2002-09-01 - 10:45 p.m.
Well....so far, this weekend has not gone at all as I had expected...I have not been able to get an internet connection worth a bean (nothing much over 19 Kbps!)....I was hoping to use a friends computer yesterday, since he just got a brand new super~duper high speed one....but there were technical difficulties....and right now my connection options are less than good. On top of that, I have three kids running around me, none of which are mine (I have no kids of my own, thank God!)....there is too much noise here to think....and I have been disconnected about three times in the last hour. Hmmm.....I think I'm going to have a martini and take a bath. If you don't hear from me for a couple of days, don't get too worried.....next stop Dunsmuir, CA on Tuesday....then Astoria, Or on Wednesday.....somewhere, somehow I'll get a good connection and a silent moment....and I'll give you the full story....something interesting....that you'll actually want to read...I promise!!! Stay tuned.......
2002-08-31 - 9:11 p.m.
Remember way back in the good old days, when people used to travel without giving a thought to how they were going to connect to the internet....or whether or not the cell phone could get a signal???! I long for the good old days!! Right now, I'm connected at 12.0 Kbps.....I think it would have actually been faster if I'd just called all of you on the telephone, and read this to you directly!!!
I was planning to tell you all about Harris Ranch...but I don't even know if I can upload this....so if you're reading this right now....lucky you! I'm going to disconnect now...and try again later on my friend's computer...with a different connection....wish me luck! I think I'm going through broadband withdrawal!!!!!
comments??? (0 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-08-29 - 10:50 p.m.
Well, in order to bring you more interesting stuff to read....we have decided to make our road trip just a little more road trippy and leave tomorrow.....yes...we are doing this just for you! Our first stop will be Harris Ranch, the oasis of luxury, in the middle of nowhere...halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I always stop to eat there on my trips back and forth (great cocktails, great food...order the salmon burger)......but this time, we're spending the night!! I've only stayed there once before...and unfortunately, that was with a very dreadful travelling companion! But the hotel is so great that I've been dying to stay there again....and this time, I will be with my Love (and with my cat!).....so it will be fabulous!! So stay tuned, people....there's a lot more to come....
2002-08-29 - 12:34 a.m.
Hmmm...now that BlogCon is over....I'm having that writer's block thing....that stare~blankly~at~the~screen~wondering~what~on~earth~I'm~going~to~write~next thing.....hmmmm......the most exciting thing I did today was go to the store to buy tuna for my cat.....woo hoo! Well...never fear....another road trip is near. Yes, it's time again for my long trek back up to Astoria. This time, hopefully, to begin the remodel/reconstruction of the back end of the building......although, I spoke with my handyman/tenant/contractor tonight...and now I'm really not quite sure what's going to happen. So stay tuned....I leave on Saturday.....and I'm sure there will be stories to tell......
2002-08-28 - 12:59 a.m.
The most difficult thing about BlogCon....is having to write about it! Reading what other people wrote is great fun...but writing about it is hard!!! There were so many interesting people...so many funny little things that happened...it's one of those "you had to have been there" sort of deals. But the best thing about BlogCon was the people....I didn't meet anyone I didn't like.....and there was way more sense of humor and fun than I had expected.
On my first post about this event, I described the group as being sort of shy and quiet....but I was sooo wrong!! As the days progressed and we got to know each other....everyone let loose...and there was much partying and fun....I didn't go to every event, but there were stories!
Anyway...the best I can do to describe this event, is to describe the people....and even that is hard!! But the list below describes the people I had the most contact with. I know there were others that I met...but either so briefly that I didn't get all the details...or too late at night so I can't remember all the details! If I leave you out...please forgive me...and leave me a comment to refresh my memory! If you were one of the people I asked the same question of 12 million times....also, please forgive me...hey, it was Vegas OK?! I had too much fun! Alright, here goes:
Batgirl. She was the first person I spoke to at the event. Even though I had never met her before...I somehow knew it was her when I walked up to the group and asked, "Is this BlogCon???" (I guess it was because she has a little picture of just her eyes on her site...so in person, that gave her away.) She's from New Orleans, and had never been to Vegas before...so her big agenda was to see all Vegas had to offer. This seemed to fit everyone else just fine, since a lot of people had never been there before. One thing that struck me about Batgirl was that it seemed like I had met her before...I kept thinking she seemed sooo familiar. Then it struck me....she is a lot like "Kate" on The Drew Carey Show! The suave hip tomboy, not tomboy, girly girl not girly girl, cool person to hang out with, flirt, not flirt, who will take charge and make the party happen.
Jon. This guy came with a reputation and a nickname, "Mr. CrankyPants"...I was expecting the worse....but he ended up being the guy we spent the most time with....he was great! The type of guy with a rye sense of humor...and a great sense of food! A complicated character with a really good camera! He had spent the most time trekking to Vegas in order to write up the impressive agenda. This event would not have been the event it was without Jon. On the last night of the event, we ended up running around with him....trying to find people....trying to lose people...it was great fun...perhaps the best part of the whole event!
