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!

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

THE BEST THING ABOUT MINNEAPOLIS

I haven’t had much to say lately, which is strange because I feel that I have been very busy. I guess I have enjoyed playing word games on Facebook more than blogging lately. Therefore, during my lunches I sit down to have a quick game of something and then notice an hour has passed and I have no time to write anything. Again, not that anything interesting would be said. Maybe I should change my blog name back to “I Have Nothing Interesting To Say: Read Me”.

I had a wonderful time in Minneapolis, as I always do. It is truly a great city. On Thursday I went out for Thai food with Roxanne, my oldest friend. She isn’t the oldest of my friends but I have known her since I was about 6mo old so she is really more like family than friend. I mean I’ve known her longer than my sister. It is amazing that we still enjoy each others company as much as we do. Anyway, the point of my story was that we went out for Thai food and I got to eat mock duck. I don’t know what it is about Minneapolis that every Thai and Vietnamese place has mock duck on the menu but it is a wonderful thing. Maybe there is a mock duck factory in the twin cities somewhere that I have never heard of. What I wouldn’t do to get some proper mock duck here in Chicago. Sure my family lives in Minneapolis. Sure I love the quiet vibe of an ever more cosmopolitan city. Sure I get to see old friends who mean the world to me. Regardless, mock duck is quite possibly the best thing in Minneapolis.

Of course I have no idea if the mock duck tastes anything like real duck but I do know that it tastes delicious. It’s moist and firm and chewy all at the same time. It has a fantastic flavor and it makes me incredibly happy. I ordered mock duck pad thai at a level five spicy out of five and didn’t even need to put more hot sauce on it, although I could have. It was nice and red with spice when it arrived on my plate. It even had big tofu pieces along with the mock duck! Usually they just put some little crap pieces in there if it isn't your main "meat". I have to do some research and find out where I can get some of this wonderful product and make my own mock ducky dishes. I actually just did a google search for "mock duck chicago" and found a restaurant that serves the stuff. Dharma Garden here I come. I should also mention that the first entry on google was from someone who went to college in Minneapolis and was lamenting the mockducklessness of Chicago.

On Friday the entire family (parents, aunts & uncles, cousins, and grandparents) went for dinner at Cristos, a Greek restaurant. The food there was incredibly delicious as well. I ordered dessert, which I never do, and tasted a little piece of heaven called milopita. This thing was filo dough wrapped around baked apples in a ricotta/cream cheese mixture. There was some kind of sweet wonderful sauce all around it. I won’t want another one for about five years because it was incredibly rich but it was certainly something wonderful to store in the back of my, “delicious things to eat” corner of my mind.

I also saw two movies, Iron Man and Prince Caspian, which is insane because I never go out to the movies. It was great fun even though I took a benadryl, which never make me sleepy but miraculously did that day, before going to see Iron Man and dosed a little bit. Oh well, just gives me more reason to see it again. I now have to reread Prince Caspian because, while I think it was similar to the book, if it didn’t follow the story closely it was a total Two Towers rip off. Then again, the first one was very true to the story so I’m not really sure why it wouldn’t be. If anyone remembers and will let me know so that I can continue to read Atlas Shrugged (which I am enjoying immensely although not as much as The Fountainhead) and not have to bother with minor literary distractions. Then again, literary distractions can be cool as I just read a book called Running With Walker, which was a father’s memoir of taking care of his autistic son and was incredibly glad that I did.

Now for the song reveal

2. Now for all ya’ll who ain’t heard of me/ Mr. M-O-E the Barre Baby/ I’m a South Side living legend/ A third ward /bone hard/ Street veteran. Barre Baby, Big Moe.

5. They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom/ For trying to change the system from within/ I’m coming now I’m coming to reward them. First We Take Manhattan, Leonard Cohen

PACKIN MY BAGS GOING AWAY

Tomorrow I am getting on a plane and flying to Minneapolis. I hate the journey to the airport but I love when the doors to the plane close and we take off. I know I’ll be home soon.

This trip is a pretty big one. Mom is graduating with a Masters degree in something that I don’t understand and took her about three sentences to explain to me and I still don’t get it. I think it has something to do with education and community development. Needless to say, I am incredibly proud of her. If I recall correctly this is actually her first graduation. I could be wrong but I don’t think she walked in High School or for either one of her Bachelor’s degrees. This is a pretty big deal and I am so glad I get to be there.

I love Minneapolis. It’s a great time of year to be there. It would be better in about a month but this will do. The city is beautiful and I can’t help but smile as I drive around and see all the green and the blue. They weren’t kidding when they called Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes. Even though there is a big old lake on the East side of Chicago I don’t get the same watery satisfaction here that I do at home. It’s a serene place.

I’ll hang with the family, see some friends, and relax as much as possible. It should be a good couple days. Sometimes I wish that Minneapolis was as close as Evanston but most of the time I am glad of where it is because I can truly go away and still feel at home.

1. I know I should get next to you/ You’ve got a look that made me think you’re cool/ But it’s just sexual attraction/ Not something real so I’d rather keep wackin’. Why Bother, Weezer. Identified by Monica

2. Now for all ya’ll who ain’t heard of me/ Mr. M-O-E the Barre Baby/ I’m a South Side living legend/ A third ward /bone hard/ Street veteran

3. Oh Baby Baby how was I supposed to know/ That something wasn’t right here/ Oh Baby Baby I shouldn’t have let you go. Baby One More Time, Britney Spears. Identified by Brooke.

