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Memorial Weekend 06

I had a very busy Memorial Day weekend. Lots of parties, friends, and family. Saturday was Jonathan's engagment party, then dinner with Cathy, then theater with family. Sunday I went up to Santa Barbara to visit Grandpa George and Eileen. We also met up with my cousin Adrienne for dinner. Monday was Mike's barbeque. Phew!

New computer?

My home computer has started to sporadically shut down and/or cough up error messages. The same thing happened to Gary's computer a couple months ago. Since he got us indenitcal computers from a trade show, it is not suprising. So if his computer's premature demise and his subsequent purchase of a new PC is any predictor, I have a feeling I know where some of Gary's raise may be headed.

Emily most popular name

Emily is the most popular name for baby girls in the US for the seventh year in a row. What can I say?

Mold

A comment on the joys of owning a home:

Over two months ago, Gary and I started to notice mold growing on the bedroom walls. We cleaned it off with a water and bleach solution, but it came back in a couple weeks later. Since then, it has been a battle (and the mold is holding its own). We've found mold on the walls in another room and inside a few pieces of furniture. We clean it off with a bleach solution, but it just comes back.

So we realized we have a moisture problem and need to prevent the mold by getting things dry. We've opened up the curtains and windows and kept our ceiling fans on to try and get some air circulation. After suspecting errant sprinkler spray a while back, I turned off the lawn sprinklers over 6 weeks ago. I didn't seem to harm the grass on the lawn, but it also did not deter the mold.

Now, I'm worried we could have broken pipe or leak somewhere fueling the mold. It is just hard to know how to check. I don't want to rip into the walls or floor just to check pipes. I'm also unsure about what to make of regular moisture that accumulates on the walls. Most morning I can see wet patches, sometimes even moisture dripping down, on the walls. We also live in a humid area; we get pretty thick overnight fog most nights and sometimse into the day.

This whole mold problem is so frustration, not to mention gross. I wish I knew more clearly how to proceed. Remind me, why did we want to buy our own place?

Poker party

Gary and I hosted our second poker party on Saturday. We had seven players so we could all fit around one table. I played better this time and won a few good hands. I even lasted in until fifth place. The game pace was pretty good although the quality poker playing was occasionally sacrificed to some heated conversations. Either way it was fun.

Sunday my family came over to celebrate Mother's day. Usually we don't do alot for my mom, but she was going to spend the night at our house Sunday night to catch a flight the next day, so we went out for dinner and then went on a nice walk at the beach. She off to the Washington DC book expo since she's been nominated for three categories. Who knows she might come home with a few book awards. As she says, "it is better than a sharp stick in the eye."

New Computer at Work

I got new computer at work - good news and bad news. It seems that Kaiser leases its PCs and they get replaced automatically after a few years. The good part is that the new hard drive and processor are oh so fast and that my old monitor was also replaced with a sleek new flat screen. The bad part is that all my "custom" programs and preferences that were on my old hard drive are gone. And since I don't have administrative privledges, I had to request that IT put them back. I'm just lucky the tech guys just do what I ask them and have never questioned the random software I use.

April 29 Triathlon

The results are in for my Triathlon from Saturday April 29. It was almost an olympic distance race at 1000 meter swim, 40k bike, and 8k run. I didn't prepare very well or bring enough nutrition for the event since I thought is was going to be a shorter race. It was a silly mistake, but I did fine anyway with a total time of 2:56:34. I came in first place in the "Athena" category - not bad considering there was only one other woman in that group. I was also proud of myself for once again being the only person doing the race without a wetsuit (partially because I'm cheap and partially because I'm a good swimmer). My next race will be a full olympic distance triathlon June 10.

Arms and the Man and LACMA

Saturday night I went with my family to see a delightfully funny play at A Noise Within, The Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw. Eventhough the play was written over a hundred years ago, it was really quite entertaining. The characters were somehow exaggerated and genuine at the same time, making the show quite silly and still touching.

Then on Sunday, Gary and I went to a refreshing and modern exhibit at LACMA. It was part 17th century naughty engraved prints in frames and the other part modern sureal black and white cartoons on the wall. The material, as well as the way it was presented, was fun, sexy, and creative. I'd heard about the art on KCRW and thought it would make a nice date. Also at LACMA, we also saw a beautiful exhibit on modern glass sculptures and the permant Southeast Asian, Ancient, and Japanese art collections.