the tundrah blog

hi all. sorry i've been slow in updating (if anyone's even noticed).... i was one sick kid earlier this week. i don't think i've been that sick since i was a little kid. i was at work monday morning, felt a little weird, but nothing extraordinary, and by 3:30 that afternoon i was at home (thankfully i had the wherewithal to foresee what was coming) writhing on the bathroom floor. oh how fun it is to be a thousand miles from family when you are sick like that. i had to make a mercy phone call to my friend Christine who just happened to move down to my neck of the woods last week. otherwise i would've been outta luck. she brought me Gatorade and Saltines. many good karma points to Christine.

other than that, not much exciting. am trying to dig my way out of the being-gone work pile-up to be ready for being gone all of next week. its NYC time kids. i feel very privilidged that i get to experience New York, twice a year, for a doable period of four or five days on the company tab. not too shabby. plus, this year will be muy busy, as it just happens the BobandDianne (to those unfamiliar, my Dad and stepmom), will be there for part of the time as well. so, i'm definitely looking forward to spending some time with them and Alex, as she nor i will be home for Thanksgiving. i'm looking forward to going to the Met, last time i was there we were on a mad time crunch, and basically did the whirlwind hour tour.

it supposed to snow this weekend, i hope it dumps, but not when i'm trying to get out of here. the plane issue becomes tricky right-quick around here when the weather changes.... more tomorrow when my head has cleared a bit and i am back on full speed....

dearest darling readers,

it is currently 19 degrees Fahrenheit.

the snow guns are blowing,

the mountains to the north are slowly whitening.

the gear is being analyzed and strategized,

the gym is being visited,

the days of corduroy and powder are near.

xoxo,
.l

this is a funny little movie that was sent by one of my cool friends.... it takes a while to load, but its worth it. check it out!

i've definitly hit a wall at work. (no pun intended with my current pic)

i'm just burnt and tired and bored for lack of a better word. i have plenty to do, but am struggling getting any of it done...... blarghhhghghg!!!!

here's a link to one of the funnier things i've seen in a while--man selling ex's beanie babies collection on ebay = priceless

ps. eRon, i stole yr tiny url... nice work!

pps. i have no money and no Halloween costume--any recommendations? i was thinking i could be SoCA on fire--everyone around here calls me SoCal anyways..... not quite sure how to pull that one off....

xoxo,
.liz

sorry to beat a dead horse, but....

the Etiquette Grrls agree! i have been slighted. now that i got a "professional" opinion, i am ready to let this dumb ordeal go. (it's the third one down.....)

so i had a really weird sleep last night. the small cat was MIA at bedtime, but whatever, that's her problem if she wants to sleep outside under the cold shed instead of on the cozy bed. i was also slightly drunk, so wasn't quite in the mood to go trolling around in the dark. anyways i went to bed, and was woken up at about 3:30am by two simultaneous occurrences. the first being the wind whipping around my house and through the aspen trees at about 50mph. its amazing to me that those leaves are still hanging on--it sounded like there was a raging river going by my second story bedroom window. the second wakeup call is my middle finger on my right hand--i have no idea the hows/whys/or whats of this, but it is absolutely throbbing. my fingernail seems to have been ripped down quite low, and it feels like either A)something is stuck up under there, or B)i slammed my finger in a car door. i'm now having vague remembrances of possibly smashing it in he last few days, but i am the queen of -- i greatly injured myself but don't remember how!

anyways, that's that. Pete may come up this weekend. we'll see. i would like that, but dont want him to drop the cash to do it. its not cheap to egt here on a last minute ticket....

sorry for the dorky picture, it's just so.......

my life in a nutshell....

yes, sad, i know.

bored bored bored.

(i know, i hate it when someone is lame enough to say they're bored, especially someone like me who has so much to do, but..... whatever.)

