Kickin' it at The Ted

Current mood: hot

Memorial Day - the 2nd of the 3-day-weekends for 2006. It's the end of May and therefore very hot in the ATL. So why, why, why did I agree to go to a baseball game at 1pm today? Just stupid, I guess.

Here we have the basic problem of wanting to spend time with friends, wanting to go watch my Braves play (and drool over the Baby Braves - just a nickname, folks) but wanting to do it in a cool and air-conditioned environment...great planning, huh?

I cannot complain too much - as we really did have fun. Once the sun passed behind us, we were in the shade and there was a nice breeze some of the time. The problem was that the Braves played like CRAP!

Luckily, I did get to see a friend that I had not seen in a long time (this means you, Yancey!) and I wasn't the only one making a fool of myself yelling at the field (ummm, YB - that means YOU!). Dani toughed it out to spend the time with us all - way to go, chica! I have some great friends and am very lucky.

So here is what I have decided...and some of you may already have figured this out...I'm going to stop stressing about finding "someone." Everytime I figure out that I am going to just focus on living my life, I end up finding someone great to spend time with (as just friends or more). So - here is me ceasing the stressing. Maybe you just have to get your brain out of that place that causes concern and just RELAX!

I have a very busy June in store for me (can it be July now?!), including a trip to India that I really starting to wish I weren't taking. On the positive end, I do get to see my niece and nephew the week before...maybe they can get me through!

As for other thoughts here, I have to say that good friends are great, but great friends are even better. Shannon - you truly made my day today and you make me feel worthy :) If any of you have the pleasure of being friends with someone who speaks so highly of you that you want to be an even better person - that friend is gold. Make sure you live up to their praise - every day!

Did I mention it's 90-degrees in the shade here?!


Currently listening:
Let Love In
By The Goo Goo Dolls
Release date: By 25 April, 2006

Nothing to Lose

Current mood: rejuvenated


Change...it sucks, but sometimes it can open your eyes to what you are missing in life. Pardon me while I wax profound here - but maybe it isn't me talking.

A lot of things have been changing over the last year - loss of a friend, death of a grandmother, birth of a nephew, and recently, shake ups at work.

It's been a trying time for me - trying to keep my positive outlook, no matter what life throws at me - but I find myself being more emotionally tied to things...I'm not sure this is a bad thing, though.

I guess all you can say is, if I come out still standing, I am a stronger person for all the pain, agony, tough times, etc. Isn't that all that really matters? How do you perform when the chips are down? Do you stay true to yourself while the world falls to crap around you? Are you a better person when you come out the other side?

I would have to say YES to all of the above. While I don't feel that I am as happy about a lot of things that I have been in the past (okay, most have been beyond my control), I think I am still okay - this makes me feel stronger as a human being.

If I have changed, I feel it is for the better. And my newest work challenges haven't made it easy on me, but I feel that I am up to the task. And ultimately, if I am not able to deal with the new environment, then I have a cushy 8-weeks paid vacation/sabbatical waiting for me on the other side.

I could chuck it all and move back to San Francisco - where my heart truly is - but I won't go down without a fight. Besides, I think these challenges may prove to make me more of an asset in any work environment.

Personally, I am not where I thought I would be. I figured I would be some high-falootin' sports photographer in demand and making a decent living (and maybe attending a few fancy celebrity shin-digs) by now, or maybe I would be some world-renowned chef - a must have for any A-List party. Maybe I'll get there someday, but today I feel like I do make a difference where I work and I am respected and sought-out for help. It's my own kind of high-falootin'/world-renowned status, but you wouldn't know it if you talked to me...it's a whole world in my head.

So what's wrong with being in the corporate world - this world I never thought I would be a part of? Nothing! I have made really great friends, some excellent contacts and I am genuinely motivated to get out of bed each morning and go to work. So who cares if someone new comes in and shakes my world up like a snow-globe...Bring it on!

Now, it's time to attack the rest of my life with this attitude! Time to stop pushing the men away and stop flaking on friends. Time to do what I want to do and when I want to do it and to hell with those who make me feel less than worthy! Bite me, you bastards!

Whew...now I feel better!

Currently listening:
Garden State
By Various Artists
Release date: By 10 August, 2004

Welcome to the Madness

Everyone - I now post on MySpace. For those of you NOT on MySpace, I will continue to post my blogs here as well!

