More Positives

8. a reply "thank you for the error and I hope you don't mind that I've capitalized on it."

9. reconnecting "Admit it, You just did it beacuse you were bored and wanted to talk with us all :-)"

10. Amy and I decided last night that this could really be a positive thing in the eyes of recruiters: my mistake is a still a professional one!

And a final summation from a client:

"sounds like one of those Southwest Airlines commercials...Wanna get away?"

And now for positive #7

"at least when you make mistakes you don't send out massive viruses like my mother does"

but I'm not alone!

Okay, so maybe still the only one who ACTUALLY sent out all the emails, but a colleague just sent this reply to my apology:

Hahaha!!! I just signed up and looked at it and saw it was going to email everyone who’s ever emailed me and caught myself – it’s tricky!!!

Email Calamity, or Why I'm Never Importing Contacts Again

So I'm a member of this great professional networking website called Doostang. Today I decided to take a look and see who, of my gmail contacts, was already a member. I only found one or two people that were close enough that I'd actually invite, so I unchecked all the others and clicked "invite".

Unfortunately, what I didn't see, was that under the list of people who were already members of Doostang, there was a list of every email in my gmail contacts--all automatically checked already. Given that I failed to see the names, I didn't UNcheck them, so everybody in my contacts got an invitation to Doostang.

For those of you who don't use gmail, everybody in my contacts means EVERY SINGLE PERSON I HAVE EVER EMAILED. EVER.

Okay, except for those I've taken the time to delete over the years, but I only do that once in a blue moon, so this was a LOT of people. 683 to be exact. I know, because I immedately went to my gmail account and sent an email to everyone in my contacts list apologizing for my idiocy. That itself posed yet another problem. Now gmail thinks I'm a spammer and has blocked me from sending emails for a couple of days.

So I'm mortified. And sincerely apologetic to all of you who received this (although if you need an apology, you probably don't read this blog :)). I've effectively demonstrated that I'm an unhirable idiot who can't even organize her own contacts to all of the company recruiters in my address book. Guess I won't be sending out those applications any time soon. Bah.

I'm trying to look on the bright side, though, so here's my list of positive outcomes:

1. I got a TON of undeliverables and was able to delete those non-working addresses from my contacts.
2. It's vacation time! I received over 25 "out of the office" auto-replies. Enjoy your time!
3. I have rekindled conversations with people that have been off my radar for months, if not years.
4. Not being able to send email means I actually have to do work--which is good in so many ways.
5. I've reminded 683 people that I exist, and some of them even joined my Doostang network.
6. To those of you who think I'm a perfect goddess that can do no wrong...I've now proven to you that I am, in fact, only human.

Again, my apologies to those who received the blitz. Laugh all you want. I deserve it.

German Reds

I just hit the jackpot.

Seriously, I've been searching for something resembling what my family served me since we got back from Germany, and it was under my nose the whole time!

I've gotten my hopes up a few times with a glass or two at Slanted Door or Sociale, but haven't been able to actually buy a bottle. But now!

There is a wine shop, in San Francisco, that sells German wines...RED WINES!!!

Woo Hoo!

Don't think German Reds exist? Check out this article about German Pinots.

Thank God for Good Docs

Mom calls the night before last, upset because she's not feeling well after a recent surgery. She's worried because she's going to miss my nephew's wedding because she doesn't feel well enough to make it down to Texas for the second time in a month. I tell her it's okay. Nephew is too busy worshipping his beautiful new bride to notice anyway, and she saw him three weeks ago for the niece's graduation.

Last night she calls back to tell me she's feeling so much better. Nothing's changed, she just knows she isn't going and everything is okay. She says "something weighing heavily on my chest is gone now".

Then she says, in a "by the way" addition, her CT scan came back clear--before she moves on to other topics.

I nicely refrain from pointing out that the obvious reason she feels so much better--the reason there is no longer a giant pressure on her chest--is because she just found out that she's been clear of cancer for 5 years and is now officially in full remission.

My mother is so subtle.

And cancer free!!!!

Love/Hate Relationships

I've been reading Heather Armstrong's Dooce for a long time, and I've always been intrigued by her relationship with her husband. Today she wrote him the love letter of a lifetime...and one with an ending that could have come straight from my mouth if I were sure enough of myself to say it this way.

This comes at such an appropriate time, as well. Last night, for the first time ever, I spent the night at home alone with Pete away in Vegas. I knew I would miss him, but I was also looking forward to having the bed all to myself. When I got home, though, Sebastien had gotten sick all over the rug. This was his first time ever, and I was a little distraught. But then I encountered a major "I told you so" moment, and I was kinda sad that Pete wasn't there to tell me he told me so.

