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Friday, January 30, 2009

Turns out, he was most definitely full of shit! But it makes for a good story:-)

First of all, he seemed kinda perturbed that his interview was with me and not with someone a little higher on the food chain. He probably thought that he wasn't getting a chance to meet the decision makers or something like truth, almost any one of us has veto-power on new hires to the investment staff. Not entirely, but you basically have to pass everyone's muster.

So...first issue...his resume didn't list his title. That is kinda weird, but if you have been promoted a couple of times, maybe you don't want a separate entry for every job at the same company...I dunno. But, his work experience clearly implied that he was a VP-level person (it said things like "led the deal team" etc...)

Upon asking, I found out that he is not a VP, but is an Associate who will be promoted soon. A little more digging, however, revealed that he was just promoted to Associate recently...I wanna say it was probably within the last six months. That means that he is probably two years from being promoted again. His progression from Analyst to Associate was pretty normal, so I wouldn't expect him to suddenly jump the line and accelerate a whole lot.

Which is why no one knew him...he had worked on the things that he said he did, but our interaction would have been with his superiors, and no one from our firm ever came into contact with him. So, that was his first big strike...he really, really stretched his resume beyond what is usually acceptable.

Second, he was kind of an ass. I guess it would be kind of annoying to have someone clearly junior to you (me) telling you that you don't really have the experience that they are looking for. But, sometimes you have to recognize a gatekeeper when you come across one:-). And mentioning at least three times that you "hope to speak with someone more senior" is not really going to help.

So, I would say that the whole meeting was a little awkward, but not too bad. He could tell that I was on to his exaggeration, and seemed to be trying to talk his way around it. I guess he felt like he just wanted to get into an interview and then could hopefully impress us enough to talk to him. Which means that he was desperately lobbying for a follow-up with someone other than me:-).

I told him that we didn't really have anything for him, which I was told to say, and he probably left feeling like he wasn't given a fair interview, since he didn't meet with any of the "decision makers". However, one of my bosses is sending him a longer email today that is a bit of a more formal rejection...I have been promised to be copied on that, but I haven't seen it yet.

So, that is kinda the whole a minimum, it makes for an interesting interview story:-)

Other than that, not a whole lot going on. Chicken fingers last night with The Boy, Smoking Hot Roommate and The Rocket as always. Munchkin's date with the the dorky kid is tomorrow (they are seeing Verdi, and I am kinda jealous)...right after she talks to Frenchy the Boyfriend. I tell is tough being the popular girl;-)

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it...

I have a really interesting and possibly fun work assignment today...

We don't hire many people. The whole company is less than 40 people, and there is virtually no turnover, so it is rare that we hire anyone at all. When we do, it is an interview process that is probably more invasive than your average proctology exam. At some point, you meet everyone at the company. If you are married, your spouse is going to meet, at a minimum, the five partners and a couple of the more senior non-partners. It takes a while, and it is designed to ensure that we don't make bad hires. Everyone that is hired is done so with the expectation that they will never leave. Ever.

And we find people in a variety of ways. Often it is through the personal and professional networks of the people who work here. Sometimes, however, headhunters will send across a resume that looks interesting.

This happened last week. One of the partners was contacted by a headhunter who said that he had a great candidate...and the resume backs it up. It reads like a checklist of what we would look for in a new VP-level person. Great academic credentials, great work experience, fantastic deal list...etc.

One problem: the partners all think that he is grossly inflating his resume. If it were all 100% true, then they would certainly already know him...he works as a firm that a lot of my co-workers used to work at, and with which we do TONS of work.

Further, he lists a ton of deals that he has worked on, and several are them are things that we were involved (sometimes quite heavily) in. seems sort of hard to imagine that no one here would remember coming across him.

So, I have been tasked with answering one simple question: Is this guy full of shit? I am meeting him today for his initial interview. He likely assumes that he is getting someone a little more senior than me, and will clearly be unaware that I have been prepped with totally loaded questions from my superiors intended to figure out if he is for real at all or not (things like..."Oh, XYZ corp...Bob Jones ran that for you guys, right?" to see if he correctly says "No, it was Bill Smith." Stuff like that).

On kind of this note...I have noticed that the partners often like me to make initial contact with people we may or may not do business with. I think that they like to see how they treat me: they are not usually excited about doing any work with people who don't treat everyone on the staff with complete respect, and starting with the person on the bottom of the ladder to see how they treat her is a good start...and they take the results really seriously.

Anyway, that is what my task is at lunctime interview someone and try to figure out if he is completely full of shit or not. It is understood that a resume will include there is clearly a limit to what is reasonable and what is not. The partners suspect that this guy has gone way over the top, and they have set me on the case to crack him!

I will let you know how it goes!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

What a pain in the ass emotions can be!

Based on the comments on my post yesterday, I think that maybe I implied some things that aren't true. There were a couple of comments about sharing boyfriends or common partners and whatnot...

Just to clarify, my hooking up with her ex-boyfriend is a non-issue. She always knew about that, and it was long before they dated (she hooked up with him in college, too). It would be "prudishly misleading" of me to imply that those sorts of things have never happened before, either:-P. There are no secrets there.

The issue was around his profession of some additional feelings for me, and her not being aware of that. She just felt like it was something she should have known, and I can't really blame her.

I talked to her for a bit last night, and she is considerably less irritated with me. She spoke with him yesterday, and he cleared some of it up, too (plus, it gave her someone else to be mad at...someone she already has some mixed feelings for...took me off the hook!).

So, I think we are good. She is definitely a little upset, and I think she feels like she looked kinda stupid the whole time, which is totally NOT the case. He may have had a little crush on me, but he was nuts about her, and never would have broken up with her if given the choice. I think she gets that now, and understands that his little confession to me was much more cute than it was serious. So, I think it will all be fine... (Munchkin, who only gets some of the details on things like this...hee hee..., has suggested sending her flowers or candy or cookies, which I think is a fine idea!)

Change of subject...

Those of you that check in with gChat and see my updates are likely aware of the fact that Boss Foxy, Big Sis and I had salads and massages at lunch yesterday. Absolute fucking heaven!!! And, we actually got some work done, was not a totally frivolous trip. OK, Big Sis and Boss Foxy did a lot of discussing and I did a lot of enjoying...but whatever, I was involved!

Work has actually been really busy this week, and looks like it will be for a while. Nothing huge, just a whole bunch of small to medium sized stuff going on, so everyone is pretty well at capacity. Actually kind of a good feeling, even though it cuts down on my blogging/chatting time quite a bit. Good thing I can multi-task...'s snowing again...there's a shock. I think this is supposed to be a messy one, 4-6 inches of snow and then a lot of rain and then a lot of freezing. Basically, a whole bunch of "ICK!!!". Makes me want to move up my trip to Florida from the end of February about tomorrow? Or this afternoon... Seriously, this shit is total BS!!!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Full Disclosure

Good morning, peeps! It is still morning, but about 40 minutes...I tell ya, this work nonsense is really cramping my blogging!!! Wassup with that? Aren't I supposed to be overpaid just to sit here and look cute? Why am stuff?

BS, I tell ya!!!

Anyway, I have sort of an issue today. The Body, one of my very dearest friends, is kinda angry with me. Not like super pissed, but she is mad, and that bothers me. (Incidentally, when I call her "The Body", I mean that this is the closest approximation I have ever seen of someone that is built like her).

So, here is the story. It involves a boy that we both went to school with that she dated for about a year after college (I have blogged about this). I don't think I ever gave him a name, but given his adorable red hair, I will call him Opie for now...hee hee.

Opie is a total sweetheart. He is super cute, really nice, really funny and has been a great friend for a long time. It is entirely possible that I hooked up with him a few times in college, which is really not a big deal. I hooked up with most of my guy friends in college at some point...and most of them hooked up with my friends, too. In fact, any time I mention any two people from college, chances are that they hooked up at least

Anyway, maybe three weeks before we graduated, Opie confessed to me that he had always had a little bit of a crush on me. This was not like a super heart-felt "I love you and I always want to be with you" moment, it was just him admitting a really cute puppy-dog crush. That was kind of the end of it, wasn't like he was asking me to be with him or anything.

I am not sure if I thought that I told The Body this or not. I know I told Smoking Hot Roommate, and I guess that I sort of figured I told the rest of them, too. But apparently I didn't. And then I sort of forgot about it...

So, fast forward to a while later...The Body moved back to Phoenix, and she and Opie began dating. This, if you recall, was one of my favorite things I love them both, and love them both together, and I thought that this was just totally awesome. But alas, it didn't work out and they broke up...sad:-(.

This past Saturday, SHR was talking to The Body, and casually mentioned something about Opie's long-time ago confession to me, assuming she was fully aware of all of this. Whether I never told her, or she forgot (or was so loaded at the time that she didn't notice...c'mon, we were three weeks from graduating!), she didn't know. And was none to happy about it.

So, I talked to her Sunday, and she was really upset. I think that maybe she is thinking that this was a bigger deal than it was...that there was a lot more emotion involved than there really was. But she was mad that I never told her when they started dating, and said that it made her feel like kind of a fool that we all had this secret we kept from her. I feel like she is really mis-representing what went on, but I understand why she would be upset...

And it really never even dawned on me to tell her. I sort of thought I already had, and I also had sort of just didn't seem like anything worth telling. But, I can certainly see why it bothers her.

