Lufthansa is the distracting demon

Because I love to travel, I get emails from different airlines and travel sites. Lufthansa has a sweepstakes going on right now that has a game attached...a highly addictive game.

The gist? There are 3 rounds.
Round 1 has a map of Europe (no words) and red dots for each city they fly into. They will list a city, you click the corresponding red dot. Easy enough (well, unless, like me, you never learned German geography.) Each of the 5 answers has a maximum of 1000 points. The points will be adjusted downward for how far from the correct answer you are.

Round 2 is the same thing, but they have removed the red dots and you only have the country outlines to go from. The 5 questions are each worth 2,000 points.

Round 3 is more difficult as they remove the country outlines and you are left with the land mass outline. The 5 questions are each worth 3,000 points.

Total points possible: 30,000. Number of people who have achieved it? A lot. Me? Not so much, but I have gotten pretty close. I won't say how many times it has taken to get this score, mostly because I don't think I can count that high. Anyway, see for yourself.

Can you spot the fake smile?

I apparently can. I found this on my perusing of the internet while at home. Amazingly not while working! I got 19 of 20 correct and could kick myself because the one I missed, I almost chose differently. But it is apparently a study done by the BBC in the UK.

Sorry, I can't be bothered right now to make sure the link is working, so if not, just copy and paste.

Can you spot the fake smile? http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles/

the spoken word vs. the written word?

Do you think we as people have our most intellectual of discussions with the written conversation or the spoken dialogue? How do we encapsulate those things discovered in the spoken dialogue so that we can refer back to it and allow it to grow within us and possibly change our own perceptions of ourselves?

I just recently came across a response to a friends email that I had saved on my computer for some reason. The bulk of our emailing was done on a website that deletes messages after 30 days whether you want them to or not. Needless to say, I forgot about this until I decided I wanted to print out the conversations and couldn't find them. But discovering this response on my computer made me realize how often I forget that I can and do have intellectual discussions. I also forget how much I thoroughly enjoy them. Spoken converations probably happen often as well, but I have a short memory when it comes to this stuff and so do need the reminders of those things written down. But what about other people?

The Secret is out but I wish it wasn't

This post is really my venting of how much The Secret bugs me. I can appreciate and recognize that like attracts like and that if you send out positive energy, it is a good thing and that usually that is what you get back. But it seems like since Oprah championed the whole concept and the craze, tons of people credit it for their success...and it is getting ridiculous.

When people say that they won a contest because they believe in the Secret and they practiced the principles of it, I just want to scream. If you go with that thinking, then clearly the other contestants weren't really believing in the Secret or else they weren't believing in it as much. Aargh.

If you want to believe in the concept, fine. But at least recognize that the belief should be more that if you want good things in your life you should project good things. You don't get to always pick what those good things are. God does. You just need to be open to the possibility.

Okay. That is it. It is out of my system.

What accent do you have?

So Aisy http://aisyworld.blogspot.com/ had this test on her blog and I decided to copy her. Apparently I don't sound like the area I come from and have lived most of my life in. Maybe its because I had speech therapy for 10 years...hmmm, maybe my therapist was from the "midlands". However, I wonder when they say the region of "the West" if they mean California. But I buy into the fact that it is an accent that "doesn't have an accent". I mean, people on the news and radio all learn to talk like us so they can sound good!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
Boston
The Northeast
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Let's try this again

I finally decided to try and correct my map of countries travelled. We'll see if it takes this time...



create your own visited country map

New digs

I have the keys to my new life. This last weekend, I moved most of my stuff into my new postage stamp of an apartment. Couple things are still not there, but it will happen. The sofa on the last post got returned before I took possession. I realized I should really have a real bed. Since there is limited room, I sold my sister my old bed and I bought a twin. It allows me more room for storage. As a result, I actually think everything is going to fit. I just bought a couple bookshelves to house all my books among other things. Got some shelves in the kitchen for all my pots and pans, etc. I am just glad that I didn't have to move my stuff in and immediately start living there. I am able to set things up on my own time and get it set up. Today, got my cable installed. The highlight was a cute technician who was from Nottingham England.

I'll have my bed and sleep on it too!

Since I am moving into my wee little place, I decided to sell my bed and buy a sleeper sofa. After several weeks of looking and continuously returning to one at a cool store called Hip, I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy it on Labor Day. Unfortunately, they were closed that day so no sofa. I ended up going by the store on Thursday and discovered that they had only 1 left and it was the floor model so no go. Because the sofa is so popular (4 sold the week before) the guy tells me it is likely a 6 - 7 week wait but that he would verify and call me if they have an order already placed for some.

Well, I was helping a friend with the flowers at a wedding on Saturday when I get a call from the store. They had done an inventory check at their warehouse and found one in the color I wanted. So I drove over there with my good friend Jaime to look at it one last time before taking the plunge. It should be noted that the color is not so much beige as it appears in the photo but more of a caramel color. The back also can be in 3 different angles.

