Halloween Party @ Work

Here are some photos from Fall-O-Ween party at work last Friday. We did not win the decoration contest. But, Drew won the Best Costume.

Me and Angela (me as a Witch Doctor, and Angela as a Nurse wearing Christmas medical scrubs)

Drew (a.k.a. Elvis - who said he's dead?)

This video was for a co-worker who could not attend the party. She's a big Elvis fan.

We took the metro in our costumes to pickup a firewall at Ballston. It's amazing how many people love Elvis. Lots of people took Drew's picture - LOL, and believe me he loved all the attention - he posed for them all!

Happy Halloween

We got pumpkins a little late this year - I almost forgot about getting one. Thanks to Berna for reminding me on our way home from Party Depot last night. I had to get a witch make up for the Fall-O-Ween event at work tomorrow. I will go in as a witch doctor. I'll be in scrubs and lab coat with matching stethoscope, and witch's hat.

Anyway, we carved our two pumpkins tonight for the trick-or-treaters' enjoyment tomorrow evening.

I carved the big one, and Berna and Jackie carved the little one. Jackie picked the design for both. Couple of years ago I participated in pumpkin carving contest at work. I carved Mario (Nintendo character) on my pumpkin and I won! I did not expect to win - I only joined to get the free pumpkin LOL. Also, I wanted to give carving a try since I had never done it before. The Mario theme was for my gamer daughter. Well, this year she wanted Bowser. My personal choice was Princess Peach, but Jackie asked to reserve it for next year.... Bowser won?

Here are our pumpkins. I took pictures with flash and no flash.

Bowser

Kitty and a tombstone

More of the Same

Today was another productive day. We racked twelve more cages; eight on the first floor Comm room and four on the second floor. Again we had to retrieve more boxes from the trailer - this one was in a wooded area and we had to get there with a 4x4 vehicle. We should be able to start the fun stuff on Thursday, and that would be imaging all the blades, 285 total. We still have not decided if we will use Ghost to image the systems. We need to talk to the CSA guys to figure out if they want us to use their standard tool in doing this kind of routine. Maybe tomorrow we'll get some answers.

We went to the Community Center for lunch today. I had a tasty burger (passed on the buns) and had Tazo iced tea - yummy.

I am now back in my hotel and I plan on just relaxing tonight - watch TV, and more studying later.

Update (10/23/08):
Life got busy and I could not find the energy to keep this blog up to date. Anyway, this was a good productive trip - I learned lots of things. I had a chance to check out Pier Park in Panama City Beach - had dinner there and picked up a few souvenirs for my darling daughter. I also took the test and passed. After this trip life got pretty hectic - mostly because of work.

Away From Home

I am in Panama City,Florida on business. I am here to help implement ClearCube solution at Tyndall AFB. It was a long flight. I left DC at 2 p.m. and made it to my final destination around 7 p.m. My connecting flight in Atlanta was delayed due to tire pressure problem. It was after we had already departed and on the tarmac when the ground crew noticed the problem. So we had to taxi back to the terminal - better to fix it and wait because we need good tire to land, I want to live - LOL. I did not mind the wait too much as I got a lot of productive work studying the stuff I will be working on.

From DC to Atlanta I started to watch The Bank Job on my iPhone. I did not even get half way through the movie because when it was time for refreshment my seatmate spilled hot coffee on my lap! Good thing I was wearing black pants. I got a little spot on my white shirt, but the club soda took care of it. Luckily my iPhone was turned upside down on my left thigh and all it got was a little splash. AT&T does not offer insurance on the device so if it actually got damaged then I’d be out $300! I doubt I’d be able to get a replacement device here as it is still not readily available.

After I got picked up at the airport by the lead engineer of this project, we had dinner at the Golden Corral. He brought his father-in-law with him, a retired military man who moved in this area more than 30 years ago. The restaurant was an all you can eat buffet. It worked out great because there were lots of food options for me. I am currently on a low-carb diet. I started my diet exactly a month ago to try to shed the pounds I gained during my last trip. Texas food was so great! So far I have lost all the weight I gained in Texas and then some – 15 pounds lost and am very pleased!

Tomorrow my ride will be here at 7:30, so I have my alarm set at 5:45 a.m. I’ll have plenty of time for breakfast. The hotel serves complimentary hot breakfast from 6:30 to 9:00. The Air Force base is only 15 minutes from my hotel, but I need to get my access card squared away before I am allowed entry to the facility. We will be deploying 285 blades during this 3 week engagement. Though, I am only here to help for the first week. Tomorrow we’ll be racking some blades.

It's time to get some Z's......

My Little Bookworm

On Sunday, Jackie spent most of her morning reading her library books. Out of the blue she told me that she wants to get level 4 books. She explained to me that level 4 are chapter books. I suddenly remembered that I had bought a bunch of Junie B. Jones books from eBay. I was going to give them to her for her birthday last month, but postponed it because I thought they might be too advanced for her, and that she would not be interested in books with very few pictures. I guess the time had come sooner than I expected. I told Jackie that I had a surprise for her and lead her upstairs where the books are. I told her to only pick a couple from the lot of twenty books and that she was welcome to get more after she's done with the ones she picked.

After playing tennis and getting showered up, she asked if she could get more of the Junie B. books. I reminded her that only if she had finished the first five that she could get more. She was quick to answer that she had finished the others - LOL. It turned out that she brought couple of books to the tennis court and read them while resting from tennis.

Saturday Was Zoo Day

Every morning Jackie comes down with a great big smile and says good morning. Yesterday was different. When she woke up she did not do her standard greetings, but instead said "Let's go to the Zoo!" Don and I were a bit shocked by this out of the blue idea. I looked at Don who was already looking at me with a smile. Don responded happily to Jackie and said "Okay".

We left the house at noon. We had to walk to the community center a block down to get to our car that had been there since the night before because they were resurfacing our street. Don decided that it would be easier if we did not drive the SUV. Since the loaner car (my car needed warranty work to fix my recurring bluetooth problem) did not have a navigator, we had to borrow TomTom from the truck.

Mike (Don's son) wanted to come along so we picked him up from his condo at Arlington (near Ballston). When we arrived at Woodley Park National Zoo in DC our first stop was lunch at the Mane Restaurant. I had a half pound burger, eating only the meat (just started low carb diet) which was pretty decent. There were no straws and lids on the drinks for the benefit of the animals.

After lunch we went straight to the Big Cats exhibit - we took pictures of the lions and tigers.

