I wanted to get the semi-xBF the new AC/DC album for Christmas, "Black Ice." He's an AC/DC kind of guy. I knew I could probably download it, but I wanted to really go all out and purchase the actual CD so he could have the cover art and everything. I shopped around looking for it, but no dice. So I decided to just bite the bullet and download it from the comfort of my comfy computer chair (and maybe make some creative artwork of my own).
What did I find when I searched ITunes and Amazon? AC/DC tribute bands. No "Black Ice" to be found. That's when I did a little googling and found an article that told me AC/DC is so old and ornery, so against digital downloads of music, that the only way you can get their album is to go to a Wal-Mart or order one through their website.
Seriously? You won't let me PAY FOR IT and download it digitally, but you want me go to a WAL MART? How does this make any sense? I don't shop at Wal-Mart, so therefore I will probably not be getting this for my beloved. Hope he likes socks!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Local Honey
So I took the JFP's challenge to spend at least $100 this Christmas shopping season. That very shirt up there you can get from my good buddy Darren Schwindamann at this site. There are so many cool gifts just waiting to be snatched up around this city, you really don't have to go to the mall! The people are so much more willing to help you and glad to see you in the locally owned shops.
I went over the $100 limit I am sure, and here are some of the great things I came away with:
I got this book for my niece, she can learn her colors from Van Gogh and Matisse!
Some Audubon notecards for xBF's mom, she owns several Audubon prints and is a big fan.
I had to get this magnet for myself. It's from William Dunlap's exhibit about what dogs dream, and that dog reminds me of Sally for some reason.
I got all of the above (plus a couple of things I can't show right now in case the recipients see this!) at the Mississippi Museum of Art gift shop. It's my new favorite store in town.
From there, I wandered over to Rainbow Co-op, where I grabbed some Vegan-ase to use in the crab dip I'm making for a party tomorrow where a friend of mine is allergic to eggs. Then I went over to Brent's drug store, where I found a lot of really cute Christmas decorations, but I don't even have room for a tree this year and I am picky about getting ornaments for other people, so I just window-shopped there.
I had to have lunch, so I got a chicken salad sandwich at Broad Street, and while I was in Banner Hall I went upstairs to Lemuria Books. I love love love Lemuria, but it is a bit overwhelming when you walk in because it is SO full of books. Thankfully the staff are so very friendly and helpful. I found these two books for my mom and dad:
The one on the left is for my dad, because he has gotten into gardening and being "green." The one on the right is for my mom who loves to read. It's a collection of stories about growing up here and is illustrated by Wyatt Waters (and this copy is signed by him too!)
Overall I spent about $150 today. But I'd say about 90% of my Christmas shopping is done! And I feel really good about what I found and the fact that my money went right back into the local economy. I am going to try really hard to buy the rest of my gifts locally as well. I challenge y'all to do the same, even if you don't live here, buy local wherever you are!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Commercialized
Three commercials that bug the snot out of me:
1.
This one is not a bad commercial, but I swear to Jebus that is Kermit the Frog talking about cheese.
2. I can't find the commercial online, but those stupid Disaronno ads where the bartender is telling you how to make Disaronno and Milk (Wugh!), or Disaronno and Lemon. Really? We need expert advice on how to make a cocktail that only has two ingredients? Pour overpriced Amaretto in a glass. Squeeze a lemon. Drink and repeat. What's next, "How to make Wild Turkey neat?" "Enjoying your Coors Light, the easy way. Step 1, take beer out of fridge. Step 2, pop the cap. Step 3, ENJOY!"
3. That commercial with the text-messaging thumbs that are supposed to be saying funny things instead of just saying "LOL". The problem is, nothing they say is funny. OMGWTFROFLMAO!
That's all you get for now, but seeing as the holiday season is upon us, I am sure there will be more to come!
1.
This one is not a bad commercial, but I swear to Jebus that is Kermit the Frog talking about cheese.
2. I can't find the commercial online, but those stupid Disaronno ads where the bartender is telling you how to make Disaronno and Milk (Wugh!), or Disaronno and Lemon. Really? We need expert advice on how to make a cocktail that only has two ingredients? Pour overpriced Amaretto in a glass. Squeeze a lemon. Drink and repeat. What's next, "How to make Wild Turkey neat?" "Enjoying your Coors Light, the easy way. Step 1, take beer out of fridge. Step 2, pop the cap. Step 3, ENJOY!"
3. That commercial with the text-messaging thumbs that are supposed to be saying funny things instead of just saying "LOL". The problem is, nothing they say is funny. OMGWTFROFLMAO!
That's all you get for now, but seeing as the holiday season is upon us, I am sure there will be more to come!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Old Guys and First Loves
New Kids on The Block is making a comeback, whether you like it or not.
by Andi Agnew
October 29, 2008
“Just thought I’d call and see if you wanted to get tickets to see your favorite band; they’re playing in New Orleans in October!” My best friend told me recently. She is overly enthusiastic, and I knew that she was also joking.
Had she called me 19 years ago with the same bit of news, she would have been right on. New Kids on the Block were most definitely my favorite band in 1989, when they were hot on the scene and I was 12 years old. Then again, there was no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks that my parents would have let me go to New Orleans for a concert.
Next to Milli Vanilli and future drunken American Idol judge Paula Abdul—which really should tell you a lot about the music scene in the late 1980s—NKOTB was it. There wasn’t a seventh-grade girl alive who did not have her favorite New Kid picked out, and she sported his picture on a gigantic button to show her undying devotion.
My favorite Kid was Jordan Knight, with his puppy-dog brown eyes and inexplicable rat-tail braid. I scoured the pages of Tiger Beat, Teen Beat and Bop to find posters of Jordan and the other guys to put on my bedroom walls. He was 17, and I was 12, but I just knew that if we were ever to meet, it would be love at first sight. In some ways I think my New Kid worship was just practice for how I would handle dating real boys later on.