Duly chastised

Okay, Aisy, I get it. I am not the most consistent of blog writers. It all ebbs and flows with how busy I am at work I think. But I also think it is the same tendency I have with things in general. When I like something, I love it and I go gangbusters for it and want to do it all the time. Then after a bit of time, the love fades a bit not because I don't like it anymore but because there is a new something I now like that is consuming my time.

I have a friend who is trying to get me to join myspace and I am holding out. It will just become one more thing to divide my time and take away from my posting of occasional blog postings. So I am remaining strong and not succumbing.

I will try and be better, I promise. Just no guarantees. Hey, at least I am more frequent than Rebus:-)

Just some of the reason's I love Portland

Powell's City of Books. I love the place. I cannot lie. But I love it even more when I take in 3 boxes full of books I have been keeping since college and walk out with only 1 box and $110 in cash. It could have been more if I had taken store credit (to the tune of $135, but I want the cash this time). I think walked a couple blocks to Everday Music with another box full of all my cd's and walk out with a near empty box and $90 cash. Luckily I didn't get mugged right then or else they would have gotten about $190 more in cash than I normally ever carry.

But as the guy at Powell's was sorting through my books, we got to talking about simplifying one's life. He said he had to do that when he and his wife moved to England a few years ago. They went because of his wife's work, but he had probably one of the best jobs there is while over there. He was still working for Michael Powell as a book buyer. Instead of waiting for people to bring the books to him, he got to travel around to various book auctions and estate sales and buy antiquarian books.

If you have never been to Portland, Powell's is definitely in the top 10, if not 5, places people insist you see. It is a warehouse on an entire city block with multiple floors just full of books. Best of all, for anyone not from the US, they accept almost every major currency for their books with exchange rates posted.

Back to the topic of selling the stuff. With my proceeds, I was able to buy a 320GB external hard drive so I can back up all my music without needing all of the cd's. More space then I needed, but I am sure in time I will fill it up.

Is July the new black?

Apparently July turned into the month for moving. I know so many people, myself included, that are moving right now. Last night at a dinner party for my sister (who just got a teaching job, YIPPEE) I had the fun pleasure of explaining why I had a car full of moving blankets and a few boxes (thanks Ansley) about 10 times.

The conversation often went like this:

"Why do you have all the blankets in your car?" "No, I am not sleeping in my car, but I am moving and they are moving blankets." "Where are you moving to?" "I don't know yet." "Huh?" "Well, my stuff is going into a storage unit and for the month of August my aunt and uncle are graciously letting me live in their downstairs while I try and decide where I want to live." Why are you moving out now then if you don't know where your moving to?" (This is the question I don't understand as much as sometimes I want to get a smidge sarcastic with my response) "Well, my lease expired at the end of July and to stay longer would require I sign another full year lease which I am not, nor are any of my roommates, interested in doing."

So I am using Ruthie as a bit of an inspiration and getting rid of a bunch of stuff. I realized I have accumulated a bunch of stuff because I had plenty of space and a lot of storage. This is stopping. I am tossing a bunch of stuff and it feels great!

I don't have to be out of my place until the end of this week, but I have all my furniture save the mattress and a few smaller items left. I will probably have a few more posts relating to moving, so just hang in there.

To copy Aisy, who is an original. Here is my map of the world. This is one occasion where I hope the red will spread.



create your own visited country map

Old Maids?

A friend forwarded me this link on the Newsweek article written 20 years ago on single women over 30 and their chances of ever marrying. It is interesting that as you look at something, conclusions of the facts change depending on the perspective you look at them from.


http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13007828/site/newsweek/from/ET/

Eventually I'll learn

I wish I already knew how to upload pictures to my blog page. I know, it isn't that difficult. I was driving to work this morning behind a Fulton Crane. I suddenly noticed their "motto" on the back of the crane that made me laugh out loud and definitely brought a smile to my face. (As I think the actual product does to older women as well as the Anna Nichole Smith's of the world).

"Just like Viagra... we get it up for you"

Maybe I will and maybe I won't

Given that this is my first post since my New England trip, you would think I would talk about it. Unfortunately, you would be wrong.

So I went to my favorite pizzeria in Portland tonight, Apizza Scholl's. Normally, it takes forever to get in, but since the weather has been so fantastic, they opened up their patio tonight and we got a table right away. Within a few minutes we order our Marguerite pizza (yum). I swear, the waiter goes into the kitchen and momentarily comes out with a pizza. Apparently, it just came out of the oven but didn't know who ordered it. The whole dinner, with lots of chatting afterwards, lasted just over an hour. That may not seem that cool, but if you were at my birthday dinner, you would have had the more common experience of waiting just over an hour for a table.

parlez vous francais?

I have delayed the french classes long enough. This summer term I am going to resume french classes in my attempt to become proficient enough for graduate school and other things. I have used the paltry memory of the french language (hello, I had nearly 4 years in high school and 1 year in college) as a weak excuse for not going back to obtain my graduate degree in int'l relations/business. Well, that is going to change.

What was the epiphany that provoked this decision? The Peace Corps informational meeting I went to this week. Okay, I just realized this could be a long post as there are a lot of things that have been percolating in my head that a couple of you know about but I haven't told many people. I get tired of people who always say they are going to do something, but never follow through. I too often am that person myself, which is probably why I hate that trait in other people.

