H-TOWN

Flippin' Sweet

2006-06-13T23:41:00.000-04:00

Ok, children of the 80s...remember making mix tapes??

I ran across this site today: http://mixtape.exopolis.com/

I think this site is one of the funniest, best designed pieces of art I have seen on the web. This Napoleon Dynamite inspired satire is a definite laugh. Be sure to listen to the commentary between songs as well....I was in stitches all day today at work! The attention to detail is amazing.

Champagne High

2006-06-08T23:46:00.000-04:00

Just came back from poker night, which basically consists mostly of my lovely Swedish friends...couple of us Americans and now one German! Anyway, tonight Miller High Life beer was served, oh yes the High Life. And how is it that I never noticed the slogan on the side of the can? Leave it to a Swede who had never seen the can before to say, "Hey this is the champagne of beers!" to open my eyes to this. What a hoot....champagne of beers, indeed....

What's an even bigger hoot is this one Swedish singer that is popular over there....Thomas Le Diva is his name...He kinda reminds me of Boy George without the makeup. Oh my gosh ...it's hilarious. He is hippie to the extreme with the long hair and the peace, joy and happiness lyrics. His one song went something like..."We are all Jesus" and every Swede in the room was singing this in unison...oh Lord. Amazing what is popular in other countries....

At any rate....I finally came out ahead!!! Oh yes, I put in $10 and left with $25!!! Very exciting to finally win.

Ode to Joy

2006-06-01T23:39:00.000-04:00

So it finally happened...yes something I have been dreaming about for quite some time. I have been wanting to get back into sailing for ages. I used to sail in junior high school…and no little sun fish things mind you...oh no. Back then it was all about the big boats. And yesterday took me back to those days. I was on a Catalina 34 thanks to my good friend Cécile!I truly was in heaven yesterday. The weather was absolutely perfect. The bay was absolutely littered with boats. It was quite a sight.So many times I have gone over the Hampton Roads Bridge tunnel and seen the sailboats. So many times I have longed for that to be me. And yesterday it finally happened. For that hour or so, I was feeling what can only be described as pure joy...I mean literally pure joy. I thought of nothing...but the sky and the waves and the wind..So I will be joining the crew of the ‘Impulse.’ They race most weekends and that is something I have never experienced. Yesterday was practice time and boy do boats come a bit too close to one another for comfort. After all it’s a race and every boat is jockeying for position and doesn’t want to give up a thing. The skipper called it ‘threading the needle.’ Yeah, I would say that’s about accurate. Luckily I don’t scare in sailboats. It’s such a different feeling than being on a motorboat. It’s so quiet and smooth and fluid. It’s great to know that these guys will teach me and get me back into the swing of things...I have forgotten just about everything. I could not even remember most of the sailing terms. But I know it won’t take me long to get the hang of it. I am going up to Florida this weekend to visit Caroline so I can’t race this weekend. But stay tuned...my first race experience should be happening soon!

Födelsedag kalas

2006-06-01T23:14:00.000-04:00

So Marie’s birthday was this week and she had a little gathering at her place with the usual suspects. And we played a uniquely Swedish game that I have never heard of before...Kubb. This is an outdoor game where little posts are lined up and each side has to knock over the other side’s posts with a thin little stick. It felt very much like an alternate version of beer pong but there was a ‘king’ in the middle that had to ultimately be knocked over to win. Very interesting game. I really liked it.

Of course there was lot’s of great food...you know something is gonna have salmon in it where there are Swedes...but the best...oh yes...the best was the Swedish birthday cake...oh do I love the Swedish birthday cake!