1. WHAT IS YOUR Middle name?
Christine--as i remember it, my parents hadnt really given me a middle name and so i chose at some point--of course my Mom's name was the only way to go.
2. WHAT kind of PANTS ARE YOU WEARING and what color?
Volcom cords that are tie-dyed gray. people think they're weird, at least people in Esco--Pete sold them to me for $10 cause they'd been sitting in the shop for a while.
3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
"Little Honda" by Yo La Tengo
4. WHAT ARE THE LAST 4 DIGITS OF YOUR PHONE NUMBER?
8844--woohoo!
5. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE:
crappy microwave burrito. boo.
6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
six six six months ago i would have said hot pink, i'm currently moving on to my turquoise phase...
7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW?
there's a high wind advisory, and its supposed to snow beginning tonite through the weekend..... wheee!
8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
i cant remember, i talk to too many people on the damn phone
9. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX?
strength of facial features or height
10. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS?
no one sent it, i stole it off Tony Pierce's site
11. HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
sad that my home territory is in flames, stressed that i'm poor, and still feeling betryaed by dumb friend. oh yeah, over-whelmed from work too. but all in all i guess i'm okay.
12. FAVORITE DRINK?
really good iced tea
13. FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
Sapphire and Tonic with lime please. and a sprig of mint makes it just that much extra special....
14. FAVORITE SPORTS?
the ones that arent on national tv on a regular basis. except maybe basketball. i do like tall skinny men....
15. HAIR COLOR?
depends
16. EYE COLOR?
depends
17. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
not yet
18. SIBLINGS AND THEIR AGES?
three kick ass ladies who all defy the notion of age (but i'm the oldest lady)
19.FAVORITE MONTH?
june and december and november too
20. FAVORITE FOOD?
avos, artichokes, tomatos, lamb chops, any and all forms of cheeeeese
21. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Intolerable Cruelty (theatre), Frida (on my laptop)
22. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
Christmas
23. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT?
depends on the person and my mood and wether or not i'm drunk, but the likely answer is yes
24. DO YOU LIKE SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
neither. i'm a bit more of a realist.
25. WHAT 3 FAMOUS PEOPLE WOULD YOU BANG IF YOU COULD?
jake gyllenhall (sp?), josh lucas, and..... uhhh. number three's a crapshoot--i dunno. britney spears.

so i've just wasted an hour tinkering with my launch radio station.... its way too fun. apparently you can listen to it here.... let me know how it goes.

it seems pretty buggy, but is worth it to have free-flowing music of my own choosing all day long... it does try to insert "popular" tunes now and then, ala Toby Keith or Limp Biscuit, but just rate them zero, and instantly they are zapped away never to return....

yay for sucking bandwidth.

hi kids.

another work week at hand.... wheee!

this weekend was alot of nothing--other than a brief guest appearance by my best pal Kip, i did a whole lot of absolutely nada. actually i slept quite a bit which was a nice change. i actually feel pretty caught up in that department for a change.

nothing interesting to report really. all the drama is at home in CA. fires, Terminator takeovers. the apocalypse is hitting my homeland. which is fine i think. get all the weak of heart the hell outta there. then us real deals can come home and get things straightened out. i will be home, i will.

heh.

i'm drained. not in a bad way, just freakin' exhausted..... we've been meeting/interviewing for a new design firm for the last few days. it's been great, but i'm mentally not all there right now. i am so excited to make a switch--these guys totally know their shit, are crazy brilliant, but they're also incredibly cool people. i've worked with them a bit over the last few years, have gotten to know them, and i respect them hugely. one of their principals is one of the best known and respected snowboard photographers in the sport--he's kind of one of those mad genius types--his brain is always gong a million miles an hour, but he's down to earth too. so, i'm looking forward to it, there's just going to be a lot of transition stuff that's going to be bumpy..... blugh. dont have the energy......

i am also beside myself due to the fact that i get to sleep in this weekend and dont have much going on. Kip is coming in on Saturday night on his way out East. am hugely looking forward to getting to spend some quality time with him, but it's looking like it'll be breif. other than that, not much going on....

work work work, work at home, sleep, work work work.....

must sleep.

here goes: another Case Study in "Am I a Chronic Over-Reactor, or Have I Been Completely Taken Advantage Of???"

please evaluate the following scenario, and leave comments if you feel so inclined.

this is the sequence of events:

scene 1. "Friend" who is an interior designer calls Liz.
FRIEND:"Hey! We're remodeling our kitchen, and I know you've been wanting a gas range. How about you buy our old gas range, and I'll have my plumber install it for you."
LIZ:"Wow, that sounds like a great idea. I'm going out of town this week though." FRIEND:"That's okay, I'll totally take care of it, no problem. I'll go down there and make sure it's all good."
LIZ: "Well that's great, but I'm kinda low on funding right now--can you get an estimate before he goes ahead with the work? I really don't want to spend more than $200."
FRIEND: "Yeah, I'll make sure everythings fine before I tell him to go ahead."
LIZ: "Cool, that's really generous of you. Thanks!"

