Book Review: The Tipping Point

I've reached my tipping point and I think it's equal to 4 books in 7 days. HA! So I spent a lot of time reading during this vacation because well, heck, that's what you do when you're sitting in lounge chairs on the beach or by the pool.

I believe Tipping Point was the second book I read on this trip...I had already started it over Thanksgiving and had about a 100 more pages to finish. It was definately good and had some interesting points but I felt it was somewhat overtly repetitive. I think reading the afterword killed it for me.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

First book of the trip was the 6th installation of Harry Potter. The series gets progressively more and more grim...the last book better start having some happy endings otherwise it's a dismal world where not even the magical people can have a good time.

Book Review: Naked

The last book of the trip was a David Sedaris round 2, with Naked. Interesting book in that it focuses much on stories with siblings and parents. The stories with his mother and grandmother are hilarious...as an example two cultures clashing and how such family by marriage relations can go so wrong...but yet be so funny to those who read it.

Book Review: The Second Assistant

Book number three was some chick lit called "The Second Assistant." This is about a girl who loses her job as a political aide because the senator was caught embezling to moving across tthe country to become a second assistant to a hollywood agent who is a little long on the extraciricular activies (think drinking, drugs and strippers) and short on office time but still manages to be one of the better agents at the company. She manages to deal and eventually even love her job - complete with celebrity citings and fun little misadventures.

Vamos a volver a la casa

So I'm leavin..on a jet plane...and this time I know I'm going directly back home :) and no stinkin 3 hour delay on the Dallas runway will stop me. That's the view looking out the window at the Cancun airport. Interesting observations included the trees all being the same height if not stripped bare of their leaves. Andrew's mom made a good point that if a hurricane rolls in every few years it would probably discourage the trees from growing past a certain point.

All in all I'm back in one piece and now back at work. I gotta say it was nice to spend Christmas on the sunny beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula. And to those who tried to scare me by saying "oooo, you're first vaca together...haha..." all was fine. Apparently it's some big deal and people have been known to come close to killing each other while on vacation because you end up spending every waking minute with the same person. No killing fields here. The only thing that was sacraficed was crates of limes and margarita mix.

Hey!

Look kids, in the sky - no in that lounge char!...It's super tan man! Where you say? Can't you tell? Andrew has spent the last 7 days in the sun with moderate sun protection and is now a healthy 3-4 shades darker than before. He's totally going to hate me for putting up this picture. The postcard is to shield his currently unsunblocked face from the kryptonite rays of the early Mexican sun.

En espanol, por favor

Update...I am tanned
Forrest is almost the shade of a manila envelope.
I finally got Forrest to shave is pseudo-beard (merry christmas to me) that he was growing since we arrived in Mexico. Pictures to follow because you wouldn't believe he had any facial hair until you actually saw it.

Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad

Can't beat a postcard moment like this...Merry Christmas everyone.

Detailed corner sculpture of the maternity ward building.

Picutre of more ruins...this is the maternity ward. It was the one building where much of the exterior stucco and relief scultpures had been well preserved.

That's our guide Jose pointing at some ruins. I think this one is of a palace type place where people actually lived. Jose was very entertaining and dropped jokes saying things like "I'm sorry ladies, if this was ancient times, we'd have to kill you" explaining the many honors of human sacrafice. The buildings were neat in that they had these small windows that were aligned to the sun and moon risings and so each building had a window that lined up with another building, etc so the sun could shine through it...muy interesante

Tulum

Apparently the Mayans knew what they were doing when they set up shop in this little spot by the beach, originally called Zamas. It's on a cliff so these ruins were virtually untouched by hurricanes.

Which way is home?

Found these wayward signs on the beach while walking back to the condo from lunch. It ways that SF is a mere 2292 miles away. What I couldn't figure out was if this sign was decoration that was being replaced or was ripped out via hurricane.

Can I get a rollaway bed please?

What do I see here? A new little friend that decided to join us on vacation. I believe that's a baby lizard of gecko....but regardless he's ltiterally like an inch long. Awhile later he tried to scale down over the edge and proceeded to go "mini-splat" on the bathroom floor.

El amor es....well like swans

Adios Amigos

Off to sunny Mexico for a week with Forrest and his fam for the holidays. See ya when I get back...hopefully I'll have a killer tan and have reached my humanly possible quotient for margaritas.

