Sad Day

I'm kind of disappointed about this weekend. I was supposed to go camping with my Dad. We were going to go to this random place he accidentally stumbled on a while ago out in the middle of nowhere, southern Utah. He can't go now though because he messed up his back and... well he can barely walk for the pain. So he can't go.

Yeah, I can go without my Dad, but I don't want to go by myself. Besides it being more fun to hike/camp with a friend or two, it would be nice to have someone to split gas and fees and to entertain me during the long drive. Unfortunately, I don't have very many friends who are into the camping thing.

No, that's not true. I have tons of friends who are into "camping." That is, sitting around a campsite drinking beer. Good luck getting any of them to spend all day hiking. And that's what I want to do, so there are limited people to ask. All those people are busy this weekend, so I'm stuck with my disappointment.

Lost in Book Land

Now that my final in my Lit class is over, I'm indulging in some very silly novels. It's really fun to get swept away by a silly little plot and not worry about symbolism and theme and tone and all that Jazz. I'm almost ravenous for these silly little novels. And I'm going to enjoy being able to relax and read them for a while until I have to get back to serious reading for my summer classes.

I'm kinda feeling pensive tonight (and I just finished one book. I'll wait a while to start another), so I'm just going to keep adding to this post as things come to me.

Imagine if Jay Gatsby had been a woman. What with all the brooding, the excessive parties, the staring at the light across the river. She would have been considered obsessive and histrionic. Not that Gats is a particularly sound character... he gets away with it though (more or less) because he is a rich white male.

I kind of miss going to the opera. I had season tickets for two years in high school- I was able to get them really cheap. I enjoyed it very much. Since then I've only gone once. The last time I went to the opera I spent a lot more money than I could afford to get the tickets for my boyfriend at the time. They were a birthday present. He loved listening to opera music, but had never actually seen one. I thought it would be the perfect thing to get him, and I splurged to get decent seats. I was so excited about the gift, but his reaction was disappointing. Maybe it was my fault... isn't it supposed to be typical for guys to hate things like the opera? I really thought it was a wonderful thing to get him though. Those tickets are one entry on a long list of things I did for him with little or no thanks. The funny thing is, when we broke up he accused me of being ungrateful. He even said that he refrained from doing nice things for me because he didn't think I would appreciate them properly. ... Anyway, the opera was really good.

The conversations I have in my head always go smoother than when I try to have them with real people. Funny that.

Do you suppose Wagner is going through the after-life hitting himself in the head repeatedly every time someone plays Ride of the Valkyries because he knows at least half the people listening to it are singing along "kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit"?

It's odd; I don't have many favourites (it's better spelled the British way!). I don't have a favourite colour. I don't have a favourite fruit. No favourite band, flower, song, vegetable, number, movie, book, or animal. When I do settle on favourite, I seem to choose odd categories. I do have a favourite constellation, and a favourite composer (Corona Borealis and Beethoven, respectively). When asked what my favourites are though I respond with preferences based on phonetics. For example, I will tell you that my favourite colour is Vermillion, my favourite fruit? Kumquat. Veggie? Zucchini.

Struggles With Space-Time

Will someone please tell me how to make time stop for a few hours? There is too much I want to do today and not nearly enough time in which to do it. So, of course I am sacrificing the fun for the necessary. And I am being very unproductive and day-dreaming of the fun things while dallying through necessary things. Blah.

Quick Update

Because blogging is more fun than studying...

It's the end of the semester, and that means finals. The weekend and a good portion of today found me with my nose in a book (not always the same book) and have some more to do before I will feel really confident about the test I have tomorrow. But my brain needs a break right now.

I think I'm about due to give a State of the Universe (... that is, me) Address.

Thanks to a massive tax return and a decent cushion in my savings account, I managed to get by for an awfully long time after quitting Job-O'-Death. That money is now almost gone though, so it's a good thing that I have a new job. The job is for the county library... all of them. It's like temping, but just at libraries. Or, it's like being a substitute teacher, except I don't teach, I just work at libraries. When I've told people, they seem to feel sorry for me, like working at a library is something that no one would ever want to do. I don't care what people say though, I dig it. As you all know, I'm a book sort of gal. I love the library. So the way I see it, this job is just about as perfect for me as it gets.

Unfortunately, the training for this job goes on forever so I'm not going to get any kind of decent hours for another couple weeks. That means I wont get any kind of decent paycheck for a while. Oh well, somehow I'll manage to get by.

On the school front, classes are almost over, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post. I would be a lot more excited about that if I weren't taking classes through the summer too. But I will have a few weeks off, which will be very nice. Now that I mention it, I think I can register for Fall classes now... I should probably get on that.

On the romantic front.... Oh man, you don't want to know. Anyway, blogging about that kind of thing is dangerous. My love life is certainly not boring at the moment, and I'm enjoying myself. I guess that's all you really need to know.

I'm excited about the summer. I'm totally ready to go swimming, and eat peaches, and go biking, and dance outside, and go to the farmer's market, and go hiking, and drink iced tea. I'm hoping to get in a camping trip or two before it gets too hot. Speaking of hot, my apartment (which I still absolutely adore) does not have air conditioning. I'm not looking forward to inescapable hotness of the summer. But I guess it's a reasonable trade off for everything else that I am going to thoroughly enjoy.

I suppose I've wasted enough time by now. I must get back to academia. Wish me luck on finals!

Everybody Play The Game!

I don't really do the meme thing. But I stumbled upon this one (over at The Caffeinated Librarian) and thought it looked like fun. Maybe it will pull a few of my readers out of the shadows. It's interactive! It's fun! You know you want to play!

Teh Meme:

~Pick 15 of your favorite movies
~Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie (or quote them from memory because you are that awesome)
~Post them on your blog for everyone to guess
~Fill in the film title once it’s been guessed

Teh Rulez:

~No Googling or using IMDB (or other) search engines (Don’t cheat!)
~Leave your answer(s) in the comments.


Teh Quotes:

One: Benny and Joon (Shani)

They used to be fat and juicy and now they're twisted. They had their lives stolen. Well, they taste sweet, but really they're just humiliated grapes. I can't say I am a big supporter of the raisin council.

Two: Captain Blood (Rusty)

Nuttall, me lad, there's just one other little thing. Do you think you could find me a good stout piece of timber? About so thick and so long?

Yes, I think so

Then do so and lash it to your spine - it needs stiffening. Courage! We'll join you at midnight

Three: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Rusty)

Armed? What do you mean armed? Armed with what?

Err, bad breath, colorful language, feather duster... what do you think they're gonna be armed with? Guns, you tit!

Four: Princess Bride (Hang Time)

You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.

You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die.

Five:

What do they think I am? Dumb or something? Why, I make more money than - than - than Calvin Coolidge! Put together!

Six: Twelve Monkeys (Rusty)

There's the television. It's all right there - all right there. Look, listen, kneel, pray. Commercials! We're not productive anymore. We don't make things anymore. It's all automated. What are we *for* then? We're consumers, Jim. Yeah. Okay, okay. Buy a lot of stuff, you're a good citizen. But if you don't buy a lot of stuff, if you don't, what are you then, I ask you? What? Mentally *ill*. Fact, Jim, fact - if you don't buy things - toilet paper, new cars, computerized yo-yos, electrically-operated sexual devices, stereo systems with brain-implanted headphones, screwdrivers with miniature built-in radar devices, voice-activated computers...

