2 DAYS TO GO

“80% of male multimillionaires having extramarital affairs plan to cut back on lovers’ gifts, says Prince and Associates”

This was a quote in my January issue of Money magazine. I just cracked up laughing when I read it. It really caused me to wonder who this magazine is truly written for. In all honesty, who is that statistic really going to help? I mean it is great for a laugh but is it real financial advice? Not so much. Is it even a real financial trend? I guess it is if you are an affair having multimillionaire. What’s the point? Maybe the author thought it was as funny as I do.

I am having a really hard time focusing on anything but getting on a plane on Saturday. Not only do I get to go home to Minneapolis for seven days but I get to come back home to Chicago and not have to be back to work for nine more. Oh the joys of working in higher ed.

HOLIDAY TIME IS ALNOST HERE

I have that giddy holiday feeling. You know the one, all warm and fuzzy inside for no reason. I also have a bit of nerves. I absolutely love the holidays. Not only will I be going home on Saturday to spend the holidays with my family but Tony will be joining me on Christmas Eve. After 4.5 years of being a couple we will get to spend Christmas day together. This is pretty freaking exciting. Although, I think after finally getting incredibly comfortable with my family and the new people nerves having worn off, we just might scare him with our slightly nuts and painfully happy festivities. Oh well.

Last week I was talking to him about our trip home and I was saying how he would get to go to the Christmas Café (just our table) and get breakfast and he said, “I don’t’ want to have to go to any Christmas Café. I just want to hang around the house.” Once I explained that he would be hanging around the house and would get to be served breakfast with my parents by Sister and I he was more agreeable. Although, I swear he knew the Christmas Café existed. I think he doesn’t listen to me sometimes. I then pictured him flying in and being accosted with Harry Connick Jr. singing “This Christmas” (cause it’s hilarious) and Sister draping him with tree decorating stuffs. HEHEHEHE. I’ll get pictures.

Plus, Hanukkah starts while I will be home. This means that I will NOT forget to light candles this year. Last year I had every intention of lighting my menorah. I took it out of the drawer got it set up nice and pretty and went to get the candles...get the candles…where were the candles? I spent the next eight days reminding myself to go to the store and buy candles. I failed completely. After the holiday break I returned to work and told my Jewish colleague of my failed menorah attempts. Amusingly enough she had candles but no menorah. That gave us a good chuckle. Tony should also enjoy lighting the menorah. Although he was raised Catholic, he has a strong affinity for all things Jewish. I think he knows more Yiddish than I do.

At this point all the presents are ordered and the planning is done. Well, most of the planning. I am having thoughts about the traditional Christmas Pizza. We usually do two big pies with different toppings. I will have to check it out with Sister because Christmas cooking has kind of become our thing but I think that we should do more, smaller pies this year, thus maximizing our flavor variations. I have all kinds of wondrous pizza ideas milling around in my head. A Mexican pizza with beans and salsa as the base, a pesto pizza like we had last year mmmmm, a caramelized onion and apple pizza with brie, a normal pizza, a wild mushroom pizza with some kind of delicious sauce. Oh, Christmas Pizza, why must you be so far away?

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and all the wonderful things that come with it. Hooray!

A IPOD SHUFFLE MEME CAUSE WHY NOT

1.Put your music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS! (I skipped any repeat artists in the spirit of variety)
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the game from.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
I Hear a Symphony- The Supremes
Whenever you’re near/I hear a symphony/A tender melody/Pulling me closer/Closer to your arms.
Apparently I am not only okay with whatever people are asking about, I am ecstatic about it. Maybe people just have really good taste and are only approaching me with awesome things.

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Western Eyes- Portishead
With western eyes and serpents breath/We lay our own conscience to rest/But I'm aching at the view/Yes I'm breaking at the scenes just like you
So I suppose this means that I sometimes do bad things and then I feel really bad about them later. Doesn’t everyone?

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
If you Don’t Get It The First Time Back Up and Try It Again- The JBs
The lyrics are pretty much the title, no need to retype that
Who wouldn’t like a guy who is both resilient and funky?

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
God- Tori Amos
God sometimes you just don’t come through/ Do you need a woman to look after you
Actually, I feel pretty good today. There was no need for this teenage angst to pop up here. Actually, there is pretty much never a need for this particular brand of teenage angst, I just can’t let it go.

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Stop Singing and Start Swinging- Malcolm X
Well this is a speech and, for a time, I was this militant (in theory) However, since we now have a Black president and OBVIOUSLY live in a post-racial America there will be no need for anything like this anymore…right???right??? UH….

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Murder Ink- Dr Dre
Uh, uh, for real/ You’ll fuck around and get killed
Uh, uh, I won’t be killing anything at all. I’m not as hard as I think I am and I certainly don’t think I’m the murdering type

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Small Man, Big Mouth- Minor threat
You laugh at a man when he tries/You're trying to make up for your size/To you life is a rivalry/ Keep a step ahead of me
Apparently my friends think I have a serious Napoleon complex, who knew? Oh, iPod shuffle, you reveal mysterious wonders sometimes

8.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
50ft Queenie- PJ Harvey
Hey I'm king of the world/You oughta hear my song/You come on and measure me/I'm fifty inches long
Well, I too seem to be obsessed with my height. I would have you know that I am no mere fifty inches long. I stand a proud seventy inches so there!

9. WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Hunting Bears- Radiohead
This is an instrumental piece. That is what they get for asking such a stupid question


10. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Boll Weevil- Presidents of the United States of America
Boll weevil why don’t you get out of your home/He said I’m comfortable here I don’t wanna move I don’t wanna leave/I said boll weevil get right out of your home
I have a few people that I could consider best friends. Out of all of them I am the one who is most likely to stay inside. I can’t say this one applies too much but it would if my best friend were the person who sent this to me cause she never goes out.

11.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sunshine Recorder- Boards of Canada
A beautiful place/a beautiful place/an eagle in your mind
I guess I really like him huh?

12. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Dueling Banjos- Primus
An easy groove. The notes are happy, even jolly. Then you think about Deliverance and everything is much worse. Much much worse.

13. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Beef Jerky- Cibo Mato
My weight is 300 pounds/My favorite is beef jerky/I’m a vagabond, I’m a vagabond/My mom says, you are kinky!
Well I most certainly do not want to be a 300lb kinky hobo

14. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
All Along the Watchtower- Jimi Hendrix
There must be some kind of way out of here/Said the joker to the thief/There is too much confusion/I can’t get no relief
This is like the exact opposite of what I think. It is an incredibly awesome song though so I’ll just go with that vibe

15. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Bridge over Troubled Water- Simon and Garfunkel
When you’re weary. Feeling Small/ When tears are in your eyes/ I'll dry them all
What can I say? My parents really really love me

16. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Derilict- Beck
Blow back derelict wind/Lay my soul in the foul of the air
I can find absolutely no way this song works. Lyrics, no. Tune, I would like to see Tony and I try to dance to this with our non-dancing asses

17. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Reeling- PJ Harvey
Wanna bathe in milk/ Eat grapes/ Robert DiNiro sit on my face
Uh, gross and completely inappropriate

18. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Memories of Jacqueline- Olivia Tremor Control
Right now is when we break the static/With our themes of liberation/Conquer all that we can
Yes, my hobby is to conquer all that I set out to conquer. The fact that I don’t try much of anything does somewhat hinder this hobby but I’m sticking to it

19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Sir Duke- Stevie Wonder
Music is a world within itself/With a language we all understand/With an equal opportunity/For all to sing, dance and clap their hands
See, I am secretly the most talented musician/singer/songwriter that the world has ever seen but I can’t divulge my talent because the world just can’t handle my glory. Therefore, I fool everyone into thinking I have no instrumental talents and can’t carry a tune to save my life. I do write a pretty awesome song though, get a little whiff of this
Insideoutafied, I said insideoutified---YOU TURN ME
That's what I thought, you can't even handle the awesomeness.

20. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Mingusings- of Montreal
Sister tells you No, our shit is only gonna get better /I'll let ya know let ya know let ya know /I feel like the last time is gonna be /my final collapse
This obviously means that I have awesome friends and we help each other when the other is down

21. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Let It Be- The Beatles
When I find myself in times of trouble/ Mother Mary comes to me/ Speaking words of wisdom/ Let it be
I swear I am not skipping any songs (except repeat artists), this is just too perfect. The worst thing that could happen is just something that you deal with. Let it be.

22. HOW WILL YOU DIE?
The Mariner’s Revenge- The Decemberists
We are two mariners/ Our ships sole survivors/ Trapped in the belly of a whale
I am going to be swallowed by a whale while on a mission of revenge. That is freaking badass

23. WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Pattern Against User- At The Drive-in
Circus carny guarding/The gates of heaven/Like stuck in limbo abduction/Wormed our way through/Distant earth
I have absolutely no ideas what this means. I suppose it means I have no regrets?

24. WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying- Belle & Sebastian
Oh, get me away from here I’m dying/ Play me a song to set me free/ No one writes them like they used to so it may as well be me
What is funny about this one is that the above lyrics used to always give me a chuckle so I guess that is another right on pick by Natapod

25. WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
My Baby Loves the Secret Agent- The Detroit Cobras
I can’t get the lyrics for this one but I do know that it is about someone’s baby being in love with a secret agent. That would certainly make me cry

26. WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
(You Caught me) Smilin’- Sly and the Family Stone
In my pain/I'll be sane to take your hand
Well the song ends with that, I suppose it means that it would be smart for me to get married

27. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Black Coffee- Tricky
I feel so lonely, haven’t slept a wink/I walk the floor, and watch the door/And in between I drink black coffee.
I will take this as a resounding NO. Or, maybe I have a coffee drinking stalker, and that is a very scary thought

28. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
What’s Mine is Yours- Sleater-Kinney
Sit down, honey, let's kill some time/Rest you head on this heart of mine/Tell me, honey, cause you look so blue/Just how did they, did they get to you?
I guess I wouldn’t’ change anything, maybe just help the past me through some of the hard times and maybe leave her with a tip or two on how to make them not quite so hard

29. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Tunneling Through The Guy- Man Man
Girlfriend, I know/I can smell your blood/you're gonna do bad things tonight
Well this sounds like something is really painful, in fact, nothing hurts at all right now except for the fact that my cell phone broke but that will be fixed soon enough

30. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Return to Hot Chicken- Yo La Tengo
Another instrumental one, and that is that

ITS ONE OF THE MOST WONDERFUL TIMES OF THE YEAR

Tomorrow is a special day; Monica will turn the big 3-0. It also happens to be Thanksgiving. While the main festivities for Monica will be on Saturday, her birthday couldn’t be ignored and I got her a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. No pies at my house. We will keep ourselves entertained with Wii, PS3, TV karaoke, and if Netflix behaves Kung Fu Panda on blu-ray.

When I get home I will start the final stage of Thanksgiving preparations. Cleaning the living room and getting stage one of cooking going. When Tony gets home we will start cleaning our room. We might need the extra space. Our menu for thanksgiving is an awesome one:
Main dishes:
Turkey
Ham
Turkey Tofu (NOT tofurkey)

Sides:
Butter dipped rolls
Collard Greens
Macaroni and Cheese
Stuffing (turkey and vegetarian)
Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes (regular and roasted garlic blue cheese)
Cranberry Sauce (homemade no cans here)
Asparagus soup
Brussel Sprouts
Vegetarian gravy

Dessert:
Gravy Cake
Aforementioned ice cream cake

Tonight I will help Monica’s turkey thaw, marinate the tofu and assemble the turkey tofu casserole, and make the cranberry sauce. The rest should be okay for tomorrow. I think we have 12 people confirmed and we may get up to 7 more stoppers by. It should be a good time. I hope everyone has as much fun as we will. I hope there is enough wine. Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

THE MORNING AFTER

Here it is, Wednesday morning, I still don't entirely believe what happened last night but I'm so glad it did.

After work I headed home, tried to eat and completely failed. I then headed over to a friend’s house to watch the returns. By the time she put snacks out things were starting to look fairly secure so I was able to get something to eat. I talked to my cousin who I haven’t spoken to in quite a while. He was pretty amazed that I wasn’t down at Grant Park. I was a little amazed myself but I had plenty of reasons why I wasn’t there.

At my friend's apartment, we sat and talked and watched and before we even knew what was happening the election was called. I knew it I left then I could make it home in time to see the speech with Tony, who was getting off work at 10:30. As I walked got to the bus stop a young brother (probably too young to vote) was standing there holding the front page of the Red Eye paper that said Election Day and grinning as big as he possibly could. He turned to me and asked how my night was going. I replied that it was absolutely amazing and I was in disbelief. He smiled at me with this serene, otherworldly look and said, "It couldn't be more beautiful. What a great night". There was hope in his face and I knew it was no dream. This was our new reality.

Like Obama said, he has a hard road to walk. He is inheriting one of the biggest clusterfucks in recent American history. He pulled no punches. He admitted it was a long and hard road. He wasn’t claiming that he could change the world in the blink of an eye. That would be a lie. He said that the American people can’t let go of the passion that got him elected in the coming years. That we have to stay vigilant and continue to fight for what we believe in. He couldn’t be more right. It’s going to be touch, but we are all in it together.

ELECTION DAY

It's election day. I got up an hour early to vote and beat the crowds. My polling place was so empty I almost thought they moved it and didn't let anyone know. Needless to say I arrived at work an hour early, so I get to go home an hour early. That's nice. I have contemplated going to the big Downtown Chicago secondary rally. Tickets to the main one in Grant Park were gone within 5 minutes and I just missed it. A friend is having a party but I'm not sure I want to be there. I think I either want to be at the huge thing or home mostly or completely alone. I predict many tears and I would rather cry in a huge crowd or at home.

My stomach is in knots and will be for the rest of the day. Luckily I have a relatively busy day at the office so I am hoping that I won't be thinking of the election too much. I am hoping wrong. I know that I should be more confident than I am in the outcome but I'm just not. The first presidential election I voted in was 2000 and I was pretty confident of the outcome then. Look how that one turned out.

Hope everyone is out there voting!

The End of Vacation

Cabin number two was more remote than the first. It was in the Stevens Pass area in the Cascade Mountains. Being a kid from the Plains I haven’t had much experience with mountains. Sure, I drive through Pennsylvania plenty of times but that was about it. These mountains were beautiful our ears popped continuously and Tony was a little scared of my driving. I wasn’t going above the speed limit (was below it plenty because f the rain), was keeping with traffic and was being perfectly safe. He just wasn’t as sure about all that as I was. I was having a blast on those curves. We had a little problem finding our turn off because Tony didn’t realize the directions were two pages but that was solved relatively quickly and we made our turn and came upon this.

Yes, that is a one car at a time wooden bridge with a 5mph speed limit. I wasn’t scared driving on winding roads up and down mountains in the rain but that bridge kind of freaked me out. The rest of the drive up to the cabin was pretty scary. Lots of turns and dirt roads and places where you could fall in ditches. We made it and all was well. I didn’t snap a shot of the outside of this cabin as you drove up which is a shame but the real beauty of the place was the view. You have the views from the living room, the balcony, and the other side of the living room. Unfortunately, it rained the whole time we were there and we didn’t get to hike around like we wanted. Someone from the area might not have been bothered by the rain but we city folk weren’t having it. We did have a rainy hot tub experience and it was fun but very cold upon getting out. I wished that tub had a cover over it like the other one.

While our first spot was all about luxury, this one was all about being in the woods at a good old fashioned log cabin. We made a fire in the big fireplace, kept the fire going in the pellet stove, and sat down with board games and an extensively random VHS collection. It was quite the cozy time. The second night I made a wild mushroom alfredo on this scary old fashioned stove that was just delectable. I used Lobster mushrooms, chanterelles, and a chef’s sampler of all kinds of random mushrooms. I caramelized an onion and then threw them in the skillet, how yummy is that? After they had cooked down I dusted them with flour, poured down some milk, and dumped in some Gouda. The plate was garnished with fresh chives and we sat down to look at the river and the mountains to eat. I had taken a really great picture of the plate but it didn’t download for some reason so you get us making faces and tucking our napkins into our shirts while we eat instead.

