An Arizona Cheesehead's Thoughts

Thanks to ColdEeze and another early night, I think I'm well on my way to being healthy again. I didn't take nearly as many drugs today and I only had a couple of sneezing fits. Yay! It's a good thing, too, because I'm off to a Poker tournament. Mary O and I are going to play with a bunch of boys. Hope they don't get too upset when we take their money. :-) Actually, it will probably be Mary who takes their money. The O'Malleys have the most incredible luck when it comes to gambling. I'm hoping I can get a little of that luck by osmosis.

I'm sick. I whine when I'm sick. Not as bad as some people that I know, but I do complain. With no prompting, I'll say things like "I'm sick", "My head hurts", "I can't breathe", "I'm tired of blowing my nose", etc. I'm a real peach to be around right now, I'm sure. Sugar Daddy's a whiner, too, but he's on vacation this week so I can't whine to him. I've sent him a text message every day that says, "Im sick". He finally sent me a reply today, "Yeah, I remember hearing that somewhere". I can tell he cares. This cold is just pissing me off. It's so inconvenient. I mean, I have lots of stuff to do. People to see, projects to finish, beers to drink, poker to play, boys to flirt with. There's no time for feeling like a TB victim. Or, sounding like one. One of the things about living alone is that you don't have an opportunity to find out that you're losing your voice u...

Our last IT meeting was a group activity. I made it up, based on some other exercises that I've read about. Here's the gist: I broke the group up into four random teams, each with a randomly assigned Project Manager. The task was to build the highest structure (from the base of the building material to the top - base material not included) using only the building material I gave them which was two decks of playing cards. The PM was to determine the structure design and assign all tasks to the team. Arizona being a Right To Work state, the PM could fire anyone for any reason. I gave them 7 minutes which may have been too long. One of the teams had an honest to God engineer as the PM. I'm sure that, given a week, he would have created the absolutely tallest structure possible. However, for the first four minutes or so he just contemplated various designs until his team just took over and started building. Another team asked me if it was OK to tear the cards. I actually hadn...

I was talking to a guy last week who said he and his wife were ready for Christmas. They were giving each other one present. One present? That doesn't compute in the Pfister family. We're all about excessive giving when it comes to Christmas presents. Even in years when we say that we're going to cut back, there are still lots of packages under the tree. Speaking of trees, Shorty put up four this year. Two outside, one in the living room and another in the family room. Spartacus was so happy. She spent December alternating naps under the indoor trees. My contribution to the madness. The pile is made up of gifts for Steven, Shorty, my Mom, my two Uncles and an Aunt, my Godparents and long-time friends of the family. The pile by my parents' tree. Yes, that is poker on the TV. That's another family tradition; watching sports on TV. We caught some poker, basketball and football throughout the day. Spartacus sniffed every package that came into the house. She also fell i...

Nope, this post isn't about the weather. It was close to 70 today so no complaints there. It's about the annual disease spreading that goes through our company. Of the 9 people that were working in our department today, 5 have a head cold. Yep, I'm one of them. We spent the day sniffling, sneezing and downing (legal) drugs. Oh, and whining. Well, maybe that last part was just me. One of the young whippersnappers kept making comments like, "Hope you all feel better. I never get sick. I'm invincible!" Not that I would ever wish ill on someone (Oh, who am I trying to kid on that?) but if he gets sick, there will be NO sympathy. As a matter of fact, there will probably even be some glee.

I watched several movies while wrapping Christmas presents this past week. (Yes, I had that many presents to wrap but more on that later). So, here's my take on what I viewed. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Johnny Depp was odd as Willie Wonka but it seemed to work. I liked that the story was more about his past and the little kid who played Charlie was just too adorable for words. And, the sets were quite interesting. However, Gene Wilder is still the ultimate Wonka in my books. Worth watching, though. Dukes of Hazzard What a colossal waste of time. I honestly don't think I laughed once. God, it was stupid. Johnny Knoxville is not one of my favorites by any means and to put him in as the 'sexy' cousin was bad casting to me. Willie Nelson seemed stoned the entire time and the guy without pants? Dumb beyond words. Steven LOVES this movie. Go figure. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants I thought at first that this was going to be a stereotypical young chick flick. However...