So, anyway, that's my pickle:-(

Monday, January 26, 2009

Why is work interfereing with blogging?

Sorry to be so late in the day...and short (apologies in advance:-D). Busy morning, and I just got to the office after being out at meetings. And lunch...hee hee.

From Friday, I have learned what I always suspected...that I am weirdly obsessed with everyone having their own ring tone. And I picked one for Tinkerbelle, thanks to Laurwilk, who reminded me that I was ignoring a super obvious source of material for her! And I guess that's it on ring tones:-)

Very nice weekend. Went out with friends on Friday, went to Munchkin's basketball game Saturday morning (she didn't play since she missed the last three days of school, but she wanted to go and watch). She was at a friend's overnight on Saturday, so The Boy and I went out with some of his friends, and then tore some serious shit up in the It was a really good night. And morning!

Didn't do much Sunday. A friend just had a baby, so I went over to visit her for a bit and meet the little nugget, but that was about it. And sushi for dinner:-)

And that, my friends, is all I have for you today! Toodles!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Ring Tones!

There are a lot of fun blog activities that circulate the web, and I am making up my own today:-) It should be fun, I think. First, a confession: I love ringtones. That's right, I am a ringtone whore...virtually everyone who matters has their own song that plays when they call me. And I never get tired of the little music snippets I get all day if anyone calls. OK...not "all day"...since I feel like it is not maybe that professional to have Christina Aguilera blaring out of my phone at work...

What I have decided to do is to run through all of my ringtones, and tell you why each one belongs to the person it belongs to. Call it "insight through RAZR" (yes, I need a new phone.) So, here are all of the tones I have in my phone right now.

  • Big Sis: "California Love" - 2Pac. Because it's her favorite song. Yes.
  • Smoking Hot Roommate: "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers. The best song of the decade for the best person of the decade.
  • Munchkin: "Beautiful Day" - U2. I love the opening to this, and it is kinda how I feel when she calls, so it matched.
  • The Boy: "Ants Marching" - Dave Matthews. A) He loves Dave Matthews. B) Its about regular everyday living, which I like the idea of.
  • Twin Sister: "I kissed a girl" - Katie Perry. Yea, I am that obvious.
  • Papa Bear: "Satisfaction" - The Rolling Stones. The music fits him.
  • The Body: "Hey Ya!" - OutKast. Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor!
  • The Mouth: "Dirty" - Christina Aguilera. Cause it ROCKS! Like her!
  • BFFb: "Breathe" - Faith Hill. He hates that this is his ringtone, because it is super gay. But it was the first song I heard after the most important thing that ever happened with us, so it will always stay.
  • BFFg: "Freshmen" - The Verve Pipe. Old song, reminds me of some old times.
  • The Brain Surgeon: "Green Eyes" - Coldplay. This used to be Big Sis's, but he objected. That is what you get for objecting! It is now his!
  • Boss Foxy: "Girlfriend" - Matthew Sweet. She picked this, and I like it. The opening guitar riff makes a great ring!
Non Blog-named friends:
  • J : "Ticks" - Brad Paisley. Love this song!
  • J (2): "Since You Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson. Oh yea, I have sung this as loud as I can in bars at 1:00am several times.
  • J (3): "Toxic" - Britney Spears. Britney's best work, by a mile.
  • A: "I want it that way" - The Backstreet Boys. Because no one would be more excited if they made a huge comeback.
  • C: "Smack My Bitch Up" - Prodigy. And whenever she calls, I kinda want to start a bar fight. Weird...
  • K: "Living on a Prayer" - Bon Jovi. Same rationale as J (2).
  • M: "In da Club" - 50 Cent. Because I can also wrap in bars.
  • S: "Hot in Heeere" - Nelly. Ditto.
  • E: "Somebody told me" - The Killers. A tribute to a boyfriend of hers leaving her for another man. She finds it moderately humorous.
  • T: "She loves me" - The Stallionaires. Oh yes, Real and Chance from VH1's myriad dating shows have a band...and they have songs...
That is pretty much all of them. I have some others that I think are not assigned to anyone right now. Also, Tinkerbelle doesn't have one! I think she should...any suggestions?

This was fun! I am hereby suggesting that you all do it! Um...can I tag everyone?

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

In case you didn't catch my late update yesterday...I had a funny exchange with Laurwilk yesterday about Munchkin's illness. Laurwilk mentioned that she used to get sick all the time when she was a kid, until she got her tonsils out, and then it got better. That obviously leads to a question...and the realization that I had no idea whether or not Munchkin still had her tonsils. OK..."no idea" is strong, I feel like I would have known if she had them out, but it was conceivable that it was done during the year and a half that I was sort of out of touch.

I have confirmed, however, that she is in fact still the owner of two healthy tonsils. So, cross that off of the list of things a real Mom would know that I don't;-).

Anyway, she is feeling better, but is still home from school. Her fever came down, but she still has trouble eating anything more than crackers and is still dragging. My guess is that I will keep her home tomorrow and give her the whole weekend to recover...unless she really begs me to go to school. This is so much easier when they can be home alone!

Other than that, there is not a whole lot going on. Chicken fingers are sort of up in the air tonight...we will skip it unless she is feeling much better. I had also planned to meet some friends for a drink after that, but I think I will have to skip that, too. I dunno...if she is feeling better and The Boy is staying in, maybe I will sneak out for a bit. These are girls that I haven't seen in a bit and I want to catch up with them.

Big meeting today where they are outlining the plans for the year for the firm. I have seen the presentation already (I helped Papa Bear put it together) so I kinda know what is in there, but it will still be interesting to see it. And to get people's reactions. There is nothing earth-shattering, but you never know how people respond to even minor changes.

That should break up the day nicely...I have some stuff to do all morning, and then that is from 10:30 to probably 1:30. Then the day is mostly over:-) Hopefully that makes it go by fast!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

One sick little girl:-(

Is there anything worse than sick kids? Munchkin has a really bad flu bug of some sort, so she is home today and I was home with her this morning. She came home feeling bad last night, and then was awake throwing up all night and had a really bad fever this morning. It is just such a helpless feeling to know what kind of pain they are in and not have anything to help them with:-(

I stayed home this morning just to make sure that her fever wasn't rising and to make sure that she wasn't getting worse. She seemed to be OK, so I left her on the couch with two blankets, the remote, the plastic bucket, her phone, tissues, ginger ale and crackers. I think that about covers it, no?

The Boy is going home early so I can work at least half a day...everyone in unison now..."Awww". Actually, we could all maybe send some kind wishes to The Boy and Twin Sister. Kind of a rough week for them with some unknowns, and it is wearing on both of them quite a bit. So...good thoughts, please:-)

I thought Obama did a good job yesterday. Kinda somber, and maybe a bit long for an inaugural, but he definitely delivered. He certainly can turn a phrase...

Sorry for the shortness, but that is all I have for you right now. Gotta catch up for lost time!

[Funny addendum...based on a conversation with Laurwilk. There are things a "real" mom should know. One of them: Does Munchkin Have Tonsils?...Lol...I will let you know tomorrow!]

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Who made YOU dinner?

Munchkin was home from school yesterday for the holiday, which is still a little scary for me. She is old enough to keep herself out of trouble for the day, but I still worry that she will burn the house down, get kidnapped or do something else. In reality she talks to her friends on the phone, watches TV and plays Wii.

Oh, and cooks, as it turns out. She must have been feeling ambitious yesterday, because she decided to make spaghetti and meatballs. Which means that she called our aunt to get the recipe, and did an inventory of the fridge and the cupboards to see what she needed...then she called our neighbor (the sweet old lady downstairs) to ask if she happened to be going to the store, and could she go with her. The neighbor probably wasn't, but figured the walk would be nice, so she took her to the market. Then she made the sauce, and made the meatballs and the house smelled delicious when I got home!

I did tell her to hold off on making the spaghetti because I didn't like the idea of her fooling around with a big pot of boiling water...and it only takes a couple of minutes...but we did that in very short order when I got home. I also stopped and got some Italian bread and salad stuff. Once we put some butter and garlic salt on the bread and threw it in the oven for a bit...voila...! The Boy walked through the door just as we were taking it out of the the oven:-)

And yes, bad Mom that I am, I let her have a glass of red wine with dinner (well, half of one). is the Italian way!

Change of subject...big day today, obviously. I am not sure I remember Bush's first inauguration, and I definitely don't remember Clinton's, but I get the feeling they were not nearly as big a deal as this one is. It is refreshing to see so much interest in civics, although I worry that we have heaped totally unreachable expectations on the man. He certainly projects an air of great ease and comfort that kinda makes people think everything will be OK...but the realities are probably more complex than that.

My hope is that he has the strength to focus only on the things that are really important, and that he may be guided by his own conscience and wisdom in addressing the challenges he faces. I think asking him to solve all of the world's problems is unrealistic...I just want him to lead.

And...did I mention that Munchkin made brownies, too? Maybe she plans on asking me for something big and she was just buttering me up...

Monday, January 19, 2009

Who else wants some snow? We have extras...

