i'm so confused.

joe hamilton. lit up the field. shake(d) and baked his way into the endzone. this was all 8 years ago. but now he rolls back into gt and walks? what did i miss?

adventures in unpacking. part I.

is there a t-shirt heaven? i surely hope so. this is just about 1/3 of the t-shirts that probably have been moved from the atl to philly and then to my new place in philly. i am going to part with them (sadness, i know), but hopefully they will be put to good use. i'll be making a stop at goodwill with three large trash bags (so far) full of clothing and shoes.

i have a LOT of bad, bad clothes. bad in a variety of ways. clothing from high school... bad. clothes that i have had to reapair seams on... bad. flip flops with kitty teeth marks... bad. shirts with large horizontal stripes... bad. it's like i'm on a bad episode of what not to wear. ugh.

let's play a game.

it's called before and after and is inspired by barry bonds (yes, this is the second baseball reference in 2 consecutive posts. don't worry, i'm not becoming a fan. i just enjoy the freakish expansion of mr. bonds. his head is like sputnik.). so in the spirit of the game, here are some pictures of last night's move (mambo movers rock, fyi).


before...




after...

aaack, where did all that stuff come from. well, unfortunately it is all mine. and this is less than 1/2 of it. the rest is on the other side of the stairwell in the dining room.

holy snikes. i have a huge project, and i think it will involve throwing out/donating a lot of stuff. how is it possible that all of this crap fit in a 10' x 10' box? i dunno. but the movers were impressed in the packing job. excellent job!

more from the sfo.

after a long, long visit to the sfo airport, i am finally back! this is a good thing b/c today, my furniture and other belongings are "released" from the 10' x 10' box and into my new condo! it's all very exciting (and a good reason to "work" from home today).

here are some more pics (for the fans) from this past weekend!



oh to be a sea lion in the bay area. apparently the question to
ask is: where are all the sea lions? the answer is here.










who is it? yep, your friend and mine, cristobal colon. this is a statue
of him outside of coit tower.













i had dinner w/janna, bryan, and joeb at tres agaves down in barry bonds land (no, we didn't need to rub cream on our legs to enter the area).




just wanted to share some gems. have to run... more soon!

views from a 3.5 year old.

it's kinda sad when you have time at the airport to download these. welcome to my world... i hope to sleep like this (see below) on the plane (maybe w/o the tounge hanging out).

greetings from the sfo.

disclaimer: this blog does not contain pictures. most all pictures are on bryan's camera except for the several taken by frey berglund, 3.5 year old photographer extraordiaire.

yes! the weekend was great. arrived at the sfo on wednesday along with several co-workers. we headed to the hotel in foster city and grabbed a bite to eat at baja fresh. yes, i know... we were in one of the meccas for mexican food, BUT we were hungry and this was close. off to the sofitel to get a few others checked in then out to the mothership of exponent in menlo park. blah, blah, blah (insert talk about work here)... to quote dr. evil, "the details are quite inconsequential." i finagled my way so that i could work out at the sofitel gym (very nice). i then went to dinner w/my fellow mentees, and then headed home.

thurs... mentoring in menlo park. dinner in the proper mexican way. then i hitched a ride to the sfo to wait for bryan to arrive from the atl. we returned to foster city after a slight detour on the 101. :)

fri... breakfast at noah bagels (good friend of einstein bagel, but really not as good). then a drive up to the city. i had pricelined a hotel room at the crowne plaza right in the city for a cheap-o deal. it was nice. bryan and i arrived in the city just in time to see katewilson (as far as i know, she does not have a separate first and last name). the san fran marathon/half was on sunday, so we walked around the expo and scored some free cowbells (we need more cowbell!). after a 4 hour run (no, i guess technically we spent a good 30+ minutes with the sea lions and 30+ minutes watching the kiteboarding national championships). joeb came into the city for dinner with janna, bryan, and me. we went to tres agaves down by the ballpark. dinner was yummy. we headed to vesuvio in north beach to meet up with my co-workers after dinner. after almost falling asleep at our table (some things never change), bry and i hailed a cab back "home."

sat... we packed up, headed out to the sb for breakfast, then checked out, and drove up to santa rosa for the weekend to visit the berglunds. we hit all the hotspots: the sonoma county fair, downtown santa rosa for dinner, and the berglund household. i was sooo tired that i passed on experiencing the santa rosa nightlife. boo on me. but, after cozying up with shamus the kitten, i was out for the count.

