All's Well:  But busy...and I'm lazy today.  Weekend was good...chiropractor on Friday for x-rays and assessment (assessment is my neck and back are fuc*ked up),  moving Emily on Saturday (I was the crew chief, since I was trying to be good to my back), a great Yankees vs Red Sox game which ended in a 9th inning victory for the Sox, volunteering at the DNC (stories aplenty, including getting in an argument with the Lyndon LaRouch people and having the anti-choice protester stage a die-in surrounding my table....200 people falling to the ground "pretending" to be the fetuses that abortion kills), another fantastic Yankees/Red Sox game (sorry Major Mocha) that ended in a win, and the chiropractor again today (who told me that they want to see me 3 times a week for 4 weeks, then in decreasing amounts)  They showed me an x-ray of my neck, that is supposed to have a curve in it but mine is just vertical.  Crap!  Good news is that I will be overjoyed (and then some!) if they can take away the subtle pain I feel every day for 14 years and the major pain I feel several times a month.  Then work today, where there were about 10 of us because everyone took this week off to avoid the DNC and just enjoy summer.  Tomorrow morning I leave for Martha's Vineyard for 3 days, to return to host a "Kerry House Party" on Thursday night for his acceptance speech.  Well, that's my brief summary of lots of stuff.  Tootles!

Weekend Preview: Tonight I am going to the chiropractor after work (unless I find someone to go to the Lowell Spinners game with me?????).  Then I will go home, maybe go on a walk, watch my DVD of Six Feet Under, and straighten up my house a little.  Saturday I will go to Emily's old place, to join about 8 other people as we move her to her new place, chez Nat.  Don't know what the evening holds...but laundry needs to be done at some point this weekend.  Sunday I am volunteering with the DNC (Democratic National Committee) for the Convention, which I am looking forward to.  More sneak peek to upcoming event...I will be at work on Monday but then am going with Amy and her adorable twin Andres and Alejandro to Martha's Vineyard for Tues, Wed and Thurs.  Then I am having a "house party" for Kerry's acceptance speech at my house in Thursday night.  Some friends are coming, and so are some people who read about the event on the Kerry website.  Should be cool.

Last Night At Em's Friday Five: (random questions related to random conversations with Em as we packed her house for tomorrow's move)

1. If you didn't have scissors, what would you use to cut? When I am home, I use a knife (usually the one that is always just sitting on the counter...even if the rest of the kitchen in clean)  If I am away from home, I use my nail clippers on my key chain.
2. What is the farthest you have moved? From Washington DC (where I was born and lived until I was 6) to Mission Hills, KS (where we thankfully left when I was 9)  It was about 1073 miles according to Mapquest
3. What is the oldest food product in your house? When I was looking in my pantry for shelf-stable items to bring to a food drive a couple weeks ago, I found some cous cous that said it should be used by Sept 2002.  I know some of my spices are older than that!
4. If you could only save one thing (pets excluded) from your house in a fire, what would it be? My photo albums
5. What is your ideal indoor temperature? 70 degrees (not like the 83 degrees that it was when I got home at 9:00 p.m. last night)

Beauty and the Geek: "Hold on to your pocket protectors—MIT alumni have accomplished yet another first: Erika Ebbel '04 has won the Miss Massachusetts pageant, and now has her sights clearly set on becoming Miss America." Read this funny and interesting article by my colleague Jim about this ever-exciting MIT event. (apparently this article has 40,000 hits int he last 24 hours!)

Look!  It's Me! Thanks to Jamie, I now know how to create a virtual model of myself.  The result was frighteningly realistic.  Now you try...

Donut Drinks: First donut shops take over reign as best place to buy coffee (especially in the East) and now Krispy Kreme is making a donut drink!  Are you supposed to dunk your donut in the donut drink?

Bad News: Some days I wish I didn't even read the news.

