Swine Flu

How the Swine Flu spread to humans ...

The first celebrity victim ...

and we all know who gave it to him.

Now, there's a shortage of masks ...

The Eagles are landing ...

Let me just start by saying that I love the Eagles! Well, they're performing tomorrow night in Salt Lake. I so wanted to go, but when I checked a few months ago, tickets were $75 and up. While I was willing to fork out that much for semi-decent seats, I couldn't find a single person willing to spend that kind of money to go with me. A friend checked on the price earlier this week and the only tickets left are the $175 ones. Too rich for my blood. Why do they have to charge so much? They're making it harder for people to appreciate their music ...

So, a group of us decided to get together tonight for some dinner and watch the "Hell Freezes Over" concert. Hey, if we can't be at the concert tomorrow night, we might as well just enjoy the Eagles on DVD. It was a fun night -- great food, great company, great comfy seats, no lines to the restroom, no traffic. Can't ask for anything more.

Happy Day!

Yeah, I know, I have a wierd sense of humor ...

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii,
Garlands of flowers everywhere,
All of the colors in the rainbow,
Maidens with blossoms in their hair.

Flowers that mean we should be happy,
Throwing aside a load of care,
Oh, May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii,
May Day is happy days out there.

So, today is May Day which is Lei Day in Hawaii. When I was in elementary school, they would hold May Day Celebrations with a royalty court and sing the song above and have all sorts of dancing and singing performances representing the various major ethnic groups in Hawaii. The King and Queen would be Hawaiian and their court would be representatives of ethnic groups. In my sixth grade year at Laie Elementary School, I and Kenneth Macatiag were chosen to represent the Phillipines (close enough, I guess, I'm from that region of the world). I'll have to see if I can find the pictures and scan it in to share.

Conversation with the inept ...

A guy who aged out of my singles' ward work in my building. He gets off work about 6:00 also and the other night he happened to just be steps in front of me and my co-worker as we walked over to the parking garage. So he heard my voice, turned around, saw me and stopped to allow us to catch up to him. The conversation went something like this:

X: So, what's going on that's exciting?
Me: Not a whole lot with me.
X: There must be something ...
Me: Nope.
X: I wonder if I should bring this up. No, I shouldn't. Well, maybe I should ...
Me: What?
X: No, I shouldn't.
Me: Okay, whatever. [I ignore him and start talking to my co-worker]
X: Well, okay, I'll ask you ... So, according to Mormon doctrine, there are different places for a person to go after this life. Is spirit prison hell?
Me: Uh, no! People there are being preached to and it's a temporary state until they accept the Gospel.
X: Correct. So what is hell? [This is the part where I should have answered, "This conversation with you is hell", but I didn't]
Me: I would imagine that outer darkness would fit the definition of hell better than spirit prison ...
X: Correct! So who goes there?
Me: Murderers, adulterers, unrepentant ...
X: Right again ... well, I just thought I'd provide the topic of conversation ... g'night!
Me: What the hell?

CRAZY!!!

The morning receptionist at work is marrying a man tonight who proposed to her yesterday. They met on LDSPlanet (an online dating service), have known each other a month and have had one date. They'll be married tonight by her uncle who is a Baptist minister and will be married for about a week before he's shipped off to boot camp for four months.

I actually met the guy on Thursday prior to the proposal. He came half-way through the CFF luncheon and had he been in a shirt and tie as opposed to the short-sleeved t-shirt which showed off his tattooed arms, he would've just blended in with the crowd. On my way back to the office, he rode in the same elevator. I asked how he knew the Davises and his slurred reply was, "I'm here to really see Stacie. She told me that there's free food upstairs and came to look at the view." Hmmm ....Anyone else seeing a gazzilion red flags popping up in this situation?

Update: Got an email from the firm this (Monday) morning at work congratulating said receptionist on her "engagement" instead of wedding. The wedding date is still pending. I'm guessing that some sense got knocked into her when she announced the hasty engagement/marriage to her family.

Eloping to Vegas

No, not me and no elopement either ... The last time I was in Vegas, my friend, Dave, took me to the Hilton to see the Star Trek bar. We walked by this ad and I just had to take a picture of it. Who knew that it'll come in handy to recommend to a co-worker who is going to Vegas with her boyfriend tomorrow for a long weekend. We've teased her about really going there to elope. I told her about the ad for a Star Trek wedding. I'm thinking with the movie coming out soon, they can go see it to celebrate. How can you not want an "out of this world wedding" performed by a Borg?

Thanks for calling ...

I was feeling a bit under the weather this weekend, but I am much better and back to work. There is still some achiness and coughing, but for the most part my voice is back and I am looking forward to tasting food again. Thanks to all who took the time to call or email to check up on me.

Hawaiian Foods

Last week, I met Joe and Carma, for some Hawaiian food at the South end of the valley at Lanikai Grill (10600 South 1072 West, South Jordan, UT). I arrived earlier than my friends and within the few minutes there managed to "make frenz" with the owner and his luau catering partner. They sat with me while waiting for Carma and Joe and chatted about island life. One of them brought to the table the chicken curry dish for his dinner. It looks and smells so good! But the curry will have to wait another day. I was disappointed that they ran out of Otai, but was quite happy that they were willing to make some fresh musubis (SPAM, Chicken Katsu, and Teriyaki Chicken) for me to take home (which sustained me through the weekend as I sequestered myself to do my taxes). Based on a friend's recommendation (her uncle owns the restaurant), we ordered the Half & Half (Chicken Katsu/Garlic Chicken) Plate. It was very good and I'll definitely order it again. The owner was also kind enough to bring out a sample of their Shoyu Chicken and Teriyaki Beef for the Browns and me to sample towards the end of our meal. Thanks, Carma and Joe, for being so gracious and willing to stay at the table and make new frenz with a couple of strangers!

Now, if you're North of the valley, I highly recommend Mo' Bettah Steaks (273 West 500 South, Bountiful, UT). You can't be disappointed with their Teriyaki Mix Plate (steak and chicken) and I also like their kalua pork. Ono-licious!!! I know that the owners are considering a menu change. As this restaurant is closer to home for me, I'm rooting that they'll add Shoyu Chicken, Katsu, Musubis, Loco Moco, etc.

I Want Your Money!

I sequestered myself to get the taxes done this weekend. I was awful this past year and had not organized my papers, so I spent quite a bit of time sorting through piles looking for everything tax related.

The good news, I'm getting a federal refund (YAY!!!). The bad news, I owe state taxes (BOO!!!). At least I'm only having to pay $50 to the State of Utah, so that's not too bad, and I'm getting a bit more in my refund -- not enough to pad my accounts the way I like it, but it's more than what I have to pay.

Of course, I promptly e-filed the federal tax forms, but I'm waiting to send the check to the great State of Utah until tomorrow.