hipmtfn: i am a healthmonth sponsor

money well spent ... for healthmonth (over here), i'm sponsoring someone. i've decided to sponsor someone who i know will complete the month because i am plannin' on havin' a l'il ben n jerry's ice half-baked with her!

thou shall be called ... half-baked because this can remind her of her goal!

tuesday's trend ... meanwhile, in return, i'm simply asking half-baked to help design and promote tuesday's trend in cubeopolis.

every tuesday, a fashion trend or theme, decreed by half-baked, will be adorned by cubesters - completely voluntary and wholly just because.

and as a side benefit, we'll figure out ways to infuse some fun and creativity along the way. then in turn, i'll snap a few pics, collect a few stories, and include them as part of my (re)cubeopolis exploration.

welcome to healthmonth half-baked!

food stuff for the cubeopolis winter gala ...

lunch me some veggies ... our cubeopolis team's contribution for an upcoming potluck is vegetables.

not breakfast ... no bagels, donuts, muffins, or pastries. (or pancakes)

my go-to source and inspiration ... one recipe (or maybe two) from the amy sedaris i like you: hospitality under the influence fun-tastic book. for each alphabet letter, i selected one recipe.

eeny, meeny, miny, moe ... the following are my pseudo-random recipe selections based on the index. if you have the book, i've included the (page number) and the section in {brackets} of where the recipe is listed. if a veggie recipe was not listed, i picked one, anyway (for non-gala fun). if a letter was not listed, i googly-bingd.

• A is for ... artichokes au gratin, jennifer's (p. 129) because cheese is everyone's friend (except for those who don't eat cheese). {hospitality in action: grieving}
  
• B is for ... baked sweet potatoes or yams (p. 241) because i know this may not make the list if someone else selects sweet potatoes. {jackpot recipes: misc}
  
• C is for ... carrot coins (p. 57) because it sounds REALLY easy. {hospitality in action: a rich uncle comes to visit}
  
• D is for ... rum punch dazzler (p. 262) because my friend piragua posted something on face book about this rum - DonQ Gold - and it's not like i can't make this some other time. {jackpot recipes: misc}
• E is for ... egg and lemon soup (p. 260) because it's the only E recipe listed, i'm sticking to my little rule, and i already know i won't be bringing soup. {jackpot recipes: misc}
• F is for ... fennel and arugula salad (p. 183) because they are vegetables, but i'm thinking other cubesters are tasked with bringing salads. {hospitality in action: and rabbits}
• G is for ... green beans with toasted almonds (p. 118) because see B and because i have sliced almonds still sitting around. {hospitality in action: opening night}
• H is for ... hot nuts, gina's (p. 131) because it's not a vegetable but sounds fun and easy. {hospitality in action: children}
• I is for ... icy dessert (p. 170) because who doesn't like dessert? (maybe i'll add a vegetable. see B.) {hospitality in action: price chompers}
• J is for ... there is no J, therefore, i'm going with jell-o and will choose from the kraft food jell-0 on-line source if J makes the top 5. {n/a}
• K is for ... kourambiethes (p. 232) because i don't know what it is, i want to learn how to pronounce it correctly, and i'm going to guess it doesn't have vegetables. (note to self: make it anyway as part of washing it down with see D - assuming kourambiethes is not a beverage). {jackpot recipes: the cavity hole}
• L is for ... lentil soup (p.259) because i know i am not going to bring soup, anyway (see E). {jackpot recipes: misc}

• M is for ... mashed turnips (p. 241) because i love how amy has this indexed under M and not T (see B, D, H, and what's up with I?). {jackpot recipes: misc}
• N is for ... nonny's rice (p. 240) because the other option involves cockles and clams. {jackpot recipes: misc}
• O is for ... oven-roasted vegetables, dad's (p.242) because it sounds simple and i'm guessing there is something interesting (or not). {jackpot recipes: misc}
• P is for ... peas and onions, gloria's (p. 45) because see C. {hospitality in action: t.g.i.f.}
• Q is for ... there is no Q (see J), therefore, i googled "quick vegetable" and chose quick moroccan vegetable couscous (from epicurious over here) because it sounds simple and tasty. {n/a}
  
