May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions.

~Joey Adams

Well, it has been quite a year. It’s hard to believe a little over a year ago I was just starting at the office I currently work in. Sometimes it seems like it was five minutes ago and at other times it feels like it has been five years.

January
Went up to Lutsen for the annual ski/drinking trip with the college friends. My brother-in-law was officially deployed to Iraq. My mom had surgery to find out what the spot on her lung was which led to the great tuberculosis scare of 2008. I also got to see Avenue Q at the State Theater. Other than that, I was living in St. Paul with Dawn (which seems like eons ago).

February
Again, not a lot happened. I moved to Eden Prairie to help my sister while Mike was gone and to be a little closer to work…that and our lease in St. Paul ended. I had to go back into the blog archives to see what else happened in February. The answer…not much but I did discover this video:


March
I spent half of the month serving jury duty. It was a great couple of weeks. :nerd: My brother was also in town for about a week. We caught the Twins season opener together.

April
All I can remember from April was that Dawn and Nick got married. The wedding was a good time. I met Carly for the first time which rocked. I also hated life the day after the wedding. All things considered, a great time was had by all J

May
I moved…again. This time into my own little apartment to the land of a giant lake. During said move, there was an unfortunate incident with my old TV leading to the purchase of my new TV. It’s still shiny.

June
Had a small grill out in the backyard. That’s about it.

July
July was an insane month. My mom had a double lung transplant. All I remember is lots of time spent in the hospital and the car.

August
More running to and from the Roch. Went golfing for the first time in a couple of years. Remembered how much I love golfing.

September
I got to go to a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in St. Paul. It was, in a word, awesome. I got serious about studying for the Series 7 exam. Mom was given the green light to go home.

October
I studied. A lot. In fact, that’s about all I did. On the plus side, I passed the Series 7.

November
I studied for, took and passed the Series 66. I decided no more tests until 2009. Mid November we welcomed Mike home from Iraq. I joined the quarter century club on Thanksgiving.

December
I didn’t do a whole lot of anything all month. I helped my sister throw a surprise welcome home/40th birthday party for my brother-in-law. I also survived a round of layoffs at the office. Although way too short due to work restraints, Christmas was good.

I‘m looking forward to 2009. I’m convinced that it will be less hectic than this year has been. I have no specific resolutions but as always, the goal is to make progress…professionally, financially, emotionally and much more. A great big thanks to those of you who have stuck by me through the many ups and downs of this year.

A happy and prosperous 2009 to you all!

christmas time is heeeere!

If you're lucky enough to work with me, you'll get some of these tasty treats tomorrow:

They're mini cheesecakes. I sure hope they don't taste like crap! :)

behind

I'm becoming increasingly bad at updating this. One of the women in my department went out on maternity leave November 7th and work has been nuts ever since. That means I pretty much just want to come home at night and do nothing.

Last weekend we had a surprise welcome home/40th birthday party for my brother in law. It was great. He was totally surprised and a great time was had by all.

The next day, Claussen, Ace and I went "sightseeing" around the cities. Unfortunately it was super cold and we didn't get a chance to go too many places. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our adventures:

This week is much more boring. I spent last night I spent at home doing nothing. This morning I got my hair cut and highlighted. Tonight I'm going to a friend's house to watch movies. Tomorrow I'm getting ready to spend the week at my sister's house. They are going to Jamaica on vacation so I'm going to puppysit.

question of the day

Is it tacky to go to the office holiday party one week after someone from that office got laid off?

"Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed."

~Mark Twain

It's that time of year where we all go around the table and tell everyone what we're thankful for. It's been hectic and stressful but all things considered, I've had a pretty good year. Here are some of the many things I'm thankful for:

My Mom
As you all know, my mom had a double lung transplant in July. She is at home and doing as well as she can be. I'm very thankful to have at least a decade more Thanksgivings to spend with her.

My brother-in-law Mike
Mike was deployed to Iraq about a year ago. On November 10th, he returned home. When you hear about all of the bombings and other horror stories, I'm so thankful that he is home and safe again.

My family
We've had a trying year. We're all still speaking and are closer for sticking this year's events out together. And for the first time in several years, we haven't attended a family funeral. I'm very thankful for that.