Spicy Iberia

2006-06-01T22:44:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I know it’s been a little while but a couple of weeks ago, I did go to up to Hampton for the wine festival. It was quite a bit smaller than the Norfolk one in the fall but still a pretty good cross section of Virginia wineries there. There weren’t a lot of people there so that meant no lines...YES...and a place to sit...YES again. Of course I knew I would like Horton. I really like their fruit wines, especially the blackberry. What I was surprised to discover was how much I enjoyed one of their reds, in particular the Iberia. They describe it as a spicy Rioja style blend. Definitely something I would buy again. Also this time I discovered that First Colony has really good wine. I liked every one they had but in particular their Chardonnay Reserve 2002...which was strange because I don’t tend to like chardonnay all that much. It was definitely on the fruity side and light on the oak, which is probably why I liked it so much. Theresa felt the same. Let’s see another surprise was finding a Gewurztraminer I liked over at Rebec. It was very unusual, not sweet like you might expect...more like spicy. It definitely had a kick to it. Rebec definitely had the most unusual wines. They had another one called Sweet Sofia. Ok, this wine tasted like herbs. Honestly, it tasted like the kind of herbs you put in your pasta sauce or a typical French herb sachet...a bouquet garnis…they call it. Very different indeed. Interesting to see these folks out there pushing the wine industry into new territory.

In the end, me and Theresa seemed to have similar tastes and we went back to Horton for more. They even asked us if we would be interested in volunteering for them at the wine fest in the fall. The payment? All you can drink during the fest plus 3 bottles of your choice...hmmm...if they actually contact us…may just take them up on that!

Art School

2006-05-19T17:38:00.000-04:00

Although I didn't go to art school...I was an art major...painting no less...so this film looks like something I might want to check out...
Art School Confidential

Beer Festival

2006-05-19T17:23:00.000-04:00

So last weekend was the beer fest down at Town Point Park….was absolutely a gorgeous day for it. We rode the ferry over from P-town as well which was really nice…I hadn’t done that since I first moved here.
For me one of the best feelings in the world is a sunny day on the water cruising along. Being on the water in general makes my day, but a calm sunny one just kind of fills my heart up.So after filling my heart up, I proceeded to fill my belly up with a bunch of beer (here’s a pic of me in the process)
and then get my groove on to this great local band that was playing…Sol Libre…I would describe them as a Spanish Dave Matthews sort of sound. They were great. Lot’s of big name beer vendors, probably too many main stream ones, like Guinness, Harp, Bass, Dos Equis, etc. But my favorite is still the local brewery St. George’s. I loved their seasonal ale but they also had a porter this time which was great. It was a relatively dark brown beer with a hint of chocolate…very nice. Overall, the beer fest was a lot better than I remembered from a few years back. Here’s Hung and Anders.
Afterwards we headed over to get this…the Bier Garden back in P-town. Yep for more beer. A lot of us had the Belgian beer Chimay. Apparantly this restaurant has a phenomenal selection of beer and the only place you can get Chimay. So after a full Saturday of beer sampling last week, this Saturday it’s wine up in Hampton at the wine and jazz fest. Cheers!

Coachella rocked!

2006-05-15T13:49:00.000-04:00

So I haven’t had a chance yet to tell you guys about Coachella. It was a blast! I saw so many bands. The hardest part was making tough decisions to miss certain acts in order to stake a position for the ones you really like. So many good acts were in tents rather than on big stages and if you didn’t stake a position early you couldn’t see a thing….talk about claustrophobic. Big stage acts were no problem to wander in and out of. General thoughts about it all….

It was HOT, really hot. They had fans spraying water mist which helped a lot and they also had these really cool tents for resting, all of which had an artistic theme and were professionally designed. One tent had internet access and a cell phone charging station. Here's me in the winter themed resting tent.

It was dusty! I think I had perpetual hay fever.

Food and drink cost you big time! Drinks generally cost $9 and you had to stay in the alcohol area at any time that you were drinking. But one vendor had Indian food…Chicken Tikka…yummy.

Lot’s of cool art, especially interactive exhibits. They even had one exhibit about porta johns through the musical decades. They had one porta john representing each decade of music. I think the 80s had to be the funniest. Themed around Guns N Roses, it had a giant Slash like top hat on the top of the thing. Another cool exhibit was this machine that generated lightning…oh yes lightning. Here's John on a bike exhibit.

