I'm off to a bachelorette party today. Whoo hoo! Food, friends, alcohol, good music, and male strippers. Can life get any better? I haven't been to a good bachelorette party in a while. I've got a wad of dollar bills waiting for home, baby!!! - Yano, 7:29 PM |

Friday, July 12 Friday, July 12

Butt kissing makes me sick. Kissing butt so badly that you've got their crap on your toes what I'm talkin' about. Sure, I kiss butt, but only a minimal amount so as to not create animosity. Ugh...how much butt kissing do you have to do to move up in the world? I don't want to know. I WILL NOT be someone's lap dog. I will not place the blame on someone else for my own incompetency, just so I look like the better person. I can suck it up if I make a mistake. I will not belittle other people who do not have as much knowledge as me. Grrr...Ack. I have issues today. - Yano, 7:25 PM |

IF YOUR NAME IS KRISTINE, CLOSE YOUR BROWSER AND DON'T COME BACK FOR A WEEK Well, now that this whole engagement thing is slowing down now, I'll put up some of my Wizard Convention pictures. What I'll start out with is meeting Michael Rosenbaum, Lex Luthor from the WB's Smallville. Before leaving for the convention, my dad asked me what I do at these things. He find comic books a very weird habit for a girl to have (as most people do). So I told him that I get to meet the guys that write the books, the artists, and go to workshops. I showed him the sketches that I had gotten, and he was slightly impressed. Then I told him that Luke Perry was going to be there (promoting his show Jeremiah). My mom was like 'Who's that?' and I said 'That guy from 90210'. And she got all giddy and said, 'Oh, I like him!' I also said that Michael Rosenbaum would be there. And it was dad's turn to say 'Who is that?' and I replied, 'He's Lex Luthor from Smallville'. And my dad's face lit up and he said, 'Are you going to meet him?' and I replied 'I'm going to try and get an autograph for Kristine (our cousin in Texas, her sister Kathy wants to surprise her with an autograph)'. So my dad says, 'When you meet him, tell him that your dad told you to tell him 'I like you in Smallville. I think that you're a really great actor.' Dude, I didn't even know that he watched the show! So I get to the con, and the line was already capped to meet Michael. But for the second signing time, at 4, me and Fatima got a spot in line. Unfortunately, he wasn't personalizing pictures anymore. So when we got up there, I had the 8x10 that Kathy bought for Kristine, and I asked him to sign it. As he was signing, I said, 'My dad told me to tell you that he likes you a lot. He thinks you're a great actor.' I wasn't really expecting him to say anything back. But he then said, 'Cool! Where's he at?', to which I replied, 'He's not here, he's not into comics'. And then Fatima took a picture of me and Michael. I said thanks, and before I left, he said, 'Hey, tell your dad that I said HI'. I thought Michael was cute before, but he's even cuter in my eyes now! So after that, I called up my dad and told him about the exchange. My dad was pretty excited. It was really cute. Then he asked me, 'Did you get me his autograph?'. What a funny guy. I told him I'd make a scan of the one I got for Kristine and he was happy with that. Still got the ring. Day 6 and I have not lost it yet. - Yano, 10:55 AM |

Thursday, July 11 Thursday, July 11

It is a gorgeous day out today. There are wispy clouds, and the sky is a gorgeous shade of blue. There's also an art fair across the street! Maybe I'll stop by. But of course, I won't buy anything. I have no cash anyway. I will just browse and look longingly. Today is also a good day, because McDonalds is having 29 cent hamburgers and 39 cent cheeseburgers. Yum yum. Poor Claudine doesn't have a McDonald's by her, so she's outta luck. CD for the Commute to Work: No Angel by Dido - It's been a long time since Miss Dido was in my car. I lost her for about 8 months, but was finally discovered above the piano. I love this CD. Too bad she didn't get more airplay for the rest of the songs on the CD. She's got a really great voice to listen to. Earlier this week I watched the movie 'Life as a House'. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. I had read a lot of mixed reviews about it, but it was a sweet, well paced movie. In my opinion, Hayden Christiansen acts a lot better than he does in Episode II. And it's got Jena Malone in it, who I've adored ever since she was a little girl. It's a great movie to rent if you just want to sit home and relax. A little depressing though, but you can figure out at the beginning of the movie what's going to happen. I'd give it 3 stars. I'm so sleepy. - Yano, 2:24 PM |

