Saving the world, one laptop at a time

What a phenominal idea... OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) is a non-profit project that seeks to create a $100 laptop in order to educate the world's poorest children. With money saving ideas like a crank (for power) and no harddrive (USB ports instead), this could not only revolutionize technology, but how we educate.

More here: http://laptop.org/

My next purchase.

https://www.aerogrow.com/store/step1a.php

Thanks, guys -- I'll miss you too.

Movin' On

I just resigned yesterday. I am not a quitter and I do not give up easily, but the conditions at my job were so bad, I really had no choice. I will be starting at American Systems on October 16th as an FSO. They offered me a pretty nice raise and a lot of great benefits, so I'm making the move. Is it the right decision? Only time will tell.

This Nation Has Secrets -- Big Whoop!

I am so sick and tired of the media and their "earth shattering" news stories about how this nation has secret this and secret that. Those secrets are called classified information and millions of cleared citizens have access to those secrets everyday. Those secrets are what is keeping this country safe and what are keeping the bad guys out. I personally don't WANT to know what our government is doing behind those SCIF walls. There are some things we're better off not knowing. Can you imagine if we tried to orchestrate D-Day in this day and age? The plot would be leaked to the media so fast that our soldiers would be killed before they were even halfway there.

In my job, it is my responsibility to make sure that this country remains safe. I brief hundreds of people a year about what could happen to them if they divulged classified information. What a slap in the face to the security community for one Geraldo or Katie Couric to blast all over the news the whereabouts of our secret bases or the intricacies of our spying missions. I could be thrown in jail for divulging such things and even given the death penalty. What do they get? An Emmy.

The Solution for Everything!

I was talking to a good friend of mine yesterday about a decision that I may have to make in the not too distant future. I was quite confused about it, and didn't really know what to do. She gave me some great advice that I thought I'd pass on.

When you cant decide, flip a coin. The coin flip isn't supposed to make your decision, but it's supposed to tell you how you'd react to a decision. So if you act really upset when it lands on your "heads" decision, you'll know that the right decision is "tails".

I think I know what I need to do for this one. Thanks, Bobbe.

More Family Photos...

After my grandparents passed away, my family started to divide up the items. My aunt got all of the family slides and negatives. She had no where to keep them, and asked me if I could store them for her. I have about 2500 slides from the 1950s to the 1980s and about a hundred black and white negatives from the 40s. I've started scanning the black and white negatives and have found quite a few lost family treasures. The below pictures are some of my favorites.

Ode to Dawson's Creek (thanks, Rob)

Withering, torrid, tormented soul floating through life just

waiting for the moment

when clarity

will be obtained. Craning neck trying to peek around the next corner knowing that

whatever is next must be better than

what is.

With each step into the future, tears are shed for the past as

whatever is now can never be as good as

what was, and yet

what has not become is

what is

wanted most. Each new discovery is an adventure to be conquered and

with each heartbreak, the end of the

world. Sappy music to cry to as a soundtrack to off balance hormones,

whispers to ignore in a hallway of divas

while trying to master seven subjects in an eight hour day. And still,

what I

wouldn’t give to be fifteen again.

What are you when you're in the bathroom?

European! At least that's what I paid National Geographic $100 to tell me.

Apparently, my DNA results are back and my maternal lineage is from Europe, a part of hapologroup "W". This group makes up 10% of the world's population. I would post more, but I'm late for work. In the meantime, let this graphic representation of my maternal lineage satiate you.

One step closer...

Well, my DNA kit is in the final stages of being evaluated by National Geographic's third party lab. In a week or so, I should be able to find out where my mother's ancestors originally lived thousands of years ago. I will not be able to track my Dad's side unless I have a "Y" chromosome to test, so I may have to sucker my brothers or my Dad into giving up some cheek skin in the name of science.

I'll be sure to post my results when I get them!

Small Mishap.

For the Bibliophile.

http://www.librarything.com

Conference

I just got back from Atlanta, GA on Thursday. I went down there for a security conference. It's basically an organization that promotes security awareness and education. Once I got back from the conference, I decided to spice up our chapter's site a little bit and have spent the majority of the day working on it.

Free Dog!

So uh -- anyone want a dog? I've got this really cute one that I'll give up for free. He's perfect in everyway except he barks at EVERY GOSH DARN THING IN THE WORLD WHEN YOU TRY TO WALK HIM. We've tried choke collars, "gentle leaders", trainers, treats, psychology, and I've read 2 books. So far, NOTHING WORKS.

I know they turn bad horses into dog food -- can they turn bad dogs into horse food?

Meet Bailey

This weekend, John and I picked up our new pooch, Bailey. We rescued him from Howard County Animal Shelter, in the depths of scary Maryland. So far, he's been really good with a few minor issues. He knows "sit", "down", "come", "stay" (sometimes), "out" (to drop a toy) and he's pretty good on leash. He's housebroken, crate trained (with coaxing), is great with kids, and doesn't bark. Sounds like a dream come true eh?

He is very HYPER. If we do not walk him and play with him a lot to tire him out, I can forsee him being a handful. But we've been doing pretty well with it so far (granted, it's only day 3). He has an interest in our cat, Dawn, but doesn't chase her or bark when he sees her. Our big task will be getting her to tolerate him.

He also goes ballistic around other dogs. I am enrolling him in a behavior class, so hopefully that will get better. Because we have so many friends with dogs, I want them to be able to play and get along.

New Addition.

If all goes well with the approval, John and I will be adopting this cute little guy sometime this week! We went up to Columbia, Maryland tonight to meet him and we really fell in love at first sight. He's cute, smart, sweet and just all around lovable. We're trying to think of a name, so any suggestions are welcomed! The shelter has dubbed him "Rudy" but we're looking for something with more piazzas.

Growing Up.

As a child, I always envisioned adults as these demi-gods that could do no wrong. Every word that came out of my parents’ and older siblings’ mouths were gospel. I can remember one time asking my mother why we had to say prayers before each meal. She responded, “So you won’t choke on your food.” As a child, I truly believed that was the reason and diligently said my prayers.

A few months later, my father went on the Optifast program—it was a fad at the time, mainly because Oprah did it. For 3 meals a day for 6 months, Dad had to drink milkshakes. Kind of like Slimfast on steroids. I can remember sitting around the dinner table, all of us with plates of food and my Dad with his sole milkshake. Right before we started to pray I asked, “Why is Dad praying? He can’t choke on a milkshake!” Everyone laughed and I couldn’t understand why. In my own mind, I had asked a legitimate question! I think I was 20 or so when I actually realized you prayed before meals to THANK God for the food – not to save yourself from the Heimlich.

So after I moved out on my own, I slowly began to realize a lot of things that my parents told me were just plain bogus. Granted, they had their reasons for most of it, but it was certainly an eye opener for me to start to realize that my parents were not the smartest people in the world. Then my niece and nephew entered the world and it became even more apparent that parents are just winging it most of the time. It also amazed me to watch them repeat everything my sister said and did. I know we are preprogrammed to be brainwashed by our parents – it is nature’s defense mechanism. If we did not absorb so quickly, how would we learn how to walk, talk and function in society? Although, my niece is quite observant. Just a few weeks ago she said to my father, “You have four children and Michelle is the smartest.” Ha! Gotta love her.

