Happy things

The internet is bothering me a bit lately. So negative! So much bitchery! I'm weary from it all. Let's focus on things that make us happy, shall we?

Happy thing #1: I bought a sweater shaver. And I am in love. Laugh all you like, but this thing kicks serious ass. I have a teal-blue sweater that was covered in ugly pilly bits & was looking tired and old. But now that baby looks brand new and feels sooooo smooooth. I feel compelled to shave all the woolens in the house. So far I have merely shaved 3 sweaters, but I need another fix. By the by, the image here is not of the shaver I got. I simply purchased the cheapy $5 version at Target. But that baby on the right is the fancy-schmancy Alessi sweater shaver. It has 3 different settings and costs almost $40. It may be a bit more shaver than I need, but I may buy it in a moment of weakness just because it's so freakin' cute.

Happy thing #2: Trick-or-treaters. I stayed home on Halloween this year for various reasons. But I'm glad I did. I enjoyed going door-to-door for candy as a kid & I'm glad to be keeping the tradition alive for the next generation. So I saw princesses and pirates and even a little frog that was so captivated by our aquarium that he ran into the house to look at the fish!

Happy thing #3: Leftover Halloween candy. Mmmmmm ... Junior Miiiiiiints ...

Happy thing #4: I saw a play with Pam and her friend Byron last week (I will probably write about that later). And this weekend Pam and I are hoping to hang out again. And on Saturday night Tim and I are going to a party with his friends at work. So we are slowly developing a social life! Wee!

Happy thing #5: A fluffy duvet on a cold night.

Happy thing #6: Bjork singing "Cry Me A River" (Click here to hear it). Not a happy song, I know, but she sounds great singing it. It also somehow got me to wondering what it would have been like if Bjork had married Robert Smith and they made babies together. Wouldn't that have been fantastic?

Happy thing #7: The soft ginger cookies I'm going to bake now. Yum!

Happy thing#8: Shoes. Shoes. Shoes. Omigawd! Shoes.
(Just watch this. My favorite part starts at the 3 minute mark.)

Happy Halloween

Apparently, there is some old wives tale that says that if you look in a mirror by candlelight before midnight on Halloween, you will see your true love/future spouse standing behind you in the mirror's image.

This creeps me out even more than the traditional ghost stories. Eep!

Mail and love and such.

This week I got the BEST piece of mail EVER. I really wish I knew how to take photos from my phone and put them on the internet because the world deserves to see this thing. I'll try to describe it to you. You know those squishy sponge-like "stress-reliver" squeezable thingies? Well, imagine one of those in the shape of the continental USA. And put the American flag on it. Like this.
Then draw a dot and the word "me" over the approximate location of Seattle. Then imagine another dot and the word "you" on top of the Chapel Hill area. And write "I Miss Mary" and a little red heart over the plains states.

That's what I got in the mail this week. It was the sweetest and saddest thing I've seen in years. And I LOVE it! It is the mail-equivalent of a sleepy little kitten that is struggling to stay awake but keeps nodding off despite its efforts. Adorable. I've considered putting it in my purse and taking it with me wherever I go. At the moment my talisman is a 2-inch-long rubber chicken. The chicken is more portable, but not as cute. Hmmm. Decisions.

At any rate, many many thanks to george for the amazing mail. I will be bragging about it to others for quite some time. When people eventually come over to the house, I will proudly display it on the coffee table and when they ask about it I'll do the Oh-this-old-thing? routine. And they will know that somebody - somebody in the northwestern corner of the country - loves me. And they will wish that somebody out there sent them kick-ass mail, too. And then they will think "Anybody who gets mail as rad as this must be pretty friggin' cool. I want to be closer to that coolness. I want her to be my friend. Oh yes."

Then someday they'll find this post in my blog and it will all be ruined. But that's okay. 'Cause I love my georgie. EEEEE!!!

I said Brr! It's cold in here!

There may not be Toros in the atmosphere, but there certainly is a cold front. Brr! It's chilly! We actually had to turn on the heater. How crazy is that? But it is beeeee-yoooo-tiful 'round these parts. The colors of the leaves are quite vivid! I thought we'd have to drive to the mountains to enjoy such lovely colors, so it's nice to see them outside our front door.

Events in recent history:
1. I have officially been in NC for 6 months. Half a year! Wowza!
2. Jeffrey won Project Runway. Yawn. Is it weird that a part of me really doesn't care who wins this show anymore?
3. Mom had surgery on her other eye and it's looking great! Woot!
4. We got a new TV. It's pretty! Me likey!
5. I've been sick for a week straight. But so far I managed to eat twice today without becoming ill immediately afterwards, so my hopes are high that I'll be over it soon. And no, I'm not pregnant. Promise.
6. The F1 season is over and Michael Schumacher is OUT! I feel oddly conflicted about this. A tiny little part of my heart wishes that Mike had at least made the podium for his final race ever. But mainly I'm just happy for Kimi. Because next year he'll be in a decent car and he might actually WIN something for a change.

Which reminds me ... During the pre-show I noticed that Kimi was smiling before the race. SMILING! I thought it was just because the albatros known as Maclaren was finally being removed from his neck. But there may have been more to it than that.

"Okay. Thanks for that."
Tee hee.
Now do you understand why the UK coverage of F1 is better than the Speed Channel? Do ya?

In other news, I've been thinking about getting crafty again. This urge usually hits people when the weather turns colder. When it's less humid. Frankly, when the idea of laying a warm, woolen project in one's lap sounds appealing rather than oppresive. But I am in no way as crafty as Lauren Porter. The woman knitted a full-sized Ferrari. She used 12 miles worth of yarn to make it. Don't ask me why. She says humor is an important aspect of her work, so maybe she isn't completely insane, afterall.

But oddly, my desire to knit/crochet/embroider has lessened this year. Instead, I am drawn more towards cooking. I have a long list of cooking blogs that I check. I read cookbooks as if they were novels. Kinda creepy! But good. And there's a definite satisfaction to be felt when one makes a fancy, lump-less sauce from scratch. What's odd is hearing that george, too, has discovered cooking as a new hobby. What is wrong with us?!?!? Why weren't we so excited about cooking back when we could have cooked for one another?!? Oh, the unfairness of it all! Oh well. Knitting is soooooooo 2002, anyway. And crochet is too 2005. I think cooking is the next wave, kids. Depend on it.

It's just a shame that a good afghan is better at keeping me warm than a loaf of pumpkin bread.

Oh-Ee-Oh-Ee-Oh!
Ice Ice Ice!

Wal-Marketing

I'm ticked off with Wal-Mart. Or more specifically, I'm ticked off with their marketing/PR firm, Edelman.

A while back I heard about a website called Working Families for Wal-Mart. If you go to the site (and I honestly hope you DON'T because I don't think we should encourage them), you get the impression that the site was set up by independent consumers - Wal-Mart lovers who think that Wal-Mart is marvelous for communities, the environment, blahblahblah. There's even an "About Us" page that gives you the distinct impression that the so-called blog is run by a bunch of ordinary people who simply want to offer support to this enormous big-box store. In addition to this, a new "blog" was created that is tied to the "Working Families For Wal-Mart" campaign. The blog is called "Wal-Marting Across America". The point of this blog was that a couple of people were going to travel across the USA in an RV, spending their nights in Wal-Mart parking lots.

Sounds pretty damn suspicious, doesn't it. And for good reason. Within the last week it was discovered that this grassroots campaign was nothing more than astroturf. It's all a PR gimmick. The head of the PR firm finally admitted this on his own blog (after flatly ignoring all questions on the subject for many days).

But guess what. The website for "Working Families for Wal-Mart" still looks the same!!! There is NOTHING on the website identifying itself as advertising. The "About Us" page remains a lie. Anybody who does not frequent advertising and marketing blogs would not have a clue that Wal-Mart is funding that website. Gullible people might get sucked into the lie. It's disgusting, underhanded, and lacks any credibility.

Oddly enough, the final post on the "Wal-Marting Across America" blog is a rant from one of the authors, wondering what was so wrong about them taking money from Wal-Mart & their PR firm to sponsor their vacation. Ummm ... honey, there is a HELL of a lot wrong with that when you aren't honest and transparent about it. They were working for Wal-Mart - paid in free transportation, accomodation, and lord knows what else - but even they seem too stupid to realize that their sposored trip was a form of payment. The problem is not that they "dared to write positive things about Wal-Mart". The problem is that they were paid to do it, but never revealed that fact. Hence, the fury.

Grrrrrrrr. You see, THIS is part of the reason why I've stopped shopping at Wal-Mart. I have other reasons, but this little incident is certainly reaffirming my choice to shop elsewhere whenever possible.

Links to more info:
MediaPostPublications
What'sNextBlog
Mark Evans
Shel Holtz

24 Hours From Tulsa

Let's say that this old movie poster represents a dramatic interpretation of the last 7 days. Oddly enough, Robert Preston is portraying my mom. Just kinda try to imagine my mother's face there, but make sure you cover half of her head with lots of bandages & a strange mesh eyepatch-like thingamy. As for Susan Hayward? She's playing me, the ever-loving and doting daughter.