Current mood: lethargic

So here I am, on MySpace. Such an odd place to be, but I guess it was inevitable.

I've had a blog for years, but I just haven't had time to post to it. I'll try and be better and post here now.

My friends and coworkers convinced me to jump on here finally, and I guess I had very little will power, since clearly I caved.

There isn't too much to say about me at this point, except I am pretty loopy at the moment. It has been a rough week that ended in pulled muscles and pinched nerves. Luckily, my doc prescribes the good drugs plus 48 hours minimum of bed rest (okay, those of you preparing to lecture me for sitting at my computer, I have been horizontal since 2am yesterday, so shhhh).

So far, this place is shaping up pretty nicely. I have found some old friends and some news ones - even people from elementary school! We'll see how this goes.

Nothing else to report...I'm off to lalaland for a good 12 hours of sleep in a pseudo-coma.

Happy Birthday, SarahBell!

Currently listening:
Paper Airplanes
By Marc Robillard
Release date: By 10 November, 2005

Sorry for the delay!

Just a quickie to explain why I have not been posting. I broke my hand in January and it was too hard to type. I am finally back in the groove!

Local Insecurity

Little did I know that buying a car would not be as easy as I thought...

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, but I have been in New Car Hell and every spare moment has been spent driving to Bumble - aka Gwinnett! My garage has had 5 different cars in it in the past 3 weeks - crazy, eh?

I took my car to Gwinnett to have them install the "extras" that were included in my purchase price and that should have been the end of it, right? They gave me a rental car for a day and I didn't have a care in the world...Then I picked up the car!

The next day (and for a couple of days after that), the newly installed security system was going off at random times for absolutely NO reason! The car was locked up tight in my garage and then suddenly, the horn is going nuts! I had to deal with this all weekend and it was pissing off my neighbors...My doorbell rang a couple of times.

Last Tuesday, my dad swapped cars with me and was going to handle getting the alarm fixed - but alas, Honda had to order a new device...So we had to wait until Friday. So Friday, I was too busy at work, so my dad was nice enough to drive the car to Bumble to have them fix it. It took an hour or so and by Friday night, I had my car back - safe and sound in my garage! After about 5 hours, the alarm started going off...Again! Dammit!

I spent Saturday on the phone, mostly fighting with Honda trying to get them to just take out the damn alarm (honestly, I didn't want it anyway). Well, they refused. I basically told them that they had ONE CHANCE to fix it and then they were either taking out the alarm, or taking the entire car back. I think that got them listening.

Monday night after work, I headed up to Bumble to leave my car - yet again. As soon as I pulled in the service bay, my Service Guy was at my car introducing himself. He made quick work of me and called over my Sales guy and some flunky. The flunky pulled up in a brand new (sticker still on) Element - almost the identical car to mine. They removed the sticker and had me sign some paperwork and the loaner was mine while they figure out their mistake with the alarm.

So we shall see...No word yet on my car, but basically I told them to keep it until they could either figure out what was wrong, or take the damn alarm OUT!

Otherwise, not too much going on at work. My team and I are working really hard trying to get all our initiatives underway. I've been spending the rest of my extra time helping organize a baby shower for a friend at work having triplets! The shower is Friday afternoon, so lucky me gets to work only a half day Thursday to make the cake...Did I mention how awesome my new boss is?

That's it for now, kids! I'll do better and post more often - promise :)

The Nameless Wonder

So the car is in the shop as we speak, getting his other accessories added to him (Fog Lights, Security System, Honda MusicLink and Floor Mats) and I am stuck with a brand new Mazda 3 in the parking garage downstairs. I feel empty without my new wheels, but it is only for 1 day - I will suffer through!

A few days with the new ride and I still have yet to come up with a suitable name for him...here is a visual for you all (please ignore how crappy the driver looks - it had been a long day).



Hopefully, once my car is in one piece, a name will just come to me...suggestions are still welcomed!

The Pressure of a Name...

First, a little backstory...

I love my car. I adore my car. My car has taken very good care of me through many crazy nights and long trips (including Atlanta to SF in 2002). I bought it in September 1998 and it was so very appropriate for me seeing as it was Purple. This was my first foray into SUVs as I had been a sedan girl previously. But after years of riding higher in Angie's vehicles (except for the Miata), I knew I wanted this loftier view of the world.

