Month of June, 2003

Bliss

Tonight bliss was had by driving fast with the windows down. Feeling the air cool off from the vegetation made me feel like I was 16 again.

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Remember - 20x2, September 13th

It's been a really good weekend. Friday night I had a little more blonde added to my hair. (I'd post a picture, but I just got out of the pool so it wouldn't be pretty.) Got in bed pretty early because I was totally exhausted. Got up early Saturday morning to finish reading for class. Then attended said class. Stopped by the bookstore after school to get the statistics book ($94.24!) for my class that starts Thursday. (Rumor has it there's already homework due on Thursday...I'd better get cracking.) Then had a sandwhich with Mike, a friend from class. Totally enjoyed talking about work and school and families - perfect for a Saturday afternoon.

Came home, bonded with Kristen while lounging on the couch, and took a nap. Had a lovely seafiid dinner with Christine. On the way home, picked up a voicemail from Jefe who said he was in Dallas! (Well, the first time he said he was in Austin and I couldn't figure out why he was calling to tell me that. Later in the message he corrected himself and cleared it up.) So I headed to Lower Greenville to hang out with Jefe and Kevin. Guess what kids, 20x2 on September 13th - put it on your calendar! Finished the evening with a beer and good friends then a phone call with Kevin. (I got to hear all about the party he attended last night. It's so sad we both wish the other could have joined us in our social activities, but we can't do them together.)

Today I slept until noon-thirty!! Boy did it feel good. Helped Kristen with the lawn, ate lunch, and went to the pool at Mom and Dad's. Life is good.

*Update - tonight Kevin and I had a movie date. Saw Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Fun, fun movie! But what was that stuff about Thin Man?

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TGIF

It's Friday and I'm struggling to find the movtivation to work. I just want to go home and play video games. It's been a long week. I drank last night. (Only two gin and tonics were sufficiently enough to make me fall asleep within 2 minutes of calling Kevin. How is he so patient with me?) Well, I've got plenty to do, so I'd better step up the pace.

Oh, by the way in case you didn't know, pistol whipping "hurts like heartbreak on a cold night." Dang, Jeff is on a writing roll here too!

Dreams

What happens when you dream differently?

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Ask Nice

Some people need to learn how to ask for something. When you ask nice, you have a better chance you're going to get it. When you rush into my office telling me how you need this information now and ignore the fact that pulling this type of information is very difficult, you're probably not going to see it any time soon.

I didn't get enough sleep last night and today is becoming one of those days.

Title

Do you know what came in the mail yesterday? My title..."Erica The Great." No, not that kind of title. The title to my car! My automobile is officially paid off and I own it. Completely. The most expensive thing I've ever owned in my whole life!

I know it may seem silly and trivial, but for me, this is a marker in my life. It means I have been out of college for 4 years. It means I can finish something I started. It means the next big purchase I make, my father won't have to co-sign with me. It's just another indicator that I'm an adult now.

And today I feel really good about it.

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Travel List

Jish had the great idea of listing all of his travels in the past year. I should do that too...one of these days.

Quote of the Day

"Romance is the way love smells. It's like the scent of love.
- Kevin

Frat

Kristen is dating a guy in a fraternity here in town. Since she was going over to the frat house to play sand volleyball tonight, I thought Tiger and I'd go along. It was fun to play a game at night when it's finally cooled off here, but it was weird to be around college guys again. They are so young. I forget what a drag they can be. They're not particularly good conversationalists. The one conversation I did hear revolved around flunking a bowling class (bowling for goodness sake!) and having to take it over. Wow, not exactly my kind of people.

I feel so old and dated. Obviously, I live in a different world. It's weird, because it doesn't feel that long ago that I was in college. I didn't hang out with frat guys. (Well, there was that one guy who was the damn president of the fraternity, but I think I was just a novelty. He found it exciting and weird to hang out with the "weird art student".) I guess it's experiences like this that make me realize I've grown up. That I'm not cool anymore. That I can't go back in time. That I need to rethink how I picture myself.

I wasn't ready to feel like this.

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Made Me Laugh

Email from Kevin Smokler:
"So I had a dream you guys ran a frozen yogert stand out of your garage and sold something called a 'Bullfinch Sundae'."

Good Life

Yesterday I got up too early after going to bed too late. I struggled to stay awake and productive during the day. So instead of going to happy hour last night, I went home and took a nap. I slept almost 2 hours which felt really, really good. I did the typical stuff around the house - eat dinner, talk with sisters, play with the dog, do some homework, and talk with Kevin before going to sleep again. You know, my life isn't the most exciting and often it's too busy, but it's really good for me. I'd be happy with many more nights like the one I had last night.

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Thong song

Kozo rocks! This dancing hippo practically made me laugh out loud. And I'm totally impressed by the quality!

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Thought of the Day

When people stop updating their blogs (for very long periods of time), I begin to wonder if they've died.

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What a day.

It's quarter to 7 and I'm still in the office. Though it's not too bad because it's pretty quiet around here at this time. Plus, I've got my own office. Yep. Four walls and a door. A DOOR! Do you know how lucky I feel? Very lucky.

Anyhow, it was one of those Mondays where everything came fast and furious. I didn't have answers to all of the questions, but I never do. Just something I'm getting more comfortable with. In general I feel more comfortable. Maybe I'm over the initial hump of the new job. I kinda doubt it, but it's nice to feel a little bit better about what I'm doing.

Now it's time to go home and do some homework.

By the way, it was really great seeing so many of you on Saturday night. You know, I'm really thankful I know so many cool people.

