Boxers 'n' Briefs: You See L.A.

*sigh*
My son John is going to be a doctor. He has been telling us that since he was five years old. The funny thing is, he has stuck with that goal through grade school, Junior High, and High School. He has done everything to prepare himself for it; he joined the volunteer organization at a local hospital, and worked himself up to be President of it (with 200+ volunteers in the program). He has taken classes to earn his EMT license, and rode along in ambulances every chance he got. He studied hard, got good grades, and joined campus organizations that helped him develop his leadership skills.

So it was with great pride and great sadness that I helped him move into the dorms at UCLA last weekend. UCLA is an extremely difficult school to get into, but it is also one of the best pre-med schools in the state. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you ask him) it is a 6 hour drive away. I guess I should just look on the bright side, however... more trips to LA means more Letterboxes!

In other news, my fifteen seconds of fame arrived in the form of a cameo on the local television show Bay Area Backroads! I spent a wonderful day boxing and filming with lisascenic and Team Tysonosaurus last Spring (BoneDoc did her part at a different time/location - GREAT job, BoneDoc!!), and I got to be on TV for it! What could be better?

And finally, as I am sure you ALL know by now, Ryan installed The Big Update this weekend. WOW!!! Thanks, GT, for all you do... the latest features are fantastic (ESPECIALLY the Location Search... I can't tell you how impressive that is!)

Ok, here we go, the linkage...

1) A mind-bobbling concept.

2) Clover-achiever.

3) Tip a canoe, and camera too.

4) Unfounded fears.

5) Fall + Pumpkin = Squash

6) Know way, know how

7) You're supposed to be the carvER, not the carvEE...

8) A perfect day of letterboxing

9) I do transfers the old-fashioned way... iron it!

10) Measure twice, cache once.

11) A picture is worth, uh, 34 words.

12) Scratch him just right, and his leg will start thumping...

13) It just ghost to show you.

14) And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

15) Stroking and pulsing and digits, oh my!

16) Polly want a carbonate?

17) A new motherboard.

18) Tongs for the memories...

19) Hear hear.

20) Missing purse-on report.

Ok, that should do it for tonight! Now go and play on AQ, especially with the new geocoder!

-wassamatta_u

Boxers 'n' Briefs: Shall We Gather By The River?

Ahhhh, what a fun weekend!!

First off, I would like to thank the Bookworms, The Gillespie Tribe, and especially the charming Baby Bookworm for organizing such a wonderful event: The American River Gathering in Sacramento, CA. The weather was perfect, the food was scrumptious, and the cooties were prevalent. Katie-bug and I travelled up Friday evening, and met up with such Letterboxing Luminaries as Princess Lea, Lisa and Robb, Doublesaj n Old Blue, and even some Right-Coasters ( < --- gratuitous harbinger) like Schizokeet, NoVA Coaster Fan, Sheba and the ineffable Cyclonic. I will leave it to Cyclonic to relate in his blog our hilarious antics that evening in the grocery store, which involved lock-n-lock knock-offs (knock-n-knocks?), pool noodles, a self-checkout station, and beer.

There were many memorable moments at the gathering; the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) beating each other with sticks in the pavilion next to us, Princess Lea's gigantic cootie, the wassa_raffle_u, and of course the friends and boxes. But perhaps one of the MOST interesting moments was at the after-gathering pizza party, where Schizokeet went up to a rather large hairy SCA re-enactor (they went to the same pizza place), and "cootied" him, saying it was "A message from Her Majesty the Queen", while we Huzzah'ed our heads off. Guess you had to be there...

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who helped and/or attended... it was a fantastic weekend!

1) Take it up with the School Board.

2) Trekkie Gal went on a date. Part 1. (Note: she has forgiven me...)

3) Trekkie Gal went on a date. Part 2. (Note: she has rescinded her forgiveness...)

4) Till death stewie part.

5) Gargoyle Girl grabs golf gold.

6) StarSAELS' Con-voluted post.

7) Google THIS!

8) A worrisome thing that leads you to fling the Clues in the Night...

9) Mind if I cut in?

10) Amanda and Costello

11) He was probably planting a micro-box.

12) A ferret to remember.

13) We LOVE to hear from Greg!

14) Yes, stats why we love him!