My Jeep, known to his friends as Ingo, went on many road trips, late night Tom Foolery and still managed to get me from home to work or to wherever I was trying to go. I paid him off over a year ago and was really enjoying not having a car payment...then the flood gates opened.

In 2005, I spent what felt like millions of dollars on repairs. No body work or anything, but this was leaking or that needed to be replaced or something or other needed an overhaul...YIKES! And here I was, about to roll over 90,000 miles on my old friend and that means about $1000 worth of service AND I should get the brakes replaced (shoes, drums, whatever). Not the way I wanted to start the new year!

I knew this would be the year to get a new car - I made a deal with my dad when I bought the car (and loved it), that I would not still own it when 100,000 rolled over on the dash. Couple that with the service costs, and that meant it was time. So we started talking cars.

Jeep no longer makes my car (bastards), otherwise this would have been a no-brainer for me. I'm not too keen on the Liberty (really heavy and not enough room inside), but I really like the Grand Cherokee (so would you if you had $28k to drop on a car). So off to Edmunds.com I went.

With the input of every guy at work (no joke), I put together 5 or 6 Compact SUVs to take a look at. I had my favorites, but I wasn't being too vocal about them at this point. Then, up walks my friend Stephanie, who sees that I am not exactly focused on my work. We have a quick chat about cars and I mention the Honda Element, and she pipes up - "Oh, I just bought one of those!" Talk about timing! Stephanie said she would have it at work the next day so I could take a gander.

I LOVE this car! Sitting it Stephanie's Element just sealed the deal. I knew I liked it, I have been interested ever since they released them, but I was never really that fond of the two-toned, plastic trim body I saw around town. Well, they made a change for 2006 - it's called the EX-P (P equals paint). Pretty!

My dad did the leg work for me contacting Internet Car Salesmen to schedule test drives and such and we ended up at Gwinnett Place Honda at 11am yesterday. We met with Joel (the Internet Guy) and we immediately stepped into the Tango Red EX-P I was interested in buying. I tooled around Gwinnett for 20 minutes and put the car to the test. We returned to the dealership and then the fun began (insert sarcastic tone here).

This is why I take my dad car shopping - I don't know how to haggle, and I don't know enough about the process to really be effective. I sit back and listen and throw in my 2 cents when it comes to accessories or the like.

It was a nice experience, but I hate that it takes 5 hours to buy a car. But all said, we got an excellent deal and they took poor Ingo away from me. I almost cried. I know he was just a car, but it is hard when a vehicle treats you right for 7 years and then you just give it away like he were nothing (sniff, sniff).

Enter my new friend, INSERT NAME HERE. That's right, I have yet to come up with a name for my new ride. I am at a loss, really. The last time I was even thinking about a car, I figured I would name him JD (see Scrubs, Tuesdays at 9pm on NBC), but this car is Dark Red, not Scrubs blue.

So HELP! Any suggestions are welcome - in fact, I need some creative ideas to ponder while I roll around town, listening to my iPod or XM Radio (yup, it came with both). Help me out friends - I could really use it. (I'll post a picture in this post later on)!

So welcome to the newest member of the Lindy fleet and I'll just ignore the fact that this means I now have a car payment monthly - ARGH! Everything has a price, right?

Another New Year Begins...

...and it all feels exactly the same.

It's been good so far - I have been very productive in cleaning up my office in preparation for taxes and getting as much trash out of my house as possible (no, this doesn't include any people). I have plans for the next few weeks that make me smile and an overarching feeling of happiness...not sure where that came from!

I rang in the new year with friends - good friends - and that always makes me smile. I have good people around me at work (I'm working on that for home too) and I just feel like this is my year.

Last year was not so great - the only real highlight being the birth of my nephew (look at him, isn't he a cutie!)

My best friend moved 3000 miles away (see, don't blame her for this as I did the same in 2002) and we seemed to have miscommunicated our way out of an 11+ year friendship. My grandmother has deteriorated and has little will to even get out of bed most days, and my medical problems increased when my asthma (somewhat dormant in the past) has decided to get really bad and cause me lots of pain and stress!

It was a dull year for men - a couple of prospects, but very little follow through on my part. Work was nuts, but at least I got a new boss (and a promotion) who seems to get me and not have major mood swings every 30 minutes.

See what I mean - 2005 was not-so-great. In the interest of fairness, here is Maggie and she always loves me...so no day is ever non-redeemable!

