Shamrock Fest!

Seas of green

Vendors (some of the seemingly impossible)

Beer (some green, most not)

11 Stages

Great bands! I saw Ceann and Carbon Leaf, of whom I didn't snap pics, and Great Big Sea

At the end of Great Big Sea's set, the lead singer, Alan Doyle, announced that they could play two more songs, but he wanted to bring out a friend of his, a man who all of us knew as an Oscar winning actor, but who he knew as a great lyricist. With that, we shockingly welcomed (and I took some very fuzzy pictures of:)Russell Crowe

And at the end of the evening, lots and lots of cups littered the asphalt

UM 242

Long time no see!

1. Singles ::

2. Blaze ::

3. Sandwich ::

4. Outside ::

5. Gooey ::

6. Industry ::

7. Exclusive ::

8. Warranty ::

9. Magical ::

10. Heels ::

1. Singles :: $1 bills

2. Blaze :: fire flame

3. Sandwich :: bread

4. Outside :: fresh air

5. Gooey :: caramel

6. Industry :: grey

7. Exclusive :: club

8. Warranty :: expire

9. Magical :: land

10. Heels :: toes

Brief Update

My sincerest apologies to all who are waiting with bated breath for my Katy Trail trip posts. Rest assured that I am working on them. As so often happens, work is getting in the way of all the things I would rather be doing. I've worked every single day since my return, including both days last weekend and this weekend.
Bleh!
I haven't even finished unpacking my suitcase (although I have reassembled my bike.)

So go ahead and breathe normally, but don't give up on me.
Love to all and thanks for checking up on me!

Peace Out!

I'm off to bike the Katy Trail with mom and dad. I'm super-stoked!

I hope to keep a short journal and take some good pictures on the trek. If I'm successful, I'll post them upon my return.

I should have cleared away my crash demons with the minor vehicular collision I was involved in earlier this morning.

(Yup, I'm not kidding - why do people keep hitting me?!? I think my next car is going to be safety yellow fluorescent.)

Anyone up for a wager?

My yahoo email spam folder currently houses no messages - 5.47pm, EST, Monday, August 6th, 2007. How many messages will it contain at 3pm, EST, Friday, August 17th, 2007?

The person with the closest guess gets a Katy Trail t-shirt. Or a hat. Or maybe a sticker. A keychain? Magnet?

I haven't really come across much Katy Trail related merchandise in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. But I'm sure the commercialism of America won't let me down and there will be something available a little closer to the trail. I will pick up something special there. And if no one answers, I will keep the item. So you know it'll be something good enough that I'm willing to keep.

Be excellent to each other.

Hasta la vista!

CC beats BB

... any day of the week and twice on Sundays!

My disillusionment with the famed electronics super store Bogus Buy began several years ago. I purchased the Family Guy 3 ("Victory shall be mine!") DVD for myself, and then received it as a gift shortly thereafter. Naive American Shopper I was, I thought, "no problem. The copy I bought is still in the plastic wrap. I have the receipt. I can return it."

Yea, right.
Bogus Buy would not take the damn thing back. ... Despite my best attempts at reason; despite my prettiest smile; despite having my original sale's receipt in my hot little hand; despite still being shrink-wrapped in that Kevlar-spiderweb-forcefield creation.

The betrayal didn't even end there! Blake had difficulty exchanging a faulty camcorder. My colleague was given the run-around when she tried to take back a TV that didn't work right out of the box. The list goes on.
(OK, it really doesn't - that's pretty much all the instances of which I am aware. But they're all big deals, man!)

When it came time for me to replace my cell phone, I was decidedly against patronizing Bogus Buy. So I did a fancy little web search and, whaddaya know, was able to buy the phone online for in store pickup at Cycle Center, and save $15 to boot!

But ... the story does not end there.

The phone didn't quite perform to my high standards. I know I can be picky, and I'm sure these things wouldn't bother some people, but I noted a few minor dysfunctions. A short list: the R/4 key on the inner keyboard didn't work; the connection cut out in the middle of conversations, even when the signal strength was high; only one of the two screens displayed data; the camera didn't actually take a picture, but shot me an error message instead. Admittedly, these are small things, but they are important to me.

So I trotted back to Cycle Center and .... (here's the kicker ...)
was able to ... (are you sitting down? ...)
walk out of the store with a phone that worked to my satisfaction!

I *heart* Circui-- I mean, Cycle Center!

Monica's Pop Quiz

What do WE have in common with Harry Potter?
We all wear glasses.
We all sported the bowl haircut with too-long bangs as pre-teens.

Hmmm, too difficult? OK, try this: Name the 3 houses (ala Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin) of St. Winifred's School. Extra credit: What were their colors? Extra extra credit: Which one did we belong to?
Burton - pink
Sealy - green
Innis - blue

[I think that the extra credit and extra extra credit questions should be reversed. I easily remembered that we were in Burton, which was pink. But I have trouble coming up with the others. Also, I really think there were four houses. There were four colors for the primary school uniforms - pink, green, yellow and blue. Aren't there also four houses at Hogwarts? I'm gonna look that one up - its not cheating...
... Yes, there are! You forgot Hufflepuff!]

I'm adding a fourth Winifred's house guess:
Willahamena - yellow

Do you remember how our house leader - I can't remember her name now, but she was old and wrinkly and she wore mu-mus - called my name? Mah-ree-sah Bah-reeeng-ton.

One of the things I like about Harry Potter is reminiscing about St. Winifred's. The prefects, the houses, the creepy portraits in the assembly hall with eyes that followed you. I remember that Burton house pretty much sucked at sports, but was heavy on the brainiacs. Like Monica. Monica won, like, fifty points for the house, and a white bicycle (which was later handed down to me) for an essay she wrote. I think it was published in the newspaper or something. I was jealous.

All About Me!

All About Me Survey Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com I Am An Arms Dealer I Want to be in a hammock on a beach I Have two ears I Wish I was on vacation I Hate less than I love I Fear regret I Hear music I Search people's eyes I Wonder Who Wrote The Book Of Love? I Regret some things I Love many I Ache sympathetically I Always persevere I Usually give I Am Not a mushroom I Dance when no one's watching I Sing often I Never say never I Rarely lack compassion I Cry at inopportune times I Am Not Always happy I Lose sunglasses I'm Confused by people I Need fresh air and sunlight I Should go to the beach Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com