Ain't technology great?

After a weekend like this, I want to dump all on my technological toys and go live in a cave. It started out with my computer on Friday. I'll keep a really long story short and just say that there is some really bad adware/spyware out there. I'm pretty good at running antivirus and adware programs, but there is so much crap out there. Just do yourself a favor and make sure you have some really good anti spyware/adware programs and run them often... and make sure you update your definitions frequently. I run two different adware programs and this particular bug that got me literally wormed it's way on and opened up a floodgate. And it has ways of hiding little bits and pieces throughout your system that will automatically reinstall the program every time you delete it. So you have to go through and find the little bits and pieces and delete them manually. I'm proud that I managed to do it and not delete something important.

I'm really tempted to toss this blasted computer and get a Mac.

My other little technological mishap had to do with a cell phone. Basically it's taking a really long cab ride right now. So I got to go buy a new cell phone today! YAY! Just what I wanted to spend my money on. But I do have a nice new phone, and it's a cool little toy. No need to buy that iPod I've been wanting, because this phone is pretty fancy!

The downfall is that I was pretty stupid and didn't back up any of the phone numbers off my old phone. So now I have a nice new phone and I don't have any numbers to call. But at least I have a cool phone!

My favorite place

Since I don't have much time to post, I'm just going to put up a pretty picture. This is one of my mornings on the beach before heading to work in the afternoon. It was a beautiful morning, even though it wasn't too sunny.

I know I'm a bit late...

But I have to chime in on the previous conversation between a couple of Betties (Torii and Cheryl). I just have to submit my entry to the whole ass-hat discussion.

My entry is Curtis Stone, the "Take Home Chef."

I've even started shopping at Whole Foods and getting gussied up in the hopes that this man leans oven my shopping cart and asks me if he could come to my place to cook dinner.

I ask you: How would you like to see this man bending over your hot stove?

Must... read... on...

I've spent the entire day hanging out with Harry. I'm exhausted but I can't make myself stop reading. Not only am I totally absorbed into the story, but I'm so worried that someone will spoil something for me. Just like the jerk that published the book review in the New York Times, I'm afraid someone will go blabbing on TV or something.

I vowed I would not turn my TV on or listen to the radio until I've finished it. Earlier today I did need to take a break, so I took a risk and turned the TV on to the Food Network. I'm feeling pretty confident that Alton Brown or Paula Dean won't be leaking Harry Potter spoilers. But you never know.... back to reading I must go!

I love tourists :)

Recently I've been so busy that I haven't been taking much time for myself. I've come up with this bright idea to relax a little and it's been working out wonderfully. Every time I have to work in the evening, I get up early and hit the beach by 9:00. It's so quiet and so peaceful, and VERY relaxing. It's an awesome way to spend maybe an hour or two by myself and just unwind. Except when someone comes along and interrupts your alone time

Today I have to be to work at 1:00, so I decided to go to the beach. I'm sitting on the edge of the water for about an hour and a half when I decide I need to go. I start to pack up and I see this this guy walking down the beach. He spots me, and starts heading up my way. He's got goggles on his head, the biggest grin you've ever seen, and he's sporting a.... I'll just say that he must have been pleased with the view he had he walked down the beach checking out all the girls.

As he tries to make small talk, I'm trying my hardest not to look at him or crack up. He can't figure out why I'm laughing. He also can't understand why all the other people around us seem to be laughing too. I busy myself with packing up my beach bag, and trying to not look at him. Finally he gets the hint that I won't go swimming with him like he wanted me to and he leaves. "Maybe next time", he says. Yeah, sure buddy.

And then he moved on to the next group of girls about 25 feet down the beach. Everyone in the vicinity lost it and started cracking up. As I walked off the beach, some people that witnessed the whole thing gave me a thumbs.

I'm pooped...

I've been running around like crazy at work. I have one major project that I've been working on for about 2 months and I have a week to wrap it up. Then I have 2 major programs I've been trying to plan in between. The first of which was today. We'll just say that I had somewhere between 80-90 small children, and probably about 30-35 adults. An exact count was impossible, because it would be like trying to count a bunch of ladybugs in a box. When you have that many preschoolers in one room, let's just say they don't sit still. And they kept coming, and coming, and coming... At one point I just stood in the middle of the room with a look on my face that resembled a deer in headlight.