4. Make of our hands one hand/ Make of our hearts one heart/ Make of our vows one last vow/ Only death will part us now. One Hand One Heart, West Side Story. Identified by Mom.

5. They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom/ For trying to change the system from within/ I’m coming now I’m coming to reward them

MUSINGS ABOUT STUFF

I’m sitting here eating this “eating right” bar of the peanut butter crisp variety and I am really wishing that it was a Tiger’s Milk Bar. It almost tastes like one but it isn’t. When I was young, I would go on trips to Sears with Mom and Sisterhead and we would go to this section where there were treats and I would get Tiger’s Milk Bars and this absolutely divine red licorice that I think was slightly raspberry flavored and it had a panda on the box. Sears, like many of my childhood memories, is Sepia toned. The yellowish nature of the memory could also be due to cheap fluorescent lighting. I have no recollection of what was around this section of the store but I do remember shelving and these brightly colored treats staring at me from the dull metal shelving.

I wonder if Mom had other reasons for going to Sears. Was there generally other shopping involved? Did we just go there for Tiger’s Milk Bars and Licorice? Was it even Sears? Were there other treats that I don’t remember as well? Luckily, Mom reads the blog so she can probably answer some of these questions.

The building that was once Sears isn’t anymore. I don’t know if it is anything. I don’t know if it is even standing. I don’t know much about how the old neighborhood looks. Whenever I go home I rarely stop by. There isn’t much there and what is there makes me a little bit sad. I remember driving past the condo where I lived from age 2ish until right before my 10th birthday. I turned into the alley and everything looked so sad. It was dirty, silent, and empty. It wasn’t the way I remembered it at all. I remembered running though the “yard” and down the sidewalk with friends. I remembered hiding throughout the complex and all the friends Sisterhead and I had living nearby. It didn’t look like the place I played.

The house we moved into after leaving the condo is where my parents live today. It’s a happy place. The yard is lush and green, there is a garden. There are trees I used to climb and it looks better now than it ever did before. When we moved there, Sisterhead and I didn’t want to go. We loved our new house but there was something about the old one that was special. Sisterhead was born there. I had my first room that was all my own there. Our friends were there. I never really hung out with the neighborhood kids at the new place. Sisterhead found a few friends there but it wasn’t the same. Then again, I was a teenager and playing tag in the backyard didn’t have the same feel to it. There were different things to do and the world was larger.

Now that I am older the world seems small again. Going home doesn’t seem to take too long and when I get there things are just where I left them, but with some minor changes. My home in Chicago seems closer to my parent’s house than my parent’s house seems to the old neighborhood and Sears. I guess that is just part of life changing.

1. Horses in my dreams/ Like waves like the sea/ They pull out of here/ They pull they are free

2. Oh here we go again/ It’s time for the same arguments about/ About that and a little bit of this

3. What about the time/ You were rolling over/ Fell on your face/ You must be having fun

4. Unexplainable things will happen when we really see into each others eyes/ Right/ So why is it we rarely find the time to see each other in the eyes

5. You consider me the young apprentice/ Caught between the scylla and charybidis/ Hypnotized by you if I should linger/ Staring at the ring around your finger. Wrapped Around Your Finger, The Police (well actually it was a Tori Amos cover but have The Police version too and it is by them) identified by Katrina

FOODIE FRIDAY- A CHIP

A bad bad thing has happened to me. I found a good Dill Pickle chip. I have been on an eating better kick for the last few months and it has certainly done my body some good but I seem to have hit a plateau. I actually don’t mind plateaus, I mind backtracking. I really can’t complain. This morning I stopped by Dominick’s on my way to work to raid the salad bar and thought I might want something more than a mere salad. By the deli there were many chips, I love a salty snack. Then I saw Dill Pickle flavored chips and I got excited.

Let me tell you a little about the Dill Pickle chip. When I first saw them I thought it was so incredibly disgusting that I had to try it. I believe this happened sometime during the mid 90s. Old Dutch (a very popular brand over in good old Minnesota) was the maker and I couldn’t wait to eat the nastiness that I was sure would come out of the bag. Why I was excited to eat nasty food I do not know, but I was. However, the chip was far from disgusting. In fact it was quite possibly the most delicious chip I had ever tasted. It was a regular potato chip and was dusted with these dill pickle flavored specks, similar to what you might see on a sour cream and onion chip. I was hooked.

When I went off to college I had my mom send me a bag of Dill Pickle chips in a care package. It got completely pulverized. Friend and I ate the entire crumbly bag in about 30 seconds. She had been wary but they were a hit with her too. Over the years there have been a few other attempts at dill pickle chips. Lays has one but there are no flecks on it and, therefore, I feel it doesn’t have the charm. It tastes a little too much like a salt and vinegar chip to me, like they just dunked them in pickle juice. Lays are also notoriously greasy.

