Another master's in the family!

First happy holidays!

And second, not that I brag much about my family or that there's been much good news in the news lately… but I just got great news.

My sister learned today she got into the MBA program at UCLA to start in fall 2009—it's 11th in the nation if you believe in rankings and the only one she applied to so far (I helped edit her essay but it was already pretty good before I got to it).

So with her industrial engineering degree from Purdue and MBA in a few years (part-time while still working), this pretty much guarantees she'll be executive level some day. Therefore, she'll be the one I'll call whenever I have a wacky scheme that just needs the right investor.

We'll be like a sitcom—Matt, the cats and I will move to LA in five years or so (when she's established) and we'll start out as houseguests of my sister and her husband (in their pool house—I think Will lived in the pool house in "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," where I'm getting the idea) and sell hemp bracelets or something, while learning to paint and surf and try not to be too embarrassing when her business partners come around for fancy dinners.

Ah, that would be the life.

Except I'd probably still somehow write about lawyers while missing Indiana and trying to figure out how to work in a book about something half interesting.

And when I sent this to my editor she suggested I aim a little higher for an entertainment editor position (I can dream big! But surfing and painting and selling hemp bracelets while coming up with wacky schemes sounds like more fun).

Oh, wait. I just got carried away.

Just wanted to share the good news!! :)

As you may already know, I'm once again on the AIDS Walk & Ride's marketing committee.
It's less than one month until the 2008 Indiana AIDS Walk & Ride, SATURDAY, Oct. 11 in downtown Indianapolis starting at the War Memorial in University Park (corner of Meridian and Vermont streets).

Get the details, volunteer, sign up, or join a team at the official Web site, www.indianaaidswalk.org OR ADD the AIDS Walk & Ride to be your myspace friend (you'll also get info/updates on Spotlight, the Spring fundraiser). I may end up starting/joining a team, but for now I'm listed as an individual.

Also, MACY'S is doing "Shop for a cause" on Saturday, Sept. 20, for a number of charities--I think it's a national event for the store. The Shop for a Cause coupons to benefit the Indiana AIDS Walk & Ride--at $5 each--will be on sale at the Glendale and Castleton (Indianapolis area) MACY's that day, depending on who volunteered at what store and at what time. I'm scheduled to sell coupons at Glendale 12-2 p.m. 9/20

For $5 buyers of the coupons can get 10-20 percent off MOST items in the store AND the $5 goes back to the Indiana AIDS Fund to support the walk (The Indiana AIDS Fund also has coupons available for purchase, www.indianaaidsfund.org for contact information)

AND on Sept. 20, English Ivy's, 944 N Alabama St., Indianapolis, IN 46202 is going to give part of their proceeds to support the AIDS Walk team of Greg's, Metro, Club Indianapolis, and English Ivy's (GMCI). More information: (317) 822-5070. And their food is superb (and it's a bar, so good drinks too). :)

Even though this effort supports a specific team -- GMCI is usually the winning team in terms of money raised -- the money does all go to the direct emergency fund assistance program for people living with HIV/AIDS all over Indiana.

Hope to see you at the walk/ride and again, check out the official site for more information, www.indianaaidswalk.org.

New apartment... new friend!

It occurred to me today that soon I will move into my third Indianapolis apartment, yet I still have the same Chicago cell phone number. What's up with that?

Anyway, my new apartment will be mine in mid-October, and I have five days for the transition to figure out where I'm going to fit all my stuff. I'm probably one of the few people who is downsizing because a) I don't need all the space I have in my place now (although I'll miss the storage closet outside and walk-in closet in my room...); b) I wanted to be closer to downtown where I work (commute will be cut in half); and c) I'll be closer to my friend's new house where she and another friend will be roommates for a while, and it's closer to my boyfriend's work/dad's house.

I also just decided a couple days ago that I may be adopting a new friend whose name still isn't known, but has been called ReRo, Ringo, and Ron Rico by his different owners. He's a dark gray tabby, very sweet, and already has had his vet stuff taken care of for the year (he's six months old). He's fixed--which is how all housepets should be--but I haven't yet decided on the claws situation.

