plans

Marilyn emailed me the plan for tonight, and I already feel overwhelmed:

Standard Tap at 6:30
then Johnny Brenda's
then KFN
then El Bar
then Memphis Tap Room
then Lost Bar
then our house?

Maybe a little 700 Club or Arts Garage after?
Then maybe Ruba?

Come get overwhelmed with us?
I'm sure it's subject to change and everything - so check back here for live blogging/updates from each location, or just subscribe to my twitter. Psych.
Phone calls.

bites

Sue, if you start to say yes, then maybe you'll fall in love and get married and get to have a very special wedding day like this:

frozen banana breakfast

(my banana froze on the way to work. It's so cold out today!)

Last night we made little delicious pizzas and watched the NBC line up.
Question: What's better, a clips episode, or a rerun?

If you know me, you'll know I like making bets. I like winning bets, but possibly just as much or more, I like making bets. Little guys. $1 bets. The last one I won was against Deven about the spelling of Jeanie in "I dream of Jeanie". I was right.

Anyway.
So, what about money as motivator to do something good? Kind of like when people pay a membership to go to the gym, and part of it is being able to access all the machinery, but I think even more of it is "I paid a lot of money, now I have a responsibility to get my money's worth, AND get skinny".
I kind of want to get involved in a bet, for more than a dollar, about either eating healthy and exercising and getting...less round(?), OR a bet about actually finishing my school application on time or something.
The "get healthy" one would have to have some sort of time period, and rules, and percentages, and weigh-ins like the Biggest Loser, and like a hundred dollars each.
The other one could be more like a reward system. I haven't really worked it out yet. It's more complicated because the people involved in the wager could have different goals/time restraints, etc.

Also, when's my camera gonna come?

DSW

Those very, very dedicated among you may remember that I got some boots late.Here's my rambling complaint about shipping times.

I wasn't even looking for a solution/answer, but DSW got in touch with me and (kind of) fixed it, by tricking me into buying more shoes from them. Okay, done.

reads

I'm reading four books, except the one (Joy Luck) probably doesn't count because I've been "reading" it for months.

So three. But twday, we'll talk about the two most relevant:

The Vixen Manual (follow up to Confessions of a Video Vixen, and the Vixen Diaries). This one is a little less scandal/expose of the music video industry/memoir, and a little self-help. If you know anything about Karrine Steffans, you probably know what to expect from her books.

It got suggested to me. As a single girl. And by suggested, I mean, put into my hands for me to take home. It's really funny, and full of little tips in the sidebar with titles like "Vixen say What!?"
I'll admit. I'm skimming this book, trying to pick out the gems, because it half-astonishes me how much I'm doing wrong, and half of it is pure fodder.

And, I finally started reading The Year of Yes. It's overwhelmingly full of literary references. Like maybe 3 per page. It makes me wish I knew literature better, and it makes me wonder if I should be reading the books girl is referencing, instead of a book about dating in NYC in the early aughts? So far, I've only gotten to the part where she's going to say yes. She hasn't actually started yet.
It's okay.

purple

I almost forgot.

Last week I ordered a digital camera.

In college I had a fancy (for 2000) digital camera, that was probably like $300. Then I had more, which had progressively more megapixels, for progressively less money, and now I just go for the cheapest one. Because I know I go through them. (I think I've had 5. Not fifteen, but more than someone should probably have had). I probably go through them because I only spend $50-100 on digital cameras, but I think I might break/lost it even if I spent a whole lot more? So for now, I'll keep getting the bang4buck one. This one was less than $40, on sale.

This time, I'm trying out a little purple Vivicam:

I've never done Vivicam before. Hopefully it takes nicer pictures than the old easy share.
Soon my blog will be overflowing with medium quality point and shoot shots of boring things in my life.

Can't wait!

current events

as follows:

I've been getting along with people I didn't expect to, for long(er) periods of time than expected.

Back to bartering baked goods for services like it's the middle ages, but brownies for digital-video-conversion (thanks Andrew).

Been hearing from several versions of The Past, things like, "Would you like to socialize once again?"

Corporations reading my blog.