The setting in general was gorgeous…the palm trees, the mountains…the displays. At night everything was lit up quite nicely including the palm trees.

Madonna showed up 20 minutes late and people began booing and whistling until she finally came on.

Funniest moment…while resting in the internet tent we notice a Napoleon Dynamite type guy passed out with his face pressed against a table. So I captured him, along with Dana, John and Michael of course.

Imogen Heap was by far the best act I saw! It’s too bad that she overlapped with Kanye West because I think every reporter there covered him instead and she got no mention in any story I have seen. Too bad, because she was incredible. She had her powerbook on stage with her and that was her backup band (with the exception of one live celloist) as well as her backup vocals. She mixed everything LIVE. Oh yes LIVE. Absolutely amazing. She still hasn’t worked out the kinks in doing something like that so a few times she had to start over, but still INCREDIBLE. She would literally sing a line of song, record it in her mac live, then start looping it, then play a phrase on her keyboard, and do the same, record and loop, and keep going. She would also add effects to her voice to give the sound more of a resonance or echo. And she kept the layering going. She had all the produced effects of her CD but LIVE on the fly. The most amazing thing was when she sang one song acapella with herself by using this technique. It was sooo beautiful. I managed to record most of one song. I was trying to figure out how to record video on my camera and I didn’t know how much space my card could hold. So I regret that I stopped recording after 2 minutes but you can see how she played all the instruments and how they were attached to her mac. At the end is a good example of how she used the mac to add effects to her voice.

More observations of the Palm Springs area:

Date shakes are good!

The windmills are cool.

Things are expensive there.

Drivers are very polite and immediately let you in if you need to get over.

In-N-Out burger animal style is as good as I remember!

Happy Mother's Day!

2006-05-03T22:34:00.000-04:00

Congrats go out to my two closest friends on becoming moms. First little Jackson arrived for Caroline (and Mike) on Monday, April 17 weighing 8 pounds and 3 ounces.

Then it was little Sophie's turn for Christie (and Evan) on Saturday, April 27 weighing in at 8 pounds and 4 ounces.

A little eerie how close together they were born and even weighed...anyway congratulations you two! Can't wait to meet them.

Happy Easter!

2006-04-24T00:48:00.000-04:00

Hurray, finally the fast is broken! I started the day with an egg and cheese sandwich and then followed that up with a chicken burrito for dinner…yummy. Can I just tell you how good that egg and cheese sandwich was….I do believe I inhaled it….

Christos Anesti everyone!

What are the Odds?

2006-04-18T23:44:00.000-04:00

Ok, so you know how lots of businesses have promotional sweepstakes to promote themselves on the internet…and you kinda go…oh that is complete BS….nobody ever wins those things…it’s just a ploy to get your info so they can send you oodles of promotional crap all about their business and/or product. Ok, well I suppose the second half of that statement is pretty much true….but I’m happy to say NOT THE FIRST PART! Oh yes….just guess my sweets.

I love to click on those things that say enter to win but only from major credible sites. Well, back in November, I did as I usually do when the Gap decided to have a holiday sweepstakes…to drive traffic I suppose to their site for holiday shopping. Anyway, I went to www.gap.com and clicked on the little flash graphic that asked me to enter their contest and then watched the little pictures that spun like a slot machine go whizzing by…figuring I would get the little message that said something on the lines of “Sorry, you moron, why are you wasting your time like this…anyhow here is a crappy coupon for 10% off a major purchase of $1,000 or more.” But when I clicked on it….the little pictures lined up…oh yes…THEY LINED UP. And this happened first thing in the morning just as I had sat down to my desk at work. It was truly a weird feeling. Wait a minute, I thought…these things are BS…they aren’t supposed to actually produce winners…right? I looked around me…the universe seemed to be in order…nothing out of the ordinary happening…colleagues clicking away…people sipping coffee….could this really be happening???? I looked back at the computer…the flash graphic was saying I won. So I clicked continue. It then asked me to pick two items from several options to claim as my prize. So I chose a $500 Gap Card and this Kodak Easy Share V550 camera as well as printing dock.
All the while, I kept thinking…is this real??? Well, long story short it certainly was. After notarizing a form verifying my eligibility and a full 5 friggin months later…a box awaited me at my doorstep today. And just as they promised….my loot was there! I can’t wait to use the digital camera. I have never had one and it came just in time for Coachella…sooo exciting and it even takes videos…Honestly, I can’t believe I won! Now who wants to go to the Gap….

