A lot of people are mesmerized with 11.11.2011. Some women have C-sections so they can have a child that day. To me this day has a special meaning, not just because the numbers line up so nicely, but because my grandmother was born on 11.11.1911.

She is by now on the other side of Facebook and her profile is currently fairly inactive.

• I remember her driving her Beetle wearing her trench coat, a hat and leather gloves. Quite a sight. That’s how she rolled.
• She smoked like a chimney, but of course only “light” cigarettes.
• She introduced me to Nutella. I had the first Nutella croissant at her balcony at the age of 6.
• She was married three times, but only to two different men.
• Her first and second husband shot himself. Her third husband died a day before my dad’s 13th birthday.
• During the war she worked as a nurse in Paris and later in Russia. She also gave birth to my dad in January 1945. Pretty crazy to have a baby when you are surrounded by rubble.
• She was a news junkie and always carried a little radio with her when she walked around in her apartment.
• She always asked what I wanted for lunch. If I shrugged my shoulders she’d say”Ok, we’ll just have cold as with pears”. That was a saying from the Rhineland area where she grew up.
• I heard that my grandpa was in a concentration camp. Somehow she got him out but no one knows the full story.
• She was a lady. But the time you would really hear her curse was when her little oil-powered heater wouldn’t come on because it was clogged with soot.
• Her phone number was 21443. Some things you never forget. Continue reading Eleven, eleven, eleven

Dear Kardashian Reality Show Producer,

I heard of the great tragedy of your lead character going through a very painful divorce. I understand the family’s need for privacy. Kim and her sisters will need a leave of absence to heal and recover. Of course this leaves you with the great challenge to fill an open slot on your prime time schedule.

I’ve been thinking it over and even though I am fairly busy I am willing to make the sacrifice and step in. The problem is of course that my life is almost entirely drama free (I had a few branches fall of my tree last week and the landed pretty hard in my backyard. I also had a pretty rough Halloween weekend. This time of the year always brings up memories of The Wizard of Oz which is the scariest movie EVER).

But not all is lost: I could re-enact some scenes from my divorce that should satisfy the needs of your audience. I also have some Facebook friends that are total drama queens (male and female) and I am sure they are willing to step up to the plate when they are called to duty. One bad episode of Jersey Shore and they are having a melt-down, I swear. I might even be able to drum up 5 friends from my past live that will vouch for me being mental. Continue reading Quick solution to the Kardashian situation

This is late for 2011 but still got for 2012.  Commercially Halloween is the 2nd largest Holiday in the US. The average American spends $72 on Halloween. For what?

1. Lame costumes
A lot of adults want to have some Halloween fun. The problem is that their creativity did get killed between the ages of 4 to 6. They are also afraid to stick out in any way which defeats the purpose of dressing up. So they play it safe and buy a generic pre-made costume or do a 20% dress up by wearing a silly hat. Or better, they wear a football jersey and looks just as inspiring as throughout the entire year. Here are some places to look at for inspiration: The occupy guys on Wallstreet had some creative costumes . There was also a guy dressed up as an iPhone , someone that created a see-through effect by using 2 iPads or another lad dressed up as a camera (that actually worked). That’s what I am talking about. It doesn’t have to be that elaborate. you can create things on a budget.  Also: if you wear a costume, don’t just stand there. Do something, connect with people, make it fun. Or just keep your sweatpants on and sit Halloween out.  Personally I love theme parties. It is a great way to challenge people to be creative and have some fun. We all need to stay arts or revive our artiness if it has been in hiding due to us growing up the wrong way. Continue reading My reasons why Halloween sucks

• U know u live in a middle class area when ur neighbors all have snowblowers. Lower income people us a shuffle, the wealthy hire a service ;) #
• Sorry Verizon – I'll never buy a CDMA phone. No SIM Card no deal! #
• As for Socialite being acquired by Apparent Software: The announcement only served as a reminder that I don't use it. Hootsuite does it all #
• In 2022 we could have the Winter Olympics & the World Cup at the same time. How about some figure skating at half time? :) #
• President of Tunisia anyone? Sarah Palin should think about it. You can see Europe from there. She likes places with a view. #

One of the “left-overs” of my family days were our two yellow labs Hershey and Coco. They were brought into the family under the premise of us living under the same roof.

I knew by the time we broke up that holding on to the dogs would be a huge burden for either one of us. Taking proper care of two dogs when you live on your own is a huge sacrifice. Having no family or other backup anywhere nearby was making things more challenging. I had to cater to their needs first and subordinate my schedule to theirs. This is especially hard in a phase of my life that is filled with traveling and many changes of my schedule and routine.  My neighbors that were getting annoyed with the dogs barking when they lacked attention because the house was empty. I had to leave a Thanksgiving dinner at my friend’s house at 6:30, just when dinner was being served.