sun... bike riding in wine country. joeb, bryan, and i headed out from downtown healdsburg on bikes to the hop kiln winery. it was a nice ride, but hard for those who haven't ridden a bike in over 2 years. we tasted some wine and some hot mustard (don't have the mustard before the wine!). after some coffee and ice cream (i couldn't resist), we headed back to the berglund's. amanda and the girls had gone to the park, and we were all ready for some grilled eats. after some time with the barbies and a few dog piles, we were ready for burgers and (hot) dogs. after a shower and a puppet show, bry and i headed out of wine country and back to the big city.

sun night/mon morning... i'm at the sfo and my 10pm flight has been delayed 3 hours. so i have just eaten a cuban sandwich (gotta love the airport food) and drank a couple of beers. now, i'm just waiting my time out so that i can be guaranteed 5 hours of sleep on the flight. we'll see...

more later... with pictures and with narrative. :)

btw... click here for guile.

home sweet home.

oral surgery + running + camera = these impromptu pics

progress.

i know, i know. the whole point of this blog was to keep up the new news on the condo. so here it is...

tiling in the foyer and kitchen - CHECK!


stone around the fireplace - CHECK!


french doors - CHECK! (viva la france)


regular door - CHECK! (never mind that it is exactly next to the french doors)


note the blinds between the panes of glass. no cleaning blinds... geesh i'm lazy!

it's more of the way back machine.

i know i'm taking the easy way out by posting pictures, but with four cats, one torn up condo, and lots of goings ons at work, i don't have time to do anything fancy. just giving the fans some eyecandy.

this just in.

i am a homeowner.

i don't have much time, but i wanted to update the blog with the "official" word. i am in fact a homeowner now. it's fantastic. i have to wait to move in after some construction is done, but it's mine... all mine!

this weekend was great! thanks, bm! i can't wait for the pics to update the "ginormous heads obscuring things" album. more soon.

the pic is for you, marm!

just a few shout outs and digs.

shout out
---------
(1) so, i'm back from my first ultimate frisbee game in new jersey. how much cooler can that be... ultimate ... in JERSEY. now the more that i think of it, most of the ultimate that i have played up here has been in jersey. interesting.

our team, the savage 7, lost to a very good and experienced team. but the best part is that we had fun... really, i mean it. our captain is all about getting everyone involved and teaching the great sport. the only sucky thing is that the other team busted out zone defense on us. hello... week one... hello summer league. lame. but it was then i realized that i was one of the few people who knew how to play against the zone. strange.

(2) to my girl, rhima. she is doing the damn thing! i am so proud of her. she is finishing up her thesis in fine form knowing that she is done and ready to defend.




digs
----
(1) realtor: do you have time to talk?
smi: sure, what's up?
realtor: it seems the seller's agent lost the check for your deposit on the condo?
smi: what?
realtor: yeah, they can't find it at their office.
smi: oooh, my parents are going to be mad.
realtor: well, it's easy for me to say, but this happens all the time.
smi: what?
realtor: so could you find out if the check has been cashed?
smi: oh, i'll find out! this is ridiculous.

what, what, what? a fat ass check for my earnest deposit on my condo is mia. luckily my dad has the flexibility to get to the bank tomorrow (i owe him a huge father's day gift), stop payment on the mia check, get me another check, and send it to me overnight. geesh. only a few more days, and i will never have to deal with jackass and his jackass agent again. :)

<----thanks, dad!

(2) i pulled my left quad. when, i'm not exactly sure, but i'm guessing it has to do with getting my butt kicked on a weekly basis by my trainer. i think the deal was sealed when i tried to get up from sitting on my floor in the hotel. not so glamorous, but the truth. so now i smell like icy hot but the menthol is making my leg feel nice. don't worry, i'll be sure not to bathe myself in it. only bad things can happen if i do that.

i'm done ranting and raving (speaking of which when football season rolls around again... check out steven miranda and jeff ellis' podcast. these guys out in sunny california are a riot).

back from the west.

it's sunday, and i'm back in the eastern time zone.

can't say that i was able to take advantage of staying at a resort, but i was supposed to be there for work, right?

there's a big week coming up so, i'd better rest up.

