Wife, comic nerd, gamer, professional, reader, blogger, pet owner, friend, sister, aspiring HR pro, office manager. What am I? What am I not?

Monday, September 29, 2008

National Coffee Day!

I was planning to write a post on my lack of perfection and why I *might* be okay with it, but then I heard that it is National Coffee Day, so obviously I had to post about coffee.

I love coffee. It makes me feel good in the morning. There is nothing better first thing in the morning that a smooth cup of black coffee. When I have time, I love to curl up with my laptop and coffee and browse the interwebs. I find it extremely relaxing.

I'm not sure when my affair with coffee began. I think that really it was sort of a right of passage. I started to feel I was being treated as a grown up when I got to start drinking coffee. Which is, of course, a little ridiculous because I was a young teenager. But it's all about the feeling, right?

Anyways, Happy National Coffee Day to everyone! How does coffee affect you?

Monday, September 22, 2008

Trusting Your Significant Other

Recently on Twitter, ABKing twittered a question, "Love Byte- Is it ever okay to break into your significant others' email, you know, like, if you think they're cheating on you?" I was inspired to write a post based on that. Check out my post over on my Married Life blog! Let me know your thoughts!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

I'm a PC . . . and I Love This Commercial



Eat that, Apple! (Even if I do love the iPod, I still love my PC.)

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Let Them Play Ball!

So, Adam Schefter (of NFL Network) reports in his blog that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is cracking down on illegal hits. He even went so far as to suspend "Buccaneers cornerback Elbert Mack one game for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Atlanta rookie quarterback Matt Ryan." Is this good or bad?

Goodell has distributed a memo to all teams that is required to be read or distributed to every player tomorrow. In part, his memo reads, "Player safety on the field is important to all of us in the NFL. Football is a tough game and we need to do everything possible to protect all players — offense, defense, and special teams — from unnecessary injury caused by illegal and dangerous hits." (http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/09/18/goodell-getting-tough-on-illegal-hits/) Good. That's what the rules are designed for. Nobody wants to see someone get hurt.

But there must be a balance. This is a somewhat slippery slope. Football is a full-contact sport. Everybody who plays professional football is aware of that and of the risks involved. Rules are in place to prevent excessive roughness, however there must be balance in enforcing the rules. Penalties change the course of a game. Is it really fair to not only enforce a penalty during a game, then also suspend a player for an entire game? Isn't it a little early in the season to try to establish a pattern of behavior and punish a player based on it?

What are your thoughts? When is enough, enough?

Friday, September 12, 2008

Blog Tagging

So here's the deal. Laurie Ruettiman has tagged me to post 6 random things about myself. She says they don't have to be interesting, just random. You've been warned.

1. Fall = Pumpkin Spice Lattes to me.
2. I love to play Madden NFL 09 on the PS3.
3. Every weekend, my husband and I play American Idol karaoke. We're awesome.
4. I make the best chili in the world. The WORLD.
5. I hate realty TV, but cannot live without Project Runway.
6. I have a Venom plush toy which my husband bought me at Comic-Con on my bed.

Ok, so now that you've been bored to death, I have to tag 6 more bloggers. They are:

1. Godemperorofnerds.
2. Jamie Harrop.
3. Mike Doe.
4. Kimberley Schmahl .
5. Rachel.
6. Jenn Barnes.

Hopefully I haven't tagged anybody who was already tagged. If so, sorry dudes! Remember that if you don't do it, Laurie and I will hunt you down. They won't find the body. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. :-)

Oh, one more thing. Here's the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

How 9/11 Changed My World

I didn't live in New York. I didn't have family there. I wasn't in business when it happened. I didn't go to public school. I was 14 in 2001. Outwardly, nothing changed for me. But inside, many things did.

I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness (I am no longer one, having been disfellowshipped). My parents were extremely strict and sheltering. I was homeschooled. I did not know anybody who was not a JW. Everything I did centered around the religion. I spent at least 70 hours a month preaching, I went to church three times a week, I studed ahead for church, I atended church functions. Religion was not part of my life, it was my life.