Soon after realizing parents are well intentioned imperfect people, I entered the workforce and became another worker bee in the big cubicle hive gleaning all I could from my boss, the Queen. She knew all and was never wrong. I learned just about everything I know about management from her. She was a perfect supervisor, awesome mentor and friend. Now that I am a manager myself, I am beginning to realize that half of the time, my boss was probably winging it—as were my parents, and as am I. I am often asked many questions a day from my 3 employees and I have to make quick decisions. Decisions that could impact people’s clearances, jobs and lives. It’s quite a scary thought that this responsibility has been entrusted in a 27 year old that thinks you don’t have to pray before drinking milkshakes.

I really didn’t have a point to this when I started writing it. Except maybe that I’m having a bit of a reality check being in lower management. It’s weird when employees ask me if it’s ok if they have the day off. Half the time I think to myself, “Why are they asking me?” The other half of the time I’m thinking, “Holy crap, they’re asking ME!” I’m sure this will all wear off in no time and 20 years from now when I’m CEO of a mega conglomerate, I’ll wonder how I ever second guessed myself as a management fledgling.

Way Cool.

I just ordered my DNA kit -- get yours here and participate in this once in a lifetime oppourtunity!

Ew.

While reading my Popular Science magazine, I came accross this exhibit called Body Worlds. Apparently, this place takes REAL bodies and plastifies them -- then puts them on display. They have over 200 bodies right now, and a waiting list of donors! Gross -- but yet, eerily interesting.

Very Cool.

This guy is making the news all over the world. What would you trade?

Elizabethtown.

Great flick. If you haven't seen it already, you must.

I Don't Think Wiley Liked My Gift.

Or Else.

Found.

Discovered this site while reading the Post Secret site. Turns out, PostSecret and Found are pairing up in Old Town for a short PS flick and some live music. Sounds like fun... who wants to come with me?

Is There Still Hope...?

Maybe AD fans don't have to look like this after all? More info here.

SLUM CREW 19

From Friday night June 9th, 2006 through Sunday afternoon, June 11th, 2006 you will escape from the routine to join us for a leisurely weekend of canoeing, camping and partying. This is always a great time as we celebrate the greatest outdoor weekend party we started back in 1988. See below how it all works and directions. (Please read this entire e-mail.)

Cost: $75 per person (includes a spot in a canoe, use of the campsite, and a custom-made T-Shirt)

You may still invite others, but please confirm your attendance and better yet, please send me the $ so I know you're definitely going.

PLEASE CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE BY REPLYING TO THIS E-MAIL AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED A SPOT IN A TENT. PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE SERIOUSLY INTERESTED. I NEED TO KNOW WHO'S GOING ASAP.

This canoe trip is way too much fun. Come along.

Thanks everyone,

Karsten "Milk" Kinzer

When: Friday night, June 9th, 2006 to Sunday, June 11, 2006 (late afternoon)

Where: South Fork of the Shenandoah River between Luray and Front Royal, Virginia

What: Two days of canoeing (Sat and Sun.)(2 people per canoe) and two nights (Friday and Saturday nights) at the Compton Campground plus an Official Slum Crew T-shirt to commemorate this historic event. We camp next to the cars so there is no hiking and you can bring more stuff.

Cost: $75 PER PERSON. Make checks out to me, Karsten Kinzer. This includes your spot in the canoe, the use of the campsite and the T-shirt. Food and drink are NOT included.

THIS IS A RAIN OR SHINE EVENT!!! (If it does rain, it usually doesn't rain for long.) HOW IT ALL WORKS:

We are assembling at the Compton Campground (a.k.a. Golden Rock Campground) Friday afternoon or night (arrive when you can-directions follow). Carpool as best you can. It takes about an hour and a half to get there from Northern Virginia. This is a rain or shine event, so no matter what the weather conditions, we'll be there (unless you hear from me.) Weather conditions can change quickly in the mountains. We'll be prepared at the campsite for any weather.

The campground is located along the banks of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and is equipped with Don's Jons, a fresh water pump, picnic tables and fire pits (no showers). We will set up camp Friday night near the cars. With that in mind, don't worry about compacting your gear for hiking and such. Bring any and all amenities you think you might want. There will be some community tents to sleep in, but make sure you have space in a tent. Those who have room in tents or tents to share, please make them available to those who don't have tent space. Let me know if you need tent space. THERE WILL BE KEGS OF BEER IN CAMP FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO JOIN US IN GETTING OUR DRINK ON FRIDAY NIGHT.

On Saturday morning, we will be outfitted with lifejackets and paddles and then taken by bus up-river about ten miles. All personal gear will be left at the campsite except what is needed on the river such as suntan lotion, food and plenty of beverages, first-aid kit, etc. Depending on the number of canoes we rent, there will be designated bar canoes we will outfit. These bar canoes will hold all beverages, food, trash, and anything you don't want to get wet. Remember which bar canoe has your stuff. There will be NO GLASS containers of any kind on the river. We will canoe about 5-6 hours Saturday depending on the river level. The river is quite tame (except for one class two rapid at the campsite), but it is strong, moving water, so please take that into consideration. Always keep your footwear and your lifejacket on when canoeing or swimming. If it is sunny, please wear suntan lotion as you can burn very quickly. We finish Saturday back at the same campsite we stayed at Friday night.

On Sunday morning, we set off from the campsite and canoe another exciting seven miles to the Low Water Bridge at Bentonville. Sunday canoeing is shorter than Saturday, but is more eventful. The canoe company will then bus us back up to the Golden Rock Campground. We should be finished Sunday in the late afternoon.

WHAT TO BRING:

* First-Aid Kit
* Suntan lotion
* An old pair of sneakers (river rocks are sharp) - AN ABSOLUTE MUST
* Bug repellent
* Swim suit
* Drinking water or drinks both at camp and on the river. (No Glass Containers)
* FOOD!!! NO FOOD OR DRINK (EXCEPT KEGS) WILL BE PROVIDED. THERE IS A CAMPFIRE PIT THERE FOR COOKING AND GRILLING. BRING FOOD FOR THE RIVER AS WELL.

* Toilet paper
* Rain coat or poncho
* Change of clothes for the campsite including a dry pair of shoes
* Tent (if you have one). If you have more than one tent, please bring it. If we don't need it, we won't use it.
* Sleeping bag or blankets (a pillow is a nice addition)
* Large coolers (if you have them)
* Flashlight

DIRECTIONS:

From Washington D.C.:
- Follow Interstate 66 West off the Beltway for 54 miles to the first Front Royal exit (exit 13). Exit here.

- At the stop sign, turn left.

- Go under I66 and turn right on 55 West into Front Royal.

- Keep going straight (past McDonald's on right) to a "T" intersection (3rd traffic light).

- Turn left on to route 340 South and follow it about 14 miles through the town of Bentonville.

- After about 14 miles, at the bottom of a large hill, turn right onto a dirt road just before a small bridge over a river called Compton. Do NOT cross the bridge. There is a very large, 1/4 mile long active train trestle traversing over the campsite here.

- Proceed slowly down the dirt road as this road is rather bumpy.

- At the bottom of the dirt road, turn LEFT and park where you can. Locate us rowdy folk and we'll help you find a place to pitch your tents.