Bitter or Better?

2006-04-16T20:15:00.000-04:00

I’ve been feeling kind of down lately. Couldn’t seem to put my finger on it. Didn’t really make sense as my Coachella trip is coming up (only 11 more days!) and I should be feeling excited. Then one of my best friends emailed on Friday and it hit me what it was. Caroline is nine months pregnant and due on the 22nd and she emailed to tell me she has begun having pain to such a degree that her doctor agreed to induce her tomorrow morning. My other best friend, Christie is also nine months pregnant and is due a week later. I guess subconsciously I knew that motherhood was impending for both of them and I was feeling anxiety about it. The two of them both got married at the same time as well, within months of each other back in 1998. That was a little weird as well…but I knew that our relationships wouldn’t change. I think now though it’s different. I think I am feeling a number of things. I feel that our relationships will indeed change now. So I feel some sense of loss. At the same time I think when your two best friends are both enjoying the love of a husband and the beginning of a family it can emphasize to you the lack thereof in your own life. It’s the reason I hate weddings now. It just seems to really punctuate my being single. Caroline is scared to death. When we spoke on the phone yesterday, I reminded her of Melania Trump’s appearance on ‘The View’ where she said childbirth was great since she’d had an epidural. But I know what Caroline is afraid of. I knew it wasn’t the pain. You just don’t know what you’re going to get. Childbirth is a great game of chance I suppose. Yet at the same time it’s difficult to fight off that feeling of bitterness that tends to creep in at times like this.

And then I went to Starbucks today as I usually do on Sundays to sit and read the paper. And in ‘Parade’ magazine was an article that seemed to speak directly to me. It was called “We Can Become Bitter or Better” by Marlo Thomas. She wrote the story to promote her new book “Right Words at the Right Time.” The book basically tells of people who took a sad situation and used it to inspire them to do something great or who took the advice of others to motivate themselves into doing something rewarding. The examples cited were definitely uplifting. I like the one about a girl of 28 who while working in a low paid job dreamed of becoming a doctor. One day she mentioned it to a doctor, telling him that she would be 40 by the time she actually practiced if she decided to go for it. His response?

“So? You’re going to be 40 anyhow.”

The girl then entered medical school at 30 and became a doctor at 39. What a great way of looking at things. I think that sometimes I get caught up in the whole, I wish I was married starting a family thing. Or even just a kind of woe is me mentality. The words in the article really seemed to resonate….I can become bitter or I can become better. I know I want to be better.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

2006-04-05T23:13:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Matthias and Tom had a housewarming party. It was great. Nice place...lot's of new faces. Mostly German. Most of whom worked at Liebherr. Couple of cool things I discovered.

Matthias has a Mac Mini! And he has a projector attached to the ceiling so that he can display whatever is on his computer the full length of his wall...so cool. He tells me it works great for watching DVDs. Nice.

Germans have a drink I had not known about before which consists of mixing beer with Coke. I didn't try it but it makes sense I guess. I have had Sprite with Corona before...so why not Coke and beer.

Virginia Beach really isn't that big a place and it doesn't take long to find someone in common when you meet people. Everyone there seemed to know my old friend Deion who also works at Liebherr....I believe the quote was "Everyone knows Deion." Who knew?

Great party, Matthias....glad there weren't any shots this time....

