Engrish.com

Jill brought this website to my attention. Along the lines of mymomisafob.com, this is one of my new favorite sites! So awesome! I have always wondered why it is they don't have translators to proof this stuff. I mean, when I was Korea, I saw these kinds of English bumbles on everything that could be printed on. A source told me that companies do it on purpose, as if it is cool or something. I don't believe it. I just think Asians are dumb.

http://engrish.com/

The new face of Diet Coke

Mia is teething and when I pulled out a Diet Coke from the fridge today, she started gnawing on it. Coke should consider hiring a spokesbaby.

Utahr

Summer is here and well, there isn't much going on. I really don't have much to chat about, so I guess I'll just give a review of some of the things I've been doing.

School got out in mid-June and I spent a week in Eugene moving out of my apartment on Goodpasture Loop and just hanging around town. I loved my apartment, but, it was just a little too far from campus and more than I needed to be paying. All of my stuff fit happily in a storage bin and I'll be finding myself another one-bedroom come fall quarter.

I also found myself looking forward to each game of the NBA Finals. I'll tell you, I have gotten pretty good at bar games from hanging out in sports bars. There's nothing much for me to do while the game is on, so I've taken up darts and pool. I expect to be called a pro one day. Give me another year in business school and it'll happen.

Last week, Kyle drove with me to Utah to hang with the fam. We stopped in Boise to drop by the Westside Drive-In to have a taste of their famous prime rib as featured on Food Network's "Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins". Unfortunately, they only served prime rid on Sundays and Mondays so we settled for other hearty selections. The food was okay. I wish we could have tried the prime rib, but the meat was tasty and the menu looked yummy, so it wasn't a total dud, but not super impressive.



Once we got to Salt Lake City, Kyle met my bro, Denise and the little ones. Then, one of the first things we did was of course, a walk through of Temple Square.




Kyle seemed intrigued, but not overly entertained. Which was understandable. It's Temple Square, not Disneyland. I was impressed with what the Church has done with it though. Improvements all around and I think it is serving a greater purpose with the renovations and still as beautiful as ever.

We came back home to celebrate my big 32. That's a lot of years to be around. Every year, I feel either up or down on my birthday. I can't really predict how I will feel each June 18th until the actual day comes. This year, I felt a little down. Not sure why, I really had no reason to, but I just did a little bit. I think it's just an "old" thing. Good thing it only lasts one day.

It was fun to celebrate with the family though. They were so fun and Denise, despite her busy life, made me a cute little cake.





Kyle was super cute and for my birthday, among other things, got me a carton of Whoppers and my first set of darts! So fun if you ask me! World Championship of Darts here I come! Just you wait, this'll be me one day.


The following day, Kyle and I trekked down to Provo. I took him to Gandolfo's for a Burning Bridge sandwich and broccoli and cheese salad, then we headed over to Y-mountain.

It was a beautiful, clear day and it was fun to see the improvements they've made to the trail. The hike was nice and just as I had remembered: steep and hot.




As with most everything in Utah, Kyle seemed unimpressed with the big, white 'Y' and the less than exciting hike. He may have thought it was a little bit cool, but I don't think he quite understood the rationale behind all the random letters on the mountains around Utah. I suppose there really is no need for explanation, I think it's at least a little bit cool!

Then I took him around campus. I showed him the Ride Board which he seemed quite intrigued by. He laughed at the Honor Code posters. He thought campus was clean and pretty; "neat" as he described it. He was impressed with the Bookstore and the fact that there was a Pop-A-Shot in the game center of the Wilk. I think the tour went well.

We then rushed back to Draper to change and made our way up to Layton for Krista Davis and Derek Funk's wedding. Who knew Layton was so far? It was nice that my schedule just happened to coincide with Krista's wedding. I was happy to be able to celebrate with her and Derek!

One thing I am loving about the whole wedding scene these days is the emergence of the candy bar! This is my third wedding where the take away was a bag of candy! What a revolutionary idea! It's colorful, fun and yummy!






So in my continuing quest to "show off" Utah, I took Kyle to Park City the following day. Overall, it got another resounding, "eh". Olympic Park was cool, the museum was fun, but Kyle just didn't seem all that entertained. Even the flying ski jumpers into the swimming pool didn't get anymore than a mild response. Maybe it was the fact that we got ripped off at "Cows" in Park City on Main Street. $9 for two ice cream cones? Puhlease.






Realizing that any further efforts to "sell" Utah would be futile, I chose to give it one last shot. So, I drove him out to the Great Salt Lake. I lived in Utah for five years, have visited more than several times since then and never once have I ever gone to the Great Salt Lake. So I took Kyle. Boy, no one ain't been missin' nothin'.

My top five words to describe this amazing Utah attraction:
1. Smelly
2. Trashy
3. Pretty view
4. Dirty
5. Disgusting

Dead birds were everywhere. Yucky bugs. Stinky like poo. Bottom line: Not a place for curious children.



Of course the best part of the trip has been all of the time I have been able to spend with my niece and nephew. These little kiddies are just cuter and sweeter than ever. It is definitely exhausting to be around them all of the time, but I have been learning a lot about raising children. I love them more and more!


Although this may appear to be child abuse, she loved playing in the 18-gallon storage container! Throw in a few toys and she was in heaven!


Kyle left early in the week and will return in a few days to drive with me to San Diego where I will start my internship July 7. We'll be stopping through Zion National Park and while Salt Lake may not be his thing, I think Utah will redeem itself through its beautiful canyons.

Just when you think toilet paper couldn't get any better!

Is toilet paper really archaic? disgusting?
Do we really need an 18" extension to take care of business?
Is this really the greatest improvement to toilet paper since the 1880's?

Really?

Sometimes, there just isn't a lot we can do about the basics of everyday living.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Too bad it doesn't fold down to compact size. I figure if people were to use it, they would want to be able to conveniently be able to tote it around. How would you explain this contraption to someone?!

Freakish M&Ms

I don't know if you've seen these before, maybe they are just a Eugene special, but I tried these Strawberried-Peanut Butter M&Ms the other day and in not so many words, they are barfy.


To describe the taste, it is an oddly confusing mixture of fruit and peanut. Now, I kind of get it. PB & J right? Oh how clever. But, it doesn't work. I don't mind a mild sensation of confusion every once in a while, but this taste test was just completely perplexing. At first, it's a whole lot of strawberry. And then it's all peanut butter, but when it's said and done, it's mostly just nonsense.

What is it with candy companies getting overly creative? I mean, I know, from my business school vocab, "product extension", "product expansion", "product line diversification". But really, is M&M a product that needs any sort of diversification? Its three strongest products, Plain, Peanut, and Peanut Butter, are on the top 10 list of best-selling candies. They have a good thing going! No need to mar their reputation by adding fruit to the mix! I mean, it's not like there is a hugely competitive peanut butter and fruit-flavored candy market out there. When you got a good thing going, stick to it.

Considering what it takes to get a product from concept to store shelf, it is amazing to me how a strawberried-peanut butter products get the green light. Among the other products that really don't belong within reach of consumers:

- popcorn-flavored Jelly Belly's
- fish-flavored candies
- booger candy

There are a lot of better examples at good candies gone wrong but I can't think of any. If you have some, do share.

Bottom line: avoid the disappointment, deny the intrigue, stay away from this M&M mutant and stick to the M&M product you love.