Palin or Hargitay?

I was going to post about how I think Sarah Palin looks like Mariska Hargitay, but several others have already done it.

So I won't bother.

Okay, I will... just this.



Am I wrong?

Ditto

Ditto Harmless Error's take on the Palin pick. And also Hillary Rosen, who said, "Undecided women liked [Sen. Hillary] Clinton because they saw her as qualified to be president. This pick is an insult to them..."

I agree. I am really insulted that anyone would think a disaffected Hillary supporter or any woman might consider voting for McCain because he chose a female running mate.

Do you think women are stoopid or sumthin'?

Listen. I supported Hillary because I agreed with her policy positions and because she is smart, a great operative, and has the experience to do the job. I also love the idea that I might help elect our first female president.

Palin, on the other hand, ... is a woman. End of story.

I do think she has the potential to be a great operative. But not yet. She doesn't have the experience. Who knows if she has the brain-power. As governor of Alaska, she governed approximately 670,000 people. That is 260,000 fewer than the COUNTY I live in. Which means that our county executive is probably more qualified for the veep job than she is.

No doubt.

Palin? Really?

Guess so.

But why?

I guess this makes things much more interesting than if he had gone with some generic white guy.

I am amused

that many of the speakers at the DNC 08 were wearing the same blue tie at the podium.

I wonder if the media image folks bought them in bulk?

Appointment

Made an appointment today to get my hair chopped on Tuesday. I'm gonna lop off a foot or so to donate (my annual birthday thing, about 6 months late) -- and have a cute, sassy, short 'do.

Yay.

Lawyer listings...

Most of the attorney databases out there don't include me. Not because I'm not a terrific, fantastic, uber-amazing lawyer. No, no, my friends. It's a more mundane explanation -- it's because I work for the government and haven't been licensed all that long. In fact, if you work for the government, chances are pretty good that you aren't included in those commercial databases, no matter how long you've been practicing.

So imagine my surprise when a google search turned up my name on a lawyer database...

Hmmm, what's this?

No details, but clearly they get their info from the licensing boards in the various states. So if you passed the bar at least a year ago, you might find yourself included here.

Olympic afterthoughts

Having had the opportunity to watch a ton of the Olympics because SM and I weren't at work for a week, I saw a number of sports that I didn't know existed, let alone exist at a competitive level for the Olympics. Like trampoline gymnastics... like dual synchronized swimming...

And it got me wondering what it takes for a sport to be considered as an Olympic event...?

I don't know. I'm sure I could google it. But at the very least, I would think that it needs to be international in nature with competitors from a diverse number of countries. So when SM asked me if sumo was or could be an Olympic sport, I told him I doubted it because it's not competed outside of Japan (although there are non-Japanese wrestlers in Japan).

But what about rugby? Is that an Olympic event? If motocross bike racing qualifies for the Olympics, then rugby must surely. I'm guessing that all sorts of "extreme sports" will become Olympic events in the near future. And what about bar games? What distinguishes a sport from a game? Like archery (an Olympic event) v. darts (I don't know if it's an Olympic event)...? Hard to distinguish why one would be and the other wouldn't. Or bowling?

But what I really want to know is when will dodgeball make it to the Olympics? That is, if it hasn't already.

Possible US N&WR Ranking System Change...

may result in drastic changes by law schools with part-time programs as the schools try to keep their rankings high... because it is widely accepted that law schools manipulate their admissions statistics by shunting the borderline students (i.e., lower LSAT scores) to their part-time programs (whose admissions stats aren't considered in the rankings) so they can still look good on paper.

I went to Georgetown Law. I applied to and graduated from the evening program. And I agree that GULC is guilty of doing this too. Many of my fellow evening students wanted to be in the day program but didn't get in. They were instead offered a space in the evening program, and after a year, they transferred to the day program (full-time). So a good chunk of the evening program was a waiting list for the day program.

However, it is also true that many mid-career professionals apply to the evening program at GULC and work full-time throughout law school. Like I did. Some also apply with that intention but end up quitting their jobs and transferring to the day program. For those of us who matriculated in the evening program -- not because we didn't get into the day program but because we had other obligations during the day -- Georgetown was great. I think we had the most diverse and interesting students. In fact, while GULC didn't tout our program through the stats, they always did when mentioning the incoming students' accomplishments. Without fail, most of the achievements cited regarding each incoming class came from the evening section (although they never said so). But we knew. Because these were our classmates. It's true that we did get the short end of the stick when it came to grants and funding, attending seminars/programs (which were usually convened during our classtime) and recognition. But I think we also got great respect from the professors and an unrivaled sense of section unity.

