Acupuncture for Elephants and Pet Peeve #3454967

1. Acupunture for Elephants. I hope this "little guy" is feeling better, but I'm not sure I'm following the craze of eastern healing remedies for our pets and zoos.

2. Pet Peeve #3454967. When you call someone repeatedly, get asked to leave a voice mail message, and never get a call back. Example:

Me: "Hello may I please speak to Mr. Accountant*?"

Evil Phone Guy**: "I'm sorry, Mr. X is busy at the moment. Would you like his Voice Mail?"

Me: "Well I hate to be a pest but I've already left him two messages this week and it's Friday afternoon and I haven't received a call back."

Evil Phone Guy: "Would you like to leave a Voice Mail?"

Me: "Well can I leave a message with you?"

Evil Phone Guy: "I'm sorry, he's busy at the moment, would you like to leave a message on his Voice Mail?"

* Accountant's name withheld to protect the innocent.
** Evil phone guy = actual person, not a recorded voice.

The Pope

Now those of you who know me, know that I am neither a religious fan nor a religion expert. However, there are questions that arise when the Pope ends up in the hospital for a tracheotomy (never a good sign), and folks thirsty for knowledge, like me, might wonder what will happen at the point at which we need a new Pope. (Mind you I'm not wishing the Pope ill, the poor man has suffered for years with Parkinson's and other ailments, but it does appear that we may be in need of a new Pope soon.)

So for those of you who are curious what the Catholic world will do, and how it happens, this is an excellent article on what might happen next.

Word of the Day

hu·bris
n.
Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance
“There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris” (McGeorge Bundy).

This really chaps my hide.

So a few years ago I used some generous inheritance money to get what I had always wanted: a laptop. When choosing a laptop, I took into consideration the fact that I wanted to learn more graphic design and I wanted a computer that was going to help me do that. Even though I'd been a PC user for years, I switched to Mac. I have to say, I'm so glad I did it - I've almost never looked back. My baby, my T-book G4 is everything I ever wanted in a computer. Its got a 17" screen, a 40GB hardrive and is overall the best purchase I've ever made. Sure... when my hard drive blew out at the beginning of my return to school, I was slighly annoyed that it cost me $300 to replace it. But I still wasn't complaining.

Until now. This chaps my hide. I waited forever for an Ipod Mini. My wonderful boyfriend (and his family) were generous enough to give me one for this past Christmas. And what does Mac do? Ruins it for me... Turns out they're now selling the "old" 4GB version for $199 and the new 6GB version for $249. What's up with that?

Don't make me go back to PC... cause if I do, I'm going straight for Dell.

Body World

If you have even the smallest amount of interest in the human body and how it works, I would strongly urge you to try and see Gunther von Hagens' Body World exhibit. It is in both Los Angeles and Chicago currently, and is absolutely amazing. A mite creepy at first, but absolutely amazing for what it shows us. Basically Mr. von Hagens has plasticized real human bodies (people who donated their bodies to his science) and given us a real understanding of what the human body looks like, intact. No longer are we staring at plastic skeletons in 9th grade biology, but we can see how the pieces actually fit together.

For those in the Los Angeles area, check out the California Science Center exhibit before it leaves!

Back to work Tuesday.

Not quite the ring of Just Another Manic Monday, but it is back to work Tuesday. It's almost back to school Wednesday which is really the bees knees. Tomorrow I begin Corporate Finance and Marketing. As long as you know your Beta, your 4 P's and 4-5 C's (the books disagree on the issue of "context") then you're ready to go. Except that I actually have to read the manual on how to use my calculator. If it didn't have a trillion buttons I'd feel stupid having to read the manual. After all...who needs directions?

Do you ever wonder why shorter weeks feel longer than ever? Here we are having skipped Monday and I still think the week is interminable. Guess I'll have to find more things to do to keep my mind occupied.

So I don't know if this is common occurence, but I got contacted over the weekend via mail from a company called the U.S. Claims Service. Basically they say that the government has some money it's holding for me. They want $29.95 to send me the FORMS to claim the money - not the money itself, just the paperwork. Imagine my surprise when I got on the California Controller's website and found out I could download them for FREE. What a scam! So I filled out my paperwork and maybe I'll see that $322 again some day. Maybe even in time for tax season. The moral of the story: with the internet today, let your fingers do the walking before you send off a check to anyone for any service you think might be free.

