December Went By Fast

Wow, I almost went through the rest of 2008 without blogging at all! I'm ashamed. I hope to blog more in 2009. I discovered a new website that looks like fun, especially because it started with a "quiz" of sorts...

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a Self-Knowing Extroverted Builder

I Like To Movie It Movie It!

Movies were a major factor of my weekend (one each day!) and I enjoyed them all.

On Friday I went to Paul's house and watched "Get Smart" on DVD with him and his family. It was fun, action-packed and found many ways to stay true to the original show, which I loved to watch with my Dad as a child.
Favorite Line-
Max: Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Chief: I don't know, are you thinking, "Holy __, holy __, a swordfish almost went through my head!"?

On Saturday I also saw a movie with Paul, this time in the theater. "Role Models", starring Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott. It was very crass, but if you can look past a lot of swearing and a little nudity, it bears a very sweet message... And a fun rock & roll motif.
Favorite Line (That was difficult for this movie, because I can't remember a lot of them, but I loved this generations-old pop culture allusion)-
Auggie: And I may look like a young Marvin Hamlisch... Who in the world is Marvin Hamlisch?
Danny: He wrote the music for "The Sting"
Wheeler: That's a great movie.

Then today I went with a bunch of the girls I work with to see Madagascar 2. None of us had seen Madagascar 1, but that didn't really limit our enjoyment. Sweet storyline, great graphics, and the penguins are hilarious.
Favorite Line:
King Julian (attempting to stop a baby mouse lemur from getting on the plane with him): Stop him! Stop! (no response) He's got scissors and hand cream! (Security tackles baby lemur).

It was a delightful, cinematastic weekend, made even better by the fact that with each passing day (and movie) my nasty cold was going away. Yay! :-)

P.S. I've finally given in to Christmas music. Certain songs I won't break out or seriously listen to until after Thanksgiving, but I'm listening to more and more as November goes by. Plus, Thanksgiving is late this year, meaning waiting until Black Friday for Christmas music is a longer wait than usual! I'm only human :-)

Haikus

now i don't have bangs
it's cute, fun, and different
my forehead needs sun

my heater's broken
but i actually like it
i just need more quilts

guitar hero soon
just like the pointer sisters
i'm so excited

I Must Stop Christmas From Coming, But How?

Don't worry, I'm not turning into the Grinch. What I'm really trying to do is keep Christmas from consuming my thoughts *too early*. Even more accurately, I'm trying to STOP SINGING CHRISTMAS SONGS. It started innocently enough. Alone in my car, I decided to sing "O Little Town" by Amy Grant (the lyrics of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" set to different music)... It was glorious. Then, I decided to sing the original "O Little Town of Bethlehem". "Stop it!" I chided myself. "It's too close, yet too far, from Christmas to be doing this!" I manage to keep my untameable and untranslateable (Walt Whitman, TM) voice at bay for a day or so at a time, but, unguarded, Christmas tunes slip out again. "Happy Holidays" by Andy Williams, "Mary's Boy Child" by Boney M or Jose Feliciano... I must at least hold off until November!

Of course, the premature Christmas displays in stores (mentioned in a previous blog entry) aren't helping my cause at all.

I must focus on getting "Monster Mash" stuck in my head...

"I was working in the lab, late one night, when my eyes beheld an eerie sight..."

Attack of the Socks

frozen pinky toe
craves loathed, yet essential, sock
in the autumn chill

It's getting cold here and I've still chosen flip flops over tennis shoes every morning. But I regret I will soon resign myself to the dominion of socks and, ::gulp::, closed-toed shoes. I think I dislike them more the older I get... I'm certain one reason things didn't work out at my last job was because of my predilection for going barefoot around the office. Also, if you step in something wet (like a melted puddle of slush in the entryway), you can just dry off your foot. But, if you're wearing a sock, you're stuck with a wet sock. And that's one of my pet peeves, right up there with margarine and apathy.

In other news: It's election time, and I'm rather annoyed. Not so much at the politicians themselves (though that's often a given), but at how they make me feel. Election season just makes me feel like jumping on my soap box and arguing... and I don't like arguing. I know this blog is the perfect opportunity to pontificate, but this is online for all to see, so I'd rather keep the conversation off politics for the most part.

However, I do enjoy comedians that make fun of all candidates equally (hard to find these days), like Jay Leno. He did a sketch where he was moderating the 2nd Presidential Debate. He used the actual responses of the candidates, but dubbed in to follow his made-up questions. The reason I bring this up is the title of my last blog entry "Lovely to See You Again My Friends"... Those of you who watched the debate noticed how many times John McCain used the term "My friends..." when responding to a question. Jay Leno used this to his advantage in the sketch (which I tried to find on YouTube) by holding up pictures of old, long-dead people and asking McCain who they were: ::Jay holds up a picture of Mt. Rushmore:: "Who are these people?" "My friends." ::Jay holds up a picture of the signing of The Declaration of Independence:: "And these people?" "My friends"... It was quite funny.

::sigh:: I don't want to start wearing socks.

Lovely To See You Again My Friends

I'm ashamed that I've let my blogging slide for this long. Nearly two months since my last post... Yikes! There have been many notable moments.

1. Crashed car because of rogue moth on dashboard.
2. Got job.
3. Got accepted into teaching certification program.
4. Got new car.
5. Drove to Boise in new car to attend wedding of two dear college friends.
6. Had amazing 50's-Book Club weekend in Wenatchee.
7. Started school.
8. Created board game from scratch.
9. Celebrated parents' 25th anniversary.
10. Remembered I had a blog.

So, that's the past two months in a nutshell. As I think I theorized once before, it's always the times when you have the most to write about that you have the least time to write about it.

I got to experience one of my pet peeves today... seeing Christmas stuff out waaaaay before Christmas. I love, love, love Christmas and all the accoutrements associated with it, but it bothers me when stores put holiday stuff on their shelves when it's not even Columbus Day yet! I got this same feeling when I saw Halloween knick knacks for sale in the summer. Give us time to revel in each season before sending new stuff down the line! Now, I am a bit of a hypocrite, because I do indulge myself in looking at Christmas things when they are on display; I can handle a lot more Christmas than the average person. But, I don't want my fellow shoppers to be sick of Christmas before it even gets here!

