Occasionally Updated

I need to update this more!

2010-06-17T10:01:00.001-06:00

I promise I am going to start updating this blog more. I go backpacking in Peru next week so I will keep a travel journal and video journal to post on my blog! Please read me.

In other news, M is hosting a really cool giveaway on her blog. I want to win so bad.
http://albertis-window.blogspot.com/2010/06/giveaway-private-life-of-masterpiece.html

Seedy but interesting

2010-03-10T14:13:00.002-07:00

I got the below article from CNN. If I were rich, I would buy the domain and turn it into an anti-pornography website. I HATE pornography.

Sex.com domain goes up for grabs

By Ben Rooney, staff reporterMarch 9, 2010: 11:59 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Sex.com, one of the most valuable Internet domain names, will go up for auction next week after the previous owner defaulted on its debts.

Escom LLC paid a reported $14 million for the Web site in 2006. But the company failed to repay debt owed to DOM Partners LLC, the New Jersey-based lender that helped finance the deal.

As a result, sex.com will be sold "as is" in the equivalent of a foreclosure sale, according to a letter from DOM Partners' lawyers that was made public Tuesday. The auction is set for March 18 in New York, and bidders are required to appear with a certified check for $1 million to participate.

Richard Maltz, an auctioneer at Maltz Auctions who is overseeing the sale, said there has been a "good amount of interest" in sex.com. But he did not say how much the Web site could sell for.

"It is a very unique property," he said. "It will be an incredible opportunity for someone."

Indeed, sex.com generated $15,000 a day in revenue at one point, according to Charles Carreon, an attorney who wrote about the Web site's legal travails in his book "The Sex.com Chronicles."

By way of comparison, the domain name www.pizza.com reportedly sold for more than $2.5 million at an auction in 2008.

The sex.com saga

The auction is only the latest chapter in the turbulent history of sex.com, which includes allegations of theft and countless court cases.

Gary Kremen, the founder of Match.com, registered the domain name in 1994, according to a timeline of the events on the Web site of journalist Kieren McCarthy, who wrote a book about sex.com.

According to McCarthy's account, Kremen spent several years in court battling with "porn baron" Stephen Cohen, who was accused of stealing sex.com from him in 1995 by sending forged letters and e-mails.

In 2000, a court handed control of the domain name back to Kremen and ordered Cohen to pay $65 million to Kremen. Cohen subsequently appealed and the case was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2003.

Two years later, Cohen was arrested in Tijuana for failing to appear in court. He was released in 2007, according to published reports.

Kremen was the principal in the 2006 sale of the domain to Escom, although a news release at the time said he would remain as an adviser.

I was sad today . . .

2010-03-09T10:28:00.001-07:00

So I watched this. Oh tear of laughter . . .

Hand-feeding sharks.

2009-12-17T11:09:00.002-07:00

I hate sea creatures. This guy is crazy!

Dental OCD

2009-11-05T09:38:00.002-07:00

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have a firm testimony in dental hygiene. I absolutely LOVE to go to the dentist. It is like going to the spa. I love being told how clean my teeth are, how I should should work there, how amazing I am . . . :). I even having my own set of dental instruments at home so I can clean my own teeth. This obsession stemmed from an incident in early college where I had a cavity (GASP) in between my teeth. Ever since then I have been diligent about brushing after every meal and flossing twice daily. I was shocked to hear that some people don't floss . . . and even more shocked when my dentist told me that many people don't brush.

This got me thinking about dental vanity in America. Dental hygiene seems to be very much an American tradition, and the industry is suffering in the current economic depression according to my dentist friends. When I was in China last month, our host told me there are only a handful of dentists in major cities. Oral health is not the priority it is here.

What do you think? Is oral health vanity?

F*** You Citigroup.

2009-11-02T12:25:00.002-07:00

I got a letter from my credit card company saying it was increasing my interest rate from 8% to 29.99%. What really pisses me off is that I have always payed off my bill every month and never payed late. Additionally, my taxpayer dollars bailed out this company along with several others.
Obviously I called and gave Citigroup the proverbial middle finger via telephone.

My office is culturally illiterate . . .

2009-10-30T12:45:00.002-06:00

No one from my office knew what I was for Halloween . . .

"He has bells on his feet but they might as well be chains."