Uninvited Dinner Guest

A few weeks ago, Forrest and I stopped by Coady and Caroline's house for a karaoke Christmas party. On our way there, we decided to stop into a sushi joint a few blocks away... lo and behold it was run by my people...big surprise, eh? Koreans running a sushi joint. Apparently that's a way to give the bird to your previous captors...by opening hoards of restaurants selling their cuisine...sometimes with not so great results.

The above picture is of our new little friend who was sitting right in between Forrest and my chairs. Awesome.....really, I enjoy knowing that raw shrimp heads just sit around on the floor from time to time - bleagh

OMG! Just What I've always wanted!!

I can't believe it! I've been waiting my entire life for this! I MUST have it for christmas. uh, yeah right..aha! So the above is a picture of Antonio Baneras' colgne retail stand thingy at a Walgreens in Arizona. I stood there in shock, fumbling for my camera phone wondering what had happened in the world that we are punsihed with such things...

or maybe it's really april...and this is an april fool's joke.

Keeping Warm when your sleeveless...

Instead of just buying sweats, Chester opts for limb warmers to keep his arms and legs warm in the winter. This is apparently what happens when men shop for themselves.

Gotta get sirius

Today was the last day of Howard Stern on terrestial radio...gotta get Sirius satellite radio installed by January 9th so I can listen in...yay

Movie Review: Old Boy

Forrest has a really smart Netflix account. It apparently knows that he's dating a korean...so it suggests korean movies to him. Too bad it doesn't know how strangely non asian I can be...not by some aversion to my people..but because in a past life I was a red neck and it's apparently a hard thing to shake. haha. but really, i kid.

Anyhoo we watched Old Boy last night. It was some korean movie with english subtitles that won awards at Cannes. Yahoo movies even ranked it a A-. Basic premise is this guy is imprisoned for 15 years then released for no reason and has 5 days to find out why he was imprisoned...an intense movie with some very uncomfortable twists in plot that basically leave you feeling a little violated.

I felt too uneasy after the film...the all in all, a well made film. I so want to give away the movie's kicker...but alas, I won't - you have to watch it.

Immature Relief

Obviously there are a wide variety of cactus (cacti?) in Arizona...they come in a variety of shapes...but none are more amusing than the ones that look like a semi-erect penis. Please disregard the phelangees of another cacti that is behind the phallus cacti. This provided amusement for hours...as Sam and I are mentally 12 years old at times and couldn't help looking out the window and laughing (over and over again) The furry tip makes it extra funny.

Later we spotted one on another house that wasn't tilted to the right...was straight up and down...and had a santa hat resting on the tip. I almost peed my pants laughing so hard.

Impromtu Pall Bearer

Sam was an impromtu pall bearer at my uncle's funeral this morning in Arizona. It only seemed appropriate as most of the people carrying the coffin were in their 60's...they didn't do well in organizing a good height matches either to even out the carrying.

Flew out on saturday and just got back in today. It's sad and emotionally draining to be at functions like this, but in many ways it's also comforting. My uncle Joe had been sick for awhile and the last time I saw him (last weekend) he was in a lot of pain and basically slowly dying from his failing liver...it's hard to see any human being suffer like that - but it's harder when you come from the same gene pool. It's sad to see him go...but at least he's not in pain anymore....there's some comfort in that.

I don't have many memories of my aunt and uncle after the age of 10 (when they moved to AZ) but from 2-10 there were a lot of good times hanging out at their house in Cupertino..swimming in the pool or playing with all of their golf paraphenalia...

Nano Nano

Meet the newest member of my Apple ipod family....it's a black nano...pretty neet looking and super small. haven't fully taken it out of the package yet.

Family Ties

My uncle passed away late thursday evening...and i'll be out in AZ for the wake and funeral Sunday - Monday. I'm bummed out but for almost no other reasone that biology...I haven't been very close to my uncle since I was in grade school...but if I only have fond memories...does that count as a "close" uncle?

I don't know...and i don't really care...I'm just kind of sad.

It's like, really official

This is the reason why I haven't blogged in so long. I got a new job..this is my fourth week - and they do a mighty fine job of keeping my ass busy. BTW - we're hiring like hotcakes, so if you know of anyone looking or heck, if you're looking - email me... to see open job reqs, visit the company website at www.vmware.com.

