More Timmy Pics

I found him like this just before I dropped the feeder fish in.


This is his latest hiding spot - see the biggest fish below him, that's the one he ate first.


You can see the suction cups at the top that he popped out so he could fit behind the posts of his dock.

One week with Timmy

I never realized before how much joy having a pet could bring. I bought Timmy(my turtle) a few feeder fish - I planned to only get 2 but the sales girl was having trouble just getting 2 of them out of the tank so I just said I'd take the 4. They're only 10c each. Well I put them all in Timmy's tank. After a couple hrs the biggest one (which I thought was too big for Timmy) started looking pretty bad - it was swimming really slowly then just lying on the bottom with only its gills moving, then it'd swim for a little while. I usu let the tap water I pour into Timmy's tank sit for a while before pouring it in to allow most of the chlorine to diffuse out. I don't use any water conditioners so I'm not surprised that the fish had a hard time. I figured I'd wait to see if it started floating on top then I'd just take it out - I didn't think it was small enough for Timmy anyway. After another hr, I looked in the tank and the fish was gone. Gone. Eaten by Timmy. I checked and there wasn't anything left of it anywhere in the tank. So I took the other 3 out b/c I didn't want him to eat anymore that day - he'd already been fed that morning and ate that big fish at night. So the next morning, I dropped one of them in his tank along with his usual pellets(usu 4 little ones), but he didn't seem at all interested in the pellets. I was a little concerned when I came after 15min and saw the pellets still there. Then I remembered that he'd feasted on that big fish. I guess he was full. When I got home that night, the fish in there was gone too. The next morning, I only put 2 pellets in there for him.
Timmy usu hides when I approach his tank and doesn't eat until I move away out of sight. But today I decided to just stand there and see what he'd do - they're supposed to get accustomed to being out around the person who feeds them.

He swam around for a while, then swam to his food (3 pellets + 1 mini shrimp) and gobbled them up one after the other. I didn't realize that he'd eat them that fast. Then he swam right out in front of me, looking for more I guess, then he assumed his usual hiding spot under his basking ramp. He came out briefly to sit on top of the ramp but when I turned around to peak at him (his tank is directly behind my computer chair) he dived to his usu spot. Still , we're making progress b/c he ate with me standing right there. Soon he might also stay on his ramp even when he notices me watching. Some turtles are more shy than other and never get over it enough to bask when you're around. But that's ok.

Pet Pictures

That's Timmy trying to climb behind the posts for his basking dock. He has managed to pop out the suction cups at the top so that he can fit behind the posts for the dock-that's his new fav spot. I've tried putting them back in place but he manages to pop them out in no time so I just leave it that way now.


This is the full set-up of his tank - his main hiding spot is behind the black filter on the bottom right of his tank.

My turtle

I got a tank, filter, screen, and other accessories for my new turtle and had it all set up and working for my new pet turtle last night - His full name: Timothy The Turtle aka Timmy T. Turtle or Timmmmy (in my South Park voice). I decided on the name last week. My friends agree that it's a good name for my turtle.

I brought him home tonight. Got him settled in his new home. At first he just hid behind one of the rocks. Then he was trying to get to the surface to breathe and the basking dock was in the way - I almost had a heart attack watching him. I was just about to open the screen to take him out but then he swam around it and was about to breathe. He's fine. I have the tank half-full to accommodate the small filter. I had to move the filter a couple times as Timmy kept swimming too close to the spout and was then pushed back by the filter current. I turned his basking lamp on and when I peaked at him he had climbed on top but as soon as he noticed me he dived back in the water and hid between the rocks. His other fav hiding place is behind the filter. I 'm glad he got up on the dock, I was afraid it might be too much for him as he's so little but he's fine. I think he likes his new home. I'm happy.

babies - so cute

my future turtle will be one of these babies


for perspective

why I have to move again

Though I'm not quite up to moving again emotionally, I fear that I'll lose my sanity if I don't. If it was just one thing, maybe I'd not even consider it but there are just too many things that are not right.