CELL PHONES WILL PROBABLY NOT WORK AT THE CAMPGROUND.

Mike in Vegas.

Mike in Japan.

Something tells me there's a "Mike in Thailand" photo out there as well...

Reasons for Immigration Reform.

Mass immigration is fueling unprecedented population growth.

Immigration now adds more than one million people—the equivalent of two Denvers—to our population every year. At our current pace of immigration, our population will grow to more than 400 million people by 2050. That’s tens of millions of additional people needing schools, jobs, and housing—as well as water and other precious natural resources.

Today’s immigration is extremely costly.

Unlike previous eras of immigration, today’s immigrants are 50 percent more likely to use welfare than native-born Americans. Providing for the needs of immigrants costs American taxpayers as much as $20 billion a year. We cannot provide high quality education, health care, and retirement security for our own people if we continue to bring in endless numbers of poor, unskilled immigrants. America is still working to meet the challenge of assisting our own poor and disadvantaged; mass immigration compounds the problem and impedes efforts to raise the standards of living for all.

Mass immigration depresses the wages of poorer Americans.

The gap between rich and poor in America continues to widen. Job competition by waves of new immigrants depresses the wages and salaries of American workers and hits hardest at minority workers and those without high school degrees. America’s focus must be on training our own labor force to face competition from abroad, not on importing new workers to compete for jobs at home.

Mass immigration conflicts with today’s national security priorities.

Current immigration levels are so high that immigration officials are unable to thoroughly screen immigrants before allowing them into the country—as September 11, 2001 tragically underscored. Lower legal immigration levels, an entry-exit system to detect those who have overstayed their visas, and heightened enforcement efforts are essential in order to regain control of the system and meet today’s heightened need to know who is coming into the country.

Mass immigration is overcrowding our schools.

In the last decade, school enrollments have increased by 16 percent, an increase that the U.S. Census Bureau attributes largely to the immigration influx. Department of Education officials say that by 2100, the nation’s schools will have to find room for 94 million students-nearly double the current number.

Mass immigration is straining our already fragile environment.

As our population grows, demands for resources increase; increased pollution, deforestation, waste, habitat destruction, and soil erosion are the result. America’s environmental priorities can’t be reconciled with the new infrastructure and resource consumption that continued population growth will require. Resources like water and energy are straining under the constantly increasing demand.

Already, America’s sprawling urban areas are encroaching on fragile coastal wetlands and paving over farmland at alarming rates. Just maintaining the current massive level of immigration will require the construction of millions of new homes (and the resulting loss of farmland and open space) and put tens of millions more cars of already crowded roads.

The U.S. today is a fully populated nation of almost 290 million people, not the sparsely settled territory of 150 years ago. Our priority should be preserving our remaining wilderness areas, conserving our natural resources, and ensuring a better quality of life for future generations.

The best reason we have to reform immigration is this:



Text taken from: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_research9964

Cy-Col-O-G

When I was in seventh grade, I got this crazy idea to list all my classmates on a sheet of paper (there were like 20 of us) and give the sheets out to each kid in class. I asked each one of them to describe the other 19 using only one word. I have no idea why I did this -- I think I was just interested in what everyone else thought of everyone else. Well, this girl in my class, Kerri Smedley, got super upset. She said I was mean and insensitive for doing this excercise (probably because people were putting mean words down for her description) and demanded I stop doing it. I still have the sheets I managed to collect--not sure why, I just thought they were cool.

At any rate, I was reading Joe's blog and he had this cool excercise which you describe someone in 5 words. It's called a Johari window. A Johari window is a metaphorical tool intended to help people better understand their interpersonal communication and relationships. It is used primarily in self-help groups and corporate settings as a heuristic exercise.I thought I'd give it a go. So if you want to describe me, click here: http://kevan.org/johari?name=mijoy. It will show me what others seem to think of me.

To tell me what you REALLY think of me, you can describe my faults here: http://kevan.org/nohari?name=mijoy

LOST

For those of you that don't already know, I'm a huge LOST fan. My husband and I watch it every week, tivo in hand, so we can pause, rewind and review every last second of the show. In case you were wanting a close up of the diagram from the last episode, I managed to find it and have posted it here for your enjoyment.

Looks Like We Passed Inspection...

Hello, Michelle and John – I’m pleased to inform you that your application for adopting a Sheltie through NVSR has been approved. Kato and I enjoyed meeting you yesterday. The next step in our adoption process will be to match you with the best dog for your situation and profile. This may take some time. As dogs come in to us, we foster each of them for at least two weeks, often more. They are also shown on our Web site. If you see a dog there that interests you, please let us know at apply@nvsr.org. We try to work with each dog and one adopter at a time, but always emphasize that we are working from the dog’s point of view, doing our best to match the dog with the right home.

We look forward to helping you find your family's next best friend! Thanks again for your interest in NVSR.

Martha Heisel
NVSR Adoption Coordinator
www.nvsr.org

Movie Beam

As a kid, I always thought it would be cool to just choose whatever movie you wanted from your TV and have it automatically "beamed" down to you. Well folks, it's finally here! Too bad it doesn't work in South Riding --- yet.

Reality TV

Many thanks to my hubby, Johnny Dude for this one.

Remembrance

By, Ray Bradbury


And this is where we went, I thought,
Now here, now there, upon the grass
Some forty years ago.
I had returned and walked along the streets
And saw the house where I was born
And grown and had my endless days.
The days being short now, simply I had come
To gaze and look and stare upon
The thought of that once endless maze of afternoons.
But most of all I wished to find the places where I ran
As dogs do run before or after boys,
The paths put down by Indians or brothers wise and swift
Pretending at a tribe.
I came to the ravine.
I half slid down the path
A man with graying hair but seeming supple thoughts
And saw the place was empty.
Fools! I thought. O, boys of this new year,
Why don’t you know the Abyss waits you here?
Ravines are special fine and lovely green
And secretive and wandering with apes and thugs
And bandit bees that steal from flowers to give to trees.
Caves echo here and creeks for wading after loot:
A water-strider, crayfish, precious stone
Or long-lost rubber boot --
It is a natural treasure-house, so why the silent place?
What’s happened to our boys that they no longer race
And stand them still to contemplate Christ’s handiwork:
His clear blood bled in syrups from the lovely wounded trees?
Why only bees and blackbird winds and bending grass?
No matter. Walk. Walk, look, and sweet recall.
I came upon an oak where once when I was twelve
I had climbed up and screamed for my brother to get me down.
It was a thousand miles to earth. I shut my eyes and yelled.
My brother, richly compelled to mirth, gave shouts of laughter
And scaled up to rescue me.
"What were you doing there?" he said.
I did not tell. Rather drop me dead.
But I was there to place a note within a squirrel nest
On which I’d written some old secret thing now long forgot.
Now in the green ravine of middle years I stood
Beneath that tree. Why, why, I thought, my God,
It’s not so high. Why did I shriek?
It can’t be more than fifteen feet above. I’ll climb it handily.
And did.
And squatted like an aging ape alone and thanking God
That no one saw this ancient man at antics
Clutched grotesquely to the bole.
But then, ah God, what awe.
The squirrel’s hole and long-lost nest were there.
I lay upon the limb a long while, thinking.
I drank in all the leaves and clouds and weathers
Going by as mindless
As the days.
What, what, what if? I thought. But no. Some forty years beyond!
The note I’d put? It’s surely stolen off by now.
A boy or screech-owl’s pilfered, read, and tattered it.
It’s scattered to the lake like pollen, chestnut leaf
Or smoke of dandelion that breaks along the wind of time...
No. No.
I put my hand into the nest. I dug my fingers deep.
Nothing. And still more nothing. Yet digging further
I brought forth:
The note.
Like moth wings neatly powdered on themselves, and folded close
It had survived. No rains had touched, no sunlight bleached
Its stuff. It lay upon my palm. I knew its look:
Ruled paper from an old Sioux Indian Head scribble writing book.
What, what, oh, what had I put there in words
So many years ago?
I opened it. For now I had to know.
I opened it, and wept. I clung then to the tree
And let the tears flow out and down my chin.
Dear boy, strange child, who must have known the years
And reckoned time and smelled sweet death from flowers
In the far churchyard.
It was a message to the future, to myself.
Knowing one day I must arrive, come, seek, return.
From the young one to the old. From the me that was small
And fresh to the me that was large and no longer new.
What did it say that made me weep?
I remember you.
I remember you.