• R is for ... roasted vegetables, dad's oven- (p. 242) because see O. {jackpot recipes: misc}
• S is for ... somemores, gimme (p. 165) because i know it's not about vegetables, but i'm gonna make it anyway (for myself and others who will enjoy 'em)! {hospitality in action: gypsy}
• T is for ... toast on a stick (p. 164) because see C (and yes, i know it's not a vegetable). {hospitality in action: gypsy}
• U is for ... there is no U (see J and Q), therefore, i googled "uruguayan vegetable recipes" and chose pascualina (from cooks.com over here) because it has spinach. {n/a}
  
• V is for ... vulgar barbecue sauce (p. 206) because i love the name (lots). {jackpot recipes: fowl}
• W is for ... whipped potatoes with turnips or garlic (p. 194) because the other option was white bean soup (see L). {hospitality in action: cooking for one}
• X is for ... there is no X (see J, Q, and U), therefore, i left it at i got nothin'. {n/a}
  
• Y is for ... yorkshire pudding (p. 237) because two of the remaining three involved cake and the third one was yogurt spaghetti. {jackpot recipes: misc}
• Z is for ... zuchinni fritters, paul's (p. 128) because it's the only Z recipe. {jackpot recipes: grieving}

side bar: section titles where recipes are listed include - grieving, misc, a rich uncle comes to visit, opening night, cooking for one, opening night, children, price chompers, the cavity hole, fowl, gypsy, t.g.i.f., and rabbits.

lunch you some veggies ... i will ask a few cubesters (and anyone who leaves a comment below) -

• select the top 5 choices from the above
  or
  
• a random (or not-so-random) 10 letters of the alphabet.

time's up, pencils down ... of the top 5/10, i will make the final selection - unless one recipe (or letter) is overwhelmingly selected over others. (and that, i doubt. really, i doubt. just sayin')

now ... what to wear for the gala?!

getting my design fix ...

vicariously ... on-line (and when i lived in san diego, thanks to tanya at artefact for my fix). just a few thoughts for now.

the art of the shiv (dangerous beauty) ... back in 2006, that's when my love affair with design observer (over here) started. after looking at eleven images of various shivs (slideshow) and bopping around design observer, i became hooked. i believe it was just that i could feed my interest in design - public space, home stuff, typography, non-engineery-geek-stuff.

side bar: sometimes when i think shiv (or shank), i am reminded of a friend who was in calipatria. (my friend? yes, he committed a crime or two.) you ask, "cali-wha ...?" the center for land use interpretation (over here) lists calipatria's maximum security prison (over here) and has this to say about visitor info:

"Like most prisons, it can be visited through proper channels, by either arranging a press tour, having relatives to visit there, or by commiting a crime. Public roads surround the facility, which is said to have a high-voltage electric perimeter fence. On Blair Road, northeast of downtown Calipatria."

the glass house conversations ... i suppose i came across the glass house conversations (over here) because of a @designobserver tweet some time before summertime '10. from the website's about seciton -

"The Conversations website extends this tradition. It investigates what makes a conversation. Blending the boundaries of inside versus outside, public versus intimate, and host versus guest, it’s intended to extend the Glass House conversations to a more public forum. Each Monday, a host posts a provocation. People have only five days to respond. The boundaries of the conversation are set to just one week, ending on Friday evenings. After comments have closed a “Final Word” is chosen from the replies."

provocative discussions, indeed ... i've enjoyed reading through the discussions. often, many discussions are not directly related to my cubeolopis, but every once in a while, there is a discussion that does have some cubeopolistic bent. this happened in august.

shortly after an "all hands" meeting to showcase accomplishments and recognize cubesters during an awards ceremony, one of the conversations - do you think it is more important for leadership to value transparency or clarity? - piqued my interest. and then are other conversations that cut across any discipline - if you had to choose between a pencil, a knife, or a hammer as the only tool you could ever own, which would you choose and why? and interestingly enough, this week's conversation is a topic that also has piqued my interest - are millennials forging a distinct new design ethos? will catch up with some cubesters and see what they think.

side bar: i am contemplating starting in cubeopolis a glass house conversation style group - enviromental-related discussions.

risd (rhode island school of design) ... for obvious reasons (over here). and the president of risd, john maeda, is tweeting @johnmaeda, and he blogs at creative leadership (over here).

ahhh ... fix is good.

