Things that get me through...

When work is beating you down, watch a video.

People send links to videos around to each other all the time lately. YouTube is so big Google bought them. It's like a viral marketing campaign - you never know what you're going to get. It might make you sick - it usually makes you laugh. People like to laugh. So watch and laugh if you will.

The first video is "Le Grande Content" - Turn up the volume a bit so you can hear the speaker's voice. I like the simple imagery with hidden meaning... like the toilet that pops up when talking about learning about death as a kid from your pet hamster.

The second is "Poodle Fitness" - One of a series of "fitness" videos made in Japan by Panasonic for the 2004 Athens Olympics. So in answer to your question - yeah, it's real. I think it's kids in costumes and maybe dog heads composited in there later. In my work-stupor I thought they might be real dogs or even CG dogs for about 30 seconds... but then I convinced myself that dogs don't have hips set up to work like that...

Monterey Bay Aquarium

This past Saturday we drove down to Monterey and went to the aquarium. I had to get out of the house and go do something that would totally occupy my mind and keep it off work - or else I might go crazy.

These seals (sealions?) were sunbathing on the beach along the walk to the aquarium. SWEET! It's neat to see sea life up close in an aquarium, though I don't think they enjoy swimming in circles all day long. A lot of the animals were rescued from oil slicks and starvation and stuff, so it seems like they're trying to do a good thing as well as teach people about the ocean. They tried really hard to inform people what fish are endangered and which are safer to eat in addition to trying to convince them not to pollute or litter in the oceans. The building and exhibits seemed kinda small for $25 each, but it is California coastal land space... I guess it was better than Boston's, but not as good as Shed's in Chicago.

Monterey Bay Aquarium LINK

Anyways, it was fun even though it was crowded. We really enjoyed the last hour when most of the people had cleared out to go eat. We went and found some clam chowder and fried oysters. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl = AWESOME. (I'm sure actually having it IN new england would have been better somehow...)

New Year's Eve 2006

Last night we went up to SF to Craig & Jess's place. A bunch of people came over and we drank and snacked the night away. There was a talent contest and I displayed my musical skills in manualism. Although Matt was better on his guitar, I won the contest. I played "Auld Lang Syne", "Vader's march" (for all the Lucas people there.) and "The Star Spangled Banner". By the end I was pretty beat - I need to practice more to be able to do more long distance running. Maybe I should make some videos and put them up on YouTube.

LOL Yeah, right - I'll let ya know if I ever do that...

Christmas 2006

This year we went up to visit my sister and her husband in Idaho. It was a crazy trip up with lots of bad weather to slow the drive, but the drive back down was clear and awesome. We saw the mountain range of eastern Oregon and all the northern California mountains too. Shasta is HUGE. We had a good time staying with the Bath family and celebrating Christmas with them. I had fun playing Guitar Hero with Tim & Michelle. You can check out the pictures HERE.

Merry Christmas & God bless us, every one.