The funniest part about the whole thing was when I looked at myself in the mirror after the event. My hair was standing on end, I had this wild and crazy look in my eyes, and I had this mysterious twitch in my cheek.

Now I plan on spending the rest of my evening sipping on a beer and finishing my beanie for the Charmed Knits KAL.

I has a flavor. Does you has a flavor?

I don't know about you, but apparently Patrick Stewart has a flavor.

http://icanhascheezburger.com/tag/flavor/

My friend sent me this link earlier today, and I've been giggling ever since. Call me easily amused but I think it's darned funny.

I got screwed... or at least my burrito did

The other day I had a serious craving for mexican food, so I decided to try something new. I went to this restaurant that I've been wanting to try for about a year and a half now. It was ok, but nothing spectacular. As I was leaving the restaurant I was thinking that I would go back, but I wouldn't go out of my way to do so. At least I thought so until I tried eating my left overs. I'm down to the last couple bites of my burrito when I bite down on something hard. I pull out part of a little aluminum screw or nail or something. I didn't bite down on it and break a tooth or anything, so I'm not going to make a huge deal about it. I just don't think I'll be eating there anytime soon.

Soundtrack of my life meme

I took one of those surveys where you are supposed to put your iPod on shuffle and let it create your soundtrack. I had to use my iTunes since I don't have an iPod. I did have to cheat and forward through some stuff since I have a lot of random junk and samples jumbled up amongst the songs. But other than that I stuck to the rules of no cheating. I'm shocked at some of the results. I think my iTunes knew what I was doing!


Soundtrack of my life

Opening credits: 12:51 - The Strokes
Not bad for an opening son

Waking up: Section 9 (Light & Day/Reach for the Sun) - Polyphonic Spree
Hahahaha! Best waking up song ever!

Average day: New Slang - The Shins
I love this song. My average day must be pretty mellow.

First date: We're Going to be Friends - Jack Johnson
That's cute :)

Falling in love: Can't Help Falling in Love - Eels (remake of course)
Complete coincidence. Like I said, I think my iTunes knew what I was doing!

Love scene: Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine
Hmmmmm... my purchase of the Garden State soundtrack seems like it's coming in handy. I love Zach Braff's taste in music.

Fight scene: The Reason - Hoobastank
Not only am I ashamed to admit that I downloaded this song, but it's couldn't have picked a better time to play!

Breaking up: Irreplaceable - Beyonce
Hahahahaha! I downloaded this after I got dumped last fall!

Getting back together: Let Go - Frou Frou
Again, thank you Zach Braff

Secret love: Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse
Yet another song that I am ashamed to admit that I downloaded

Life's okay: Like Humans do - David Byrne
Don't really remember downloading this

Mental breakdown: Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
Hahahaha!

Driving: Gasolina - Daddy Yankee
Ajajajaja! Love my reggaeton!

Learning a lesson: You Belong to me (remake) - Ben Taylor
Ok, I guess this works. Maybe.

Deep thought: Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
Wonder what my deep thought is.

Flashback: One Headlight - The Wallflowers
Yeah, this song is pretty old.

Partying: Lo Que Paso, Paso - Daddy Yankee
:) love my reggaeton!

Happy dance: Mister Brightside - The Killers
Yeah, I'd dance to this

Regretting: Overkill (acoustic) - Collin Hay
Too funny! Actually I think this song is about regretting. I swear I didn't cheat!

Long night alone: Into the Ocean - Blue October
Isn't this a song about drowning? Hmmmm....

Death scene: Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
Pretty dramatic I guess.

Closing credits: Bubble Toes - Jack Johnson
Nice peppy way to end the soundtrack!

Camisole of Death progress

Tonight at knit-night I finally finished the back of my camisole of death that I've been working of for a while. I'm very proud of it. I only really have one mistake/design element. The good news is that it is something that can be easily fixed with a little thread and a couple of good knots. Shhhh... trade secret :) There are also a couple of minor design elements that I might be working on correcting. You see, the pattern called for increases. I've known how to do increases since about the time I learned how to knit, but I discovered that they tend to create a little hole. Carol finally taught me how to remedy this, but it was a few inches too late. We'll see if I can live with the little tiny holes or not. Most likely I may be playing with a little more thread. Now I know. Tomorrow I will start to tackle the front!

