quote of the day: kissing

Song of Songs 1:2
2 Kiss me and kiss me again,
for your love is sweeter than wine.

Welcome to the Tundra!

It is ONE DEGREE (with wind chill factor). I repeat. One degree.
There is ice and snow everywhere.
I am scared to go home because that involves going outside...

I am through with this god forsaken city.
Through.
Let the countdown to india begin.

In 14 days I will be chillin' on the beach drinking mango lassis munching on samosa, trying not to get travelers diarrhea

better yet

In 48 hours I will be on my way to Jacksonville to see Mr. J!
I can't wait!

word of the day

Today's vocab word is:

psycholagny

(look it up)

All I want to know is, how can I be down?!

quote of the day: wonderfully made

Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

quote of the day: finals humor

"Life is funny...but not in a 'ha ha' kind of way."
Cathy

(you had to be there)

Out of the office

I have got to suspend my blogland activities until finals have blown over.
For the next week or so my blogs will be mostly "quotes of the day" usually
from the bible.
There is nothing like finals to bring you closer to the lord! LOL!
Say a prayer for me.

quote of the day: joy

Psalm 16:11 (Amplified Bible)

11You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore

quote of the day: be still

"be still and know that I am God."
psalm 46:10

Beer budget champagne taste: Sushi galore

I love sushi. It is healthy. You can eat a lot and not feel guilty and it’s perfect for a light meal.
Quick test: What is a BBCT girl’s favorite word?
Answer: If you said “sale” then you get a gold star!

So when I walked by the restaurant “Zen 320” in Brookline and saw the sign that said “half price on all sushi,” I had to explore further.

So I walk in at around 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon but the place is totally empty…never a good sign. I found out that the half price sushi was not just a one day special but good for all day, everyday…that is what I am talking about! The place did not smell fishy at all (always a bad sign for a sushi restaurant) so I decided to proceed.

I ordered two 6-piece maki rolls. One was called a “New York Roll” with salmon, apple and avocado. The second, I forget what it was called, had whitefish, tuna and seaweed. My bill came to $7!! In Boston the bill never comes to $7 it is usually more. I was delighted! The sushi was not the best sushi I have ever had but it was fresh and certainly acceptable. The service was fine. I will be going back. As a matter of fact I did go back the next day with S after the nutcracker!

Maybe Christmas is not sooooooo bad

Last night I took a break from studying for finals to go see the Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker.
It was sooo good! There were Christmas trees, snow and presents. It was all very Christmasy. Those ballerinas were awesome…their grace, their strength, their bodies were amazing! The little kids in the performance were so cute! The one thing I did notice was the absence of anyone with any color in their skin. Where were all the Black and Indian dancers? Come on Boston Ballet!

All the women in attendance, myself included, decided that their unborn daughters were going to take ballet lessons like it or not. I pity our children!
I am actually contemplating taking adult ballet lessons at the Cambridge Dance Studio next semester. We shall see…

Have you done anything Christmasy this year? Any parties? Caroling? Tree decorating parties?
Do share so I can live vicariously! LOL!

Fulfilling a Heinous Murderer's Last Wish

So I am exhausted right now so I don't know if this will be coherent but I have something important to say so I will try...bear with me.

Today is the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre). I attended a Women in Leadership meeting at my school and one of my Canadian classmates and fabulous friends, S, talked to us about what happened on that dreadful day in 1989. To remember the 14 women killed she read their names (with a perfect french accent might I add). We then had a moment of silence for the victims. It was a powerful moment.


When you think about all of the heinous mass murders that have been committed over the few years I bet you can name some of the killers. How many of the victims can you name? How many stories of unfulfilled potential, childless mothers, mother less children as a result of these tragedies can you remember? I am willing to bet not many.


Many of these loony toony crazies that commit these types of horrible crimes do so in an attempt to get their 15 seconds of fame,d ead or alive. They leave videos, letters and other things behind hoping that they will be all over the news and what do we do as a society, as the media? We fulfill their dying wish. In Canada the major television stations made a decision to not put the perpetrators face on the air and to not mention his name. Wow. That is pretty deep. What would it mean if Jeffrey Dahmer died a nobody in a world where no one knew his name rather than have him live on in infamy forever? Did you ever think about that?

No I am not one for whining and complaining with no plan for action. The women in our group have all made a commitment to write to CNN asking them to stop broadcasting the name and face of the latest loony toon who killed 9 people in Omaha and messed up a whole bunch of people's holiday season.

Rather than look at loony toon's ugly grill let's use this time to remember:

• Gary Scharf, 48, customer
  
• John McDonald, 65, customer
  
• Angie Shuster, 36, employee
  
• Maggie Webb, 24, employee
  
• Janet Jorgensen, 66, employee
  
• Diane Trent, 53, employee
  
• Gary Joy, 56, employee
  
• Beverly Flynn, 47, employee

They were someone's mother, auntie, sister, daughter, brother, uncle, dad, son, friend, loved one.

