my soft spot

just a mom who plays hockey and knits

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

I am Space Mountain

I know, I know, I owe y'all much more of an update. Later, I promise!



What Disney Ride Are You?

Space Mountain

You are cold, dark, and max out at 27 mph (on a good day) You are Space Mountain!!

Personality Test Results

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Quite proud of myself











Modern, Cool Nerd

82 % Nerd, 56% Geek, 30% Dork

For The Record:


A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.



You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd.



Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)!



Congratulations!




Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following:



Buffy the Vampire Slayer




Professional Wrestling






Love & Sexuality




America/Politics




Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST
















My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 99% on nerdiness
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 99% on geekosity
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 99% on dork points




Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The weekend

Friday:
Wow, what the heck happened Friday? I think nothing. K and I sat and crocheted/knitted together. I know; I know.

Saturday:
K went into the City to get ready for a memorial service for a recently passed parishioner. G had a soccer game at 9:30 but the coach had asked us to get there at 9, since the previous Wednesday's practice had been rained out. They set up cones and did some drills and offered Lee's Donuts (top 4 in the SF Bay Area!) to the parents. Maple glazed, yum!

Someone else had also brought coffee. I convinced myself that if I only took a small amount of coffee and added lots of milk that it would be fine. cue the sounds of Doom

The game was against the best team in the division, apparently. They had 1 sub, if any, and were fast and quite skilled. And G's team played like they'd never played before! The final score was probably 4-0, but far better than the 7-0 of 2 weekends ago. It was like these kids got the kick in the butt they'd needed! They all played better than ever, every one of them. G had some wonderful saves at D and nice long kicks up in front... but at nearly the end of the game, took a ball in the stomach. I cradled him and he settled down but didn't want to go back in at all. His coach understood. He did get up to run through the Tunnel Of Parents that the parents make each game. And eat another donut, and his post-game snack.

So with an extra-exciting game and 1/2 cup of real coffee, I was BUZZING for at least an hour. Wow!

When I got home, there was a message from K saying a friend was going to be dropping off her robe, which she'd washed, hung up, and forgotten to bring with her. I had only been able to set up childcare for an hour before the service, so we knew it was going to be tight. oh, man--define 'tight'!

G and I ran like 8 errands and returned home about noon. We both had some lunch and I got my shower in and was actually ready (reread that: actually ready) on time. I even moved stuff into my car that I would need with me (the robe and boxes of tissues for the mourners) before my babysitter arrived, 5 mins late. So when she arrived, I talked to her briefly and headed out, just 5 mins behind schedule.

Anyone remembering that it was Fleet Week in SF? there are those sounds of Doom again.

The 20-30 minute trip took me 50 minutes. I got there at 2:59 for a 3:00 service. My heart was in my throat. At least, for once, I didn't have to beat myself up for running late. I did have to remind myself to breathe a few times. I also went a different way than usual and was quite proud of myself for not getting lost. Phew!

The service was very nice. K did an incredible job welcoming folks from all walks of life, Christian and not. I was really impressed. She guided the service so well and subtly. When it came time for folks to speak, many of them got up and shared wonderful vignettes, some so touching, others so very funny. A couple came in late, through the side door, and I got up to get orders of service for them. My friend R kidded me about being a minister's wife. Yeah, maybe! We ended by singing "Marching in the Light of God," which really is fun to sing. A great way to end.

Downstairs, there was lots of food and I threw together my famous Melted Brie With Green Salsa. It just didn't want to melt (I think I leave the brie out of the fridge before I do it), so we just put it out as is, with a fork to dig into it. One guy actually approached me and shook my hand, he enjoyed it so much. I chatted with several people, including a woman who is part of an every-Monday dinner group (I want to do that!) in the city the mom and her lover live in. K and I passed in the middle of the room and held hands briefly, me being completely unaware that she really hasn't done that in front of her congregation before. Oh, well, it felt natural.

After a while, we headed out to have dinner with the mom and her family at Delancey Street. They were there before us, and had sat so we couldn't be side by side. I was really quite thrown by that. Afterward, we realized it was the right thing: no need to be lovey-dovey at a post-memorial service dinner. At the time, though, I stretched out my foot and curved it around K's for a bit, just for the contact.

Dinner was really good; I had a BBQ combo plate, complete with collard and mustard greens, and a slice of sweet-potato pie, which was placed next to my dinner with a solemn, "This is not dessert." Everything was so, so good. The greens were somewhat spicey (the mom's sister asked to try them and I loaded up her plate with greens and a big slice of the pie; she really appreciated it!) and I think disagreed with me later. They actually tasted mustardy! The pie was perfect. I'd had SPP before and hadn't liked it. This was just sweet enough and just spiced enough. Yum.

Afterward, K drove me to where my car was. We held each other for a while and then parted, as she needed to be ready to run church services the next day.

Sunday:
We got to church just in time to run through the anthem for the last time (a great, welcoming song) and get my robe on. I knew we were leaving early that day, so I cautioned G that he would not be going to Sunday School. He took it well. We sat through the service until the anthem. When it was time for me to go up to sing, he wanted to come with, so I let him, with the caveat that he needed to be quiet and not bug me (from experience, sigh). He did OK until the very end, when he decided it would be a great idea to look up my dress (what possesses a child...?!?). Overall, the anthem went fine. Next was time for Children's Time, which G participated in with gusto (kind of fun to see!). After that, I changed out of my robe and we took off for San Jose.