2009-10-27T21:58:00.003-06:00

My distaste for humanity began at a young age. Stories like these do not help restore my faith in mankind. As those of you close to me know, issues regarding the basic human rights of women and children in the developing world are important to me. In the last couple of days I ran across this story by Atia Abawi of CNN about the "bacha bazi" or "boy play" in Afghanistan.

Bacha Bazi is a practice in "which young boys are taken from their families, made to dance and used as sex slaves by powerful men. The number of boys involved is unknown -- the practice has been going on for centuries, in a country where such practices are overshadowed by conflict and war." (Abawi, 2009). "It's pretty much unappreciated by [the] society, unaccepted and illegal," said Mohammad Musa Mahmodi of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, one of the few organizations in the country working to end "bacha bazi."

In the video embedded at the bottom of this post, two young men are interviewed, both of whom were forced into this practice as teenagers. One describes how he was kidnapped by his neighbor, raped, and then sold to various "parties" as a dancer. Following each dance, the young men are often gang-raped.

There is not much legal recourse for these young men. "In Afghan society the victims of rape and assault --- both male and female --- are often persecuted and punished rather than the perpetrator. The shame forces boys like Farhad to continue in leading such lifestyles, even when they have the chance to break away." (Abawi, 2009).

So I am wondering if any of you feel that this kind of thing ever okay given the historical context of this practice in Afghanistan. Or are such arguments simply justifications for the perpetual abuse of children?

Wal-Creatures: People of Walmart

2009-10-23T11:32:00.008-06:00

A friend told me about the site peopleofwalmart.com. "Let’s face it; we all have seen the people who obviously don’t have mirrors and/or family and friends to lock them in a basement, and they all seem to congregate at Walmart."

Ick.

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

2009-10-21T21:18:00.002-06:00

The best way to settle disputes is not to resort to litigation.

China Loot!

2009-10-20T09:51:00.002-06:00

I had a great time in China. The problem with China is, besides the fact that there is no toilet paper and you have to pee in a trough, is that there is too much crap to buy. I bought the following during my two week trip:
12 Tablecloths
9 Handbags
14 Wallets
2 fake watches
102 strands of beads and pearls
1 jade dog
8 Chairman Mao quotebooks
40 postcards
5 silk wall hangings
3 jewelry boxes
12 ties
5 scarves

Ambien

2009-10-20T09:50:00.001-06:00

Don't make important decisions on Ambien. You might just buy an entire season of Stargate Universe on Itunes.

Remember when I had a blog?

2009-10-19T21:04:00.001-06:00

Remember that time when I had a blog? A few people have been bugging me to restart my blog. You all know who you are.

I'm feeling kind of shady

2008-07-27T18:18:00.001-06:00

Some of you were wondering why the cryptic poll on my blog. Most of you know that I have been fielding job offers for when my clerkship is over. I have received several offers at various firms and have had trouble deciding which one to take. Anyhow, I "accepted" a sizeable offer at a firm doing commercial litigation. I started thinking, however, that I did not want to bill 2400 hours a year and work 60-80 weeks for the rest of my life. I then got an offer from another firm doing in another area of practice, which I prefer, with less rigorous demands on my soul. I had to call and reneg on my commitment to the first firm. I felt super rude and sketchy, but this is the rest of my life that I am talking about. Anyway, my term with the State of Utah not up until December so I am sure that the first firm will have plenty of time to find someone better.

Memory

2008-07-27T18:17:00.001-06:00

I got this off my friend Cheryl's blog. It is kind of fun.

As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :)

I need summer to be over

2008-07-15T21:34:00.000-06:00

Everyone that knows me knows that I cannot stand hot weather. This summer has been particularly difficult. There are really only three months out of the year in Utah that are unbearable — June, July, and August — however, those months still make me rethink where I want to settle down someday. I have come up with a list of places with the perfect climate:

1. Glacier National Park, MT
2. Anchorage, Alaska
3. Seattle, WA
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Missoula, MT
6. Norway
7. Iceland
8. Olympic Coast

My friends that live in Phoenix and Las Vegas think I am a huge wimp because I think sunny and 85 degrees in the dry Utah sun in unbearable. I was in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and it was 115 degrees. I thought I was in a special circle of hell. I am pretty sure that outer darkness is hot and not cold. I really need a climate that is 20-70 degrees year round without an inordinate amount of sunshine and plenty of rain and snow. I would like to know . . .
Would you rather be hot or cold?
Would you prefer 110 degrees or -10 degrees year round?
My answer of course, is cold, and -10 degrees.