Seven: Swing Kids (Fyffe)

No one who likes swing can become a Nazi.

Eight: Secretary (Aaron)

One scoop of creamed potatoes. A slice of butter. Four peas. And as much ice cream as you'd like to eat.

Nine: Night of the Hunter (Dad)

Leaning... leaning... safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning... leaning... leaning on the everlasting arms.

Ten: Serenity (Fyffe)

Goin' on a year now I ain't had nothin' twixt my nethers weren't run on batteries!

Eleven: Shaun of the Dead (Rusty)

As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he was talking about.

Twelve: 5th Element (Fyffe)

Are you classified as human?

Negative, I am a meat popsicle.

Thirteen: Space Balls (Aaron)

Evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

Fourteen: Fight Club (Hang Time)

I am Jack's inflamed sense of rejection.

Fifteen: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Fyffe)

And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this thy hand grenade, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths, and carp and anchovies, and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit-bats and large chu...

Skip a bit, Brother.

…And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.


Some of these I will be really surprised if people can get them. Some of them seem way too obvious- but those are the ones from movies that I've seen so many times that I can recite the whole damn thing. Oh well, have fun!

P.S. If you comment anonymously because you don't want to create a google account, which is totally allowed, you should leave your name (or some sort of identifying information) at the end of your comment so I can give you credit. I guess that's not really anonymous anymore, is it. But you totally want credit, right? I encourage you to use the Name/URL option if you don't have a google/blogger ID, because that's awesome and makes it easier for me to cyber-stalk you. Just kidding.

Today's Post Is Brought To You By The Letter R

... as in Ridiculous.

Ridiculous things are happening today.

I had computer training for my job today (at the library. I will tell you all about it one of these days). It was thrilling, let me tell you. It is nice/important/necessary for us new employees to know how to use the software so we can keep things running. It's kind of nice that there is actually a training class thing for this job. Most places I've worked just stick new people at a computer and you get to learn as you go. This sink or swim method works, but usually means that it takes forever to accomplish simple tasks. So training beforehand is a good thing. Todays training involved very useful things such as "double click to open the program" and "you can close by clicking on this x in the corner" and "this is your menu tool bar, where your menus are." I'm seriously not exaggerating. It was the most basic computer stuff that anyone who has ever used a computer must know already. It seemed completely ridiculous to be going over things so simple.

As ridiculous as that was, there were a couple people there who really needed to be taught those simplest of simple computer tasks. These people were... well, they were older than me, so I guess it could be a generational thing. I don't expect everyone to be a computer wiz or anything. And I acknowledge that it's easier for me, and my peers, and kids younger than me, to grasp new technology. After all, we've pretty much grown up with computers, so we're used to them. We take it for granted that everyone has a basic understanding of how they work. These ladies really didn't. Maybe they are complete technophobes who let their kids do all their computer stuff. I don't know. It seems like computers play such a huge role in almost everything people do these days, it's ridiculous that people don't know such basic, basic things about how use them. I don't mean anything against these people, really. It's just astonishing. I'm astonished.

After I learned how to shut down the computer by going to "start" then "turn off computer" I ventured out into the parking lot to find... Fucking Snow. It was so warm and sunny yesterday! This weather is ridiculous.

On my way home, Alanis Morissette's amazingly ridiculous song "Ironic" came on the radio. I listened to the whole thing and sang along with every word. Oh man, I haven't heard that song in ages. I bought Jagged Little Pill when it first came out and listened to it non-stop. Hey, I was in Jr. High, I was young and silly. It, like, totally spoke to me. I now look back and have to point and laugh at myself. That music (especially "Ironic") is pretty terrible. Oh well, I guess I have to still love it a little, if for no other reason but nostalgia.

Goddamn Right it's a Beautiful Day

We're finally having spring weather! After weeks of yucky cold rain and snow, this weekend was finally lovely and sunny. The temperature has slowly been climbing day by day until today - it's almost 80° out.

Naturally, I had to take advantage of the loveliness so I jumped on my bike this morning to do a "serious" ride. After all, I really need to get back into shape if I'm going to ride the MS 150 in June and not die. So I set out to do a fairly easy ride from my place to the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's about 27 miles all together, and the first ten miles are pretty much all uphill.

It was actually a really good ride. I am in better shape than I thought I would be. After all, I haven't done anything to keep in shape through the winter. But the hills (which are absolutely my weak point) weren't too bad. I think that all the dancing I've been doing probably helped. It's not much, but it certainly didn't hurt. Anyway, I was feeling good until I got to the top of the hills and turned south.

That's when it really hit me. The wind. A good strong 20 mph (or so) coming striaght at me. The stretch of the ride that goes south is usually a really nice bit. It's flat or gently downhill for a few miles and usually I can get going about 30 mph and maintain that just by peddling occasionally. It's a really nice run. Today, however, with the stupid wind, I was struggling to keep at 10-15 mph.

It seems kinda silly to talk about this in terms of speed, but it's the best way to illustrate what was going on. I have a cyclometer, so I can really quantify how much I was slowed down. Man, the wind really kicked my ass! Riding into a wind like that also really dries a person out. Since it's not that hot today, I would have expected to get through the whole ride with about half as much water as I ended up drinking.

Of course, the upside of a treacherous headwind is that it turns into a tailwind when you go the other way. My ride back was super easy. The wind practically blew me home.

I guess I didn't really make my ride sound all that fun. But believe me, it was. Even going into the wind, it was kinda nice. Just feels good to be back in the saddle. No, take that back, the saddle does not feel good at all. My butt hurts, I guess I have to get used to being on a bike seat for long periods of time again. Man.... But what I meant was that it felt really good to ride again. It's been a long off season, and yeah, I've gone on a few short rides this spring, but those hardly count. Plus today was really quite lovely. The sort of day that it's really a shame to be indoors.

Quicky

I fail at teh blogging this week. It's been a shittasic couple of days. I'll post about them later. In the mean time, here's a freaking awesome video for you:



And speaking of bikes. Go click on the thing on the sidebar about the MS 150. Thanks to Dave and Ali who already donated!

Meat Byproduct

It's Friday. Hooray. Let's Celebrate with Spam!





And of course, the python sketch. What spam day would be complete without it?

The Words That Are Coming Out of My Mouth

Hello my devoted readers! I have been absent for a while, and for that I apologize. Wait, no I don't. It's my blog, and I can post as often or as seldom as I choose. I haven't really been that busy or anything, just haven't been in the mood for blogging. I've been a little distracted, I guess. But I am back to it now (to riotous applause from the masses)!

Before I get into it, I would like to draw your attention to the side bar. You will notice that there is a thingy there asking for your money. I'll post about it in more detail later, but quickly now, I'm riding the MS 150 in June and could use your support. Check it out. Or ignore it for a while, I'll get into full fund-raising mode when it gets a little closer.

I've kind of been considering communication lately. I guess it's a subject that I've always been kind of interested in, especially the ways that modern technology effects the way we communicate. If you've been with me long enough, you might remember one or all, of my rants against text messaging. I'm still not thrilled with the technology, but I've kind of resigned myself to using it- just because it's either that or not really talk to several people who use it as their main way to communicate.