The bag I saw today was of the Kettle Classics brand. A kettle cooked chip is generally a good thing so I figured even if the pickling wasn’t right on I would still enjoy the chip. When I opened the bag (it was actually the hardest to open chip bag I have come across in a long time) I was greeted with crunchy kettle chips, pickle flakes, and a light pickle taste on the chip itself. I bit into it with anticipation and I was disgusted. The chip was so damn good. I’ll have to stop myself from eating them all the time. I haven’t had a dill pickle chip craving in years because there haven’t been any good ones to crave. It may all fall apart. For shame.

And now for something completely different. I watched Sweeny Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street last night. It was absolutely wonderful. I loved the whole look of the film and was thoroughly entertained. Unless you hate incredibly bloody and stylized musicals I suggest that you watch it as soon as possible.


1. Well they say that birds do it/ Bees do it/ Time the freak Money B gets to it

2. If the music make you move/ Cause you can dig the groove/ Groove on/ Groove on

3. Went down to the mountain I was drinking some wine/ Looked up in the heaven lord I saw a mighty sign

4. What’s the matter/ Why don’t you answer/ What’s the matter with me

5. Tie yourself to me/ No one else knows you’re not rid of me/ No you’re not rid of me. Rid of Me, PJ Harvey. Identified by Brooke.

CALL ME, I'M YOUR ROBBER

As many of you may have heard, the stupidest criminal ever resides in Chicago. This fool had the nerve to go rob a store and when he found out that the present employees couldn’t open the safe he left two phone numbers and told them to call him when the manager got in. He said if they didn’t call he would shoot them. Of course he was called back, and when he arrived at the store was met by plain clothes policemen. They shot him in the leg while he was waiving his gun around trying to rob folks.

This isn’t the first time I have heard of criminals leaving numbers. The fool who stole my sister’s cello was also a number leaver. After he stole the cello he brought it to a music resale shop. The merchant had a pretty good idea that the instrument was stolen so he gave the guy $50 and said they would call him when they found a buyer. The shop was right down the street from their apartment building (yes this fool lived in the same building as my sister) so it was one of the first places she checked. She came away with her instrument, and the name and number of this fool. She promptly called the police to press charges. Even if she hadn’t pressed charges the state would have because it turns out cellos are expensive and the amount was large enough for the state to prosecute.

I guess the moral of these stories is a simple one. If you plan to go around robbin folks don’t leave a number.

1. The Bloom/ The Swoon/ The Sugars on your block/ The Planets land in flesh in the corners of New York. Nickel Bags, Digable Planets. Identified by Monica

2. I want you/ I want you so bad/ I want you/ I want you so bad/ It’s driving me mad. I Want You/She's So Heavy, The Beatles. Identified by Mom.

3. Blue moon/ You saw me standing alone/ Without a dream in my heart/ Without a love of my own. Blue Moon, Identified by Mom. This version happened to be Billie Holiday but there are so many it doesn't really matter.

4. Sit around and watch the tube but nothing’s on/ Change the channels for an hour or two. Longview, Green Day. Identified by Danielle

5. You had all of them on your side/ Didn’t you/ Didn’t you/ You believed in all your lies/ Didn’t you/ Didn’t you

Wow, my iPod must have intuited that songs were getting a little obscure. These should be a breeze.

I SHOULDN'T HAVE HIT PUBLISH

One thing I have learned from my last post is that unfounded theories that are known to be based on vast generalizations will inevitably cause more legitimate realizations to surface. I find this to be fascinating. Recently I was reading an article about poop. Why was I doing this? Because Tony and I thought it would be funny to google poop and see what came up. Yes, I realize this makes us seven.

One of the sites full of fun facts about poop tackled the question of wiping. Apparently, most people wipe sitting down and a much smaller number of people prefer to stand and wipe. There seems to be no difference in gender. It just struck me as strange that people do this very common thing in such different ways. Why is this? I guess people learn from their parents and that the percentage of standers and sitters would remain relatively constant throughout generations. I didn’t research this it is just an idea.

I don’t know much about wiping habits of others and I don’t particularly wish to discuss my wiping habits. I don’t want to read comments about peoples wiping habits. I assume most people feel the same way. I guess the question then becomes why did I post about it? That would be a valid question. The answer is simply that it was on my mind and I didn’t know what else to write about. Plus, it’s yet another thing that I believe is learned at home and that impacts the life of a person. And maybe, just maybe, someone will know actual real facts about the subject.

1. Close my eyes/ feel me now/ I don’t know how you could not love me now

2. Elephant wields the rod/ While the donkey throws you the bone/ I'd rather have a bone than a beating I suppose/ Either way still the dog

3. Silver birch against a Swedish sky/ The singer in the band made me want to cry/ We're all inside our own heads now/ We are leaving new friends/ We are leaving this town

4. When I had you to myself/ I didn’t want you around/ Those pretty faces always made you stand out in a crowd

5. So they say I was sometimes cruel/ I don’t know if I would say that too/ oh I/ I don’t know about thaT

GENERATION SKIPPED

Writing about my mix and seeing people’s responses made me think about the kind of music I like and why I like it (other than the fact that it is awesome). I learned a lot about music from my parents. This has led me to assume that many people are influenced greatly by their parent’s musical tastes which are, in turn, influenced by their parent’s musical taste and so on and so forth in perpetuity. Therefore, I wonder, does music skip a generation?