And, now that I'm tweeting for work, we follow people (not you, strangers). A surprising amount of twittering (tweeting?) goes on about Rustica. Pizza? That's what's "going on"?

flicks

Oops, I guess I got really busy playing Nintendo Jeopardy all night (and recovering from that), so I haven't written anything.

I can tell you this. I saw a couple movies:
I saw Imaginarium at the Ritz Bourse. (Side note: Bourse might be my favorite theatre in the city, because it's the first one I went to - Napolean Dynamite?!, and the first one I worked at, and because Fran worked there, and because now Sarah's a manager there. But the Riverview might also be my favorite, because of the memories.)

I liked it. And would maybe see it again someday. Not right away, but someday.
I mean, I guess any movie that Heath Ledger is halfway in (so, just this one) where he gets replaced by people like Johnny Depp is pretty okay. The sets were pretty...imaginary-y, like Pan's Labyrinth or something (the good way). The story was all good and evil and tricks and bargains with the devil (like Haiti? JK, Pat Robinson), and the value of being clever, and a little bit of morality. And mortality.

Also saw Book of Eli. I didn't see the Road (read it), but I think it's the same movie, with a Bible in the mix. Ash-snow, post-apocolypse future, fighting over water, and so much walking, walking walking, down the abandoned highways. In the Road, the guy is walking to get to the ocean, and his whole thing is protecting (and feeding) his kid. Eli is more concerned with protecting this book, and also walking to the ocean. There's roadside pirates, weird scary holdouts, and action sequences.
Eli (the movie, not the character) didn't do super good at explaining how humanity possibly managed to destroy every single Bible in the world except this ONE, but we'll let it slide. I liked some of the other future presuppositions - like if you eat people, you get shaky hands - and nobody likes someone with shaky hands, because it means they might eat you. And the end is is really hopeful, like the end of some Batman movies, and there's a twist!
It was pretty medium. Better than expected, but not good.

dinner

Sometimes I go through all the bad, old photographs on my telephone. Sometimes I find really good ones like this.

Also found:
picture of the police car that pulled me over
picture of an ad on SEPTA that has a dog pooping and crying at the same time
10 year plavacodo
passive aggressive notes that were left for coworkers
so many pictures of big cats
funny things from bathroom walls that are barely discernible

return to sender

Don't get too excited about this, it's obviously not happening.

arm strength, crushes

Last night boys (and girls, but really: boys) embarked on a journey about who could do the most pull ups.
I'm not sure if it's the weakness of my arms, or the mass of my body, but I couldn't even do one. Not one.

Tonight, this weird thing is going to happen where an eight year old is going to tell her guitar teacher that I have a crush on him (and I do), and then I'll have to see him when I pick her up. Awesome. I feel 13 years old about it.
Thanks, Marilyn.

if I tweeted

This sweater smells so much like old person sweat that I might have to throw it away.
It's not from a thrift store.

Lately: doing MAT practice tests and skipping things that are fun to make budgets instead. I kind of like the MAT tests. I don't like knowing how poor I am.

Don't say "sweet spot", please.

clean

It is SO GOOD doing all the laundry and having infinite number of tights to choose from, not just the dregs.

this made me late

If you know me, you know I'm a pretty passive bicyclist. So imagine my surprise when I got pulled over by a police car today.

I was stopped at a red light, coming down 6, crossing Chestnut. When cars stopped coming, I got on my bike, continued my ride. I stopped near Sansom to let this guy (the police car) get by me (because obviously he's got someplace to be) and find out it's me he's pulling over. We're on Sansom, where the loading docks are, and people are watching and so confused. He ran my license, asked if I had any warrants out. So then I'm just standing there over my bike, while he's in his car running my digits. Lots of onlookers (and what can I do besides shrug at them?)
Few minutes, he comes back and expresses that he's annoyed about current bike situation as much as the rest of us, so he will give me a warning this time, and told me to *try* not to cross red lights in front of cop cars again.

OK.

BBB

Two things that I ordered recently.

Boots. Ordered Jan 08 10. Haven't come yet. I don't eve know if I want them, and it's especially hard to decide about, if they never ever come. FedEx tracking is little more than a list of places the boots could exist.

