I work at a pretty big company here in Green Bay, and our email system has a little program that will bounce emails that come through with "objectionable" language.

Now, I've had emails come through with the word ass in them, and damn and a few other words, that in the corporate world, would probably be considered "objectionable."

Yesterday, Brooke had emailed me something that had something to do with Women Over 30. Now, I'm 29, and I won't be 30 for 4 more months, and we started a short email conversation back and forth about this topic.

She maintained that after my birthday, I will be over 30, and I told her that although technically, that's correct, we don't express our birthdays in years and days. I wouldn't be telling someone that I'm 30 and 47 days, so by those standards, I won't be over 30 until May 28, 2005. I was giving her a hard time (because she's older than me) and I called her an old fart.

Later that afternoon, she emailed me to tell me that she had an email returned due to it containing objectionable language.

After looking at her past emails to me, we determined that the email was bounced back to her because of the "old fart" that I had typed to her.

Yes, ladies and jellybeans. To my company, the world FART is objectionable. An everyday, bodily function is considered objectionable.

Whatever.

FART. FART. FART. FART. FART.

I just read this quote from Viggo Mortensen. A friend of mine had recently said something along the same lines, and I really think he nails it on the head.

This political era: "I think we're in a very dark period. How much damage has been done to the credibility of the United States? This is a disturbing time, and you don't have to be of any political persuasion to be disturbed or troubled by it. I think we're in a time of deliberate cruelty and deliberate lying and, frankly, I think it's the very bottom of humanity."

Last night I saw Return of the King for the third time. It really is an unbelievable movie to watch. I saw the previous two twice - you need to see them at least twice to be able to fully comprehend everything that goes on during them, you miss so much the first time around because you're so engrossed in the actual movie. There were a few more things I caught this time that I had missed the first two, and I really feel I could sit in the theater again and watch this movie. It has easily become my Favorite Movie of All-Time, and I really do hope that Peter Jackson, the cast and crew receive all the awards and accolades it so truly deserves. It is a cinematic masterpiece that I believe will be remembered for all time.

I could go on and on about the movie, but I won't bore you, because I'm sure most of you who do read this have seen it. The only thing that sucks is that it's now over. There will be no movie next winter to continue with the story, although by next winter, we'll have the extended edition of it with all the additional scenes cut out to make the movie even better.....

Today's lesson, boys and girls, focuses on spelling.

Here is a list of the 100 most misspelled words.

Edjukayshunal

You are going to marry Orlando Bloom. He will
always treat you right and is very romantic. He
will do anything for you. He is very polite and
has deep brown eyes and is very good looking
(which is another plus!). He can make anythind
cheesy look really good (like sliding down
stairs on a shield shooting arrows or wearing
pointy ears for example). Congrats!!


Which male celebrity are you going to marry? (10 results that have pics!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Well, in about 30 minutes, I'll be off to Lambeau Field to watch the Green Bay Packers take on the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs.

Brooke and I will be in section 132, row 32 (south endzone), so if you happen to be watching the game (kick off at noon central time on Fox), watch for us.

It's only supposed to be 24 degrees today with snow starting in around kick off time.

Yeah, I'm going to be freezing my ass off. Brooke and I will be the ones that look like ticks about to pop.

*off to start putting on the many layers of clothing*

GO PACK GO!

You know, what they say is true about how the older you get the faster time goes by. I can't believe that 2003 is over and we've begun yet another new year. Although there are days that seem to drag, in the whole scheme of thing, time really does fly by.

2003 was a year of many changes for me. I ended a four-year relationship, I left my job, moved back across the country to a city I had never lived in before, took on a roommate, started a new job, made new friends, got back in contact with old friends, got a new car, the list goes on and on. Looking back on it, I guess that's quite a bit of changes for one small year, most of which took place in the last two-thirds of the year. I regret none of these changes and I know they were all for the best and what I needed to do for myself.

I've been back in Green Bay for nine months now, but I still don't feel settled. Granted, each day that goes by, I feel more and more settled, but I still don't have that sense of peace yet. Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect that it would happen overnight, and with all the changes I previously mentioned, it is going to take some time before that feeling happens. I do feel that what I did was right and it was what I needed to do, but the first few months I was here were not what I had thought they would be and it's taking some time to get used to that. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would take me 5 months before I would land a permanent job, and I think that is a big part of my feelings of not being settled. I've only been there for 3 1/2 months, and I'm sure with time, I'll feel a bit more at ease with things. I do have that sense of security that I didn't have the first 6 months or so I was here and I think that has helped a lot for me.

It was nice this holiday season to be here and be able to spend the time I did with my family. The past few Christmases I was home, but it's different when you live far away. You're always trying to make sure you can see everyone that you want to, so your "vacation" becomes tiring. You never get to see everyone you want, plans always fall through and you head home not feeling complete. This year, I was able to see those I wanted to see, because I didn't have to catch a plane and head back. It was much more relaxing this year, which allowed me to enjoy the holidays a little bit more. Besides, travelling during the holidays always sucks!

I have quite a bit of things on the horizon for 2004, some big, some small. It is the beginning of my 30th year here on this planet and I hope to make the most of it. There's a big trip that is in the process of being planned, and I'm going to have to work my ass off if I'm going to be able to do it. I've made my New Year's "Resolutions" (although, I don't like that term. I'm referring to them as my goals for the year, things I'd really like to try and accomplish), and there are several of them. They're not things that I began on immediately January 1, and they are things that will be ongoing for the entire year. They're things that I hope will help in my feeling settled here in Green Bay and things that will make me feel better about who I am, the person I've become and the person I hope to be.

I hope you all and a safe and happy holiday season, and I wish you all a fantastic 2004!