Believe it or not, Jackson was no more a music mecca in 1989 than it is today. For our beloved boy band to even bother to find Jackson on a map, thousands of teenage girls flocked to the mall to sign a petition to bring NKOTB to Jackson. My parents hauled my sister and me to add our signatures, and soon the announcement was made that the New Kids would be coming to Jackson.
My parents bought five or six tickets to the show (enough for them to accompany my sister, me and a couple of our friends) and we waited. And waited. NKOTB were not coming for another eight months.
When you are 12, eight months is a lifetime. Not only is it a lifetime to wait, it is also enough time to change your mind about hairstyles, crushes and even music. By the time August finally arrived and the show was upon us, I had begun eighth grade, was way too mature for NKOTB, and told my parents I really didn’t want to go to the show after all.
“You’re going, and you’ll like it,” my dad told me.
So we went, and we really did like it. My friends and I were jumping up and down, squealing with joy as we squinted to see the tiny specks that were our seventh-grade crushes. The flames were rekindled; we all got T-shirts and wore them to school the next week. Then, a week or so later, it was on to Boyz II Men, that “other” Wahlberg boy and real live boys at school.
The teenage girl is a fickle soul.
Because my personal experience as a fan of the New Kids was so short-lived, it is a bit hard to fathom that a reunion of the group would be very successful. But with a quick visit to the blog on the group’s Web site, nkotb.com/blog, I found that there are some die-hard fans out there. Many tout the fact that NKOTB was their first concert, and some lament the fact that it wasn’t their first concert. Well, the concert experience I described above was my first, but I admit I wish it had been someone else—U2, REM and Madonna were all touring back then, too.
I’m not sure how relevant NKOTB’s music is 19 years later. I don’t think the bubblegum pop of the late ’80s can stand up to the bubblegum pop of today. And the NKOTB’s new songs are, frankly, a bit creepy. Hearing nearly 40-year old men singing, “I’ll be your boyfriend” just seems a bit silly. We wanted them to be our boyfriends when we were 12. Now some of us are looking for second husbands.
The boy band was really nothing new even when NKOTB was truly “new” and made up of “kids.” Before them were The Monkees, and before The Monkees were The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Boy bands are a rite of passage for young girls, and for the most part, the music should stay in the hallowed halls of teendom.
by Andi Agnew
October 29, 2008
“Just thought I’d call and see if you wanted to get tickets to see your favorite band; they’re playing in New Orleans in October!” My best friend told me recently. She is overly enthusiastic, and I knew that she was also joking.
Had she called me 19 years ago with the same bit of news, she would have been right on. New Kids on the Block were most definitely my favorite band in 1989, when they were hot on the scene and I was 12 years old. Then again, there was no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks that my parents would have let me go to New Orleans for a concert.
Next to Milli Vanilli and future drunken American Idol judge Paula Abdul—which really should tell you a lot about the music scene in the late 1980s—NKOTB was it. There wasn’t a seventh-grade girl alive who did not have her favorite New Kid picked out, and she sported his picture on a gigantic button to show her undying devotion.
My favorite Kid was Jordan Knight, with his puppy-dog brown eyes and inexplicable rat-tail braid. I scoured the pages of Tiger Beat, Teen Beat and Bop to find posters of Jordan and the other guys to put on my bedroom walls. He was 17, and I was 12, but I just knew that if we were ever to meet, it would be love at first sight. In some ways I think my New Kid worship was just practice for how I would handle dating real boys later on.
Believe it or not, Jackson was no more a music mecca in 1989 than it is today. For our beloved boy band to even bother to find Jackson on a map, thousands of teenage girls flocked to the mall to sign a petition to bring NKOTB to Jackson. My parents hauled my sister and me to add our signatures, and soon the announcement was made that the New Kids would be coming to Jackson.
My parents bought five or six tickets to the show (enough for them to accompany my sister, me and a couple of our friends) and we waited. And waited. NKOTB were not coming for another eight months.
When you are 12, eight months is a lifetime. Not only is it a lifetime to wait, it is also enough time to change your mind about hairstyles, crushes and even music. By the time August finally arrived and the show was upon us, I had begun eighth grade, was way too mature for NKOTB, and told my parents I really didn’t want to go to the show after all.
“You’re going, and you’ll like it,” my dad told me.
So we went, and we really did like it. My friends and I were jumping up and down, squealing with joy as we squinted to see the tiny specks that were our seventh-grade crushes. The flames were rekindled; we all got T-shirts and wore them to school the next week. Then, a week or so later, it was on to Boyz II Men, that “other” Wahlberg boy and real live boys at school.
The teenage girl is a fickle soul.
Because my personal experience as a fan of the New Kids was so short-lived, it is a bit hard to fathom that a reunion of the group would be very successful. But with a quick visit to the blog on the group’s Web site, nkotb.com/blog, I found that there are some die-hard fans out there. Many tout the fact that NKOTB was their first concert, and some lament the fact that it wasn’t their first concert. Well, the concert experience I described above was my first, but I admit I wish it had been someone else—U2, REM and Madonna were all touring back then, too.
I’m not sure how relevant NKOTB’s music is 19 years later. I don’t think the bubblegum pop of the late ’80s can stand up to the bubblegum pop of today. And the NKOTB’s new songs are, frankly, a bit creepy. Hearing nearly 40-year old men singing, “I’ll be your boyfriend” just seems a bit silly. We wanted them to be our boyfriends when we were 12. Now some of us are looking for second husbands.