In the meantime, I will enjoy Halloween, the release of Guitar Hero 4, and Thanksgiving. But as soon as dessert is served Thanksgiving night, you can bet I will start celebrating Christmas in full force! :-)

Don't Rock The Boat

Well I've been back in Spokane for the past few days, visiting friends and having a jolly time. One of the more adventurous jollies was a day of boating Monday with my friend Paul and his dad. They live very close to the river in Post Falls, Idaho and have a retro boat that they take out whenever possible in the summer. Naturally, I asked if we could schedule some time asea (ish) while I was there, and they agreed. We got the boat in the water, only to find that one of the gas tanks was nearly empty. No problem. Don (Paul's dad) decided that we'd run the first one dry and then put on the other. We'd only gone for about 5 minutes when that happened. We turned off the engine, attached the fresh tank, and at that moment the fuel line decided to give out. So, though we had a supply of gas, all we could get the motor to give was a forlorn sputter. Keep in mind that this boat was from about 1965 (yay! midcentury!), so a fuel line giving out wasn't especially surprising. We sat there in the water for a while and periodically drifted a little closer to shore with each passing wake. Fortunately, we had come to rest directly opposite some rich Idahoan's private dock, as opposed to a less-than-hospitable pile of rocks and algae. Also, it was an absolutely beautiful day. The water was a perfect temperature, the sun was shining, and we had a cell phone, corn nuts and water... not exactly life-threatening circumstances :-) Even so, sitting unintentionally motionless for an hour did put a damper on the day. I got off easy- handing Don tools from inside the boat and catching a sun tan, while he worked and Paul kept the boat from drifting away from "our" dock. Thanks to some electrical tape and a makeshift clamp, we were up and running by about 12:30 (thank goodness we'd gotten an early start!).

Then it was time for intertubing- something I've never been much for. I love lazily floating down the river on an intertube. I also love zipping down a waterslide, or small snow-covered hill, in an intertube. What I'm wary of is being towed behind a 40 year old 70 horsepower machine...on an intertube. I tried it once last summer, sitting in the intertube like a bucket and felt like I was in a paintshaker. I thanked the Lord for my lifejacket, not because it was added precaution against drowning, but rather because its high shoulders cradled my neck and kept it from snapping off. Paul told me, rightly, that that is not the most comfortable position for tubing, and recommended I try it stomach first this time. Okay.

People usually put their thumbs up or down to indicate their desired speed, but I pointed out that if I was going too fast, I probably would be too afraid to let go of a handle. So we decided to come up with a nice fun safe word... "Cricket" in this case. And they started dragging me.

Too many details aren't really necessary here. There were nice moments, the cool sprinkling water was lovely... and then I got to a point where I screamed "Cricket" until my voice was hoarse, was white-knuckling the handles, hanging on for dear life. Paul, though watching intently, was oblivious until I screamed what I should have in the first place.... "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!!" By the time I was pulled to a halt I was literally sobbing from stress. Judge me if you will, my reading friends- but I was pretty shook up (though not as literally shook up as the time I intertubed in the sitting position). I think it was also just one of those cleansing cries that you let go as a release when you've gone through something that kind of took your breath away. Through tears, I kept repeating over and over that I wasn't injured, so Paul and Don wouldn't think I'd lost a foot or something else awful. Then I said, "I'm just...gonna sit...in the water...for a while," and I let myself slide off the tube into the cool river. It felt glorious and was a major relief. The life jacket made my "sitting a spell" effortless and I could have stayed there a while longer. My boating companions obliged me. I apologized for my sobs, and they said it was okay. Despite a few freaked out moments, it really was a lovely day. Then we went to Panda Express, Borders, and Target. Yes, it was a lovely day.

Laid Down The Smackula

I got to watch two of my favorite shows tonight: "HGTV Design Star" and "The Next Food Network Star". I love to see people be creative, with food or decorating (or singing, in the case of my very favorite reality show). I also love to see ordinary people get the chance to do something extraordinary. Design Star is down to the final two contestants, which were my favorite two all along, and we'll find out the winner next week. Their final challenge was do design three rooms for families still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Totally touching and heartwarming... no matter which contestant wins, those families definitely did. Food Network did it's reveal tonight. All three did extremely well. Lisa was my least favorite, because she already had a restaurant and a line of aprons, not to mention being a little too perfect. That left Aaron and Adam, guys from Camden (NJ) and Philly, respectively. I wanted Adam to win so much, because I liked (and laughed with) him from the beginning. His final challenge, a promo called "Hungry in Philadelphia", was awesome and funny. But in the end, it was Aaron's "Big Daddy's Kitchen" that won. I'm proud of and happy for Aaron, but my heart broke a little for Adam. Yeah, I know I get too involved in these things. :-)

Speaking of other things I get too involved in, here's more on the Quantum Leap front. I stumbled across a song called "Scott Bakula" by an indie band called Sunspot. It cracked me up. It's funniest if you're familiar with Bakula's body of work, but the sheer randomness of the song can be enjoyed in its own right, I think. There's a few videos of the song on YouTube, with various companion video content, so I've added one here:



I love when Scott Bakula lays down the smackula on the bad guys :-)

Why-Ku?

I was watching Jeopardy! tonight and there was a question involving haiku; it reminded me how much I enjoyed haikus in school. I think I'm drawn to their simultaneous complete structure and complete freedom. You must say what you need to say in exactly 5, then 7, then 5 syllables. That's it. But you can say anything within those syllables. I've just always liked the concept. Having read this, you must know what's coming. I think I need to occasionally convey some of my blog thoughts in haiku form. No promises of quality, but it should be fun :-) For example:

shiny summer day
dirty, cluttered car now clean
mission accomplished

LOL Much more fun than "I finally cleaned up my car today", don't you think? Also, it seemed to beg to be written in all lower case. It will be fun to see how much I can pack into seventeen syllables. Hmm... perhaps another:

i beat joe perry
aerosmith guitar hero
sweet! emotional

I think these haikus could be habit-forming.

Fore! For Four

This is so adorable, and an example of Sesame Street at its best: classic counting, pulse of pop culture, and, of course, a variety of furry muppets.

My Oh My What A Wonderful Day

Continuing the Seattle Saga...

I arose early Saturday morning (6:45!) to take my WEST-B exam. It's basically an entrance exam for Washington State teaching certificate programs, and my time to take it was 9:00 Saturday morning... but Paul and I had to drive all the way to Puyallup! After only a few wrong turns I arrived right on time and Paul continued south to visit our friend Brian. The test took four whole hours, but I felt really good about my answers... even in math! (I won't find out how I did, even unofficially, until August). I joined Paul in the parking lot to find he'd purchased the band Weezer's debut CD (circe 1994). I was familiar with "My Name Is Jonas" and "Say It Ain't So" from Guitar Hero and Rock Band, respectively, but the real delight for me was in Track #4- "Buddy Holly". The song is great, and we sang at the top of our lungs driving down the 167, but it's nothing (to a classic TV fan, at least) compared to the video:



It was already shaping up to be a great day, between doing well on the test and "Buddy Holly" (not to mention driving down a highway with negligible traffic)... and then we went to IKEA.

::sigh::

I love IKEA. More than I should, probably. First, I marvel at the sheer volume of the place; it should have its own zip code! I love the style of the furniture too (not all of it, but a lot). It's not retro, but Danish Modern was popular in the 1950s, and IKEA has helped make it popular again. Thus, the clean lines of IKEA items blend very well with midcentury modern furnishings. Then there's the great prices and the fact that their in-house restaurant is actually pretty tasty AND serves Coca-Cola. WOW! Seeing my joy, Paul suggested the term: Happiest Furniture Store On Earth. So true. I didn't select too much stuff to actually purchase (cash flow wouldn't permit purchasing the collections of Billy, Lack, Et. Al.). But I did buy a couple "Blomsters"- one for myself and one as a thank you gift for Sean and KB.