I urge you to join us by taking 60 seconds out of your day to write CNN to ask them to stop publishing pictures and videos of the loony toon who committed this heinous crime. Let's not give him his last wish.

To read the story:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/news/omaha.mall.shooting

To send something to CNN asking them to stop publishing his name and picture:
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?39


With enough voices we can be heard.
Please let me know if you decide to send feedback to CNN so I can feel like my efforts are not in vain. To quote our hot governor, "together we can" LOL!

what could be better?

What could be better at the end of a cold dreary day, after staying in the computer lab until 2am, trying to figure out some gosh-darn SASS programming (why in the world do people choose to do programing for a living?! For me it is the equivalent of choosing to pull your nails out for a living!) than to come home to find these on your doorstep? The card attached says, "Hope these bring some sunshine and warmth to my baby in Boston. Miss you so much!"

The man is doing good!

I can't wait for the lilies to open. I love lilies!

Oh wait I know the answer to my question: Having the actual man there in person could be better...sigh. In the meantime I will settle for flowers

I guess this means I should probably get him a Christmas present huh? Anyone have any ideas (keep in mind the beer budget)?

He likes

golf

running, biking, swimming

reading

working

working

He loves the washington redskins

I can't sew or knit.

I guess I could bake some cookies and send them just because....

Suggestions are appreciated!

Dear God

Dear God,
Please send some heat, sun...global warming...something to Boston.
It is 20 degrees with a wind chill factor of 7 degrees.
It is cold. There is snow everywhere.
I can't hang.
Please help

Thank you,
-Your beloved child

A funny moment: the consumption

So you guys know that I have had a cold recently. (umm none of y'all sent me any tips on how to cure it...)
Nevertheless, I feel much better but I still have a pretty nasty sounding cough.
Why did my friend R say that it sounded like I had "the consumption"? LOL!
She is sooooooooo stoooopit!!!
Who uses that word?!!! The consumption.
BWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

quote of the day: monster tattoo

"I was going to get a tattoo of Animal, from the muppets, on my groin...until someone told me it was a sensitive area."
-S during a conversation about tattoos (after a few beers)

ARRRUUUU?!
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! LOL!

The Holiday Getback: it's not just for guys anymore

Definition. Frenemy or Frienemy:

Frenemy can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend or to a partner that is simultaneously a competitor.
-Wilkipedia

In a comment to a recent blog Sugar introduced me to the term, "The Holiday Getback" a phenomenon that describes the behavior of men who will come out of the woodworks around holiday time because they are lonely. Evidently this "disease" affects women too!

I used to be friends with this girl named Lee. Or at least I thought we were friends, turns out we were actually frenemies. We used to spend hours talking on the phone, almost on a daily basis. When my grandmama died she was there to comfort me. After all, we were friends. Needless to say I was absolutely devastated when she ended up causing a major mess in my relationship with my ex. Alas, we were friends so I forgave her. That is when I first realized that a part of her enjoyed seeing me suffer. That particular incident made me question if she was really my friend. A few months later she made this huge deal over a small misunderstanding that occurred with our parents (our parents, not us) she basically cut me off cold turkey. She stopped taking my calls. She pretty much acted like I didn't exist. I was so hurt, worse than the hurt I have felt when I have broken up with boyfriends. We had been sister friends. So what did I do? I shed a tear and then I got over it, sooo over it.

I have spoken to her a few times since then. I am always cordial. Today she called me with some important immigration information news. I appreciate the heads up, I really do. After sharing this information with me she started making small talk... She wanted to know why my ex and I broke up (probably so she could gloat), she started telling me about her man...blah blah blah. The truth is that I really didn't care. As she was talking I was thinking about the 1001 other things I needed to do. I got off the phone as soon as I could.

If I was a mean spirited person this is what I would have said to her:

I don't hate you
but I don't like you either.
I have no desire to talk to you
I probably never will
I don't need any frenemies in my life
There is no point in me sitting here and
feigning interest in anything that you have to say.
I wish that life brings you the best that it has to offer (peace, joy, happiness, fulfillment)
Most of all
I wish you enlightenment
God bless

Have you ever had a frenemy?

I am thankful for: the guys that love me

I have decided that each week I will write about at least one thing I am thankful for. That way when I am feeling blue I can look back on my list of things and smile.

Today I am thankful for my guy friends. I think that every girl should have at least one or two guys who she can call who will undoubtedly have her best interest at heart. Having wise platonic guy friends is invaluable. Today I went to church with my friends George and Phillip. We were able to talk about stuff, all kinds of stuff, with such refreshing honesty and candor. Phillip helps me to believe in love and reminds me that there are good guys out there. George always adds insightful comments to each conversation.

