OMG Look! Real Flowers :)

So my sneaky minion, Trisha gathered everyone in the office into the conference to sing me happy birthday to a ginormous fruit tart, vanilla ice cream and a bouquet of white hydrangeas for my birthday. Super nice. I swear this has been the best birthday ever! I woke up to a "happy birthday" and it's been like this all day....thanks.

The REAL flowers are currently sitting in a vase that used to house my FAKE purple hydrangeas. Always nice to have some real greenery around.

Dinner in Napa

Saturday night, Forrest took me to dinner at Angele in downtown Napa. The restaurant sat on the edge of the Napa river and being a nice day up in Napa we sat outside....am I getting cheesy? yes I quite possibly am...but had to share about the super fun dinner

I mowed:
“Salade de Betteraves” Red Beet Salad with a Truffle Vinaigrette and Blue Cheese, My entree was the special...a set of pan roasted soft shell crabs (yummy yum yum) and Dessert was the blueberry sorbet - it was like 2 heaping scoops too..yowza

Forrest mowed:
“Foie Gras” Torchon of Foie Gras, Pistachios, Rhubarb Compote with House Made-Brioche, “Poulet Provençal” Chicken with Baby Artichokes, Potatoes, Olives, Confit Tomatoes and Dessert was a vanilla Pot de Creme (super light and yummy)

This was one of those multi hour dinners that spanned through an entire bottle of wine. Definately a place worth a repeat visit.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

OMG I LOVE my friends and fam...you guys are the best. This morning has been full of birthday greetings in person and my phones, emails, IM screens and blog were innundated with messages wishing me a wonderful birthday. Thanks so much - it's really the simple gestures like a note or a message that mean the most to me. I love you guys :)

p.s. thank you for contiually humoring me and my desire to be 21 *again*

It's My Birthday

Today is the big day. I'm 21 (again) hahahaha...yes it's true, I've been illegally drinking in bars for the last 7 years (there's a hint to my real age). So I am going to relish in my birthday-dom for a few more minutos before I get back to the daily grind of work :( I was soooooo going to take the day off today but some poor planning on my part made it not possible.

Birthday has been wonderful so far :) I didn't plan anything because I didn't really care this year but the people around me have helped to make me feel super special.

Thurs: you've all seen the post about my Tiffany & Co de-virginizing.
Fri: Mellow evening of drinks & apps with Linh and Jason at Rica
Sat/Sun: Forrest took me to Napa for some wine tasting, picnic-ing and super yummy dinner at Agele. Then cruised up to his parents' casa in Sacto for dinner (his sister and bf were in town) where they also wished me a happy birthday.
Mon: National Holiday (can't beat that for your birthday)

Since today is the actual day I blessed human existence with my arrival, I will try to not work too late and enjoy myself....

All legal and shit

Congratulations tom! That's Tom of "Tom & Angie from Michigan" Tom....and he just graduated from MSU Law School. That's their pup Bosley... These peeps move fast, last time I saw them, they were talking about moving closer to Detroit for Tom's job but they have already closed on a house and should be all moved in by July...holy crap life moves fast....

Betty the Giraffe

Obligatory picture of me wearing the necklace, this was taken via Meeta's camera at St Johns...immediately after I received the gift. Notice how long my neck is. - it's insane really, when it's cold outsite even turtlenecks can't cover the length of my neck. Laugh if you must, but when we start to run out of food on this planet, I'll be able to reach the fruit at the top of the trees :)

My First Blue Box

Last night I had to pass on softball because of a late worknight...but I did meet up with everyone at St John's on Lawrence Expressway for some grub. The LVH (Linh, Vy and Hiroko) have been very cryptic lately and insisting that we all have to be together for my birthday present. Naturally, they were kind of creeping me out...mainly because they were acting kind of wierd. Linh has never been more insistent the we ALL MUST be together...the private conversations between them (yes I felt left out) and well, basically knowing for a week that there was "something" happening but I had to wait...AND they wanted to do all this before my actual birthday...hmmmm. I've known these ladies for about 10 years and well, you know people pretty well by then and they were TOTALLLY creeping me out.