Robert Moxley Underwood

Of Gainesville, VA on February 25, 2006. Preceded in death by his beloved wife of 63 years on September 1, 2005, Catherine E. Underwood; devoted father of Kathleen (James, III) Lambiasi, Mary (Randolph) Tucker, Robert M. (Elizabeth) Underwood, Jr., Ida (Michael) Ragan, Linda Milburn, David M. (Sandra) Underwood, Theresa (Charles) Glass and the late Christopher Mark Underwood. Also survived by two brothers, Paul and Charles Underwood; 29 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. at MOSER FUNERAL HOME, 233 Broadview Ave, Warrenton VA. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Thursday, March 2, 10:30 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Warrenton. Interment Cedar Hill Cemetery, Suitland, MD at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the American Heart Association, 7203 Poplar St., Annandale VA 22003 or to the Holy Trinity Catholic Church Building Fund, 13260 McCartney Court, Bristow, VA 20136.

Oh Yeah, I Forgot The Best Part...

So the best part of my ER trip was by far my wonderful husband's faux pas.

As he was registering me at the front desk, the lady asked him what my Social Security Number was so she could verify that he truly was my husband. He immediately rattled off MIKE'S Social! The lady was like, uhhhhh...

So it's good to know that if Mike is dying in an ER, John will be able to register him no problem. Me? Not so much.

:)

Reality TV: ER

Well, for the first time in 24 years, I managed to snag myself a ride on an Ambulance last night. We still don't really know what happened for sure, but for some reason, I had a sudden onset of lower abdominal pain around 9:30 last night. The pain was so bad, I was rolled in a ball on the floor screaming at the top of my lungs and unable to move or breathe. I must have said a million times I was going to die.

John called 911. As they were pulling me out of the house, I felt like I was on Desperate Housewives, as our neighbors were standing on the porch wondering what was going on.

The entire ride to the hospital, I felt like I was going to die. All I could do was scream, I was in so much pain. My pulse was 130, and I was hyperventalating pretty bad.

When I got to the hospital, they moved me onto the bed in the ER. It was a sudden movement which created a shooting pain throughout my whole body that caused me to scream one last time. Then just as quickly as it began, all my pain just stopped.

Odd.

They ran a million tests, and came to the conclusion that I either had a ruptured ovarian cyst or ovarian torsion. Although, if the ovary twists, it usually does not "untwist" itself. They said it's possible they may never know what happened. They sent me home at 1:30 AM.

I am exhausted mentally and physically and have been told to take it easy for the next few days. I start my new job on Tuesday -- I hope I can handle it!

The Times They Are A Changin'

Tommorrow is going to be a big day for me. I'm going to submit my resignation to the only employer I've ever had. I've been working at USI/Integic/Northrop Grumman since I was 19 years old and have learned everything I know from that place. I have finally decided that the climate and culture that the Northrop buyout has produced, is not an environment that I want to be a part of anymore. I am going to spread my wings and start a new job. If all goes according to plan, my first day will be on February 21st.

Leaving my office is bittersweet. I am going to a better oppourtunity that will allow me to manage 3 people and 1200 clearances. Currently, I manage myself and 300 clearances. I will have a lot more responsibility and with responsibility comes, well, responsibility. I believe I am capable of succeeding, but it does not mean that I am not scared to take on everything I have signed up for.

I have always been the baby my entire life. I am the youngest of 4, I was always the youngest in my department at work, I was always the youngest in my group of friends. Now, I am going to be a leader and a mentor in a new place and although I am excited, I am sad to be growing up.

C'est la vie, et la vie doit continuer. Je dois apprendre à changer, ou je ne me développerai jamais. Voici ne disparaître rien!

BAN DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE!

Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.

Dihydrogen monoxide:

* is also known as hydroxl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
* contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
* may cause severe burns.
* contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
* accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
* may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
* has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

Contamination is reaching epidemic proportions!

Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage in the midwest, and recently California.

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:

* as an industrial solvent and coolant.
* in nuclear power plants.
* in the production of styrofoam.
* as a fire retardant.
* in many forms of cruel animal research.
* in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.
* as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.

Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!

The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use of this damaging chemical due to its "importance to the economic health of this nation." In fact, the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use.

Stolen from snopes.

Now I know where Northrop got their ideas...

http://www.despair.com/spin.html

Viruses Galore! Come See!

Great concept. Check it out here.

An HR Christmas

Merry Christmas Guys. You'll be missed.


Twas the week before Christmas, and all through suite,
All the HR folks were wondering, what we would have to eat.
Open enrollment was done, with no help from NG,
And we were ready to celebrate our last holiday as a team.

The recruiters were all nestled snug in their chairs,
While Edith and Amy worked on Benelogic nightmares.
And Teri in her office and I back from a meeting,
We all silently prepared for more employees to be leaving.

When out in the lobby there arose such a clatter,
Danny jumped from his cube to see what was the matter.
Away to my window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the blinds, knocking over my trash.

The shine on the marble from the newly waxed floor,
Shone in the lobby all the way to the door.
When what to my wandering eyes should we all see,
But our very own HRL, beckoning his eight loyal employees.

“Now Bruce! Now Bobbe!
Now Edith and Amy!
On Teri and Michelle!
On Debbi and Danny!
Out of the office!
Out of these halls!
Now dash away! Dash away!
Dash away all!”

With jackets in hand, and purses too,
We grabbed our gifts and away we flew,
We raced down route 50, we left with a bang,
Eager to start our last Christmas as the Gang.

We arrived at Michelle’s, our drive came to an end,
As we relished our time that we had left to spend.
But before we could start our joyous festivities,
In walked our leader, the jolly HRL, Charlie!

He was dressed for the winter, from his head to his feet,
And he was cursing under his breath something about NG.
A bundle of advice he was about to give with fervor,
To give to us all before we parted forever.

“Always be sure to do what is right,
Because if you do, you will never lose a fight.
Make sure you also learn to accept NG,
Because they’re who we are now, and not what we used to be.

I’m thankful to be blessed with such a great crew,
And I know that I am only as good as each of you.
I want you to know that this team will be missed,
But we all have new opportunities since being purchased!”

