Shiba shiba shiba!

And, so we don't end today's blogs on a sad note, I thought I'd throw in some adorable pictures of some Shiba Inu puppies. My coworker was just telling me how her friend brought one over to her place last weekend. I want a Shiba Inu puppy. Sooooo bad. I neeeeed one!!! If I whine enough, do you think one will fall magically into my lap? And, while we're at it, take care of itself too? It could happen?!?

Myanmar Cyclone

The cyclone in Myanmar (Southeast Asia) is absolutely devastating. Over 20,000 have been killed and over 40,000 people are still missing. What a tragic natural disaster. Just awful. My heart goes out to all of those affected by this deadly event.

Call me naive, but I wasn't entirely sure of the differences between a cyclone, hurricane and typhoon. I knew they all deal with fast winds and water and what not, but wasn't sure of what sets these disasters apart. So I Googled it. I love Google.

In case anyone is interested....

The terms "hurricane" and "typhoon" are regionally specific names for a strong "tropical cyclone".

Once the tropical cyclone reaches winds of at least 39 mph, they are typically called a "tropical storm" and assigned a name. If winds reach 74 mph, then they are called (depending on the region in which they occur):

-"hurricane" (the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E)
-"typhoon" (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline)
-"severe tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E)
-"severe cyclonic storm" (the North Indian Ocean)
-"tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Indian Ocean)

Now, you'll totally get that answer right if you're ever asked on Jeopardy.

If you're interested in helping those affected by the Myanmar cyclone, I found a couple of good sites to check out...

World Vision
Red Cross
International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Are you KIDDING me with this stuff?

Ok, all I gotta say is "Frozen Hot Chocolate" should be made illegal. Because it is THAT good.

I had a fabulous time back east. I wish I was back there now actually. I'm sooo not in work mode. Highlights included....

-Family fun day in the city with the cousins and our trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
-Cousin Annette's 90th birthday
-Celebrating a little Cinco de Mayo action at that one bar I can never remember...something like "El Norte" or "El Toro" or something...
-Going on the fabulous "Sex and the City" bus tour which I highly recommend to ANYONE who is a fan of the show and included pit stops at a the Pleasure Chest, Magnolia Bakery for some scrum-dilly-umptious cupcakes, Carrie's front door stoop, and Aidan/Steve's bar "Scout". So amazing.
-Seeing 4 foot Danny DeVito on the street. I'm not even joking. He can't be taller than 4 feet. Crazy
-Exploring the Central Park Zoo....I'm such an animal geek
-Shopping in SoHo...dangerous, but OH so fun!!!

One of the BEST parts was going to Serendipity and savoring the frozen hot chocolate though. I'm not even big on desserts, but MAN!!! That stuff is good. It's like liquid crack. So tasty. Made with 12 different types of chocolate. I know "frozen hot" is an oxymoron and all, but I don't even care. All I know is....it's GOOD! Do it. Do it.

P.S. Major diet time. Who's with me?!?!

Laryngitis Lady

So, yeah, who gets laryngitis anymore? Apparently.....I do! Does this mean I talk too much or what? Yeah, you can keep your response to that question to yourself. Thanks. I had a sore throat a few days ago, and while I feel much better, I was left with no voice. This stinks. It is so frustrating not being able to talk! I feel like I'm playing charades with my coworkers instead of actually communicating!

I went to the doctor this morning and he strongly recommended that I refrain from attempting to talk AT ALL for all of today and preferably tomorrow too. Do you know how hard that will be?!?!? I have to carry around a silly notepad everywhere and text, IM and e-mail instead of use the phone. Grrrr...so frustrating! Hopefully my voice will be back by Friday when I fly to NYC for the fam reunion. Can't wait! And I get to see Gabi too. Yay!

By the way...."laryngitis"...impossible to spell....except for just now. I totally had to google that. I started with laringytus...and then gave up. Hehe.

Poor man. Poor sharks.

Early this morning, a triathlete was fatally attacked by a shark in Solana Beach just near San Diego. Article here.
I feel so sorry for this man and his family. How awful. He was just going about his business...training for his race. And this freak accident occurs. He was even with several other swimmers as well. Why him? Why anyone at all? Shark attacks are just so unpredictable. And rare too.

While my heart goes out to this man's friends and family, this is NOT good PR for sharks. Shark attacks really are rare. There are so many statistics out there backing this statement up (my favorite is that you're more likely to be killed by a vending machine than a shark....this is actually quite relevant at my office considering we work at a place that houses sharks...and, food constantly gets caught in our vending machine...so it's much more plausible that a coworker could get smashed by a toppled over vending machine...fo real!)

And news stations have been calling our PR department all day to comment on this freak attack. I'm so glad I didn't go down the career path of becoming a news reporter...these people can be vultures! One woman demanded to speak with our shark expert. When my coworker said he is currently in the water, she demanded, "Can you go get him then? Just pull him out of the water!!" Yeah lady, we'll get right on that. Because the world revolves around YOU and your news story.

Poor triathlete. Poor sharks. And boo to all the pushy pushy news reporters.

When you got it, flaunt it

I love these shirts. They're freaking hilarious! Snorg Tees rocks!!

- My Butt Hurts
- Wheel...of...FORTUNE!!!
- Double Entendre
- The Chicken or the Egg
- Call me big daddy wanna...
- Like a record baby
- Say cheese!
- Miss new bootie

Little Bunny Foo Foo

So I went to this fantastic little French restaurant called Pescadou Bistro in Newport and it was so charming and delish!

And...I tried Escargot for the first time! It was actually quite tasty believe it or not. It came as an appetizer simmered in garlic and butter and they looked and tasted like button mushrooms. Same consistency as a mushroom too.....come to think of it...maybe they were mushrooms disguised as snails? Hehe.

I was feeling quite adventurous, so, I tried the rabbit. And while it did in fact taste like chicken...I couldn't get the image of "little bunny foo foo" out of my head...don't think I'll be ordering rabbit again any time soon, but snails...oh yeah, sign me up!

Popped into Goat Hill Tavern after dinner, which I hadn't been to in atleast 5 years. I remember it being this chill divey bar. Yeah, it was hoppin on a Tuesday night! Luckily, we were able to find a shuffle board tucked away in the back. So fun :)