The question was, "Do you ever stay home?" For a change, the question wasn't coming from Shorty with a guilt inducing tone. It was coming from Tkay while we were sitting on her patio on a Sunday night in Tucson. Our pal, Mark Mulligan, had just performed his first CD release party and Tkay, Russ and I were hanging by the fire. The date was November 26th and since then I believe there have only been 4 days where I didn't have to do something after work or I stayed home on a weekend day. Four days out of nearly one month. That's a crazy pace. I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to scheduling down time. I never leave enough open slots to allow for last minute things and leave some 'me' time. The holidays just make it more complicated and this year, things are just not getting done or aren't being done to the degree of years' past. Christmas Cards : they got done, horribly late but done. Christmas Tree and Decs : no chance. Even Shorty gave up o...

I was doing my last minute Christmas shopping and stopped in at Jo Ann Etc. One of the clerks was wearing elf ears. Now, most people would think, "Oh, she's wearing elf ears." Not me. I thought, "Oh, she's an elf." I went back to browsing until the Little Man that lives in the back of my head spoke up. "Are you smoking crack? There are no such things as elves!" I guess the Little Man had a point there. Perhaps I need to spend some time reading non-fiction and avoid rewatching any Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter movies in the near future. Sometimes, my grip on reality seems tenuous, even to me.

I feel like I'm in popsicle land... It's 49 degrees outside and raining steadily. That's deep winter for Phoenix and I'm frozen through. I know, I'm a wuss. To make myself feel a little better, I checked out the temps where some of my homies are. Key West is 79. That didn't make me feel warmer at all. Salt Lake is 27. Now we're talking! I'm getting warmer already. Prescott is 34. Brrrr. That makes 49 seem a little easier to take. Milwaukee is 45. 45?!?! It's only 4 degrees colder in the homeland than it is here in the desert? That just ain't right. I think I need a new warm-up strategy. Hmmm, schnapps and cocoa by the fireplace sounds like the best plan.

I can usually remember my dreams and they're always kind of surreal but I think that just goes with the dream territory. However, I had one this week that was more out there than usual. It started out that I was living in a little shack that was one of many in a row in some sort of complex. We're talking a studio type thing. I came home to find my door lock busted and my stuff stolen. Apparently, everyone on the 'block' had their stuff stolen, too. They were efficient thieves and even took the furniture and appliances. I was distraught because they took my laptop. All of a sudden, this guy I know was in the dream and he wanted to go rent a movie to take my mind off of my material losses. We went to this video store and it turned out to be an adult place. The guy handed me money and told me what to buy and I was like, 'Why aren't you coming in?' and he was like, 'I'm not old enough.' (He totally is, BTW.) I insisted he come in with me and we picke...

You scored as Victor Krum . If you went to Hogwarts you would be doing Victor Krum. At least until he goes back to Bulgaria. He is strong, silent, and stupid...just they way you like it. Hey, you don't need brains to what comes naturally! That thick slavic acent and that stern demenor, not to mention the fact that he goes to an all male school, lots of sexual frustration to be worked out on you. He had you on your back the second he marched into the Great Hall. Go ahead girl, go ahead get down... Victor Krum 90% Draco Malfoy 80% Cedric Diggory 80% Harry Potter 70% Ron Weasley 65% Fred and George Weasley 50% Percy Weasley 20% No one, your a prude 0% WHO ARE YOU SCREWING AT HOGWARTS?? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Biting . When it comes to being kinky, your biggest turn on is biting. You love the ectasy of teeth sinking into your flesh, and are probably willing to return the favor. Sex just isn't sex without using your teeth. Biting 100% Blind Folds 75% Chains/Handcuffs 75% Bondage 67% Whips 58% Blood 50% What's Your Kinky Turn On? created with QuizFarm.com Of course, it's all hypothetical since I'm a single, good girl and wouldn't indulge in any of this stuff.

