What is it about Sunday afternoons?

No matter how well I sleep all week or how long I sleep on Saturday night, Sunday afternoon naps are inevitable if I find myself at home and able to take one. Marc and I actually paused a movie (Farce of the Penguins--funny) for a 2.5 hour sleepfest this afternoon. It's odd to wake up on the couch, the house completely silent, with a big penguin frozen on the TV screen.

Living in an average state

I'm not sure whether this is good, bad, or simply "average" news, but Oregon was #2 in a recent AP ranking of the most average U.S. states (based on census data). Illinois was first. "The AP ranked each state on how closely it matched national levels on 21 demographic factors, including race, age, income, education, industrial mix, immigration and the share of people living in urban and rural areas. The rankings were then combined to determine the state that best mirrors the country as a whole."

I thought I'd look at all the places I've lived.

• Ohio - #10. Interesting. Based on the factors above, I would have ranked it up in the 30s or so.
• Michigan - #3. Seems like top 10 material, but I'm surprised it's that high.
• Missouri - #9. I guess all those freaky NASCAR fans at Meramec Caverns are pretty normal.
• Florida - #19. With the number of hispanics and retirees in that state, I'm surprised it's that high.
• Kentucky - #47. Heh.
• Oregon - #2.

It's interesting that I've spent most of my life in the top 10.

A few Moab pics

Are we all turning into cyborgs?

Because there are so many Moab pictures that I don't even know what to do with them and because I haven't decided what to say about the trip yet, I figured it was time for something different.

We're at breakfast this morning (which, by the way, is not the smartest way to spend Mother's Day morning if you don't enjoy crowds), and a guy walks through the restaurant wearing a cell phone earpiece. Sheesh. I don't know if he was talking on it at the time, but wouldn't it be appropriate to remove electronic devices from your ear while you're just walking around? These are probably the same people who'd like to get something permanently implanted in their ear or head or hand so they don't have to carry anything at all. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for technological advances and I like gadgets and things, but I still haven't caught on to the cell phone mania craze. I have a cell phone because it used to be the cheapest way to get long distance. With the nifty long-distance-included land line plans now, that's moot. So I guess I carry it for emergencies only. I hardly use it. I don't need it to play music, broadcast TV, or be my PDA. I don't often send text messages or take pictures. I just want a phone, and I want it to be cheap. And I don't want to be a cyborg.

On another tangent, I won't even go into the prevalence of people talking on their cell phones in public restrooms. That is just bizarre to me. "Hold on a second, I have to flush."

And... we're back

A new personal record: We left Moab at 5:40 a.m. Mountain time and arrived home at 7:10 Pacific. 14.5 hours straight through, with 1 rest stop and 3 gas stops.

The trip was great, but I'm completely pooped. Details and pictures will follow sometime this weekend.

Adios

We're off to Moab tomorrow morning with a group of friends from PNWX. Be ready for lots of pictures (and hopefully not a story about someone breaking down on the trail and then navigating through a rainstorm in the dark) sometime next weekend. Bye bye!

Funny commercials

I was bummed when they changed the Aspercreme commerial slogan from something hilarious--"You bet your sweet Aspercreme!"--to something lame--"You bet if it's Aspercreme!"

The Steak-Umms people have made up for it though. "You can Steak-Umm in the north; you can Steak-Umm in the south. But the best part of all is when you Steak-Umm in your mouth." Hear it for yourself.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

What's my age again?

Absolutely no offense meant to my true friends from middle school who've always been there for me no matter what time or distance separates us--but how do people in their 20s, 30s, and beyond still manage to act like rotten 13-year-olds? Seriously. I'm sick of people talking about people behind their backs and then being best friends to that same person's face. I'm sick of people doing or saying things that they know others don't agree with purely to get a rise. I'm sick of people blowing things out of proportion either to make themselves look cool (?) or to foster some kind of bond with someone they're sharing the moment with. I'm sick of people who don't have the ability to keep their traps shut. I'm sick of people playing the victim.

To some degree, I'm sure we're all guilty of at least some of these things occasionally. I know I am. But criminey! Why is it happening so much lately? I had my fill of pettiness 16 or 17 years ago. I really thought we'd have all grown out of this behavior by now. Maybe my expectations of my friends are set too high. Who knows.

I need a vacation. Good thing exactly that will happen after one more day of work tomorrow!

Relive your Nintendo NES glory days

Warning: If you are or were a Nintendo junkie, do not click the following link until you have hours to waste away.

Productivity Killer