Jennifer's Joyous Journal

Everything you ever wanted to

Everything you ever wanted to know about ants and ever so much more is now available on the internet - how cool is that? For example, did you know that ants are the most common life form on earth? and though tiny, their combined weight is greater than that of the combined weight of all humans!

I've been crazy busy here

I've been crazy busy here at work. On Monday, I worked about a 16-hour day.....partially proving my boss right when he says that in every 24-hour period, there are 3 8-hour work days. The most urgent project went out this morning, so I can probably go home at a decent time today, but I have at least 5 big projects due next week...I guesss I should enjoy my down time while I have it.

I am Vanilla Flavoured.

I am Vanilla Flavoured. I am one of the most popular flavours in the world. Subtle and smooth, I go reasonably with anyone, and rarely do anything to offend. I can be expected to be blending in in society. What Flavour Are You?

Though is also told me that if I weren't vanilla, I then I would be:

Mmm, I am Lemon Flavoured. I am bitter and twisted. Expect from me acerbic humour and sharp commentary. While I may seem nasty at first, I'm actually quite good company if I like you, so long as you don't mind a bit of cutting to the chase. What Flavour Are You?

I found this link for this personality taste test on Silver Blog. Silver Blog is a friend of ours that Stepan met doing Madrigal Dinner. She's also a wonderful photographer so if you have some time, you should check out her gallery.

11 FREAKING 30 !!!!

I just spent a completely worthless three hours at a endodontist's office. I was referred to Dr. Heggin by my dentist when he discovered the root of one of my teeth was absessed. Originally, my appointment was for 11:30am. On Friday, the receptionist called to move it to 9:30am. This morning, the doctor was apparently running behind schedule so they moved the appointment again to 10am. I show up. I fill out my paperwork. I don't actually see the doctor until - the time of the original appointment!!!! And after all of the, this endodontist can't help me and refers me to an oral surgeon. And then, after only 5 minutes actually in the presence of Dr. Heggin, they wanted to charge me $65 !!!!!. Thankfully, there was a reasonable, rational, and responsible person at the front desk who immediately waived the fee. I'm still pissed though. I have a ton of work to complete by Friday - I have a feeling this is going to be another 55 hour work week :-(

Today has been interesting. When

Today has been interesting. When I got to work this morning, the building was dead...the electricity was out so our phones weren't working, I couldn't shower (the shower room has no windows), I couldn't have breakfast (my bread needed toasting), and more importantly (at least to my bosses), I couldn't do any of my work! Well, the power is back on now, but it's been off and on all morning - no telling how longer we'll be up and running!

I need to be super

I need to be super productive this afternoon - as long as the electricity stays on. The morning was completely wasted because of the power outage. And the entire office just returned from a 2-hour lunch - Happy Birthday, Kathy!. We ate at the downtown location of P.F. Chang's. I'm not sure if they offer this service to small parties, but our waiter recommended we do something they call the "limo ride". Basically, the waiter orders for us - all we do is show up and they bring whatever they feel like to the table. It was really yummy and so easy and much less expensive than if we had all ordered something individually. So next time your at P.F. Change's ask for the limo ride...I highly recommend it!

I feel terrible that I

I feel terrible that I let circumstances (incorrect info on my voter's ID card has me in a South Austin precinct) prevent me from voting in Tuesday's primary elections. Think about how incredibly easy it is to vote here: polls are open late, early voting is available all over town for weeks on end, poll locations are very accessible. Now think about how challenging - sometimes impossible - it is to vote in places like Zimbabwe. The ability to choose our leaders is a privelege that too many of us take for granted. Our legislators are making decisions that will effect our lives for generations (i.e. fuel efficiency, foreign relations, national budget...) - am I comfortable letting those decisions rest in the hands of politicians chosen by Ken Lay? are you?

2

I was feeling quite the Austinite this morning. I went to Lake Austin to run this morning and ran into people I know! The first was Allison, the former WHM physical trainer. She looks fantastic (she is a trainer!) and is currently trying (with her husband) to have a 2nd child - everybody, please think happy fertility thoughts for them.

The second was Deanna James nee Sikes - a friend from my ballroom dancing days. She is currently working full time as a seller/rep/broker (I'm not sure what her actual title is) of her husband's art work. It sounds as if she's having a blast doing it and really, really enjoys being her own boss.

Yesterday was Stepan's 33rd birthday.

Yesterday was Stepan's 33rd birthday. He's started a wonderful tradition where he gets me a present for his birthday :-) and the best part is the tradition isn't necesssarily reciprocated since I get him a gift for his name's day. Anyway, I now finally own Boggle Deluxe. Sadly, I lost the virgin game to Stepan by 1 point - but it was his birthday ;-)

I actually watched the Academy

I actually watched the Academy Awards last night - for some reason I usually miss them. I loved the performance by Cirque du Soleil ... I've decided that I want to be an acrobat when I grow up ... I was also very impressed with the speech by Sidney Poiteir (he's got envious poise and a beautiful voice) ... I think I'll put a Poiteir biography on my wish list ... and I loved watching Halle Berry get the Oscar for Best Actress ... her's was my absolute favorite acceptance speech.

Happy News

Shannan and John called last night. They got engaged in Chicago last weekend. It sounds like John did an excellent job of surprising Shannan with the ring. No details on the wedding yet, but they hope to get married at the end of the summer (before John starts the school year - he'll be up for tenur and expects it to be a pretty hectic year). Most people I've told have asked me if I was shocked or surprised or anything like that... and I'm not at all. I'm 1000% happy and excited for them and knew it was just a matter of time before they made the announcement. So many, many, many congratulations to them; Stepan and I are looking forward to going to Ann Arbor for the wedding.

Computer Woes

I'm not having any good luck with my computers this week. Yesterday, the batteries on my palm got loose somehow and I lost everything. Luckily that was easily fixed with a re-synch, but it took like 30 minutes for the computer to replace all my files. Today at work, my mac crashed and I wasn't even doing anything! Then, about an hour later, my pc crashed....and it won't come back up at all! This is really bad news for my work schedule since most of the work that has to be done this week is on that computer! UGH!!!

Well, I've met all my

Well, I've met all my deadlines for this week (I was at work until 12:30am last night). Now the office is really quiet (there are only 2 of us scheduled to be here this afternoon) and I can't seem to get myself motivated to move on to my next project. I'll definitely be leaving early today - Stepan has the afternoon off, so maybe we'll get to go see a movie - that sounds way better than staying in the office all day!

Homer can swim!

Archie and Jessica came over yesterday afternoon to go walking in Walnut Creek Park with us and Homer. We were very lucky that the weather cleared in the late morning - it stormed quite nicely overnight. That of course meant that Walnut Creek was extremely full and as "raging" as I've ever seen it. On our walks we cross the creek several times; at one such crossing, Homer was stretching carefully out over the surface...trying to decide if it was safe for him to enter (meaning if he could touch bottom). I'm not sure if he actually thought he could touch, or if he simply overbalanced his weight at the precipice, but he went splashing in! We were all amazed to see his head and body completely disappear beneath the surface. Thankfully, he came bobbing up mere seconds later, calmly swam to the nearest rock, climbed out to the other side, and tried in vain to shake himself dry. Needless to say, we all screaming with laughter (and relief that he didn't freak out over the incident)...It continued to amuse us to remember it throughout the evening of grilled sausage, left-over creme brulee, and board games (Loteria, Pictionary, and Boggle). Truthfully, it continues to amuse me now! :-)