(tweets, shiv, barney, calipatria, glass house, cubeopolis, creativity)

second chance season ... epi 3

the fashion show ultimate show ... finished episode 3. last week's quotable was maybe david's "i love vagina." unfortunately, i already deleted the program and am not going to review clips for a t-shirt-type-quotable. i did, however, enjoy isaac's "You know what? I've never done drag in my whole life because I'm, like, such an ugly girl." it was that or iman's yip-yap with calvin - "You're problem as a designer is your problem as a person—you don't know how to edit yourself."

• david dust ... david's on a week hiatus with thanksgiving fun. i will be in a bit of withdrawal until next week. (click the image to the right for dust's the fashion show ultimate collection posts)
  

• project rungay ... tom and lorenzo are quite prolific with their commentaries and insights. (click the image to the right for TLo's the fashion show ultimate collection posts) just want the epi 3 related posts - over here (and T LOunge for epi2).
  
  • monikers - tbd.
    
  • little gem - tbd.
    
    
• racked ... liking racked's top 10! (click the image to the right for racked's the fashion show ultimate collection posts) epi 3 "misinterpreted femme fatales, lots of drama, calvin's tears" recap with the top 10 moments - over here.
  
  • moniker - none.
  • little gem - "Nami without Cesar produced a cohesive collection of black and white looks; Emerald a nightmare of garish synthetic crap with key holes and leather and lace and shocks of purple and orange on a black backdrop."

until the next dvr'd episode ...

hipmtfn: sunday surfing - reverb10

reflect & manifest ... reverb10 (over here) is being added to how i pass my time for now!

found this site while doing my sunday surfin' and am very excited because reverb10 dovetails very well with kit's clean your closet, change your life and what i've done over the past years with your heart's desire.

what it's about (from reverb10's website) -

"Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. The end of the year is an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10, we'll do both."

choose to participate - check!

twitter - check!

email daily prompts - check!

i'm in.

f|break: sunday morning

one or two night-stand ... whatever-the-stand, whenever-the-stand, whyever-the-stand, and whoever-the-stand, let's just hope one didn't get mouth herpes (aka merpes). as a jaded excuse instigator of precursor to the confession merit-badge proclamation "i-have-a-hangover, i-can't-believe-i ...", a one- or two-night stand can happen anytime, perhaps, let's say, uhm, after work before a long commute or during a lunch break, right?!

enjoy a fiber break of less than 2 minutes of
a woman's perspective on one night stands (over here)
from asylum's emily*

"it's our vagina's way of saying ... you'll do."

didn't head to "over here"? then go - for quick, entertaining, and informative reading material on this subject. for the lazy ones, here are the links in emily's post - enjoy!

• the two-night stand - guys explain why they didn't call you back
• girl talk: the two-night stand
• jim jeffries offers up a gent's guide to the one-night stand

(1503)

*(emily = my newest addition
to my security blogkets!)

f|break: saturday morning

comedy ... still enjoying comedians. matt braunger is a comedian (over at his site here, comedy central here, and twitter here), whom i have seen on and off. and for whatever reason, after a friend of mine was talking about google-stalking-obsessive-surfing-lonely-must-find-searching, i thought of one of matt's bits.

enjoy your fiber break with matt braunger
of ~8 min (over here)

"... awkward ... watch uh brokeback mountain ... with my dads ..."
"your mouth tastes of scotch"
"i grew up in portland oregon ..."
"6 of us ... 6 copies of the white pages ... two funniest names ..."

f|back (dec '08): blast from the past ... shylock revisited

thanks old friend ... stalking reconnecting is good. the initial go-to places? google, facebook, linkedin, and (likely not via land-line) telephone. (yes, i've had a few friends find me simply by calling mutual friends. go figure.) two decembers ago, anna found me after learning there are at least a hundred gals with my name on facebook, and i'm on linkedin. and thanks to facebook, anna shared her wonderful pics of her recent vegas elvis wedding. congrats on your marriage!

(repost from 12/18/08)

i LOVE pigdog (as evidenced in this post over here).

