Veritie

VEGAS!

mairee — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:21:26 GMT

So...I'm changing things up this year. I will very likely not be making a trip down to Southern this year, and am instead heading to Vegas for the first time ever :D Very excited. I'll get to see Kyra and a ton of other people who live to far away to see on a regular basis. So frickin' excited! I WILL be going with little spending money however so if anyone has been before and has any good tips on where to eat, go, etc, please let me know! If I can manage faire anyway after the trip, it'll likely be a last minute thing but...we'll see. Not planning on it but I won't rule it out 100% either. Just...90% probably. e_e Anyway, all is well here otherwise! <3<3<3 Miss you all!

68.0 Drama and Inspiration!

mairee — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:12:14 GMT

Hi everyone. :) Long time no chat, I know. I've been thinking about you all even while I've been busy in life and everything. I'm realizing that February is turning out to be as busy a month for me as May usually is. So, I'm sorry I haven't been around much, checking in, etc. My Dad's birthday is the 13th...and since Vince has class on Thursday we're celebrating on Friday. The next weekend I have Video Games Live (which my sister got Vince and I tickets to for Christmas) and the day after that is my 2nd cousin's bridal shower. With my usual work schedule and such, I'm finding I don't really have a whole lot of, "Go out and do things" time. Been spending a lot of time at home, which actually is kinda nice considering how ridiculously crazy the holiday season was. I'm kinda in a good place at the moment. I'm still dealing with how I feel with a lot of my guilt issues mentioned in previous posts, but it seems to come down to just ignoring them rather than working through them. I'm still having moments of feeling the need to apologize to the same people once a month or so. I'm not sure if it's because I feel they deserve so many apologies or because it's just the way that guilt works. Meh. January was a particularly rough month. The new year started immediately with social drama that didn't really get resolved for a couple weeks. We got uninvited to a party that consisted of 95% of Vince's friends because there was a girl there who was in love with him previously (over two years ago) that didn't think she'd be able to handle us being there. It was stupid shit on all sorts of levels and we ended up having lunch a couple weeks into the month to finally resolve things and talk about all that had gone on unsaid these last two years... I had about a day to breath easy before there was more drama with my mother. It was wretched and horrible. A lot of things said that shouldn't have been said on both sides, which nearly led to me getting kicked out of the house immediately. After a week of hard work, among other things, I seemed to have done enough to warrant staying in the house. A couple days after that I bumped into another car on the road (who was stopped, so it was my fault, raar) on my way to work... January couldn't have gone by fast enough. The plus side is that January was also the month that I got inspired to really DO things again that I had been ignoring in favor of video games and reading and online activities. I'm writing again. This is a HUGE thing for me. I have always dreamt of writing for a living but the dream has always gone so far out of reach because it's been years since I've really writen anything of consequence. I mean, I barely even write blog entries anymore. The words are hard to find and the inspiraiton has been low lately. But not anymore. :) I'm really happy to be writing again, as well as indulging in some other things. I got back into my graphic design stuff. I picked up a book at work not long ago called Color Index, that includes hundreds of color combinations as well as their RBG, CYMK, and HTML codes. This will be REALLY helpful for me in any work I end up doing, though I really need to study up on my HTML, as well as learn a few other languages like CSS and such. I ended up finally getting some organization together for my jewelry making/beading, my art supplies, as well as all of my sewing crafts. I had just attacked a half-off pile of cute flannels for some stuffed monster creatures, but had no where to store everything. Problem was solved during the week post-family drama, and now for a while, my room is not only clean but functional. It's very weird considering I'm a pack rat who seems to always be in the midst of clutter. So, I'm really happy right now. Vince and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on New Year's Eve (despite drama, we had a great night, and I got a new shiny necklace that he bought for me even though we had both agreed on no presents this year ~_~), I've got great coworkers that I get to see every day I work, I have great friends in San Francisco that seem to find amusement in my drunken state, but at least they take me to poetry readings when I am... My sister is constantly a source of fun and support, even when my parents are taking their drama out on everyone else, and everyone I know is happy and healthy. Thank frakin' god. I love you all, I miss you all, and I'm sorry I haven't really communicated much. But I -DO- think about you all a lot. Hope the new year is treating you all well! <3's and smoochies!

67.0 WATCH THIS

mairee — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:48:58 GMT

Oooooooooooooooooh my god. My cup of gay overfloweth. You must watch this, seriously. It's from Brian Boitano's Skating Spectacular in San Francisco (which features live singing from Manilow). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EwRA-1mYKM Melissa and I were watching the Spectacular on TV going, "This is Boitano...this should have more gay in it. Manilow and cowboys and ball players aside, even the one guy in drag, this needs more gay." And then this was next and we sorta hyperventilated watching it XD

66.0 Don't frak with Marianne!

mairee — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:35:42 GMT

Marianne once visited the Virgin Islands. They are now The Islands. Marianne once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made her blink. Marianne can win at solitaire with only 18 cards. Marianne has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. She won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO. What was going through the minds of all of Marianne's victims before they died? Her shoe. The pen is mighter than the sword, but only if the pen is held by Marianne. Most boots are made for walkin'. Marianne's boots ain't that merciful. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is based on a true story: Marianne once swallowed a turtle whole, and when she crapped it out, the turtle was six feet tall and had learned karate. Marianne never retreats, she just attacks in the opposite direction. Marianne does not "style" her hair. It lays perfectly in place out of sheer terror. Marianne did not "lose" her virginity, she stalked it and then destroyed it with extreme prejudice. Giraffes were created when Marianne upper-cut a horse. Marianne can jump-start a car using jumper cables attached to her nipples. Marianne is the only person to ever win a staring contest against Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder at the same time. There is endless debate about the existence of the human soul. Well it does exist, and Marianne finds it delicious. So yeah. Remember that everyone. e_e http://blog.esaba.com/projects/facts/index.php