The Cons of staying:
- apt cold even though heat is supposedly included in my rent(now it's too hot)
- neighbor downstairs screams at her kids at all hours of the day and night
- said kids scream(like someone is killing them) at all hours of day or night
- said kids run up and down at all hours
- neighbor also snores really loudly at night(I've lost quite a bit of sleep b/c of this)
- I'm uncomfortable telling my stupid neighbors to quiet down when they get too loud b/c said neighbor is the same guy my landlord asked me to leave my back door open for so he can fix the plumbing - don't really want to piss them off
- I got another stupid parking ticket (my 4th since living here)
- there's a weird "moldy" smell in my living room which I can't locate (I've looked and cleaned and moved eveything in that section of the room to no avail - and can only imagine that maybe it's from the guy next door as we share the wall where the smell emanates from. Either that or the mold is in the wall. Ewwww!
- whenever it rains, my bathrm develops a mildewy/moldy smell for a couple days (which I only notice now b/c they never fully put the floor back in...from when they had to fix the leak they caused when they were replacing old iron pipe - all b/c I wanted the water from my bathrm sink to come out at more than a trickle...this lead to a cascade of events leaving me with a partially patched up wall(which they had to remove to replace the pipes after they discovered the leaks) under the sink and a partially covered bathrm floor
- bathrm floor cannot get wet (or so the landlord has told me, neither can the kitchen floor. Why would anyone sane replace the flooring in the 2 places most likely to get wet, with some kind of laminate flooring that "can't get wet" is beyond my understanding.
- they still need to "fix" the pipe from the kitchen which runs through the bathroom (they need to pull out the radiator in the bathrm for this, they plan to do this with me in residence)
- the expense of moving again(though I have had firm offers of help so maybe it won't be nearly as costly as it was last time when I hired movers)

The Pros of moving:
- quiet neighbors (one can hope)
- guaranteed parking = no more stupid parking tickets because they recently changed a stupid sign on your street and a stupid overly large SUV was parked in front of you, blocking the new stupid sign which you would have noticed if stupid SUV wasn't in front of you. can also blame stupid SUV b/c it was stupidly parked in such a way that it was hell fitting into the spot behind it, thereby distracting me enough so that I forgot "no parking Tues night". Phooey.
- heat in winter
- normal sized bathroom(you cannot imagine how small my current one is)
- bigger closets (hopefully)
- maybe even a dishwasher
- no mysterious "moldy/mildewy" smells
- affordable

Does it not sound like I need to move?

another week

This week didn't start out great but all in all was a good week. Had a slight mix-up with a few compounds I was shipping and recheck/rerun several pieces of data to be sure I had them labeled correctly. I did, thank goodness but I had to check to be certain. My job depends greatly on accuracy and certainty. If stuff goes awry, you need to be able to say that you are 100% certain of things. I was glad I checked and made sure.

My supervisor was his usu surly self but his boss(B2)and his boss's boss (B3) both gave me several compliments this week. I shipped out 4 compounds last week, have 4 going next week and 4 will be ready to go the week after that. I've been working a little extra to get the work done since I was supposed to shift to new targets soon. Anyhoo, they were both impressed with my progress and felt that I had done a great job and shipped the compounds out in record time. It was really nice to have those compliments repeated. Usually when I make a mistake, I have to listen to my boss, B2 and B3 (job culture = hierarchy, chain of command) all tell me about my error and how I should take care not to repeat it in the future, and the steps I need to take to avoid it in the future. So it's nice to have compliments repeated in the same vain.

My group went to lunch this week to say farewell to a co-worker(moved to another project) - I wasn't going to have dessert b/c no one else seemed to want it. Then B3 said, if you want it, get it, you deserve it, you've been working hard (usually the most senior manager there picks up the tab for our group lunches). How cool is that? So I had triple layer chocolate cake. Pretty good cake.

In other news...I'm getting a turtle. For real this time. My friend has one reserved for me (his turtles layed eggs and he incubated them and several of them hatched and are doing well). So now I have to get a tank and stuff for it. I'm so excited. I haven't asked my landlord. I've decided to move again. See "why I have to move again"

