Melyssa-with-a-Y

That's it. That's all I need to write. Well, ok, I'll write about the rest of Saturday. :) Bry and I got up and got out of the hotel at 9am, as planned. We made great time getting to LA, pulling up at Marc's at about 11:15am. We drove up to the hills behind the Getty to pick up one of Marc's Band buddies -- they looked so cute in their matching band jackets! I should have taken a picture -- and then we were off to lunch and campus. We went to the Two Nine for lunch - the boys all had the Trojan Double Bacon Cheeseburger. (urp.) Then we walked down to campus. The place was hopping! Bry and I immediately headed for the bookstore, where we had to stand in line to get inside! The line moved quickly, and soon we were among the hordes of people upstairs digging through shirts, sweatshirts and other Trojan paraphernalia for the perfect item. I got a t-shirt, a sweatshirt (my old one is getting pretty ragged) and a pair of USC earrings! Had to put those on right away. The k...

This was the text message I got from my mother when I told her that we were going to Sea World last Friday. She remembers the last few times that we went to Sea World (when I was very young) -- we sat in the "soak zone" for both Shamu and the seal and walrus show. It's called the "soak zone" for a reason. :) Samantha, on the other hand, is very wary of getting wet. So we sat waaaaaay far away from the splashing Shamu and the dolphins. The shows were good, although they seemed really short (30 minutes each). Sam has a great story book about baby Honu the Sea Turtle , so we were able to relate the animals to their Hawaiian names in the book. She was much more excited about the eels and other creatures when she recognized them from the book. We looked for the sea turtles (there was one on the map) but we couldn't find them. Instead we went to see the starfish in a little pond, where you could take them out of the water and touch them. Sam actually touched the s...

I have posted the trip photos to Kodak Gallery . I'll continue blogging about the trip later. :)

... or as I said many times by the end of the day, "urp." Wow, there was a lot of food. Turkey, Ham, asparagus, spinach salad, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and "geoff-a-roni." and rolls. and wine. and don't forget the not-quite-seven-layer dip that we had for an appetizer. Like I said, "urp." And that's not counting the desserts!! Teri's brother Tom made spinach salad. Tutu made asparagus and stuffing. Geoff made his own version of Rice-a-Roni, and really yummy candied sweet potatoes. and three kinds of gelato. (much of the early time was spent messing with the gelato machine and explaining what 'zabaglione' was.) We ate outdoors in the sunny 70 degree weather (why didn't I remember from last year that black jeans are not good for sitting in the sun?!). Casey and Samantha had their own little side table, and Sam actually tried some of the Thanksgiving food. The girls seem to have had a good time, and the grownups ended the evening watc...

Wednesday, we helped straighten up for the onslaught of family that was coming on Thursday, while Samantha went to pre-school. Bryan was happy *gardening* outside. ( Hang on, Mom, I know you're in shock. ) He was enjoying the warm sunny weather, while also cleaning up the garden. He pruned the rose bush waaay back, mostly so that he could get past it to reach the hose, to rinse off the nice outdoor chairs. (The way he put it, he needs outdoor physical activity, and this was as close as he could get while on vacation.) I had to take a picture. :) We finished up with the chores pretty quickly, because we decided to go see the latest James Bond 007 movie - " Casino Royale." I liked it. It drags in places, but the opening sequence is phenomenal, and Daniel Craig is a very good Bond. Much as I looooved Pierce Brosnan, he was a little too ... "prissy" as Bond. As one of the reviewers said in People magazine, when Daniel Craig punches someone, they "stay punched...

After a quick weekend at home, I got up at 6am, runny nose and all, and went off to the airport to fly to LA. Why an early morning flight? One word: Non-stop (ok, two words). In order to get non-stop flights to/from LAX at an affordable fare, I am flying early in the morning in both directions. But it's worth it! So I made it to LA and went to the Getty to have lunch with MZ. Unfortunately, there was some fixing-up in progress up on the hill, so we went elsewhere for lunch. ( Jerry's Deli, in Westwood ) We were going to go to the Bel Air Grill , but they hadn't opened yet. Then I dropped M back off at work and went to the Getty Villa , over on PCH. It has only just reopened. It was beautiful. I particularly like the Greek painted terracotta wine cups and vases, with stories illustrated around the sides. (The muses were my favorite part of Disney's Hercules cartoon movie.) :) But owing to the fact that my nose wouldn't stop running, and I had gotten up way too early,...