Lately, the epidemic seems to have gotten much worse. It seems like all the important/cataclysmic/interesting conversations I've had lately have either been via text message or in Instant Messenger. In one case (probably the most important conversation I've had with this medium), it was completely my fault that it wasn't in person, but every other instance has been on the other party.

I kind of feel cheated. There are three specific people I have in mind, and this sort of dynamic seems to play it out differently with each of them. Let's call them Larry, Moe and Curly. Larry and Curly are both text messaging fiends. Moe is more of an IM guy (and Moe reads this occasionally, and I bet he figures out who he is. Smart guy, that Moe. I wave to him right now. Hi "Moe")

I should say that all three stooges are fairly new friends of mine, so I guess I'm still in the stage of "getting to know" them. I met Moe back in November though, and now I have a fairly good idea of what kind of guy he is. But most of that is based on talking to him online. I don't really mind, it's the easiest way to talk to him. He's a busy guy and he lives, I would say, about 20 miles away. So I don't actually get to see him in person very often. So we talk on IM, and it's not so bad. He saved me from completely going postal at JobOfDeath. The thing is, hanging out with him in person, it kind of takes a while to get warmed up, or something. It's almost harder to innterract in real time because we spend most of our time talking online. It's not that bad, and it passes quickly, I guess. But it's kind of a weird nagging feeling I get when I see him. Of course, we've also done just about everything possible to make our relationship an awkward one, that certainly doesn't help. Moe is maybe not the best example of what I'm talking about really. But I couldn't just have two stooges, could I?

So, lets go on to Curly. Curly is a very new acquaintance. I met him a few weeks ago and have been "texting" (cringe... still can't stomach that word. It makes my skin crawl) back and forth. He is one of those people who spend all their time tapping out insipid little messages on their phone. Don't get me wrong, he's a decent guy, but his interpersonal relating could use some work. Hanging out with him in person, the conversation seem kind of stilted and awkward. All the pacing is off and it's not very engaging. Oh, and the other day, he actually called me! That was a disaster! I told him a while ago that I'm not a huge fan of the text messages, so I guess that's why he decided to call instead. I don't think I've ever had a more awkward phone conversation! I guess a basic principal of phone etiquette gets lost with text. Don't call if you don't have anything to say (it's super cool to sit on the phone not saying anything, oh wait, no it's not). If you send a text with nothing to say, it can easily be ignored. Real time conversations don't really work that way.

Larry is a shining example of how things can work well. He text messages just as much as Curly, but it doesn't have any kind of adverse effect on the way he actually interacts with people. He's a joy to be with in person and the text message conversations I've had with him are mostly just silliness (though there have been a few that were a little... weighty). The point is that he doesn't rely on typed technology to take care of all his communication needs.

Ok. I acknowledge that text-messaging etc is not entirely to blame for the way these guys act in person. Each of their personalities play a larger role than their chosen medium for communicating. But it's just an interesting thing to observe. They are each as good as the other when it comes to the short, written, back and forth. When it comes to real life interaction though, they are as different as... three completely different things.

Birds Do It, Bees Do It

This week spring seems to have finally really arrived. The last several days have been warm and sunny and absolutely lovely. Yesterday I managed to get out on my bike for more than the few blocks between my apartment and campus. I rode to class then my grandma's (she's out of town and I'm making sure her cats don't starve while she's gone) and back... all in all about 17 miles.

It was a beautiful day for riding. There was a little wind, which is never really fun, but otherwise it was perfect. It's really nice to get back on my bike. Really I need to get serious about riding again. I have two big rides in June I want to do and it's never too early to start getting in shape. Actually, I'm surprised I didn't lose more over the winter- I pretty much didn't do any riding or anything else to really help me stay in shape. Being back on my bike now is easier than I thought it would be. Maybe it's all the dancing I've been doing? I have no idea, but I'm not complaining.

My fun little ride ended rather tragically. First flat of the season. Blah. I had timed things so that I could ride home from Grandma's with about 20 minutes to clean up before I went to class. The flat kind of blew that for me. I actually called for a pick up because I didn't have time to fix the flat and get back home. While I was waiting for my ride, I patched my tube and had a major fight with my tire. I just put new tires on my bike and they are a bitch to get on and off- something that you need to do to fix a flat. Stupid tires.

Anyway, besides the lovely biking weather, spring is bringing good news on the employment front. I was offered a job at a credit union right by my house. It was a good, but kind of boring job, and I was supposed to be training for it this week. However, last week I landed a gig at the library (perfect for me, eh?) which is a much better fit for me. It's actually only part-time... sort of.

It's a sub job and there is a limit to the number of hours a year I can work. However, since I'm starting a few months into it, I can be working at least 30 hours a week for now and then I can cut back hours in the fall and go back to school full time. I basically get to create my own schedule - I pick which shifts I want to cover and how much/little I want to work. It does have it's downfalls though too: to really get a lot of hours, I'll have to go to libraries all over the valley, which means lots of drive time (but it could also mean long bike rides, which would be good!). But if the commuting sucks, this job is a great way to get into the system and makes it more likely that I will be hired at one of the branches if a permanent position opens up.

There's also a lot of training, which doesn't start until next week, and is only a couple days a week. So I'm not exactly going to be rolling in dough for a while. But that's ok. I actually haven't touched my savings since quiting DeathJob so I'll manage to get by for a little longer. My big money saving strategy: Start dating no fewer than 3 guys. They can pay for food and recreation so all I have to worry about is rent.

Just kidding. I wouldn't date someone just for their money.

La-Di-Freaking-Da

Guess what! I have a couch! My living room is functional and cohesive. I'm quite excited about it. After all, we've been living here for almost three months without a couch. But now it is here. Yay! It's very comfortable too. Double yay!

So that was part of my weekend. The most really exciting part, which is not to say the rest of the weekend was dull, but I was most excited about my couch. It may seem silly to be excited about a piece of furniture. No one ever accused me of being not silly.

I am going to have to have a very belated housewarming party or something now that we actually have a place for people to park their bums.

I Would Honestsly Wear A Shirt That Said That

Dino Comics are fun. This particular frame has always hit a chord with me.




So, the other day I was feeling crafty (or something like that) and this is the result:


Yep. I really am that cool.

R. I. P.

In case you haven't heard yet, Arthur C. Clarke has died. The guy was 90, and lived a good, long life.

I honestly don't spend a lot of time reading science fiction, but I have read a few of his books. It's a shame to loose such an author. So take a moment out of your day to reflect on this loss.

Here's a scene from 2001: Space Odyssey. If you haven't read the book, you probably should.

Happy Irish Day!

Huzzah for St Patrick! But first....

I'm sure many of you have heard that the "Spam King" has plead guilty to a bunch of charges. The story itself is not that interesting, until they get to the part where he's broke. So he has to pay restitution somehow. Instead of money he has to pay with stuff. This is the best part:

Among the assets Soloway agrees might be subject to forfeiture are 24 pairs of sunglasses worth $3,724*

That made me laugh. Those of you who know me, or at least have seen my room, might know why. A normal person might think, upon reading that, "who in their right mind would have that many sunglasses?"

