Brother's Back

My brother Eddie is going in for his 3rd back surgery today. They start by going in through the back, hoping to find the titanium disc (that was put in last year) fused to the bone. If so, they may just need to remove some scar tissue... BUT, if it hasn't fused, things get ugly. They'll have to put screws and things in, then go into his hip and take more bone marrow, THEN turn him over and go in through his stomach to try to remove the titanium disc. If they can't remove the disc from the front, they'll have to leave it and go back in at a later date. YUCK. I'm worried, but he's a strong boy... Jo says "think of the football players"... they're always needing new knees and backs and they come out just fine... Their pain brings me comfort =)

Kettle Korn

Kettle Korn season has officially started. The Lilac Festival kicked it off here in Rochester. Chuck and I went on Friday and bought 2 gigantic bags of K.K. (he's almost as addicted as me) and they were gone, gone, gone within 2 days - and I was showing restraint!

I believe there will now be a festival just about every weekend and where there's a festival, there's K.K. This coming weekend is Rush Hometown days. I know they'll have K.K. because last year my sister and I drove up in her white Mustang, hobbled up to the K.K. booth in our trendy summer sandals, and ordered a few bags. Rush is a SMALL town outside of Rochester where they're probably not too familiar with the current trends in clothing and shoes, so I'm sure most of them thought we were hookers. Oh well, I can't say what I would or wouldn't do for Kettle Korn. It IS an addiction you know!

Abby brought me a bag of Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Korn that her Mom found at the store. She's so sweet, trying to help me feed my habit without having to be a festival hooker every weekend. I was hopeful... it looked just like the Kettle Korn from the Lilac Festival. Alas, no such luck. It tastes like a mild version of carmel corn. No dice, but I appreciate Ab's efforts.

Back from the Brink

Well, back from our weekend excursion to the 1000 Islands to stay with the inlaws. It really wasn't too bad. I only started to get psychotic once on Saturday, after golf and basketball and drag racing had taken up the tube all damn day (I WANT MY MTV) and then again on Sunday when my Father-in-law snored through the last entire hour of "The Wonder Boys." We're not talking a couple of snorts here either, we're talking major chainsaw mode.

Other than that, we went to the drive-in and saw "A Knight's Tale", cute movie... Heath Ledger... mmmm, wouldn't kick him outta bed for eatin crackers. The second movie was "Driven" about drag racing. It sucked royal. The acting sucked (though I did think Stallone was pretty good). The plot development sucked. Some of the effects were cool. I fell asleep and missed the end, but didn't care.

I also got my Mother-in-law addicted to the Mah-jongg game on Nabiscoworld.com. Talk about effective marketing. After playing for a while, then watching my m.i.l. play for a while, I had the overwhelming urge to eat Oreos. My m.i.l. had faux oreos but they didn't cut it. Faux oreos are to oreos as WPOP is to Coke. They don't taste anything alike and the cheap versions taste like crap. Some things are just worth the extra cost. So after eating 4 faux oreos and not feeling the least bit satiated, I ran to the store and bought a bag of REAL oreos. Yep, that $2.99 was worth every penny!

Flamingos on Parade

As you may or may not know, our office is doing a "Flamingos on Parade" event, much like the Horses on Parade here in Rochester. The flamingos arrived today, I need inspiration. I thought about making a Kettle Korn Flamingo (Korny Flamingo), but I quickly realized I probably couldn't part with enough Kettle Korn to do it. Either that, or someone would find me at my desk one day gnawing the head off my flamingo in a neurotic frenzy to eat the Kettle Korn off. Yikes.

Cup Cakes and Fruit Pies and Beef Jerky, Oh My

Last night I caught the tail end of the most fab show on the Food Network (where else?), called Snacks Unwrapped. It showed how Hostess Fruit Pies were made, how they put the little curly icing on the Hostess Cup Cakes, and how beef jerky is made (this was not too exciting... nothing sweet or oozy is used). I was in 7th heaven. I've always been fascinated with how stuff is made (in a production factory). I think it began from watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. To see FOOD being mass produced is the height of excitement for me, sadly enough. My favorite part was watching the fruit pies go through a wall of glaze. I'm all about walls of glaze. They rock.