Here's one of the two lions

It was crowded at the Great Apes house. We saw the gorillas who were pretty active. One of the gorillas was throwing itself against the glass window causing quite a reaction from the visitors. The orangutans looked funny with the white blanket over their heads. I never did find out why they had blankets over their heads.

We had a very nice visit at the zoo and the weather was perfect! I would have posted more pictures, but I had some technical difficulties with my uploads. There are couple of nice (not great quality) shots of the Orangs that I want to post at some point ;)

After the zoo, we visited with Mike for a while. We watched previously recorded Wimbledon match of Nadal and Federrer, and afterwards we watched a little bit of baseball. Through the game Don explained some of the rules of baseball. We had pizza for dinner, then after baseball got old Mike asked if he could show me his new game. We watched him play Metal Gear (sneaking game) on his PS3 which I was able to watch. Watching Halo or Gears of War makes me nauseous (motion sickness).

Girl's Night Out

It has become a tradition between me and my girlfriends (Beth, Mel, and whoever might be inclined to join us, but usually it's just the three of us) to celebrate birthdays over happy hour. Last night we celebrated Beth's birhtday! Glory Days in Lorton was the place of choosing as it's close to Mel's house. We have been meeting up in Lorton since Mel's recent battle with cancer. We want it to be convenient for her. I am happy to see her spirits up despite her illness. Last month she had a surgery, and few months before she completed her chemo and radiation therapies. I truly hope that her treatment works and the cancer never comes back. This Monday will be her first day back to work.

Anyway, as always, it was a very nice get together. It had been 3 months since we last saw each other. Beth and Mel had margaritas and I had the Glory Days cosmo. I found their margarita to be on the sweet side so I wanted something different. The cosmo was not that good - I had two servings (the last one I did order, it got included in the "another round before happy hour is over" order). So far, I have not found a really good drink at Glory Days, though the Pina Colada is pretty decent.

After being home for so many months Mel liked the idea of being at home with the kids. So, we discussed different business ideas for Mel. She wants to be able to stay home and at the same time continue to contributeto the family financially. I don't think we were able come up with an ultimate business idea for Mel, so we all decided that we should walk down to the grocery store and buy lottery tickets, and we did. We also ended up purchasing several children's DVDs - and we even got Beth to buy couple of cartoon DVD's even though she does not have kids. The power of "on sale". Hey, it was $1 per DVD... he he he.

We all bid each other goodbye and wished each other a wonderful weekend.

Goodbye Austin

My Austin trip turned out wonderfully. Before Don decided to join me there, I was very worried of this trip. It would have been my first time to travel (for business) alone, and I have never been away from Jackie since she was born. I was very glad that my family was able to keep me company there for almost the full duration of my training. Anyway, I did love Austin and I wouldn't mind moving there. People there are extremely friendly.

Some things I love/like about Austin:
1. Super friendly people
2. Tex-Mex and BBQ restaurants
3. 6th Street
4. Lake Travis
5. Fry's

Alone in Austin

Today, the gang headed home. During lunch break, I drove back to the hotel (only 5 minutes away) to bid goodbye. It was sad to see them go - I hate goodbyes!

Training this week is about "Support and Troubleshooting", and it is definitely more interesting and fun than last week. Students got to "play" by trying to figure out why Sentral server might not be able to discover clients (including Virtual Machines) and not able to pull device information. We went over different scenarios on why devices or clients can not communicate back to the Sentral server. And since I am an "instructor-in-training" I get to help Shannon (the teacher) break things and students have to figure out what's wrong and fix the problem.

After class today, I stuck around (since I have no one to go home to, boo hoo) to help Shannon update client software on couple of thin clients. We used NeoWare to push the images to the devices. From today's class I also learned how to fix intermittent communication problem between USB printer and Windows XP. I always thought it was printer compatibility problem, but it turns out that its the USB power management feature in Windows.

Don called at around 7 tonight. They're at Denny's somewhere in Arkansas for dinner. According to him, he will continue to drive for few more hours before an overnight stopover wherever they might be.

My first night alone in the hotel - it's lonely and I already miss my family. I hope they have a safe and smooth drive home.

Austin: Day Eleven

Today we took Jackie for riding lessons. Shannon, my training instructor, who also has a 5 year old daughter, invited Jackie for riding lessons. The lesson started at 10:15 a.m. at Grace's Riding Stable. The stable was in Georgetown, Texas - about 45 minute drive from our hotel. We got there early and met Paula, the instructor and owner of the facility. She was very nice and supplied Jackie boots and helmet to wear for the day. Jackie had the privilege of riding Sparky the pony. He is the pony for beginners because he is extremely slow, and lazy.

There were five girls in the class with age range of 3.5 to 6 years old. Before the riding lesson began, the girls were to help groom their respective ponies. It was great for Jackie because she got to groom a pony in real life. Before today, she's only groomed a virtual pony in her Little Pony Nintendo DS game. The girls were taught to mount and dismount, balance, proper riding posture, and how to hold the reign. They went through other routines that allowed the little riders get comfortable on their ponies. Trotting was one that Jackie had to skip because Mr. Sparky was a one speed (slooooow) pony. Per Don, the pony was misnamed - he should have been named Sparkless. LOL.

Playing with the friendly stable doggies

Jackie meets Sparky

Cowgirls in-training


Learning to groom

Installing the saddle


Balancing lesson


C'mon Sparky, get moving, we're way behind.

Zilker Park, Austin

We hit Zilker Park on Sunday, July 13th. Here are some photos taken during our visit. The park's official name is Zilker Metropolitan Park, but Austinites call it Zilker Park. The park is big, and because we got there a little late we were not able to ride the mini train that goes around good part of the park. The Nature and Science center had a nice exhibit including live animals. There, we finally identified the loudest bird (which Don finds to be a very interesting bird) in Austin - the great tailed grackle.

Lake Austin (shot taken from Zilker Park) -
the buildings in the background is Downtown Austin

People on kayaks playing some sort of water polo

Underneath the bridge, looking up from where we parked - these things are all over. I am not sure if these are birds nests, or wasps nests. Don thinks there are wasps nests.

Don's favorite Texas bird.This is a male great tailed grackle. The female is smaller and brown in color, while the male is bigger and black.

On our way up to Zilker Park's Nature and Science Center. Don is trying to poke on some grassy stuff which had infested the tree.

A beautiful water lily flower

The loudest, most obnoxious bird ever

Wow, that's a huge pine cone!

See, this is how you focus the microscope.

These are some good looking bugs!