I thought "really? only 24?"

Actually, I only have 21. I had 27, but got rid of several pairs when I moved. After all, 27 pairs of sunglasses, that's a little excessive. You don't believe me? Hold on, let me grab my camera.


Yes, those really are all mine. If you don't believe me, look closer. You can see my reflection in a few of the lenses. I'm pretty sure they are not worth anywhere near $3,724 - With one exception, I haven't paid more than $15 for any of them. The exception is the pair I have for biking, that cost me $30.

Now back to St Patty's Day. Wear green! Get drunk! Rid your country of snakes! Find gold at the ends of rainbows! Beware leprechauns, they're tricky little devils. Cheers mate!




*from Seattle Pi, which was the first result I got when I asked google about it. I heard the story, and about the sunglasses, this morning on NPR.

3.14159265

By the way,

Happy Pi Day!















See, cuz today is 3.14... The date... with the numbers...it's pi... rounded to 3 significant.... yeah.

Sha Na Na

Happy Friday kids!

Today is my last day of unemployment. Aren't we excited? Yes we are. Kind of. I guess the money thing is kind of important, but I'm going to miss having nothing but time on my hands. Today, for instance, I didn't wake up until 10, but I stayed in bed reading until I finished my book. I ate lunch and am now simply lounging around the apartment. This, my friends, is the good life. Sadly, it can't last.

Anyway, today is a lovely Friday, which is the best day of the week because it is full of hope and it starts off the weekend. My weekend is going to be super fun and super busy. I hope yours is at least the former, if not the latter. To kick it off, I leave you with something to make you laugh. Jeff Dunham is brilliant!

Me = Winner!

Check it out, bitches! I won an award! That's right, you are now reading my award winning blog of awesome!

Aw, man, now I almost feel obligated to actually blog something worth reading. Or not. After all, it was just my odd little ramblings that got me the award in the first place.

I would like to thank all the little people who supported me on the way up. And my three loyal readers who never gave up on me. And I would like to thank Baby Dinosaur Jesus and the Flying Spaghetti Monster and any other false idols you can think of.

And finally: Look, It's a spade!

Friday to End All Fridays

Ok, so not really, that amazing a Friday. Today is actually kind of anti-eventful. I slept in, cleaned my room and dusted my floor. Wow! I may or may not go out dancing tonight. I'm kind of apathetic about the idea. I'm sure I'd have fun once I got there, but I'm not really finding the motivation.

Yesterday was fun. The weather was sunny and almost warm so I took the bus to my parent's house and picked up my bike. It was awesome to ride again, even though I didn't go very far- just back to campus and then, much later, home. I was hoping that the weather would stay nice this weekend, but it's not looking very promising. This makes me a sad panda.


Moving on!

Have you heard? There's going to be a Monopoly movie. I shit you not. Hollywood is really strapped for ideas, apparently. Cracked-dot-com made a fun list of 30 things that should never ever become movies. I found it very funny. But you KNOW that some of these will probably, someday, in the not necessarily distant future, be done. And we will be able to thank Cracked for giving Hollywood the ideas.

I am now officially giving up on being at all entertaining today. Sorry. Tune in next time, I'll do better.

What's In A Name

Interesting news on the Wegener's front. Not that any of you really follow the subject, but recently information has come out that Dr. Wegener was a Nazi. That sucks. You can read the NY times article here. Or you can just ask google about Wegener and Nazi.

Anyway, because the Nazis were mass murdering fuck heads, there's a movement to change the name of WG. I'm kind of indifferent on that front. It's still going to suck no matter what you call it. I don't feel any worse knowing that the dude it's named after was a bad guy. It's not going to make me feel any better if I have to start calling it something else. In fact, it's not going to affect me much at all.

Anyway, it looks like I may soon get to say I have "ANCA-associated granulomatous vasculitis." Because people don't scratch their heads and say "huh?" when I tell them I have Wegener's granulomatosis; a more complicated name is definitely what this disease needs. And dammit, I'll have to change the tags on all my WG related posts. Stupid Nazis.

Marching In

Hooray! It's March! That means warmer weather (right?). And that means time to get out on my bike again.

I actually spent a few hours on Saturday fixing up my bikes. Bike1 got new tires, some truing (I actually am just learning how to do that) and a spiffy new rack. It was actually in decent shape to start out, except for the tires. Frankenbike (the fixed gear) needed a little more work. I got to mess with the chain and fiddle with the seat plus the usual fiddling with things and cleaning, you know, like you do. Both are ready to be ridden now though, I am pretty psyched about it.

Saturday afternoon it snowed. Aaron, I know you read this and will probably give me shit for not being an all weather biker. And, it's true, I had great plans to ride through the winter. But I am kind of a wuss and like it to be sunny and fine when I'm on my bike, or at least not freezing and snowy. Plus, it's been kinda windy. Wind= scowling frowny face. Hopefully things will turn (and stay) happy and warm soon.

In other news, I'm still searching for new employment. I haven't heard from the place I interviewed at last week. I had an interview at the library today, but there's a sub who's applying for that job and will probably get it. She's already trained and everything, so it makes sense. The hospital my dad works at is desperate for a PR assistant. I'm sending them my resume tomorrow. That could be a lot of fun because I would get to do a lot of traveling. I might have an edge there too because they all know me, and I'm a former patient.

In other other news (but actually kind of related to what I started with, thus bringing this post full circle. Aren't circles awesome?), my buddy Aaron (he's popular in my blog today) wants to arrange a cross-country bike ride to raise funds and awareness for Wegener's. How groovy is that? Of course, he's not allowed to do this without me. We're looking at next summer (2009). There is a lot to do, so anyone interested in helping out will be loved forever and ever.

Red Fish Blue Fish

My friend Val says I should blog about sushi today. Specifically, this sushi buffet we all went to in Las Vegas. It was pretty heavenly. The sushi itself was quite scrumptious, and for $15 we all stuffed our bellies full of as much raw fish as we could possibly handle. Val's very excited about it because she gets to go back in April.

It would be neat to have something like that here in SLC. We have some nice sushi places, in fact, a revolving sushi bar just opened, and it's kind of the coolest thing ever. But to really stuff yourself to the point of being uncomfortable anywhere you have to spend at least $40.

That's pretty much all I have to say about sushi. But that's what Val said I should blog about. I will leave you with this:

CANDY SUSHI!!!!!

Irrelevant Title

I kind of feel like my brain has been wrapped in cotton. It's the fault of this cold that showed up on Thursday... well, Wednesday night really. Pretty sure it's the same cold that everyone and their mother has had the last few weeks. And what a joy it is. It seems to be getting better though. I'm not coughing as much today, and things (yucky cold things, like mucus... eeeeew) seem to be draining out of me at a promising rate. I've been drinking an epic shit ton of fluids (mostly tea) and generally taking things easy. This is actually the first weekend in a long time that I haven't gone out, it's been kind of nice. Relaxing.

I was inspired by a post over at Caffeinated Librarian to get this book from the library. Not because I need dating advice, or that I think Austen is the best source for modern romantic advice (though, looking through the book, it does give kind of an interesting perspective). I got the book because it has a quiz at the back to determine which Austen woman you are. And really, who doesn't want to know that?