But there was still more zip-a-dee-doo-dah left to come in my day... Our next stop was attending the American Idol Tour, as it stopped at the Tacoma Dome. We parked at an antique store a little ways away (which proved extra-smart as we were fleeing the crowd later), and hiked up to our seats. It wasn't the greatest view, but that wasn't important. What was important was that we got to see Chickezie, Michael Johns, Carly Smithson, Brooke White, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado, and Davids Archuleta & Cook. (Ramiele Malubay and Kristy Lee Cook were there, too, but, like our seats, that wasn't what was important.)

The show was opened by a giant Pop Tart (the sponsor of the tour) and an annoying comedian. Then Chickezie, as he placed 10th, took the stage. He sang "I Believe To My Soul", "Caught Up", and something by John Legend. I was really hoping he'd sing "She's A Woman" by the Beatles, but I was nonetheless grinning through the entire set.

Ramiele was good but boring, and Michael made me swoon. Neither was a surprise. :-)
Kristy Lee was more enjoyable in person, and my resentment at her outlasting Michael had faded somewhat.
Carly was an excellent performer and rocked the house with "Bring Me To Life", "Crazy" and "Drove All Night".
Brooke's was one of my favorite sets of the night. The show began with her and her piano rising out of the floor, playing "Let It Be". Absolutely fantastic. She rounded out the set with "1,2,3,4" by Feist and "Yellow" by Coldplay. They were all well-suited to her style, and she got to play both piano and guitar.

During intermission Paul and I went to buy souvenirs. I got a picture of Chickezie (don't laugh!) and some American Idol pins. They were supposed to come with one David Cook, one David Archuleta, and one group picture on each pin. In one of those someone-up-there-likes-me moments, I ended up with TWO David Cooks and no Archuleta. Fine by me.

Jason played "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley... A totally inventive and wonderful performance. He'd done it during Hollywood Week on the show, but copyright issues were such that they couldn't air it. I'm so glad that I finally got to see it.
Syesha did her usual taking on of divas (Alicia Keys. Beyonce. Rihanna). But if you forget that for a moment, she does sing amazingly, especially evident on "Listen" from Dreamgirls.

The arena echoed with screaming when Archuleta took the stage, and he was wonderful. He got to perform 4 songs instead of the usual 3, which included "Angels" and "Apologize". Boy, was there a lot of screaming! I didn't mind though. Their energy- however shrill- actually added to my own excitement and enjoyment of the show.

As the winner, my David of choice got to perform 5 songs. He began with "Hello", which I get heart palpitations just thinking about. He ad-libbed "Want to tell you so much/ I love you TACOMA". It's a very nice idea to personalize the tune for each city, and it certainly made me feel special :-)

The grand finale was a group performance of Rihanna's "Don't Stop The Music", and it was awesome. I was on my feet dancing. Total bliss. Immediately after, Paul and I bolted from the dome and veritably ran to my car. We doubtless avoided a huge Idol-fan traffic jam and were on the freeway within minutes. It was then, as I drove along the virtually-clear road in perfect summer night weather, that I said something like: "Wow, this was the best day ever!"

Are You Experienced?

Thursday's main activity was supervising the students on a trip to the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum. Paul and I took the opportunity to visit the rock band experience. We named our band The Carlin Blankout, in homage to George, whose book we'd been sampling throughout the trip. We got souvenir posters, and I got to keep my guitar pick! Although, I think I actually found the Rock Band game to be a more authentic experience. I enjoyed the Jimi Hendrix exhibit of the moment, which included several tables with embedded iPods for listening to the entire Hendrix catalog. I got to listen to one of my favorite songs, "Up From the Skies". It's not one of his best-known tunes, and it's a much lighter sound, but that's why I like it. See the YouTube video below:



And I discovered something super neat that I'll buy when I have money again: a bowl made out of an actual record. How cool is that?! The company also makes coasters, clocks, and picture frames from album material. Clearly, this is a line of products made for me :-)

On Friday, after waving goodbye to the bus, Paul and I met up with our friend/host Sean in Seattle's financial district. He and his wife KB had housed me once before and again gamely offered their place as lodging. Sean was going to be out of town that weekend, and KB had been in Colorado all summer, so there was plenty of room. Sean had a few hours to spare before leaving, though, and informed us that it was 7/11/08... aka Free Slurpee Day. Paul and I were unaware of, and thus even more delighted by, this fact.

While enjoying that serendipity, Sean, Paul, and I meandered around the Seattle Center (surprisingly close to 7-11...who knew?) and spontaneously decided to buy a few tickets and go on the rides: Music Express (I'm not sure how to describe it... It stayed low to the ground and raced briskly around an oval track. Is there a name for this?), Bumper Cars, a giant slide and... are you ready for this? A ROLLER COASTER! I went on a roller coaster! I was a bit freaked out but enjoyed myself immensely. It was a bummer that our time with Sean was short (and that we didn't get to see KB this trip), but we packed in a lot of fun :-)

Before settling down at The Sullivan Castle for the night, we met our friend Chris for dinner at The Ram in University Village. She joined us at Sean & KB's briefly and helped me assess directions to my WEST-B exam in the morning. To everyone's surprise, we discovered that the exam was in Puyallup. Yikes! It looks like we were going to have to get up early...

That Was The Week That Was

Technically speaking, it's been a week and a half since my last entry, and boy was it eventful! My Mom is a coordinator for a junior high college prep program, and the kids took a trip to the University of Washington last week. They needed some extra chaperones, so Paul and I tagged along. This also gave us the opportunity to 1) See some of our dear friends in the area, 2) For him to do some job searching and me to take the WEST-B (more on that later), and 3) For us to go see the American Idols tour in Tacoma (more on that later as well).

We stayed in the conference dorms with the kids (Perhaps I shouldn't call them kids... It makes me sound old LOL). It felt a little bit like a prison or some other institution with it's concrete walls, tile floors, and minimalist aesthetic, but at the same time it stirred fond recollections of our own collegiate dorm stays, which made it very quaint and fun. We also got to experience The Cafeteria again, but this one was much nicer, if only because it's fountain dispensed Coca Cola products instead of Pepsi, as Gonzaga's had. We were alotted three free meals a day at the cafeteria if we wanted, but I wasn't that nostalgic for college days :-) Happily, the University Village shopping center (not to mention the U-District "Ave") were very close by and afforded us some other options. Mom, Paul, and I spent hours enjoying food and fun at these places, as well as the two-story Target near Northgate Mall.