A bobcat - cooling off in the shade. It's pretty hot in Texas.

Mr. coyote

Austin: Day Six

Training started today. I got to the facility at 8:50 this morning. I parked behind the building which was the ground level. I headed for the elevator and an employee looking guy joined me to catch a lift. As I reached for the buttons I asked the guy if he knew which floor was ClearCube. He was really friendly and helpful and told me that ClearCube occupied couple of floors, but the first floor would be a good start. I thanked him and pressed 3 for him, and I got off the first floor.

I followed the signs to the training room on the first floor. I ended up in the kitchen and met Shannon who will be helping us set up our training facility at the corporate office in Virginia. She directed me to the room and told me that the coffee would be ready soon and that breakfast is available. But I had a bite before I left the hotel - Don joined me for breakfast. Our teacher for this week's class is a newbie. She called us her guinea pigs - LOL. We learned how to install the ClearCube Sentral management server, agent, and console. Class ended an hour early - at 3 pm.

When I got back to the hotel, Jackie and Berna just got out of the shower. Don had taken the girls out to play tennis - a hot day for tennis, but they survived.

For dinner, Don took as to The Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood. What a yummy dinning experience. The restaurant is about 27 miles from our hotel - it was worth the drive. They don't serve alcohol, but you are allowed to bring your own. We took our small cooler with us and filled it with Shiner beer we picked up from Whole Foods. We sat next to a group of four Filipinas from Houston. From my brief conversation with them, I found out that they came all the way here from Houston just for the BBQ at Salt Lick and to go shopping. One of the girls asked where we're from. And after I told them that we're from DC she asked (with astonishment) how we ended up at Salt Lick. Laughingly, I said, "The GPS". Another girl said to the other, "See, GPS!" Then, another girl recommended that we go to Ruby's BBQ, but she followed her statement with "but this place has better BBQ"- I laughed to myself because she recommended a place then immediately had put it down over Salt Lick. Don thought that they weren't very friendly - LOL

We all had the Combination of Meats platter. The platter had beef brisket, smoked sausage, and pork ribs with coleslaw and potatoes on the side. Jackie, our Ms Picky Eater, did not touch her plate. When she saw the food on her plate she immediately announced that she was very full, and that the bread and the meats should be taken home. Jackie always wants her left over fries and chicken fingers taken home, but she never eats them - she is funny like that.

While we ate, Ms Picky Eater played on her DS. I was very full, but I had read that the Peach Cobbler is very good so I ordered one for me and Berna to share - oh so good, with vanilla ice cream on top!

My plate - Combination of Meats platter, yummy!

Jackie did not touch her plate, but we did take the meats home,
just as she requested.

Delicious smoked sausage!

This is where they smoke the meats - you pass this on the way to the main dining hall.

I guess the BBQ really hit the spot - Don is now sleeping so soundly, it is not even bedtime yet :)

Austin: Day Four

Nothing too adventurous for the Fox family today. We enjoyed our breakfast at the hotel. Jackie had some boiled eggs and white bread; Berna and I enjoyed some scrambled eggs, french toast, and sausage, while Don stayed with his standard scrambled eggs and sausage. For lunch, we went to the Potbelly not too far from our hotel - I enjoyed my chicken salad sandwich. Then we did, as Don put it, the geeks pilgrimage at Fry's Electronics. I loved the place, it's like Disneyland to me, all the techie stuff! Why isn't there a Fry's in Virginia? Anyway, we went to Fry's to buy a wireless router so that we could have access to Internet through wireless. The hotel only provided a router with one cat5. We have three laptops and sharing one line is not very convenient. I tried using my phone as a modem but it's not good enough - it's way too slow for my taste. But today, that's been fixed. Ahh, finally, faster access to the Internet. The DLink G wireless router was only $24, but of course we had to pay the "Jackie tax" :) - she got a new Wii game - Catz 2.

After our field trip at Fry's we stopped at the bookstore next door. It was called the Half Price Bookstore. Don picked up a Tom Hillerman, Elmore Leonard, and Andrew Klavan novels. I got one by Robin Cook, while Jackie picked out couple of children's books herself. All were half the published/retail price.

We had dinner at the hotel. We grilled some burgers and hotdogs and had a little picnic by the poolside. Since Don's beer in the mini-keg had gone flat, we scooted over to Wholefoods nearby and picked up some Coronas. When we got back, Don suggested that we all go for a swim. We spent couple of hours at the pool - we brought our cooler and had a few drinks there. It was 9:15 p.m. when we got back to our room. It was a nice relaxing evening. Jackie enjoyed her time at the pool and so did I.

Tomorrow, we will try to find a real tennis court. The mini tennis court was fun, but Don and I would like to find a full court. There are a few public courts in the area and I hope there is one closeby.

Downtown Austin

Last night Don took me Downtown Austin. We got there around 7 p.m. and the place was not hopping yet. We got lucky in finding street parking easily. Apparently parking is an issue there, but even if we had to pay it's only between $5-$10, that's a bargain compared to DC parking.

Our first stop was Logan's at Congress and 6th Streets. Don had the Logan's burger with salad, and I had French Dip sandwich with fries. I had a taste of the burger and it was very good. Internet review was on point. My meal was okay - the roast beef was a little dry. We both ordered a liter of draft beer, $5 dollars per liter (happy hour price until 10 pm). Don had Bock and I had good old Miller Lite. It was a huge mug - I did not finish it. I could have if I tried, but I was the designated driver.

After dinner, we strolled down 6th Street. As we walked passed some of the bars, we were seduced with $2 dollar per shot drinks. Don just told each one of them (with a smile) that we'd be back. We ended up at the Thirsty Nickel - a place where Don visited in the past and remembered it to be a good place to hang out. When we got there, there were only a few people - mostly college kids having fun drinking shots. We each had bottle of beer. There was live (rock) entertainment provided by a 3 crew band. They took requests and they played Johnny Be Good for Don. One of the band players was a girl, and man could she play! At one time she had the guitar behind her head playing it - quite impressive. After we had enough at the Thirsty Nickel, Don wanted to call it the night. As we walked back to our vehicle, 6th Street was a totally a different place. It was livelier (louder) and a lot more people strolling about. What a fun place to be, I have never been to any place like it. I thought Georgetown was fun :) - Downtown Austin is the place to be. Before we made it to our truck, an emergency stop was in order - Don had to pee really bad. A coffee house was a perfect place - while I waited for the coffee to be brewed, Don hit the John. It was all good - better to pay for couple of cups of coffee than to end up in Austin jail - ha ha ha.