Starting the Week on the Funny Foot:  Aprropriate after seeing Farenhiet 9/11 this weekend, Lauren sent me this FANTASTCI little movie.  I was cracking up at my desk...hope it brings you as much joy! 

Follow Up:  Is it "even worse than me" or "even worse than I"????  I think it must be "I"...even worse than I am.

Even Worse Than I: Two years too late, it was noted that a sign on the wall commemorating the World Trade Center attack states that "September 11, 2002 was a pivotal day for the country and the world"  Um, close...but a year after the event.  On a connected, but not nearly as significant note, I was in a meeting yesterday where we were discussing marketing pieces for next year.  My boss showed the "communications team" a sample from two years ago, at which point the person from communications said "Looks great, but are we changing the spelling of 'Revoloution'"  Again, two years too late.  Makes my careless editing seem much less glaring. 

News of the Obsurd: In this week's News of the Weird it is reported that "Nurse Jackie Tvedt held on to her state license even though she was fired in January from a nursing home in Newton, Iowa, for allegedly providing a reduced level of care to those patients whom God had told her that He would take care of."  What is this world coming to? Don't answer that...I fear that I know. 

Supporting the Troops: As Emily's bumper sticker says, "Support the Troops, Fire Their Boss"  A touching story out of Chicago, where 8 first-class passengers gave up their seats to soldiers coming home from Iraq.

Colorful Friday Five (in honor of the new color capacity of Blogger):

1. What color are the walls of you bedroom? I painted them a light, kind of slate-y, blue.  It needs another coat though...cuz I tried to be lazy and paint only the places that needed a bit more and now you can see where I did that.
2. What was your favorite color in fourth grade? Purple.  Anything purple.  Especially Shaker-knit sweaters and coily bracelets.
3. What color are your undies today? Rainbow stripes!
4. What color is your natural hair color? Red. Not orange-red, but more of a rusty red.  With some strawberry blonde mixed in.  I am often asking those around me if someone's hair looks like mine because I really don't quite know what mine looks like.  Not to mention that sometimes forget to include the descriptor "redhead" when arranging to meet with someone I don't know.  Silly!
5. What color pen do you prefer to write with? Blue medium ballpoint.

Fancy Schmancy: Blogger got all sorts of formating capacity overnight!  How cool!

Tibetan Food: Also from Chowhounds (this time the Boston board) I learned that there is a new Tibetan restaurant in Davis. Kinda interesting since this is a sort of "rare" cuisine and there is another Tibetan restaurant about a half mile away. I definitely want to check this out...who wants to come?

My Pet Peeve (well one of them) Validated: I had to post this thread from the Chowhounds site..."Why do guests ignore the RSVP request?" As someone who loves to entertain, its hard when you don't know if you are cooking/planning for 10 or 40. I care much less about WHO is coming, than HOW MANY are coming. Oh well, the toils of being the hostess with the mostest.

Much Ado About Something: Last night six of us braved the cold and mist to see the free production of Much Ado About Nothing in the Boston Common. It was an *excellent* show! I didn't even know the story of the play (sorry Bill Bennett) until earlier this week, but it was wonderfully done. I am quite tired though, because I didn't get home until almost midnight...definitely past my bedtime. But worth it.

Do You Want A Boy or A Girl? Today is apparently the day for pondering this question. First I got in a conversation with Lauren at lunch about raising kids with neutral gender roles, exchanging stories of people we know. Then we met up with Krista in the office, who independently was talking about how much she wants to have a girl when she has kids, and how special her relationship is with her mom. As soon as Lauren got back to her desk, she told me to log onto MSN because the front story is called "Who's Easier: Boys or Girls?: When it comes to raising kids, gender matters. But our own personality and expectations may count even more."

Martha Does Produce: Before going to jail, Martha has decided to share her insights on selecting the best produce.

Beat Bush House Party: For those of you in the Boston area (or those that want to travel to the Boston area) I will be hosting a house party on July 29 for Kerry's acceptance speech. If you go to the website, you can sign up to attend (or just let me know).