The last morning I woke up and was leisurely cooking breakfast when the maid drove up…WHAT? Apparently checkout was at 11. I thought it was 3. I told her I thought it was 12. I woke tony up and we rushed out of there. We got a motel on the road to shower and catch some more sleep since our plane wasn’t until 11:30 that night. It is very strange to drive up to a motel and tell them you need a room for a few hours. Oh well. The rest of the way back was rather uneventful. We stopped at a mall somewhere to try to find a book. There was no bookstore in the mall…WHAT? We went to a casino by the airport but there were no slot machines, only real games…WHAT? The flight was uneventful and we made it to our apartment at 5something the next morning. We proceeded to sleep for days. We still haven’t unpacked. So it goes.

Vacation Part 2

Once we were certain that we weren’t going to die we were able to settle down and enjoy our place. The climate was like nothing I had experienced in my Midwest/East Coast living. Technically, it was a rainforest. Everything outside was constantly damp although it didn’t really rain a lot at all. It would mist or even lightly drizzle for 5-10 minute time spans here and there. I think once it really came down for about two or three minutes. It was pretty cool. The fact that the hot tub was under a gazebo didn’t hurt either cause that meant none of that drizzle got in the way of our relaxing.

I spent a good portion of the first morning/afternoon in the yard trying to hone my badminton skills so that I could destroy Tony when he woke up. Although I played badminton in high school I hadn’t picked up a racket since. I had certainly lost some skills. It didn’t matter, though, although Tony was totally into the game he didn’t have much of a chance against me. If we both practiced he would probably surpass me relatively quickly. He has a large height/reach advantage over me. I also spent some time communing with nature.

We had expected to see tons of wildlife while out in the woods, not so much. We saw a few raccoons while driving lost and contemplating death. On the property itself there were some birds, many slugs, and one absolutely adorable squirrel. It was with this squirrel that I spent a lot of time. I spotted him through the window going up into a little squirrel house. He would dart in, grab a sunflower seed, and dart out again to a stump. He went back and forth, back and forth, for a good 20 minutes before I decided to go out and take a closer look. The squirrels I am accustomed to are city squirrels; big fat gray creatures that, while cute, are nothing to write home about. This little guy was about the size of a chipmunk and had an adorable reddish tummy. His little tail curled about him ever so preciously. I was hooked.

I went outside and started taking pictures, after about 30 attempts I got this one of him on the ledge of his home. I have many of him scampering down the pole, half in the house, or nowhere to be seen in the frame. He was a fast little guy. I then took pictures of him by his stump home. He was quite friendly and let me get close enough to snap this gem. However, it was when he was perched atop the stump looking down at me when he first chirped. I was astonished. Big city squirrels do not make noise. Certainly not noise that sounds like a bird’s song. I thought it might have been a bird but as he chirped his tail gave a twitch. It was awesome. He might be my favorite thing I saw on the whole trip. Tony almost didn’t believe me about the chirping but was able to see/hear him the next morning so I didn’t appear crazy.

We spent the rest of the night grilling, playing board games, watching movies, hot tubbing, and just having a good time. We were able to take our time leaving in the morning and headed off to cabin number two. I could certainly see us going back to this place someday.

TV Night

A brief break from Vacation stories to talk a little about last nights TV programs. It was a hard and long night. It started with Leanne winning Project Runway. It wasn’t a surprise. We knew months ago when we looked at the collections online that she was going to win. It was a good collection. Jerrell, my favorite, was already gone so I didn’t have too much invested in the episode. As long as Kenley lost, and she did, all was right in the world. Man was her collection ugly and stolen. I am quite sad to see Project runway go. I know it won’t be returning to Bravo *cry* and Monica said there are complications with the move to Lifetime so the current season may never be shown at all. What a sad world this world will be without Project Runway. However, Top Chef is starting up again soon so, yeah.

Then there was the debate. I am so glad that it was the last one because I think any more and my head may have actually exploded. I couldn’t believe that three of the six Joe Sixpacks they interviewed after the debate on NBC were planning to vote for McCain after that mess. One said Obama. Two said nothing. Were they watching the same debate that I was? I read an article this morning that said McCain was attacking (true) and winning because of it (really?) and was making Obama uncomfortable (huh?). The biggest moment of discomfort I saw was the stunned look on McCain’s face when Obama explained the lack of penalties good old Joe the Plumber would pay under his healthcare plan. He looked like someone had asked him what the Bush Doctrine was.

Anyway, from what I saw it was an easy win for Obama. He kept cool, stuck to (and expanded on) his talking points, and made a whole lot of rational sense. McCain got angry, didn’t back up his claims, and both looked and sounded like a crazy person. If he manages to pull this one out all I’ll be able to do is speak like Maya Angelou (aka David Alan Grier) and say, “President elect John McCain…ain’t that a bitch,” which leads me to the point that Chocolate News was a lot funnier than I expected it to be. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Vacation Part 1

So I am back in the real world after 12 days of no alarms, very little required things to do, and lots of hanging out in bathrobes. Needless to say I am somewhat sad to have returned.

We flew into the Seattle/Tacoma airport on Saturday the 4th and had a very uneventful trip, rented a car and got on our way. We headed to the Seattle to get on the Bainbridge island Ferry. My impression of Seattle was, WOW. Hills. Kind of scary to drive down a hill and not be able to see the bottom. That’s about all we saw of Seattle though. We get a glimpse of the space needle from the plane and from the ferry deck and I feel that legitimized the trip. We drove off the ferry directly onto the road we needed to be on and followed the directions to the best grocery store ever. Oh, Central Market, Poulsbo. How I miss you. I never expected to find a 24hr grocery store filled with tons of gourmet produce and the biggest selection of vegetarian meat type products I have ever seen in the middle of nowhere Washington but I did. We walked in to a cart of fresh chanterelles and lobster mushrooms. I knew that I would be making a mushroom alfredo at some point during our trip. We stocked up and headed out to the Maplebrook Retreat.

The directions we had were a little…confusing. We spent a VERY long time looking for Front Street and never found it. We even stopped and asked someone where it was, they seemed to know exactly but their directions didn't help us much either. I think it’s a fake name. We started to think that maybe this place did not really exist and that some people made a website to direct unsuspecting people to the middle of the woods and kill them, or simply to take their money for a nonexistent property. We soon found the street after Front Street on our list of directions and took that, hoping that we weren’t heading to our deaths.

The next direction told us to look for an old bus stop around mile marker 2 with some mailboxes in front of it and turn onto the dirt road. I’m a city girl. To me a bus stop has a bench, a sign, and maybe a little enclosure to shield you from the elements. We drove and drove on a barely lit 2 lane highway at speeds of 50mph so as not to get hit by cars around us looking for a bus stop. We found mile marker 2 but no bus stop. We found the street that let us know we had gone too far and needed to turn around. We drove back and forth between mile marker 2 and the street that was too far for a while. There were a couple of dirt roads with mailboxes but no bus stops.

“There it is!” Tony shouted, and pointed to a small shack. “What do you mean?” I replied. I saw nothing resembling a bus stop. He explained that there was an old warming house for kids to wait for a school bus and I was passing it. I supposed he was right and we turned around to turn up that proper dirt road and look for the property. I turned on the brights (or held them on because I couldn’t figure out how to make them stay on) and we looked for our property number. We were still terrified. It was a scary place. We found the property number and turned up the drive.

As soon as we made the turn we were greeted with small lights leading up a winding drive to a very well lit cabin. The thoughts of death started to abate. As we pulled in fully we saw a covered, and well lit, hot tub beckoning us. We opened the door and were greeted with dim lighting, soft music, and wonderful smelling candles. We walked through the cabin and found the most luxurious bedroom, opened the closet to find cushy wonderful bathrobes, and quickly decided that we were certainly not going to die and were instead going to have a wonderful time.

In the day, everything was much, much, less scary.

Boring Meme of Nothing

The brain is filled with thoughts of vacation and thoughts of making sure everything is in order at work before I leave for vacation. All else has been pushed to the background. 3 days of work left and 4 till the plane leaves. It's almost here. Rental cabins here we come!

Therefore, I give you meme that Monica tagged me with. She has nothing to say either.