We had a great time especially the beer was only 2 dollars a bottle, plus the free live entertainment, really good entertainment, could not be beat. We made it back to our hotel close to midnight. Jackie and Berna were still awake playing Super Paper Mario.

Austin: Day Three

Today, after breakfast, we played tennis at the Residence Inn's mini-tennis court. After we had enough chasing the ball around we joined Jackie and Berna at the pool. We were the only ones there and the temperature was perfect for a swim. For lunch we went to Chick-fil-A. Jackie needed to have a good meal, yes, some good chicken fingers :)

While we were getting ready to go out for lunch, Jackie asked if we all arrived here on earth on January 1. I had to ask if she meant me, daddy, her, and Berna. She said all of us, all the people. Boy, I struggled answering the question. Don to the rescue LOL. He explained evolution and told her the story of the white butterflies in England that evolved over 100 years ago into black butterflies.

When we returned to our room after lucnh, the maid had already changed the linens and the towels, and cleaned the counter tops. The bathroom smelled good - citrusy. Tonight, we'll cruise back to Downtown Austin to check out the nightlife.

For the rest of the afternoon we'll just chill in our room - it is now almost 5 p.m. Jackie is playing Wii - Super Paper Mario. It was Jackie's personal request to bring the gaming console. When she asked me about bringing the system before the trip I told her that system might get stolen in the hotel room. She then reminded me that it did not get stolen when we took it with us to North Myrtle Beach last year. Since daddy said it was alright, then it was good for me too.

Austin: Day Two

Today we drove around the Arboretum area - where we are staying at. Don also wanted to do a drive by to my training facility so I know how to get there on Monday. We found it and it is really easy to get to - only a mile from our hotel. How convenient is that?

For lunch we went to The County Line Bar-B-Q. A place recommended by Ra, an electrical engineer (Korean) who is also staying at our hotel. We met him outside of the hotel while Don is out for a smoke. I had the chicken and brisket platter served with coleslaw and beans. Don and Berna had pulled pork sandwich, and Jackie (our Miss Picky Eater) had some chips and some of my chicken. The food was good, but did not have the Wow Factor. We will try another BBQ place in the area. I want to try some good Texas BBQ. Don might drive us down to Salt Lick in Driftwood which is about 3o minutes from our place. I read that it is suppose to be the place for BBQ.

Jackie and Don befriended a kitty at The County Line

After lunch we headed to Downtown Austin via Scenic Road which is along the Austin Lake. A nice drive on a winding road lined with huge expensive looking houses. Nothing too exciting downtown - we drove along 5th and 6th streets, and through the Capitol building. We might be back there and do some sight seeing, maybe.

Austin's Capitol Building. It looks like our Capitol Building in DC, but it is smaller and the color is beige.

When we got home from our afternoon adventure, we spent some time looking on the Internet for good authentic Mexican food. Don found Jardin Corona Mexican restaurant to have good reviews and so we decided it was the place to be for dinner. The food and margarita was very good. Our waiter Luis provided us with very good service. My meal came with a plate of crispy corn tortilla topped with cheese, and gaucamole salad on the side. I had no idea how to deal with it, whether I should wait for my meal or what. When Luis returned Don asked what to do with it. Luis was a bit puzzled with the question and responded "do you think it is going to do something?" - and we all had a good laugh. Then Don told him that we are not from the area and that we have never been served such item back home. And so he (Luis) explained. When it was time for Don to have his margarita refill, Luis asked if "more little bit stronger" was desired, the answer was a definite yes. Luis made Don taste the new and improved drink - he stood and waited for the confirmation that indeed it was good and strong. When Don asked him how he should ask for the good margarita when we return to the restaurant, he jokingly said to just say Luis. LOL. It was the "top shelf" margarita. It had premium tequilla and a dash of Grand Marnier. He did not charge us the "top shelf" price. Don gave him a good tip.

On our way home we stopped at the Dollar Tree for window cleaner (to clean our very dirty windshield), a big plastic cup for Don's beer, air freshener, and dish washing sponge. And of course you cannot leave the dollar store without a toy for Jackie.

It was good second day in Austin. Tomorrow, we'll figure out what we'll do with our day after breakfast.

DIY Girl

I have spent the past couple of weekends painting (not the kind that ends up in a museum) and re-decorating couple of rooms in the house. I repainted the basement, installed shelvings in Jackie's bedroom, and switched few furnitures around. In the living room, we had to remove our 37 inch LCD to make room for a new 46 inch (beautiful!). The 37 inch is now in Jackie and Berna's bedroom - a nice upgrade from tube TV which is now in the guest bedroom. God bless Berna for being a good sidekick - what a tremendous help. Poor Don could not provide his manly strength because of his back.

I dragged Jackie with me to Home Depot to pickup door hinges and screws last Sunday (Father's day). I had her carry one of the hinges so she feels that she was helping mommy - she loves to help. She helped us paint with her own little paint roller. Of course she got tired quickly and in the end was content to just watch us do the work. While I was looking for the appropriate wood screw, Jackie was busy looking through the bolts and screws on the lower shelves. Still looking through the gazillion different screws and trying to find what I needed (I needed a particular color, black, which they did not have), Jackie asked what tool to use on the thing she was holding. Without looking, I told her a screw driver. She said, "But mommy, this does not have the thing on top". She was right, you can't use a screw driver on a bolt with smooth head. Then she asked if a bolt is just like a nail that you use a hammer on. What an intelligent question. I couldn't tell her the name of the tool to use, so, as always, I just told her to ask Daddy.

The living room is my next painting project - brilliant white for the ceiling, and perhaps some shade of gray for the walls.

May Happenings

Since I had not posted all of last month, here's a recount (I'll try not to bore you) of the month of May.

We attended my cousin's wedding in Kenilworth, New Jersey. It was a beautiful ceremony and fun reception. Jackie had a wonderful time dancing with her great uncle. It was really nice to see my relatives again after so many years.

Coming home from New Jersey we acquired an additional passenger - my aunt from California who also attended the wedding. She stayed with use for 5 days. I took a few days off from work to be her tour guide/chauffeur. The Sunday we got back from New Jersey, I was called in to work in DC, just for couple of hours. We took my aunt to Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Air and Space Museum) in Chantilly, VA - a very impressive place. Go if you haven't gone. We watched Forces of Nature at the IMAX theater - Jackie had her ears covered (with my hands) the entire time. She does not like very loud sounds.

