SEVEN THINGS

While I was at lunch with Monica today, I mentioned how I had nothing to write about on my blog. I seriously thought about writing about the trip of least tolls but I haven’t had a chance to reread the journals from that time and I don’t want to leave out anything particularly extra funny. This left me with nothing. During my lamentation regarding my lack of post motivation Monica mentioned there was something on her blog that would inspire me. I quickly deduced that she had tagged me. Wanna hear it, here it go.

1) A thing that makes me happy
As you can see from the last post, Bob makes me happy. Look at how happy I am.

This picture, by the way, was taken during the trip of least tolls.

2) A funny thing that happened yesterday
Yesterday was not particularly funny. I am really trying to think of something. Funny things happen to me all the time. Yesterday just wasn’t a funny day. I had fun yesterday, just not particularly funny fun. How lame.

3) A thing I like to eat
I love to eat cheese. Everyone knows this. I love to eat salty delicious snacks. I love to eat just about everything that isn’t meat. I even love “gross” vegetables like lima beans and brussel sprouts. I love spicy things. I love beans. I love breads. Sauces are the best. I love to eat and I can't choose just one thing.

4) A thing that bugs me a lot
People who think they are smart but aren’t and people who think other people are smart who aren’t. Basically, I hate stupids. As we were discussing at lunch today, having a lot of degrees doesn’t necessarily make you smart, at all. They have these superior attitudes and you can’t tell them a thing even when they are obviously wrong. Of course there are plenty people with a lot of degrees who are incredibly smart but I don’t have a problem with them.


5) A thing I have on right now
I have on that one skirt with all the colors and the pleats that is really cool because, depending on what color shirt you wear, it looks like a different skirt. Not really. I am just telling myself that so I have an excuse to wear it as often as I do. I love my skirt, my skirt is so comfotably lovely.


6) A thing you once did that was technically dumb but actually fine
I do a lot of technically dumb things. Many are lost to me right now. I think the thing that I did most often that was technically dumb was wear my cow shoes as my everyday shoes. I have mentioned the cow shoes before. Those things are six-inch platform sling-backs. They rule. I wore them day in and day out and walked up many hills and across uneven terrain. This was stupid because I technically should have broken my ankles many times over but it was actually fine because I didn’t.


7) A thing you plan to do today
I have absolutely no plans for the rest of the day. There is nothing on my plate. I suppose I plan on going home and hoping that the dishes are done so I don’t have to do them. Then I plan to sit on my butt and maybe watch a movie or something. I then plan to read some more War and Peace and go to sleep. Oh, I also plan on working on my budget.

After reading this post I think it has been revealed that I am the most boring person ever. How sad. I tag anyone who feels like doing this post.

Five new lyrics today!

1. No one dared to show for that shower/ When nobody turned out to be clean/ Was not even touched by the water/ Just another Nazi scheme. The Big Takeover, Bad Brains. Identified by Monica

2. Who knows how long I’ve loved you/ You know I love you still. I Will, The Beatles. Identified by Mom.

3. I said upside down you’re turning me/ You’re giving love instinctively. Upside Down, Diana Ross. Identified by Monica

4. I’m not you woman. I’m not your man. I’m something that you’ll never understand. I Would Die 4U, Prince. Identified by Monica

5. They call me the wild rose/ But my name was Eliza Day/ Why they call me it I do not know/ For my name was Eliza Day

THIS IS FOR YOU, MY DEAR

A few weeks ago I was all excited about mix tapes and was about to stage a revival of them. That hasn’t really happened. However, yesterday I plugged in my 50CD+1/tape deck that has lain dormant for so long and decided to give some old tape a try. Tony was working and I was all alone, I curled up in bed with War and Peace (I’m giving it another try as it is the one book I own that I haven’t read. At page 597 am almost halfway through!) and popped in a tape called “A Mix For Friend,” That Brooke made me when we graduated from SLC. It is an utterly awesome collection of songs, although Oasis “Live Forever,” gave me pause. It did capture the times though so I’ll let it slide. The songs were familiar enough that I could concentrate on my reading but, at times, they really started to take me back. They took me to so many different places that I can’t even begin to describe them all.