What was actually going on was that the LVH had gotten together to give me my first blue box. For those who are shopping challenged, my first gift from Tiffany & Co. It was really sweeet and they were so excited...and it's nice to be a little extra girly sometimes too:)

So here it is...it's the Elsa Peretti letter series. It's super cute around my neck.....I am still shocked and so greatly appreciative of the thought and gift. Thank guys - love you!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So sleepy. Spent all of today sitting in planning meetings for a new solution offering with representatives from our partner company. Highly productive and informative, blahblahblahblah yadda yadda yadda...hahahaha. But now that it's 6:24pm I can finally get some time to actually do work, you know that laundry list of tasks that I have been so gloriously ignoring since mid-day yesterday to be a part of this new madness.

Crossed Paths at Bay to Breakers

Above is a picture of Trisha doing a keg stand from a pony keg as part of their Bay to Breakers float. Their entire team wore fuzzy (homemade) chaps and there is an actual stuffed horse sitting on top of the keg cart...too funny. The reason I have this picture up is 1. it's semi-incriminating and 2. this came from Laura's camera...her group thought this team of fuzzy chap wearers were too funny with the girl doing a keg stand. Little did she know that they actually already knew each other.

Good Relations with Wookies I have

Above title is actually a quote from Yoda as he leaves to hang out in the land of the wookies....although it did make me wonder "what kind of relations did you have with the wookies little green man?"

oooo...anakin skywalker turning into evil darth....ooooo. I saw Star Wars 3 with my brother on Tuesday night and I LOVED IT! That is a big/bold statement coming from me because 1. I don't go to a lot of movies and 2. this is not my genre. I still haven't seen Episode 2 and have yet to see 4, 5 and 6 in it's entirety. I felt a tremor, I think it was geeks around the world passing out at that last statement. It was almost too much movie for me and I feel I may need to see it again...anyone interested?

Why Wesley Why?

why? really? Sam rented Blade 3 from Blockbuster the other day and I watched it with him...it was mildly entertaining, I particularly enjoyed Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds (super cute) . Honestly I think this storyline is a little tired and makes me sad for Wesley Snipes, who I thought had so much greater potential...than...well...this. Blade 2 was equally dissapointing because of all the WWF fighting scenes, especially at the end - lameO.

Courtesy of Hiroko

Yesterday Hiroko sent me some SPAM with jokes titled "something to offend everyone" I had to post a few because, well, some of that shit is super funny.

What's the difference between a girlfriend and wife?
45 lbs. (this could go both ways....plus, girls get fat because you dummies knock us up....another difference could be the existence of headaches)

What's the difference between a boyfriend and husband?
45 minutes. (really...women have so much to look forward to...well i guess that's if we're gonna keep giving it up, right? let's pull out all the stops on stereotypes)

What's the fastest way to a man's heart?
Through his chest with a sharp knife. (hmm....and the apparent extra 45 pounds can hold him down too)

Why do men want to marry virgins?
They can't stand criticism. (now THIS is a good one...why don't women want to marry virgins? because they actually want to get off...hahaha)

What's the difference between a porcupine and BMW?
A porcupine has the pricks on the outside. (although the X5 is a pimpin ride)

Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
Breasts don't have eyes. (unless the areolas now count as eye substitutes)

Way to go champ

Sam had so much fun, he missed his own party at the Hilton Cityscape. We were all looking for Sam the entire night....he was waiting for his friend Chris to show up to his apt so they could arrive together...but instead he passed out, leaving Chris to drive back down to San Jose after he drove all the way up to SF. Sweet.

Big Pimpin

I got Sam cufflinks from Tiffany's with the pimpin shirt/tie combo as well and I wanted a picture of it...but to my surprise, the picture came out like this. BLING. Gotta love it. One of the best pictures of the night.

Dinner at Ponzu

Sam and me at graduation dinner with the family at Ponzu in Union Square - we can't be serious for 2 seconds and hence are driving our parents insane...at this point, my mom is frowning because we keep making funny faces for pictures.