My job
Not only do I have a job, but I had the opportunity to get a couple of licenses to further my career. It took a lot of time and energy to pass the Series 7 & 66 but I got it done. Now I just have to figure out what to do now that I have it behind me. I'm thankful that I have choices.

My friends
With the year I've had, my friends have kept me going. I know I've been a terrible friend. I haven't been good about staying in contact with people, returning calls or stopping by as often as I should. I'm thankful that so many people have stuck by my side.

I hope you and your families have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.

important investment information

I received this email today and it made me smile. Happy Monday everyone!

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today. If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today. If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today but, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling, you will have received $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle. It is called the 401- Keg. A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year. Which means that, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon! Makes you proud to be an American!

november is coffee month

Recently, I've been obsessed with coffee. More specifically, good coffee.

I strongly dislike the coffee at my office so I went on a caffiene hiatus. Poor decision. Only thing that happened is that I was tired and crabby...not a good thing since a woman in my department is out on maternity leave.

To solve the bad coffee at work problem, I decided on this:

Now I get delicious coffee whenever the heck I want it! It makes the work week go by a just little smoother.

Then my sister had to go out and get herself one of these:

If there's anything I'm a sucker for, it's shiny things. Not to mention this makes a stellar cup of joe. Our good friends over at Linens N Things decided to go out of business, so they're having sales on everything. One of those beautiful machines now lives in my kitchen. I spent WAY too much money on it (even with the 20% off) but so far I love, love, love it.

we did the mash...

We did the monster mash. And may the record reflect that it was a graveyard smash.

Yes, I'm still alive. I took a couple weeks off after the big test. Now I'm gearing up to study for smaller test. With any luck, that one will only take a couple weeks of studying.

Here's what I did this weekend:

Saturday night I attended a stellar Halloween party. I was a dust bunny. My costume: bunny ears, dirty white shirt, grey pants and a swiffer. Yeah, it's kinda lame. I know that :)

Sunday can pretty much be summed up with the following: Hangover = 2, Theresa = 0

I took today and tomorrow off.

Today I went and got my drivers licence renewed and picked up some much needed groceries.

Tomorrow I'll be casting my vote for this guy:

Then I'll go to Starbucks and get some free coffee. After that, I'm meeting my sister for lunch at Famous Daves in Uptown. Tomorrow afternoon I'll make my way home to do some laundry and get ready for the rest of the week.

it's over!

Who has two thumbs and never has to study for the Series 7 again?

THIS GIRL!

proper terminology is important

New Stock Market Terms

CEO --Chief Embezzlement Officer
CFO-- Corporate Fraud Officer
BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius
BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex
VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower
P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.
BROKER -- What my broker has made me
STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell
STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock
STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves
FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected
MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks
CASH FLOW-- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet
YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share
WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse
PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use

delayed by the paperwork shuffle

As we all know by now, I'm studying for a work test. I was actually hoping to take the test tomorrow. It doesn't look like that is going to happen and it isn't for lack of preparation. I filed all of the necessary paperwork last week but I haven't received the ok to schedule the exam. With any luck, I'll get the ok on Monday and I'll be able to set a date.

As far as my weekend is concerned, it's been pretty laid back. Yesterday I went into Wayzata and had lunch with my sister. Other than than that, I've been mixing it up with relaxing and studying. It's been great and certainly needed after last week. With the way things have been going in the market, the office is nuts. The phone rings non stop and everyone is on edge. That means I work for 70 people who work for thousands of upset/angry/concerned clients. Good times!

My upcoming week is somewhat busy. My mom is in town at my sister's until Wednesday. I'm sure I'll be meeting up with them a couple of times before Mom goes home. On Wednesday, I'm going to my sister's house and staying with her dog while she is in Tennessee for meetings. Hopefully I'll be taking my test somewhere in there too. Then on Friday, I'm going to see the fabulous Ben Folds at the Myth. Yay!

presidential debate + drinking = fun

Ok, so Zeke and I decided to drink during the debate. Here's a list of what we drank to:

Earmark
Pork barrel
Maverick (I don't think this ever came up)
"I know how to fix that"
America pronounced as “Amurcah”
Referring to the audience as “my friends” (this occured more often than I thought it would)
Drink for mammogram
Chug for pap smear
Failed joke (ie, I may need hairplugs someday)
"My mother"
Vietnam reference
Lack of experience (directed toward Obama)
Fundamental
and much, much more!