Karma's Gonna Get Ya

2006-03-28T22:29:00.000-05:00

So this morning started a little bit differently....first I had to leave a bit earlier than usual because I was helping Dana out. Had to go pick her and her boyfriend up and give them a ride. Funny reason actually. Dana just bought a car but she can't drive it because she bought a stick. Really pretty funny. So she figured I could take her and Chris in to work (not difficult since he works up the street at NASA) and then his coworker would take them up to Williamsburg to get the car, after which he would drive him and Dana home. Ok, no big deal really. It involved me getting up a bit early but what's that really...about time I showed up with the majority of the gang right? Well, I go and get them and about 3/4 of the way to work, I feel my tires slip around a curve. Woah, I think and say outloud that my tires are pretty old and need replacing and that since I just felt them slip I better take care of it pretty soon. Well a couple of miles later as I was getting off on our exit...rattle, rattle, rattle...hmmm why is the car shaking like that...oh no my tire...I pull over. Yep, front passenger tire pretty much shredded. So how lucky was I to have them with me? Chris promptly got out and put on the spare. Back in business. I spent half the day at work comparing tires and prices until settling on a type and a tire place. Settled on Goodyear after being loyal to Michelin for so long....why does Larry keep telling me I have granny tires? Dropped my car off since the tire shop can't do it until tomorrow and then joined Chris and Dana on their car buying adventure. Nice of them to give me a ride home. The good Karma train came around full circle I guess.

The Real Windows Vista

2006-03-23T21:56:00.000-05:00

So Marcus tells me that the Microsoft parody I mentioned in the last post was done within Microsoft....interesting. It's really a great piece of work. I mean anyone out there in a creative field has got to relate to it. I know I can. I love the part where it says FOB: Full of Bullets. Anyway, on a related note....here is another funny parody...this time on the presentation of Windows Vista. Enjoy!

Microsoft Redesigns the iPod Package

2006-03-22T23:42:00.000-05:00

I have really enjoyed using a Mac computer over the years and am kind of annoyed that I am stuck on a PC at my current job. Although, because of that, I finally felt compelled to buy a computer for at home….so something good has come out of that. Anyway, when it comes to marketing, I really really like Apple’s style. Who isn’t familiar with the two dimensional, silhouetted commercials of teens listening to their iPods? The graphical nature of that campaign was great. I love the latest commercial as well…the graphics absolutely blow me away…here's a frame from it.

I love the CDs forming into a city and then all going into an iPod at the end. The fact that software exists to be able to do something like that is absolutely killer. You can view the entire ad here.
So imagine my reaction when I stumbled upon a little spoof video yesterday of what an iPod marketing campaign might look like if it was a Microsoft product.

Absolutely hilarious! You have to check it out. What is it about that music that makes anything even funnier? Love it.

Mae Ploy!

2006-03-17T00:29:00.001-05:00

Tonight I swung by Trader Joe's after work to pick up a few things. I am so happy this store came to the area. It makes me feel like I can afford to eat the way I like to eat. That's the one thing I really dislike about this area. It's difficult to find international food at a reasonable price. One snack I discovered the last time I went there which I am totally into now is something called Snapea Crisps....….These things are addictive! They taste like french fries but are baked peas in the pod. They have a nice salty, slightly oily taste and yet are oh so light they practically melt in your mouth...snack nirvana I tell ya.

