:: Mindrella's Life ::

:: Saturday, November 08, 2003 ::

Okay, so I'm a day late with this but here are my answers to the Friday Five. Yes, I know I'm jumping on the Friday Five bandwagon but it looks like so much fun!

1. What food do you like that most people hate?

Well that's kind of of a tough one since I'm not picky about my food. I guess I would have to say either okra or limburger cheese.

2. What food do you hate that most people love?

Honeydew. I really don't like honeydew.

3. What famous person, whom many people may find attractive, is most unappealing to you?

Ben Affleck.

4. What famous person, whom many people may find unappealing, do you find attractive?

Telly Savalas (Who loves ya, Baby!) or Yul Brynner (Is a puzzlement!). Don't know why but I have always found something sexy about a bald man. Especially if he's got a nicely shaped head.

5. What popular trend baffles you?

Either tatooing your makeup on your face or branding your skin. Sorry but no one is getting that close to my eyes with a needle, nor are they coming anywhere near me with piece of hot metal to burn something into my skin. *shudders*

Anyway, here's my picture of the day. Enjoy it!


(photo courtesy of C4CB/Michele)

:: Melinda 11:21 PM [+]

Greetings from Mt. Wannahocalugi! Nemo is here! And it's the coolest movie ever!

[picture of fish tank]

So grab shell dude! And join the fun.

[picture of Crush]

Fish are our friends! We do not eat fish!

[picture of Bruce]

[Ed. note: I had pics but for some reason they're not wanting to be seen so I had to go back and delete them so please use your imagination. Darn those little red x's!] By the way, Bruce and Crush ROCK!

Okay, I've calmed down now. Maybe. We'll have to see. The jury still out on that one.

Anyway, I had a blast on Sunday with Christine and Dave at the San Diego Zoo. And it's nice to know that Dave really does exist. And that he's so nice and charming too. You did good girlfriend. Hehehe!

Anyway, Dave and Christine drove down and they had left Long Beach late which was fine. But then the next thing I knew Christine was calling me letting me know that they were waiting for me at the zoo. WTF? Damn! So I hightailed it down there, a whole 10 minute walk. Christine wasn't kidding when she said I lived close. We started by taking the bus tour and learned all kinds of fascinating things. Like did you know that an Alaskan brown bear can run a football field in 6 seconds flat? Or that a giraffe's tongue is black to keep it from gettin sunburned? Or that most species partake in animal dysmorphication or something to that effect. Which basically means that the male species is better looking than the female species. Or that most animals sleep during the day so you can't see them and when you do see them they're just lying there? Except for the jaguar. The beautiful black jaguar. Oh and the pigmy chimps. We spent about an hour watching the pigmy chimps. They were so cute. Or that Christine collects hippos? She cornered the market on all things hippo at the zoo. Who would've thunk it?

Anyway, I have pictures which I'll post as soon as I get them developed. Which will be soon. I hope. I still have Calgary and Portland pictures to develop. SIGH!

Oh and for those of you wondering who that man is in an earlier post -- that is Nick Hoffman, a fabulous fiddle player in Kenny Chesney's band. I think he bears a strong resemblance to some speed skater guy that I run a website for. *wink* Here's another picture for your perusal!


(photo courtesy of C4CB/Michele)

:: Melinda 11:04 PM [+]

Wanted to give everyone a fire update. So far the fires in San Diego are about 75% contained and approximately 728,754 acres have burned (291,501 in SD alone) and roughly 3,000 buildings have been destroyed. Twenty-two people have lost their lives, including firefighter Steve Rucker who's memorial service was held today. The tourist town/hamlet of Cuyamaca is gone and 90% of the residences in that area are gone. These were the figures as of this morning. I'm sure they'll change daily. Here are some more pictures for you.

