Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

Here are some of my 2008 highlights...

- Got married!
- Got a dog
- Got revenge on Kevin
- Dan moved in completely
- Started a new job with the same company
- Went on our Honeymoon in New England
- Went to Hilton Head
- Went to San Jose for Tobin's wedding and saw Giraffes
- Went to Sean and Bridgitte's wedding
- Made $10 in Fantasy Football
- Lost 30% of my retirement savings
- Started a blog
- Learned how to text message

Not too bad, it is hard to remember everything but it should be easier next year because I can peek at my blog if I keep this up.

Here are my New Year's resolutions / goals. As any good first line supervisor will tell you, goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, have some Reach, and have a Timeframe).

- Save money for a down payment for a house. I have a specific amount in mind here but it is probably poor etiquite to say.

- Lose some weight. There is no way in Hell I am telling you how much I weigh and how much I want to weigh but again, I have a specific number in mind.

- Get the townhome in Laurel rented out.

- Have fun. We missed out on a couple things this past year because we were so busy and I want to make sure that doesn't happen too much this year. For example, I think we should try to get a Christmas tree next year. Also, we missed our company picnics, Octoberfest and the AC/DC concert.

Spicey Potluck

Chris had a spicey potluck this past weekend. It was pretty good. Potlucks are an interesting way for people to get together. It it more mature than a kegger but not as highbrow as a dinner party. Also, it is fun planning what you are going to bring. Here is a recap...

Dan: Fireball brownies - Perhaps the most unusual item at the party, they weren't good but it was amusing to see Anders accidently eat one without knowing they packed a punch

Kevin: Chips and homemade salsa - This was the spiciest item I ate and it turned my face red, it was pretty tastey though

Chris: Pepper stuffed peppers, nachos and gaucamole - I didn't eat one of the peppers because I thought they might be too hot but they were a big hit, the gauc was delicious!

Dave: Spicey steak slices - These were also delicous and were eaten quickly

Nam: Chilli - Nam put the finishing touches on his chilli and Chris's house. Everyone loved it.

Everyone did a great job, I hope no one had digestive troubles. The one drawback to the potluck was that some people (who will remain nameless) were two hours late. You can't do that with a potluck! People need to eat around dinner time.

Christmas Day Suprise

I spent the majority of Christmas with the Robinsons but Dan and I also stopped by my parents house for a little bit. I didn't get the chance to see my brother but apparently he told my parents, "I have modified my appearance in some way and I don't think you are going to like it." I was dying to find out what he did. Can you guess? There is a poll at the bottom of the page.

Working During the Holidays Isn't So Bad

Things have been nice and peaceful at work this week. Work isn't too bad when there is no one around.

Update on the Patriot

Dan saw the Patriot for the first time this weekend. He was apparently doing some Christmas shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me. I suspect he might be a vampire or something. I swear I have photographed him before but he never shows up in the photos. It will be a miracle if I ever get a photo of him for this blog.

Dan and I were discussing what would happen if the Patriot met the Laurel Pimp (aka Crazy Olympics). I think the Laurel Pimp would kick his butt but you never know, they could become buddies.

This reminds me of a story a friend once told me. He was somewhere, lets say Italy, and he saw a man in a top hat and trench coat talking very loudly to no one and making crazy gestures. He watched the person for a couple of minutes. Then, he heard a commotion down the street. There he saw another man walking briskly down the street with a bowler hat, screaming at no one in particular. This seemed to irritate the man in the top hat and he started walking briskly towards the man in the bowler hat. My friend watched in anticipation as the two gentlemen quickly approached each other, screaming and gesturing wildly. When they finally reached each other they stopped and hugged each other and shook hands.

I don't know if they were really crazy or just pretending to be but I found that story to be pretty amusing.

Heroes and Villians

I recently started a new contract and I have been super busy so I haven't posted for awhile. I think I have a theme for tonight's post, heroes and villians.

First, I had a diabolical scheme tonight where I was going to sneak off to bed before Dan so that I wouldn't have to walk the dog. Unfortunately, I was thrawted! My powers of sleepiness are no match for his! Dan had the same idea and was giggling when I snook upstairs to go to bed.

In keeping with the hero and villian theme, tomorrow I am playing my nemesis in fantasy football. That's right, Kevin and I will do battle yet again. I like calling him "nemesis". It reminds me of the TV show "Heroes" (hence the title of the blog). Hiro and Ando, who are so cute, call Daphne "nemesis". I couldn't find a clip of him calling her nemesis but this is them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWodxKehixI

Anyway, you probably don't know this but I actually had a brief brush with fame. I went to the wedding of Ando's cousin. I was too nervous to speak to Ando directly but I had a friend take a photo, purposely positioning him in the background. He totally looked over after we took the photo and I ran away giggling. Look real close in the background, between me and the other girl, and you can see Ando.

thanks for the memories kevin

This video could be the death of me but who could resist! Hopefully Kevin will be mature enough to let this go.