65.0 Ugh, sick.

mairee — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:22:45 GMT

So, remember that chest cold thing I had for 3 weeks of October? Right in the middle of faire? Not only did it come back, but my coughing got WORSE that first day, and so I've been more or less miserable for nearly a week now. The good news is that after trying appointments at 4 different places, I managed to get in to see a doctor at the 5th place. The bad news is that she was a bitch who basically told my I could overcome my coughing with "mind over matter" and said that she'd only prescribe medicine if I would feel better that she did. The good news is that the medicine HAS helped because I've been steadily improving. The bad news is that I'm still not well, and part of trying to beat this involves rest, and not doing anything to instigate another coughing fit. Which means not talking much, not doing anything to make me breath heavily, and not laughing. No more can it be all for the funny for me! Very depressing. In other news, yes, dinner the other night was awesome. I'm still going *_* over that meal. So frickin' good. Can't wait to be well and ready to help plan another dinner night ^_^ Also, excited because despite being sick, I will be going to the movies tonight with my sister, who got us passes to see the premiere of Battlestar Galactica: Razor, on the big screen. Woohoo! <3 to you all. Hope Dickens stuff is going well :)

63.0 Faire Season

mairee — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:12:50 GMT

Hihi everyone. :) It's that time of year again... The time of year where I spend 6 weekends in a row partying like nobody's business after a day in a fabulous busty costume, teaching drunk people to shoot arrows. That's right, renaissance faire is back at Casa :D So...for a while I'm going to be in my own little world bubble of faire, recoup day, work tuesday, wednesday, thursday, pack friday, and head out that night. Faire, faire, faire, work, work, work, attempt sleep somewhere along the way. So...just wanted to let you all know. Going to have a blast, and if you're in the area you should come visit because it's a lot of fun, and obviously you should bask in the splendor that is my seasonal job with the family I chose. Yeah. It snuck up on be, but today, Friday, when I'm about to embark on my trip in a mere 7 hours, I am frickin' excited. Love to you all. Cross posted this so on a personal note to each community... To my tribe people, see you tonight! To my myspace people, have fun at bowling night, game night, online, etc. To my livejournal people, take care. I'll miss you all but yes, just when updates were getting regular, I'll be MIA for a while ;) Unless I have particularly fun stories to tell :D <3<3<3 Muah!

62.0 Looking for garb for friends! Help!

mairee — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 07:52:36 GMT

So, I spend most of my non-faire days talking about faire and trying to convince friends to come with me some weekend. 99% of the time this doesn't happen. So, of course, I'm a little floored that I have three friends committed to coming out to work and play at Casa this year! I have one guy friend and two female friends who are coming different weekends. I have one friend taken care of when she comes for 4th weekend, however I need a different size bodice for my friend coming 2nd weekend (likely a medium or large), and ANY costume pieces for my guy friend who will be out 1st and 4th weekend. None of them can afford to buy/rent costumes this year, and they all really want to participate. Does anyone have anything they can lend my friends? Please let me know asap. I'm starting to worry I won't have anything available in time x_x

61.0 ;p

mairee — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:52:04 GMT

First of all, apparently I am a VERY expensive corpse. I took a quiz here, http://mingle2.com/cadaver-calculator , that said my body was worth $5125. Nice to know I'd be so useful even in the afterlife. Anyway uhm...yeah. I'm really tired. I miss everyone, and I feel like I've been pretty MIA lately. I've made it to some functions and get togethers but on whole I feel like I've been very absent. I miss you all. Lots and lots. I'm half asleep here but yeah...wanted to say hello *waves* I still have pictures from Southern I have yet to post...and some of them are pretty cool, and I need to take pictures of my new bodice, but I DID manage to post pics of my new bangs and yeah. Feeling braindead atm. <3 Hope everyone is well on their end. :) And belated congratulations to the new mommy in the family! Best hopes and wishes to the Nanning family and the latest addition :D

60.0 GLEN'S list of STUFF that "Matters" ;)

mairee — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 09:36:44 GMT

GLEN’S list of STUFF that Matters. 1. Where is the craziest place you have had sex that you are most proud of? I feel fairly unadventurous, looking back. If we're including non-intercourse activities, then behind archery, attempting to blend into the walls when people walked through from tents to privs. 2. In an ideal world where money is no object, what is your drink of choice (that you have had before)? It'd still be the Basin's Jeff Spicoli. I love my frou-frou drinks. 3. What color is your favorite sex toy? Raspberry Pink! 4. Have you ever purchased new underwear instead of doing laundry? Yes, but partially because the underwear was sexy and like, 5 for 20 :D 5. What do you wear, if anything, when you sleep? Nothing. Toss and turn too much in my sleep...clothes feel constricting :p 6. Can you still count the number of lovers you have had on both hands? Depending on criteria of lovers :p I'm going to say yes, to be on the safe side. 7. Both hands and both feet? Would only need a toe, at most, after the hands. 8. Boxers or Briefs? On a guy? Boxers or boxer briefs... 9. Do you have normal slippers or big fuzzy crazy ones? Don't wear slippers really... 10. What is your favorite food item to incorporate into making love? Chocolate frosting 11. Have you ever had a one night stand? Yep. 12. Ever have one and STILL not know their name? Nope 13. Roman gods or Greek Gods? Depends...Seems kinda like deciding between red grapes and purple grapes... 14. Jessica Rabbit or Lara Croft? Jessica Rabbit of course. Lara can kick ass but Jessica is so much better. 15. Single Favorite Food Item.. (no multiple answers) Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. 16. The Number one person on your “LIST” that you are allowed to have sex with in your fantasy world? No one that anyone here knows :p 17. Ticklish or not? Unfortunately. 18. Bagel or Donut? Depends on my mood. Usually donut. 19. Will you celebrate March 14th- Steak and Blowjob day? (It’s real, check the net) Of course! We don't celebrate Valentine's Day really but the rest of the year I'm spoiled rotten anyway soooo...yeah. 20. What would YOU do with a flying monkey if you had one? I'd train it to do all sorts of things for me, including sending it out for groceries or other errands when I feel especially lazy.