I missed the information on Krispy Kreme (home of the world's best wall of glaze), Cheez Doodles and Moon Pies, so I will be sure to tune in and watch it again, from the beginning.

Mmmm, I'm hungry.

"Hello, my name is Tina and I'm a JFKK addict"

Jenny's blog is so good, she has Panties in a Bunch jealous of her lifestyle, talent for writing, friends who actually do stuff with her, etc. etc. Today I added another reason why Panties should wish Jenny was her "real" friend, instead of just a girl she reads about.

I arrived at my desk today to find a large bowl full of Jenny's Faux Kettle Korn. She is the only person who knows how to make it AND understands my neurotic addictions to food. (Hubby knows how to make it but doesn't understand the inner workings of an addictive personality). I hoarded the bowl, determined not to share. This JFKK is some powerful stuff because I am normally very giving and I share to the point where I almost force food on people. I had two small exceptions. I had to let Tony grab a handful after he so rudely asked if he could have some (the nerve!) and I offered Sarah some because, well, mainly because it was sitting right there open and I would've looked like a total shitheel if I didn't offer her some. But I ate all the rest myself, in a span of about a half hour. I felt kind of ill after it was all said and done, but when it comes to JFKK, the nausea and cavities are well worth it. Thanks Jenny!

Disney Debrief

Got back from my trip to Disney at 1am this morning. It was a fun-filled, action-packed trip that was 70% fantastic. Jo, Kenn and I arrived Friday night, checked in, gobbled a quick pizza that Kenn had trekked about a half mile from his hotel to bring us.

Saturday we met up with Greg Lukins (who is on assignment in Orlando for the next month or so) and the four of us went to DisneyQuest in Downtown Disney. It had some pretty cool stuff, especially Cyberspace Mountain, which let you create your own rollercoaster, then ride it in a simulator. Jo and I created a pretty lame one, not even any loops, but it was fun. We ate dinner at Bongo Cafe after Kenn used his spanish and his magnetic personality to cut about an hour off our wait. Go Kenn! The food was fantastic! After dinner, we went to Pleasure Island, which is basically a bunch of nightclubs, and danced for a few hours. It was a blast.

Highlight of Saturday: As we get briefed on the Interactive Pirates of the Carribean ride at DisneyQuest, Jo asks the guy, "How do we steer the boat?" Guy gives her a look and says, "you move the wheel left and right" as he gestures. We all crack up. Poor Jo, her mouth did not cooperate with her brain.

Sunday the four of us went to Epcot. Test Track was great and Honey I Shrunk the Audience was very cool. The fireworks were phenomenal. The rest is a blur.

Highlight of Sunday: The best book comment ever. After Jo convinces Greg and Kenn to buy Cinnamon Glazed nuts because they are so yummy, she has to pass up their offers because she has braces and can't eat crunchy things. In a last attempt to let Jo somehow enjoy the tasty treats, Greg (in all seriousness) says, "do you want to put one in your mouth and suck on it?" Jo innocently replies, "no thanks". Kenn and I look at each other and fall over laughing at the easily perverted connotations of the exchange.

All apologies to those made ill by my last blog and more apologies for leaving it up there in your face for so long. You know who you are =)

Oh Mickey You're so Fine

ANNOUNCER: "Tina, your troup has just won the National Bellydancing Competition, what are you going to do now?"

TINA: "I'm going to Disneyland!"

Ok, so we didn't win (though I'll only attribute that to the fact that I don't think they actually HAVE national competitions) and I'm actually going to Disneyworld, but it's still very exciting. Jo and I and a bunch of the guys are going down to Disney for a project we're on. I feel very lucky considering they're very tight with travel these days and that some of my friends are worried about getting laid off. I wish I had the power to change things, but alas, I am a peon through and through and I have a feeling my job might come in to question in the next year or so too. After all, how many UI Designers does it take to screw with a website? Not many.

Other than the Disney excitement and the fun of Jenny's surprise birthday party, my life has been not too eventful. My dreams are another story...

Dream a Little Dream, Fat Free

Last night I DREAMT that I was 7 months pregnant! I wasn't showing at all and hadn't even told everyone that I was pregnant. I was out buying a "pregnancy bodystocking" and I was rather happy about the fact that I was going to be smaller after I had the baby than before I got pregnant.