On of the places that I was reminded of over and over again was Bob. Bob was my car. He wasn’t my first car; that was The Little Red Mobile which deserves its own post. However, Bob was all mine. I paid my very own $200 for Bob and held the deed. Granted, the many hundreds and quite possibly thousands of dollars that went into keeping Bob running was primarily from my parents. They also paid for Bob’s insurance because they are good people. Nonetheless, Bob was mine.

I learned to drive stick on Bob. Dad had tried to teach me before but I crashed the car within 10 seconds (it jumped the curb into a tree, totally not my fault) and I was a little hesitant to learn after that. Since Bob was a stick, I had no choice but to learn. It was fun. To this day I prefer to drive stick. I think I owe that to Bob.

Bob was an old car, a 1981 two-door Volvo DL (not the 240 DLs you see all over the place just a regular old DL). I don’t know how many of you have seen a two-door Volvo but they are pretty funny, they have the biggest doors you can imagine. Bob was the best color, forest green with rust and Grateful Dead stickers. I could have cared less about the Dead and I removed the dancing bears from the back window. The skull in the front stayed, it simply belonged. Bob had a sun roof that was operated by crank and sometimes got stuck a little bit even though it appeared closed, you kind of had to push up on it to get it to close fully. If it wasn't perfectly closed and it rained little pools of water would form around the sunroof and as soon as you drove it would land in your hair, down your back, or in your lap. The seal around the stick shift was a little loose and you could pull it back to see the road zooming past under you. Bob had four gears and overdrive, I can still hear that hum when you hit the button and dropped him in. By the time I graduated, Bob had a tape player installed. For much of my time with him he had a tape deck wedged between the dash and the windshield. In case you can’t tell, this car was perfect.

I could fill post upon post with stories about Bob. "Bob and the Trip with Fewest Tolls," will have to be written at some point. That was a trip for the ages. This post isn’t about trips though, it’s just about Bob. It’s about who he was, and he was a good friend. He took me where I needed to go, when he would start, and I was glad that I never actually had to see him die. I left him when I moved to Chicago. I knew he was on his last legs and that I couldn’t afford $100 monthly to park him. Mom took care of him; it was the right thing to do.

As I listened to Brooke's tape, some of the songs really made me want to get Bob and drive. I didn’t care where I had to go as long as the weather stayed nice and it would take a minimum of three hours. Bob was at his best when journeying. As “If You Want To Be A Bird,” by the Holy Modal Rounders came on I had no choice but to put down War and Peace lean my head back and go OOOHHHHUUUAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGAAWWWWW, just like we used to do riding around in Bob, or Jules, or Thurman (his closest firends). It was a little strange that I was doing it by myself because singing the bird song was always a group activity. I let Brooke know what I was doing and she laughed at me appropriately. The thing is, if I was alone but driving in Bob I wouldn’t have felt silly singing it. I would have felt free, adventurous, unlimited. The bed just doesn’t do it like Bob could. As the tape drew to a close Lou Reed sang about a “Perfect Day”. Bob, I’m glad I spent so many with you.

1. Andy/ Would bicycle across town/ In the rain to bring you candy/ And John would buy the gown/ For you to wear to the prom/ With Tom/ The astronomer who’d name a star for you. The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side, Magnetic Fields. Identified by Sisterhead (on the last post as this one was going up so I’ll put it here to recognize how awesome she is)

2. I read the NEWS today oh boy/ About a lucky man who made the grade/ And thought the NEWS was rather sad/ well I just had to laugh. A Day In The Life, The Beatles. Identified by Brooke.

3. Nothing to here to fear/ I’m just sitting around being foolish when there is work to be done. Wednesday, Tori Amos. Identified by Brooke.

4. Life is hard/ And so am I/ You’d better give me something/ So I don’t die. Novocaine, The Eels. Identified by Monica

5. I pulled into Nazareth/ Was feeling bout half past dead/ I just need someplace/ Where I can rest my head/ Hey Mr. Can you tell me/ Where a man might find a bed. The Weight, The Band. Identified by Brooke (and yes, of course it was on the mix tape)