On Tuesday Paul and I went to an old theater called The Neptune and saw "Hancock". It was a great movie with a clever premise, fun writing, and interesting use of the themesong to "Sanford & Son". Will Smith is pretty much always fantastic, and, well, anyone who's had occasion to read this blog knows how I feel about Jason Bateman. It was awesome to enjoy a movie in such a retro setting. We sat in the balcony- an actual old-fashioned balcony! There was also a nearly-antique box office out front. It makes me happy that places like this still exist.

Meanwhile, back on campus, we got to enjoy more modern fun: An open-to-the-public XBox equipped with Rock Band. We sang, strummed, and drummed to our hearts' content (well, my heart probably would have been content with a little more... :-)) The first night we were there we just asked some guys that were playing if we could "join the band". It was really fun to simply jam with some friendly strangers. This came in handy later in the week, when (long story) the game wouldn't let us proceed without a guitar player. Out of nowhere, one of the guys from our previous jam session volunteered, and we had a blast... We really rocked Boston (the band, not the city...though on Rock Band it could have been both!)

A dose of Quantum Leap is calling my name (to be shortly followed by sleep), so I'll resume this entry later with our trip to the EMP.

Happy Independence Day!

Unfortunately, since I'm writing this after midnight, the date stamp on the blog will read "Saturday July 5th". Hence why I titled it as I did. "Happy Fourth!" would just be silly on the fifth! ;-) Anyway, it was a pretty uneventful holiday. I joined my parents at a gathering of some of their close friends and had a really nice time, even though it was just "a'ight" weather-wise. Our host BBQed some of the best hamburgers I've ever eaten, and one gal brought a really yummy dip: 3/4 c. salsa, 1/2 c. sour cream, 1/2 c. mayonnaise, and a 1/4 c. cilantro. I'm not crazy about mayonnaise, but I didn't even notice it. It was especially delicious with some mildly spicy corn chips. Hmm. I must be hungry. All that good food I ate was quite a while ago... Anyway, they also had a pool, so I got some bonus swimming time that I didn't expect this week.

In other news, my "Quantum Leap" addiction has been requiring several "hits" per day... It's a good thing that I wasn't extremely into it as a kid, because I probably would have cried when the series ended. At least now when I watch reruns I know, for example, that there are exactly 96 episodes and no more. (As opposed to when "Studio 60" ended in 2007 and I had to deal with the confusing uncertainty "Wait...you mean there aren't any more? Why wasn't I told? Why wasn't this on IMDB?" LOL) Today, I watched an episode of "Quantum Leap" called "M.I.A."- Definitely some of the most heartwrenching TV I've watched in a while.

Whenever anyone reads this, whether it's July 6th or a few months from now, say a quick prayer of thanks for our Founding Fathers and the work they did to make this country great, and to give us such cause for celebration.

Leaping For Joy

My friend Sara recently had me join her in watching an episode of "Quantum Leap" (courtesy of the miracle of "Watch Instantly" on Netflix). My parents used to watch it all the time when I was little, and I have some hazy memories of the show- most vividly of Al, Sam Beckett's cigar-smoking buddy. Since returning to my own computer, I've logged onto Netflix and watched episode after episode. It's suspenseful, and funny...sometimes romantic, often poignant... not to mention time travelling the "We Didn't Start the Fire" segment of history (50's-80's)... which my retro soul adores.



I recently watched the Season 3 finale, in which shock therapy causes Dr. Beckett to cycle through various identities he'd had in previous classic episodes... A beautiful secretary, a man with down syndrome, a black chauffeur in segregated Alabama, and a soldier in Vietnam. Scott Bakula does an amazing job taking on new mannerisms for each of these characters- better than I even expected. In general, however, each new story is dramatic and uplifting (thanks to the positive changes he always manages to make to history). I love the fact that it employs a futurisitic premise without feeling too "sci-fi".

Okay. I suppose I'm done singing the praises of "Quantum Leap", but I can't promise it won't come up again. :-) Onto details of the real world...

Today the air was heavy and humid. I commented about this to the lady staffing the snack bar at Target and she gave a little laugh. She'd lived in both Alabama and Florida and what I considered "humidity" still felt dry to her. Ugh- if today wasn't humid, I've even more relieved to live in this part of the world. We're truly blessed with pretty decent weather, and not too many natural disasters (sure, the occasional volcano, but other than that we're clear...). It's a beautiful part of the country.

For example, yesterday I drove up to a nearby lake and just laid out on the water... It was partly cloudy and not extremely hot, but the lake was crystal clear, and I got to daydream to the ambient din of water splashing and children playing. Definitely true bliss. I like it best when I've got friends with me (being an extravert and all that), but I was proud of myself for being able to enjoy it alone as well.

I love summer :-) And Scott Bakula. Sorry, last reference in this post, I promise. Goodness gracious, I collect television crushes like Angelina Jolie collects children.

Mood: Nostalgic, Romantic, Pseudo-Sci-Fi, Summery, etc.
Music: "If I Were a Carpenter", "Waiting For You", "Ball of Confusion", etc.

Say What You Need To Say

I really don't have too much to say today, but I've gotten out of the habit of blogging and I feel a little bit guilty. I'm at a friend's house in the Spokane area right now, pursuing both business and pleasure. Thoughts of late:

- I've been obsessed with a few songs over the last few weeks: "Waiting For You" by Seal (which I've gotten quite good at lipsynching... And let me tell you, Seal's voice sounds pretty incongruous coming out of my mouth), "Chains of Love" by Erasure, and "Stay Beautiful" by The Last Goodnight. Surprisingly, I'm also quite fond of "With You" by Chris Brown. That's definitely not my genre, but I like it anyway.

- As someone who has been called a shopaholic, a cocaholic (Coca Cola...not anything else Coke related...), etc., I've decided that I need to get myself addicted to exercise. I've heard of that happening to people in a negative sense, but I don't think I could ever manage to be that far gone. I figure if I can be addicted to shopping I could be addicted to a treadmill and a few pounds lighter for it. Maybe? I'm sure it would behoove me.

- "Plato and A Platypus Walk Into A Bar" is a very enjoyable book. It gives brief descriptions of different philosophies juxtaposed with classic jokes related to them. (Pascal's Wager can be a hoot!) Very fun, even if (especially if?) you're not a big fan of philosophy, which I'm not.

- I enjoyed an evening at a paint-your-own-ceramics shop yesterday called "Color Me Mine". Besides getting to make a beautiful Fiestaware-style pitcher (which I need to go back tomorrow to finish), I got to enjoy quality friend bonding time and watch them create art as well.

In other news, it's summer, it's delightful, and I've got XM radio. For all it's trials, life is teeming with simple pleasures.

Hey Nineteen Sixty-Nine

Currently I'm listening a collection of my Dad's music, presently "Hey Nineteen" by Steely Dan, to be followed by other songs of the pop, rock, soul, and just-plain-random variety. The 1969 part? My curious discovery about my love for male celebrities born in that year...most recently averred by my drooling over Jason Bateman in "Arrested Development".

