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July 30, 2008
SPECIAL REPORT
A new form of life has been discovered. It was first seen at the Japanese Martial Arts Center Christmas party when strange noises appeared to come from somewhere inside the dojo. It has since been dubbed the Matthew Monster.
This elusive little creature has disheveled hair, stands only 2 feet high and appears to wear strangely miniature clothing. Sightings of the Matthew Monster have so far been very sporadic, though he was recently spotted at a JMAC summer BBQ at the Prior residence.
Authorities have conducted further investigation which revealed that the open spaces, such as that of the dojo, seems to draw the creature out and induces it to move frenetically back and forth across the area.
One image was inadvertently captured during the first sighting of the creature. This woman's startled reaction to the Matthew Monster's sudden appearance provoked it to quickly begin chasing after her. Fortunately, the monster soon became sleepy, retreating back into its hidey hole and thankfully, no one was hurt.
WARNING: If you happen to encounter the Matthew Monster, we strongly urge you NOT to call the authorities, but to attempt to subdue it by tickling or hugging it. This should evoke laughter and may even save your life!
Posted by Amy at 10:45 PM | Comments (1)
July 28, 2008
2008 SMAA Seminar Weekend
We spent this weekend getting ready for and training in the 2008 Shudokan Martial Arts Association seminar. Don and I were hosting the BBQ on Saturday, so we had a ton of grocery shopping to do. We were expecting around 30-35 people to show. Plus, our friend Joe was staying with us.
Saturday was a big training day. Unfortunately, I got paired with a guy who kept trying to tell me how to do the techniques when he wasn't even doing them right himself. Then he actually had the nerve to tell me I should add a face-claw move before the technique. "I'm just thinking because you're a woman." OMG, you did NOT just say that to me!! But I kept my cool and my mouth shut. I was vindicated when the teacher came to tell him he wasn't doing the technique right. Though he still kept running his mouth, which I heard he'd been doing to everyone he worked with. At least I wasn't stuck with him the entire hour. I got to work with another woman and then with Don. Needless to say, I kept close to Don after that for the next hour. There's ALWAYS one of those apples at every seminar. As Jon says, "It wouldn't be complete without one."
Don & I skipped the afternoon judo seminar to start preparing for the BOY and boy did we need that time! We had a few people helping which was great since I didn't have Super Pammie there. People brought lots of pies, a ton of fruit salad, and other yummy goodies on top of our burgers, brats & hot dogs.
I spent most of the party playing with little Matthew Spengler who's just turned 4 years old. He's the most adorable little blond boy who has my heart wrapped around his little finger. After he showed me how well he knew John McCain's commercial (he'd say, "He's John McCain and he approves this message!" in a Pee Wee Herman-like voice) and singing the TMNT song, we played in the back yard. We played Ring Around the Rosie, I tickled him, he pretended he was Batman, then we sang Old MacDonald. I made sure to get plenty of hugs out of him. And he told me to kiss his baby sister Emma because she wasn't getting enough kisses, even after he'd been giving her lots of kisses on the cheek. :) After a while, we went inside to play and he helped me put out two (imaginary) fires and we talked on the "phone" (an empty water bottle). I had the best time because of Matthew. Jon told me the next day how Matthew kept repeating how much he missed me on the way home, and asked if they could come back to visit me. AWWW!! What a sweetheart!
Speaking of fires...the party got really heated (literally) when Andi came to me and said, "This is probably a REALLY STUPID question..." I thought, "Ok, what could it possibly be??" She continued, "...but your mulch isn't supposed to be on fire, is it??" My eyes immediately went large. "What??" I asked. "There's smoke out there in the front!" We ran through the house and as I opened the door and went down the front steps, I could see there was a spot about a foot in diameter where the mulch was burned and smoldering and, sure enough, there was smoke! Then suddenly, the wind kicked up and poof! Flames a foot high!! HOLY CRAP!!!! I RAN for the hose, turned it on and doused it quickly. Just as I did that, Achim, Eric and Scott came running around the other side of the house with the other hose, though I'd already put it out. Scott, who worked on a fire brigade, tells me that mulch can spontaneously combust because of the gases that build up underneath. If the mulch is too thick (which it was--nice going, Don!), it acts like a compost heap and the anabolic processes create gases and heat to the point where it could start a fire. WHO KNEW?!? Scott's even put out several mulch fires. Don wouldn't believe it and kept insisting that someone had dropped a cigarette butt into the mulch, but a) we didn't find ANY cigarette butt and b) I would hope that my guests are smart enough NOT to ash into a pile of flammable material. Besides, Joe & I looked it up on the internet and it appears that mulch really CAN spontaneously combust. LESSON: never put more than 2-4 inches of mulch in your garden! Thank goodness someone noticed the smoke and that it didn't happen in the middle of the night, let alone the fact that the house didn't catch fire (seeing as the flames were literally inches from the house!).