Another Monday, another snowstorm, another day closer to retirement! Pretty nice, relaxing weekend...I slept a LOT, by my standards. Friday was brutally cold, and Munchkin wanted to have a couple of friends sleep over, which made for a great excuse to stay in. The Boy went out with some friends, so I spent the night in my pajamas, eating pizza, watching movies and hearing seventh grade boy gossip from the girls. Actually kinda fun...apparently I am cool enough to hang out with them. So I have that going for me...

Saturday was just as cold, I think...see, I wouldn't know, because I didn't leave the house until 6:30 pm:-D. The Boy was nursing a bit of a hangover, and Munchkin had a whole bunch of school stuff to do, so we didn't really feel the need to venture outside at all. She also had her scheduled phone date with Little Annie the French Boy. Again she spent about an hour on the phone, much of it giggling and twirling her hair mindlessly, which says to me that it went well;-). But true to her promise, she said that she wasn't sure about next Saturday, and that they could figure out another time to talk via email. Then she told me that she wants to start taking French next year...ahem...

Saturday night was Smoking Hot Roommate's birthday dinner, and also happened to be the one year anniversary of this, which was sorta nice. We had a really nice dinner (all the girls and their non-French boys, Papa Bear and two of SHR's cousins and their spouses) and then SHR, Big Sis and I, along with the three boys went out to meet some friends for another kinda birthday party. Really it was more of a night at the bar that Big Sis picked up the tab Parties come in all shapes and sizes;-)

Unfortunately, it was too late for Munchkin to come with us (she is usually good in bars until about 10:00, but after that they start to get a little stricter of age and all) so Papa Bear walked her home and got her into the apartment safely. This gets me to kind of an odd subject...she may be getting too old to hang out in bars with us. When she looked 12, it was always's not like she was gonna try and get served, so if it was early enough and there was a group of us, they generally don't have a problem with letting her come in and sit off to the side with us. (Also, led to her being likely one of the youngest people to ever get tossed from a bar...)

But, now she is getting to the age (or, more importantly, LOOKING like the age) where kids try to sneak into bars. And that, I think, will make the door folks a little bit more sensitive about letting her in. I certainly hope not...but I have a feeling it might. 12 year olds are non-threatening...18 year olds are trouble! I guess I could, you know, stop taking her to bars...but really, that is no fun at all!

Anyway, we had a really good time, danced and drank a lot and got home pretty late. That led to sleeping until about 11:00 on Sunday, which was heaven! Since it was snowing like crazy, I decided that it was best to not leave the house again. I was, however, talked into going over to Smoking Hot Roommate's to watch the football games and get Chinese food for dinner...

And I guess that was it for the weekend...pretty good one, I'd say:-)

Inauguration tomorrow...very exciting event, and it is hard to ignore the historical importance of it all. I have had maybe a little too much of the Abraham Lincoln references (seriously, he hasn't taken office yet, and we are going to constantly compare him to one of the handful of great leaders in the history of the Western world? How about some more reasonable expectations...)

Friday, January 16, 2009

Date Night

There are times that I wish I could post things that happen to me just because they are so darn funny. Like, yesterday, after Smoking Hot Roommate left a comment here, she sent me a private email that very nearly made me pee my pants (can you "pee your skirt"?)because it was so funny. But is not blog-shareable, so you will all simply have to assume that it was hilarious and move on...

Yes, I like to tease sometimes:-).

It is officially colder that is really, really cold. The thermometer I saw this morning said 2 degrees, and that seems just about right. I think it is supposed to remain this way through the weekend, which will make for a lovely excuse to stay inside! We are going out for SHR's birthday on Saturday night, but other than that, I have nothing that totally requires that I go outside.

The cold made me nearly do something that I never, ever do...cancel Thursday night chicken fingers without a good excuse! Troopers that we are, though, Munchkin and I went anyway. The Boy was stuck at work really late, Smoking Hot Roommate and the Rocket Scientist were out for dinner, Big Sis and The Brain Surgeon were out at a different thing...and no other friends were venturing outside. So, just me and Munchkin:-) Kind of a nice date!

She was very chatty:-). She actually blushed a bit when we talked about the French kid. Very unlike her:-). But then she said that after they talk tomorrow, she doesn't want to talk to him every single Saturday because she didn't want him to always think it was So, she is clearly smitten, but not totally infatuated. They have sent pretty much daily emails this week, and for now she is still interested...we shall see...

I guess that is about it, then. Happy weekend to all! Stay warm!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Yet another birthday wish

Who knows what today is? It is another one of the best days of the year. What is the only thing almost as good as my birthday? Why...Smoking Hot Roommate's birthday, of course!

That's right...the divine Ms. AHH (or Mrs. AHB if you would rather) turns the ripe old age of 25 today. "But AM," you ask "How can that be? You are very clearly closer to 27 than 26, yet you are both the same age? Didn't you go to college together?"

Excellent question! Why yes, we did go to college together. But, you see, Miss Smarty Pants skipped seventh grade, so she is way younger than me. So yes, add that to the list...she is smarter than the rest of us:-P.

I have very little left to say about her that I haven't before. Like, maybe in these birthday posts from two years ago. Or this one from last year:-) So, today I am going to talk about something that I have just sort of come to realize, and that relates very much to a story that we have already covered this week.

On Tuesday, I covered Munchkin's super-impressive social skills. What I didn't write, but that I have found myself thinking a lot lately, is "You know, that is something that SHR would have done." Munchkin thinks and acts a lot like SHR does in a lot of ways...(also, they kinda look alike...if you met the three of us, you would assume that they were the sisters.)

This makes perfect sense, really. We all lived together from August of 2005 until January of 2008. Munchkin was 10 when she moved out here, and she was almost 13 when we moved out...she was a little girl when she got here, and a young woman by then. This is a really important time in a girl's life, especially when it comes with all of the traumas that Munchkin went through at that time (losing her second parent, new city, new school, new everything, really.) Obviously, she will be really influenced by the people that she spends a lot of time with around then.

I noticed early on that she had picked up a lot of the mannerisms and language and sayings that SHR and I use. Recently though, I am finding that she approaches things much the way that SHR does. Always with the assumption that people are good and worthwhile, always with the intention of being good, and always with a certain level of grace and confidence. I am not sure that I can really describe what I am thinking...she just seems to have a lot of SHR's personality.

And really, I can think of no better person to emulate. Here, on her birthday, is just about the highest compliment I can pay to someone:

Smoking Hot Roommate, I hope Munchkin grows up to be just like you.

Happy Birthday!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Some Tinkerbelling

I'm having a good week. Not gonna lie, it has been a really good couple of days...I guess if you go back to the bonus at the end of last week, it has been a really good non-calendar week.

I told you all about Munchkin being just a super awesome kid, and I don't have much to add on that today. I will have some tomorrow, though (which is a very important day! You can either read back to last year on this day to find out, or just wait until tomorrow:-)).

I also got a really, really nice letter from Tinkerbelle's mom yesterday. Kind of a late Christmas/Holiday letter, I guess. She wrote a lot about how happy she is that Tinkerbelle has found all of this new family, and about how much it means to Tinkerbelle and to her that I get to see her as much as I do. I sort of felt like she was thanking me just for making the effort, which is kinda silly...I don't really feel like you should get credit for wanting to know a sibling. Anyway, it was a very, very nice letter, and I was happy to get it. It made me cry:-) Not that it is really hard to make me cry...

In case I haven't told you yet, I am taking her on vacation in February, which I have wanted to do for a couple years now (well, ever since I met her). We are going to Disney World for three days, and then to Smoking Hot Roommate & Family's house on the beach in Florida. It will just be me and Tinkerbelle, and I think it's gonna be really fun! Seriously, who doesn't love Disney World? I did this twice with Munchkin a couple years ago, and I am really looking forward to doing it with the other little one.

Munchkin is, unfortunately, in school that week, so she has to stay home. I suppose I could let her skip Friday and meet us at the beach for the last couple days...maybe SHR, Big Sis or The Boy will want to make the trip with her:-D. Yes, consider that a hint:-P

On a separate is cold outside, and it is going to get COLD. They are talking about zero degrees on Friday, with wind chills down near -25 or so. The scary part is that this weather is coming from the Midwest, and it is actually going to warm up before it gets here. That's right...sometime before this air mass gets here, it is going to get warmer than it currently is...and still be zero degrees. The high temperature in Minneapolis yesterday was -1. That's don't even know how to classify that...

I'd love to spend a day like that curled up under a blanket on my couch, but this stupid work thing is gonna make that!!!!!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Kindness of Munchkin

I'm so proud of Munchkin today. I mean, I am proud of her everyday, and you have likely all noticed that I tend to gush about her quite a bit, but I can't help it. I am just sometime like to brag like a Mom. She is smart and funny and gorgeous and caring and generous and all of those things. But, also, she is just really, really nice.

So here is what happened yesterday...

There is a boy in her class who is kind of socially awkward. He is heavy, and sort of unusual and I don't think he has a ton of friends. I don't think that the kids are really mean to him, but he is just sort of odd and is kind of an outsider. Well, like just about every other boy she has ever met, he has something of a crush on her. And also like just about everyone she has ever met, she basically likes him.

He plays the cello (I think), and apparently quite well...well enough to be in some kind of a junior orchestra that travels a lot and is of some repute. Once a year, they have like a big concert and are then invited to the Boston Symphony Orchestra as guests of the BSO. They get to meet the musicians at a rehearsal, get to sit in the front of the house for a show and have a reception with them afterwards, and they are allowed to bring guests (you probably see where this is going).

