I'm a lover not a driver...

I was leaving work last night and ended up in the left hand turn lane behind my boss' car. We were both waiting for traffic to ease up so we could turn left and as the light turned yellow to red he got stuck behind someone who didn't turn fast enough and left him a little too far in the crosswalk but not far enough to just go through the light. So we both waited. It then occurred to me that because I knew him I was willing to let him, if he had wanted, reverse to get out of the crosswalk- something I would normally be annoyed at while thinking "hey buddy, your fault. don't reverse into me."

So I've embarked on an experiment.

Driving in Los Angeles, a city with the worst traffic in the country (that's an actual fact), can ruin your day. You can leave the house with birds chirping, the sun shining and a smile on your face and after sitting in 50 minutes of traffic to drive 8 miles you can arrive at work with a dark cloud above you grumbling your way to your desk. So I decided last night to try pretending that every other motorist on the road is a friend of mine and extend them the same benefit of the doubt and consideration that I would to my boss. It worked pretty well this morning although my commute was unusually light and uneventful so I wasn't sure if it was a good test. My commute home during lunch to let Indy out was, how do I say this, a clusterfuck. Nevertheless, I put on my compassion hat and allowed people to go before me at the metering light and slowed down to allow someone to change lanes. I'm actually surprised at how much more pleasant driving is when you just assume that everyone is your good friend. Now, that said, this is going to take some work to maintain considering that it's hard to like my new "friends" when they cut me off without signaling or speed up just enough to not allow me to merge and almost crash my car into the barrier. I found myself saying out loud thigs like "use your fucking blinker, FRIEND!". I'm a work in progress, but I do like my new strategy and will keep you updated on my progress. It's a never ending battle to find a way to cope with living in this wonderful (see "insufferable") city.



And now for some funny things that make me laugh.


















And my favorite.....





hee hee.

Fighting The Walking AIDS...

This past Sunday was the annual Los Angeles AIDS Walk. This was the first year I've done the walk and haven't lived in Hollywood with easy access to event parking and let me just say that the hour long drive maneuvering around all the closed roads and detours was nothing short of frustrating.


After parking and starting the walk to the walk we passed this sign. Clearly written by someone with a fuzzy understanding of both the event and the English language.



Waiting for the walk to begin.






That's right...the number to call is 866-GODLESS.



The "holy rollers" like to set up camp at the intersection of Santa Monica and La Cienega with their messages of hate. Signs that read "Homo Sex is a Sin" and "Sodomy is Still Against God's Law" receive 'the finger' and a lot of boos from the passersby. It put a damper on that block of the walk until.....


A bus driver parked his bus right in front of the hate mongers. Cheers from the crowd!


The 6.2 mile route just happens to pass right in front of Chris and my favorite café Lulu's. So.....we took a slight detour. I'm only mostly sure this doesn't make us bad people...


Thank you to everyone who sponsored me and made such generous donations to AIDS Project Los Angeles. Together we were able to raise $600 to help fight AIDS. THANK YOU!!!!

The Science of Cute

If there is one thing I've learned from watching the video below it's that porcupines are a disarmingly cute animal. It's unexpected...what with their sharp spines and all, but just check out his little hands!!!

Now let's do the math:

If PORCUPINE = CUTE
and
ANIMALS EATING = CUTE

then PORCUPINE + BANANA = TWO CUTE (get it? two! cuz it's math, but it's a play on the word "too"...hehe)

It makes sense. It's SCIENCE!

BUT!

What do you get when you do THIS kind of math????

PORCUPINE + BANANA + HICCUPS(!) = WAY TWO CUTE.


Porcupine Eating A Banana

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AIDS Walk Los Angeles- October 21st, 2007

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." -Winston Churchill


On October 21st (this Sunday!) I will be participating in AIDS Walk Los Angeles. It's something I've done every year since moving here and even was part of a few times in San Jose. AIDS Walk Los Angeles is a 10K walkathon to support AIDS Project Los Angeles and other AIDS service organizations throughout Los Angeles County for men, women and children affected by HIV and AIDS.




It's an amazing event that actually, especially in a city like LA, makes you feel like you're part of a caring and compassionate community. If you have a few bucks laying around (who doesn't??? ) and would like to sponsor me and help me reach (and hopefully exceed) my fundraising goal just copy and paste the following link into your browser

http://aidswalklosangeles2007.kintera.org/jlee

I know money is tight...it always is (oh LORD do i know money is tight), but every little bit helps and remember...it's tax deductable!!

So I'll leave with a chinese proverb that I found...where else? the internet:

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
- Chinese proverb

Even more famous family...

Also....and I've always thought this...there is an eerie resemblence between my Uncle Dave and...Gale Hansen from Dead Poets Society.

Famous Family

Have any of the Lees ever notice the amazing resemblence between Grandpa Lee and....wait for it....Benicio Del Toro. Chris was the first to point it out to me and over the weekend we compared the two....it's a little crazy.....