Well, thankfully, the rest of the party was quite a bit more calm.
Sunday, we trained again. Don and Joe went to the morning aiki-jutsu. I slept in without meaning to. I heard Don's alarm, but only heard it once (he'll usually let it go off several times) and the next thing I knew it was already 10am! I got up and met them for lunch. Then trained in the afternoon at the jujutsu & judo seminars. Good workout! But I was glad it was over. We went home and vegged out on the couch for a while because we didn't have any energy to do anything else. Joe had to leave around 7pm. After that, we spent some time in the hot tub and watched Harry Potter 3. We even went to bed a little early. The only thing that sucks is that I feel like I didn't really get a whole lot of time to relax. Maybe I'll only go to one class tonight. We'll see.
Posted by Amy at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2008
My Website is Live!
It's finally here! My website is now live. Now, potential employers can get my contact info, download my resume and my writing portfolio all from one page. Being an interactive copywriter, it didn't seem at all appropriate any longer to show people an actual, physical book of my work. Especially with how employers are using the Web more and more to look for employees. Hell, I don't even have to carry a paper resume or even a thumb drive around with my sample files! All they have to do is go on their computer.
The nice thing about it is that the url is the same as the blog, except it's priori2ude.com instead of .net. I don't want potential employers finding my blog just because I prefer to keep personal and work stuff separate, but there's little chance of them finding it since they'll remember .com and aren't very likely to type in .net.
Don helped me by programming the page in a way that allows me to edit all the information and upload or delete files as I want. The only thing I can't change on my own is the photo. Later, he's going to help me make it look even better by putting a background photo or something in the upper right corner. Even now, I think it's pretty darned slick!
Posted by Amy at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2008
Witness to a Hate Crime
This morning, as I was walking in from the parking lot, I saw something I couldn't quite believe, even though I was looking right at it. Someone had scratched the "n" word in big letters onto the hood of someone else's car. It was very unnerving and even a little scary. I didn't see who did it and I don't know if it had just happened or not, but I took the license plate number and reported it to the company receptionist. She said the car might belong to someone at another company in the other building, so she called the security company. I'm assuming they called the police, seeing as it's a hate crime and prosecutable by law.
It shook me because I've been very lucky to have led a pretty sheltered life from that sort of thing. Only once have I been the target of someone's racial hatred in college at MSU. I was walking through the dorm when I saw someone LEAP over their furniture and slam their door, so loud that I practically felt the sound in my chest. Then he screamed at the top of his lungs, "I HATE GOOKS!" At the time, I had never heard that term before (I didn't know much of the history of the Vietnam war) so I was very confused. Later, I mentioned it to a friend of mine who is also Asian and who explained it was a racial slur for Asians.
Maybe I watch too much Law & Order, but I hope the security cameras in the parking lot caught something on tape. Though I can't be sure it happened here. But maybe they'll find whoever defiled that poor person's car and they'll go to jail.
Posted by Amy at 03:57 PM | Comments (1)
July 04, 2008
In Memoriam: Sue Rose
It is with saddest regrets and a heavy heart to have to report that my best friend Sue Rose passed away July 2nd. Although she was very ill from cancer, I was really hoping for a miracle that she'd pull through this. Especially considering she came back from stage 4 breast cancer (the worst stage) and after watching my own mother pull out of her worst illness last year. Unfortunately, it was not to be. When we heard she went into the hospital, I went home and wrote her a letter which I planned to give her the next night. The doctors thought she would have about 2 weeks, but she only made it to Wednesday afternoon and I never got to give her the letter. So instead, I'll use this post as a tribute to her.
Dear Sue,
From the day I met you, I knew we had a lot of things in common and I came to think of you as my best friend. The more I got to know you, the more I came to love you. I soon thought of you as more than a best friend--I came to love you like a big sister and at times, even like a mother. There just aren't enough words to tell you how much better my life was just because I knew you were my friend. I just wish I could have met you years ago.
You've always been someone I could look up to and admire for not only your physical strength to endure this sickness, but also your strength of character. I can't help but be inspired by your conquering spirit and your bravery. I'll always remember you as a cherished friend, a great cook and one of the most wonderful, kindest and sweetest people I've ever known. You'll always be in my heart and I will miss you dearly.
Your loving friend,
Amy
Sue Rose was 50 years old and is survived by her husband Greg, and children Danielle and Jonathan. In lieu of flowers, donations to breast cancer funds are appreciated.
Posted by Amy at 09:03 PM | Comments (0)