I know exactly where this dream originated though, no psychological investigation needed (except for the part about the bodystocking, I don't get that bit of wackiness). I was chatting with Sharon, our manager, on Monday morning and talking about how she is 7 months pregnant, not showing at all, and will be smaller after she has the baby than before she got pregnant. There you have it. Maybe just wishful thinking... about the weight loss part anyway ;-)

Vurp, Churp, Thurp

After bellydancing class tonight, Abby, Jenny, Jo and I were standing around chatting when I had a puke-burp. You know, where you burp but get a little somethin extra with it. It's yucky but it happens to all of us. Especially after eating chicken-italian sausages. The funniest part was, we all had different names for it. Abby called it a THURP (for throw-up burp), Jo called it a VURP (vomit burp), and Jenny had the grossest version, a CHURP (chunk burp). Well, you learn something new everyday!

In that vein, I thought I'd do some internet research on burps. I hit gold immediately. What could be more informative than a site called http://www.burpsandfarts.com?? It has wav files of various burps... lovely.

My second find was a site that had links to burp related pages. Seemed quite appropriate, BUT THEN... I realized that quite a few of the links were to very explicit sounding porn sites that got listed for referencing, among other things, "sperm burping"... gross!! And quite different from "chicken-italian-sausage burping". I honestly think you could do a search for ANY term at all and find links to porn. As a matter of fact, I think that would make a good research project or a good article for suck.com. Just type in the most innocent words you can think of and see how many porn sites you get... "cute"... "cuddly"... "whiskers on kittens"... and the list goes on and on...

It just reinforces what those of us in the web industry all know. The internet is all about porn.

Yesterday was my Aunt's Birthday and my Mom was having a birthday party for her. As the day ended, I realized, uuughhh, no present, I had forgotten. Ran to Target and got her a couple really cute shirts, since her wardrobe is rather lacking (pardon the snooty-fashion-police side of myself).

I have to stop going to my Mom's because I pig out like the end of the earth is coming. I had 4 1/2 pieces of pepperoni pizza, ice cream and cake. Thank GOD Gram didn't buy Italian bread, I'd have been in serious trouble.

I took a polaroid of my Grandma with her 4 kids (mom with my aunt and uncles). Gram looked at the picture and said, "I look like I have Popeye's arm." We looked, expecting her to be exaggerating... but nope, there it was, one gigantic looking forearm. I said that we should draw an anchor on it. We cracked up. I'll scan the picture tomorrow and let you judge for yourself.

Well, off to bellydancing class. I'm going to have to take it easy with the "typewriter" move, made my back hurt a little last week.

Update

I am so incredibly behind with blogging. Ugh, forgive me. Here's some stuff I blogged on my Visor while in a horrific meeting on Thursday 5/3:

Had a cookout on sunday, it was very fun, especially when my sister Sherri taught some cha cha. After about 3 of Kenn's yummy margaritas, I got brave enough to do my bellydance. Jenny didn't appear to have the courage at first but quickly popped up and did it with me (and she was totally sober). She may play the 'shy and quiet' girl, but don't let that fool you, she wants the spotlight in a big way.

Tuesday I taught basic UI Design to Tony's class. He's teaching Introduction to Interactive Multimedia (undergrad) at RIT. It was very laid back and fun and only one kid fell asleep - most seemed pretty interested.

Wednesday I went to Mom's for a quick dinner. She told us how she'd called home from work and left a sexy message on the answering machine for my step Dad, but she had to whisper, so when he played the message back, it sounded like a lizard with a lisp making an indecipherable crank call.

Today I am in our quarterly meeting listening to a bunch of irrelevant boring crap. Torture I tell you. Why the f* do I need to hear details about Dynamo 5? At least we got to go to Dibellas for lunch... best subs ever.

When I get subs, I only get meat, cheese, and mayo or mustard - and for some reaon, the person making the sub always reacts with disbelief, asking, 'no lettuce? No tomato? Just mayo?' I always respond, 'right, none of that healthy crap!' Am I the only person on the planet who doesn't like that stuff on my sub? I didn't realize I was so unique!