It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear . . . . It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold on to.

Marilyn Ferguson

FYI - I had a little discussion with my coworkers (I think) about who gets to keep the ring if a wedding is called off. Maybe it was a debate with my friends, who knows. For your enlightenment, I happened across the answer:

"Generally, if the bride calls off the wedding and her ring was a gift from the groom, it's appropriate for her to return it. If the groom calls it off, the bride may still want to return the ring because she doesn't want to be reminded of their failed engagement. (If he was a real jerk, though, we can't argue against taking it to the pawnshop.) If the ring is a family heirloom, it should go back to the family it came from, regardless of why the wedding was canceled. If the couple bought the ring together, they need to decide what to do with it, as with any other joint purchases they've made. (Perhaps they can both take it to the pawnshop and split the earnings!)
As to whether the recipient (in most cases, the woman) is legally entitled to keep the ring, laws regarding this issue vary from state to state. Check with a lawyer who specializes in matrimonial matters before you pursue legal action. "
-- from The Knot

GT 52 Tulsa 10
(Humanitarian Bowl... oooh, big timers)

And the new year in football starts out well for me. The final play was a fumble recovery by Tech, made by Smith (a receiver) who was just playing safety for fun. Poor Tulsa, long drive home.

I just can't leave the south... Here it is, January 3rd and today's forecast is 70 degrees. Tomorrow is 72!!!

(I checked Ann Arbor's forecast for comparison... 59 today, not too bad, 32 tomorrow with snow. Uhhh, okay, a little bit of a jump there....)

What one thing are you most looking forward to . . .

1. ...today? Finishing The Cat Who Played Brahms (from the Braun mystery series that are such fun, easy reads).

2. ...over the next week? School starts back, which means it won't just be me and Rebecca in the office. Fun-fun!
2.b over the next month? I get to be a bridesmaid for Rachel, yay!

3. ...this year? Moving to wherever for grad school.

4. ...over the next five years? Getting progressively closer to 30?? Oh wait, no.

5. ...for the rest of your life? Lots of fun and diversions.

Wanna feel smart (or stupid)?

Try the King William's College quiz

"Pupils at King William's College on the Isle of Man have suffered this fiendish general knowledge quiz for 99 years. The average score is just two. Answers in the new year "

Though the average is supposedly a 2; based on responses at MetaFilter, this is either an easier quiz or the kids don't try too hard, because they know they have to look up 99% of the answers anyway.

BTW, I got at least seven right based on the MetaFilter posts. I'll put my answers in the comments (yay, it serves a purpose!) Feel free to one-up or ten-up me.

Poll: Limp Bizkit, Creed worst bands of year

Guitar World Magazine's readers voted on the worst bands of the year. Here are the results:
1. Limp Bizkit - I think they got this solely on the basis of the lame exchange between Fred Durst and Britney this year.
2. Creed ("came in at No. 2 even though the Christian combo took the year off.") As Supercres.net quoted: "Even Jesus hates Creed."
3. The Strokes - Hey now, they're cool!
4. "all pop-punk bands" - enough said (3XK will be so happy).
5. Good Charlotte - It's a good thing my little sister doesn't read this page, or she would cry.

Woman Files $10M Suit Vs. Starbucks

Remember several years ago, when a woman sued McDonalds for getting burned when she dropped the coffee in her lap? I think that's how much she wanted, too. Is $10Mil the standard for coffee burns?
I bought a coffee from one of those little automated machines yesterday, which poured down my hand when I tripped on a hose in the construction going on between the library and my building. When this happened, a very sensitive soul on a bench outside of the library applauded while I tried to wipe off the scalding liquid with one tiny napkin... I think I deserve the $10Mil payout too, for pain AND embarrassment. Maybe I can file a complaint with the machine, though I'd probably get my payout in quarters.

(Link courtesy of the Obscure Store)

I added comments to my blog courtesy of Enetation. They have spelling errors (including the dreaded your/you're error) all over, so who knows how well this will work out...

They may or may not prove to be popular, but sometimes I just have to comment on other people's blogs, and my blog (with no email link or comments) would drive me nuts.