The boy band was really nothing new even when NKOTB was truly “new” and made up of “kids.” Before them were The Monkees, and before The Monkees were The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Boy bands are a rite of passage for young girls, and for the most part, the music should stay in the hallowed halls of teendom.
Cheating a bit
You can say I'm phoning it in this week, but I really have been wanting to put my columns here for posterity. If you haven't seen (or don't have access to) the JFP in the last few months, I have a monthly column that I'm pretty proud of. It's been a lot of fun, yet a little unnerving at the same time, what with putting some embarrassing admissions out there for the world to see.
Here goes:
I Made You a Tape
by Andi Agnew
August 27, 2008
Rob Gordon, the quintessential über music snob in Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity,” sums it up best: “You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don’t wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.” Gordon is talking about making a good mixtape.
The art of the mixtape is something innate to music lovers whose formative years fall between about 1975 and 2000. Beyond 2000, most mixes were being burned to CD, and now the “mixtape” as we know it may be gone for good.
My first mixtapes were nothing more than sad little recordings of various top-40 songs on the radio. My first “jam box” had only one cassette player/recorder, so I would put my clock radio as close to the microphone as I could and press the record button as soon as Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam came on.
Then, whoops! Not an Eric Clapton fan at the time, I would click off the recorder to avoid having “Pretending” messing with my ’80s dance hits. (My taste in music was questionable back in the day, but what do you expect from a 10-year-old?)
Then one Christmas, Santa brought me a dual deck tape recorder, and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. My mixtape career really took off at this point. Instead of just putting random songs from the radio on a tape—equivalent to putting the iPod on shuffle these days—I could really say something with music. I carefully chose songs that conveyed how I felt when my eighth grade crush broke my heart. I made tapes for my friends with all of our favorite “riding around town” music. Then we would ride around town listening to our creations. I still have some of those tapes.
In my college years, mixtapes were a measuring stick for how much I liked a guy. If I found myself thinking or daresay uttering the words, “I’ll make you a tape,” I knew I was a goner. I was the queen of unrequited love in college, and I used mixtapes as a “sly” way of letting the guy know how I felt. Because nearly all the guys I have ever dated or wanted to date have been music lovers, I somehow thought that each one would really “get” what I was trying to say, be moved by the music, and sweep me off my feet accordingly. I even went so far as to write out the lyrics to the Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week” for one particular fellow. Gag.
That’s the thing about a mixtape that makes it an art form: Not only are you painting a picture with songs, but you can get creative with the liner notes and packaging. I used to paint tapes with nail polish and glitter, make up funny names for each side, decorate the cover with markers—making each parcel unique.
I should probably be embarrassed to admit these details, but I’m not, because thanks to Cassette From My Ex, I now know I am not alone. This Web site allows users to eavesdrop on other people’s mixtapes. Each tape has a back-story written from the perspective of the tape’s recipient and an image of the tape or cover art. You can also listen to the tracks on both sides of the tape while you read.
The stories behind these tapes are well-written, entertaining essays. Many of the tape-owners are writers, editors or other creatives. Some lament their poor taste at the time the tape was created. Melissa Walker’s “Crazy 8s” is the product of both sides of the relationship:“I realize now when I look back on these songs that every single good tune on there was his pick. The lame ones (Ice Cream, two Wallflowers songs? Hootie for God’s sake?): All me.”
I don’t know what will become of the mixtape now that even CDs are becoming passé. I can’t get used to saying, “Here, I made you a playlist.” Maybe cassettes will make a retro comeback like vinyl—only time will tell. One thing is for certain: Music lovers’ relationships may never be the same.
--------------
I think I will break these up for easier reading...
Here goes:
I Made You a Tape
by Andi Agnew
August 27, 2008
Rob Gordon, the quintessential über music snob in Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity,” sums it up best: “You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don’t wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.” Gordon is talking about making a good mixtape.
The art of the mixtape is something innate to music lovers whose formative years fall between about 1975 and 2000. Beyond 2000, most mixes were being burned to CD, and now the “mixtape” as we know it may be gone for good.
My first mixtapes were nothing more than sad little recordings of various top-40 songs on the radio. My first “jam box” had only one cassette player/recorder, so I would put my clock radio as close to the microphone as I could and press the record button as soon as Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam came on.
Then, whoops! Not an Eric Clapton fan at the time, I would click off the recorder to avoid having “Pretending” messing with my ’80s dance hits. (My taste in music was questionable back in the day, but what do you expect from a 10-year-old?)
Then one Christmas, Santa brought me a dual deck tape recorder, and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. My mixtape career really took off at this point. Instead of just putting random songs from the radio on a tape—equivalent to putting the iPod on shuffle these days—I could really say something with music. I carefully chose songs that conveyed how I felt when my eighth grade crush broke my heart. I made tapes for my friends with all of our favorite “riding around town” music. Then we would ride around town listening to our creations. I still have some of those tapes.
In my college years, mixtapes were a measuring stick for how much I liked a guy. If I found myself thinking or daresay uttering the words, “I’ll make you a tape,” I knew I was a goner. I was the queen of unrequited love in college, and I used mixtapes as a “sly” way of letting the guy know how I felt. Because nearly all the guys I have ever dated or wanted to date have been music lovers, I somehow thought that each one would really “get” what I was trying to say, be moved by the music, and sweep me off my feet accordingly. I even went so far as to write out the lyrics to the Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week” for one particular fellow. Gag.
That’s the thing about a mixtape that makes it an art form: Not only are you painting a picture with songs, but you can get creative with the liner notes and packaging. I used to paint tapes with nail polish and glitter, make up funny names for each side, decorate the cover with markers—making each parcel unique.
I should probably be embarrassed to admit these details, but I’m not, because thanks to Cassette From My Ex, I now know I am not alone. This Web site allows users to eavesdrop on other people’s mixtapes. Each tape has a back-story written from the perspective of the tape’s recipient and an image of the tape or cover art. You can also listen to the tracks on both sides of the tape while you read.
