01.30.08
Posted in Family, Fun at 5:02 pm by loretta
This was the big day. The 26th. My birthday.
Mo and I had planned a big party, and I invited a ton of people. Day of prep went a little slower than desired. I expect things to run late. Fortunately my friends tend to run late, too. The ones that show up on time are generally sweet enough to pitch in.
The party went really well, once it got going. It was hard to figure out when to wedge in the entertainment. A bigger description and pictures are after the cut.
I almost missed blowing out the candles! I have some weird kind of phone karma that has people calling me at awkward times. It struck right before Mo brought out the cake. I went outside to answer it. I also apparently stink at getting people off the phone. I swear I tried, but after I heard them start to sing, I essentially had to hang up on him. Everyone laughed.
The rest of the evening went well. I was sorry that I got such a small chance to talk to everyone. I’m told that’s the sign of a good party.
Good.
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01.29.08
Posted in Family, Fun at 12:28 pm by loretta
I needed to run a ton of errands, but by noon I felt a migraine coming on. I hoped food would help, so I had a lovely lunch with my Sweet. Sadly it didn’t, so I fled home as fast as I could. I managed to get the pork in the pot (easy). I emailed the producer of the TV show I was to help on that evening to let him know of my headache. Then I collapsed for four hours. Ugh.
When I finally woke up, Maureen’s date for the weekend, Rory, had just shown up. They went out for dinner. Keith went somewhere for something else. I’m zombie-ing around the kitchen, fussing over the pork, when I hear screeching. I look up and my DUMB yellow cat walks in from the rain with a bedraggled, but alive, bird in his mouth! I follow him around until he lets it go and snatch it up. It’s warm, alive, and very unhappy. I wish someone else with a working brain had been there. I puttered around the living room for five minutes or so wondering what to do. Finally I decide to call Stacie. She has a brain and is wise about animal stuff. She says to take it to the Humane Society, so I do. I’m not sure driving was the greatest thing for me to be doing, but traffic was light. The bird was admitted and I filled out forms and returned home. Of course, everyone had returned while I was out and was worried about me.
The rest of the evening was spent socializing with Rory and watching him and Mo drink a bit much. Rory knows a ton of jokes. He also brought a game called Set, which I turned out to be good at, even in zombie form. Then we went to bed.
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01.20.08
Posted in Family, Fun at 4:06 pm by loretta
Today I feel: Hung over. Last night I went with Maureen to see a band that one of her co-workers is in. Maria, Shiaw-Ling, David, and Victoria came, too. The band, which has a clever, but not memorable, name has a full horn section. It was great! I danced a lot more than I thought I would. I drank many martinis and made what I’ll call “dance floor friends.” These are people I may never see again, but were fun and friendly on the dance floor. It’s an experience worth repeating.
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03.04.07
Posted in Fun, My TV Show at 10:17 am by loretta
The opening film at the historic California Theater and gala for the 17th Cinequest had a slight hitch Wednesday. A delay in the shipment of Mira Nair’s latest film, “The Namesake,” prevented the catch of a technical glitch. Sound would fade to extended static during several portions of the film. In spite of this, the film was well received. Future exhibitions at Cinequest will likely have a new print. “The Namesake” is a story of crossover generations in India and the U.S. and the balance of cultures.
Cinequest co-founder Halfdan Hussey, new San Jose mayor Chuck Reed, KNTV sports anchor Raj Mathai, and filmmaker Mira Nair all gave remarks to launch the festival and the film. Mayor Reed had a particularly nice statement about Cinequest, “Magic happens at the intersection of art and technology.”
The gala following the film at the Paragon was packed with people. Crowds were densest around food tables. Many also took advantage of the free alcoholic punch and coffee bar. Fare was light, yet satisfying. A DJ played a wide variety of music in the corner.
As the devouring hordes receded, it became more obvious who the filmmakers were. Clusters of filmmakers distributed flyers and engaged passerby with colorful descriptions of their upcoming films. I look forward to seeing the films by the folks I met: “Blood Car” and “Regarding Sarah.”
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02.21.07
Posted in Family, Fun at 12:22 pm by loretta
I subscribe to several bento blogs on RSS. I love Bento TV. This is partly Kaja Foglio’s fault, if only because she referred to them initially in her blog. Of course the rest of it is all me.
President’s Day, I convinced Maureen to come with me to Daiso, a Japanese dollar shop. They had a lot of cool bento stuff. So Tuesday I made Maureen and Keith bentos.
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02.15.07
Posted in Family, Fun at 10:47 am by loretta
I spent Valentine’s evening with my sister shooting handguns. Wednesday is ladies night at Reed’s Indoor Range, so it was quite cheap.
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12.12.06
Posted in Family, Fun at 12:40 am by loretta
Maureen and I started making our annual special Christmas cookies on Saturday.
