I-O-U-U-O-I???

Usually on my bus ride to and from work, I entertain myself by either reading or listening to my iPod. Today, however, I was "entertained" by a conversation two guys were having towards the back of the bus.

Apparently, the one guy was giving the other guy advice about the whole DUI and house arrest process. The "seasoned vet" had apparently had, according to him (and his knowledge of the conversation), eight or nine DUIs.

The other guy was complaining that he wasn't getting his truck back and that the whole process was so expensive. This was his third DUI, and this time it was because he had worked a long day, didn't eat, and only went out after work for a few beers.

The DUI guri told the other one to be good in jail so that he could get out early for good behavior. He should also be prepared to receive calls from his parole officer at all hours of the day and night, and to have to say something humiliating like "I-O-U-U-O-I" when answering the phone to identify them, as if the ankle bracelet wasn't enough.

For about 20 minutes the conversation went on, and I was torn between listening to a Disney podcast or this trainwreck of a conversation. From the looks of my blog, you know which won out.

The pro got out at his stop and we traveled on in silence until I got to my stop, and I was left to ponder how wrong and sad that people in our society could gain the knowledge these two had, as well as myself for not turning around and saying, "I've had three friends who were killed by drunk drivers. At what point have you not learned your lesson?"

An Incredibles Story of A Bug's Finding Life

So with a title like that, you know it has to be something about Pixar.

Well, since I've taken on a director's job at work, I'm not out on the road week after week. That's actually added to my delinquency at posting timely blogs, believe it or not. To that end, now I'm having to go back in time to relive some of my travel tales.

What better way to start than with one of my trips to Northern California. I was working at a customer site when I noticed they had a connect at Pixar. My customer knew about my love of Disney, so she was able to "hook me up" with her contact at Pixar for a private tour!

I spent a good portion of a Thursday afternoon seeing all sorts of lovely treasures that I wish I could have fit in my suitcase. Many of the behind-the-scenes you see on the "extras" DVDs are places I was able to walk, see and experience.

And because Don and I have been talking about Disney DVDs for almost a day, I thought I'd share a shelf in one of my curios that is my Pixar tribute, complete with DVDs to enhance that shelf. If you look carefully, you'll see one of my prized treasures from that trip: a Pixar business card!

Yes, I'm missing Monsters, Inc. from my display, but I also need Cars and Ratatouille! (Hint! Hint!)

Happy New Year (With Advice)

Well it's officially a new year, so I thought I'd post something that Julie sent to few of us at work. As she says, it's dumb but cute!

16 Things That Took Me 43 Years to Learn:

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be "meetings." (This is so true; when I worked for American Express, we had meetings about our meetings!)

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." (Did you read that, WDCC Gang?!?! That's our Walt Disney Classics Collection group!)

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life.

6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

7. Never lick a steak knife. (This is another one that I know from personal experience, and more than once. I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree!)

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.

13. A person who is nice to you but rude to a waiter is not a nice person (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

14. Your friends love you anyway. (And I have a great group of friends to whom I really put that to the test!)

15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

16. Men are like fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into some thing acceptable to have dinner with.

Happy 2008!!!

Like the rest of you, the Holidays can be a bit topsy-turvy, but it's family and friends that help keep me grounded.

One of my resolutions is to be better about keeping up with my Blogs. I may have to take a trip down memory lane to catch up the big gap I have since August, and with my Dory-like memory, that could prove to be difficult!

While the stresses of work run high, I have to remember to let down what little hair I have left and enjoy life. And here's the proof of that!

Happy New Year, Y'all!!!