2.25.2008

WOOP!

Mark ordered me a new ipod classic from amazon yesterday. yay!!!!! My 3rd generation ipod is really on the fritz- the battery only lasts about 30 minutes when fully charged, and that's if i don't mess with the controls very much! I could have gotten a new battery put in for 60 bucks at the mac outlet store, but screw it. My new ipod will have 80Gb of memory, versus my current ipod's 15. And for 240 bucks, compared to the 269 i paid for the one i have now, it's an awesome deal!


Once again, the weekend flew by in a flash. But the countdown continues for Europe, with about 3 weeks til departure. Man, I'm kind of still in disbelief that this is really going to happen.


Speaking of Europe, I've been doing some research on the cheapest and best way to call home (Mark) while I'm away. Seems like no matter which route you go, you're gonna get screwed with a huge bill. I can just use my phone and roam for 99 cents a minute and 35 cent outgoing texts, or I can buy an international SIM card for starting around 20 bucks and then pay their 45-85 cents per minute plus "free" incoming texts (which aren't really free for the person sending them so what's the point?), or I can buy an entirely new phone for around 40 bucks and prepay for minutes and texts at around the same rate, OR, I can just go the old-fashioned way with a phone card and call from the hotel phones and payphones along the way. It's basically a lose-lose-lose-lose situation. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

2.23.2008

It's Official!

I just received my Contiki wallet today! Wow, reality is starting to set in that I really am going to Europe. Craziness! Only 3 and a half weeks now.....

2.21.2008

Skinny Bitch...

...In the Kitch quote (just another example of why I'm vegan):



"Meat:
Hmm...dead, rotting, decomposing flesh of carcasses. Doesn't sound like something you'd want to eat, huh? Not to mention the pesticides, hormones, steroids, and antibiotics. Oops! We forgot mad cow disease, bird flu, salmonella, E. coli, trichinosis, and mercury. Well, no wonder American's are suffering from obesity; cancer, liver, kidney, lung, and reproductive disorders; birth defects; miscarriages, and nervous system disorders.



You can call it steak, tuna, bacon, or chicken. No matter how you slice it, it's a piece of decaying, decomposing carcass. We know you like the taste, but there are other foods that mimic the flavor and texture of meat but don't come with the same side effects. Smarten, up, bitches."




That's all I'm sayin'. Especially in light of the media coverage of the abuse in factory farms, it amazes me that people can turn a blind eye just because their food is packaged without its face. Get with the program. Did you know living a vegan lifestyle is better for the environment than buying and driving one of those awesome, yet really expensive hybrid cars? Factory farming depletes more of the earth's resources than anything else in the world. More that 1/3 of all fossil fuels produced in the United States go towards animal agriculture. Factory farming uses a lot of water (one pound of beef requires 2500 gallons of the stuff), and it pollutes it (2 billion tons of manure, gross)! And all those 200 million pounds of imported beef have to be raised somewhere (South America often times), which means deforestation of our rainforests. GOT GLOBAL WARMING?



Hey, you don't have to listen to me- you do the research. I'm sure what you find will shock you. 

2.20.2008

What day is it?

I love making new friends. It's rare that I meet someone that I actually click with. I always meet them in the most random way too, but I think the more random, the better.

2.18.2008

Morning!

Well it's Monday morning...again. How is it that a m-f week of work can crawl by slower than slugs on a muggy afternoon, but the weekend goes by in a flash?
I propose a change in the system: work week: tuesday-thursday. weekend: friday-monday.

I promise to work really hard all week!!! I truly could get all the work done in 3 days that is normally spread out across 5 days. *sigh...a girl can dream though....



In other news, the countdown is on. 1 month and 1 day until I depart on my trip to fabulous Europe!!!!! I'm scared/excited/blissful/paranoid about it. I'm sure as is gets closer I'll be even more nervous. I've never traveled alone and I absolutely do not enjoy flying in the least. In fact, I've been known to almost have a panic attack in the event of turbulence.



So here's the plan (if I actually survive the flight over without fainting):

Contiki tour for 2 weeks which includes stops in Amsterdam, Innsbruck, Munich, Florence, Venice, Rome, Lucerne, and Paris.

Then either hop the bus back to London, or stay for a couple more days in Paris. Either way I'll end up back in London where my friend Robin lives with his flatmate. I guess I'll just be crashing on his couch for a little bit, unless we decide to go off on some other adventure. That all remains to be seen. For now, Contiki is all that's set in stone. Writing it out like this gets me verrrrry excited actually. I have to remind myself that this will be the most amazing trip of my young life- possibly entire life. I'm glad to be taking his on solo. I'll get to prove something to myself or find myself or whatever..



