Now till July 21st. I'll be off the internets. Much love.

I know, I'm a dork. But this Macbook has a built in camera. I had to do it.

She's tremendously beautiful and talented. This is her spinning fire.



I have awesome friends.

My older brothers Lars & Ragnar, my Dad, my little half-brother Samuel, and Ragnar's wife Daniela on the far right...

I went shopping on Newbury St. Which made me feel fancy and rich, despite the torrential downpours.

I had a $50 H&M giftcard I had been given by one of my roommates. She didn't want it, and sold it to me for $20. So I went shopping at H&M.

Torrential downpour started, so I opted to spend a few hours there, trying on every pair of jeans I could find. This is counter-intuitive to my actual shopping technique, which involves sporadically spotting things I'd be interested in, grabbing those within my price range and size, and then trying them on as quickly as possible and leaving within the half-hour. Instead, I grabbed three sizes in every style, since my size varies at each store, and tried on well over 30 pairs of jeans, a handful of shirts, and a bunch of shorts.

Hours later, I emerge with one pair of jeans, one purse and a pair of socks. Grand total? Yep, $50. Anyone who shops regularly at that store will tell you that's a deal.

So in pants, depending on the company, I range from a 1 to a 3. At Old Navy I'm a Zero. In Mudd I'm a 3, in H&M dress pants I'm usually a 2. In Arizona, I'm a 1. It's ridiculously annoying when shopping.

H&M sizes their jeans like men's jeans. Except all of the leg lengths are 34" to accommodate tall women, and need to be shortened.

But my perfect pair of jeans is a 28" pair of hip-huggers. (For the record, I wear my jeans with my belt resting directly above my hip bone, if I wore my jeans at my "waist", I'd never find jeans that fit, as it's about 22".) With wide-legs. (I love wide leg jeans... soooo comfortable).

I bring them home and Pie says "those wide-legs are huge! I could wear them!".

So we switched pants.

He wears a 30x30 usually. My 28s, besides the ridiculous leg length, fit him BETTER than they fit me.

His 30x30 jeans on me were just a little loose. Just a little.

Sexy.

So in H&M jeans or boys pants, I'm a 28x30. In case anyone wanted to know. :) And if they're wide-legs, my boyfriend can wear them too! :)

-Headache went away.

-Spent the weekend at Sacred World Interdependence Day, camping in Petersham, MA. It was wonderful. I drank a ridiculous amount of Chai, because I spent several hours of the weekend babysitting the Chai-Merchant's 2-year-old boy, who is super adorable and sweet.

-The less-than-awesome part was that Petersham is 2 hrs from Boston, and I had to work Saturday from 12-7pm. So I stayed at SWID for Friday (babysat the kiddo and watched performances), left the drum-circle/bon-fire at 4am to sleep, woke up at 9am, drove back to Pie's (he stayed at the festival), showered, worked seven hours, negotiated my way out of Red Sox/Fireworks traffic, drove 2 hrs, arrived back at the festival around 10pm, saw Pie perform with Incus, fire-circled till 4am, slept till noon, attended workshops, babysat the kiddo and socialized until 5pm, drove back to Boston, spent 3 hours with Pie just enjoying the last bit of weekend. Came home, they picked up my car, am feeling satisfied.

-I really hate bug-bites.

-My boyfriend has a super-hot tan from the weekend which I'm tremendously jealous of.

-I no longer own a car. I am happy about this. Saving money is good.

-I applied for Zipcar.

-I will be attending Sirius Rising and the weekend before Starwood. I will be in upstate NY from Wednesday the 15th to Monday to 20th.

-As of this coming Thursday I will own a MacBook Pro. And web design software.

Life's pretty good.

Today I had a headache. It started at the back of head, above the base of my neck. Then my eyes started to hurt.

Then the ache started to travel down my neck. As it did that, I got light headed, and had to sit still at work.

Then the ache traveled down my upper back and down along either side of my spine.

Now it feels like a path of pain, from just above the base of my neck to my lower back, and my eyes still hurt.

Stretching, ibuprofen, and mild booze at various intervals throughout the day have done nothing to help.

wtf?

Thank you, Peter, for an amazing photo shoot.

Dear Customers -

You buy a phone from a wireless carrier. You buy it at a discount. Phones are not actually cheap. You got a $150 phone for FREE. You signed a 2-year contract.

So, we give you a $150 subsidy on a phone (in the case of a Blackberry, we give you a $350 subsidy). What you do, in return, is agree to pay us, on time, every month, a set amount of money. Part of the terms of that contract are that we cannot raise the price of any service we are providing for you during that time. Whereas you are allowed to modify your rate plan, your features and anything else on your account at any time you desire.

When you come in after one year, and your phone is broken, you ask for the same discount we gave you when you signed up. But you see - we fulfilled our side of the contract which is that we provided you a phone and a service, which we have not altered. But you agreed to two years. It's been 14 months. So when you want to get a new phone, I'm sorry, but your discount will be minimal. This is not because we hate you. This is because you choose not to purchase a monthly insurance plan which would allow you to get an inexpensive exact replacement for your phone if this were to happen. Instead, you are looking at spending $150 to get the same phone you previously got for free.