Review: DSW? The store is okay, and if you buy online, the 2 day (jokes) shipping is free, but what you ordered might just not ever come. (This thing happened to M too - ordered boots, never, ever came.) (And, take this as a shoe-buying comparision to both Amazon, and Zappos, which usually come the next day, and also offer free shipping).

DSW: After this, I'm done with you. Unless I'm in the suburbs and stopping in real quick, bc your clearance section is pretty good.

Next:
I ordered some weird little cord that I'm supposed to be able to hook up to my iPod and tv, and then watch tv shows from my iPod ON tv. Sounds awesome, right?
So, back in December, I get an email from them,

"You're item have been shipped! You shall recieve it recently!"

but then it didn't come.
So then yesterday:

"Really sorry for kept you waiting. International shipping requires more complicated shipping procedures.Maybe there are some unexpected cases leading to the delay of the item. Perhaps your item still wait for custom clearance in your country or is being arranged for distribution in your local post office. Any force majeure may also lead to the delay,such as local labor strike or horrible climate problem.
"

I was obviously starting to lose hope. But... it came today! If anyone wants to come over and watch iPod LOST but much larger, let's do it! This will hopefully be a super easy way to project summer movies from people's iPods.

Suggestion:
If you have to buy something online, right now I reccoment 買家已回覆你對此物品的問題, in Hong Kong, over DSW.

cal

2 things about calendars

1. The one we did as an art swap and just finally finished last month is pretty nice. Mine is on my desk at work, and I use it/like it. We make good things, team.

2. My (online, Google) calendar often has things written on it like "dinner" or "party", but then sometimes I don't remember what they are, and if I don't remember, I feel like I'm probably missing something pretty good.

no, thank you

I read a medium amount of crafting blogs.

It seems like there's lots of people who are Very Interested in soft circuits, and incorporating them into crafts.


Not interested/thanks anyway.

hbd

Happy Birthday, grumpy.

Remember the other time you turned 21 and threw up on your shoes?

open

Sometimes (just once in a while I guess) People We Know really Do It.

Justin got famous.

QLC

Suggestions from people/articles/comments on articles (about getting your shit together).



This article is kind of funny/real, and says to get a plan. Then someone who commented about that article said to quit Facebook, you'll be glad.

Some boys at Wednesday told me I should make an Excel budget. I've never done this before, and maybe it feels too much like Sarah. But also maybe I'll try.

And then pretty much everyone says to work on that allusive 5 year plan. We'll see.

I can probably do some of these things. Mostly I think it'd be a good first step to quit cutting my hair.


edited to add: Now I can't stop reading people's blog posts about their QLC. It's kind of addicting, but in an invisible commiseration kind of way.

and: This one is especially poignant. JK.

podcasts

I've been doing this thing (this week), where it's too cold/I'm too tired in the AM to think about riding my bike all the way to work. So I disregard my intentions and veer off course toward the El stop by Andy's house. I park my bike there, and take the El to work.
But then, after work, I always wish I had my bike, because I don't like taking the El home, so I walk back to my bike, which takes about 50 minutes, which is about the right amount of time to try out a podcast.

Most recently: Funemployment Radio. Let's just say it's Bangkok Dangerous, but boring-er. I even feel open minded enough that I think I could get past the sports part, and the beard-scratching-into-the-mic part, but the rest was nearly impossible.
Thumbs down. Like when you go to a movie and you just keep hoping the good part is coming up, but it never does.

(I have to go read a Twitter tutorial now. Really. For work/I have a job.)

late

Somebody (Amanda?) tipped me off to scheduled blogging.

So, you can write a post and SCHEDULE IT TO POST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!
(noun "post", verb "post")

I'm not sure why that's awesome, but it seems like it is.
Maybe because I can pretend I stayed up really late.

spocto

Trying to draw/paint more. Which means I've been pumping out about one 5 minute sketch per day, and usually just mailing them to someone immediately, because what do you do with them otherwise?