1. What are your nicknames?
People used to call me Nat. That doesn’t happen too much anymore. My sister calls me Head, no one else is allowed to because coming from anyone else it would be gross and wrong. Sometimes Tony calls me Bearface. We like bears, they are cute, its ok. Mizzle calls me Nizzle and that is also fine. Most people should just call me Natalie though.

2. What game show and/or reality show would you like to be on?
Lingo, Wheel of Fortune, Who wants to be a Millionaire, that’s about it

3. What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD?
I have absolutely no idea. It was probably Kuffs or Universal Soldier or The Great Muppet Caper.

4. What is your favorite scent?
Delicious food

5. If you had a million dollars that you could only spend on yourself, what would you do with it?
I would pay all my debts, buy a house and furnish it, buy a car, and go on a very long vacation. Anything left over goes into retirement accounts.

6. What one place have you visited that you can't forget and want to go back to?
I haven’t gone anywhere al that great since Friend and I went on after college trip. Maybe after Washington vacation in 4 days I’ll have more to talk about.

7. Do you trust easily?
Depends on who is talking. If they are a friend then yes.

8. Do you think before you act, or act before you think?
Both. I usually think too much about things I should just do and not enough on things that I should think about more

9. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
Not too much, things are pretty good

10. Do you have a good body image?
Reasonably so

11. What is your favorite fruit?
I ate fresh figs the other day, they are not my favorite but they are pretty good. I think I like mango the most

12. What websites do you visit daily?
My various emails, facebook

13. What have you been seriously addicted to lately?
Thinking about vacation

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Mizzle is a bitch

15. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?
“Plastis Wafers” of Montreal, cause I am a huge predictable nerd

16. What's your favorite item of clothing?
My navy blue cardigan, it makes me oh so cozy

17. Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy?
I have, but I have been wrong

18. What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground?
Take it. Although, like Mizzle said, if I were inside that would probably change

19. What items could you not go without during the day?
computer, TV

20. What should you be doing right now?
This is fine

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

Obviously I did not write this piece as it was clearly written by Tim Wise. However, I completely agree with what it has to say and think it give some great food for thought.

By Tim Wise

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll “kick their fuckin' ass,” and talk about how you like to “shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”


White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.


White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.


White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.


White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.


White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a “second look.”


White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.


White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.


White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.


White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a “light” burden.


And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole “change” thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain…


White privilege is, in short, the problem.

Random Post

I haven’t made a blog in FOREVER, I just haven’t wanted to say anything. Tons has happened; my family came to visit, I planned a vacation, I almost got pick pocketed, ANTM started again, Project Runway had all kinds of awesomeness happening, 90210 started (love it love it love it), political hilarity has been spewing over the waves (air, cyber, radio). All in all, things have just been happening left and right. So why have I been uninspired to blog? I just don’t know.

The funny thing is that today, the day when I am inspired to type something, I have pretty much nothing to say. So be it.

THE FEVER IS SPREADING

My weekend started off a little slow. On Saturday I watched a bunch of Olympic coverage and then went out to a comedy show with Monica and crew. It was pretty mediocre but I still managed to have fun. On Sunday I was incredibly saddened because Isaac Hayes died. I’ve loved that man’s music for quite a long time and I certainly love Chef. I haven’t been so broken up about the death of someone I didn’t know for a long time.

Watching more Olympics seemed like the only thing to do. I caught the China/USA basketball match. There was some sloppy ball on both sides but I really enjoyed watching the game. I wanted the US to win but wanted China to do really well. I love that Yao Ming, such a stand up fellow. I thoroughly enjoyed the women’s synchronized springboard competition. I love diving. Getting my first taste of both Men’s and Women’s gymnastics was also fantastic. The US women had a real rocky start and I saw many individual medal hopes dashed but I think they could end up strong in the team competition.

The highlight of the evening had to be the swimming and the highlight of the swimming was the men’s 4x100 relay. France had done a lot of trash talking, and they had reason. The US wasn’t going to go down easy though. And this is how the race went down. If you haven’t seen it don’t read this. Actually, feel free to read it, but check out the video first.

For the first leg Phelps was up for the US and Leveaux was up for the French. Phelps put in a respectable time of 47.51 to Leveaux’s 47.91. Both were eclipsed by Eamon of Australia who had the fastest first leg in a 4x100 relay ever at 47.24. Up for the second leg was Weber-Gale (47.02) for the US and Fabien (47.05) for France. This brought the US into the lead. I’ve been seeing people talk about how Cullen Jones almost blew it for the US. Sure, he had the slowest leg of the team at 47.65 but was up against France’s fastest leg by Bousquet at 46.63.

And let me just say something here about Cullen Jones. This is a man who teaches swimming to Black children because he knows exactly how dangerous not knowing how to swim can be because he almost drowned as a child. Black children are almost 3 times more likely to drown than white children. He also had to swim in the relay heats the night before and earned his spot on the team with the three fastest swimmers because he had the best split from those in the heats. If Jones had led off the race and Phelps was swimming third people would be saying Phelps almost blew the race since his time was almost a full second slower than Bousquet's. Lay off him people.

Anyway, what it really came down to was the final leg, Lezak vs. Bernard. The US was .69 seconds behind the French. When you are 32, the oldest male member of the US swim team, and chasing down the world record holder things might look a little grim. Not so for Lezak, he put in the swim of his life. Got the fastest split time in history, and took the gold. It was quite a night.

A HISTORIC APOLOGY

My mom sent me an article from CNN that let me know the House of Representatives have passed a resolution that apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow. Although individual states have apologized for slavery in the past, this is the first time any branch of the federal government has done so. I don’t know if anyone has apologized for Jim Crow before this point. I actually think that apology carries much more weight. The article I read had this excerpt from the resolution

"African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow -- long after both systems were formally abolished -- through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity and liberty, the frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity,"

I am actually in shock that a branch of the government went so far as to acknowledge this, particularly the part about the long-term loss of income and opportunity. Although I certainly know it to be true, and most people I hang out with know it to be true, many people obviously do not. Many of the comments from the article are a testament to that fact. One of the more common arguments I hear in regard to issues of the overwhelmingly obvious disparity between Black and white America is that it is not a race issue but a class issue. To have the government link the two together is, in my opinion a big deal.

The article also briefly mentioned reparations, as much as I would love to get the current monetary value of 40 acres and a mule, adjusted for inflation of course, I know that is just silly. Come on people, there won’t ever be any reparations. Stop asking for them. Even if there was a legitimate way to decide who would get them our country is broke and couldn’t possibly afford it.

Anyway, I’m happy it was said. Sure it’s symbolic and doesn’t really change anything, but aren’t apologies in general primarily symbolic? I think the acknowledgement of the lingering repercussions is enormous and hope more people take a second to stop and think about what that really means.

THE WORLD IS MADE OF ENERGY

Sunday was a happy day of chillin. We arrived around 2ish so that we could get a good spot for The Apples in Stereo at 3. We got our spot from last year’s festival on the left side of the stage right against the rail. We settled in to wait for things to start. Shortly after we got settled Terrence the Security Guard, who we knew from Public Enemy spotted us and came over to say hi.

“What band are you here to see today?” he asked
“This one,” we replied
“Move to the middle” he said

So, of course, we move toward the middle. He’s right up front telling people to move down and clearing a spot for us front and center. In fact, as you watch the corresponding video from the show you can see how no one seems to be standing front and center, it is because we are very short. In fact, about halfway through the song there is a shot of the crowd and you can see two sets of brown arms clapping; one set has a wooden bracelet. That bracelet is Monica. I am next to her and not quite as brown. I watched this video a bunch of times to catch that. There were lots of beach balls during this show. I kind of hate beach balls. I wanted to pop them but never caught one. I accidentally hit one a few times in trying to catch it. Lame.



After the show we went to sit for the remainder of the evening because we are old and we like to chill. We took turns getting food cause no one likes to sit alone. Jamie’s veggie dog came with multigrain chips, mine didn’t. Racist (hahah). It was a good veggie dog though and I didn’t mind not having chips cause I had a delicious mango smoothie. It was very very hot and even though I drank a lot of liquids I sweated them all out and still didn’t use the port-o-potty!