Cuyamaca:





Firefighters helping to fight the blaze lost their homes too. Here's a firefighter in Cuyamaca going through the rubble of his home:



Alpine:



Julian:



Burned out area of San Diego near Julian/Cuyamaca area:



Anyway, I just thought some of you would want an update on the situation here. I'm not sure how it is north of San Diego near San Bernardino, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear. I do know that the Simi Valley fire is 100% contained which is very good news. I'll have more to update and post later, including my visit to the San Diego Zoo with Christine and Dave. I had a blast and hope they did too.

:: Melinda 12:52 PM [+]

First of all, I want to let everyone know that I'm fine. The fires in San Diego have been awful. At one point San Diego was completely surrounded by fire on all sides except the western side. I woke up Sunday wondering why the light was so weird. It looked like it was getting ready to storm it was so dark. When I got up there were ashes everywhere since all my windows were open. It was really creepy and ominous. Very quiet. No birds or normal sounds. Not even much traffic. Here's a picture of how the sun looked that day:



Here's some pictures of some of the devastation:

Scripps Ranch:





Crest:



El Cajon:



That's just a few. It's been awful. And to think one of the fires was started by a hunter who was lost and fired a signal flare. What the hell was he thinking? At least the weather has changed and it's been cold and rainy which is helping the firefighters out a lot. I had a couple of friends who lost everything. One even joked that he needed to go through things and get rid of stuff. Prophetic if you ask me. Be careful what you wish for. The woman that sits next to me at work kept her house, barely, and only because her husband refused to leave and stayed behind with the garden hose. People! If the police come through and ask you to leave, then leave dammit. I'm sorry but your house isn't worth your life. A lot of people died because they ignored the warnings to evacuate and then got disoriented in the smoke.

Anyway, on a lighter note, I'm finally updating. Things the last couple of months have been crazy even without all the fires. A lot has happened. I have a new job. A new job that I love. At least so far. It's only been a couple of weeks. The jury's still out on that one.

I also went to Portland, Oregon in September to visit Linda J. and Sami and celebrate the opening of their new speed skating club in Vancouver, Washington. Bridie was there, along with Marion Wohlrab. I got to hang out with Bridie, Linda and Sami and had a great time! Bridie is just the best ever. She rocks! NOt only because she's so cool but also because she put up with me for the whole weekend, including sharing a hotel room. Thanks Bridie!

And of course, who can't forget Calgary. I had blast in Calgary. I met so many wonderful new people and got together with old friends that I hadn't seen in a while. It was fun to play catch up with Linda, Junko, Sooz, Steph, Denise, Noelle, Sarah and her daughter Kristen, Erina, Kaori and Tiggie. It was also great to finally meet others like Jennifer Goldman, her daughter Anna, Amanda, Janet, and Kaley. It was especially great to finally meet Bernadette, my soladarity training sister! You're the best Bernadette!

Linda J. and I shared a room. We spent Thursday in Banff, riding the gondola to the summit of Sulfur Mountain to enjoy the view (or lack of it). Met up with some interesting Japanese tourists who took our picture. Relaxed in the hot springs and got a massage. And of course, spent way too much money in the Roots store in Banff. The weather was cold, rainy/snowy. Perfect for the day. We also spent a couple hours at the Calagary Olympic Park and met . . . JIMMY SHEA! Woo hoo! Gotta love that. We stopped because we thought the bobsled ride might be open to the public but were told that the ice was being used for the world cup practice. Then we were watching what we thought was the Canadian skeleton team practice and next thing we know we heard "track clear for Jimmy Shea." Linda grabbed my arm and we were like "no way!" We watched him twice. The second time he came down he didn't go all the way to the end of the ice but walked off to the platform Linda and I were standing on. He was such a nice guy. Asked one of the other sledders (is this the right term?) what his time was. He was so cool and let us take a closer look at his sled and eagle helmet. Anyway that was one of the highlights of my trip.

Anyway, I have more to share but it's late and I'm tired so I'll share more stories later. I promise. Hey, at least I updated. Hugs to all. Oh and here's my picture that makes me smile today. Enjoy!


(photo courtesy of C4CB/Michele)

:: Melinda 1:20 AM [+]