Anyway, one thing I am really into is food. And I am not afraid to try just about anything. I often wonder why stores like this are not the mainstream. Food and culture absolutely fascinate me. Although, the American diet sometimes baffles me. My ex-boyfriend for example was from Texas and the guy absolutely had to have meat with every single meal. Every single one. For me, this was so very strange. I mean I eat meat like once a week maybe. People will say things to me like veggie burgers are weird. And I am thinking....veggie burgers are nothing new. Hello, anyone heard of falafel??? They have been around for a long long time in the middle east and I absolutely LOVE them. In fact, I basically eat them every day for lunch. I'll never forget when I was in college and I was working summers as a camp counselor and I became close to some British girls. And they were baffled at the American habit of eating extremely sweet things for breakfast. They couldn't understand why anyone would eat a donut for example. Or a Danish. These things are desserts after all not breakfasts. I found their observations most interesting. I was apprehensive when I first moved here to Hampton Roads that this area might be totally devoid of culture even though I most certainly enjoy being back in the south after being up north for a few years---yay sweet tea and friendly people! A couple of cultures I have learned about here are the Filipino and the Swedish cultures. Because of the heavy concentration of Filipinos just about every restaurant here serves Lumpia (good stuff)...whoda thunk it? And because Volvo has a big factory here, there are an extraordinary amount of Swedes in the area...and I think I know just about all of them! It has been most interesting for me to learn about their foods and customs. Pickled herring....probably an acquired taste...caviar in a tube...yeah I like it. Glogg...yummy! Best of all Daim chocolate! Tonight I went for an Asian influenced meal. My friend John introduced me to Mae Ploy sauce. It's a Thai sweet and spicy kind of vinegary substance that is absolutely awesome. I mixed up some veggies, rice, olive oil, soy sauce, Mae Ploy...and I was in heaven. As we say in North Carolina...That was some good lovin!

Bicycle Diaries

2006-03-13T00:16:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking lately that I want to get a bike. Now I haven't actually owned a bike since I was like 10 or something. But something inside me is tugging at me to go and get one. I went and looked at them with my coworker, Dana a couple of weeks ago. She suggested something called a hybrid to me--a cross between a mountain bike and a road bike. First of all I didn't have a clue as to what the types of bikes were. And second of all....bikes sure have changed since I was a kid. You change the gears in the handlebar nowadays. And this one bike I was looking at had suspension in the seat! Talk about comfort. There seems to be all sorts of accessories I am going to need which is sort of annoying...things like a helmet, and gloves, and things to hold your water bottle, etc....it all kind of adds up. And I still plan to go to Coachella. But man, I really want the bike. I live right next to a major bike/walking path in Virginia Beach that goes through a state park....how is it that I haven't had one before? I find myself going, I wish I had the bike so I could go riding today. So I know for once that this isn't something I need to ponder as I usually do. Today I went and looked at my friend Marie's mountain bike and with that I knew...the hybrid is the bike for me. I am not a serious adrenaline junkie looking to leap over trees and such. But I do want to go on unpaved trails and at the same time I don't see myself doing the whole long distance racing. I just want to do something fun and get in shape. So I am excited to know that I have reached a decision. And it didn't take me that long to decide, which is AMAZING! So here it is....the bike I plan on getting...

Who's that Girl

2006-03-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

So my coworker Dana is going to this music festival in California called Coachella at the end of April. And I have been fairly sure that I would join her. Today, being home sick, I decided to look at the lineup a little more closely...check out who is playing besides Madonna and Depeche Mode...and well I noticed Imogen Heap on the list!! I love this lady. Her voice is fabulous. I can't believe she is so far down the list on the marquis. Now I am pretty excited. I think that just sealed the deal.

Heels Come Up Big Against Dook

2006-03-05T00:43:00.000-05:00

Oh yes indeed. The Heels brought it tonight. Final score:

We beat Dook in Durham on their freakin senior night. Man, it was good. At one point, I think our entire starting lineup had 4 fouls. Tyler Hansborough was outstanding...the guy even hit a three! We finish the season 2nd in the ACC...absolutely amazing since we lost every one of our starters after winning the national title last year. I thought we'd be lucky to head to the NCAA's this year with a mostly freshman squad. I could not have imagined this. Way to go Heels!

One thing that this time of year seems to bring up for folks who aren't from North Carolina or didn't attend school in the region is why on earth this is such a huge game (or even why I follow college basketball so darn closely). All I can do is say that being a Carolina alum....this is always the BIG ONE. You camped out in cold weather for tickets to this match up. I can remember my freshman year. They actually decided to give out the tickets just after midnight instead of in the morning as is customary....it literally caused a stampede within the corridor of the ticket window area and I honestly for a moment thought I was going to lose my life as the crush of the crowd surge actually lifted me off the ground. I remember thinking that I must not fall by any means or I would get trampled. Yeah, this matchup provides that kind of excitement and is of truly epic proportions (insane, I know). I think this article I found tonight really explains it best.