By the end, it turned into "that was lame...drink!".

I think the debate was a success.

Zeke, what did I miss??

fan mail

Dear lawyer Nick,

Thank you for not being crazy like this guy.

Love,
T

mmm...steak

Recently, I've been in a funk. I'm not sure what it is. The best way I can describe it is general discontent. Nothing is really all that bad and therefore I can't pinpoint a way to make things better. It hasn't been the easiest of years and I think the emotional wear and tear is starting to catch up with me. Like all things, this too shall pass. I hope it happens sooner rather than later!

I think a big part of it has to do with work. The job hasn't been easy this week with the way things are going in the market. I was irritated to the point that I took yesterday off just because I didn't want to deal with it. On the plus side, as far as I can tell studying for this work test is going well. I hope to sit for the test within the next couple of weeks and I'm feeling pretty confident that I will pass. Then it's celebration time! I look forward to spending time with friends that I don't work with!

One good thing has come out of all of this. Last night I determined that my ultimate comfort food is steak. Delicious!

the weekend

Mine was great, how about yours?

They say it's your birthday...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAPTAIN!!!

He was never late with the gas bill!

Yes, I did just make a fart joke :)

Here's the story

I can't get enough of the news this week!

Ben & Jerry's...

...the new Hooters??

I couldn't be more disgusted.

PSA

Just a reminder...

If you're using your windshield wipers due to rain, you should have your headlights on.

I don't know if that's an actual law but that's what I was taught!

Happy new TV week!

I'll admit it, I'm a TV junkie. I had so much fun going through and setting my DVR for new TV.

Here's what I have set up to start over the next couple of weeks:
Heroes
How I Met Your Mother
Chuck
Private Practice
Pushing Daisies
The Office
Grey's Anatomy

I found it odd that I don't watch anything on Tuesdays.

How does your list compare?

Requiem For A Day Off

Happy Friday!

For some reason, this makes me happy.

busy, busy, busy

As many of you know, the summer was stupidly busy for me. My mom continues to progress. There were a few hang-ups along the way, but I think they're over at this point. She is doing so well in fact, there is a possibility of her being home by the weekend. We're all excited at the idea, no one more so than her. We're trying not to get our hopes up too much in case it doesn't happen but it's difficult not to be a little excited.

In addition to the crazy family stuff, I've also taken on a big project for work. I am currently studying for the General Securities Representative Exam (aka the Series 7). It is a pre-requisite to do almost anything in the investments industry. It's a huge undertaking and I can't wait to be done with it. Last night I finished reading the textbook. It was 22 chapters of painful reading & question answering. Now I can move on to the practice tests which are supposed to be the most important part of the study process. With any luck, I will be able to take and pass the test next month. It's a 260 question, 6 hour test. Good times!!

I got new work toys yesterday:

Shiny!

weekend recap

*pictures to be added later*

Thursday
Thursday evening was really the beginning of my weekend. It was my first night back at my apartment after being gone a week to Rochester and Eden Prairie.

Friday
Claussen, my friend Becky, my sister, and I went to a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in St. Paul. We waited in line for the better part of 4 hours but it was totally worth it. We had great seats on the left hand side of the stage…6 rows up. There was a warm up comedian, a little Q&A time with Jon and the show taping. We left around 6:30 and then it was off to Granite City. Sadly, the fries were a disappointment. On the way home, there was a quick stop at Target to pick up Season 4 of The Office.

Saturday
The morning involved sleeping in. Yay! Then it was off to Boournsville for Fire Muster days. Claussen was helping with the event sponsored by his curling club. Then it was off to Tropic Thunder at the Burnsville CineMagic Atlantis 16. If you want to see this movie but haven't yet, wait until it comes out on DVD. It's not worth your $8 in the theater. Some parts were funny but overall, meh. The rest of the night consisted of pizza, alcohol and The Office. Good times!

Sunday
Claussen headed home around noon. Shortly after he left, I found out that I had free HBO all weekend and I hadn't been exploiting it for everything it's worth. So after setting the DVR to record a few things, I headed to on demand and watched almost all of the 4th season of Entourage. I have two episodes left and the season premier that aired last night. I also did some studying for my Series 7 exam. Only 8 more chapters left in the book. Believe me when I tell you that Options transactions are tricky. No really, just believe me…you don't want to find out for yourself!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

tomorrow is only a day away!