Sam Graduates College

Sojika, Dobel, Sam, Ben and Eileen
Sam's crowning achievement...ooo...look at the big brain on Sam. So the bro graduated from USF over the weekend. I can't believe four years has already gone by. It literally seems like I moved him into the Phelan dorm last week...and now he's done and moved back home to look for work. Holy crap, we're going to drive our parents crazy.

Me, mom, Sam and Dad taking the group family photo at graduation. I know we're related and all but damnit we all sure do look alike.

Baccalaureate Mass

Or just me, Sam and Ben at Ebisu Sushi in the Sunset kicking off the graduation festivities by skipping out on baccalaureate mass and heading straight for some beer and sake with our sushi.

Donna Martin Graduate!

Gotta love the 90210 reference...but rather appropriate

Sam graduates this weekend...it all starts today with baccalaureate mass and the graduation ceremony is tomorrow. It's like the end of an era right now...WOW

B2B Action Shots

So during Bay to Breakers they have all these bridge type contraptions setup with these massive stadium light thingys where there are photographers taking pictures. There's a whole slew of them! SWEET. Dude, my outfit is practically day glo...ahhhhahahaha.

To see more gay pictures of me...go to www.sportphoto.com and click on the Bay to Breakers link and enter bib # 7943.

Fun with Phones

My new Treo 650 comes with a camera (just like my old one) but the resolution is WAY better. What's even better is that you can asociate a picture with your contacts, so Hiroko and Corley posed for their mugshots above and now my phone lights up with their lovely faces whenever they call me.

Best Show Ever!

I'll admit it...it's totally my dirty little secret...but this new Britney and Kevin show is the best thing on TV! Holy Crap! ...i have MUCH more to say about this later...

So this show is a collection of home videos that Britney took while she was on her Onyx Tour. So you get to see her without makeup on or her hair done....not that exciting...but then there are the hotel rooms that she gets to stay in OMG! didn't know rooms like that existed. We get to see her budding love affair with mr. baggy pants....umm...awww...uhhhh

So she uses this term "Bitter Betty" to describe her sentiment towards relationships and how her view was tainted from past experiences, I guess. I am offended that they are using my name 1) in vain and 2) in association with a negative feeling....whatever.

I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener

Cuz then everyone would be in love with me....gotta love a wienermobile sighting :)

Stressful Eating

Oh Boy. Lunch today was very stressful. Food = Happiness in the world of Betty....So I don't like to do ANYTHING unpleasant while eating, so I can avoid any negative associations with food. But today, at Dim Sum...paramedics arrived into the restaurant and were attending to a very frail old lady who had recently sat down with her family for lunch. The paramedics were there for about 30 minutes...then more medics arrived with paddles, a gurney thing and an IV. She was smiling and talking to everyone so I don't know what was going on....maybe she was dehydrated and the IV was all she needed??? I dunno...all I know was that I felt like I was slowly suffocating - and had to either help or leave, because they were in my line of sight. Knowing that my intervention would provide no additional medical value, Zyrene and I left...but still I am extremely uncomfortable and in some ways involuntarily feel as though I need to get rid of my lunch.

I obviously don't handle these types of situations well...case in point, a run in at Target...

Getting Arrested Again

I've been poking around at a few websites to try and confirm the fate of Arrested Development, only to find out that it has been signed for a third season...OMG I am so happy! Just fininshed watching season 2 (from Forrest's pirated downloads) and can't wait until it's out on DVD so I can buy it and watch it over and over like I do with all my DVDs (odd, I know). But YES! A whole nother season to watch the Bluth family and their blunders....Michael Bluth is my super favorite character...

Book Report: The Poisonwood Bible

Just finished another book...my favorite part of business travel is all the free time I get on the plane to read...I LOVE READING..for that matter I love to fly, take the train and go on roadtrips where I am not the one driving so I can read.

Poisonwood Bible is about a southern baptist minister and his family's missionary move to the Congo in the 50's. When they arrive, their 4 daughters are very young and very distinctly pale against the Congo. Each chapter is written from the point of view of the wife and the 4 daughters as they adjust to life in the Congo, go through adolescence, fall in/out of love and experience disappointment and death. The last few chapters follows the lives of these women as their missionary trip comes to a close and to what far reaches of the earth they go....I read all 600 pages in 3 days. I found it riveting - and interesting since I come from a pretty religious family, to see the similarities and differences in how people approach religion and faith.