Other Celebrity Thesis Fodder: Matthew Perry ("Friends"), David Boreanaz ("Buffy" and "Bones"), Hal Sparks (as depicted on "I Love The 80's" et. al., as opposed to "Queer As Folk").

Celebrities Making Me Question This Thesis: Horatio Sanz, Cate Blanchett, Verne Troyer.

Sunday in the Park with... No One Named George

I'm bothered that I haven't finished writing about my trip to Chicago, so, nearly two weeks later, I finally will:

Despite a very long night Saturday (I was up until about 3:30 a.m.), I was determined to go to the flea market I'd seen next to Target. I'd learned they'd be opening at six, so, with the determination usually only reserved for flight departures, I actually arose before seven, dressed for any tournament work I might do, then went to the flea market. It was HUGE.

I didn't even get to see all of it, but the things I saw were worth the price of admission. Among them: Boxes of cattle femurs and other assorted bones I didn't bother to read the tags on. An album by Ringo Starr where the former Beatle was pictured with a naked dwarf cartoon. A guy's booth that sold pretty much only tape. A collection of "Beware of Dog" signs, not unusual but for the addition of a sign tailored to households with "Attack Rats" (really?).

I also saw cool things that I was actually tempted to purchase, like old board games. In the end, though, I only bought $5 worth of albums: The Ventures (Telstar et. al.), The Kingsmen (Louie Louie!), and a collection of children's Christmas songs (I mostly purchased it for the cool retro cover that I figure I'll frame and put up as festive decor. Bing Crosby even sings on it though!). What's interesting about these Chicago purchases? All three of the artists I mentioned were Washington residents. The Kingsmen and Ventures were some of Seattle's major contribution's to 60's music, and Crosby attended Gonzaga University in Spokane for two years. Funny how things work out!

Despite wanting to see more of the flea market, and despite feeling my cold creeping back into my throat, I dutifully returned to wait with my fellow trivia volunteers. But there wasn't anything to do right away, and the sore throat and mere three hours of sleep were taking their toll. Wearily I told the guys that I was going to back to sleep and for them to call me if there was anything important to do.

-Three Hours Later-
Lunch at IHOP! That IS important!

After that, Paul, Paolo, Nathan, Frank, and I went downtown. We had five hours to kill before needing to be at the airport, so we went and explored Millenium Park, including the impressive Cloud Gate sculpture. For a while, we just sat on the grass near the park's amphitheater and chatted. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't ask for more. Frank said we reminded him of a group he'd hung out with before "One headstrong woman and three very goofy males." I joked that if we had a show together it would need to be called "Threve's Company". (If anyone doesn't get the reference, I recommend watching Saturday Night Live's Celebrity Jeopardy.)

Speaking of Saturday Night Live, our afternoon was capped by a delightful excursion: We visited a place called the Billygoat Tavern, the place on which the famous SNL skit "Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger. No Coke, Pepsi. No Fries, Chips," is based. (I tried to find a clip on YouTube, but to no avail.) Except, at the original Billygoat, they actually have Coke instead of Pepsi, which made me very happy. The lead cook was just like SNL had depicted. "I'd like a cheeseburger," I said. "DOUBLE?!" he asked. "No, just a single," I replied. "DOUBLE??!!" he insisted again, and I relented. But it was exactly what I'd been hoping for. It's hard to explain the joy of being forced into an order for the sake of pop culture relevance, but anyone who watched Seinfeld's Soup Nazi would also understand :-) But he was right and, for the record, it was one of the freshest, most delicious cheeseburgers I've ever had.

Before too long Paolo was on a train back to Milwaukee and Paul and I were on a plane to Seattle. Chris was there waiting for us at the airport, ready for some Memorial Day fun on Monday.She took us to a delightful area of West Seattle. We had lunch at the Elliot Bay Brewing Company, which was yummy, then went to a two-story neighborhood record store called Easy Street Records. They even had a wide selection of LP's! I bought some 60's records that I hope to eventually frame, as well as some CD's. I've got to get back there... I'm sure I could spend hours! For our final stop, we visited Cupcake Royale and bought some confections for the road. A perfect end to a perfect weekend.

Current Mood: Relaxed.
Current Music: The Beatles "Hey Jude"

Cosmo-Not

So my friends Paul and Margaret and I did bar trivia tonight. I don't drink, and thus seldom go to bars, so this was a fairly new experience for me. But I love trivia, not to mention Paul and Margaret, so I knew I'd have a blast. It was at a place called The Blue Spark. It had tons of retro movie and album art (besides the standard beer signs), and they played pretty good music. (Though I didn't take advantage of it, the place even had a digital jukebox! Neat!) However, my beverage of choice, Coca-Cola, was not on the menu. Seriously, how many restaurants have RC Cola as their vendor of choice? With my standard out of the running, I decided to have a nonalcoholic spritzer of my own making. So, I skipped up to the bartender with my request:

Me: Hi, could I get a cranberry juice and 7-up please?
Bartender: Sure
Me: And could you put some sugar on the rim to make me feel special? (I asked this giving him my most winning smile.)
Bartender: Sure! (Smile returned.)

He shook the contents with ice and poured them into an adorable sugared glass, and charged me only a dollar. But later, I go up to the bar and it's a different bartender. I ask for the same thing, which he starts to put into a plain paper cup. Dismayed, I mention what I had before.

Bartender: No, we only do that for alcoholic drinks.
Me: He did it before...
Bartender: Well, there must have been some alcohol in it.
Me: No, there wasn't.
::He asks the other guy about it. When he confirms what he served me, Bartender #2 throws the paper cup and ice he'd started to prepare across the floor and angrily flings my spritzer into a sugared pilsner.::
Bartender: $1.50 (and I wasn't about to quibble).

The point of the story is this: I understand if they're keeping track of inventory or something, but don't us teetotalers, designated drivers, etc. deserve fun glasses too? Don't we deserve to be treated like any paying customer? I spent plenty there, considering I got a pizza for dinner as well. But...

This story is only part rant. It's also a nod of appreciation for bartenders that don't treat temperant customers as annoyances, or even go the extra mile to prepare a virgin special. Kudos to the guy at The Blue Spark tonight. I wish I could have afforded to give him a bigger tip.

And in case you're curious, we missed winning a prize by 3 points, but we still had fun. And I won some Samuel Adams glasses in a raffle.

A View From Saturday

I borrow this title from a book that my friend Nathan always says I should read. Appropriately enough, it's about trivia competition, which is exactly how I spent my Saturday in Chicago. (Ah, if I'd only spent "Saturday In The Park"!)

We started the morning with a staff meeting, led by our roommate Frank. He promised two things: 1. Those who found errors would receive a Scooby Snack and, 2. Those who messed up the venerated card system (for organizing team matches) would be shot. Fair enough.