Ok, now it's really time to go home.

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I Love the Dictionary

I got an email from a British collegue who said, "Well we're still here - there have been quite a few redundancies this last couple of weeks in Europe, mainly senior VP's etc."

Based on my knowledge of the word redundancies, I didn't quite understand the sentence; though I had an idea what he meant. I was so thrilled to see that dictionary.com had a section on the "Chiefly British" definition. It all makes sense now.

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Amazon Reviews are Eye-opening

One of the coolest parts about Amazon.com is definitely the reviews. I love hearing other people talk about their experience with a product. It often makes me think about standing in the grocery aisle talking to someone about this salad dressing or that ice cream flavor. Unfortunately, I'm seldom in the grocery store so I don't get that experience anymore. But that's beside the point.

Today on Amazon I was reading about the Irock! 300W Wireless Music Adapter. It allows you to play your iPod (or in my case, Kevin's) over your car stereo. It gets mixed reviews, but for 30 bucks, I might try it for our next roadtrip. The review that really amused me was this:

"Of course, it didn't work, even with the one unused FM station slot in our area. But before I took it back I decided to take it apart to see what made it (not) tick. Turns out that the thing might work if they'd just made the pigtail a little longer, one of the wires in the cable is an antenna -but it's way too short. So I just soldered some 24 guage wire to the circuit board pad where the antenna attaches, fed it out the door of my car, wound it around the car antenna and stuck a piece of electical tape around it. Viola! Works perfectly..."
- submitted by Y settle 4 it as it is? Fix it!

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Attacks in the Middle East

What in the world is happening over in the Middle East? It seems that attacks are out of control, just as peace talks between Palestine and Israel start. Yesterday, Israel attempted to kill a Hamas leader. Then today, Hamas retaliates with a suicide bomber in downtown Jerusalem. Israel follows with another strike. It's hard to imagine reports today of those killed (23) and injured (120+) in both countries. It's really hard to imagine there is ever going to be a peace agreement. Those poor, poor people.

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Email from Kevin

man, that was weird! I was just leaning back in my chair thinking, and suddenly the cursor started shaking rapidly and moving to the right across the screen! Not even close to touching the mouse, it was still. Maybe it's my nanscent psychokinetic powers struggling to make themselves known!!!@#@!

Yes, honey, that is definitely what it is.

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Employers

One of the classes I'm taking this semester is about careers. We've gone through personality and skill assessments. We've gone over resumes and interviewing. We've thought about our dream jobs. We journaled about our lives to gain insight about ourselves (this was not a drill I desperately needed). Now that my teachers have brought me through all this prep work, I have to write a document which details where I want to go and how I'm going to get there. This is some heavy stuff.

I'll be thinking about it a lot this weekend as I prepare my final document. If I'm feeling brave, I might even share it here. In thinking about my career in the future, I'm reading Fortune Magazine's 50 Most Desirable MBA Employers. My list looks something like this (it should be noted that I have not actually done my homework on any of these companies...this is only a rough draft):

Microsoft
Rockstar Games
Electronic Arts
Southwest Airlines
eBay
Petco
Metaphase Design Group
* in no particular order
** subject to change

So if you could pick, what companies would be on your list?

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Texas License Plates

If you live in Texas and feel the need to advertise your interests on the back of your car, may I suggest a special license plate?

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34 Years

Today is my father's 34th anniversary working at IBM. Congratulations, Dad!!

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Movie Date

Kevin and I had a movie date tonight. No, he's not in town (I wish), but we both went to see the same movie at the same time. He saw it up in NYC and me down here in Texas. We saw The Italian Job. It was a lot of fun and I only wish Kevin had been in the seat next to me to laugh at all the computer jokes as loudly as I did. (I don't think anyone else in the theater got them.) So if you want something fun and not too thought provoking, check it out. I'm going to get ready for bed and wait for Kevin to call so he and I can rehash the movie together.

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Escape

In 30 minutes I get to escape this prison! It's feeling like a prison because all day long, I've been tortured by clients. But like I said, in 30 minutes I get to escape. Tonight Karen and I are going to escape to Austin for SummerBash 2: Son of SummerBash at Kevin and Jefe's house! We're going to hang out, drink, talk, and float down the Rio Grande tomorrow in tubes - Texas style. It'll be great to see good friends. Austin is like my home away from home. I can barely wait!

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All work and Only Work

A good friend reminded me that I need some balance in my life. He said that I sound like I'm stressing out too much about work which is a good indicator that I'm trying to fit my life around work and not the other way around. Wise words. All work and only work isn't a good way to be living.

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Fan Mail

Hi Erica,

Your site is awesome. I can't believe I just found it. I've been trying to work on one as well, but since I'm basically computer illiterate it looks like crap and I haven't spent enough time trying to work with it. I set it up as a blog and stole some pictures, and it's also very topic spefic, even though a good number of people have already found it (sorry, for the run-on).

I visited Lubbock not too long ago, whoa. But I'm from South Texas so I know what small towns are like. Anyway, good luck.

XXX XXX

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Kevin & Me at Inwood

How did it get so late?

Kevin and I went to dinner and saw the Matrix. We got so wrapped up in discussing the plot, theme, symbolism of the movie that we didn't realize it had gotten so late. We walked home in the rain. It's nice when it rains in the city because it is quieter. People go inside. Also, the water deadens sound. I feel like we've been walking through another sort of world. It probably has a lot to do with the things we've been discussing. It's truly been a wonderful night.

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