Liz pays Friend's boyfriend $100 for gas range that is definitely used that came with his house when he bought it.

scene 2. cut to 3 weeks later when Liz is home, range is installed. At some point prior, Friend has made casual mention that it may have taken longer than planned to install range. she did not go to the house nor get an estimate, but this is not acknowledged or explained by her in much detail. Cut to Liz opening plumbing bill.
LIZ: "Holy Fucking Shit Mother of God!!!" (the bill is $700)
LIZ: on phone to Friend later that night "Um, so the bill was $700."
FRIEND: "Oh well I'm sure he did a really good job."
LIZ: "Well that's not really the point! My check account is bouncing right now, and you approved a job that was $500 more than I told you to spend!!!!!"
FRIEND: "I'm sorry."
LIZ: "Uhhhhh, okay? ..... Can you at least call the guy and explain to him that I never authorized work that was going to cost this much and find out if I can trade him or at least work a payment plan or.....?"
FRIEND; "Fine, I'll call him first thing Monday morning and talk to him for you."
LIZ: "Okay, thanks."
Liz hangs up phone and totally goes ballistic.

scene 3. cut to Tuesday morning. still not having heard from Friend, Liz calls her.
LIZ: "Hi. Have you gotten a chance to talk to Plumber yet?"
FRIEND: "Um No. I'm not going to call him. I have a lot of jobs with him and he always does great work. I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with him. Feel free to call him yourself."
LIZ: speechless.

-------

so, do I have a right to be beside-myself angry? Hello, $500 over-budget!!!!

so fuming right now.....

hullo Mondaye.

Heathy is still in town--at lunch we're driving up north over the pass with my pal McCabe to do some bonafide sight-seeing. i'm not always the best host in that regard, especially this weekend. this was the first weekend i've been home in a while, and i haven't exactly been gung-ho about running amok. but regardless, we did go big on Saturday night (or rather i did--Heath designated herself the driver)--it was Jen's bday, and we went no holds barred.

poor Heath unfortunately had bad timing (no fault of hers) on her visit--she got in on Friday. i thought it would be a fairly mellow afternoon, so brought her up to the office to finish up a few things--between an unexpected $700 plumbing bill and my bosses calling late Friday afternoon and telling us we had to slash hundreds of thousands of dollars by Monday morning, it didn't turn out to be so fun. then on Saturday morning the small cat was missing and we ended up tracking her down at the vets office where she'd been turned in by the preschool across the alley because she had a small puncture wound in her side. so then i had to go slap down $90 at the vet. whoo hoo. we raked leaves, then went to the birthday bash--i drank way too much along with just about everyone else involved, stayed up til 3:30am, and was muy hungover the next morning. yay for visiting the big sister! i did walk it off though and was fine by the afternoon. we went and saw Intolerable Cruelty, which i was worried about after seeing the previews, but turned out to be a solid Cohen Brothers movie. it definitely wasn't as dark as Fargo, or as hilarious as Lebowski, but it was still good and we enjoyed it.

so, this week is gonna be a long one.... someday i'll catchup to where i'm supposed to be.....
.liz

so, i've been in Vega$ for the last six or so days. it was the usual--unreasonably long days.... smoky, alcoholy, tired feet and plenty of telling people i'm not giving them any money any time soon...





we shopped, ate too much, drank, gambled, but mostly stayed up too late and got up too early. also went to my first arena cross--a sure fire way to ruin your health. one person i work with was set into a tailspin of flu symptoms, after going to the race for 2 nights in a row...





there was plenty of Siegfried and Roy shrinage. and men in lycra and shaved legs (due to the dork-show that we were attending). *shudder* i didn't lose any money til we were almost out, but i think it was just payback from last Jan when i walked with $200+..... and so it goes.