30 Questions.

mairee — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 07:24:28 GMT

Because I can't help jumping on bandwagons sometimes... 1. Is that your natural hair color? At the moment, yes. Sometimes I do add tint but...not for a while. 2. Where was your default pic taken? At Casa De Fruta faire, 2006. I have don't remember who took the picture but it's one of my favorites. 3. What's your middle name? Beth. 4. Your current relationship status? Currently seeing someone... Vince and I celebrated our 1-year anniversary on New Year's Eve. :) Things are fabulous. 5. Honestly, does your crush like you back? Yeeeep. Unless he's suddenly become a very convincing liar. 6. What is your current mood? I'm content. I've had a very up and down week, but after catching up with friends via email and blogs...I'm feeling alright. Loose ends are being tied up, closure is being found, people are moving on. Things are changing and I'm hopeful, which is great. 7. What color underwear are you wearing? Black ;0 8. What makes you happy? Lots of things. A good meal, a TV marathon, inspiring myself, being inspired...a good day's work, or a stolen day off. 9. Are you musically inclined? Yep. Though, I haven't practiced singing or playing piano in ages, it seems. I might start again, someday. 10. If you could go back in time, and change something what would it be? I think there are a few things I would want to change but...I've read too much into time paradox stuff and how changing the past changes the future and...I wouldn't want that on my shoulders. I am who I am today because of the past I came from, and I can't think that anything I would want to change would be small enough to not affect everything, or big enough to matter. 11. If you MUST be an animal for ONE day- what would you be? I think I'd be a bird. The idea of flying appeals to me...something non-prey-like of course. It would suck to get eaten during that ONE day. 12. Ever had a near death experience? Nope. *knocks on wood* 13. Something you do a lot? ChocolateChocolateChocolateChocolateChocolateChocolateChocolateChocolate 14. What's the name of the song stuck in your head right now? I forgot the name...track 15 from Red Hot Chili Pepper's "By The Way" album..."Warm Tape" apparently. Before that it was George Michael's "Freedom" for a better part of the week. I blame my sister. 15. Who did you copy and paste this from? Terran, though I saw it a few other places in my blog listings. 16. Name someone with the same b-day as you? Wynonna I think? I know my birthday is the same day Joan of Arc died... 17. When was the last time you cried? I nearly did today, but really cried...I think Monday morning. I took Teddy's medical food, kibble and cans, as well as three doses of Advantage, and donated them to the vet's office. I thought it would be okay, and that I was feeling better, but I couldn't stop myself once I got into the car after. The good part was that it spurred me to wake Melissa up, and drag her down to Carmel with me. We had an awesome day :) 18. Have you ever sung in front of a large audience? Yep, quite a few times really. Being in musicals, opera recitals, not to mention giant karaoke parties with family...yeeah. A lot. 19. If you could have one super power what would it be? Flying, again. I think that could be pretty damn cool. 20. What's the first thing you notice about the OPPOSITE sex? Erm...I have no idea. I tend to be a "whole package" kinda person, as opposed to first analyzing one part or another. 21. What do you usually order from Starbucks? Raspberry Italian Soda...or hot chocolate. But yeah, Italian Soda = love 22. What’s your biggest secret? Well it wouldn't be a secret anymore if I told you all! 23. What's your favorite color? Green. That pure, multilayered, emerald green. 24. When was the last time you lied? I can't recall exactly... 25. Do you still watch kiddy movies or TV shows? Erm...sometimes? Rarely? I can't recall the last time I did...But yeah. I do. 26. Do you have braces? Nope. Not since middle school. Though I could probably use them again :p Meh. 27. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? I'd probably give myself more restraint or discipline. If I had more of that, I'd probably fix more than one thing about myself that I want to. Such as financial know-how, or the stick-to-it attitude for a diet. Etc. 28. What are you eating or drinking? Nothing. I had Ethiopian for dinner tonight though :D 29. Do you speak any other language? I can speak pieces of Spanish...and I know how to pronounce most words in Italian, but in general I'm a one-language kinda girl :p 30. What's your favorite smell? Oooh that's tough. For perfume scents, I love the black raspberry vanilla scent from Bath and Body Works. Chocolate is always a good one though...

Teddy 2.

mairee — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 07:05:37 GMT

[Cross-posted, and that's the next best picture I can find of him now, though he's obviously got bed head in it...] So...Mom got home. We called Dad, and the four of us had a meeting about Teddy. We talked about his health, and his lifestyle, his day to day routine, and whether he was having more good days than bad days, or the other way around. In the end, together we agreed that the best thing to do was to put him to sleep. It was then a question of when and...I told them that for me, it'd be better sooner than later. They agreed. At that point, the only reason to hold on would have been selfish. He was just...miserable. So we all put on warm clothes, bundled him up, and got into my car. I drove us all over to the vet's, and we waited in their quiet room for someone to come in. They forgot we were in there, or maybe the right people weren't told we were there at all, but it gave us time to let him wander and just be with us while we were waiting. He kept trying to fit under chairs and tables he couldn't, or wind his way under the wicker couch. The wound on his back leg hadn't stopped bleeding still and...it looked awful, awful. Finally the vet came in and I held Teddy, gave him one last squeeze, and left back to my car. I couldn't handle being there, especially since usually he squirms and howls when we're in the vet's with him. He thinks he has to protect us... I sat in my car with the music and just...sat. I looked in the mirror when I heard the door I'd come through, open. Dad came out and...well. He doesn't cry. Not full out and out sobbing. But I heard him choke up and he was crying, and then he leaned heavily on the back of my car, just crying. I had stopped once I got out to my car, but once he got out there and I joined him, we were both just sobbing and...oh god. One of the roughest nights. Mom and Melissa came out eventually. Mom and Dad both said that Teddy was calm, and peaceful, and that it looked like he was releasing all the pain when he died. I took his collar from Melissa's hand and I'm keeping it. I drove us all back home, Dad took his car home, and Mom and Melissa and I drove to Chevy's for dinner because the thought of cooking and cleaning after all that was just...not an option. Now we're home and Vince is coming early tomorrow morning so...yeah. I know we made the right decision, and both Dr. Koga, his usual vet, and the one from ER last night and tonight, said that it was time. They couldn't while we were deciding because...it's something they can't get involved in, but once the decision had been made, they said it was the right choice. The ER Vet said that him tearing open his abscess was definitely the scale-tipper. We couldn't put an elderly, sickly dog in an E-collar or back in that neck brace he'd been in. It wouldn't have been acceptable. So...yeah. I had...well, I had hoped that this would all get taken care of tonight. If we made the decision to go through with it, I didn't want to have it dragged out another day, or two, or a week or more. I don't think I could have handled it, watching him suffer like he was. I just wish we hadn't had to make a decision in the first place, y'know? We got home and I started cleaning the blood off the carpets and putting his food and water dishes away...Mom couldn't handle doing it. She's been crying off and on since she first got home from work. I have blood on the back seatbelts of my car as well, but...I'm just done for tonight. I really am. I wish I knew what to do with myself now.