So for one final time, we shared and we laughed,
Remembering past memories spent as Charlie’s staff.
And we knew in our hearts our friendships would last,
Which made it easier to look forward and not in the past.

Then when we were finished, Charlie sprang to his car,
And prepared for the long drive, because Frederick was far.
We said our goodbyes, our last Christmas was through,
We were all quite surprised how fast the years had flew.

And Charlie waved from the window as he drove into the night,
But before he could get completely out of sight,
I heard him exclaim as he was never nonplussed,
“Remember gang – let’s do it to them, before they do it to us!”

Greenhouse Effect Debunked!

So I was thinking about the earth this morning and about how locations on the equator are the hottest locations on earth. The reason for this is because those locations are nearest to the sun, right? Ok, well then I started to think about archeologists and how they are uncovering civilizations beneath our feet everyday. Then when I started to think about how easily artifacts get buried and forgotten, it occured to me that we are getting closer and closer to the sun each day!

Just our everyday living causes the earth to build up. Even Jamestown (built only 400 years ago) is being excavated right now. So what if our gradual temperature changes are merely a result of our elevation rising?

I'm sure just about every scientist on earth is laughing at me right now, but it's something to think about!

The ultimate geek toy.

Jamie, since you like RSS so much, this one's for you.

Writing off the Subject

That blue speckled cat
walking the steamy concrete ledge
is following his whiskers
to the ocean
where sailboats trickle
across the fragile water,
masts stretching to the sky
full of marshmallows, angels' wings,
and cotton
that grows in dusty fields
so hot that the sun
cracks open the
dirt and ants peek in to see crumbs
left from a picnic
with soda crackers
and orange cheese
and lemonade
squeezed by a fat, sweaty woman
in the early morning
as the rooster crows to start the day.

L'Hiver (second edit)

Tip tap on the window,
the frost raps
as the breeze proclaims
the inauguration of winter.
Drops of fluffy white
ooze down the sky like wisps
of manna--
nourishing our souls,
reminding us that
life, like flakes, is transient.
Instead, we persevere
struggling to preserve
our distinctive identity
until inevitably
the warm breath of spring exhales,
melting us into the
pool of Eternity.

Blah.

It's cold out. I've spent the past two days at a Security Conference in Dulles learning about all the wonderful things our government is going to do to help make this world a better place. I've been spending a majority of my time with two ladies-- one from New Mexico and the other from Boston. The New Mexico lady is freezing--she even ordered her water today at lunch without ice because she "didn't want to get colder". The Boston lady is not wearing a coat and says it's "nice out". I've been drinking ice water, wearing a coat, and keeping the heater on my seat in my car on.

John and I got our Christmas lights up, and they look pretty good. Of course, they are nothing compared to our Halloween decorations (mainly because Delvaux wasn't here to help), but they will do. Last weekend, I went to a Christmas party for all the gals on my street and when they met me, they kept referring to me as, "The lady with the Halloween house." I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Well, that's it. I don't really have that much more to say. It's a "Blah" type of day.

My Trip to Court.

Ok, if anyone has met me for more than 5 seconds, they will quickly find out that I have zero sense of direction. I am probably the only person known to have ever gotten lost in her own neighborhood (Karsten will never let me live that one down) and I would give my right eye to have a GPS in my car. That being said, I had to go to the Fairfax Courthouse today to get my notary commission renewed.

"How hard can it be?" I thought confidently to myself as I printed the mapblast directions. (My first clue should have been when Google Maps told me that it could not locate 4110 Chain Bridge Road. If Google couldn't find it, I should have known I was in trouble).

So I went home last night, directions in hand, and told John I where I was going this morning. He said, "Do you know where it is? That courthouse is hard to find." Again, stupidly but confidently I replied, "How hard can it be? You go down 50 and get on 123!"

"Okaaaaay," my all knowing husband replied.

So I left my office in Chantilly at 10:00 and proudly told my boss I would be back "shortly" as all I had to do was go to Fairfax "real quick." Piece of cake.

So, following the directions, I arrive in Fairfax. I immediately see a sign that says "123 ---->" Ok, great! So I follow the ----> and end up on Lee Highway. Hmmmm.... no signs to 123. I'll just go back the way I came, maybe I turned too early. So back I go, and I arrive on 50 once again. This time, I decide to follow the mapblast directions that tell me to turn right on Main Street. No problemo, right?

Ok, so I'm headed down 50 again, and I see a sign! Main Street! Yes! Ok, if any of you know Fairfax, they'll know that there is this funky star shaped intersection where 29, 50 and Main Street all collide. It's kinda confusing. So apparently, there are like 2 rights on Main and of course, I take the wrong one. So off I go onto the wrong one, and I end up pretty far down 29. Ugh. By this time, I am cussing and calling John on his cellphone telling him I can't find freakin Chain Bridge Road and why can't I have a GPS device?!?! Fortunately, my husband is a patient man. So I turn around and go back whence I came and find the REAL Main Street turn. Ok. Whew. I find Chain Bridge. So I'm driving up and down Chain Bridge (by this time it's about 11:00) looking for 4110. Ok, I see 4000 and 4103 but no 4110. I also see lots of construction and cranes and signs saying "New Courthouse!! $115,000,000!" Ok, so I keep on Chain Bridge until I end up at George Mason. By this time I'm pretty peeved again and decide to call the courthouse for directions(duh!).

The courthouse recording tells me the obvious-- "To get to 4110 Chain Bridge Road, you must turn onto Judicial and then make a right onto Page Road to park in the parking garage. Then you have to walk on foot to 4110." Well gee, I'm an idiot.

Ok, so I park in the parking garage. The parking garage tells me to go up to the 3rd floor to walk across the skyway to the Judicial Center. After crossing the skyway, I come to another parking garage where I have to go down 3 flights of stairs to the outdoors. Then I follow this sidewalk covered in scaffolding where I enter the courthouse from a side emergency exit. Are you getting all this???

So once in the building, there are metal detectors and guards. So I turn to this mexican dude beside me who looks like he's spent his share of time going to court and I say, "how do I get to the third floor?" "Oh, follow me!" he says with a grin. So after we are searched, he leads me up the stairs to a set of elevators. We get in and as we are getting in, a lawyer steps in. The lawyer smiles at my escort and says, "Hey! How's your probation coming?" So my escort starts talking about some speeding ticket he's here for, blah blah blah. Ok, so I get off at floor 3 and I go to the Notary desk. The first thing I see is CASH ONLY. Of course, right? So I have $8.75 on me and I need $10. After standing in line for a while, it's my turn. The lady says she'll hold my notary commission while I go to an ATM. How nice. I was hoping she'd give me $1.25.

So I get back in the elevator to discover my escort going down too! "You leaving?" he says. "No, I need an ATM." "Follow me!" he says. So he takes me to the ATM and I get my money. What a nice guy. Back up to the 3rd floor, I'm sworn in, commission in hand, and off to my car.

Of course, once I get to my car, I realize you have to pay for your parking BEFORE you leave the garage. So I walk BACK to the garage entrance to pay. The guy in front of me is told, "Sorry cash only!" so I give him $2 to cover his costs. He thanks me profusely. I pay for my ticket and leave. Whew! 12:00 PM.