The stories behind these tapes are well-written, entertaining essays. Many of the tape-owners are writers, editors or other creatives. Some lament their poor taste at the time the tape was created. Melissa Walker’s “Crazy 8s” is the product of both sides of the relationship:“I realize now when I look back on these songs that every single good tune on there was his pick. The lame ones (Ice Cream, two Wallflowers songs? Hootie for God’s sake?): All me.”
I don’t know what will become of the mixtape now that even CDs are becoming passé. I can’t get used to saying, “Here, I made you a playlist.” Maybe cassettes will make a retro comeback like vinyl—only time will tell. One thing is for certain: Music lovers’ relationships may never be the same.
--------------
I think I will break these up for easier reading...
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Quick thought
The Republicans lost the election and gas prices are now below $2/gallon in a lot of places here. Coincidence? Am I a conspiracy theorist at heart? Who knows...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
My favorite things
1. My new favorite blog: Margaret and Helen Helen speaks the truth, better even than my own grandmother, but my Maw Maw doesn't know how to use a computer.
2.
My favorite sign at the fair -- I meant to post it earlier. How ridiculously obese are we in this country that we now need signs to warn us that we might get stuck on the Tilt-a-Whirl INDEFINITELY?
3. Getting together with old friends. I got to see some very good friends this past weekend, many of which used to live here but have gone far, far away. It was really really great to catch up, and it felt almost like we were never apart. AWWW!
4.
This little lady. She is getting closer to being 2, and it amazes me how much of a blabbermouth she has become in the last few months! She knows my name and talks my head off every time I see her! We are best buddies. And I get to see her on Halloween for what is becoming our annual tradition of drinking beer (me and her mama, the baby's got a few years to go yet!) and handing out candy to the neighborhood kids. I don't have a costume, but I'm thinking of just cutting many holes in a sheet like Charlie Brown. 
5. Election Day. It's not always my favorite day of the year, but this year I'm excited about it and ready for it to be over all at the same time. Then maybe do you think we can put all the nonsense behind us and act like civilized Americans again?
2.
My favorite sign at the fair -- I meant to post it earlier. How ridiculously obese are we in this country that we now need signs to warn us that we might get stuck on the Tilt-a-Whirl INDEFINITELY?3. Getting together with old friends. I got to see some very good friends this past weekend, many of which used to live here but have gone far, far away. It was really really great to catch up, and it felt almost like we were never apart. AWWW!
4.
This little lady. She is getting closer to being 2, and it amazes me how much of a blabbermouth she has become in the last few months! She knows my name and talks my head off every time I see her! We are best buddies. And I get to see her on Halloween for what is becoming our annual tradition of drinking beer (me and her mama, the baby's got a few years to go yet!) and handing out candy to the neighborhood kids. I don't have a costume, but I'm thinking of just cutting many holes in a sheet like Charlie Brown. 
5. Election Day. It's not always my favorite day of the year, but this year I'm excited about it and ready for it to be over all at the same time. Then maybe do you think we can put all the nonsense behind us and act like civilized Americans again?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
BOO!
Doubt that I scared ya. Nonetheless, I am back, at least for a few minutes! My one reader told me I needed to update, so here you go -- lo siento, senorita! I have been extremely busy.
I have always been of the mind that work is just an 8-5, pay-the-bills kind of thing. Not something to take home with me. But in the last month or two, I have really been living and breathing my job. I think the difference is that I really love my job, where in the past it really was just something to help me pay the bills.
In the last month, we had two big fundraisers (a fancy schmancy dinner and a bike tour that almost killed me) and I have had 4 or 5 big programs. Not to mention all the other stuff I do that takes up all my time. And then there's church, and ARF (go vote for them on this site pretty please), and xBF who is doing really awesome right now and therefore I want to spend a lot of time with him, and my friends, and my niece who knows my name now and is my favorite person on earth!
Seriously, I don't want kids of my own right now, but I would keep my niece for quite some time if necessary. She is the best kid. She knows who I am now and is talking so much more. I get to see her this weekend and I cannot wait! She always asks where Sally is, so she associates me with my dog. Which is either a good or a bad thing.
I am dieting now, as best as I can without succumbing to the Weight Watchers meetings. I've been doing okay with the diet, but I need to exercise more. Since I've been so busy and the weather and sunlight has changed, Sally and I have not been getting up to run in the mornings. I need to reevaluate my schedule and figure out when I can fit in physical activity along with everydamnthing else. I wouldn't care as much if I am a few pounds overweight if I could still fit into my pants. But the fact is, I can't. The sad thing is, I've only put on a little over 10 pounds. But those 10 pounds are all hanging out around my mid-section, laughing at me as I try to squeeze into last winter's dress pants.
My friend R. is working on this 101 goals in 1001 days thing. I am planning to do the same, but I haven't finished the list yet. I'm such a slacker! Next post I will have it done, I promise.
I leave you with this video (prepare to laugh your ass off)
I have always been of the mind that work is just an 8-5, pay-the-bills kind of thing. Not something to take home with me. But in the last month or two, I have really been living and breathing my job. I think the difference is that I really love my job, where in the past it really was just something to help me pay the bills.
In the last month, we had two big fundraisers (a fancy schmancy dinner and a bike tour that almost killed me) and I have had 4 or 5 big programs. Not to mention all the other stuff I do that takes up all my time. And then there's church, and ARF (go vote for them on this site pretty please), and xBF who is doing really awesome right now and therefore I want to spend a lot of time with him, and my friends, and my niece who knows my name now and is my favorite person on earth!