we laid by the pool in what Christine dubbed the "subway." we were wall to wall belly up in a sea of white flesh and cheesy mixed drinks. parked right next to us was a just- or about-to-be-wed Jersey couple that looked like they'd been on a week long blow binge. also in tow was Moms, ciggy dangling from her lips. they marched up to the bar and ordered a monstrous red $15 margarita, asking if they could take it in the cab with them.





we also witnessed two scenarios, neither of which i have completely comprehended... one involved us walking unknowingly into the V Bar, which apparently is where all the high-dollar escorts take their "clients" on Friday night--we were definitely not prepared for that one..... the other involved two women walking arm in arm through the casino, one of whom i assumed was blind, until i noticed she was using a Swiffer for a "blind-stick." they marched up the stairs into a cheesy lounge in the Venetian a busted off their costumes, much to the delight of their friends.





so, only a mere three months til i get to go back. i used to hate Vegas, now i just accept it for what it is, one of the crowning achievements of human industry and vice. whenever i sit in a hotel room there, i am always struck with the question of "who the hell comes up with/maintains/buys/cleans/manages all this shit?" who is it that was stuck with the job of buying the tacky table lamps? all 12,000 of them? who picked out the 250,000 square feet of carpet? who installed all the pay phones and wired the electrical. it boggles my mind to think of the excess of it all.... and there we were on and October weekend and the place is thronging with humanity. (?)

xoxo,
.me

i've been getting headaches lately. which is weird, cause i've never been much of a headache person. i did however, complain often of stomach aches as a kid, but that was just cause i wanted to someone to feel sorry for me, or to get out of something. i remember going to the doctor for my "constant stomach aches" and him not being able to find anything, nor him being too worried about it. i also remember the same doctor tearing a chicken-pock(sp?) scab off my sister's head and her violently screaming. i don't doubt that it hurt. he was a good doctor though, used to tell us our cough syrup or whatnot he prescribed up was "bug-flavored."

anyways, i think my headaches are 99% stress induced. staring at the screen, craning my neck to talk on the phone, and contorting myself in this chair cant be good for my general state. but, whatever, nothin we all haven't heard before on Dateline and GMA like a million times. "Is Your Daily Grind Killing You Slowly???" i also have been unbelieveably busy as of late. i apologize to anyone who has called or emailed whom i havent gotten back to promptly. you wouldnt want to talk to me anyways, i feel like my head's about to spontaneously combust.

off the Sin City tomorrow for another tradeshow. Vegas is good and bad. i usually have fun, but i also am tight on funding right now, and between the shopping, drinking and casinos..... lets just say its not the ideal surrounding for me for the next 5 days. but, it is home of the BigShot, which I proudly experience as often as I can, especially when I get to witness my boss and work cohorts nearly peeing their pants from laughing at my uncontrollable hysterical screaming. i cant help it, really.

maybe i can scream my headaches away....

ps. Nat is okay--she's still in the hospital, and apparently will have to undergo some sort of bone/rib removal operation to make room for her vein/artery that is getting crushed by her overdeveloped muscles. Division 1 college athletics at it's finest, kids.

on to Vegas.
xoxo.

this is my morning commute. it's an interesting blend of traffic and panoramic scenery. i drink my coffee and listen to NPR or College of Rock Knowledge, and just kinda chill and let my brain warm up for the days events. this morning i was alerted of the glorious news that the Terminator is now in charge of my hood. sweet. people who live up in Ketchum give me a hard time about the "horrible" traffic that i must endure by having chosen to live in Hailey, but i honestly dont really notice it all that much....

i got a not-so-fun phone call from my Dad this morning. One of my sisters, Natalie, has been in the hospital for the last day-and-a-half. she had surgury on her shoulder to remove an apparently large blood clot. i guess she's fine and okay, but they still havent discussed with my parents the hows or whys of what is going on. so, anyone who knows the insanely funny girl that is Nat, please send your love and thoughts her way. she, of course, is in good spirits as always.....

xoxo.

this really hurts me, deep down inside. i can't quite explain my disgust and sadness over this whole ordeal....... ugh. i am truly mortified and embarrased.

no more scrolling for the baby Jeebus. but the post font is BOLD!

unintended my dears..... but enough time spent tinkering with this nonsense. there are desks to be organized, dishes to be washed, cold coffee to be thrown away....

actually i'm sure there's much more important things at hand, and yet, the day has slipped by unnoticed, and it's now time for the almost-time-to-go-home tasks.

until tomorrow chitlins.
xoxo

so yeah, i kinda jacked it up. but now at least you can see my pics...... the other template was pretty, but not necessarily versatile. sorry for the ugliness, i'll try to fix it up a bit shotly. or get pissed and go back to the old way. only time will tell.

here's a pic to make y'all forgive me for the moment....






werd.