Last Tuesday I got on a plane and went to Tulsa to tend to my mother. She had eye surgery to remove a cataract & implant a new lens. The poor woman was nervous. And who wouldn't be?! I mean, EYE SURGERY! Few things make people wince as dramatically as the thought of sharp objects near eyes. The same people who guffaw at the sight of a guy getting a swift kick to the nads will shriek with horror at film fotage of eye surgery. So. I went to Tulsa to look after Mom and lift things for her (since she couldn't lift anything) and pick up things for her (since she wasn't allowed to bend down) and drive her around (since ... you know).

The good news is that the surgery went very well! Mom only had to wear the bandages for 1 day (I said the poster was a dramatic interpretation, people!). And although she suffered from some discomfort and pain, she is happy with the results. So yay! And we did sooooooo much together. We watched a Project Runway marathon and ate at The Polo Grill and saw the opera of "The Little Prince" and visited Rhiannon & baby Max and bought shoes and stopped by Merritt's for some lovely baked goods and much much more. It was a great week! And it certainly reminded me why I enjoy Tulsa (and why I miss it).

The problem, of course, is that I had very little time to see anyone other than family. So for those of you who I missed, I hope you'll forgive me! Tim and I will be back at Christmas time, so we'll have to get together then.

In the mean time, I better get cracking on the dirty dishes and laundry that has piled up in my absence. And maybe find out how much it costs to fly to Seattle!

Seattle or bust

Just got a phone call from Derek informing me that he and george have officially left California! Woo hoo! They are enjoying the mountains, clouds, and coniferous trees of Oregon. Can't you just imagine them taking deep, cleansing breaths of fresh Oregonian air? Sounds marvelous! As I'm sure you'll read on their own blogs, their escape from LA has not been easy. But thank goodness they are on their way. I'm sure they'll be much happier in Seattle. This week I watched part of a special on the Travel Channel about Seattle & I'm already excited about visiting the town. I also feel a strange urge to watch Sleepless In Seattle now just to see snippets of the town.

By the by, there isn't a whole lot happening here. I got some new luggage. And tried on some expensive shoes just to say that I did (Jimmy Choo's! Eep!). And the usual other things (baking, cleaning, tending to the yard, etc). And by the way, it is turning very autumnal here and it is simply gorgeous! I actually wore a sweater when we went out last night. Wee!

Or should I say "Wii"? As in the Nintendo Wii. It seems that we will be getting one of these newfangled machines. Note that we will not be purchasing it, though, as Tim is not really a console gamer. But his company is giving us a machine, so I suppose I'll start playing Super Duper Mario Cart - Now with more Super-duper-ness!

Personally, I'd rather have a fancy new TV. We visited some friends last night just so we could christen their new television (A TV-warming party, if you will). Oh my cod, people. It is a thing of beauty. Flat, LCD, widescreen. I'm guessing it's about 40 inches. Jennifer said that when they first turned it on, she wept tears of joy. I must say, I think I would do the same.

"I'm Down with T-Town"

You know what it's like when you go out of town for a week? And your pets are left on their own? And you know that one of your friends or siblings will be stopping by to feed your pets, but ya still kinda worry about them anyway? Well, that's kinda the way I've felt about Tulsa since we moved. And now I feel that I have even more reason to be concerned. Check this out.

TulsaChannels.com

And no, that is not "channels" as in television stations. These people are proposing that islands be built in the Arkansas River. For some reason, this idea makes my nose wrinkle (probably because it sounds expensive). I mean, it could be good, but it feels a little gimmicky. What do you think?

In other news, I found a couple of L.A. citizens (who are not george or Derek or even Tara) who like Tulsa just fine as-is. Granted, they were only there for one night, but it's still nice that they had such positive things to say.

Movin' on up!

Just wanted to say congratulations again to george an Derek! They finally get to leave Hell-Ay and move on up to Seattle. Marvelous! Granted, I hear that Seattle has its own bunch of freaks, but hopefully they will be freaks that seem more, uh, normal(?) compared to what they've faced in LA.

What's funny is that in the last couple of weeks since george told me they were going to move, I have seen sooooo many things that make fun of the shallowness of the LA Lifestyle. The ads for the county fair in LA are hilarious, but I think I like the elegant simplicity of the above graph better than anything else.

So how have you all been? I'm getting by okay. Somebody on my favorite message board is vomiting hateful, racist comments all over the place. And I read that LonelyGirl15 on YouTube was all a big hoax. And, as you can probably tell from my post earlier this week, I was pretty emotional over the whole 9/11 anniversary. So it has been an odd couple of days.

But!
But but but!
I went out with my New Friend last night. Eeeeee!!!! We had drinks again and talked and talked and talked. Have I mentioned before that this woman kicks ass? Because she does. Here's some proof.
1) She loves Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series.
2) She likes Jane Austen stories, so she can easily tolerate my girly tendencies.
3) She has a weakness for cheesy movies like "Bring It On".
4) She thinks we need to have a charades party.
And we have similar political views and we tend to hang out with crazy artsy people and and and and. I told her that george already suspects that I'm going to suck friendships off of her like the pathetic, lonely person I am. Luckily, she said that she is happy to be the host for this sad little parasite. So it's all good.

In other news, my parents are in Hawaii! Wee! And it feels like autumn has arrived in our area. Which means it will soon be pumpkin season! And I looooooooves me some pumpkins!

Five years later

My life on September 10, 2001: I had recently returned from my study-abroad trip to Cambridge. I was preparing to apply to grad schools. I felt strong and inspired. My mind was full of creative ideas. My heart was full of hope. I knew that my life would never be the same.

My life on September 11, 2001: Horror. Crippling terror. I couldn't tear myself away from the news for weeks. I was afraid to leave the house. I knew that my life would never be the same.

The Science of Sleep

I'm still thinking about this template. I kinda like it. And it was such a nightmare to set it up that I'm reluctant to change it for a while. Feel free to comment on it, though. I appreciate the opinions of all of my readers. Even the few strangers out there. Hi, strangers!

I found a movie that I really want to see. It's called "The Science of Sleep" (or La Science des Reves which actually translates to "The Science of Dreams", yes?). I saw a trailer for it tonight and it looks goooooood. Kinda weird and quirky and magical and all that good stuff. It's from the director of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", so if you didn't like that movie, you may be out of luck (Derek).
See the trailer in Quicktime or on YouTube.

In other sleep related news, Tim did not get up until around 1pm today. And then he went back up to bed at 9pm because he was falling asleep while watching poker. A bit concerning, no? I suppose it's just as well since we have to wake up early for the F1 race tomorrow.

And in completely unrelated news, I decided that kittens are cuter than babies. Tim agrees. So maybe we aren't cut out to be parents afterall.

Do not be alarmed!

Today I decided that I might need a new template for my blog. I'll probably be trying out different things for a while, so don't be surprised if things look different, mkay? Mkay!

So here's my week thus far.

Monday: Went on a mini road trip with Tim. We drove up to Virginia for no particular reason. On the way home we stopped at a Sonic (Sonic!!!) and had happy beverages and tater tots. Yum.

Tuesday: Tim got off of work early. And he brought me flowers. Just because. Aaaaaww!!

Wednesday: Mom announced that we will be going to Florida in June next year (more on that later). I met my new friend, Pam, for dinner. We had the best time! And Vincent finally got kicked off of Project Runway. Glorious!

Thursday: Went out for Indian food for dinner. Lamb Biryani. Yum!

Friday: I decided that my blog might need a new template.

So I guess we're all caught up now. Tell me what you think of the new looks!

Edited to add ...
Here are a few more that I really like.
Tub Time
Happy forest
Lacey
Daisies (which feels a bit too prissy)
Blue flowery things

Quirks of marrying a foreigner, Part 2

Due to our differing accents, Tim & I still occasionally struggle with a slight language barrier. In the following snippet of conversation, Tim is telling me about a book he just purchased.

Tim: The first book in the series is called "Pawn of Prophecy".
Me: Did you just say "Porn of Prophecy"?
Tim: No. Pawn.
Me: Porn?
Tim: No ... [takes out book to show me the cover] Pawn! Pawn of Prophecy.
Me: Ooooooooh ...

Sucking ... in a good way

About a month ago I made the "suckage" post. It was a bad time. I had lost hope in finding any friends. I needed a vacuum cleaner. And although I don't think I mentioned it at the time, I was bleeeeeeeeeding. There was a massacre going on in my pants. Not at all fun.

Now, I know that one of my brothers reads this blog so at this point I'm going to apologize for reminding him that his sister has Girl Parts that are used for making Babies and that those Girl Parts bleed occasionally. Sorry Ray!

Anyway, that was a sucky day. A sucky time. But now it is one lunar cycle later. I feel as though I've been smacked across the back with a cricket bat. I am bleeding again. Hemorraging practically (I'm reeeally sorry, Ray!). And yet, that is the only thing that today has in common with that sucky day from last month. Because I, dear friends and strangers, am HAPPY.