stranger than me

Tonight I rented "Stranger Than Fiction"(STF). I saw it in the cinema but was in the mood for it again tonight. Went to the video store to choose a movie for tonight - I had one free movie coupon left (from reward point from a credit card). I was determined to borrow a movie I hadn't seen before. My choices..."the last king of scotland" or "the good shepherd". I wasn't really in the mood for either of those movies, even though I do want to see them eventually. Felt like something more upbeat and funny. So I went with STF. Such a great movie. The only thing is that when I first saw this movie - I went with several friends. We had horrible seats in the nosebleed section, partly due to the fact that there were 6 of us, we were late and it was opening weekend and the place was packed. Anyhoo, one of the friends with me was C. And I had such a great time watching the movie with him next to me. He and I laughed at many of the same things (that most other ppl weren't laughing at). He was very touchy-feely. Not inappropriately, he only touched my hand or arm from time to time. I liked it, a lot. And later we went for coffee and hung out for a while with a couple other friends. He sat next to me again and seemed so into me. It was a very good night, at least I thought it was. I was sure he'd call soon for us to hang again. He even suggested it himself to me that night. But then...nothing. No calls from him, nothing. This was back in December I think. He hasn't called me since. Several times I started dialing his number but bailed at the last minute before it goes through. Then I recently saw his ad on yahoo personals...for someone other than me...much younger than me...any race but black. I'd almost forgotten about that night. Guess I was trying to block it out b/c it's tied to the other not-so-good stuff.

So there's this guy at the gym who I thought was kinda cute but he seemed shy. I don't have much patience for the shy. I just don't. Anyhoo, finally he comes over to me and talks to me at the gym for quite some time (while I worked out on 3 different machines). So I figure, the next time he sees me, he's going to ask for my number at the very least or ask me out...maybe for drinks or coffee sometime. Well, I was wrong again. I swear, sometimes my love-life (or lack thereof) is a like a country-western song. 5 times now he has come over to talk to me. Does he expect to learn all about me without even paying for a coffee. What am I supposed to think? That he's interested? Or that he's not interested? Whatever I'm supposed to think...what I think now is that he's a weirdo. One of my friends told me I should ask him out for coffee. But I fear if I do this, it'll only confirm my suspicions that he's a weirdo and then I'll end up having to give him that awkward "I'm just not interested in you" talk b/c I was the one who asked him out first.

The other weird thing is that I saw him tonight. Not at the gym(cause you know there's no way I'm going there on a sun), but at the gas station where I decided to go fill up my tank before going to get my movie (the gas station is next door). The weird thing is that he was there at all b/c he lives far away from there (at least 15min or more) whereas I live 5 min from there. The gas is cheaper there than at most stations and he drives an Audi which needs premium grade so maybe it's worth it to him to drive that far. I always wonder about people driving around (wasting gas) to find the cheapest gas. Surely it'd be cheaper to get gas closest to you than to drive further for it. imho, but what do I know. From our conversations...where he never asks me for my number or asks me out...I don't think we have much in common other than the fact that our parents are from the same country. Plus with every meeting, he's becoming less cute and more weird. He totally came up behind me at the gym the other day and I was like "whoa, don't sneak up on me". What does he think? that we have thing now? That he can get into my personal space and I'd be ok with that. Maybe I'm the one who's weird. I just don't think this guy is it.

I have a totally inappropriate crush on a guy at work - he's 22. I'm sure it'll pass. He's funny and and sarcastic and so quick-witted. And 22. I try not to visit his lab anymore so I don't see him much. This is for the best. I couldn't even think about dating this guy ever. Even if he was interested in someone 10 yrs older. He's way too young. Plus, he's a co-worker in my former lab and that would just make me fodder for the rumor mills. Who needs that? I sure don't. I only bring this up b/c I was telling T while we were out at lunch about my crush. Well I started to say " I think my crush is fading, this is good". She said "oooh, the guy from the gym?" And I was like "not him, no way, he's barely even cute anymore, I don't have a crush on him at all. I was talking about a guy here at work". I planned to keep his name to myself for as long as possible. Well until the crush goes away completely. Any day now, it's bound to happen.

I just don't know what to think or do about this guy at the gym. I actually have a name for him - dorkyD. It's a little mean, I know. In my defense all I can say is that, no guy who was interested in me before waited this long to ask for my number. Not even the weirdos. Actually, the weirdos always want my number asap or give me theirs if I refuse to give them mine. The longer he waits, it'll be 3 weeks mon. Granted I only see him a couple times a week at the gym and I only went once last week. I have seen him randomly before though. At the grocery - again far away from where hw claims he lives. Well he has to pass 4 or 5 other groceries to shop at that one. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was stalking me.