Happy Monday. there was a guy who i went to high school and then college with who was one of those "i'm-really-odd-and-i-bet-you-cant-tell-if-i'm-trying-to-be-that-way-or-i really-am-types" and he always used to wear a Happy Mondays t-shirt. the odd things you remember.

i really want to change things up around here so that i can more easily post pictures. i'm taking tons of photos with the digi and would love to be able to present them in a photo-essay format, ala Tony Pierce. i've been struggling with posting to my actual website, because of what seems to be a firewall issue. anyways, i think i'm over the geocities deal, am ready to move on to bigger and better. if anyone has any suggestions for good hosts, let me know. on the plus side, it looks like Blogger is now offering a bunch of Blogger Pro features to us freeloader kids, and i'm hoping one of which is the spiffy image-hosting part of the deal..... will probably have to change my template again for that.

anyways, weekend was good. on Friday night went to a party/campout for one of my best work bud's boyfriends bday. i was a little nervous cause wasn't sure how many of my other friends would be there, but there were plenty in attendance, plus some really fun acquaintances and a good time was had, as is always the case at a Christine&Tyler soiree. the night culminated in a freestyle sing-along, enhanced by a bottle of Dickel Whiskey being passed around the circle till it was gone. one of the weird phenomenons of me living here is second-hand experiencing of young parenthood. there is a ever-growing group of parents whom i know loosely that haven't quite grown out of their party phase. not that i'm criticizing them, most of them are adept parents i'm sure.... it's just a bizarre juxtaposition to be present when Mom is up with the crew, passing the Dickel and living it up, hurtling the baby monitor off into the forest night. (to her credit, her husband had gone to bed with the kid hours before)....who knows, maybe my parents were the same way when i was a young thing, i just didn't know..... again, i'm not criticizing, its just simultaneously disturbing and yet really funny to be around.

other than that, all was very mellow. did a lot of yard work, cooked a lot. saw Lost in Translation, which while it wasn't exactly a thrill-a-minute, i really enjoyed. it was a great story of a man-woman relationship, that was mostly friendship, but there were definitely times when it became awkward... i dunno, i thought it was cool because of the realism.

that's about it for now.... on to work. whee.

i know, i know! my pics were too big, sorry!!! when i can breathe i'll put them up on my site with a link as eRon suggested....

other than that am just dealing with work catch up, but am having issues concentrating as i've been seperated from the computer for more than a week (!!!gasp!) and am having to try reeeaaallly hard not to goof off too much.....

briefly i'll mention that i did attend my 10 year reunion before jetting off to CR... for better synopsises, check out the baditude or spragg sites, but figured i'd put my (brief) 2 cents in anyways. the good = seeing Lauren, and then hanging out with her the next day, and giggling maliciously at people whom i giggled maliciously at in high school. (i dont think we ever completely escape our high-school selves, whether we want to admit it or not). also been emailing with Yvette who wasnt there but tracked me down after the fact, which has been cool as well. the bad = talking to people about their horrific jobs. one person as a plastics sales person, another as a software manual writer, others i fail to remember the details of, other than the very desri[tion of them horrified me. am i a snob? out of touch? who knows, just made me sad. the ugly = i was sadly dissapointed in this department, with the exception of one nameless person whom i had a crush on beginning in the 5th grade, who now is overweight and losing his hair and produced bad tv. blech.

anywyas, enough smug bitching.

......MUST WORK MUST WORK AM NOT ON VACATION ANYMORE......

sigh.

whew. i'm back. it's been an interesting last few weeks/month. SoCal to Florida back to SoCal and off to Costa Rica. I'm ready for some down time......

CR was awesome. here's some pics, until i have time to properly blog....

(i'm also not quite back in the "mode" yet--still on Costa Rica time.)