Peace out.

Comfortable in my own skin.

It has taken quite a bit of time for me to be comfortable in my own skin. People say that your late teens and early twenties are the best years of your life, but I really have to disagree. Frankly, I found them confusing, hormonal, emotional and incredibly hard to navigate. Really, I started having a great time about 25 when I discovered I could provide for myself and that I really was an adult and I could make my own decisions. This led to one slightly wild summer, and a much better understanding of who I am and what I want. Finally, on the brink of 27, I feel like I'm comfortable in my own skin.

Speaking of comfortable in my own skin, these people certainly are. Now I'm a fan of no clothes when its appropriate, and I can even understand the appeal of nudist colonies for some, but I'll be damned if I can say I'd be comfortable in an Easter bonnet while I was nude and enjoying a fine dinner in Manhattan. Go figure.

It's raining.

And raining. Yup we're enjoying some of that lovely California liquid sunshine today folks! (and tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that...) Kind of suits my mood, however, so I'm not really complaining.

Three day weekend! I'm looking forward to snuggling in with blankets and pillows and reading, watching movies and knitting. Of course there's homework, but I'm ignoring that for now. It seems to be working quite well with the exception of the massive pile of unsealed, unopened books in the corner of my room.

So: Daily/Weekly News Update

1. William French Anderson, "Father of Gene Therapy", Arrested again. Not good news for USC Public Relations. It doesn't look good for this guy. Run his name through the latimes.com search and you'll see what I mean.

2. That crazy train wreck of a few weeks ago. The deadliest train crash in a long time, on the Los Angeles Metro Train line turns out not to be a bungled suicide attempt, but a genuine attempt to create havoc. Turns out the guy doused his car with gasoline before abandoning it on the tracks and sticking around to see what would happen. Looks like this dude just added arson to his growing list of felonies. Really, how stupid do you have to be?

3. Michael Jackson. I'm not really into this whole media circus. Really, the man is sick. I don't know if he did all they say he did, and I definitely believe that there are three stories : his side, the victim's side and the real truth. But honestly, you get accused enough and its enough to see that SOMETHING is wrong. See #1.

I could say more, but I won't make you read it.

Happy Friday!

A pet peeve...

I hate it when you admit your folly and go to a dictionary and look a term up and the definition refers to the root of the word. Example:

dys·to·pi·an
adj.
Of or relating to a dystopia.
ex. “AIDS is one of the dystopian harbingers of the global village” (Susan Sontag).

Now I looked it up because I didn't know what dystopia meant - obviously I get that it's an adjective. So let's try again:

dys·to·pi·a
n.
An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror.
A work describing such a place or state: “dystopias such as Brave New World” (Times Literary Supplement).

Ok, NOW I get it. The end of the world is coming.

This example was generated by the book Spacebraid and Other Tales of a Dystopian Universe by J. Allan Wolf.

Since we're on quotes...

Here's one of my favorite quotes that I find gets highly thought of during my working hours:

"A failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

Oh, if only I could utter these glorious words aloud.

QOTD (Quote of the Day)

Courtesy of our friends at A Word A Day:

I don't mind that you think slowly but I do mind that you are publishing faster than you think.
-Wolfgang Pauli, physicist, Nobel laureate (1900-1958)

Got a little free time?

This will suck that right up. Thanks Rawgie!!

Legal Questions Answered

So I spoke to my favorite lawyer yesterday afternoon and learned a bit more about the trademarking and copyrighting issues. It appears that unless I am going to use my logo "in commerce" (i.e. in marketing materials, or on packaging) I do not need to get a trademark license. More details can be found here. On the other hand, a copyright seems a good thing to have. This is a little less pricey but still good so that I can make my little devil mine. More details on copyrighting can be found here. Other tips and tricks including filing a fictictious business name with the LA County Clerk to establish the name of the graphic design business as Little Devil Works. Ahh the wonders of the legal world. A special thanks to my lawyer!

Also - I have conquered the dress. Unfortunately it will require slightly more resources (read: cost) than I had hoped for but the lovely Gladys' Tailoring and Alterations in Rolling Hills Estates is going to turn me into a Victorian princess... at least for a night or two.

