Monday, February 25, 2008
77.78%
Not bad! Way better than last year. I rode the No Country for Old Men train to victory! I lost it with the women. I really had no idea who to choose and guessed. A C+ average.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Oscar perdictions...
Wow! It has been a whole year since I last made Oscar predictions. Wow, a whole year. Here is how I think it is going down.
Actor, leading: Daniel Day Lewis
Actor, Supporting: Javier Bardem
Actress, leading: Julie Christie
Actress, supporting: Saoirse Ronan
Animated feature: Ratatouille
Best picture: No Country for Old Men
Director: Coen brothers
Original screenplay: Juno
Adapted screenplay: No Country for Old Men
to be honest, I haven't seen many of the films listed so this is a best guess. I hope I do better than last year. One trend I have noticed this year was the unhappy ending. I wonder if Hollywood is sick of putting out the same old formula pictures.
One look at my list and it would seem I am in love with No Country for Old Men. I read the book by Cormac McCarthy and the Coen brothers stayed true to his vision which is refreshing because the film is never as good as what you picture in your mind. I hope the Coen brothers win because they are due. I mean these are the guys who made Raising Arizona!
Juno is also heavily favored. I liked the movie but I had a problem with Juno. She is too clever for a 16 year old. No 16 year old is ever that cool and witty and funny all the time. The script was different and I think it will win. But who knows.
All I know is I am excited about the Beckstead's Oscar party. Games, trivia, food, prizes. I hope I can win!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
trash talking
When I failed my motorcycle driving test, Betsy could not believe it. She even called me an idiot and clumsy. I tried to explain the test is not like driving on the road and totally awkward. So this weekend we were scootering around the city enjoying the sun when we stopped in on the DMV. We decided to give it a go even thought they warn against it!
I went first and did better this time. I found the secret, you have to gun it. You need speed to get around the circle. It is like snowboarding. In order to not fall, you have to just point your board down the hill and go for it.
Betsy did ok but totally failed. First off she ran over the cones and went the wrong way around the circle. Her second try she again killed some cones and was wobbly around the circle.
Afterword she admitted the test was difficult. Not hard but awkward and not like anything you ever do on a regular basis when you drive the scooter. Oh well. I guess I have to make another appointment to start the process all over again!
I went first and did better this time. I found the secret, you have to gun it. You need speed to get around the circle. It is like snowboarding. In order to not fall, you have to just point your board down the hill and go for it.
Betsy did ok but totally failed. First off she ran over the cones and went the wrong way around the circle. Her second try she again killed some cones and was wobbly around the circle.
Afterword she admitted the test was difficult. Not hard but awkward and not like anything you ever do on a regular basis when you drive the scooter. Oh well. I guess I have to make another appointment to start the process all over again!
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
1 year...
I bought my scooter 1 year ago last month!!! Wow how time flies. I still think the scooter was the best purchase of my life. Never worrying where you are going to park and filling up your gas tank for $3 never gets old.
In order to handle the power of the Vino 125 one needs a motorcycle license. I went to the DMV before I bought the scooter and picked up a permit. The 2 conditions of the permit are you cannot have passengers and drive at night; which I broke the first day.
So this past December I realized my permit was about to expire so I made an appointment to take my driving test. A huge waste of time.
First off... what is the point of making an appointment when you end up waiting for 1.5 hours anyway?? When I checked in I heard one of the testers saying she was going on break along with her other worker. WTF???
So since I had to wait I was able to check out the course. Here is the top part of the course. The dreaded circle...
So one starts at the beginning of the cones and does a slalom. Then one has to do 2 laps around the circle while keeping your front tire between the lines. Another pass through the cones and then you are congratulations, you passed. Sounds easy right? You have to do this without putting your foot down to balance yourself.
I didn't make it. I put my foot down. The circle is so awkward to navigate on the scooter. I had no idea the road test would be so hard to do. The cone part is easy but the transition to the circle is awkward at best and that is where I lost it. When do you ever go around a circle while driving? How is this a road test? When do I get to dodge a cab that cut me off or some distracted driver that merges into your lane? That would be more realistic than going around a big circle.
So my permit expired because I couldn't make another appointment. So in silent and illegal protest I drive my scooter without one. I just don't want to go back to the DMV and start all over again. They just don't make it easy.
