The power of the 'net

I am following a discussion list thread on my favorite social networking site, Yelp. I think I'm addicted to this freaking site, but that is the topic for another blog entry. : )

Yelp has this feature called, "talk". Anyone who is a Yelp member (free of course) can post topics for discussion, open to public viewing and response by other members. I love it. I have seen some random posts like, "what should I cook for dinner?", "Things to say to the UPS man" or even a recent post, "I just got dumped via text message". I find myself getting sucked into the most obscure topics of discussion. It fascinates me the power of the internet to facilitate such discussions and of course the key driver here is that folks aren't "discussing" face-to-face.

As such, you can imagine there are many pretty risque conversations which develop....

A couple of weeks ago, a woman posted a talk entry titled, "Help find Bongo!! Please!!". With your profile, you can include a picture and next to this woman's entry displayed the most adorable fluffy white with black patches dog. Naturally, I had to read the thread.

Apparently this woman went on a trip to Florida. Her dog, Bongo, missing her so, went on a mission to find her. She learned that the dog had run away while away in Florida. Feeling helpless 3000 miles away, she posted on Yelp to request the assistance of other San Franciscan Yelpers to aid in her search. This posting triggered hundreds of Yelpers to respond, offer condolences, and promises to help find Bongo. I added my two cents: something along the lines of, "as a dog owner, my heart goes out to you... blah blah blah".

I found myself continually searching for the thread to see if any new updates had emerged. It almost became an obsession. And I wasn't alone, I started to see the same members writing in snippets of good thoughts and suggestions, "put up fliers at all of the dog parks", "Bongo will be back, keep the faith".

Although I'm sure Bongo's mommy will not be content until Bongo is safe and sound at home, but I'm sure it must be a great feeling to continually receive such support.

The other day, I found a new feature on Yelp Talk!.... it's a little check box for each topic enabling you to be emailed anytime a new entry is posted. Nice! So, I added checked the box for Bongo's thread. Now I get the replies sent directly in my inbox.

Now, every time I get a message from Yelp re: "Help Find Bongo!!" I have to stop everything I'm doing to see if Bongo has been found. Obsessive ? A bit. But, come on, these days with technology and the internet changing the way people work and interact socially, any means toward a sense of community is a good thing in my opinion.

It's been two weeks, so I'm sure either Bongo has a new home or he's in doggy heaven, but I am still thinking positively for Bongo and his mommy.

Panic Attack!

Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a wee bit, but I am nervous.

I am signed up for a poker tournament tonight and my palms are already sweaty just thinking about it. Poker is just not my thing. Unfortunately, it IS my wonderful husband's THING as well as my boss' THING.

My boss hosts a bi-monthly poker tourney at his home and it is pretty much a requirement that I attend. I would have a blast if I could simply show up, drink some wine and pal around with the fun (mostly men) poker players.

Unfortunately that kind of behavior is poo-poo'd and I must play. I can honestly think of dozens of not-so-fun activies I'd rather be doing than play poker: scrub my bathroom floor and toilet, clean the garage, write an essay on the history of Lithuania...

I am just not good at any of the skills associated with being a good poker player: counting cards, probability, keeping track of which card combinations are better than others, BLUFFING... the whole situation just unnerves me.

I have a little "cheat sheet" in front of me that I'm trying to memorize for tonight. Here are the hands that I should bet on - any pair, any suited connector (7 & 8 of diamonds), any suite Ace (Ace & 3 of clubs), any Ace + a 10, Jack, Queen or King. Can I write this on my palm for reference tonight?

Even if I could memorize all the "rules", when it comes around to my turn, I always need to pause and think before I make a move. The others start rolling their eyes which makes me even more nervous. Then, since I don't really know what I'm doing and I'm pretty much whinging it... I'll make bonehead moves. Randomly I'll decide, "hey, maybe I can bluff and win this hand?" Of course, it never works out to my advantage.

My performance at these poker parties agitates my husband to no end. He does not understand my lack of interest or ability in this game. We have had some of our nastiest fights on the drive home from these poker parties. Dude, aren't there more important things in life to care about?!?!?

Like I said, Poker is not my thing. Wish me luck guys!

What's Normal?

Definitely not me!

It's funny, we spend much of our younger years trying to fit in and to "be normal"...

Then we grow up, develop our unique styles and personalities. We then work extra hard to demonstrate what makes us different from everyone else. We no longer want to be a face in the crowd, but instead, someone "special".

I've been thinking a lot about the term "normal" because for the past few months, I've wanted desperately to be "normal". Let me add some context... I seem to be inflicted with some kind of (medical?) condition and my body is just not cooperating when it comes to, oh, let's just say, the basic female functions. I have doctors helping me but everyone is scratching their heads and I am starting to feel like a freak!! Well not really... but it does cross my mind. : )

I know I'm not alone. I google my symptoms and read tons of blogs, discussion lists, articles, etc. and I know that there are many women out there going through similar issues... to be honest, most of the stories I have read describe situations that are much worse than mine!