Bay to Breakers

A single runner in a mere pool of 75,000 people.

Sunday morning, Forrest, his dad and I ran the Bay to Breakers. It was my first time running Bay to Breakers and my first time running for that long (time AND distance!) it helps when you have a super cute running coach. I am sooooooooooo proud of myself for doing it...and even being able to do it. WOW the things the human body is capable of doing with enough preparation - all things can change. So the final outcome is 7.5 miles in 85 minutes (this does not count the 20 minutes it took to get to the starting line from 2 blocks back)...not too shabby about 11.33 minutes/mile. I ran the entire time, even up the Hayes Street Hill which wasn't as bad as I had thought it was going to be....and today, I am a little sore but nothing too major..it's just my hip flexor that's tight.

Next up? Maybe the Nike Women's 1/2 marathon in October...and definately the SF Marthon/Half Marathon's 5K fun run in July (I am going to try and run faster).

When the Sportphoto pages are all up - I will post the action shots taken of us by the Bay to Breakers people...because you HAVE to see the cute new outfit that I bought to wear for the race.

24 Hours of Adrenaline

24 hours of crack is more like it...this is like extreme mountain biking...crazy! Saturday Forrest, Allan and I went down to Laguna Seca to see Craig and his buddies do a 24 hour mountain bike race...yes, you read it right, 24 hours...that's crazy man.

So that's Craig wariming up on the bike on some sort of contraption at their campsite. I HAD to get a picture because, well, to be honest, spandex is ALWAYS funny. They all agreed too that spandex is funny.

Craig racing off on his first leg...post-baton hand off from Brad.

Houston..we may have a...

Problem? Or maybe a lightning storm over Texas that caused our flight to be re-routed numerous times while leaving Houston on thursday. This neat cloud formation could be seen through my window...but what you don't see is the array of lightning that cut through the clouds every few seconds...pretty scary...but the turbulence kicked ass.

Interesting Cloud Cover

This was the view from my window seat on the way to Dallas last week...I have this obsession with staring outside my window while flying and observing the clouds. I tend to see the most amazing formations ALWAYS over the Texas/Southwest area. Coincidentally this region also tends to have the most consistent amount of turbulence...fascinating. A roller coaster in the sky with a great view.

Almost too cute to eat

I'm not a big proponent of eating cute little critters...but this was just about the cutest caterpillar roll I've ever had. Forrest and I were at a sushi place in the Fisherman's Wharf area and came across this creation. Those are radish sprout antennae and ikura eyeballs :)

Time Sure Flies

So, I just checked my calendar and it is...the freaking MIDDLE OF MAY!!!! How did this happen? Last thing I remember was it being cold...and rainy (oh wait..hahaha that was last weekend). But in all honesty why is it already the middle of the year? I don't remember getting the time to enjoy spring all that much and summer is already biting my heels. Next thing you know it will be time to wrap Christmas gifts and I'll be another year older...eek.

Blowing my collective running wad

This Sunday is the Bay to Breakers....I am extremely excited and nervous...this is the culimantion of all my recent running madness. So here's a brief overview of the history

• Summer 2004: I start running..albeit it's about 1/4 or 1/2 mile every other day
• 10/1/2004: I run my first 5K
• Fall/Winter 2004: On my own I can run about 2 miles every other day
• 2/27/2005: I run another 5K with Hollis
• March 2005: I sign up for Bay to Breakers
• March - May: I train for Bay to Breakers with Forrest
• 5/1/2005: Forrest and I run 6.5 or 7 miles (my longest distance EVER!)

And now...it's here...all my training will be tested to see if I can run it without passing out or throwing up....I guess we'll see

Eatin at the Ragin Cajun

This is me and my gay lobster bib...i also need a bigger shirt apparently because I am in denial and think I am a size 2. BTW - this pic was taken with my new TREO 650...it's a little blurry because Jeff was using the zoom functionality.

mmmm...real louisiana mudbugs, meaning a bucketload of crawfish. A laborous eating process, but yummy nonetheless.