Teddy.

mairee — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 02:04:20 GMT

[Cross-posted] So...some of you know about Teddy, the family dog. For those who don't, he's commonly called "our furry brother." He's beeen a part of this family for as long as I can remember. He's fifteen and a half years old. With old age comes blindness, deafness, losing control of limbs, bowels, and getting sick far more easily than when he was younger. For the past year I feel I'm the only one in the family that's seen his health go steadily down hill. Or at least, Mom's been in denial. I know that I can be negative, as opposed to objective in my observations but...just the same, he's not in a good place. Yesterday he threw up six times. He was disoriented, and out of it. He wasn't walking easily...he wasn't feeling well, and it showed. At 1 in the morning we took him to the vet's 24 hour ER service. They took his temperature, which was normal, some blood for tests, and examined this dark black patch that he's had on his back leg. At first they thought we'd been negligent about cleaning poop off of his fur. Melissa mentioned he'd cut himself about a month ago, and that while it had scabbed over, the spot kept growing bigger. They examined it, and discovered that it was a giant scab, and that he had a giant abscess over a tumor. The tumor apparently is attached to his anal glands...and it's bad enough that it's surfaced. Apparently that will happen with people who don't know they have cancer...if it gets REALLY bad, the tumors will start surfacing. It explains his poor nerves and control over the back end of his body but...yeah. Things aren't looking good. This morning his vet called us to give us the results of his bloodwork, and mentioned that it did indicate infection, or some sort of problems with his liver. Last night we'd gone to the ER thinking that he was going to have to be put down. The vet told us that while his health wasn't great, he still had some quality of life, which seemed to make the decision a 50/50 thing. After the news of his bloodwork this morning, however, in addition to the fact that he's slept all day, only walked in circles when he DID get up, and his legs behaving more abnormal than usual... It all doesn't look very good for him. My mother, sister, and I have been debating, to ourselves and each other, whether at this point, it would be in his best interests, or in ours, to put him to sleep. I've been wondering if it is mainly in our best interests, if it's selfish. It's hard to see him like this. The ER vet last night said that she thought he still had some quality of life left. I can't deny that but...it seems so small in comparison, and it's getting more and more difficult to see him struggling and just...existing. We can't put loved ones to sleep when they're clearly suffering, but we do have that option with our animals, and I almost wonder if we hesitate more than we should, because we don't reason through this situation at all, otherwise. I feel like it's in his best interests at this point, but part of me feels guilty because I know that I also want him put to sleep because it's getting too difficult to care for him. That doesn't seem like a good reason to do it, but no one has actually told me outright that it's a bad reason, which disturbs me even more. I mean...to decide whether a creature, any creature lives or dies, based on whether or not it's convenient anymore to have them around? Whether one feels they can continue to care for them? It feels like this branches into the "animal rights" territory...Ugh. Do we have the right to decide, if we're not completely basing the decision on whether or not it's a good choice for the pet? It feels wrong to want it to happen, but...I can't imagine that the life he has now is really fulfilling. He seems so out of it that I hardly think he even knows what's going on around him anymore. He can barely distinguish between anything...at best, he can see movement, or sense it. The frequencies he can hear are very, very limited. He's basically deaf. His digestive system isn't working properly, he's been taking meds for high blood pressure, not to mention he's on a medical diet, and has been for the last year...he can barely chew hard kibble anymore... And then there's that whole, peeing, pooping, and throwing up on the carpet thing. It doesn't happen every day, but I'd say that one thing or another has happened once a week, minus the events of yesterday. He's just...I don't think he's in great health. His whole body is sensitive in a way that makes it hard to pick him up, hold him, or pet him. If you pet or rub anywhere but his head, his limbs get weak (some kind of nerve reaction) and he just...falls to the floor. He can't help it. His back legs are awful...They just...aren't holding him up at this point. Lately he's been leaning over his right back leg so it's underneath him...and when he was walking around in circles (most of today) his back left leg looked just like he couldn't move it. Kinda like walking around with dead leg. Adding it all up I just...don't see how he can still have quality of life. The ER vet mentioned if he still enjoyed sleeping in the sun, being held/pet, enjoyed eating, etc. The only thing I can think of that hasn't waned is his appetite, and even then, it's only been on days when he hasn't gotten sick. This really, really sucks. I worry it's going to be tonight and I just...it's really rough. He may not love me as much as Mom, or enjoy being on my lap as much as Melissa, but more than anyone else in our family, he's always sat right by me when I've been upset and crying, and falling to pieces. Ugh. And in the end I just...don't know what to do with myself. This sucks.

58.0 Pictureness

mairee — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:28:57 GMT

Christmas was a combo of really good times and really fucked up times. I'm thinking of putting most of it behind me and forgetting the fact that really, my family is just kinda fucked up on Dad's side. Meh. So, once I got home, I ate, settled in a bit on the couch, then came upstairs to fool around on my computer. I've been trying to get a layout worked out with this one art border I've been working with, and it's going to be a little more complicated than I anticipated. I'm going to have to study other layouts by some professionals (I've seen similar stuff on their websites) to try and figure this out. In the meantime, I did get a sort of basic thing to work, but if I wanted to extend the bottom any further, it would set off the alignment of the table and the mouseovers. So...yes. More work to do. I took a quick break to watch a Buffy episode with Melissa, and then came back up. Ended up resizing and editing a bulk of pictures I hadn't gotten to. The new Baker Beach pictures are up, as well as half of the Rodin exhibit at Stanford. Both have some really lovely pictures in there. I'm trying not to brag but some of them just turned out amazingly well. I did foolwith the colors of some, and it's more apparent on some than others, but all in all I like how they are so...yeah. There's also a gallery of pictures of me looking bored and staring into the camera while laying on the floor...Here's links to everything. Rodin: http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e325/mairee/Rodin%20at%20Stanford/ Baker Beach: http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e325/mairee/Baker%20Beach/ Floorlevel: http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e325/mairee/Floorlevel/ Sooooooo yeah. Tomorrow is a day of cleaning, organizing, visiting my cousin Nick (who just had surgery on Wednesday) aaand...yeah. I think that's it. I also have to try and remember to call back work, who attempted to reach me while I was out of town, and my phone was dead. e_e Oops. Hope everyone's holidays are continuing to go well. <3