This year we are making:
Peanut butter bon-bons
Swedish Thumbprints
Pizzelles
Rum Balls
Coconut Macaroons
Incredible Fudge
On another note, I reminded myself that winning a race doesn’t mean a won race.
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11.14.06
Posted in Family, Fun at 8:23 pm by loretta
While we were at lunch, my friend Shiaw-Ling was talking about her writing group. She explained that it was difficult for people to learn to give constructive criticism. It’s very easy to say something sucks; it’s harder to explain why it sucks.
Last night at dinner, I told my friend John that he is a dumbass because of his latest blog post. Go look. See? Keith, Stacie, and I made fun of John during the remainder of dinner.
Unfortunately that’s not constructive criticism. Not even the part where we pretended to forgive him because of his “Canadian ignorance.” There isn’t really such a thing.
It would be better to say that John’s post about Ed Bradley was perhaps too succinct to properly convey his points without seeming ignorant. He might want to consider that there are a wide variety of lovely shades of brown for African-American skin.
John would also do well to research his topic a little before making random comments. He mention’s Bradley’s Lifetime Achievement Award, but fails to mention any of Bradley’s other awards, which include, but are not limited to, nineteen Emmys and a Peabody.
Bradley has done some wonderful work in journalism, and deserves better treatment.
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11.06.06
Posted in Family, Fun at 12:52 am by loretta
Today I feel: Slightly nauseous. It’s associated with the headache I’ve been harboring all day (despite the application of caffeine, Excedrin, and ibuprofen at appropriate intervals).
Today I did: Bid farewell to Keith’s parents until Christmas. Went back to bed. Woke with the headache. Read some info for being a poll worker on Tuesday, and contacted my field inspector for set-up time.
I did a little editing on What’s Up Wit’ That? I hope to take over the editing duties from Keith, so he has more time for Keith Explains!
John invited us to watch Borat with him and his friends, so we carpooled with him up to San Mateo. Keith gave Orla the swag she’d won at the Keith Explains! marathon party, which included an autographed picture of them together. Borat was pretty funny. Sometimes it was funny for being silly; and sometimes it was funny for being outrageous. Sometimes it was uncomfortable. There were definite inconsistencies with the plot.
TV I’m watching: Right now I’ve been watching Bento TV, which is a web program that was recommended by Girl Genius co-creator, Kaja Foglio, on her blog. Kaja gets her son to eat home-packed lunches by making bento for him.
What I’m reading: My voter’s guide for the ballot initiatives. My election officer manual. Craft magazine. Throne room reading is still Shojo Beat.
What I’m looking forward to: Being an active citizen by being a poll worker. Yay!
Current pet peeve: Not paying attention to the deadline for the Craft/Make Halloween contest, so that this guy’s costume gets internet recognition instead of Keith’s. >_<
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10.27.06
Posted in Family, Fun at 12:29 am by loretta
Today I feel: Tired after being so busy. Not as blue today.
Today I did: All sorts of preparations for Maureen and George’s Halloween party tomorrow.
I made ham party dip shaped like a brain. See it after the cut.
I made sugar skulls according to this recipe. Now I know why the Mexican Sugar Skull website recommends using meringue powder. The second egg white I used had a much higher moisture content than the first, so I needed to add a lot more sugar to get the right texture.
I’m currently working on Jello shots. I decided that if Maureen and George are making grog, I would make non-rum shots. So far I’ve made Margarita and Bluebeard shots. The cute sugar skull molds of the men and women with hats are hard to unmold. The brims want to tear. I’m trying to keep the done ones in a single layer so they don’t deform the way the eggs have. Hopefully I’ll have time to make a few more kinds.
I spray painted my helmet and Keith’s crown, then I decorated the helmet. Now I have bits of hot glue all over my fingers and gold spray paint under my fingernail.
I still need to put edging on Keith’s cape, if I have time and put in elastic. I have to buy veggies for the ham dip and order Josh’s birthday cake at Costco. I have to figure out logistics for getting to the WAVE awards and back, so our driver can pick us up.
TV I’m watching: Mostly just stuff I don’t have to pay attention to, like Iron Chef America, Cops, That’s Clever. I’ve been listening the the Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me podcasts that have been queueing up in my iTunes.
What I’m reading: I don’t have time for anything besides throne room reading right now. I’ve been trying to catch up on my Shojo Beat magazines. I need to do Shonen Jump as well, but I’ve discovered that I didn’t receive the January issue this year. This is bad for continuity. It may have been stolen, since in my internet perusals, there seems to have been a rare Yugi-Oh! card in it.
What I’m looking forward to: The Halloween Party! Woot!!!
Current pet peeve: Not finding a decently priced complete copy of Shonen Jump Volume 4, Issue 1. Jeez, twice cover price for a copy without the card?!? That’s outrageous, people.
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