You scored as Dracula . You are the smooth sexy cool Dracula. Patient and lustful. If you were any cooler youd be ice. Great style with a way of seducing those around you. And three brides who wouldn't want to be him. Dracula 92% Blade 83% Armand 75% Lestat 67% Spike 58% Akasha 58% Deacon Frost 50% Marius 50% Angel 33% Louis 25% Whose your Vampire personality? (images) created with QuizFarm.com Though, I'd prefer grooms to brides...really, really prefer.

You scored as Peter Pan . Your alter ego is Peter Pan. You are a child at heart. Anything you believe is possible, and you never want to grow up. Ariel 69% Peter Pan 69% The Beast 56% Goofy 56% Snow White 50% Cinderella 50% Donald Duck 44% Pinocchio 44% Cruella De Ville 38% Sleeping Beauty 25% Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego? created with QuizFarm.com

Long time readers of my blog and long time friends know that I'm a scaredy cat. It takes very little, sometimes nothing at all, to make my paranoia kick in. I just need to hear one small sound out of the ordinary, see a disturbing shadow or freak myself out wondering if, after I've gone to bed, if I've bolted the front door. I'm always sure there's an axe murderer just waiting to get into my house so he can chop me into little pieces and serve me up with fava beans...yes, I have issues. So, the other morning I'm getting ready for work when I hear something. It sounds like it's coming from the roof and it's a clatter. I listened further. Actually, it was more like clicking. Upon further review, I decided it was much like like someone throwing rocks...on to my skylight! I was puzzled and worried. Who would be throwing rocks on my roof and why? Was someone on my roof trying to get in through the skylight? Or, were they just messing with it? I had only been ...

My friends, Angela and Morgan, are having a Murder Mystery party on New Year's Eve. It's also their wedding anniversary and an early celebration of a milestone birthday for Angela. Angela's writing all of the characters and it's going to take place in a casino so we get to gamble and solve the mystery. Cool. The poker chicks all clamored to get our roles early so we could prepare (I'm ready for my close-up!). To sum my character up, I'm the Paris Hilton of NASCAR. OK, I can tart it up and talk restrictor plates at the same time. Heck, I can even make that sound kinky. (I will, however, be wearing underwear so there won't be any crotch shots showing up on the web the next day. You should all be thankful for that.) However, I thought about it and wanted a change. When we got together at the last poker game, I sprung it on her. Me: Are Matt and Cameron going to be at the party? Ang: Yes. Me: OK, I want a rewrite of my character. Ang (while giving me a look that...

To the parents of young children - please, please, please don't take your kids out shopping after their bedtimes! The kids will be tired and cranky and will end up crying, screaming or throwing a fit and you'll be tired and cranky and possibly crying, screaming or throwing a fit. However, it's your choice to put yourself in that situation. I, on other hand, didn't get to choose to be in the store at the same time as you and your offspring. I mean, really, I should be able to have scream-free shopping after 9 PM. OK, sure there are times when you have to run to the store with your kid. Maybe someone's sick and you need to pick up some meds or there's nothing in the house for breakfast. But, honestly, did the woman with her 4 and 6 year old kids need to be at Barnes and Noble at 9:30 at night? What, was there some sort of book emergency!?!? And, how about the parents with the literally screaming 2 year old buying their weekly groceries at WalMart at 11 PM? Hey, h...

Thursday night was the keg tapping for the new winter brew at Rock Bottom. I went with a buddy of mine for the festivities. The place was packed with regulars and they had a nice little buffet set up for us. The new brew is a Belgian Ale and tastes, well, wintery. My buddy thought he detected orange or pear. The brewer said he's been getting feedback from folks on all different kinds of flavors. I tasted it and said, "Cinnamon. No, not quite. Pumpkin pie spice...nutmeg! That's it!" One of the women in the buffet line backed me up and said she got the same taste out of it. It's got a 7.5% alcohol content and is pretty rich so I wouldn't make it my beer of choice for a whole evening. It's worth checking out, though. Without going into the fine details, I ended up at the end of the night (11:30 or so) with my friend's growler on the floor in front of my passenger seat. For those who don't know what a growler is, it's a reusable container (usually ...