So, he called last night and asked Munchkin if she wanted to go with him (well, he is allowed three guests, so he asked if she wanted to go with his parents and him...close enough). And once again, she showed a level of maturity in social situations and an awareness of people's feelings and thoughts that is WAY beyond her years.

If I back up, she had her two best friends over at the time...they were working on a project. I was cleaning up the kitchen and sort of observing, so, I got to see their reactions afterwards. He called and she said "Sure, that sounds fun. I have people over now, so let me call you back later to talk about it, or we can talk at school tomorrow." Her friends reacted with a lot of surprise...something like "Ew, he is is gross and weird, why do you want to go out with him?"

And she kinda shrugged and basically told them "He's nice, and I do think it will be fun. He's not gonna be my boyfriend, I am just going to see his concert." Not sure they really got her logic, but that kinda stuff just doesn't bother her. Later, after they teased her good-naturedly a little bit, and asked her why she didn't just pretend that she had something else to do, she said something that I think is really profound "C'mon, you know it took him a lot of courage to call a girl and ask her. How mean and unfair would it be to just totally reject him for no good reason?"

That was kind of the end of it with her friends, and they left when they were done with their work. Then she called the boy back, and had another super mature conversation...thanked him for inviting her and told him that she thought it sounded like a lot of fun, but also, in her own way, made it clear that she likes being friends with him but doesn't want to give him the impression that she wants to be anything more than that. Nice, simple, no confusion and no hurt feelings.

Afterwards, she told me that she knows he gets really nervous, and she knows he was probably really dying before he got the courage up to actually call and invite her. So she admired his actually having the nerve to ask her. And she knows that he has sort of a crush on her (seriously...they all do, it is fairly and didn't want to send him any mixed signals.

So, there you have it...unpopular kid that no one really likes asks Munchkin on kind of a date. She manages to handle it without offending anyone, without sending any mixed signals and without being unnecessarily mean to anybody.

Probably kind of a boring story for the rest of you, but I liked it.

I'm proud of her, which is a pretty common occurrence:-)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

The snow, it falls, but I don't mind at all...

It is a beautiful, snowy, Sunday morning, and I am feeling a little bloggy! Plus, I am not real sure that I will be able to blog tomorrow morning, so maybe this will cover me in case I can't:-P

A lot of the beauty is based on the simple fact that I don't have to leave the house all day...snow is much prettier from inside;-). So, I can sit in my toasty apartment and look out the windows to the serene, stunning city snowscape. I can drink tea and stay in my pajamas under a blanket all day. Heaven!

Let's see...I have a couple of things to catch you up on. First, as I updated in my Friday post, I was really happy with my bonus. It came out to a about 20% of my salary...which was less than last year (it was about 35% last year), but at least as much as I expected. I probably figured it would be more like 10%-15%. The partners took a lot less than last year (Boss Foxy's was about a third of what it was last year...but don't cry for was 50 times bigger than mine...give or take a few

Right on schedule, Munchkin's French boyfriend called her yesterday at 11:00 am. I am not sure if punctuality is cultural, or if he is just that smitten;-). They talked for almost an hour, and she spent a lot of it laughing and giggling which I guess means it went well. She told me that she really likes him, so I guess that means some more emails and phone calls for a while. I think it is all very cute:-).

Smoking Hot Roommate, Big Sis, Munchkin and I went out for lunch and to the spa after that. I had a mani/pedi and a really excellent facial which made me feel really awesome. We also had lots of good girl talk and tried to tease Munchkin about her new "boyfriend". Unfortunately, she is very difficult to tease because she doesn't get embarrassed by things like this...totally ruins our fun!

Munchkin spent the night at a friend's house (and in fact is now preparing to go sledding) so The Boy and I had the place to ourselves. We went out for dinner...actually to kind of a fancy place that gave me an excuse to dress up a little bit. It was snowing a little bit, but it wasn't too much to really make it hard to get around town. We originally planned to meet some people after dinner, but decided to bag on that and came home sort of early.

Then we had a whole bunch of really outstanding sex:-). He was complaining that his skin was really dry from the cold weather, so the skin lotion came out for some whole-body rubdowns. I can't actually orgasm from having my feet and lower legs rubbed, but I feel like it is awfully close...:-). So we got all messy, then took a shower and went to bed at a pretty reasonable hour. One good thing about taking a shower before bed is that you wake up feeling pretty clean will let your mind go wild with that one...

And that gets us to right now:-) The Boy made breakfast, and Munchkin should be out until early afternoon at least. I don't really plan on doing anything today...unless you count taking a two hour bath as "doing something". Because that is on the agenda:-).

Hope you all are enjoying the snow as much as I am!

Friday, January 09, 2009

July 4, Christmas and New Year's All Wrapped in One

Hey, what's the best day of the year? Christmas is good, and my birthday totally rules:-P. And Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday... All strong contenders, but none of them comes close to the true Greatest Day of the Year.

And what day is that? Why...Bonus Day, of course:-).

I work in an industry where people collect a very large portion of their total compensation in the form of an annual bonus based on their prior year's performance and that of the firm. For the real muckety-mucks (like Boss Foxy and Papa Bear), as much as 80% of their total compensation can be in the form of one or more bonuses.

For me, it is not nearly that dramatic...most of my compensation is just my regular salary. I also get bonuses when we close deals, and this annual bonus, but that makes up a smaller portion of my total pay than it does for the other people. Still, it is a very healthy chunk of cash, and I look forward to it greatly:-).

Last year I got about a third of my salary for my bonus, and I was ecstatic. I doubt it will be nearly that much this year...we didn't suffer like some other firms did, but it was still not a real good year by any absolute measure. So I guess we will have to see, my meeting is this morning... wish me luck! I am never going to complain about someone giving me a fat check, that's for sure:-)

As I have outlined here in the past, I would love to buy the condo we currently live in. Smoking Hot Roommate is the current owner (should I call her Smoking Hot Landlord instead?), and would no doubt allow me to continue living there at the much-discounted rent that I currently pay her. She has also said she would sell it to me for much less than it is really worth...but to be honest, I don't really want to do that. She and her family have been extraordinarily generous to me, but at some point I would like to stand on my own two feet for real.

And, since I love our apartment and very much intend to live would like to buy it from her like a big girl. That means paying her a fair price for it, and that means saving a lot of money to do so:-P. I earn a pretty good income, and The Boy makes quite a bit more than I do, so we are in a pretty good position financially. I have also been a very diligent saver, so I actually have a pretty good chunk saved for a down payment. Combine that with money he has saved (and got from selling his old condo) and I think we will probably be able to do that later this year, after the wedding.

This bonus is part of that larger I hope its big for that reason! Also, just because a big bonus is better than a small one:-D

Not a whole lot going on this weekend. Spa tomorrow, which will be heavenly:-). I have a date with The Boy tomorrow night, which will be equally heavenly! Other than that, not a whole lot on tap...hope everyone has a good weekend!

[Update: Very nice bonus:-) Smaller than last year, but at least as big as I expected, and a really nice payout. Makes for a nice weekend starter!]

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Blog ADD

I forgot to add that the French boy in question goes by "A. P.", which is why I didn't realize that he had a girl's name for a couple of days:-P. And speak of the little devil, he sent Munchkin an email yesterday, and they have a phone call date this Saturday (hard to work those time zone differences when you are in school all day!). I will keep you updated...

I won't tell you, verbatim, what Big Sis said upon hearing the name "Anne", but it did include the word "faggoty" I am not sure if that is a word, and I am 100% sure that it is not PC, but I definitely got her meaning...hee hee.

Chicken Fingers tonight, and I am told that there is a big football game as well. I will probably make Munchkin do her homework first, and we can go out a little bit later so she can stay out a little later. It is, after all, a school night, so she can't be out until midnight:-) But I think we will have a pretty big crowd. Big Sis is coming, as are Smoking Hot Roommate and The Rocket Scientist, and The Boy. A couple other friends may drop by on their way out, as well...sort of up in the air.

Before her life gets too hectic, I want to send some pre-wedding good wishes to Anne at e.b.'s World (yes...a gender-appropriate Anne!) and her soon-to-be husband Magoo. A funny, interesting and insightful blogger who has kept me entertained for several years now! She is also a prolific photographer and an ambitious cook: her recipes have a degree of difficulty much, much higher than anything I am daring enough to attempt. She has maintained a great sense of humor through some stomach issues, a job loss and some landlording issues...and I think that ability to handle stuff will serve her well in marriage.

So, best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Magoo (hee hee!) for a great wedding day, a fantastic honeymoon, and an even better married life!

My plans to get A at So Midwestern out of her shell are moving along quickly...:-D. Faster than However, I am still soliciting single, fun, eligible males in Detroit. I promise that this will be fun!!! Please let me know if you have anyone who is a little adventurous and is willing to play along.

Glad to have Top Chef back seems like forever since there was a new episode! Can't wait for Runway to come back on, especially since I will now get it in HD. That will dramatically increase my viewing enjoyment!

Smoking Hot Roommate has suggested spa day on Saturday, and I could not possibly agree more! Mani/pedi and a facial...maybe a massage. Sounds like several friends are up for it, as well...this is possibly the best idea ever:-)

I guess those are my random thoughts for today...ciao!