Tomorrow I'm going to see one of my TV boyfriends, Jon Stewart, and his team of awesome.

I can't wait!

help!

My sister is throwing a welcome home party when my brother-in-law comes home from Iraq later in the year. I have agreed to help and have been "enlisted" as far as invitations go. It just so happens that the party will also be on his birthday.

What I need help with:
I want to come up with a clever title for the party. Operation: _________________

Help fill in the blank. I want it to be reflective of a soldier returing home but a birthday celebration at the same thing. Thanks to the Austin Powers movies, the best thing I can come up with is "Operation Bananarama" and that just won't do.

new haircut

I, like Rachel, should have taken a before picture.

That's all.

two posts, one day

This is the funniest news story I've read in a long time. Enjoy!

An online beauty pageant...for nuns

the penguin waddles at midnight

I had a good and somewhat busy weekend.

Thursday night I went and saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 with some girls from work. It was ok. I saw the first movie but have never read the books. From what I've heard, the movie was very different from the book. I definitely liked the first movie better.

Friday night, I hit up the movie scene for the second night in a row (this time with Rachel) and saw Pineapple Express. If you're looking for crazy, silly, chaotic fun, this is the movie for you. We giggled the whole time. And James Franco as a stoner? He totally pulls it off.

Saturday morning I went and got my haircut. It seems haircuts were the thing to do this weekend. Rach got hers cut and several people from my office did the same. I now have 4 inches less and a lot of layers. I think I like it but I'm not sure yet. That evening I went to a farewell party on Lake Minnetonka for one of my friends from work that is moving to Denver. I didn't realize how much I would miss her until I said goodbye at the party.

Sunday I sat around in the morning and did a little bit of cleaning. In the afternoon, my sister and I went to the pool and I'm now sporting a rockin' sunburn. We picked up dinner from Cosi and headed back to my sister's house. On the way home I stopped at the grocery store.

The upcoming week will be pretty uneventful. I plan to spend next weekend with my mom in Rochester.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Golf is a good walk spoiled.

-Mark Twain

I'm in minor panic mode right now. The office newsletter came out a couple of days ago and announced that we are having an office golf outing next Thursday. Back in my high school days, I golfed a lot. In fact, I was not too bad. I wouldn't go as far as saying that I was good…just decent. Not going to this work event doesn't seem like an option for me. Of course, I don't have to go but if someone else is paying for me to play 18 holes and have some fun, I feel like I should go.

It's been a few years since I've even picked up a golf club. As such, I feel like I need to practice so I won't make a total fool out of myself. I plan to make a trip to the driving range this weekend and maybe play a few holes sometime early next week. Luckily, my clubs are in town but I don't have a clue where any of my other stuff is…shoes, glove, etc. I need to get some golf balls for sure. It sounds like a trip to the local sports store may be in order.

We've been a little spoiled at work lately. Last night we took a 2 hour "happy hour" cruise around Lake Minnetonka. It was a good time. For those of you familiar with The Office, it was somewhat similar to the booze cruise episode. Someone should win an award for the open bar concept!

What a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can't reread a phone call.

Liz Carpenter

I'm generally not one who loves phone conversations. I usually prefer face to face conversations or emails. Normally my 450 minute cell phone plan is more than enough. However, this month I have already gone past my 450 minutes and my billing cycle doesn't end until Thursday. It's odd because all of a sudden I feel like I can't go for the next 4 days without talking to someone not on the Verizon network (IN minutes are free).

So for those of you not using Verizon, don't call me until Friday :)

a happy tuesday to you all

Really, it's already July 29th? How did that happen??

I know I'm not much for updating this thing lately. There are several things I'm trying to sort out and on top of that, I've been doing a lot of running back and forth to Rochester. Luckily things on the Mom front are going well, so I can't complain much.

I got a new addition to my technological family last night. Mediacom called and said my HD DVR box was in. Yay! So I picked it up yesterday afternoon. I watched part of the Twins game after I got it hooked up and then ventured to the "on demand" feature. As it turns out, seasons 1 & 2 of "Mad Men" is an option. I've heard good things so I gave it a try. It's really good. The show is set in the early 1960s and focuses on the world of corporate advertising. I stayed up way too late watching it last night and managed to catch an episode this morning when I realized I didn't have to be into the office until 8:30.