I also assume (erroneously but not entirely so) that musical taste solidifies between the formative years that I will label as being between the ages of sixteen and twenty. Granted, there will be much loved bands that come into ones life after that age but I postulate that the new bands will not greatly contradict the sensibilities of the aforementioned formative bands.

Now, I don’t know exactly how old my parents are. I am ashamed to admit this because they both read this blog and I have seriously condemned myself. You would think I could just figure it out based on the years they were born but as I do not know those either I am screwed. I do know, however, what their birthdays are and approximately when their anniversary is and that I love them very much so they’ll have to just accept that. I’ll just say they are in their early to mid 50s and were, therefore, born in the mid to late 50s meaning their formative musical years were in the late 60s and early 70s, which was arguably one of the greatest times for music ever.

I love music from that era. The kids I grew up with loved music from that era. My current friends love music from that era. Naturally, I assumed that everyone loved music from that era. However, while having a conversation with one of my student workers I found out that I was mistaken. My student did not love music from that era. What was even more shocking to me was that the student knew next to nothing about music from that era. I mentioned a bunch of big name groups to get some kind of reaction; The Beatles, Hendrix, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin (who i never heard in my house but many of my peers heard in theirs), various Motown groups…you know the stuff. The thing is that this student didn’t. All he could say was “I’ve heard of some of them but I don’t really know any of their music”.

I love my student workers, every last one of them, but I didn’t know what to say. I felt like there was a huge chasm that had suddenly formed between us. How can you not know what Hendrix played? What do you mean you have never heard The White Album? You can imagine how I kept trying to find things they knew and continued to fail. It made me wonder if I was a total freak. I decided that was not the case and there had to be another reason.

I know people have children at all different ages. According to the most recent data I could find in one quick Google search 25 is the average age for a first time parent (2004) and that was a high. Since I’m talking about people who are currently 18-22 and were born in the late 80s (gosh that makes me feel old) I’m guessing the average age of their parent was about 23, just cause. That means they were born between 63 and 67 making their musical formative years fall in the early to mid 80s and they are now in their early to mid forties. Therefore these kids grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, and the like. My students knew who all those people were. They also didn’t know jack about early 90s music. They were too young to really care and it either didn’t jive with the formative sensibilities of their 80s entrenched parents. Thus, i have proved that music skips a generation.

I realize that this proof is full of assumptions and holes but what do you expect from a blog post? I’m not saying my students can’t appreciate the music my folks taught me to love. They just haven’t had the chance to be exposed to it. Now that they know me (and I have music in my office all the time) they have a better chance of expanding their musical knowledge and I am doing my best to make sure that it happens.

1. Close my eyes/ feel me now/ I don’t know how you could not love me now

2. Elephant wields the rod/ While the donkey throws you the bone/ I'd rather have a bone than a beating I suppose/ Either way still the dog

3. Silver birch against a Swedish sky/ The singer in the band made me want to cry/ We're all inside our own heads now/ We are leaving new friends/ We are leaving this town

4. When I had you to myself/ I didn’t want you around/ Those pretty faces always made you stand out in a crowd

5. So they say I was sometimes cruel/ I don’t know if I would say that too/ oh I/ I don’t know about that

TOMORROW I'L BE SINGING

Tomorrow is the night. Monica, Tony, and I will be heading downtown to experience the wonder that is Jesus Christ Superstar. We are going on opening night. I always wonder about attending the opening of a show. Part of me feels that they are going to go out there and give it their all but another side wonders if they may not yet feel quite at home and, therefore, suck a little. No matter, even if the show were to suck it couldn’t help but be awesome. It will be hard to contain myself and not belt out songs. I think it might be a little inappropriate in a theater. This isn't movies in the park.

Let me tell you a little about why I love this show.

1. The music

Tony once told me that while in Texas he asked his friend Matt what Jesus Christ Superstar was. Mat replied, “it’s Jesus but funky.” He couldn’t be more right. This music is FUNKY. You just want to get up and dance and I am so curious to see the dancing that is going to happen tomorrow night.

2. The history

When I was young I didn’t go to church, synagogue, temple, ashram, or any other edifice of religiosity. I was somewhat curious about religion because I was a curious child and a while lot of people seemed to put a lot of stock in it. All the questions I had were answered by my parents to the best of their ability and I considered myself rather well informed.

One day, while looking through my parent’s records I came upon a double album containing the London cast recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. I figured the title was pretty interesting so I put it on. Need I remind you that it was FUNKY? I think not. So I sat there and listened to the music with the liner notes in hand reading along and learning the story. I think that experience was my first real exposure to the story of the final days of Jesus. Because of this musical being my teacher I was very confused when I heard that Judas was considered to be the worst of all worst people. His character in the play is very sympathetic and he totally has the best songs. Jesus is a little whiny. These facts may be why the musical was controversial.

Later in life I read the Bible and was pleasantly surprised to find bits and pieces of the words from JC Superstar dispersed throughout. I felt pretty good about the fact that the play was nice and true to the text…ish

3. The clothes

Now, since my only seeing of this show has been through the 1973 Norman Jewison film that is my only concept of the clothes. However, anytime Roman guards look like village people, King Herod appears to be a coked out movie producer, and Jesus and pals are total hippies I can’t help but love it.

