Adventures in Living

I finally got it!! I am a 'Snowboarder'

2010-02-22T17:16:00.013-05:00

My journey to successful snowboarding began in British Columbia about 7 years ago. I was out there visiting my aunt for a much needed vacation. And really, who can resist the call of the mountains out west in March?? So, I suckered a guy I'd just met (son of my aunts friend) into driving me to the ski hill and hanging out with me all day while I took a snowboarding lesson and attempted just one run down the mountain. Sadly, even with a 4 hour lesson under my belt and my seemingly strong athletic inclination, it took me 2&1/2 hours to make it down the mountain and I did most of that on my butt. It was fun, but I vowed to remain a loyal skier and not switch teams just yet. Snowboarding just wasn't for me.

Almost 2 years later one of my best friends (an avid boarder and instructor) convinced me to try it again. She promised to stay with me the entire time and 'teach' me how to board. To her credit, she tried REALLY hard, I just couldn't get over the idea of having both of my feet strapped to a board and flying down a mountain. It looked fun...and I WANTED to learn but after a few hours on the bunny hill, a couple of pretty good wipe outs, and a bruised ego, I conceded that I'd likely never get it and switched back to my trusty skis for the rest of the outing.

Now, 5 years after that, a month before my 31st birthday, I have managed to figure it all out. I went to Liberty Mountain (in Fairfield PA for those that don't know where Liberty is) this past weekend with an amazing group of friends. Since my skis are still stored up in Canada and my friend had an extra board and boots that fit me I decided to give boarding another go rather than renting skis. The first couple hours were rough, I could barely stand up, let alone get down the hill. If you know me at all you can imagine how frustrating that was for me.

Noticing how incredibly hard it was for me to manage to do ANYTHING on the snowboard, my friend suggested having the ski shop change the direction of the board... and wouldn't you know it - turns out I am NOT GOOFY after all (at least not on a snowboard).

Once I changed directions everything clicked. Ok, so it really wasn't immediate, but I got much better at it really quickly. By dinner time I was coming down the hill (the little beginners hill - one step up from the bunny slope) without falling (most of the time). I even did one full run (a green one) from the top of the mountain.

I still can't get off the chair lift without crashing, and the idea of going down a "Blue" run makes me a bit ill, but I did it! I snowboarded!! And, I LOVED it!! I am 100% still a beginner but I WILL do it again, and who knows... perhaps it's time for me to consider switching teams!!

What do you say…

2010-01-10T08:24:00.002-05:00

Dear jackass!!!

I can't believe that you would do something like this to your family. Wow you messed up. Big time! What you did was disrespectful to me and unforgivably hurtful to your family. You're the kind of guy that wrecks it for the rest of the truly nice guys in the world, because you make us NICE girls cynical and suspicious of every guy we meet! You obviously have no respect for your relationship or your family and I am reasonably sure you have very little respect for women in general. Well guess what, I (like your wife I hope) will not stand for this bullshit from men.

I realize that I didn't ASK you if you were married but I shouldn't have to. You certainly didn't ACT like you were married. When I asked you about your family you talked about your sister and her kids, your mom, your grandmother…. did it never once occur to you to mention your own kids at least????

Even if your relationship is rocky and ending (which if it wasn't I am sure it is now) you should still have been up front with me. You should have let me make a decision about whether or not I wanted to continue seeing you. I have to say though that I would have said no. I have zero interest in being involved with someone that is involved with someone else. I am not that girl.

I don't think I've been this mad at someone in a really long time. I don't even really know what to say and that's not usually a problem for me. I really liked you. I enjoyed spending time with you and was most definitely incredibly attracted to you. And was really looking forward to seeing you again. Now I am just completely disgusted with you…. thank god nothing serious happened between us!!!

I know I didn't do anything wrong in this situation (you did) and yet I feel like the biggest idiot in the world right now. I helped you cheat, even if I didn't know it, and that is probably the worst thing a woman can do do another woman. BTW I told your wife EVERYTHING and will continue to do so should she ever call me again and ask what happened. I don't want to see you or speak to you ever again. Kindly lose my number as yours has been deleted.

-Pissed, in Arlington!

Lesson for the single ladies reading. ASK explicitly if the guy you're dating is or has ever been married. Only the REALLY good liars will fool you - the rest aren't that smart. And no-one should have to get the 7am wake up call that I got this morning.