But thanks to this interesting and hilarious product, I may not have to. Soft Paws are little vinyl coverings for claws so the cats don't scratch the crap out of your things (or you). But I was already planning to get a couch cover for the couch I have now, and I've lived with cats who have claws before (they belonged to roommates) so it should be OK. I hope. And I just heard the pet deposit isn't too bad at the new place BUT the place will have hardwood floors (does that matter to cats with claws? Or will it just mean more click-clacking when he walks around?).

At any rate, I look forward to having a new friend and hope he does better than my plants, which aren't doing all that great anymore. But at least kitties cuddle and look cute and do funny things I can blog about. :)

Addicted to GoodReads.com

When I was in high school I remember having a conversation where I discovered a guy I liked had also read "The Stand" by Stephen King (I read it because my mom is a big fan of the author, and we both had watched the mini-series together. I think Molly Ringwald was a main character -- it was on in the mid-1990s). I asked if he read the whole thing (because I put it down about 7/8 of the way through it) and he laughed at me for suggesting he hadn't finished a book.

I was reminded of this 13 years later as I was updating my list on GoodReads of books I've read, books I'm reading, and books on my to read list. Sadly, some of the ones I'm "reading" I've been reading for a long long time, such as "Midnight's Children" and "Thunderstruck." Well, not so much reading as waiting for time to finish them. There are a few others on that list from as recently as this winter, when I only had maybe 50 pages left and some that have been unopened for a lot longer (since I left Boston, circa June 2004).

I also used to work at a book store, and would buy so many books using my employee discount I didn't really keep up, but I did manage to get through a few of them on my breaks at the store, or I'd just have more time to read because I had a shorter commute in my car (which should be the case after I move closer to downtown in October). Ironically, if I'm using that right, when I had long commutes via bus or subway or trolley in other cities, that was when I did the bulk of my reading. But now I don't think the other people on the road would appreciate being behind the reader.

Maybe books on tape is the answer. :)

But for whatever reason, I'm so excited about the existence of this site. Just yesterday a friend e-mailed me to join GoodReads; now I find myself constantly thinking of books to add. Maybe having this support group of other readers will get me back into reading the ones I have that say "to read" and "reading," and inspire me to add a few others to my list.

And if you haven't already, check it out for yourself and see what the fuss is about -- www.goodreads.com.

LOL chat...

Oh, the lolcats. If I keep up blogging, I'll probably add one or two now and then. Here's the link:

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/07/20/funny-pictures-cat-moustache/

Olympics... 2010!

So there's this thing wrapping up pretty soon called the Olympics in Beijing. Yes, I've watched a number of events. I don't have cable, so I've missed whatever wasn't good enough for the NBC network station, but I've definitely been entertained.

But in commenting on my friends' blog, I remembered that Matt and I have been talking about going to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. And, the mascots for it are super cute!

http://www.vancouver2010.com/mascot/en/

is the link to see the mythical creatures based on legends of the West Coast First Nations -- a sea bear, that is a whale in the water, and a bear on land; a sasquatch who likes hockey and taking photos; and an animal spirit who "wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty thunderbird and runs on the strong furry legs of the black bear." It sounds a little kooky, but I think it's fun. They even have a little movie.

Long day... long break.

So it's been a long day, and now that I have yet another friend with a blog, I'm sure it's a matter of time before I'll feel guilted enough into writing my own.

And with this, I'm not sure who all even knows about it, so I'll try to keep it under my hat as much as I can, without work people, exes, family members I don't want to follow up on me, etc. won't find it. Maybe. :) I can dream, can't I?

Anyway, I'll try to post more soon. Right now, though, it is 7 p.m., I'm starving, and I've been working since about 8:30 except for a half-hour lunch break and occassional blog-checking breaks (don't worry, as soon as I would figure out something to read or send on to someone else, I would get a call/e-mail/assignment to edit, so the bulk of my day has definitely been devoted to working my butt off).

Now it's home and hopefully some time with my boyfriend, but that's about all. And maybe some more work so tomorrow isn't impossible...

Thanks for reading!

Pumpkin

stateside fun!

Here are the states I've visited. Minnesota was just a layover and I've just driven through chunks of Pennsylvania, Kansas and Connecticut without really hanging out there (unless a stop at McDonalds counts--which would probably apply to all of these. And I did buy a shot glass for my sister at the Minneapolis airport so it was official...) UPDATED: July 30, 2008

Enjoy!

MY STATES--let me show you them