4. The music

Yeah I know I covered this already but really, this stuff is FUNKY

I can’t wait.

1. Dear I thought I'd drop a line/ The weather's cool/ The folks are fine/ I'm in bed each night by nine

2. Sitting down by my window/ Looking at the rain/ Sitting down my window/ All around I felt it/ All I could see was the rain

3. Cato play with my head/ I won’t know the difference/ if we’re living in the novelist/ or statistician/ Oh oh oh. Cato As A Pun, of Montreal. Identified by Monica

4. See the storm set in your eyes/ See the torn twist in your side/ I wait for you. With or Without You, U2. Identified by, Danielle

5. I’m a poor boy born in a rut/ Some say my manners aren’t the best/ Some of my friends have been in a whole lot of trouble/ Some say I’m no better than the rest

DANG THAT LOOKS GOOD

I gave my first Financial Fitness workshop today and it went just swimmingly. I had seven people initially sign up and Brenda got three emails saying people canceled but three came so I was happy. I hear we have a 50% show rate anyway so I was only expecting three. I had some very minor technical glitches but nothing that disrupted the presentation as a whole.

Glitch 1. To get the presentations on the computer that hooks up to the projector you have to email them to yourself then download them onto that computer. I did this with no problem. However, I neglected to close out my email when I was done. Therefore, every time I got a new email during the presentation a window would pop up that said “you have new mail”. It would go away after a few seconds but it was slightly embarrassing.

Glitch 2. Not only did I not close out my email, I didn’t close out anything. Therefore, when I needed to go to a website during the presentation, I had to sift through all these mucky windows to get there. I thought it made me look a little technically incompetent. I also flubbed the should be seamless transition back into the slide show.

Glitch 3. This is actually not a glitch, I just thought it was. There is a remote thing by the computer that I assumed you were supposed to operate your presentation with. I couldn’t’ make it work so I operated the presentation by mouse. I guess that is just how it works.

Needless to say those errors are really minor. On a scale of 1-5 I received one 4 and two 5s for the presentation and two people said they planned to take action on what was discussed so that is a good thing. I was even able to answer all questions. Tomorrow’s presentation may be another story. While the material is easier only three people signed up. We’ll see what happens.

Although I haven’t had a Foodie Friday in some time, I thought now may be a good time for some foodie stuff. Why? Because Mom sent pictures from Christmas and that means you can see the Christmas Pizza. Yes, my family eats pizza for Christmas dinner. We never had a tradition and one year my sister said she wanted pizza and fudge. It stuck. Shoshana and her friend Will handled the crust, cheese grating (mozzarella, romano, provolone), and ingredient chopping while I made the sauces and picked ingredients. This year we made some beautiful pizzas.


Pesto
3 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cup + (or so) olive oil (add more if needed)
Squirt of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste (All this stuff is really to taste)

Toppings
Artichoke hearts
Spinach
Feta
Onion
Fresh Basil

The lemon juice was a totally new thing to my pesto making but it really hit the spot. I tasted it and thought it needed citrus but wasn’t sure but Shoshana suggested it and I knew she was right. It was delicious.


Red Sauce
1 big can of whole tomatoes drained
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
Dash sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings
Mushrooms
Onion
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Basil

I think we ended up adding some of the drained out tomato juice to the sauce for volume but you can’t blend it all together, then you don’t get the nice chunky quality.

1. When the Witch Doctor Life/ throws his silent bones/ some are crowned kings/ while others lose their thrones

2. Hot Cha where are you/ Everybody’s eyes are closed/ I can’t see why I miss you so/ So Hot Cha where are you. Hot Cha, They Might Be Giants. Identified by Monica

3. Little bag of bones been out all night/ Little bag of bones been out all night/ Can you hear him scratching at the screen door. Kitty, The Presidents of the United States of America, Identified by Jason.

4. On a rooftop in Brooklyn/ One in the morning. Watching the lights flash/ In Manhattan

5. Look on yonder misty mountain/ See the young monk meditating/ Rhododendron forest/ Over dusty hills I ask you. Epistle to Dippy, Donovan. Identified by Monica

SCRABBLE WITH MOM

I hadn’t planned to write between my last post and 2008 but since I have been home I have played two games of scrabble with my mother and I have won both of them. This is a virtually unheard of occurance. The first game was actually a blowout, 408-277. I scored 247 points in five turns, one of which I lost because I put up a totally made up word. If you are a scrabble player you know this is a rather awesome feat. The second game was a tight one. She was about to beat me, although not by more than 30 pts or so, when I got a seven letter word at a point where only three letters were left in the bag. She was still about ten points ahead and the last three letters that I picked were H, S, and Z. I took a deep breath and asked her if it was ok to play a word that I knew exised but was not in any of the dictonaries that we had. She agreed that if I was sure it was ok. She knows I am no cheat. So I played “za” with the Z on a double letter score, sending me over the edge. I ended with “his” on a double word sore for a final of 358-336. I also informed her that “qi” is now legal.

As I am sitting here in my parents room watching a Mingus DVD that my sister got for Christmas from her roommates I have no ipod and will not post any new songs.