Here's one you'll recognize (if you went to Josh's outerspace birthday), in a way. Like, probably you didn't know what it was to start with, even if you were there, but now it should be really clear.


I also was feeling a little down yesterday, and decided to take some steps towards the things I know were bothering me, or that I was disappointed with. Turns out, I'm pretty bad at dealing with sad, but taking action(?) against it is okay. Tiny, baby steps. Maybe more on that later.

yes

(let's start with a secret about how bad I am at blogging: I can't create a hyperlink without Googling "create hyperlink". I've apparently visited that website 49 times, since they've been counting.)

This girl, Kristina (who I guess reads this blog, so then I read her blog today for the first time, and maybe for a while we'll be weird, blog, internet friends who don't really talk or correspond, but lurk real casually, one of those things) is talking about more reading. I'm into it. And, in the spirit of New Years, and resolutions and everything, me and the other single girls are reading this book:

Yeah. It's a memoir. About a girl who just says yes to dates. Yeah, probably terrible. But I've been *kind of* meaning to read it for like a billion years since I heard about it on NPR or something.
I should probably be getting more invested in Literature (capital L) instead, but this seemed funnier, more realistic, and possibly more motivating.

Speaking of "yes", I got so many texts (mostly from C, but also from two other people) that just said "yes" on Sunday, which just felt positive. And way less annoying than the "k" texts that people sometimes send.

2019

I ate five pieces of gum today. Ate as in swallowed.

Last night we went to the movies and saw the new vampire number, Daybreakers, with Ethan Hawke.

It's in the future, but the near, imaginable future (in ten years, I think). I don't want to do too much spoiling, but everybody is vampires, barely anybody is human.

Things I liked

basic concept/problem
classic vampire rules: they die when exposed to sunlight (as opposed to stupid Twilight where the vampires just get so sparkly you can barely handle it), will die with a wooden stake, etc.
fairly subtle background given by headlines, advertising, and tv broadcasts (LOST is also pretty good at this)
regular (non-glamorous) vampires
apocalypse vision

Things I did not like

loosely disguised commentary on pharmaceutical companies
number of action sequences
most of the heros
resolution

If you see the movie, maybe you'll get it. I realized half-way through that my "review" was a synopsis, and boringer than the movie (which is not boring. Or, at least, less boring than Avatar. Which wasn't the worst, but sure was long).

scared

lately*, of

falling down stairs
swallowing a Jolly Rancher
zombie babies (not really, but after watching Grace, I had a dream about one)


*like, terrified.

party in the USA

The New Year from Tuan Quoc Le on Vimeo.

Here's a little something from New Year's.
With Miley.

fb

More old pictures.

Sarah is moving to Philadelphia, I found out on Facebook. Which is the best place to learn that people get married, engaged, puppies, or pregnant. Or their BeJeweled Blitz scores.

bcc

Things don't seem weird until you notice them.

You think I email you a lot? You should see the emails I send myself.
Most recently: Best Parties We've Had with a list of the best parties I/we/they had, with an emphasis on good themes/execution, starting in 1989.
If I think of an addition to this (or any) list, I respond to myself. So I can keep the list up to date. Which results in tons of emails. You know how I do.

Topping the list currently

Pirate birthday party
Fashion show birthday
Fred's Birthday (before we knew him)
Where's Waldo decoy party
Sexy Unsexy Halloween
Lost-ume party
Christmas in July
Dress as your Mii (good in concept, but sometimes people aren't good at dressing up)
HP 6 (also good in concept)
Factory party
Time Party (and Time Party II)
Cat Lady Party (great in execution, low turnout)
Twin Peaks costume party
Indian Indian Xmas (mostly the food/Quizzo)

I feel like I must be missing something, but so far so good. I'll just have to keeping emailing myself til the list is complete.

I find funnier emails that I've sent myself too, if I go through the archives: like lists of reasons not to like a boy, or screen shots of virtual furniture arrangements. My GMail is like a time capsule.

old

Finding so many old Polaroids lately. More soon.

big decisions

I just filed my taxes, and in a few days should have my (meager, this year) refund. It's almost exactly the balance on one of my credit cards.
But could also be a really fun trip or something...

today is a day

It's sunny and nice out (except for some streets which are dark scary wind tunnels today), and my Thursdays start at 11, so I was able to enjoy a nice leisurely ride into the city today.