For those of you who don't already know, in 1997, while on a road trip, Kevin smacked me in the face with a sweet dance move. I was really annoyed. To make matters worse, he later got me with the reverse. What is the reverse? Dave was on one side of Kevin, while I was on the other side, anoxiously waiting to see Dave get hit in the face. While I was watching with glee, Kevin reversed the move and got me good. He then tried for a third time but that was a bit too much. So, if you are keeping score, it was Kevin 2, Laura 0. I almost got him back in 1999 but I got too excited and a giggle fit gave me away.

So, as you can see, I got Kevin back on my wedding day at the Green turtle. He is technically still up which will hopefully go some way in calming his oncoming wrath.

super secret special suprise

it's coming, stay tuned...

Honeymoon - Day 12

to be updated

Honeymoon - Day 11

to be updated

Honeymoon - Day 10

Reading, Ghost Show and quick trip to Bar Harbor

Honeymoon - Day 9

Hiking in New Hampshire

Some Comments About My Fantasy Football Team

Things are quickly going south with my fantasy football team but that hasn't broken my spirit. As I sit here watching my ghost shows, I'd like to take some time to reminisce about my team names and team spirit. I'm not sure I can remember all of them.

- team kichak - I couldn't figure out the darn controls on the website

- for real undefeated - my brother was defeated and his team name was "team undefeated"

- yo mama the lama - I just really liked this picture

- mos humble - I had my first lost and realized that I was not invincible, I had a picture of a praying nun but I can't find it now

- last week: dan's boss - self explanatory, I married dan, thus becoming el president, I added a picture of my favorite boss

- this week: you suck - I like this because I am playing phil and his team name is "great job"

Honeymoon - Day 8

We woke up today at the cottage in New Harbor, Maine. This place is beautiful. It is right on the water and has gorgeous views. There isn't a lot of stuff near by so we packed it up and drove about 20 minutes to find Damariscotta. This town is so cute. We had a great lunch and the waitress was really old and cute. She used a lot of friendly terms like "deary" and "hon".

We left the diner and walked around to view the display of enormous, decorated pumpkins. Check out the photos!



grrrr!















frosty!









Then, as we were about to head back something caught our eye. People were gathering around the doc and there, people were driving their pumpkin boats!












How awesome is that!?

The rest of the evening was spent in sloth mode with me finishing a book I had borrowed from Phil's roommate, Eileen and catching up on some blogging.

Honeymoon - Day 7

This day, we woke up early in Boston and went out to find breakfast about 9am. We ate at the olive tree, a little cafe and got a big traditional breakfast.

We then went walking around Newbury street which is a trendy Boston area.

Around 11am we went to the MIT museum which was free before noon. While there, Dan looked lovingly at the robots, wishing that he could quit his job in the DoD, go back to school, and save the world. Apparently, he is under the impression that working in the DoD is a waste of time and his time could be better spent serving humanity by working on robots that do the following...



This robot dusts the strings of a violin.








This robot makes an artichoke leaf look like it is walking.


This robot moves a bicycle chain.

After the museum, we walked about 2 miles to see the Boston Oktoberfest. We we got there, we found lots of food and vendors but no NO BEER! We were really confused but decided to call it quits and find some real beer and football. Thank goodness. We found the John Harvard Brew Pub were we proceeded to get tipsy and watch Cincinatti play the Jets. I have to say, for a moment, I felt proud to be from the DC area where we have beer at our Oktoberfests. Those yankees have too much schooling and not enough beer!

We headed back to our hotel which was a nice, sobering walk to get the car and then drove to New Harbor Maine.

Honeymoon - Day 6

To be updated - Salem and Boston

Honeymoon - Day 5

To be updated - Martha's Vineyard (day 5)

Honeymoon - Day 3 and 4

To be updated - Spankys and Minigolf (day 3) Newport castle (day 4)

Honeymoon - Day 2

Since Dan has already blogged about this, I am going to make a place for the next couple of days and come back to update these days later.

Provincetown and Whalewatching

Honeymoon - Day 1

Dan has already posted about the honeymoon but I am going to give my point of view and recap also.