1. Today was the day/ For dancing and for singing/ The birds in the trees/ And all the bells are ringing. Slide Show, by Travis.

2. My head’s been lying dormant like a sleepy little mouse/ What I have inside me it’s enough to fill a house. Swimming Pool, by Camera Obscura.

3. Repair the hull/ Replace the sail/ The monkey wrestles with the ghost. Sea Shanty, by Quasi.

4. City bird/ Haven’t you heard/ hasn’t anybody told you/ the city blocks can hold you/ Your place is in the sky how can I show you. City Bird, by Of Montreal.

5. A wanna be gangster thinking he’s a wise guy/ rob another bank he’s a sock em in the eye guy. If You Have to Ask, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Identified by, Jason.

IT'S ALMOST TIME

I finished all my x-mas shopping this morning. I even stayed under budget by a whopping $6.50. Everything is being shipped to my parent’s house because while my stuff is all guaranteed to arrive by Dec 24th, I will be leaving my home on the 21st so that would be no good. How glad am I that I didn’t wait until the shipping guarantee was about to expire. I was truly afraid that I was going to fall into that your stuff can’t be delivered on time so you will actually have to go to the store trap. I actually tried to go to the store yesterday for some things but even with a 30% discount stuff was cheaper online. Not a good sign for stores.

I am so excited to go home for the holidays and this next week will be a hard one. I have plenty to keep me busy at work but I am still yearning for my vacation. Tony and I will be apart yet again on x-mas day. I want to go home and he wants to go home and we haven’t figured out a way to compromise. We are toying with the idea of trying to do both next year. Who knows, it might work. Our next challenge is to find somewhere to eat for New Years. We better get on that stat. I am sure it will be hard to get a table anywhere. After dinner it will be all about Dave’s party, which probably means going out to the lake to look at “fireworks”. Should be fun.

1. We are two mariners/ Our ships sole survivors/ In this belly of a whale. _________, The Decemberists. Partially identified by Identified by Monica

2. I let the beast in too soon/I don't know how to live/ Without my hand on his throat/ I fight him always and still

3. Have mercy on me sir/ allow me to impose on you/ I have no place to stay/ And my bones are cold right through

4. Sleepwalking through the all night drugstore/ Baptized in fluorescent light/ I found religion in the greeting card aisle/ And now I know Hallmark was right.

5. Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as /parklife/And morning soup can be avoided if you take a route straight through what is known as/ parklife

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEAD

I write about a lot of things on this blog but have noticed that in the 252 posts I have only mentioned my sister, Shoshana, in seven of them. I find that to be very odd. Maybe it is because I am so protective of her that I don’t want to put Shoshana stuff out there for everyone to see. Maybe it is just because when we talk it is often in code and doesn’t make sense to other people. Either way, I think today is a good time to talk about her because today she is one quarter of a century old.

I remember running down the hall when she was being born. I remember holding her afterward and just being amazed at how much she was like me. I don’t remember the actual birth, it was probably too gross to remember or maybe I wasn’t in the room for that part.

She was a horrible baby. She was huge and mean and would push me off our mother’s lap when we were both trying to sit on it. I still loved her though. She got better as she got older, more fun to play with and easier to push back. You can’t go around pushing a baby when you are three. It’s just not right. She had this impish quality to her face and her eyes were always twinkling with mischievous intent. That quality hasn’t entirely left her. There is nothing quite as worrisome as Shoshana with a glint in her eye and a cackle on her lips. It means she will probably want me to do something. Or else that she just farted. She loves farting and general crass behavior but I don’t think she realizes that most people don’t. A weird one is that Shoshana.

She is the only extrovert in a family of introverts and sometimes that makes her incredibly annoying. She has these urges to go out and do things and has the energy of a ten year old. I would rather sit on my ass most of the time. I will say, however, that when I go to visit her she brings out the doer in me and when she comes to visit me I bring out the sitting on the couch and watching TV in her.

Some of my favorite Shoshana memories were while we were on summer vacations. We would watch MTV and The Box for hours and hours. We would play games and run around the yard. I would cook burritos for us for lunch. I would try desperately to make home friend potatoes but didn’t quite understand how long a potato had to cook and over what heat. I always made her eat what I made. I got better. Those were the days. There were also the days years later when I would come home form college and pass out in bed only to awaken to her snuggled up next to me. It creeped me out and I wanted to kick her but Shoshana has never been one to go light on the affection and I knew she just missed me.

We were always very close, even when fighting. We could always count on each other for some good game playing or Lego building. If I wanted to play Lego tomorrow she would be the first one I would think of. Unfortunately, she lives across the country and I don’t get the chance very often.

For her age, Shoshana has done quite a bit. I usually don’t think of her achievements as all that special because she’s my stupid little sister and so what. She has taught High School, worked as a community organizer, designed a new High School that opened in The Bronx, and most recently up and moved to LA to join Americorp and work with Habitat for Humanity. She’s made a difference to so many people in her life and is working on influencing more. She may even become a firefighter. I still can’t keep a straight face when I think of that prospect but if it is what she really wants I am sure she will make it happen. That’s the kind of kid she is. I’m proud of her. Even though I rarely say it I hope she always knows.