Jackie missed her last hip hop class, but she started piano lessons with a new teacher. The new teacher is very good. He is a retired high school teacher. Kinda eccentric looking with resemblance to St. Nick - white hair, long beard, big tummy. She had about 7 lessons with the previous teacher, and I found out that Jackie was never taught the proper posture. I sat in her first session with the new teacher and immediately he emphasized the importance of the hand position and form. I really like this guy - he is a keeper. Jackie already made big improvement in the way she plays. He was quite impressed with Jackie's ability to read and play the music in her piano books.

Don had his birthday on the 27th. We did not have a birthday party, but on Sunday (Memorial Day weekend) I invited Beth over to play Rock Band. I got sick that day - with fever. But, even with fever I thought I was a good host, and was able to play Rock Band with Beth, Don, and Mike. I played the drums, Beth played the guitar and later did the vocals, and the two boys did the guitar. By the time Beth left, around 8 p.m. I was under 2 sheets of blanket shivering. It was around 2 a.m. when my fever finally broke. I was ill with fever and sore throat for several days and had to take Tuesday off.

At work, May was a frantic month for me. My main project was to complete the IT equipment inventory for the entire company, which is a very tedious task. I am so glad it is done - at least for now.

Jackie's Playtime Videos

Just wanted to post a few of Jackie's videos.


Jackie reading to her toy Macaw and having it repeat her words. She got this toy from Santa last Christmas.





This is Chance out for a walk with Jackie and Berna.




This is Jackie baking her favorite cake - chocolate cake!

Tech Expo in DC

Today is the opening day of FOSE in DC. Drew (a co-worker) and I originally planned on leaving the office by 10 a.m. to go to this event. While waiting for Drew this morning, I decided on unboxing the new laptop to start the system build. Out of the box, the system was screwed up. With my brilliant idea (at about 9:30), I decided to place a support call to Dell to report that the screen was faulty. I have called Dell tech support hundreds of times in the past -- why today did I think that this call would be any different? Dell support calls never last for only half an hour. Anyway, Drew had to bail me out and demanded that a replacement laptop be sent. Dell wanted to send a tech to come on-site to fix the problem. That solution was totally unacceptable to Drew, he wanted an exchange (a brand new system). I was gonna agree for a Dell guy to come on-site to fix the problem, but Drew had a good point - who knows what else is wrong with the system.

Okay, back to FOSE -- we took the metro from the King Street station (10 minute walk from the office) and we arrived at the Convention Center around noon. We went straight to the Express Registration counter (since we pre-registered a month earlier) to pick up our badges. When we arrived at the main exhibit hall, we were greeted by the Dice folks. They gave us some goodies and a card that could be used to redeem beverage (including beer). It was after 2 p.m. when we finally made it to the Dice booth where we could get free beverage, but they were out! What a bummer, I needed a drink (no, it was not beer that I had in mind).

We visited many booths and got lots of goodies in the process. We even got to play Guitar Hero at one of the exhibitor's booths. Half way through our adventure we have collected several blinky (led lights flashing) buttons that we pinned to our shirts. Our buttons attracted lots of attention. Many co-visitors asked for the source, and we also got some inquires from exhibitors who were curious to to know about the names of the company written on the buttons. We should have asked for fees for the extra exposure we provided.

Here is Drew playing Guitar Hero. I played the same song he did, but I did not beat his score.

There were lots of cool stuff there. I learned about the solid state drive (SSD) that is based on non-volatile memory chips like in flash drives. Mimio's interactive and whiteboard capture solution was another one that I thought was pretty cool - something we could use at the office for presentations. For those who love to take photos and travel, DiCAPac is something to check out. They sell underwater (up to 5 meters) cases for digital cameras, including SLRs, audio players, and cell phones. The cases for the audio and cell phone devices will allow you to hear and talk, while the device is inside the case. What makes them attractive is that their cases are sort of universal , and cheaper than the ones that are specially/custom made for a specific product/model. There are other cool stuff there like the video conferencing hardware and software, various rugged laptops from different companies, data destruction solutions, security solutions, etc. In the end, my feet was sore and the walk back to the office from the metro station seemed very long, and we totally skipped lunch!

I had fun.

Hip Hop Kids

The hip hop kids made huge progress this week. First off, the teacher is no longer limping around. They now have 6 steps in their routine to the music "Mambo No. 5". They get confused which is left or right, hey at my age, I still get confused - "Your right, or my right?". Jackie received praises from the teacher, she was on queue! It is amazing to see the transformation - from chaos to order.

Jackie won the freeze dance. Every session they do a freeze dance. Freeze dance is where you have to freeze when the music stops, and if you move you are out. Jackie is usually eliminated early in the game, but this time she was the survivor. Yey, Jackie!

After Jackie's hip hop class, we had lunch at Five Guys in Ashburn. The acoustic in the facility makes it impossible to have a pleasant conversation. If you want to talk, get really close or yell at each other. I had a kosher hotdog, Don and Berna had cheeseburgers, and Jackie had some peanuts and french fries. Just like Boardwalk fries, Five Guys fries are fried in peanut oil - yummy!

Emergency Room Visit

As some of you have read in my previous post, Don had injured his big toe in the shower. According to him -- he'd now rather have a dirty shower. The cleaning gadget inside the shower that landed on his left foot and caused him, doctor's term, subungual hematoma (bruised nail). The injury was getting more painful each day causing him much discomfort when walking around, especially with shoes on. Last night, we decided that he should wear a post-op shoe or something with open toes. I thought his Keen sandals should do the trick, but when he tried to put it on, it was an "OUCH!, OUCH! OUCH!...." experience. I went to RiteAid to see what they had and after talking to the pharmacist I was told that the special shoe is only available at a medical supply store. I called Don to tell him the bad news. I offered to check Rack Room shoes for other options - he told me to just head on home. When I got home I did some Google search for medical supply store in the area and I couldn't find one. I proceeded to call Target pharmacy and did not have any luck there either. Both of the pharmacy reps could not tell me the name of the medical store, only that there's one in Leesburg or Ashburn, and one in Alexandria.