Arrakis and I both took it. Despite having different answers for almost every question, we both turned out to be Elizabeth Bennets. I have no problem with that. Really, who wouldn't want to be Elizabeth? She's charming, clever, fun-loving, and several other admirable qualities. She's almost certainly the most beloved Austen character.

I was just barely Elizabeth, actually. I was one point away from Mary Crawford who is described in the book as "bitchy, clever and cynical." Gosh. That sure doesn't describe me at all. *wink*

I actually think the quiz is pretty accurate. I can certainly see myself as a weird mix of Lizzy and Mary. Of course, the Elizabeth side is the one that should be nurtured. After all, Mary is almost the villain of Mansfield Park. And though she is pretty and clever, she's just not a very good person.

At least I didn't turn out to be Emma. Or Fanny.

Violet Sky

I am officially unemployed! Woooooooo
Good riddance to Job-From-Hell!

To celebrate, I went shopping for a Little Black Dress- because every girl needs a perfect little black dress. I failed to find one (well, I found plenty of black dresses, but none perfect). There is still time though. After all, a LBD is kind of just a wardrobe staple, and can be acquired at any time. I would like one by the end of the month though, because I will have a few occasions for a little black dress in March.

I am now home fairly early for a Friday night. Drinking tea and preparing for bed. I seem to be coming down with something (which will make my doctors appointment next week more or less useless. Odd, eh?). I've had a terrible cough all day yesterday and today, and my voice has been more or less absent. I feel pretty fine otherwise, but I'm sort of tired now tonight. A good night's sleep is certainly not going to hurt anything. Hey, at least I wont miss work though, because I have no work to miss!

Hopefully I will get a new job soon though so I can have money and stuff.

In other news, remember Thing 1 and Thing 2? Well, things have gotten very interesting with both of them. Part of me is highly amused with it all, but part of me is very wary about it. If things weren't happening to me personally, it would all be a very fascinating and absorbing story. As it is, I think it may be somewhat dangerous. I wont say any more about it though, especially since Thing 1 figured out that he is Thing 1 (it was almost as humiliating as I expected it might be) and so I shouldn't say too much.

It's Lunacy I Tell You!

I need everyone to please cross their fingers for me. I want tomorrow night to be clear and not (as the silly meteorologists are predicting) cloudy and nasty. Why? Well, there is a total Lunar Eclipse tomorrow and I'm throwing an eclipse party. If there is no eclipse (of course the eclipse will be there whether or not we can see it) there can't really be a party, can there? I guess there could be. I'll have to confer with the owner of the house at which the eclipse is(/was?) to be viewed.

In other news, this week I'm burning vacation time. So I guess my countdown timer is a bit off. Time zero will be when I'm officially off the payroll. But I'm not actually working this week, and I'm getting paid to do it. How awesome is that?

It's amazing how much I have put off because I haven't had any time, so even though I'm not working, I'm managing to stay pretty busy. *sigh* and here I had hoped that I would be able to sit around all week and read. I hoped to at least finish the book I'm reading now and read the two Austen novels I haven't read before. Oh well, we'll see. And there's next week too, probably. I do have a second interview tomorrow. If things go right, I may not be unemployed for very long. That's obviously a good thing, but I mourn my slacker time.

For those of you who read this and aren't stuck in this here city, if it's not cloudy where you are, go look at the moon tomorrow night and think of me!

Unfortunate Events

I almost spent Sunday afternoon at the emergency room. My nose was bleeding for at least 45 minutes and wouldn't stop. I was actually about half way to the hospital when it stopped.

A nosebleed like that is never a wonderful thing. But, of course, there is a whole other level of scary for me. After all, killer bleeds were the most obvious symptom I had when I was diagnosed with Wegener's. So that's something I have to consider now. I talked to my doctor when I was on my way to the ER and he's not that worried. But I still have to go in for the barrage of tests.

I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. I haven't had any other symptoms... I think. I have to be optimistic about it until I know for sure. If I really freak out about it, I'm bound to drive myself nuts. I could easily go into hypochondriac mode and... well, it's not a fun place to be.

Anyway, cross your fingers for me for a little while. Hopefully nothing will come of this.

Friday Afternoon Fun

BEEP! BEEP!

(that is the sound of my blog horn.)

I'm All A Twitter.

I don't twitter, but I know people who do.

The concept appeals to the narcissist in me. It amuses me to think that friends etc could know what I am doing at any given time (in 140 characters or less). I know that if I started doing it, I would update frequently and it would be interesting to me and maybe whoever is completely obsessed with me to the point that he (I would hope it's a he, because, well... just because) has an alter set up in his basement. He would, of course, add a screen of my twitter updates so he could sit there watching it and know what I am doing at any given moment.

I am totally creeped out by my own imagination.

I would also be very tempted to take my twitters (is that what you call them) and use them to write my own Ulysses. Mine wouldn't be called Ulysses though. And I would not stuff it full of symbolism. I would try to make it sort of humorous too. And I will have no sentences that go on for more than 2 or 3 pages. God, I dislike James Joyce.

I haven't read Ulysses, but I know people who have.

I Less Than Three You!!!

It's February 14th again! Time for the stupidest holiday ever invented. And don't you people go off and say that I'm just bitter because I'm single and no girl really hates valtentines and all it intales, as long as she has a special someone to share it with. It simply isn't true. I'm glad I'm free of all expectation and bull-shit that comes with spending today with a "special someone."

I'm absolutely not bitter because I'm single. I like being single. (I can see all you v-day people rolling your eyes and saying "aww that's so cute, she's trying to be strong, but deep down, I can tell she's hurting." You should all be shot) I absolutely dread somebody making some big romantic gesture for me today. I'll accept big romantic gestures almost any other day of the year, but today it becomes less romantic and more annoying. Plus, I'd have to question their true motivation. V-day makes everyone desperate to be with someone. I roll my eyes at the whole concept. As I've said many times before, there is nothing LESS romantic than a day set aside for romance.

So happy Thursday! Here's some fun stuff from the internets to entertain you. Maybe they'll even make you glad you're single (if you are).

First, a friend of mine has written a Valentine's Survival Guide which kind of made me laugh. I am totally failing at following any of the steps though. Oh well. It may not be too late for you!

How about a little movie? It has nothing to do with the holiday, but it sure is fun. Enjoy watching it. Maybe even watch it twice to be sure you didn't miss any of the many nuances.

If you bought your sweetheart any of these, you might be a dumbass.

One of the greatest love stories of all time is The Princess Bride, right? (I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at the ROUS part. Explore that site a little, it's kinda fun)



Ok, well enjoy your day! What? What's that? What am I doing tonight? Would I like to have a lovely and romantic candlelight dinner with you? Hell No! Erm, I mean, sorry, I already have plans!

<3

Trees vs Solar Power

This morning while I was getting ready for work I heard an interesting story on NPR. Basically, in California somewhere, some guy asked his neighbor to cut down his trees because they were shading the solar panels in his back yard.

What's really wonderful is that there is a law in CA that says the neighbor with the trees has to do it.

