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ARCHIVES : JANUARY 2003

FRIDAY / January 31, 2003

> You know how the medical people come out with studies that say eggs are evil and nuts are good and eat more bran and drink wine....and then they change their mind and reverse everything they previously said? well, i'm ready and waiting for the day when they decide that you don't really need to drink 8 glasses of water a day and that drinking water is bad for you and you should keep it to a minimum. i guess there's something wrong with me, but i can't stand to drink water. I just don't like it. (yeah, yeah, i've tried it with a squeeze of lemon and all that) I know that i should drink it anyway, and for the most part i do what they say, but i'll do ANYTHING to not have to drink water. ugh.

Naturally, you are wondering what I drink instead? well, i try to keep the soda and tea to a minimum. If i'm really thirsty, i generally reach for the gatorade.

Water is on my list of things that i wish that i liked. Beer and Coffee are the other items. Every month or so, snail shoves a beer or a coffee in my face and says, "here, try this." He always says that as if its the first time he's making me try it. I roll my eyes, take a sip, make the obligatory 'that-tastes-nasty' face, and we go about our day.

WEDNESDAY / January 29, 2003

> The new and improved Modern Museum of Art in Fort Worth is open and it looks stunning. I can't wait to get up there to see it.

"The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth's new building, designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, opened to the public on Saturday, December 14, 2002. The Modern is located in Fort Worth's celebrated Cultural District, directly opposite the Kimbell Art Museum, designed by Louis I. Kahn, and near the Amon Carter Museum, designed by Philip Johnson. The new Modern Art Museum is Tadao Ando's largest project to date outside of Japan. His design, which embodies the pure, unadorned elements of a modern work of art, is comprised of five long, flat roofed pavilions situated on a 1.5 acre pond."

Both Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth have some *fine* museums.

TUESDAY / January 28, 2003

> We rewatched Attack of the Clones last night. Here's my uncensored low-brow analysis in brief bulleted points:
1. very annoying, yoda is
2. can't take C3PO seriously since hearing the star wars christmas album. "bells, bells, bells"
3. LOTR is better than star wars
4. gollum is better than yoda
5. young boba fatt is a punk
6. love the asteroid chase scene
7. love the aliens in the town in the ocean where the clones are
8. don't like the silly scene where senator amudala and annakin land in the machine factory -- makes me think of "honey, I shrunk the star wars characters."
9. love the name "captain dooku"

> Now that i've had so much hot chocolate that i'm sick of it, i have moved on to hot tea. Chamomile. I would love to keep some honey at my desk to sweeten with, but that would just turn into a bad situation. Someone needs to make honey less messy...honey in solid chunks so that i woldn't have to deal with drippy globby honey.....honey cubes or capsules? anyone?

MONDAY / January 27, 2003

> It was a January kind of weekend: gray and rainy -- appropriate for cleaning and stuff. We moved my computer out of the entertainment room and into my studio. Me and Princess Mitsubishi (her grand television majesty) weren't getting along. Really, it was something I had thought of doing way before the Princess arrived a couple of weeks ago. I simply can't focus on the computer when there's noise and things and distractions around me. Now, I have my own quiet chamber, or space bubble, to operate in.

FRIDAY / January 24, 2003

> Breakfast being one of three meals a day, it seems like there should be way more options under the healthy and savory category. Savory, itself, is limited to eggs, bacon, potatoes, sausage, biscuits/gravy, and am i forgetting something? As much as I love bacon and sausage and gravy, its not very healthy for eating everyday.

For its convenience and availability, the breakfast taco generally saves the day. Its not that i couldn't eat a breakfast taco every morning, its just that i can't really think of anything else to eat. Ok, I guess there's omelets, but that takes some time to put together. There's also the salsa/egg thing, but I haven't lived in texas long enough to get on that train. If you don't want something savory, there's TONS to choose from...you got your bagel with cream cheese, toast with jam, french toast, pancakes, doughnuts, scones, cereal, oatmeal, coffe cake, cream of wheat, cinnamon rolls, danishes, croissants, poptarts.... The list goes on and only a few of those are very healthy.

