Streaming MY Music to the Office

I love music and I love listening to it at work. Music makes me happy and a happy MC is a productive MC. However, I don't take my laptop to work 'cuz I've got my own work PC - and my little Bean only holds so much music - so I've been using the internet radio by Yahoo! (it's like Pandora). It's working alright but I still want MY music on my work PC and short of physically transferring my files, I was in a bit of a dilemma.

In walks Gizmodo and their fantabulous writers - gawd I love them - to provide me with a solution, courtesy of Lifehacker.com. So if you're in the same music rut as me, read here on how to stream your music to any PC. Thanks guys!!

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Wiiiiiiiiiii

In case you haven't heard, I have joined the Wii community!! It all started last Friday...

I was reading Gizmodo on my lunch break and came across an entry saying that Best Buy was going to get a stock of Wii's in on Sunday, 22 April. I thought to myself, 'Man, I really want my own Wii...should I go line up at the crack of dawn for one and do I want it that bad?' So I was balancing the idea back and forth on my mental To-Do-or-Not-To-Do scale all day Friday. If Best Buy really was getting some in, I may just have to go down there bright and early on Sunday.

Saturday rolls around and I'm on Gizmodo again, and they've confirmed that Best Buy was indeed getting a stock of Wii's! Oh no, looks like I really will be lining up at the crack of dawn! Luckily for me, I scrolled down to read the comments and came across one by Kobe_No_Means_No: click this link, put your zip code where the 60657 is in the URL and it'll tell you which Target stores near you have Wii's in stock. Oooh. Lo and behold, there is one near me with Wiis! I called and confirmed and sped down and bought myself a little white bundle of joy. Of course, it made me a tad late for my dinner date but it's a Wiiiiiii.

So I made some Mii's yesterday, and my Mii is sooooooo cute! I'm gonna have to take a picture of it and post it here. June made herself, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley (oh geez, haha) and I also made Mom. Now I gotta get connected to my mates' Wii's so we can all mingle. I also bought Super Paper Mario, which isn't too bad (I do prefer the previous ones), and now I'm plotting which other games to buy (like Wii Play, Super Mario World, WarioWare, Bust-a-Move Bash, Bomberman and Sonic...and I just realised there isn't a Yoshi's Island game yet!! *sad*). Yay!! Oh, and I need more Wii-motes, but apparently, that Wii-near-you link also shows Wii-motes' availabilities so happy day!

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Playing Catch-Up

Wow, so much has happened in a week. I won't blog all the details because too much has happened and I'm lazy and I don't want said details to be privy to all and sunder, but let's just say the last two weeks have been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I don't know how I would've gotten through it without my bffs Ryan and Tony, as well as Flick, Ros, Nicola, Raven, Yseult, Val and Kate. Thank my lucky stars for friends who are willing to listen to you rant and love you unconditionally. And to you guys who are reading this, thanks for listening to me rant. :) Anyway, my emotional equilibrium has been restored and all is peachy keen. Actually, they're even better than peachy keen - they're fantabulous!!

On other news, I've got some random pictures from Ryan's and Jr's (FINALLY!) cameras:

At Ryan's.

Fat Kids' face.

Ry, Jimmy & Me @ Jewel's.

Jr and me at R Place.

The rest are from happy hour at the Matador

(Nachos.)

(Nice race tracks Matt.)

Mm mmm, chicken quesadilla.

Watch Ryan 'bout to deep throat that chicken quesadilla haha!

Rarr, Jimmy, rarr.

Ooh, Georgia.

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Shampoo, Suds And A Skylight

I love my bathroom. There's a skylight right above the bathtub/shower and as I was shampooing my hair, which I was 20 minutes ago, I looked up and saw blue skies and white clouds. That made me smile a genuine smile, and that's a big thing considering what a shitty week I've had (especially Friday).

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Sometimes I Wish I Could Act Like A Boy

Pull up your pants
(Just like em')
Take out the trash
(Just like em')
getting ya cash like em'
Fast like em'
Girl you outta act like ya dig
(What I'm talkin' bout')
Security codes on everything
Vibrate so your phone don't ever ring
(Joint account)
And another one he don't know about

Wish we could switch up the roles
And I could be that...
Tell you I love you
But when you call I never get back
Would you ask them questions like me?...
Like where you be at?
Cause I'm out 4 in the morning
On the corna rolling
Doing my own thing

What if I?...
Had a thing on the side?
Made ya cry?
Would the rules change up?...
Or would they still apply?...
If I played you like a toy?...
Sometimes I wish I did act like a boy

Girl go head and be...
(Just like em')
Go run the streets
(Just like em')
come home late say sleep like em'
Creep like em'
Front with ya friends
Act hard when you're with em' like em'
(What)
Keep a straight face when ya tell a lie
Always keep an airtight alibi
(Keep him in the dark)
What he don't know won't break his heart

If I was always gone
With the sun getting home
(Would Ya Like That?)
Told you I was with my crew
When I knew it wasn't true
(Would Ya Like That?)
If I act like you
Walk A mile off in yo shoes
(Would Ya Like That?)
I'm messing with your head again
Dose of your own medicine

If I played you...
Would yo like that?
Had friends...
Would you like that?
never call?
Would you like that?
Hell naw
You wouldn't like that
No!

What if I made ya cry!
Would they still apply!
What if I...
If I played you like a toy
Sometimes I wish I did act like a boy!
-Ciara 'Like a Boy'

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James Morrison

My new favourite artist: James Morrison. I love the his 'You Give Me Something', especially the lyrics, and his voice, and accent when he speaks, is lush.

