The Wink

So, Loyal Readers®, this weekend I came across a rarity. A genuine Winker. The wink came while I was telling some story or another and suddenly, she winked. The key part of this whole story, though, was that the winking was just a kind of acknowledgement. Kinda saying "I feel ya', Tony." The way Ms. Winker pulled it off, I could just tell.

I'm not sure why but I am a fan of winking. Call it goofy or strange if you wish but I think winking is lost on some people. The Wink has so many layers. Winking can be flirtatious or coy. Winking can be snide, it can punctuate a joke. Plus, there is a certain art to winking. You have to be able to pull one off quickly without getting your whole face in on the action. You have to be able to close your mouth while doing it. You have to have enough winking control to let the rest of your face convey any feelings behind the wink. This girl did all those things. Yes, Loyal Readers®, genuine Winkers are hard to find.

That made my day.

Tryptophane love

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!



Have some pumpkin pie for me.

"We got this one."

So, last night after league a friend officially called me off on planning a New Year's party. She actually called dibs on said party. I suppose she knows me well enough to realize I was planning one too.

I suppose I will just have to show up with the Champagne and my wonderful personality. I LOVE New Year's parties.

Good Morning Homogenous World!

Today I was listening to Talk of the Nation and there was a whole segment on Vietnam. For various reasons, Vietnam has been on my "Next Big Trip" list for about 5 years so I listened. Recently, though, I feel dirty (or hipster) for wanting to go there. Vietnam has become the hot new destination. Forget Tahiti. Forget the Seychelles. Forget Mt. Kilaminjaro. Now Mr. Abercrombie and Ms. Fitch are off to Vietnam.

This idea was highlighted with the first caller on the Vietnam segment of TOTN. Up to that point, the discussion had centered on how Vietnam was turning around its infrastructure was becoming more modern. Well, this caller talked about how she and her husband had been to Vietnam within the last 15 months. The caller lamented the crowded streets, gross water, poor health care, and, get this, lack of KFC and McDonald's! Then, you could hear her scoff. This was one of those moments where I wanted to reach out through radio land and slap-a-ho. Are you serious? No KFC or McDonald's is a bad thing! Apparently, this person thought she was booking a trip to Paris instead of Hanoi. UGH!

Following that, a commentator with the program mentioned how the English word "stress" was creeping it's way into everyday usage in Vietnam. See, there is no one word that adaquately emcompasses the idea of stress in Vietnamese. Until the use of the word "stress" caught on, stress was expressed more as an abstract idea as opposed to a state of being. Gotta love cultural imperialism.

At this point, I arrived at my lunch spot and drowned my disappointment in a sandwich and snickerdoodle. Snickerdoodles make everything better.

Flashes of Joy

A few recent occurences that have made me smile:

-Cool foggy mornings that clear up to warm sunny days
-Shower Party and Fango!
-Finding Fat Tire for $6.99 a 12-pack
-Barbecue Chicken Pizza--'nuff said
-Thinking of sunny beaches and poolside drinks in Acapulco
-Photoshopping a friend's really cute (there's that word again) 1st grade pics for her 30th B-day invites.

Not bad at all everyone. Not bad at all. You?

Speaking of

Since we were on the subject of Hummers.

I *HEART* WHLZ

California has special "Protect the Coast and Ocean" license plates out.



I saw the title message on a set of these plates yesterday.

They were on a Hummer.

"It's like the Super Bowl for us!"

That's how one of my friends described tonight's election coverage. The great thing is that she appreciates my nerdiness when it comes to things like this.

She's right, ya' know. I'll be in front of the TV with guacamole and beer, waiting for the results. I hope the commercials are good.

Word of the Day

Persnickety

–adjective Informal.
1. overparticular; fussy.
2. snobbish or having the aloof attitude of a snob.
3. requiring painstaking care

This was used to describe someone I know recently and it fits so well, I just had to share it with y'all. Using this word liberally and "Booing" people have been my favorite activities for the week. Is that bad?

Also, for all you Ultimate Frisbee fans, feel free to stop by my new friends at Casual Ultimate and give them a shout out. They might return with some Chi-town love. If you are worthy, that is.

Halloween!

I just wanted to say how much fun it was to hand out candy ond go trick or treating with my nephew. My favorites from last night included Wonder Woman, Tinkerbell, Spiderman and Cap'n Jack Sparrow. The costume for this year seemed to be princesses for the girls (Is it always that way??) but I really coul dnot spot any real trends with the boys. Of course, there was the usual assortment of "scary" normal things like scary doctors, cheerleaders, President Bush and scary drum majors. Fun times!

Either way, I hope y'all had a good Halloween.