Stop the insanity!

At no point is "baby talk" by an adult appropriate in the work place. However, minimal amounts of infantile chatter is acceptable when speaking to a baby, not a wimpy adult, or even worse, a manager, but a real, by the books baby who just so happens to be visiting the office. Consider this a public safety notice because everyone knows, or rather should know, that"baby talk" is a known cause of unpredictable rage.

Tug at the Heart Strings

Everyday on my way to work I pass an Elementary school. Usually I see happy little faces playing on the playground before school starts, but today I saw something that almost made me cry and continues to bring tears to my eyes every time I think about it.

As I waited at the crosswalk I saw a man who was walking away from the school's fence turn back around to face the fence. At first I wondered why this man was loitering around the school and then I saw it. There, reaching out to him, were two desperate little kid arms belonging to a little girl in glasses. He leaned down to talk to her and as I passed I could see the very distraught, pleading frown on her little face. Those little arms, that sad little face.

Even know, a full 8 hours later, as I type my chest is starting to hurt and my eyes are starting to water. I sincerely hope her day improved from the morning and that those sad little arms no longer reach out from within the fenced blacktop to perceived safety.

Here's to Thursday starting better...

Choices

Despite the toasty temps of above 100 I like to escape the air-conditioned cave of the IT office and enjoy my lunch hour outside. Here is my lovely view. Not bad for the desert, right? The first time I saw Phoenix I was a little aghast at the lack of green. I know, I know, it’s the desert, what else should I expect. I digress.

Anywho, after returning to the office this afternoon I noticed I had somehow collected a mini passenger on my sweet homemade lunch bag. I thought long and hard about what to do with this little drone. At first I pitied the little guy/gal, scurrying about all alone, separated from his fellow drones. He would be stuck wandering about my cube where he would suffer an untimely demise by office chair wheel, over sized shoe or starvation. After attempting to feed my new buddy with a cereal crumb I was unrealistically put off by the fact that he didn't even stop to sniff the sugar coated flake. I started to lean towards letting him fend for himself in the office. Shortly there after my conscious got the better of me and I decided I would… then he fell off the desk. Hmm.

I wasn't quite sure how my co-workers would react if they saw me scouring the floor on my hands and knees looking for my hitchhiking ant. I'm still new here, they're not ready for that yet. I came to the conclusion he was on his own and I was freed of my duties to this little ant.

A good 10 minutes later, what do I see, that’s right, my trusty ant buddy. What a trooper! He had managed to crawl back up to my desktop. I knew I had to fulfill my duty to this little guy/gal and return it to its proper place in the world. Armed with my mini post-it I loaded up the ant and headed down 7 floors to get outside. As only proper I returned the ant to my lunch location.
Who knows what will come of this little adventuring ant, but at least now I know I've done the right thing and released it back to its rightful location. Who would have thought office life could be so exciting?

Still waiting

Today was a tough one, and its still not over. Bad news, we're still waiting to find out the results of the appraisal, but good news is the bank might actually be willing to play very minor T-ball with a ever so slight drop in price. We hope to know more tomorrow! Keep those positive thoughts coming out way please : )

Low & Slow: The Art of the Low Rider

Last night we witnessed an awesome display of Low Riders, and a few classic automobiles at The Phoenix Museum of Art. The car show was a part of a larger "fiesta", "in conjunction with Phantom Sightings: Art After The Chicano Movement" (exceptional exhibit in the museum) To the left are some pics of the cars. Yeah, most are blurry which I'm not too happy about, and as much as I'd like to blame the camera, I'm pretty sure it was my fault. Oh well, guess I'll have to go to the up coming Low Rider car show we received a hand out for.

I would have loved to have see some of the cars in their full hydrolic glory, but they were pretty damn impressive just to look at while parked. Check out the sweet door lock that I think might look pretty hot in the mini...

HGTV, you deceive me

Have you ever watched an episode of one of the many home buying shows on HGTV? We've watched plenty, and have enjoyed them, but I can't say I'd go back after experiencing it for ourselves. Sure they're pretty entertaining, but don't be fooled. We've been plugging along in the ole home buying process and what do you know, its NOTHING like HGTV will have you think. No wham bam house is yours, no, its a lengthy, stressful process. I suppose I knew it wasn't going to be all sunshine and roses, nor as easy as they show on TV, but perhaps they should have some kind non-reality disclaimer, ya know, toughen up the home buying skin.

The high of finding a house and having an offer accepted is ultimately trounced by, the low of every minor flaw found in the inspection, and more importantly, concerns regrading appraisal numbers and the potential that, should the appraisal come in lower than the offer, the bank that owns the house will be too greedy to negotiate down and our loan company, seeing the lower appraisal will not provide the funds to cover an offer the bank will accept. It could all go smashingly and by Monday we could officially consider the house ours, but just as easily the deal could go down in a ball of flames! Ok, maybe not that dramatic, but it would ultimately stink.

As much as we have been warned "not to get emotionally involved" I think its too late. This purchase could possibly be our very own home. Its not like a replacement tire for my car, its an investment in our future, how could we not get emotionally involved? For all those out there providing advice and knowledge based on experience, we thank you for your input and hope you're not put off by this post. We're accepting any good karma you can spare towards this all working out as well as possible, so feel free to send your good thoughts in the direction of our house purchase.

Holy moly we're home owners!!!

Well, maybe not 100% quiet yet, but our offer was accepted and we are moving right along in the home owning process. Yes our little beast of a house is going to take a ton of sweat and love, and yes a little bit of $$ but its a great house, in a great location and its ours : ) Pictures will follow, perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow.

Haboob

What? Has the Huppdates turned to smut? No, no, worry not, its merely a term for a dust storm. Check out Phoenix's definition: "Walls of dirt and debris, usually miles wide and thousands of feet high, are pushed across dry desert terrain by high winds, causing dust to engulf highways. Although usually brief, dust storms must be taken seriously because of blinding conditions on highways." Granted these pictures are a little old (few weekends ago) they are still an interesting Hupp experience. Note the sky in the picture to the left. One moment they were crystal clear blue, next everything is brown and dusty. Just another day in the desert.

Note to self:

Beware of the "kid filter". We fell victim to the filter this afternoon regarding our lunch choice. Its a tricky past perception which often affects perceived food preferences, and TV show/Movie quality. Realization of the filter most always comes too late, like after you've eaten your lunch or wasted an hour of your life coming to terms with just how awful a movie really is.

Keep in mind, restaurants where you ate as a kid may not be as tasty as you remembered when you try it again as a grown up. The greasy brick in my belly is a harsh reminder of just how cautious one should be when it comes to that which may be affected by the "kid filter".

Flagstaff, AZ

This past weekend we were fortunate to escape the 100+ degree heat of Phoenix and enjoy a lovely trip to Flagstaff. (Many thanks to Jonathan's uncle's family's hospitality). The joy of being able to drink coffee on a deck in the morning, walk around without sweating to death during the day and actually feel cool during the evening is almost indescribable. Yeah, its hot, and yes I knew this when we moved, but sometimes 106 degree heat at 9 PM can get a little old. While in Flagstaff we enjoyed some of the local cooking, (Martan's, delicious Mexican) and some very tasty coffee at Late for the Train. Plus we were sure to get in a little touristy shopping and of course some potentially cousin embarrassing photo oops around town. I never thought I'd say it, but yes, I'm a tourist, and yes, I love it! Hope you enjoy the photos.