All I can do is keep thinking positively and forge ahead. Hopefully I can get back to "normal"sometime soon!

Haters

There is a mean man on a bike who yells at Lucy every morning. It makes me furious as you can imagine.

This man does not like the fact that Lucy is off leash, never mind it is 5:30am and there is nobody around.

What a bully! She's 2o pounds to his 200 pounds (I'm guessing). He rides his bike without a headlight and feels like it is his right to yell at dogs. A dog who does not make the decision as to whether or not it should be off leash.

I would feel better if he yelled at me. You'd think he'd feel like a complete nincompoop for yelling at such a small dog.

Every morning, this man scares me as he comes out of nowhere, barrelling down the trail. With my headphones on, I usually don't hear him until he is whizzing by screaming at Lucy to get out of the way. NOTE: Lucy is never ever ON the paved trail, instead she's off trail, sniffing other dog smells, chasing squirrels and exploring.

For the most part, the folks we meet on our trail take one look at Lucy and quite simply, fall in love. There are exceptions.

Bike Bully is the worst.... but there are others who do not embrace the sweetness, cuteness and eager-to-please-ness that is Lucy.

There is the chubby Cub's fan who yells at ME (thank you) because Lucy "aggravates" her two pit bulls (!!) -- personally I think she's just mad cause she's struggling so hard to jog. There is the group of little old silver haired ladies who took one look at Lucy and decided they just did not like her.

I used to either yell back or put on my stoniest face and forge on, but I'm getting better. When I see these haters, I'll now put Lucy on her leash. Unfortunately, the bike bully is probably going to have to continue to yell, as I never have enough advance notice to do anything about it.

All I can say is Karma, people. Watch out.

Here we go again

SOMEHOW the Giants managed to load up the bases.... BUT, there are two outs and Matt Cain, the pitcher, is hitting. I can only Laugh out Loud. Of COURSE he strikes out.

I have a sinking feeling I'll witness many similar situations throughout this season.

Are the Gods punishing Giants fans for....something? Did we poke too much fun at the Dodgers during the times when THEY were terrible and nowkarma is kicking us in the butt?

Guess the good news is Cain is a rockstar and he makes watching the Giants tolerable.

The Black Thumb

I bought a small hyacinth plant 2 weeks ago. The beautiful pink and peach flower called out to me. Every day, for the past two weeks, I've been carefully tending to my plant.... directions say it needs bright light, so my plant resides on the window sill in the kitchen where it should get the most sunlight of any other place in the house. I have been giving my plant approx. 3 tablespoons of a water/plant food mixture just to keep the soil moist, as per the directions.

Every morning, I've anxiously tended to my plant... with much trepidation. You see, I have never been very successful at keeping a plant alive. Ever.

In fact two weeks is probably a record for me.

Sure enough, this morning, I noticed the tell-tale signs of a plant that is dying.... the leaves are turning a bit yellow and the flower is showing signs of wilting.

(sigh)

Maybe I am better off sticking to technology.

Perspective

I just learned that a good friend of mine lost her ex-husband over the weekend. Apparently, he went skiing during a work trip to Denver. He went down a slope and didn't make it down alive. They are doing an autopsy but they speculate he had a heart attack. I heard the news 1/2 hour ago and I am sitting here with the chills and I can't focus on the work I should be doing.

My friend was in Hawaii at the time she got the news. She and her two daughters (age 17 and 13) had made plans for a fun-filled week away during Spring Break. I'm glad they are all together but what a shocking and tragic turn of events.

I met him last Sunday after she and I had gone hiking. He had suggested a hike the two of us should do in the future. I recall thinking, "what a pleasant, personable guy!", which surprised me because you never expect to like your friends' exes. He also seemed like a very healthy person...

My heart goes out to her daughters. I know exactly what's in store for them.... a future of wishing their dad "could see them now" at every juncture in their lives.

I feel a bit petty and shallow for my previous blog, written about an hour before I got the news. Gotta keep perspective. Life is precious.

Sucked in again

Those of you who read my blog regularly have a pretty good idea of my current frame of mind towards the Giants. I have not been looking forward to the start of this season.

Today, I happened to turn on the TV as I planned to squeeze in a quick workout on my elliptical machine at lunch. Oh, that's right! It's opening day at Dodger's Stadium today. Like a rubber necker driving by an accident scene, I could not resist keeping the game on in the background.

Within 5 minutes, I felt the surge of emotions return as I took in the green grass, blue skies, excited fans in the stands (even THOUGH it was Dodger Stadium). Baseball is back. No matter how much I rant & rave, scream, punch my pillow and blog with fierceness, I can't change the fact that I love this freaking sport and the Giants are my team.

MY TEAM.... That's right. OMG, they stink. It's now the 7th inning and they are losing 7 to NOTHING. I don't think any of them knows how to hit a ball.

Oh, it's gonna be a long season. The good news is I should get some good (angry) workouts in!