Dude, how official does that name tag look on my cube - crazy

What the F#@&*!

That's my coworker Dave leaning over my cube blowing into this squishy spikey thing that everyone has been playing with. Work these days is much like how junior high was...

alternate use of squishy spikey thing

Free Lunch Wednesdays

So at my new company, we get free lunch on wednesdays...usually some local restaurant or whatever. not too shabby...I forwarded wednesday's menu to Sam and this is what he replied...the kid's funny.

wow! that is awesome. it's a lot like our free lunch wednesdays.
here'swhat's on the menu:

Fat Nurse EateryAppetizers: phone calls from annoying ass nurses who complain either about work, pay or other personal weight issues

Main Course: the occasional calls from our gay CNA who can't stop calling us not b/c we are his employer, but b/c i think he...uh...wants to plug us...eck!

Alternate Main Course: the douche bag LVN who works with the new AMWAY andtries to sell us dumb ass shit from his website, while trying to give me advice on gambling and his "full proof plan for gambling" (oxymoron). On top of that, he is grossly over paid and loves to try and ask for a raise. this is dish also comes with "the fact that i think we are his only friends and he insists on coming into the office every day" on the side

For Dessert: to finish the meal, we have brought in the great work of that some people do and i will not elaborate b/c this is work email...but i'm sureyou know what i'm talking about.

I hope you enjoy our free-meal Wednesday and I hope you enjoy the trip out ofthe 45th floor window!

Real Menu Item...

All Sandwiches include Erik's Secret Goo, Red Onions, Tomatoes and Sprouts (Lettuce is available upon request )

Like really...what the fuck is that? Who wants Erik's secret goo in their sandwich?

Please, oh PLEASE...be my friend

Photo of the shelp in my cubicle. This shelf faces the walkway...hoping to meet new people here at work, I went and bought some candy and put up a sign. Alas, only 3 people have actually stopped by, 2 of whom I already knew. Most people just walk by and stare at it and giggle. Yes I know it's "cute" or "funny" but I'm serious when I say I'd like to meet my coworkers...there's just so many people in this company!

Movie Review: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

A must see movie...holy crap - Robert Downey Jr is super fabu in everything...but this?!?! this movie was GREAT - more to come...

Book Review: Pledged

Finished this book a couple of weeks ago...I can't remember when, but it was fairly recent. DUDE this book kicks ass, it's VERY interesting - and I gotta say, my sorority was NOT like some of these crazy bitch houses... The rampant eating disorders, borderline prostitution and blatant racism (there is a story about being in blackface) are like urban legend to me...like the circling of fat spots as part of pledge period. We definately didn't have that at our house. But then there are things that ring true like the group reference behavior, how all girl groups tend to not foster sisterhood so much as blatant manipulation and the, uh, binge drinking..heehee

I was not outraged when I read this book like some of the greeks across America were. This book doesn't neccesarily go out to say sororities are bad, it just shows all of it. It is true that we all love/hate rush...because it's the worst week of our lives but the week we get a new class of girls. It does give the opportunity to meet people you otherwise would not have (i.e. all of my current best girlfriends I met via rush or DG). BUT as with any large social group with obligations, you can't love everyone and some girls are just plain mean. Definately worth the read

Tasting Notes?

Mike? Molly?

new kicks for work

Maybe it's me, but things like what I wear for my first (insert event here) are VERY important. And for my first day of work I needed a new outfit...well, I was able to find new pants and new shoes (pictured above) but the sweater was already part of my arsenal. The shoes - love them...great little deal at the Rack, however the flower on my right shoe fell off and I have yet to re-attach. They do look a little cute in an asymmetrical sort of way.

Under Lock and Key

Muy Interesante working for a big company...I've never worked at a place where they have a lock to bolt your computer to your desk. It totally makes sense, but still an interesting introduction for me.

Time Out

Overloaded this week...will post soon - as soon as I stop drowning from my first week of work.

Launch Successful

Just wrapped up my first day at my new gig...and I loved it. Had the full corporate orientation and everything! They gave me a super hot little Dell laptop complete with docking station because the work laptop is actually smaller than my current personal laptop, if you can imagine. I get my badge this week - how super exciting is THAT?!?! I've NEVER had a company badge before!

