the white banana

Though I don't read often, Amy Tan is one of the authors that I have enjoyed reading growing up. Being of Chinese descent, she writes about many things that I can relate to, on a level that most people cannot understand.

The latest "I-can-relate" mention in her book "The Bonesetter's Daughter", was a reference to how the narrator's mother counted with her fingers. The Chinese counting style is by pointing first to one's own baby finger and bending each finger down toward the palm, whereas the American style is to keep fingers open and spread out. It was another one of those things that made me chuckle to myself. It also made me realize that the author must be very observant to pick up these things. Heck, I've never realized that's how my mom counts until the author pointed it out.

it's the weirdest feeling...

Today, I deleted a friend's email address from my address book. It was the strangest feeling to do that. It's not the first time that I deleted an address of someone, usually because I no longer keep in touch with that person. But this was the first time that I deleted an email address because the person had died.

She died in a motorcycle accident. She did all the right things - wore a helmet, and was slowing to a stop at an intersection. It was a big SUV behind her that crushed her up against another SUV in front of her. She didn't have a chance.

I've never had anyone close to me pass away. I have been lucky, I guess. All I keep thinking about is what an exceptional person she was and how much she will be missed. She was about 5'2", skinny but super strong. The license plate on her car was "GI Jane", reflective of her captain status in the Army. She made it through Iraq and came back in one piece, but it irks me that after all that she has accomplished, it was a stupid driver that took her life.

So, yes, I have these mixed feelings about how I should and should not feel. Maybe I am still in shock. I do know, however, that this was just another life taken too soon and for all the wrong reasons.

Born wacky, I guess...

My parents and I live in the same town. Them on the SW end of town and I on the NE end of town. It isn't that I can't stand being around my parents, so I chose to live at the polar opposite end of Eugene - it just happened that the place we have now had the best features. Anyhoo, last night, I decided to pay a visit to my parents. After all, I haven't seen them in several weeks and mom had just returned home from another one of her long business trips.

So upon my arrival, mom is in the office fiddling with her new laptop - I assumed so that she could work on the stuff she brought home from the office again. Dad was migrating between a show on OPB and the kitchen, where he had been installing new kitchen cabinets. I give mom and dad hugs while mom explains that she's having trouble with the laptop. I offer to help troubleshoot the problem and follow mom into the office.

It appeared that the keyboard wasn't functioning correctly - keys weren't assigned correctly so that typing "ABC" came out "q5D". Mom thinks that the problem was because she hadn't installed a new Windows update when prompted early in the week. I run the anti-virus software and fiddle around in the Control Panel looking for the usual suspects. Nothing worked. I tried running the Help Tool for answers, but no luck either since there wasn't a clear index, and I couldn't do a keyword search with a messed up keyboard.

Then I came upon a link to a LiveChat Support. (yes, I realize that my keyboard wasn't working correctly) Hey, why not give it a shot? Mom insists that it's a problem with the Windows update but at the same time, she is snickering at me for trying to chat on that keyboard. I try to type "keyboard not working", hoping that enough letters would show up correctly to get the point across. Instead, it shows up "7ehb*a4d np5 w@%}n'". Yea, good luck with that, I thought. I couldn't even type my name and had to use "Chr!s" as my username to start the chat. I tried typing a simple "help!", but that came out "n#8!". This might be a long night....

As I was thinking this, I can see that the support person was running a remote diagnostic on the laptop. He types : "Press NumLoc"

DOH!

postscript....

Back when I first resurrected this blog, I wrote about the strange phone calls I used to receive at work (see March 2006 entry). A couple of weeks ago, I found out why.....

We were channel surfing at home when a commercial came on about a new medical research study that a local firm was conducting. D had already changed the channel, but I asked him to turn back, out of sheer curiosity. Moments later, there it was..... the great mystery had been solved! A For-More-Info phone number flashed across the screen in giant, white block letters. It just hit me! That phone number was exactly 1 digit off from my old work number. Instead of a 6 in the prefix, it was a 9, which on a phone keypad, one number is immediately above the other... the great mystery has been solved!!!

somewhere along Fall Creek trail...

Nature is cool...


triliumtree frog

I like snow...

snow is pretty...

snow is fun...

but so are horse lips...

Help a teammate!!!

My former teammate/captain Becky broke her leg playing volleyball during the final game of last season. Unfortunately, she does not have medical insurance to cover ambulance costs, sugery, rehab, etc.

Our team has put together a fundraiser for her via Papa's Pizza on Tuesday, February 27. Bring the flyer (above) with your order and Papa's will donate 50% of the food value towards Becky's medical fund.

Or, if you would like to help with a personal donation, please let me know.