1) I met a friend. She recently started posting on the on-line community where I hang with my on-line peeps. We've written back and forth a bit. Talked about going out. Then on Friday I got a message from her that said "I will be working at Such-&-Such on Saturday from ThisTime until ThatTime. Stop by! I'll give you free wine!" Well, how could I refuse? So I put on my Le Tigre shirt (because george has a matching one & I feel better when I have George Power on my side). And I met her. And it was great! She is fun and nice and we have lots of similar interests & I like her a looooooooooot. A lot a lot. And we're going to have dinner together on Wednesday. And I really hope that I don't seem too desperate or lame because she kicks some major ass & I think I would really really like to have her as a friend. I mean, even if I were back in Tulsa & surrounded by loved ones & I met this woman, I would still reallyreally want to hang out with her. Which is an excellent sign.

2) I have a vacuum cleaner. And no, it isn't a Dyson. Tim thought he really wanted one of those $600 Dyson things, but then we consulted Consumer Reports. Oh, how I looooooove Consumer Reports. It's just one of my favorite-est things. Many thanks to Dad for exposing me to the glories of CR. Anyway, we went with CR's favorite bagless vacuum: the Hoover Windtunnel. Cost? $160. That's right, kids. I just saved us $440. What kicks ass? Consumer Reports kicks ass. Remind me to get a subscription. By the by, there are fancier and more expensive versions of the Windtunnel, but we just went with the model CR recommends. The others are too heavy, anyway. In the end, I think Tim is pleased because he can go back to his English vernacular & refer to "vacuuming" as "Hoovering" ... as in "I should hoover up all the black lint that Tim's socks have scattered all over the house".

So there you have it. I'm smiling and happy. And because I want you to smile ane be happy, too, I urge you to watch this video about the Penguin Man from Belgium. Yes, george, even you.

The unexpected quirks of marrying a foreigner

The following conversation took place while we were watching television recently.

Tim: Who is Charo?
Me: Ummmm ... Have you heard of The Love Boat?
Tim: No.
Me: Ummmmm ...

Seriously. I dare you to answer that question without consulting Wikipedia.

Old-school Eddie Izzard

I found an old performance by Eddie Izzard that he made back when ... well, back when he was painfully preppy-looking. Check out the blue jeans! Luckily for us, the performance is amusing in ways that are unrelated to his clothing. Enjoy!

Eddie Izzard - Live at the Ambassador's
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
And there should be a part 7 or so, but it isn't on YouTube. Bother. Instead, I suggest you watch this last bit. More blue jeans, but they look far more flattering.
Eddie on Comic Aid

A Week of Living Angrily

So I was angry this week. I seem to be taking on a new emotional theme each week lately. One week I'll feel hopeless, the next week I'll feel inspired, and yet another week I'll feel ...
well ...
fucking furious!!!!!!

There were just too many things ticking me off this week. The insurance company owes me hundreds of dollars because it screwed up. And some of our mail is being sent to a wrong address. And there's this guy at Forbes magazine who is the definitive male chauvinist pig. And the job I wanted has already been filled. And I think a certain person I know may be neglecting his daughter. And now said daughter has a black eye AND Rocky Moutain Spotted Fever. And we have ants coming out of the electrical socket in the upstairs bathroom. And to top it all off, Project Runway is overflowing with vitriol & I don't even want to watch it anymore.

And that ain't right.

By the by, Tim has been working his ass off this week. Last night he came home from work at 2am. I think that means he spent about 17 hours at work yesterday. He has had to stay late at work night after night after night. I only cooked one meal for us all week. He barely spends any time conscious while at home. Why must they sacrifice sleep and family time for a friggin video game?! Ugh!!! Of course, I know why they must sacrifice their time. Because there is already a set release date for the game because there is already a set release date for the movie.

Maybe we should've moved to France. I bet nobody in France has to work such hours.

This is the point where I tell you that there are good things happening & I try to redirect my thoughts & be Little Miss Sunshine and let you all know that, no, I'm not spending my time weeping alone at home. Really! Because Tim is enjoying his work, even though it has been rather demanding lately. And he's making friends at work. Some of them even invited us out! And I have made a pseudo-friend; I think we may go out together sometime this week. So see? That's good! And it's even good that I didn't get the job that I wanted. Because now I can go to Oklahoma & take care of my mom when she has cataract surgery in October. I could even visit G & D before they evacuate from LA! And it's even okay that Project Runway sucks right now because it means that I don't have to buy the episodes off of iTunes. So you see? I'm turning that frown upside down. Life is aaaaaaall good.

But just to make sure things stay on the up & up, I'm going to make some blondies and watch Curse of the Were-Rabbit again.

Look Ma!

Yes, I'm still here! Not to worry. I just thought that, after posting such a downer of an entry, I should wait until good stuff is happening before I made another post. So that means that good stuff must be happening, right? Right!

I have finally cheered up a bit. I even went ice skating! Yes! For the first time in, like, 5 years. Even after all of these years, my mind remembers well how to do a scratch spin and even a flip jump. The problem, of course, is that my legs don't remember it so well. How long does it take for all of your cells to be replaced, anyway? Is it true that my current leg muscles have never experienced ice skating until now? Quite a thought. At any rate, we had a great time! So we'll definitely be going back.

I also applied for a job! Imagine that! The work itself doesn't sound terribly taxing, but the company itself is faaaaaaaaab. I simply adore what they do in their wee widdle office & I think I'd enjoy helping them do what they do. Luckily, I am also in the enviable position of knowing that I can turn them down if I don't feel good about the situation. I'm just afraid that they may think I'm over-qualified for the job. Ha! That would be a first.

And third, I may've found a friend. We're just chatting over e-mail right now, but she sounds cool. She even enjoys the theatre.

Before I go, I must tell you the highlight of my day yesterday: talking to Derek, Tara, and george at the same time ... and then throwing everybody at the Theatre Club meeting onto the phone, too. I'm sure everyone at Scott's house was completely baffled & convinced that we were raving drunk. Now that's fab.

The only bad bit at the moment is that Tim has been working his ass off. Twelve hour days. He'll have to work all this weekend, too. But this will all be over soon, as the Big Deadline is Monday morning. Yay!
Need me to say it again?
Yay!

And since I'm in such a good mood, here's a little something you might enjoy. If you're at all confused about why I may be posting this, just ask. ;)

I suck ... in a bad way

Saturday we were supposed to go to a dinner party thingy hosted by one of Tim's co-workers. The whole company was invited. But we didn't go. I won't go into the details. I'll just say that it wasn't Tim's choice. It just boils down to the fact that I'm crap & I suck. In a bad way. The way that doesn't make you popular with boys.

This is not to say that I don't also suck in a good way, but I'm not going there.

Moving is crap. You all know this. I don't have to explain. That's why I luvz ya. It also sucks when the first day of your period coincides with important events in your life. Like meeting your husband's co-workers and their wives. Especially when it looks like a massacre took place in your pants.

Of course, this is about much more than bleeding and bloating. It's about the things we have to do to convince people that we're worth knowing ... that we're worth their time. It's about the posturing. The insincere smiles. The things you don't say so that you don't risk offending someone right away. The way you have to be on guard when you encounter new people.

I think the idea of going out & trying to meet people & make friends isn't really the right way to do this. You know how people tell you that you shouldn't go in search of a mate & that you should just let things magically happen to you? I'm thinking it's got to be the same thing with friends. Because whenever we have to go out to meet people, it makes me feel like I'm preparing for a job interview. And that sucks. It's worse when I'm meeting Tim's work colleagues because then I feel like I'm on a job interview for him, too.

So I need to just focus on doing whatever the hell I want. And if I meet people along the way, that's fine. But I shouldn't make it a priority.

In the mean time, I'd really like a new vacuum cleaner.

I'm listening

It's been a whole week since I posted anything on my blog! How did this happen?!?!?

Okay. I know exactly how it happened. I've gotten into an interesting pattern of listening. I don't feel much like talking lately. Instead, I'm trying to listen to others much more than I talk. I think this is good because, damn, I can really ramble sometimes! And I'll admit that there have been nights when I've kept Tim up for hours while I just yammered on & on & on about something. But this listening thing ... Listening is good. Taking sounds in & digesting them is good. S'all good, yo.

My favorite thing to digest at the moment?
Project Runway! Woo hoo!
In fact, I'm not always good at the just-listening thing when the topic is PR. I heart this show. The sad truth, though, is that I am starved of PR love (Damn you, Time Warner Cable!). I take whatever scraps I can find on the internet & on NBC. I validate my love of this show with the fact that I have spent a hell of a lot of hours in front of a sewing machine, so I know a thing or two about clothing construction. And oh lordy, am I seeing some poor construction on the wee snippets of the show I've seen so far. Designing is fine, but we got some "home sewers" on this show. And for those who don't know, that's a majormajormajor insult.

Anywho.

