« December 2005 | Main | February 2006 »

January 31, 2006

180 makeover

The makeover when better than ever imagined. It was a total blast. He was open to whatever. We didn't over do anything, but just changed up the style of jeans, got him a smaller t-shirt and some new shoes. He looks totally different though.

Kit and I were very proud of ourselves


Posted by layla at 7:46 PM | Comments (1)

January 30, 2006

Makeover

Tonight a friend, Kit, and I went out shopping ... for a different friend. Tomorrow is going to be awesome. We convinced the other friend, Rich, to let us give him a makeover. Kit and I are very excited.

For those of you who don't know Rich, he dresses like a computer science major — without caring. Everyday it is the same tapered jeans, a tucked in t-shirt and a flannel over it. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the black plether velcro shoes. You get my point, clothing is just not high on the priority list.

After a conversation where he said he relates to George from Seinfeld he agreed to let us pick out some new clothes for him. Since he wants us all to go out to Capitol Hill, we have a great chance to try out our fashion picks. Haha, we should be professional shoppers!

It is just really exciting, because I think it will give him an all new confidance.

Posted by layla at 10:34 PM | Comments (1)

January 29, 2006

Cat in the Hat Bag

Aleph, one of our cats, loves bags. If we leave a bag on the floor, with in moments, Aleph is in it. As a treat we always leave one out for awhile after we go grocery shopping. Once he is in a bag, he is so content, that we can pick him up and carry him around the house.



Really, he is happy with boxes, buckets and bags, but you get the point. What a silly kitty.

Posted by layla at 8:27 PM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2006

Feeling crafty

I spent a good portion on my day (after coffee and the gym) getting things to make invitations. I have gotten everything I need and have even started a bit. Oh, I just remembered, I forgot to get stamps. Anyways, I am having fun adding touches to the Bridal Shower invitations. They should be done and mailed by end of day tomorrow.

I can't say anything about them here, because it would spoil the surprise. So all I am going to say is brown with puke green polka-dots and plaid everywhere! Oh yeah, baby.

Posted by layla at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)

January 27, 2006

Don't click

Today at work I was sent a pretty neat link. Before I give you the link, I should probably explain. Otherwise you probably wont trust it.

It is an interactive site which allows you to experience navigation without mouse clicking. I really enjoy it. I really recommend that you check out http://www.dontclick.it/ .

Since I work in an area that thinks about alternative input, this was particularly interesting to me.


Posted by layla at 7:06 PM | Comments (1)

January 26, 2006

The pessimist

Everyone knows at least one — the self-righteous, pompous, pessimist. You know what I mean. Those who thing they are elite because they can trash talk. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great ways to use the skill of finding weakness in just about anything.

I just realized, some of you reading this probably think I am talking about you. Not super likely. I am not really talking about anyone specifically. I have just come to a point in my life that I have realized that I have lost respect for people who are constantly negative and bitchy. Sure sure, everyone has moods and pet peeves. Still, there are people who I can't picture saying something positive. I have gotten to the point that I no longer listen. I don't like zoning people out, but I am not perfect either.

So many people waste time standing for something, instead of doing something useful. Then the same person can wonder why they don't get more out of life. Maybe if they spent more time being useful and less time saying how useless others are. Oh look, I too can complain. Whatever, to each his own.

I just don't understand how people can have happy and fulfilled lives if they always take the selfish or whiney path. Wait a minute ... no wonder so many people are unhappy.

Posted by layla at 8:23 PM | Comments (3)

January 25, 2006

The Red Violin

It came out in 1998, but I just watched it tonight. I had heard it was good awhile back, but had no motivation to go out of my way to watch it. Then last week my boss walked into my office, handed me the movie, and said I should watch it.

Let me digress for a moment. My boss bringing me a random movie to borrow is by no means odd. This is at least the third time he has done that. So far he has been 2/3 for good ones. A la folie ... pas du tout (aka. Love me ... love me not) was great. Pitch Black, however, was not. Anyways, Le Violon Rouge (aka. The Red Violin) was the tie breaker.

In case anyone has not seen it and hates for movies to be given away, I won't say much. I will say that the story really is the story of the violin — a magnificent red violin. Traveling back and forth through time exploring the life of the violin, the story of each person along the way is also told.