God bless Orlando, the dear brought me tiramsu for dessert today. He's my hero! And as another treat, Trully, Melanie and I went for sushi today. Trully grilled me with 1001 questions about my engagement and wedding. She's REALLY freaking me out! But the sushi was good, so it calmed me down. But there are SO many things to think about it. Too bad Trully will be in Brazil. I could use a lot of her ideas and advice. So I realize that I really have to start saving my money now. No more impulse buys. No more runs to Target. This is gonna kinda be hard. I've had this ring for 4 days now, and I'm STILL freaked that I'm going to lose it. Paranoid I am! Every couple minutes I check my finger to make sure that it's still on. - Yano, 12:53 AM |

Wednesday, July 10 Wednesday, July 10

To All Yano Fan Club Members: Yes, the rumors are true. I am betrothed. However, remember that I DO have 2 sisters who share the same genes, so don't lose hope. I will also continue to make appearances at various speedskating events and in Urbana. You can still send requests for the 8x10 personalized autographed glossy of me, and we are still selling Yano merchandise. Remember, the Yano backscratcher, Yano bobblehead doll, Yano World Tour program, and Yano socks are selling like hotcakes, so stock up on them now! Thank you for your understanding. I'm a dork! - Yano, 9:47 AM |

Tuesday, July 9 Tuesday, July 9

I'M GONNA BE A SISTER-IN-LAW!!! hehehe...so sister, have you told your fan club of crushes that you are spoken for? ;) hehehe...miss you already sister =D...and DON'T LOSE THE RING. my friends think it's pretty ;) - Fatima, 11:58 PM |

Hey, try out the GuestMap on the right hand links. It's pretty cool. I know you guys will love playing with it. - Yano, 4:51 PM |

Well, it's been 3 days now, and I haven't lost the ring. I think I'm doing pretty good! The thing is, I normally don't wear jewelry, so I'm not really used to having something on my finger. And I think I've scratched about 7 people with this thing already. But I'm not complaining! I love it! It's so sparkly and shiny. So word of the engagement got around work yesterday. I didn't want to make a big deal of it and send out an mass email or anything, so I just told a couple of people. And next thing you know, there's a big 'CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTINE!' on the breakroom board, and everyone's coming up to me congratulating me. I feel so sorry for Sam, who sits across from me, because I told the engagement story so many times! So there are many things to plan, now. When, where, who, all that junk. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, but pretty excited too. Good times ahead! - Yano, 4:29 PM |

Sunday, July 7 Sunday, July 7

Here's a link to my two fave sketches drawn for me at the comicon: Michael Turner - Aspen from Fathom Karl Moline (Fray) - Psylocke Not only were these my two favorite sketches, they were the nicest when they were sketching...more stories to come later... - Yano, 10:39 PM |

Well, there've been a couple requests for a view of 'the ring'. So I'm giving you a glimpse of the ring box (I love hippos) and the ring itself. I swear, this thing is so shiny and beautiful. I love it! Had dinner with the soon-to-be in-laws. It went well, they were on the other end of the table, so me and Dave got to discuss a lot of stuff about the impending nuptials. Dude, this whole thing kinda freaks me out, but I'm so excited! - Yano, 10:31 PM |

Well, I was going to post up pictures of the comicon and tell a million stories of all the fun things that happened at the comicon...something happened last night... I'M ENGAGED! Yes! Dave actually didn't have a spech to make at a convention. He proposed! Yay! Wow, my head is still reeling. The ring is absolutely beautiful, and he had such a wonderful night planned. It's kinda weird, though. I mean, I've got a fiance now. Crazy! I'm so happy! Yay yay yay! And everyone around me knew except for me. They all planned it, and no one slipped. Not even my mom! There's just so many things going on in my head right now, but they're all good things. Except that I'm really paranoid that I'm going to lose this ring. Or that the rock is gonna pop off. Mental note: must be EXTRA careful with ring. Somehow, all the comicon stories seem insignificant right now.... - Yano, 11:22 AM |