I tried to stick to my resolutions, but I don't think I did a very good job. So this year is different! I have one major resolution and while it may have many sub-parts, it is an overarching strategy that will make the most sense for me:

Stay Happy!

I think this is accomplishable. I am a mostly happy person anyway, but I vow to "pull an Angie" and not let stuff bug me. Let it roll off the back, I say!

Work is work and there is nothing I can do to change most aspects of it. I have a great job, am well-respected, and I enjoy what I do and am usually happy with my accomplishments. I promise to leave work at a reasonable hour and leave work at work!

Go to more movies! I only saw 33 movies in the theatre last year and this is an all-time low for me! I have new movie-going buddies and I intend to see what I can, when I can and not think about how tired I am!

I will go to bed at a reasonable hour (okay, yeah maybe). I'll try on this one, okay, but no promises. I just find that I am happier when I have enough sleep. Ask anyone - they will tell you that a Grumpy Lindy is not a fun Lindy! This also ties into reading more - I love to read, but have not taken the time to unwind at the end of the day and read...but I will!

More Hockey and Baseball! I love them both - I love going to games. I just haven't gone much in recent months. I plan to do this more and with people who enjoy it as much as me :) Do you notice a trend here – basically Spend More Time with Friends!

Overall - this should cover me pretty well. I know I will be traveling a lot (SFO, Pasadena, The Philippines, India), but I won't let this get me down! Life is sweet and too short...and 33 is right around the corner!

Another Apology and a Resolution

Hello all - if any of you are still out there reading my BLOG. I again am sorry for my lack of posts from November to December. It has been THAT crazy since my "promotion," if you can call it that, and while I am not stressed-out (thank god for Paul), I am overworked, unpaid, and somewhat miserable. This week didn't help either.

So Monday before dawn, I awoke to find I couldn't breathe - Ahhhh, Asthma! I had a rough day all day Monday, especially when Maggie wanted to play with me and I was too winded to do anything. We did manage to watch TV for a bit and play a game she had gotten for Christmas. Otherwise, I lounged and took shallow breaths.

Tuesday morning, I could not be wakened at all - the meds I had taken had pretty much wiped me out and my mom had to really stir me to say goodbye to Maggie (sniff, sniff). Maggie came bounding onto my bed and gave me a big hug and told me goodbye. I was so drained at this point, I managed to sob myself back to sleep for 4 hours. I didn't even go into work - let's face it, work was dead and wouldn't miss me.

So Wednesday, I go to work, still sick, but luckily with a 1pm doctor's appointment. I get a call on my cell and it's Paul - he is sick (stomach issues) and was it okay if he didn't come in? Duh! Not a problem. Then he drops a bombshell on me - I have an appointment for lunch - "Angie's in town" - at 1130am (which I cannot make since I have the doctor at 1pm and should work at least a half a day). He said he understood but to please let people know and apologize for him. No worries! That, I can do.

1030am rolls around and who happens upon my desk, but Kerstin - with Mikey in tow - to remind me about lunch. Now look, I didn't know about it, nor did I arrange for this, but I got a guilt-trip for 45 minutes about not going and I could miss work and do my tasks later...you know, I am directing this at you Kerstin! And Mikey - you didn't help. Then, I start thinking about how someone would probably take it the wrong way if I didn't go, so I caved. I'm not a bitch, and nor do I ever want to be perceived as one...I'm just really fucking busy! Honestly, I'm shocked she agreed to this lunch in the first place - seemed out of characted based on her exit from Georgia.

So I went - and man was it odd. It was like I was having lunch with someone who really didn't want me around - but I tried anyway. People change, I get that, but friendships - true ones - shouldn't change for the worse. Were you ever friends in the first place? Was it all just convenience? Who knows. I have tried and tried, and I feel like no ones cares but me. I'm out of touch and feel guilty about it - but again, does anyone care but me? I may be reading things into this, but some of it was implied (hello, no eye-contact).

So we ate, I paid (for half of the meal, anyway). We chatted about nothing too meaningful and then I had to cut it short - I had to get to the doctor. I couldn't really breathe and was really sick. Turns out, I had a 102-degree fever all through lunch and didn't know it - it should have been a MAJOR clue that I did not order a burger and I was at The Vortex for crying out loud! Dude, doesn't that count for something?