1. If this world were mine/ I would place at your feet/ all that I own/ You’ve been so good to me
2. I prayed to/ Heaven today/ Bring its hammer down on me/ And pound you out of my head/ I can’t think with you in there

3. I spend the afternoon in cars/ I sit in traffic jams for hours/ Don’t push me I am not ok

4. Fish heads/ Fish Heads/ Rolly polly fish heads/ Eat them up yum. Fishheads, Barnes and Barnes. Identified by Johnny Yen.

5. I am intrinsically no good/ I have a heart that’s made of wood/ And I am only biding time/ Only reciting memorized lines. The Hem Of Your Garment, Cake. Identified by Brooke.

FROM ABOVE YOU IT DEVOURS

This morning I hopped out of bed, donned a robe, and stepped into the hallway. I was immediately greeted with a horrific thought. Winter is almost here. I know, I know, it is technically quite a way off and there is an entire season called fall before winter truly arrives. Regardless, I felt the biting sting of cold on my face, fingers, and feet and all I wanted to do was to crawl back into bed and cry.

It has been a really nice summer. I have enjoyed wonderful weather, most of it not annoyingly hot. I have had nice vacations and plenty of in the city fun. It has very likely been one of the better summers I have had in some time. Maybe that is the reason that I am so reluctant for it to end. It has simply been too nice. Maybe I have an even nicer fall and a stupendous winter ahead of me. I just don’t know. All I know was that it was cold. Like up at the cabin without proper clothing cold. Boo.

According to the seven-day forecast, there isn’t a single day about 70 in sight. I know it is September and I know I live in Chicago but it still doesn’t seem right. Why is it that 60 degree weather as we ease into fall feels so incredibly warm but as we leave summer it is so gosh darned cold.

On a happier note, I have decided to go to my High School reunion on the 22th. I am still a little mad at them that it is on Yom Kippur but oh well. I told the planning people very early on that I thought that was very rude being the highest of the High Holy days and all. They didn’t seem to care although someone did mention that they would bring it up to the planning committee. Such a thing would never happen in New York. Unfortunately, Tony won’t be coming with me. I would have liked to see him by my side but it just isn’t practical financially and it is a lot of family time all at once. Tony loves my family very much but they aren’t his family and three visits in a month is a lot for him. He also could care less about meeting people I went to high school with. I guess it is just that insecure teenage girl in me that wants to have a boyfriend. What a lame I am. I’ll be meeting up with some good friends beforehand for dinner and in all honesty hearing they were going to be getting together and them saying how great it would be if I came was my main motivation. We’ll see how it goes.

1. In one hand dreams a plenty/ In her smile a secret spell. In her blood disappointments/ These she knows oh too well.

2. I rap for listeners/ Bluntheads, fly ladies, and prisoners/ Hennessey holders and old school niggas then I’ll be dissin/ an unofficial that smoke woolie Thai/ I dropped out of Cooley High

3. It’s too good/ It’s too nice/ She makes me fingers too quick/ Is it love/ No not love/ She turns my sexual tricks

4. I miss you/ But I haven’t met you yet/ So special/ But it hasn’t happened yet

And a special song just for the birthday girl, FRIEND, Happy Birthday Friend! No one but Friend is allowed to name this song even if they know it and they really want to.

5. Now I’m just average common too/ I’m just like him the same as you/ I’m everybody’s brother and son/ I ain’t different than anyone/ Ain’t no use in talking to me/ Just the same as talking to you

BACK TO IT

Things seem to finally be getting back to normal. After my planned vacation I returned to work to hear that I was getting an unplanned vacation because the new office building we were moving into wasn’t ready. We were given three days off and asked to report in Friday the 31st at the new location. On Friday we worked for about half the day because things still weren’t really ready to go. When I came back to the office today I still had no power and no phone at my workstation.

Notice how I said workstation and not office? That is because I no longer have an office. Despite constant reassurances and the fact that my office was on the floor plan it no longer exists because there wasn’t room for it. There are, however, about 8 storage rooms and one empty office. The empty office is, I believe, an overflow area for the executive team to work in when their offices, the board room, and the executive work area just aren’t doing it. When I complained about this in an angry email I got called into the Deputy Director’s office and was told I was unprofessional. Huh. I would have thought it was unprofessional to neglect to tell an employee that they no longer have an office and let them find out when they go to tour the new facility, but maybe I am wrong.

When I came in this morning there was still no power and no phone. I helped unpack some other rooms and sat around until about 12:30 when I left with a co-worker for a nice long lunch. When I got back both the phone and the computer were on. Hooray. That means I can get back to the important things like my job and my blog. I start teaching my Customer Service class again next week. That should be awesome.

Over the holiday weekend my parents were in town for the Chicago Jazz fest. It was a great time. While they were here we listened to good music and ate good food. In fact, we even hit up The Gage where Johnny Yen works but I didn’t see anyone there that looked like him. The food was just as awesome as he says it is on his blog. YUM. It was so great to have them here, even though I just saw them the other week in Minneapolis. I love those guys.