This afternoon I have my mid-year review. That should be interesting.

On a fun note, my sister called last night and we're going to Inver Grove Heights on Saturday for a "meet Mike Redmond" event.

give blood!

This is perhaps my favorite series of hospital literature ever.

day 2

Two new posts at the Caring Bridge website: www.caringbridge.org/visit/kolberding

I'm looking forward to sleep tonight. I ended up making a trip with Dad to Dunnell this morning so I spent 5 hours in the car today. I was able to take a two hour nap this afternoon but that's been it for sleep since I woke up yesterday morning at 7.

I'm celebrating our country's independence with some good ol' American baseball. Twins games Friday and Saturday night with a trip to Rochester inbetween.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

day 1

Just when I thought my life was boring...

This morning my mom and I were sitting in my parent's living room watching a movie. All of a sudden the phone rings. As it turns out, it was the transplant clinic at Mayo. We were supposed to gather our things and get to Rochester ASAP. So we called my dad at work, told him to head home and we threw a few things together. We got to Rochester aorund 3. They got her ready to go and we walked down to surgery a little after 4. Surgery officially started at 4:20 and since she's having a double transplant, they expect the procedure to take 10-12 hours. Last we heard, all of the incisions are made, the doner is prepped and they've started the actual transplant. So now we're sitting and waiting for updates. We're about to go across the street and get checked in at the hotel.

We put a CaringBridge page together to make it a little easier to update everyone. Here's the link:
www.caringbridge.org/visit/kolberding

I'll try to keep everything updated as often as I can. Luckily there's a computer on the floor Mom's room is on so it should be easy enough to do updates.

Happy good thoughts everyone!!

inevitable return of the great white dope

I'm back, I guess. So here's an update for the past month and a half...with pictures of course!

I moved. Yay! I'm loving the new apartment. There's plenty of room for me and my random guests. The view is pretty stellar out back. Here's the view from the dock
Overall, moving went well with the exception of one little incident that led to the purchase of something new and shiny.

So that's fun. It's money I wish I still had in my pocket, but it is what it is.

Work is going well enough. We finally have a full staff. It's nice not to feel totally overwhelmed all of the time.

A couple of weekends ago, I went to Fantasticland (aka Valleyfair) with a few college friends and then a steak eating, wine drinking party. No pictures of that. They're all on someone else's camera.

Last weekend I had a few of the high school friends & Rachel over for a small bbq by the lake. Zeke and I went shopping and he bought me an apartment warming grill.


We actually had so much random stuff to bring in that we had to use 2 shopping carts to bring it in.
I also got to see my adorable goddaughter.

That weekend I found out that my hard drive "may fail". So this weekend I got an external hard drive to back everything up on.

Yeah, I'm girly. I ended up getting the pink one over the bigger and probably better option that Zeke reccomended. I blame Rachel :)

As for this week? I'm on vacation. I took off the whole week to do nothing. I'm going to spend a few days visiting my parents and will come back for the 4th. I have a Twins/Indians game to go to on the 5th.

I'm running away

No, not really. I just won't have internet for a little while. So after this, it will probably be a bit before I post something again.

I'm in the middle of the move right now. Just about everything is in, with the exception of my bed and dresser which will get taken care of later this morning. The place is fairly nice. Only downside right now is that they don't have the air conditioners on yet. Needless to say, life on the top floor is a little warm.

an update

Last week was nuts. At work, we had our yearly audit. It's always a frantic time. The entire week was spent answering questions, finding various documentation and getting very little of the regular weekly work done. This year, we had the added challenge of being short staffed by two people. Needless to say, by friday I was exhausted. I tried watching the Twins game Friday night but I fell asleep in the chair around 8.

Saturday was the day of many decisions. I ended up sticking with the original plan - going to the concert. In the end, it probably wasn't the best choice. I was pretty disappointed in the show. It was cool to check out First Avenue though. AND we only paid $4 to park. Yes Rachel, I'm still excited about that :)

Today Rachel and I saw Made of Honor (Dawn, check out who plays Colin!). I'm not usually the chick flick type but the movie was pretty good. There were lots of laughs - from both the men and women in the audience. It gets 3 out of 4 stars from me. After the movie, we went to Target where I remembered how impatient I get with weekend shoppers.