So spent the second half of the day getting booted up and all settled with my computer system. Had a short preliminary meeting with my manager about what I'd be doing and it sounds good...and by the end of the day, I had already scheduled 5 meetings for this week - way to hit the ground running.

No Mas Mr. Bluth

Forrest sadly informed me yesterday that Fox will be cancelling Arrested Development...WAH! I am so sad...I LOVE this show and I happen to think that Michael Bluth is super cute as well. ARG - with so much random crap on TV these days, a funny and well written TV shoe like Arrested Development doesn't stand a chance - this is surely a sign that our species is slowly dying from stupidity.

Email Exchange with Molly...

Me: i've figured it out.
i've decided i only want books as gifts for the rest of my life. since books are like my crack - i'm essentially asking other people to support my habit...haha

Molly: Good, keep your Amazon list updated.

Me: jeezus christ - my amazon wishlist is downright insane.
i have WAY too many things on there right now, it's literally 10 pages long. what happens is i read stupid magazines like time, newsweek, US Weekly and their articles always seem to reference books...so i put them in my list...

Molly: Your brain is going to explode.

She's right you know...my head just might explode. Caroline suggested books on tape today for my workouts...and you know what? I can absorb the super educational books via my ears and the entertaining ones via my eyes. I will be so full of information I may burst when asked a question.

Lady of Leisure

Howdy you'all...I think I could get used to all this time off..haha... Actually I think I have a problem with relaxing, where performing non-work related tasks are associated with "relax" time. Basically my entire day was based around what I could make Forrest for dinner, browsing sporting goods, books and stocking toiletries that have run low. I REALLY like helping - and I can't ever stop helping. I think a personal lifestyle organizer would be a perfect job for me...forget this marketing stuff! jk

Free Time

Have the week off...don't really know what I'm going to do with myself this entire week. Actually that's a lie - because I have quite the "to-do" list...but looks like I'll have most of it done and overwith by tomorrow afternoon.

Happy Birthday Baby

There's Zoe the birthday girl, about to slide out of her "jumpy house" at her 2nd birthday party ever. I remember going to the ultrasound appointment with Sarah and Scott when they first found out that the baby was going to be a "she" and now she's 2 with an attitude like she's going on 18.

Grandma Monique (Scott's mom) & Zoe in the jumpy house. Once all the other kids started crawling into the jumpy house, Monique made a fast exit to rejoin the adults.

Last of the...Mohegan

That's the view from my CT hotel room on the tenth floor of the Mohegan Sun. Other views show better foliage color patterns..but sitting on the edge of a lake...with colorul treetops in the rural areas on CT.

Spring..I mean, Fall Cleaning

First day of my week off.
Yesterday I started knocking off stuff from my "to-do" list. The list includes simple things like "do laundry" to fun things like "massage and facial." However, I decided to tackle the task of "organize crap" which could be the mission of a lifetime if you're me and have a organizational obsession.

It got to the point of rumaging through a closet and finding super old pictures....I mean there were some pics of me in junior high. AND beat this - notes I used to pass in class..yikes.

So here are some things I learned in the process:

• I really have been this tall for a REALLY long time
• My love of starched button down shirts is deep rooted
• It is not that easy to find people on Friendster(1)
• Reading old letters is wierd (2)
• At one point in my life, I was surrounded by asians, super FOBy asians (3)
• My taste in clothing hasn't really changed since 1989 (4)
• I've got a large stack of membership cards to different travel programs
  

I wonder what other stray boxes of old Betty material is lying around the house. It's always such a time warp to see the stuff people used to wear, see the old hairstyles...hahahaha.

(1) I found some stuff that belonged to an old BF and figured it was important enough to return and couldn't just throw it away so I spent about 2 hours connecting the dots via Friendster to send an email asking for a mailing address.

(2) Funny to know that I essentially sound the same on paper as I did when I was 14. Although my penmanship has definately improved

(3) In high school I was very into hangin out at church (namely because that's where my mother spent all her time and I wasn't allowed out of her sight) and so I spent all my time with super FOB koreans.

(4) Thankfully preppy attire never really goes out of style - although it's also never really in style either.