In my internet search of all things PR, I went to obvious places like the Bravo website & Television Without Pity. I gotta say that the Bravo site has some true gems (Tim's podcasts are beyond fan-damn-tastic). But there was one thing I did not expect to find.

Daniel Franco.

Now is the part where I must beg for forgiveness because, had I posted this link earlier this week, then you, dear reader, may've had the opportunity to speak to Danny Freakazoid Franco. Alas, the time has passed. But you may still hear/watch telephone conversations with, not only Fancazoid, but also Andrae Gonzalo! Yay Andrae! Santino is on there, too, but Andrae!!! Woo!

Ring My Bell - http://ringmybell.tv/

My hope is that our dearest darling Nick Verreos will do an appearance on Ring My Bell someday. In the mean time, you can get your fix at Nick's blog.

So other than listening to Andrae cackle on the telephone, I've also been listening to music lately.
I, uh, think I might like Jared Leto's band.
And All-American Rejects ('cause they are fellow Okies, for one thing)
And Wolfmother.
And Amerie.
And Xina, of course.
I'm even developing a fondness for Harry & The Potters, who will be performing at the LA Central Library TOMORROW, peeps!
There are also a few I'm already sick of (Panic! At the Disco! Ugh!).

So I'm curious ... what are you listening to?

Well, poop.

So george is unemployed again. Which means I guess I won that bet that she'd be outta there within 2 weeks. But I was joking, people! I did not wish that doom would befall her once more! I just thought that a little challenge (even a jokey one) might urge her to yank up the ol' boot straps in that "Oh yeah? I'll show you!" kinda way. But now? Now I feel guilty. I am a poopy pants who doesn't support her beloved friends. I su-huck. Oh well. But the good news is that george doesn't have to spend another moment with Stupid Inconsiderate Trainer Lady.

My new suggestion is that george should stay home for a bit & get sucked into the whole Housewife Whirlpool that has consumed me lately. Granted, she'll have to get out sometimes so that she doesn't suffer from Derek Overload. But she'll enjoy the fact that there's absolutely no reason to fake interest or be polite to anyone. Before long she'll develop a strong fascination for the culinary arts, too, & we'll publish a cook book together. We'll be the not-so-desperate housewives. It'll kick ass.

Why I'm proud to be a feminist, vol. 1

Joss Whedon's Equality Now speech. Definitely worth watching. I may have to go out and buy all of his stuff just to show my support.

Randomness

This is a post that george can ignore. But for those of you with a bit of time on your hands, enjoy!

The World Cup. Damn it. Freakin' Zidane comes out of retirement for this tournament and what does he do? He throws the whole game away by doing something that is soooooo obviously a red-card-worthy offense. I smell a conspiracy. Just imagine if we all went through life, head-butting anyone we wanted. It might look a little something like THIS. By the by, the song in this clip is from a group called Pink Martini. I heart them.

Subway maps can be pretty.

I looooove animation. That's why I love the National Film Board of Canada. You can now watch a ton of excellent short animated films on their website (many of which have won awards). If you ever went to the animation festivals that they used to show at the old Williams Center movie theater (RIP), then you'll especially enjoy this.
Just click HERE.
My favorites: The Cat Came Back, The Big Snit, and George and Rosemary.

My vote for New Website That Should Thrive: Long Awkward Pose. Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese. My favorite is John. Anthony is a close second.

A dose of interesting advice for all of us: "How To Be Creative" from the guy at Gaping Void.

And lastly ... how long before Animal Planet starts airing The Fly Whisperer?

The Glamorous Life

Monday night I was talking to my old pal, Leazle. L & I lived across the hall from one another in the honors dorms. We became friends after she threatened to throw an apple at the back of my head. She's an odd duck, but she makes me laugh.

Anywho, she had found some of our old classmates from college on MySpace & called to tell me about it. Within minutes, I was on-line, looking at profiles, seeing what all of these old acting & music theater majors were up to. The biggest surprise for me is that so many of them are still living in LA or New York, chasing the ol' dream. Only one of them seems to be making some sort of living at acting. She appeared on the show "Rescue Me" last season & this year she was on an NBC show called "Conviction" which, sadly, has been canceled. As for the rest? Well, it looks like some have gotten little parts in mediocre independent films. I saw one of them in a beer ad a few years ago.

And that's about it.

I feel conflicted about this information. Part of me admires them for still trying, mainly because it looks like they may actually be enjoying themselves out in LaLaLand. But mainly I'm just reminded of how sad and difficult The Industry is ... and I'm reminded of why I've made the decisions I have.

Oddly, I never felt drawn to act for a living simply because of all of the crap that comes with it. I love to act. I love it because I love storytelling, but to actually work as an actor for a living is sooooooo difficult. All of those auditions. Headshots. Begging an agent to take you on. More auditions. To quote a favorite film, "Desperation - it's the worst cologne." Which must be why the very idea of acting for a living makes my nose wrinkle.

Most of the people reading this know why I didn't follow the same path as my peers. I originally wanted to become a theatre professor. But then I realized that the last thing this country needs is more actors. To teach a bunch of students knowing full well that less than 10% would get any sort of job in this field ... well, it would break my heart. I can't do it in good conscience. That's why I restrict most of my acting to the realm of community theatre.

Which brings me to last night. Tim and I visited an open house for a local theater company to find out about volunteer opportunities. Long story short: they found out that I have experience with stage management ... and began to drool. They also said that someone is working in that building every day of the week - building costumes, selling tickets in the box office, painting sets, the works. So if I'm bored, I can just drop them a line & they'll put me to work.

Strangely, they didn't seem interested in the fact that I act, too. Hmm.

Daniel Franco, where did you go?

M'kay, peeps. I've got a MAJOR problem. Majormajormajor. It seems that, in the nearly 3 months of living here, I have overlooked something. And I don't know what to do to fix this.

Our cable company does not air the Bravo channel. No Bravo. Which means no Project Runway.

No Project Runway?!?!?! Eep! What do I do? How do I proceed? Help! Suggestions? Please? Other than writing a big WTF e-mail to Time Warner Cable, of course. 'Cause that won't put Tim Gunn on my television tomorrow night.

Dammit. Moving sucks.

But you know what doesn't suck? This Mr. T sock monkey on Crafster. Kick ass!!!

Inside looking out

I am told that while goerge was visiting Tulsa, people asked her about me. "How's Mary? What's she been up to?" And george's response was basically, "I don't know. I don't think she leaves the house."

Well, that's not quite true. Not quite. I mean, I definitely got out of the house a TON while the parents were here (saw the ocean and the mountains and much in between), but most of the time I'm alone & I don't have a lot of reason to leave. But I do go out! Really! And not just to buy groceries. Lately I have gotten up the nerve to explore the countryside a bit. Oh yes! The other day I took an exit off of the highway that hinted that a lake might be near by. So I drove and drove for about 10 miles and found the lake. Woo! And drove around the hidden neighborhoods near the lake & enjoyed the scenery & took a pamphlet on a house that was for sale. Because my latest interest is real esate. Real estate and becoming a kick-ass cook. Can you say "nesting"? Yes, I think I'm nesting. That's probably why I spend so much time at home. Some sort of nesting urge is kicking in. Next thing you know I'll be begging to have a baby or some other four-limbed creature.

Tim does not necessarily help, justsozyaknow. After a long day of programming happy shiny games, he doesn't really want to go out. He wants to eat some tasty food, watch a bit of poker, & play with his Legos. So don't just blame me, people! I'm living with an enabler!

But I'm determined to fix this. I even checked out some books at the library to help me. There's a book about taking walks & short drives around the Triangle area. And I got another book called "The North Carolina One-Day Trip Book"
and also "North Carolina Weekends". So whether we've got one hour to spare or 48, we've got some inspiration. Also, I'm going to an event on Tuesday sponsored by a local theater troupe. And next weekend I'm going to the Rock & Shop Market. So ya see? I'm not a pathetic lump of lonely flesh! Honest!

There are days, though, when it's hard to walk out that door. Today, for instance, we have plans to go out. But I must admit that I feel torn. The World Cup Finals are today. Italy vs France. Should be an exciting game. In this house, we're supporting France for political reasons (Only England gets to pick on France, you bastards!). But I'm afraid that we've jinxed our previous favorites simply by watching their matches (I still cannot discuss what happened in England's final game. Like Beckham, it makes me feel misty). So I think we'll walk away from the TV just to ensure France's win. Will it work? Probably not. But we must try. At least we'll get some fresh air in the bargain.

Time for (a) toast!

He's here! Little baby Maxwell has arrived! When I got the news this morning (no, george, I honestly don't mind that you called after midnight), I was so excited! And nearly 10 pounds, too. Goodness! That's one healthy baby! Hooray!!! Here are some more exclamation points just so you can see how excited I am about this!!!!!!!!

Truly, I'm just thrilled for them. Yesterday I was thinking about Ed & Rhiannon a ton (especially when I saw these food trays at Pottery Barn Kids). I gazed at photos of the two of them and thought about how they just look like cute little parents. So I'm glad to know that the wait is finally over and that darling little Maxwell has arrived.