Seriously, I don't want kids of my own right now, but I would keep my niece for quite some time if necessary. She is the best kid. She knows who I am now and is talking so much more. I get to see her this weekend and I cannot wait! She always asks where Sally is, so she associates me with my dog. Which is either a good or a bad thing.
I am dieting now, as best as I can without succumbing to the Weight Watchers meetings. I've been doing okay with the diet, but I need to exercise more. Since I've been so busy and the weather and sunlight has changed, Sally and I have not been getting up to run in the mornings. I need to reevaluate my schedule and figure out when I can fit in physical activity along with everydamnthing else. I wouldn't care as much if I am a few pounds overweight if I could still fit into my pants. But the fact is, I can't. The sad thing is, I've only put on a little over 10 pounds. But those 10 pounds are all hanging out around my mid-section, laughing at me as I try to squeeze into last winter's dress pants.
My friend R. is working on this 101 goals in 1001 days thing. I am planning to do the same, but I haven't finished the list yet. I'm such a slacker! Next post I will have it done, I promise.
I leave you with this video (prepare to laugh your ass off)
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Home is Where Good Food Is
I have been a "road warrior" the last week and a half, and I don't use that term often because I hate it almost as much as I hate the word "synergy." But since I was traveling for business, it seems appropriate.
I drove to Tupelo last Thursday, drove back Friday, had a nice weekend at home, then got up Monday and drove to Philadelphia*, MS, and was there for a few days. THEN I got to spend one night at home before hopping in another rental and driving to Gulfport! For those of you unfamiliar with Mississippi geography, check a map -- that's a shitload of driving! I don't see how truckers do it, really.
It was my own fault, all this travel. I scheduled too many things all squished up next to one another. Next time I will know better. But I do feel like I got a lot accomplished, a lot of butts kicked and names taken.
*Speaking of Philadelphia, while I was out of town I caught the new FX show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" -- HILARIOUS. My new favorite show. Apparently it's already into its 3rd or 4th season, I don't know where I have been. But that show cracks me up. Danny DeVito's character is like Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force come to life. ATHF being one of my other all-time favorite shows. My sense of humor will never grow up!
I am feeling a lot of uncertainty in my life right now. I am finding that the best way to deal with it is to ignore it and keep busy as much as possible. But I have a feeling that it will eventually come crashing down on me, so I'm just trying to figure out how I will deal with it once that happens. The basic run-down is this: I'm confused about my relationship with xBF, depressed that it isn't working out the way I wanted it to, I'm unhappy with my living situation but don't have the means by which to lift myself out of it. I'm at least 15 lbs. overweight and getting pudgier by the minute, and I feel a bit lost in space because a large number of my friends have moved away over the last few years, leaving my support system looking like a piece of Havarti Swiss. I am finding that I don't have as much in common with some friends as I used to, while others that I do have things in common with keep moving away. There are still many cool people here in Jackson, I am glad to say, but I just feel like I'm having to start all over in a way. I don't have that comfort zone I once had with my group of 10-15 girls. Now it's like I have these friends over here, and those couple of friends over there, but it's hard to bring them all together.
Maybe I need to throw a party? Oh but wait, I live in a tiny apartment. Wahh. Oh well -- better go find something to do so I don't have to deal with any of this!
I drove to Tupelo last Thursday, drove back Friday, had a nice weekend at home, then got up Monday and drove to Philadelphia*, MS, and was there for a few days. THEN I got to spend one night at home before hopping in another rental and driving to Gulfport! For those of you unfamiliar with Mississippi geography, check a map -- that's a shitload of driving! I don't see how truckers do it, really.
It was my own fault, all this travel. I scheduled too many things all squished up next to one another. Next time I will know better. But I do feel like I got a lot accomplished, a lot of butts kicked and names taken.
*Speaking of Philadelphia, while I was out of town I caught the new FX show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" -- HILARIOUS. My new favorite show. Apparently it's already into its 3rd or 4th season, I don't know where I have been. But that show cracks me up. Danny DeVito's character is like Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force come to life. ATHF being one of my other all-time favorite shows. My sense of humor will never grow up!
I am feeling a lot of uncertainty in my life right now. I am finding that the best way to deal with it is to ignore it and keep busy as much as possible. But I have a feeling that it will eventually come crashing down on me, so I'm just trying to figure out how I will deal with it once that happens. The basic run-down is this: I'm confused about my relationship with xBF, depressed that it isn't working out the way I wanted it to, I'm unhappy with my living situation but don't have the means by which to lift myself out of it. I'm at least 15 lbs. overweight and getting pudgier by the minute, and I feel a bit lost in space because a large number of my friends have moved away over the last few years, leaving my support system looking like a piece of Havarti Swiss. I am finding that I don't have as much in common with some friends as I used to, while others that I do have things in common with keep moving away. There are still many cool people here in Jackson, I am glad to say, but I just feel like I'm having to start all over in a way. I don't have that comfort zone I once had with my group of 10-15 girls. Now it's like I have these friends over here, and those couple of friends over there, but it's hard to bring them all together.
Maybe I need to throw a party? Oh but wait, I live in a tiny apartment. Wahh. Oh well -- better go find something to do so I don't have to deal with any of this!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Granny's snoring
I feel like I talk about my dog a whole lot, but dammit, she's a pretty interesting creature. Sally is still just a puppy -- 7 months old -- but she has the sleeping habits of an old lady. She goes to bed early, like 9:00 sometimes. And when I say "goes to bed," that often means curling up on the floor here in the living room to sleep, but more often than not she literally clop-clop-clops back to the bedroom and gets into her bed to sleep. By the time I go to bed, usually an hour or two later, she is wayy deep into Level 4 REM sleep, stretched out with her head under my bed and snoring loudly. It's hilarious.