Yes, you may have had service with us for 7 years. You have received 4 free or tremendously discounted phones in that time - one for every two years you agreed to stay with us. So, we've given you anywhere from $400 to $1000 worth of subsidized product for your loyalty. But you haven't fulfilled the terms of your current contract.

Just FYI. We're a business. We do like you, and we'd like you to stay. We're not "screwing you". We're making money while we provide you a service and a product. That money is used to improve wireless technology. It is used to fund our call centers so if you have a question or problem at any hour of the day we can be there for you. It is used to pay me to listen to you yell at me when I have to tell you this, though I try to do so politely and apologetically, and get you the best possible discount I can.

So please, take a second to understand that when you buy a phone at a discount. You're signing a contract. Like a real one, one with legal backing. Because we run a business. This business provides you a service. You pay for that service. That service pays me. So I want to help you, and I will try to make you happy, but I can't sometimes. Because there are contracts. Which you sign without reading, so then I have to read them aloud to you.

Kthxbye.
Me

I'd like to tell you something awesome about the company I work for. Not about how they treat me, or compensate me (though they're awesome there too), but in the services we provide for our customers.

T-Mobile has Hot Spot Calling. No other wireless carrier in the US provides this service.

Hot Spot Calling enables you to get signal where you normally wouldn't.

A handful of our phones - new Blackberries (Pearl 8120, Pearl Flip 8220, Curve 8320, Curve 8900), the T-Mobile Shadow, and 4 lesser-priced but also awesome phones (Nokia 6301, Nokia 7510, Samsung t339, Samsung Katalyst), have a hardware component that allows them to link to WiFi networks for voice calls.

So, in Pie's apartment, which is street-level and gets very little signal inside (we stand near the windows, but if I go into the kitchen or bathroom, my phone gets nothing), we can utilize the Wi-Fi Hotspot feature. So my Blackberry 8900 can just log into his WiFi network, and tada! I have a tower in our apartment. It is awesome.

See, GSM (At&t & Tmo) mobile coverage is awesome. Unfortunately, we require more towers (than CDMA - Verizon) in order to reach further (but our call quality is better and can handle more calls at once), and sometimes in old buildings, our signal doesn't penetrate. This fixes that problem.

On top of that, T-Mobile USA works internationally. Not just for roaming - that gets expensive. But let's say I were to take my Blackberry 8900 to Paris, and went into a Wifi'd cafe while I was there. If I turn off my mobile network, turn on my Wifi network, and then place a call back to the States? It's deducted from my minutes, NOT as an international call, because the origin is on a WiFi network, and it doesn't matter where that network originates, since it's all the same to our company.

T-Mobile. We boost your signal. We keep it cheap when overseas.

It's just one of the reasons I like what I sell. Just wanted to share.

I've taken years of Spanish classes. Mostly beginner ones, because I'd lose enough between them I wouldn't be able to manage in an intermediate one. My two Hispanic co-workers both tell me my Spanish is pretty good for someone without much advanced knowledge - I'm comfortable with pronunciation, I can conjugate verbs, I can apologize, explain my lack of knowledge, and greet and meet with fluency. I've decided I would like to become fluent, and ask their help periodically - I can understand and slightly explain our rate plans and stuff in Spanish, but I can't solve anybody's problems in Spanish. I simply don't have the flexibility of usage, and I lack so much vocabulary.

Though my old colleges, another Spanish class would be about $800. Local community classes are in the $200-$400 range, require certain time commitments (typically nights and weekends, when I need to be working), and have varying reputations.

I've heard tons of good things about Rosetta Stone. The investment for the first three lessons would be about $500, the investment for all five would be just over $600.

Since I'm cutting down on personal expenses so as to afford certain beneficial luxuries (a course in a language that would further my career in sales fits that description), this is exactly the sort of thing I would like to spend my money on.

Are there any software restrictions that would prevent me from reselling it after I use it? I'd be happy to sell it for even half the purchase price once I'm done, I just want to know if there's something I'm missing about it.

Along those lines, is anyone interested in possibly investing in it? In a month or two I'd be happy to throw $600 at it (and may receive a discount through work), and though I'm not asking for anyone's commitments, I'd like to know - would anyone be interested in spending $300 for it after I've used it for six months or however long it takes me to get it - I have a feeling the first section would be a breeze for me?

It'd be Latin American Spanish, and if you're local, I'd be happy to practice with you after the fact too.

I'm just considering my options. Let me know if it's something you'd consider too.

Gracias, amigos, para usted attencion. Habla conmigo para mas informacion, por favor.

;)

Because sometimes I'm too lazy to blog about my day...