So what does one do when one is celebrating a momentous event? Why, one makes a toast, of course. And Tim and I pulled out all the stops. We got out our toaster and the bread, of course. And then we retrieved our huge stash of toast-toppings.
- butter (actually, parkay. It spreads more easily)
- strawberry preserves
- blackberry preserves
- grape jam
- lemon curd
- pumpkin curd
- cream cheese
- lime marmalade
- marmite
- apple butter
We prepared our toast with the marmalade & parkay, held our slices aloft and proclaimed "A toast to Maxwell Phinaeus Sullivan! May his life be as sweet & delightful as lime marmalade."

Halleluyah + Kahlua = Hallekahluyah!

I am a happy person tonight, y'all. My darling husband went out & bought me some booze before coming home. This is fantastic because (a) I have gone a whole month without having any Kahlua in the house and (b) I meant to buy some after my trip to the grocery store today but, dammit all, I spent all my money on friggin' groceries.

Stupid friggin' groceries.

But hey! It's okay! Because last night after shopping for more Lego sets, I conveniently showed Tim where our local liquor store - or the ABC store - is located. "That building right there! With the sign that says 'ABC'! Go there!" We pulled in front of the store and a friendly neighborhood highway patrol officer informed us that the store was closed. But luckily for me, Tim remembered my desperation & stopped by the store on the way home. So I had to wait nearly 20 hoooooours before I got my hands on some Kahlua & milk. But it happened. It finally finally happened. And I am happy.

And by the way, I know that the comic above (from the London Times) is not very amusing. But I discovered that if you do a Google search on the word "Kahlua", most of the pics you get will be of pets. Dogs. Cats. Rabbits. There was even an alpaca, people. Here's the proof.


Anywho. Now I get to explain what the first three letters of the alphabet have to do with booze. From what I have been able to gather, in order for an establishment to sell "spirituous liquor" in this state, they must obtain an ABC license. "ABC" stands for Alcoholic Beverage Control or Alcoholic Beverage Commission or Certificate or Consumption or Carrot or Children or Cheesecake or some other C word. Go ahead. Pick a C word. It's fun.

I'm kinda amused by the ABC store thingy that we have here. It reminds me of the liquor stores in Utah ... all of which are closed by some ridiculously early hour like 4pm. And I think they're all run by the state of Utah, too. And just ordering a glass of something alcoholic in Utah is just such a major hassle. You can see why we chose not to live there. Apparently, the liquor stores here are not run by the state. But why is the signage so vague? In Oklahoma, they have nice, simple, yellow signs that say "LIQUOR". You know what it's all about. But here? I don't know how many times I drove past ABC stores before I knew what they were. I was only able to decifer the code becauase I noticed some small print on a restaurant menu a couple of weeks back. Why are they being so secretive about the booze? Why do you have to know the local lingo just to buy a bottle of gin in this state?


Then again, this is the state where the panhandlers are required to wear orange safety vests while they're on duty. I am so very serious about this. There are some guys who beg for money near the exit ramps on some of the highways. They set themselves up next to the stop lights with the usual paraphenalia - cardboard signs and all of that. But oddly enough, they're all wearing these orange safety vests. I actually watched one guy walking over to the intersection vest-less BUT! As soon as he got to his favorite corner, he pulled out an orange vest and put it on! Tim thinks he may have even spotted some of them wearing special badges around their necks. Maybe they have to wear their panhandling licenses or something.

Whatever it is, it's bizarre. I mean, why is this necessary? Why are they doing everything they can to make the beggars more visible, but they try to make the liquor stores less visible? Where's the logic in that, I ask you?

Hmmm. Well, I think it's time for me to build a big Lego viking fort with Tim. Sadly, the kit did not come with a commemorative Panhandler Keychain like the one pictured. But if we finally decide to build a Lego town, you better believe we'll be getting one.

Happy B-day, USA

Independence Day is a strange holiday around our house, what with there being a non-American under our roof. I imagine it's probably interesting for Holly and Andrey, too, but ... well, Andrey is Russian, so it isn't the same as our situation.

Because Tim, my darling life-partner-person-thingy, is British, I must confess that I feel a bit uncomfortable celebrating the 4th of July. Guilty even. Afterall, this is when my country celebrates the fact that we finally broke up with his country. It's as if the entire USA is gleefully singing "I Will Survive" at karaoke, occasionally glaring in the direction of the U.K. because ... well, the U.K. knows what it did. Anywho, if I were to celebrate Independence Day, it'd be as if I were up on that stage, singing along with everyone else. And after the song was over, I'd have to step down & say, "You didn't take that personally, did you honey? I mean, I don't want to live totally independent of you ... just your evil evil homeland." And even that wouldn't be right because, frankly, I'm rather fond of the UK! Oh, I feel so confused.

So as you can imagine, we haven't been grilling hot dogs & singing the national anthem 'round these parts. We had a fun day, though! Tim bought this great Lego castle set which we put together. And we watched the Italy & Germany World Cup match (We wanted Germany to win. We were disappointed). And I made a scrumptious dinner (Italian, in case you're curious). And now Tim is watching poker.

However.

The family that lives immediately across the street? They're setting off fireworks. And if I sit right in front of our front door, I can see everything they're setting off above our pine trees. And as a bonus, I'm not getting eaten by mosquitos. But it still doesn't feel like I'm a part of the celebration.

Well, USA, I'm sorry I didn't make it to your birthday party. Hope you had a nice time anyway!

I'm back!

Well, it's been almost a fortnight since I've posted anything. I've been sooooooo busy! But my parents are gone now and I'm feeling rather sad and lonely. And a tad worthless. But! At least we had a good time while they were here. Here's a run-down of what we did.

My parents and I drove over to Atlantic Beach and stayed in a condo right on the beach - which was expensive, but sooooo worth it. There isn't a single grain of sand in my car, babies. And the seats stayed dry the whole trip. Yes, I have my priorities straight. Anywho, Mom and I spent a day on the beach, flying kites and splashing about in the waves, but mostly laying under my new beach umbrella & reading. I loooooove my beach umbrella. Best $30-something bucks I ever spent. If any of you ever go to the beach, I highly recommend you get one. It may sound decadent, but it's not. It's a necessity. Because of this beloved beach umbrella, I only got a light sunburn on my back. That's it! A sunburn so light that I didn't even peel! So yes. I'm in love with my beach umbrella. I am not ashamed. What else. We ate a lot of seafood. Walked around the cute beachy towns. Took a boat tour of the area, saw some wild ponies. Stuff like that.

So that was Wednesday through Friday of the week before last (the 21st - 23rd). On that Friday we drove back here, grabbed Tim, & drove out to Lake Lure for the weekend. Lake Lure is over in the Blue Ridge mountains to the west. Sooooooooo damn pretty! I can't find any pictures on the internet that do it justice. However, we know that parts of Dirty Dancing and Last of the Mohicans were filmed there, so ... well, come on. I know you people have watched Dirty Dancing. Don't lie to me. Anyway, I wouldn't say I had the time of my life, but I really enjoyed it. I'm hoping we get to go back. Maybe we'll take Tim's mom there when she comes to visit. While we were staying in Lake Lure, we went to Chimney Rock Park which is just down the road. A bit of hiking. And the town is very touristy, but still very pretty.

But the bestbestbest thing was we got to see Megan!!!! Yay for Megan!!! She was dancing with a ballet troupe in Ashville, so we caught the last performance on Saturday night. Holy god, it was soooooooo good. Really truly amazing stuff. And Megan was wonderful, as always! This troupe does some really amazing work. I really truly wish they were a year-round company. They've only been around for 4 years though, so there's time for it to grow. I'd mention the name, but I don't want to put it out there without Megan's approval. But you can see some of the troupe's work on-line at their website. Just ask me or Megan.

Sunday we had brunch in Asheville with Megan before she drove back to Tulsa. Did I mention that Asheville kicks ass? And that it's gorgeous? Because it is. I kinda wish we lived there instead. The Triangle has a ton to do, but Asheville is just so damn pretty and artsy and lovely. Anyway, we ate with Megan & talked about baboons & various other things. After hugging Megan goodbye, we went to the Biltmore Estate. Very pretty, but .... well, the place is too damn big to feel cozy and homey. 250 rooms! Not my ideal home. But ya gotta love a house with an enormous library big enough to hold 10,000 books. And you gotta love a house that has a patry kitchen. Yes, a kitchen devoted just to making baked goods. You also gotta love the free wine tasting at the vineyard. Everything else there is pretty damn expensive, so if you go, definitely take them up on the free alkeehol.

My favorite part of Biltmore was the gardens. For those who don't know, I seriously considered becoming a landscape architect back when I was 18. Silly me, I chose theatre instead! But back then I developed a serious love for Frederick Law Olmsted who designed the gardens at Biltmore, so it was a thrill for me to walk those paths and see the environments he designed. Tim seemed to really enjoy it, too.

