Tracie's World

So my favorite baseball player, Manny Ramirez has yet to sign with the Dodgers for this season. The Dodgers have made him two different offers, both for mucho dinero, but not for the 6 years and gazillion dollars he wants. I love the guy, but I have to say I'm disappointed. He burned a lot of bridges with his previous teams over wanting renegotiated contracts every year, and no one else is out there willing to take a chance on him. But rather than sign for huge bucks with the only team that seems to want him, he keeps turning them down, thinking there's something better out there. Here's a future Hall of Famer, who by all accounts does not do 'roids, with potentially no place to play this next season. I mean, the Dodgers even let him keep his dreads! Obviously he's been getting some bad advice from his Super-Agent, Scott Boras, and I think it's time to wake up and smell the pine tar. Sign with the Dodgers, show that for an entire season you can be a team...

For those of you wondering about the Korean woman who had failed the Driver's License test 772 times, here's an update, courtesy of Reuters: SEOUL, Feb 21 – A South Korean woman who has failed the driver's exam 775 times is not about give up on her hope of buying a truck one day to go into her own business, whether other drivers want her on the road or not. Cha Sa-soon, 68, has been trying since 2005 to pass the written portion of the test to get a licence, but she has so far failed to get the 60 percent required to clear it. "I've looked up some guidebooks to get a driver's licence, and they were saying it takes at most five years to get this," Cha said in North Jeolla province, where farmers on tractors or cows can be just as common on country roads as motor vehicles. "It's already been four years, so I might pass the test next time. That's what I hope for." Driving schools in South Korea offer courses to enable applicants to walk away ...

Last week, hamburger lovers in Salt Lake County received terrific news. In 'n Out Burger is finally coming to our area. I can't even tell you the thrill this brought to us, but joy and rejoicing was certainly a part of it. I first tried one several years ago on a trip to Las Vegas, and was hooked. There's just something about the simplicity of freshly cut fries, and a toasted bun. And you don't have to spend a lot of time figuring out the menu. Burgers and fries and sodas are the only items they serve. I've been in California a couple of times since, and always try to find one before I have to leave for home. Just when I thought the news couldn't get any better, I read in today's paper that not only will we be getting an In 'n Out Burger, but we'll be getting three of them. I know! Three! And one of them will be fairly close to my work. So I expect to be taking some long lunches. My co-worker and I tried a poor imitation of In 'n Out ...

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a box of "Heart Healthy Oatmeal Cookie" mix from Lehi Roller Mills. I finally broke it out yesterday morning to give it a try. (Of course, with a name like that, it's a wonder I didn't break it out sooner.) Now let me preface this by saying that I love cookies. Rarely is there a cookie or a brownie - or a milkshake, or a french fry, or a donut - that I turn down. However, I'm kind of a purist, and really don't go for cookies that aren't homemade. So I wasn't sure about a mix. I mean, it didn't have any kind of chocolate in it all. But as Steph says, I'm the prepared one, so I was able to fix it up with some Guittard chocolate chips that I just happened to have on hand. Of course, in keeping with the Heart Healthy theme, they were dark chocolate chips, so there were plenty of healthy antioxidants to go with the cholesterol controlling oatmeal. So I made them and then took some to my brother's...

I really liked this article found in today's "Odd News" from The Associated Press: SEOUL, South Korea – A woman in South Korea who has taken the written exam required for a driver's license nearly every day since 2005 has failed again — but is hoping attempt No. 772 will be the charm. The aspiring driver took her first test in April 2005, according to Choi Young-chul, an official at the North Jeolla Province driver's license agency in Jeonju, 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Seoul. She has taken the test a record 771 times, most recently on Monday, but has yet to pass. She said she plans to take the test again but did not say when, he said Thursday. The 68-year-old has spent 4 million won ($3,000) on fees for the test, he said. Applicants must score at least 60 on the written exam before they can get behind the wheel for a driving test. Choi says she's scored as high as 50. "I feel sorry every time I see Cha fail. When she passes, I'll make a memor...

Work has been crazy busy for me lately. I've been in lots of meetings and conference calls, some of which have been at 6 AM. Oy vey! There's nothing like trying to be coherent on a call when you can't keep your eyes open and you don't drink coffee. The company has been looking for new ways to generate revenue and be more efficient in a slumping economy. So we've been tasked with finding a way to allow our reservation systems to book large blocks of rooms that would normally need to be booked by a hotel. And not just to allow the bookings, but to build the process around it for how the agents would book the rooms. The thing is that we are all analysts, and putting that many analysts on one project just means that you create more new and inefficient ways of working. So what was an idea that sounded easy ends up being harder and less efficient than if you had just left things alone. Seriously, I feel like it's one of those jokes about how many analysts doe...

I confess. I am a TV junkie. The TV comes on the minute I get home at night, and generally the first thing I get up on the weekends or when I'm on vacation. I will watch a re-run of any of my favorite shows, and have even been known to watch those late-night Heartland music infomercials, just to get my fix. So, a couple of weeks ago, when my TV started going on the blink, I knew there was only one thing to do. I got my butt down to Wal-Mart to buy a new one. I mean, I have my priorities. And my new TV is just about as primo as you can get when you're on a budget and live in a small apartment. The important thing is that it works and I can lift it myself. I'd tell you more, but that's all I really have time for. There's an all-new episode of "The Closer" that starts any minute.