That's it for the weekend. I hope the upcoming week is a lot less stressful. I'll get to packing since the move is in less than two weeks. I think next weekend I'll make a visit to my parent's home with it being Mother's Day. The more selfish motive is to get all of the stuff that I've been storing out of their attic. Mom will be happy to see me for both reasons :)

my savings account smiles...

...while the national defecit weeps.

I got my "stimulus" check today.

oh my god, broccoli rock

I'm going!!

http://www.thedailyshow.com/tickets_stpaul.jhtml

I couldn't be more excited. Thanks for bringing this to my attention Claussen!! :gold star:

So much to do...

...so little time

The upcoming weekend presents a dilemma. In fact, it's the trifecta of impossible decisions. Normally, I have a hard time filling up a weekend with things to do. This weekend, I have too much going on. I'm having a difficult time deciding between three of my favorite things: music, lacrosse and drinking.

Option 1 - Music
I have a ticket to go see Kate Nash at First Avenue Saturday night. Without a doubt, it would be a good time.

Option 2 - Lacrosse
The Minnesota Swarm are in the playoffs! They have a home playoff game Saturday at 7pm. Since I've been a season ticket owner, they've never had a home playoff game. It seems wrong not to be there.

Option 3 - Drinking
Ok, so it's not just drinking. One of my best friends from college is graduating for the second time. It's not like Claussen's infamous 3 walk throughs...Ace is actually getting her Masters. I was going to go to Brookings a few weeks ago to celebrate but I ended up getting sick and therefore had to cancel. I promised I'd reschedule and this seems like the perfect weekend. Graduation weekend in Brookings is crazy fun.

As you can see, I have 3 really good options. I also have a haircut on the books for Saturday morning but at least I can reschedule if I decide to go out of town.

This is an impossible decision for me. If I can't decide whether or not to go to Coldstone without outside help...how am I ever going to decide on this one??

I'm moving

It's official. May 15th is the day.

I got a "surprise" paycheck today. I knew the money was coming...I just didn't expect it until Tuesday. It makes a rainy day a little happier.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I'd rather leave than suffer this

I'll never be your monkey wrench.

Thank you to the Foo Fighters for the title of this post.

Things here in the townhouse have been not so good since I moved in. As such, I'm moving. I'm waiting to hear back on my credit check. I don't think I have much to worry about. So as of May 15th, I'll be living at the green arrow.

"photo" courtesy of google maps

I can't wait.

a few pics from opening day

free crap +
expensive beer +
Torii going 0 for 4 +

nearly 50,000 fans =

one heck of a fun game!!

Happy baseball season to you all!

For the past 2 weeks...

...this is what I've been up to:


Two from Fridley Eco firm convicted

Two top officials at Eco Finishing Co. were convicted in federal court of violating the Clean Water Act.

Last update: March 28, 2008 - 12:08 AM

Two top officials at Eco Finishing Co. in Fridley were convicted in federal court Thursday of violating the Clean Water Act.

After a nine-day trial, the jury deliberated a day and a half before convicting 41-year-old Keith Rosenblum, the company's chief executive officer and president, of one count of felony conspiracy to defraud the United States, two counts of felony violations of the Clean Water Act and 10 counts of negligent violations of the federal act.

The jury also convicted 39-year-old Martin Meister, the company's plant manager, of eight counts of negligent violations of the Clean Water Act.

Last month, the company agreed to pay a $125,000 fine to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Eco Finishing was charged with violating its discharge limits for three metals, including on one occasion releasing about 33 times more cyanide than allowed; did not submit regular required reports of its discharges, and tampered with monitoring equipment to falsify readings.

According to court documents, the company typically discharges about 60,163 gallons of industrial wastewater a day.

U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim will sentence Rosenblum and Meister at a future date.

In May 2006, the company's former lab chemist, Ted Gibbons of White Bear Lake, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating the Clean Water Act, which included tampering with the monitoring equipment. He testified about the company's practices during Rosenblum's and Meister's trial.

MARY LYNN SMITH

News article found at http://www.startribune.com/local/north/17068876.html

Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.

-George Carlin

Question: What kind of car do you drive (VW, Mazda, Honda, etc.) and which side of the car is the fuel door on?

The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail;

if it were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence.