Mikey. This guy, I had never heard of before...but, he was at the very first meeting....with a major hangover! Gradually his story came out...and he never lived it down....supposedly staying up til 5am and getting Erin to go to a strip club and have a lap dance....or was it the other way around?!?!! Anyway...he was the resident party animal....amazingly, he inspired the most unlikely people to go get lap dances! He was quite the personality!
Jill. Oh what can I say about Jilly??! This is a woman with a great sense of humor, who is not afraid to make fun of herself...a self admitted "feminist" who is not afraid to get a lap dance. She's like a combination of KD Lang and Rosanne...in the best sense! She was the one that got picked at random to "Shave Hoopty" (a charity event...but raucous none the less)....she became a personality...a comedienne....she was the perfect person for the event....her line, "This is the closest I will ever come to owning a man!"....as she shaved a big J into hoopty's hair......classic!
kd. And what to say about kd???? I didn't get to spend enough time with her....I unfortunately asked her the same questions about 12 billion times....mainly because Vegas is full of that mind numbing alcohol...and every time I asked her the same question...my mind was in that numb state! It was only on the last day that I finally figured out that she lives fairly close to me (sorry kd!!!! Really, I'm not that brain dead all the time!)...but it wouldn't have been BlogCon without kd!! And she has a great voice, for some reason, I remember her voice!
Skits. Skits! I really didn't get any time to spend with Skits. She's one of the few blogs that I read regularly before the event....and she was almost how I pictured her...but much more bubbly....never one that I would have expected to get a lap dance (she has a husband and all!!) but then "lapdance" seemed to be the operative word....everybody was doing it! So funny!
Jenny. The beauty from Australia! She came from the farthest away...which was very impressive...and also helped to give BlogCon a much bigger..."global" sort of feel. I didn't get to spend much of any time with her....but I really liked her....and wish her well on her trip to New York!
Hoopty. And then there was Hoopty....I'm pretty sure he was taller than most of us....and more cantankerous than most of us...but he doesn't drink...so he probably never got a hangover....like most of us. I didn't get to hang around Hoopty much, but I had to mention him....his head shaving event was one of the big highlight's of BlogCon....it was a big to do...almost everybody was there for it. The classic moment was when they were trying to set up the live webcam....they had been working on it and working on it....but couldn't get it to work....suddenly someone asks "why is this unplugged?"....and it turned out that was the whole problem! Classic. Everybody clapped....so silly...so obvious...it was just unplugged!
OK...so those descriptions don't give you the half of it....and there were so many fabulous people I haven't mentioned....and my descriptions barely do justice to those I have....and I don't even have pictures (due to my dead camera)!! So go now...click click click on over to all the other sites.....reading what everybody else has to say, it's almost as good as being there! Goodnight everybody!
comments??? (8 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-08-26 - 11:34 p.m.
Yes...I know I promised to blog about BlogCon when I got home...and I've been in the process of writing it up for the last couple of hours....but while I was trying to track down links to everyone's blog...I kinda got sidetracked reading what everyone wrote about the event! I promise to put up a genuine full post tomorrow....but until then, I highly recommend going to the BlogCon site and just start reading....go click on the links of the conspirators...and follow their links to everyone else.....there is some really great writng out there!
2002-08-24 - 5:04 p.m.
Hey there! Sorry I haven't been posting much...I feel sort of guilty since so much has been going on......but I'm working off of the little computer terminal that comes with the room....and it's rather limiting. I can't upload pictures, I can't go to my bookmarked sites, I can't cut, copy, past.....so my posts here will be a little minimalesque until I get home....and I'll put links in later too. So, for now, I'll just give you a brief picture of what's been going on....then I'll write up the details when I get back.
Last night was Batgirl's party...which was quite fun...a few new faces showed up....including FryKitty....when she introduced herself, the whole room lit up and everyone said "Oh! Frykitty!!!"....she is one of the people getting married today. Then this morning I missed out on the early stuff because I had too much fun at Batgirl's party and had to sleep in (a.k.a. hangover)....but we made it to the "Shave Hoopty" event (more details later) where Jill of Jadedju got to do the shaving.....and I must say she was the perfect person to do it (more details later)...this was really the whole point of the whole event and was really great fun...most of the bloggers were at this event.
Then it was time for my spa appointment (you know me....if there's a spa....I've got an appointment!)And now we're just kind of hanging out...the next event we're going to is "Mr. Crankypants' brie and pate party"....this should really be the capper, since everybody is finally here now...I think.
Alright....so that's it in a nutshell...when I get back, I'll give all the gossip in detail....so stay tuned!!!!!! Oh...one last thing...check out the BlogCon site for the live webcam and other details...click here!
comments??? (6 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-08-24 - 1:37 a.m.
Spa....mmmmmmm. 50 minutes of Swedish massage followed by 25 minutes of "Strawberry Herbal Back Cleanse"! Oh yes!!!
Stay tuned....if I can still type after all of that....well, I'll let you know........
comments??? (1 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-08-23 - 4:49 p.m.
