Guess what?! We can take the counter down! Because as much as I love the concept, I am not crazy how it says “…she returns in 0 days.“
Updates from March, 2010
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Now that I am one (small) step closer to life as I knew it...
Emilily
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Back...sort of
Emilily
One tag goes around your neck, the other on your boot - that's how they know who to return the feet to.
So here I am in A-School! I could complain about the middle-of-nowhereness of Meridian, Mississippi, but I am really just thrilled to be anywhere besides bootcamp. The highlight of my week was watching a DVD and eating M&Ms until I was (almost) sick of chocolate – it sounds boring, but it was wonderful. Seriously.
I start classes next week, and shortly after that should receive my next orders, so I’ll know where I’ll be spending the next ~3 years very soon!
Okay, enough about all that. Not that I have any other news…oh, and sorry for the short iPhone post – I did go to the computer center this afternoon, but had to spend the whole hour catching up on The Sartorialist.
Will write more soon!
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Ahhh, sweet freedom...
Carmen
Well, she made it. Emily is now in Mississippi but I received her last letter from boot camp only yesterday. For your entertainment…
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A thank you...
Carmen
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23 days to go...
Carmen
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More bootcamp goodness...
Carmen
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Letters from weird places
Carmen
Well, at long last I have a letter to share with this lovely blog. I surely do miss posting stuff, but it just wouldn’t be the same without Emily to comment back. She wanted me to apologize for her bad handwriting but I find it charming. Please see her letter below…
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And the countdown begins...
Carmen
As all of us are having a normal day today and going on to have a normal day tomorrow Emily is off to embark on a true adventure. She’s off to bootcamp to train for the Navy, to get challenged in body and soul. I feel like I’m getting a little melodramatic but its kind of a big deal and if I can’t get serious about this then what can I get serious about?!
As a tribute to her decision and strong will there are (at least) two people who have told me that they are planning to challenge themselves physically while Emily is at bootcamp in the hope of supporting her from afar. Frankly, I’m “challenged” all the time so I’m just going to keep on keeping on (except I’ll be dealing with the extra added bummer of not being to talk to Emily for a while). So, if anyone would like to add their support in any way feel free to explain yourself in the comments section.
While Emily is gone I’ll be scanning and posting her letters, keeping us apprised of her weird world that she’ll be joining. Its also possible that I’ll be doing a little posting here and there if I just can’t help myself. Other than that we’ll be counting down until she returns…
66 days left (give or take)
C+E
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bye!
Emilily
I’m off!Yikes.
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Instead of using the phone...
Carmen
We should probably discuss the fate of this blog right here …on the blog. For all of you just joining in on the conversation – Emily is joining the Navy. Yes, thats right, at the ripe age of …well, whatever, not 18. She has gone through all the preliminary process and the last step is getting on the plane to go to bootcamp. Strangely, they do not allow blogging at bootcamp. I know, weird. They don’t even allow phone calls! *cry* And this final step of getting on a plane to funtimes bootcamp happens in … 2 days *more cry* So I propose we put this blog on hiatus until we can both participate at full force, whenever that may be. Everyone who comes to this blog during its hiatus is still welcome to comment on anything and everything and you will still reach a wistful Carmen awaiting the return of her friend. *sob!*
Does that sound like a good plan Emily?
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where in the world is carmemily?
Emilily
ok, it’s been sooooo long, I had to make a post, even though I have nothing much to talk about except for maybe some of the exciting things I am doing today, like going to the mechanic, listing my car on Craig’s List, and doing my taxes. Fun. Also, I am in the process of upgrading my adobe products, and so cannot post any new photos. To make this post more interesting, I have included a picture of my camping trip to Joshua Tree this past fall. Actually, I haven’t posted any of these pictures, and I’ve done some editing work to a few of them, so here they are…oh, crap, the files are too large, I am crippled without photoshop.
Huh.
I’ve been slacking on my fashion sales sites, K Dukes is not inspiring me, and today’s news – the earthquake in Haiti – is tragic but not controversial…I’m at a loss. I guess I could just post a bunch of pictures of my cat doing cute things with a hackey sack…or not…hey, what’s everyone else doing right now?!
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What a joke...