Book Review: Citizen Girl

On my way to CT, I had a stopover in Chicago and I picked up this interesting looking book at the airport. While I was reading it, I thought it seemed strangely familiar...I figured I must have read a review on it or it was something I semi-skimmed at Barnes & Noble. Alas, I was wrong on both accounts - I double checked with Molly and realized that I had already read this book...like a few years ago. OMG - I am retarded.

But I did read the book again and realized how much I really liked it. The main character's name is Girl and her boss' name is Guy...the company's name? My Company. I really like the use of pronouns instead of actual names in the book, it gives it a little something extra that makes it more than just a fictional story but something you can relate a lot of different things to. And for anyone who's ever been young and starting out in the professional world (like me and all my friends) we've all experienced a job where we've been under-appreciated and over looked and just plain not treated well - this book is about that experience..

Happy Trails...

Last day of work today. It feels wierd, but will make it through. My coworkers didbring bottles of champagne, wine and Absolut Citron to the office though, to help me celebrate.

Corley's daughter Meghan drew me a carrot too.

Bar Shot

Trisha, Me and Chancey, the past and present cMango ladies. Trisha is still there and will be taking the reins from yours truly...I am on my way out to a company in a different space...and Chance left awhile back to go to a competitor. Thankfully we get to meet up occasionally at things like conferences and hang out, catch up.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Bivalves??

Well if you're me, you sure as hell do! Yesterday I went to Jasper White's Summer Shack...uh...twice in a matter of 4 hours. I ordered oysters, clam chowder and a beet, endive salad the first time. The second time I ordered oysters and a side of mac 'n cheese. Heh, what's a girl to do? I physically restrained myself from ordering the Cherrystone and Littleneck clams because I knew it would quickly get ugly.

Dinner was at the Longhouse (steak and seafood) where I poahed an oyster off a coworker's plate. Really, I have a problem. Because I may have some oysters for lunch today.

Auto Toilet

Apparently in the state of Connecticut, all the public toilets not only are auto flushing, but have a self changing plastic liner which you change by either pushing the green button on the toilet or by waving your hand in front of a green hole in the wall....next thing you know, it will wipe your ass for you if you wave your foot above tile #3 on the floor.

The Zones

That's a picture of "the zones"...as Chancey preaches to the men at the bar. The numbers mean that you are supposed to go in a certain order. The funniest part of the night was when Ed (who has 2 kids) says "whaddya mean I gotta go in order and visit each zone?" to which Joe replies "well, he's got 2 kids, he got something right." Regardless, the zones conversation comes up every time I'm hangin out with Chance...she's such a pisser. Apparently the key is "6 comes before 7" and that is literally and figuratively.

12 Step Program...Is there a book for that?

I have a problem. I have a SERIOUS problem.

I can't get enough to read. My eyeballs need to scan words like a crack whore needs a fix. It's getting out of hand. I am literally addicted to reading material.

I am reading multiple books a week. Magazines are like teasers...only agigtating me for more content. Magazines to me is like an alcoholic drinking non-alcoholic beer. It's insulting because we're not fooled that it's not the real thing.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

There could be worse addictions out there, but this can be quite a costly one too. Every business trip I go on, I mow through at least 1 book per flight and 2 magazines. I would get more books, but I run out of cargo space and well, books get heavy. I am constantly in search of smaller margins and font - the denser the better because then maybe...JUST MAYBE...I can carry only one book and slowy chug through that. I read on the train...and in 45 minutes, I can read almost half of a chick lit book and at least 3-4 chapters of a more serious book.

Oh well, back to my Amazon book list in search of my next fix....cuz it feels so goooooood...

Foie please...

Went to Todd English's Tuscany last night with Trish for a little snack after the work reception at Jasper White's Summer Shack.

I have no idea who Jasper White is, but I have heard of Todd English....and that man makes a mean foie plate. The following items appeared on my plate:

• Seared Foie Gras
• Fig Chutney or Preserves type of thing
• Honey...still in the HONEYCOMB! This was super cool
• Slab of Foie pate
• Goat Blue Cheese...texture was like regular goat...only with blue veins
• Some sort of sprouts

The honeycomb honey was amazing...Molly - you would have loved this. It was super sweet but not in a sickeng sort of way, a very concentrated honey flavor but you would even taste the woods - something herbal or very "outside" type of flavor in the honey. It was really cool to push down on the wax honeycomb and watch the honey ooze out.