Apparently, solar-guy put his panels in after tree-guy had planted 5 redwood trees in his yard. Most of solar-guy's panels are high enough that they aren't really affected by the trees, but there are some in his yard that are shaded now that the trees are 30 some-odd feet tall. But legally tree-guy has to cut down two of his trees.

Something about the whole situation has me scratching my head. It's not the law that Cali has, though it is kind of odd. If you are setting up your home to run on solar energy, you're obviously concerned about the environment, right? So... last time I checked trees were good for the planet. Not only good, but kind of important for the whole producing oxygen and reducing greenhouse gasses thing. Unless you're doing solar because you're a tight-wad and don't want to pay for your power anymore, forcing your neighbor to cut down his trees is just a little contradictory.

It Is Done

Mark you calendar. We're celebrating February 22!

You're Gonna Make It After All

I am hopefully going to post something very exciting later today. Until then though, it's Friday! Bust out your bell-bottomed jumpsuit and throw your hat in the air, it's a celebration Mary Tyler Moore style!

Wish You Loved Your Job?

I've added something else to my list of why my job sucks (I didn't quit yet, by the way, though I sometimes have to wonder why). It inspires non-confidence. Today I had the very arduous task of updating the company phone directory because a bunch of the guys downstairs moved their offices and have new extensions. It's not a hard thing to do, really. I just, you know, talked to the guys downstairs and e-mailed an updated phone list to everyone. A few hours after I sent out the e-mail one of the structural engineers called me:

Are you sure [name deleted] is still at 216?
Yes
He's still at 216?
Yes
So they moved the number over there? ([name deleted] moved his office, and his extension moved with him])
Yes
So they have two phones over there now?
Yes
Are you sure?
No, even though I asked both [name deleted] and [other name deleted] about the extensions. You're probably right, it's probably wrong. In fact, I just made up a bunch of numbers for the whole phone list just to fuck with you. Why would I do this? Well, I'm either incredibly stupid or I'm making an artistic statement. But I don't really know. Maybe you should ask El Douche. He will be able to assure you of my inability to accomplish even the simplest of tasks.*

Did I mention that this engineer happens to be El Douche's boss? He's a nice enough guy, but I'm pretty sure that entire department has discussed my every (over-exaggerated) flaw. Thankfully, I think E.D. has mostly kept his opinions mostly to himself, but it's impossible for him to keep quiet about everything.

I get talked down to by a lot of people here actually. I don't know if it has anything to do with El Douche. Probably has more to do with my comply apathy toward the job and my lackluster effort to do anything. I also don't know how much of my unethusiasm is brought on by people treating me like I can't do anything well.

I'm inspired to live up to the expectation that I am completely incompetent. And I'm wondering if I am, perhaps, a little paranoid.

*not what I actually said, obviously. But, my god, it was tempting to respond with something snarky and sarcastic.

Super Duper

Hey Kids! Don't forget to go out and vote today! I like Obama, who do you like?



How 'bout now?

I actually don't expect to actually change anyone's mind about who they're going to vote for. I just think it's kind of a neat video. Hooray for political propaganda.

Bullets and Butterfly Wings

Occasionally I remember that the title of my blog says something about random thoughts. On those occasions, I like to be true to the title and share some of the chaotic spewage of my brain. Not that most of my thoughts that I share anyway are particularly non-random. Today, I'm going to share these random thoughts in a super special way: With a bulleted list! (Yay!)

• This morning I was hit by a sudden bout of disbelief that it is already February


• You may have noticed that the superbowl was last night. I kind of wanted the Patriots to win, but I was honestly not at all invested in the outcome of the game.


• The Utah Museum of Fine Arts had an exhibit of Andy Warhol screenprints that I really wanted to see. Too bad it ended last month. There is an abstract art exhibit now, but it's not the same. :(


• I did my taxes yesterday. woooo


• This week I'm going to start an IRA. Wow, I'm suddenly doing something responsible with my money. Even more impressive, I suddenly have money to do something impressive with (that's actually kind of debatable).


• Saturday night I completely forgot the word "philosophical." I started to say it and suddenly couldn't. It's one of those terms that I take for granted as always being there, ready to be used at any given time, so much so that I was utterly shocked when it became apparent that it had taken a vacation from my vocabulary. The shock did nothing to help me remember the adjective version of philosophy and I sat there bumbling until my friend told me what the word was.


• My "bucket list" for the day: buy milk, throw away the grossness in the fridge, clean the bathroom, make spaghetti sauce.


• Substituting "bucket" for "to do" is my new hobby.

Bucket Shmucket

What is with all the "bucket lists" that are showing up all over the webnets now?

Perhaps that's the wrong question to ask. I get that it's from that movie (that I don't want to see) where Jack Nicholson and Morgan Feeman play a couple of old dudes who are going to die so they do stuff. I can kind of see the appeal of thinking about what you want to do before you "kick the bucket." Is it some sort of viral marketing whatever for the movie? If it is, I still don't really want to see it.

What all these "bucket lists" really are (especially the "bucket list 2008 meme" which is a list of shit you want to get done in 2008) are cutesy new year's resolutions. I would be willing to bet most people will put off the things on their lists until they're much, much closer to dying than they are now. And maybe by then, they wont even really want to do some of the things anyway. Or they will have done them without the list in mind.

And if you finish your "bucket list" before you're 30, does that mean you can go ahead and die? Or do you have to start a new bucket list? If you keep starting new bucket lists, does that mean you can never die because you will have unfinished business still? I guess that wont really stop you from getting dead. So you'll end up as a ghost because you still haven't crossed off the last three things on your 14th bucket list. Oh No!

Forget the fucking lists people. Just live life as best you can. If the opportunity to do something amazing shows up, take advantage of that moment. Grab life by the balls and go for it. Who needs a list?

Remember Last Year

Silly Boston. Why is it that people are so quick to overreact?

Sense and Sensibility

It's been a long time since I read the book refrenced in this post's title, but the big theme of the novel is something that I seem to find worth contemplating today. That theme is the contrast between "sense" (logic, reason, level-headedness, rationality) and "sensibility" (emotion, feeling, sentimentality) in matters, mostly, of love. If I recall correctly, the two sisters start out each demonstrating one of the two qualities and throughout the course of the novel learn to find a balance between the two. The Sensible one becomes more sentimental and vice versa.

I wonder if re-reading the book would help me find that balance. I like to think I tend to be fairly sensible about things, but today I suddenly noticed that my affections have assigned themselves in the most irrational way possible.

Single as ever, I have a definite interest in two guys (we will call them Thing 1 and Thing 2), neither of which are at all realistic possibilities. I will try to expound without revealing too much. I don't want either of them to read this (which could easily happen because they are both friends and are therefore likely to be directed to and/or stumble on this blog, if they haven't already. Times like this I wish I knew exactly who reads me and how often) and figure out who I'm talking about. That would be really embarrassing.

Thing 1 is wonderful. He has just the kind of personality I like - he's well rounded, funny, flirtatious, outgoing, and just a little bit of a geek (sorry, but I'm a sucker for the dorks, mostly because I am one myself). I swear, I don't put him up on a pedestal, but gee-golly I sure do like him an awful lot. The problem (that makes me say, "why did you let yourself fall for him?") is that he has a girlfriend. Worse, he seems rather fond of her.

