let's play...TWENTY QUESTIONS!!!

Is it the origin of the urn to which John Keats wrote an ode? yes
Is it the home of the parthenon? yes
Is it the home of the pantheon? no
Is it the home of the vatican? no
Was it home to the first Olympic games? yes
If you get a salad of this type, will it most likely have kalamata olives and feta cheese? yes
Does it have an island named Lefkada? yes
Do people of this nationality stereotypically have big and fat weddings? yes
In the sisterhood of the traveling pants, does Alexis Bledel travel here and fall in love? yes
Does Pete have a cafe on Colfax featuring this type of cuisine? yes
Was Aristotle born here? yes
Is it bigger than a bread box? yes
Is it bigger than Texas? no
Is it close to Cuba? no
Is it sometimes prefaced with "ancient"? yes
Did Paul teach here on Mars Hill? yes
Is it home to the Acropolis? yes
Is it home to the coliseum? no
Will the writer of this blog be going here in September and staying in a house with a woman native to this place? yes
Are the coasts the most romantic and beautiful in the world? yes

Can YOU figure it out?

The first to get it right will get one free gyro of your choice.

UPDATES!!!

The stray was carted away by maintenance (I LOVE living in an apartment). I can't believe - I'm almost 30 and the cats are coming to me, the old spinster, but I sent him packing. Oh, and I sent the Lime Ricki suit back. The bottom half looked nude and the top was WAY too big. To look like I am out of middle school, is that too much to ask?

So, I purchased a new one on VS - the picture online might be a tad immodest, but on me (with NO cleavage), I think it will be a-okay. IF it's cute, I may post pictures once it comes. Cross your fingers it fits!!

I ran the Bolder Boulder (a 10K) for the third year and got my best time. Still not under an hour, but REALLY close.

I am in the middle of three books right now - Atlas Shrugged, Wealth of Nations and Undaunted Courage. By the end of the summer, I will be done with all three. So let it be written, so let it be done. CONFESSION: I started UC and WoN at least 2 years ago. Disgruntled that I can get through 4 twilight books in a matter of months, but books that REALLY might breed new thought and further my intellectual capacity sit on the shelf half read for years. Bad sign of character or is this NORMAL??

I am almost done with my application for school at CU Denver. I just need to write the essay. I should start in August if all goes as planned. 37 credits to the MCAT and about 9 years to life as a dermatologist.

My little roommate Jennie is coming to town in October - I LOVE HER!!

I will be traveling out of the country at the end of the summer. These are the options:

Finland/Greece/Italy
France/Switzerland/maybe Spain
New Zealand/Fiji

Any suggestions?

strays

Meowing at volumes previously unsurpassed by domestic felines, the gray stray bared his sharp, carnivorous canines and glowered at me. Hungry, full of intention, he crept toward the screen and clawed his way to a standing height of over two feet. Sensing a territorial battle approaching, I quickly grasped the glass door for protection and slammed it noisily to a close, bringing lowder, almost baby-like cries. Not to be halted in my endeavor to separate myself, I floundered with the lock and brought the long venetians to a quiet close. Silence. If only the glass divide between us could ameliorate the guilt I felt inside. No creature should feel so unwanted.

Undeterred, the cries began once again, screaming at me as if he would will his way inside. What did he want? Why me? GO HOME. I do not want you. The embodiment of torture, just the thought of reaching down for one small carress along his jagged fur brings me running to the rescue of the smallest of pills.

Animal control....are you there? leave a message? not open? one more night, I can do it. Resolved, hopeful for resolution, I leave. Hours later, my return finds the situation unchanged. I will not back down. I go to bed, waking up to the same vicious cries. No, I will not feed you, PLEASE just go home, you find no friends here. I feel so cold, so unloving. The internal struggle rises, I have some milk, just a little will do no harm. No harm? He will NEVER leave if he has the slightest window of hospitality. I look, he looks back. The silent staring ensues. Who will give in, who will conquer. I close the blinds. I will not back down.

Animal control calls. Cats are free to roam. No help, no resolution. Thoughts of picking up the tortured bring hallucinations, no, there must be another way. I step out, glass in hand, overturned and the ground is wet. Darn, a miss. Another one, a small splash on the fur, but he is coming back. More water, and still no reason to flee. He is not afraid. I have lost. A stray forever my new mate.

I just bought this on lime ricki. It is ULTRA modest. Perhaps too much so, but I love the turquoise and the tie in the back. I can't wait for summer!!! MOTIVATION to WORK OUT. Yes. I am FINALLY back into running. I think, this is still such a possibility because I might die on the swim, but I MIGHT do a triathlon. Oh, it's a lofty goal, but I gotta live for something right now.

Okay, I also MIGHT start taking some classes at UCD this summer. It's my 6 year anniversary graduating from BYU this month. Yes, that's college. 6 years. yikes times two. That's a long time. I need to hit the books so I don't totally turn every part of my non-accounting brain to mush. Biology and chemistry are on the list for the first semester back. Maybe in about 6 more years I can take the DAT and check that off the list :)

San Francisco, baby

Hello rice-a-roni and the GGB, I went to SF a couple months ago (again, alone) and here are some of the highlights.

Fisherman's Wharf on a wonderfully romantic and drizzly day...

Ghirardelli Square - mmm, samples of their crunchy peanut butter in chocolate...this is me after eating a bag of them

And a cupcake...

At Pier 39 - if you look close, you can see the merry-go-round. I love the colors in this picture.

The bed, luxury in the name of Pickwick. The name of the hotel was the real draw for me - the Pickwick Hotel - it sounds so 19th century...and it was. Lots of character and charm.




I loved it, the beautiful rain and fog, the closeness of the ocean, the company. Yes, although I went alone, my dearest Owen came to see me!!! I'm so lucky to have such a great friend to drive so far just to spend a few short hours together. AND, to top it all off, there were two H&M's within blocks of the Pickwick. within blocks. not even planned. it was a good trip.

Andrew, I need you

I know all I ever talk about is music. I'm sorry about that, and I'll try to keep my raves to a minimum tonight, but I'd like to thank Andrew McMahon, the boys from Matchbook, Dashboard, and of course, Jimmy. oh man, Jimmy. They are the reason I am still alive, my lifeboat. The world is so lucky they had the drive to pursue their dreams and give us the greatest, most wonderful gift of music.

My ipod broke a couple months ago, and the day it happened caused a minor crisis. I could barely concentrate. Not because I was worried about the broken ipod, but because I was lost without the music. I didn't realize my dependency, but it felt like losing a limb, I didn't think I would make it. It might be bad that I need it that much, but I think under the circumstances, with unending amounts of work and crazy hours, it was necessary. It's like the rays of sunshine feel on the first days of spring after a bleak winter. It's lifegiving.

So, crisis averted, I have redownloaded all my CD's (yes, I still own CD's, I think I am the last person alive that has never downloaded anything from itunes) and the IV is now dripping again.

bored to death - fact or fiction?

Boredom can lead to madness in parrots. The birds need constant interaction, affection, and mental stimulation; bird authorities have determined that some parrots have the mental abilities of a 5-year-old human child. When caged by themselves and neglected for long periods of time, these intelligent, sociable birds can easily become mentally ill. Many inflict wounds upon themselves, develop strange tics, and rip out their own feathers. Should a neglected parrot go mad, there is little that can be done to restore it to normalcy. In England, there are mental institutions for such unfortunate creatures.

Weird facts popping up in the useless knowledge bank...