Gleemmy's

Glee never disappoints. Add Jimmy to the mix and you got awesome.

A Plum Tale

My dad planted a little plum tree last year. In the past weeks, it has had some fruit on it. Fruit that has actually been impressive and very juicy and delicious. I think my dad is kind of proud of his little tree, and of course, there's no one he would rather share with than his grand kids.

Denise: Hello?

Dad: Denise, how are kids, okay?

Denise: Yeah, how are you?

Dad: Oh fine. I have plum tree. I wanted to give Kimball and Mia plum. You know, plum tree is here in the backyard. 5 plums came.

Denise: Oh really?

Dad: Yes. Yesterday there were 5. But then I came home and the squirrel took 2, so now only 3 plum.

Denise: Oh no!

Dad: Yes, and then I went again, but now only 1 plum, the squirrel, he continued to take more. If I give to Kimball the 1 plum, Mia will be sorry. If I give to Mia, Kimball may be sorry. So...next year, okay?

Denise: Okay.

Dad: Yes, I think next year it can yield more plum for Kimball and Mia.

Denise: Ok, thanks.

Dad: Bye now.

Denise: Bye.

Damn squirrel.

It's NOT a tumor. Oh wait, yes it is.

Rachel had a tumor removed once. It was the size of a volleyball, which anyone would think is quite large. But after reading this article, her tumor don't hold a fiddle to this thing! Click the link for the article.

Gargantuan tumor

Things you don't hear every day...

I called my dad this afternoon to ask him to run an errand for me since I was at work. Usually he is at home dinking around on his laptop, but today, apparently he went to the zoo with my niece and nephew.

Dad: Hello?
Me: Hi dad.
Dad: Oh! Miliam! You are working?
Me: Yes.
Dad: Oh good. I did not recognize number. Well, I just rode a camel (pronounced: ku-mehl)!
Me: What?
Dad: Yes. Have you ever ride a camel before? It is not easy!
Me: No dad. I haven’t been on a camel before.
Dad: Well, you must try! It is not easy.
Me: Okay, dad. I’m going to call you back later.
Dad: Okay. See you!

Things you don’t hear every day…

Fast car. Obviously.

When I was in Denver with Sarah, we went for a bike ride to a community festival. On the way there, I couldn't help but notice a guy lovingly detailing his car.
We rode past him without stopping on our way to the festival, but stopped on the way back to admire his work and my oh my, what a beauty.

It's amazing what a custom-made sticker ensemble can do to a car and what kind of message the owner inevitably sends.

Looking at this automotive masterpiece, this is the impression that I get:

Nothing says "speed" like fire. Naturally, flames denote "fast" and obviously, this car looks faster the more indicators of "fire" there are on it. I can only conclude that this car is constantly spewing fire, hence, is always fast, therefore, likely to blow my car out of the water in a road race, even when completely still.



Then of course you have "bad" boy look. Nothing says "bad to the bone" like a skull. Nothing says "badder to the bone" than skulls AND dragons. And nothing says "fast and badder to the bone" than skulls, dragons and FLAMES. This guy is a fast bad a**.


And then of course, and fast car needs vents to prove that the car needs vents to blow off heat. Much like a laptop needs vents so it doesn't overheat... Stickers with vents send the message that this car is highly technical and though it may not look like it from the outside, under the hood it's a beast and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s worst nightmare. Truly. And vents, with flames of course.

I was quite impressed with this owner's handy work. Some people add tinted windows, dice on the rear view mirror, maybe a sticker of a daisy on the back window, but this guy went all out. But I guess if you're sporting the "Ironman" edition of this Isuzu VehiCROSS, well, you better be so hardcore! Judging from his sticker job, I'm pretty sure he is.

Mormon Ads

I like what the Church is doing. And it's ridiculous, though not surprising, that skeptics would assume there is an ulterior motive to this campaign other than to just send a message that Mormons live busy and accomplished lives just like the next person. Go Church!

I really like the Jane Clayson ad and the Valentin ad.

