Malware, Hacking, and Password Changes, oh my!

Today on the nightly news the anchor announced that over 2 million accounts have been hacked since October, for common social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Of course changing one's password should be the first line of defense in creating a road block during a time like this.  Go do it if you haven't already!

When I was reviewing a list of blogs I used to follow, I found that more than half of them were no longer valid and I even received a Google malware alert for one of them.  I was immediately re-directed away from the site and given the option to continue or leave.  I left, of course, and though it was a bit intrusive, I was happy that Google gave me that alert.

The malware alert aside, I'm growing a bit frustrated with some of Google's recent release updates.  Google+ wants access to my personal life (aka tracking me via GPS), they're now telling me that IE8 is not a "modern" browser and should be updated to Chrome (self-advertising, I see), and a while back they initiated the annoying labels to my inbox for Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums.  Thanks Google for activating labels that I don't care to use and will never have interest in using, but cannot find a way to turn off.

Technology is sucking my life away and leaving me with less and less options to configure things the way I want them to be.  Yet I cannot tear myself from them.  This is a work in progress and I am determined to find a way to have less of it in my life.  Here goes....

How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds

I learned this today and can't wait to try it!

http://vimeo.com/29605182

Happy peeling! :)

Managing emotions on the playa

http://www.fest300.com/magazine/an-emotional-survival-guide-to-burning-man

I didn't have a shell-shock first year as was warned and managed quite well, other than being overwhelmed by so many events and not really knowing where to find certain camps. Everyone really helped by loving me and encouraging me as a newbie (thank you TaaP!).  Having Cami by my side was incredible too, though at times I admit I was a little leech (love you baby!) ;) I also reunited with two summer camp friends I hadn't seen in 15 years!  That was amazing :)

This year I plan to adventure more, and solo, and I've got a handful of emotions to sort through on playa this year...reading this article and watching the video got me excited for "me time", which I am long overdue for :)

I really can't wait to hug everyone - expect tears! I'm a little ball of woundupedness this year!!!

Four days 'til playa!!!! *sigh*

The Berkshires on a whim....

Here's how it went down: I flew back from OK at 2 pm Friday and worked from home a few hours to finish the day. Our friend Sonia asked if Cam or I wanted to go to Jacob's Pillow for a dance performance at 8 pm, giving us a narrow window to make it (3 hrs drive time). We said yes and threw clothes and sleeping bags in the car and then all got stuck in horrible highway traffic...arriving at the show's end. So sad!  But, we met up with two dancer/Burning Man friends who went to the show and had some food & drinks there together.

Then we went to the Dreamaway lodge for some more drinks and conversation.  (We met a super cute black labradoodle whose name I cannot remember, but preferred calling him Rex anyway.)

At closing we drove another 30-40 min to Earthdance, a home/camp/dance study/hippie commune type place where Zac used to live and study dance.  (They have dorms for large groups, grounds for tent camping, a large garden, chicken coop, and places to have fire pits outside at night.)  Earlier in the day, Sonia had mentioned sleeping in Treehouse, and I thought it was the name of a hostel.  Well, it was the name of an actual treehouse!!  There was enough room to sleep three, so we laid down our mats and bags for a splinter-free, mosquito-free, gloriously high night in the woods!  We awoke to crunches and crackles of woods sounds, the squeeze-toy sounds of some interesting bird calls, distant  highway traffic, and the freshest, most energizing air to inhale.  Mmmm, woods!!!  (Zac and Laura slept at ground level in a tent.)

There you have it!  It was pretty awesome :)

That belly!

It's official: I am baby crazy!  I stare at every pregnant woman that walks by and want to be her.  I stare at every infant and toddler that I see and wish that I had my own (or, in the least, that the mom and dad of those kids would let me run around and giggle with their kids...without coming off as a creep).  I also stare at every engagement/wedding ring combo and impatiently await the day that I share that love promise with my beloved.  Lastly, I cannot wait to STOP WORKING so I can walk around rubbing my baby-filled belly, complain about swollen ankles, and wear really cute flowy shirts and dresses that say to the world, "Look what I've got cookin!"