Google Maps had said it would take 49 mins to get from Alameda to the chapel, and thank God it didn't! We were there barely on time. I was glad to get to see Val baptized, but poor G barely made it through. He was so hungry! We finally left and went downstairs to where the food was to see if there was something he could munch on. The gal there kindly gave us some Cheezits so he could make it through. Phew!

We stayed at the reception long enough to eat some yummy food and see our present opened. Val liked it--I knew she would; I had fun playing with it in the store! It's a 3-segment caterpiller thing with a shiny-mirror butt (hey, it's a kid's toy) and you can twist the sections to make different animals and also to feel a bump-bump-bump kind of sensation. Can't go wrong!

We headed back home to videos (G) and my lovely GF stretched out in my bed (me!). After a while, we packed up and headed to my game, the first of the season with my new team. One of my teammates said she thought we had an unusually strong team. I agree! I still feel like I robbed a candy store. Despite this, we still had a 1-1 tie even after 5 mins of overtime. A great game! Beautifully matched, lots of action, lots of good plays, and not plagued by offsides calls, as is the tradition of first-Green games! I had tons of fun even though I still cannot get over the boards without bruising my inner thighs (any hints?). After stopping at Wendy's, we headed home to bed.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Isn't it "extroverted"?

My god, it's either! I am truly shocked.

Your Personality Cluster is Extraverted Thinking

You are:

Organized and logical - a master at puzzles
Competitive in almost any arena of life
Objective when necessary, but passionate about what you truly love
Intolerant of excuses and incompetence

Ha! That's right.

Tagged by Dharma...

What Your Underwear Says About You

You like to think of yourself as innocent, even though you're not!

You're comfortable in your own skin - and don't care to impress anyone.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

It's been a while

Weekend update--Friday:
Last Friday, K and I went to the Out and About potluck at Temple Sinai and then to services. The potluck was good (lots of hopping up to get drinks and more food, and G was very wiggly) and interesting. There was a blessing on the challah and on the apple juice beforehand. G was very interested in the challah. It was really good. I had made my huge noodle dish that I love to bring to potlucks because it is yummy and vegan. (At some point, I'll type it in.)

Services were good--different cantor than before; beautiful voice. I was taken aback at the Kaddish that was to be said for those who had died in the past week and for those whose death anniversaries were that week, because my friend from college, Aaron Katzman, was in the list. It was a bit of a shock... very unexpected. He is still very much missed. Rest in peace, my friend.

Saturday
The next morning was another soccer game, to which we were very late (not sure why), getting there just after it started. G played really well. The team was soundly beaten (maybe 12-0). The coach did a good job keeping everyone's spirits up (including his own).

Then we went home and really putzed around for a while, finally getting into the City for K's church's book sale right at the end. We still were able to get some good books and spent just under $5. (Oops, now Dharma is going to get on me to thin out my books!)

After the book sale, we packed up and headed home. Can't remember what we did that night.

Sunday
The next day, we headed out early to go to K's church for the services. I really enjoyed it. K had also recruited me to sing with the small choir. Their alto/soprano was very happy to have another voice in the treble clef! She sings like an angel and it was a fun song to sing. G stayed downstairs with the childcare gal the whole time, not wanting to even come upstairs for "the bread and the juice." He made 5 paper airplanes and was quite content.

After coffee hour (and chatting with interesting folks and buying yet more books), we headed home and K showed up soon thereafter. Since Sundays are taxing, she does better with a low-key, restful afternoon, so I set her up in my bed with football on and headed out to a card-making workshop. Unfortunately, I foolishly thought that one hour would be plenty of time (what was I thinking?) and only finished one part (and not well!) of it. But I had a good time and a bonding moment with the hostess, another single mom, when we talked about the balance that we must strike between doing things for ourselves that we love, and doing things for our children that they love.

Headed back home to a sleepy K. Snuggled a bit too long with her and headed out to hockey pretty late... only to hit the worst traffic ever on 880. First, Raiders traffic, then about 4 accidents along the length of the highway. And then when we pulled into the Fremont Ice-o-plex parking lot (it's really Sharks Ice at Fremont, but the other name is more fun to say), I did the math wrong and decided I would get zero ice time if I took time to change into my gear (I was thinking the ice slot was 45 mins, duh! It is always 1:15!), so I left my gear in my car (to G's delight) and just took notes on folks' playing in order to choose a good team. Crossed the freeway to have dinner at Wendy's and Yosh joined us, which was really nice. She and I haven't chatted before, really. (She was our good luck charm last season--we always won when she coached!)

Monday
We held the draft on Monday in Mountain View. I'd forgotten how exciting it is--getting players I'm excited to play with, being excited for the others getting players I enjoy playing with, getting to know the players a little bit better by describing them when someone isn't clear on that person. It's going to be a great season! I am super excited about the team I put together. We headed home and I got G right into bed.