Newest Obsession

Thanks to Miriam on one of my favorite blogs Kafferepet I now have a new blog obsession...here.
Its like Christmas everyday! An incredible treasure trove of ideas. I can't get enough of it.

I WIN!

Wendy for too many reasons to list is one of my very favorite human beings ever.
Yesterday she sent out an email to see if anyone could house/dogsit for her. I responded immediately with reasons why she should choose me, and then I chatted her reasons why she should choose me, and even admitted I was indeed talking to myself about it.
This morning I opened my email to this little gem:

From: Wendy
To: Tam
Subject: You Win!

Tamara Leeper, You have Won.

You and two four-legged guests are invited to stay at the Hula Palace from 11/5 through 11/15. Your all-inclusive stay includes your choice of luxury bedrooms – both queen sized for you and your THREE 4-legged friends.

In order to claim your prize you must:

1. Come to a 90 minute dinner and presentation by the Hula Palace staff

2. Make the Hula Palace staff laugh

3. Submit your grocery list to have all your taste needs met.

In return…I will be eternally grateful!

PS – I have a huge laundry set up in the garage – bring everything you have ever wanted to wash.

Thanks

Wendy

YAY FOR WINNING! and YAY for having Wendy in my life. :)

YAY! Finally got it.

Be jealous.

Are you kidding me?

Its not the fact that these people received mysterious laptops that bugs me about this article on Yahoo! odd news. Actually they all had my respect for being so careful, that is until I read this last sentence of the article:
"The state's auditor was also tricked into rerouting nearly $2 million meant for vendors into bank accounts set up by what investigators say is a Kenyan-based fraud ring."
Really? Doesn't everyone know about those frauds? I probably don't have nearly as much education as that auditor and yet somehow I know....I wonder if that person had a job the next day.

Imogen Heap

New album at the bottom of my blog to listen to....

I wish

I sometimes wish I had the power to deflate people's car tires with my mind when they do one of (but not limited to) the following:

1. Cut me off and then drive slow (I would of course move out of the way before the deflation)
   
2. tailgate me and then get all super pissy pants and speed around me (thank Carrie for the pissy pants term. She is a treasure trove of excellent terms)
   
3. shout things to me when driving by (Catalina Blvd. is the College Ave of Point Loma/OB so there are a lot of college idiots)
4. Misuse the merging zipper affect.

I imagine these people all smug in there ridiculousness and then BAM! a nice slice of humble pie and their prideful smugness crumbles before them.

The one with the concert friend

Tina is the best. She somehow always knows about all the concerts in town. For Christmas she got us Adele tickets (awesome) and now for my Birthday she got us these:

Don't eat my pizza

Crab Races Apparently

So last night I went to dinner with the lovely ladies Carrie and Vivian. We decided to try this newish place in OB called Blue Parrot. I haven't been there yet because it took the place of my fave Ortega's so I was holding a bit of a grudge.
Well anyway, little did we know it was Crab Racing Tuesdays. Apparently this is a really big deal. I had no idea. It was really loud and there were a ton of people. So we are sitting there trying to have normal conversation over the death metal music they are playing (for the crabs?) and this plastered guy walks up,
"You gals gonna get in on this race?" he breaths his nast beer breath on us all,
Carrie "No man I think we are gonna sit this one out"
Mr Nasty Breath "Yeah like how do you cheer on a crab? hahahaha"
and then he walks away beer in hand.
What? Really? So weird. The food was pretty good but the place was really strange...I don't know if I would go back in fear of meeting Mr Nasty Breath agian. Seriously. Brush your teeth or something.

What's wrong with this picture?

Was this supposed to be a clever add or have I been missing 2 days a week?

What did I just agree to?

I am not a huge shopper but I do like clothes. Being short and wide its hard to find something that looks good and is comfortable. So why did I just agree to Karyn's Challenge here?
I have been accused of being a bit of a tree hugger, and I do really hug trees sometimes as illustrated here:



















(photo by ryan gwillim)

However, I don't always do my part to save the planet. That's right, I admit that sometimes I get lazy and use plastic bags instead of washing out my sandwich Tupperware and reusing it. I often forget to bring my reusable bags to the store and although I try to have them stuff everything in one bag I don't always say anything when they double bag it.
I do want to do my part in simple living though. I want a garden I actually use and I want to be able to say that I am honestly trying to live more green without thinking of my horrible consumer habits in the back of my mind. And I don't want to be a trend that fades in a couple months. If I don't do my part who is going to do it for me?
So even though I feel like I am signing a contract that scares the crap out of me, Thank you Karyn for kicking me in the butt and making me live up to the accusations of tree hugger in at least a small way.
As Karyn puts it "in the name of recycling, living simply, and polar bears. I vow not to purchase any new clothing for the next 2 years." (Although I might change the polar bears to owls, they are cuter.)
Anyone else in? You should take the challenge too, everyone is doing it. (note the peer pressure...)