15) Mailstrom.

16) Cutting edge photography.

17) Hitting the nail on the head.

Well, that seems to about cover it. And don't forget...
TOMORROW, 9/19, is International Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day!!!!!

-wassamatta_arrrrrr

Boxers 'n' Briefs: Summer Like It Hot

Before I say anything else, I just want to say HERE YA GO! to Big Red 1... Be safe, and be laughing!

Ok, where was I? Oh yeah... this August/September heat is really getting to me! Ah, well, Fall is just around the corner.

Last month, I took my son down to Los Angeles for the parent/student orientation at UCLA, where he will be a freshman in a few weeks (YIKES!). A couple of wonderful 'boxing things happened while I was down there that I wanted to share with you, my captive audience. First, I had the great honor and privilege to be interviewed by jackbear for the 6th Episode of the Letterpod podcast. Yes, that's me giggling like a schoolgirl (no offense star writer or kiwi foamie). It was really a blast, not only because I was able to make a fool of myself in a whole new medium, but also because I got to play with some pretty cool technology. Ya see, I was in a hotel room in LA, while jackbear was... well, actually I have no IDEA where he was, but it was east of the Mississippi. We used a cool little computer application called "gizmo" to chat over our computers, and he was able to record it directly to a file. Pretty nifty stuff!

The other fun 'boxing thing was that I got to do some fun 'boxing. I met up with the absolutely delightful Piper Paws and her son Marco Polo. My intention all along had been to get one particular box, a box I have been eyeing for months in glorious anticipation: "To The Batcave". I LOVED the Batman TV show when I was a kid, so the thought of going to the ACTUAL SPOT where they filmed the Batmobile careening out of the cave sent goosebumps up my spine.

But first, Piper Paws suggested we try out a new series called "Hollywood Forever!" Sure, I thought, why not? All I can say is: Piper Paws, you are a GENIUS. That was one of the funnest and most fascinating letterboxing excursions I have ever had. Ya see, "Hollywood Forever" is the name of a cemetery, where DOZENS of famous stars are buried. They sell a cool map at the gift shop (yes, a cemetery with a gift shop) that shows over a hundred stars' burial locations within the grounds. The hiding spots were clever, the clues interesting, the stamps spectacular, and the company entertaining... what MORE could one ask for?? A truly remarkable trip. I never DID get to the Batcave, but no regrets! I can still look forward to that one NEXT time!

Ok, enough blathering! I have a month worth of links to punnify, so let's get to it, shall we?

1) Extreme Makeodor.

2) An extremely detailed and exact account of what happens at a Gathering.

3) It's like playing "Twister" with your hands...

4) Greg was home! A wonderful account by a wonderful mom.

5) I always considered him a shady character...

6) I single the body eclectic.

7) Would that make them "Lettlettes"?

8) Useful info, but taken out of context, can be really funny...

9) Am I a little late in posting this?

10) Well listen, Gromit!

11) Dots awl there is to it!

12) Want back up? Pack up your backups and jack up your hack-ups.

13) Missionary: Impassable

14) If you don't Ox, you'll never know.

15) Apparently, not EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas...

16) Looks like a purse to me, mstrwndl...

17) Lucy would be pre-oud!

18) Ink-redible predict-ink!

19) Obligatory "Kids Say The Darndest Things" link.

20) She's like a random phrase generator... gotta love it!

21) Oh my Gordie got it right!!

22) Shameless self-promotion (both this link and the content)

23) Chestnut roasts Stone, and his hopes inspire.

24) More shameless self-indulgence.

25) So, Ryan, does this mean Premium Memberships are only $23 (hex)?

26) Ryan holds the answers in his Palm.

27) Oooh, this really is a trekkie question...

28) chadams, the ultimate con-man.

29) *sigh* Tired of these self-indulgent links yet?

30) Now he's con-spiring to con-script con-spirators amid con-stituents!

31) Ok, KuKu and Mr Yuk...

That should keep you all busy for a while, at least! Looks like there is a lot of chatter heating up on the LB-Con, which I think sounds like a FANTASTIC idea, so expect to suffer through more "con" jokes in the future... until next time, which hopefully won't be QUITE so long...

(still need a good Pepe-like tag line here... open to suggestions!)
-wassamatta_u