Once I leave, of course I am daydreaming and take a wrong turn. I somehow end up at the Fairfax Government Center. I finally make it back to my office at 12:30 just in time to scarf down a Wendy's Combo #1 with Diet Coke and whine to my coworkers about how I hate Fairfax.

I told them crime in Fairfax must be low because I know I'm never committing any crimes EVER now that I know what a pain it is to go there.

Soapbox -- Illegals in VA

"Over 100,000 illegal aliens are living in Virginia, estimates the Migration Policy Institute.24 This is an increase of 45,000, or 82 percent, since 1996 and an increase of 58,000, or 138 percent, since 1992.

Experts say that northern Virginia, with its thriving service economy and surging communities of legal immigrants, has become a magnet for illegal aliens.25 Eighty percent of the state’s illegal residents live in northern Virginia.26

Before September 11, Virginia’s lax driver’s licensing procedures caused a stream of illegal aliens into the state. After the terrorist attacks, the state tightened its identity and residency requirements and will no longer accept passports with expired visas.27

Virginia estimates it spends $56 million per year on illegal aliens in schools.28 Virginia’s Medicaid program spent $3.4 million on illegal aliens in 1997, the latest year for which figures are available.29

Virginia authorities requested $8.9 million in compensation from the federal government in FY’99 for the incarceration of illegal aliens in state and local jails and prisons, but it received only $3.4 million in compensation, leaving $5.5 million in uncompensated costs to be borne by Virginia taxpayers. "

Source: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_researchba6f

This infuriates me.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10081719/

Do Your Part

Folding@Home is a distributed computing project -- people from through out the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. Every computer makes the project closer to their goals.

Folding@Home uses novel computational methods coupled to distributed computing, to simulate problems thousands to millions of times more challenging than previously achieved.

Talk of the Town.

Even though we were not blessed with the presense of Zombie Mikey this year, we still had a great time on Halloween. We got a ton of compliments on our decorations (kudos to Delvaux) and we had over 200 trick or treaters. Pictures don't do the house justice, but this will give you an idea of what it looked like (click to enlarge)...

It's Pumpkin Time!

In honor of Japan, I did a Hello Kitty pumpkin this year. It turned out way better than I thought it would!

Japan, Day 9

Friday, October 28, 2005

Nothing really happened on Friday. We left for the airport at 6:00 am and boarded the plane at 11:30. The only thing that really happened, was a camera crew was at the gate while we were waiting for our airplane. I'm not really sure why they were there, but I took a picture of it anyways.



I'm really glad we went to Japan. It was definitely a chance of a lifetime opportunity and I know we'll end up going back.

Japan, Day 8

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Thursday was our last full day in Tokyo. Because we were somewhat exhausted, we decided to split up for the morning. Mike and Haywood explored Shibuya while John and I decided to go shopping for Christmas presents. We went across the street to Keio, an elegant shopping center located above the train station. I made an observation while we were there -- Japan doesn't have malls (due to space limitations), so instead, they cram all the shopping into train stations. This particular place was basically a 7 story Lord & Taylor with restaurants on the 6th floor and an open garden complete with pet shop on the 7th. While looking at the restaurants, I happened to take this picture of a "kids meal" on display. Look closely and you'll see a hello kitty crouton floating in a bowl of soup!



After buying gifts for John's family (my family is already saturated with Japanese memorabilia), I went back to the room to rest and John headed out to get some more things.

We all met up again around 6:00 in order to meet my brother and his friend for dinner. This next adventure was by far, the highlight of the trip. Jim took us to meet a fellow architect, Isao Hosoya, who designed the restaurant we were going to. This place was absolutely incredible. When you first walk in, you have to duck way down to enter the chest-height doorway. Once inside, the entire place looks like a miniature village. There are little huts that seat 2 people, and then there are "buildings" with rooms on top. To get to the rooms, you climb a very narrow staircase (after taking off your shoes, of course) and then you enter this tiny room where you sit Indian style at a low table.

Isao ordered for us and to our surprise, we had dish after dish of the most amazing Japanese food. We probably sampled at least 30 different dishes, the first of which, was "service" (this means "complementary") because Isao designed the restaurant. This dish was sashimi inside of an ice igloo. The igloo is the symbol of the restaurant, and is another reason why the huts were designed to look like ice.



In the middle of the meal, all of us were remarking on how much we loved the clay beer glasses we were drinking from. Isao promptly called the manager over and explained to him we were visiting from DC and loved the glasses. The manager gladly gave us each a glass on the house! After the waiter took our pictures, and we ate some dessert (green tea cake, tofu and sweet bean sauce, ice cream and some other things I can't remember) and headed home.

Japan, Day 7

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Wednesday was spent split up. John and Haywood wanted to go see the Tokyo Auto Show, so Mike and I decided to explore Akihabara. Akihabara is sort of the Nerd district of Japan – it is full of electronics, anime, gundum, arcades and porn. I made sure to steer clear of the porn aspect, letting Mike wander in and out as he saw fit.

In order to get to Akihabara, we had to take the train which was pretty intimidating to navigate without the help of Jim. We spent a good 10 minutes standing on the platform with a map and pointing to all different lines. Finally, a Japanese man came up to us and asked us if we needed help. He told us to get on platform 11, which was a good thing, because we were about to go in an entirely different direction. Once on the train, we had an uneventful ride and we exited into Akihabara with excitement and awe.

Once there, we basically spent a good 5 hours wandering from store to store buying random silly things. One of the things that the Japanese love are collectable figures. They sell these things in sealed boxes, so you can’t tell what you’re going to buy. So once you open the box, if it’s not the figure you want, you buy another box in the hopes that you’ll get your figure. It’s sort of like Baseball cards in the form of useless plastic toys. Well, Mike and I managed to find a store (7 floors) that sold these things already opened in clear plastic bags – so you could just automatically buy what you wanted. I managed to pick up a few humorous things for friends with this newfound method.

We also found a store that was sort of like a ghetto version of Tokyu Hands. It was 7 floors of dollar-storeish items. I managed to pick up some dried fish and crabs along with some other “tasty” treats to bring back to my coworkers. At the top of this store, was a pretty cool arcade. You paid by the minute, and all the games inside were free. So for ¥100 (about 85 cents), you could play any game you wanted, as long as you wanted, for 15 minutes. We spent about 20 minutes in there running around testing all the games. One of the coolest games that I played was a typing/fighting game. Basically, all of these monsters are coming towards you and each one of them has a word on their chest. In order to kill the monster, you have to type the word as quick as you can. If you make a mistake, the monster will take a hit at you. I was pretty good at it, but all the words were Japanese which meant there were like a million hyphens. Since typing a hyphen is not a frequent activity for me, I managed to die on level 3 due to this anomaly.

The trip overall was pretty cool. Mike managed to get a hotdog from Mr. Donut and a cheeseburger from Mos Burger (the Japanese Wendys) which he said was awesome. After a while, we decided to head home as basically every store sold the exact same things and it was getting dark and cold and rainy.