-H.L. Mencken

I got selected for jury duty. Juror selections start tomorrow. I go to the federal courthouse downtown at 8 am. I'm actually excited in a nerdy way. I'm getting paid from work, plus I get $40 a day and 48.5 cents a mile. As rough as my 9.5 hour days at work have been this week, I'm hoping to be selected and hear a trial for a few days. It'll be a good break.

The whole point of this post is to point out that if I lived 60 or more miles away, the hotel at the top of the list of reccomendations was:

Best Western - Normandy Inn

I'm sorry if you don't understand why that's funny.

We can go back!!!

TGI March

You know what happens in March?? Think really hard...

No I'm not talking about endless hours of college basketball (even though that happens too)...

That's right, the off season ends! Baseball will be back in less than a month. And not a moment too soon...it's been a long winter.

29 days!

for Sarah...

Ok, there is a pretty decent history between Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon. At the end of his shows, it became a joke for Kimmel to bump Damon even though he was never scheduled to be a guest. Then Damon was brought on to the show as a guest and was bumped right away.



Guillermo, Kimmel's sidekick went to the Oceans 13 premiere to "interview" Damon. Again, Damon was bumped due to time restrictions:


When the Bourne Ultimatum came out, they did a reinactment where Guillermo bumped Damon from his role as Jason Bourne:


So there's your backstory. I suppose the "I'm f'in Matt Damon" video was Damon's hilarious form of payback. It was going to be on Jimmy Kimmel Live for Kimmel's 40th birthday but that show didn't happen due to the writer's strike.

Mmmaaattt Dammmmmooonnnn!

For the record, I don't like Sarah Silverman much. However, I [heart] Matt Damon.

I just can't stop laughing when I watch this. I think it's because it looks like Matt Damon is going to bust out laughing at any minute. It's a video from Jimmy Kimmel Live last night:



I really appreciate the fact that even though he's some A-list celebrity, he seems like a down to earth guy who isn't afraid to make fun of himself.

the good, the bad...and the shiny

On the one hand, Mom got to go home Monday.

On the other hand, while she was in the hospital last week, she was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. A culture from the tissue sample taken during surgery started growing. Luckily, it is inactive TB…meaning she can't transmit it airborne to others. The disease is treatable with meds but it does change her status on the transplant list to hold again. Once she is done taking the medication, they will re-evaluate and take her off of hold status.

This afternoon, I'm going to get tested to see if I have TB. It's really just a precautionary thing. I'm going in for a mantoux test. They'll give me a shot in the forearm today. On Friday, I have to go back in so they can "read" it. If the injection spot has any sort of a reaction, that's when there's trouble.

In happier news, I got a new toy over the weekend. My contract was up so it was time to get a new phone. I swung by the Verizon store in Rochester and walked out with this:

So far, I love it. I also got talked into the Bluetooth/car charger/case bundle...I think it was a good call. It's hard to drive a stick and talk on that bugger at the same time. I tried using my shoulder as a cradle for the phone and it is nearly impossible.

hooray for good news!

Mom's surgery yesterday went well. The spot on her lung is not cancer. She has officially been granted an active status on the transplant list and is expected to be in the hospital for 3-5 days. I'm going to head down to the Roch tomorrow afternoon. I'll spend some quality time at the hospital tomorrow night and Friday. As it turns out, Monday is a holiday for me so I get an extra long weekend.

And now for something completely different:
Yesterday I discovered that I get a discount on my cell phone plan through work. I get 19% off of my monthly plan cost and 25% off of any accessories. Sure it isn't much, but over the course of a year, it will be like I'm not paying for a couple months of service. If you work for a big corporation (aka "the man") you may want to check and see if your company offers something similar.

I try to avoid stress - it makes me feel like I'm rubber-stamping all my organs "Urgent."

-Berri Clove

Let's face it, I'm stressed out.

Work is less than I hoped it would be by this point. At the moment, I'm trying to find out what my options are. In the near future, I'm going to be having a talk with my bosses about it all. I'm trying to my ducks in a row before that happens. I like having options.

I think this is common with a lot of people but it doesn't matter how much money I do or don't spend, I'm always running short. Hibernation is going to be my only option soon :) I actually think that a part time job is going to be a necessity. I'd love to hear any good ideas you all may have for a part time job.

