HugAPuppy

Who'll Stop The Rain?

It's raining in Los Angeles.   Guess what this means?  Yes, that's right...  Bad drivers come out to play.  Rain in Los Angeles is basically the call of the wild for bad drivers.  They drive too fast, sliding into the middle of an intersection.  They switch lanes, moving left then right then left again, to try and get ahead of all the sensible drivers.  Lisa no like.

=)  In happier news, its ONE, ONE, ONE day until I leave for London!  I'm so excited.  I had a list of things to do for tomorrow and it's kinda long but that's okay...  With each task, I'll be smiling, thinking of what's waiting for me at the arrivals gate @ Heathrow.

Stuck in my head...

I fell asleep last night listening to the adorable "Curious George" soundtrack, by Jack Johnson.  All day long, I've been singing random tunes from this soundtrack and I find myself smiling at the most inopportune times.  Like this afternoon, I was going into the little girls room at work and just humming the song "The 3 R's" when I realized that I was just standing in the restroom door with a line forming behind me.  I'm in need of serious help...  Why do I do that?  I'm always singing or humming.  Whether it's humming a few lines on a walk down the hall or singing "Gooooooood Morrrrrrrrrniiiiiiiiing" to the coffee guy, I'm in serious need of tune control.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Hurrah!  I'm a year older today!!  =)  I've already recieved loads of wonderful gifts and ooodles n ooodles of birthday wishes.  Hugs n kisses to everyone who has made me feel so extra special today.  I got a beautiful bouquet of tulips (my favorite flowers!) from Vince and they are brightening up my desk as I type.  XXXOOOXXX.

Happy St. Patricks Day to everyone, as well.  Have a safe, happy holiday.

Enjoy this little tune in honor of my special day:  The Simpsons singing "Happy Birthday, Lisa"!

Download the_simpsons0_lisabirthday1.mp3 

Random Lyrics...

I just finished talking with my Aunt Mary on the phone and we discussed my possible summer travel plans.  As I chatted with her and browsed the web, my iTunes was playing the usual melodies.  When I hung up with her, I stopped to listen what was playing and this was the song...  Enjoy.

"We Are Going To Be Friends" - The White Stripes

Fall is here, hear the yell
Back to school, ring the bell
Brand new shoes, walking blues
Climb the fence, book and pens
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
I can tell that we are gonna be friends

Walk with me, Suzy Lee
Through the park, by the tree
We will rest upon the ground
And look at all the bugs we've found
Then safely walk to school
Without a sound
Then safely walk to school
Without a sound

Here we are, no one else
We walked to school all by ourselves
There's dirt on our uniforms
From chasing all the ants and worms
We clean up and now it's time to learn
We clean up and now it's time to learn

Numbers, letters, learn to spell
Nouns, and books, and show and tell
At playtime we will throw the ball
Back to class, through the hall
The teacher marks our height against the wall
The teacher marks our height against the wall

We don't notice any time pass
We don't notice anything
We sit side by side in every class
Teacher thinks that I sound funny
But she likes the way you sing

Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed
When silly thoughts go through my head
About the bugs and alphabet
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet
That you and I will walk together again
I can tell that we are going to be friends
Yes, I can tell that we are going to be friends

Weird Science?

After watching a fantastic show on TLC this evening entitled "The Anatomy of Sex", I decided to take a keen interest in some new scientific finds.  I know, I know...  I should be dreaming of yellow stars, green clovers and blue diamonds but I would much rather bring you interesting articles from the world of science!

1. Missing Link?

In this story, we find out that five members of this lovely Turkish family are quadrupeds.  Quick translation: They walk on all fours.  Hmmmm... does this sound odd to anyone?  Scientists believe that they suffer from a genetic defect and that this is not the human race reverting back millions of years.  Too bad... I was hoping the reverting would allow me buy two pairs of the same shoe in a different color so I could cover all fours when walking.  Curses!  Foiled again.

2. Furry 'lobster' found in Pacific

Dubbed by scientists as the "Yeti crab", this far from attractive fuzzy white creature is not going to be seeing the inside of a tank at your local fish market anytime soon.  Just when we thought the giraffe was God's little laugh at animal kind, along comes the Yeti crab to take it's place.  This has got to be one of the ugliest little creatures I have ever seen.  However, one cannot argue the fact that as ugly as he may be, the white fur on his little claws is quite fashionable.  Tres chic, Yeti crab.

How Will You Be Defined?

Apparently, not well....

