25 Random Things About Me

This is a fun survey-type note that has been circulating on Facebook and since some of our readers don't have Facebook, I thought I'd share on here. We'll see if we can put together a few random things about Justin over the weekend. He doesn't have Facebook either!

25 Random Things About Me

Tue 8:30pm

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.

1. Whether driving through a town, city or on a 5-lane freeway, I have wicked road rage.
2. I remember exactly what Justin was wearing, where & how he was standing and what he was eating the first time I met him - 2.5 years before we actually started dating.
3. I threw out the first pitch at a Mariners’ baseball game. Dressed as the Washington State Potato.
4. I’ve also moonlighted as a Bing cherry in a tuxedo.
5. And I convinced a few of my dear friends and my brothers to dress up as various fruits and veggies for a campaign stunt.
6. I swung on a flying trapeze while in Australia and even completed the release and catch move!
7. I am still in contact with my penpal in Australia who I was introduced to in 4th grade.
8. The other day I opened one of my college transcripts and discovered that I apparently signed up for and never attended golf my senior year…my GPA got docked for that one. Who knew?!
9. I recently lived 3 weeks in a hotel and am now living in a motorhome.
10. I am terrified of anything that lives in the water, particularly whales and especially sharks.
11. I love spending time with my family – some of my most favorite memories stem from Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings.
12. I drove myself to driver’s training.
13. My Nanny (grandma) is one of the funniest people I know. I discovered while talking with her just this evening that she tells people Justin works for the, and I quote, “FBI, or something like that.”
14. My family gets together with the Pomeroy-based Bye Family each year to watch the Indy 500. We have contests and trophies and everything.
15. I went to Indiana with my dear friend Jenny from Georgia – whom I met in Australia – in 2005 to attend the Indy 500 race.
16. One thing on my “bucket list” is to be an Indy car driver for a day.
17. Last year I wore a size 8 shoe. Now, I find that my right foot fits better in a 7 and my left in a 7 ½.
18. I have a horrible habit of biting my nails.
19. When with the Stroyan twins, people ask us if we’re sisters.
20. When my father-in-law, brother-in-law and his girlfriend in the same room together and you arrange them in a particular order, you get: Jaime Lee Curtis.
21. In 2nd grade I desperately wanted a teal-colored 2-door metro.
22. I’ve been in a music video for MTV Taiwan.
23. I would love for someone to invent a robot that could use the bathroom for me.
24. I always expect a frozen, microwaveable mac n’ cheese meal to taste horrible so I always make another meal at the same time. I have yet to meet a frozen mac n’ cheese that’s as good as Kraft’s.
25. I can stay awake for about 10 mins max in the car when someone else is driving. Particularly Justin.

If I could make a bumper sticker...

Today's post is a bit of a rant.

Firstly, If I were to make a bumper sticker, it would read, "Use your blinker, please!"

Well, since we're being honest, it would really say, "Use your $(@%)! blinker, jerk!" and I would pass them out everywhere. Blinkers are there for a reason, not to simply pimp your ride. If you're not going to use your blinkers to let other drivers know what you intend to do, at least use it to show others what you're doing as you do it. I'm sure this can save lives, or at least the sanity of others.





Secondly, large retail store that shall go unnamed, believe it or not, I'm old enough to drive myself to your store, to park in your parking lot and to get inside to collect the items I need with the aid of your helpful banners highlighting the different departments. I've been going to various shopping centers and stores for 26 years now and I've never found the check-out process to be beyond my comprehension. I thought the light on above the register indicated that the lane was open. I also figured a line of customers or a cashier standing behind the register indicated the lane was open. Does someone really need to stand near the check out area all day long with a super-hyped walkie talkie to intercept shoppers and tell them which lines are open or direct them to the customer service desk? If the customer service desk isn't seeing much action, can't one of the four reps simply come over and open another check-out stand?














I can't tell you one time I saw a shopper stop in their tracks, wander aimlessly and ask for help as to how to proceed to, or even through, the check-out setup. I appreciate what they're doing, but I don't think I need help picking a lane - especially when I'm just mere steps away from my lane of choice. The other day an over-eager line assigner assumed I was done shopping, stepped in front of me and pointed me towards a line -- my intentions were to go to the purse section. It took a sec to realize what was happening, especially when she told me to go over to the customer service counter for assistance. I thought I had done something wrong.

Lastly, if you're going to create an ad, be it for TV, radio, print, etc., and it begins by stating: "Rule No. 1. Don't wait for anything," then don't leave me hanging for rule No. 2. If you only have one rule, perhaps you could rephrase by saying, "I have only one rule..."

That's all :)

Take that, gallbladder!

I just checked in with the Cox family and I'm happy to report Sarah is home and recovering from having her pesky gallbladder removed.

Here are pictures of her before and after:

BEFORE


















AFTER


















Thanks for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers!

Team Thompson against gallbladders

Calling all readers! Calling all readers! Our friend Sarah Cox is having her gallbladder removed tomorrow so please keep her and her family in your prayers!

















(source)

The pesky little bugger started acting up when Sarah was about four months pregnant with the handsome Eli (who made his debut on the blog in November 2008). It was at the pinnacle of peskiness on the eve of our wedding, so she had to spend some time in the hospital, but was a trooper during the wedding and reception. It turns out this isn't exactly uncommon amongst women, particularly those who are pregnant. The more people I mention this to, the more I learn about friends and family who have undergone the same procedure.

Other pesky body parts Team Thompson does not support include: sinus cavities, ACLs, MCLs, lower intestines, appendixes (appendi?), finger tips, tonsils or adenoids. The list goes on, but because of the extremity of their peskiness, we chose not to recognize them. Don't worry, they know who they are.