HOWEVER, second to pigdog ... is kelly - the jack russell sleeping here with the punching nun. (kelly, you ho bag ... in a precious way, though. right?!)
(SIDE NOTE: just as i have done so with pigdog - kelly has been proudly posted on my fridges of days gone by AND currently resides on my current fridge.)

why bring this up now? ... because a blast from the past, kelly's "mom" - who nicknamed me shylock (and i don't remember why) - stalked and found me on linkedin. (it's been nearly 15 years, i'm guessing, since we last hung out after she left SD.) needless to say (perhaps), i stalked her on fbook and found her.

presuming the world isn't THAT small ... i'm fairly certain the 7-8 folks who actually follow this blog will not recognize the other 2 gals in this photo below (...taken some time in '93 or '94 - oh my!). i barely recognize myself!!!
BUT - - - if you do recognize the other two gals ... certainly let me know because then the world TRULY IS SMALL. well, that and i'll (we'll) have to figure out what exaction i (we) may want to pursue if either of these chicas are intending to pursue a political career of sorts. just sayin' ...

thanks rainbow-glasses-shylock-naming old friend for stalking me!
you have certainly made my week.

looking forward to further "catch-up" talks & e-mails!

hipmtfn (ttAR): thanks to tyler for sharing his ...

... top secret AR support team exposed ... for the ease of work colleagues and friends to visit as part of their security blogkets reading material and journey through (or out of) cubelopois, take a stroll through tyler's post about his l'il 20 support team members in his top secret AR (advance riskology) support team (click article title to read on tyler's site). as he shared -

"This isn’t just for me to say thank you and it isn’t just for them to hear it. It’s also for you. If you’re taking a risk in your own life and need a support staff, this list is a good place to start. You don’t need to ask them to be part of your circle, just start paying attention to what they have to say. You’ll learn a lot."

(note to self - revisit for mining posts from tyler's support team to answer random magic 8 ball Qs like the one for pho queen and for a friend experiencing dream zappers.)

until the next AR moment ...

a late '70s turkey chuckle

wkrp ... remember Cincinnati WKRP back in the late '70s and early '80s? (more on imdb or wiki) and the infamous turkey thanksgiving give away promotion -- with characters big guy arthur carlson, les nessman, venus flytrap, herb tarlek, andy travis, dr fever johnny caravella, jennifer marlowe, bailey quarters? well, a f/b friend posted a shorter clip of the below fun - here's a little more to chew on ...

enjoy this turkey day ~ 7 minute break
during today's thanksgiving celebration- join the crowd (over here)
"now the crowd is .. the crowd is, uh, curious but well-behaved"
"oh, the humanity!"

Happy Thanksgiving - WKRP Turkey Drop - kewego

"... It's a helicopter, and it's coming this way. It's flying something behind it, I can't quite make it out, it's a large banner and it says, uh - Happy... Thaaaaanksss... giving! ... From ... W ... K ... R ... P!! What a sight, ladies and gentlemen, what a sight. The ‘copter seems to be circling the parking area now, I guess it's looking for a place to land. No! Something just came out of the back of the helicopter! It's, uh, a dark object, uh, Perhaps a skydiver plummeting to the earth from only two thousand feet in the air. A second, a third! there's no parachutes yet. Those can't be skydivers... I can't tell just yet what they are, but - Oh my God, they're turkeys!! Johnny, can you get this? Oh, they're crashing to the earth right in front of our eyes! One just went through the windshield of a parked car! Oh, this is just terrible! The crowd is running around pushing each other! Oh, my goodness! Oh, the humanity! People are running about! The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement! Honestly, folks I don't know how much longer... the crowd is running for their lives."

(see the full episode ~ 24+ min on over here on hulu)

"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!!!"
-- Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson, WKRP in Cincinnati

little steps toward branding in cubeopolis

a brand "... is a promise - which must be delivered upon consistently with every interaction." this was shared with me and several other women back in november 2009 at a very fun, intense, and fruitful workshop. the workshop has stuck with me, and i believe that branding (especially in cubeopolis) can help a person determine if a person's target audience is cubeopolis ... is WHO i'm for (my customer/audience) and WHAT i do (my service) really about cubeopolis? can i refine my message? am i focused about WHY i do what i do? what are three words to describe HOW i do what i do? what are three words to describe WHO i am? ... is cubeopolis really who i'm for?

workshop fun ... "turning ideas into brands - a workshop for inspired women" is the creation of christie harper of brand endeavors - a one-day workshop about brand fundamentals where she asks 5 questions for participants to answer and to present - answer's that serve as one's brand platform. she describes her workshop as ...