The following Monday (the 26th, about a week ago), we drove back to our house. Tim went back to work & my parents spent the rest of the week puttering about. We went to Duke Gardens & Chapel, visited a big historic home that's about 1/2 a mile from our place, hung out at the library a couple of times (yes, george, I finally have a library card). I also cooked a lot, which I'll talk about later. We had dinner with one of dad's oldest friends who just happens to work at UNC. This guy was so frickin' cool! I liked him a lot. He worked for the Clinton administration & now heads a department at the university. I'm hoping he enjoyed talking with me Tim. I think it'd be fun to go out to dinner with him sometime without the 'rents around.

So. Friday the parents left. I cried. I must admit that I was a bit out of sorts for most of their visit (Gary's death was hard). But ever since I left Tulsa, I'd been looking forward to having them here. Now I don't feel that I have anything to look forwad to. Doesn't that sound pathetic? Ugh. Gotta get off my ass & fix that.

But not yet. This weekend is all about the World Cup and the U.S. Grand Prix. I'll work on getting a life on Monday.

Sad today

My parents arrived yesterday. They're fine. But they brought bad news.

Our Gary kitty cat died on Sunday night. He'd been sick for a long time, but it's hard. He was just such a fantastic cat.

So. I'm glad I heard it in person & that my parents are here to soften the blow. Because losing Gary has made me feel rather heart-broken & extraordinarily homesick.

Sigh.

A big whale & a smattering of "Dick"

Feeling a little home-sick today. But I found this & it made me smile a little.


But watching Ed in this clip made me smile even more. Yay!

The parents are coming! The parents are coming!

Hey kids. Sorry I don't post very often anymore. Frankly, my life is pretty dull lately. Watching a bit of the FIFA World Cup (and liking it, actually). Doing a bit of experimental cooking. Looking at videos of an adorable kitten named BeiBei on YouTube. Talking with my on-line pals about that televised interview with Britney Spears (Throw out the gum, honey! And for the love of gawd, put some clothes on!). So, uh, I just don't have much to write about! But hopefully that will change because the 'rents will arrive on Monday. And boy oh boy, do we have plans!


We'll spend a couple of nights next week at Atlantic Beach. During our stay, I'm sure Mother will relax on the beach and acquire a lovely tan, whilst my father and I will cover ourselves in SPF 50+ and burn anyway (see photo at left from our last visit to Atlantic Beach in 1987). Just like our previous visit, I'll be wearing a red bathing suit so at least my flesh will match my attire. Then next weekend we'll come back here, grab Tim, & we'll all head west to the mountains near Asheville, where we'll tour the Biltmore Estate ... and then drive home in silence, thinking about how terribly unsuccessful we are, financially-speaking. But I hear the gardens are gorgeous! Yay!

So what am I doing this weekend in preparation for their arrival? Other than buying more toilet paper, of course? Well, you better believe I'll be listening to "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me"! I think that listening to it and imagining Chris in the audience, will make me feel that much closer to her. Which will make me very happy, indeed. Yay!

Other stuff I might do:
1. Catch up on my NPR listening. I lurves me some NPR, but I'm not really a fan of the local station. It's too polished. I miss the quirky people at KWGS! So I've been catching up a lot on the internet. I'm especially looking forward to this story about a book called "Funny, But No". The book is kinda based on an old feature on the internet that I used to read weekly (they never mention the internet connection, but I know the truth, man!). Click on the link & read a few of the examples.
2. Oogle the items at A Southern Season. Mmmm ... gourmet grocery stoooooooore. This place is huge. Take LaDonna's & multiply it by 20. Something like that, but with a bakery and patisserie and every kind of gourmet chocolate ever made and 3000 varieties of wine and ... pardon me while I wipe the drool off of my chin.
3. Drive past the Hog Day festivities, but not necessarily stopping & getting out of the car. I found out that the barbecue they serve at Hog Day is (understandably) North Carolina Style. Which means that the sauce is basically vinegar &, therefore, not the thick, sweet stuff to which I am accustomed. Screw that.

So what are you doing this weekend?

Hogs, fish babies, & monkey chow

This post is going to be super random. Just warning ya.

Last Wednesday was Corey's birthday! Yay! If you haven't done so already, call him up & wish him a happy belated. For his b-day, I gifted Corey with knowledge ... specifically, the knowledge that Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven were performing in Tulsa on Friday night. This made his week, or so he told me. So you see? There are good cheap gifts to be found!

In other friendly news, Megan is doing a temporary dancing gig in Ashville, so that means I have a friend in the same state as me! Woo hoo! We're going to get together here next weekend. And I have already noted that her visit will coincide with Hillsborough's Hog Day. Jealous, aren't ya?


Tim and I finally have some fishies in the house. Last week Tim bought 3 guppies - a male and two females. We even settled on some names. There's ...
- Lymon, a female who has a lemon-lime coloring going on. And I know quite well that Lymon is really a male name, but I don't care. Her name is Lymon. Hope my dad finds it flattering.
- And then there's a blue & orange male named Parminderjit ("Parmy" for short) whom we have named after one of Tim's old friends in Sheffield. Parmy the Fish looks kinda like the pic here, only not so fuzzy. Parmy the Person is a professional stage manager, so even though I've never met him, he's all good in my book.
- Lastly, there's a silver and orange female. I think we might name her June ... simply because we got her in June and I haven't come up with a better name. Got a better idea? Pass it on. I'm easily influenced.

Anywho, this morning we awoke to discover that one of the ladies had given birth! So we have 5 teeny tiny baby guppies swimming around near the top of the tank. I guess we got 8 fish for the price of 3! Hooray for free fish!

Lately george and I have been spending a lot of time talking about how weird it is to move away from a town you've known for a long time. I'm sure that the handfull of you who read this blog know what I'm talking about because it seems like all of our friends have suffered through a big move - be it to a new state or even a new country. One thing I realized in Tulsa was that I knew a lot of people and I was accustomed to opening up the paper and seeing familar faces - people I knew in real life. I realized that at our new home, I would open the paper and none of the people would be familiar to me. I wouldn't know any of their stories. I wouldn't get the sly political inside jokes. All of that.

So I must say that it was quite something to find a couple of our friends between the pages of People magazine this week! Kinda odd, but comforting, too. Almost made me feel like I was reading Urban Tulsa! So I think that from now on, all of our friends and aquaintances should strive to put themselves in the national news, just so that we can feel more connected - more at home. It doesn't have to be printed media; NPR or televison will do. So hop to it, peeps! Do something newsworthy! Or just call up "Wait Wait - Don't Tell Me" & inform them you have to take the quiz because ya love me!

Go on now. I'll wait.

And while we wait, here's what I've been watching on You Tube this week.

First, there's this clip I found through NPR. Star Trek Cribs. Welcome to the Spock Casa!

Then theres the Monkey Chow Guy. This Canadian guy (who looks suspiciously similar to one of my brothers) decided to eat nothing but zoo-grade monkey chow for a week. Now he understands why monkeys in the zoo throw their own feces at people. His video diaries can be found here.

Remember Simon and his land of chalk drawings? Well, you don't just have to rely on memories anymore. This episode in particular made me think of Derek & George.

Last, but certainly not least, there's the Teeny Little Super Guy teaching a lesson that I still need to remember when I head out into the big wide world. Enjoy!

Tuesday of the Beast

Hey, kids! It's 6/6/6! Or 6/6/06. Whatever. The good little Christian girl in me is getting a bit of a thrill from this. Note that I can't tell if this is a fun thrill or actually a bit of a scary, chilled thrill caused by the inevitable doom that is about to befall us all. It could be either. We'll see.

In addition to today being the birthday of the Anti-Christ, it is also a race day for my bro-bro. Hope the weather will be fantastic for them, because I think it was really rainy at his last race. And riding bikes in the rain ain't much fun, in my experience.

So we know how my brother is celebrating Satan's b-day. But I'm not sure what I'll do. Part of me thought it might be fun to go to the maternity ward of the local hospital and watch the new mothers freak out about the possible damnation of their precious wee widdle bundles of doom.

Then I realized that I don't know the location of our closest hospital. Goodness, there's so much to learn when you move! Just a few days ago, Tim realized that we had not yet told the Dept. of Homeland Security that we moved ... which you really need to do if you're an evil non-American like my hubby. Not to worry, though. It's all straightened out now.


Honestly, though, I'm probably just going to go shopping. Grocery shopping especially. I've been super sick lately (you sooooo do not want to hear the details), so I need to get some fud. And I think that the hell of moving is "celebration" enough for Satan. And I am married to an evil non-American. So I'm doing my part, right? Maybe I'll get to the grocery store and find an evil devil-horned tomato like Neil Gaiman here.

In good, non-devil-worship related news ... my car still works great! Woo hoo! And Tim got his drivers license renewed (Guess I better start studying for mine). And our trash service will finally start tomorrow. And we met the homeowners last weekend and they were nice. And we went to a sale & bought a new set of 600 thread-count sheets for about 40 bucks! Just 40!! And that includes tax! My excitement about this is further proof that I'm really an adult now. Which makes me a little less excited. But then I think again about those 600-thread-count, 100% cotton, deep pocket sheets & I just don't mind anymore. Mmmmm ... soft sheeeeets ... feel so good it's almost sinful. Now that's a great way to celebrate Satn's b-day!