Or, if I am to begin practicing...Adieu!

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Matchmaker, Matchmaker...

I forgot to mention yesterday...if (which I don't expect) Munchkin and the little Frenchie (and, I am loathe to say this because it will encourage Big Sis, but his actual name is Anne-Pierre...seriously, his name is Anne!!!) actually strike up a friendship and keep in touch and she really does want to go to visit, I would take her. Seriously, a week or so in Paris with some local hosts? That could be really fun...I would definitely do that for her. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, we are a LONG way from that...

I feel like I have a lot of new blog readers names showing up in the comments that I don't recognize. It is kinda weird how that works, it definitely comes and goes in waves. But, I love meeting new blog friends! So, please keep reading! I tend to add blogs to my reader of people who comment, as well.

Also, feel free to email or g-message, too. You will find that I am a bit more forthcoming in those forums, and I love to learn more about people that way. It is a much better way to "meet" someone.

On a totally random note. At some point this winter or spring, I am absolutely going to set So Midwestern up on a date...whether or not she really likes it! I will give her some time to get used to the idea, but while that is going on...please take inventory of your young, interesting, eligible male friends in the Detroit area. My problem is that I don't actually know anyone in Detroit, and I don't think I have many readers there, either. But some of you must!

She's super cute, and could very well fall instantly in love with someone that took her to a Red Wings game on a first date...this shouldn't be a difficult sell! So, start surveying your Detroit friends, and let me know what you find...hee hee:-).

Other than that, I have nothing for you today...hope everyone is enjoying whatever they are doing!

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Munchkin goes global

I alluded to this the other day, but now that I have had a chance to hear Munchkin's version of things, as well as that of her friend's Mom, I figured I would fill you in on the whole story. I'll call this one "Munchkin's French Boyfriend", and can subtitle it "THIS is what I have to deal with for five more years until she is 18!"

Munchkin and her friend's family left on Saturday morning, and got settled in and got to the beach by about 3:00 in the afternoon. At approximately 3:07, several boys on the beach decided that they wanted to make Says her friend's Mom with a grin, "Munchkin sure does attract attention from boys, doesn't she?"

The boys were from three French families that were there on vacation. There were five of them, ages roughly 12-15, and a girl that was about the same age (all of whom spoke either pretty good or perfect English...I'm impressed!). In Munchkin's words "They were nice, and they were really cute and their accents were just adorable." So, they hung out for a bit and then they each went their separate ways because their families had some different things to do.

The next day, they were all on the beach again, and spent most of the day hanging out, swimming, flirting, etc. Sometime towards the end of the day, the girl told Munchkin "My brother has a crush on you." (Or, really, it probably sounded something like "My brothzer? He haz ze crush on you!" hee hee). Munchkin felt like he was cute, really nice and pretty overall dreamy, so a romance was born.

The French families were having a party on the beach that night (or maybe the next, I am not sure) and invited Munchkin, her friend and her friend's family. She and le garçon snuck away for a brief private moment, during which she reports he held her hand and appeared totally and completely consumed by his own nerves. I love that she can find that cute;-).

I also love that she can say things like "I could tell that he couldn't concentrate because he wanted to kiss me really badly, and I was hoping he would. But I can't do everything, he has to have some courage of his own." That just cracks me up to no end...

Anyway, the kids all spent most of the week together on the beach or by the pool. It was all pretty tame fun with plenty of adult supervision pretty nearby (although...ahem...when the little frenchie finally worked up the courage to kiss her on about day 5...where were the adults then?:-P). This, however, did not stop Pierre St. Loverboy from asking her to be his girlfriend (no word on exactly how that would work...) and inviting her to spend the entire summer in France with him.

While the offer to spend the entire summer, while quaint, is pretty obviously absurd, his mother did tell Munchkin's friend's mother to relay to me that she was more than welcome to come and visit for real. Not sure I am quite ready to put her on a plane to go and visit foreign strangers, but we can worry about that later (and in truth, I think she viewed this with a certain level of "quaintness"...she didn't actually ask to go and visit, she just said that she had been invited.)

So, that is the story of Munchkin's brief island romance. There is a part of me that thinks I should be scared by things like she goes creating her own personal relationships in strange places where I have no control over the events. I send her on vacation and find out that she is kissing older, foreign boys...

But, if I am going to be really honest, I love that she can do these things. I totally and completely trust that she is capable of managing her own relationships. I trust that she can keep things like this in perspective, and that she is fully aware that these are "cute teen romances" and nothing more serious.

And mostly, I just think that she deserves to have stories like this. She deserves to have fun. She deserves to have adorable boys pining over her. She deserves to have crushes on those boys. She deserves to be able to look at old pictures with her friends when she is 25 and say "Oh my God, do you remember that French boy that fell in love with me in two days? He was cute."

She just deserves to be a regular teenage girl. She will never have a classic, "normal" life. I can't give her one, and I don't think I would want to. All I can hope for is that the lack of normalcy still allows her to experience all of the things that a kid should experience growing up.

Like dashing European admirers:-)

Monday, January 05, 2009

Bubble Gum for your Brain...

I'm starting off the year with some mindless entertainment, because I don't wanna burden your brains on your first day back at work...

Rock of Love Bus? Seriously...Bret, it is time to give it up. We understand you like trashy women, and you like groupies and you are not gonna settle down. This whole "I am looking for a soul mate" schtick is just not at all was stretching it during the second season, and it is just absurd now. They should try and find Big John a girlfriend again...

Charm School reunion...I was glad that Meghan (who is seriously the evilest person alive) called out Sharon Osbourne for being the obnoxious bitch that she is. many times can they all say "You are such an amazing woman" before someone asks..."Um...why?"

Confessions of a Teen Idol? What exactly is the point of this? Do they win something? It did lead to a fantastic exchange where Jamie Walters was complaining about his lost fame and I said" Well, you shouldn't have thrown Donna Martin down the stairs" only to have him say "And then they wrote this story line where I threw Donna down the stairs and people would come up to me on the street and be like 'Why did you throw Donna down the stairs'?". But seriously, don't ever watch it.

Superstars of Dance? Have we really stooped to this? I love stupid TV as much as anyone...but this is really absurd...

New Biggest Loser starts tomorrow...that was fast...

I am going to miss catching Jerry Springer and Maury Povich in the mornings now that I am back at work every day. Who knew there was that much pent up demand for lie detectors and paternity tests?

Riveting preview for Gossip Girl tonight...should I watch? I'm torn...

Total change of subject, to a more serious there anything more offensive than the idea of Caroline Schlossberg as a US Senator? This is the United States of America, and we don't have fucking princesses! She has never had a job, never held public office, never demonstrated any sort of policy vision, and never done a single thing that would imply she might even be remotely capable of this job. Oh, but she is a Kennedy!!!

It's un-American, it's arrogant and it is incredibly offensive. Isn't there someone in New York who can stop this? I may have more on this tomorrow if anyone has any thoughts...

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Lazy Sunday

The Body and The Mouth got out without any trouble yesterday...overall it was a really nice visit. I think we all decided that we don't see each other nearly enough:-) They are gonna try and come on our spring vacation with us, and once The Body figures out where she is going next (New York, LA, stay in Phoenix or maybe even somewhere else...) then we can figure out how to spend more time together.

Then Munchkin got back last night, tanned and exhausted! She had a great time, and the people she went with tell me that she was as easy to have around as always. They also reported what I am already acutely aware of...that she attracts a LOT of attention from boys. Munchkin began to tell me about her new French boyfriend, but I only got part of the story and she is still sleeping, so I have to wait for her to get up to hear the rest of it. What I have heard from her friend's mother is that a totally dreamy French boy developed quite the thing for her in their short time there. I'm sure Munchkin will give me the rest of the details later on...

Not much else to report, I guess. Just planning on hanging out with Munchkin today, looking at pictures and getting the full trip report. The Boy mentioned going out to watch the football games, and if she wants to do that, we can. Smoking Hot Roommate and Big Sis wanna catch up with Munchkin, too. I suppose we can decide that when he gets back from the gym and she wakes up...

Back to a plain old, five day work week is gonna feel weird!

Saturday, January 03, 2009

The snarkiest of snarkies, A (Aloysius Snarkelupagus?) has bestowed an award upon me, and it is with great honor and some reluctance that I accept:

Many many thanks:-) The award comes with a few rules: The honorees are to: A) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep! B) pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

This actually a task that could be incredibly easy, but will be quite difficult. There are, in fact, LOTS of interesting things about me that I have never mentioned here...unfortunately, they are not things I care to share. And outside of those, I don't know that I have anything really that juicy. But...I will give it a go!

10) I speak a very little bit of Spanish. Part of this comes from taking Spanish in school, but the bulk of it comes from a very, very close friend from Chicago (and a pretty regular figure around these parts) who's mother was Dominican and spoke a lot of Spanish.

9) Speaking of that...I had an abnormal number of mixed-race friends growing up, and very few white friends. In fact, if I mention a friend from home, chances are that he or she is black, Hispanic or some combination of black, white and Hispanic.

8) I suck at pictures. This is probably not a surprise to anyone who has requested some;-). But even outside of blog world, I generally forget my camera (or lose it like I did on New Year's Eve), or forget to take any pictures when I am out. Good thing I have friends that are better about it than I am!