I grew up eating the following on my way to school: honey buns, pecan twirls, poptarts, toaster strudel, sara lee coffee cake.

THURSDAY / January 23, 2003

> This is really something.

> I got a new tabletop easel and tried it out last night. It took a little getting used to, but i can tell that me and my back and my neck are going to enjoy it. It has a nice feature which allows you to adjust the easel so that the bottom edge of your canvas, goes below the table edge. Its nice when you come across something smart.

WEDNESDAY / January 22, 2003

> Hey Grinch, who's your boyfriend?

TUESDAY / January 21, 2003

> Everyone that likes illustration and design and things that are better than average, should be watching samurai jack on the cartoon network. Its really a great show. I just thought i would let you know in case you had no clue.

> Me and the guy on the other side of the cube wall, (who i don't work with) have developed a solid cordial relationship of saying hello in the hallway. I mean, who are we kidding? he hears me snort ( i try and keep the snorting to an absolute minimum ) and cough and sneeze all day. anyone that puts up with that deserves a smile and a "hello."

MONDAY / January 20, 2003

> Cereal will never be the same in our house. Friday night, I was in the kitchen looking for a bowl because all of ours were dirty. And then I remembered some bowls that were in the freezer, chilling for salads. So, I made my cereal in the chilled bowl and it was divine. I'm not messing around any more. No more finishing my cereal bowl with lukewarm milk.

> Its time for me to buy an easel for painting. I'm thinking about a table top one. When you work with watercolor, working on an angle really isn't an option. But, now that i'm using acrylic...and now that my neck and back are getting sore and crampy...Its time. I hope that it won't be hard to get used to, but i can't continue to work in the hunched over position that i've become accustomed.

THURSDAY / January 16, 2003

> Things are quiet.

> I want to start bringing my lunch again. Eating out every day just isn't reality. There are some things about bringing my lunch (the baked-on stinky microwaves for instance) that I don't care for, but i won't get into that right now. I brought lunch today and went up to heat and eat, only to hear the sounds of the new foozball table. What was once a potentially peaceful place to have lunch (aside from the multi-tvs) is now akin to Dave and Busters without the loaded potato skins.

> You won't read much about music on this site, but Digable Planet's Blowout Comb is a fine cd.




TUESDAY / January 14, 2003

> I was reading the real red riding hood story over the weekend. I had no idea that after the wolf eats granny and hood, that a hunter comes along and cuts the wolf's belly open saving them both. Then, they fill the wolf's stomach with stones and sew him back up and when he awakens, he's too heavy to move and falls over dead. Most of the Grimm tales don't have such a happy ending. You can find other Grimm tales here and read about their lives here.

Less popular is the story of The Mouse, The Bird and The Sausage. (spoiler warning: "But the little sausage stayed so long on the road that they both feared something was amiss, and the bird flew out a little way in the air to meet it. Not far off, however, it met a dog on the road who had fallen on the poor sausage as lawful booty, and had seized and swallowed it.")

Rumpelstiltskin was always one of my favorites. I like this part at the end after she finds out his name, "...."The devil has told you that! The devil has told you that," cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went in, and then in rage he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two." Ouch.

> Silvershoe and I journeyed to Whole Foods for lunch today in order to enjoy the nice day by eating outside on the picnic tables. As we walked up to the beverage selections, I began looking at the Honest Brand Bottled Teas (after all, they don't sell dr. pepper because its eveeel). I've tried their tea before and it was pretty enjoyable.

"You know I wish these people would do a sweeter tea."

And lo and behold, we saw Sweet Leaf Sweet Tea. Its delicious and local and sweetened with real cane sugar instead of corn syrup and the packaging is cute.