The Ultimate Cure

2009-08-30T10:06:00.002-04:00

So the end of last week brought with it the emotional conclusion to a chapter in my life that should really have ended long ago. It's hard to really describe why it went on as long as it did but there is no doubt that a huge weight has suddenly been lifted off my shoulders. I didn't truly realize how much it was holding me back until I forced my way past it.

I don't really want or need to get into the details of it all on here, those that know, will know what I am talking about and those that don't, don't need to know. What I want to talk about is the ultimate cure to such an emotional couple of days. Girlfriends!

I have so many wonderful girlfriends and while not all of them knew what had happened they all knew just what to do to help me get over the hurt and see the wonder of what's to come. One showed up with wine and ice cream with only the vaguest knowledge of what had gone on, but with a COMPLETE understanding of what it meant to me. Some (having no clue about what had happened) met for an early weekend happy hour and offered unlimited Sangria, bad for you food and laughter. Still others arranged for a day by the pool complete with margaritas, wine, dinner on the roof overlooking the amazing sights of DC and some truly relaxing 'girl time'.

There is something magical about sitting with your girlfriends and talking through what's going on in your life - the good stuff, the tough stuff, the embarrassing stuff, the sad stuff - they WANT to know it all. Girlfriends can bring you up out of the depths without even realizing they are doing it or truly grasping how much you needed it. I haven't really talked much yet about what happened at the end of last week (only to a couple people that I couldn't avoid) and yet somehow I feel like they all knew. They all reached out and picked me up and made me see how much BETTER things will be now that the door to the past has finally closed.

So, I'd like to say THANK YOU to all my wonderful girlfriends (you know who you are).

Summer Roommates

2009-08-24T21:17:00.003-04:00

Yeah, yeah, I know - three months since last time. Someday I will get better at posting when things ACTUALLY happen. For now, deal!

At the beginning of the summer a cousin of an old friend of mine asked me if she could come to stay with me for three months. She was doing an internship in DC organized through The Washington Center. I will admit that I was less than enthusiastic about the idea. I didn't really want to do it. But, after lots of thinking and soul searching and talking with people wiser than me I decided to open my home up to this girl I've known for years but didn't really know at all. It was the right thing to do. Helping people out is always the right thing to do. And really it was only for three months, that's not that long in the grand scheme of things. So, I made the offer. Even still I really wasn't looking forward to it.... to be honest, I was dreading it.

I've been living on my own for three years. I've gotten very used to my own company, my own routines and my own space. I like being able to come home to a quiet apartment after a crazy day. I loved never worrying about who I would annoy if I played my music full blast while cleaning on a Saturday morning. And I like having the option of hanging out at home cuddling on the couch with a date watching a movie and drinking some wine. Having someone else in my house was going to change all that. So I decided that the best thing I could do was make sure that I had so much going on all summer that I wouldn't notice that there was someone else in my space.

Over the last three months I've been playing ball, meeting new friends, dating, going to concerts, taking road trips, hiking, traveling, and generally just enjoying life. It's been an amazing summer. I've made some great new friends, done some incredibly fun things and I've also learned so much about myself. I was expecting to spend a lot of time swallowing my annoyance at things being in the wrong place, irritated that someone was in the bathroom when I really needed to pee, or feeling like I had no time to myself in my own house. That never happened. Yes, I did have moments of irritation but for the most part having a roommate was NOTHING like I expected it to be. We each had our own lives and did our own thing but we fell into a pretty easy routine when we were home. We both kept the house mostly clean and tidy. We both gave each other the space we needed while still co-existing and sharing our lives for the last three months. We actually got along really well.

Letting Lisa stay with me was not an easy choice for me to make. But because I did, I've had a great summer and I've realized that as much as I like (ok, LOVE) living on my own, having someone else around doesn't have to be a bad thing. I had a chance to do something really nice for a young girl who really just needed a safe place to try to spread her wings and really experience life. I don't think she's had any real opportunity to do that up until now. All in all I think that she had a fantastic summer too and in a lot of ways I was really glad to have been able to give her a safe place to experience it all from.

That said, I am REALLY glad to have my house back to myself! Wonder what interesting adventures the fall will bring to my life?!?

My first "American" car

2009-06-28T21:05:00.007-04:00

Yes, as we all know, I've been having some car trouble lately! My trusty Mazda has been with me for almost seven years. We've been on many an adventure together and seen each other through many fun and challenging trips - most notably the horrible blizzard and 17hr drive from Ottawa to DC in 2007. Sadly, my little Canadian car didn't take too well to the heat of the south and has decided that it was her time to go and my time to look for a new companion for my next series of adventures and road trips. So this weekend I bought a new car.