I gotta stop this train of thought - obviously, I'm tired and should go to bed now.

motivation

Trying on swim suits are a great way to motivate yourself into going to the gym.

I was in Target over the weekend and saw a few suits on sale. Tried on a couple (different sizes)and ummm I just put them back and got out of there as fast as I could. Why? It's called back-fat. I have it. It's not pretty. While I do think that the style of the suits were probably not suited to my body shape, I didn't expect them to look that awful from the back. They were one-piece suits with the back cut out. I think a tankini-style suit is probably more my style.

In my head I figured that if I lost ~5lbs I'd be fine...near if not at my optimum weight...anymore than that and I'd start wasting away(or so I thought). The back-fat tells another story though. Maybe I could stand to lose more like 10-15 lbs after all. According to the BMI/body fat charts/calculators, my optimal weight is 25-30lbs less than I weigh. I don't think I need to lose that much. I think I have a medium frame and as such could stand to have more weight than they allow for my height. My actual weight(number) is not what I really care about, I think being able to fit into clothes comfortably would be nice. Not to be hanging over my jeans/belt would also be good. Not to have several creases in my back, ideal. And if I could minimize the love handles to the point where I don't have to name them, perfect.

Finally the kick I needed to get back to the gym. Every day I kept telling myself that today's the day...today's the day that I go back to the gym...but today never seemed to come. I'd end up staying at work too late or be too hungry or too tired or just plain not-in-the-mood. Tonight, no more excuses. I worked out for an hour incl wieght machines/warm up and cool down.

My feet are killing me. My lower back and hamstrings don't feel too great either. Might have done a little too much. That's me, all or nothing. No moderation. Nothing in between.

Another reason I was reluctant getting back to the gym was that I didn't want to answer questions like...were you on vacation? thought you moved? Got a few of those but I had answers ready..."yes I was on vacation [from the gym hehe"] or "yes, it's been a while hasn't it". :) No big deal really. Stuff like this always seems like a bigger deal in my head that they work out to be in reality. I don't always remember that.

I did see a guy that I normally say "hi" to whenever I see him at the gym. I've also bumped into this same guy at the grocery store. I kept telling myself that one of these days he's going to have enough courage to actually come up to me and speak :)
Today was totally that day. He saw me and waved and I waved back. Then to my surprise, he walked right over (from the other side of the gym, I might add) and said more than hello. He said "long time no see", etc. I kinda told him about my recent motivation in brief...trying on swim suits, just the motivation I needed to get back to working out. He said - what do you mean? you look very attractive, you don't need to worry about it at all". Isn't that sweet? We chatted for a bit while I worked on a few machines. He and I have something in common. His parents are also from T&T. We had a nice chat. He also asked if I had been on vacation somewhere b/c I seemed to have gotten darker. I told him about my trip home 4 mths ago. The main reason I'm darker now is because there is actual sunshine and I have been walking outside whenever the weather allows. I got a great deal of sun this past weekend as I went walking with T in the morning on Sat. It was great. We walked for about an hour then sat outside a local coffeehouse, with iced tea and bagels, before walking back to her house. I was also outside during prime sunshine hrs on Sun. So great after the many days of rain we had early last week.

I'm in pain, time for some advil, I think, then bed.

Nadal was in top form for the first major clay event of the year (Monte Carlo). Brilliant match against Federer.

The Yankees...real bust this weekend in their opener against Red Sox in Fenway. Can't watch any more of it. Time for bed anyway...it doesn't look good :(

taking names

I was reading a post over on Virginia Belle's blog - about having to add another name to her "Men Who are Obviously Not Interested in Me" list.

I didn't think other people had this list too. You know what else? My list is full. I don't want to add any more names to it. Instead I want to be able to make a new list(s). How about...

"Men who want me and are not too shy to do something about it" or maybe
"Men who think I'm hot" or how about
"Men who are so into me" or (and this one is my favorite)
"Men who want me to marry them and have their babies"...Jeter? Nadal? Tristan?

I already have several candidates for these lists. A pity and a shame that they are currently empty. These are the lists I want to be adding names to.

It's April, right?

I feel the need to write this b/c it snowed/sleeted/rained all day. What's up with that? The weather gurus are all excited b/c they have something to talk about again. Phooey! That's all I have to say about that.