I don't know - I guess it is past mattering. I guess I should be happy I got a Christmas card or something...personally, I had no time to send cards this year, but I did buy gifts (not that I saw someone during the holiday - scheduled - to give them to her). So FedEx will handle it for me.

I got lots of Will and Maggie time and I got do some fun things. I have plans for New Year's and a Poker Night penciled in a few weeks down the road. Life could be worse - don't get me wrong. I don't hate my life, I just hate what has happened to parts of it.

So tomorrow is the end of the year and I can start fresh - right? Isn't that the deal? I promise to BLOG more and take more time for myself. I will learn to delegate more once the people who work for me are ready and will stop working such freakin' long hours and have some fun! A few of you have kept me sane these past few months and for that I thank you - Stephanie has been leading the charge with Paul pulling neck-and-neck (look man, a promise of a hockey game will always make me happy)!

Happy New Year to all - I will try to post once I crawl home Sunday morning - it should be fun for most of you to read!

Return of Kong

Movie Review: King Kong

Sorry for the lack of posts for so long - life is a bitch right now and I just have NO time! I spend it at work, running errands, or sleeping - Have I mentioned that I have been asleep by like 9 or 930pm nightly for a couple of months? I have been that beat - especially working 12-hour days! The only free time I have, I have been at my parents house helping them, or hanging with one of my friends.

I'll start by saying that it has been a slow movie year for me - mostly because my movie-going buddy moving 3000 miles away and left me to fend for myself most nights. Add in that work has gotten completely insane (I mean, this is my first post for December, after all) and I am now in the position my boss was in only two months ago - how bizarre is that?

Luckily, Leslie keeps me in passes, but I have been too sleepy to attend a lot, but I have found a couple of friends to go with me for entertainment - thank goodness. Well, I missed the Kong screening, but it was okay as I knew my brother and sister-in-law would want to see it for our traditional Christmas movie - I just thought there would be more of us in attendance...but I digress.

So Kong - what can I say? Peter Jackson has done it again! It was a little long, a few parts could have been pared down and would not have damaged the integrity of the picture, but overall it was an instant classic! The V-Rexes versus Kong scenes were absolutely incredible, but a little drawn out.

The acting was incredible - including poor Naomi Watts who had to act the entire movie in front of a Green Screen with people pretending to be the 25-foot gorilla - but you cannot even tell. She seemed to fall in love with the CGI-beast without fail and you felt every single emotion expressed on her face (uh, we had a lot of close-ups of her face since it was kinda hard to have dialog with an ape).

It was truly inspired and I know I will own this one without fail. Add it to the ever-expanding collection now - what's one more flick when you have so many? Maybe I'll have to move into a 3-bedroom place next, huh?

The Long Journey Home

Alas, I am home once again, but not without happy memories and a desire for the Christmas spirit to bite me in the ass!

Unfortunately, I did not have the best in-air experience. Who said people can take cats and dogs on planes. Now look, they banished bags of peanuts for people with peanut allergies, but more people in the world are allergic to dander (and highly allergic to cats) and therefore the cats and dogs should be banished!

Now look, I love animals - I do! However, I just cannot be around them in closed spaces (and just ask my old boss Clare about me in parks with them). I know some of you have pets you need to transport cross-country, but there are other ways.

Luckily, I had a savior names Reiko - the flight attendant who went to bat - and almost to blows - for allergic folks everywhere. I never complained - my eyes swelled up and I had trouble breathing and just tried to sleep through it all, but this woman (the row in front of me) kept taking her dog out of the carrier and petting her vigorously thus releasing tons of dander into the plane - NICE! The woman next to me also had a problem, but she couldn't see the dog, so she had no idea why.

Finally, the passenger put the dog away and kept it away the rest of the flight, but the damage was done. All I could do was thank the flight attendant for her help and hope I made it to Atlanta still breathing!

So I am home and work is gonna be nuts for a couple of weeks, but then the kiddies will be in town for an entire week! How many days left until Christmas??

Tea for Four

My sister-in-law loves to fill up the days and hours with lots of things to do when the family (mostly the parents) are in town for the week, and this time she suggested a Children's Tea. Sounded interesting, but quite the unknown event for me. But it was an afternoon with the ladies (including the littlest lady, Maggie).