7) I have picked out a name for my first-born. It is kind of a unisex name, has great meaning to me, and it is sort of a secret. Actually...this is something that is a secret to people in real life (except The Boy, he knows:-)) but not to blog friends. Yes, that is an invitation to ask:-P

6) I wear a lot of boy's jeans. I mean actual boy's jeans...from the boy's department. I have a terrible time finding women's jeans that fit me, so virtually all of my bang-around, casual jeans from the boys department at Old Navy.

5) I secretly love Barry Manilow. OK, maybe not "love", and it isn't much of a secret anymore, I guess. Cheesy can be good sometimes... (and bonus points to anyone who can figure out which Barry Manilow song I sing pretty once a week;-))

4) I have a horrible heroin addiction, and I am finding that the hideous track marks really diminish what I can charge when I prostitute myself to pay for it. Hee hee...just checking to see who really reads all 10 of these:-P.

3) I enjoy nothing more than waking up at 4:00 on a cold winter morning, looking at the alarm clock and realizing that I can roll over and go straight back to sleep. Truly one of life's great little pleasures. I have considered having two alarm clocks, and setting one at that time just so I can turn it off every night...but I feel like that would be cheating...:-)

2) Based on some things that have happened in the last week, I think I am a really good listener. For some reason, people like to talk to me, and they feel comfortable opening up to me. I like that, and I would like to try and encourage it even more...I know how wonderful it can be to just have someone that you can talk to sometimes, and how much better it can feel to say all of the things you are thinking. I am glad that I can be that person sometimes. There have been people that have done it for me, and I know how much it can mean.

1) I have a weight problem, and people's reaction to it frustrates me to no end. I have a terrible time keeping weight on, and have to carefully watch my diet to keep from getting too thin. Usually this leads to "Oh, you are so lucky, I wish I had that problem!" No, I am not, and No, you don''s a pain in the ass, its dangerous, and it has caused substantial health problems at different times. I have to watch my diet as much or more than people that carry too much weight, and it is insulting when people belittle the issue and dismiss it as somehow "fun".

That's all;-)

Now it is my turn to bestow the award to 7 people, and to make them fill out their own list! I am going to hit up some people's whose blogs I read, but that I haven't heard much from lately...also, people I don't think I have ever tagged before, and that don't seem to get too many of these....

1) I will start with Jmhender at Getting Over You. She needs something fun and mindless these days.
2) Mo at Happier Cows. Of course, I went to her blog to get the link and she just did one of these kinda thins. Ahh I already broke one of my rules:-P
3) Jamie at My Cynical POV...because Laurwilk has dramatically increased my love for Iowans, and I am spreading that love around..
4) Amy at A Day in the Life...this is what you get for posting kissy face pictures!!!
5) Megan at A Running Commentary, in hopes that maybe she will write more often! Seriously, more people should read her, she is one of the funniest bloggers I read.
6) Maria at Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Taken, although she is hereby absolved of the expectation that she respond promptly...since she, you know, just had a baby...
7) And finally, Scotty at Bueno Morning since, I dunno...I feel like I probably owe him one from way back maybe?

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Like its 2005

I can describe New Year's Eve in a brief phrase...

Rock Stars

That's right, the old crew was back together and no prisoners were taken. We started pre-gaming and getting dressed at about 8:00, hit the bar at 10:00, rang in the New Year at 12:00 (duh!), had a lovely New Year's call with Munchkin at 12:05 (during which I believe she told me that a 14 year old French boy invited her to spend the summer in France...more on that later), closed the bar at 2:00, and then headed back to Smoking Hot Roommate's until about 4:00. I think I went to sleep by maybe 6:00 and woke up at the bright hour of 2:30 pm. Just like old times!

During that time we made a lot of friends, had a lot of laughs and drank a LOT of Ketel One. There was actually a little bit of drama, and I had to put a very tearful friend to bed at one point, but that was just a blip in what was otherwise a really fun night. I also broke a shoe, ripped my dress, lost my camera, found $80 and ate an ice cream cone despite it being about 3 degrees outside. I'm cool like that:-)

Obviously, not a whole lot going on We went over to SHR's for pizza earlier, and that required an enormous amount of energy, and pretty much counts as my activity for the day. That's OK, though...I have tomorrow off, and the girls are here until Saturday, so we still have time:-)

That's about it. The Boy is passed out on the sofa at about 9:00, and The Body and I are gonna put on our bathing suits and sit in the hot tub for a while. Normally I would say that requires a glass of wine, thought of that is not real appetizing right now:-)

So, until we meet again...HAPPY NEW YEAR!


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18 Feb 2015

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Most of the people use T- shirts with slogans inside them to generate a stylish fashion statement. The interest in these stylish T-Shirts with slogans is because its huge popularity among man men and ladies along with with certain political groups and social organizations. Some people desire to see people wearing slogan T-Shirts and many individuals don't accept this brand of fashion wear. But, a very important factor is bound that t-shirt slogans have caught the interest of men and women worldwide and also in India, whether it's a good one or even a negative one. The T-shirt slogan concept goes to a lot of centuries and it also was initially many political outfits that used these phones express their views to individuals.

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17 Feb 2015

Convenient t-shirts Plans Clarified

Promotional t-shirts will let you set the form for your next trade fair or public event. Apparel printed with company logos have grown to be hot fashion items, and t-shirts work just like exception. If you're looking for a great way in promoting your organization and build brand recognition, t-shirts screen-printed with your enterprise's name, logo or slogan offer high roi.

Tweed short dresses were fit with the tennis court as stretchy inserts in ultra-white and blue contoured a silhouette that flared. Models in tightly pulled, gymnastic buns looked willing to forward flip about the catwalk. buy women's t-shirts bulk This style did wonders while using jackets' athletic shoulders and necklines, accentuated by jacquards with graphic silk. Softer knitwear provided a halftime break in the sporty look.A cardigan dress twin-set in soft soft blue, along with a palette of pinky and dusty rose added a feminine touch. However, in a very few pieces, the hourglass shape in thick knit made bottoms look overly bulky.One person who didn't appeared to mind was Stella's father, Paul McCartney, looking on through the side-row."It's so beautiful, is it not?" said the previous Beatle, "but I suppose I'm probably biased!"ChloeWearability and lightweight shone from Chloe's fall-winter collection Monday - unsurprising, perhaps, through the house whose founder coined the first phrase "ready-to-wear" a lot more than 60 years ago.A sense of spring, not fall, bloomed in the largely off-white assortment of diaphanous silk blouses, scattered pearls and applique lace flowers on display at the sky-lit showroom in Paris' central Tuileries garden.Dimensional patchwork in wool which was felted gave the knitwear a playful, sporty ease, with airy lace sweaters. Even the British military parka constructions were cushioned by padding and soft-quilted silks.One knit effect Teddy shearling within a leather V-neck captured the bohemian chic look with the Glastonbury music festival - by having a Parisian neatness and shopping de ofertas sophistication.

A very great innovation regarding t-shirts is often a custom-made t-shirt. These days, there are several services or firms that offer printing of cheap custom t-shirts. A customized t-shirt is made in line with the specifications of person customer. If you want to employ these types of services you have to know some facts, tips and ideas. Using your computer printer you could make your individual t-shirt.

The 'I can't breathe,' t-shirts didn't end there for athletes. Before Sunday's Detroit Lions game resistant to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lions' running back Reggie Bush, who's been very vocal on both topics, wore a 'I can't breathe' t-shirt. The latest showing of the t-shirts was on the Cleveland Cavaliers game up against the Brooklyn Nets Monday night. Players from both teams, including LeBron 'The King' James, wore the political garb.

Organic cotton is certified so because of the prescribed government agency. The manufacturer should submit documented proof how the cotton found in the pad ended up being completely organically grown in soil which in fact had not been contaminated if you use chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers to the previous 36 months. Only crop rotation is allowed like a way of soil renewal and simply manure is allowed as fertilizer. Organic cotton fabric is very absorbent, hypoallergenic and biodegradable.

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07 Feb 2015

Realistic Methods In appliances Across The USA

Appliances made easily obtainable by Hec Cater

Significant machine revenue continuous Chillers, automatic washers, Television set And also other big appliances inside pre-holiday income skilled an optimum demonstrating a good pattern. January. 21 years, house machine keep within Yinchuan, the exact press reporter throughout snow rinse, tv,

Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly, Inc. are content to express exclusive resources and collections of peculiarly unique products to your kitchen together with home. Whether your thing is conventional, fashionable, country, or assorted, their designers have the capacity to enable you to generate the exact look you've got always wanted for ones home. They have been serving Homeowners, Remodelers, Architects, Internal Designers, together with Builders in New York for over twenty-five years moreover would like to help you too. In fact, they welcome architects, builders, also interior designers to showroom for the accurately collaborative endeavor in producing by far the most well-designed and functional spaces because of their clients. They have already been constantly and consistently ranked within the USA's top 20 like a Master's Club dealer since 1992. They are the leading Wood Mode kitchen and also bath showroom on Long Island. A full service design studio, they recommend total turn-key services, coordinating the whole project from design together with cabinetry installation to fittings, countertops, flooring, windows, and illumination. They have an exceptionally skilled team of representatives to help you out using your scheme, big or small.