Ottomobeeeel?

I own a car again! A car! A car with air conditioning! And power stearing! And even power windows and power locks and power mirrors! A car that doesn't have rust all over it! A car with a CD player that works! And seats that are whole and don't have chunks of foam coming off! A car that doesn't embarass me when I drive through nice neighborhoods! A CAR!!! Woo hoo!

So, the basic story is that after the Horrific Insurance Ordeal (which has still scarred me too much to discuss in great detail), we discovered that we could not afford to get Tim his beloved Saab. So we decided to just get me a little sedan instead. The Saab will come in a couple years once Tim is no longer a "new" driver and we can afford to insure his hiney as it sits in a swanky European car.

So what did I get? Nothing fancy. Just a white Corolla. I tried the Yaris, but the ride wa a bit rough. At any rate, it's mine! And it drives sooooo smoothly. So I can get out of the house whenever I please now. Hooray! I missed my independence sooooo much!

In other car news, today was the Grand Prix race in Monte Carlo. If you don't care about Formula One or don't want to know about the results, stop reading NOW.

"... Lalalalalala - I'm not listening! - lalalalalalala ..."

So. Do I think Michael screwed up Qualifying on purpose? Hmmm. There's a tiny itsy bitsy part of me that wants to think that he's a better sportsman than that. But whether it was on purpose or not, his actions screwed up the final fast lap for a lot of the drivers. If it had just affected Alonso, I could see why they might push Mike back just a few spots. But since it affected the qualifying results for multiple drivers, then he deserved something more severe. Deserved it, beyotch! And I think he started the race from pit lane because his pride wouldn't allow him to start in last. Whatevs!

By the by, YAY Alonso! I love that Spaniard and his wooly eyebrows! But why on earth is he going to McLaren next year?!? Is there a part of him that is regretting that decision? Tim and I have argued back and forth about this for a while. Tim thinks that it's a good move because (a) it'll provide a new challenge for Alonso & his competitive spirit will feed off of that and (b) it worked for Michael Schumacher when he left a winning season at Benneton for Ferrari. I still wonder why Alonso has to mess up a good thing. I think that next year the one who is going to profit from this is Kimmi. But, in many ways, that's a good thing.

Ah Kimmi. Kimmi Kimmi Kimmi. Does that kid have rotten luck or what? Poor soul. I blame the diamonds on the steering wheel. I know he had diamonds on his helmet last year and he did great and blahblahblah. But maybe even-numbered years and diamonds don't mix. We all remember the '04 Monaco race when they placed the diamonds on the nose of the Jaguars, right? And the driver crashed and half a million dollars worth of sparklies were gone forever? Same thing. Diamond curse. That and the safety car & its affect on those damn McLaren engines. Sigh.

I'm also heartbroken about Nico just because he's a cute kid & I want him to succeed. But it sure was great to see Mr. Thunderbird up in that podium, huh? David Coulthard + Superman cape + the silliest grin ever = fine entertainment.

And if you haven't already, I urge you to read the transcript of the post-race press conference. Juan Pablo's reply to the final question is priceless. Eat that, Schumie!

Flashmob: The Opera

Let's keep the musical theme going this week, shall we? Because I saw the COOLEST thing on TV this morning.

Flashmob: The Opera

The first flashmob opera (the one I saw on TV today) took place on October 6, 2004 ... so I'm jumping on the train rather late here, but lordy it looked SOOOOO frickin' awesome! Basically, the BBC 3 staged a short contemporary opera in Paddington Station in London. Actually in the station. There was no stage. The actors walked around the station amongst all the commuters, wearing subtle headsets to pick up their voices. There was a live orchestra for the music and the occassional camera operator running around, capturing the action and ... well, it's just so difficult to describe, but it kicked major ass! Some of the audience members who were standing around were there because they were members of the flash mob, so they'd had an inkling of what to expect. But, of course, most of the people there were taken totally by surprise. Towards the end, everyone was urged to join in as the tenor sang "Nessun Dorma". See, people, this is the kind of stuff that makes the UK so great. This and Bakewell tarts.


The original flashmob opera was so successful that they did another one ... in Sheffield! My dear hubby's ol' stomping grounds! It was performed at the Meadowhall shopping center ... more commonly known as MeadowHell by the locals. How appropriate, then, that they performed a modern take on Faustus? Brilliant!

You can watch out-takes of the Sheffield opera by going here and clicking on "Launch the console". Sorry the quality isn't so great, but it's still worth a look-see.

Eurovision continues

M'kay. So. About all those extra countries. After I made that last post, I remembered that I'd seen Isreal compete at Eurovision. Israel isn't in Europe. So I did some research. Here's a quote from Wikipedia:

"Running since 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest is an annual televised song contest with participants from numerous countries whose national television broadcasters are members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)".

As you can guess, your country doesn't have to be in Europe in order to have an EBU station. So why don't they braodcast the EBU in the states, yo? Whuddup wit dat? I'lll tell you why. Because then the US o' A could compete at Eurovision and everybody knows that we'd win every year.

Do you doubt it? Do you? Then watch the Austrian entrant from 2003.



The man's name is Alf Poier. He and his cardboard band got 6th place.

The girls at Go Fug Yourself have a lovely commentary on this year's Eurovision. They even mention that great group from Belgium in 2003 who SOOOOOO should have won! Belgium was ROBBED, man!

It's a small world afterall

Tim chose to give up a lot of things to be with me. He sold his house. Left the country that had always been his home. Moved thousands of miles away from his friends and family. All to be with me. For this I am grateful. But sometimes I feel guilty. Sometimes I think about the things that he could enjoy in England that we just don't have here. Mushy peas. Decent Formula One coverage. And, of course, the Eurovision song contest.

But thanks to You Tube and the internet, all is not lost.

For those who don't know, the Eurovision Song Contest is the finest wedge o' cheese on television. Once a year, one musical act is selected from each European country. And at Eurovision, these musical acts compete. I read that 35 countries participated this year, so that's a hell of a lot of live music goin' on! People from all over Europe are invited to call in their votes and the winner is announced at the end of the program. Traditionally the musical genre of choice is pop. Imagine happy people bouncing around in white spandex & sparkles. There's also the occasional ballad. I think Celine Dion won Eurovision once. That's the sort of thing you see on there. It's horrificly painful ... in a good way if you're lucky

But this year was different. This year Finland took the prize. For the first time ever in the 51 year history of Eurovision. Should they be proud? You tell me.




[Warning: This song has an odd way of worming its way into your brain. Watch the first 20 or 30 seconds, but anything that happens to you beyond that is not my fault]

The band Lordi is composed of "Amen the unstoppable mummy, Enary the manipulative Valkyrie, Kalma the biker-zombie from hell, and Kita the alien manbeast with the combined strengths of all the beasts known to man". And lest we forget the main man himself, Lordi "the hulk of hell".

I think I found Derek's favorite new band.
Hard!
Rock!
Hallelujah!

One month down

I arrived in North Carolina exactly one month ago today. Somehow I don't feel like singing the Happy Month-iversary song.

One month. Feels like a hell of a lot longer than that. George agrees. She says it feels more like 4 months. That sounds about right. I've certainly had about 4 months worth of tummy nastiness in the last month. Ugh. I keep wondering if I feel sick because I'm stressed or if I feel sick because I'm bored and can't distract myself with work. Maybe it's both. Probably both.

But good things continue to happen. Next week Tim starts working on the video game that is connected to a certain movie that's coming out next autumn (I won't mention it here in order to maintain some additional annonymnymnymnity). I wonder if he'll be able to e-mail any screen shots to me. Probably not, seeing as Dreamworks is connected to this project. Don't wanna piss off Stevie Spielberg or anything.

Somebody please remind me to sign up for trash service. And someone please remind me to send out a new postie list to my postcard group. And someone please remind me to bathe occasionally & perhaps speak to the occasional stranger.





take the WHAT BAD BOOK ARE YOU test.

Mother's Day and other bits o' happiness

Happy Mother's Day to my beloved mommy! Thanks for being warm and caring and trying to be up-beat even when I'm swearing about the unfairness of life and blahblahblah. Thanks also for saving people's lives for a living .. and somehow maintaining most of your sanity through all of that.

And happy day-after-George-&-Derek's-pseudo-anniversary day! Those crazy kids have been together for 14 years now. Yowza. If their love was an actual human being, it would be sneaking out at night and experimenting with drugs. Aaaawww!

And happy Spanish Grand Prix day to you F1 fans! Sadly, it will be aired on CBS today. The only good part of that is that Tim and I don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn to see it, but it's still CBS coverage. We miss the guys on ITV. Those kids on the Speed channel have their charm, but still. I wonder if I can find the English televsion coverage on the internet somewhere ... hmmmmm ... Anywho, go Alonso!!!

