Author: Anne Marie Miller

I have learnt to love you late, Beauty at once so ancient and so new!
Saint Augustine

so here i am, taking care of some freelance in my office, space heater 6″ away from my leg…sipping on some “rooibos sunshine” loose leaf tea. my coworker dalton and i have become addicted to rooibos, and there just happens to be a loose leaf tea shop a few miles from the church which has probably a hundred kinds of loose leaf tea. so we have our little tea station in our communications workroom. i’ll admit, we’ve become tea snobs.

earlier today, as i was getting ready – applying eyeliner or something – one of those thoughts [that you know aren’t your own] pops in my head and says, “Why even bother? You know you can’t compete.”

I knew exactly what this statement meant and where it came from. I seem to have my brain locked into this “22 years old is the perfect age” mindset. It probably was one of the best years of my life. And now as I creep ever-so-more up on 30, I realize that superfically, aging is something I’m not looking forward to.

You would never hear me say it aloud, but I am horribly competitive. A few years back, after a fierce game of Uno, we all went to eat. We talked about the game and I said something about how “I’m glad I’m not one of those competitive crazy people.” Steve, normally laid back and not too expressive, smacks his hand down on the table and says, “SWEET JESUS ANNE, YES YOU ARE!”

After Steve’s statement, the fact I had broken many a Super Nintendo controller in my youth, as well as chalking up several technical fouls during my high school basketball career, I realize – yes, I am extremely competitve.

This competitive nature also comes in the form of my appearance. The voice that snuck in unexpectedly today was pushing that competitive button – making me feel there’s no way I can physically compete with the beautiful, early-20 year olds that seem to overflow out of the Rockwall city limits.

Fortunately, a Voice much louder and more important reminded me, “Why do you need to compete, anyway?”

Eh. Good point.

Now if only I can convince myself to believe it…

today is an ice day.
although where i am, there isn’t any ice.
so i am sifting through my credit report
calling people in india,
promising i am not the person
who opened a phone account
and ran up $800.
and sending them my notarized
ftc report to prove it.

identity theft is not fun.
i have disputed 23 items on my credit report in the last month.
if you haven’t looked at your credit report lately – please do.

speaking of theft
i thank whoever dlink is
for their open wifi spot
of which i am partaking.

as i have no internet at home
except the blackberry.

my birthday is a little over a month away. and after going to christina’s fabuloso fiesta on thursday, i am inspired to have a shindig as well. what should i do?

Cisco is suing Apple and seeking an injunction to prevent Apple from using Cisco’s “iPhone” US trademark. As of yesterday, Cisco representatives said that a deal was close for licensing the trademark to Apple, however it appears as though Apple’s announcement before a deal was reached may have forced Cisco into the courts.

“Cisco entered into negotiations with Apple in good faith after Apple repeatedly asked permission to use Cisco’s iPhone name,” said Mark Chandler, senior vice president and general counsel, Cisco. “There is no doubt that Apple’s new phone is very exciting, but they should not be using our trademark without our permission.

“Today’s iPhone is not tomorrow’s iPhone. The potential for convergence of the home phone, cell phone, work phone and PC is limitless, which is why it is so important for us to protect our brand,” Chandler concluded.

With its lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Cisco is seeking an injunction to prevent Apple from copying Cisco’s iPhone trademark.

Note: While Cisco has the US trademark for “iPhone,” Apple does have the trademark for “iPhone” in some other countries.

(link MacRumors; thanks Jared)

ALSO…a new feature added to the iPhone. Meet the iPhone Quattro – Now you can shave while you talk!

Does everyone HAVE to blog about the iPhone? It has been announced for the last 24 hours and I am already sick of it. It’s like a new Nickelback song. You get in your car, Nickelback’s on. You go to the grocery store, it’s on again. You pick up your dry cleaning, good ol’ Chad’s singing. You go to TGIFriday’s, “Been farrrr away furrr farrr too lonnng”. You simply cannot escape it. And at the end of the day you want to stab your eyes out.

So is the same with the new iPhone and bloggers! I know half the people in my Google Reader blogged about it (and I love each and every one of you) but it’s just getting silly! :)

Every party has a pooper and yes, I am pooping on this party. Apple is innovative… We’ve all known that for a while. They are the kings of buzz and I give them props. But it is obvious they have 98% of the blogging community under mind control.