Thursday, June 30, 2005

Quote of the Day

"My tight pants are really tight, and my baggy pants are not so baggy anymore"
-Wingnut, June 2005

I think it's time to start exercising! (And maybe even cutting down on the sweets, but when there's cake, it's really tough.)

Vegetable ideas anyone? Do your recipes involve sugar? I love sugar!

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

I saw a shooting star last night!


With Hagen Daaz Triple Chocolate Ice Cream and a beautiful summer night in Sac, the shooting star made it a truly magical evening.

Oh yeah, I won a few good hands in a Poker Tournament too. The Tournament even included birthday cake! I love birthday cake.

fun fun fun...That's what life is about.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Fathers

Well, I spent the past weekend with my two favorite Dads. One of them is my actual Dad and the other is my best friend's Dad. My Dad got to push a cable car in SF this weekend. You should have seen the excited look on his face! It truly was a San Francisco moment when the cable car driver looked at the people hanging on the side and said "Step down and push". Everyone just stared at him. He repeated: "Step down and push" with the tone of "What don't you understand? These are simple instructions!" Eventually, they all stepped down and pushed the cable car so he could grab the cable that he lost hold of. My dad turned at waved as us as if to say "Look at me! I'm pushing a cable car." We were so happy to see him having fun. That's what Father's day is all about.

Plus, in fairness to his age, I think we're nearing the time that we (the kids) start doing more things for the parents. We love you Dad!

Speaking of age, the other Dad got attention this weekend for his 60th birthday! We're proud of him....but mostly, it was an excuse to eat good food and gorge on CAKE!!!! I'll travel anywhere for cake!

A word to the Dad's out there: When you turn 60, have some words of wisdom prepared for your kids. We're lookin' to learn from you.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Question of the Day

We refer to the 70's, 80's, and 90's as certain eras all the time. In 2010 what will we call the years from 2000 - 2010?

The thousand's? The hundred's? The zero's?

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Weekend Adventures

Wingnut had an adventure packed weekend filled with clubbin', doggy dashin', barbecuein', and hikin'.

We had a snowball fight in June! It was great fun hiking up to Horsetail Falls. I'm eager to go back there next winter with some snow shoes. Believe it or not, my shoulders are sore from all of the lifting and pulling of myself I did. The boulders we climbed were so big it required the use of all four of my limbs!

There are some required snacks that I usually bring on a hike. These are oreos and gorp. This past weekend my gorp consisted of almonds (the red bag from Trader Joes), pretzels, and dried fruit bits (Sunmaid). It was quite tasty. The trivia question became: "What does 'gorp' really stand for?

We got the "raisins and peanuts" part but couldn't figure out the "go". A quick google search always solves the mystery! If you're a trail mix eater, you'll appreciate all of these recipes for
Good Old Raisins and Peanuts.

Even with all of the mixtures to choose from, I'm sure my dad would agree with the following favorite:
Most Basic M&M's—Straight Up
Chef: Pat Villeneuve, Tempe, Arizona
Why mess up a good thing with a lot of extraneous ingredients? That's Pat Villeneuve's mantra. "I perfected this recipe while hiking the Appalachian Trail: Pour the contents of a large bag of M&M's into a zipper-lock bag. Stir to distribute colors. Enjoy!"


What's your favorite hiking snack?

Friday, June 17, 2005

Runnin' with the Dogs

This weekend is the SPCA's Doggy Dash. Being that I don't like dogs, my dash should be pretty fast. We runners get a head start. Stay tuned!

Doggy Dash Info

"Of the thirty-six ways of avoiding disaster, running away is best."
-anonymous

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Religion Part 2

A friend of mine replied to the previous post with the following:
"At least the church of starbucks isn’t passing judgment on sexual orientation, abortion or evolution education."

He also questioned the deforestation which occurs to supply the signature Starbuck's paper cups. Is a caffeine fix worth deforestation? I realize the whole conversation regarding Starbuck's arose when my sister was pointing out to me that they have more to offer than caffeine. Those non-coffee drinkers like myself, just want to be trendy. How cool do you feel walking into a meeting being the only one without your morning Starbuck's cup? After all, it's a status symbol. Maybe Starbuck's should make their re-usable mugs more affordable, and let them become a status symbol. Save the trees.

The ultimate question we should ask ourselves is:
Is there anything worth deforestation?

The answer to this, and our daily actions most likely conflict......(I know mine do.)

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Religion?

A conversation with my sister this weekend went a little something like this:

blah blah blah...chai latte talk....blah blah blah

Her: "Starbuck's has frapuccino's with no coffee in them, vanilla and strawberry flavors, yummm"

Me: "I don't really like Starbuck's"

Her: "How rude. I don't say mean things about your religion!"

Sadly, I think she represents a large portion of the population.

I love her, and buy her Starbuck's gift cards as often as I can.

Monday, June 13, 2005

The Ritual of Graduation

I don't consider myself to be religious or even ritualistic. I just try to have fun. If having a Christmas tree every year makes my sister happy, then I go with the flow. If she's happy, it generally means I get presents. So, this is a good reason to partake in the annual ritual we call Christmas. Otherwise I'd be perfectly happy doing fun things with the days off work.

None of this is what made me think about the ritualistic nature of humans. It was my recent participation in Cal Poly's commencement ceremonies that inspired me to contemplate.

Rationally thinking I should have been able to submit my thesis for binding on Friday and feel the HUGE sigh of relief. The "school's out" excitement didn't pop in to my system instantly. Why not?

Friday night my classmates and I held a grand party to celebrate with our families and friends. I had such a good time that I danced myself into a stiff body for the next few days. It was well woth it! No complaints about the dance floor from me!