Mohegan Sun

Just arrived at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT for my last regional software users conference... So this place is an Indian Gaming Reservation and I was thinking Chumash Casino...but, oh no - I was wrong..this place is MASSIVE. The sheer size of this one resort makes the MGM Grand look like a condo. It took us almost 20 minutes to drive from the casino valet parking to the hotel/conference center valet parking..but it's all the same building. CRAZY.

And it's sold out this week too...all 1,300 rooms of it. Tonight there are two concerts...Aerosmith (OMG!!!!) and Lenny Kravitz! Apparently it's the super cool / hot rockstar tour...

Book Review: The Other Sie of the Story

Finished this book on the planeride over to CT...actually I finished it on the first leg of the flight from SFO to Chicago. I've read a bunch of other Marian Keyes books and they are usually pretty entertaining fast reads, but this one was ALL over the place. The back cover says it's a story about a high powered literary agent named JoJo Harvey who happens to also look like a real live Jessica Rabbit....because that ALWAYS happens. I can see how JoJo is the connecting factor of the book, but there seem to be too many different plotlines here. Or maybe this book just wasn't for me - I think it's time to move over to a dense hard read before I hit up the chick lit again..

Movie Review: Wallace & Gromit

The Sunday following Chester's birthday began with:
1. An extra hour of sleep courtesy of daylight savings
2. Breakfast buffet at the De Anza, in the same room that we had the party in the night before
3. A slow moving exit from the hotel
4. MAD HANGOVERS
5. Movie at Camera 12
6. Snacks at McCormick and Schmick

So the selected movie was Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were Rabbit. For those who think claymation is for kids, well maybe - but the subject of jokes were definately adult. It's really funny because in the close ups you can see the fingerprints in the clay... This is a must see - these little characters totally remind me of the cars in the Chevron commercials.

But Gromit, cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese.

Book Review: Can You Keep a Secret

Just read this book, courtesy of Hiroko as part of our joyous little book club. Sophie Kinsella also wrote the "Shopaholic" book series which were super funny. This was was a fast entertaining read. All about this girl Emma who basically has a laundry list of "white lies" like how she pretends to like jazz because her boyfriend does and he keeps taking her to jazz concerts. She lies about her dress size and weight (what woman doesn't?). But all in all, she ends up spilling all her secrets to a stranger in a perceived life and death moment, only to realize that man is the founder of the company she works at....

who wants this book next?

East Coast Snacks

So Dunkin Donuts never really took off on the west coast for some reason...and that's a damned shame because their donuts are really good (better then Krispy Kremes good). First thing we did upon landing in CT was head outta the airport and go to Dunkin Donuts. There was a Starbucks across the street with an empty parking lot, go figure.

Hirokuggs

That's a photo of Hiroko wearing Uggs. I know you people think I'm crazy, but that's a BIG deal as all Hiroko did last winter was make fun of me and Vy for buying and wearing Uggs.

Happy Birthday Chester

Here's the morning after picture of Chester with post birthday party hair. Really, he looks like a Dragon Ball Z character - it's insane. I'm surprised he's even smiling in this photo, as Elvis REALLY left the building the night before - and with quite a bang.

That's Forrest in his Halloween costume...beer can complete with mullet wig. Personally, I found the wig disturbing - he's almost unrecognizable in this photo...who is this mulleted man who seems to have all his teeth?

Ethan showed up as thecutest little devil I've ever seen...and he's a total ham for the cameras these days. It was also tough to say no to this little guy as he was following me around the room asking for balloons - like I would pass a balloon to him or anyone! No way man...it was hard enough getting the balloons transported to the hotel.

Truck Hospital

My car wouldn't start on Thursday night...so I was unable to take the bullet train from Mountain View to the city...meaning I got a full hour on the train versus my usual 35 minutes. Good for reading, but lags for most everything else. Friday morning, I called a tow truck to take my beautiful Celebrity down to Sunnyvale Dodge for service. After almost hyperventilating in the tow truck and on being on the brink of tears from looking at my car "dead on its gurney"...I was informed that it was only a mild case of corroded spark plugs...WHEW! I decided to get a 90K mile service while I was there...just to be safe - nothing wrong with a good tune up.