Enron memos detail Calif. schemes

Enron memos detail Calif. schemes

Ah, so Enron DID benfit from energy policy. And this was while the conservatives were blaming California for last year's blackouts.

Ah, yeah. Top story on the MSNBC local news page. I did work hard on that story.

Carmel By-the-Sea

Andrea and I took a fun little day-trip to Carmel By-the-Sea today to relax and test out her new Minolta Dimage 7. Anyway, you can see the photos here.

Pollution battle moves to the states

One of the few reasons to love Califonia.

Little Jesus Dolls

This is wrong on so many levels.

The Empire Bounces Back

Let's hope this one is better than Phantom Menance. Double for the video games based on it.

CNN.com - Mr. Elmo goes to Washington

The apocalypse has arrived.

FDA panel backs nonprescription Claritin

Sweet!

Melee closes down theme park

The one day I decide to go to our crappy little excuse for a theme park, a riot breaks out. Sarah, Jeff and I got out minutes before the fun really began, but we did have several -- yes, several -- verbal run-ins with line-jumpers affiliated with the step-dance competition.

Come Home, McCain - The Washington Monthly and New Republic are right: McCain should run for president as a Democrat.

Interesting....

I just got out of jury duty, which is a big relief, since I came within one juror of being selected. (Here, potnetial jurors are questioned in groups, a process that stops when all 12 jurors plus one alternate have been selected.

It was actually kind of nice to not have to show up for work on deadline day. But it also means that I had only two stories in this weeks paper...

Researchers find 3,600-mile ant supercolony

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Woo-hoo! Off to the beach!

Study suggests how a pill could build muscles

I got really excited about this story until my girlfriend reminded me that "it's not a belly pill."

Darn, it looks like the Friday Five site is down today.

I know, I know. It's been a few days. I've been busy with another video project for church, which I needed to have ready to show today. I hope the folks in charge don't need any changes, because I was looking forward to spending Saturday in Santa Cruz at the beach.

In other news, our editor told us this morning that she'll be undergoing agressive cancer treatment. It sounds liek she'll be fine, but she'll lose her hair in the course of treatment, which must be weird. It was the first time I've ever seen one of my bosses cry.

Iran joins call for oil embargo

Yet another reason to push higher fuel standards.

Happy Easter, everyone!

My roommate got me a very sweet Easter card and a plastic egg filled with jelly beans and a certificate for Jamba Juice. Of course, this makes me look like a creep since I didn't get her or anyone else a thing for Easter.

Oh well, as she always says: "It's OK; you're a guy."

Here's a really cool group e-mail I got a few days ago from my friend Lisa. I never considered turning 30 a big deal, but I thought Lisa has some pretty insightful things to say here. And it reminded me how fortunate I am to have journalists as friends...

The big Three-Oh (No!)

....OR

Not going gently into the good night, czech style

This morning, March 26, I officially stopped clinging to the phrase “young adult;” ceased to be in that prized 18-29 demographic that gets all the cool test marketing gigs; and morphed into someone shifty, according to those even older folks who were alive in the 60s. (weren’t they the ones who said you should never trust anyone over 30?!)

So I’ve officially finished the first day of my fourth decade. Please send over-the-hill jokes, hair colorants and Depends undergarments. As well as the guide to how Early Bird specials work, and instructions on how to drive a mini-van. And DON'T remind me that at this age, Mozart only had five years of life left.

Actually, I haven’t really been fretting too much about this milestone, as it doesn’t feel that much different than 29. I certainly don’t *feel* as ancient as this age used to sound. Twenty-six, when you were officially closer to 30 than 20, smacked of much more calamity. Still, you just can’t escape the fact that no matter what, 30 comes with all this weird emotional baggage, no matter who you are, what you’re doing and what kind of lifestyle you’ve chosen. You’re supposed to have some things figured out by 30. I think we all do, to an extent, but you can’t help but wonder if it’s the right things…

I’ve decided all you can do is keep your sense of humor. A wonderful cousin who also recently turned 30 reminded me of this.

Was it brutal? I asked Jennifer of her passage to the no-longer-young side. “Puhleeze,” she says. “It’s so silly how people go around worrying about how old they are. Or saying they’re younger than they are. I go around saying I’m older than I am. I mean, for a 30-year-old, I look alright, but for a 37-year-old, I look hot!” (For the record, Jennifer looks pretty fabulous for a 30-year-old, too.)

Anyway, I do believe she’s right. It’s all how you choose to frame it. They say the 30s are supposed to be the decade when you come into your own. When you’ve established yourself; gone thru some trial and error to find your path, or at least a decent one. You’re supposed to have exchanged idealism for a more realistic picture of how the world works, and what you can accomplish in it. You’re finally considered wise enough to serve in Congress, and are even a desirable candidate to lead services on Jewish high holidays. (!) Apparently, one of the criteria in Jewish doctrine is to seek someone over 30, “because a 30-year-old has been humbled and broken-hearted, and can thus sincerely ‘pray from the heart.’"

Though I still like to believe I could do anything I wanted if I set my mind to it, it is true that, after my jading 20s (ha!), I’ve come to accept that some childhood dreams will probably never come to pass. They include: becoming president of the United States (yes, I realize this was a long shot, and that these few years out of the country has drastically torpedoed my chances!); dancing as a ballerina; and making an appearance on the Johnny Carson show as the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Ambassador (this one is actually in writing from the sixth grade!) I also probably will never figure out how to repopulate the wilds of China with panda bears, nor will I ever pull together that penguin pool for the backyard…(considering I’ve not yet *had* my own backyard…)

Speaking of backyards, there's these, I don't know, THINGS the world tells you you should be doing by now. Things like owning a single piece of furniture besides the papasan chair I recently sold; ascending some ladder some place; buying a house with the money from the ladder; and meeting a nice young man who will fix things in the house. (among other things...) And some nights, when I lose touch with my gut and my perspective -- like last night when I stayed up thinking about all this till 4 am -- I start to wonder if I’m off track.

But I was reminded by a wonderful friend in Prague today, that though life is short, it is also long, and there is plenty of time for such things if those of us exploring other options decide we *do* want to give them a try. And that we will appreciate them that much more -- they will be richer and sweeter -- for having taken this time to explore, seek adventures, and see what life looks like OFF the merry-go-round for a moment. Or maybe in building a whole different type of merry-go-round.

And anyway, there are still PLENTY dreams to tackle to in the next 30 years. I’m putting “weaseling my way into being the token white girl in a gospel choir” at the top of the list. I look forward to checking in with you at 60.

And being like a fine bottle of wine.

G’nite,

Lisa