It's a good movie, filled with music. One other note is that the story is told in five languages — very neat.

Posted by layla at 8:40 PM | Comments (6)

January 24, 2006

Bio

Tonight I won't be writing an actual post. Instead I want to point out that I wrote a bio for my page. For those of you reading this through syndication, you will have to go to my actual site to see it. The link is located on the right column (under archives).

So I have heard it is important for a blog writer to post a bio. A bit late, but there, now I have a bio.

Posted by layla at 9:06 PM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2006

More trips to NM

My goodness. I really hadn't planned on visiting NM all that much after moving to WA. I don't mind at all that I will be going back a bunch, I just had never imagined anything bringing me back there.

So far I will be in NM in March, April and maybe June or July and even possibly October. Wow, I need to get on a frequent flyer program. So, can you guess what could possibly get me back to NM all these times?

Weddings. Yep, every single time.

March and April, are different events for the same wedding. These trips I have known about and I am super excited about. I am the maid of honor — so yay, very exciting! (Congrats Meghan and Augustine).

Dan was invited to a wedding in June and then Keith and Abigail are getting married in October. These are all things that I already knew about. This morning though, I got a call (text msg first) that a very dear friend of mine is getting married this summer. They haven't set the date, but wanted to let me know right away because they really want me there.

I never thought I would be so excited to go back to NM.


Posted by layla at 8:08 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2006

Choo choo

What more can I say. He loves planes, trains and automobiles.




Posted by layla at 8:17 PM | Comments (1)

January 21, 2006

Neat things about the RAV4

As you know by now, I just got a new 2006 RAV4. Here are a few of the neat things about this car.

Umm, yeah. There are more things, but there is a start. Most of all it is awesome because it no longer lives on a car lot!

Posted by layla at 7:50 PM | Comments (1)

January 20, 2006

Plates please

When I bought the Benz over a month ago, I was given a temp tag until my license came in. A couple of weeks ago, the guy I bought it from called to tell me that my plates arrived. Since I got the car in Snohomish, I asked if he could just mail them to me. He gladly agreed, commenting that he had others to send as well.

Today Dan called them to ask if they had ever been sent. Apparently not! They found my plates in a stack of paperwork. So it looks like I am going to drive to Snohomish tomorrow. Good thing I have a car than runs.


Posted by layla at 8:54 PM | Comments (1)

January 19, 2006

The teasing

Dan called me a nut. A car nut that is. Well, it seems other people agree. Today at work I got teased a bit. It was all completely nice and joking, though. At least half of the responses people had when they found out I bought a new car was ... you went from one car to no car up to two cars. The other half said ... you [Dan included] went from three cars to one car back to three cars. Everyone liked my car, but I had to get the required teasing anyways.


Posted by layla at 8:59 PM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2006

Another car part 2

I just drove home another car. Really, I wasn't planning on buying one today. Yes, I know that is what I said last time.

We literally just got back from dinner which we had right after buying the car. Come to think of it, we went straight to the dealership from work. Wow, what a day. My point is, I haven't had time to take pictures of my actual car.


Not my actual car


As you can tell (from the generic picture) the RAV4 won. We went to Honda twice. That was pointless. We went in and sat in the cars for at least an hour and no one even asked if we wanted help. On the other hand, the Toyota guys were all very nice and helpful. It took awhile to wheel and deal, but clearly they gave us a deal that was worth it.

I really like it — it has everything. The outside is black and the interior is dark charcoal. It has the sport body, so it has beefy tires. As for features, it has just about everything. Of course it is 4wheel drive. Oh yeah, it also has a sunroof.

Posted by layla at 10:10 PM | Comments (12)

January 17, 2006

Windows Live Messenger Beta Invites

I have a few extra Windows Live Messenger Beta Invites. If you would like one let me know. You can also just sign up and wait until they expand the Beta and give you the download. There are a few features are that are not in most im programs (like voice chat). Anyways, first come first serve.

Posted by layla at 8:24 PM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2006

Goofy Goober

I don't know why, but we decided to watch Spongebob Squarepants the Movie. What a weird movie. I have to give it credit; there were some pretty funny parts. There was more Hasslehoff than anyone needs, but that wasn't the worst part.

