Today's meme suggested by Pam:

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be? Erm, it's been so long (high school? Hello? Seventeen years ago??). I guess I don't care/know, as long as I'm one of the books that Montag keeps hidden and refuses to burn.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? A couple leap to mind, but they're not from books - Troy Dyer from "Reality Bites" and Parker Stevenson as the elder brother on "The Hardy Boys". I did/do have a very powerful, non-romantic crush on Atticus Finch. I wish I'd known that my father was that good a man.

The last book you bought is: An Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire by Arundhati Roy. I loved The God of Small Things, and although this new one is non-fiction, I'm hoping I'll enjoy it as well.

The last book you read: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I loved it.

What are you currently reading? Struggling through Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Magurire. So far, it's not floating my boat.

Five books you would take to a deserted island: Tough one, to choose just five. Here goes: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, e by Matthew Beaumont, The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian, and Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott.

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 people) and why? None of my friends blog. However, I'm passing Middlesex on to a friend today, and am gifting a copy of Blue Shoe to a friend this weekend. I'll come up with a third...

After a few days of snow and rain, the weather has finally taken a turn for the better. Things in the yard are starting to bloom (purple and yellow crocus, buds on the lilac tree), and the grass is emerald green. Today it's supposed to be up around 50 degrees.

We're doing a family dinner tonight, and have invited some of my mother's new friends to join us. It'll be like old times - big meal, big group, lots of talking and getting to know each other. It's one of the things I've missed the most about having my family be scattered around so much.

Wedding plans are moving right along. My mom's friend Jan has offered to help by organizing food for the wedding and reception, and she'll help my mom with flowers as well. I want to start looking for fun stuff for the yard - lights and cool stuff to hang from the trees and to decorate the fence that runs the length of the backyard, funky old tableclothes to throw over the tables, stuff like that.

I like a Friday where you don't really have to work. I went in for a meeting and finished some paperwork, and was out of there by 1pm. I went over to the squad and met one of the other members, who walked me through rigging a Tyrolean - something we had done at training earlier this week, but I was a little lost on the setup. Amazing what 20 minutes of one-on-one time does for your understanding.

**Kim, here's a link to photos from WoW.

Feels good to be home. I loved spending time with my friend Kim, but you can't beat sleeping in your own bed. Plus, my dog missed me. Okay, I think the boy missed me, too.

We have the beautiful and talented Miss Mare visiting for two weeks. I look forward to movies, dinners, pedicure parties, hikes, and knitting together. We also have VIP tickets to the Nuggets/Lakers game on Thursday night, and the Nuggets/Sonics game on Saturday night. Woo hoo!

I REALLY don't like Omaha. The only food available after 10pm is at Old Chicago, and even they close at 12:30am. It's mostly flat, grey, filled with homes all built using the same cookie cutter. While the Old Market district is quaint, it's also filled with rowdy teenagers from one of the two local college campuses (like I don't get enough of that in Boulder!). Also, WHAT KIND OF A MORONIC CITY/COUNTY STILL ALLOWS SMOKING IN RESTAURANTS? That's so 10 years ago. That must be why all the movies at the one movie theater that I drove past opened a YEAR AGO. It also explains all of the gigantic hospital complexes that we drove past - they need all that space to treat their citizens for the host of respiratory ailments that they will surely have. I kid you not, every single thing that I have with me now reeks of smoke.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to Omaha I go.

Leaving tonight to help out in a booth at the World of Wheels tradeshow. There's not really much about motorcycles going on at that show, but we hope to lure a few potential customers over.

At least they have good steak in Omaha, right?

Made a trek out to Lafayette today for the best Mexican food I've found in Colorado, Efrain's (ignore that review at the top that trashes their service, it's always been great). I have mixed feelings every time I eat there - love the food, love the service, love the space, but it makes me so homesick for LA, where great Mexican food can be found around just about every corner.

You've gotta love Colorado. We had a forecast for mid to high 60s today, and it's snowing. Granted, the snow is not sticking, but it's flying around fiercely after skies that looked like tornadoes were a'comin'.

I'm supposed to be working on a new Twiki site, and I haven't had 5 minutes to spare for this in a couple of weeks. I have a status update on the site tomorrow, so I have to carve out some time to at least take a look.

I visited a site yesterday for the first time, and loved the information there. It's called Stumptuous (via Erin). Check out the site, especially the links for Eating --> Basic Nutrition. I started reading late yesterday afternoon, and actually stayed late at work because I was so absorbed. I especially dig the links to info specifically about fats, proteins, and a great one called "Dieting 101". It's very much in tune with the information from my nutritionist and from several books that I've read lately. Give it a whirl.

Today's post suggested by Amber:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.


In this example, I'm using the get function on the request object. If the incoming request to the page has the message variable, then the first value will be used, which of course is change. If the message variable isn't present, then the second value, default, will be used.
--The Definitive Guide to Plone by Andy McKay

Every once in a while, you have the opportunity to do something really wonderful for another person. I'm having one of those days, so I thought I'd share it.

I have a friend at work who I'll call Connie. Connie has only worked here for about 10 months, but it's been an eventful 10 months. Last summer, she lost both of her sisters on the same day - one to breast cancer, and one killed in a car accident. This was devastating to both Connie and her family, especially since Connie's mother was also killed in an accident, many years before. Within a month of losing her sisters, Connie learned that she too has cancer. Connie's cancer was advanced enough to require immediate surgery, which placed her on sick leave from work for many weeks. My company was amazing throughout Connie's illness - a fund was set up to assist with her medical bills, co-workers volunteered to clean her house, look after her dogs, rake the leaves in her yard, drive her to and from doctor appointments - the works. Connie was able to return to work last fall and resume much of her normal life, albeit without an appetite and having lost a pretty dramatic amount of weight. Still, she seemed in good spirits.

It's Connie's birthday today. Birthdays for her are special, magical days, and she's never worked on her birthday before. Due to circumstances around the office, it was necessary that she come in today, and work more than her normal shift - she'll actually be here for 12 hours today. She's been pretty depressed lately, both at the news that she needs yet more treatment for her illness, and that she had to spend this most special day at the office.

A couple of us at work who are close to Connie got together and planned a birthday for her. We decorated her cube with a "birthday balloon chandelier" and confetti, and left a couple of little gifts. Last night, I picked up two dozen roses, and we've arranged for 24 different people to randomly visit her today and each hand her a rose. It's not a lot, but it seems to have made her feel really good today. She told me that she's considering always working on her birthday in the future, because otherwise she would have missed out on being made to feel so special.

I know it sounds like bragging, but damn! We did good.

Via Daisy:

You Are 60% Left Brained, 40% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?