on tap:

mon-- chubby bunny (which means some local anesthetic and a few, three, four fillings... right side this time) and ulty (first summer league game in jersey)

wed-- training w/kristen. hope to be able to use my arms after that session. also the new season of top chef.

fri-- closing at NOON, then a throw down celebratory gathering at the new wave (3rd & catherine) with an added out of town guest.

i'm sure those other days that don't have anything scheduled for them will include lots of "we need these forms for your mortgage" drama. yikes. that makes me tired just thinking of it.

i finally have some more 500 photos, but unfortunately the ones w/chris spafford have not been developed yet... i'm working on it though. here are some more fabulous pictures of the redneck roundup (my new affectionate name for the 500).

tailgating:::

le petite ecolier enjoyed the race as well:::

this is tony kanaan. he could have won me some cash, but it didn't work out (sigh).

twinkie racer v. gigantor.

grrrrr. i'm coming after you mr. twinkie car racer driver!

greetings from sunny phoenix.

this will be short. we don't have free internets at the resort, so i'll just share some of my favorite recent pics...

one of the 5 or 6 pools at the resort...

picture from my run in one of the phoenix mountain preserves (across the street from the resort)...

my head obscuring phoenix...

more to come. :)

uhh...

ACK ... it's june. just thought i would share my concern!

i just need to brag a bit...

... but i am a bad ass negotiator. i stood my ground and did not give in to the guy who would not take responsibility for the fact that he did not maintenance his furnace. in fact, i'm pretty sure he had no idea where the heck his furnace was. dude... not in the 2nd bedroom closet... i'm sure of it. he's pretty much slowly killing the girls in the front unit (where the furnace is) with carbon monoxide. scary i know. but, i will now be able to rectify the situation with my purchase and replacement of the furnace. yay! i broke him down. AND had a lot of help along the way.

so... thanks to everyone (esp. kath and my family) for reminding me that it will work out if it was meant to be. and thanks to those who didn't try to instill the glimmer of hope (esp. my agent and bryan), keeping it to themselves that this dude would come around and see it how it was (i think his mom put him in line).

closing on june 15th. keep you posted on the goings ons.

i'll be in exponent's phoenix (they've run out of ways to say 107 degrees, but remember it's dry heat) office next week. i would like to take lots of pictures of cool stuff, but i'm not sure of the legal ramifications of posting on my blog (but i may do it anyway... rebel, i know).

more from the flipside....

teeth.

introducing my new favorite small appliance:


its disposable (you'll find that out if you read the directions) and fantastic.

hopefully it will work its magic fending off cavities. all good to start anew 6.5 fillings later.

off tomorrow to get the filling that busted as i was chewing gum at work. hopefully it won't hurt too much! eeeek.

it's obvious that this one is my cat.

back to back.

i know, i know. it's like when it rains, it pours. but i am so procrastinating right now, and would like to share my experiences of leg 2 of my u.s. tour. on friday night, i headed to nap town (not to be confused with the don imus comment) to see bryan and to attend the indy 500. things that i've realized:

• indianapolis is like the armpit of the midwest (meaning, not too different from new jersey ... kinda like new new jersey)
• there are a whole lot of people (more than you could possibly count) who don't own shirts on race day
• andy lawrence is looking good
• cornhole is awesome.

so, with that being said, i don't have any pictures of mcdreamy, chris spafford (without a shirt, photo to be supplied at a later date), or people driving fast and turning left, but i promise to supply them when i get them.









i do have pictures of the circle in town. it was pretty cool because the new cat max(imilian) is on the light posts at the circle. and i think he's doing a little dance as a man in a bear suit.











also, i found out that i cannot stay a day from an sb run.






finally, it's been confirmed, that my head and now with photographic evidence, bryan's head are ginourmous. yeah, i was trying to use the imler special to take a pic of the capitol building, but it has been obscured by our big sputnik like heads. oh well.

i'm baaaack...

after a brief hiatus from the blogging world, i'm back from leg one of my u.s. tour. first it was a trip to see the rents in sunny fl. florida was great. it was nice to see my family, even my silly cousins.

thurs: travel to west palm on southwest. i haven't flown southwest in a super long time. it was fine, but the whole pick your own seat thing is still crazy to me.