I did finally get my iPod sorted - finally figured out the stupid software I paid for and got it to transfer my songs from iPod back to iTunes. But it took me a while and so when I finally had it worked out, it actually transferred several songs 2 or 3 times or at least their file names if not the actual info in the music files. Yeah, this meant many duplicates/broken links. I spent a good part of today deleting the duplicates and re-loading some of the albums that were corrupt. My sis got me an external backup hard drive so I can keep my music on that as back-up. Took me a while to figure that out as well. From the link in amazon, it made it seem idiot-proof...like all I needed to do was press a button and voila...info backed-up. Not so simple, folks. The specs for it mention that it comes with a 22" USB cord. It's more like a 5" USB cord. Still usable though and since my sis was also thoughtful enough to get me a storage case for the drive I just place it in that on the floor by the USB port on my tower. So no worries :)

birthday

Stayed home for my birthday as planned on Mon. I slept in a little (till 8am). Had a leaisurely breakfast then spent much of the day cleaning. I meant to do it Sat/Sun but was out much of the time or just in a lazy tv-watching/reading mood. It was ok though. So I invited about 14 people. I figured that they wouldn't all show up but at least I'd know in time since I specifically asked them to let me know by Fri - I also included my phone and home email in case something came up on Sat and they needed to cancel. I hadn't figured that some of them would wait till the last minute to tell me they weren't coming. I had to call a couple of them to find out they weren't coming. A couple of them called me at 730pm Mon night (yeah, they were supposed to be there at 6) to tell me they weren't coming. I know ppl have lives, stuff comes up, whatever. Surely they could have let me know sooner. I guess I just don't rate a highly as I thought. In spite of them, having too much pizza/cake, I had a great birthday.

I did have a great time with my friends who did show up. They brought cards and festive moods with them. We spent most of the night playing poker - we used coins and just made them have the same value regardless. We also spent some of the time eating chocolate mocha silk and chocolate cake with whipped cream/butter icing and sprinkles. A few also had yellow cake. I baked the cakes (from a box -Pillsbury makes the best box cakes) - and only made the yellow b/c I was catering to the ppl who bailed at the last minute.
I just have to let it all go though - it's hard b/c I'd never do that to any of them. If I can't go I let them know as soon as I can and I don't bail at the last minute. I took the extra pizza and cake into work on Tues and they were glad for it. Got some really good gifts/cool cards as well.
I also got quite a few e-cards. My Mum has discovered e-cards now - kinda cool. I got some funny Easter cards and also sent a few funny ones. The funniest one by far featured Hoops and Yoyo talking about Easter candy - hysterical...well it made me laugh hysterically :) They make me think of my sis and me. When we get together we often act very silly and sometimes can't stop the wise-cracks, funny voices and giggles. Fun times. If you have time, do take a look at them if you haven't before.

This has nothing to do with anything - a guy I knew in college (he was in my chem classes) used to say "fun times" all the time. I think he thought it was funny. It was, the first 3 times he said it. Not so much after that. He was a little pompous - he claimed that he came from a "rich, little town with huge houses". Like anyone cared? Anyhoo, I find that I use "fun times" from time to time. I try not to use it too often lest I annoy other people in the same way that guy used to annoy me.

Watching Beetlejuice - I must either have forgotten or just haven't seen it from the beginning before in a long time. Can you believe this movie is almost 20 yrs old? Oh how the time flies? I noticed for the first time tonight that the sandworms aren't scary at all, they look like sock puppets. I remember when I first saw this movie I was pretty freaked out by the sandworms. I was also freaked out by Beetlejuice himself. Alec Baldwin is quite dashing but Micheal Keaton is maginificently repulsive as Beetlejuice. And then there's that dance he does...so funny.

swwet escape indeed.

Today my birthday. It's also my lucky day. Why? It started with me singing along to Gwen on "Sweet Escape" - which I'd just bought from the mall. I was trying to make the light and didn't realize I was going that fast. I actually started slowing down a bit b/c I thought I was going a little fast.