Even with all the fun on Friday, the sigh of relief didn't come until I was wearing that cap,gown, and hood on Saturday morning. Weird. What difference did it make if I wore a goofy outfit and marched with my classmates in a silly procession into a stadium of wildly wooping moms? All the difference in the world! The "school's out" excitement jumped right into my soul and I felt ready to really begin living my "new" life. Amazing.

A lot of people I know complain about the long boring speeches in the hot sun. For me, this was the most meaningful graduation ever (note the phrase 'most...ever', it's very trendy these days). Perhaps it is because I've already moved, started working, and even made new friends while I wrapped up my thesis revisions. Graduation, and all the silly outfits with lais, cords, and robes marked my timeline. No more double lives for me.There's only one focus now: to have fun! (I'll work hard too, don't worry. Where do you think the money for having fun comes from?)

With the realization that a silly graduation ceremony can mean so much in terms of settling the mind, it's no wonder weddings and funerals are so important. I'll stop here so this blog doesn't become too deep and philosophical. Go have some fun!
(look for me on the dance floor!)

Friday, June 10, 2005

What do planners do?

My thesis has been submitted for binding. My Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning is now complete!!!!

Now that I've started working, people ask me what planners do. I'm still figuring that out. But, Dad found a great website highlighting the main concerns planners work towards addressing. Check out the side link "Planning Concerns".

Wingnut Experiments

New Release!
Results of two recent Wingnut experiments:

1) Household Raid (you know, the bug killing spray) works great on spiders and bugs. And plants! It is too soon to know about it's killing effects on humans

Details-
Hypothesis: AACK! There are bugs flying around my cute little kitchen plant.

Experiment: Spray Raid on plant to kill bugs.

Results: The bugs died instantly. The plant died slowly over the next week.

Analysis: Raid kills more than just bugs.

2) Landlords do get mad when you forget to pay rent.

Details-
Hypothesis: Get swept up in new life and not be on top of all adult responsibilities. Spend time having fun instead!

Experiment: Not send in rent check.

Results: Find "Notice of three days to pay rent or quit" on door. Pay $50 late fee + $35 fee for the effort of someone to post the notice on my door.

Analysis: Dough Dough Brains who can't remember to pay rent deserve to be penalized.

Who forgets to pay their rent? I feel ridiculous!

Thursday, June 9, 2005

Explaining Women?

All my friend wants for his birthday is someone to explain women to him. Would someone please tell him this is impossible. What happened to "girls just wanna have fun"? Does that really need an explanation?

Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Requesting your patience

Wingnut has dived into a very busy three day work week, and requests your patience while she develops more amusing insights on life.

Upcoming in Wingnut's life: GRADUATION!!!! (this weekend)

Friday, June 3, 2005

"I'm not doing anything"

Why do people answer with "I'm not doing anything, so sure, I'll be there" when you invite them? What counts as "something" to be doing? We are always doing something. Whether it's sitting on the couch drooling over Emeril's latest creation, or cheering on our favorite Monarch's players at Arco Arena, we are always doing something. It's always nice to be invited, regardless of whether previous plans conflict. But, for some reason, we all worry about seeming uncool if we don't have plans, or we try to look over cool by making up plans.

I lean towards the latter. I love being invited to do things...but when asked if "I'm doing anything" I always have an answer. So if you give up on that part, I'll never know if you were going to invite me somewhere. Just because I had a plan, doesn't mean I won't move things around to accept an invitation. Does reading a good book, or finishing my thesis sound like concrete plans to you?

I prefer the more direct approach of being asked to a particular event, rather than being asked if "I'm already doing anything."

Thoughts from my readers?

Thursday, June 2, 2005

More Disaster Stuff

Some say, it's just the risk we take by living in California. Others say we can prevent it. Did you hear about the latest landslide in Laguna Beach? The New York Times has a great slide show of the disaster. Thank goodness no one was seriously hurt in this one. One person complains about 21 years of work in the back yard down the drain. Another is concerned about his half million dollar surfboard collection.

Is it really worth getting this vested in private property? The American dream is to buy a home, make it yours, improve it, and watch the value rise, rise, rise. Then, one day, you end up on the crumbling street with only your wallet in your pocket (if your lucky). You can't even tell these people they shouldn't live on a hillside. Well, they shouldn't, but there are so many other potential natural catastrophes, that even we on flat lands are susceptible to an unforeseen event. Mother Nature will always win (if she wants to).

When I think about buying a house, these are the things I think about. Wouldn't it be more fun to live a simple life, with only the basics? Or is this just the more practical thing to do? Who says Americans have to be practical? We have tons of stuff and need huge houses to keep our stuff. Then, we're devastated when Mother Nature takes it all. Maybe we should be nicer to her. We tear up her hillsides, pollute her waters, and muddy up the air. In the end we're just hurting ourselves.

Hmmm.... Let's all try to do our part. Shall we?

Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Great Hiking Spot: Feather Falls, CA

It's not often that we take a day out of our lives to just enjoy being outside. When we do, though, it is a glorious thing. This past Sunday, without watches, time pieces, or other time tracking means (aside from the alarm to wake up) a friend and I headed to Feather Falls and spent the day on the trail. We didn't even watch the sun travel the sky. We just let the day take our minds and tired legs into the wilderness. Glamourous views, great conversation, perfect weather, and plenty of uphill hiking warrants that day as one of the best ever! Hiking is the best kind of exercise (the oreos along the trail helped keep our energy up).

Here's a picture of the falls: Feather Falls
I even saw the rainbow! The falls reminded me of Yosemite.

I was very pleased to see many other people experiencing the Feather Falls trail with us. I hope they had as much fun as I did. We should all take more time for enjoying the outdoors.

The best part: My brand new hiking boots didn't leave any blisters on my feet!