Les Savy Fav was up next and did they ever put on a show. A big old dude in shiny red drawers is always a recipe for a good show. After them it was The Dodos were very chill, during this time it was very hot and Jamie and I spent much time sitting under umbrellas or setting them up to shade us as we lay peacefully. Sometimes I was all long and would read my book. I later got laughed at for reading my book. I love Jonathan Ames so much. See, there is this game we were playing about spotting all the ridiculous Pitchfork people and I guess reading was worth some points. Star tattoos are also worth points and Monica had the nerve to call points on someone we knew.

In true politically incorrect fashion we decided that the game winning spot would be an Asian/Asian couple. I know, I know, not cool but research has been done, they are rare, particularly at places such as outdoor music festivals. Monica spotted one while she was away from the group but Stacy saw them so she technically won. I also spotted one so I came in second. I think I should have gotten bumped up points for spotting an Asian Man White Woman couple earlier on; they are kind of rare too. Racist.

That’s just rude. Jamie left us to go see Ghostface Killah & Raekwon and I maybe should have gone because as much as I wanted to see M Ward and liked listening to his set, I couldn’t hear all of it because of Ghostface Killah & Raekwon and the bass they were spewing all over the festival. Oh well. After M Ward was Spiritualized, a fine band but somewhat forgettable. Dinosaur Jr. was next, looking as 90s as anyone can look. Even more than me when I wear skirts, tights, and Dr. Marten boots.

Spoon closed the show. They were really boring. Monica and her friend Stacy did some dances. I don’t know if it was because they were trying to get into the band or because they were hating. I was just chillin and kind of sad I couldn’t’ read anymore since it was dark. There was this girl who loved Spoon more than anything ever in life and she was doing all sorts of spastic dances all over the place. We agreed that it was time to go before Spoon was over. As we were leaving we heard Cut Copy on the B stage and they sounded good. Too bad we hadn’t been over there listening. Oh well.

Thus ended my weekend at the Pitchfork Music Festival.

INVASION OF THE MUD PEOPLE

So I arose bright and early on Saturday morning, like around 10 and started to get ready for the day. I had a poncho and an umbrella stuffed in my bag and a plastic bag to carry them in if they got wet, which was going to happen. I headed down to the festival and got there before Monica but not before her cousins and their ridiculously adorable child. I spotted them and then saw this tiny tot in a sling with HUGE hot pink headphones covering her ears from the concert noises. The headphones pushed her cheeks up to make them extra bumby. When I arrived, Boban i Marko Markovick Orkester was warming up. They played a pretty groovy and fun set. It sounded something like klesmergypsyjazz. I only got rained on a little, not enough to warrant an umbrella or poncho.

Monica arrived in time for A Hawk and a Handsaw. During there set it flirted between umbrella time and poncho time. Then it definitely became poncho time so we busted them out. Ponchos are kind of awesome. A Hawk and a Handsaw were pretty chill; they had an accordion so that is always a good sign. Their music was a mix between calm, crazy, folk, and gypsy. There was a dude in the crowd with a crazy mustache and visors that went over the lenses of his sunglasses HA! Monica and I tested out the frontish area of the crowd for a while and then retreated to the blanket. I mean, we didn’t need to be all up there…yet.

Icy Demons was next, we needed to be all up there for them. Jamie showed up. Yeah Jamie! What a glorious band is Icy Demons. I don’t know how to explain them except to say that they like to have lots of fun and that they make me smile. I will try to explain them; harmonies, dances, percussion, crazy sweaty drummer that Monica wanted to touch, a smidgen of the ridiculous, and lots of bouncing around will have to suffice. During the show poncho time ended and the sun came out. They must have brought the good weather with their cheer.

It was time for some snacks and then we were going to see Fuck Buttons. Snacks were good Fuck Buttons, despite their excellent name and promising description were incredibly boring. We left to find a nice parking spot on the other side of the field for Vampire Weekend. We also managed to catch a good amount of Dizzee Rascals set. That dude was putting on an excellent show. Vampire Weekend’s show…not so much. I hadn’t really heard their music before but I had heard good things…I hope their album is more interesting then their performances. !!! was up next, if you are curious about that band don’t try to google them, according to an article Monica read they are one of the least ungoogleable bands ever. People often call them chk chk chk but I have also heard bam bam bam and pow pow pow. I think I’ll refer to them as exclamation exclamation exclamation because it’s funny. They freaking rocked though.

It was around that time that we noticed the mud people. I suppose that anytime there is rain at a festival you are going to get mud people. These fools were slip and sliding through mud pits. It was disgusting. They had mud mouths, mud bodies, mud everything. I shuddered every time they walked by our nice safe non-muddy blanket. At one point when I was all alone holding own the blanket fort there was some proper mud wrestling complete with a piledriver. I was pretty sad no one else saw it.

The Hold Steady were up next. They certainly put on a show but they aren’t really my kind of band, a little too regular or something. I’m not sure what it was that didn’t move me because they were pretty good. However, other than Icy Demons, Saturday belonged to Jarvis Cocker. He was AWESOME. He got up there in his little suit, although he had to lose the jacket because it was hot, and threw down. At one point we looked to the monitor and saw him singing and dancing, the next second he was on the ground writing like a true star. You go, Jarvis.

Animal Collective was the last band to play. They were supposed to be awesome. Maybe if I had been on many many drugs they would have been. I wasn’t even on beer cause I am terrified of the port-o-potties and vowed not to use them at all, and I didn’t, not once. There was this dude who was on lots of drugs and stared at us with much intensity while we folded up our nonmuddy blanket. After we were done he proceeded to lie down and get kind of trampled. Monica told some people who kind of stepped on him that they needed to leave her boyfriend alone and that he was embarrassing her. It was funny to us but the other folks didn’t get it. We left before Animal Collective was done cause I’m too old for a damn hippie jam band with a light show.

Sunday….

WE NEEDED A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD THOSE MF'S BACK

So, Pitchfork (so named for Pitchfork Magazine) Festival was pretty freaking great. Monica, Jamie, others, and I had excellent times. Here’s a little rundown. I had hoped to add video to this but everything was streamed live and is not currently available. However, I bet it will be one of these days. I hope it will be.


Friday-
My one and only reason for being there on Friday was to see Public Enemy perform “It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back”. Monica was also happy to hear Sebadoh play “Bubble and Scrape” and, although I listened to it a few times and thought it was swell I didn’t much care. Public Enemy was what’s up. We arrived at about 6something (they went on at 8) and were able to walk right up to front and slightly (and I mean slightly) off center to chill and wait. We were able to hear Mission of Burma play some of “Vs.”, which was okay. Sebadoh sounded good, until The Bomb Squad decided to tune up during the acoustic part of the set.

Let me just say that the first note from the Bomb Squad reverberated my spleen. We all looked at each other and were like…”uh…earplugs?” We did manage to secure a pair from some security guards and covered them with some torn up medical gown or something of the like that our new friend Hilarie game us. The Bomb Squad didn’t seem to notice that Sebadoh was still playing and they started the show, they had to stop. This caused the more rude and jerky members of the audience to chant, “Sebadoh sucks” repeatedly, which is not true.

Let me just say that many of the “fans” who were there didn’t care dick about PE, they just wanted to see some Flavor Flav, which is bogus cause Chuck D is the man. There were some real fans there though. These dudes to the right of us were like, “man, I remember when this came out, I was in eighth grade and I thought, man, Black people really hate us…and they have a reason!” Monica and I burst into laughter. Another dude said, “It looks like hot topic exploded into a thrift store in here,” and I told him that was the funniest thing I had ever heard. He looked at me and Monica and didn’t reply…maybe he thought we were too thrift store.

As start time neared these same loser fans made the most horrible siren noises ever to signal the start of the album. I wanted to kill them. When the real siren noises came on I forgot about it, cause it was about to be AWESOME. It was around the beginning of the show that security guard James was replaced with Terrence, the most awesome security guard ever. Flavor forgot to come on stage for Bring The Noise, which was pretty silly. He was dealing with his family, who were a bunch of adorable kids who danced like madmen the whole show. We loved them. Then Terrence had Monica take some pictures and video on his phone, which may have been our ticket to later awesomeness. It could have also been that both our group and he were grooving like you wouldn’t believe.