Carmen
So, these are on sale today on Gilt and I’m just floored by the balls these people must have. And I’m floored by the gullibility of the people who buy this. I mean, somebody must be buying them or they wouldn’t be in business right? Anyways, apparently if you put these on your face you won’t get pimples and it will reduce wrinkles, depending on which one you use. Officially:
“Using superior technology developed by NASA, the Baby Quasar works by stimulating the natural production of collagen in the skin, thereby diminishing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and enlarged pores. Extremely effective in firming and toning the skin and increasing blood flow and circulation, the Baby Quasar uses 24 LED’s in four discrete wavelengths of red and infrared light.”
This is pure bullshit. And even if it wasn’t and by some miracle the light from LEDs did something beneficial for my skin I’m not going to pay $500 bucks for it! I’ll just go rub my face in the christmas lights! Cmon people, this isn’t the 1920’s! Actually the 20’s were better, at least they were advertising for things that worked – Coke! Delicious and refreshing! (Yeah it was, cause it had cocaine in it), Stay slim with your very own tapeworm! (hey, you will actually lose some weight. In fact, I’m gonna go get some tapeworms right now and start my new business! “Lose weight by meeting my little friend!”)
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back!
Emilily
I’m in Oceanside now, at my grandma’s, and we’re finally wired again! We had to buy a wireless router today – it was the only solution, since being offline for the next 8 days is not really an option.
Unfortunately, I cannot think of anything interesting to post about at the moment…
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planning for the future...
Carmen
In preparation for our next blog entitled “How to be More Like Kristopher Dukes” I went and bought some of this stuff, I’ll let you know how it goes:
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oxymoron of the day: Fox News
Emilily
Sometimes when I am at the gym, they have Fox News playing on the TV in the locker room. They also have the TV mounted on the ceiling, with no volume or channel controls in sight, so I have to quickly change my clothes while singing a little song I made up called The Fox News Song. It goes “la la la la la I can’t hear you la la la la....” Unfortunately, the other day, in between verses 17 and 18, I heard about this guy, I believe he is a Senator, named Inhofe, who has formed something called The Truth Commission. My details are sketchy, because I was still trying to not hear the first half of the story, but apparently, The Truth Commission has made it their mission to debunk climate change. I’m all for challenging commonly held assumptions, even if they do appear to be based on massive amounts of statistical data, but I have two issues with The Truth Commission.First, it is composed of three members – one of them is Inhofe, the other was some guy who’s name I did not recognize, and the third member was, and I quote, “…a secret.” Aside from the fact that we’re supposed to believe a three-member commission of politicians has discovered the truth* behind global warming that scientists around the globe have apparently got wrong, isn’t it contradictory to have a secret member in a truth commission?!
Second, even if I were to somehow accept that they are promoting a truth so infallible it need not rely on the credibility or identity of its proponents, what’s with their name? I think they are trying to emphasize a direct contradiction to the movie An Inconvenient Truth, but they gave up on coming up with anything clever and settled instead for the obvious, PR-equivalent of I-know-I-am-but-what-are-you. If you’re trying to contradict something, you usually pick words that are antonyms or exaggerated forms of the opposition’s title, and then use them in a clever way, so that the opposition can tell you are mocking them, rather than just trying to ride their publicity by using their name as a front for your own hair-brained idea. Here are some suggestions I think they should consider: The Convenience Commission, The Real Inconvenient Truth, The Commission On Climate Staying The Same And/Or Changing But Not From Man-Made Causes, or Team Petroleum.
*In case you were wondering, the truth about global warming is that “...it is a liberal-inspired hoax, intended to wrest control of world energy policy and wealth from Western countries so the United Nations can have its way.”
Damn United Nations, damn Western countries hoarding all the wealth from all that oil…oh, wait…
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Remember when...
Carmen
Val Kilmer used to be hot? What happened Val? Please get a personal trainer and stop breaking my heart.
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State Street Christmas trees from my phone with tiltshift
Emilily
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speaking of hair...
Carmen
Do you think this lady looks like a lesbian? Not that there is anything wrong with that. However, I am trying to not look like a lesbian but my hair is growing out and I need a good in between cut. I really like this cut but I’m afraid if I got it I would look like a lesbian from the 80’s. I think my end goal cut will be this last picture.