There are 15 ads and you can watch them all here: Mormon ads

Two Years - Part I

Two years. I knew it would go by fast, it's just weird to be living and experiencing the end of it now.

About three years ago was around the time that I decided to bite the bullet and actually go back to school. I had been thinking about graduate school for quite some time and I had even taken a test prep class a couple of years prior when I first considered a return to school. Although, I never took the test until a few years later. But as the years would pass by so quickly yet nothing seemed to change, I finally realized that time would continually to fly by and nothing would continue to change unless I did something different.

Now, two years later and an MBA to add to my resume, I am a masters graduate of business. The accomplishment feels great. It was an extremely involved, busy and demanding two years, but it was also rewarding, memorable and a lot of fun. I feel I am a stronger, more confident person and I feel more focused on my goals and desires. I went into graduate school with the hopes of coming out a better person, having a stronger assurance of what I want in my future, of course, more knowledgeable, and even, more brave. I feel like I have accomplished all of that and I feel very satisfied in what I have done. I had a really great experience with some amazing people and I think I am a better person because of it.

Warsaw Sports Marketing Center Class of 2010

At graduation in June, all of my family came to Eugene for a visit. Everyone was there and it became the family vacation we don't take too often.


I took them to all of the "hot spots" in Eugene, which lasted about half of a day, then ventured outside of town and went to Silver Springs State Park just off Interstate 5. In just a short hike, visitors can see 10 waterfalls. The biggest is the first one on the south end and you can hike right underneath it!





Since graduation, I have been pretty busy trying to enjoy what summer time I could. In the process I have been looking for a job, and not knowing when or where I would end up working, I have just been enjoying the free time. I haven't been too anxious to return to work. We all know what the daily grind is like...so I have been doing other stuff to pass the time.

To start off, I had a birthday! It was pretty chill this year and I spent it with my family. Denise and Kimball made me THE BEST cupcakes ever, an army of penguins! Their penguinness made eating them even more fun!




Then after the kids went to bed, we went and saw a pretty awesome film made by one of Denise's friends, "Best Worst Movie". I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and unique documentary. The best characters just can't be written!

After my birthday, I returned to Eugene to move out of my apartment. As always, moving presents itself with key opportunities to really purge and literally, clean house. Case in point: On my wall I have a poster of the opera "Madam Butterfly". I think it is a beautiful poster of a vintage print of the famous, but tragic, Puccini opera. I have it on my wall because at one point in my mom's singing career, she played the part of the geisha, Madame Butterfly in a performance of the opera. I have it because it is almost like a tribute to my mom and her amazing voice. Funny thing is, my mom hates the poster. Each time she has visited my apt, which is twice, she has chastised me every time she has seen the poster. I know, it doesn't really make sense. I have the poster up because it is a memory of my mom. My mom hates the poster because of the opera's story and always tells me take it down. Why? Not for any other reason than this (best spoken in the words of my mom): "Miliam. This why you not married. This opera terrible opera. Very sad. Her husband leave her and she kill herself. Bad poster. You throw away."

It never really made sense to me, but after so many lectures from her, I finally decided to get rid of it. And she better be right. I am expecting wedding bells any day now. Any day now, mom...



I fit all of my stuff in a storage bin and as of now, it's all sitting on a storage lot somewhere in Eugene, waiting to be delivered to me in my new place of residence. Likely Seattle.

After packing everything up, I stayed in Eugene for a week or so working on a couple of local track events, then I finally left for good. Eugene, I will miss you, but only a little bit. Probably like less than 1%.

I headed to where the sun shines almost everyday and found myself in San Diego and Los Angeles with friends and family. I ate tacos at the best fish taco joint in town, South Beach Bar & Grille. Rode bikes around Coronado Island with Rachel and our friend, Susan. Hiked and walked along the beach at Torrey Pines State Park in Del Mar. And spent the day at the beach in La Jolla. SoCal is wonderful for so many reasons.






In my next post, I'll highlight what I did after SoCal: Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. In that order.