A dozen oysters for $3...hahaha I F-ing LOVE Texas and their ridiculous prices on food! Marcus and I were basically peeing in our pants at the prices..the menu listed a dozen oysters at $7 a doz and we thought THAT was a great deal compared to our high snobbery California prices...but then, lo and behold it was happy hour and they were on special for $3 a dozen! HAHAHAHA so we decided to eat a grand total of 5 dozen oysters!

Coming Home Tomorrow

It'll be good to get back to California tomorrow...I'm starting to love Texas just a little too much. The people here are real nice and the food...oh the food! And I swear to gawd, the longer I'm here the longer my vowels get...

Equal Religious Opportunity

I've heard of hotel rooms always having a copy of the Bible in it...but this is the first time I've EVER seen another book as an accompaniment - like the Book of Mormon. hmmm...i'm guessing the Koran isn't too far behind and what about some Buddist texts? Pretty soon each hotel room will need it's own bookcase to hold the world's regious library.

Watch out GEEKS...here I come!

Just got my TREO 650 today from Sprint. I've been jonesin to get one for awhile now, but have refrained because I've only had the 600 for about a year and it was *honestly* working just fine. Unfortunately/Fortunately my Treo 600 crapped out on me this week - and I HAD to go to Sprint while in Houston and buy the new one (no sense in going backwards, eh?) I apologize in advance if I end up ignoring all of you to play with my new phone while in public, private, anywhere really. I'm so f-ing excited :)

Meat Sticks...

Monday night I had dinner with Jeff, Marcus and Greg at Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian BBQ place in Houston..this is some GOOD shit. I've had a similar meal in Vegas at Rum Jungle...there it's called the fire pit...at Fogo de Chao, it's the only way to have meat...from a sword. So the deal is you go to this extended salad bar, primarily so sides and/or condiments to accompany the bevy of meats that will soon be brought to your table. A slew of waiters appear bearing swords covered in grilled meats....like a variety of beef, chicken, pork and lamb. sooooo good.

yee-haw! you'all come back now

Weeklong trip to Texas...dallas then houston...should make for some good eatin' Flew into DFW on monday and putz around the Galleria. After the seminar on Tuesday we all hopped into the rental car and drove for 4 hours down to Houston. Ummm, it's a pretty boring drive. Thank goodness for my book and sleeping in the car. EXCEPT - I got to see the place where they fry more inmates than any other prison in the country...

Extra Special Friendly Joiner

I took a Myers Briggs test online over the weekend to discover that I am a ESFJ...meaning Extrovert-Sensing-Feeling-Judger. I thought whatever, no big deal the questions for the test seem pretty general...then I went to this other site that gives a more in depth description of the type of person you are and well, it's pretty spot on. Some excerpts to note.

• You're at your best by organizing people in getting a job done. - I think I was just called a sheepdog, but that's basically what I do when on the road with my reps..
• you don't like continued interruptions - Oh yeah...that is SOOO true.
• you respect rules and authority - YUP, I can't cross the street if the light is red...it makes me panic
• leisure is to be earned after work is done - I am a firm believer in "work hard, play hard"
• you like to have your social events regularly planned -- like a weekly softball league - totally...I think this is my 4th year of softball..
• Love means warmth and commitment and you show this to your partner in many tangible ways...like cards and gifts and flowers and so on - I spend more on postage than on gas for my truck...I LOVE sending care packages and cards...because sometimes email isn't enough..
• when burned in a relationship, you get hurt bad, and may need time to heal and get over it before moving on.. - totally...the longer i wait the easier it's gonna be, right? sheesh

Plus just learned that my bro is also an ESFJ...that f-ing copycat..hahahaha - he should get his own personality matrix.

Putty in your hands...

2 hour aromatherapy massage today at Watercourse Way in Palo Alto (thank you Morry). Now that's what i'm talking about - rub me down BABY! I may behave like jello afterwards but at least I'll feel good.