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nice package
Emilily
So yesterday (yes, this is a banked post!) I was standing at the water cooler, chatting with two of the engineers from our office (I know, how cliche) and we were talking about what snacks and beverages we were going to have in our booth at next week’s trade show. We always have Red Bull, water, Hershey’s Minis, and Quaker Oatmeal Bars. Sometimes we have a keg on the last day of the show. The staff is pretty evenly divided between those of us who snack on the oatmeal bars and water (me, about 89% of the time), and those who consume the Red Bull and candy, but everybody likes beer! Another thing we agreed on was that we really need to try some of those energy drinks with the alcohol already in them – not because they’re going to be any good, but because they are horrifyingly fascinating. I’m going to equate them to shooting a gun – there is great potential for bodily harm, but despite one’s better judgment, curiosity wins out. (Speaking of not listening to one’s better judgment, it was also at a trade show that I tried one of those 5-Hour Energy drinks and had an incredibly bad reaction to the toxic levels of niacin it contained.) But back to the alcoholic energy drinks…is there any other (legal) substance that can give you a buzz and keep you up for the next 24 hours? (That was a hypothetical question, but the answer is: NO, and for good reason.) So, with my opinion of these so-called beverages as nothing more than highly toxic sludge improperly marketed to teenage binge drinkers firmly in place, I hopped on the internet and did a little research. And the result? I totally have to try this. Why? Not because my opinion of alcoholic energy drinks has changed, but because I like the packaging.
So how much of a sucker am I? There are four pictures below. The leftmost two are energy drinks currently on the market, one called Sparks that looks like something a 15-year-old might be able to score at his/her local 7-11, and one by Monster featuring new Nitrous Oxide technology. Technically, I think this one may not have alcohol, and I don’t think they’re trying to imply it’s like a shot of espresso and a whippit; I believe they’re just trying to give their disgusting, foul-tasting brew the foamy frothy consistency of beer on tap. Somehow I am offended by the mere fact that they are trying to improve this crap. Now, for the next two. The first one is called Mojo, and looks like one of those anti-oxidant infused water bottles you might find at Whole Foods. All of a sudden, I am not bothered by the fact that it is 7% alcohol and has 2.5 times the caffeine as the equivalent amount of coffee. It’s French, and comes in three flavors: Tropical Fruit, Star Fruit, and Dragon Fruit. ‘Nuff said. The next one (far right) is a concept drink called Tagged, and the smooth, matte aluminum bottle makes me pray the proposed state ban on alcoholic energy drinks doesn’t nip this pretty baby in the bud.
xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxOn another note, I found Mojo and Tagged through a Google image search which led me to a great blog called Dieline, featuring what else but package design! It was just a happy accident that through a post about my complete and instantaneous lack of free will when faced with a nice package that I stumbled upon this website, but it pretty much reads as a shopping list for…everything. I mean, look at this wine bottle! And these tampons…seriously? A non-repulsive tampon box? The only way that box could be improved upon is if you could also use it to bludgeon people. And, last one I promise, this rum bottle looks like it was designed by the same lettering artist who did that Wired article on pirates.
Dude, nice design just makes me happy, and gives me hope for humanity.
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Humboldt Honeys
Emilily
Well, my Halloween was a complete bore (I spent all day/night cleaning my old apartment) but it looks like my little brother had fun!
For future reference, you can always identify a bona fide Northern California drag queen by the pit hair and choice of footwear.
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everything looks better in tiltshift...
Carmen
This is a sister post to the one you did earlier on the TiltShiftGen app. Everywhere I look I keep thinking it would look better in tiltshift. I just love how it saturates everything and brightens it all up. So, for you viewing pleasure…
The view outside my work window… The remnants of a delicious chocolate cake from a great place called Bar Jules… And the GG bridge at sunset.
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we've come a long way, baby....not
Emilily
Dylan forwarded me this link he received from one of his married buddies. To Dylan’s credit, his email was titled “Stupid Idea” and I like to think the only reason his friends were forwarding it is because they, like me, were mocking the sad state of affairs it hints at.
I was inspired to write a testimonial to these people, but then discovered that their “Read What Other People Are Saying” section was not open to public posting, so I’ll share it with you instead.
Dear National Men Make Dinner Day Organizers,
I actually think it is a great idea…but only because your website provides a forum for women to meet other women who have married men so pathetic and lazy that they require the motivation of a fake national holiday to get their fat asses off the couch and learn how to use a can opener.
On second thought, after reading your Recipes section, if some poor woman’s knuckle-dragging mouth-breather of a husband is going to make her ONE meal, and she requests a pecan-date (and mayonnaise) cheese ball…well, maybe the lucky domestically-challenged Mr. will earn enough points that she’ll put on something from Frederick’s of Hollywood circa 1982 and they can have 1.3 minutes of sex.