I am just happy she doesn't keep me awake all night with whining or anything. She really is a good dog most of the time. I have to be away from her this week while I'm out of town for work, and I really think I'm going to miss her!
Before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to do a little self-back-patting. I have a new column with the local alt weekly, a monthly deal, and I am pretty proud of it. My first entry is here, and I got a great deal of feedback on it! A few comments on the actual story, and a couple of emails too, including one from someone who had submitted a mix tape to http://www.cassettefrommyex.com/. She encouraged me to submit a tape of my own, and I may just do that if I can find any of the good ones. At the moment I have no idea where all my tapes are. I blame that on moving no less than 8 times in 8 years.
I just finished up this month's column, and I'm pretty happy with it. I'll wait until it's published to post a link and give away the topic. I will say that I have been on a sort of nostalgia kick lately, so that explains a lot. I don't know if it's being in my 30s or what, but the nostalgia just happens. I know people say this all the time, but time really does go by faster the older you get. I look back over the last 10 years, and I'm really not sure where all that time went.
This week is going to be so busy for me. Actually, the next month or so is going to be nonstop madness... even the weekends will be full. I see a massage or two in my future!
Lastly, I have to say that I hope this is the last of the hurricanes for a while. It was sort of fun the first go-round with Gustav, but after Ike I am tired of people freaking out about gas prices, I'm tired of rain, and I'm tired of worrying about where the next one will hit. That's enough for this year mmkay?
I am just happy she doesn't keep me awake all night with whining or anything. She really is a good dog most of the time. I have to be away from her this week while I'm out of town for work, and I really think I'm going to miss her!
Before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to do a little self-back-patting. I have a new column with the local alt weekly, a monthly deal, and I am pretty proud of it. My first entry is here, and I got a great deal of feedback on it! A few comments on the actual story, and a couple of emails too, including one from someone who had submitted a mix tape to http://www.cassettefrommyex.com/. She encouraged me to submit a tape of my own, and I may just do that if I can find any of the good ones. At the moment I have no idea where all my tapes are. I blame that on moving no less than 8 times in 8 years.
I just finished up this month's column, and I'm pretty happy with it. I'll wait until it's published to post a link and give away the topic. I will say that I have been on a sort of nostalgia kick lately, so that explains a lot. I don't know if it's being in my 30s or what, but the nostalgia just happens. I know people say this all the time, but time really does go by faster the older you get. I look back over the last 10 years, and I'm really not sure where all that time went.
This week is going to be so busy for me. Actually, the next month or so is going to be nonstop madness... even the weekends will be full. I see a massage or two in my future!
Lastly, I have to say that I hope this is the last of the hurricanes for a while. It was sort of fun the first go-round with Gustav, but after Ike I am tired of people freaking out about gas prices, I'm tired of rain, and I'm tired of worrying about where the next one will hit. That's enough for this year mmkay?
Friday, September 5, 2008
White people clapping
So I couldn't stomach much of the Republican National Convention this week, but no matter, because it still got shoved down my throat anyway. I didn't watch Sarah Palin's speech the other night, but I read it. After hearing her voice later on, I have decided to put my closed captioning to good use the next time she gives a speech. That nasally voice has got. to. go.
I keep hearing people say they are scared about the election, and most of the time the people I'm hearing are saying they are scared of Obama being president. But to me, this hockey mom thing is a lot scarier. I could go into a diatribe, but I won't -- suffice to say that I'm not voting for her or McSame. I'm happy to see that a female can get recognition for a slot such as VP, but I am still waiting for the day that a progressive, reliable female candidate becomes President.
-----
This week I played hostess for a couple of nights. I had some guests on their way back to NOLA after Gustav on Wednesday, and Thursday one of my good buddies who now lives in Portland came to crash before she flew back the next morning. I don't mind having company at all, but I have to admit it's kind of nice to have the place to myself tonight. Sally is crashed out on the floor next to me, I'm drinking some good but inexpensive red wine, I had a nice steak dinner, and Comedy Central loves me. Daily Show--Colbert Report--Chapelle Showx2-- just what I needed after a ridiculously long/short week.
Sally's latest thing (that annoys me) is to dart out the door before I can catch her, and then she runs around the parking lot, eating garbage or whatever. When I get close enough to catch her, she takes off. It's fun for her, embarrassing for me. I see a weekend of obedience training in our future... or I may have to call that doggy dominatrix -- I hear she's living in the US now. She kinda scares me a little.
I keep hearing people say they are scared about the election, and most of the time the people I'm hearing are saying they are scared of Obama being president. But to me, this hockey mom thing is a lot scarier. I could go into a diatribe, but I won't -- suffice to say that I'm not voting for her or McSame. I'm happy to see that a female can get recognition for a slot such as VP, but I am still waiting for the day that a progressive, reliable female candidate becomes President.
-----
This week I played hostess for a couple of nights. I had some guests on their way back to NOLA after Gustav on Wednesday, and Thursday one of my good buddies who now lives in Portland came to crash before she flew back the next morning. I don't mind having company at all, but I have to admit it's kind of nice to have the place to myself tonight. Sally is crashed out on the floor next to me, I'm drinking some good but inexpensive red wine, I had a nice steak dinner, and Comedy Central loves me. Daily Show--Colbert Report--Chapelle Showx2-- just what I needed after a ridiculously long/short week.
Sally's latest thing (that annoys me) is to dart out the door before I can catch her, and then she runs around the parking lot, eating garbage or whatever. When I get close enough to catch her, she takes off. It's fun for her, embarrassing for me. I see a weekend of obedience training in our future... or I may have to call that doggy dominatrix -- I hear she's living in the US now. She kinda scares me a little.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Comfy and cozy
I know that this hurricane is terrible for so many people. I am glad that it hasn't had quite the same impact as Katrina, and that everyone was so much better prepared. But I have to say that I have enjoyed the comfyness of holing up in the den with the xBF and the dog, watching the Weather Channel, eating and napping. Yes, I said I'm staying with the x-BF, but it's all good, we are friends and sometimes even with benefits. Stone me for that, I don't care... people need people.