"This workshop is designed for women who are early-stage entrepreneurs, or who are considering how to bring their various business, creative and social ideas to fruition. In this full-day workshop, you’ll work with other women to explore your ideas, ultimately creating a brand promise that brings purpose and focus to your most compelling idea, whether it is a professional or personal pursuit."

when i took the workshop, i was flirting with the idea of creating a business or of becoming involved with an existing endeavor that would not conflict with cubeopolis and that would support my natural interest in helping people with their professional development and doing well by the environment. the other option - reviving and repositioning my previous consulting practice. as a result, i came out of that workshop with a business idea still needing a bit more clarity, a reminder to update my qualifications, a decision to develop my brand within cubeopolis - mostly as a transition to whatever the horizon brings, and a decision to stay put for the time being.

one year later, stuck on me ... christie's workshop continues to stick in my head. it was transforming, and the women at the workshop were inspiring. and although it has been a year since taking this workshop, i remembered this morning about her blog post a brand with a plan because a friend in cubeopolis will be interviewing for a couple of positions in cubeopolis. my response to her a couple of days ago was something like a bunch of words essentially conveying that there are a couple of questions one can ask one's self - to differentiate what one has to offer - branding and positioning are ways to approach it. not necessarily new concepts but something new to my friend.

personal branding ... several months ago, a colleague at work (aka cubester) expressed frustration about feedback of how she was perceived by some managers. i think she rocks; one manager was kinda meh. what came to mind at that point were christie's workshop and two books i had about branding. a book on personal branding by robin fisher roffer - her book titled make a name for yourself - 8 steps every womon needs to create a personal brand strategy for success (over here). my friend picked up robin's other book - fearless fish out of water (over here) - and loved it. (i haven't yet read this recent book.)

the brand gap ... several years ago, i picked up marty neumeier's the brand gap (over here), which i really like and revisit from time to time. essentially, brands are defined by individuals - it's what individuals say a brand is. below (or over here) is a basically a good chunk of his book (from slideshare). and although it's not directed specifically at a person in cubeopolis, it is relevant and related to personal branding.

The Brand Gap

View more presentations from coolstuff.

(dots: cyccyl, books, categories, coach, cubeopolis positions, l.a.g., branding)

f|break: mid-week pre-holiday morn

gilligan's island ... my brother and i watched gilligan's island religiously after school when we were kids. over the weekend, one of my fave episodes - pass the vegetables please (over here) - came to mind while i was doing my CYCCYLn. it is an episode about gilligan finding experimental radioactive seeds ... carrots, spinach, sugar beets, artichokes, green beans, ... would love some of that sugar beets energy!

enjoy a mid-week break of ~24 minute

"... let's make believe we have a fire."
(love the abbot & costello-ish banter between the skipper & gilligan!)

f|back (mar '06): eco-sphere mitch renamed connor

holiday gift december 2005 ... several christmas eves ago i received an eco-sphere from todd. originally there were four that were promptly named. within 3 months, there was only one. mitch, renamed connor, made it from san diego to the bay area and eventually died in its on squalor in mid-2008.

(repost from 03/11/06)
this is mitch - originally named after the gymnast mitch gaylord because this one looked like he did some acrobatic moves on the branch. he is my pet.

this is his eco-sphere small pod digs.

there were three others whom I named pee-wee, mariah, and todd. when the pod arrived in my Jan 2006 mail.

they died ... in the order i listed them.

if mitch lives long enough, he will travel with me to my future BA digs.
i have decided that mitch will sport a different name after the ReLo to the BA.

connor, from the highlander

... because as we all know,

"there can be only one"
-connor macleod.