fri: gambling ship. yep, the imlers were headed for international waters (which = 3 miles from shore). robyn and i fared well. it all started with a little innocent game of roulette (that's what they all say, i know), and rolled into some 21. robyn and i took them for all they were worth (okay exaggeration). we did clean up and had a good time doing so! we finally got back after our >3 hour tour, and i went for a run and then ate some never to be contended with george foreman burgers.

imler special: hold the camera and take the pic. otherwise i really

would have no pictures of me in them.

sat: i woke up kinda early on my day of vacation to go to jc penney. laugh all you want, but i was in dire need of clothing for work. as i am a professional these days (professional, what, i'm not so sure), i need to at least look the part (don't tell them that i've pulled the wool over their eyes!). so, off to the mall for some massive shopping. three hours later i was able to escape with a bunch of "cute" clothing (at least some of it passes the "cute" test instilled by tenly). then when i returned, i was off to the flea market w/mom, robyn, and aunt sandy. the usual of crap and more crap, but i did manage to buy a belt and a nice beaded souvenir for kathy. this was followed by the stop to the ice cream shop that we're sure is a front for something (not ice cream). and then somewhere in there, i had volunteered to cook dinner. i must have been delirious. but, several fajitas later, we were all happy with food in our bellies. then we watched night at the museum with my favorite ben stiller (i can't turn left). very funny, highly recommended (even funny the 2nd time).


sun: i went for a run in the a.m. then we did some other stuff, which is totally evading me right now (it must have been all the bejeweled that i played ... high score oh yeah). we went to aunt sandy and uncle frank's for dinner w/the dog. just imagine this, robyn, me, and the 85 pound dog in the back seat of the red accord. just a little tight. after wrapping up the tiffany lamp, eating dinner (neck bones, what?!?!) and shopping in my aunt's closet for purses, we were back to the homestead (which is an apartment ... strange i know).





mon: mom and robyn had to go back to work, and dad and i hit d.d. before getting out of dodge. i was worried about a fire down in the west palm area. it's been really hot and dry down in fl, so fires have been busting out quite often. there was one on the way to the airport, but luckily it wasn't laying a cloud of smoke over the immediate vicinity as to keep me from getting on my flight. southwest was again no problem. and i ended up back at work with a few hours to spare (ha-rumph).



all and all a great time. i just wished i had stayed longer. next time!!!

cats!

right now i am living w/my friend kathy. she has two very cute cats. please meet fluffy gray kitty (harry) and orange kitty (gus).

in adding my cat, cat #3 (aka hansel):

we have a good looking cat house. but wait, there's more...

a co-worker of ours was looking for a new home for his cat, max(imilian). so, now introducing... cat #4, max(imilian)

phew... they're outnumbering us 2-1!

broad street 10 mile.

hi there. hope you are having a lovely sunday afternoon. i sure am. i have finished a 10 mile race, eaten brunch, taken a nap, and planted some herbs. i was able to meet up w/my friend from grad school, sunil, and meet his friends and girlfriend (thanks for breakfast, leena). all and all, a great sunday. :)

here are the results hot off the press...
Stacy Imler
Philadelphia PA
30 F
01:07:29 (chip time)
01:08:47 (gun time)
731 out of close to 15,500+ runners
80th female
16th in my new 30-34 age group

pretty crazy stuff. for those runner dorks out there, check out this vo2 and pace calculator. it's quite slick.

update on the condo: tomorrow i'll be signing the mortgage papers for my place. very, very exciting. it's all moving along quite well. if only i could get access to the basement... (or is it like the alamo, where there is no basement? things that make you go hmmmm...).

appliances.

so in order to make my quirky place user friendly, i need desperately to buy a new washer/dryer and refrigerator. the catch is that there are some really awkward dimensional constraints. someone along the way thought it would be fun to box in the fridge on all sides (except the front... duh) requiring a fridge/freezer that is mini in nature. so, after some destruction c/o my contractor, i think i'll be able to put a new slightly larger than mini-fridge/freezer combo. in fact, there's an appliance warehouse in pennsauken, new jersey (jersey... what!) that will deliver the new and haul out the old for a reasonable price. that's a lot of fruit in the bottom container.

in addition the the modified fridge pod, there is also a cubby for the washer/dryer. only to be stacked. but that means i'm going to buy a great stackable washer and dryer set by bosch. then the old nasty w/d can be moved out (along with clothes in the washer and dryer... it was like the guy who lived there was in a hurry to leave).