Rock, paper, scissors

I'm not sure if I subconsciously posted my engagement photo on Sept 27th because I knew that was the day before Jonathan proposed to me, or if it's one of those whacky coincidences. Probably a product of whack.

Here's a photo of me hours before Jonathan popped the question. Do I look like I suspect? He looks a bit suspicious.



I doubt I'll ever commit Sept 28th, 2002 to memory, but Sept 29th is forever etched into my memory. Sept 29th, 2002, my friend Greg Whitlock lost his battle with liver cancer. Greg had cancer, and I had a not yet diagnosed form of liver disease. He referred me to doctors, emphathized with my frustrations, and motivated me before each of my biopsies. Greg was my rock.

I remember returning to Athens in the evening, from a relaxing and life-changing time in Beaufort, SC. Before I left town, Greg was doing well. He had left the hospital, and things were looking up. According to an email from his best friend Glenn, Greg was at home, not doing well. I then made the decision I've always regretted - I decided to visit Greg early in the morning the next day. He passed away hours after I made that decision. I was devestated.

If the heaven that Hollywood portrays really does exists, Greg has its residents signing up for Ultimate Frisbee, Softball, and LINUX hacking, cheering on each party.

Thanks to Sherry Neal for the inspiration. If you haven't visited her blog, at least read this beautiful piece: www.sherryneal.com/weblog/archives/000142.php

Goodbye Jeeves

I have to admit I haven't used Ask Jeeves in SEVERAL years, but it's still sad to see him go. I wonder if they'll mark the occasion with Jeeves and a suitcase image.

Ask Jeeves to drop butler mascot

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- The genteel butler that has been Ask Jeeves Inc.'s face for nearly a decade is getting ousted in a corporate takeover.

Jeeves, the slightly chubby and balding English butler, isn't the kind of image that e-commerce conglomerate InterActiveCorp wants representing the Ask Jeeves search engine, according to IAC Chairman Barry Diller. His New York-based company bought Ask Jeeves for $2.3 billion in July.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor conference last week, Diller announced that his company intends to drop Jeeves as a mascot and shorten the search site's name to Ask or Ask.com.

"Not that I don't like that fat butler," Diller said, according to a transcript provided by Thomson Financial.

After Diller's speech, Oakland, California-based Ask Jeeves issued a statement that said that no decision has been reached on what the company's new name will be or when the change will occur.

Ask Jeeves spent more than $100 million building its brand around the cartoon butler during the dot-com boom. The marketing blitz paid for a 70-foot Jeeves balloon that floated over Macy's Thanksgiving Day and 15 million labels of the grinning mascot that were affixed to apples sold in 8,000 supermarkets.

But the butler (modeled after a character in P.G. Wodehouse novels) started to become a liability after Ask Jeeves upgraded its search technology to become more competitive with industry leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

Company research indicated that consumers still associated the butler with the early versions of the Ask Jeeves search engine, which was designed to field inquiries in the form of direct questions -- a technology that delivered inconsistent results.

"This research shows use of the character as the prominent symbol of the brand may inhibit people from recognizing that our search engine has changed," the company said in a statement.

Last year, Ask Jeeves tried to spruce up the butler, introducing a trimmer and more sophisticated-looking Jeeves.

Diller hopes to turn the search engine into the mortar binding together a disparate collection of Web sites owned by IAC and Expedia Inc., which recently spun off into a separate company.

Taken from: www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/09/27/ask.jeeves.ap/

Wowsers

Here is one of our engagement photos taken in Sept 2003. I vividly remember Jonathan purchasing that very shirt. I still consider it one of his "new shirts." Time flies when you're having fun.

P.S. I miss my long hair.

$10.30 vs $5.12

A quick peek into today's inner conflict:

Economically-Spoiled American Jinny vs Sustainable Growth-Support Local Business Jinny

Store: Daily Grocery Store Co-op
8 Organic Bananas: $1.94
2 Locally-grown Organic Broccoli Crowns: $2.40
1 2 quart container Organic Orange Juice: $5.29
Sales Tax: $.67
Total: $10.30

Store: Wal-Mart
8 Bananas: $.80
2 Broccoli Crowns: $1.00
1 2 quart container Orange Juice: $2.99
Sales Tax: $.33
Total: $5.12

Today, Sustainable Growth-Support Local Business Jinny won while Economically-Spoiled American Jinny berated her for spending 50% more on three grocery items.

I guess I could always move to San Francisco where even non-organic food is overpriced at the numerous non-corporate owned grocery stores.

Granted, I'd be living in a box, but at least I wouldn't be obsessing over paying 50% more on choosing to buy organic.

:-)

In no particular order

• Today I paid over $22 for a half a tank of gas. No, I don't drive a SUV. Yes, I am stunned. No, I'm not thrilled. Yes, I will be riding my bike more. No, I don't want to be reminded of how much more expensive gas is in Europe, but thank you anyway.