Dan and I have each had this damn song stuck in our heads. "Oh, I'm a goofy goober yeah. You're a goofy goober yeah. We're all goofy goobers yeah. Goofy goofy goofy goober yeah!" Maybe it will be stuck in your head instead now.

Posted by layla at 7:48 PM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2006

Another car

The 3 is broken again and the Benz still needs some tuning to work, much less be a reliable car. So, I find myself thinking that I should buy a really dependable car. Dan of course loves his BMW and I still think the Mercedes is a great car, but there are several useful purposes that neither of them fulfills.

Aside from reliability we currently don’t have a solution for moving all of our stuff (which will have to happen in a few months). We also don’t have a very comfortable way to fit many people. A 4 wheel drive option would also be nice.

Ok, so there is the frame of mind. We were originally talking about a used 4Runner. They are pretty reliable cars. I am kind of at the point thought that I like the idea of having one new car — something that we don’t have to wonder about at all. Not only the fear factor or buying used, but having a little more flexibility in the car adds bonus points to a new car.

As for new cars here are the three we went and looked at today.


Toyota RAV4

Honda Element

Honda CR-V

So far, I like the RAV4. I think all told it will be a bit more than the others though. Any thoughts on these or other comparable vehicles?

Posted by layla at 5:47 PM | Comments (8)

January 14, 2006

Who needs the real sun?

Last night we tried out my new alarm clock. It worked perfectly for both of us. By this I mean that I woke up shortly into the sunrise and Dan slept right through it. I like getting up first so this is perfect because I can set it for whenever I want to get up and not have to worry if Dan would rather sleep in. Victory is mine!

Posted by layla at 5:34 PM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2006

Alarm clock part 2

A few hours ago I picked up the new sunrise alarm clock I ordered. The thing is smaller and goofier than anticipated. The functionality is also a bit wacky.

For starters, every image of this thing looks like a globe — it is half of a globe. Some of the buttons indicate if they are toggled and some don't. It is not impossible to figure out or overly cluttered for the number of excessive modes and settings. Nevertheless, Dan and I both agree that it is worth much less than the cost based on parts and product.

Even with all of those downsides. I am excited to try it out. It may be lame, but the chance that it does its function well is worth it.

Posted by layla at 8:49 PM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2006

Thoughts on work

If you know me you probably know that I love my job and I have complete loyalty to my company. There are days where those feelings carry over from past days. Most aspects of my work environment have qualities that I just enjoy. I work with a massive number of the best and the brightest. I respect every level of management that I work under. Not to mention we create and use amazing technologies. This barely touches on the list of reasons I love working for Microsoft.

These are all things that I have known for awhile. Today, however, I have an even greater feeling of pride working here. Maybe it is due to the caliber of people that I have met in the past few days. Perhaps it is that I truly believe that there is no other company that I would rather work for. I tried to picture my dream job and I can’t help but think that I am on the right path. Even if I decide to change fields one day I imagine that I would look here before even considering anywhere else. I say this as a computer scientist and as a woman — I work at a great place.

Posted by layla at 9:22 PM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2006

Conf. day 2

Finishing the second day of the conference and still having one more, my mind is still a bit immersed in the whole thing. Overall so far, I have been highly impressed. The content has been geared towards providing pertinent information in an empowering tone. How could it have not been empowering? Well, I don't feel empowered when people sit around playing the blame game. Thank God that this wasn't the tone. This conference makes me even more proud of the company that I work for.

Plain and simple, yes there are gender discrimination issues, but we are making great progress ... true progress has to be a joint effort though. It was actually discussed (these are my words though) that women folding their arms and waiting for things to be fixed or fighting for others to make people fix it does very little. You (each of us) have to take the initiative to lay your own path the best that you can.

Most of this came out more in the fact that actual skills, needed by both men and women, were taught. What makes it focused towards women? A few things. For one, most of the skills are ones that in general men have more naturally. The other aspect is networking and sharing stories between 5,000 women allows for networking to occur in a different manner than our normal work environments.

The talks that I have heard have been quite wonderful. I still have thoughts from the day in my head. Here are a few. This may seem obvious and they aren't new thoughts to go through my head, but I feel a revived sense of belief in a few things that I have taken away so far:

Oh yea, I also got a few new books, including: Never Eat Alone and Women Don't Ask


Posted by layla at 8:10 PM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2006

Lounge time

As you know, today was the first of a three day conference that I am attending. True, I could talk about it here tonight, but I am not going to right now. It was exhilarating — even more so than I had expected. One thing about conferences packed with new information and exciting people to meet ... it leaves you tired at the end of the day.