Well, a prior coworker quit her job last month so that she could join the peace corps. She is going to South Africa to do micro lending. This brought up memories of talking with peace corps reps at my university center when I was in college and my desire to go then. Back then, I didn't have the skill set or academic background they were looking for so it was a no go. They have expanded their options to include business development (either that, or else my job history now makes me qualified). Do you know when you get those tingling sensations in your whole body when you hear or see something that speaks to you? Well, my whole body was tingling and I got so excited about the prospect of doing it.

I have since sat down and worked out a budget to see what could be done with finances since I would need to payoff my credit cards. I discovered that with a little, but not too much, self discipline, I can be completely out of debt in a year at most. I have even begun filling out the online application that is pretty time consuming.

So that brings me to the French thing. I went to this informational workshop on Wednesday night and found out that they prefer applicants give the process a year to get an assignment. I get another little tingle since this matches up perfectly with my financial timeline. They then say that for most posts, you do not need to know the language ahead of time, except for two regions. Latin America requires 2 years of college spanish and then West Africa requires 2 years of college french. Again, another overwhelming feeling that things were lining up. I spoke with the recruiter and she said that even though it was so long ago, if I could get a letter from a professor attesting to my grasp of the language, it would be sufficient. She also said that they have a shortage of French speakers so pretty much if you have some French, even if not the 2 years "required", you almost certainly go to West Africa.

You may be wondering why I want to go to West Africa so bad. In addition to my love of the African continent after my South African trip, I want to establish a proficiency in French. It is the most useful 2nd language for me to have for graduate school and the peace corps will help to solidify this requirement.

I now have renewed drive to get in the French class sooner than later. Starting in the summer, I will start taking night classes and hope that those of you who know how to speak French will keep encouraging me in my quest to master le francais.

Boston and the rest of New England

Earlier this week, I bought a ticket to go to Boston. I leave in less than 2 weeks and I have no idea what I to do when I get there. If anybody has ideas for Boston or any of the outlying towns in MA, NH, Maine, you name it, let me know. I normally have lots of time and I plan things out, but not this time. The opportunity was there so I took it.

How many is too many?

So I get into work today and talk to a coworker about her new jeans. She informs me she had to buy them a couple weeks ago when she was at the beach because she only had 2 pairs of jeans and was going to be there for 4 days. I thought she was joking about her "need" to go shopping before I realized she seriously felt like she had to have a separate pair of jeans for each day. (If she knew this about herself, why didn't she take more pairs?) What I found even weirder is that all the other women in the office think this was normal.

Is it really normal to wear jeans only 1 time and then wash them, even if you are on vacation? I knew that I kind of do my own thing, but wearing my jeans more than once I thought was more a standard practice. I must confess I usually only wash mine when they either stretched out too much or else I spilled something on them.

How many times do you wear your jeans before washing them?

banker goes rocker!

Well, at least with my hair. While I sat through the long process of the cut and colour that occurs every 4 months, I think my hair is a bit high maintenance. But by spending 3 days a year being high maintenance, it allows me to be low maintenance every other day of the year. Why do I feel the need to excuse any behavior that takes a bit of effort? In regards to my hair, I have owned up to it because the thing is, my hair IS my style. It's my one act of rebellion against my conservative job at the bank. If only I owned a digital camera and knew how to post photos I could show you. Needless to say, bright big red streaks frame my face as well as another streak at the crown of my head. Cut is slightly assymetrical with sweeping fringe. I absolutely LOVE my haircut.

Men in uniforms

Men in uniforms have always been a mixed back for me. I don't usually like guys in uniforms that require them to carry guns. Not because I am against guns, but I just wasn't raised around them. I work with a woman who goes crazy whenever the local firemen go to the deli next door for lunch. We get a lot of them as the Training Center for the Portland Fire Bureau is a couple blocks away. I mean she goes nuts. She has pretended to go out and get the mail in the pouring rain just so she could see them better.

Well, today I gotta say I kind of get it now. I helped a friend by being a "parent chaperone" for her constitutional law class field trip today. After observing some arraignment hearings, a civil breach of contract between a Freightliner Auto Dealer and Bank of America and a robbery trial we decided to head up to our final courtroom. One of the kids wanted to specifically hear this next case because his dad is an attorney and plays pool with the judge. Weird reason, I know, but then we all found out it was a prostitution case. Suddenly, each of the 6 kids I was watching wanted to see it.

I should say that up to this point, everything was pretty interesting and diverse. But the prostitution case made the whole trip extra fun for me. Not because I know that many, well any, prostitutes, nor do I ever expect to go into that profession (thankfully). The real reason is that I got my eye candy in for the day. The officers testifying in the case were both pretty attractive men, but man oh man, one of them just was beautiful to watch. Lucky for me, I had the opportunity to unabashedly watch him for 10+ minutes.

I was talking with them after their testimonies until my friend met me. I felt justified in my opinion when, as we left, she just said "oh my". Yeah, it was the icing on an already really good cake of a morning.