Sincerely,
Anonymous, from the 21st century, U.S.A. (p.s. it is nice here, you should visit sometime) -
Yard Sale
Emilily
412-A West Sola Street
So I had that yard sale like an entire week and a half ago, but I had planned on doing a post about it, so I was taking notes all morning. Here’s how it went, along with a picture from the scene of the crime, as viewed with my back to the street. The little cottage front and center is where Dylan lives, the main house to the left has tenants (four 19-yr old girls), the studio above the garage behind the main house has a tenant (another college girl) and the studio above his place has a tenant (a Presbyterian Orthodox pastor.)
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since I have nothing else to report today...
Emilily
…here’s a conversation* I had with Dylan last night as we were sitting on the couch watching TV and Mick was sitting on Dylan’s leg trying to eat his blanket:
*I’m using the term conversation loosely
E: Hey, remember when we lived together and I always wanted a cat?
D: [silence]
E: And now here I am, living with you, and I have a cat.
D: [silence]
E: Do you think it will be funny, having me live here?
D: [silence]
E: Aw, look, how cute, Mick is grooming your ankle.
D: Define funny. -
I'm back!
Emilily
Holy cow! Where have I been, you ask? Well, for starters, incredibly busy with work and moving, and second, I infected my office PC with the virus of death, and it has taken three days to rebuild, so I have been cut off from the ENTIRE WORLD (or, at least, the internet.)
When I got this virus, the first thing I did (well, after aiming a barrage of expletives worthy of any sailor at the computer) was look at K Dukes 411-Spyware blog, and sure enough! I found my virus. Unfortunately, her recommended fixes did not work, perhaps they were outdated or the virus had evolved – basically, her solution involves accessing the task manager or your registry via safe mode, neither of which the virus will allow you to do. Either way, for your information, if you ever get the virus called Security Tool, the best way to fix it is to 1) throw away your infected computer and 2) buy a new computer. The other alternative is to enlist the help of the entire tech department at your office for three days to rebuild your PC, reinstall your software, reestablish your network and VPN connections, and make jokes about how you shouldn’t download porn at work. (For the record, I was looking up a recipe for rainbow cake, which I am going to make this weekend, but that sounds so harmless it was followed with jokes about how I needed to learn how to lie better.)
Anyways, as you can see, I am back online. I have so much to post about! But first, important question – should I buy this? It’s on sale at Amazon for $119. I realize that seems like a lot of money for a TV series from 1997, but it is all 10 seasons…54 discs…9,900 minutes of pure sci-fi bliss. That’s 72 cents per hour of entertainment. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that. However, it comes in this retarded-looking boxed set that basically screams “beam me up Scotty cause I plan on never getting laid again.” -
Carmen
I was checking out these Photos from Russia taken in the early 1900’s when color photography was just being invented. I love all the photos, especially this one of Austrian prisoners of war near a barrack, near Kiappeselga in 1915:
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Emilily
Have you seen K Dukes today? It’s time for me to try one of those matcha green tea soy lattes I believe…
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chicks on spaceships
Emilily
Ok, I was a little intimidated by the 317 hours of SG-1 and SG-Atlantis I was going to have to watch to catch up to the current season, so I skipped right to the pilot episodes of SG-U. (I did read that entire Wikipedia article you linked to in your post, so I do feel somewhat educated on the franchise.) Now, I know that because I have been watching BSG a little longer, my loyalty might cause me to be slightly biased, but I think we need to discuss the role of women in both of these shows.
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this weekend
Emilily
Geez, I have been sooooo crazy busy this week and last! So much work, board meetings, UK execs in the office all next week, and I am trying to pack up and be moved out of my apartment by the end of the month! Whew. If I make it through October without losing my mind it will be a miracle.This is what I am doing on Saturday – I’m throwing a yard sale! I’ve posted it three different places on Craig’s List, and I’m going to nail these signs all over the neighborhood tonight. There will be donuts, and most likely some really weird customers. It would be way more fun if you were here for it!
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Speaking of apps...
Carmen
I also downloaded the TiltShiftGen app which allows you to take a picture and then render it to look like you are looking at a miniature mock up of the real thing. It works really well and the photos look super cute. Go get it! You will like it!
(i did not take this pic btw)