The most significant source of stress right now is that tomorrow morning my mom is having surgery. January 15th is turning out to be my least favorite day of the year. Last year on Jan. 15th, Mom was placed on inactive status on the transplant list. That means she still holds her place on the list, but is not eligible for a transplant. The status change was caused by a spot that showed up on her lung. Tomorrow morning they are doing surgery to figure out what that spot is. It may be cancer, it may not. If it turns out to be cancer, they are going to make an attempt at getting rid of it. We're hoping for a good outcome so we can finally get things going again. Any happy good thoughts are much appreciated.

In happier news, I had a good weekend. Saturday was my big day out. I saw Avenue Q at the State Theater. It was fantastic...we had great seats in the 2nd row. Saturday night brought a Swarm home opener win over Toronto. The boys were rowdy which made for a good time.

Stay warm out there!

"Only the pure in heart can make a good soup"

-Ludwig van Beethoven

Last night I went to the orchestra. My sister and I made a night out of it. We went and picked up tickets at Orchestra Hall. UBS is a sponser of the Minnesota Orchestra and their way of saying thank you was a private concert for UBS employees and clients.

After we picked up tickets, we made our way over to Brit's Pub for dinner. After a couple of Strongbows and a delicious steak sandwich, it was off to the show.

Led by Osmo Vänskä, the first half was made up of Symphony 2 and Symphony 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven. I was reminded how amazing Beethoven's work is. The man was a musical genius. His music is simply beautiful. That in and of itself is enough to leave you in awe. When you try to process the idea that he was deaf, it takes that awe to a whole new level. How does someone who can't hear put notes together to make such brilliant harmony? How do you know how dramatic the difference between piano and forte is? I realize he didn't start losing his hearing until his twenties but still...it's remarkable. The orchestra did a beautiful job. Osmo himself was a treat to watch. In a word, he was animated. I love watching conductors who really get into it.

Beethoven's works were followed by an intermission. Essentially it was a big dessert bar in the lobby from Lunds/Byerlys. The lobby was packed to the point where it was almost impossible to move. It was good getting to see some of the people from the old Minnetonka office.

The second half of the show got a little long. They never actually told us what the musical selections were. Of course it was good but again, it got a little long. It was well worth it considering the tickets and parking was free. Plus I got my culture for the week :)

"I'm kind of jealous of the life I'm supposedly leading."

-Zach Braff

That's google's quote of the day. I found it amusing.

It's been busy over the past month.

On December 17th, I started my job in Wayzata. All things considered, it's ok. The people I work with are great. The hours are better than my old job by a half an hour every day. The drive is even a little better...especially on the way home. I really struggle with the salary. When I was inerviewing for a new position, I was told by both potential supervisors that I was significantly underpaid. When they went to division for approval they were told that they weren't allowed to give me a raise because I was transferring with like titles and it was end of the year raise cylce season. At this point, I'm just rambling because I'm still bitter. I just need to get over it.

I took off several days around Christmas. My brother was home from Colorado so it was nice to spend some extra time with him. He came up to visit some people here in the cities. We followed each other on the way down to my parents house. On the way, the dash lights and the tail lights decided to go out on my car...in the dark. So that was a fun repair.

Christmas day started well enough. Great presents and food. Good time with the family. We sat down for dinner around 5. Before you know it, we called an ambulance to take Mom to the hospital. She was having a difficult time breathing. She had some congestion in her chest and after a couple of nights in the hospital, she was on her way home. She seems to be doing better now.

New Years Eve I went to the party I always go to with a combination of my high school and college friends. It's always a good time and a great way to bring in the new year.

Last weekend, some of the college friends and I headed up to Lutsen for the annual drink a lot and ski trip. I'm not much of a skiier due to my not so good right knee, but the night time sledding down the ski runs was fun.

Today I'm at home. I woke up with a headache that I couldn't get rid of. I did go to work for a couple of hours but it was pretty useless. I came home and took a nap. That helped some. I had some lunch and I'm back to hanging out on the couch. I think another nap might be in the works.

I have a fairly busy week this week. Tomorrow night i'm going to a private performance of the Minnesota Orchestra through work. Saturday afternoon my sister and I are going to see Avenue Q at the State Theater. Then Saturday night is the Swarm home opener. After that, I should be able to lie low for a little while. It will be good for both my energy level and my bank account.

That's all I've got for now. Hopefully it won't be so long before the next update.