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A Habit

I've got this habit, neither good or bad I think, of slipping into an English accent whenever I speak to a Brit. It happens everytime I speak to my friends in the UK, like when I rang up Ros and Raven yesterday afternoon. Perhaps it only happens when I'm talking to my friends but then an English guy called while I was manning the front desk and I did it again! I try to suppress it because some people might think I'm a pretentious twat, which I'm not thank you very much, when I do that. But then again, do I care about those people's opinions of me? Frankly, no - they can all just piss off. If you know me, then you'd know it's something that happens unconsciously. It's amazing how almost two years abroad can change one's life.

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Ceroc Withdrawal

Ceroc's motto is 'pure dance addiction' and it's all too true. It's been 25 weeks - but who's counting, really - since I've danced Ceroc and I'm going through withdrawals. Okay, I'm not twitching or anything like that but I'm definitely feeling the loss. It's the best dance in the world because anyone can learn and dance it, and unlike salsa or ballroom, it doesn't require any particular music to dance to. It's the best thing since sliced bread and the Intuition razor - no joke.

The only place in the US that has Ceroc, for now, is Florida. FLORIDA!! That's so on the other side of the country! Arghhh. However, however, it is also in BC, Canada, more specifically Surrey and Vancouver. It's only (haha, only) a 3 hour drive. Granted, I can't make the Ceroc nights (that's the social nights with lessons in the beginning of the evening) unless I ask for time off, which I can't really because I'll need all the comp time I can get for the weddings I need to attend this year and plus I don't get holiday time my first year of working (damn American companies), but at least I can make the Cerocshops on the weekends. Plan of action: a weekend getaway to Canada so I can get my Ceroc fix. I know Ryan, Matt and Georgia want to go to Canada and I'm sure they'd love Ceroc. They love dancing and who wouldn't love Ceroc - it's so awesome!

I wish I had a friend who loved dance as much as I do. Ryan likes dancing well enough and I know he really enjoyed salsa but he's not crazy about it like I am. How crazy you ask? Crazy enough to contemplate taking an early day and driving up on a Tuesday or Thursday to make the lesson and driving straight home afterwards. That's mad, I know, but I'd seriously consider doing it if I had a partner in crime, and that's exactly what I'm missing: a partner in crime, aka a dance partner. It's not easy to find a good dance partner, evidenced by Raven. He's got a new dance partner and his girlfriend dances as well, but they're apparently not as good as I am. Way to boost a girl's ego, haha :D. The sentiment's reciprocated anyway; Ryan's really good but he's not quite Raven either. Ah well, we just have to make the best of what we've got, eh? When life gives me lemons, I make lemonade and I'll make it damn good, too.

Anyway, Canada anyone? Let's dance!

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Rives @ TED

This man rocks my socks. Enjoy. :)

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Portland, Oregon

Ah, Portland. It's beautiful and very green. I might even go so far as to say it's greener than Seattle, but then it's a lot smaller and less urban than Seattle.

BFF Em lives there with her fiancé, who goes to Lewis and Clark College, and have been living there for 8 months now, and it was high time that I visited (although I was abroad most of last year). I drove down with Georgia, Ryan and Matt...four crazy brownies listening to remixes of Omarion's Ice Box. (I love the one with Usher, and I just realized Omarion's pretty cute.) Good times. Of course Georgia almost got us killed less than a mile from her place, but what 'road trip' is complete without a close call? ...Anyway, we made it down to Portland in one piece, met up with Em and showed down at a McMenamins restaurant called Blue Moon on 21st. The food was really good and we were loving the whole no sales tax thing - totally reminded me of England. We also cracked this magic trick - with the help of our waiter - involving matches that we'd learned the night before at the Matador. The trick totally fucked with our minds and we couldn't get our heads around it! It was very clever.

The weather was really miserable to begin with - it was chucking it down while we were eating lunch - but then it cleared up completely and was absolutely gorgeous. The sun came out and it turned quite warm. Then we went shopping. 23rd Street is well-known for its collection of boutiques and antique stores, cafes and fun shops. There were several big retailers as well, like Urban Outfitters and Levi's. I window shopped mostly and didn't buy much. I split up with Georgia, Ryan and Matt Saturday afternoon and hung out with Em the rest of the weekend. We went for a very scenic drive around the zoo - it's so beautiful and green and lush, and it's in a city! - and then back to her flat. Molly, their cat, was as spoiled and adorable as usual, and she flosses her teeth everyday! Too cute. We chilled out for a while and Em introduced me to my new favourite wine: Elio Perrone Bigaro. It's really lovely, gorgeous even, and coming from me, that says a lot. (I'm notoriously picky about alcohol and don't like any drinks half the time.) Dinner was Italian and oh, how I've missed pasta! I hadn't had any in too long and my fettuccine Alfredo with mushrooms and tender pieces of chicken was perfect. Mm mmm.

Sunday dawned bright and clear as well, so we went and did some more shopping. This time we went to Bridgeport Village because Em needed to buy jeans and I suggested Levi's. Suffice to say, we were very productive (or rather, she was very productive) and I had myself some LavAzza espresso coffee! I loooove LavAzza (and illy, too)...I really should see if any cafes around here serve it.

We went driving around the city, too. She showed me a little bit of Lewis and Clark. It's a beautiful campus - dare I say more so than UW? - and the reflection pool looked like something out of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream! One of the old manor houses (at least I think it was a manor house) was converted to offices. I'd love going to work everyday in a 19th century building!! We also went to see Pittock Manson. GORGEOUS! The architecture, lush interiors...I can so see myself living in a house like that, doing the whole lady-of-the-manor thing (although, then my practical side kicks in and worries about the upkeep). Sadly, it was closed by the time we got there so we'll have to wait till next time to go on the tour.

No pictures yet but they're coming. Now I gotta get my butt back to work, hehehe.

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