What the mostly freshmen team managed to accomplish tonight in Cameron indoor....was truly spectacular. I wish I was on Franklin Street to see the bonfires....

Finding Nether Nether Land....

2006-02-27T00:53:00.000-05:00

We shared a lot on Friday night. And I heard some great stories from my friend Kristi. Kristi is a high school English teacher by day and a bartender by night. As you can imagine…Kristi is bound to have some interesting and comical stories. (Warning: this story gets a bit explicit) Well, her first story was about a guy that came into the bar one night. Yes, he was a hard core drinker type who marched up to the bar and asked for a double vodka shot….then another and another…until he had about 8. At this point, Kristi knew that she could not serve him any further. He was visibly drunk and becoming increasingly belligerent. In addition, a local cop who liked to come in was also in the bar. So Kristi had to cut him off….what was his response….a mad rage perhaps….physical attacks on the patrons…the breaking of glass….oh no….his response…seriously this was his response, yelled at the top of his lungs over and over (thank God for the off duty cop) “I WANNA SUCK SOME P***Y!!!” I kid you not. Well, I tell you, this was the last thing we thought Kristi was going to say….and the way she said it along with the way she imitated a red neck sort of hard core drinker type yelling….had us in stitches. Actually we laughed so hard, we literally cried. I haven’t had a good laugh like that in a while…so naturally Kristi kept saying it. Hilarious. Then she proceeded to tell us another story, this one from her classroom. Apparently one day they were reading excerpts and various students had to read aloud to the class. And this one kid had to read an excerpt that included the phrase “righteous gentile.” Well, needless to say, he just wasn’t able to pronounce it……=)

Sex and the City

2006-02-27T00:46:00.000-05:00

Friday night, I was out with some friends. It was a real girly night. Very much like an episode of Sex and the City where the girls get together at some restaurant and discuss loads of relevant topics without holding a thing back. It was great. We laughed a lot and shared a lot. We decided at the end that we needed to all go on a vacation together….I guess we didn’t want the good feeling to end.

Of course, when there are women, the topic of men is gonna come up. And somehow these friends had escaped my talk of ‘the book.’ So I had to bring it up. I don’t read relationship books. I have never read “The Rules” or “Men are From Mars…” But when a friend of mine recommended this one….I had to give it a try. And it isn’t what you might term a traditional relationship book necessarily. The book is called Relationship Strategies: The E and P Attraction. I absolutely loved this book and it totally changed the way I think....seriously. (Ignore the cheesy cover art if you can and give the book a try.) The author has a theory about people, that there are two personality types…the E and the P. He asserts that we are primarily one or the other. Most of us will be about 60-70% one type and 30-40% the other. And personality types are not gender specific. I had always tried to ascribe a way of thinking to women and another to men. But after reading this book, I changed my mind. Whatever type you are, you will match up with your exact opposite. You can’t be with your type…otherwise there is no interest. And because you are attracted to your opposite, this is bound to lead to conflict. But when one understands the opposing type and what motivates their actions then one is bound to reduce the amount of conflict in a relationship. In general, some P characteristics include being very comfortable in social situations, dressing according to the latest trends and styles, being very creative, speaking indirectly but hearing things literally, needing and seeking approval, and only having sexual relationships with people they are truly interested in, needing sex often. The E characteristics include being uncomfortable in social situations---in fact needing dedicated alone time, not caring about dress—in fact if they could wear the same couple of things every week, that would be just fine, very analytical and very careful about making a decision, speaking directly and in fact bluntly, and not needing sex as much.

Now nobody is 100% one or the other. I think I know a couple of folks that are about 90 and 10 though. The book is fascinating. And it gives really specific examples….you find yourself going, "That is totally me…wow, is that why I do that?” You start to analyze your past relationships and failures and come to some realizations. You even start looking at your friends who are in relationships to determine which type they are. I highly recommend it. It totally opened my eyes.

Schooled 'Em!