I had suggested to Don that we might have better luck at a hospital pharmacy, but he decided that it would be best to have it checked instead. It must have been very very painful, because Don does not like seeing a doctor, let alone waiting in the emergency room. He has no patience for waiting and for doctors telling him what to do. His motto is "You have your rules, I have mine". Anyway, it was a good decision. We went to INOVA Hospital in Lansdowne. After waiting at the emergency room for several hours (got to watch "Hanna Montana" and "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" at the pediatrics waiting room), and after the x-ray to make sure there was no bone fracture, they drilled a hole through the nail to let the blood out. Don told me to look away. Last thing they need is to add additional patient to the already busy facility. See, when Don got his Lasik surgery I went with him in the operating room, and I blacked out! So anyway, the procedure made a world of difference. Don immediately felt relief. They also gave him the special shoe. We got back home around 10 p.m. and I finally was able to eat my dinner.

Work On Saturday

Yesterday, I spent all of my day at the house of one of the VPs of my company. He needed help with setting up a brand new computer for his wife. The wife's files in the old system had to be moved and also the email settings needed to be transfered. I expected for it to be a half day project, but the wireless network took nearly 3 hours. I had to call Verizon tech support to verify the internet configuration and login information. I was correct that it was PPPoE, but he completely misdirected me by telling me to change the Verizon DSL modem's settings to "bridge" and disable DHCP - all WRONG! After battling it for a while, I ended up putting it all back to it's original configuration and after a quick phone call to Don, he confirmed that resetting the Verizon modem to it's original configuration was the right thing to do. He instructed me to turn off DHCP on the wireless router and to make sure that the router and modem are on the same subnet. I had to change the wireless router's IP address as it had the same IP as the Verizon device. Thanks Don for being my Saviour!

After fighting the network issues, decrappafying the old and new PCs, software and printer installs, file transfers, email setup, answering questions, half of peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a glass of water - I headed home. I got home at 6 p.m. already too late to catch "The Spiderwick Chronicles". Oh well, well catch the first showing today at 11:45 a.m. Jackie is still asleep - she went to bed late last night because of a dog show we watched on Animal Planet. It was the Ugliest Dog Competition - man, the dogs were UUUUUGLY!

Firsts

Several "firsts" happened this past week. At work, I was asked to provide my technical expertise to help our contracts department with some proposal work. If we win the bid, the company will most likely send me to Missouri sometime in March or April to conduct a site survey. I have never traveled for business before, so I look forward to this first time experience.


Piano Lesson

(Jackie practicing at home)
Jackie had her first piano lesson on Thursday. I signed her up at Music and Arts store at the Cedar Lakes location for half an hour piano lesson once a week. When we arrived at the facility I checked in with one of the store clerk's who processed my payment and briefed me with their rules -- there will be no refunds for skipped lessons, but in an event of emergency or for any reason Jackie cannot show up for her scheduled class the teacher will accommodate rescheduling. I had to sign a piece of paper to acknowledge that I understood the terms. Then the clerk sent us to the back end of the store where the classrooms are. We stood around for a few minutes and Celine (Jackie's teacher) came out of one of the rooms. She asked how old Jackie is and if she could read. She was delighted to hear that Jackie could - I guess this makes it easier. After the meet and greet, she invited Jackie to follow her into one of the rooms. I asked if we (Berna and I) could watch and she agreed, but only allowed us to stay for a few minutes. I watched though the glass window on the door. When the lesson was over Celine told me that Jackie did very well, and that she did lots for first day class. I was not surprised to hear it - we were blessed with this darling girl who is very bright (I cannot take credit). At the age when Jackie was only supposed to know a few words, she knew hundreds. Her ped did not believe us when we told her the amount of words Jackie knew (I guess a lot of parents exaggerate), but in that same visit our little Jackie spoke in complete sentence - LOL.

Anyway, Celine told me to have Jackie practice 10 minutes a day and to complete the homework before the next lesson on Thursday.

Here's Jackie on her first practice day at home
(thanks to Berna for taking this video for us)

Ice Skating

On Saturday, Don took us ice skating. Don and I have been married for eight and a half years and we've never gone ice skating together. It's been over a decade since the last time I've done this fun activity with friends, so I was a little nervous when my blades hit the ice. SkateQuest in Reston was open for public skating between 1:10 to 3 p.m. - then they closed the facility for hockey players. We all had fun (Berna did not skate - she just watched and took pictures). We were very proud of Jackie for not getting scared and for doing very well - she got the hang of it very quickly. She had so much fun that she did not even want to take a break! I was able to take a break with Jackie during the resurfacing of ice. What a fun outing! I would love to go again, soon.

What I Did On Super Bowl Sunday

House cleaning is one of my weaknesses, not because I don't have time for it, but because I am plainly tamad (lazy). On Superbowl Sunday I decided (no planning involved) to clean the basement early in the morning (even before my breakfast). For a few minutes, I stood in the middle of the room trying to decide where to start. I looked around the room and felt a little overwhelmed of its condition. The room was disorganized - wires running across the floor (from various video game accessories), Jackie's toys, miscellaneous junk on the coffee table... you get the picture. After putting away the video game accessories I decided that the carpet was in desperate need of steam cleaning, especially the area by the door to the garage. I spent about an hour and a half cleaning the carpet. After three refills of cleaning solution, three and a half refills of hot water, and half a dozen trip up and down the stairs I was more than satisfied of the outcome! Ahhh... the fresh scent of a newly cleaned carpet was nice :)

After shower Jackie Berna and I went to visit my brother and cousin in DC. I was to help setup their new computer, a Dell XPS 420 (with quadcore, sweet!). On the way to DC we stopped at Manila Oriental Market to pickup Filipino food for lunch. After lunch I got started on setting up the computer (while Jackie watched Nick Toons). The system was pretty nice, I'd like to have one! The monitor was a brightscreen (glossy) 24 inch widescreen. I installed Office 2007, Quickbooks, Adobe Reader, and fixed the Vista sidebar (which disappeared after uninstalling Google tool bar). I also fixed the connection to the monitor which was hooked up to the analog port instead of the dvi port. I ran SpeedTest to check their bandwidth as they complained about the connection being slow. The SpeedTest result was just fine - I got 2.3mbps/sec down speed. I have suggested that the wireless connection (router located in another room) was the culprit, it was intermittently dropping. At 3:45 we left to make it home on time to make dinner - boneless rib eye roast - yum!

I am not much of a football fan, so while hubby and stepson watched the Super Bowl in the living room, Jackie and I rocked out in the basement.

N.Y. Giants won, and I completed Rock Back in Medium level.

"The Chance Band"

My Rock Band replacement guitar arrived yesterday. Some people in the EA forum reported that they have received refurbished replacement (identified by scratches), and that the guitars were defective. After dinner, I unpacked the guitar for visual inspection - I wanted to check if I received a refurbished one. No, it was a brand new guitar.

