My "Real Age"

I took a "real age" test today.
What does that mean? Well, according to Longevity expert Dr. Michael Roizen, everyone has two ages: your chronological age and your real age. Your real age is determined by your lifestyle rather than your birthday. Funny how his quiz didn't ask me about my crystal meth habit.

According to him, although I am *cough* *cough* 38, my Real Age is 32.4 I lost almost a whole year because on average I drive 5 to 14 mph over the speed limit. Damn.

Curious? Take the abbreviated quiz here.
Let me know your results!

Everybody Run! The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun...

My attitude towards guns has always been a healthy mixture of apprehension, respect, intimidation, and fear. I didn't grow up around them; and like a lot of people, my main familiarity with them has been through media reports of gang shootings and Hollywood depictions. And though I always thought Kelly Garrett and the rest of the Angels always looked so cool chasing down bad guys with their pistols, I never thought it could be for me. Don't get me wrong. As a little girl, I do remember running around the house with my fingers in gun formation, yelling "Cover me Bree!" over my shoulder. But the fear of having an actual gun in my hands made me cringe with fear.

When D brought out his Mossberg I just curled up into a little ball in the couch, refusing to hold it. When he urged me to even just touch it, he swears I just curled up into an even littler ball. But secretly, somewhere deep down, I knew I wanted to be an Angel.

This past Sunday I got my very first taste of shooting firearms. The Boys go shooting at the range regularly enough, but up till now, I was never able to make it. They chose a great Gun Club in the Los Altos hills... and on a beautiful bright Sunday, we made a day of it.

I got to shoot clay pidgeons and even did some target practice with pistols!
As Laino showed me how to load and aim, I became increasingly nervous. But surrounded as I was by 6 other comfortable gunhandlers, I knew everything would be alright.

Admittedly, I was shocked by the kickback the first time I pulled the trigger. I was slightly in awe of the power I could feel coming out of the muzzle. But when I hit the pidgeon on my 2nd or 3rd shot, it started to feel like fun! I couldn't believe that I actually got the shotgun to do what I wanted it to do. A certain part in me kicked in, and I wanted to get better at this delicate balance between (wo)man and metal. Did it happen in the course of one afternoon? No. Did I have (parden the pun) a blast? YES. My respect for guns certainly grew; but truth be told, I think a bit of my fear did too....

Lock, stock, and two smoking barrels.

Superbad!

On a clear day, you can shoot forever.

"You can take the redneck out of Ohio...."

Panda Porn?

So, just a big more background on the Panda Breeding happening down in San Diego...

Natural breeding success (April 24, 2007)

Adult female Bai Yun surprised the Giant Panda Team by demonstrating she was ready for breeding a few days earlier than anticipated. The adult male, Gao Gao, and Bai Yun were allowed to mate naturally today. With the successful pairing, researchers are optimistic about conception. Over the next several months, Bai Yun's behavior and hormone levels will be monitored; however, if a pregnancy occurs it will not be determined until just days before she gives birth.

And the resulting 20-day old cub had its first exam yesterday!Covered in fine white fur, it weighed in at a robust 23.5 ounces and measuring 11.4 inches in length,

Even Steven...

It is always great to get a random compliment to start your day.
A young fellow sat down in front of me on the Muni this morning. I thought nothing of it until he slowed down to walk behind me as we exited our way up to street level. "My god," I thought. "Maybe he wants to rob me!" I walked as fast as I could (while still looking non-panicked) up the escalator. And as he turned to exit on the east side, he said to me.. "I'm sorry to bother you. But you are a beautiful woman." I could only gush back a thank you. "I bet you're married, have a boyfriend or something like that, huh?".. "Yes, something quite like that. But you are incredibly sweet. Thank you!"

... Good gracious. All that and I hadn't even put on my purple patent slingbacks on yet!... I could barely fit my head into the elevator up to work. But lest I got too carried away with myself, it turns out my laptop had contracted a virus and my workday got f&cked up for a good 3 hours. Can we call it Even Steven now?

I Want One!

I know.. its been a while...
But guess what time it is????
THAT's right!!!!!!!!!!!! Its time for ..*booming voice* PANDA CAM!!!!!!!!!!!

Bai Yun just had a cub 2 weeks ago.. Her fourth!
Go visit and check out the new Mama! Its fun watching her lumber around her den.

*Enter Cliche Jumping/Falling Song Here*

Well here I am, back on land, safe and sound!
What a wonderful day it was.

I ended up jumping from a height of 18,000 feet along with LaLa and RayRay. And I can assure you that a 90-second freefall is not likely an experience any one of us will soon forget; particularly as RayRay had a DVD made of her jump!

For hours afterwards we had permagrins and days later... I can still close my eyes and muster the terror I felt as I peered out the plane, saw Salinas Valley laid out before us, and felt the wind whipping my face. Never mind me yelling out at my trusty jumpmate J.R... "I can't do this! I can't do this!".... But its that moment of letting go, falling out and feeling that ridiculous giddyness as you give in to the rush.........................(And BTW, thats RayRay on the verge of her jump, not me.)

I highly recommend anyone try this once in their life.... Just don't ask me to sing you Creed songs to get you amped...

Might as well JUMP!

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to jump out of a plane tomorrow. So wish us godspeed when LaLa, RayRay, and I tumble out of plane over 10,000 feet up in the air.

Having done a jump once before I know the absolute buzz that is in store for me. (It is RayRay's first time.).. I am by no means an extreme sport-type, but I must admit the high you get from skydiving is indescribable. I look forward to the sh*teating grin thats going to be plastered on my face.... and the big wooooooohooooooooo I'm going to let out when each one of my girls lands eagerly after me.

I'm not nervous right now, but I suppose things could be different once I'm up there on the plane. This outing in fact has forced me to think about getting about "getting my estate in order". Once finished here, in fact, I will be taking pen to paper and writing my will..... Who wants my collection Jean-Luc Picard figurines?? Speak up now or forever hold your peace....

Craving a Laugh?

I rather thought listening to Terry Gross and NPR's Fresh Air at work would be relatively harmless. Her voice is oh-so-soothing and I can usually crank out a packet of reports in a nice relaxed manner.

Today, however, her program was quite disruptive and sent basically a constant barrage of chuckles streaming out of my cubicle. She had Paul Rudd as a guest and goodness gracious he is my new hero! I suspected he had the potential for kooky humor ever since I saw him in Laz Buhrmann's Romeo and Juliet. .. I love his way of throwing caution to the wind with his comedy, and yet he balances it with this understatement that absolutely floors me. His many collaborations with Judd Apatow and the gang, has only cemented it. As I chuckled my way through the interview, I got the yearning- no, craving - for more laughs. (Side note: He said when most people come up to him on the street, they like to open with, "You know how I know you're gay??" AWESOME.) Did I ever tell you that I love to laugh? I mean.. I love it. I need it. I yearn for it. That moment when you feel it bubble up inside you? And then it just.. BOOP.. pops out? And once it is out, it, in my case, is uncontrollable. Forget about the whole opposable thumb thing; this separates us from the animals.. Its the best feeling in the world.. But I digress...

In any case, I wanted to inject more silliness into my day. So it was YouTube to the rescue.
I found the scene I wanted with Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and Steve Carrell (and that 4th guy.. dont' know him). Enjoy, laugh, giggle, chuckle. Guffaw even.... Without further ado, here's a little Afternoon Delight.. ...


I dont' remember this music video from Anchorman.. perhaps it's on extra on the DVD? And it's not just the fact that its funny and ridiculous; its that they look like they are having an absolute ball doing all this. You want to join in!!