The show was outstanding S1Ws were there stepping in their military gear, Professor Griff had no idea what he was doing there and couldn’t remember his verses but he was cool. Flavor called people out for booing him when he thanked the crowd for making him the #1 reality TV star of all time, “What are you a bunch of ghosts? Booo booo. Why don’t you be proud for a mother fucker?” He had a point. Then he tried to kill us and I wanted to boo his ass too. This fool had the idea to come up right on the other side of the rail to touch the fans. This means we were pressed into the rail and pushed all around. Monica and I threw elbows like crazy yelling at people to back the fuck up. After it calmed a little Monica pulled out her keys, to which Terrence replied “Come on now”. She didn’t have to use them. I was left with a bruise on my arm. Stupid Flavor Flav.

After finishing up the whole album Chuck D was like, “So we didn’t stop with that…we then did this…” and launched into Welcome to the Terrordome HELLS YEAH. He continued with other hits; Shut 'Em Down, He Got Game, 911 Is A Joke,Harder Than You Think, Can't Truss It, Yo! Bum Rush The Show, and Fight The Power to close it out. Freaking awesome. Home, to bed, and more for the next day...

ITS ONLY TUESDAY AND I'M ALL ABOUT THE WEEKEND

I haven’t had much to say at all lately. Things have been pretty good though. I watched the first season of Mad Men so I’ll be all ready to go come season two. I seriously think that might be the best show that is currently on television. I’m not at all mad at Weeds either. That show is also pretty freaking good.

I’ve been spending a lot of time working on an absolutely impossible jigsaw puzzle. I’m at the point where I feel really excited about every piece that goes in. I only have the middle left but it consists of a bunch of snow covered pine trees. All the pieces are starting to look the same. When the sky is the easy part you know you have a hard puzzle on your hands. The pieces also seem to fit together very well even when they are wrong. I don’t think that is at all fair. If two pieces have matching patterns and fit together they should be the correct pieces. Not always the case with this stupid puzzle.

I don’t know why I like puzzles. I was talking to Friend last night and she was saying how they are completely frustrating and unrewarding. I have to agree with her. I don’t feel all that much satisfaction when I finish one. It’s just done. When I was a kid there were a few puzzles I would do over and over and time myself to see how fast I could get them done. Well, at least one. It was round and had a unicorn on it. It was pretty. I liked that puzzle a lot. I think it may be at fault for me believing that I like puzzles.

This weekend is the Pitchfork Music Festival. I am incredibly excited about going. Monica and I planned out our days pretty well. I think we are actually all set. Schedule is as follows

Friday night three bands will be playing full albums. I don’t know if we’ll get there in time for Mission of Burma playing Vs cause they start at 6. We’ll be there for Sebadoh Bubble and Scrape and Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. It promises to be pretty awesome.

Saturday we have to be there bright and early at 1:25 for A Hack & A Handsaw followed by Icy Demons and Fuck Buttons. We will then switch stages for Vampire Weekend, !!!, Jarvis Cocker, and Animal Collective. It will be a seriously rocking day.

Sunday we don’t have to be there until 3pm for The Apples in Stereo, probably the band I am most excited about seeing. Then M. Ward, Dinosaur Jr, and Spoon. We’ll possibly see some other stuff in there and we’ll eat some snacks while trying to avoid using the port o lets. It will be a good weekend. Luckily I have Monday off work and Tuesday is our team bonding day. It will be a good week I think. Reviews to come.

And songs to be revealed

1. Well its hard enough to get there/ On your own/ And it’s always time to pay the rent/ When you’re home. The Worst trip, Dr. Dog. (BOO MONICA BOO)

2. Are you afraid to go outside/ Are you afraid of what you might find/ baby girl, I understand it/ I seen it too and I don’t recommend it. I’m with You, The Ponys

3.Well it’s all in your mind/ It’s all in your mind/ Well it’s all in your mind/ It’s all in your mind/ and I want it to be. All in Your Mind, Beck

4. Around the world/ Around the world/ Around the world/ Around the world. Around the World, Daft Punk. Identified by Brooke

5. And she was lying in the grass/ And she could hear the highway breathing/ And she could see a nearby factory/ She's making sure she isn't dreaming. And She Was, Talking Heads. Identified by Brooke.

OLYMPIC FEVER

I have caught major Olympic fever. I’ve been watching the trials like crazy and just can’t wait to see more. I have four main sports for the summer games; gymnastics, swimming, diving, and track and field. It is interesting because even though Figure Skating is my ultimate sport of choice I thin I look forward to the Summer Olympics a little bit more. I suppose it is because I follow Figure Skating year round every year and I get just as excited about a world championship every year as I do about an Olympics every four years. The summer Olympics are new, exciting, things I only watch when Olympic fever hits.

Even though I love the sports mentioned above I know very little about those who compete in them. Sure I know the gymnast twins Paul and Morgan Haam, they competed a few times in Ninja Warrior, and Michael Phelps, the God of Swimming but that is really it. Watching the trials I get to pick out favorites for no reason other than I like their name, the cut of their jib, or something particularly cool that they do. I have already seen one favorite, Raj Bhavsar, not get selected for the Olympic Gymnastics team even though he was the closest one to automatically qualify. He came very close four years ago so I was really pulling for him to get to go this time but it just didn’t happen. Some others have caught my attention.

I’ve saw a perfect dive off the platform from 30 year old Laura Wilkinson. Is there anything more awesome then someone ripping through the water without a splash? It doesn’t even seem possible. I saw world records broken by both Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff in the 400 meter medley. I saw a 400m hurdler fall and knock into Sheena Tosta who somehow still managed to come in third and secure a spot on the Olympic team and in the Men’s 400m hurdles, Bershaun Jackson beat men with legs as long as he is tall (not really) to win the race. I fumed as NBCs HD feed kept shorting out over and over causing me to miss some races.

However, the thing that is possibly the most exciting about the Olympics is to see all the people from the rest of the world who are amazing at what they do and I have no idea who they are. With the games in China, their team should be on fire. I’ll look for strong contenders in diving, swimming, and gymnastics. I don’t know so much about their track skills? It is still great to see everyone come out and perform at the top of their game.

Come 8.8.08 we will bear witness to thrills of victory and agonies of defeat. We will cheer as people we never heard of before awe our senses and win our hearts. If you ask me, it can’t come soon enough.

1. Well its hard enough to get there/ On your own/ And it’s always time to pay the rent/ When you’re home

2. Are you afraid to go outside/ Are you afraid of what you might find/ baby girl, I understand it/ I seen it too and I don’t recommend it

3.Well it’s all in your mind/ It’s all in your mind/ Well it’s all in your mind/ It’s all in your mind/ and I want it to be

4. Around the world/ Around the world/ Around the world/ Around the world

5. And she was lying in the grass/ And she could hear the highway breathing/ And she could see a nearby factory/ She's making sure she isn't dreaming

WEDDING CRASHERS

On Friday I felt horrible so I slept and slept and slept. I thought my allergies had gone insane but after I woke up this morning lying on a big old damp pillow I realized my fever had broken. What fever was my initial question but then I realized it was the fever that the night before I had dismissed as some warmth from a few beers. I feel much better now.

I thought I felt much better Saturday night when I attempted to attend a going away party for this dude and his lady. I made it to the spot just fine and was having a fine time discussing the first CDs we ever owned (one of this dudes was the score from Terminator 2, hence me calling him a dude and not putting him out there for all to mock. Yes I said score, not soundtrack, score.), mine was He’s The DJ I’m The Rapper, which is a fine album to this day. Chanda mentioned that she was hungry and as I hadn’t eaten in a good 7 hours I thought going with her to procure some snacks might be fun. And it was.

We went to this spot called El Cid and I got some cactus and cheese tamales. MMM. So rare to score a vegetarian tamale. While eating Chanda and I noticed that we have the same phone. We thought that was cool. We also selected the same blue patterned background for our screen. Chanda mentioned how funny it would be if we had the same ring so she called me…and immediately burst out laughing. I called her and laughed as well, it really was the best ring available. My phone does have a Lewis News ’08 sticker on it and hers does not but it was still pretty awesome.