2006-02-23T00:04:00.000-05:00

95-71!

Is this for real??? First of all...had a major brain fart and totally forgot to watch the game. What is wrong with me? I had been looking forward to it...

The Heels absolutely crushed the Wolfpack in Raleigh....who could have predicted that? Can't believe I missed it.

Latest from iTunes

2006-02-22T00:24:00.000-05:00

If you are into the iTunes thing you may find this interesting......

According to Cynopsis.com

NBC's new drama series Conviction from Dick Wolf will be available on iTunes -- two weeks before it's debut in primetime. And no buck-ninety-nine for this one -- it's a free download, available starting right now.

Interesting...using iTunes to create buzz for a show before it hits the air. By the way, I wonder how the whole advertising thing works with that? Anybody know? Do companies attach ads to their shows as well?

Speaking of advertising....

And, ESPN has begun making available via iTunes some of its Sportscenter ads, ads which some might say are the funniest and most clever promos on television. A half dozen are on iTunes as free downloadables.

Also quite interesting. I wonder if the networks are able to track the demographics of who is downloading what through the Apple user accounts.

Hmmm....just might have to check some of this out.

Priorities

2006-02-20T20:57:00.000-05:00

You know the other day, I got asked something that I find I inevitably get asked by most people that I don’t know too well.

Casual acquaintance with mouth agape and incredulous expression:

What???!!! You don’t have cable???? What do you have???

My response:

A TV with an antenna.

Why is this such a shocker for people? I mean really. I just don’t have a need for it. It’s pretty much a monopoly. The cable company forces you to buy just about every product they offer by bundling every channel known to man into one price per month. I mean there are so many specialized channels out there for every possible niche market, I don’t see how anyone could possibly watch from it all. I really just don’t watch enough TV to make it worth my while. And not only that, I am afraid if I were to get cable that I would waste way too many hours just trying to find the channel I am looking for. I will admit however, that I do wish I had ESPN, but even then only during college basketball season.

Ok, I gotta run. It’s time for the Bachelor...

Tar Heels win at Wake 83-72!!

2006-02-19T16:11:00.000-05:00

Great game today! Reyshawn Terry had a fabulous game in his home town of Winston-Salem. Very close throughout....but the Heels came through down the stretch.

Next up: NC State on Wednesday

March Madness on the way....

Welcome to the town of H!

2006-02-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well. The town of H has become a part of the world of web. This is a big deal indeed. A big deal because in general, I am the type of person that talks a lot about doing something, considers the options involved thoroughly and continues to consider those options....ok rethinks the options stemming from the options....all right you get the idea....I never actually act on my musings. Hopefully, this becomes the first step down a new path for myself (or at least fun for a little while, right?)

First, let me explain the name...it's a nickname of mine that I acquired, here in Virginia Beach. As many of you may be aware, there is a neighboring town in the area called Portsmouth which has been affectionately dubbed P-town. And who knows how it started. But one day, my friend Michael just started calling me that. That is 'H-town.' And I kinda dig it. My first name, Hanan, begins with an H and he just kind of decided to start calling me that.

Nicknames are a funny thing. In Egypt, where my parents are from, everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE has a nickname. They often seem to have no connection to the person's original name. For example my cousin Caroline's nickname....Kooky. Doesn't translate too well over to the English ya know? Lord only knows where that came from. I had another nickname when I lived down in North Carolina and was working at the NBC affiliate. The folks there seemed to have a hard time with how to pronounce my name. The only similar sound they had heard was down at the local chinese take out "Hunan Chicken." And so I was affectionately dubbed that. Oh yeah...I would walk through the newsroom and hear "Hunan Chicken" screamed out on many a busy news day. When I moved to Virginia Beach, a friend Geoff, at work wanted to nickname me something...so I mentioned the 'Hunan Chicken' nickname and he then dubbed me 'Dixie Chicken' since I was from the South....which then morphed to 'The Chicken.' At any rate, I am sticking with H-town until some other affectionate label is bestowed upon me.