Ai Chihuahua!

I came across this article on yahoo the other day and it is too good to pass up!

Enjoy,
WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Tinker Bell has been reunited with her owners after a 70-mph gust of wind picked up the six-pound Chihuahua and tossed her out of sight. Dorothy and Lavern Utley credit a pet psychic for guiding them on Monday to a wooded area nearly a mile from where 8-month-old Tinker Bell had been last seen. The brown long-haired dog was dirty and hungry but otherwise OK.
The Utleys, of Rochester, had set up an outdoor display Saturday at a flea market in Waterford Township, 25 miles northwest of Detroit. Tinker Bell was standing on their platform trailer when she was swept away.
Dorothy Utley tells The Detroit News that her cherished pet "just went wild" upon seeing her.

I have a hard time not laughing when I think of what this would look like. I mean think about it, one minute your dog is there and then all of a sudden whoosh there it goes. How crazy is that?

Note to self, do not buy a pet that has the potential to blow away!

On Lockdown

I'm officially up a creek. Well, at least for the next seven days I am. Apparently, someone has made a duplicate copy of my debit card somewhere here in Santa Barbara, so my checking account is on lockdown! I got a phone call from my bank yesterday afternoon telling me that there was suspicious activity on my card that they needed me to verify. I of course do screen my phone calls, so if you call me from a strange number be prepared to leave a voicemail because I am not going to answer. A little worried that this was just a scam to try to completely steal my identity I decided to investigate the matter myself.

After conducting my investigation I noticed that yes there were two charges to my account that were not mine. Still unsure of the phone call I received I decided to call my banks twenty-four hour help line just to make sure I was talking to the right people. After eighteen minutes on hold and a failed connection I got transfered to the right department and got everything taken care of. Unfortunately, my card has been deactivated and all activity on my account has been halted. This leaves me with three dollars in my wallet and no way to access my money till my new card arrives.

Luckily, I am not responsible for the two charges that were done. I did however ask how something like this happens and they explained to me that one of the places that I used my card at someone must have come right behind me and stolen my card number and then made a copy. This seems completely insane to me that people could do that, but technology is not infallible. Looks like, I'm going to be paying for things in cash more often again.

Be careful out there people and swipe responsibly!

Five Months in the Making...

... and Allison can officially expect the package that I promised her for every major holiday since Thanksgiving of 2008. I present the following two pictures as evidence that she can expect a package in her mailbox early next week:
I promise that is not just an empty box!
Outside the Goleta Post Office

I would have gotten a picture of handing the package over to the USPS, but that would have been a little awkward!

Anyway, Allison I hope that you enjoy your five month late package. I think there is a good mix of things in there that you will enjoy. Thank you so much for being an excellent friend!

Enjoy, the small token of my appreciation!

From the Portfolio of Andy Everson

"Rain"

Aids Lifecycle

Last Saturday I took another adventure down to Los Angeles to volunteer my services to the LA riders training for the Aids Lifecycle. The riders were doing a sixty-five mile ride from Santa Monica to San Pedro and back. I was there to see what a typical day on the ride may be like to help prepare for what seven full days on the ride will be like.
It was a beautiful day to be outside. My day began at 4:45 am to get down to Santa Monica by 8 am. As one may expect traffic was virtually non-existent on the way down. I got there just as the riders were going through their pre-ride stretching program and then watched them head out onto the route. My first task was to meet Tony who is one of the Sports medicine team captains for the ride. Once I met up with Tony we helped the other volunteers break down the bicycle staging/parking apparatus and then headed down to San Pedro to set up our treatment tables and wait for the riders to arrive at the lunch stop.
As the riders began filtering in to the lunch stop we started to get busy with riders needing a little TLC. This was a great opportunity to meet the riders. As I worked we engaged in pleasant conversation and began to get to know each other. Quite a few of the people I helped explained that this was their first year doing the ride as well. I met one USC student who when I asked why she had decided to do the ride was simply because she heard there was a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles and that was something she wanted to do. Many other riders were supporting or honoring loved ones living with or no longer with us because of HIV/AIDS. I also met a gentleman named Carlos who quit his job at a production company to run an outreach program for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Los Angeles area.
In the short amount of time I spent working on each rider that asked for assistance I was excited to be able to chat with them and get to know them. They were all very grateful and appreciative of our effort and helping them out. I didn't get home till about 9:45-10 pm that night and immediately crashed on my bed till noon the next day, but it was totally worth it. I am looking forward to volunteering for the ride and meeting more people.
I am supposed to help out this Saturday as well when a group of riders are going to take part in what is called the double century. The double century is basically a one hundred mile ride up to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles on Saturday and then the one hundred miles back to Los Angeles on Sunday. Hopefully, there will be more stories to share.

Recent playlist:

1. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs- Zero
2. Santogold- Lights Out
3. The Script- Before the Worst
4. Stephanie's Id- Cold Cold
5. Snow Patrol- Open your Eyes
6. Morcheeba- Wonders Never Cease
7. The Ting Tings- We Walk
8. Sia- Breathe Me
9. Depeche Mode- Precious
10. Death Cab for Cutie- Soul Meets Body
11. Feist- My Moon My Man
12. The Fray- Never Say Never
13. Coldplay- Violet Hill

I'm addicted...

... to a German Soap Opera! Yes, you can laugh your ass off at me! I know how ridiculous this is. The worst part is that I became addicted to it on Youtube! I know! Completely ridiculous! I think I have lost my mind, but I am completely addicted to it! I became so addicted that I began watching clips of it from 2007 and stayed up till four and two thirty in the morning on two consecutive nights watching it. Believe me I know how completely crazy this is, but I connected with the story and became completely enthralled by it. It has also gotten me back to speaking what limited German I can. Unfortunately, the story line also got me thinking about my life and its current state. I'll post more on those revelations later.

If you want to see a clip of what I've become addicted to let me know and I'll post it.