So, in honor of wanting to lounge around here is a picture of my three favorite boys doing just that.



Aren't they cute!

Posted by layla at 9:12 PM | Comments (0)

January 9, 2006

Women in the work place

Again.

For the next three days at work I will be attending the annual Microsoft Women's Conference. I really like the idea of empowering women to learn the skills needed to be successful. Basically, give information and techniques for women to level the playing field without paving the way for every woman just based on gender. As I do believe that there are times when women are not getting the jobs (or pay) they deserve, I think there are men who end up getting deprived of a job they deserve because of some quota of women needed. Even just today, I heard a news article say that 57% of college students in America are women. Where is the inequality? Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.

Ah, yes, the conference. First of all I think Microsoft does an amazing job of recruiting some of the top men and women so I don't see a lot of issue — they all seem as though they have earned their jobs. It is also powerful to see that most of the speakers are all very successful women. There are some men, but most of the speakers are women in this case. Based on the topics it is really focus on giving the flat out information on what ca be done to succeed. The conference is open to men and women that work at Microsoft, but the content is focused on areas which women tend to need more work on (in general). There are a huge number of available sessions of which I have signed up for the ones that appeal most to me. We will see what I take from each, but I am really looking forward to it.

The fact is most men and women do work differently in many ways. A rough guess and men and women each have about equal the amount of natural traits that work well for jobx. This doesn't mean that men and women can't act the same, nor do I think they have to work the same. I do however also think that there are things that each men and women don't do as well as the other naturally. I think it is great to develop the areas that don't come as naturally. This goes for men and women.

Women, if you aren't getting the pay you deserve, take a close look and see if there are things that you can do (without changing who you are) to stand out. Maybe it is just a lack of confidence, or needing to be more forthcoming. If you are sure that it has nothing to do with how you do the job, take it up with someone who has the power to change it if you can't.

Men, if you are sick of waiting in line while the girl quota gets filled ... all I can really say is I hope it doesn't make you bitter. You may want to work on rounding out your skills as well. Unfortunately, many people who feel they have been mistreated don't really want equality, but preferential treatment, so there will always be a few fighting for more. On the upside, there are many many women who are proud to achieve success without the path being made for them. This at least goes for America, in my opinion. Again, I am all for equal treatment, but I think people tend to re-define equal to favor themselves far too often. To me, this means that all the zealots ruin it for the genuine people who deserve the better treatment, by causing resentment.

Damn, I guess I got back on my soapbox. Ah, anyways, I know what it is like to have times where I work twice as hard as someone else and get have the recognition, but I also know there are times where I have excelled without effort and gotten all the glory. Neither moment is any more or less important over all.

One last question ... would people get away with wearing slogans that say: Guys rule, Girls drool?


Posted by layla at 8:14 PM | Comments (5)

January 8, 2006

Listen while you work

It seems like I never have time to read. Or rather, I never put reading high enough on my list of priorities to get a large amount of reading done. Take for example Plato's Republic. I bought that book almost a year ago and I never get around to reading it.

For me, I cannot multi-task when I read — some can, I cannot. Whenever I do take the time to read it is either because I am bored and feeling lazy (which doesn't last long) or else I end up feeling like I should be doing something more useful.

Anyways, after Dan and I listened to Freakonomics on our drive, I have gotten into listening to books while I am doing other things that have to be done. So, while I am doing things like cleaning I can get to those books that I never seem to have time for.

Today, while I did all the things around the house that I needed to do anyways, I listened to the first three books of The Republic.

Posted by layla at 7:13 PM | Comments (9)

January 7, 2006

Virtual Spiders

I just watched a clip, Overcoming Arachnophobia, on Today linked from http://video.msn.com. First off, I have to admit that I watch msn videos all the time now. It is a great alternative to having TV.

Anyways, back to the point. Half paying attention, I heard Seattle, so I started paying attention. It turns out that there is a guy, Hunter Hoffman who specializes in helping people overcome their fears of spiders. I am not afraid of spiders, nor do I know anyone who is, but the process was intriguing.