I got pulled over by a state trooper today. Actually he'd been trying to pull me over for 4 blocks and I was oblivious until he sounded his siren. I was curious and a bit alarmed that he seemed to be following me and lights were flashing but did I stop? Ummm, no, I did slow a bit and then when I heard the siren, I realized, Oh crap, he's stopping me.
He asked for my license and registration. He had to point out the registration card to me as I was searching for it (frantically) in the envelope from my glove box - the envelope labeled registration/insurance. I guess I was just a bit nervous. He also asked if I had gotten a speeding ticket before (now I'm kinda scared). to which I answered no. He asked, "Never, no tickets?" I told only parking tickets. He asked if they were all paid. I told all except for the last one which I pleaded "not guilty" to. He asked where I was going? I told him I was going home and that I'd just come from the mall. So he then went to his car. He came back and told me he wasn't going to give me a ticket today. He also said that I had been doing 49 in a 30 and it was a school zone - meaning double the fines/double the points. I then thanked him and told him it was my birthday and would have really sucked to get a ticket today. Then he said, well happy birthday, I definitely can't give a ticket today. he also said to "watch my speed".

Sweet escape indeed - I don't think that's what Gwen's talking about but it's still apprpriate here :)

Federer's lost his mojo

Federer lost to Canas again! I can't believe it, even though I saw it with my own 2 eyes, live on tv. What's up Roger? What's wrong? What's happened to your mojo? Dude, you seriously need to get it back.
My boy Nadal has another shot at winning another big tourney(as far as point standings go) so I'm not as heart-broken as I sound going on and on about Federer losing. But the man is like one of the best players in history so it's very surprising, is all. At least tonight's match was more of a match than the last time he played Canas in the Pacific Life open - none of his shots were working that day.

In other sports news, the West Indies played Australia today in Cricket World Cup. Those Aussies are so damn good at their cricket. I don't know how our boys (Windies) are going to beat 300+ runs in 50 overs for 6 - this probably means nothing to you if you don't understand cricket. Let's just say that Windies don't usually score that many runs in 50 overs. Luckily, the match was delayed due to rain and is to be cont'd tomorrow I think. Else those Aussie boys would probably still be scoring runs now. I probably wouldn't even be following the cricket if it weren't for a couple co-workers from India and Pakistan who are really into cricket. So I feel honor-bound to keep up on the results at least. They are both really bummed b/c both India and Pakistan got eliminated in the early rounds. And by Ireland and Bangladesh no less. Not a crack on Bangladeshis, but really who even knew that Ireland played cricket seriously enough to be in the world cup. World Cup cricket has a round-robin format much like world cup soccer(football) does. Each group (A-D) had 2 strong teams and 2 weaker teams. Pakistan and India are generally considered to have strong cricket sides so it's a shame really for them not to be in the super 8's. Ok, enough cricket.

April is coming which means now I can also watch baseball and my beloved Jeter(don't be jealous of Nadal) and the Yankees.

April also means Spring...Easter...my B'day. All good things. This year I don't want to do anything too big for my b'day. I was thinking of maybe just going out to the karaoke bar that weekend. Of course, that'll be Easter weekend and I'm singing for Easter(in choir on Sun) so I may not want to have too wild a night before. I was also thinking of maybe just having a few people over for cake and ice-cream. Then I thought about how small me place is and how much seating room I have (4-5 with a push, anyone else on the floor).
I think a few peeps will be out of town or with their families so maybe I will do that and it'll only be 4-5 friends. That'd be cool. I'm even thinking of baking the cake(s) myself. Of course I still have 2 weeks to bail on this idea. I just don't want to do what I did last year. It was good but not only did I have to pay for my dinner myself(on my b'day) all fine, didn't really expect them to pay for me. But I also had to chip in $12 bucks more b/c someone didn't put enough in - I feel bad stiffing the waiter on their tip from a table with 8 people, that's just wrong. I was a little upset by that. Maybe who ever didn't put enough in didn't realize. Maybe. So no big dinner out with people. If I do decide to do dinner I don't want so many people there that I have to make a reservation. No more than 3 or 4 incl me. That's why I was thinking more along the lines of cake/ice cream. Sure to cost less than $55 dollars.

I think that the people who live downstairs have a washing machine in their apt. At least it sounds like they do. So not fair as I have to go out to the laundromat but that's another story. They can't seem to find any other time to do laundry but at midnight or 1am. WTF? They are home all damn day. Or at least when I leave they are here, I come home for lunch on occasion, they are here. I get home early, still here. So why the hell must they do laundry so late at night? Another thing they do late at night is move shit around - I hear stuff dragging and lots of footsteps. Even though I'm in the upstairs apt, I hear all this. Why? My guess...they suck and are trying to get on my last nerve. Well, maybe they are not trying to annoy intentionally. How can I be sure though.