We headed to Palo Alto and went to this little tea shop where we were served by two young ladies, one who was only 9 or 10! We each picked our tea (Maggie got her own tea pot with milk in it) and a plate of goodies for each of us. Maggie ended up with 4 little heart-shaped peanut butter sandwiches that she absolutely adored, while the grown-ups had other tea sandwiches, little quiches, tartlets and the like. We had quite a nice time and Maggie was very well-behaved.

This was too much fun - it seemed like such a relaxing way to sit with the girls and talk (and eat) and just enjoy it. I highly recommend it for anyone who might be interested. Now I just have to find tea rooms here AND a group of ladies that might consider making it a monthly event...I can be SUCH a girl sometimes!

A Tale of Two Turkeys

Happy Turkey Day, one and all (unless you are in Canada)!

A hearty dinner and some full bellies later...

In my family, we have a tradition of deep-frying the turkey - I may have Thanksgiving in California, but we are from the South! My brother makes quite the spectacle of lowering that bird into the hot fat - but DAYHUM isn't it right tasty!

So in order for there to be enough for all AND for turkey sandwiches all weekend (on homemade bread, of course), we have to also roast a turkey. I am of the mind that when you cannot find the perfect recipe, take the best aspects of several and create your own. Not only do you end up with tasty vittles, but you can call it your own ;)!

So I roasted a turkey over some stuffing (yes, I said over) and it was delicious - I wish you could have been there to partake. I'd post the menu, but why torture you?

So I hope you all had just as happy a Turkey Day as we did - here's to the Christmas feast in our short futures!

A Day at the Cirque

Theatre Review: Corteo

Corteo, meaning a joyful procession, was just that. This centers around a clown who dreams of his own funeral and is a very light a playful atmosphere. In a carnival-like environment, you really get pulled into the wonderment of it all. Tightrope walkers, jugglers, acrobats, flying bicycles, the works!

The music in this version of Cirque was truly inspirational. It was not intrusive, it flowed well with the feelings portrayed in the work on stage. I highly recommend all Cirque Shows honestly - but I still haven't seen a couple of them.

Saltimbanco
Quidam
Dralion
Alegria
Varekai
Mystere
KA
Corteo
"O" - unseen
La Nouba - unseen
Zumanity - unseen

This one is not my favorite, but it was really amazing and well worth the cost of admission. At least I got to see this one now, instead of waiting a year for it to come to Atlanta!

To Market, To Market

An entire day at the Ferry Building Market and fancy food for lunch - what could be better? Squash Blossoms, Arugula, Asian Pears, Millions of Peppers, my idea of Eden.

So my family and I spent the day on the Bay shopping for fresh fruits and veggies for our Thanksgiving Dinner. We had a pleasant late lunch, including a sampling of breads, chocolates, fruits, and gelatos. And behold, we found the turkey of all turkeys...A Heritage Bourbon Red Turkey! This is the Porshe of turkeys. My brother and I saw red and jumped at the chance. We ordered ourselves one and walked away patting ourselves on the backs for being so alert as to find them.

These turkeys are more along the lines of the original turkeys in this country and have much more flavor then your regular white, almost tasteless birds. However, the deposit we put down on a 14-pound Red was $50...YIKES! So we changed our minds and decided spending $200 for a turkey was a bit extravagant.

Anyway, no worries, it is the Frank household and we can make an extravagant meal without such a bird...but I do want to try it at some point.

Nothing else exciting to report (not that the above is anything to write home about). Ahhhhh, the Bay Area. Oh, how I miss it!

A Well-Deserved Break

Vacation at last! A nice long trip to San Francisco with my family to spend a very happy and fruitful week for Thanksgiving.

I'm leaving work here in a couple of hours and look forward to the long plane ride across the country to see my Peanut (nephew) and my Punkin (niece). Nothing is better than taking a week off from work and cooking and eating good food, right?

Now if everyone would just leave me alone until 1pm, then maybe I can waste my last bit of time without interruption!

tick...tick...tick...tick...

Difficult Times Lie Ahead, Harry

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Let me preface by saying just this - this is the best Harry Potter movie to date. That said, and sicne many people in the world have NOT seen this yet, there are no spoilers ahead, unless you do NOT read the books.

The Dark Mark has re-emerged and this can mean only one thing - Death Eaters! Not only is this the most dangerous time for Harry due to the return of Voldemort's henchmen, but also because people are conspiring to bring Harry face-to-face with the Dark Lord by entering him in the Triwizard tournament - a Wizardy School triathalon pitting the 3 schools against each other (Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang) for the unlimtate prize, the Triwizard cup.