However, numerous small household appliances Brand In order to compete for the small household appliance market, in concept, to accomplish some articles and embark on quite a few gimmicks, will likely be hazardous on your health insurance and the so-called UV technology as being a high-end technology products found in home equipment, in truth, China Consumer Association, the Xinhua News Agency, the National Health , plus the State Technology Supervision Bureau are saved to the "UV" all of the potential hazards of electrical appliances were built with a "consumer alert" following "Guangzhou UV tragedy" have erupted after recently " Beijing UV tragedy, "" UV Nanjing Massacre "," Fuzhou UV tragedy, "many consumers inside utilization of UV appliances brutal" skin burns, "" glaucoma "and" melanoma "and other tragedies. Also some brand positioning itself from the small home equipment brand around the first try to confuse the customer audio-visual, include the so-called benefits. All of these are simply just groundless, sensational speculation. This unhealthy practices inside industry and consumers, causing a bad influence, impede a Health Development, but in addition harmed the consumers directly to know.

The most under rated good thing about those sorts of devices is that it is very friendly to atmosphere. Exactly why this type of advantage is undoubtedly under rated is caused by the actual fact in the proven fact that consumers are far more considering the energy saving characteristic as compared to friendliness with the devices on the surroundings. Because with the several ecological movements in addition to the causes they want to achieve, numerous companies specifically those that do the work in the area of electricity made and developed devices which will truly profit the those that have cost efficiency possibly at one time assist the environment. Ultimately, all future home appliances might be changed into a little something that can help the ecosystem exactly what better time for it to start than today.

The second thing you can do is convert your vehicle running on HHO. You can double your gasoline consumption. This process takes the action through your cars battery to show ordinary water (H20) into HHO, a hydrogen based gas. You car can are powered by this hydrogen based gas, together with regular gasoline. Since you can't proceed to the store and buying a kit (yet), you will have to obtain a manual that may demonstrate tips on how to do that, then choose the basic supplies, and spend one hour on your car or truck to have it converted. If you make this happen, it can save you nearly large sums of money per month on gas, depending on how much you drive. To read more details on this, head over to

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07 Feb 2015

Picking out Real-World Programs In appliances

Orthodontics Anti-Snoring Appliances, Do They Work?

Dr. Brock Rondeau of Rondeau Seminars is devoted to helping dentists all around the globe better their practices through online courses and continuing education seminars. As many patients have problems with various types of malocclusion, Dr. Rondeau offers valuable facts about various functional appliances that you can get to assist reposition a patient's mouth to make available improved functionality through speaking and eating. The available functional appliances include: Twin Block, Hyrax, Sagittal, MARA, Tandem, Rick-A-Nator and Schwarz, a few. By contacting Rondeau Seminars, dentists can expand their experience and knowledge of important orthodontic treating a greater mouth.

eBay sellers often purchase these items only to sell for parts, or "part against each other." For example, the pulp container, strainer basket, and the crescent tool on Jack LaLanne juicers. The juicer itself doesn't even have to work - the various could be sold individually. It might be difficult to discover replacement parts for several older appliances like juicers, bread machines, mixers, or VitaMix blenders. Someone could be using 120 month old juicer and wish to exchange one part - this is not even made any longer. Those buyers head to eBay and can pay reasonably limited to get a part as an alternative to requiring you to invest in a new appliance.

With a large selection of appliances for the kitchen available for sale, some must be officially used on an every day basis or infrequent basis according to the job undertaken by them. Kitchen appliances for instance cookers, stoves, roasters, deep fryers, grills, steamers and toasters are pretty much applied to day after day. These appliances may very well be used nearly every day.

At first, your window cleaners were meant to clean glass, because it is the key material for windows. But many professionals of window cleaning in London declare that countless uses for flash for many people other pursuits. Almost any glass surface is usually cleaned using this type of cleaning solution, including TV screens, mirrors, chandeliers, drinking glasses and so forth. Window cleaners are really easy to use sprays that may be wiped soon after treatment. Mostly paper towels or dry cloths are utilized.

Industry professionals, said: industry be aware that domestic small appliances Sell Income had only 1 billion in the company, the earth primary is Glanz ! Microwave oven industry has become the total boss, in this particular year's overall downturn, Galanz micro wave still maintained a top growth Cooker And rice cookers or even a few times also many times the rate of speeding growth, the PRC, in accordance with the latest retail sales statistics in only a few months additional time Galanz rice cooker, induction cooker highest within the nation, and in accordance with Home appliance chain Giant States United States Statistics, Glanz toaster sales in their system ranks No. 1 national ranking. Galanz is domestic Expert Agreed that the well-deserved first domestic small appliances brand, will be the pride of Chinese people. The second model of domestic sales of only five, about 60 million, and within the small appliance industry huge losses.

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06 Feb 2015

A Background In Straightforward Systems In appliances

Electrical appliances protection- Transformer & Stabilizer

Home appliances information mill the brains behind is becoming an increasing number of developed today to get to know the increasing needs of your companion, related to household appliances. Due towards the urbanization and corporate life of more amount of people nowadays, everyone, specially the working women require highly sophisticated home appliances and equipments to generate their work easier and fast. Accordingly, the appliances industries too are in work on their utmost effort and capacity to reveal newer and newer products for the market everyday with latest technologies and innovations. Some in the kitchen appliances which can be of great used in today's homes are stove, canister sets, fridge, toaster, wine cabinet and so on. Instead of buying each one of these appliances separately, let's say all are obtained as being a single package….I mean… all-in-one? Wonderful! is it not? Yes, this sort of product originates to the markets. Even though 'all-in-one' is just not feasible, experts have proved that 'four-in-one' is quite possible. The arrival from the recent awesome mixture of refrigerator in addition to freezer, wine cabinet and humidor, everything in one embedded device will be the market's hot selling item.

Engineers have given some credence on the latest Green Movement advancing around the world, by enhancing the machine to have the Energy Star label. This doesn't only save for the volume of energy is needed with each load, but in addition enables you to preserve water likewise, with the average of only 13.9 gallons found in each cycle.

Nothing may be more frustrating than getting hit with the reality that your particular sandwich maker and other halogen oven isn't working particularly if you want it to operate properly. Imagine yourself longing for a chilly fresh glass of apple juice so you enter into the kitchen, switch on the juicer and wham! It just dissapear of order right for your face. That sounds pretty irritating it's really? Well, such a thing happens to everyone individuals sooner or later or perhaps the other. Since kitchen products and appliances are certainly not something that you want to change or replace each week or month therefore it is necessary that after you acquire any electronic appliance to your kitchen, you become acquainted with the marketplace trends, various manufactures, brands plus the products they can be offering, the specifications, prices above all, the web based local store or shop you are likely to buy it from if you would like obtain budget-friendly bargains.

Monitoring your property energy usage are not easier than this. An advanced energy monitoring device indicates your using of electricity in real-time and predicts your monthly electrical bill. This helps consumers to reduce their use of electricity and save approximately 10-20 percent on the bills.

There are innumerable appliances that will help man to produce his life better. In addition to different varieties of devices, you can certainly find washing machines too at affordable rates. Kitchen appliances include mixer grinder, juicers, toasters, bun warmers, electric hot plate or anything else. All these appliances can be found in the web markets at reasonable rates. Let us understand a few of the appliances in greater detail.

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December 2, 2014

Divorce Attorney Helps Settle Financial Matters

Divorce is a tedious and, oftentimes, sad process. Most couples who go through it face the struggle of letting go and starting over, especially when splitting the assets or deciding child support is at hand. One example of a divorce that has led to serious emotional and financial dilemma is that of a Florida congressman whose estranged wife raised concerns that she had been completely cut off from any financial support. The former wife was financially dependent on her husband, and claimed her support was abruptly cut, leaving her and her kids to fend for themselves:


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AX-8 Corsa GP-Tech GT Veloce GTO Grid Horizon K3 K3 SV K4 K5 K5 S Naked Pista GP S4 Stealth Ti-Tech Veloce XR-2
Powered by Extreme Supply, a proud authorized retailer of great AGV helmets.
Pista GP Helmets
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The Pista GP is the revolutionary new top of the range model. Developed in collaboration with Valentino Rossi and other riders from the World Championship Series, the Pista GP sets new standards in terms of protection and ergonomics and is the benchmark for professional race helmets.

The carbon fibre shell and the EPS internal components were optimised using FEM techniques (Finite Elements Analysis) to obtain an extremely high performance helmet in terms of size, light weight and protection. The result is a helmet that is significantly superior than the limits set by ECE standards and that weighs just 1275 g (refers to MS size in the ECE 2205 version).

The entire ventilation system was designed using computational fluid dynamic modelling and wind tunnel tests. This helmet is highly efficient at removing heat and moisture from the rider's head. Thanks to its large rear spoiler, the Pista GP boasts first class performance in terms of aerodynamic penetration and high speed stability. Overall, the visor aperture is 9% bigger meaning a 15 improvement in vision which obviously enhances the active safety factor.

The fit of the Pista GP was developed using Human Engineering whereby the design starts from the surfaces in contact with the wearer's head. The inside of the helmet starts with a concave 3D structure that is pre-shaped to match the contours of the rider's head and any surfaces in contact with the head are stitch-free. The Lycra and Shalimar sanitized internal components are fully adjustable due to the fact that the position and depth of the crown pad can be modified as can the thickness of the cheek pads. The combination of these solutions, which are covered by three separate patents, make the Pista GP fit the different cranial shapes as never before.