Big news on the home front

I don't know how I'm really going to take this one.. I just got a call from my parents last week. They told me that they had some big news. To make a long story short, they bought a new house and put the home that I was born and raised in on the market. In some ways I want to be nostalgic for the house, but in other ways I'm really happy for them. It's going to be a good thing, but it's a little sad at the same time. When I go home to visit in August, this will be the last time that I set foot in my childhood home. There's other things that will change as well. Now when I go home to visit my parents, I will be nowhere close to my GR or the Bucktown (the city I grew up near). If I want to visit these places, I will specifically have to buy a plane ticket to get there. None of these combining trips that I've been doing.

Yeah, right.

Even though I moved down to South Florida 2 years ago, I still have kept my Michigan cell phone number. Yesterday when I was getting ready to leave work. I grabbed my phone and saw that I had a missed call. The number was 616-458-4444, definitely a Grand Rapids number but not one I recognized. The voice mail went something like this...

"Hi Becky, this is Lyndsie and I'm calling in regards to a prize that you've won through the win a cash prize drawing that you entered. I do have a prize here waiting for you so if you would just call 616-458-8122 and ask for Lyndsie you can claim your prize."

I googled the number and it came back to 2 businesses. One was called The Electric Company, and the other was Lewis Marketing. I'm guessing it's the the marketing. Either a company I've done business with in the past sold their database, or someone entered my name into a drawing for a joke. I wouldn't put that past some of my GR friends either, since that sounds like something I would do :)

I'm thinking about calling Lyndsie back to mess with her.

YIKES!

I just learned a really disturbing fact after reading Zach Braff's blog... Did you know that there is a doggie chew treat called the Bully Stick? And do you know what it is? It's a dried bull penis!



I think it would be pretty disturbing to see my beloved pal chewing on that and knowing what it really is. Ick.

tagged

On May 23rd I got tagged with a meme by Skulls n bats. I'm just now getting to it. Typical Becky :)

The rules:

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I was born in South Bend, IN. Home of the Fighting Irish!

2. I rarely eat meals in my apartment. I mostly eat in restaurants. I also won't eat fast food, that stuff will kill you. Unless you count Pollo Tropical as fast food... I loves me some Tropi-chop!

3. I have a fear of germs, and it's getting worse by the day. I make a point of washing my hands at least once an hour while I'm at work, not including bathroom breaks and before eating anything. And I use hand sanitizer between washings. Public places are germy.

4. I only go to the movies about twice a year at the most. I haven't even seen Pirates of the Caribbean III yet.

5. I'm single. I wouldn't mind meeting that special someone, but being single doesn't particularly bother me that much either. I'm having fun, and I'm a pretty happy person as I am.

6. I have a great family. I'm not just saying it because they may be reading my blog either. I really do like my family. After working with the public for so many years, I've learned that not everyone can say that.

7. I can be a pretty big procrastinator. This is especially true when it concerns having to go to the post office. Bills are one thing, but presents and cards are a completely different story. Christmas cards... forget it.

I'm supposed to tag 7 people to blog this meme. I don't think I know 7 people who have blogs that haven't already been tagged with this. So if you read this and want to give up 7 random facts about yourself, leave me a comment with a link to your blog!

It's been a while...

But I'm back. Many different factors including the dreaded illness, weekend trips out of town, and an inventory have kept me away from the computer, but I really don't want to go in depth with them right now.

Just because I haven't been writing, doesn't mean interesting things haven't happened. So here's a couple of stories that may have warranted their own blog entries.


#1 My Two Year Anniversary-
So last weekend was my 2 year anniversary of moving to south Florida. I decided to go out and celebrate it a little bit. I wanted to spend a little time by myself at a place where I could enjoy the ocean view, think a little bit, and sip a couple of beers. I chose a quiet little Irish pub on A1A called McSorrley's. After about one beer I decided that I needed to use the restroom. I went into the stall and was minding my business when I feel something on my leg. I look down to find a big old palmetto bug running up my leg! To you non-southern people, a palmetto bug is a gigantic cockroach. So that huge freaking bug run up my leg, through my shorts, and ended up on my thigh. I screamed (of course) and flung that thing across the room where it commenced to running around in circles. I somehow managed to run out of the restroom stall dressed, with out peeing on myself. Now for some reason I am more scared of bathroom germs than huge bugs, so I couldn't bring myself to run out of the bathroom without washing my hands. As I'm doing so I'm whimpering and stomping my feet. Mind you the bug is still running around in circles looking for a place to hide. As soon as I finish washing my hands I run out of the bathroom half screaming and half laughing. The people in the bar thought I was crazy until I explained what happened. Once I got the story out, a couple of them bought me a beer. They really believed me when the same roach came after another girl a little while later. He's now in roach heaven thanks to her boyfriend's shoe.