There are some even better picture comparisons but these are the ones I have access to right now.

Kickball Update

Sparked by Tracy's comment we should stop for a moment to reflect on the passing of another kickball season. This season was SOOO much more fun than the last due in main part to a team full of good people who not only care about the game, but care about eachother and care about having some good old fashioned F-U-N.

We arrived back from Yosemite just in time to play our second game of the playoffs...and WHAT a game it was!!! Until the 4th inning we were up 2-0 when a tragic error allowed the other team (the Rhinos?) to score 2. I actually had one of my better games this season and had two nice bunts and saw a little action in the outfield. After we finished the 5th inning tied we went into extra innings. Each consecutive extra inning finished in a tie. Apparently the person that wrote the "in the event of tie" section of the WAKA Kickball Rules was in a rush to go drinking and decided that the best way to settle a situation like this would be in a climactic game of "Ro Sham Bo" (aka "Rock, Paper, Scissors"). That's right folks. We lost an important kickball game- a game that would ultimately end our season- to a tragic throw of SCISSORS! Who throws SCISSORS?????

Sigh. Well. What can you do. The Championship would've been in Vegas....but who wants to go to VEGAS!? Phsssspt...certainly not MEEEEEE!!!!!!! grrr....oh well. It's nice to have my Mondays and Wednesdays back.

Let's take a look at a few priceless moments. Cue Green Day's "Time of Our Lives".








I rotated those pictures. Blogster rotated them back. Stupid blogster.

P.S. Nate and Tracy: That episode of Kitchen Nightmares made me gag. Seriously SO VILE!!
P.P.S. Did I mention that Tracy did the dishes all weekend? I'll cook for her any day if she cleans up after me. :):):) Thanks T!

Yosemite!!!

We're safe and sound at home after a terrific Yosemite vacation and I'm dealing with those mixed feelings that always hit just after a vacation. I'm ready to be home, but a little overwhelmed and stressed at the idea of having to deal with real life again. You mean I don't ALWAYS live in a beautiful house in the forest away from people, traffic and pollution surrounded only by furry critters and trees? Bummer. That's a real disappointment, but let's focus on the good- just how AWESOME these past four days have been.

Thursday-

It took us a bit longer to get up to Yosemite due to a slow Togos line, a distracting GAP outlet, an impossible to find bathroom and a disappearing highway onramp, but we made it and met up with Nate and Tracy around 2:30pm. We had a couple hours to kill before we could settle into the house so we went on a short hike (just a couple miles) to chat and download eachother on the "how's work?", "how's the house and dog?", "you're pregnant. that's weird". You know, the usual. We unpacked at the house around 4pm, made a grocery list for the next few days and headed into town to pick up the necessities- groceries and scary movies.
Dinner: Spaghetti (a la Jess), garlic bread (a la Nate) and Caesar Salad (a la A Bag).
Movie: Vacancy.


Friday-

Nate and I started this day off with some coffee and good conversation while we waited for the lazy bums...I mean...loving significant others...to wake up. After a hearty breakfast we headed into Yosemite for some cycling and a bit of hiking. A 2 mile hike may sound short, but it was basically a vertical ascent. We were, however, rewarded with some terrific views and some classic conversation. After 4 or 5 hours in the park we headed home.
Dinner: Tri Tip (a la Chris), mashed potatoes (a la Nate) and Mexican Fiesta Salad (a la Tracy's recommendation and...a bag.)
Movie: The Descent.





Saturday-

We decided to take it a little easy this day. We started off with a relaxing breakfast and a dip in the highly cloroxed hot tub. Seriously folks...we're talking burning lungs and tarnished rings. We all wanted a more relaxing hike and less of a drive so we headed to the closer Sequoia forests in Yosemite. These trees are amazing and some are even thousands of years old. Just incredible. We had planned to take one night off from cooking so we went into Oakhurst and had dinner at Crab Cakes. Good bread and Clam Chowdah. Crappy crab...or...CRABBY Crab....hehehehehehehe.....sorry...I digress..We capped this night off with some wine and s'mores by the fire. It was cold. I was wearing a tank top, short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, hoodie sweater, Chris' zip up hoodie and Nate's ski jacket....and two pairs of socks. After all that I was actually pretty toasty.





Sunday-

The weather really cooperated for our boating plans. We rented a pretty sweet boat and spent 5 hours on the lake waterskiing and relaxing. My only other attempt to waterski was in high school and I couldn't even get up on the skis. I was frustrated with my first attempt this time around and couldn't quite make it up, but on the second dive in the ARCTIC water I got up and had a few good runs! This is something I could really get into. Chris had the longest ride of all and Nate looked like a pro making sharp turns and jumping the wake on his one ski. Trace and I were so proud!





What a terrific time. I really needed to get out of LA for a little bit and take some time to recharge with good company, good conversation and some clean fresh air. It was great to get to spend some quality time with N & T and really get to know each other a little more.


I love these guys!!!