Just a quick update from BlogCon. This morning we met with about half a dozen of the bloggers...not everybody's here yet, but so far I've met bloggers from Louisiana, Arizona, California, and Australia. The thing that struck me, was that everyone seemed a little quiet...almost shy. I know that mainly comes from the fact that we don't know a thing about each other, except what we reveal in our blogs......but I also think it's because we are actually a group of writers....we are probably more used to expressing ourselves on the computer than in social situations. At least, for me this is true. I hadn't thought about that before the event...but I find it interesting.
Anyway....tonight, Batgirl is having her Louisiana Lounge party....and by then, hopefully, most of the others will have arrived. And, hopefully, I will get to know everybody better. So stay tuned....and let the gossip begin!
comments??? (2 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-08-23 - 12:31 a.m.
Hello from Las Vegas!
I'm actually writing this to you on the little "internet terminal" that comes with the room. It's supposed to be "high speed"...but actually it's a little slow! They let you use it for $10 a day....which is really quite good compared to using the phone here: $1.00 per minunte for the first 30 minutes...then 10 cents a minute after that! Aaagh!
Anyway...I'll post more tomorrow...right now it's time to order room service!!
comments??? (2 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-08-21 - 11:45 p.m.
The "list"....
1. LIVING ARRANGEMENT? Complicated! Mostly now I live in Los Angeles in an apartment that I share with my Love, near the beach....but sometimes I live in the San Fransisco Bay Area....then other times I live in Astoria, Oregon. Sometimes I think I just live in my car...since I spend so much time driving between the three places.
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Hearst Castle, The Biography of a Country House....but the next book waiting to be read is Trailer Travel: A Visual History of Mobile America.
3. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't have a mouse pad....I have a laptop with a touch pad.
4. FAVORITE CARD GAME? I haven't played a card game in a long long time!
5. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? Sometimes I really like to go to a magazine stand and just pick out something that looks interesting....I particularly go for big thick design magazines....or foreign magazines. But for day to day....I subscribe to Comic News, Allure, Outside, Smithsonian, Architectural Digest, and sometimes Martha Stewart.
6. FAVORITE SMELL? Basically, I don't have a sense of smell anymore...(I've had sinus sugery)....but every now and again I can smell a little something.....in those times I would most like to smell coffee and chocolate....and I love perfume...the little glimpses that I can get of it....I wish I could smell more.
7. LEAST FAVORITE SMELL? Rotting flowers, car exhaust, garbage (thank goodness I can't smell anymore!)
8. FAVORITE SOUND? My cat purring.
9. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? The loss of a loved one.
10. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP? I'll just sleep for a fewwww more minutes......zzzzzzzzzzz........
11. FAVORITE COLOR? It used to be red.....then I sort of switched over to yellow....but in general, I like unusual use of color.....and I like sunset colors.
12. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? That depends on which phone! Anyone I really want to talk to has my cell number....so I always answer that (if I can get a signal!)....if it's any other phone....I wait for the answering machine to go off to see who it is. The people I want to talk to understand this methodology!
13. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE? Everything.
14. FAVORITE FOODS? Pizza, brie, salmon...almost anything at a good restaurant!
15. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Chocolate....unless it's really really decadently good vanilla.
16. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST? I like to have a fast and powerful car.
17. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? No.....but I love lots of pillows!
18. STORMS - COOL OR SCARY? I hate storms....in Astoria there are huge storms every winter....100 mile per hour winds are not uncommon....and I always have to worry about my building making it through the next storm. If you want to experience storms.....come, spend a winter in my building in Astoria. Trust me....you won't like storms anymore!
19. WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? My first car was a red Porsche 914 2.0...and for the life of me, I can't remember what year it was. Long before I could drive, I determined that my first car was going to be a Porsche....and I'm still proud to this day that I made that happen. And out of all the cars I've owned since then, that 914 was one of my favorites (and that's saying a lot!!)
20. FAVORITE DRINK? Bombay Sapphire Martini....up with a twist.
21. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI? No....I don't like the stems of broccoli or cauliflower...or the stems of asparagus....I only like the delectable tips!
22. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB YOU WANTED WHAT WOULD IT BE? Millionaire.
23. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR? I wish it was easier to dye hair. For many years now I have been dying my hair black, but if it were easier to just switch to a new color, I'd probably try out different things. Actually....there was a particular shade of red that I used to use about 15 years ago...it was an amazing red...made by L'oreal, I think....it was an absolutely fabulous color...then they stopped making it! If I could find that again....I'd switch in a minute!
24. EVER BEEN IN LOVE? Oh yes!
25. IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL? I think I need another glass!
26. FAVORITE MOVIE? The African Queen.
27.DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? Whatever's convenient!
28. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? Fluff....I really should vacuum under there!
29. FAVORITE NUMBER? 67
30. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? car racing
31. SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU. Zelda sent this to me, and I must say, she's got one of the best blogs around!
comments??? (0 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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