Thanks for sending Sarah some positive vibes and happy thoughts!

RV by sunset

The last week brought many positive changes for Team Thompson -- I got a job doing marketing for a high-end grocer/farmers' market, we moved out of the Ramada and mom and dad drove down the RV so we'd have a place to live once we vacated the hotel! Though we've been out for a few days, I can still hear the welcome video from the hotel TV: "Welcome to the Ramada Morgan Hill, and thank you for choosing the Ramada Morgan Hill" (repeat 10 times).

Some of you know that one of the most horrible experiences of my life took place in an RV; in California, no less. It involved a rental RV, snow storms, leaky water tanks, Tiffany Amber Thiessen, gassy brothers, frigid communal showers, Rodeo Drive, excessive alcohol intake, a tell-tale red eye revealing I somehow had some vodka (uh oh), the Rose Bowl, New Years Eve, cigars, golf carts, bicycle races and endless miles of road construction. It might not sound that bad, but keep in mind I'm sparing you most of the details. In short, I spent most of the trip rocking back and forth and whimpering...it took a few years to get over the nightmares ;). Despite one minor mishap with the black water tank (...let's just say the hose wasn't properly secured to the septic tank when we pulled the empty lever...), RV living this time around has already proved to be a much better experience. Mom and dad even left all sorts of food and other necessities in the RV for us!! We couldn't be more thankful.

The Coyote Valley RV and Golf Resort we now call home is just what its name indicates. Stationed on a "Jack Nicklaus Signature Course," the park is complete with a pool, hot tub, laundromat, fitness room, putting green, dog park and free Wi-Fi. I think we're the only people here without a dog so maybe I'll take up golf. Maybe.

Ok, probably not :)

Here are a few pics we snapped with our phones (our camera charger is in the mail):





























I bet you wish you could shower next to an airbrushed giraffe...














Mom and dad's RV is a Safari edition from the Serengeti line, hence the African Shara theme :) I suppose I should note that we're in the RV because we can't get rid of our apartment in Seattle.

That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed!

I spent this afternoon basking in the 73 degree weather at a great cafe called Hot Java in Morgan Hill. While there I enjoyed a nice iced mocha, worked on the USA Today crossword and make a list of pros & cons with my dear cousin Mags regarding a possible job offer (woo!). On my way home, while stopped at a red light, I looked to my left to check out my surroundings and was surprised by this:




















Yes, that's a horse using the crosswalk. I guess that's Morgan Hill for ya ;) Thank goodness for the camera feature on my phone! If you click the picture, you'll be able to see a bigger image.

Day at the Park

Christine and I spent Saturday at the largest park in Northern California, Henry Coe Park. It's a pretty sweet place, lots of great views, pine forests and trails. It's only about 11 miles away from where we are staying, but the road up the hill is very windy, so you have to travel at a mind-numbing speed of 10 miles an hour. So it takes an hour to get there but the great views along the way are worth it. We hiked around for a while and then it started to get dark we called it a night.

California is certainly turning out to be a much more exciting place than we expected. There are a TON of people here, but there are some great places to visit. I'm sure we'll find many more in the future!

Team Thompson

Friday!

I've been showing beginning signs of stir-craziness over the last few days, and to be honest, a little discouraged about the employment outlook. I decided to get out and see what lies outside a 3 square mile parameter of the hotel today and enjoy some sun. On my way out the door I actually got a call from a possible employer and now have an interview for next Tuesday! A wee light at the end of the tunnel!

After a stop at a Gilroy Starbucks to ask about openings, I drove east to the outskirts of Morgan Hill toward Henry W. Coe State Park, and snapped a few pics with my phone along the way:

























































Out of fear that I may run out of gas, run into a deer or run into a crazy in the woods and just happen to be out of cell service (not a rare occurrence, might I add), I turned around before I reached the park - plus, I wanted to go out there with Justin so he could see it too.

When I got back to the hotel, happy that I got out for a bit, didn't run out of gas (or into a deer or a crazy) and still excited about the interview call, I turned on the TV only to see this:















I know, I know. I'm trying to look at the glass half full. I'm trying to keep my chin up. I'm trying to remember it's only been 2 weeks.

Sometimes it's just difficult. Maybe I should have just stayed outside ;) The sun makes everything look positive!

"Oh Santa Cruz, no, you're not that far"

Another perk of Justin's new position is that he now has weekends off!! It sounds silly, but it's something that'll take time getting used to since spending much more than a day at a time together is not familiar to us!

To kick off this new "weekends off" tradition, as well as the new year, we ventured out to two South Bay attractions: The Tech Museum of Innovation on Saturday, and the city of Santa Cruz on Sunday.

The automated arm wrote out Team Thompson with proper programming.

See how hot we are ;)









I'm trying out for the Sharks next week. This should be a good temp job, don't you think?










You can say that again, Yogi!





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Three surfers, the Wharf and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk in the background.












It may be winter, but that doesn't stop these surfers!

NYE 2009

Happy New Year, everyone! Justin and I stayed in on New Years with the movie "Tropic Thunder," pizza and the two mini champagnes we got from Santa!

While the majority of what 2009 will bring is unknown -- where we will live, how we'll celebrate our first anniversary, when we'll become strict, organic-dieting & extreme-hippie liberals (jk!), when we'll get rid of the apartment in Seattle or how & where we'll celebrate holidays -- we already know there are many momentous events in store for the next year. With Justin's fab new position, an adventurous fresh start in California, friends getting married, friends having kiddos and friends & family graduating and embarking on new adventures of their own, we all have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to.

Cheers to an exciting 2009, friends!