And I would argue that our section statistically outperformed any other section. We may not have had the highest LSAT scores, but we knew how to balance life, work and school -- which is even more important when it comes to getting the work done and doing well on exams. I would bet that the evening section had a higher percentage of honors grads than any other section. So, I think US N&WR should consider the part-time programs in their rankings. And I think the schools should stop manipulating the admissions stats by using the part-time program as a waitlist. Just populate the part-time sections with students who want to be in it. Then you'll get folks who are really motivated because it takes a helluva lot to work all day and then go to class at night. Not an easy undertaking. And you'll also have a very high-performing class.

I'm jest sayin'...

Democratic women rock!

I thought Michelle Obama's speech was very moving, but Hillary's speech was butt-kickingly energizing. They both got the job done in great style and with great substance.

Yay.

So much for the Olympics and all that rhetoric about athletic competition bridging cultural divides and so on... blah, blah, blah

Apparently you gotta speak English to play with us, or so says the LPGA.

Because fluency in English has something to do with how well you swing a golf club? It's not that, says LPGA folks. "This is an American tour," Peters said. "It is important for sponsors to be able to interact with players and have a positive experience."

Um, can you be more fucking sexist?

In other words, the all-mighty buck is the bottom line, and sex sells. They don't want good golfers; they want good "spokeswomen" (I'm being charitable here). So wait, I'm confused. The LPGA isn't about golfing well; it's about pleasing the sponsors. Next thing you know, there will be a prettiness requirement. Because, remember, "It is important for sponsors to be able to interact with players and have a positive experience." Then we can discuss length of golfing skirts...

I may be missing something here, but it seems to me that wouldn't the golfer who made the best shots, putts and scores draw the greatest interest and audience, regardless of her English language proficiency? And isn't golf a silent sport anyway? What really does language have to do with a player's ability to play or draw a crowd (which is what the sponsors want anyway)? Um, nothing. This is a dumb rule which objectifies the female golfers rather than seeing them as athletes.

Oh wait... there's this: There are 121 international players from 26 countries on the LPGA Tour, including 45 players from South Korea.

Ahh, I see. Not only is this a sexist rule, but it sounds like a country club version of yellow scare to me. Sexist and racist.

Appalling.

Monday morning haiku

Sick to my stomach.
A year of eating quite well
toppled in one month.

SM and I have indulged in everything since the wedding, to our detriment. I think we've eaten more junk food in the past several weeks than we did in the past year. Seriously. And he's probably had more beer and wine, too.

And we're both suffering with stomachaches today. Bleh. So, I'm literally sick to my stomach, but also so disgusted with myself that I am just sick.

Back on the program in September.

Finally Obama pushes back

What an excellent ad.

My best wedding present evah!

A summer cold from my darling SM. The gift that keeps on giving (although I don't expect to give it to anyone else except perhaps SM). Yea... not.

Otherwise, otherwise, nothing so exciting going on in this neck of the woods...

SM is excited that his fantasy football drafts are being run this week. I expect to have no interaction with him this evening as all of his attention will be focused on his computer.

And also the Veepstakes has us jazzed. I still think Biden is most likely. But the Obama folks may surprise us with someone who hasn't been in the circle of punditry. We'll see on Saturday.

We're still watching the Olympics. Thank goodness we were not at work last week so we could stay up late to watch them. How did you work folks on the East Coast manage to stay tuned in until the wee hours of the morning and still make it to work with half a brain the next day? And, without suggesting that the Chinese are anything less than a gymnastic powerhouse, I think they have have been favored in the scoring by the judges while the Americans have been judged more harshly. Maybe not so much in the team competition, but definitely on the individual ones. I think some of the outcomes weren't exactly right. Ya' know, 'cuz I'm a gymnastics expert.

The weather has been very nice. It almost feels like we never had a summer -- just an extended spring -- because the dog days were fairly few and not so oppressive.

I have to start catching up with the rest of my life. There are a number of things I had put on the back burner while planning the wedding. Now, if only I could remember what they were? D'oh.

And there ya' have it. Fascinating stuff, eh?

The reception dress

I don't have any good shots of the front of the reception dress, a.k.a., "the dress that almost wasn't"... It's also made out of vintage kimono. I had a local dressmaker sorta copy a dress I like. It didn't come out exactly as I asked, but it was pretty close, and since I love the color, it was good enough.
Not the most flattering angle of my back (told ya' I had no ass), but you can see the pattern on the kimono.