Sally and I decided to come crash here yesterday when the weather started looking like it would get worse. We brought all the necessities and then some, but you can never be too prepared, right? It looks rough on the coast, but not total chaos and destruction like 3 years ago. For that I am thankful and glad.
Here we are just getting some rain and wind -- technically Sally and I could probably go on home. But it's not any fun riding out a storm alone, and we're making a mean pot roast tonight, so we're staying put!!
Some highlights from this weekend:
1. I have some friends who think Jim Cantore is hot. I think he is slowly morphing into Beaker from the Muppets. Soon we will tune in to Jim on the coast, clinging to a palm tree, and all he can say is "Meee Meee Meee!! Mememememeeee!!" See?
2. Went to One-to-One studios on Saturday night, for a benefit show so that they can keep on keepin' on. I have to say, I was really impressed! Millsaps Avenue has been an arts center for a while, but only recently has it begun a real revival. It was nice to see the diverse crowd, young (some VERY young, like not finished growing young) and old, white, black, Asian and whatever. Seven*Studioz was bumping as usual just down the street, and other than the sweltering heat, it was a good time. I especially enjoyed Johnny Bertram and Dent May (and his magnficent ukulele was indeed magnificent). I am happy to see Jackson's nightlife continue to grow.
3. Why is it that all the TV marathons on during Labor Day weekend are all my least favorite shows? I don't need to see that many episodes of Star Trek or Project Runway. I'm not sure anyone does.
I think that's about it for now. Back to more of doing nothing for the rest of the day!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Homestawww... Wunnnawwww...
One of my all time, top five favorite cartoons on earth is Homestar Runner. The lovable armless, lisping fellow gets me every time. You should go check him out, and really you need to just watch everything on that site. I have, and I still can't get enough.
I am trying to be like Homestar and become a "Wunnaww" myself. (That's "runner" for you lazy people who won't go hear him say it that way.) I have decided to try this couch-to-5K thing. Allegedly, I can be ready for a 5K in 2 months. I'd like to do the WellsFest 5K, but that's only a month or so from now, so that may not work. But fall is 5K season, so I'm sure there will be another one just around the bend.
Sally has been my running partner since she came to live with me a month or so ago. She has a lot of energy, so it helps for us to get up early (6am, YIKES, Iamnotamorningperson) and walk/run about a mile every day. Unfortunately for Sally, she had to have her lady bits removed last week, so that meant a week of rest time. The first few days were fine, she was out of it anyway, but by the 3rd day or so she was bouncing around the house and looking at me as if to say, "What's the deal? Why aren't we running?"
Finally, she got her stitches out today and we will hit the road in the morning. I have enjoyed sleeping in these last few days -- especially with the wetness from Hurricane Fay -- but my midsection is expanding rapidly, so it's up at 6am and lace up the shoes time again. It is good for me. It will make me skinny and hot. I will keep telling myself this.
Friday, August 15, 2008
tap tap tap tap tap tap tap... WOOF
So that was the sound that I woke up to this morning at, oh, about 5:45am.
I have this neighbor, he is a redneck loser. I'm not being mean when I say that, he really is a redneck loser. The main reason is because of the way he treats his "girlfriend," who is the person that was tap-tap-tapping on his door this morning. AT 5:45 PEOPLE. The "woof" was Sally at the door, because it sounded like someone was tap-tap-tapping on our door.
A couple of weeks ago she was BANGING on his door at about 3am. The BF was still here at that point and when he went to see what was going on, she said, "But he can't hear me unless I knock loudly!" BF told her somebody (meaning me) would call the cops if she didn't stop.
What seems to be going on is that Redneck doesn't want Chick around except for when he wants her around. She is a cute girl, but apparently dumber than a box of hair, so she doesn't understand when he kicks her out and won't let her back in. She continually knocks, or leaves pathetic notes on the door - it's all very sad and I wish I could say something to her, but I don't know what to say exactly or how to get the point across that she is wasting her time with this dork. I don't even know her name. I wish I did. It really sucks to see someone who has such low self-esteem that she would humiliate herself for the sake of a stupid guy who obviously doesn't appreciate her at all. Maybe one day I'll get a chance to talk to her.
I have this neighbor, he is a redneck loser. I'm not being mean when I say that, he really is a redneck loser. The main reason is because of the way he treats his "girlfriend," who is the person that was tap-tap-tapping on his door this morning. AT 5:45 PEOPLE. The "woof" was Sally at the door, because it sounded like someone was tap-tap-tapping on our door.
A couple of weeks ago she was BANGING on his door at about 3am. The BF was still here at that point and when he went to see what was going on, she said, "But he can't hear me unless I knock loudly!" BF told her somebody (meaning me) would call the cops if she didn't stop.
What seems to be going on is that Redneck doesn't want Chick around except for when he wants her around. She is a cute girl, but apparently dumber than a box of hair, so she doesn't understand when he kicks her out and won't let her back in. She continually knocks, or leaves pathetic notes on the door - it's all very sad and I wish I could say something to her, but I don't know what to say exactly or how to get the point across that she is wasting her time with this dork. I don't even know her name. I wish I did. It really sucks to see someone who has such low self-esteem that she would humiliate herself for the sake of a stupid guy who obviously doesn't appreciate her at all. Maybe one day I'll get a chance to talk to her.