Once back at the hotel, Jim called and we agreed to meet at Meguro Station. After a short train ride and a medium walk, we arrived at his office. It was neat to meet his coworkers and see his desk. There were models of buildings everywhere as well as pictures of projects past, present and future. After his office tour, we walked to an Indian restaurant where we had soup, curry, rice and non. The food was awesome. The owner was an older Indian man that spoke Japanese with an Indian accent. Pretty cool. At the restaurant, we happened to catch the end of the equivalent of the Japan World Series. The Chiba Lotte Marines won with the coaching of American Buddy Valentine. Apparently this was a good thing because there were a rowdy group of Japanese in the restaurant screaming and jumping up and down when this happened. One of the guys (who was pretty drunk) was even crying. He eventually stood up and kissed the TV and kept saying “Bobby! Bobby!” I’m glad we were there to witness that.

After dinner, Jim thought we may want to see Shibuya. This area of Tokyo is for the under 30 crowd and is full of bars, clubs and bright lights.



It is also home to Hachiko, the faithful little Akita dog. Hachiko lived in 1923 and his master was a professor in Japan. Each day, the professor would go to the Shibuya train station with his dog, and each day when he would return, the dog would be waiting for him. One day, the professor got very ill after getting on the train and died. The little dog sat dutifully waiting for him in the same place, only to find his master was not returning. For the next 10 years, Hachiko could be found waiting at the Shibuya train station, sometimes days at a time. He ended up dying in the very spot where he had last seen his master. In honor of Hachiko, there is a bronze statue erected here in Shibuya.



After walking around Shibuya for a while, and after Haywood got a cup of coffee from the busiest Starbucks in the world, we headed back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep.

Japan, Day 6

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

On Tuesday, Jim actually had to go back to work so we were on our own. We decided to explore some of the more memorable stores to see how the average Tokyo shopper acquired their goods. After getting fuel for Mike and Haywood in the form of McDonald’s, we headed past the train station (below)



to Tokyu Hands which is self defined as a “Creative Life Store”. This place was pretty neat. It was 7 stories high, and each story had a different theme and resembled an American store.



The floors were:
• Floor 1, Party Supplies and Toys: very much like “The Party Store”
• Floor 2, Camping Goods: “LL Bean”
• Floor 3, Kitchen Goods: “Bed, Bath and Beyond”
• Floor 4, Furniture Goods and Bedding: the “Bed” part of “Bed, Bath and Beyond”
• Floor 5, Electronic Goods and Crafts: “Radio Shack” and “Michaels”
• Floor 6, Wood Supplies: “Home Depot”
• Floor 7, Stationary and Office Supplies: “Office Depot”

The concept of this store is really great. John remarked that if we had a store like this in America, we would only have to shop at one place for most of our needs instead of driving from store to store. Some of the more unique items to note that we found were: collapsible chopsticks for camping, 6 lighters with 1 month on each side so you can have a lighter for every month of the year, a stapler that staples using paper instead of staples, and a quilt for kids that teaches body functions. This quilt has detachable “poops” “pees” and “bacteria” that you can affix to a body and a toilet using Velcro. You can open up the body and see the bacteria in the digestive tract, too. As Mike was taking a picture of it, a store clerk told him to stop. We’re still really not sure why, but I hope his one picture turned out.

After Tokyu Hands, we headed off to a 6 story arcade. It seems like here in Japan, they are big into themed floors. This building was no different. We went from a floor full of crane machines, to a floor full of photo booths, then 2 floors of pinko slots, then 2 floors of arcade machines.

From there, we went to the Best Buy of Tokyo, called Yodobashi. This place is like six buildings of electronic and toy themed floors. It was difficult not to get lost in here. One of the most intriguing floors was the appliances floor where they had thin refrigerators and countertop dishwashers.





After Yodobashi, John and I went back to the hotel to rest up before going out to dinner prescribed by Jim. Jim sent us by taxi to a quaint little Italian restaurant called Armonia. Seating no more than 25 or so, we were served a Japanese version of Italian food in the form of a six course meal. We had: lightly smoked tuna with vegetables, lotus root and chicken wrapped in cabbage, tomato and basil pasta, snapper with Italian ham, ice cream with a chocolate dusted miniature éclair, cappuccino, and then Japanese tea to finish the meal. The meal was fantastic and was a great way to enjoy Tokyo without the antics of Mike and Haywood.



We walked back from the restaurant on a beautiful 66 degree clear night and back at the hotel, John went out with Mike and Haywood to an English pub while I stayed back and caught up on work email and then went to bed.

Japan, Day 5

Monday, October 24, 2005

Monday was spent with a trip through the Japanese countryside via train, cable car, ropeway, boat, bus, then train. Around 10:00 AM we met up with Jim and his friend at the Sinjuku train station. We agreed to go to Hakone which is a historic vacation spot for the Japanese. This area is full of hot springs, water, mountains and on a clear day, you can even see Mt. Fuji. After getting our tickets and stopping for coffee (I got a Green Tea Latte which I was not fond of), we boarded the “Limited Express Romancecar” which is just a really cool name for a train. The train took us in style about an hour and a half from Shinjuku to Odawara. Here we got on a smaller train another few miles to Gora. Once in Gora, we boarded a cable car that was propped at about a 45 degree angle which took us up a pretty steep incline (apparently, this is the second steepest cable car in the world) to Sounzan. At Sounzan, we got into a Busch Gardens like ropeway car which took us up another steep mountain where we could see a huge strip mine complete with the sulfuric smell of the hot springs.



We shared the ropeway car with a group of people from the UK who kept telling their little children that the smell was merely “stinky burps”. At the top of the ropeway, we got out and took another ropeway car, this one much smaller, down the mountain to Lake Ashi where we boarded a cheesy, Disney-ish boat called the Hakone Sightseeing Ship.



On the lake, we got to see the top of Mt. Fuji along with other beautiful scenery. John compared it to upstate New York, and for good reason. We also got some time to take some "action shots".





Off the boat, we took a detour to visit another shrine where I got some great pictures as the sun was setting.







After the shrine, we stopped to eat at a great little restaurant where we had all different forms of noodles, rice, tempura, and soup. After eating, we got on the Hakone Tozan Bus which took us down windy mountains back to the Romancecar.

After getting back, John, Haywood, Mike and I decided to get some good ol’ American cuisine and scoped out a Wendy’s. The food was good, but John and Mike said their chicken sandwich was freezer burnt and dry. A short walk from Wendy’s was an arcade where we spent some time playing a fighting game by typing on a keyboard and a game where you hit a Samurai drum. Exhausted, John, Haywood and I went back to the hotel to crash, leaving Mikey in the arcade. It’s about 10 hours later, and I would not be surprised if Mike was still there.

Japan, Day 4

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Sunday was really a cool day. We decided to head to Roppongi. This is known as the “tourist” area of Japan as it is filled with obnoxious Americans looking to go clubbing and have a good time. Instead of going clubbing, we went to Roppongi Hills, which is a new mega-plex of towers and buildings built by Mori Building Company (the Japanese equivalent of Trump Enterprises). On the top of the building, was the “Tokyo City View” where we would see Tokyo from an amazing vantage point. From this location, Jim was able to point out various landmarks, including some of his firms’ buildings that they had constructed.



In the same area of the building, was the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit (on loan from Bill and Melinda Gates). This exhibit is put on display once per year and showcases the actual pages from da Vinci’s Codex Leicester —all written in mirror image. Amazing to see that in person.