As we are walking back to the bar we happen upon a group of dudes. They start talking, we talk back, I wanted to keep walking because I think random strangers are…strange but Chanda was really chatting it up so I rolled with it. Eventually they mention that they are at a wedding reception and invite us to come up. I would have just left but Chanda, being much smarter than me, said we would go in. It was AWESOME. Our friends were a bunch of West Indian Hindi guys and the bride’s family was from some Latin country that I can’t recall so the music was a mix of like reggaeton and bollywood. As soon as we got inside we were ushered into a conga line. We also learned how to dance to the bollywood type music.

1. Put one hand up, palm to the sky, as if you were holding a plate
2. Put your other hand up and screw in a light bulb
3. Shrug shoulders while holding the plate and turning the light bulb

Best. Dance. Ever.
If you don't want to screw in the lightbulb, twirling a napkin also works. The plate must remain in place.

We got introduced to everyone; cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, the groom and were welcomed pretty openly despite our obvious lack of knowledge of anyone and not particularly festive dress. As usual I was in a skirt (but not a fancy one) and Chanda had on jeans (but heels). At one point Monica stopped in to bring Chanda her camera and marveled at all the fun we were obviously having. Although we were asked to go to the after party we had to decline. It was far and we did have prior obligations. But we got a greap group photo!


Sadly, as soon as I got back to the bar the people I was going to share a cab home with were ready to go so I really didn’t do a very good job of going to a good bye party but so it goes. Instead I crashed my first wedding and had an excellent story to tell.

1. She says my ass hurts when I sit down/ She says my feet hurt when I’m standing around/ I think my body is as restless as my mind and I don’t think I can roll with it this time. Roll With It, Ani DiFranco. Identified by Brooke

2. I can’t believe that it’s real/ the way that you make me feel/ A burning deep down inside/ A love that I can not hide. Here I Am (Come and Take Me), Al Green. Identified by Brooke.

3. Well its hard enough to get there/ On your own/ And it’s always time to pay the rent/ When you’re home

4. Are you afraid to go outside/ Are you afraid of what you might find/ baby girl, I understand it/ I seen it too and I don’t recommend it

5.Well it’s all in your mind/ It’s all in your mind/ Well it’s all in your mind/ It’s all in your mind/ and I want it to be

BLOGGING ABOUT BLOGGING

So I haven’t had much to blog about in a little while and that is pretty okay with me. I just haven’t been felling it. I just decided that when something came to me I would write about it and when nothing did I wouldn’t force it. Plus, it’s the summer and while that should mean that I have tons to say about all the hot ass messes in Chicago that think they are doing something cute when they walk out of the house in the morning it doesn’t. Maybe I would have people to comment on if I carried a camera with me all the time, or maybe if I had a USB cable so I could plug my camera into a computer…maybe.

My sister has started to beat me at wordtwist. I find this slightly depressing. I think I may have to step up my game, maybe try to type properly for once or practice a ton. I don’t like my sister to beat me at things. I don’t care if my friends do but they aren’t my sister. Actually, I am just glad that I have another challenging person to play with. It would be better if I won more than I have been though.

Anyway, the thing that got me thinking I needed to blog was my blog. I opened my email this morning and got a comment from someone named Stephen saying I blogged about him and I was pretty confused because I don’t know anyone named Stephen. Then, I went to the post and it was the one about that VH1 show “The Pickup Artist” and Stephen was the guy Spoon that I thought was pretty awesome and was sad to see leave the show cause he was a pretty chill dude. This also means that he was googling himself, which shows me that he is a very normal guy. He also has the prettiest dog ever. Monica, go to his myspace page and look at his dog. It will make you die. Tony wondered that if Spoon invited me to be his myspace friend that he was maybe going to try his Pickup Artist skills on me. I kind of doubt it...dude has hella myspace friends.

That is all. I will reveal songs. I have no idea how long they have been there but I suppose it is long enough. Crap, I can’t find my list. I’ll do my best.

1. She feels like/ A stranger has come in the night/ And stolen her life/ And left her with this. Something I’m too tired to look up by Man Man.

2. Looking at the devil/ Grinning at his gun/ Fingers start shaking/ I begin to run. Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself, Sly and the Family stone

3. Oh so long/ For this night I’ve prayed/ That a star/ Would guide you my way/ To share with/ Me this special day. Ribbons in the Sky, Stevie Wonder

4. I love the time and in between/ The calm inside me/ In the space where I can breathe/ I believe there is a distance I have wandered to touch upon the years of/ Reaching out and reaching in. Something off Fumbling Towards Ecstasy by Sarah McLaughlin.

HOPES FOR THE WEEKEND

When I woke up this morning I could have sworn it was Saturday. It wasn’t. However, it was Friday, which is the day before my three day weekend. I have to give credit to my employer; their idea of summer hours is quite nice. You work 7 extra hours every pay period (45min a day) and get a three day weekend every other week. I have to admit that there are some days when the extra 45 min are a bit of a bummer to do but it all get cancelled out when I wake up every other Monday morning and don’t have to go to work. Also, Tony’s weekend is Sunday and Monday so it will be nice to get some extra time together. We’ll finally be able to go to the cemetery!

I am hoping that we’ll go this weekend but I don’t know if that will end up happening. It doesn’t matter though, we have all summer. In case any of you think it is strange that I am all geared up about going to the cemetery you just may be right. However, Graceland Cemetery is no ordinary place. Many of the great makers of Chicago are buried there and they have quite impressive looking gravesites. I think I was first inspired to make the trip by a post Blondie did about the place. She took wonderful pictures including one of “The Girl in the Glass Case” which captured my attention. She also mentioned there was a lake on site. Johnny Yen also had a nice post about the place and I learned from him that you can pick up guide books at the front entrance. I was hooked. This meancing looking fellow marks the grave of Dexter Graves, a hotel guy. I just think it's particularly awesome looking and wanted to include it.

So anyway, it should be pretty awesome. If I don’t end up going I can always finish up Heavenly Sword. That is one fun game (even though I can’t block properly for crap) and I'm finally becoming an acceptable shooter.

1. She feels like/ A stranger has come in the night/ And stolen her life/ And left her with this

2. Looking at the devil/ Grinning at his gun/ Fingers start shaking/ I begin to run

3. Oh so long/ For this night I’ve prayed/ That a star/ Would guide you my way/ To share with/ Me this special day

4. I love the time and in between/ The calm inside me/ In the space where I can breathe/ I believe there is a distance I have wandered to touch upon the years of/ Reaching out and reaching in

5. Something in the way you love me won’t let me be/ I don’t want to be your prisoner so baby won’t you set me free

ON CHEATING AND CELEBRATION

Happy Juneteenth Folks! If you don’t know what that means look it up, learn a little something. On this glorious day I will be celebrating by playing video games and eating a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. Sure my actions will have absolutely nothing to do with the holiday itself but it sure will feel good doing them.

Monica and I have been taken over by a game called wordtwist on Facebook. If you happen to know this game and are awesome at it please, feel free to challenge us. If you are not awesome you will more than likely be destroyed. In our efforts to become even more awesome at this game (she is a little more awesome than me but we are essentially equal in awesomeness) we have decided to cheat at scrabble to learn more seven letter words. I know that cheating is wrong but since we are agreed on the matter and are using the cheating as a learning opportunity to better ourselves it is okay. Plus, if we are only cheating while playing each other and we are both doing it is it really cheating? Probably not.

The other day I watched Seven Samurai. I have no idea why it took me so long to see this film. It was pretty incredible. It was also incredibly long. For me to not get bored watching a 208min movie that is black and white and has subtitles something pretty freaking awesome must be happening. I’m not entirely sure why I liked it so much but those samurai were some stand up fellows.

The top chef reunion show was pretty bogus. No dirt was strewn about. I was somewhat disappointed. It was a happy-loving-huggy affair. I do kind of almost sort of want an “I have a culinary boner” t-shirt but I would never wear it so I don’t.