Don got home from work at around 7 last night and after fixing him dinner, I started to watch Wowowee. But Jackie wanted to watch something else so I had to find something that she would enjoy (she pretty much likes anything in Boomerang). I decided to wait until the weekend to test the guitar since I have plenty of time to return the faulty one before they tack me with the $125 charge for the replacement hardware. At around 9:15 Jackie asked to play Rock Band (music to my ears) - since it was close to her bedtime (at 10) I told her I'd play with her today instead. With her precious facial expression she said, "But I can't wait" - LOL. I told her okay, but we would play only until 10 p.m. I guess I did not have to wait until the weekend to test the new guitar. In our previous games we played the quick play multi-player. But last night I decided to start a band tour which we had to create our band and figure out a band name. I asked Jackie what she wanted to name our band, and without hesitation she exclaimed "Chance band.... THE Chance band" (named after her cat). We both had to create our own rock persona (gender, name, outfit, hairstyle, and attitude). She was the lead vocalist and I played the guitar. We played 6 songs, then it was bedtime.

Jackie, lead singer

Rock Band, Oh So Fun!

Okay, so I caved. I bought Rock Band (Xbox360) with the gift card that my brother gave us for Christmas!

Rock Band is a music video game very much similar to Guitar Hero (both developed by Harmonix) where players uses a guitar controller to simulate playing music by hitting notes in the scrolling music map on the screen. The first entry of the Guitar Hero series was released in the late 2005. Rhythm game was a genre that never attracted me. We own couple of Nintendo rhythm games (microphone and dance mat to play with) for Jackie. Since this type of game was not of interest to me, I was even unaware that people were gaga about Guitar Hero. Only when the third installment of the series was released that I have become aware of how fun this game is. Kudos to my husband for giving me (GH3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (released mid 2007) for Christmas - the best present! I had no idea that the game is so much fun, and very addictive. If there are stuff that needs to get done that day, I have to not play because I get lost in it and the entire day is gone - once I start I cannot stop.

Rock Band was released in November 2007. I became familiar of its existence several weeks ago because of American Idol (I am a fan of the show!). Jackie seem to have some interest in singing and I have been thinking about what to get with our gift card. I remember my co-worker mentioning in the past about the American Idol game (a karaoke game) he owned, and how much fun it is. I started doing some research on it and found out that American Idol Encore for Wii is scheduled for release on February 5th. I was reading reviews on the past installments of the game when I ran across Rock Band. All of a sudden my research got diverted to researching Rock Band - LOL. And then, it was finally decided - have to get Rock Band for sure :) Again, if not for GH3 I would not have been interested in reading about it. Thank you Don, I love you!

No regrets in getting Rock Band (RB)- it's a definite hit with me and Jackie. I have to encourage my husband to play more with us :) Before Rock Band we have to take turns playing Guitar Hero because we only have one guitar controller. Jackie has trouble with the game because of her tiny fingers. The frets are hard for her to reach and press. I felt guilty (and selfish) playing the game because she could not play with me (but she loves to watch and laugh at me when I miss notes and fail the entire song - ha ha). Though, I could tell that she really wants to play, but discouraged because of her physical limitations. With Rock Band I can play with her! This is where RB comes ahead of GH3. With RB you can play as a band - guitar, drums, and vocals. The game bundle (Rock Band Special Edition) came with a guitar, drum set, and microphone. At this time you cannot buy the accessories separately so you have to buy the bundle if you want to play band. You can use GH guitar (Xbox360 not PS3) with RB game, but not the other way around.

Here is a video of my 5 year old playing drums

EA may have rushed the release of the game because since launch there were so much problems being reported with regards to the hardware. Though I bought mine this January (box dated December), the hardware version is (my guess) the same as the ones sold at launch. The blue fret (upper set) is not working on my guitar and I requested warranty replacement. We are able to continue to use the guitar because the second (lower) set of frets are working. I hope that the replacement guitar works properly. I have heard that there are people who have the same problem with their replacement guitars.

They Are From The Future

Couple of days ago, my husband sent me a link to an article about the harmful effect of too much video game.

I have always loved video games. I've had my share of many (very fun) sleepless nights because of video games - thank you Legend of Zelda. Since I came to this country I've always had some type of gaming console. My first one was the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) which I got as a birthday present back in 1989 (thanks Beth, Mel and their boyfriends for introducing me to the greatest invention). Then a Sega Genesis, then the Sony Playstation, followed by Xbox, Nintendo Gameboy Advanced, Gamecube, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS/Lite, and the Wii (what's next?). I bought the Nintendo DS as a birthday present for my husband, but our daughter (who was at the time only 3 years old) played it more than he did. We decided to get her her own so daddy can have his back. We now actually have 4 DSs (silver, pink, black, white - hmmm did't they just release the two tone crimson/black?). Anyway, the first game she ever completed was the Super Princess Peach (she was only 4 years old). The girl's hand-eye coordination is amazing (try Super Monkey Ball). Sometimes I just shake my head when I watch her play Zelda the Twilight Princess (Wii). And when I play, I sometimes have to ask her which button to press to perform a particular task. She turned 5 this past July.

Over a year ago my husband established the "No TV and video games before noon" policy. Of course this rule only applies to our daughter. And about a month ago we cut back even more - she can no longer bring her DS with her when she goes to bed. The DS has to stay in the living room to charge overnight. It definitely improved her demeanor. Now she is not like a "zombie" when she kisses us goodnight. We always want to be vigilant and make sure she gets plenty of non-electronic stimulation. She loves to read, do crafts, coloring, and play with her kitty. We take her to the library every other week.

I sent the article to my co-worker and after he read it he told me to tell my husband that he has it all figured out.

Co-worker: "Do you know the grays?
Me: "No"
Co-workder: "You know, the aliens like ET?"
Me: "Oh yeah. I've never heard that before."
Co-worker: "Well, you know how they have slender limbs, big eyes, and big head, and gray?"
Me: "Yeah"
Co-worker: "They are not aliens as in aliens from outer space."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Co-worker: "Well, they are from our future. They are the video game kids who have come back from the future. They have evolve to looking like the aliens that we know now - the grays. That's also explains why they only have 3 fingers. They do not need all 5 fingers to play video game.

I suppose they are gray because they have lost their skin pigmentation from being inside the house all day playing video games.