People have asked me how I could decide on Thursday that it was time to buy a new car, and then drive exactly what I wanted off the lot two days later. I don't know that there is any specific answer that I could give. I knew what I needed (a new car), I knew what I wanted (the Nissan Versa) and I went and got it. That's pretty much it. Getting it is the interesting part.

Friday night I went to the dealership and test drove the car I wanted (although it wasn't my first time driving the Versa - I had rented one a few weeks ago in Ottawa). After the drive I talked to the salesman (my new BFF) but told him I wasn't ready to buy and that I wanted to come back Saturday and drive a different model. I went back on Saturday and drove the fully tricked out model they had on the lot and then asked him if he had the one I really wanted (not the fully tricked out one) in his inventory - he did. With the help of a good friend playing 'bad cop' and the new BFF (Mr. Nissan Sales Guy) running to the manager a few times a pretty good deal was reached. Next step - into the business managers office to settle up. The mountains of paperwork were going pretty smoothly until it was time to determine the interest rate of the loan. Apparently it takes more than 3 years to build up good enough credit history here to get a decent interest rate. You'd think that credit history would cross the border with you - it does not.

Despite the astronomical interest rate (which I will be re-financing within the year at another bank) I got the car I wanted and my trusty little Mazda can rest in peace knowing I am in good hands with my new sporty little Nissan.

Let the new adventures begin!

Not your typical Tuesday

2009-06-24T00:15:00.007-04:00

So the day started off without a hitch - no delays on the metro ride (I don't take the red line so was not impacted by that horrible crash), I got lots done at work, it wasn't raining which meant that I would actually get to play ball after work. All good right??? Right......

The ball game was a pretty easy check in the win column as the other team didn't have enough players to field a team but since both sides wanted to play for fun off we go. The game was actually going pretty well, although neither team was as 'into it' as we normally would be. A hard hit ground ball bouncing into the face of the girl playing second base brought the game to a screeching halt in the third inning and a broken nose to the second baseman. After helping get her all sorted out and on her way to the hospital we all packed up and headed out. Who could keep playing after that?? Especially in a game that didn't count anyway.

My teammate and I decided to grab some dinner before going home to chill for the evening. As we are turning onto Duke St. doesn't the stupid car (my car) just die. I mean it completely quit. All the lights on the dashboard started flashing, the engine stopped shifting properly and it just stopped, right there on the side of the street. Now, in and of itself this may not seem the worst thing that could happen. But this car has had the alternator replaced (twice) and a new battery installed all within the last month. Now it is dead on the side of the road and I am more than slightly annoyed. I have no idea what's wrong with it and I am tired of spending money on it - but I need to get it off the side of the road. Only thing left to do is have it towed to the mechanics (and no, I don't have AAA or anything else helpful). After the car has been taken away, the driver has been paid and another friend has come to pick us up we're finally starting to joke around about the joys of having friends (namely me) that can find a crazy adventure to entertain people with in so many unexpected ways - I mean, a broken nose, a dead car, a tow truck, lame diner burgers and fries for dinner and frantic calls for a road side rescue all in one night - come on - good times!!

All I have to say is thank goodness for friends willing to drive all over the place just for the shear entertainment value of what could happen next. Which in this case was me realizing I had forgotten my house keys in the car.....figures!!

Love, Loss and Life

2009-06-13T17:36:00.005-04:00

I know I haven't posted in what seems like ages and I know there are things that people have been hoping I would write about - my 30th birthday - my trip to Greece - general adventures in and around DC. Those things are going to have to wait, and truth be told probably never get written up. Today I have lots of other things on my mind. Too many to really put into words. Today I want to touch on the beauty that is a family in grief. I know that sounds odd, but that's really what grief is - beautiful. It is a pure and sincere expression of love that guides a departed soul on it's journey back to God. And that was never more apparent to me than this past week.

Last Saturday my grandmother passed away at the age of 82. This was not unexpected but was still not easy for any of us to take. She's been fading away from us for about 7 years but she is the center and the rock of our family, even still. She was a woman who could see incredible beauty in the most worn out, run down things. She could turn a bag of ripped up sheets and cloth into the most amazing quilt you've ever seen. She was thrifty and not afraid of working hard and she taught us that the results were always worth it. She loved unconditionally and would sacrifice anything she had to see a smile on the face of someone she loved. She gave to everyone around her and understood how important it is to look after others. She believed in doing and teaching us to do the RIGHT thing, no matter the perceived cost. She taught us how to listen, how to learn, how to survive, how to be compassionate, how to work hard and mostly how to love fiercely.