Hoffman uses virtual spiders to get people to confront the fear. Both his studies and other studies at The Human Interface Technology Lab in Seattle have range of applications. Another area of work is in pain control.

Yet another thing going on in WA.

Posted by layla at 7:25 PM | Comments (2)

January 6, 2006

Gelatin slices

I must admit, this is not my original idea (I saw it on an msn clip) but I am passing it along since I have tried it out. What you are looking at in this picture are not orange slices. That's jello gelatin. Hmm, jello is the brand not the food, right?

These particular ones are alcohol free, but they could be great jello shots. No need to waste the little cups!

So, here's what you need:

The steps:

It might even be neat to use a different fruit juice to make red or blue orange slices. Anyways, it was fun.


Posted by layla at 6:44 PM | Comments (2)

January 5, 2006

More about live.com

Live.com is more than a website — more than what I mentioned before. It really encompasses a whole slue of greatness. My newest excitement about it is that my windows live beta mail account went into effect today.

If you have a hotmail account I urge you to sign up. It is so simple and you can just use you already existing account. You just magically get a nice clean layout and much more space. Not to mention all the functional improvements. It just works so well.

Posted by layla at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)

January 4, 2006

Rise and shine

Well, not right now — it's night time. Oh, but soon there will be shining when I rise. Many of you probably take sunlight in the morning for granted.

Before I continue, I must point out that we do get sun up here in WA. True there are days without it, but not many. The only problem is in the winter the days are so short that if I wake up with the sunrise I have no hope of getting anything done in the morning.

Most people would just use an alarm clock. I hate alarm clocks. Every time I have to wake up to a jolting beep I just don't feel right all day. Awhile back (weeks?) I started looking at the sunrise light alarm clocks. They aren't cheep and I decided to just deal with it and sleep in everyday.

Tonight, I changed my mind — and I ordered one.

Posted by layla at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)

January 3, 2006

1 workout complete

Although my gym membership started on the 1st, my first workout was today. Before I tell you about today, I have to explain the delay. On the first I was getting over a cold. Yesterday though, I went to the gym to get my membership card, but I did not workout because I didn't know how to use the lockers.

As Dan and I found out this morning, it turns out that the lockers are quite neat. They are the one-time programmable combo locks. Wow, the locks are just the beginning of the awesomeness of the pro club. I still have only seen a small portion of it at that. I have a tour scheduled for Thursday. Yes, that's right a tour of the gym.

Not only do they have rooms and rooms or rows and rows of machines, they do things that you wouldn't even expect from a gym. They have everything from dry-cleaning services to half-price wine bottles on Tuesday nights. I don't know what drinking wine or getting you clothes cleaned has to do with the gym, but whatever.

Posted by layla at 9:46 PM | Comments (1)

January 2, 2006

Happy New Year

It feels as though things have finally settled down after the holidays. The last couple of weeks have been filled with everything from family and seeing family to car issues to staying home with a cold. It seems like last year left in a whirl wind. Today, however, two days into the new year and all is well.

This year I didn't make any resolutions per se. I am still using the convenience of a new year to re-organize. Not to mention the new gym membership. Hmm, I guess the difference is just how I associate the goal.

Anyways, in honor of being stress free in the new year ... tonight’s post is just a picture of the lovely flowers Dan gave me yesterday. What a nice way to start the new year.



Oh, and incase you are wondering, I am very aware that I am a day late.

Posted by layla at 8:16 PM | Comments (0)

January 1, 2006

Tofu in-chiladas

Awhile back I posted the ingredients that I put into my green chili chicken enchiladas. In doing so I mentioned that I used canned cream of mushroom soup. The only issue with that is that I don't like eating food with unnatural ingredients.

Digressing on my desire to eat organic food is not my intention tonight. Really, I just want to update on a comment made to my past post. Jarrod had mentioned using tofu for a thickening agent. Well, tonight I tried it out. It worked rather well. Because of the consistency I ended up blending it before adding it, but I have no idea if that was necessary. Aside from that I added extra spices and some fresh mushroom. I wouldn't say it made them taste better, but it was at least good enough to use it again.

Posted by layla at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)

Disclaimer

This weblog expresses my personal thoughts. Nothing of what I say here is affiliated with my employer.