(here him speak to you at http://www.tk421.net/gallery/sounds/one.wav)

p.s. back in 2006, other suggestions to rename mitch included: spongekabob shrimppants, krill bill (vol. 1), codfather, jumbo, chris t. sean. (thanks floyd.)

f|break: sunday morning

the elements song (aka periodic table) ... yes i know who daniel radcliffe is, no i haven't read the harry potter books, yes i studied chemical engineering, no i haven't watched the h/potter movies (yet), yes the ideal gas law is my friend, and no i do not know the elements song by heart (yet).

enjoy a fiber break less then ~ 2 min (click on image below)
with daniel radcliffe on bbc's the graham norton show

"There’s antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium,
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium
And gold, protactinium and indium and gallium
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.

There’s yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium,
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium and barium.

There’s holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium
And phosphorous and francium and fluorine and terbium
And manganese and mercury, molybdinum, magnesium,
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium
And lead, praseodymium, and platinum, plutonium,
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium,
Tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium,
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.

There’s sulfur, californium and fermium, berkelium
And also mendelevium, einsteinium and nobelium
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper,
Tungsten, tin and sodium.

These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard,
And there may be many others but they haven’t been discovered."

bonus: a nifty periodic table - animated periodic table.

second chance season ... epi 2

the fashion show ultimate show ... finished episode 2. last week's quotable was "oh, here go hell come" and this week's may be david's "i love vagina." nevertheless, following the lead from epi1 (over here), here is how epi2 shook out ...

• david dust ... always THE clever-est and funnest read for recaps. (click the image to the right for dust's the fashion show ultimate collection posts) his episode 2 "just another dramatic asian queen" recap - over here - it's quite often about his monikers, little quips, clever quotes, and all around fun.
  
  • monikers - hathead mike, "straight" david, team vanity syx, team emerald psychos, house of screaming banshees, Team CalJeffCinNessaEtc, mt. calvin, House of Cute Papis Plus That White Girl Minus The MadHatter, House of Constant Bickering, House of STFU Already.
    
  • love the references - NotAtlas, NotMood, NotParsons.
    
  • little gem - "Basically it boils down to this: Tamara’s dress was ASS, and Calvin’s personality is ASS (how’s THAT for a recap?)."
    
  
  
• project rungay ... tom and lorenzo are quite prolific with their commentaries and insights. (click the image to the right for TLo's the fashion show ultimate collection posts) just want the epi 2 related posts - over here (and T LOunge for epi2). i do agree that epi 2 is keeping my interest.
  
  • monikers - red rum twins, little morris day, team menudo, house of emerald sux.
    
  • little gem - "It's just that Cesar's a sweetheart and Calvin's an angry attention whore."
  
  
• racked ... enjoyed my visit here. liking the snark so far. (click the image to the right for racked's the fashion show ultimate collection posts) epi 2 "the douche craps out, the drama queen gets shifted" recap with the top 10 moments - over here. (totally warming up to this top 10 list that racked does)
  
  • moniker - the LA asshole (david dust's hathead mike).
  • little gem - "hyper-literal collection of shiny blood red Christmas card portrait dresses paired with a litany of asinine boleros"

until the next dvr'd episode ...

f|break: saturday morning

mike & molly ... this t.v. romantic comedy series is part of the chuckle moments during the week. and with the 3-hour time zone difference between my friend jen and me, jen posts memorable quotes on my facebook.

enjoy this morn's ~ 2:30 min
fiber break between getting stoned
molly & her sister victoria over here

"dead people are just like us ... except they're dead"
"... hey you made grandma look like a whore"

(bonus link: previous episode over here)

cal bears ... GO! (please. PLEASE.)

today's garb includes my

purchased during college in the 80s
vintage t-shirt

f|break: midweek fiber break

just jack! ... or jack 2000. regardless of how i remember jack mcfarland - LOVE JACK. LOVE. JACK! recently reminded of will & grace on one of my recent visits to david dust's blog.

enjoy your midweek fiber break of less than a minute
with jack of will & grace over here