Rumors, speculation and innuendo...

about the Veepstakes, of course.

My current front-runner is Biden. But I heard an interesting theory earlier today: Obama will pick Mark Warner. All this hullabuloo about Tim Kaine is a red herring to distract scrutiny on Warner (who would be an excellent pick, btw). Assuming Warner is elected senator ('cuz his name can't come off the ballot now), then Kaine would have to appoint a replacement. And he'd then name himself.

Sound a little conspiracy-theorist? Yeah, I think so too. But it's still fun to play out in my head...

[Update: MSNBC is reporting that Biden has said, "I'm not the guy." So much for my hunch, unless this too is a red herring...? I just hope it's not Kaine. Nothing personal against him; neither he nor Obama have finished a term of elected office at the national level. And that's too green for me. SM says it's Kaine. I'm hoping for Bayh or someone else. We'll see on Saturday.]

The Pudge Report

is on hiatus until September. Because, ooof!

But, in other news...

I've been playing on Facebook (lots of wedding and reception photos up there now), and I was amazed to see how many people from my high school have profiles. At 40, I'm feeling way too old to be FBing, but apparently, I'm in good company.

The real shocker? Someone from my graduating class is a grandfather. He apparently had a kid at 21, and his kid had a kid at 17 or 18, making him a granddaddy at the ripe ol' age of 38 or 39.

Wow. I can't wrap my head around that concept -- grandparent by 40. I'm not even a parent at 40. Heck, it took until I was 38 to get our dog!

A celebration of hapa-nation!

Multi-Culturalism Explained In One Word: Hapa

Tell Me More, August 18, 2008 · In a guest commentary, the program's outgoing Intern, Kristin Lee, describes how she explains her multi-cultural roots, and why she embraces the term "HAPA" to describe her heritage.

People describe me as "hapa" all of the time, although I grew up on the East Coast and didn't make my first trip to Hawai`i until my 30s.

However, "hapa" is a term becoming more widely recognized and used, and it's a good shorthand for this CroAsian chick. (Japanese on my dad's side and Croatian on my mom's. But I'm fourth generation -- e.g., my great grandparents immigrated -- American all the way around.)

Monday morning haiku (the "I'm back" version)

First day back at work.
The honeymoon is over.
Yeah, literally.

Here's one...

My much-discussed wedding dress from the back. This isn't the best shot of it, but you can see how I used the obi as a train of sorts.

This is SM and I as we leave our house the day of our wedding.


I haven't gone through nearly all of the pictures yet, but I have put some up on FB and will try to find others to post here.

I'm back from our mini-moon

And it was mini, but thoroughly relaxing. We went to my uncle's lakehouse in central Virginia for some quiet time away from DC. We mostly ate (like pigs!) and read and slept in and did little more. It was great. We didn't go waterskiing, but we did hit several local wineries, one of which is SM's fave when it comes to Virginia wines. He bought a case.

We drove back last night, and I am very happy to have the weekend to transition back into the real world. Gidget is very happy to be home. She did just fine in the car (her first long trip with us) and was a perfect house guest, but I can tell that she's infinitely more relaxed at home.

So we are very (fat and) happy here.

(BTW, I did get the wedding pix before we left -- yay digital! -- but didn't have time to go through them. I'll work on that this weekend, along with opening our wedding gifts...!)

Wedding pics...

I've decided to post most of my wedding photos on my Facebook site. I will, however, put a few up here -- long shots of us, pix of the dress, etc. Feel free to find me on FB or stay tuned here!

The great beer run of 2008...

a resounding success!

10 and a half cases of Fat Tire delivered for the pah-tay today. And SM didn't find out.

Woo-hoo!

Even better? Five cases left over for him to bring home! Double woo-hoo!

I've been watching the Olympics

and I think that Bob Costas is the Dick Clark of this generation.

Somewhere there is a picture of him getting old (but without the evil implications).

So, we got hitched yesterday.

Along with thousands of other couples (including a friend of mine out in San Francisco -- congrats K and K!).

And yea, we chose the date for all the same reasons.

Day one of husband and wife, and so far, so good!

On your mark, get set... GO!

Getting hitched today. Hope it goes off without a hitch.