After the da Vinci exhibit, we headed to what was probably the most fascinating thing I had ever seen. Mr. Mori commissioned a gigantic scale model of New York, Tokyo and Shanghai which fit into about 2,000 square feet of space at 1/1000 the scale. These models were breathtaking to see and what was even more eye opening was seeing New York compared to Tokyo – Tokyo filled up about 4 times the amount of space as New York. Along with these models, were interesting statistics on each of the 3 cities, showing population, density, divorce rate, birth rate, class size, etc. The only thing I regretted about this, was we were not allowed to take pictures.

From Roppongi, we headed to Asakusa per Dawn’s suggestion. In Asakusa, we went to Kappa-bashi which is the restaurant supply district. Just about any type of restaurant good can be found here, from aprons to dishes to the piece de resistance – plastic food. Here in Japan, just about every restaurant has a perfect plastic replica of every item on their menu. So if you are hungry, you just point to something and they’ll serve it to you. It’s great for us foreigners who cant speak a lick of Japanese. Well, in Kappa-bashi, they sell these replicas which just totally fascinated Mike and I. Needless to say, I couldn’t leave without purchasing some fake steak and pasta.



From there, we headed to Nakamise-dori which is a street lined with all sorts of vendors selling their wares. I managed to get some good video footage of this, which I will post when I get home. At the end of the street, was a great Shrine where we stopped to take pictures and Mike got his fortune by shaking a metal box, and having a piece of wood fall out. On the wood was a symbol which corresponded to a drawer. When you pull the drawer out, you pick up a piece of paper that tells you your fortune. Mike's basically said, "you'll find the girl, pass the exam, buy the house, live the life, make the money, get the job...etc..." They seem to cover all bases on those things.



At the end of the day, we were completely beat and all of us crashed at the hotel around 7:00 and fell asleep without dinner.

Japan, Day 3

Saturday, October 22, 2005

On Saturday, per my request, we “eased” ourselves into Tokyo.

John and I started our day at the hotel’s “American Buffet” where they served “typical” American breakfast food. We had hotdogs, steamed vegetables, lasagna and French fries along with cereal, fruit, bread, and boiled eggs. We also noticed that they had tomato juice there too. Weird.

Jim came to our hotel room around 11:00 and the 5 of us prepared to venture out and explore Shinjuku. We started out by learning the ropes of the train station and going 2 stops to Takeshita Dori where we walked through a beautiful park to the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Once there, we got to see a wedding party walking through as well as some little children dressed in ceremonial dress. Apparently, on significant birthdays, they get dressed up and get their picture taken at the Shrine.



On the way back from the Shrine, we stopped at a cafeteria in the park and had some Japanese fare.

After the Shrine, we went to Takeshita Street, which is known for it’s hip fashions and is the epicenter of Japanese teenagers.


On this route is my brother’s latest building, still under construction, so we stopped to take pictures of the structure. The leopard part is an all glass building that will house Cartier's store. Cartier put the leopard over the glass as an ad to say, "We're coming!". The structure in the back that looks like wood, is actually limestone. The entire building is very impressive.



After that, we went to an antique store that sold all sorts of tourist friendly goods like sake boxes and green tea sets. I noted that Jim probably gets our Christmas presents from this store, as many items looked oddly familiar. After antiqing, we pressed on to Kiddy Land, which is a 5 story building full of Japanese toys. This place was a blast and I'm sure you could see Mike drooling all the way in America. I picked up some miniature Japanese food in this store and John managed to find something close to his heart too.



That night, we met up with several of Jim’s friends for some “Italian” cuisine. The restaurant was located in the Japanese Opera House (which is really an enormous skyscraper). Jim thought we were going to a laid-back place, but we ended up in a very nice place complete with 3 course meal and a half of bottle of wine per person. The appetizer was a jelly with sausage and eggplant… sort of like an Italian Jello. The main course was pasta with black and green olives and red pepper. For dessert, we had cooked pomegranates with cinnamon and ginger with ice cream. Quite a good meal. After the restaurant, we met up with another friend, Sunoco, who informed me she was “so happy for the existence of Jim-san.” We then headed off to a traditional Japanese smokey bar for beer and sake. At the bar, we were served tofu with shredded fish, boiled soybeans in salt water (these were cool – they looked like pea pods and you just popped the soybeans out of the pods to eat them), dried manta ray, nato (this was gross – it was fermented soybeans with raw tuna), baked chicken, potatoes with cheese, and water lily roots. We were seated next to a group of drunk college guys that kept chanting in Japanese (one gulp! One gulp!) and then proceeding to down their sake. By the end of the night, one guy had taken off his shirt and another was drunkenly groping his friend. I think Mike and Haywood were quite intrigued by this.

Japan, Day 2

Friday, October 21, 2005

We arrived in Japan a little after 3:30 PM in Narita airport. The airplane taxied for about 20 minutes before finally coming to a halt. We got out, went through customs (customs consisted of a guy asking us: “Are you bringing in anything illegal?” Once we said “no” we were free to go through) and went in search of the “Friendly Limousine” that would drive us to the hotel. For ¥6,000 (about $50.00) we purchased 2 tickets and were VERY ready to get settled into the hotel.



We hopped onto the limousine at 4:35 and figured we’d be at the hotel around 5:30. After driving through the equivalent of 4 New York cities, and sitting in rush hour that makes the beltway look like a country road, we arrived at the hotel a little after 7:00 PM (which was 6:00 AM EST) cranky, tired, and as I described it, “feeling like I wanted to scratch my face off” from frustration and exhaustion.

When we got to the hotel, Mikey and Haywood had not arrived, so we called Jim who came over with Shrimp and Mayonaise potato chips, Chinese food, flavored water and Pocky. Mike and Haywood arrived around 8:00 PM and we all decided to walk to downtown Shinjuku to get some Japanese food. We arrived at a place that Jim said was equivalent to “Japanese Dennys” and settled in. To my dismay, I had to take off my shoes (I didn’t have socks on) so walking around in a foreign country barefooted and jet lagged was not a great feeling. We sat for about an hour and had beer, fried octopus balls, pizza with corn, sashimi, a beef and noodle dish, and cheese and garlic bread. After stumbling back to the hotel more tired than I had ever been in my life and being awake for over 24 hours, we crashed.

Japan, Day 1

Thursday, October 20, 2005

The ride to the airport was given to us by John’s Mom and after hugs and goodbyes, we made it uneventfully through security. Our flight took off at 12:20 PM and we prepared for the 14 hours ahead. Once on the plane, John and I immediately settled in and started playing with all of the gadgets. There were little TV screens in the back of the headrest of each seat, and we could watch TV, movies, play games and even track our progress to Japan via a GPS image of an airplane flying over a digital map. We constantly got updates of how long to our destination in miles, kilometers, and minutes, but also the current temperature (I was amazed that it was consistently 20-50 below zero) our altitude and our estimated arrival time.

The meals on the plane were a great foreshadowing to the meals we would be eating in Japan. We started out with hot towels, drinks and rice crackers. Then we had a chicken and rice dish with smoked salmon and potato salad with cold noodles and sesame oil, bread and crackers. John observed that most of the people on the plane were drinking tomato juice? We still haven’t figured that one out yet. We had a snack of Cup of Noodles and more rice crackers and then were served dinner that consisted of pasta, tomato sauce and a slice of cheese melted over top with yogurt (not sure why?) and bread.