Remember that one time when I had a blog?

2008-07-07T09:56:00.000-06:00

I can hardly remember it myself. Thankfully, my dear friend Zillah tagged me so here goes:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

10 years ago I had finished my sophmore year of high school and went on a trip to Washington D.C. with my family. Unfortunately, I did not appreciate it as I was experiencing intracranial hypertension, an allergic reaction to tetracycline. I spent some fun time in the hospital that summer waiting to regain my vision.

2. Five Snacks I Enjoy

1. Hummus
2. Cheesecake
3. Guac with something else
4. Apples
5. Yogurt with Cheerios

3. Five Things On My To Do List Today

1. Finish copyworking opinion to go out.
2. Go swimming with the cousins
3. Begin writing cover letters for future employment
4. Call Monica
5. Clean my house

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Pay off my debts, pay off my parents' debts, get lipo, build my dream house, buy a house in Paris, Northern Montana, Northern Idaho, a flat in New York and London, buy some shoes, clothes, and bags, do the Everest base camp trek, give to charity, live on a ranch, retire, adopt some orphans.

5. Five jobs that I have had.

1. Swim Teacher
2. Research Assistant
3. Lawyer
4. Aerobics Instructor
5. Lifeguard/Pool Maintenance Worker. Ick.

6. Five of my bad habits

1. Speaking ill of the dead
2. Digging out my own ingrown toenails
3. TV on DVD
4. Screening phone calls
5. Making up rude nicknames for people I care little for

7. Four places I have lived

Utah, Moscow, Idaho, France, Various European Locales

8. Two People I Want to Get to Know Better: A nice way of saying “Tag. You’re it!”

1. Mom 2. Emily Jones

9. 6 Random Things

1. I am crazy about Disneyland.
2. When I was 4, I used to have an imaginary friend named Rachid, but then she unexpectedly died.
3. I wish that I would have become a dancer.
4. I think fireworks are kind of lame.
5. I hate parades.
6. I love Battlestar Galactica.

Valentine

2008-02-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

Who would not want a girl who wears nose strips and a retainer at night, has a sleep apnea mask, and participates in a twice daily nasal flush?

I've been tagged.

2008-02-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

My mom tagged me. I think that she is sick of me not updating my blog.

A attached or single: single
B best friend: Monica, Anne C., Zanna, Anna (when she calls me back!)
C cake or pie: Cake. Cake! I hate pie
D day of choice: Friday, Saturday, Sunday
E essential item: SLeep, but it is not really an item
F favorite color: burgundy
G gummy bears or worms: worms, as long as they are smutty
H hometown: the SLC
I indulgence(s): Netflix, Cafe Rio
J January or July: January. I don't like it when it's hot.
K kids: NO!
L life is incomplete without: My family
M marriage date: sometime in 2020
N number of siblings: 2 sisters and 1 brother and Emily Jones
O oranges or apples: Both
P phobias or fears: Urban warfare, dust mites, big insects, toddlers
Q quotes: "One of these days is none of these days."
R reason to smile: Great snow this year! Monica is having a new baby!
S season: Fall, Winted, Spring
T tag three friends: Monica, Cheryl, Zillah
U unknown fact about me: I dig out my own ingrown toenails
V very favorite store: Banana Republic, Nordstrom
W worst habit: swearing, sleeping too much, online shopping
X x-ray or ultrasound: ??? what kind of question is this
Y your favorite food: Cheesecake, sandwiches
Z zodiac: Gemini

Movie Review: No Country for Old Men

2008-01-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

4/4 Stars

One of the best movies I have seen all year.

What about "Rachel" is so hard to pronounce?

2008-01-20T18:06:00.001-07:00

I am continually astounded that strangers (at least 40-50% of the time) pronounce my name "Rachelle" and not "Rach-el." Is it just me or is my name phonetically misleading. Or, in the alternative, are the masses asses?

BEST AND WORST OF 2007!!!

2008-01-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Mom, Monica, Sarah etc. have been nagging be about updating my blog. I promise to be more diligent in the future. I have the internet at home now so it will be easier to do. I dedicate this post to things that I loved and hated from 2007.