Goodbye Christmas Tree

We took down the tree today, Sunday. Taking down the tree is so much easier than putting it up. There are still a few Christmas decorations that needs to be put away, including the gingerbread house that we built from scratch. My daughter Jackie helped decorate the house and she also picked the color. It turned out to be a nicely decorated house.

I enjoyed my Sunday morning watching a few episodes from the first series of "Jeeves and Wooster" on DVD. "Jeeves and Wooster" was a British comedy TV series. Bertie Wooster was played by Hugh Laurie ("House" on Fox) - I am a fan of Dr. House. The urge to watch comedy this morning was motivated by going through many clips of Robin Williams (I spent at least couple of hours) on YouTube last night. Robin Williams is hilarious.

Mental Feng Shui

I am sure that, like me, you receive numerous chain emails. This one I received today was nice and I thought to post it here.
---------------------------------------------------------
One: Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
Two: Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Three: Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
Four: When you say, "I love you", mean it.
Five: When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
Six: Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Seven: Believe in love at first sight.
Eight: Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
Nine: Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely.
Ten: In disagreements, fight fairly - no name calling.
Eleven: Don't judge people by their relatives.
Twelve: Talk slowly, but think quickly.
Thirteen: When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
Fourteen: Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
Fifteen: Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
Sixteen: When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
Seventeen: Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
Eighteen: Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
Nineteen: When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Twenty: Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Twenty-one: Spend some time alone.

Non-replicating DNS

Yesterday, I finished setting up a second domain controller -- with difficulty. The dcpromo completed without a hitch. AD objects from the other DC (DC1) copied to the new server (DC2), but when I checked to see if my logon scripts replicated, the NETLOGON and SYSVOL folders were missing. I proceeded to setup DC2 as my secondary DNS. I added it in the Name Servers list on my primary DNS server. The FQDN resolved which confirmed connectivity to DC2, and DC2 was able to successfully pull the Forward Lookup Zones from the master server. This still leaves me the mystery of the non-existent SYSVOL and NETLOGON folders. Some people suggested to demote and repromote the server. That seemed too much work for me. When I ran repadmin/showreps the report returned DNS errors. Hmmm... it's always DNS..... DNS, DNS, DNS. I double checked my DNS settings and all looked fine, but why in the world could I not replicate my servers?!?

Okay, so I could not ping DC2 from DC1 (IP and netbios name), or from my computer - very puzzling. Through Sites and Services snap-in my new DC was listed under Servers, but under NTDS Settings there was nothing. I was expecting to see one object there which would have been automatically generated. I added a new connection to DC1, but when I ran "Check Replication Topology" it returned an error: "The naming context is in the process of being removed or is not replicated from the specified server." What the....??? If I cannot ping the server from DC1 how can DC2 receive inbound connection for the replication to take place? I was thinking its connectivity problem, but DC2 could ping DC1! I cleared the arp table on DC1, but still no go. The only other thing I did not check was the firewall. Since I cannot ping DC2 I checked its firewall settings and found that it was enabled. With the Windows firewall disabled, Viola! everything was perfect :) Damn firewall!

Happy New Year!

It's 2008! Where did 2007 go? I can't believe that I had not posted here for the entire year of 2007. Main reason to only maintain one blog site instead of 2, 3 or more.

Wii Update:
After numerous attempts, very early morning waking hours, cold and long waits in line, I was able to get a Wii couple of days after Christmas in 2006. It was accidental. My co-worker and I decided to spend our lunch break hunting for the hard-to-find gaming system. We meant to check Best Buy, but because I made the wrong turn we ended up at Target. When we got there we saw a guy sprinting towards the electronics department. Somehow we both figured that he might be going for the same thing we were. At the electronics department there was a short line formed which we joined in. My co-worker and I were able to secure one for each of us, and the sales lady even allowed me to buy an additional system for a friend. All the trouble trying to get the system was all worth it. It really is a fun gaming system - there is nothing like it! Even none-gamers would enjoy it very much. If you don't have one, go get one :)

Technical Frustration Update:
After fighting the Dell laptop to capture my many many MiniDV videos I ended up using my Asus laptop. I completed 80% of the project in 2006 and made no progress for the entire 2007. What can I say? I am a procrastinator :)

2007 Recap:
Beginning of July I started work for a new company. May and June went by in a flash. I spent those couple of months migrating data, purchasing equipment, building and setting up new systems, and sitting in numerous boring meetings. The company that I now work for was owned by my previous employer which was purchased by another (a multi-billion dollar) company. Part of the agreement was to assist in splitting the two companies. Since all of the IT services were provided by the parent company new systems had to be purchased and setup. The system build had to be completed by first week of July. Then in August we had to move to a new building. Couple of weeks prior to moving we had to setup the entire network infrastructure. The move was a success. Day one at the new office all the employees had their phones, their computers, and had network and Internet connectivity!

Also in July we went to N. Myrtle Beach, S.C. for a week vacation. There, my daughter celebrated her 5th birthday. It was our first time in N. Myrtle Beach and we had a wonderful time. We loved it so much that we want to make a yearly trip there. I thank my college best friend, Mailah, for the idea. The condo we stayed at was a beach-front property and we loved the convenience of being able to just walk down the beach.

In November we adopted a kitty from the shelter. Our 5 year old daughter had been asking for one. But because of my allergy, my husband was opposed to having a cat in the house. A letter written by our daughter that said: "From Jackie Fox. I want a cat!" was all it took. My husband found this very sweet 9 month old male kitten from the county shelter. His name was "Chance" and our daughter wanted to keep his name. He is a medium-haired Tuxedo with a milk mustache. I had an allergy attack on the night that Chance came home. Since then I have not had any symptoms! We all love the new member of our family. He is mischievous and very sweet cat!

Christmas Present:
One of the presents I received from my husband was Guitar Hero III for Xbox 360. It is such a fun addictive game. The "Easy" level I completed in few hours of game play. The "Medium" level is another story. The more I played the better I am at it - it is all about practice :) Though some of us are just plainly gifted as this 9 year old kid who beat the hardest (Expert) level will demonstrate. Amazing! is all I can say. Can you do it? I wish I am as good as this kid!

New Year's Resolution:
I have not thought about it until just now. As in the past, I am not optimistic about sticking with it. But, I will definitely TRY this year. Maybe having a written Resolutions will help me stay on track. My main goal for this year is to get back in shape. I also would like to add reading and keeping up with my blog on the list. Basically, it is all about laziness. So my New Years resolution this year is to not be lazy. The reason I am out of shape is I am too lazy to exercise, lazy to think about eating healthy, and lazy about reading and writing.