated to catch everyone may catch no one."
    --Adlai E. Stevenson Jr.

Good thing I'm no good at math.
...

"Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real."
    --Iris Murdoch

Let me know when you figure that out.

In writing

I'm so addicted to words that I've considered becoming some sort of hermit, reachable only by email or written letters. I'd become a recluse, pouring out book after book after book from endless hours of writing. Compared to some of the stuff that I have to go through, it's not such a bad notion.

About me

I love to write. Words just find a way to pour out of me, even when I don't need to speak in volumes. My emails are hardly ever just notes. Typed conversations are always in full sentences and thoroughly descriptive. And it's not like I TRY to do it that way, it just happens. Hence, the epic blog. Hence, the novel-length emails. Hence, the scribblings found everywhere I go; my room, my desk, my car, my office, my office windows (boss isn't too thrilled about that one, but it's ME).

I love written conversations. If someone were to write back to me, I'd keep up an email thread for a very long time. Most, unfortunately, can't keep up. I tend to get carried away when the going's good, and drown my partner in words and stories and questions and answers until it becomes too much and too intimidating to attempt respond. That makes me sad. I'm in an odd and lonely league of my own. I have yet to decide how proud I am about that fact.
...

I think I'm November. (???!!!) If you've ever seen Sweet November, I'm the chick. I'm the chick that takes a guy in, cares for him, fixes him, turns his life around, sets him back on his feet, and then sends him back to his own life. Surely my opinion, but I've only left guys for the better...broken, but better. And I don't leave until he's fixed. Does that mean I like a challenge? Maybe. This part's not quite a finished thought...just one of those meandering notions that continues to prove itself true...

Wee hour wonderings

Ask and you shall receive.

Most are too afraid to ask. Many are too ignorant to be so selfness (meaning that they don't realize they can do more, not just that they're dumb). But give a little on either end, and it can be amazing.
...

You can call it conceited, but I call it confidence: I will never be in short supply of good friends. Great friends.
...

Sole drivers are assholes for driving in the carpool lanes.
...

When something's wrong with you, your body tries to tell you in whatever ways it can. The best thing you can do for yourself, is to learn its language, and listen. And if you can't figure it out, then seek help in deciphering it. We all need a little help sometimes.
...

Second opinions never hurt. Even when you're sure, it never hurts to be doubly sure. It's not that you're doubting yourself if you ask someone else, you're only boosting your confidence. Different points of view can offer a whole new world of insight on something that you may have thought to be only one dimensional at the beginning.
...

Don't sweat the small stuff.
...

    "It's not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it."
    --Mother Teresa

I motivate me

Sheer determination

When I want something badly enough, nothing will stop me from getting it.