Anyway...
here is a couple of photos, a retrospective of sorts. We start off with our logo...
Betsy and I were so excited to buy helmets that we wore them everywhere!
one of our first adventures was to scoot down to the mission for lunch on a Saturday and then stop by Dolores Park on the way home.
Such a pretty view.
The scooter makes it easy to get around when special events occur. You can get around traffic easy especially when royalty comes to town...
like the Queen Mary II
also easy to get in and out of the game.
there have been countless adventures and I am sure many more!
In order to handle the power of the Vino 125 one needs a motorcycle license. I went to the DMV before I bought the scooter and picked up a permit. The 2 conditions of the permit are you cannot have passengers and drive at night; which I broke the first day.So this past December I realized my permit was about to expire so I made an appointment to take my driving test. A huge waste of time.
First off... what is the point of making an appointment when you end up waiting for 1.5 hours anyway?? When I checked in I heard one of the testers saying she was going on break along with her other worker. WTF???
So since I had to wait I was able to check out the course. Here is the top part of the course. The dreaded circle...
So one starts at the beginning of the cones and does a slalom. Then one has to do 2 laps around the circle while keeping your front tire between the lines. Another pass through the cones and then you are congratulations, you passed. Sounds easy right? You have to do this without putting your foot down to balance yourself.
I didn't make it. I put my foot down. The circle is so awkward to navigate on the scooter. I had no idea the road test would be so hard to do. The cone part is easy but the transition to the circle is awkward at best and that is where I lost it. When do you ever go around a circle while driving? How is this a road test? When do I get to dodge a cab that cut me off or some distracted driver that merges into your lane? That would be more realistic than going around a big circle.
So my permit expired because I couldn't make another appointment. So in silent and illegal protest I drive my scooter without one. I just don't want to go back to the DMV and start all over again. They just don't make it easy.Anyway...
here is a couple of photos, a retrospective of sorts. We start off with our logo...
Betsy and I were so excited to buy helmets that we wore them everywhere!
one of our first adventures was to scoot down to the mission for lunch on a Saturday and then stop by Dolores Park on the way home.
Such a pretty view.
The scooter makes it easy to get around when special events occur. You can get around traffic easy especially when royalty comes to town...
like the Queen Mary II
also easy to get in and out of the game.
there have been countless adventures and I am sure many more!
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Organization...
About 3 weeks ago I finally got around to ordering a planner. I went with the classic Moleskine daily pocket planner. A different page for every day. The one in the photo is the 2007 model but looks the same as the 2008.
I have never thought I was a planner type and therefore very disorganized when it comes to dates. I never have a place to write it down. Kind of a catch-22!
I usually get a planner from my brother every Christmas and use it for approximately 3 weeks before I give up. I asked him last year to stop giving me one since it would be a waste of a good planner. This year I decided to make organization one of my new year's resolutions. I decided the first place to start would be with my day to day life, appointments, meetings, deadlines, etc. Don't even get me started on birthdays. So many dates to remember and now they are in one book!
The main reason for selecting this planner is the new page a day. I can use this planner as a journal to write thoughts and feelings and experiences that I have each day. Perfect because one of my other resolutions this year was journal writing! Perfect.
I have had the planner 3 weeks and I am still going strong. A planner is such a helpful tool. I do not know how I did it before! We'll see if I can keep it going.
I have never thought I was a planner type and therefore very disorganized when it comes to dates. I never have a place to write it down. Kind of a catch-22!
I usually get a planner from my brother every Christmas and use it for approximately 3 weeks before I give up. I asked him last year to stop giving me one since it would be a waste of a good planner. This year I decided to make organization one of my new year's resolutions. I decided the first place to start would be with my day to day life, appointments, meetings, deadlines, etc. Don't even get me started on birthdays. So many dates to remember and now they are in one book!
The main reason for selecting this planner is the new page a day. I can use this planner as a journal to write thoughts and feelings and experiences that I have each day. Perfect because one of my other resolutions this year was journal writing! Perfect.
I have had the planner 3 weeks and I am still going strong. A planner is such a helpful tool. I do not know how I did it before! We'll see if I can keep it going.
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