57.0 More Bad Carma.

mairee — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 01:16:01 GMT

I thought my carma was inproving, but apparently not. Not sure if I mentioned my car getting broken into on the 30th of October...but it was. I had my ipod mini stolen, car and ipod adapters and chargers stolen, not to mention a leather case full of about a hundred or more CD's taken. Insurance HAD told us they would cover everything, minus the $250 deductible. I finally get my list together and go down to take care of filing a claim, only to find out that they won't cover really any of it because they weren't PART of the car. The car wasn't damaged, and all of the items were considered "mobile" so at most, they're going to give $50 for the CD's. The CD's that make up for almost the $1800 worth of stuff taken. To say I'm upset is putting it mildly. So...car insurance will not cover really any of it, even though they said they would when we called them in the first place. And home owner's insurance won't cover it because the car wasn't in the garage when the theft happened, but gee, I wouldn't have had anything stolen in the first place if it had been in the garage...so, yes, fucked up. This is me getting shafted by thieves and insurance agencies. I swear to god, next thing you know I'm going to get run over by a mattress truck and this will all have come full circle.

56.0 Long Winded Blog

mairee — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 11:03:06 GMT

So it's just after 2 in the morning and I'm awake. I have a lot of till-midnight shifts at work so I'm becoming even more of a night owl than before. It seemed that a blog-wide update might be in order, so for those of you who have more than one of these networking/blogging sites (LiveJournal, MySpace, Tribe), my apologies for the cross-post. This won't be really INTERESTING persay but...it's going to cover pretty much everything that's been going on with me lately. I'm now in the post-season time of faire...Dicken's is coming up and despite having patterns for an outfit, I've made no work toward really anything. Not to mention I'd rather be making some money now with my new job than setting off to the city only to be tempted by new corsets and the like at Dickens. I'll likely go for a day to visit faire-family and to see the new Naughty Postcards show but chances are I'll be a loser and go in civvies. ;p In the meantime, I'm going to save up some money for a second bodice. I have my black Pendragon bodice that I don't use anymore (I went down a size! :D) and my green and black sleeved bodice...so I'm going for a third style/color that I'll get done custom this time. Jim and all the Pendragon people are fantastic and their prices are totally reasonable/affordable, so I always feel good giving them my business. Once I've got some of the cashy money I'll call in my order...and then I'll have until Southern to work on matching skirts, and even try my hand at a wreath or two. I need to remember to also try and fix up my hat (since I never got around to sewing the side in place) and touch up the feathers in it. It was...a really good season this year. It took a while to get used to everything but I think I'm in good headspace now. Faire, up until now, has always been the place where I'm single, and I party, and I have a good time, so it was definitely different to be there and be in a relationship. Not that there were any crazy problems, but it was a different headspace to be in for sure. I really want to head down to Southern for a weekend, as usual, and hopefully this year there will be camping. I've heard rumors that maybe, maybe, maaaybe there'll be camping at last, but I don't wanna get my hopes up or jinx it somehow by talking about it too much :p So...from one job to another...in case it wasn't mentioned before, after two years of Petco, I'm finally out of there. My last day was September 7th, and I've had very, very few regrets about quitting. The only regret really is that 1: I was actually getting more hours there and 2: I was also getting nearly a dollar more an hour. But...in the end, it was worth it to not be there. I was tired of the work itself for one. Cashiering there was a thankless job, not to mention all sorts of other things I did for them. I was tired of all the damn management changes, and at the time of my leaving, most of them were for the worse. All the managers I liked, save one, were leaving within weeks of each other. I do miss my coworkers...they're an awesome bunch. I think I would have hung out with them more outside of work if work itself hadn't drained me of the desire to do so. The week after faire ended, I started my new job at Barnes and Noble. So far, I love it. You all know me and the books...working there is kinda evil because my paycheck is going to go right back into the store :p There's already a dozen things I want to get and I can't afford them all if I want to eat @_@ The work itself is different and the same. The registers work similarly to the ones at Petco. The systems themselves may be outdated, but they run smoother, to be honest, and are far less complicated. Not to mention, it's nice to need manager authorization with returns because if the situation is iffy, I don't have to be the deciding authority on the matter, I can just ask someone else. ;p The great thing is that I'm not just doing cashiering either, but I'm also doing customer service work, zoning, and even was able to help in the receiving area for a day. Customer service stuff is great. I've always enjoyed it, and it's nice because the atmosphere here is a lot more laid back. The customers have their similar quirks but on whole, they're a hell of a lot saner than the ones at Petco. A nice breath of fresh air. The whole...go-backs situation is a bit different in this store however. Petco was all about the plannograms and making space for things...it was about craaaazy about those plannograms. Here, it's more about making sure everything is in THE EXACT PLACE. The right section, the right subsection, and not everything is alphabetized by author, so it's figuring all that as well, dealing with face outs, do outs, returns, the whole shebang. Their system for placing books is a lot more complicated, but in the end it does work nicely when you're trying to find things. If it was any less complex, things would probably go to ruin a lot quicker. As for the staff...they're great. A hell of a lot less drama, definitely less flakey, very competent, and oh my god, managers without power-trip issues! Holy crap! ;p I'm still adjusting to the fact that I'm not stressed at work. I'm ENJOYING going to work again, who knew that was possible? What's kinda cool about the new job is that an old friend of mine from middle school works there as well. She's been with the company for a few years appparently. I haven't seen her since 8th grade...about oh god, 8 years ago? Oh god I feel old now... But it's cool that she's working there. I had some drama with some of the other girls in our group back in MS, and some of them I was indifferent to (sometimes you just don't click with people) so it's nice to be back in contact with her again. Middle school was hell and