Otherwise, I wait for Valentine's Day with a sense of impending doom. This Hallmark holiday is not worth much to anyone. If you've been together for a long time, you should love each other every day, not just this one day a year. If you've just started dating then you have gargantuan pressure to come up with the perfect gift for your new significant other. And if you're alone, well then the day is just another black hole to fall into. And really - who decided to make a holiday out of a demonic little cherub who wants to shoot arrows in your ass? Give me chocolate and make it go away.

On this day in history...

Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in Cape Town, South Africa; Mike Tyson was knocked out to lose heavy weight championship to Buster Douglas; and Pluto became the 9th planet from the sun (it had been the 8th planet since 1979).

WHO KNEW??

On the brink of success...

Not to jinx it but I think I may have found a dressmaker right in my own backyard. Guess who's getting big time blog press if it works out? *keeps her fingers crossed*

Newsworthy notes for the day:

Arthur Miller, famed playwright perhaps best known for his play "Death of a Salesman" has died.

LA Lakers player Karl Malone announced his retirement this week. Malone is a great player and an amazing guy and the only question that remains now is how bad can the Lakers actually get?

And today's legal question of the day:

What does it take to establish a trademark license? Stay tuned for the answer - I have a call in to my favorite lawyer (and uncle) to find out.

I'm not sure which ring of hell I'm in...

But Dante must have reserved a special ring in the inferno for bridesmaids. The dressmaker wants $1400 minimum to make the Victorian ball gown. And so I press onward.

My new best friend.

Some thoughts on popular culture:

I love NETFLIX. Whoever started the company deserves a standing ovation. If I go to the movies, even without popcorn and coke it costs me a small fortune and I have to sit through a half hour of previews and commercials until I forget what I actually came to see. But Netflix delivers right to my door. If I watch more than two a month, I've already come out ahead of movie theatre fees. They have everything I like and missed when it was originally out, including TV. And darnit all if they don't just arrive in my mailbox. What's a workaholic graduate student to do each weekend while dodging homework and housework? Watch Netflix DVDs.

Always a bridesmaid...

That's what it seems like these days. Both my best friends are tying the knot this spring so I'm getting all gussied up and walking down the aisle.

Wedding #1 should be an amazing affair - a turn of the century wedding. Did I mention it was the end of the 19th century? Yup. An 1880's Victorian wedding, complete with Victorian Mansion and gardens. For anyone who's interested I shall be wearing this. Second one down, picture on the left.

Wedding #2 promises to be a beautiful event near home, overlooking the Los Angeles bay (not to be confused with the less scenic LA Harbor). For this we're in elegant black.

Through all of this I have learned several important lessons:

- There are some REALLY ugly dresses out there.
- It's just going to cost to be a bride or a bridesmaid.
- I'm too short for most of these dresses.
- A seamstress is a good thing to find.

Politics - The Great Divide

I realize that by airing my political views I'm sure to offend all and befriend none. But these are a few of the issues that drive me crazy nowadays.

1. I'm going to mass produce bumper stickers that read the following:

"America has gone amok in the Bush with Dick"

2. Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice

Your body, your choice. My body, my choice. 'Nuff said.

3. Banning Gay Marriage

The Kansas legislature seems to be making a move to ban gay marriage, and there are still rumors about a Constitutional Amendment. I'm sorry... can someone please tell me where in the Constitution it says "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others"?

4. Ahhhhhhnold.

The Governator's progress report looks good. This is puzzling for several reasons.

* When elected he reversed the car registration rate hike. Now he wants to tax us per mile driven?
* He promised to balance the budget. Where oh where is California's balanced budget? Arnie's one time deals are running out and California is facing another year in the red.

Hasta la pasta baby.

Blogblock...

Now that I have a blog, I seem to have blog block. Of course my classmate points out its better than blogger's cramp... I wonder what that would be like. Carpal tunnel syndrome?

So today I went off in search of a dressmaker for my 1880's Victorian ball gown. Hopefully Michael's Custom Clothes will do me the honor. If not my love hate relationship with my mother's sewing machine continues.

And finally - I must fulfill my goal as a MUD wizard on AfterHours. If you're looking for a cool old school text based game, log on to afterhoursmud.com, set your port to 2000 and tell your loved ones that you'll be out of commission for a while. It's why most of us were very distracted in college.

It's a boy!

That's right folks.. Evan Cameron has entered the world and Wes is an uncle again. I'm so excited you would think it's my baby. He chose to arrive early, and he's having a little trouble, but we're all keeping our fingers crossed and thinking good thoughts.