espirita

I saw that too!

Absinthe tastes like lemonade with a kick. Yummy. I'm drinking lukewarm water at this very moment.

I realize I may be in the minority here, but spam is actually quite delicious, and spam musubi is great mountain food...

I can't find honey-roasted almonds anywhere!! I swear they used to be at just the regular old grocery store, but now they seem to have vanished. HELP!

yummy

Thanks, points taken. I'll let you know when I find out what it is...

Sobo, Thanks for the offer! Let me see if I can find one first... -espy

I'll second that.

WTF? That's a video of Tommy and Opie playing with thems elves.

It’s sort of a chronic thing. I first noticed this problem the first time I went skiing around um… 10 years ago. I didn’t do anything specific to that hip (the left one) on the slopes (not like I ran into anything and jacked it up), so I figured it was just that I didn’t stretch well enough or something. But then every time I went skiing it happened – and it was always the same hip, and always too painful to be able to go down the rest of the slope (though I did manage to get down, mostly I think on my butt). Consequently I stopped skiing altogether. Since I’ve started climbing (about a year now) I’ve started to notice it again when I get in certain positions. I asked my doc about it and she said I might have some kind of genetic defect. I don’t really think it’s a stretching issue (though all the stretches you guys mentioned are awesome) because for the most part I’m pretty flexible and it always just happens in that one spot (never the other side). Thanks for your responses – I was just curious if anyone else had the same problem!

Well this will certainly make approaches more interesting!! Thanks for the advice.

Tuesday's on the phone to me OH YEAH

And what was the outcome? I slashed the wrist of the hand that was holding the gun, killing both hostage and gunman. ...and so I quit the police department and got myself a steady job. And though she thought she knew the answer, she could steal, but she could not rob. Didn't anybody tell her?

When you say "scenic", are you talking about the 1000s of guys in spandex bike shorts? Actually it was pretty nice - there were a couple of long stretches of just trees and I would hit a trance or fixate on the numbers on the road spray-painted for the construction crews.

Uh... I didn't seem to lose any weight! Boo!

Thanks!!

To Marie and anyone else who is interested: I made it!! It’s a great ride and very well supported, so I’d highly recommend it. Sunshine on Saturday Rain on Sunday Food stops Gold Wing Touring Association escorts Other riders “Mostly flat” – yeah right! Freaking hills!! Winlock HS Gym Directions to Winlock HS Gym ("Turn left at the only stoplight in Napavine." Me to police officer: "Is this right, because I don't see a stoplight." Police officer: "Yeah, they just took that out." ) Dogs that chased me! I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the crowds, but I actually liked having lots of other people around. Riding your bike down a country highway by yourself would be a little scary with cars zooming past, and just about all the other riders are very cool and courteous. Didn't see anyone climbing in Tenino but then again I was pretty much in a trance by then. The pool was closed! I guess the heater broke or something? No tacks or scary non-riders trying to mess with the riders!! The only thing that happened was, in the Portland City Limits, this car drove by and the punk sitting in the passenger seat would suddenly scream at the riders (including me), presumably to startle them and make them fall. This was at around mile 195, and I was so out of it that it didn’t really register until 30 seconds later. I was going pretty slow on my mountain bike (my riding partner was drafting me the whole way on her road bike!) and thought other riders were gonna get pissed, especially on the hills, but, if they said anything (other than “on your left”) they would say stuff like, “You’re almost there!” and “You’re doing great!” which was pretty cool. Cyclists rock!! Thanks for all the advice, esp. the red potato thing (those are bomber!).

Oh, is that what you call that thing?

Whew, clears that right up. Wanna climb? only if this it's a date You're on!!! on top? now see there that's how it's done: 2X4 was used and now there's no confusion. when archenemy and i go climbing we're on a date. It's all starting to make sense now.

Whew, clears that right up. Wanna climb? Nah, as you've probably already guessed, I mostly just use CC to air out my relationship issues. You are moving too fast for me. I thought we were on "dating" issues, and you are already up to a "relationship". I didn't even think we were on "dating" so do I need to grab my 2x4 now?

Whew, clears that right up. Wanna climb? Nah, as you've probably already guessed, I mostly just use CC to air out my relationship issues. Just kidding... of course I want to climb!

Caveat duly noted. If/when I ever get to climb with any of you folks, I'll make sure to ask about the date thing first. hehe

hey, esp., there are a lot of assumptions going on there! did he invite you to dinner? (usually the one who invites is supposed to pay -- not that it will end up that way, but that's the general "rule".) also, was the bill already on the table when you got up? if so, i could see why he might think you want him to pay. if you had intended to pay for part of the dinner, you probably should have left your card or some money for your part before you excused yourself to tinkle. if it wasn't on the table already, i think that sometimes waitstaff see someone going to the bathroom as a signal that they're ready to leave - particularly if you've just been sitting and talking for some time. or maybe the dude just figured he'd take care of it while you were gone. difficult to tell what his intentions are. some guys pay no matter who they're out to dinner with or why - they're just like that. just curious, though -- why were you adamant about not allowing it to be a date? Yep he invited me to dinner, and as far as I know and remember the bill was not on the table when I left. Why I didn’t want this to be considered a date: 1) Interesting guy but I wasn’t interested in that way. 2) Anyway too soon to be considered a date. I like a few “hanging out” sessions before I decide if I really want to date someone. 3) He was my TA and, though it was the end of the quarter, I wasn’t sure if I’d have him again (er… as a TA) next quarter or anytime in the future (as he was my French TA). So… what I’m hearing is, what my girlfriends tell me “that everyone knows” and this-means-this and that-means-that is all just a load of crap? I don’t need to worry about ANY subtleties when out with a guy (be it a date or not)? EXCELLENT!!

wow, knelson; that was a great post! i really enjoyed reading it. thanks for sharing. unfortunately, though, not everybody out there is looking for their "mate"; they're just looking for some action. if they were actually looking to get to know someone who could be a potential lifelong partner ... well, i don't think that would offend anybody! i think a date implies something; just hard to define what these days because people's intentions are so widely varied. i think esp.'s concern is valid because often times one person will think it's a date when the other person doesn't, and it's rather difficult to just come out and ask, "hey; is this a date?" without causing some turmoil. sometimes it's better to just do that anyway and get it over with, though, because like kurt said, it's all about timing. if they're offended because you asked, well, at least you learned something about them and where they're at ... I agree; thanks knelson for the great post, and thanks lawgoddess too. I guess to clarify what I was originally asking... what I am saying I am generally uneducated about are the codified signals relating to dating that most people seem to know. For example, I went out to dinner with this guy once. The length of the dinner and the conversation (and the cuisine) resulted in me drinking copious amounts of (green) tea; consequently after a couple of hours I really needed to take a pee and so excused myself. By the time I got back, he had paid the bill (which I had not intended him to do but thanked him for it anyway) and we left. When I deconstructed this evening later with one of my girlfriends (at her behest, mind you), she informed me that by excusing myself to go to the bathroom, I was signaling to my male companion that that was his cue to pay the bill. And because I allowed him to pay the bill, I allowed this to be considered a date. Which was not my intention at all. So… F goes to the bathroom = M pays the bill = DATE When I heard that, my first thought was, of course, WTF!! Second thought was, am I sending signals out that I don’t realize I am sending? I really just needed to pee. What was I supposed to do, hold it until the bill was settled? Isn’t a cigar sometimes just a cigar? (Groan… let the cigar jokes fly!)

creamy or chunky? Creamy!! Not a big fan of nutty chunks.