• 20:02 www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE55O6AK20090626 wow, michael jackson. i'm actually really stunned. #
• 20:05 and farrah fawcett bit.ly/2mX5A3 #
• 20:08 they always go in 3s... ed mcmahon this week too. #

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The last few weeks in Boston have been reminding me of the part of my childhood spent in Seattle. Rain. Drizzle. Clouds. Rain. Humidity. Monsoons. Rain. Sprinkling. More Rain.

Last Saturday we had a torrential downpour which let up mid-day and became sunny and beautiful. Then there was nonstop rain, drizzle or clouds. Today was the first day in the last 21, I think, where it didn't rain AT ALL.

It was sunny, but wicked humid.

Egh.

I'd like some real summer, please. Please?

Because sometimes I'm too lazy to blog about my day...

• 00:39 need a new chair? why not this one? technology.todaysbigthing.com/2009/06/18 #

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In January, mantispid gave me a round-trip ticket to visit him in New Orleans, see the sights and do some photo shoots. So I was there from the 1st to the 4th, and it was a blast.

I took hundreds of pictures with my 5 megapixel camera phone at the time, but didn't have a way of uploading them onto a computer and posting them online until very recently.

So, my New Orleans pictures are up on Facebook.

Random New Orleans pictures.
New Orleans Zoo.

They're not explained much, nor are they organized. Feel free to link me to one and then ask if need be.

Grace is the beautiful African Grey I totally fell in love with.

Ben Levin Group is seriously awesome.

I'm hanging out with Ben right now, and I'm listening to his coming-this-fall CD, and I just need to tell you all how brilliant he is.

Please check out his MySpace. http://www.myspace.com/benlevin

Mmhm.

So, Pie's a vegetarian. He does actually eat fish, which I guess technically makes him a pescatarian or something, but he uses the term "vegetarian" so we'll just work with it. He's been consistently vegetarian for 2 years now, for several reasons 1. health & lifestyle, 2. appetite, 3. hatred of the meat industry for their effect on the environment. He hasn't been trying to convert me, though he's shown me a lot of tasty non-meat options for lunch and dinner, I don't have any problem eating vegetarian generally.

As a result of his vegetarianism, I've become what I refer to as a "passive vegetarian". I don't eat meat at home (since "home" usually refers to his house). When I go out to a restaurant, I typically order something with chicken or bacon in it, (like tenders or a BLT), but that's pretty much my only meat consumption, and that's not even a weekly thing. I don't eat fish at all, but that's because I've never liked fish - that hasn't changed.

I don't recall the last time I ate red meat, I think it may've been in late March. I had a (quality, restaurant) cheeseburger for lunch this afternoon while at Hampton Beach with my Dad and Samuel and Amara, and I do know that my stomach did not like that meat. It was perfectly good, in fact, the first few bites were awesome. My stomach didn't agree.

I think I'm done with red meat. Not as a rule - if Mum invites me over for dinner and there's steak, I'm so having a few bites, because there's not much food better in the world than one of Mum's steaks. But in general, I'm done with red meat.

And in daily life, I pretty much done with meat, again, not as a rule, just generally.

I feel a lot healthier when I haven't consumed meat in a day.

Lately my diet has been a bowl or three of cereal, some oatmeal later in the day, a veggie stir-fry, maybe some soup, and about 6-10 chocolate chip cookies* and maybe 4 glasses of milk a day. I'm down to the occasional soda (again, usually when going out to eat, or needing a major caffeine boost), and mostly just stick to water or (cow) milk.

I should do something about those cookies, but I'm still a chocolate addict. :)

*regarding the chocolate chip cookies, I tend to eat them one-at-a-time throughout the day. So I'll start my morning with cereal, then have a cookie and some milk. Then I'll go about my day, then have another cookie, then my oatmeal, then another cookie. Then while making dinner, another cookie, then dinner, then two more cookies. So I just keep my sugar levels up consistently.

And I graze on veggies and hummus throughout the day. Or goldfish crackers. I have a bit of a Goldfish cracker addiction too.

A sunny day with the birds...

Jewel


Petrie


Kiwi

So when I was a child, we used to visit my mother's parents in Pennsylvania. They were old and pretty ill when I was a kid - my grandmother died when I was six or so, my granddad when I was eight. Both from cancer, they were heavy smokers most of their lives.

Jim and I were talking about distinctive memories of our grandparents from childhood.

I remember being 5 or so, the soft groan of granddad's recliner, and sitting by his feet, and asking him "Granddad, how can you tell left from right?"

He lifted me onto his lap and held his hands out in front of him, prompting me to do the same. His fingers were pointing up, palms out in a basic "stop" posture, with his thumbs severely positioned to the sides.

"See that, Avens? Your left hand makes an L. You can't make an L with your right hand because your right hand is wrong!"

I remember giggling, and whenever I forgot, I'd hold my hands out to remember.

"Your right hand is wrong".

Jack O'Brien was an awesome man, and every two months or so, I have a memory of him, often repeats, since I didn't have many, and my heart feels like it will suffocate, because there's no way to build on those memories. They're in the past, and the person who helped make them isn't there to act out any more.

It's amazing how powerless it makes you feel. How desperate to share what you already have...