• Speaking of motor vehicles, I give Athens a big thumbs down as for being bike-friendly. I've ridden my bike to work and Dr. appointments a few times, and each time I've had someone almost hit my air-latent body by their metal-latent !@*%*^!$ (rear-ends). Then to add to my outrage, my friend Emily was actually hit by a car the other day, and knocked off her bike! She's bruised, but alive. If I knew who it was, I'd beat the bloody hell out of their car with my bike. It would be so worth it too. Do you think I would be able to eBay my bike for 10 million dollars as well? Yes, bike road rage does exist. Be VERY afraid.


• I have only one bottle of wine left from my December visit to Europe. I think it's time to go back...


• Although I have several (too embarrassed to admit the actual amount of wine I actually bought) bottles of wine from Napa Valley when Jonathan and I finally made it to San Fran.


• San Fran was grand. I will blog about that eventually, especially about the rabbit. Oh, and I thought Seattle had a huge Asian population...San Francisco was quick to correct me on that. It was definitely a Bugs Bunny dug too far moment whenever I bothered opening my eyes.


• Asia - is anyone as concerned about the bird flu as me? It is rapidly making its way around Asia. Asia is a HUGE chunk of land. I cannot imagine how quickly the virus would travel over North America. Just In case you were depending on the United States government for vaccination, think again. Tamiflu, the only known medication to battle the Avian Flu, is in much demand, and we don't have enough doses for even a quarter of our population.


• October is the month for weddings. Jonathan and I are attending several. We're actually going to miss one due to a conflict with another. Weddings are an odd thing. I find them to be the ultimate psychological study...venue, music, flowers, dress, suits, readings...who needs Myers-Briggs when you can sum of two people in about two hours, food and drinks included. I would be interested in seeing the guy at his wedding. I took this photo at Golden Gate Park.

Canada Welcomes You

Over a year ago, a quirky Canadian tourism website created a funny webpage that gained my attention long enough for me to copy and paste its url and email several of my friends. It actually had a bulleted list of the reasons why Americans should move to Canada, listing legal gay marriage and higher alcoholic content in beer to name a few. Merriment aside, I am tempted to suggest they list "George W. Bush is NOT President" as a pro. I have an actual mental list of reasons (I'm up to 38) why I think Bush is a miserable failure. I've attempted to populate this list with legitimate reasons, instead of hopping onto the stoner bandwagon of, "Bush sucks man!" I would of course share this list with you, but under the guise of the Patriot Act, I may be arrested, feathered, and licked by several feral cats if this list ever left my mind.

I digress...

One day I woke up and realized I was almost thirty. For those of you who are thirty, I see that finger you're pointing at me, and in some odd way, this isn't an insult, so please call back you minion of flying monkeys.

When I was in elementary school, volunteering my mom for cupcake duty, I remember her being thirtysomething, and all of my friend's moms were thirtysomething. Even my teachers were thirtysomething. My bus driver, the florist, the gas station attendant I fondly remember as "Chicken Man," and my many pseudo country "Aunts" and "Uncles" -- all of them were as thirtysomething as that 90's tv drama. Other than sharing similar ages and accents, all of these humans had one thing in common - they ALL had children, therefore, they ALL were ADULTS. In my simplistic attempt at algebra, thirtysomething*stationwagon(children)=adult (For those of you not familiar with a stationwagon, they were the equivalent to what soccer moms across the nation refer to as S-U-V) Despite the mortgage and ability to vote, drink, and rent a car without crying foul, some part of me subscribes to that original equation that adults have children, and thirtysomethings without kids are not adults.

Eek, did I really type that? And how does this apply to Bush being a total failure?

What I'm trying to say in the most verbose and insignificant way possible is that despite my 38 reasons for disliking Bush, I cannot begin to comprehend the multiplier I would have to apply if I were a parent. For the friends of mine who woke up almost thirtysomething and have had children, or are about to have children, I applaud you for being braver than me. I applaud the courage it takes to raise a child among a country that forsakes the beautiful priviledge of voting, and makes the uneducated decision to not vote. Ah, bet you thought I was about to slam those who voted for Bush. Nah, I'm willing to take a leap of faith that those who sport the "W" on their SUV took at least five minutes to learn Bush's stance (ban gay marriage via the Constitution!) before they cast their vote. I'm just disappointed in those who chose not to vote, for it's the only rational reason I could come up with on why we have such a Barney Rubble(Trouble) in the Oval Office.

If I were to wake up tomorrow and the stick was positive, I would faint from fright. Today, my political activism is contained within my John Hancock, inked onto petitions, overheard in an occasional coffee house conversation. I'm not that mother camped outside an infamous ranch in Texas, whose courage is fueled by a motivation I cannot understand. Instead, I am safe in my non-adulthood with my husband and my cat.