Weather looks amazing. SM and I have appointments at 10:00 to make ourselves more purty. Then the car will pick us up at 1:00 to take us to our various venues for photos. Then we go to the restaurant at 6:00 for generally recepting and a few "I dos" before eating.

Wish us luck!

Coming down to the wire...

and what is this couple, soon to say sayonara to our singledom, doing on the eve before our wedding?

Sitting on the coach in our sweats, checking political blog stories and watching Olbermann on tivo.

Woo-hoo. Sexy, eh!

I admit it.

I've been checking our registry. Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be that much purchased so far. I'm wondering if that will change on Saturday (probably) and/or if we're getting a lotta cash...

Not that I'm greedy.

But, ya' know... who doesn't like wedding presents?

And I'm very excited to see that someone is giving us a handheld GPS system. Oooh, cool! In fact, I was surprised to see how many of the more expensive items were bought -- the $400+ ones. I think we had about 5 items that were over $400, and three of them have been purchased already. We don't know if they are all group gifts or if we just have some very generous friends and family. At this point, I have stopped opening the presents that have arrived because I may have trouble keeping track of which were shower gifts (thank yous already sent) and which were wedding presents.

Anyway, things are rolling along for Friday and Sunday. I have another dress fitting tonight and more running around to do. I picked up more beer last night and delivered it to my mother's house for safekeeping. We have one more beer run delivery on Saturday. I hope the Saturday delivery isn't skunked because it is coming in all the way from IA (in addition to the Fat Tire from MN and IL). But thanks to the generosity of these friends and family, we'll have enough beer for the reception and some left-over for SM to have at home too. Yay! I hope the beans aren't spilled between now and then. Shhh!

And I'm off work tomorrow, another happy thing. Unfortunately, SM is sick and at home so he can beat this thing before Friday. He took both yesterday and today off, and I think the rest has helped. I hope so anyway.

Hard to believe the big day is just two days out. Oh my!

Best work she's ever done.

Too funny.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Keep your fingers crossed for me...

I saw a forecast that the weather on Friday is going to be clear, highs of 86 or so and lower humidity. In other words, perfect for the wedding. In other words, probably ain't gonna happen... but that's okay. So long as it doesn't rain. Sunday is also supposed to be nice, but if you've only got one hand to spare for the crossing of the fingers, please wish for good weather on Friday (and you don't have to have them crossed as long).

Things are rolling along. I managed to do everything on my list for yesterday. Yay. SM and I enjoyed dinner, although he is starting to get sick. I imperiously told him that that was NOT allowed. I mean, WTF? Who gets sick in August? So he stayed home from work today to rest. I think he's really exhausted, and that's why he's sick. Just plain run-down. So no errands or chores for him. Just rest. And lots of drugs and vitamins, etc. And snuggles from Gidget, who will be happy to have him home with her.

He also liked his presents. I thought he'd like the shirt the best. It's black silk with two white stripes down the sides, short-sleeved. It's very retro hip -- but conservative enough that he can wear it to the office.

But I was wrong.

He liked the messenger bag the best. In fact, he gushed over it. Cool

He doesn't usually gush over presents, so I was surprised. But yay. Glad he liked them.

And I managed to refrain from giving him the wedding present yesterday too. Now I just need to remember to give it to him on Friday!

The Pudge Report

Oh, just never mind.

And, oh yea...

Happy Birthday to Barack Obama!

He and SM share the same day, eight years apart. Two great men, both of whom I am happy to celebrate -- one of whom will be our next president, and one of whom will have an even tougher job: my husband, as of Friday.

Happy Birthday to both of you!

Things to do this week...

Monday:
Dinner with SM for his birthday
Color hair
Send info to DJ about program for Sunday

Tuesday:
Confirm menu with restaurant for Friday
Confirm driver and itinerary for Friday
Pick up Fat Tire from friend’s house and deliver to mom’s
Go to dad’s to pick up bags, water, etc. for hotel gift bags
Tanning session
Print out final RSVP list for Sunday and give to sister
Print out labels for candy, put on candy

Wednesday:
Dress fitting
Print labels for water bottles
Put together hotel gift bags (water, fans, maps, restaurant guides, etc.)
Print place cards for Friday
Gather favors for Friday (fans, place cards)
Find guest book for Friday!

Thursday (taking day off):
Drop-off hotel gift bags at hotel
Pick-up dress from dressmaker
Put together gift bags for Sunday (candy, cookie, bells, card) at dad’s
Drop off Friday favors and guest book at dad’s
Give presents to sisters, mothers, etc.
Pick-up pin from mom
Tanning session
Whiten teeth?