Day 1
- woke up at 4:00am for 6:45 flight from BWI to Providence
- arrived in Providence and drove to Plymouth Rock
- learned that the story of Plymouth Rock was made up a hundred years after the Pilgrims first landed
- Dan became obsessed with taking photos of the gnomes
- drove over to Newport which has amazing mansions
- hiked on the cliff walk
- I saved Dan's life by convincing him not to eat everything that looked like a berry that he found along the path
- had some okay chowda
- made an appointment to see ghosts in Newport on Wednesday
- found the guest house, which was decent but nothing extraordinary

the next warren buffet

I am not a stock guru like the kirchhoff but everyone says, "you need to be brave to participate in the stock market". I had this crazy idea. My thinking was that the stock market had gone down so far already, that it couldn't possibly go down any more.

This must be a good time to buy! Stocks are on sale. I decided to buy a small amount of IVV, a stock that is essentially the same thing as the S&P500.

So I tried to put the trade through online but the account was having some problems so I called Fidelity. The person who was helping me on the phone sounded downright depressed. "Oh yeah", he said, "things are taking longer given the current situation". This economic downturn is a "situation". "So, will we be buying or selling today"?, the broker asked me. "Buying," I said with confidence. "Buying?" he asked, skeptically. "Yes," I was very brave.

So, I bought my stock and the market responded buy promptly dropping almost 8%.

No Crazy Cat Lady Here! I'm Married!

Yeah! That's right, I'm married.

I'll keep this post brief because there have been some other fabulous blogs about the "Laura and Dan Wedding". We are a popular topic. Thanks Dan and Kevin!

The wedding was fast and flew by but it was great seeing everyone. Here are a few memorable moments...

1. Groomsmen singing along to our first dance
2. Having extreme emotions during our vows (I alternated between crying and giggling)
3. Dan taking a shot immediately after we walked down the aisle
4. Some compliments on my awesome font choices
5. Lots of people mistakingly thinking I was now "Mrs. Robinson" (sorry folks, I am keeping my last name)

Now I plan on finding new ways of spending my free time other then "wedding planning".

new fontiers

I finished making a seating chart that shows people where they are sitting at the wedding reception. It took a ridiculous amount of time. This is because I take my fonts very seriously. Most people think that I am a missile defense engineer but really, I am a power point engineer.

I estimate that I have spent 100 hours discussing fonts with people. This is because people like to be annoying and complain. They often do not understand enough about my analysis to comment on it so, they complain about the font. These comments have greatly decreased over the years because I have become a font savant (look, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it!).

A good font selection adds to the story you are trying to tell. Here are a few samples of my work...

I AM ANGRY!!!
i am timid
i am a robot
I am gay
I AM SHRINKING

See how a few changes to the font can add interest to you statements?

Surprise Package

There were two packages waiting for me when I came home this past Friday. It was strange, there was a feeling of deja vu when I saw the boxes. For some reason, a sense of dread came over me. I immediately assumed it was a wedding present. Wedding presents are fun, why should this make me suspicious? Perhaps it was the "his end up, fragile" marking on the box.

Well, I took the boxes inside an opened them. This is what I saw...

It's a lamp! A lamp isn't bad, we even have a couple on the registry. I'll open the other box...

Oh dear...

Neil Patrick Harris

So, I named my fantasy football team after Neil Patrick Harris this week. I sent him some fan mail telling him that he was the inspiration behind this week's lineup and I got a response back! His people wanted to set up an interview via chat room so he could give me some advice on setting my lineup. Here is the chat room...

http://www.whatwouldnphdo.com/

Here is how the interview went...

Me: Neil, it is such an honor to have you here, are you excited?

Neil: Probably

Me: So, ESPN is projecting Reggie Bush to have a big game. Do you think he can score 33 fantasy football points?

Neil: Go ask your parents, they are wiser than you think.

Me: Sounds like good advice. Do you like unicorns?

Neil: The answer is inside you. Specifically inside your pancreas.

Me: That's a little weird. I have the Ravens defense and the Bucs defense. Should I start the Bucs this week?

Neil: This question bores me, ask me something else.

Me: I thought you wanted to give me advice, you are not being very polite. I think this interview is over.

As you can see, things didn't go as well as I had hoped. Maybe he was having a bad day or something.

Predictions about Dan's Bachelor Party

I just thought I would put these up here so I can amaze everyone when I am dead on...