#2 The Vine
The other morning I woke up and started getting ready for work. I got out of the shower, dried off, and was walking from the bathroom to my bedroom when I saw it. There was a huge vine growing into my bedroom through one of my windows. I swear it wasn't there before. That vine was about 2 feet long. When did that get there? The only thing that I can think of is that the vine only started to grow into my window... I think it was possibly pulled the rest of the way. At least that's what the little kitty teeth marks lead me to believe. Either way, I think this might be a good sign that my landlord needs to cut back the Air Potatoes. It's not quite Kudzu, but it's pretty close.

#3 The Pirate
Last night, by the time I got out of work and worked out, I really didn't feel like cooking. So I took a trip to Flanigans. What can I say? I just got done working out, I needed some wings. Anyway... As I'm sitting there enjoying my wings, some of the people at the bar strike up a conversation. One of the people is this older guy sitting across the bar. Next thing you know, he starts telling all these jokes. At the end of each punchline, he opens up his mouth really big and in a loud booming voice, growls like a pirate! "ARRRRRRRGGGG!" You know that made my day. The guy next to me is cracking up and almost yelling, "Dude! He's a pirate!" Between the two of them I was highly amused. Glad I decided to eat at Flanigans. It's always an interesting experience there.

When will this torture end?

Stomach flu. Started feeling the symptoms late Monday night with body aches (sorry Betties), and it slowly progressed from there. I've had a fever of over 100, headache, body aches, stomach cramps, and haven't been able to hold down solid food for 4 days. Finally went to the urgent care center yesterday. The doctor basically said I'll live and it will pass. Not bad news really, but not what I wanted to hear. At this point I wish the magic pill fairy had a secret potion that would make it all better. It's awful.

New Project

Here's the newest project I'm working on... Don't mind the plate of breasts.
Camisole of Death


I'm knitting in Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece. I'm totally in love with this yarn. It's so nice and soft, and it feels like it will be a nice cool summer knit... perfect for the tropics :) I chose the color "Perry's Primrose" because I wanted something feminine, yet a little dark. It also has a little shine to it so it will probably be something good for the day or evening. I can't wait!

I'm a snitch

Tonight I had the wonderful opportunity to be a snitch. If you are wondering what that is, I volunteered to work a murder mystery game called Clueless on Las Olas. People who want to participate buy tickets which give them a program that explains the event. Inside each program there is a scenario of a murder mystery. They are then given the locations of different stores throughout Las Olas where they can find 6 clues. The clues can only be deciphered with hints that they can buy from the snitches. The snitches are planted in different spots throughout Las Olas, but they are also free to roam. Each clue has two hints, so the participants have to do some wandering if they want to pull everything together. Once they have all the clues and hints, then they have to put it all together and solve the murder mystery.

The atmosphere was so much fun. People were all having a good time. Everyone was joking around and playing in character. If you ever have the opportunity to participate in one of these, do it. If you ever had a chance to be part of one, better yet.

The only bad side of being a snitch was that I had to walk up and down Las Olas at night wearing a fanny-pack and a t-shirt that said "SNITCH" on it. But it was all for charity, so I will gladly swallow my pride for an evening.

I love Florida

Today I had a cool experience that you can pretty much only get in Florida (unless you leave the country). For lunch today I decided to grab something from the cafe at work and take it down to a park by the river. As I sat there reading and eating, I heard this weird sound coming from the river. I looked up in time to see a herd of manatees coming up for a breath of air. I was so excited, this was my fist manatee sighting ever! I wanted to jump up and down shouting, "look everybody, manatees!" But seeing as the only person near me was a homeless guy sleeping on a bench, I had to settle for text messaging my friend Kolene. It was so cool though!

finish line

I'm making this a night dedicated to finishing up some projects. I'm moments away from finishing the sugar 'n cream tank top. Next I'm going to finally weave in the loose ends of my baby afghan for my friend Carrie.. seeing as she sent me a picture of the wee little one the other day. Next I'm going to finish up the felted bag I started eons ago. Then maybe sometime soon I can talk Mimi into holding a little felting party at her house *wink wink*.