Playing around in Ami's car

Hey Ami? Where's this supposed to go?
Tuesday night, upon my and Corley's arrival into OC, Ami was kind enough to pick us up at the airport and drive us to dinner at Havana (cuban food) in Costa Mesa...I was so friggin tired by the time we started eating dinner that I threw in the towel after appetizers.

But on the way to the hotel, Ami's car provided minutes of entertainment. Ami is a medical supply rep and she had all these instruments in her car...so, naturally, since Corley and I are basically infantile - we had to play with all of the equipment and make potty humor jokes.

Comments from the Road

Business trips are the apparent catalyst for stupidity, primarily because there is lots of downtime where groups of coworkers are sitting for hours on a plane, waiting in a lobby, sitting in cabs or just plain old standing in line. For many people, to spend so much downtime with work folks can be uncomfortable...my coworkers and I, it's like being let out of school and we can start behaving like the retards we really are. For instance, EVERY drink is a double...just because and we see which inappropriate/gross comment will be the one to push the other person over the edge. Some key excerpts - which won't be funny because they are out of context:

• I didn't get THIS body by lifting weights
• Yeah, I'm sore too, by bed sores
• Girls can go commando too
• I'm hurting because I haven''t movee....I'm Jabba the Hut on the couch
• The viscocity of the sauce is amazing! It's practically snot
• You're a sucker? Stop the elevator

There were more, but I can't remember them all because I was laughing too hard. I'm sure none of these make any sense or even seem funny....but it was funny at the time.

Turn and Burn

leaving tonight for socal....coming back tomorrow. I am feverishly working on the content of our day long seminar/workshop as we speak. Thank god for Southwest drink vouchers and having the event at the Westin South Coast Plaza. South Coast is an ubermall and I haven't been to the other stores yet but it has the biggest friggin Nordy's Rack that I have ever seen...I may need to stop by before I head home tomorrow.

10-4 gray squirrel...over and out

Got a new one...

a new LIVESTRONG bracelet...but after being so strongly advised against it...now I am embarrased to wear it. I had no idea that it would be the source of discussion for others.

SF Parking Dilemnas

photo taken with my TREO at USF

I went to USF to pick up my car that my brother was borrowing for the weekend...so as I am leaving the parking lot, I see this. WTF is going on here? There is a regular sized parking space that can obviously fit an SUV...but some idiot parked his Lark Scooter thingy there...this picture poses a few concerns...

• Why is the Lark parked in the first place? Don't people use these because they can't walk?
• If you are going to park your Lark scooter, why not be considerate and use a motorcycle parking space?
  

Mystery Arm

Sunday had breakfast with Forrest at Hi-Dive (that place is yummy!) after a monster 75 minute run that started out at the Ferry Building and went all the way to the Marina Greens. Needless to say we were super hungry afterwards and needed FOOD.

The picture above is the vent in Forrest's running jacket...he's trying to close it, but it looks kinda funny - that doesn't even look like his hand...makes you wonder why he's letting the random dude next to him, feel him up. heehee

Retire Disco Betty?

I'd like to say "NO" but maybe that's not totally true....I'd like to honestly believe that one does not need to compromise any one of one's desires and can mesh all sorts of behavior into a sustainable lifestyle...I believe I managed to do that pretty successfully in the past - or have I? I believe that it is not impossible to mesh a workaholic, partying rock star and gym rat into one person....I thought I did that pretty well.

These days, the disco part of me is losing steam to my fitness side - it's really an unfair fight...to have a gym rat take on a drunken go go dancer is like shotting fish in a barrel. But is this a temporary adjustment or a new prioritization? I would in many ways dislike giving up my title as "female who can out drink more males" and I do enjoy staying out late and dancing until my legs practically give out...is there still room for that dancing queen?

As life and society is already so filled with extremes and the pressure to conform to one group or another, I wonder - will I need to reassociate myself? And what would be my new association? And would the new group be supportive should disco betty need a periodic comeback tour? Is it neccesary to choose? I feel that it is my right to have each toe dabbling in a different lifestlye pool....simultaneously.