- people will get hung over on Friday night and not be too interested in driving on Saturday

- people will get hung over on Saturday and hate driving back Sunday

- someone will get a speeding ticket

- less than 10 words will be spoken to women

- Steve will be late

Abandoned

So, I have been completely abandoned. It is the bachelor party. It has taken all week to prepare for and it will take all weekend to celebrate. I have spent my evenings alone with Nana this week. This wouldn't be so bad but Nana has totally made me her bitch. She gives me these sad little puppy eyes and then I have to pet her or play with her. Then, I try to leave and go do something but she gives me the sad look again. I can't get anything done without Dan around to distract her.

Death by Chipotle

All I have to say, is I am never eating Cipotle again. These portions are unreasonable. I think I may need to take the rest of the day off.

Wedding Hair?

So, I am in the process of trying to find someone to do my hair for the wedding which is kind of stressful, mostly because our wedding is so early that a lot of places aren't open early enough. I was looking around and the closest salon to the wedding location is run by Barry Flecther.

Berry Flecther has an impressive resume. He has done hair for Mya, Toni Braxton, Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blidge and Tina Turner. The Tina Turner thing worries me a little (see pic).

Also, it is important to note that he has competed in the hair olympics.


However, this isn't the most impressive item on his resume. He has personally done the hair for the one, the only... Prince. This is what Dan said when I told him this. "i will pee myself if you get your hair done by someone who did Prince's hair".

Grendel

So, I am staying home today and am watching Grendel, the SciFi version of Beowulf. I feel as though I am getting all the culture associated with reading Beowulf AND some sweet acting and special effects.

Let me quote to you what I just heard in the movie. "The monster kept coming... (long dramatic pause), and coming (longer dramatic pause).... and coming (okay, they are going to quit, this pause is sooo long) ...

..

..

and coming."

That was seriously intense. This is one persistant monster!

the telecommuter

There are some interesting people that I see on a regular basis. Many of these people I have never even talked to and they may not even know I exist. Regardless, these people have been inspirational and amusing to me.

I would like for you to meet one of these people today, "the telecommuter". I see him everyday outside of several co-workers office windows. No one knows exactly what he does for a living but here are the clues we have pieced together...

- wakes up around 9

- sits outside on his computer between 9:15-10:30ish

- likes to look at his muscles

- chain smokes

- had a telescope on his porch (not there now)

- lives in a condo worth approximately $500k

- doesn't seem to leave his condo for any work

What does he do? How can he afford such a home if he never goes to work? Is he a day trader? A drug dealer? A trustfund kid?

Today I risked my dignity to bring you a photo. He once looked over my way as a couple of us were peering at him and I jumped behind a desk which undoubtably looked ridiculous. Perhaps tomorrow, I can introduce you to the patriot.

my ghost shows

Yesterday was a wonderful day. I left work at 3:30 and went to the spa. I got home around 5:30 and had a piece of chocolate cake.

Then, the true gem of the evening came, my ghost shows. As a matter of fact, it was a ghost shows marathon. The show is called "Ghost Hunters" and it is about 2 plumbers who started a group called TAPS (Trans-Atlantic Paranormal Society). They go to haunted places and collect "evidence". The people on the show are kind of lame but I like seeing what they find. Once they found a spooky shadow that was so scary it kept me awake all night.

For awhile I considered taking up ghost hunting but there are a couple of problems with this. One, I don't really have enough time these days and two, I might actually see a ghost and have a heart attack.

bridal shower and wooden hangers

This Saturday was my bridal shower. I don't think anyone from the shower would read this but just in case, thanks for coming!

There were some nice presents. One of my favorite presents was 3 boxes of wooden hangers. I am working on getting the closet of my dreams. Look at the lovely color coordination! :)

my dog ate my wedding shoes

This post is exactly what it sounds like. On Friday, I got the perfect pair of wedding shoes. I had gone to three stores and previously returned a pair that I got online. I was very relieved to have found this pair and I left them on the coffee table while I was doing some laundry upstairs. When I can back down, Nana was looking guilty and there were little shoe bits everywhere. I've ordered another pair which should be here this week. I hope there are no more posts that combine "doggie" and "wedding".

who are better drivers... men or women???

Okay, before I even get started with the facts, let me not hold you in suspense and tell you the answer... women. Women are better drivers.

I am writing this because I need to defend myself from accusations of poor driving skills since I injurred my car yesterday.

Women do not race their cars, they do not make their mufflers intentionally loud, they are not as aggressive, and they do not play the "let's see how long I can go without turning off the cruise control" game.

You ask for evidence??? I'll give you evidence! A British study found that women have better spatial memory, planning, attention, motor control, and rule learning. Check it out at the well reputed webmd website... http://www.webmd.com/news/20051109/are-women-better-drivers.