It seems that my mom managed somehow to get a pair of tix to the USC-Notre Dame game next Saturday, for me and Bryan... and she got them WEEKS ago. Bryan knew, J&T knew, even MZ knew, because both Bry and I are going to stay with him after the game. But they all kept it a secret from li'l ol' me. A secret, that is, until I started bidding on a pair of tickets I saw on eBay today that were still at 99 cents... so here's hoping I don't win those, cuz we're already GOING! You guys suck! But thanks. :)

One American Flag Sock finished! I joined the blue yarn when I was on the plane between Houston and Austin, and finished the "stars" and the ribbing when I got home, and during the day on Saturday. It looks so cool!! Of course I immediately cast on with the red for the second sock! Here's what the finished sock looks like, and next to it, the actual pattern. But truthfully, the only part of this pattern that I really followed was the grid for the stars. I knit toe-up rather than leg-down, and used "magic loop" vs. double-pointed needles (DPNs). but I don't think my version looks bad at all! Now if only I could figure out how to properly do the heel turn... mine always comes out with holes on the corners. ugh. Tomorrow morning I'm off to LA/SD for Thanksgiving. MZ is getting me a ticket to the Getty Villa, and we might go see the 007 movie on Monday night. I'm interested to see how Daniel Craig does as Bond. I've heard good things so far. Als...

I haven't written in a week. (Stick is right, I'm glad I didn't sign up for NaBloPoMo . I couldn't have done it.) Supercomputing'06 was exhausting.... even more exhausting than last year's conference in Seattle. I took even fewer photos than last year, too. Here's a quick rundown. Monday - flew to Tampa. Collapsed in my hotel room for a half hour before changing for evening event at convention center. Wore my red-white-and-blue cowboy boots. (I am becoming a Texan now, after all.) ;) Ended up back in the TACC hotel suite with all my co-workers, ordering pizza - the hors d'ouvres at the event left much to be desired. I think it confused a lot of people when I was walking through the exhibit floor and yelled "Hi mom!" :) Nice, since I hadn't seen her since she visited me in Austin last month. Tuesday - ate my breakfast on the 45-min bus-ride from our hotel to the convention center. The days seemed far longer when we couldn't quickly ge...

If you read this blog, you know that I am a big USC football fan. Ain't nothin' but a family thing. :) But when forced back to reality, I will admit that my undergrad degree is from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey . Rutgers has a proud history in football: RU and Princeton played the first college football game EVER in 1869. [ Rutgers won, 6-4] Up til now (since the time that I was there, in nineteen- ninety- mumble ), the RU football team hasn't been much of a threat to anyone but themselves... they went 1-11 in 2002. But things are looking up. They did well enough last year to make it to a Bowl game, and this year are 8-0 and the #15 team in the nation! Last night, they made it 9-0 ( I can't get used to this Thursday night football thing... my dad had to call me and tell me it was on ) by beating Louisville, the #3 team! Go Scarlet Knights!! They will undoubtedly move up the rankings on Sunday, so USC had better win too, or I'm gonna have to find a Ru...

Now I know why Brian Williams said election night was "like catnip, like crack!" -- It's so exciting that the world can change like this. The American people decided that they've had enough of the Republican control of the government, and the Dems will now control the House and the Senate. (It was touch-and-go there for a while, but Jim Webb managed to pull ahead by about 8,000 votes in VA. Senator Allen decided not to ask for a recount.) First thing President Bush did - let Rumsfeld resign so he can become the scapegoat for the war in Iraq. And try to rush through Bolton's confirmation before the lame duck session ends. In other news, Ed Bradley died of leukemia . I always liked his reports on 60 Minutes. He was the old, hip guy with the earring who did the great interviews - Michael Jordan, Lena Horne, etc. He seemed so gentle and caring, and yet he asked really tough questions and everybody answered them. Tonight I went to the Jewish Book Fair's Local Auth...

GO VOTE! That is all.

Friday night, I watched two Netflix movies I'd had since AUGUST... I felt it was about time to get them out of the way. I watched The Family Stone and Ice Harvest . What a waste of a Friday night! The Family Stone looked sort of cute in the tv ads, but didn't do well in the theaters, and I know why. First off, Sarah Jessica Parker was playing totally against type - the anti-Carrie Bradshaw -- uptight perfectionist b*tch, and she looked decidedly uncomfortable doing it. Second, this was not nearly as funny as the ads led me to believe. It was a holiday family dramedy... Spoiler Alert- in case you planning on seeing this movie: Diane Keaton (the mom) has some kind of cancer and dies in the end, although the only thing we see is the next year's family Xmas without her. And the uptight b*tch loosens up and ends up with the shaggy flake brother (Luke Wilson), while her original boyfriend, the uptight business brother (Dermot Mulroney) ends up with HER SISTER (Claire Danes). I g...