> It would be ludricrous for me to not mention seeing Tea Towers last night. It was truly awesome. I give it 5 sleepypies. ( sidenote: I know that there are some women who think that Legolas is cute, but, um, there's nothing manly about an elf. Period. )

WEDNESDAY / January 8, 2003

> I love potato chips. Someone brought a bag of Lays for movie night and I was reminded just how delicious they are. Lay's Sour Cream and Onion. Chip Reviewer's Comment: "Depending on the bag you get, it can be a heavenly mixture of sour cream, onion and potato, or it can be a little too salty. But I used to go through a bag of these in one sitting. If you get a large chip, it's quite incredible." Indeed.

I also love Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream and as far as gourmet chips go, I fancy the Terra Yukon Gold Salt and Pepper. Those taste like a baked potato. On the east coast, you can get UTZ, which were always a favorite of mine. Perfectly crispy and not too salty.

I hope one day to join the Chip of the Month Club.

The review of Snyder's Steak and Onion chip is great: "If you took your steak and licked it, that's what these chips kind of taste like."

Check out these Grill-a-Corn Cheese Bacon Flavored (aromatic grilled corn stick). Chip Reviewer's comment on the aroma: "A familiar smell that neither of us could place. It wasn't a bad smell, but not a food smell either."

Snail, these are all you.

TUESDAY / January 7, 2003

> Boring topics of conversation unless you're the one telling the story: moving, gambling, being drunk, the dream you had last night.

MONDAY / January 6, 2003
> If you eat a wintergreen altoids and then drink some dr. pepper, it tastes JUST like root beer.
> "This meal is like a Ferrari!" That was blacksnail's comment about our dinner last night. I bought him (us) some Omaha steaks for christmas and we cooked them up last night along with some mashed potatoes and some fresh baked (not made) french bread. I have never had such fine steak.
> I saw an interesting kiosk at the grocery store yesterday. Gift cards galore! Speigel, Foot Lockers, Old Navy, Blockbuster, Olive Garden, Nordstroms, etc.

FRIDAY / January 3, 2003

> Buying a wreath storage box and feeling old: $9.99
Having your shit together: priceless

THURSDAY / January 2, 2003

> Wow. I just realized that today's date is 01-02-03. That's pretty cool and I didn't want the day to end without making note. I bet some people got married today because of that.

> Target has teamed up with Cynthia Rowley to bring us a fun line of housewares called "Swell." They have plastic bowls, platters, and some glass soap dishes and sheets. Check it out!

> I stumbled upon a rather unexpected store, while i was home for the holidays. It was a rubber stamp and scrapbook store. The store was nice and clean and packed with stuff, including a wall o' stickers. If I were 10, i would have surely died. I had been looking for a stamp alphabet set and found one there that I liked and bought it. I used them the other day to make some thank you cards, in combo with my new embossing gun. It works pretty well, except the spacing of the letters is a delicate matter --- it is hard to see the Versamark (clear ink used to adhere embossing powder) impression as you're aligning letters. Also, i think i need extra fine embossing powder to dial the situation in a little better, since the letter stamps are tiny and detailed compared to the hand-carved chunky stamps that i usually use. I think i want to try the Versamark pen, because then I can just draw something and emboss it, rather than doing the stamp carving deal. We'll see. Regular stamping pales in comparison to the power of using the heat gun to transform powder into shiny plastic.

WEDNESDAY / January 1, 2003
> Out with the christmas decorations and in with something new.
> I failed to see LOTR last night. After a fat happy dinner of more shrimp than I could eat and a crisp salad and salmon stuffed pastry things and the perfect baked potato and a sublime coca-cola, we just couldn't bring ourselves to leave the house. By the way, I want to thank god for sending me a man who can cook up a serious meal.
> For some reason, all of the "Best of {fill in the year}" and "{fill in the year} in Review" stuff that you always see around new years....that stuff bugs me. I don't know why. I guess it just seems like an excuse for tv program people to not have to make a new show; they can just rehash all that stuff we've already seen -- as if seeing it the first time wasn't enough.





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