You see, last week we went to Monte Carlo Night, a benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The open bar led to much drunkeness and at the end of the night I decided all I really wanted was one more glass of champagne and two balloons to take home. I tied two balloons to my chair and asked Pete to watch them while I went to get the champagne. When I came back, one of the balloons was gone. Disappointed, I chided him for not protecting his loved one's cherished items, and I went and got another balloon. Pete, in his logical state, decided it would be a great idea to pop one of my balloons in front of me. He threatened. I begged him not to (that balloon was EVERYTHING, people). I told him I'd be really upset. He laughed and popped my balloon. MY BALLOON!!!! I was so upset and he thought it was all so funny that I just couldn't stand it anymore. So I poured a (clear) drink on him. Afterward I said, "I've always wanted to do that". Pete, justifiably angry, walked away. He came back to get his insulin, but I refused to let him go. So we spent the evening fighting over who was wrong--"it was just a balloon!" "but it was MY balloon and I WANTED it!"--and came home with only one balloon.

Fast forward to the next day after we'd made up because we realized how stupid we were--Sebastien had a strange fascination with the balloon. Now, I expected him to be a little curious, but he chased this thing like it was a giant mosquito invading his territory. After the balloon lost its helium, we found out why. Sebastien wanted to steal the ribbon from the balloon. He really had to have this ribbon, and the fact that it was tied to the balloon made it both more enticing, and easy for him to smell. So I hid the deflated balloon and ribbon in my nightstand (going to the outside trash was too much effort). He waited until I left it open a crack and got the balloon back out. This happened a few times before I finally hid it in another bag of trash. The next day, I found him playing with the ribbon again. I noticed that it looked shorter, but didn't think much of it. I took the balloon to the main trash can to be rid of it for good.

Or what I thought was for good. Because last night when I came home and saw the mess on the floor, the first thing I noticed was what had to be the cause of his sickness. The remnants contained a long piece of curly balloon ribbon.

Pete wasn't there to share in my sadness that our baby had his first upchuck. But more importantly, Pete wasn't there to tell me "I told you so" one of the few times I REALLY deserved to hear it.

And I missed him so much for it.

Thank you, Heather, for your post.

And I love you, Pete :)

Vegas Blogging

Pete's doing live blogging from Vegas this trip. Follow his venture into the World Series here.

Relay For Life

Thank you so much to are supporting my efforts to do my teeny tiny little part to fight cancer. You supporters - from now and in the past - are what make any of this possible.

If you're interested in donating this year, please go to my page.

To find out more about our event, go here.

THANK YOU!!!!

Charity Divided

Autism has long been divided into many camps, with one of the most prominent divisions between those who believe vaccines play a role in causing autism, and those who don't.

Recently, this debate was put into the forefront of autism news when Katie Wright, daughter of the founders of Autism Speaks, made an appearance on Oprah, and later interviewed David Kirby about his book Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic.

Katie was a little brusque in some of her statements, as she asked the old guard to let the new generation explore new potential causes and therapies (such as vaccines and chelation, a treatment for mercury poisoning). Her parents took steps to keep their charity, Autism Speaks (which they began in honor of Katie and her autistic son), separate from Katie's statements. The New York Times reported:

So, in early June, Bob and Suzanne Wright repudiated their daughter on the charity’s Web site. “Katie Wright is not a spokesperson” for the organization, the Wrights said in a brusque statement. Her “personal views differ from ours.” The Wrights also apologized to “valued volunteers” who had been disparaged. Told by friends how cold the rebuke sounded, Mrs. Wright belatedly added a line saying, “Katie is our daughter, and we love her very much.” Ms. Wright called the statement a “character assassination.” She said she had not spoken to her father since.Now the whole community is abuzz amidst the current federal "vaccine court" hearings that are reviewing over 4,000 cases of supposed vaccine-induced autism.

This is an important time in the community. The results of this hearing could effectively shut down the vaccine argument for good...at least in the eyes of the public. After so many past federally funded studies (that David Kirby claims were biased due to political interests) have found that vaccines do not cause autism, this hearing could end up being the final straw. With the community at odds over this cause, a finding against the plaintiffs will cause major waves among parents, politicians, and researchers. A positive finding could finally allow those who believe vaccines do play a role the ability to conduct proper research into possible treatments.

One of the most plausible theories regarding the vaccine theory currently is described in David Kirby's Evidence of Harm. The basic idea is that autism is a set of symptoms associates with many diseases (researchers have agreed on this for many years), and that one of those diseases seems to be a form of mercury poisoning. The vaccines do not affect all children, though. It seems that some children have a genetic predisposition toward the effects because they are not able to properly process the mercury and other environmental contaminants. In those children, vaccines do seem to cause the autism.