I think Frank and I were the coolest room of the tournament. Besides having a sweet suite (meaning 10 people weren't crammed against the walls of a two-person hotel room like I saw happen last year), we had some fun Johnny/Ed and Pat/Vanna schtick going on. Hopefully this mitigated the fact that I couldn't add worth a hill of beans most of the day (Sorry Frank!). In my defense I was much better when I was fully awake... around 2:30 p.m. By this time Frank had shot four people.

For lunch I went to Panda Express, one of my very favorite places, followed by a Coke at Target, one of my other favorite places. As if lunch we're already perfect enough, I passed a Flea Market. My heart fluttered at the prospect of old stuff.

It's very interesting being a trivia nerd among trivia nerds, as you find yourself silently screaming answers they either don't get, or don't get nearly as fast as you would have. For me, these included Simon Cowell, Alveoli, and Stephen Foster. We got to see a couple teams more than once. After Frank noted this situation with one team, I looked at the other and said "Yeah! They had me last night!". ::Pause:: ::Laughter:: So I added my own: "That's what she said!" to lots of appreciative laughter from all. It's fun being your own heckler sometimes :-)

It was 6:00 in no time and we went up to our rooms to change for dinner. I took off my shoes and collapsed on the bed in the guys' room. "Well, if you're taking off your shoes and laying on my bed, I'm going to loosen my tie!" Frank joked. Jokes (not to mention pictures) about me falling asleep anywhere and everywhere seemed to be a recurring theme of the trip.

Dinner at Harry Caray's was good, but the best part was undoubtedly after when we played Chrononauts (a complex and fun time travel game) and many other card games late into the night (despite the fact that I scored so low at one that I had to be designated (*) for the remainder of the game.) I can't remember the last time I laughed so much. I highly recommend playing "Store" when you're punchdrunk sleepy.

To Paul, Paolo, Frank, and Nathan: Thanks for one of the best nights of my life. And you know that's what she said...

Current Mood: Charged
Current Music: The Ventures

With Any Luck, This Commercial Will Air Many Times Over

David Cook (followed by David Archuleta, but that's of little consequence) advertising Guitar Hero. He could be advertising Cooking Mama for all I care.



I'd rather see him than Tom Cruise any day.

It's All Happening At The Zoo

For maximum enjoyment of this post, I recommend reading it with the accompanying YouTube Video playing in the background. It's a song by Simon and Garfunkel called, appropriately, "At The Zoo". The menagerie of photos on the page are mine, but those in the video are not. Enjoy them or ignore them as you will:



When I woke up Friday morning in Chicago, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. I blame this on my snoring roommate. Despite this, I was excited for a day of fun with my Gonzaga guys. We started off at the Rosemont el station for the sole purpose of picking up Duncan Donuts. To folks in the midwestern and eastern United States, they aren't such a big deal, but to smalltowners from the Pacific Northwest, the orange and pink signs are a rarity to be cherished. We got a dozen donuts between us (I had only one, but I also had some delicious hashbrowns!). Soon, we were on a bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It seems like an odd destination of all places to go in Chicago, but we'd heard it was fun and free, and we weren't disappointed. It had been five years since I'd been to the zoo and I thoroughly relished the opportunity to go again. It was filled with elementary school children, whose enthusiasm made it all the more fun. While visiting the kangaroos there was a street performer* (Zoo walkway performer?) playing "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport". I always hated that song, but in that setting it worked. We saw alpacas, zebras and chimpanzees, too. We also saw the giraffe pictured above, who was inexplicably sharing its zone with an ostrich... If there's a symbiotic relationship there I'm not aware of it...We had a quick bite of lunch at the snack bar. Nathan and Paul had Chicago style hot dogs... I had a regular, boring hot dog, but it was good, and we supported the animal aid efforts of the zoo, I'm sure. We also got our picture taken in a photo booth. I got the picture above when we were going through the "African Safari" section. It's one of many adorable Meerkat photos our group captured. Not surprisingly, they were some of the most fun animals to watch... probably because they were awake. I saw sleeping lions, sleeping tigers, sleeping leopards, not to mention some adorable sleeping gorillas. (See below)
This was the most profound moment we saw. We just stood there watching this momma and baby gorilla sleep. It was precious. The rest of the monkeys were much less profound, but incredibly entertaining. I didn't have good pictures of them to show because they hardly stopped moving! I was most impressed by a gibbon that had lost part of its forearm, yet still managed to make acrobatic leaps through his faux habitat with the rest of the gang. Wow.
On our way back past the lions, we were delighted to see that he woke up! We got to see him yawn, walk about 20 paces, then lay down again in a different spot. Not all that exciting, but more than we'd gotten to see of him all day, and it made for a great photo op. We managed to swing by the seal tent, also, before leaving, and upon hearing this I started clapping. Just like a seal. This unconscious reflex was both frightening and hilarious. Kind of like my fellow seal clapper Paula Abdul.

All too soon we were on the bus back to the hotel and checked in. Funny enough, the guy checking us in was Paul, Paolo, and Nathan's fourth roommate, Frank. This was especially funny because they had jokingly said they were going to Gaslight him (ie: pretend he didn't exist to drive him crazy)... But that's pretty much impossible when he's the guy giving you your lunch money. He ended up being my roommate too, in that he was reading questions in the room I was scorekeeping in. The four of us would mostly scorekeep on Saturday, so the scrimmage rounds Friday night were a good opportunity to moderate.

What we didn't count on was just how long we'd be scrimmaging. It was 10:00 before we reached the gleaming mecca of IHOP and got some dinner (or breakfast). It was delicious. Below is a polar bear who thought Nathan looked delicious.

Chicago! Indiana!

I'm experiencing the catch-22 of blogging: The days in your life where the most stuff happens are also the days where you have absolutely no time to write about said happenings. So it was with my Chicago trip. I might make this a multi-part entry.

Paul and I left for Seattle late Wednesday night, just as American Idol was starting. I was upset that I didn't get to watch the results show live, but I was able to record it and watch it in all its glory about an hour ago. (My David Cook won! I'm so happy for him! I hope he makes an album that has "Hello" on it...). We passed our time in the usual way, playing car games and listening to music. Our friend Christene doesn't live too far from the airport and she generously let us "Park 'N Ride" at her house.

The flight was fairly uneventful, and by 2:30 we'd arrived at O'Hare to be greeted by Paolo, our friend and fellow Gonzaga graduate now attending Marquette University in Milwaukee. After a quick trip to drop off our stuff at the hotel, we dashed back downtown to:

1. Enjoy dinner at Giordano's Pizza (Mmmm...Cheese...)

2. Attend opening night of "Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (Mmmm... Shia LaBeouf... LOL I'm not a groupie of his, but seeing him all dressed up in 50's garb was pretty special).

