One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

At Long Last, Kevin's Head

He Is Going to Be Insufferable Now!

Kevin has been away from home on his last MASSIVE business trip since the beginning of October. Seriously, 5 weeks abroad is insane, and if anyone at his company is really wondering why he resigned, they need look no further than his itinerary. He's flying from China to Norway right now, and he called me on the way to the airport to tell me about his Asian farewell dinner. He received so many gifts that he had to buy another suitcase to haul everything back. I asked him what kind of presents he was given, and he answered, "A tea set, a traditional Filipino dress shirt, a little Chinese good luck charm, and, um, a statue." I asked him about the statue, and he replied, "Um, well, it's kind of a statue of me." That's right, his coworkers in China took a photo of him to a sculpter. And now Kevin is lugging his own bust home... He will probably receive another farewell gift or two from his coworkers in Norway, and as awesome as a clay homage to his head is, I'm kind of hoping that the Norwegians choose to honor him with chococolate instead! I know the statue is a huge honor, and it was very kind of his Chinese coworkers, but seriously, how will I ever be able to top it? This Christmas, as he opens his usual dress shirt, sweater and book gifts from me, he's going to be all, "Yeah, the sweater is a nice color, but do you remember when someone commissioned a statue of me?"

Overwhelmed

I blinked back the tears as I cast my vote today, I trembled as I watched the election coverage on TV this evening, and as I listened to President-Elect Obama's victory speech tonight, my heart soared. I have voted in other elections, but never have I believed in a candidate so much. I'm so proud of and hopeful for our country!

Happy Halloween!

Where I'll Be This Weekend

I leave for Las Vegas tomorrow morning. Am I going to gamble, to see the shows, to hang out with Paris Hilton? Um, no. Actually, I will be here:
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?i=33ec6f31-64ad-4c18-acca-85ae57ac5524
I am so excited!!!

Yay Fall!

I have been having massive computer problems lately. The Dell guy has been out to the house twice now, once to replace the motherboard, and then again today to replace both the screen and the motherboard. The computer is still not working, so tomorrow I'm supposed to send it in to Dell for a last ditch effort to revive it. I'm guessing I'm going to end up with a brand new laptop since the old one is still under warranty. In the meantime, I'm plodding along on my very old, very slow laptop from the days of yore (or 2007, whatever). Its lack of speed and reliability have discouraged me from even trying to blog or email much, but since I took some pictures this weekend of the pretty foliage, I thought I'd give it a try today.
Behold, autumn leaves:
And more leaves plus a waterfall:

And the best part of autumn of all, a haunted house:

The Syracuse fairgrounds is now home to a creepy carnival and 4 very spooky haunted houses--you have to walk in that scary, gaping clown mouth. Eek! I love Halloween so much, and after missing out on it completely last year due to living in Norway, I am celebrating it with a vengeance this year! In addition to the haunted houses, I'm going to a costume party on Halloween. I have no idea what I should dress up as--any suggestions? Keep in mind that my Halloween pet peeve is the stupid girl who wears a leotard, stillettos and pointy ears and says "I'm a cat!" I was at a costume store today toying with the idea of being a jester...I really want to be a Harlequin clown but I can't find a costume anywhere. I think I'll hold off on buying a costume until after I get to Las Vegas next weekend. I'm guessing that there are probably some amazing costume stores there. (And no, I'm not going to dress up as a show girl! Or Sigfried or Roy!)