Name: Anduin Anduin
From: California, United States
About me: I'm a So Cal girl born and raised. I've known my husband for over 19 years and we've been married for 15. My cat is also 15 years old and his name is Yoshi. He is the ruler of the house and has me under complete submission using his super feline mind control abilities.
Anduin's World
FAVORITE SAYINGS, THINGS I LIVE BY: If you don't ask, you don't get, What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
This is just a bummer...
Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications of pneumonia. He was only 50 years old.
Friday, August 01, 2008
The Cruise and such...
I wrote a few weeks ago about my birthday and the cruise that my husband had planned as a surprise birthday gift. It's been a crazy few weeks since we came back and I haven't really felt like doing anything since then. I do want to talk about the cruise now though. If you've ever thought of going on one, I seriously suggest you do it. I had the best time ever on my cruise. My husband and I both did actually. There were so many things about it that I enjoyed. The staff on the ship were exceptional and I think that made the whole trip so enjoyable. They really appreciate the people that work on the ship and it shows in their attitudes. Every place we went on the ship, we were treated with courtesy and respect and a joyous attitude. Our room steward always greeted us with a smile and seemed genuinely happy to see us every time. Whenever we came back to our cabin it was always tidied up, the bed was straightened and we had clean towels. In the evening there would be a cute towel animal on the bed wearing our sunglasses. Little surprises like that really made the trip. On the first night in the dining room we were all a little tense and were trying to relax. We were seated at a table with another couple that we didn't know and conversation was just the basics. Where are you from and what do you do type of thing. After dinner the entire wait staff began to dance around the dining room, some were balancing things on their heads like flower vases or ketchup bottles, while others were doing magic tricks. The whole atmosphere changed at that moment and set the tone for the rest of the trip. Everyone laughed and got up and danced and had a great time. What an ice-breaker that was. It was at that point that we really began to relax and knew that we were going to have a great time. There were so many experiences on those three days at sea, many of which my husband wrote about here, here and here. He did a great job so I won't go on about it. You can see pictures of the trip on his Flickr page too.
Other things that have happened lately? Well, we had a really big earthquake a few days ago that scared the beejeebers out of me. It was a 5.4 and the epicenter was only about 10 miles from my work. I've lived in Southern California all of my life so I'm used to the idea of earthquakes and I'm not too scared of them. Terrified of the "Big One" but it hasn't hit yet. Most of the earthquakes I've felt in the last 10 years have been while I was at work, sitting at my desk on the second floor. When an earthquake hits, it's a very startling sensation. All of a sudden there is this violent motion without much of an introduction. It's just a jolt, and then a rumbling or rolling motion that lasts for about 15 - 20 seconds or so. Every time this has happened, I've stayed in my chair and rode it out. Last year we had an earthquake that came on strong and lasted for what felt like a long time. I almost got under my desk that time. The earthquake that happened two days ago hit so hard I actually screamed and dove under my desk. I've never, ever done that before. It felt like it lasted a long time too. I'm guessing about 30 seconds, the first 15 seconds with violent shaking motions and then it finally eased out to rumbling. My co-worker is from Minnesota and doesn't know what to do during an earthquake. She panics and runs. I had to tell her to get under her desk because she was calling out to me asking what she should do. I've always told her to stay put when there's a quake but she seems to have no control over her actions. I've also told her before that if we ever have the big one and I'm missing, look under my desk. I'm not going anywhere. Which makes me think that it's a good place to put an earthquake survival kit. Food and water, maybe a book to read while they dig me out. All joking aside, it was kind of scary. They say the big one is over due and the region we live in has several faults. The big one will be devastating. I hope I never have to know what that's going to be like.
One last thing that has happened in the last two weeks. On July 24th, Christopher Laurie, the son of Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Church died in a car accident on the 91 freeway. Harvest is a customer of ours. We do most of their printing for them and Christopher was the the art director for the church. He often came into the plant for presschecks and such. On the morning of the 24th the salesman for the account called in to work and said that he had passed the aftermath of an accident on the freeway and felt that he recognized the vehicle by it's markings. He said that the car belonged to Christopher. The accident occured just before the exit to our building. The rest of the morning he tried to contact Christopher through Harvest and finally spoke to someone to tell them what he thought might have happened. My co-worker and I were hoping that it wouldn't be him but around 4:00 in the afternoon it was confirmed that he had died in the crash. I didn't know the man, never spoke a word to him but his death has still affected me. It just proves that no one is immune to this type of thing. I come from a church background and many people will try to say that God will protect your family so that nothing bad will happen to them. I used to believe that but I know it just doesn't work that way. Bad things happen to everyone. No one is immune or exempt. It is what it is. My heart goes out to the whole family. Christopher leaves behind a pregnant wife and a little daughter. I know that their faith will keep them strong. I know that they won't lose their faith in God because of this loss. God didn't cause this to happen. It just happened and there is nothing any of us can do about it. My prayers go out to the family, I know what they are going through.