This is by far, the darkest of the movies so far, but this makes sense since it was the darkest (and longest) of the books so far. But honestly, I felt this was one of the truest adaptations. Look, there was nothing about Hermione liberating House Elves, but it was no great loss.

All the tasks were brought to life brilliantly by Mike Newell. I was on the edge of my seat, chearing Harry on, and found myself holding my breath several times during the 2 hours and 45 minutes of the flick.

This is what sequals and adaptations should be - Hollywood, take note. You must see this movie if you have enjoyed any of the previous films or any of the books. This is the reason I love movies and spend my time in the dark theatres. See this film!

A special "shout out" to Leslie for the pleasant surprise in my mailbox. This was the best pass I have received thus far. Thanks for taking such good care of me and my habits!

Land Ho!

I finally am home, have napped a bit and now am wide awake! From Manila, to Tokyo, to LA, to Atlanta - lots of sleep, a few meals and several movies later and it is great to be home!

So there is nothing exciting about this trip home except that I am glad it's over. The most exhausting part of my entire trip was my driver from the airport - Robbie. Wow, that guy can talk! I guess it was good that he kept me awake, but seriously, such a name-dropper...and I am nobody so why does he care?

At least the LA airport provided some entertainment in the form of people watching. The fashions (both clothes and hair) were a sight to see, but seeing poor Kirk Cameron being mobbed by teenage girls and old ladies was the icing on the cake. The guy was just trying to get a Latte at Starbucks. Anyway, his travelling companion was an evangelist of some kind handing out million dollar bills with Christian messages on them. Very odd and somewhat surreal.

Personally, I was much more impressed that I saw a soap star I recognized, Becky Herbst. I'm a girl, what can I say :)

I'm just happy to be home for a minute before I head to SFO for Thanksgiving!

McDo's and McDon'ts

Every country has a different McDonald's menu. While shopping in the mall across from our hotel, Julia said she wanted to go into the restaurant to look at the menu. Little did we know, that such an act would cause such side-splitting laughter for me and Traci.

Introducing the McDo.


Honestly, we had no idea what it was, what was on it, nothing, but the name just sent us into such a fit of laughter, that we had to walk out of the restaurant. Turns out, it is a hamburger with some Honey-Barbecue sauce. Couple that with the McSpaghetti and the Corn-Dipped Ice Cream Cone, and Traci and I would never recover.

I will admit, that most of you needed to be there for this to be so hysterical, but imagine if you will 3 women who were road wearily, sleep deprived and shopping at the equivalent of 11pm in Atlanta. Yeah...we lost it.

The side effects of such an outing were the subsequent conversations about the "McDo Flu," an ailment that apparently causes your ankles to swell, constant laughter and a flightiness that can only be attributed to our crazy gang of CS misfits.

I need sleep!

The Long Road Back Again

Hello my friends. Sorry it has been so long since I have posted, but many things have been happening at work and my job recently got a lot bigger. I have a new boss (yes, Chester is now my peer) and more responsibility. However, I did get a team of my very own and I couldn't be happier. The catch? Well, two people on the new team have not been in customer service at this company before, and therefore have no knowledge of our customer calls, or systems, our agents. Wow, you are thinking my name should be Unlucky Lindy, right? Nope! I have good folks who are eager to learn and absorb and therefore we are in Manila once again!

After a day and a half of travelling (yuck), here we are in the fancy Shangri-La in Makati City living it up! Today, my good friend, Exx, and his girlfriend, Cathy, took us to the mall - Greenhills. Now Traci, one of my newbies, had not been here before, but had heard all about my pearl shopping experience, and therefore that was the first stop. And boy, did I make a dent...in the checkbook, that is.

Traci bought many things, mostly for family and friends, including a watch for her husband and a bag for her sister...she has to learn to buy for herself too! Julia missed out - she is under the weather (some combo of sinuses and migraine) and she decided to stay in bed (smart thinking). Exx, being ever the host, offered to take her again later in the week.

This being my 3rd stay here, apparently that warranted an upgrade to an Executive Suite (ooooo, fancy). I feel SO special!

I'm not sure what the rest of our day will hold, but it should prove interesting. Stay tuned for more from the Philippines!