Kate was one of the few people who didn't make it that way. On the school note, I was driving around SF state a lot lately. I finally was able to spend more than just a day up in San Francisco. Saw Greg and Tina and Kelly...Vince and his family of course, and even ran into Jacqi and Barry on the sidewalk outside campus. All in all it was a good visit. It was nice to be able to spend some quality time up there. Highly amusing to see Greg's sketchy-people magnet in action. Random high guy decided that we TOTALLY had weed and were holding out on him, then tried to buy hot dogs off the people grilling next to us, not to mention giggling after he hiccuped (which was often) and then continue to ask if we'd "sell him doobies for five bucks" cause it was all he had :p Amusing, though it sorta ruined the relaxing mood of people watching at the beach and seeing the sun set. I definitely want to get in touch with more friends in the next few weeks if possible. Dina is going to have her baby in a month or two...I finally talked to Mattee and found out he and Amy had gotten married and she had moved in...the way things have been going, this year has been one giant head trip. Not necessarily in the bad way, but with friends getting married, having kids, or in worse situations, actually dying (middle school and high school friends).............it's been crazy. And then you've got family...oh lord. I love my family, I really do, but I can't handle some of them drunk ever again :p They talk. And them talking while drunk is a BAD THING. Specifically, Mom. Mom likes to treat us like girlfriends...and...that just doesn't work because 1: we're her daughters and 2: we don't relate to our female friends the way she likes to. With her, it's like being caught in hell, if hell were a neverending slumber party of 13 year old girls developing their first crushes and going on their VERY FIRST DATE EVAR OMG. Things that I've told my Mom never to do again include: - Do not light candles downstairs and leave my boyfriend downstairs to greet me. It's not something he'd do, and knowing that ruins whatever you were trying to accomplish. - Giving me a pair of silk pajamas, then telling me it would be romantic if I work the top part and Vince wore the bottoms. Again, that's your brand of romance, not mine. - Stop asking me if "I'm excited" that Vince is coming over. I'm always happy to see him when he arrives on Thursday nights but this isn't prom night :p - Do not talk about how you think the reason that I don't stay at Vince's often is because we can't share a bed there and that sucks because it's nice to "cuddle and spoon and hold each other" and no no no no no. Also, I do not need to hear about how she thinks that women need to be "dominated" a little in a relationship, even if what she means is she wants a take-charge kinda guy who's gonna sweep her off her feet. I also don't need her to lead that comment into asking about the dynamics of lesbian relationships. When it comes down to it, it's her phrasing and the twist of thought she's got on these subjects that make them awkward. I don't know how clearly I can convey the head-trip that is talking to my mother, at times. I'm sorry, but Mom trying to get in and live vicariously through my private life is not something I'm comfortable with. Her attempts to manufacture her brand of romance into my private life is also something that drives me up the wall. We have our own things, our own ways, our own ideas with our relationship. We're happy with each other the way we are, I don't need a pinch-hitter :p I'm worried about how it'll turn out this week because unfortunately, Mom was fired. She was set up by someone she thought was a friend, and back-stabbed. Repeatedly throughout her job, really. Hindsight is 20/20. It seems to be a theme with both of us...as far as I can tell. At previous jobs (not current) we've both had issues with coworkers, or even superiors, having issues and feeling threatened by us. Not that we WERE threats to them (god knows I'm not a ladder-climber) but it's not like you can convince others that we're not trying to make them look bad, we're just doing our jobs to the best of our abilities :p Meh. So...with Mom having more free time...and being around the house 24/7...ergh. I plan on Vince and I being out of her range whenever possible. I could do without her asking Vince more awkward questions like last week. ~_~ Dad, thankfully, has been normal, not nagging, and actually pretty cool lately. Lots of Guild Wars stuff going on. Green weapons galore from him, I've been building up my Dervish and her party in Nightfall...it's been good times. Slowly I've been trying to organize stuff with all of my characters in terms of needed weapons/armor/skills...but it's gonna take a while. :p I need to do some farming and make some plat. The pace at which I'm gaining wealth is seriously slow, to the point of heartbreaking. I'm a geek, I know. e_e; The nice thing at least is Jesse has GW again :D Which means another friend to party with in Prophecies. Once I get my new elementalist into Post-Searing I'll harass him to do quests and missions with me. Maybe try and drag Kehl onto GW as well if we're lucky *crosses fingers* Oh, and back to family members... I love my sister. She drives me nuts every once in a blue moon, but I love her. She is sane and based in this reality and she rocks hard core. There were even biscuits made for us this morning :D This is something that again, my words at nearly 3 in the morning cannot convey...but she knows how awesome she is, and she knows that I know, so...it's all good. Beyond all of this... As far as I know, things are good. My room is a bit more organized, my friends all seem to be in okay places for the most part...my family is crazy as usual but functioning better than usual the past year, even with Mom off her rocker lately. My car stuff is getting taken care of, I had a great faire season, and hell, I'm even going to start getting back into my webdesign stuff again. Right now I'm considering renaming my domain, and renaming my LiveJournal name. I'm at a change of phases again, and it feels good. Beginning to think I might be like a reptile who sheds her skin to show different patterns and colors every once in a while. It's kinda fun when I recognize it. Meanwhile, going to continue to play massive amounts of video/computer games, go through Veronica Mars and M*A*S*H on DVD, and start making a list of all my stolen CD's. Thankfully, a lot of the ones I LOVED did get transferred to my iTunes...I just need to figure out what's what. To any of you I've been kinda outta touch with lately...I'm really sorry. I know that I'm a terrible flake when it comes to keeping in touch. You all have my best thoughts for continued balence and sanity. So... <1<2<3 OBAKESAMA Trenchcoat serious Indeed. Crinkle. Do it more better faster now. Tip to base. Yay MEGS. Booples <_< >_> BOTHER! Sex Taxi They won't fit! Squirrely Wrath WHERE'S MY TENT? Peanut butter love How wonderful! Mine! Put the balls in the pocket E> BEEFY LOVE RAMMING SPEED! And uhm... The entire contents of Thorns. That is all. [/end extremely long-winded and mostly pointless rambling blog]