I'm ready to bake some baby bread!!!

The Crest documentary

Please support it!!  Follow the link to find more :)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/860217114/the-crest?ref=live

Colorado and an old dry cough

I started the post below ages ago, but thought I'd put it up anyway :)

"Dry Cough

This cough has followed me from Ohio to Virgina...sigh.  Waking up at 3:40 am on Monday morning was hard, especially while trying to kick this cough and thinking that I really needed one more day in my weekend.  I arrived home last Friday night around 8 pm from Ohio and - very happily - watched about 4 episodes of Battlestar Galactica.  Ha!  They found Earth!!  Needless to say the stakes ran high on the last mission, emotions were flying, and I was on the couch staring wide-eyed and crying (hehe).  Yes, crying at Battlestar Galactica.  What can I say, I'm invested in these characters now :)

My hotel room was # 413 this week...mmm, reminds me of home.  I miss my Shire and all the beautiful green nature that surrounds me when I am there.  I am in need of some time with Mother Nature!!"

As I post this, I'm in CO surrounded by open space, fresh air, and wildlife! (And soon-to-be overdeveloped open space :/ )  Here's hoping I get some time outdoors while I'm here, maybe at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge?  After I charge my laptop and get on an SUT prep call, I plan to bang out some work and then spend the afternoon at the refuge.

Then later I'm hoping to meet up with AS from summer camp (haven't seen him in years!!).  Get a good night's sleep.  Wake early for a client meeting all day tomorrow and bring Alan to the airport around 3:30.  Then I'm a free woman for a few hours!  Planning to go bouldering for a couple hours before dinner and a red-eye home.  I am going to make the most out of this trip if I can...I earned it! :)

Frank Louis Cimini - Evelyn's Place - New Orleans

I was looking online today to find the address of that bar I went to in NOLA where I met the older man from Pittsfield.  My mom asked me to look him up so Glen and Tina could visit him while they're in NOLA this summer, but it turns out he passed on in August 2012.

(Photo courtesy of Evelyn's Place on Facebook)


I had the wonderful experience to sit down and get to know Frank over a bowl of some yummy creole food, as he explained his evolution from growing up in Pittsfield to being inspired by NOLA and later moving there to settle down as a business owner.  He had owned an upscale Italian restaurant and, in later years, ran Evelyn's Place, named after his true love Evelyn.  He was an integral part of my amazing solo experience in NOLA before meeting up with friends to celebrate our 30th birthdays.  Dad played bocci with Frank's brother Milo, before moving to FL, and through this experience of connecting our small, separate worlds via a chance meetup in NOLA, his memory will live on forever with me and my family.

His obit is below if you want to take a gander.  I will never forget him or that short window of awesomeness on that trip :)

http://lakelawn.tributes.com/our_obituaries/Frank-Louis-Cimini-94387001

Back at Zero

I eat, I sleep, I work, I sit my computer.  I ride my bike when there's no snow and I rarely take a walk around the neighborhood.  I complain of back pain from the sitting, the bike riding - the overall lack of exercise - and complain about said lack of exercise.  I'm 31 and I should be exercising and happy!  Instead, I am happy (my life totally rocks) and frustrated at my sheer laziness.  It's still winter and I am supremely unmotivated.  The motivational speaker inside my head is whispering, "go work out!" while also saying, "press snooze one more time, it's okay".

Step 1: Make a goal to change 1-2 things for the next two weeks.
Step 2: Do those things!
Step 3: Make a goal to change 1-2 things in weeks 3-4.
Step 4: Do those things!

Courtney, one of my most favorite summer camp counselors reminded me today - via a blog post of hers - that small changes will get me back to the place where I was happy with my body, my energy, and my strength...all things that will give me the balance I am lacking.

http://happinessseries.com/03/2013/getting-back-on-track-with-diet-exercise/

As I sit here on this chair wondering why I am still sitting here, I take Step 1 on the way to bed.  Stretch using the physio ball before crawling into bed.  I will aim for 20 pushups (2x10), 9 chin ups (3x3), 200 crunches (2x100), and some cardio kicks in the morning.

It's time to git 'er done, lazy bones!