Good news:
iPod makes any ride more fun.
One of my brake levels thawed out and works, which makes the whole thing less scary.

Bad news:
I got hit by a SEMI this morning. 18 wheeler vs 2 wheeler. It was a draw, I guess. I was coming down 6, stopped at the corner of Callowhill, waiting for a green light. Stopped, like standing over my bike because that light takes a hundred years to change. So this truck decided to do a right on red and it kept getting closer and closer as it turned/drove. Towards the end the truck is actually hitting the back of my bike, then my back, and you're faced with this choice: do I run, because this giant truck is going to run me over (bike sacrifice) or do I do a weird, standing over my bike back up as fast as I can (especially difficult on a cruiser). I chose the latter, and am no worse for wear, but it did put me on edge for a minute. The whole thing was weird and slo-mo, some cars were mad (for me? I hope.)
So, I came out okay.

Lately has been trying to wear more jewlery, Beauty and the Geek, and arguing over Coke(aCola) money, in the good way.

JB/JBs

Last night we had a drink for Josh Ballard's birthday at Johhny Brenda's.

Two questions that kept coming up
1. Which of these people at the table would you save/keep in the event of apocalypse?
Number one answer: Ryan Anderson
(Josh hated this part of discussion, obviously. What's not so obvious - did he hate it because he wasn't first picked, or because he's nervous about the End?)

2. What kind of animal (well, furry) would you be?
(answered varied, but from both ends of the table, people started suggesting that I'd be a panda bear. Which is fine, I guess.)

how I am not a zombie

A long time ago, there was this thing about listing (in your blog) (or maybe even your myspace?) all your previous roommates (I have 18?) and funny things/synopsis about them.
In lieu of the whole list today, I'll lay out my current situation, and maybe someday I'll work backward through past living arrangements, to the begining: 2000, living with M'Katie and Joy. Maybe someday.

Anyway, today, I give you my current roommates (dressed as some sort of peacock and April O'Neal from TMNT)-

Marilyn
27 y/o airline flight attendant who regularly gets nervous that I might be a zombie. Really.
She heard a noise the other day (me yelling at Booger because she pee'd in my room), and wouldn't come out of the bathroom for a while. Because she really thought I might be a zombie. I am not a zombie. I promise.

and Kimmy
27 y/o airline (maybe...customer service manager?) who can quickly be moved to tears by the suggestion that her 19 lb cat is imaginary.

All this to say that my life is super hard. Convincing people I'm not undead, and not making too many jokes about fake cats.

chart (science)

I watched some tv over the holidays.
Most of it was Gossip Girl.

While I can't say anything to verify the quality of the show, I will say that it's certainly influenced my choice of cold-weather legwear.

Here, I made a chart about it:

(at least Gossip Girl isn't influencing my blogging. No one wants their secrets on the nets, right, A?)

XOXO

flying cars

Probably no one else gets that "I'm ready" song from SpongeBob stuck in their heads, right?
It's like this: "I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!", and obviously is more of a chant than a song.

Anyway, sometimes when I think about things that are going to maybe be in the future, I get SpongeBob "I'm ready" in my head.

What am I ready for now?
CELL PHONES IMPLANTED INTO HANDS.
We (Sarah and I) have been thinking about this/planning for this/practicing for this for years, and it just seems like the dawning of a new decade would be a great time to make this technology available/affordable.

I lost my phone at the NYE party. Someone found it (thank you, mystery Patrick!) and someone else got it (Rob! On his birthday!) and got it to me. I had it, used it once or twice, and promptly lost it again the next day.
This morning, it was in my bathroom, with a note:

My immediate future includes keeping track of phone (I haven't lost one this much since LG White Chocolate 2006 RIPx2), but hopefully my long term future includes phone-hand (imagine a link to a convincing phone-hand article here. Turns out, they're hard to come by.)

Now if only I could find my new iPod so I could install an app ("iHound", it's called) to help me find it when I lose it.