I came home and spoke to my old friend Kenny...love that guy. He is the guy that makes you feel beautiful no matter how crappy you are feeling or looking on any given day. Every girl needs one of those kind of friends in her life. We met in the summer of 1998, we have been through two wives and countless numbers of boyfriends, and a crapload of other junk together. We have fought like cats and dogs over the silliest things but we have remained friends through it all. I can't wait until he and his wife have a baby because he will make an AWESOME dad! I digress.

I called Kenny to get some advice about Mr. J, from a guy's perspective. He has the amazing ability to get my head out of the clouds without making me feel stupid or completely pessimistic. In other words he keeps it real with me because he loves and cares for me. He wants what is best for me. I know this. It is so good to know that there are guys who I can talk to without having to question their motives. How great is that?!

Since I probably don't say it enough:
TJ
Kenny
Frank
Ronald
Doug
Derek
Bernie
Larry
Phillip
George

I appreciate you. Thanks for being my friends. I don't want to think about what life would have been like without you.

love,

me

Do you have any great guys friends that you want to shout out?

Beer budget champagne taste: The boots

There is one word that always makes a Beer Budget Champagne Taste (BBCT) girl happy…SALE! Hellooooo! One of the things I have noticed about this god forsaken city is that nothing really goes on sale, at least not like it did down south. I can’t tell you how many items of nice clothing I bought for $5, $10, $20, $30 when I lived in the south. I would buy $500 Ann Taylor suits for $70.... now that is what I call a sale! I am sad to say that gone are those days. In Boston stuff will be on clearance but it still costs $160…sigh.

That being said I cannot tell you how delighted I was to find my dark red patent leather boots on sale from $170 to $50! I was holding out for a lower price but after seeing the umpteenth pair of pleather boots on sale for $70 to $80 I finally gave in! Aren’t they hot?!

I am soooo excited about my new addition to my shoe collection! And they go great with my new wrap around black dress! Watch out Mr J!

Fitness diaries: barriers to excercise and the new challenge

I haven't done an installation in my fitness diaries series recently. Why? Cuz I haven't been excercising. Bad me...I know. Tsk tsk.

My brilliant resurrection of my running career was cut short by this friggin' cold place. Lady tee does a lot of things but Lady tee does not do cold. The temperature is supposed to be 15 degrees today. Do you think there is even the smallest chance that I am going out for a jog?! Y'all are smart, I will let you figure out the answer to that one.

Hypothetically, let's say the weather was great today, do you think I would be going out for a jog? Umm...unfortunately no. What is the problem this time? What had happened wuz that I got my hair did a few days ago and by did I mean pressed. I actually forgot that I had hair. William, my hair dresser did a great job. My hair is soft, touchable, shiny...anyhow. Right now any type of moisture (sweat,rain, water, steam) is the enemy of my hair and until I decide to go back to my "alternate hair" there won't be any kind of sweating coming out of me. I am working on an excercise friendly hairstyle. One of my fabulous friends has very kindly offered to co-sponsor my latest venture cuz I'ze broke and broke and busted is not a good look for me (thanks girl).

So there was actually a point I was trying to make here. In my quest to stay in shape, inspired by Babs in blogland the swimmer and Monica Xanga the super runner/mom/career girl and most importantly Mr J, I have decided to train for a triathalon. I will say it again. I have decided to train for a TRIATHALON (1.5 km swim/40km bike/10km run). Mr J is doing the one in St. Petersberg at the end of April.

I also made a fabulous new friend recently, named Mona, who is training for a triathalon in the spring (why did I laugh at her butt when she told me she almost froze her butt off after swimming AND THEN biking home. Did she not know it was cold?!!! pure madness). Trust that if I go swimming I will be running from the building to my pre-heated car with the heat on full blast!

So I am doing a triathalon. That poses two problems: 1. I can't swim and 2. I don't have a bike...BWAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Just a couple of minor details! So I actually do know how to swim but I am no where near competition level. I can take lessons though. Problem one solved. As for problem 2 bicycles are expensive!!! When my friend told me that a good race bike can cost upwards of twenty five hun'ed I almost choked! WHAT THE HECK?!! I am not even sure if my car is worth that much! LOL! For $2500 I hope the bicycle comes with seat warmers, cable tv and can pedal itself...shooot! I will have to figure something out. When I do I will write a new post in my beer budget champagne taste series!

The third problem that I will have is motivation. What will motivate my behind to get up in twenty degree weather to swim/jog/spin? It has got to be bigger than me. So I have decided to do a triathalon with Team in Training of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. I will be hitting all of you up to join me by making a donation for a good cause. Knowing that by doing this I will be helping others, that will motivate me. Wish me luck! I will be doing weekly fitness update posts to keep you updated.

I have already recruited my friend S to join me. Any other takers?

Do you have any personal fitness goals that you would like to accomplish in 2008?