Ventilation System

IVS (Integrated Ventilation System) with wide channels hollowed directly in the shell amd holes that allow direct air flow to the rider's head

Number of shells

4 shell sizes

Entirely made of carbon fiber

Inside padding

Fully removable and washable

Retention System

Double D

Flat, non-scratch RACE visor, wide field of vision, PINLOCK ready and suitable for tear-offs strips, 100% UV protection. Pinlock included in the package

Shield Mechanism

New metal visor mechanism. Quick realease system (no tools needed)

DOT and ECE-22.05
Read More


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Posts published in “Supervised Machine Learning”

Classification vs. Regression

Christoffer Björkskog 0

Two slightly similar concepts in supervised machine learning are Supervised classification, and regression. With supervised classification you will get a discrete output (a label or boolean value) and in regression…

k-Nearest Neighbors

Christoffer Björkskog 0

One of the simples algorithms in Machine Learning is k-Neares Neighbors. It is considered a “lazy learning” algorithm where all the calculations are deferred until classification. It works like this:…

Decision Trees

Christoffer Björkskog 0

When you have to deal with non-linear decision making, you can use decision trees to transform it into a linear decision surface. Let say we have a buddy that goes…

Support Vector Machines

Christoffer Björkskog 0

A Support Vector Machine is an algorithm that outputs a line separating two classes in a set of data. An SVM will try to maximise the margin from the line…

Naive Bayes Classifiers

Christoffer Björkskog 0

Naive Bayes Classifier is a probabilistic classifier used in supervised machine learning that is especially useful when categorizing texts. They apply Bayes’ Theorem which describes the probability of an event to take…

Supervised Machine Learning

Christoffer Björkskog 0

In supervised machine learning you use the terms features and labels. Features could for instance be the bumpiness and slope of the ground as identified by an autonomous car, and the…


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Monday, November 8, 2010

To bad gardening is done for the winter. Please do not think I'm weird for thinking gardening is fun but I really like it. Sometimes it is a pain but it is fun ! TO ME !!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Its been so cold! I am not ready. I do not want it to be cold. Its just I do not wont to be sick! :(

Monday, October 25, 2010

Andrew just got here!!!!!!

Wow so big! I can not believe it that thay came from a garden.

I love fresh garden green beans!
Hope you like my post because I am back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Missing my brother.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

It's been 3 months?!

Don't worry! I'm back to blogging! Check back soon to see what i've posted. Right now, I'm heading to Eastern Market with my mom and siblings. Have a great day!


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Airport codes

Airport codes Itacoatiara in Itacoatiara, Amazonas, Brazil (BR)

Name Itacoatiara
City Itacoatiara (Read more about Itacoatiara)
Region Amazonas (show all 22 airports in Amazonas)
Country Brazil (show all 760 airports in Brazil)
ISO country code BR
Airport Codes:
Latitude 03° 07' 38.12" S
Longitude 058° 28' 52.27" W
Map of Airport codes Itacoatiara in Itacoatiara, Amazonas, Brazil (BR):

Airports of Brazil

Itacoatiara is the most important airport of Itacoatiara, Amazonas, Brazil. It is modern and one of the largest airport of the South America. Itacoatiara is important for people and goverment of Brazil.

IATA and ICAO codes of Itacoatiara

Airports of Brazil have international codes of IATA and ICAO. An IATA airport code is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world (including Brazil), defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The characters prominently displayed on baggage tags attached at airport check-in desks are an example of a way these codes are used.

ICAO and IATA codes of Itacoatiara

The ICAO airport code is a four-letter alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The ICAO codes are used by air traffic control and airline operations such as flight planning. They are not the same as the IATA codes encountered by the general public, which are used for airline timetables, reservations, and baggage handling.

Fast searching

Searching by ICAO/IATA code

To create a database of this site took over a year. All data were collected by hand and we can be proud of our work.

Chief pilot
"Airports Universe"


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Airport codes

Airport codes Porto de Moz in Porto De Moz, Para, Brazil (BR)

Name Porto de Moz
City Porto De Moz (Read more about Porto De Moz)
Region Para (show all 25 airports in Para)
Country Brazil (show all 760 airports in Brazil)
ISO country code BR
Airport Codes:
Latitude 01° 44' 29.23" S
Longitude 052° 14' 09.84" W
Map of Airport codes Porto de Moz in Porto De Moz, Para, Brazil (BR):

Airports of Brazil

Porto de Moz is the most important airport of Porto De Moz, Para, Brazil. It is modern and one of the largest airport of the South America. Porto de Moz is important for people and goverment of Brazil.

IATA and ICAO codes of Porto de Moz

Airports of Brazil have international codes of IATA and ICAO. An IATA airport code is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world (including Brazil), defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The characters prominently displayed on baggage tags attached at airport check-in desks are an example of a way these codes are used.

ICAO and IATA codes of Porto de Moz

The ICAO airport code is a four-letter alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The ICAO codes are used by air traffic control and airline operations such as flight planning. They are not the same as the IATA codes encountered by the general public, which are used for airline timetables, reservations, and baggage handling.

Fast searching

Searching by ICAO/IATA code

To create a database of this site took over a year. All data were collected by hand and we can be proud of our work.

Chief pilot
"Airports Universe"


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Airport codes

Airport codes Male, Maldives (MV)

City Male (Read more about Male)
Country Maldives (show all 6 airports in Maldives)
ISO country code MV
Name ICAO IATA Latitude Longtitude Link
Male ACC FIC VRMF More Info...
Male International VRMM MLE 4° 11' 31" N 73° 31' 45" E More Info...

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Searching by ICAO/IATA code

To create a database of this site took over a year. All data were collected by hand and we can be proud of our work.

Chief pilot
"Airports Universe"


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Sunday, May 27, 2007

The Disi project (yet again)

I attended a talk by Abdulkarim Gharaibeh a while back. In it, he reminisced about a meeting he had with the prime minister in 1985. At the time, the prime minister told Gharaibeh and other attendees that the government had two top priorities: exploiting the oil shale in Jordan and pumping water from the Disi aquifer to Amman. At this point, the audience roared with laughter, as 22 years later, the government is still saying the same things.

Last year, the government offered a tender to do the project. Back then, I said that the government was buying time. Sure enough, it is time to announce who won the contract. The government is dallying, and the PM now is suggesting that it will be too expensive. Fahd Khitan (Al Arab Al Yawm) suggests that people with vested interests (powerful people) are fighting against implementation of the project. While this may be a factor, most likely is that the project is too expensive. Can’t they just say it?

I know. They should offer another tender. Surely that government would have changed by the time a new decision has to be made.

At 12:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It seams that the current president did servive this purge.

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Day 2 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge

Today's Question:  Day 2 - What's in your handbag?

Usually a bit of a mess!  I've got the typical...wallet, phone, lip gloss (Burt's Bees is my fav), bottle of Tylenol, kleenex, lotion, sunglasses, nail file, Tums.  But I also have some unusual...like a flash drive.  Here's the pic...

The best part of my purse is the color -- purple -- my favorite!  I have to admit, I am not a "change your purse for the outfit/occasion" kinda gal.  I usually use a purse until it wears out completely  And I have NEVER bought a Coach purse -- I always buy on sale.  (I do have a Coach wristlet and card holder that was given to me as a gift).  I'd rather spend my money on something else like a great sweater or pair of jeans.  This summer I visited a friend in Indiana and she introduced me to Vera Bradley, thus the wallet.

Want to join in the fun of this blog challenge?  Check it out at:

or see my post from yesterday for a complete list of the questions.  Coming up tomorrow -- what's in my makeup bag.

1 comment:

  1. We have the same wallet. Check my blog out, I gave you an award.

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India News - Agriculture

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Agriculture, an important sector of our economy accounts for 14 per cent of the nation’s GDP and about 11 per cent of its exports. India has the second largest arable land base (159.7 million hectares) after US and largest gross irrigated area (88 milion hectares) in the world. Rice, wheat, cotton, oilseeds, jute, tea, sugarcane, milk and potatoes are the major agricultural commodities produced. More importantly, over 60 per cent of the country’s population, comprising several million small farming households, depends on agriculture as a principal income source and land continues to be the main asset for livelihood security.

India grayscale.png
March 25, 2015
Constructed wetlands as a cost effective cleaning option
Water treated using constructed wetlands before being used for irrigation can be a suitable and cost effective option to prevent possible human health risks
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March 23, 2015
Punjab's groundwater crisis: A by-product of the govt's short sighted policies?
As long as electricity is improperly priced and farmers get the MSP for rice, they will not take up maize cultivation. This will lead to further deterioration of groundwater.
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March 3, 2015
Unseasonal rains damage crops worth Rs 10,000 crore
Crop loss could be to the extent of up to 20 per cent of total production in northern and central states
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March 2, 2015
Keepers of a complex irrigation system in Bihar
The Ahar Pynes irrigation systems were originally built and managed by the Zamindars of South Bihar. How does the system function today and who is responsible for it?
India grayscale.png
September 3, 2013
Changing climate, changing lives - A film on the impact of climate change on agriculture in Dhulikhel, Nepal
This video echoes the voices of people experiencing the brunt of climate change in the Nepal Himalayas.