My gran leaves behind an INCREDIBLE legacy in her 9 living children (and our beloved Auntie who she is with now), 22 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. In this day and age it may be hard to believe but we are one big crazy close, loving family. We would lay down our lives, and go to the ends of the earth for each other and all because of how much she loved us. My gran touched the lives of so many people in so many ways and although she lived, worked and loved in a very small Canadian town her influence has been carried around the world - more than once. Standing in the funeral home at her visitation one had only to look around the room to see the depths of the love and devotion in the faces of her family. We were grieving, very much, but we were also sharing memories and thoughts and stories of the happiness and the craziness that she brought into our lives. There was just as much laughter in the room as there were tears.

That's what I mean about the beauty of grief. Losing our Gran was definitely hard but it was so incredible to see the love that she inspired in all of us. We are all better people because of what our mothers and fathers learned from her, what we learned from them (and her) and therefore what we will be able to teach our children. Without her insistence that we all stay together we would surely have drifted off as so many families do as we grow up and move on with our own lives. But we're not, we were all there... all 58 of us. We were all hugging and crying and laughing and praying and eating and singing together, and we always will be.

I know with all of my heart that my Gran is in a better place. She's happy and smiling and laughing. She's probably dancing with Auntie, cursing out Grandpa, and figuring out how to wrap up the world in a warm, loving, homemade embrace. At the cemetery my aunt spoke of her mom and how she touched all of our hearts, my sisters sang her on her way to heaven with a strength only she could have given them, and my cousin's little boy looked up at his aunt and said of his GG - "I am really going to miss her". Yes, Connor, we all will.

Love you Gran!! Watch over us and kick us in the arse now and again!!

Randomness or Small Town Syndrome

2009-03-07T13:55:00.003-05:00

Most would agree that the DC Metro area is a thriving metropolis but there seems to be a surprising small town vibe that pops up more and more often. A couple of months ago I was out in Old Town with some girlfriends at a fun little bar called the Light Horse. We were minding our own business, drinking beer, laughing and having fun - as girls on the town are known to do - when this slightly aggressive, definitely drunk, guy came over. He started trying to drag us out onto the dance floor - and I don't mean figuratively - he literally grabbed our hands and started to pull us. We tried to decline as politely as possible and when he didn't get the point we were a little more direct in our refusals. He finally wandered off and accosted some other women in a different part of the bar and after a few complaints to the staff he was removed, arguing the entire time. Watching him get escorted from the bar made the situation not only hilarious, but unforgettable.

About a month later, a couple of us went to 'The Continental' in Rosslyn to watch a bunch of local bands play. We went to see a specific group (Fools and Horses) and were sitting around, enjoying the music from the rest of the bands and having a few laughs when we saw this guy wandering around, bouncing to the music and talking to random people with this big goofy grin on his face. It took us a few minutes to realize that he was the same guy from the Light Horse and when we did we could not stop laughing at him, the situation and the randomness of running into him again. We kept wondering what we would say or do if he ended up at our table again but he never did so we just watched him wander around the room, dancing to the music.

That night at The Continental we were introduced to another local band (The Reserves) and made plans to go see them play last night in Old Town. The girls and I had a couple beer at Murphy's before heading to the Austin Grill where the band was scheduled to go on at 10pm. When we got there the opening act was still on so we started chatting with members of the band for a couple minutes and then wandered to the bar to get drinks and find a good spot to sit and watch the show. As we were standing in front of the bar some guy walked past us and I recognized him but couldn't place him for a minute or two. The other girls saw him and immeadiately recognized him as the guy from The Light Horse and The Continental. Well we all started cracking up. We went and sat down and started watching the band play and the next thing we know that guy - whose name is Patrick - is sitting on the other side of our table. He starts talking to us, asking our names, how we heard of the band, were we enjoying it, did we want CDs, etc. Turns out he is a major groupie of The Reserves and spent the next 20 mins talking to us about the band and telling us that he just wanted to make sure that we were "Enjoying the experience of the music". When we stopped paying attention to him and wouldn't jump to buy cd's or dance with him he gave up and moved on to his fruitless attempts to get people dancing. He had no idea that this was the third time we've seen him out - he'd been drunk or caught up in the 'experience of the music' every time we saw him. And as much as I know the common thread seems to be The Reserves, I have a feeling that running into him again in the future in some unexpected place is a very distinct possibility.