I've got some occasional readers who might get a kick out of this:

Subtly Simpsons
A collection of some of the more subtle and clever jokes from the show, along with some unhelpful ('duh'-inducing) commentary.

I think we're under attack....

Is it any coincidence that less than 10 minutes after fireworks were going off left and right, there were sirens tearing through town?


PS- Was there any talk of a Y2K+4 crisis? Why is my instant messenger down now that I can't get to sleep and want to see who's up? What a lousy start to my new year!!

Starting points for your resolutions (can you tell I'm "relaxing into the new year" by staying very cozy in my apartment??)

- Want to get into better financial shape? Try the Basics Page from SmartMoney.com.

- Want to get rid of the clutter? Try About.com's advice on organizing or the more philosophical advice from Discardia.

- What to be funnier? You can start with some anecdotes from Reader's Digest.

- Want to be smarter? or at least sound smarter... There are lots of word-of-the-day lists like those at Dictionary.com or at Merriam-Webster.

- If you're like 3XK, maybe you should look into being more liberal. I prescribe 30 days of reading Alternet.org.

Public Service Announcement:
A few things to keep in mind if you make some new resolutions tonight:
(some of these have vague psychological justifications, others are personal experience)

- It takes 30 days committed to your new rule for it to stick- do whatever it is (or avoid whatever it is) 30 days and it becomes a habit. EVERY day.

- Make reasonable demands- I have a friend who swore off desserts for Lent last year. She and I are serious cake-a-holics, and we were on a cruise when lent began. Seriously bad for keeping your resolutions. Make reasonable demands on yourself.

- Make notes or reminders of your goal- I put up little signs to myself when I know I'm not going to be good about something. Also, when I'm on my exercise kicks (semester breaks always make me lazy), I mark every day that I exercise. It's encouraging to see a month full of X's.

This page offers more (though some similar) advice.

Grads recapture college days in alumni communities

So apparently, alums all over are moving to theme-neighborhoods. Here's the kicker though:
"Being true to your school does not come cheap: At the Georgia Club, cottages start in the mid-$200,000s. At a planned 800-acre Georgia Tech Club in Alpharetta, single-family homes are expected to range up to nearly $1 million."

Interesting price difference... Why oh why didn't I pick up my MRS degree while I was at Tech?? I guess I'm going to have to be my own money maker...

Forget the big ball, Atlantans watch the peach drop. But not this Atlantan. I don't like the idea of celebrating something that tastes, feels, and looks so yucky (I swear, it looks like we're getting mooned all the time by furry, leafed butts).

On Thursday, eBay will launch its first ever week-long "Get What You Really Wanted" campaign.

Think I could get anything for Twinkie the Kid?

A happy end to the year for Tiger fans (a long drive home for the Badgers):
Auburn 28 Wisconsin 14

What a way to end the year. It would've been fun to stay home and watch the game, but some of us have to work and catch only illicit glances of the GameCast from ESPN. Yay tigers.

Man trapped under mountain of books, papers

I thought that was going to be my fate yesterday while organizing the "library" at work.

Okay, I'm ready to showcase my Christmas highlights now. First and foremost, I tripled my DVD collection (which stood at 3 before). Among the new additions are the classics of romantic comedy- Jane Austen adaptations and Meg Ryan flicks. In addition I got lots of additional stuff- from the bizarre Twinkie container:


to the super cute ducky-socks:


To name a few other things, I also got a toaster oven (fantastic!), Winnie the Pooh and Auburn towels, Bryson's Short History of Nearly Everything, and a bracelet from my friend who apparently thinks I need to be an uber-geek blogger (a picture of the bracelet is now the main image for the page). Can I wear the name of my blog proudly? or should I pretend it has some other esoteric meaning?

(BTW, I tried SO hard to get a non-fuzzy picture of "Alacrity"... but it was not to be. That was the most legible I could do. I just can't hold still enough).

PS- the PJs you see in the second picture are also new, but were not specifically a Christmas gift... Yes, they say "Peas on Earth" and have peas with santa caps on a gift-wrapped earth.