Jack: Hey, friends, lovers, mothers, and other strangers. You’re never going to believe what happened to me. Oh, my gosh! Did you see that? I almost did the half nelson. I almost bruised my delicates, my delicates, my domo arigato Mr. Tomatoes. Huge news! I have met— Are you ready for this? Mr. Right. Well, Mr. Right-Now, anyway. Ba-da-bum! Good night, folks, I’m here all week. Jack 2000! He works over at the Jumpin’ Java. You know that coffee shop on 72nd? And his name is Paul. He is cute with a capital “Q”! And the busier it gets, the hotter he gets. And the hotter he gets, the sweatier he gets. And the sweatier he gets— I forgot where I’m going with this, but the point is… Me likey he, and he likey me. And the best part is— Shazam— he gives me free iced coffee every time I go in, which is every hour on the hour. Thank you very much! And occasionally on the half hour! Bah-da-da-da-da! Blblblbt!

magic 8-ball feeds us

cesar (or césar españa) ... part of shattuck's gourmet ghetto, this tapas-serving restaurant was gadgetman's magic 8-ball's selection of "all signs point to yes."

(bocadillo - manchego + greens)

more about césar (and here on yelp) and as stated on césar site -

"césar combines freshly made tapas (spanish small plates) with a large and thoughtful selection of fine wines, beers and spirits."

this past monday night's dinner at césar was a bon viaje for my friend's upcoming departure for a quick trip to spain.

safe travels gadgetman!
(don't forget my spanish comic book!)

use the word irregardless and he WILL cut you ...

(picture from march 2006 in san diego)

todd and i met back in 2000 ... he is THE todd in my fiction-ish story over here. (go on - do read it ... good times!)

we met when todd was a server at a fave san diego restaurant of mine. after we crossed paths at san diego's ken cinema after the margaret cho movie - i'm the one that i want - (on imdb and rotten tomatoes) ... shortly after that, he became my friend, trainer, business colleague, sushi buddy, atlantis-story-teller, and big-meat-telephone-caller.

although todd and i occasionally chat and text, i do miss todd's in-the-flesh snark, big-fancy-dictionary words, wit, and wisdom. for instance, several years ago, while i was telling todd one of my dating stories, he enlightened me about my date's ... ahem ... excuse. todd learnt me that "... "it" does NOT shrink in girth and length when a guy loses weight!"

when i saw this recent article top 100 pet peeves of servers - take your free online dining etiquette test now, i immediately thought of todd! of the 50-100 listed, as todd shared "my top (bottom?) five: 49, 28 (one-timers), 18, 16, and 32!" and here they are -

• If you are rude, do not expect us to extend you the same service as other customers around you. If you are mean, short, or have a history of not tipping … you are immediately put towards the bottom of my list of things to do (I won’t refuse you service, even though it is well within my rights to, but I will make sure everyone else has everything they need at tables around you before I give you a second glance)
  
• They ask for salt. When I deliver, they ask for another plate. When I deliver, they ask for another napkin. When I deliver, they ask for an extra glass. When I deliver, they ask for another menu. When I deliver, etc etc etc.
  
• Snapping.
• When I am clearly talking to another table and you glance up and see someone trying to get your attention or even worst, they ask you for something while you are helping another table. Also if they don’t interrupt they just stare at you. Crazy as it sounds, servers can feel you staring at them waiting to finish talking to your other table. Relax; we’ll be there in a sec.
• Name dropping. If you’re really that cool, you don’t need to tell me, I already know. Humility, the new black.

fun times!
(hey, todd - wanna have dinner with roberta?!)

as my friend shared this afternoon ...

... about her best friend and husband, he ...

"... passed on to the next life today 11/14/10 at 12:15pm. He's loving us all from where he is, and i've asked him to wait for me..."

and so i shared with her (and others) ...

"kelly, i am truly moved to tears. i am very humbled by your strength and the love surrounding you. i love you dearly."

picking up some PARSley and pausing for reflection

(this post started with the intention of being a real-time-ish, snarky-bit of the annual ritual of self-proclaiming one's fabulousness. however, as i was stream-of-consciousness writing, i am now pausing it until continuing later this evening because of this.)

pars-ley defined ... a play on the word (by andy) before this morning's farmers market routine. it is not just about the literal green stuff used for recipes but also about the figurative-ish green stuff (i.e., money).