And happy me because I did not have to go to the car dealership on Friday. Or Saturday. Although I'm NOT so happy because of some bad news about insurance, but I'll talk about that later. This post is about happiness.

So yesterday evening Tim and I were hanging out in the living room here at the house. I had the front door open so that the light could come in through the glass storm door. Tim glanced out it and noticed a cute little kitty cat on our front porch! So he stepped outside to say hello. Unfortunately, the kitty scampered away before I could see it. But it was such a lovely evening - the light was filtering through the pines and the air smelled of honeysuckle - that we took it upon ourselves to sit on the porch steps. We noticed a little bunny rabbit hiding in the grass in the front yard. We talked about the gorgeous posies that are growing by the front step. And we wondered about the new bird calls that were coming from the trees.
Then we noticed a new sound.
Woooooooooosh!
Woooooooooosh!
We didn't say anything at first. Just listened.
Woooooooooosh! Woosh wooooooooooosh!
Me: "Do you hear that?"
Tim: "Yeah. It sounds just like-"
In unison: "- a hot air balloon."
And as if on cue, we saw a rainbow-striped hot air balloon begin to rise behind one of the houses across the street. It was probably about 100 yards away. The balloon drifted to the north ... very low so that we could barely see it through the trees & behind the houses. It startled some Canadian geese, sending their flight path right over my head. Before long it was gone (concealed by all of the 50-foot pines we have around here). I wish we could have seen more, but I'm still very glad that we went out on the front porch last night.

Speaking of giant bags of hot air, want to hear something weird? Richard Branson - oh, pardon me. Sir Richard Branson - owner of Virgin Airlines, Virgin Megastores, Virgin cola, Virgin cellular, Virgin perfume, Virgin wedding dresses (no, I'm not making any of this up), Virgin Everything - also owns Virgin Balloon Flights. He is also the author of an autobiography titled "Losing My Virginity" which you can check out at the above link. Tee hee!

And speaking of England, I found out that the film of Neil Gaiman's Stardust is being filmed in a little town called Castle Combe. This town reminds me so soooo much of the adorable village where Tim's dad lives. It makes me feel homesick. But in a good way.

Speaking of good things, if you find yourself in New Orleans, please visit my friend Amy, her friends, and her cats at the Farrington Smith Gallery . Or you can just go outside, dig up a clod of dirt, and mail it to them for their Dirt Drive. Seriously! They need your dirt!

Last, but certainly not least, allow me to share this little gem with you. If you've got 30 minutes on your hands, I strongly urge you to watch the pilot episode of Heat Vision and Jack . It's got Jack Black. A talking motorcycle. And a splash of Ben Stiller. The theme song alone is worth it. Enjoy the happiness.

Tomorrow's gonna suh-uck

Blahblahblah.

It's Thursday. Haven't posted anything since Sunday and felt bad about that, so I guess I should write something, right? Maybe? But I don't know what to say. Blah.

I've been sick a bit this week. Tummy stuff. It's better now, which is good. Which is why I was able to unpack the rest of our stuff today! I put all of the empty boxes in the garage just so I wouldn't have to look at them. I dusted & vacuumed everything & put candles on the dining table. The place looks uber swanky and everything. I was looking forward to a lovely evening.

But when my beloved husband came home, he wanted to talk about cars.
Ugh.
And now I am in a terrible mood.

May I just say that I hate car shopping? No, not just "hate" in lower case letters. HATE. HATEHATEHATE. This is a very strong thing for me to say because I'm not a "HATE" kind of gal. I can usually find some kernal of good in everything. For instance, it is very common for me to hear people talking smack about somebody & for my response to be, "Well, he's always been nice to me." Or I make up some sort of explanation for why this other person may not have given the best impression ("I'm sure there was just a bit of confusion"). I have even said this about Ken Spence, people. Ken Spence! It seems like everyone once had a bad run-in with that man. Everyone but me, of course, because Ken was always nice to me.
Blahblahblah.

So what I'm saying is it's a big deal for me to say that I HATE something. And I HATE car shopping. And this means that I'm going to HATE tomorrow. The beloved husband has been doing marvelously well at work and was given Friday off. And he wants to spend this lovely, beautiful, paid-with-leave day at a frickin' car dealership. Color me unhappy. In fact, color me either red with rage or pale green with nausea, depending upon the moment. Too bad it's almost physically impossible for me to vomit.

So why do I hate car shopping? Well, I don't like spending money. I like saving money. The more I have reserved away in case of emergencies, the happier I am. And I am very careful about buying things. It is not unheard of for me to see a pair of shoes/pants/whatever at a store and wait many days or even weeks before purchasing it. I'll just mull it over in my mind. Because if I don't still want those shoes after a few days or a week or whatever, then they weren't worth the cost. And I just saved myself a good bunch of cash. Hooray!

But car dealers do not seem to understand this. They want you to purchase something immediately. And they like to put a lot of pressure on you to decide. And they tend to be FLAMING ASSHOLES. They are red, raw, ulcered, puss-leaking, wart-covered, flaming assholes. And I hating working with them. I mean, if I'm going to spend a few days considering whether I should spend 30 bucks on a pair of frickin' shoes, then I certainly deserve to take my time when it comes to spending 30 thousand bucks on a damn car! Ugh.

But we need a car. So shop we must. I'll let you know how it goes ... supposing my head doesn't explode first.

In other news, Veronica's having a hard time. But we've had some good conversations on the phone. Last night she apologized for unleashing a lot of emotions on me. So I told her about the time I apologized to my therapist for "vomiting my emotions" all over her. A short time later, V came to the realization that she is an emotional bulemic .... gorging herself on drama, & then purging all of her emotions out on her loved ones. Absolutely hilarious! At least it was at the time. George needs to put that in her stand-up act ... if she ever decides to do her stand-up act again, of course.

Other than that? Ummm ... my parents are on vacation in San Antonio, which is nice. And Janine and Jason will be leaving for their honeymoon this weekend. And last night george and I were discussing the idea of going to Vegas together. Or maybe on a cruise. With lots of friends in tow. Oh, how I would love to go on a fun vacation! We shall see ...

The New Digs

As of today, we're officially in the house. And what a warm welcome we recieved from the townsfolk! So sweet of those kids to come out in the rain today. I know how hard damp weather can be on woodwind instruments, so it really means a lot.

Seriously, though, it's been a week. And what a week it's been. We got the keys to the house Monday, the POD arrived with all of our stuff on Tuesday, the cable guy came & connected things - albeit incorrectly - on Thursday. And after far too much hassle, the water was turned on Friday afternoon.

So. The Water Nightmare. Here's what happened. I called various places to get hooked up with the basic services. Power? No problem. Did that over the phone. Cable & internet? We settled it all over the phone & made an appointment. Water?
Hmmm. Water.
Well, the water is handled by the city 'round these parts. So I called the city. And they told me that I needed to come to their office in-person and provide them with the following items.
#1 Driver's license
#2 Social Security number
#3 $100 Deposit
These three don't sound bad. Having to do it in person is annoying, but these requirements sound fairly reasonable. That's what brings us to the last item on the list.
#4 The signed rental agreement
Remember that the person from whom we've rented the property does not live in this state. Last week we had yet to receive a copy of the agreement that also had her signature on it. She had mailed it, but the post office was taking its time. Meanwhile, my bladder was under severe stress during the afternoons that I spent unpacking boxes at the house. Luckily, the whole mess got fixed on Friday. Come to find out that the city was suspicious because the name I gave to them as the owner of the house is not the name they had on file. And that's because she got married and changed her name, but never corrected it on her water bill. So! A silly mix-up.

But.

I feel like my world has turned into a series of silly mix-ups. The cable guy hooked up our TV to the cable, but he didn't give us a cable box or remote. And the internet could plug into my lap top, but it can't connect to Tim's computer for reasons I will never understand. So he doesn't have an internet connection. And our wifi connector that worked great in Tulsa? We can't get it to function properly, either (and again, I'm clueless as to the reason why). And the car situation .... uuuuuuuuggggggghhhhh. Tim and I spent so many hours talking about that mess that I hate rehashing it here. Just makes me angry again. The short version: Walter the HoboCat-Feeding Salesman? He no longer works for that car dealership. They still have a framed newspaper article on the wall about him and the cats and the fact that he's been with the company for a decade and blahblahblah. But he no longer works there. And after experiencing the other salesperson they had on hand, we've decided to try a whole new dealership. It was that bad.

But there's good stuff! For instance, I went to the Handmade Market ( http://www.thehandmademarket.com/ ) and bought a few little things. And I can now flush the toilet whenever I want to. And my mother and my brother got A's in all of their college classes! And I drove around quite a bit this week and did NOT get lost. And I'm in a lovely relationship with a good guy. I mean, if we can have a miserable experience at the car dealership and follow that up with moving large pieces of furniture into the house and STILL be able to stand the sight of one another, then things cannot be all that bad.

Mom says that, despite the hassle and extra steps, things are getting better. And she's right. She also says that whenever I'm having a bad day, I just need to go flush my toilet & remember that it could be much worse. I think I might just do that.