Since me ex-wife decided to move out of state the option to share the burden was gone. I decided to find a family that would offer a happy and safe place for them. I never considered giving them up for adoption to strangers or dropping them off to a shelter home. Continue reading Dog owner no more

• Over 80 tribal leaders in Canada are making more than the prime minister. Some are ruling communities of 300 or less stricken with poverty #
• The # IRS doesn't have a 1040 nor a 1065 for 2010 ready yet. I am trying to file taxes and get rid off my money and they won't let me :( #
• 7 in 10 users being survey by Gallup don't want targeted ads based on their web browsing. Some people still worry about privacy ;) #
• Apparently rudeness is a neurotoxin (Huff Post). I am glad there is a pill for everything. Health care reform: free pills for everyone! #
• @ snowkitten Since I started taking the pill my cursing declined by 38.6%. My creativity is down 19.3% though ;) in reply to snowkitten #

• Amnesty International is growing more important for us. Human rights violations are much more present these days. Hard to look the other way #
• @ darrellbrogdon One of AI's achievements is that people even know that human rights exist. We need more awareness for why they matter though in reply to DarrellBrogdon #
• @ darrellbrogdon We are being confronted with human rights more and more since we are deeply emeshed with countries seriously violating them in reply to DarrellBrogdon #
• 113,000 party officials in China were fined for corruption in 2010. Some countries don't even hand out that many parking tickets. #
• Neat: I just registered a domain at Godaddy for $1.67 – Coupon: NEWYEAR11 – http://itsallfreeonline.com/godaddy-coupon-code/ #
• Finally I'll get to test my new tires on snow. I thought it was never going to happen. #
• @ staintalk My # cleaning #resolutions are to do a better job delegating and tell others to clean up after themselves :) #
• Someone should stand next to the gift card stand at the grocery store. Everyone that grabs a Zynga gift card should get zapped :) #
• Could we have a moratorium on reality TV shows in 2011? We could use that time to smarten up and be in better shape by the end of the year. #
• @ zard :) A 1st step could be to enforce a small window showing PBS, Discovery or History channels as in: "u should rather watch this" ;) in reply to zard #
• Happy Thanksgiving! How about that? Time for the Holidays! That's at least what the retailers will be telling us in 4 weeks from now :) #
• Accuweather is currently reporting 46F for Westminster, CO. Wishful thinking. The ice is clearly NOT slowly melting. It's 15F max :) #
• @ jackassletters I'll acknowledge that day when the "Valentine's Sucks" parties get more traction than all the red rose/chocolate nonsense :) in reply to jackassletters #

• At Target the stores with a social worker showed a 17% increase in attendance over the course of a year. I bet she must be really hot :) #
• In case you live in Boulder/Denver: NOW is a perfect time to get winter or decent all-season tires if yours are run down. Snow is coming in. #
• Good warranty service from Fiskars today. One of their products with life-time warranty broke. Very quick reply. New product is on its way. #

• What does it mean of someone puts LOL behind their own "funny" post? Not so funny maybe? Get it? It's joke! Or just a teenager syndrome? #
• Maybe today serves as a reminder that the # 1 market for our entire business world is still a brutal dictatorship. China has us by the balls. #
• On my way to my old stomping ground Los Angeles. It is going to be an very exciting weekend. I am full of adrenaline :) #

• Apparently 850k people in the US have access to top secret documents. It is hard to imagine how you can prevent documents to leak. #
• I wish you could style Skype with your own css. The new format has a lot of spacing around the posts… #
• I am definitely out of touch if I don't even know who the most searched person on Bing in 2010 is. Kim Kardashian? Do I have to know her? #
• In Denver it makes more sense to count the days without sunshine since they are pretty rare. Today is definitely one of them. #
• Giving the World Cup to non-soccer countries? Take a look at the sad shape of Soccer City – only 4 1/2 months later: http://ht.ly/3hBon #
• Qatar? You've got to be kidding! Can someone please start a new FIFA? Now! #
• Wikipedia just crashed because everyone is looking up Qatar ;) #
• 1978 was the only time so far where World Cup did not go to a free country. Now Fifa acknowledges 2 countries that violate human rights :( #
• Great customer service: I bought a food coupon at crowdsavings.com. The restaurant closed. I got a full refund and 20% off my next purchase. #