Oh! Sulu got married!!! George Takei and his partner looked so happy over there in California. It just made me smile. I love Sulu. I love the original Star Trek. I am pretty curious as to the new movie. I am not curious (no I am, I lied) about the Prince of Persia movie. While I am positive that Jake Gyllenhal is not the best guy to play the prince and I wish they had picked someone slightly swarthier I am not sure who the best person would really be. I thin I decided that dude who played the shrink in “Sunshine” (which I think no one has seen) is the best I have come up with. At least Jake is better than Orlando Bloom.

1. She feels like/ A stranger has come in the night/ And stolen her life/ And left her with this

2. Looking at the devil/ Grinning at his gun/ Fingers start shaking/ I begin to run

3. Come/ As you are/ As you were/ As I want you to be. Come As You Are, Nirvana. Identified by Mom.

4. Oh so long/ For this night I’ve prayed/ That a star/ Would guide you my way/ To share with/ Me this special day

5. Dawn is a feeling/ A beautiful ceiling/ The smell of grass just lets you pass/ Into a dream. Dawn: Dawn is a Feeling, The Moody Blues. Identified by Mom.

SADNESS REDEEMED

The weekend started off wonderfully. I went out for a quick drink with some co-workers, went on a nice walk, and had my Mom come pick me up so we could watch some basketball. I wasn’t all that excited about the basketball but my folks love the NBA and Kevin Garnett in particular. Even though he is no longer a MN player, he remains near and dear to their hearts. We watched the Celtics getting their butts kicked and then stopped and watched Ratatouille instead. The Celtics ended up pulling it out though and we saw some post-game coverage.

I had a day off on Friday and was happily lounging around my apartment when I turned on the computer and saw that Tim Russert had died. I’m not one to watch many politically focused talk shows, or any talk shows for that matter. However, if I had to choose three to watch it would have been; Charlie Rose, Inside the Actors Studio, and Meet the Press.

I never planned to see Charlie Rose, sometimes nothing else would be on and it was always a good standby. I also never planned to see Inside the Actors Studio but I would often notice it was on and see someone I wouldn’t mind hearing an interview with. Meet The Press was different. I certainly didn’t always plan to watch it and I often didn’t remember that it was on, however, if there had been some particularly juicy happenings during the week I would occasionally look forward to hearing what Russert had to say about it. I found him to be very fair, and rather funny. He was someone who I would love to just sit down with and hear him tell stories. I wouldn’t have thought that his death would make me as sad as it did but there really isn’t anyone out there that does what he did, or at least nowhere near as well. I’ll miss the guy.

Mom and I took a nice trip to Target and then we picked up Monica to eat at Irizu, a Costa Rican place. Monica made us try Oatmeal Shakes and I was quite hesitant but then very pleased. They tasted like cookie dough. The food was none to shabby either. On Saturday morning I awoke and called Mom to have her come and pick me up. When she arrived at the door I opened it only to find Dad heading up the stairs. The sun of a gun surprised me! It was wonderful to see him and we proceeded to have a fantastic weekend together. Sat night Tony, the parents, and I went for dinner at a Pakistani restaurant. I forgot it was Pakistani and thought it was Indian, because the food is so similar it was easy to do. The food was delicious but they didn’t have appetizers on the menu and that bummed me out. Also I thought I was ordering chick peas and I got lentils. Not that it really mattered because the food was very good and I like lentils. I think their mango lassi and naan were some of the best I have ever had. Mom took pictures of Tony and I that she must send to me because we have none and they are the best to date I think (hint hint). We came home and watched Sunshine, which is like a faster version of 2001 with a different plot and Cillian Murphy. It was enjoyable. Anything with Cillian Murphy is enjoyable. After my folks left Tony and I watched the new Rambo movie on Blu-ray. Can I just say BEST EXPLODING PEOPLE EVER! If you like to see people explode the last 30 minutes of this movie is a must see and the rest won’t make you mad either. If you like plot…maybe not your thing.

On Sunday I showed Dad the last 30 minutes of Rambo because I know he likes exploding people and we tried the new Uncommon Ground by my apartment for brunch and were incredibly happy with our decision. Best Sweet Potato Fries I have ever had! The chili was okay but I’ll order something else next time. Then we went on a shopping extravaganza that completely tired me out. We stopped at the cheesecake factory for a snack and ended up with a meal. The Fried Macaroni and Cheese was very tasty but I could have used a little more macaroni in mine. Not that I’m complaining. Ever since I saw Alton Brown pull that treat of death off I wanted to try some. The Avocado Eggrolls were delicious and I was a little iffy on warm avocado. It wasn’t too warm though. We also got some fire roasted artichokes and they were quite good but I wasn’t incredibly happy with either of the dipping sauces they came with. We got cheesecake to go cause we were so full and I still have the better part of my piece in the fridge at home. MMMM Key Lime Cheesecake. I eat a lot when my parents are in town. We watched the game Sunday night and it was a pretty good battle but unfortunately the Celtics couldn’t pull it out. I almost want to watch other games in the series now because they got me into it…almost.

1. She feels like/ A stranger has come in the night/ And stolen her life/ And left her with this

2. You always felt like Suede/ there are days I feel your twin/ Peekaboo/ Hiding underneath your skin. Suede, Tori Amos. Identified by Brooke.

3. I’m a pixie/ I’m a paper doll. I’m a cartoon/ I’m a chipper cheerful free for all and I light up a room. Pixie, Ani DiFranco, Identified by Brooke.

4. Well there ain’t no/ Ain't no telling baby/ when you will see me again/ But I pray it will be tomorrow. Ain't No telling, Jimi Hendrix. Identified by Brooke.

5. Looking at the devil/ Grinning at his gun/ Fingers start shaking/ I begin to run

WEEKEND RECAP STUFFS

This weekend I went to a silly party where we dressed as people from the 80s and tried to solve a murder mystery. It was a rockin’ good time. The murder was apparently solved within the first minute or so but wasn’t divulged so that people could continue to play. Some people were in possession of clues and some people had to do dares to get clues. This was a bad idea because people I know are evil.

I dared Patrick to give Monica a wet willie because it would completely gross her out and was an inside joke.

Patrick dared Monica to give me a wedgie, which was completely awful and also had to be done repeatedly because Patrick just wouldn’t look. At least one of them was real.

I dared Patrick to run around the table and go “Woo Woo”

Patrick dared Monica to walk around with a beat box saying “I am a chicken”

I think the point was to dare people you didn’t know to do stuff but being painfully introverted that wasn’t going to happen. It was still a fun party. So fun that I slept until 5pm the next day because every time I woke up before then I decided that it was too unpleasant to be alive.

Tony and I have decided that our television is too big to watch some regular TV program on. Certain channels are fine, Top Chef looks great. However, some programs don’t have particularly good resolution. This makes them look extra horrible on our very large TV with excellent resolution. Most of the things that I really enjoy watching look good though so I don’t have too much to complain about. Since Food Network, HGTV, and most premium channels have HD offerings I’m pretty good. Last night we watched Billy Madison on demand in HD and seeing Adam Sandler paddling around on his floating pool chair was more hilarious than ever before. I thought he was going to paddle right onto our couch. I still can’t figure out why the 120hz doesn’t seem to be on though.

Mom is coming tomorrow and I am incredibly excited. However, my house is not ready for her. We cleaned the living room yesterday but the front room is a disaster and the kitchen and bathroom could use some serious work. I know what I’m doing tonight. She graciously offered not to come inside until it was clean but I would like her to be able to visit the inside sooner rather than later. I have to make her brussel sprouts.

1. We’re in the movies/ Watching some people move their mouths/ And a religious figure/ Whose not really a religious figure/ Cause he’s an actor. The Opera House, Olivia Tremor Control

2. It never really mattered too much to me/ That I was just too damn old to MC/ All that really mattered is if your rhymes was ill/ Girl that’s all that really mattered to me. Great Day, Madvillian

3. Tulip Baroo/ Tulip Baroo/ The magnetic roller-skater wears a bonnet of blue/ Bonnet of blue. Tulip Baroo, of Montreal

5. Girlfriend/ I’m gonna tell your boyfriend/ Yeah/ Tell him/ Exactly what we’re doing/ Yeah. Girlfriend, Michael Jackson