We've been going to see The Troubs since 2002. They are very talented and clever and every time I try to describe them to someone I get either a blank stare or a "Uh huh, whatever you say I think you're crazy but I'm pretending not to think that" look. I get it. When you're trying to convince people they need to go see a band dressed in various shades of polyester whose songs include It Ain't Home Until You Take The Wheels Off, Aunt Beula's Roadkill Overcoat, Skinny Women Ain't Hip (one of my personal favorites) and My Baby Whistle When She Walks (think body piercings) they may not always be receptive. But, they'd be missing out on a lot of fun. And, a performance by some really good musicians. And, in the case of Sunday night, a surreal appearance by an audience member. The band was playing at The Rhythm Room which is a local divey-looking place that features great blues most nights. It's nothing fancy at all. Just a bar, a stage, some t...

The Veteran You scored 90%! You've picked up the majority of the classic rock basics. You probably have a classic rock collection and can sing along with most of the songs on your local radio station. This is not the highest score, but it is arguably the best : that subtle combination of impressive knowledge and not being a pretentious geek. My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender : You scored higher than 99% on notes Link: The BASIC classic rock Test written by allmydays on OkCupid , home of the The Dating Persona Test Got this from Vern .

We have an out of town visitor here right now. Mike Finnegan of the Wasatch Mountain PHC is here on work for a while. I met him on the last Vegas trip. Nice guy and I even trusted him enough to put him in charge of Gary on that Friday night but that's another story. As a total digression, I really like just saying the name "Mike Finnegan." I think it strikes a chord with my Irish roots (county Waterford). Plus it makes me immediately think of the little ditty called Finnegan's Wake . That's a song to which I've drunk many pints to because it's a standard drinking tune at The Dubliner. OK, digression over and back to the story. Mike was scheduled to be free on Friday night. He's a professional truck driver and can't drive his rig while off duty so the plan was that I would pick him up at his hotel then we'd go out for some beers (he's Irish, I'm Irish...what else would we possibly do?). His hotel was at Chandler and I-10 so I immediately...

LastStanManning mentioned that Jimmie Johnson broke his wrist after falling out of a golf cart. I know exactly why it happened. Jimmie Johnson is a guy. Guys in motorized vehicles do dumb things. It's entirely genetic; the poor things just can't help it. I've been witness to two different falling out of the cart incidents. Considering that I've probably golfed less than 40 times in my life, that's like 5% of golfing outings result in cart mishaps. I'm sure it extrapolates out accurately. The first time, we had all just hit our fairway shots and my partner and I headed out to our balls. Apparently, the driver in the cart behind us swerved on a hill and pushed his partner out of the cart. Said partner ended up cartwheeling and landing in a jarring heap on his shoulder. I say "Apparently" because the driver vehemently denies pushing the other guy out. The second time, my partner (you may recall that I never drive the cart because I am the Princess) and th...

We closed up the I.T. department this afternoon and headed out for lunch and some fun. I'd booked a room at Monti's La Casa Vieja (a classic steak place for my out of town readers that was the original Hayden Ferry building for crossing the Salt River a century or so ago) and the plan was to have lunch then play a No Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament. We try to think of something fun to do every year. We've done a group viewing of one of The Lord of The Rings movies, indoor go-kart racing, bowling and who can forget last year's debacle ...er, I mean great fun. We've debated going to Game Works or miniature golfing but those events don't lend to the whole group getting to interact. Believe it or not, poker was not entirely my idea. I was actually leaning towards lunch at the zoo with a scavenger hunt thrown in or Gameworks when a couple of the guys and I played a mini-tourney the day before Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun so I threw it out to the team as a pr...