Despite the enthusiasm surrounding these things, we were able to get good, prompt seating at both. I'd had Giordano's Pizza before, and it didn't disappoint me. Movie critics Paul and Paolo judged "Indiana Jones" a little more harshly: "I knew Raiders of the Lost Ark, I was in the Senate with Raiders, and you, sir, are no Raiders." While that may be true, I enjoyed the flick wholeheartedly and, as is often the case with me and movie franchises, I felt like a very special part of history watching it. They did an excellent job with the 50's setting (including some great music), and I enjoyed seeing some evil communists meet their doom. Though it can't compete with "Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade" (my favorite film of the series), it kept the jovial quality that movie had... I would have liked it even more if it kept the Sean Connery quality that movie had! :-) I definitely recommend it to all but strict Indy Purists.

After seeing Indiana Jones, we went back to our hotel to meet our friend Nathan that had just arrived. The following day was ours to spend in the city, but more about that later...

Current Mood: Tired, But Delighted With Life
Current Music: "The Very Best of the Brothers Johnson: Strawberry Letter 23"

Must. Go-Go. Dance.

I'm beyond thrilled at an album released today... And here's the story:

I first heard "Mother Mary" while flipping through the channels on my XM radio. With a name like "Foxboro Hottubs" I was curious and gave it a listen and fell in love with it. A few months later, I happened to hear another song (I think it was "The Pedestrian") and I thought "Awesome! The Foxboro Hottubs have another song!" Little knowing it was Green Day, even though I commented they reminded me of them. No sooner were the words out of my mouth when the DJ said "So, what's a bigger shock? That the Foxboro Hottubs were revealed to be Green Day, or that Michael Stipe of R.E.M. is gay?" In my case, obviously the former. I listened through to the songs on iTunes and wrote a review:

This album is a throwback to bands like The Who and The Kinks, with their choppy guitar and driving drums. I kind of wanted to get up and go-go dance to a few of these songs. Yet, it doesn't play like an Austin Powers soundtrack by any means. Green Day keeps it current and infused with their alternative style and distinctive vocals. It's a win-win, because it draws in "old school" rock fans like me AND makes this awesome mid-1960's sound accessible to a whole new audience.

Congratulations, Foxboro Hottubs, and the Cyrano De Green Day behind you. :-)

Dream Big

Well, I just finished watching the American Idol finale and I'm holding my cell phone on my shoulder so I can vote and blog at the same time. Isn't technology wonderful? But you know what isn't wonderful? The way the judges treated David Cook tonight. But I'll get to that later.

Vote status: I've gotten about 10 votes in and twice that many busy signals.

The show opened with a fun "Let's Get Ready to Rumble!" exhortation by that guy of rumbling exhortation fame. Then, they continued the metaphor all through the show, most bizarrely by having both Davids come out in shiny robes, ready for a day at the boxing spa. This was followed by a touching scene where each David said nice things about the other David, which I appreciated.

The first song for each was chosen by the "Man With The Golden Ears", Clive Davis. He chose these songs for the guys:
David C.: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
David A.: "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"

David Cook did a wonderful rendition of the U2 hit that came out when he was 5 years old. He really felt the song, and he used the platform behind the judges. I really enjoyed it.

David Archuleta did an equally fantastic version of his tune, released by Elton John was David A. was -16. He incorporated some of his trademark runs into the song, and did some cool things vocally at the end. However, it still didn't give me the chills it did when Clay Aiken sang it. Despite this, Simon gave Round 1 to Archuleta. It was a tie at best.

The next round was devoted to the Songwriting Contest Top 10 Winners. Rather than giving only a couple choices or, worse, making both contestants sing the exact same song, Idol gave the guys room for discretion. David C. selected a song called "Dream Big" and David Archuleta chose "In This Moment", traditional American Idol themes both.

I didn't particularly care for "Dream Big" when I first heard it on the Idol songwriting contest website (yes, I voted), but I found it quite stirring when Cook sang it. Its rocky quality belied the trite message. I must say here that I'm a big fan of trite, when done well, and by infusing a sentimental lyric with driving guitar, Cook did just that, making "Dream Big" a song I will surely download and sing loudly while doing dishes... If I did dishes. Once I have that song, I'll do some dishes :-)

"In This Moment" was a very pretty song, but it bored me, and it kind of encompasses the Entertainment Weekly joke of an amalgam of past Idol tunes: "This Is My Moment Like This Inside My Now" or something to that effect. I did really like the Ooh-ooh-ooh melody run in the middle, but I swear I've heard it before. I don't know from what song though. Again, Simon unfairly grants this round to Archuleta.

P.S. One of the best moments of this song during rehearsal with vocal coach Andrew Lloyd Webber. At one point the lyrics rhyme "reflection" with "perfection" and Andrew quipped "It looks like Simon wrote these lyrics." LOL

Finally, it was contestant's choice. David C. sang "The World I Know" by Collective Soul. I always thought Collective Soul would suit him well, though I would have picked when of their older hits like "Shine" or "December". It was a good performance, but it didn't blow me away. However, I was pleased that all three of his songs were new this week, instead of some recycled finales we've seen in the past. (Though he could have recycled "Hello" as much as he wanted and I wouldn't complain!). All new material, unlike...

David Archuleta encored one of his "biggest hits", John Lennon's "Imagine". It was well done, but lacked the punch it did when he played at the piano the first time.

In short, I'd give the edge to Cook for my own preferences, but I really think it was a close as could be. And yet Simon called it a KNOCKOUT for David Archuleta. Wait, WHAT? To compound the injustice, Ryan says "Well said, Simon." Again, WHAT? That was neither kind nor professional of them.

My cell phone is getting hot and I'm getting a little crick in my neck. I'm going to take a break from dialing.

Either of them deserves to win, but I'll send a prayer (along with scores of votes) David Cook's way.

::Sniffle::

Well, I've got a cold. Who gets colds in May?! It doesn't seem fair. The weather is beautiful (not to mention hot, which isn't too pleasant when you've got a fever), and I'd much rather be off frolicking. And, I've gone two days without continuing my walking habit so my miles logged still stands at 3.2ish... But I know that this can't last too long, and I'll certainly be well in time for my Chicago trip, Lord willing. In the meantime, I've been doing lots of crossword puzzles and watching "Old School Sesame Street" that I rented on Netflix. I've always loved Sesame Street, and getting to see the old episodes is a real treat.

I was also entertained this week by American Idol... Between January and May, Tuesday is my favorite day of the week. This season, my friend Paul and I have made a habit of making song choices for the contestants each week, and scoring unofficial "points" if we make a correct prediction. More than that, though, the purpose is to satisfy our armchair quarterback syndrome :-) This week, it was very difficult to figure out contestant intentions because there was no theme. David A., David C., and Syesha each selected a song, one of the judges selected one for each of them, and so did the producers. In my lineup, I would have had David A. sing "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor, David C. sing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers, and Syesha sing "Tell Me Something Good" by Chaka Khan and Rufus. But my favorite performances of the night were probably "And So It Goes" by Billy Joel (David A.) and "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith (David C.). And those two outdid Syesha in votes, so we'll see them next week in the finale. I really hope we'll get three performances of new material instead of boring reprises as some years have been. I've been rooting for David Cook ever since he performed "Hello" on 80's Night in the Top 16.