Is it randomness? I doubt it, DC really is just a small town masking as a big city.

Girls, Friends for life (or at least an evening)

2009-02-16T20:36:00.009-05:00

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is to hang out with the girls - even better to make new girlfriends that you have a blast with. After all, one can never have too many friends. So on Saturday night I headed out for a pub crawl with my friend Nic and some of her girlfriends. The plan was to bar hop between as many restaurants and bars in Shirlington as we could manage to get to, but not to leave any place until we were bored being there.

We started the night at Bungalow Billiards. We ate greasy bar food, drank beer and made fun of the fact that the female serving staff was working in their pajamas on Valentines Day - what's with that???? Lets just say there were LOTS of examples of things that people - women - should NEVER wear out in public so we had TONS of ammo for making snide comments.

When we got tired of making fun of people and drinking beer we moved on to Ping where we ordered more 'girlie', 'fruity' drinks rather than beer (see pic). Two of the girls had left from Bungalow to see a play at the Shirlington Theater and rejoined us at Ping before we all headed to Guapos where we managed to keep ourselves entertained for the rest of the evening. They actually had to KICK us out so they could close.

I can't speak for being in a group of guys (although I am sure it's a similar experience) but there is nothing better than hanging out with a group of girls you get along with really well. Everything is entertaining, your new friend sucking helium from one of the floating heart balloons and quoting lines from the Princess Bride, turning your massive margarita into a 'spider drink' and sharing with the girls at the table, texting random people from the bar with strange messages about the events of the evening. And while you are not explicitly ignoring the rest of the room they do tend to fade into the background. You don't notice the group of Latino boys sitting at the next table who want to come over but can't find a way to break into the laughter and conversation. You miss the couple sitting at the table behind you until they start laughing at the helium induced impression of "Inigo Montoya". You don't pay attention when the server comes over and leaves the bill telling you all they are closing and it's time for you to go.

A night with the girls is the ultimate remedy to a bad day, a lonely weekend or a series of not so great news. Good girlfriends know all there is know about you and like you anyway. Great girlfriends know exactly what to do to cheer you up and even if you don't know each other, you can bet we'll all be friends by the end of the night.

Dynamics of Group Fitness

2009-02-14T17:31:00.006-05:00

So every few months I go on this kick where I decide I am going to get my butt back into the gym, start a regular workout regime, eat better, etc, etc. Let's first caveat this with saying that I am in decent shape, eat healthy more than not (but love my chocolate and ice cream), and am generally pretty active (just not in a gym). That being said, my new year's resolution for a consistent workout schedule lasted about 3 weeks until I caught this horribly, nasty cold. It took me about a month to fully recover and since I couldn't really breathe sitting still the idea of running or taking a spinning class or doing anything requiring more physical effort than blowing my nose quickly lost its appeal. Anyway, since I am once again healthy it is time to get into the gym and start again(especially since I HATE to pay for something I am not using).

So, last night I went to a "Zumba" class for the first time. Quick description - a mixed cultural dance class (mostly Latin) that is the latest fad in group exercise. It was a surprisingly good workout and actually a lot of fun. But my favorite part of the class was the mixture of people in the room. There was none. There were about 25 people in the class - all women. The instructors were the only guys in the room - and I am pretty sure they were both gay.... At one point a guy came in, joined the group and started to dance with the rest of us. He lasted about 5 mins and then could not get out of the room fast enough. We were women who have danced before, or not; women who were in great shape, or not; women who were terribly shy, or not; and women who were having the time of our lives. I'm pretty sure we scared the crap out of the poor chap.

I am not sure I will ever understand what makes getting in a room with 20 people you don't know, with mirrors all around you, windows where the rest of the gym can see in, and where you are required to 'shake your booty' for all to see so much fun. But when you're with a group of women who are laughing as much as they are dancing, smiling as much as they are sweating, and who don't care that they look like a bunch of uncoordinated goofballs it's intoxicating. Perhaps "Zumba" will be come a regular thing after all (even if the gym does not).