Thing 2 is actually mostly all wrong for me. He has two very attractive qualities; he's witty and he's flirtatious (I love to flirt, you kids who know me know that). I know that on any non-superficial level it would never ever work out with him. Still I find myself very flattered by his attention and I go out of my way to flirt with him. It's fun. Of course, when you flirt enough with a person, it's hard not to develop something related to romantic interest; the chemistry can be overwhelming sometimes. He is, to mix my Austen references, my Mr. Wickham; I am toying with the idea of falling in love with him, but it is really no more than a flirtation. Although, he's not a total skeeze like Wickham is. Thing 2 is actually very decent, just not at all right for me.

I guess Thing 1 would be sort of like Edmund Bertram from Mansfield park. But with more the personality of Mr Tilney. Sorry, unnecessary literary references, and thinking too much about my analogies. Moving on.

It's all very silly. But perhaps, because I recognise the futility of both my little "crushes" (I never liked that term, not sure why), I'm closer to having a balance of sense and sensibility than I originally thought. Not that it will help me find a better situation, but hopefully it will keep me from pining away after Thing 1 and taking the flirtation too far with Thing 2.

Gold Dust On My Feet On The Sunny Side of the Street

I am so tired. I swear, if I weren't sitting at my desk, I would be running into walls as I try to walk around.

My feet have a few sore spots (no full blown blisters though, which is good but surprising). I have several sore muscles.

I had an amazing weekend. Let me tell you about it.

Thursday, as I mentioned, was sort of the kick off. The Big Band Bash pales in comparison to the rest of the weekend. The band was quite good (Nate Anderson Band).

Friday was when the party really got started, so to speak. The Friday evening dance was at the Apollo Ballroom in American Fork. They have a great floor that is "sprung" as they say. And by that they really mean sprung- like if you just stand still and don't dance you run the risk of getting motion sickness from all the bouncing. The band was decent. They were more of a dixieland jazz band and the pieces they played seemed to be either hyperspeed or catatonic. Still it was good music. It would probably be worth going to these dances just for the music.

The dancers though! Omigod the dancers. I was completely intimidated after watching just a few songs. Remember those videos I posted? The kids who came out for the exchange really are that good. I sat out at least as much as I actually danced on Friday and just watched. I was really completely blown away.

The evening dance ended around midnight and I went to IHOP with a few other people for a bite to eat before the late night dance. The late dance was at Noah's and had three small studios for dancing and a lounge (where most people ended up, I think) with a large couch and a nice TV (for watching a movie and then playing Rock Band). Shortly after arriving I discovered that I was too tired to actually dance at all. Things just weren't connecting, so I left around 2.

I slept in Saturday morning, but as soon as I woke up things started going downhill. I'm not going to tell you about it though because it will take away from the fabulousness of the weekend.

Saturday evening was beyond spectacular. I don't even know where to begin. I guess the band, which I have already raved about, but New Deal Swing really is fantastic! If I had to pick just one dance of the whole weekend to go to, Saturday evening would be it. Actually, there were quite a few people who did it that way. Because I had such a bad start to my Saturday, I was determined to have a fabulous evening. I refused to wait around to be asked to dance. I had an amazing time dancing with guys of every skill level (some of them were still very intimidatingly good) and by the end of the dance I'm pretty sure I was a much better dancer. If nothing else, my confidence level was up and I was enjoying myself immensely.

During the band breaks we were entertained by the (unique to ULX) Polygamy Lindy contest. Contestants start out in groups of three (one lead, two follows). After the first round half the leads are eliminated and their follows are assigned to the leads who are left (so you have groups with one lead and 4 follows). For the final round all but two of the leads are eliminated and the follows are distributed between them. It ended up being 12 follows to each lead. It's quite something.

Saturday's late night dance was a continuation of the fun. There was a blues room, a lindy room and two gigantic sandwiches and a room full of deliciously comfortable cushions. Officially though, we were all just hanging out, not dancing. Why? Because Salt Lake has a rule: No dancing after 2am. Because, you know, dancing is a gateway activity that always leads to debaucheries like Sex, Drugs and Drinking. Unofficially though, the energy level stayed up, for the most part, and the dancing went on into the night. Having the blues room was nice because it provided an opportunity to mellow out a little but still keep dancing.

I imagine some of you are wondering what I mean by blues dancing. It's honestly kind of hard to explain and I'm certainly no expert (having never done it before Saturday night). There is no basic step really, it's mostly about just getting into the music. It tends to be kind of slow and sort of sensual. Look it up on youtube, I'm sure you'll find something.

I left around 4:30am and crashed almost the second I walked in my door, completely exhausted, but in the best way possible.

Sunday night was the final dance of the weekend. Not very many people showed up compared to the other dances. I actually talked to some of the guys that I had been dancing with all weekend. It was a nice, relaxing note to end on.

I think I shall have to do it all again sometime.

Oh Frabjous Day! Callooh, Callay!

I have been looking forward to this weekend for months. Included in the weekend is tonight (I know, it's cheating a little) because that when the unofficial kick-off of the fun starts.

What is so special about this weekend? I'm so glad you asked! This weekend it the Utah Lindy Exchange. What this means is there is lots of dancing all weekend. I am especially excited about Saturday night- New Deal Swing is the band at that dance. New Deal was founded by the Utah Symphony's principal clarinetist and is comprised of Utah Symphony members. Just going on that, it can be assumed that they would be pretty darn good. I've heard them play a couple times and I have to say they rock... er... swing... jive.... they are quite awesome.

ULX doesn't officially start until Friday, but tonight is the UofU Swing Club's Big Band Bash. It's a big pre-exchange hoopla (and by hoopla I mean dance). So tonight is the night to dust off my dancing shoes (figuratively. I actually will probably just wear chucks as they are pretty easy to dance in. I do have dancing shoes that have been sitting in shoe box for a while but might still be a little dusty. They're not very comfortable though. Maybe I'll wear them sometime this weekend. I also have saddle shoes that should be danced in, yeah? I might drag those out on Saturday. Note to self: your parenthetical asides are WAY TOO FREEKING LONG) and get this party started.

For those of you who are perhaps still scratching your head about what Lindy-Hop is (or are wondering how truly awesome it actually is), chizzeck the shizzle outta this:



Of course, those kids are pros. And champs. Here's a video from a Chicago exchange, it's pretty good (I covet the tall blonde's skirt):



It's a little weird with the four guys there, but hey, it's still good dancing. And finally, if you've never seen the movie Swing Kids, you should. I mean, really, it's got Christian Bale, great dancing, and great music. What more could you want? Oh yeah, it's a good story too.



Of course, I only wish I was half as good as some of the kids in these videos (the movie one cheats, what with being fully choreographed and all). I like to think I'm not bad though, and it's tons-o-fun in any case.

This, That and the Other

Somewhere in the blogosphere (or possibly somewhere else), a friend wrote about the difficulties of putting his ipod on shuffle and subsequently having his pop(etc) music interrupted by classical. Actually, I think it was Dave- I don't think anyone else would really have that problem.... well, except Jeremy...but I think it was Dave*... or somewhere else. Anyway, the point is, rather than put his ipod on shuffle, he would just listen to music in alphabetical order by song name. This way he got a good variety of music without the classical interruptions.