WORST OF 2007

1. Senator Larry Craig. This guy is something else. I find it absolutely mind-boggling that this guy would plead guilty to a sex offense and then say he did not understand the charges. He is a United States Senator; you think he would know better. Then he came out saying that he does not solicit sex etc. and that he is a family, honest guy. He claimed that he believed that if he plead guilty to a sex charge, it would not be made public. COME ON! Whether or not he did it is another question, but who pleads guilty to a sex offense and then claims they were innocent? I don't find this to be an effective legal strategy.

2. Nickelback/Hinder/Maroon5/Fallout Boy. Every time I hear these bands on the radio, I want to crash my car. They all sound the same and lack musical creativity. I am sorry if people like them, but I don't. I think they suck.

3. Paris/Britney/Lindsey/Nicole. I wish people would stop getting DUI's. I think some of these Hollywood types are so trashy. I have very little respect for individuals (famous or not) who use drugs and drive under the influence. What blows my mind is expectation that these individuals should get special treatment or get to choose their prisons. I do feel bad for these troubled young women, but they need to be accountable for their behaviour.

BEST OF 2007

1. Enchanted. I thought this movie was a hoot. I laughed so hard. It was nice to see Disney play on some of that old fashioned disneyness from the past. 3.5 of 4 stars.

2. Hillary Clinton. I have come to respect Hillary more and more and think she would make a great president. I am sure I am in the minority in Utah, but I feel like Hill can best take on the problems we are facing as a country today.

3. K2 Lotta Luv Skis. These skis are amazing. They do well on crud and soft powder. I have only been out 6 times this years, but each day was absolutely blissful.

Musings

2007-10-29T16:27:00.000-06:00

I finally watched Pan's Labyrinth this weekend. WOW! Super creepy. I thought it was an amazing film, but I also found it deeply disturbing. I could not watch many parts and I had to shield my eyes. Has anyone seen any other of Guillermo del Toro's films? I am interested to see if the themes are similar.

Otto got an eyebrow lift last weekend. Apparently all of his eyelashes were ingrown on his right eye. His eye was all pussy and goopy so we had to take in him to get the eyebrow lifted. The poor dog had a hard time coming out of surgery. If you have not met this 125 lb. of lovable badness, I suggest you go to Bob and Rebecca's and meet him. He is so sweet, he just has a crusty eye.

What I am watching now . . .

SUPERNATURAL. This show is awesome! It is probably my favorite show right now. I just watched seasons 1 and 2. If you want a funny, creepy show, rent this one.
Manchurian Candidate (the original of course).
Cache -- usually not a fan of Michael Hanake's films but this is a really good one.

I cried when Tony died, and now he is back alive . . . and EVIL

2007-10-29T16:16:00.001-06:00

When Tony came back to 24 after what seemed liked the world's longest bender following his stint in Club Fed, I did not think the show could get much better. But then Robocop "killed"him by shoving a needle into his heart. I was devasted. Tony has been the force that has held CTU together during times when Jack could not be counted on (remember his heroin problem . . .). It was hard for 24 fans when Tony died---but our cries and petitions have been heard . . . Tony is back. Unfortunately Tony is coming back evil! I can't believe it!

Relationship Troubles

2007-10-18T10:08:00.000-06:00

How do you tell someone that it’s over? You send them a notarized letter, right? Well, what if the recepient is your notary?

Alas, the relationship woes of Rachel Sykes. I must say, the people I have met since returning to Salt Lake have been a Motley Crue assortment. I have not met any nice, professional types--only guys who live in their parents basements or purvey graphic sex and violence on video.

This leads me to the conclusion that perhaps I might be destined to spinsterhood, which makes sense because a lot of mormon guys are scared of women lawyers. Regardless, I have a long, happy career ahead of me in the federal service, taking care of pedophiles, pornographers, and other deviants. Who wouldn't want to go out with me?!

The new hotness

2007-10-17T17:21:00.000-06:00

To those of you who have not heard, the Navbaby is gone. I sold it for valuable consideration and acquired "the new hotness." In all honesty, I was getting screwed on gas mileage. I am also becoming increasingly concerned about the environment, so I feel a tiny bit better driving an ULEV or an ultra low emissions vehicle. I must say, I have become quite the democrat.

Check it out . . . The 2008 Honda Accord EX-L at www.honda.com.