Stacey found the results from this quiz when she took it a while ago. Her results were pretty much spot on. You come to grips more frequently and thoroughly with yourself and your environment than do most people. You detest superficiality. You'd rather be alone than have to suffer through small talk. Your relationships with your friends are very strong, which gives you the inner tranquility and harmony that you require. You do not mind being alone for extended periods of time. You are rarely bored. My first selection was the same as Stacey's and, frankly, not me at all. I picked it based on the color only. My second selection was on the design and it's more me. You are quite willing to accept certain risks and to make a strong commitment in exchange for interesting and varied work. Routine, in contrast, tends to have a paralyzing effect on you. What you like most is to be able to play an active role in events. In doing so, your initiative is highly pronounced. The rest ...

The past two weeks have been tough to get through. We have all been consumed with Craig's passing and then Dianne's Mom's passing. Everyone can't help but try to empathize but I don't think anyone can really understand how crushing this has been for Dianne and her family. Today was her Mom's funeral service. Each of the kids and her daughter-in-law spoke along with Mary Ellen and another family friend. It was clear that Kathy Deimeke was a special person and, while she will be missed, she had a great, positive life. It's time for the healing to start and I'm sure it will take a very long time. Any prayers and good vibes you can send to the Deimeke clan and their friends will be greatly appreciated.

I'm just killing time until I'm sleepy and trying not to think. At all. About anything that's going on. It's not really working. The Babes and I went together to the Visitation for Craig tonight. It was going to be hard no matter what but her Mom passed away yesterday morning. How incredibly sad is that? I can't even fathom it. Losing your husband when he's only 46 has to be damn near impossible to take but then losing your Mom only five days later? I'd be a total basket case. There were lots of our Parrot Head friends there and I hope Dianne is comforted by knowing how much we're thinking of her and wanting to help in any way we can. The service is tomorrow afternoon and most of us will be returning for that. It just isn't fair. So, that's why I'm trying to find anything and everything to keep me from thinking about it. Because it's so damn hard and so not right. I'd like to be able to put it in a locked cupboard in my brain for a wh...

you are 0% crazy. you are so sane it's almost...CRAZY you seriously need to get a life and let loose you inner craziness! LET THE VOICES TAKE OVER!!!! (do you ever wonder how many people actually read these things or even take a crazy quiz? don't you almost have to be sane to take a craziness quiz) How crazy are you? Create MySpace Quizzes

You Scored a 53% which means you are a .... Sincere Lover. You are such a total sweetheart people have a hard time taking you seriously. Sadly, because you are so sincere and sweet you get walked all over. Try to hold your ground a little bit and beware of the selfish lover. The feed off of sincere lovers like yourself. Even though you get used and abused a lot you still have a heart of gold. What kind of lover are you Take More Quizzes

Which Star Wars Character Are You? Your Result: Yoda You are a passive green creature with a speech impediment. You always try to find a peaceful resolution to your problems, but also aren't afraid to kick some ass if you need to. Jar Jar Binks Luke SkyWalker Han Solo Princess Leia Darth Vader Boba Fett Jabba the Hutt Which Star Wars Character Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

What character from Buffy are you? Your Result: Giles Damn! You may be a rebel now, but at your heart you are a mildy aged (no offense to Anthony Stewart Head of course) librarian that cares about the people around him. Willow! Xander Spike! Buffy! What character from Buffy are you? Quizzes for MySpace

What stereotype do you belong to? Your Result: No stereotype not preppy yet not a complete loser. has good friends and doesn't revolve life around their looks or social status. All around good person. usually liked by everyone Preppy Jock Punk geek/nerd Emo Gamer Loner What stereotype do you belong to?

What mental disorder do you have? Your Result: OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) You have odd obsessions that you cannot seem to control. You may even perform rituals to make you feel better. Counting and continuously obsessing over things happens frequently. Paranoia GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) Manic Depressive What mental disorder do you have?

You Drink Republican Kool-Aid 0% of the Time! Congratulations, you do not drink the Republican Kool-Aid. You haven't been brainwashed and are able to think for yourself rather than get your daily marching orders from the right-wing media. Mindless submission to our leader has no place in America. You, sir or ma'am, are a patriot. Do You Drink Republican Kool-Aid?