I better get to bed. I feel crappy, congested and like I'm about to wheeze (even after taking my emergency inhaler). This is not good. I'm taking too much medication to feel like this. I've been having trouble sleeping off and on. So much so that I forgot to set my alarm and overslept one morning - got to work at 9:45am, so not good. To offset that I've been making an effort to get to bed earlier so I can get more sleep/rest. I woke up a few times last couple nights. It might be my asthma meds that's contributing to this. So I thought to keep myself up a little longer in the hope that I would sleep till my alarm goes off. Then I end up staying up too late. No win situation. All this not sleeping enough is not helping my asthma either. Also have not been to the gym in 3 weeks, not been to boxing in 2 months maybe. Can't remember. Not good. I've got to get back into the groove. I've actually only put on a pound or 2 since. This is good. My muscles are slowly wasting away though. I can feel myself becoming more sluggish every day. We've been having relatively nice weather and I have been going out for walks about 2x a week so that's something. Got to get back into regular routine. After all, my gym membership is not free. I was watching the show Workout (on Bravo) and I'm envious of all their in shape bodies. They measured their body fat and the trainers had 10-18% body fat. Imagine. My body fat is closer to my age, not really where I want to be. Got to do something more. More than just wishing for it. Something proactive.

Not tonight though - time for bed now.

now i know

I think I finally figured out why C never called me even though he seemed keen, interested and said he would - even though I erased my profile from yahoo, I still get occasional emails about matches based on basic search criteria. Well, guess who was on there tonight. I checked out his profile after seeing his pic. I must confess that I made a new profile so I could actually read what was in his (they don't let you open profiles after a while until you create one of your own).
He's looking for a woman 20-24 who's not Black. He had all the other criteria checked in the ethnicity category except Black. Very telling. Usually I look at this section in a guy's profile first, no point reading and getting excited about some guy who doesn't date/is not interested in Black women (for whatever reason).
Not only am I Black, I'm also older than 24. 2 strikes in his book surely. So now I know. Am I happier with this knowledge? NOT at all. I guess it's better to know though. So glad I never called him after he promised to call me. How embarrasing would that be...to be chasing after a guy who's not interested in you at all, not really, not in a romantic way in any event.

Rafa...Rafa...Rafa(can you hear me shouting)

He's done it and in dominant fashion as well. My boy Rafa has beat Roddick today 6-4, 6-3. I'm so hoping that Murray beats Djokovic later tonight. I want a Nadal vs Murray match-up for the men's final. This is a big win for Nadal. He needed this. I can't wait for tomorrow match.
S confessed to getting me an early bday pressie - Nadal calendar. Perfect timing S.

just call me...fanatic...T_E_A_D_A

I went to see T.e.a.d.a/Danu in concert last night. Cost of ticket $20. I didn't get lost on the way surprisingly considering that I hadn't been there before. The show started off in true Celtic fashion with a local pipe and drum band, complete with tartans, highland bagpipes and tall socks. I love bagpipes.

Then T.e.a.d.a followed. Tristan was his usual dreamy self, he introduced all their songs and gave a little background about the composer of it/where it originated. My only regret is that I didn't bring their CD with me. They were signing. I could have had Tristan(and the other lads) sign my CD. I guess I just have to go to the next show they play here. That'll be in September and I can't wait.

It was even better for me than when I saw them at Christmas b/c I actually recognized most of the songs they played this time. Their album is #1 in Ireland. Yet these guys are so down to earth. I spoke to 3 of them. Oisin, Sean and of course the lovely Tristan. You can see them in this video. The music sounds a bit 'tinny' in the video link. You can get a better idea of their sound (and the way they sound live) from their site when you click link for individual songs. Sean plays bouzouki/banjo and guitar, Oisin's on fiddle, the wonderful Tristan on bodhran(a type of drum), Damian on flute. The guy on button accordion in the video is Paul. Him I've yet to see. Both this time and the last time I saw T.e.a.d.a, they had Tommy Martin instead playing Irish bagpipes/tin whistle. He is also a brilliant musician. I would have bought his CD last night but didn't have enough cash on me. Next time. Even though I didn't have their CD and wasn't buying another, that didn't stop me from going over for a chat with "the lads". "The lads" is how Muireen from Danu referred to T.e.a.d.a. I'm going to start saying that all the time now - the lads :)