55.0 More Photos

mairee — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:29:53 GMT

Just realized I missed an album when counting the pictures to be edited and uploaded. Hakone Gardens has another 85 pictures to take care of e_e I got everything done except the three big shoots: Hakone, Point Lobos, and the Rodin statues at Stanford. Everything else is edited and uploaded. Sooo...here's some linkage: Birthday 2006: http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e325/mairee/Birthday%202006/ Casa Weekend 1: http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e325/mairee/Casa%201/ New Necklace: http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e325/mairee/Necklace/ Pre-Faire: http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e325/mairee/Pre-Faire/ Sasha's Visit: http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e325/mairee/Sasha/ So at least that's some progress :D Uploaded a bunch to my gallery if you don't feel like following the links! [ X-Posted in LiveJournal and MySpace ]

54.0 Photos and Dog Trauma

mairee — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 08:22:04 GMT

So...I got onto my computer and grabbed my camera, and finally looked through all the damn pictures I haven't been editing and resizing since April. Two of them had about 150-200 pictures in each set.... I'm down to roughly 250 pictures to resize, edit, and upload. Not bad considering that I'd get rid of 100 or so from each set...the boring, no focus kinda pictures. I'm pleased with what I have left, so....you'll see them uploaded soon. I figure if I do things in sets of ten, I can pace myself. I'll do ten sets of ten at least, each day, and if I feel like doing more, I will, and if not, I'll put off another 100 until the next day. So...I'll have them all taken care of by the end of the week, basically. I figure the faire ones, since there aren't that many, will come first, so I can get those uploaded to the T&A site as well. Things to look forward to: My birthday party photos (30) The new necklace (4) Point Lobos (75) Pre-Faire (7) Sasha's Visit (15) Rodin Exhibit at Stanford (113) Weekend 1 of Casa Faire (15) Total pictures...262. Hmm, maybe 13 sets of 10 a day and I can get my editing process down to two days instead of three. It seems a little less intimidating now, knowing that it's closer to 250 pictures than the 300 I thought I had. Anyway...tomorrow I'm going to work on that, laundry, cleaning my room...picking up a friend after she works and going to the mall to get a few clothing items. I was considering going to Petaluma tonight...and then considered putting it off until tomorrow...But I'm wishy washy so it probably won't happen unless the dog drives me insane. It has been from one situation or trauma to the next with this dog. I'm always filled with paranoia when it comes to him. First he fell off the second story landing and hit his head on the way down...which was the major emergency, and traumatizing for me. Then there's been all sorts of incidents of him going to the bathroom or throwing up in the house. There'll be giant puddles he's walked through and trailed stuff through the house... While I was watching TV he wedged himself between the giant sofa-chair and the wall, and might have gotten through but he got caught in electrical cords. Because he's practically blind, he feels his way around, and has some sort of afinity for small, tight spaces. He'll nose his way into a corner and stay there sometimes. The thing that tipped the scales was being upstairs and suddenly hearing whimpering turn into outright <i>howling</i>. I rushed downstairs to find him struggling to remove his mouth from his tail. He'd been chewing on a healed wart there, and this time got his teeth <i>stuck</i> in his fur. I had to keep him still and life his tail away from his teeth... And I had to do this twice. Freaked me the hell out, trying not to break his teeth off or hurt him somehow. Mom and I trimmed that side of his tail in case he decides to chew on it again. ~_~ Bitter apple spray only does so much, and I'll fall to pieces again if he gets caught. He's behaving all sorts of oddly and it's upsetting to say the least. He shakes his head around sometimes like he's got something stuck in his nose or near there, chews on the carpet sometimes, and there's still that problem with him losing ability to stay upright on his hind legs. He can barely stand upright with any of his legs sometimes. Off to bed now, going to try and get up on the earlier side, compared to the last two weeks. <3 all, hope everyone is well :D

53.0 Oh dear god in heaven!

mairee — Tue, 09 May 2006 02:28:18 GMT

So...Guild Wars' Factions campaign is eating up my soul....... e_e Okay, not my soul, but my time? Oh yes. I'm loving it of course. At the moment my week tends to work like this... I work weekends. Monday off, work Tuesdays... Tuesday night, around 11:30 or so, Vince arrives. Yay with that. :3 Wednesday is a day off, and he has that off as well, so that's like, our main day together. Thursday I get him until morning...as he has class from 11 to noon. Lately I haven't come with him because of work on Fridays or Thursdays. Work is on Thursday this time around :p Still, my evenings are almost always occupied by Factions... Which is strange because you'd think I'd still be playing my brains out with Kingdom Hearts II. e_e I've been a bit lax with that...gergh. It's so hard to have two amazing games come out at the same time ;_; But well...Factions lets me be social as well (at least as much as you can be while playing a game) sooooo...Kingdom Hearts is put on hold. So, you may say, "Well gee Marianne, it's nice you're enjoying those video games and stuff but well, what's going on in your LIFE? I mean...surely there's more to it than this?" Sadly, the answer is no. With the exception of a trip to Point Lobos, and still putting off editing and uploading photos I've taken there and other places...there's not much to report. Maybe a Kill Bill marathon that was highly enjoyed buuuut...yeah. Nadda. I take my driver's license test on the 15th, have yet to buy Melissa her birthday present (though she's kindly updated her amazon wishlist for me) and have yet to full discuss or finalize any plans for my birthday on the 30th. A beach day has been mentioned but only when planning with Vince. Hell if I know what ANY of my friends are doing e_e; So...more discussing must be done. Beyond all that, not a whole hell of a lot going on. I have the house to myself while Mom is gone, which is glorious...the weather is ten times better than that, and I'm fully enjoying the new Dresden Dolls album. Fuckin' yay. <3 all. Sorry I'm not here all that much. I find that when I'm enjoying the creativity of others I'm...less chatty here...less productive with my own creative endeavors. Used to be it'd spur me to do my own stuff but I guess I'm letting my lazy side get the better of me. e_e At least I'm happy. That's the main point, isn't it?

52.0 Southern Faire!

mairee — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 04:39:42 GMT

Alright, alright, so, it is SO on for Southern Faire this weekend! :D Jessica and Vince and I are driving down Friday...not sure when we leave on Sunday but uhm, YEAH! :D Tried to convince Pickles to come out with us, but alas, we were unable to steal her away. On the plus side, we convinced Shanna (aka Trycycle, cause she'll try anything once ;D) to come out on Saturday, so it should be all kinds of good times! :D Hope to see all you all there! It's totally going to be a blast!