Lisa --
[noun]: A level headed person who always makes the wrong decision

Wow, that explains a lot.  If only I had known that years ago, perhaps I wouldn't have as many regrets as I do.  Wait -- I don't really have that many regrets.  This reminds me of the fortunes that I usually get in a fortune cookie.  Usually something like "You're nice and people like to be around you."  That's not a fortune... that's just an observation, at best, but most likely, just a guess on a tiny white piece of paper.   Both the quiz and the fortune, however, are pointless.  So why did I do it?  Because I'm just a geek who likes to take pointless quizzes late at night when I can't sleep.  =-)

Try your luck, puppyhuggers.  Let me know how it goes...

How Will You Be Defined Quiz

Sunday, sunday, sunday!

You know, I started a post talking about what I did all weekend, but honestly, who really cares?  Let's talk about what really matters...  music.  I have to confess, I have recently become obsessed with downloading Jack Johnson.  I don't know why.  No one is compelling me to listen to it.  It's just during the chaos of life, his music makes me slow down.  It reminds me of Hawaii and just how good life can be when you stop and look around once in awhile.  I recently downloaded "Brushfire Fairytales" and "On and On".  I'm contemplating downloading some other tunes he did with G.Love.  Oh, what to do what to do?  Do I just buy them on itunes, organized and filed nicely or do I find them other ways and sort it out myself? 

I'm also contemplating making a large purchase in the next couple of weeks.  Honestly, I'm in love with the Canon Digital SLR cameras and have been for about a year and a half.  I havent forced myself to go look at them because I really felt like I had to become a better photographer in order to have one of those, as they are quite expensive toys.  Well darn it, I think I have finally decided I am worthy of one!  I'll be scouting camera shops in the next few weeks to see what kind of deals I can find.  I'm hoping to get one before my trip to London but we'll see where our hunting takes us...

Ciao.

Good evening puppyhuggers.  I thought I'd talk to you about what I did today...  I spent the morning and afternoon at the funeral of the crazy Italian guy that lived next door to my parents.  Most people remember him as the guy who tried to get me to marry his already married son, last year.  I remember him as the crazy Italian who spoke broken English who always encouraged me to be a teacher because he thought I would be so good with children.  I learned a lot about him today and I thought I would share it with you.  It's amazing to me how you can live next door to someone for over 20 years and never really know what their life has been like. 

His name was Tony and he was born in Naples, Italy.  I knew that he had a hard life but I didnt know that he was orphaned at the age of 9 after losing his mother and father.  His mother died of an illness when he was 7 and his father died of a broken heart when he was 9.  He & his siblings were moved around from Aunts and Uncles throughout his life.  When he was old enough, he became a car salesman for Fiat.  When WW2 broke out in Europe, Italy suffered greatly and in 1944, at the age of 21, he was taken as a prisoner by the German army.  He escaped by climbing over a fence on a rainy night and spent many nights out in the darkness, with  no food or water, hoping not to be caught.  He considered a potato that he found to be a feast while he was hiding out.  He finally reached Allied lines and was reunited with his sister.  She had met an American GI and was moving to the US.  Tony eventually came over to the US to live with his sister and he met his future wife at a Catholic dance function.  They brought up three lovely children and Tony worked at a Catholic school 10 miles away from his house.  He would ride his bike to work everyday, even in the rain.  He'd make sure to leave early on rainy days so the children who got dropped off early would have a warm, dry classroom to sit in.  He was a man who always saw the best in everyone and would immediately start chatting with you as if you had known him forever.  He loved gardening and at the end of the service today, his grandchildren passed out small envelopes of "Forget-Me-Nots" flowers to everyone.  It was a really lovely thing to do and this man will never be forgotten.  Ciao, Tony.

I'm sleepy.

I spent the evening hanging out with Sheryl and Susan...Two awesome women who I have known for years.   Susan is from London and the mother of two beautiful girls.  She's one of the most outspoken people I've ever met yet she manages to speak up in such a polite way.  Sheryl is Sheryl. She's funny, easy to get along with, always has a good story to tell, and she always, always, always will tell you how it is if you want to know.  Both really great people to spend an evening with.  Alas, I am sleepy.  Im ready to crawl into bed and dream of puppy dogs.  Goodnight goodnight goodnight.

xxxxxx.

Have you ever...

..been so excited about something that you completely lose track of time?  I feel like this has been my life the past week and a half.  I'm going to London at the end of the month to see Vince and I'm sooo excited.  We're also taking a side trip to Paris for a couple of days and I have spent more time looking at images of Paris in the last few days than I have probably seen in my entire life.  So many places to see, so many people to meet, so much time to make up for.  It's all wonderful and good so please excuse my lack of concentration on hugapuppy the past few weeks.  If you have any ideas about Paris, post a comment and let me know.  In the meantime, I'll be browsing around and getting more excited with each passing day.