attention superfans:
This lady may have out-fanned you. Looks like attending a women's basketball game in Wisconsin is not enough to get you a Vox feature.

let the games begin
Today is baby day. As in, our art director had her baby. Meaning that her six weeks of maternity leave starts today. Meaning that the entire art department is under the control of...me. Missouri, I hope you taught me well. Actually, the game will be: how many changes can I make without upsetting too many people. Here goes.

coming from the speakers
My new favorite band (don't worry, Guster, you still have my heart) is The Format, a Tempe band that is probably touring near you (yes, you) this fall. Go on iTunes now and check them out. I especially like "Tune Out" and "Wait Wait Wait."

forgive me father, for i have sinned
I ate Coldstone for dessert last night after swearing I would no longer patronize that establishment because they have taken over everywhere. My belief that corporate ice cream doesn't taste as good was confirmed once again.

3 degrees from the next president?
My mom shook Teresa Heinz-Kerry's hand yesterday after a Sun City rally where the first lady candidate was speaking.

what a slimeball
My dad registered as an Arizona voter with a man on the street when we had been in Chandler for a couple weeks. The man was not too appreciative when it became apparent that we did not agree with his conservative views. Last week, when my dad went to vote in the local primary, he learned that his vote did not count. The man had not turned in my dad's voter registeration form! To quote Stephanie from Full House: How rude!

today's sign of the apocolypse / a corroboration of the big gulp theory*
The semi-pick-up

*Proposed by Fiscus, sanctioned by yours truly.

10 things you never knew* about erica
+ I used to lock myself in the bathroom and read Nancy Drew novels.
+ At age 15 I drove an hour from Manhattan to Salina, Kan., spent a day there and drove back, by myself. My parents still don't know.
+ [Edited out]
+ In fourth grade, my friend Jennifer and I started a "Save the Earth Club." I was president. We met on a dirt mound behind my house in the middle of a construction plot.
+ In sixth grade, Jennifer and I started a newspaper/newsletter for our class. I was editor. We produced one issue: a St. Patrick's Day issue.
+ I cried when the boys taunted Dumbo at the beginning of the movie; I cried so hard my mom had to take me out of the theater. They weren't being very nice!
+ I gag even at the thought of eating refried beans or split pea soup.
+ My first elementary school crush had been a Huggies model when he was a baby.
+ My first magazine subscription was to Highlights. My most recent subscriptions include Desert Living, Boston, Texas Monthly, and National Geographic Traveler, among others.
+ I worked for an insurance agency for a summer. With that experience, you'd think I would have better understood the insurance unit in Personal and Family Finance last spring. Not so, my friends, not so.

*The author of this site cannot guarantee that this will be news to everyone.

new pictures to your right
- Climbing Camelback Mountain
- More pictures added to Arizona, including updated pics of inside the house

bonds. barry bonds.
Agent 7-double-oh.

Ha! I crack myself up.

many thanks to dan
... for figuring out the error message on my blog. Just wondering, who else in this little blog community owes thanks to Dan for fixing something on their blog?

recent events
+ Visited Erin in Tucson.
+ Had lunch with my cousin Kelsey at a fabulous Italian restaurant. Took away enough leftovers for two more lunches later in the week.
+ Was everso rudely interupted by waitress at said restaurant, telling me that "liquid was spurting out all over" from my van in the parking lot.
+ Took the mom-mobile to Pep Boys. Left Tucson 5 hours and $225 later.
+ Burned my bottom lip on some really hot coffee.
+ Played the "One word, two words, or hyphenated" game many times.
+ Relied on the editorial prowess of several of my friends to solve querries.
+ Went to a Diamondbacks game with my mother and grandfather for free, on tickets from my editor. Walked away with coupons for a free chaulpa from Taco Bell and free Big Mac and Egg McMuffins from Mickey D's.
+ Put out a magazine.

upcoming events
+ Replacing Jack's face out of pocket. The moving company refuses to cover the cost.
+ Test-driving some cars.
+ The ASU football game. (It's weird to cheer for a team you don't really care about.)
+ Write/call the friends I've been neglecting.

Today is a day when I wish I had chunky jewelery. It is a day when I walked out of the house and my mother said, "You're wearing that? And tonight, I'm going to the symphony. Yes, wearing this.

who won last season's apprentice?
No, it wasn't Bill. It's Troy who is making a name for himself.

embare-assing
MU 14, Troy State 24. I'm seeing a theme here.

fashion faux pshaw
I'm wearing white shoes today; it's after Labor Day.

observation, phx-style
+ Hot water comes out of both taps in any sink. If you want cold water, you'd better wake up early before the sun heats up the pipes.

they grow up so fast
My sister has started a blog.

i won't be able to walk right for weeks
I joined a gym last week. Believe me, it was a big deal. It took me three weeks to get to the point I was ready to make a commitment. I miss the Rec where I didn't feel bad for not going because I wasn't paying for it. Actually, this will be good. They set you up with a trainer once a month to help you keep track of your fitness goals (and to make sure you don't leave them). Chris, or C-Mac as he said I could call him, was one hard-ass trainer. He put me through only four exercises for legs and by the end of the half-hour, my muscles were spazing like a mother. Sheesh I'm out of shape. And now, I'm still sore; I start down the stairs and just keep on going, with no muscle control whatsoever. C-Mac was pretty cool. Turns out that he grew up with Wesley Stokes and Travon Bryant. Therefore, I am cool (and a fantastic baller, too) by association.

i think i am in love with peter o'toole, circa 1966
I watched How To Steal A Million, the old Audrey Hepburn flick, last night. It was quite enjoyable.

observations*
+Phoenix has no nightlife. The downtown was dead after 10 pm Friday. Of course, it was the holiday weekend; but I've seen the roads just as barren other weekends. Everyone goes to the suburbs after sundown.
+People call the highways and interstates "The 101" or "The 60." I don't think I ever heard anyone say they were taking The 70 from Columbia to KC/StL.
+There is a grocery store every square mile.

*a limited-time feature, brought back from the old days in England

in the news
Read up on my new employer and the travel/timeshare mag here

not going into news
I declined a job interview this week from the editor of the Bristol, Conn. Herald Courier. He wanted me for a new graphics position they're creating. What? Me? Graphics? Newspaper? Uh-uh, baby. But thanks for the thought.

go sun devils
Tonight will be my first ASU football experience.