51.0 I'm alive, I swear!

mairee — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 04:08:51 GMT

So...making an update kind of entry for Tribe/Myspace since I realized I hadn't updated in oh...ages. Before I get started, I'm still looking for a light colored men's shirt for Vince to wear during opening weekend of Southern faire. The only one he has is black ~_~ So if anyone has anything that'll go with green pants, please let me know :) Aaaaaaaaaanyvay...... Still working at Petco. Looking slowly for a new job, but...at the moment things aren't too bad schedule wise, minus the severe lack of hours I'm getting, working part-time. Example: Since I asked for my Friday/Saturday off for this coming week, I only work Sunday. (They've got me working only weekends these days...Friday through Sunday. Ugh for weekendness, but yay for my Tuesday through Thursday Vince-visits.) Still, ouch. My paycheck will be hurting this week. Family is doing alright. Melissa came home a week early to recoup from the flu...we head to Napa tomorrow for part of the day, and then I work the evening. Mom had her hysterectomy. All went well, she's been on her feet consistently for the past week or two, and driving for the past week. She's slimming down, looks great, and is down to only one motrin a day for the pain. Not bad, not bad. Her work is a bitch but well, what can y'do? Been playing far too much Guild Wars for my own good. Tempted to buy Factions next month when it comes out so I can play with Michael and Vince... In the meantime, I also have Kingdom Hearts II which is just...all kinds of Yay. The guide is a frickin' NOVEL, but, that's not a bad thing for a bibliophile like me. Opening weekend of faire is the 8th and 9th. Very excited to be driving down with Jessica and Vince and seeing Southern friends again :) I've been sewing up a storm since Wednesday, finally getting around to making my own skirts so I won't have to borrow from people anymore. :D Soooo yay! Just need to pick up my drink mix stuff so I can make Jeff Spicoli's there. I don't think Patrick's Mango Daquiri mix is out yet...so, I need a different fruity drink to make for myself. Something toxic of course XD Because while you don't need alcohol at faire, it IS part of the faire experience, and one of the few places I feel safe to get well and truly drunk. Good times, good times. Beyond that, not much going on. My friends are great. My boyfriend is amazing. Family is fantastic, of the blood related and non-blood related varieties. I love you all, hope you're all doing well, and hope to see some of you down at Southern faire the weekend after next!

50.1 Some semblance of updates...

mairee — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 09:58:25 GMT

So...erm...yes. Realized I've been updating my LiveJournal more than this so...updates. Work is the same. Family is about the same, though there's a possibility of more medical problems on the horizon. I'll know more next week. Still ridiculously happy over here. Relationship with Vince is all kinds of good and fantasticness. What few situational issues we had starting out are still present but...it's being dealt with as it can be...it's a matter of patience and understanding toward third parties, at this point. But...yeah. We're happy. I visit him, he visits me. We've met all the immediate families...there's communication and silly inside jokes. He's really good for me and I'm really good for him and...yeah. Things are good. I'll more likely than not drag him with me to faire a few times, when possible. So....yesh. Good times. :) Anyone have any idea on what dates we're all goin' to Southern? ;p Need to start planning.

50.0 I'm a sheep!

mairee — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 08:53:33 GMT

Participation is requested and encouraged for the sake of my curiousity, but of course, not required. http://kevan.org/johari?name=mairee

48.0 Body Image

mairee — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 19:14:17 GMT

So, I settled in last night to check my email (70 emails, wtf? ~_~;), my tribe (they changed the layout, argh), and my myspace... I got an unexpected email from a stranger. ~ you are pretty torn up. hoe you need jenny criag. do it do it. Bye ~ Did I miss something? Are we 13 again? Saddled with the overwhelming need to put other people down so that we can make ourselves feel better? I am not skinny. Sure, I know that. So what? I know I'm overweight, and to be perfectly honest...I've gotten to the point where there's a lot about my body I DO like because of that. I mean, holy crap, have you seen my faire-cleavage? Of course there are things I don't like as well but...For the first time in years, I feel past this middle school angst of "OMG I'M NOT ANOREXIC WHAT WILL I DOOOO??????" I'm comfortable, who'd have guessed it? Somewhere along the way, over these many years of self-discovery I've learned to like my body. So, when some stupid asshole from Los Angeles decides to go out of his way to send me some garbled, half-wit message about how he thinks I'm a "hoe" that needs to lose weight...I'm finally at the point where I'm not all that upset. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't exactly HELP the healthy body image...first reaction was "WTF? o_o" But when it comes from someone like that...who in the hell cares? I have friends and family who think I'm beautiful...guys who want my body...and in some circles I can consider myself a e-list celebrity based on my cleavage alone. ;) So, what good would I be if I subscribed to the notion that every girl must be a size 6? Variety is the spice of life. So, that said... Cheers, to college students stuck in their petty middle school years! :D

46.0 Randomness

mairee — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:46:16 GMT

I'm totally lazy. It's 1:30 and I've only just now gotten my shower taken care of. Been up since 8. I should be cleaning my room since company is coming over but well...Yes. Lazy. Instead I'm sending links to friends, such as: http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=10845849&src=rss/oddlyEnoughNews or http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1329362959167995041 or even http://www.break.com/index/outsidethebox.html Easily amused, me? Naaaaaaaaw... But yeah. Life's not bad. Work scared me, only giving me ten hours this week...but I'm back to 30 next week with my usual schedule so, all's well. By the way, have I mentioned how much I love my new hat? =e_e= Parris made me buy it...it's fantastic. XD Yay silly hats.

45.0 San Francisco

mairee — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 08:08:43 GMT

Had an absolutely fantastic time. Sunday with Parris was lots of fun, and Sunday night Kelly and I totally vegged and geeked out with Serenity related stuff. Gaming on Monday, and Death Guild Monday night... Today was one of the best days ever, though. Absolutely beautiful weather. I ended up going to the Japanese Tea Garden for the first time, the Arboretum, as well as the San Francisco Zoo. Got a lot of really amazing pictures of all of them. This trip has been fantastic. All sorts of good times ^_^ Pictures: http://www.frog-star.net/pics/sanfrancisco/