I tried this method. It mostly works for me. There are two places where it the system breaks down: I have multiple versions of one song, or when there are several songs with the same first word.

Example of the first: Swing Life Away (Rise Against), Swing Lover (Indigo Swing), Swingin' Uptown (Jimmie Lunceford), Swingtime in the Rockies (Benny Goodman). Except for the first song, these are all big band, swing songs. So much for variety. Or, another example: America (from West Side Story (I like showtunes, sue me)), America: Fuck Yeah (from Team America World Police), The American (Angie Aparo), American Music (Violent Femmes), American Patrol (Glenn Miller), American Pie (Don McClean), Americano (Brian Setzer). While these songs are pretty varied in type, there is a definite theme going on, and I would prefer things to be a little more randomized.

Example of the second: I have Across the Universe by The Beatles (twice- one from Let It Be and one from Let It Be... Naked), Fiona Apple, and Rufus Wainwright. I have three versions of Sing Sing Sing, Hallelujah, Blue Skies..... several others. And there are plenty of songs I have two different versions of. So, listening straight through by song name doesn't work so well because I would hear the same song 3 different ways right in a row.

So, what's the point? Well, there is none, really. I just thought I'd let you all know that I am going to stick with the simple "shuffle songs" method.

Since I went on for a while with no point, I will end with a little game. I like to call this game Put iTunes on Random and Let It Tell My Readers 10 Songs They Should Make A Major Effort to Listen To**.

1. Space Invaders by Arctic Monkeys
2. Tonight Tonight by Smashing Pumpkins
3. She's Not There by Santana
4. Everywhere by Bran Van 3000
5. My Alcoholic Friends by The Dresden Dolls
6. Story About a Girl by Our Lady Peace
7. Money Money by Billy Idol
8. Taya Tan by Pink Martini (actually, I would pick a differnt song by them. Hey Eugene or Sympathique)
9. Ne Me Quitte Pas by Baronessa
10. Funky Town by Lipps Inc

*If either Dave or Jeremy read this: yes, I am cyber stalking you! Muahahaha. Though I am apparently doing a terrible job as I can't remember what you've written. And by cyber stalking I mean I don't have anything to do at job#1 so I read your blogs.

** I promise I didn't skip any and that these are really the first ten songs itunes came up with. Except for a few that were really embarrassing. No really, I didn't skip any. (or did I?) (seriously, no)

Good Golly!

There are several things that I've considered blogging about which would be a good use of both my time (as a writer examining these things and putting organising them into readable order) and yours (as readers of such fascinating and important analyses). These topics have included, but are not limited to: my take on the presidential primary race, a review type thing of the Masterpiece Theater airing of Persuasion last Sunday, and/or a few observations about the poetry of William Carlos Williams.

I'm not going to blog about any of those. Why not? Because I am at work at job#1, or, as I like to call it, death. Being here is anti-stimulating. I start writing about something worth wile and within the first paragraph I run out of steam, sigh, and stare out of the window with a queasy feeling in my stomach. So it seems I am stuck with a subject I'm sure you're all tired of reading about. I am completely capable of endlessly complaining about my job.

I agree with most of you who say "so quit." And I will, soon. Yesterday I applied for a job at the library (which I may not actually be allowed to have, as my mother works there in a fairly high up position. She says that it should be ok though, as long as she's not my direct supervisor). Regardless of what might happen with that, I'm going to give my two weeks notice next week. I want to quit on a pay day so that my last day will be on a pay day. That way I can walk away from this place with money in my pocket and never look back.

In the mean time, I feel horribly guilty about quitting this time of year. I know the admin department is swamped what with all the getting ready for taxes stuff. I tried to get next Friday (25th) off for the ULX and was told that they absolutely could not spare anyone to cover the front desk. Incidentally, that will be the day I give notice. The point is, they're really busy down there (heaven forbid they let me do something to help out, I'm not at all incompetent, which I would think they would know by now). Adding to their plate the task of finding a new receptionist certainly isn't going to help them any.

I wouldn't care, but it's my job that I hate, not the company or anyone I work with (with one exception). I'd rather not leave under a cloud of resentment. However, I've become so listless about my job, that I have very little motivation to do it well. One would think that it would be impossible to mess up my job. What do I do? I answer the phones, I sort the mail, I receive packages.... what is there to mess up? Somehow I am finding little things to not do (perhaps I need to take back my previous statement about being competent. I'm certainly not making a good case for myself right now) and I can see that I'm sabotaging myself, but I absolutely Do Not Care. Shit, if I get fired, I don't have to work those last two weeks. I don't want to get fired, of course, but it certainly wouldn't be the end of the world.

Friday Dance Party

Cincinnati knows how to rock the party.

I Didn't Like The Others, They Were All Too Flat.

Fish Slap!

Concerning Books

The other day in the middle of an extremely pleasant conversation, someone asked me what my favorite books are. That question (and others similar to it) always stumps me. I find myself mentally scrolling through the list of books I've read and enjoyed and getting overwhelmed at the prospect of picking just a few or, even worse, just one.

The problem is that I love many different books for many different reasons. Also, if I settle on one that will work well as an answer to the query, it immediately reminds me of another book that I loved equally as well. Don't get me started on books, it will only lead to me rambling though my entire library telling you what I liked and why.

The book I'm most fascinated with at the moment is Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. It's a very strange piece of fiction. The story is, perhaps, sometimes hard to follow and it makes very little sense most of the time. But it's beautifully written and has been imprinted on my mind. It's one of those books that I find myself considering whenever I have a quiet moment to consider. I very much want to read it again. It's not a book I would recommend to many people though. I would say it is for serious readers who are up for a head trip.

For non-serious reading, I would recommend Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch. It's a very funny, very absurd novel that has a similar feel to Chocolat (the movie. It is a book too, but I haven't read it yet. Still, I bet more of you have seen the movie (Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche) than have read the book). If you're not up for a silly cheese book, I would recommend anything by Christopher Moore, especially A Dirty Job or Bloodsucking Fiends, a Love Story.

Along the lines of A Dirty Job, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is incredibly brilliant. And each of those authors individually is worth reading too. Pratchett's Disc-World series is mostly very good, thought I hear his latest is not quite up to par. The most obvious Gaiman to read would be Stardust, which is not quite like the movie, but very good none the less. It puts one in mind of The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Read the book, really, you'll be glad you did. The movie is actually very true to the source material, making this one of the rare cases where the film is on par with the book.

I'm going to stop myself there. I could easily go on for pages more. And for every book I've mentioned, there are four or five others that I thought of at the same time. You see how this is a problem when someone asks about my favorite book? I've barely scratched the surface here. I haven't even mentioned The Book Thief, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Clockwork Orange, Douglas Adams, the Thursday Next series, Michael Malone (Foolscap is my favorite by him), any of the plays that I love, or classic literature (which I devour just as hungrily as anything else). It's exhausting discussing my favorite books, but I half feel like I should continue because the smattering above doesn't even begin to cover what I love to read.

*sigh* I guess that's what librarything is for. But, to be fair, my catalog there seems terribly disorganised. I should probably take the time to review/rate more of my books. I'd much rather spend that time reading.