At Jazz fest there were a couple of jerks and I love to talk about jerks on my blog. Jerk #1 was the no smoking lady. While I am a huge supporter of no smoking in areas where there are no smoking signs or where it is socially expected that no one light up, I am not a huge supporter of asking people not to smoke when there are none of those things going on; like at a free outdoor concert in the park. She first turned to some young folk and held up a fake cigarette to her lips while giving them a disapproving wag of the finger. It wasn’t just what she was doing but the way in which she was doing it that made me want to die. After they put their cigarettes out (nice kids because if it was certain folk I know they would have blown smoke in her face or used her head for an ashtray) she turned to a grown man a row in front of her. He looked at her like she had lost her mind so she went to security. The guard she approached was smoking, which was pretty funny. Although I couldn’t hear their conversation the security guard did a lot of shrugging and shaking her head while the lady waved her hands about and looked upset. On her way back the lady spoke to the smoking man again and he got up and left the seating area to finish his cigarette. This leaves me with a question, did she lie to the man or was he just fed up with her?

Then there was the self-important jerk sitting all alone in the row in front of my parents and I. This guy turned to some young people who appeared to be tourists from Japan who were sitting next to us and did the talking motion with his hands at them. They weren’t talking very loud because I couldn’t hear them and I was right there. In fact, my Mom and I had to be talking just as loud. He didn’t say anything to us though. Again, it is a free outdoor concert, get a life guy. Then some kids came and sat in the row in front of him despite the fact that he had five empty seats on one side of him and about seven on the other, he tapped one of the kids on the shoulder and asked if he would trade seats with his shorter friend so that this guy could see. The kicker is that they moved. Maybe I am an ass but I would have looked at him and said, “Why don’t you see if your view improves in one of the twelve empty seats surrounding you?” How rude.

To continue with things getting back to normal, here are some songs to guess.

1. I went all the way to Paris/ To forget your face/ Captured in stained glass/ Young lives long since past/ Statues of lovers everyplace

2. Tie yourself to me/ No one else knows/ You’re not rid of me/ No you’re not rid of me. Rid Of Me, PJ Harvey. Identified by Eve.

3. No you didn’t just leave/ I actually kicked you out/ I couldn’t hardly believe that the words came out my mouth. In The Way, Ani DiFranco. Identified by Brooke.

4. I don’t want to wait in vain for your love/ From the very first time I set my eyes on you girl/ My heart says follow through. Waiting in Vain, Bob Marley. Identified by Phil

5. Baby your magic is working/ I lose control of myself/ Whenever you are near me/ I feel myself changing/ From a guy thought too cynical for love into a hopeless romantic

BREAKFAST AT LYLE'S

After some wonderful sleeping I awoke to the most fabulous blueberry pancakes and scrambled tofu made by my wonderful Father. Awesome. We tooled around for a little while and then headed off to Liquor Lyle’s. There is no place like Lyle’s for early morning drinking. They have wonderful cheap two for one specials and honestly won’t make you just one drink. They also have great food and we got some broccoli tempura and guacamole for snacking.

After we had been at Lyle’s for a little while a man and a woman, whose names I can’t remember, came in. They loved Tony, Ryan, and I. Why they loved us I just don’t know but they really wanted to be friends. The woman was an ex Timberwolves cheerleader and she loved to clap loudly. What energy. We talked about Kevin Sorbo, Elvis, and anything else under the sun. As Tony and Ryan stepped outside for a smoke I chatted for a bit. They wanted to know who was single and I said that Ryan was. They mentioned that he had nice feet and that Tony seemed like a great guy to have. I agreed. They tried incredibly hard to get us to come to hidden beach with them. They made cheers and even got the bartender to talk to us and try to entice us to go. We were a little scared. I mean it’s nice to be befriended and all but they had just a little too much energy to be comfortable. They offered us beer and a great time but we were a little leery. Plus, we had to go to the Mall of America to get some mugs at Legoland. Our new “friends” thought that was an incredible lame idea, and it was. Yet, it wasn’t scary like the beach with a woman who has self professed man hands and her equally as overexcited friend.

The mall was brief. We got mugs, said fuck a lot in Legoland and then felt bad because of all the children, and looked around the former Camp Snoopy where the guys didn’t believe me that one of the rides got stuck for hours and people had to go to the hospital. They asked the cookie stand girl who confirmed it. Ha.

Then it was off to one of my favorite places in the city the hidden waterfall that Brooke and I “discovered” one day while walking in the woods around the Mississippi (see Tony and I below). We found a spot to sit, cracked open a cold one and communed with nature. We heard voices and were slightly scared that some lame people were going to come and ruin our tranquility. Ryan suggested that they were a preacher and an artist. We laughed. When they arrived we offered a beer and they accepted. It turns out that the artist was a comedian that travels around with the Renaissance Fair circuit and the Preacher was also a comedian but gets paid by people to rip on their friends. He conceded that in a way it was like speaking for a congregation. Nice going Ryan.
We then headed back to the house for an awesome BBQ mastered by my father. That guy sure can cook. Tony is still talking about the chicken he made. Cousin Molly and Aunt Naomi also stopped by and it was great to see them. To cap off the night we played a huge amount of God of War, a game I got my father for his birthday in January and he had not played for more than five minutes. We played for much longer. I guess all Dad needed was for someone to show him how it was done because by the time we got back from the cabin he had beat the game!

Vacation Day 2, done!