To me, this means that the research does need to be directed at both environmental and genetic factors--both because these vaccine cases only represent a portion of children with autism and because even these cases seem to have a genetic component. It's just that because research into vaccines has been pushed to the backburner, those who believe in it have to have a bigger voice.

The debate currently going on is ludicrous, but will undoubtedly have a major effect on research that continues after the ongoing hearings.

Riding the Charity High

Not only does it look like pure altruism might truly exist, we might just be prewired for it:

That good feeling you get by writing a check to your favorite charity could be your brain patting itself on the back.

Reporting in Friday's issue of the journal Science, a team of economists and psychologists at the University of Oregon have found that donating money to charity activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure.

The study represents a major advance in the young field of neuroeconomics, a collaboration between economists and psychologists to determine how the brain directs the way people handle money.

Read the whole article at the Chicago Tribune.

The Bitter End

Being slightly obsessed with Lily Allen's CD finally had a positive effect other than making me smile at the bumbling idiocy of most of the men I know. (I love you, honey!) :) Last night, for the first time ever, I contributed to the music round of trivia at The Bitter End.

Not only did I contribute, but we organized a stellar team. Our team name won and got us all free shots. And then...after much fighting over answers and blame throwing at mistakes...we WON!!!!

We friggin WON Bitter End Trivia!!!!! We got a whole $30! Which, split 7 ways meant that we got our pitchers for free pretty much.

Pretty dern cool, eh?

I'm so proud of us!!!

Let It Out

Okay, so admittedly, I watch too much TV. The thing is, though, I rarely see commercials because we watch everything on DVR. It's odd, then, that one of my favorite commercials as of late would end up being such a big deal.

If you watch tv, and if you ever watch without bleeping through the ads, you may very well have seen the recent Kleenex campaign. I like it because it's sweet, and because it seems to be indicative of the state of our country during Iraq and Katrina recovery.

The ads take place in a city, with a person sitting on a chair just listening to people. The people are random city dwellers who sit, talk, rant, lie down, and cry during these mini therapy sessions. The song playing in background persuades consumers to "Let It Out". Life is tough, Kleenex will be there for you when you need to bawl some of that emotion out.

Turns out, that song is from a band called Starr Fadu. Starr Fadu is important because they are a Christian rock band from Springfield, MO, and one of the members is none other than my good friend and first boyfriend ever (he held hands so well and I broke up with him mostly because he was a smelly boy) Dave.

Anyway, there are sooo many cool places where this is popping up now. Check it out:

Kleenex commercials and StarrFadu songs and info: Starr Fadu MySpace Page

Starr Fadu's Website

Send an "I love everything about you" card from Hallmark with "Let It Out" in the background.

Congratulations, Guys!!!!!

What is love?

Amy sent me a very poignant email the other day. I thought I'd share:

So I’m listening to a trial run of xm satellite radio on my computer at work and Akon “I want to fuck you” comes on, but it’s the edited version, and in the edited version, they have substituted the word “love” for “fuck” rather than “I want to fuck you” they say “I want to love you”

Is this sending the message to today’s youth that love = fucking? Horrible.

Help Green Apple give a book to a KID!

It's a KID...with a BOOK...you really can't say no to this one.


Details:

To celebrate our 40th year in San Francisco, Green Apple (with your support, we hope) will donate a $10 gift card to every public school 3rd-grader in San Francisco during the 2007-2008 school year. That's almost 4,000 kids in 77 schools.

Yeah, we're like drug dealers, but with books: first one's free, kid.



Here's how you can help us with this ambitious undertaking:
1) Donate your used book trade and Green Apple will match your contribution.
2) You can buy trade: $1 gets you $2 worth of trade to donate.

The donation bin is located at the buy counter in the main store. We thank you in advance for helping us nurture the next generation of book lovers and create some excitement about the joys of reading.

Vote for Janet!!!!

This LOVELY Girl wants to be the next radio personality on her local station in Denver.


YOU can help make that happen.


Please go to the station page and vote for Janet Blair!



Thank you!!!!!



btw...Jan just happens to have known me since we were 5, so if you help her out she just might offer some embarrassing stories in return.

Brats on Buses

I frequently ride MUNI home with a whole gang of teenagers from local high schools who are really total assholes and shouldn't be granted access to public transit at all. Actually, I take that back. I think the boys are fine as long as they are alone, and girls are fine in groups of two. MUNI...do you hear that? if there is one 12 yr old boy on your bus, nobody else of that age should be allowed on!

I'm not the only one who doesn't like this experience:

When Kids Invade MUNI

I'm in Heaven

And CANNOT WAIT to go see this guy!