I wondered whether Tristan watered the bodhran he plays from the same water that he drinks from. Just before he starts playing, he pours a little water on it, rubs it in, then keeps a mean beat on it. So I asked him, and in his lovely, Irish lilt, he told me, "no, never, it's sacred...has it's own water bottle". And he smiled. And I may have giggled and said something inane. No matter. I mean it's not like I could really envision having a relationship with a musician...who lives in a different country...who travels all year with his band. If I could though, Tristan would be the one.
I also chatted with Sean and asked him to help me pronounce the name of their latest CD Inne Amarach(yesterday, tomorrow). He said I was close, and that the accent on the 'e' in inne and the first 'a' in amarach is called a "fada" and gives it a long vowel sound. Maybe he was just being kind and I butchered it trying to say it. Oh well. I also asked Oisin how to say his name and its something like 'o-sheen'. I tried and am sure I didn't quite say it right either. At least Tristan's name was easy. Can't be butchering the name of the love of my life now can I :)

As for the show, it was great, the music was so beautifully played. It almost breaks your heart but then it mends again at the end. This is what I get from most of the Celtic music I listen to.

Danu followed after and they were really great as well. They sing as well as have instrumental songs and they have a slightly different feel from T.e.a.d.a(who mostly do instrumental pieces) but still enjoyable. They were funny, made random jokes about each other throughout their set. Very fun. A fun fact: both of the fiddlers from each band are named Oisin. I wonder if you have to take up the fiddle if you are named Oisin. Coincidence?

They all came out for one encore performance...together. It was really cool. I don't know if this is the norm or not since I've not been to many concerts and the ones I have been to have only 1 band/musician playing. They played like they were used to all playing together - sign of great musicians.

I'm so pleased that I went, in spite of the fact that I had to go alone b/c S was out of town and Z said it was too much money. Never mind the fact that Z wanted to go out on a bar crawl with M&D tomorrow for St. Paddy's. When I said that I wasn't interested in standing out in the cold and drinking, not much drinking since I'd be driving. She suggested we could get a cab. Yeah, a cab, plus drinks, then food. More than $20 in addition to the discomfort and hassle. I'm not in the mood for that. Not my idea of a good time. At least not anymore(methinks I might be getting old(er). I think my $20 was more than well spent to see a couple bands whose CDs I own and whose music I enjoy. I know, I know, people should spend their money on whatever they like. I'd just prefer a more honest response, like "I'm just not in the mood for Irish music" or "not really interested in seeing them again". More than adequate and easier to believe than "too much money".
I've celebrated St, Paddy's my way, so staying in tomorrow(with all the snow we have and that's to come), not a problem at all.

The man I eventually end up with will have to like/love Celtic music also b/c I don't want to have to go to things like this by myself forever. It's always more fun if you have someone to share it with.

just call me...fanatic...tennis

Got a great surprise today. A Rafael Nadal calendar. It's beautiful, he's beautiful and so manly. I love Nadal (I'm sure that comes as a shock ;). If his name means nothing to you, you must not follow men's pro tennis. If not, now's the time to start peeps :). Pacific Life Open aka Indian Wells tourney in CA. Worth a lot of points and all the top seeds compete. Federer:the man the legend - I feel like saying that everytime I say his name) is out, outed by a nobody, Canas. Well, not a complete nobody but he has been out of the game for nearly 2yrs. Federer has been no.1 for so long, can anyone even remember who held the crown before him. I can't. As it stands in world rankings, Federer's #1. Nadal's #2. Roddick's #3. i have to back my boy Nadal and I hope he has a great game. i will be watching tomorrow on espn2.
I added the Tennis channel to my cable lineup (it only cost me ~$2 more/mth). It's been great, being able to watch all the early rounds. plus they have several informational shorts about players and tennis in general. it's pretty cool.

He's set for a semifinal match-up with S's fav Roddick. We are both very excited. I have no idea who sent me this calendar. There was no card inside, no note. The outside envelope has the name of the company it came from only. I've narrowed it down to 1 or 2 people who know me and how much I love Rafa, who would send me a random pressie. I'm not all that fond of surprises usu but this was a great one.