What's that you say??? Not enough to persuade you? Try this! http://jalopnik.com/cars/news/study-kicks-men-in-the-groin-women-are-better-drivers-230430.php

I found all this on the internet so you know it has to be true.

Sad Day

Yesterday was a sad day. Dan took Nana to the vet and we found out that she has heart worms which can be very serious and very expensive to fix. Also, I scratched my car in the parking garage at work and that will probably cost a lot to fix too.

my 2 cents on dave's 35th birthday party

I saw Kevin's blog on Dave's birthday party and I am very intrigued about who vomitted the black noodles of death. If anyone is wondering, it definately wasn't me.

There was another highlight at Dave's party that Kevin didn't mention, I learned about the "forbidden toy". Jesse was outside when Dave suggested that they bring it out. This got me really excited because I couldn't imagine what sort of dog toy could be "forbidden". Apparently the toy is not allowed inside because they are concerned that it could break the TV!

The appearance of the toy did not disappoint, it was a tire on a rope. Jesse is a big doggie and it is easy to see how she could do some damage by swinging around a tire on a rope. Although the toy itself was intriguing, I didn't get to see it in action because Jesse didn't seem very interested that night. Maybe she will have more enthusiasm next time...

beloit college mindset

I just found this... apparently they put out this study every year of the mindset of kids entering college this year.

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2012.php

I find "Harry Potter could be a classmate", "GPS satellite navigation has always been available" and "Pearl Jam" has always existed to be some of the most amazing.

meeting with the pastor

Yesterday Dan and I both took off work and did a lot of tcbing (taking care of business). We have so many errands to run these days since he is moving in, getting his place ready to sell and we are planning the wedding.

Well, yesterday was perhaps the scariest day of all, we had to meet with the pastor. I was really nervous because I haven't been to church in about 7 years and Dan is an avid aethiest. I kept telling him that he wasn't to speak if at all possible. I thought about trying to get him to lie to the pastor and tell him he believed in God but it seemed kind of wrong to lie to a pastor.

Well, you would think things would have started out easily enough when the pastor started asking questions to fill in general paper work... "what's your name, what's your birthday, what's your address?" We answered somewhat honestly and said Dan is in the process of moving in. I feel like such a sinner! Dan also answered honestly about not having a religion.

He was apparently very comfortable with this and decided to take advantage of the free counseling. Dan proceeded to complain to my pastor about my cooking, my cleaning, and my standards of cleanliness among other things. I was pretty much just frozen in fear the entire time.

Well, it is over and I think it went okay. The pastor was very nice and he didn't try to convince us to not get married or anything like that.

Review - 10,000 B.C.

Dan and I just watch 10,000 B.C. and I have to agree with the critics, it wasn't very good. However, I do enjoy some of those movies that are so bad, they are kind of good. You know the kind... they get played on the SciFi channel.

Well, there were a couple scenes in this movie that I thought could put this movie in that category. Dan got my hopes up in the middle of the movie by predicting that a caveman would ride a sabertooth tiger. This glorious event would have given the movie at least a 3 star rating in my books but alas, it was not to be.

I am watching cabin fever on the SciFi channel right now so maybe this will make up for the crappiness of 10,000 B.C.

Walking the Dog

So, we've had our chocolate lab mix now for about two weeks and I am noticing a trend. I am apparently the only one who is willing to wake up in the morning and walk her. Dan begged and begged "can we please get a doggie!?" I said, if we get a dog, you are going to have to walk it. Well, we have a dog, and I am the one walking it. I'm a sucker.

hello 2008

So, I am finally catching up with technology. This year I learned how to text message, I joined facebook and now I have a blog! I also have an ipod and a blackberry but I don't use them so I won't include those in the list of victories. Dan has been trying to teach me to drive stick so maybe that will be the next thing I learn.

I think it is important to keep up with this technology so I don't become one of those old people who doesn't know how to program a VCR. I can already tell I am heading in that direction and it makes me feel old.

Another thing that makes me feel old is that I don't know any of the new music on the radio. A remix of "sweet home Alabama" came on the radio at the office the other day and I asked folks if it was John Cougar Melloncamp. This was apparently, a HYSTERICAL question. You see, this song was actually by Kid Rock and it is the song which is making critics take him "seriously". This truly is a new age that we are living in. I take comfort in the fact that Dan didn't know this either. However, when I told him that I thought the song was by John Cougar Melloncamp, he did correct me and tell me that he now goes by John Melloncamp. I suppose this correction makes Dan up-to-date through 1997 whereas I am still in 1996.