I remember that morning very clearly. I was getting ready to go preaching. Someone was going to pick me up at home and I was going to be out all day. I had finished showering and was walking through the living room on my way to eat breakfast when I glanced at the TV, and saw the first plane go into one of the towers. I was shocked. I stared at the TV for what seems like forever. My mother was calmly sitting on the couch eating cereal. When she saw my reaction, she nonchalantly said, "It's ok. Don't worry about it." I continued to stare and could not believe what I was seeing. Who had done this? Why? How should I feel about it? Jehovah's Witnesses are supposed to be neutral to politics, peaceful, not have an opinion or get involved.

I had to leave to be on time for a church meeting before preaching, so I left. In the car all day that was all that was on the radio. Businesses were closed. Some of the schools closed. I wanted to scream and cry ask what was going to happen, but I couldn't. My religion wouldn't let me. Instead, I went to people's doors, trying to share a Bible verse to "comfort" them. Mostly people were apalled that I was at their. There was no comforting that day.

That's the day my feelings about my religion had changed. Until then, I had blindly followed, trying to please my parents and everyone I knew. 9/11 was a wake-up call to me. How could I follow a religion that would not fight for it's people? If there is a cause worth fighting for, wouldn't it be to protect our homeland? If there is a time where it's ok to stop everything and feel the pain of the person next to you, wouldn't it be then? Instead of only feeling grief for the Jehovah's Witnesses that died that day, shouldn't we grieve for everyone? Not only those that died, but their families? Shouldn't we grieve for those who didn't die? We used the events of that die to try to preach to others the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses. To try to say that our beliefs were better. But they weren't. We weren't really helping anyone, not even ourselves. I was preaching to people about a time when everyone might live forever, but that day I had realized my own mortality. That my religion did not guarantee my life. And that I was being pushed in the wrong direction.

This is not a great story like others have written today. This is not a great memorial to those that died that day, or those that have died avenging them. Nor am I saying that religion is bad, or even that Jehovah's Witnesses are bad. It's just a story of the turmoil that day caused within a confused kid. That day began a long chain of events that has led me to where I am now, a happy, healthy person with her own opinions and views.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

A New Undertaking

If you follow me on Twitter!, you've seen me tweet about something new that I'm involved in and very excited about. I've recently gotten involved with the Invisible Youth Network. Our slogan is "Advocating for America's Youth," and we focus on helping youth get off the streets and assist those that are. The media has estimated that there are nearly 4,000 homeless youth in San Diego alone.

Although headquartered in San Diego, California, Invisible Youth Network is a national organization focusing on helping our youth. Our belief is that one more day makes a difference in these kids' lives, and can truly make all the difference. Not only do we want to assist youth on the streets, but we want to help prevent them from being there in the first place. Although the reasons for their situation may vary, we can all do a part to help them.

What can we do? First and foremost, we must spread awareness. Many people aren't even aware of the situation these youth are in, let alone thinking of how they can help.

Please visit our website to find out more about who we are and how you can get involved.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Football

Ok, deep breath, say it with me, "FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!!" Who is not excited? Well, probably a lot of people. But the rest of us are all over it. I love football season. I get really into it. We've joined a fantasy football league, so the games are so much more interesting. Even if my team (the Bengals) or my husband's team (the Cowboys) isn't playing, we still have a vested interest in most of the games. Sunday's spent cheering on our teams, eating nasty food like chips and dip, drinking beer (gasp). What could be better?

Along the lines of football, but slightly unrelated, we picked up Madden '09 for th PS3 this week. I have to say, Madden is back to it's incredible self. There are a few glitches on the Xbox 360, but all the strange glitches from last year have been removed. It's time for some football domination!

And in about five months I'll return to my usual, sane self. Stay tuned!