BONUS! - The new catchphrase.

Well, the past week has been interminably busy. An unexpected turn of events, but something which is most welcome. I thrive when I have lots of tasks going on at once, instead of just a couple of tasks. It's good I suppose that my position with Trivantis looks to be adding a number of additional responsibilities to my role set. As a bonus, it looks like I may be sent out to San Francisco for training on Search Engine Optimization with AcademyX which is a leading technology training company for most of the Fortune 500 in addition to many government groups and others. I may get sent back out to learn about other technologies I need for my job duties if they see a good turn from this. Let's cross our fingers. I'm hopeful about such.

It's come to my attention that I have a chance to go to Japan next May if I play my cards right. It's something I've longed to do for a long time, and I'll definitely be buying LOADS of DVDs while I am there. I would be going with Rotary GSE participating in a cultural exchange program. I'm trying not to get SUPER psyched about it in case I end up not being able to go, but my work partners are working with me to ensure that everything goes alright on the job end of things. It sounds like I would need to apply for a leave of absence. I may end up seeing about doing a PayPal drive to raise money for my trip.

Would you be willing to donate? Drop me a line and let me know if you think it'd work. Even like $5 or $10 would be fine if a bunch of people donated.

In regards to other travels I hope to be going to Philadelphia at the beginning of December. Athens, OH sometime in the next couple of weeks, and maybe Jefferson, OH as well if I can afford it. We'll see. But the kicker will hopefully be my first international trip ever! I'm looking to raise about $1000 for myself for a trip down to Chile to visit a friend in Santiago. Her name is Milla. She's awesome and we've been talking online for almost six months not. It's awesome!

In familial-related news, my mom has started doing cosmetic consultation and skin care work. She's looking to supplement her current income, and I don't blame her. Bruce doesn't really earn much with what he does. If you're interested in getting a free makeover or know someone who may be, please contact her at 513-722-0065. Please let her know you found her through me. For everyone I turn her way (whether you end up buying anything or not) I get $10, which I'll put towards my trip to either Japan or Chile.

I finally was able to upload my photos from last month thanks to the advent of the month of November and the renewal of my 2GB bandwidth limit on Flickr. Check out the photos I took at my friend Sarah Tsai's birthday party. With my sister Stephanie. When Tila Tequila came to Cincinnati last April. Or Leslie & Mark when Mark came to town before heading off to Iraq. Or Leslie Christopher, Myself, and the Wits End Comedy Troupe. And the Debate for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District I attended last month. I should be able to get the photos from Thursday night's "CU @ The Bar - Bar Louie" Happy Hour event up on Flickr as soon as I get some names finalized from a couple of people.

I have a date Tuesday night after voting with Aretha, then another with Kira on Wednesday night over coffee down at Sitwell's in Clifton at around 7 p.m. Anyone is welcome to play 'safety' on me and feel out if I need to be saved.

But I wouldn't have asked them out if I didn't think we'd mesh well enough, and I have no problem being blunt and letting them know there's no 'meshing' going on and we should kill the hopes of romance and just go for the gusto with friendship.

BONUS!

The Bengals lost by a slim margin again today. It was stupid. The referee made a BAD call at the end of the game marking an incomplete pass on what should have been pass interference. The play was made on a fourth down and the result would possibly have been a touchdown, but we'll never know.

And now for a couple of interesting links:
Rechargeable USB Batteries
Basic Photography lessons online

I made some lamb soup last week. Aside from needing to cook the potatoes a bit longer and add more salt, it was pretty much perfect. I love it when I do things like that without any instructions or recipe information.

Neha had some and mentioned the salt and potatoes part. Todd had some as well and agreed. So did I. But low-salt soups are better for me at the moment, so I wouldn't have cared.

I found out that Kevin Max Smith released a new album in July. Oddly the entire album is available via iTunes, and so is his first album, but the album in the middle only has two tracks available from it. :-\ It kind of irks me actually because I refuse to buy anything unless it's on iTunes. I like the convenience, and the price point isn't bad. I was also introduced to a new music artist via Milla, named Bebel Gilberto. Her music is fantastic! she's now listed on my music pics section of the linkage page.

Mmm, as I sit here drinking tea, I once again realize that I need to order yet another batch of Genmaicha from Harney & Sons. My preferred tea brand. I'm thinking of also picking up seasonal packs for Christmas gifts for people. I think it's a nice gesture. But I need to order my MOO mini cards first for the gift tags.

I'm also stuck with the dilemma of needing to order new business cards for Ripple. Not just for Kiim and myself, but also for Nathaniel, Karen, and generic cards. This is due to the change in the phone number from my prior ###-#### T-Mobile number to a landline number from Time Warner at 513-###-####. I do not expect to make this change until January so as to finish out the year and keep the costs off until next year. It makes more sense to write them off this year, but I cannot afford it. I'll post the new vCard when it's available.

I am in need of some SERIOUS CSS/PHP learning help. If anyone could help me out with that, it'd be HUGE! And I would love you forever!