Friday:
Hair, makeup, etc. appointment
Have SM pick up my flowers, his boutonniere
Present for SM
Make sure Gidget has water, etc. to get through the night
Check into Hay-Adams and drop off suitcase
Take pictures at Hillwood Estate, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol and other iconic DC spots
Go to restaurant and get hitched!

Remember to bring: marriage license, RINGS, cell phone, camera, work ID, suitcase with change of clothes, wallet/keys, cake knife/server, touch-up make-up, hairspray…

Now, what am I forgetting???

Happy Birthday SM!

Today is SM's birthday. He's 39. Yup, I's gots me a younger man. With all of the fuss and prep and stuff for the wedding this Friday (yes, this Friday!), his birthday completely fell off my radar. Which is weird for me because I am all about birthdays.

Good thing I shop all year round. I had his presents months ago. Good thing I asked him what he wanted to do when it was on my mind. I made a dinner reservation weeks ago. We're going here. We've eaten there before. SM loves it, and it's a bit of a splurge, especially given the spending we're facing down this week. But who cares... it's going to be de-lish!

Since I know he isn't reading the blog these days (I told him not to). I can tell everyone else that for his birthday, I'm giving SM a Coach messenger bag that kinda looks like this, except the hardware is silver, not brass. And it's leather on the outside but much of the inside is nylon (not as heavy). I'm also giving him some Democrat cufflinks and a silk shirt.

I like giving presents (I went totally overboard with the gift bags for my reception... oy vey) and am fighting the urge to give him my wedding gift today too. I. must. resist. For the wedding, I bought him another pair of cufflinks -- in the shape of the infinity symbol -- and a French cuff shirt to wear the day of. No, he doesn't usually wear cufflinks or French cuffs to work. For a man who usually has button-cuffs, he will have an inordinate number of cufflinks (because I gave him Red Sox ones for Christmas one year). But that's okay. I'm sure he'll have occasion to wear them all.

So, even though he isn't reading this, I'm wishing my Sweet Man a happy birthday!

Monday morning haiku

Weather-watch is on...
No rain, low humidity
Friday and Sunday!

YAYAYAYAYAY! Hopefully the humidity on Friday won't be such that my face slides off it. Yeah, I'll probably be wearing that. much. makeup.

It is a wedding after all.

Running around

Today and this weekend generally involves running around for wedding errands and doing community activities. I have a black tie dinner tonight for a Chinese American organization and then an event tomorrow for a Japanese American one.

In between this all, we have to get wedding errands done and also relax and enjoy the weekend.

Speaking of which, SM and I had the chance to meet a fellow blogger for lunch today. Resipsacrap was in town to blow off some steam post-bar so we had the chance to hang out and chat.

It was nice to finally meet you, Res, and I look forward to hearing more about your next steps back in Singapore. Thanks for lunch!

Now, what else do I have to do before putting on a fancy dress and heels for tonight? Hmm....

Do I sound like that?

So am I stealth reading a blog by my roommate-from-college's husband. He is morbidly obese and blogging about his efforts to diet and exercise and drop under 300 pounds.

The thing is, his posts purport to be about how "good" he is being, but it all sounds like rationalization to me. Stuff like how he was pretty good because he only had two pieces of pizza or how he finished off the left-over cupcakes for breakfast because someone had to do it or his decision to have a pastrami sandwich for lunch instead of going to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

None of that sounds like a concerted effort to eat healthy to lose weight. Also, he always has a reason why he didn't make it to the gym or exercise (sound familiar?), but it sounds like he believes his own excuses. When I was trying to drop the tonnage, I didn't go near pizza or cupcakes, etc. I ate veggies and salad and small portions of the diet food. So I think he's kidding himself. I don't see how this "diet" is going to work for him.

Except that he weighs something like 450 pounds, so perhaps two cupcakes for breakfast is indeed cutting back? I guess, if it works for him, then who am I to judge? After all, I do know what it's like to battle the cravings as you cut out refined sugar from your diet. And I do believe it is better to indulge a little every once in a while to forestall a complete binge.

But I gotta wonder if he believes his own bunk or is just going through the motions. He's probably been there before with the weight-loss thing and doesn't expect to succeed, so he's subconsciously sabotaging himself.

Who knows? I guess we'll see if my roommate from college will have less of a man for a husband sometime in the future... maybe.

One week...

and lots to do. But I am still chill.