Spoons

Did you ever have a favorite spoon when you were a kid? The one spoon you always looked for in the drawer when it was your turn to set the table just so you could make sure to get that spoon. The one with the pretty flowers. Not that it was any different function wise than any other spoon but it was your favorite.
Confession: I have two now. Selfish? yes.
I think I could literally get rid of all my other spoons and be content with just the two. One long tea spoon and one wide soup spoon. They certainly are shaped different than the other spoons in the house but there is absolutely no real reason they should be my favorites. They just are.
There was no reason for this blog. Just my thoughts on spoons.

United Sucks

Apparently I am not a fan of United Airlines, as evidenced by the onslaught of annoyed texts I sent Katie in my traveling frenzy Sunday.
I am not really one who complains to companies about their service. Actually I don't think I have ever sent a formal complaint to a company. There have been times when I should have, like when the Best Buy jerkface made me cry, but still did not feel the need. However if you mess with a senior citizen you will be messing with me.
I have always had a soft spot for Seniors. From their stories of old times to their set in their ways attitudes. There is history in their eyes that you just can't read in a book. Sunday a very unhappy flight attendant decided to take her attitude out on the poor guy sitting in my aisle.
Below is my letter to the airline and their response:

Hello,

I just returned from a trip last night flying with United for the first time and was greatly disturbed by the way one of the Flight Attendants treated the elderly gentleman sitting next to me on my flight 859 from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, CA.

When it was time to serve the complementary drinks the Flight Attendant took my order and tried to grab the man's attention, however he was looking out the window and quite obviously hard of hearing. I turned and tapped him on the shoulder for her but when we turned back she had already walked away to get my drink.

Upon her return he quite politely asked for a drink and to my utter astonishment she scoffed at him giving him a very nasty look, nearly spitting on me while doing so then walked off grumbling to herself. When she returned she shoved the drink into his hand and he politely thanked her only to receive a very hard smile in return.

I understand that the drink service is complementary, however I would think that like most airlines, United would strive for their employees to serve with a smile, complementary or not. What's more, being that the gentlemen quite obviously did not or could not hear her I would have never imagined she would have treated him with such disrespect, its common respect for another human being.

I have done my share of travel domestic and international in the past and I have never come across the amount of hiccups I had while traveling with United. Most were small and not worth mentioning as I am not one to usually complain. I could not however in good conscious disregard the Flight Attendant’s actions.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. It is my hope that United might find it in their best interest to send some sort of apology to the gentlemen in seat 22A who was the unfortunate blunt of United’s unhappy Flight Attendant.

Best regards,

Tamara Leeper

RESPONSE:

Dear Ms. Leeper,

I regret to learn from your report about the unsatisfactory behavior of
one of our flight attendants.

To begin, customer satisfaction is an integral part of our commitment to
you, therefore, we expect our employees to treat our guests with
courtesy and respect while providing attentive, professional, service at
all times. The unprofessional conduct you report is unacceptable and
never tolerated. Rest assured, I have shared your comments with the
In-Flight Management Team for their internal review with the flight
attendant involved. Please know reports of this nature are taken very
seriously and are given our complete attention.

Please give us an opportunity to provide you the service you expect from
United Airlines.

Regards,

No United, I don't think I will. Thanks though.

I never claimed I was a Geometer

I flew to Oregon to see Ryan who took me to see wilderness that is actually green. Yes folks/fellow San Diegans, hiking destinations that are green.
Yesterday we hiked 15 miles and I saw so many waterfalls that I actually started getting picky with which ones I was impressed with (oh, thousands or millions of pounds of water pressure pounding into a pool from 200 feet? If you like that sort of thing I guess it is cool. Nature and all, whatever.)
The hiking and views were of course AMAZING and everything was so HUGE. I managed to forget my slight fear of heights for the day and walk a foot away from 100+ foot drops and cross bridges (even standing on the hand rails of one!) that looked over huge ravines with water flowing below.
Besides the excellent hiking there has been side splitting laughter and the inability (unability) to actually articulate anything I am saying. i.e. Geographer is equal to Geometer and Portland is next to the ocean (it is not FYI). Also they use metal forks here apparently, to which I showed my utter amazement. In actuality I thought Ryan had a metal spork and exclaimed "Is that a metal FORK?!?" only to have Chris and Ryan look at me as if I had lost my mind.
Anyway click here for pictures from the hiking! And a couple below too....

Excited, An understatment

This month I, Tamara Leeper, get the distinct pleasure of flying to Portland to:

1. See Ryan and Chris who ditched the San Diego friends to be cool and live in Oregon like everyone else eventually does. I can't even poke fun at them cause they are not even posers as proved by their incredible photograpy.
   
2. Hike in the Oregon wilderness with the promise of waterfalls. Something that has been on my list of things to do for years because Oregon = green and reminds me of Nor Cal unlike the desert of So Cal.
3. See Karyn, who sadly I have not seen in like AT LEAST 5 years and that is stretching it. I love Karyn :)

So thank you William Shatner for your incredible negotiator skills.

