50 FIRSTS #20 -- 20th Century, Here I Come!!

This almost counts as 2 new 50 FIRSTS -- tonight I Skyped for the first time AND it was part of a conference call. Yep, Lesley and Jaime ushered me into the previous century, as we spent an hour or two making the final decisions about this summer's NSF-REU Fellows. It was a painful process (choosing, not Skyping) - but in a good way - lots of exceptionally qualified applicants! Occasionally Matzel contributed to the 'conversation'.

Brings a Smile, Every Time

I was in a crumby mood Thursday/Friday, so fell back on a few of my favorite you tube videos for a smile:

50 FIRSTS #18: Easter Ratatouille

Enjoyed the Johnson family's hospitality for Easter, as is becoming the tradition. Great lamb by Randy, excellent fare all around. And apparently I added a 'first' by enjoying some ratatouille. I've obviously heard of it, never tasted it tho'. Fun to say, tasty to eat - figured it could go on 'the list.'

The day was topped off as usual by the lamb cake decapitation (apparently these little lamb cakes are a South Bend area specialty). Moment captured below:

50 FIRSTS #19: Internet Help-Chat

I have to confess, 10 years into the 21st century and I've never actually used one of those live interactive options while on one of my financial pages. But today, I couldn't find my end of year tax info from my mortgage holder, so went online, tried to set up an account, it dumped me, so I timed the online chat option against calling. The person was online before I'd finished entering the 1-800 number in my iphone. It was pretty interesting to answer her questions about loan amounts, interest, etc. by having to bounce around to other websites to pull the answers. Never had to touch a piece of paper. I don't know if that felt convenient, or a bit scary ;-) Regardless, it was a first, so it's on the list!