Thank you for your help!

I kick ass!!!

Today is January 29, 2007.

My 2006 tax returns are DONE!

I kick ass!!!


Now, about that laundry that's been sitting in the dryer....

Tests, tests, and more tests

Do you know El Chen?

Create your own Friend Quiz here

Snow Day

I like snow. I like to play in the snow. I like to make things with snow. Snow is fun.

New Year, New Look

What I wanted you to think: New Year, New Look...

What really happened: I was procrastinating on folding my laundry...

Definitions...

Snowboarding - Good!
6" of fresh powder - Good!

Snowboarding in 6" of fresh powder - EXCELLENT!!!!

How I spent New Year's Eve

Sunset @ the south jetty in Florence, Oregon

tangents..

So for some reason, I got to thinking about volleyball on my drive home from Portland on Saturday...
Then I started thinking about that volleyball guy that looked like the Fisher guy...
Then I started thinking about how ugly the Fisher guy was...
But I could not for the life of me remember what his name was...
Was it Al? George? Bob? Mark? Gary? (no, Gary Fisher is the bike brand)...
I thought and thought and thought, but couldn't think of his name...all the way down from Portland... (Henry?)
Alas, the article in today's Fundfire solved that mystery...
Ken Fisher...

I am a Text Twist geek

I like Text Twist
I can play for hours on end

My high score is 100,000 something

confessions of a basketball addict...

I love the game, that's it. Simple as that. Although I've never played until high school, I immediately grew to love the game. Funny thing about it is that I am not the most coordinated person in the world, but I still like to play. It doesn't matter if my team won or lost, I still have a good time.

But it gets very frustrating at times because of my lack of experience on the floor. My fundamentals aren't strong so I am constantly fighting myself when the other team puts on pressure. But my love for the game keeps me playing and so I started managing my own rec team back in college so I can play more often.

Managing a team has its pros and cons. You make the administrative decisions, but at the same time, it can be frustrating to recruit players. For the most part, I have been lucky in that the players we've had have meshed well together, and we have consistently had a core group of players who attend every game. Some days are better than others though.

I am not even sure why I am rambling. I guess I just wished that it wouldn't be so stressful at times. I wished that I had more experience and could see the floor better. I wish that my fundamentals were better so I can run the floor and not freak out at signs of pressure. I wish that we don't have trouble finding new players. There are plenty of things I wish I were better at. I guess that's what they mean when they say "for the love of the game.."

--------
Postscript - After I wrote the first part of this entry, I thought about it some more... I came to the realization that I've lost sight of why I enjoy this game so much, of why I keep playing even though it can be so frustrating at times, why I still manage the team despite the stress that it can bring...it is all because I love playing this game. I've been so focused on winning and how to build a team that will win games, I forgot why everyone was here in the first place. I forgot that is why my teammates and I have come together - it is because we all love playing this game. That is how we all got here in the first place. It's not all about winning. It's about playing and enjoying this game. That's all.

John Mayer

this is really a post specifically for the person who introduced me to John Mayer...
I was at Starbucks last week getting my chai fix... and made an impulse purchase..."Continum".. yea, that's a good one... yea...

My crazy computer...

okay, maybe I shouldn't call it crazy because it might quit working on me again. But somehow, miraculously, my computer decided not to reject my reconnection efforts tonight. My computer ("Boo") is once again reading signals from the router and not puking up. Wow! I think it was June or July when my computer first went down. Now, it's almost November! So, let's hope this lasts, if you want me to post more often. Boo will hopefully be behaving better. Maybe my iPod will finally work too? That would be very exciting. Maybe all this came about tonight because I happened to be upstairs and noticed that I hadn't looked at a bunch of old boxes in a while. And guess what? I found my very first mp3 player from 6 or 7 years ago. It only holds like 128 megs of music, or about 12 songs, but hell.. it had traveled with me on many plane rides back then..it fit perfectly in my pocket, on the opposite side of my leatherman tool (which has been banned from carry-ons and pockets since 9/11), and it was just about enough music for a quick trip home from SF, to Mel's in Bako, or to Butthead's place, wherever it was at the time. I thought I had lost it someplace (like I thought I had lost my driving sunglasses this past week), but it must've been hiding to surprise me. Now, if only my car insurance company would get my deductible back from the jerk that hit my car, so I can pay off my credit card... that would be way cool...if that happens, that means, I can pay for the eye exam and contacts that I need, and the foot orthodics that will hopefully bring me less ankle pain...and if I find a post player for my basketball team...how about winning the lottery too? wow! what a concept!

I guess I'll be crossing my fingers all the way through Christmas!!!

A day in the life of...

The Hardwood Harridans