Menthol Monster

My sister is weird. I love her and I am practically her myself however, sometimes I think, "whaaaaa?"
Yesterday I received a package from Jenni containing three things:

1. A card, of course. With piglet on it and mushy gushy stuff like "I love and miss you" I am okay with that mushy gushy stuff.
2. An awesome handmade scarf that is super soft.
   
3. And finally, last but certainly not least, the reason for this blog entry entirely: the menthol smelling sock monster below

I do not pretend that I get this little monster in the least. It has given me quite a few laughs though. Jenni WHAT is it? LOL

Obvious and the Oblivious

Its back. That little springtime is almost here, lets kick it into high gear and actually have a backyard garden to relax in mode I semi embraced last year.
My jasmine has started climbing the walls of the apartment and the blooms smell amazing. The leftover onions are still hanging out in the ghetto planter box that gave me that nasty bruise last year. My aloe looks like it would rather die a thousand deaths then live another second in my garden but my Rosemary and mint LOVE me.
So after suffering through the fall and winter feeling like a gardener looser and doing nothing to change the state of my sad garden, two weeks ago I took action and put some good hard work into it. Cleaned up the trash and spread the rocks that Susan so nicely donated to me. Went and bought some pots and plants for my newest idea to keep the idiotic apartment gardeners from ruining my "wall" I had built for the umpteenth time.
The idea was to rebuild the wall again, because apparently stepping on it and collapsing it SEVERAL times did nothing to help them learn from their mistakes, (oh and thanks gardeners for collapsing the wall so many times and NEVER putting it back together) and then put plotted plants on that level so they would not step on it. Obviously makes sense right? I mean if you saw a wall that had previously been collapsed with new plants on it would you step on it? I wouldn't but apparently I am not as oblivious as some people. They went right ahead and found a nice little space next to my plants to put their big fat feet and collapse the wall again.
Not only that but somehow I just knew after last year's weed whacker incident with my onions (oh yes they did) that they most likely had done something else as well. I was right. My nasturtium that I was so happy had seeded itself from last year was gone. They had pulled it out like a weed and went ahead and clipped all the branches of my pepper plant as well.
Apparently my landlady had not talked to them like she promised. Big surprise. I guess I will have to make a sign. That's classy.

Wait for it......Awesome!

So Tina is amazing and got tickets to the Adele concert for Christmas for me. Thank God she thought to get them early because after the 2 Grammys it was a completely sold out show!
Here is a list of the happenings of the night:

1. Crazy teenage couple decided to place themselves right next to us never giving up trying to scoot closer to the stage and not caring how many people they left dead and bloodied along the way just so they could get closer to the stage not caring how many people they left dead and bloodied along the way just so.... Also they were REALLY weird. LIKE AWKWARD. The guy kept reaching out his hand tentatively as if to try to pet a venomous snake that would attack at any moment. He would switch between that and blowing kisses to her and texting his mom. I can't make this stuff up. It was so strange. The girl was just annoying.
   
2. The opening band for the show was called "The Script" from Ireland. They were pretty good, actually I think I did really like them (and their accents), however the lead singer was like an awkward version of Orlando Bloom if he were in a band. That is the only way I can describe him. They also swore a lot when they were not singing and talked about beer(and drank it LOL).
3. 

A M A Z I N G
Adele was sooo awesome! She had this very real humble attitude about her.
LOVE LOVE LOVED it.
Thanks Tina!

Comfort

I sit on my floor in front of my closet mirrors to do my hair and make-up every morning. Almost with out fail, within a few minutes of sitting down Suki joins me and usually has to be leaning on me. There is nothing more comforting than a constant companion that is content to just sit near you. I know Wendy and Jenni will totally get this.
I don't know what I would do without my Suki. (I love Sam too of course but she is usually oblivious of me and in her own world)

Exactly, well to some extent.

So I read this on CNN the other day and thought to myself, "good point"
You should read it too. Its hilarious.
25 Things I Didn't Want to Know About You
and before I am labeled as the hater of facebook, which I am not, facebook and I are pretty tight (if I could add facebook as a friend I would be all over that), I would like to point out that I do in fact want to know 25 things about some people but don't really want to know it about those people I added as friends because I can't say no to a friend request. Even if I don't really know them or I knew of them when I was in high school. Okay okay, basically if you are reading this or if I have ever actually, legitemetly hung out with you in my life time then you are indeed not included in the 25 things I didn't want to know about you.
And now I am rambling.

Monsters with Nose bleeds.

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of having dinner with Wendy (and Ginger). We chatted over a delicious meal of soup, salmon, artichokes, and veggies. And then Wendy introduced me to a crazy show called Fringe, which is like a weird X-filesish show.
The episode we watched had this virus that made people turn into these creepy porcupine monsters. The only way they knew they had the virus before morphing was that they would get a nose bleed and then their teeth would fall out.
So then this morning I was getting ready for work and had a massive nose bleed. My first thought? "Check teeth"
LOL Thanks Wendy!

Happy Groundhog Day

Just a little Something for your day...

Just came up on my ipod in shuffle so ...
In honor of one of my Favorite bloggers Kafferepet