But I know David Archuleta would make a very good Idol, and a more traditional one. They're both very talented, and I can't wait until Tuesday (when I'll hopefully be well, too!)

Current Mood: Sniffly!
Current Music: Ditto.

YouTube Stream of Consciousness

I'm a little bit in love with YouTube. When I visit that site I inevitably go on a stream of consciousness journey (Anyone remember "The Jilting of Granny Weatherald?" No? Somewhere out there Mr.Weisbeck, my junior year English teacher, is saying yes.) I start out with the clip I sought, followed by another mentioned on the page. It sparks a memory of something else I'd like to see, and the whole process starts over. If you ever have a boring afternoon/late night/week, I highly recommend losing yourself in a YouTube journey of your creation. In my case, I was reading an Entertainment Weekly page that stated Syesha Mercado, American Idol Top 3 contestant, was not copying the Tina Turner version, but, (yikes!) the Trenyce cover from American Idol Season 2. "Oh, goodness gracious, I remember Trenyce!" I thought, and off I went.



Trenyce led me to the much more delightful Tamyra Gray (Simon was right. "A House Is Not A Home" truly knocks your socks off.)



And so I traversed the land of Internet videos, past Dionne Warwick and George Harrison, Herb Alpert and Kelly Clarkson... Then, on a whim, decided to see if an obscure 1960's hit called "Yellow Balloon" by the group of the same name happened to be there. The answer is below.



Most will probably consider it drivel, but as one YouTube commentator put it, "Ba Ba Ba music! We need more sunshine rock!" or something to that effect. So true. Also true: I should probably be sleeping.

Current Music: "Yellow Balloon", "Proud Mary", "Sky High" (By an obscure disco band called Jigsaw. They're on YouTube too. You know you're curious.), and many other YouTube tracks
Current Mood: Not as sleepy as I should be.

Pigeon Toed

I continued my walks today... So far I've logged about 2 miles; I figured this out by driving the distance in my car, since currently I don't have a pedometer. Once again I felt so proud of myself... a fact I'll try not to bother the World Wide Web with every day. I think instead I'll just record a running tally of my miles/days I've walked, for my own personal accomplishment.

So, today I was driving past a Car Wash, and a pigeon flew out of the one labeled "No Touch Automatic". And it didn't just walk or hop out- it fluttered with gusto. Probably because it felt fresh and clean and newly waxed. It reminded me of one of my favorite "Friends" openers ever, and YouTube didn't disappoint me when I searched for it to share:



I honestly believe I would have done the same thing if I was in that situation.

Additional happy moments of the day:
* Some guys cat-called me as my car was alongside theirs. Very flattering. :-)
* I was complimented on my smile at Subway.
* It was 70° and SUNNY today! Rumor has it that it will be 90° later in the week, but we shall see. I've learned to regard the weatherman with skepticism.

I bought a CD with a song I've always wanted on it: "Girl From Ipanema" by Getz/ Gilberto. It embodies that 60's bossa nova, elegant cocktail (or in my case mocktail) party, classy department store lobby, etc. feeling that I wish I got to experience back in the day. I'll certainly play said CD at the next mocktail party I have.

By the way, does anybody know of cool stuff to put on my blog? I love fun quizzes and memes, especially ones with cool result graphics. Please post a comment or give me a link you've found.

Current Music: The Byrds, "There Is A Season" Boxed Set, Disc 1. I have mixed feelings about folk rock. If it's good and doesn't get too preachy, I rather enjoy it, but if it does, or starts sounding like "Too much folk, not enough rock", then I've had enough. I like some of The Byrds, especially "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better When You're Gone", "Mr. Spaceman", and, of course, "Turn, Turn, Turn"... aka the most popular Ecclesiastes has ever been in secular circles. They also sing a lot of great Dylan songs better than Dylan sings them himself, let's be honest.

Current Mood: Happy!

Walk, Don't Run

I actually went for a walk today! While this might not seem like a monumental accomplishment to most, it definitely was for me. The closest I ever got to playing a sport was "College Bowl" and, let's face it, trivia is pretty anaerobic exercise. So, the fact that I burned some calories today was pretty special. I put on my iPod and went for a short walk around the neighborhood (including a hill! :-)). I used a previously created playlist called, appropriately, "Work Out":

"No Matter What Shape Your Stomach's In" by The T-Bones
"Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)" by Reunion
"Woke Up This Morning" by A3 (Better known as the Sopranos Themesong)
"Take Me To Your Leader" by Newsboys
"The Kids Are All Right" by The Who
"1985" by Bowling For Soup
"Fortunate Son" by Creedance Clearwater Revival

When I got back in the house my muscles were tweaking out, saying "Wait...We didn't sign up for this!" but I felt very good about myself. So, of course, I had to share :-).

Current Music: The Temptations: Emperors of Soul Box Set, Disc 2. There are a lot of great songs on this CD. It includes some of their biggest hits, like "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", but I often skip past those. If you're looking for slightly lesser known hits (Still Top 40 but not Top 5), check out "All I Need" and "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", plus plenty of other gems.
Current Mood: A few calories lighter...

I Promised A Quiz

I agree with some of this. I am loyal and traditional, but I do like novelty, and I'm about as easygoing as Monica Gellar...

You Are Corn Flakes

You are traditional and easy going. If something is high quality, you're satisfied with it. You don't need much variety or novelty in your life. You're happy with what you have. You're quite loyal. You're the type of person who eats the same breakfast every day... And likely at the exact same time each day!

What Kind of Cereal Are You?

Look, it's Edie McClurg!

Blog Inspired

I went to a conference in Portland a couple days ago and attended a workshop on blogging. It inspired me to create a blog of my own. I don't know what will come of this, or what I'll end up writing, but I'm excited to see where it goes. I think it will be a good place to put my various musings about life, such as:

I think Americans have an odd desire to be reprimanded, nay berated, by English people. This occurred to me after watching "American Idol" (one of my favorite shows), embedded in which was an advertisement for "Hell's Kitchen". What nationality is the angry chef? English. Just like Simon Cowell, Piers What's-His-Name from "America's Got Talent", Anne Robinson from "The Weakest Link"... I think this must be a genetic predisposition that goes back to Colonial times: We want the Brits to tell us what's what, even if we act like we hate it.

Such musings are only one aspect I'd like to incorporate in my blog. I'll also use it as an opportunity to talk about my favorite things, ranging from cupcakes to personality tests (you'll see a lot of random quizzes here, I can promise you that), to, yes, "American Idol" when it's in season. I hope it's an enjoyable diversion for my friends and perhaps wandering surfers. Regardless, I know it will be an enjoyable diversion for me :-) If anyone feels like posting a topic for discussion, or commenting on anything I post, please do! Therein lies the delightful social aspect of having a blog.

Nostalchick Reflections seemed an appropriate title for this endeavor, since I'm a retro girl (I consider the wonder of the Internet small consolation for not growing up in the 1950's :-)). More to come!