Kristin Quotes of the Day

K: "Is that tupperware for your shoes?"
G: "No, it's a shoe box."
---
I bought a Peanuts "Love is..." calendar. Every month, there's a cute picture and a line about what love is. January: Love is walking hand-in-hand.
K: "That's an ironic calendar for someone who's got her love locked down."
---
K: "Oh my gosh, I am a middle-aged black man."
(When looking through her "The Office" calendar and noticing the similarities between Stanley and herself.)
---
It's a fun day of laughing in our office.

Map It.

Mailboxes
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

I just spent nearly the entire day geotagging 1,434 pictures on flickr.
I do feel a sense of accomplishment.
It's probably undeserving, but nonetheless.

At least I went to the market. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even gone outside today.

The Hand Expert

feeling the breeze
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

My sixth grade teacher just friended me on Facebook. I find that to be quite awesome. Especially because he was possibly one of the coolest teachers I ever had. He played the drums, was the coach of the basketball team and always did experiments from 'Bill Nye: The Science Guy'. (Maybe I had a crush on him... Hmmm, I never realized...)

Anyway, one of the most memorable assignments from his class was to choose any subject, research it and become an "expert". While other kids chose to be experts on surfing, the guitar and baking cookies, I chose to be an expert on hands. I memorized all the bones, muscles and drew huge diagrams. If I think about it now, I imagine my classmates were bored out of their minds during my presentation as I recited all the bones in the hand pointing them out on my huge pictures. 

Fast forward six years. It was my senior year at one of my high school's basketball games. I noticed my sixth grade teacher sitting a couple of rows ahead of me. I went over, introduced myself and asked if he remembered me.

His response: "Of course! The hand expert!"

As a child and throughout my life, I've always enjoyed drawing hands. A part of me thinks that's why I chose to be a hand expert.

So giddy...

What an exciting day! I don't believe Obama and his administration will fix everything, but I do believe they'll make better decisions than George W. That's good enough for me.

It was nice watching the inauguration with JJ, crying and cheering together. We saw his father in the crowd! After the inauguration ceremony ended, I spent about an hour with Midge, who served as the personal assistant to President Jimmy Carter. We both teared up again as she spoke about her journey. Midge has worked so hard on civil rights issues and women's rights. It's amazing to hear her speak. She gave me a copy of a pocket-sized Constitution today and wrote: "Now it's your turn to carry the torch. Hold it high and keep the flame bright."

Inauguration Day

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

with Stella

with Stella
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

She looks so annoyed, but I'm so happy.

A Couple in Chicago

The Obamas in 1996 from The New Yorker.

... was here

... was here
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

This is what happens when I'm not around. My computer gets around. What a whore.

Stella

IMG_2694
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

I start dog-sitting tomorrow. It's going to be so nice being reunited with Stella, the prettiest and most socially awkward dog ever. :)

I'm excited. I hope I can sleep tonight.

:( Chargers

It was so pretty while it was snowing during the beginning of the game.

Then, it all went downhill.

The entire city, county was so excited for this game. Everyone was wearing Chargers gear throughout the weekend. On my way home after watching the game, I saw a person take off his Chargers jersey. Everyone was so sad. It was so interesting to see such excitement and disappointment within three days.

Insomnia/Sick

I can't tell whether I have insomnia or I just can't sleep because I'm so congested...

I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and haven't been able to go back to sleep. 

But, I don't feel tired. 

I feel so awake. 

And, I've been so productive:

• paid all my bills for this month
• cleaned the place 
• organized my closet
• booked a flight to San Francisco
• bought a couple of books
• had breakfast
• watched "30 Rock" and "Ugly Betty"
• listened to a John Malkovich interview on KCRW
• listened to the Christmas sermon I missed at Flood Church

all before 7 in the morning. 

I still have the entire day! Wow, what to do...

Currently obsessed with:

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Echinacea
• The "Up Series"
• Andrew Bird

CONSPIRE art show presented by Sanctuary 143.

Sore Throat

Today is
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

I guess I haven't been sick in a while.
It was time.

I think I may be allergic to work. 

Work is definitely the culprit for this sudden illness.

I get tickled pink when...

Book Globe
Originally uploaded by gliuoo

I'm first in the queue for a book on hold at the library.

New:
- The whole story of Jonah (minus him being told to go to Nineveh) was probably figurative. I learned this in my study Bible commentary the other day and it made me kind of sad. I always liked believing he really was swallowed by a huge whale. I guess it's terrifying if it's real, but still... I feel like someone just popped my bubble.
- Flickr has a partnership with Blurb. One can create a book with pictures from Flickr and add text. The possibilities!
- I like football.

Can't fall asleep.

I even cheated, but it's not working.

Maybe it's because I feel anxious about going back to work tomorrow.

I think I shy away from New Year's Resolutions now. I just feel like it's a set up for disappointment. I figure if there's really something important I want to change in my life, I should start any day, not just wait around for New Year's. But, it is nice that everyone takes a moment to think about how to better their lives, so I guess I support it.

More than specific goals, I like the idea of having a theme. 

2009: Take more risks. Love boldly. Live generously.

Why peacocks can't fly

"Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity. Can't nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down."

- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Whew

Watched football all day. Such an emotional roller coaster.

In the end, I was happy because the Chargers won. :)

Thus far,

I haven't been doing too well with my grand movie-going plan, but it has been a pleasant vacation. 

Highlights:

• catching up with old friends, especially Matt and Kendall. Matt is my brilliant friend and aspiring writer. I think we spent at least a couple of hours of our day just talking about books. It was fantastic. Kendall is simply delightful. My stomach hurt the next day because I laughed so much.
• "the perfect date" in L.A. with Mon and Kendall = drinking blush wine while talking and listening to Kendall's sex mix, meeting strange men at a hookah bar, getting chocolate and strawberry donuts freshly made at four in the morning, driving back to Lake Elsinore at six while watching the sun rise. I realized how difficult stuff like this is for me now. It took me a couple of days to recover.
• new super soft bath robe.
• photography books!
• yummy naps.
• laughing at awkward moments between Johny and J.Lo.
• catching up on reading.