Morning Metro Madness

2009-02-12T19:11:00.005-05:00

Have you ever had one of those experiences that you're not exactly sure what to make of? It could be a random occurrence, it could be a sign from the universe but really it's just some totally bizarre thing that you have to replay a hundred times before you can even begin to explain it to anyone. Truthfully it happens to me more than I'd like to admit. Bizarre things sometimes just seem to find me, what can I say, it must be a gift. Anyway, last Friday I was heading to a morning meeting (not in my office) and was slightly preoccupied making sure I knew where to go - you know, the whole change trains, walk a few blocks, navigate a college campus to find the right building, hope you don't get lost and actually arrive on time kind of stuff. As I was switching trains to the Red Line I sort of half noticed this disheveled, slightly odd, mid 40s guy sitting on the train. I didn't pay much attention to him distracted as I was by my own thoughts (at this point I had moved on to thinking about all the things I still had to do once I finally made it into the office in the afternoon) but a few stops later he came and sat next to me. With him sitting only one seat away I couldn't help but notice all the things about him. The greasy, messed up hair, healing black eye, eau de stale alcohol; hard to ignore. I think most people would say that I am a nice and friendly person, perhaps a little crazy & opinionated, but generally nice. So when people smile at me I smile back, if they say hi, I say hi. If they ask me a question I generally answer them. That is how I get myself into conversations like the following one:

Weird Creepy Guy: Hi
Jo: Hi (with skeptical look)
Weird Creey Guy: So is my hair all messed up?
Jo: Yeah, kinda
Weird Creepy Guy: What's your name?
Jo: Jo (with another skeptical look)
Weird Creepy Guy: Do you believe in God Jo?
Jo: I do.
Weird Creepy Guy: Good. Are you a Christian?
Jo: Yep. I am actually (getting a little weirded out now)
Weird Creepy Guy: Do read the bible Jo?
Jo: I have on occasion yes (as I look out the window to see how much further to my stop)
Weird Creepy Guy: I read once in 2 Corinthians about this man that went to the third level of Heaven and then came back down to Earth...
Jo: That's great! Well this is my stop (jumping up and going to the door)
Weird Creepy Guy (shouting): Have a nice day Jo! Don't forget about God!!

As I stepped off the train I thought what the hell was that. It's the kind of metro experience usually reserved for NYC or Chicago... not DC. There aren't typically a lot of crazies on the trains at 8:30am.... well ok not a lot of OBVIOUS crazies.... In the two and a half years I have lived here I have never heard a story about a truly crazy metro encounter - a few disgusting ones yes - but never just straight up crazy. Leave it to me to be the first. Walking away from the train and down the stairs to the exit a few people give me some strange looks and one woman actually breaks out laughing saying "Thank God you were getting off here. I had no idea what he was going to say to you next". So my question is this - is this really a random crazy encounter that is just a random crazy encounter or is it something more? The slightly lapsed Christian in me (who truthfully has been looking for something to push her back to the church) thinks perhaps this is a sign that is telling me it's time again. So I think to myself I should find a new church and go to mass on Sunday morning... Sunday morning arrives, I wake up at 7:30am (mass is at 9:00), I roll over - look at the clock. Turn it off and go back to sleep. There's always next week....

Getting Started...

2009-02-11T21:37:00.003-05:00

Let me tell you, getting this blog set up and going was definitely an adventure - and certainly a test of my patience. I have played with layouts, colours, templates - all so I can create the perfect representation of my 'life' online. As you can imagine, I gave up and settled on this - for now. I will probably continue to play with it and may even venture into the closet of my coding skills (I surprisingly do have a few) and create my own template just to be sure that I am properly represented. But to be honest - things will probably stay like this for awhile.

So, I am sure (if anyone is actually reading this) that you're wondering why all the drama - why chronicle the adventure that is my life - who could possibly be interested in reading that?? Well, for starters me, and then there is ... oh yeah, me, and well ok maybe my mom some day. But, seriously, I like to write but don't do it enough; I like to tell stories about the craziness that finds me; I work in technology and have dabbled in blogging but have never found a topic that really sticks. SOLUTION: A blog where I get to WRITE all my stories. How fun!! Perhaps I will come back to this in 10 years and wonder WTF I was doing as I reached the end of my twenties and toppled drunkenly into my 30s. Perhaps I will look back with nostalgia for all the wonderful times I am sure I will have. Perhaps I will share it with my teenage children some day so they can see that their mom wasn't really a complete nutcase - just a girl that had a penchent for finding the crazy. Whatever the result I plan to enjoy it & record it all for posterity. What better journal than the one you can hide in plain sight for the world to read or ignore as they see fit.

If you like it and want to follow my adventures, read on. If not, well your loss!!

Until next time...