1. (noun from merriam-webster): a European biennial herb (Petroselinum crispum) of the carrot family widely grown for its finely dissected curly or flat leaves which are used as an herb or garnish; also: the leaves;
   
2. (noun from entrepreneur): (my attribution of the "figurative parsley") An analysis of an employee's work habits undertaken at a fixed point in time to determine the degree to which stated objectives and expectations have been reached;
3. (noun from andy): an annual cubeopolis ritual of show and tell;
4. (verb from girlnutkin): the act of planned procrastination to prepare for an annual cubeopolis ritual of show and tell.

PARSley or just PARS ... it is a simple acronym for performance appraisal review system - the end of the year thumbs-up or thumbs-down show and tell dance in cubeopolis. (remind yourself from the performance reviews fiber break in late october) however, this morn, i have renamed it as people are really servants - lemme explain y'all.

real-time PARSley-ing ... i will blog as i PARSley, so I can at least stay focused and finish(!). while watching people navigate the farmers market crowd and smiling politely at people in the coffee house, i spent the morn and am spending this afternoon at the wi-fi coffee house prepping my pars - a series of paper work exercises - a self-assessment, a plan for my professional development, and my transmittal cover memo.

sunday morning thing ... i usually stroll the farmers market in campbell (or sometimes palo alto, oakland, or wherever) to purchase produce and flowers, to people watch and listen, and maybe to pick up more food-stuff at whole foods down the street. this morning's campbell jaunt had an added touch. as andy reminded me early this morning via text - PARSley. (i have been remiss.) so here's how i am parsley-ing out my time ... time stamp START: 10:37 AM

• ~2+ hours spent making relatively minor revisions to the one-page declaration of next year's career goals and objectives (aka updating my professional development plan)
  
  • and an added ~1+ hour sprinkled-in catching up on facebook, security blogkets, twitter, and new and old/vintage music
  time stamp END: ~ 1:16 PM
  
  
• ~1+ hours spent composing 1 of 6 parts of my multi-page declaration of fabulousness and of kick-ass-i-am-the-shiznit
  
  • ~30+ hour sprinkled-in catching up on more facebook, listening to all things sade, and reading tweets
  time stamp END: ~2:30 PM
  

... and then i came across the very sad news of my friend's husband, who died this afternoon a couple of hours ago.

PARSley is on hold for now.

three search words ...

baroque + ruben + fluevog =
today i devirginized my fluevogs ...

because i get bored am curious ... i occasionally (re)stalk check who may purposely or accidentally be misled to my blog come upon, be redirected to, stalk, and/or visit me at girlnutkin. and this blog exists mainly as a place for me to (re)direct my energy, share chatter in my head or of the day, and/or have a little soap box (so thanks to those who visit).
how's that for totally not trying, mr. SEO?! ... only bummer of this little share ... the visitor didn't exit via one of three external links - joanne's love of her fluevogs, or thanks to andy - crushqueens, or pedal stomp. (go!)

meanwhile, visit here the
REAL BAROQUE RUBENS

f|break: sunday morning

toonces ... the driving cat - was actually a reference andy worked into cubeopolis about 2 weeks ago. (GOOD JOB, ANDY!) memories of SNL and victoria jackson.

this morning's fiber break is a 3-parter (if you want some bonus fiber): a ~ 3-min video clip for your real morning fiber and then the bonus includes a ~10+ min video clip of v-jack at the tea party's 2010 tax day rally and a link to v-jack's love letter to glenn beck.

enjoy your fiber break
for ~ 2-1/2-min with toonces without a cause (over here)

"look at the way he comes his hair?!"
"i hate to say it but i think toonces is involved in stealing ..."
"toonces, LOOK OUT!"

bonus (long fiber) clip: ever wonder what's up with victoria jackson? i haven't, but i remember a year or so ago i saw her on a news show supporting and praising glenn beck. and then some time earlier this year, i remember hearing she was at a d.c. rally speaking among other actors/actresses.

with the power of google and the internet
- read v-jack's love letter to glenn beck and
watch (or just listen with it in the background) a ~ 10+ minutes fiber break

"... the constitution made easy - this little booklet. and it says you can ..."
"in my 2 year education on politics ..."

anyone want to rescue the ukelele?