Radtastic!!!



Contiki



Check it out :)

2.17.2008

B@T's

I just finished watching Breakfast at Tiffany's on VHS. The old school. I love that movie! Too bad someone doesn't buy it for me on DVD though........  :(

Today is one of those rrrrreally lazy Sundays. But looking outside and seeing the snow piling up makes me want to stay under the blanket and watch more movies.
Snow on a Sunday is soooo depressing! The only redeeming thing about it is that it's still light out at 5pm. This means spring is coming, and that makes me happy.


I've always hated Sundays. They're lonely as hell.

2.15.2008

You know you're from Colorado when....

1. You switch from 'Heat' to 'A/C' in one day.

2. You know what the 'Peoples Republic of Boulder' means.

3. Your sense of direction is: towards the mountains and away from the mountains.

4. You're a meat-eating vegetarian.

5. The bike on your car is worth more than your car and you have your own special bike lane.

6. You're able to drive 65 miles per hour through 13 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without even flinching.

7. You take your out-of-town guests to Casa Bonita even though you would never go there otherwise.

8. You think your major food groups are granola bars, tofu and Fat Tire Beer.

9. You design your kid's Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit.

10. You think that sexy lingerie is wool socks and flannel PJs.

11. You know all 4 seasons 'almost winter, winter, still winter and spring blizzards

12. You've been tear gassed in a riot to celebrate a CU/CSU victory.

13. You can never figure out why your out-of-town guests faint from altitude sickness on a picnic to the mountains.

14. You can drive over a 12,000-foot pass in 4 feet of snow, but can't get to work if there are 4 inches of snow.

15. You know the 'correct' pronunciation of Buena Vista.

16. When you visit friends at sea level, you can drink a case of beer and not get a buzz.

17. Your car insurance costs more than your car.

18. You have surge protectors on every outlet.

19. April showers bring May blizzards.

20. 'Timberline' is someplace you have actually been.

21. You know what a 'Chinook' is

22. You know what a 'Rocky Mountain Oyster' is.

23. You know what a 'fourteener' is.

24. .But you don't know what a 'turn signal' is.

25. A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you nearly as much as a Republican in Congress does.

26. Your golf bag has a 9-iron, a 3-wood and a lightning rod.

27. People from out of state breathe 5 times as often as you do.

28. Having a Senator named Nighthorse doesn't seem strange.

29. Thunder has set off your car alarm.

30. You have an $800 stereo in your $300 truck.

31. You think a red light means 3 more cars can go.

32. Where we're going, we don't need roads!!

33. You know where the real 'South Park' is.

34. You can recognize the license plates of all 50 states on sight.

35. Driving directions usually include 'Go over_________ Pass.'

36. You've 'checked for ticks.

37. You've dressed in shorts, sandals, and a parka with a hood.

38. You've gone snow skiing in July and.........

39. You've played golf in January and.......

40. They were in the same year!

41. You've urinated on the Continental Divide just so it could run into both oceans.

42. You know what a down slope and an up slope weather pattern is.

43. And the most important: You get a certain feeling of satisfaction from knowing that California and Texas are both down stream.

44. A Gang-banger doesn't mean a girl in involved.

45. You actually understand these jokes and send them to your Colorado friends.

Good day, good sir!

So today is friday, thank Goddess! I came to work early (7am) bc my boss had some inservice retreat thing.




Mark and I went up to Crested Butte from Monday to Wednesday. It was awesomeness! What a cool town, but I don't think I could ever live there- too cold and too isolated. Gunnison is the lamest town ever and it's the nearest thing to C.B. But still, living in a mountain town is very organic. Breckenridge was great, except that I got a little cabin feverish near the end of the season.




Anyway, my point is, I put pictures up on my flickr. Check them out.




http://www.flickr.com/photos/minniemueller/

2.02.2008

Saturday night

So I've been inside my apartment all day, with the exception of meeting my dad, step mom and brother for lunch at P.F. Chang's.





It's weird to not speak for a good 8 hours. My cat is the only witness to my life and my s.s.b. (secret single behavor (SATC reference)).





Do you ever have a bad feeling in your gut and you can't figure out why? I've had that all day. Maybe that's what isolating yourself as you watch the hours tick by and the sun go down does to a person.




Anyway, there are important things happening in my life, despite what you may think. Like the fact that I'm flying off to Europe by myself in about six weeks. !!!!!! First time traveling alone. Big deal. No really, it's a big deal.

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Now playing: Bent - Beautiful Otherness
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