Monday, August 4, 2008
The B**** is back (so is the Schlitz)
Okay so I'm tired of nobody reading my blog because nobody can find it. So it's open season people! And the first thing I choose to write about is the fact that Schlitz beer is coming back, according to this article. I couldn't be happier, but I'm a little concerned because I drank that beer pictured up top three years ago in Austin, TX, and I don't remember it being anything but tasty. Guess I really do enjoy cheap beer.
Lots of life changes going on right now, most of which I really don't want to talk about. But I will say that my dog is the best personal trainer a person can have. We get up at 6:00am and go walk/run for about 30 minutes. She has some issues with pulling and nipping at the leash, but for the most part she just pulls me right along and we are both worn slap out by the time we get back home. Sally is a Border Collie/Jack Russell mix, and if you know anything about those two breeds, they are two of the smartest and most high energy dogs you can find. Needless to say, she requires a lot of exercise. She has learned to swim at the BF's parent's pool, she plays fetch indoors and outdoors, and she loves to chase my laser pointer around the room, too. I love my dog!
Two more things and then I need to run:
1. I think this Boo Boo Kitty guy really has a pretty good plan. I saw him on Larry King Live tonight (along with Pass the Biscuits, and I'll let you figure out who that is), and I like what he was saying.
2. Have you heard about the feet washing up on the beach in British Columbia? I'm fascinated. Is it a mad podiatrist? A shark with an aversion to toes? Can't wait to find out.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Don't Think Twice
For several years now, the movies that topped my All-Time, Worst Ever list, were really just two, and they came out around the same time: A.I., the science-fiction poopfest that Speilberg had to finish off for Kubrick (which explained a lot, really), and The Talented Mr. Ripley, just a poopfest all around. It makes me think there is something about having Jude Law in a movie. I'd dare say that most of Jude Law's movies stink, which is unfortunate because he is hot. Or at least, he used to be -- I think he's losing his hair now, and it's not a great look for him.
But fear not, lonely duo, for a third flick is joining your ranks. This weekend the BF and I slogged through all 17 hours* of I'm Not There, the amazingly craptacular "biopic" about Bob Dylan's life. I am not a big Dylan fan or anything -- I actually think that his songs are best done by another aritst -- but I wanted to see Cate Blanchett play him, and I just thought it would be a cool pic. Oh well. From start to finish, I'm not sure I understood anything that anyone said. It was English, for the most part, but from what I could tell it was mostly bullshit, which apparently was all that ever came out of Bob Dylan's mouth in the '60s, or since. The movie portrays the different "lives" of Bob Dylan with different characters. The one that made the least sense was Richard Gere, who was playing some sort of hermit from a Western movie that winds up confronting "the man" at a little county fair. But I will say that the best part of the movie occurred during one of these random Western scenes, when there was a surprising performance by My Morning Jacket. Those guys saved me from slitting my wrists at that point, let me tell you.
I could go on, but I won't, because I already lost enough hours of my life just watching the thing.
*It was really only 2 hours and 15 minutes, but that was the longest 2 hrs/15 of my life.
***BREAKING NEWS***
Mid-blog breaking news today... the BF and I have acquired a new pet. As I was literally typing the above rant, someone knocked on my door and offered me a puppy. A little back story: we had some neighbors who were fond of domestically disputing in public, and so the Flo-Po were constantly coming out to deal with them. A while back, they got the cutest black and white puppy that they would leave out sometimes for way too long. I was always worried about her because they never used a leash, and a lot of cars come through this parking lot. BF, being the friendly talker that he is, struck up a conversation with the lovely couple one day and found out that they were probably going to need to find a home for the dog because the landlord (a different one from ours) didn't want them to have pets. This was several weeks ago, so I thought maybe they had worked it out. But today, dude knocks on my door saying that the chick finally R-U-N-N-O-F-T and left him with the bills and the dog. He was moving, couldn't take doggie with him, and wanted to know if we still wanted to take her. BF was sleeping, but of course I couldn't say no, so.... here she is, meet Sally!
She is the sweetest. We think she's some kind of Border Collie mix, and she is smart as a whip. Now, I must go and play with her! But expect more pictures in days to come...
But fear not, lonely duo, for a third flick is joining your ranks. This weekend the BF and I slogged through all 17 hours* of I'm Not There, the amazingly craptacular "biopic" about Bob Dylan's life. I am not a big Dylan fan or anything -- I actually think that his songs are best done by another aritst -- but I wanted to see Cate Blanchett play him, and I just thought it would be a cool pic. Oh well. From start to finish, I'm not sure I understood anything that anyone said. It was English, for the most part, but from what I could tell it was mostly bullshit, which apparently was all that ever came out of Bob Dylan's mouth in the '60s, or since. The movie portrays the different "lives" of Bob Dylan with different characters. The one that made the least sense was Richard Gere, who was playing some sort of hermit from a Western movie that winds up confronting "the man" at a little county fair. But I will say that the best part of the movie occurred during one of these random Western scenes, when there was a surprising performance by My Morning Jacket. Those guys saved me from slitting my wrists at that point, let me tell you.
I could go on, but I won't, because I already lost enough hours of my life just watching the thing.
*It was really only 2 hours and 15 minutes, but that was the longest 2 hrs/15 of my life.
***BREAKING NEWS***
Mid-blog breaking news today... the BF and I have acquired a new pet. As I was literally typing the above rant, someone knocked on my door and offered me a puppy. A little back story: we had some neighbors who were fond of domestically disputing in public, and so the Flo-Po were constantly coming out to deal with them. A while back, they got the cutest black and white puppy that they would leave out sometimes for way too long. I was always worried about her because they never used a leash, and a lot of cars come through this parking lot. BF, being the friendly talker that he is, struck up a conversation with the lovely couple one day and found out that they were probably going to need to find a home for the dog because the landlord (a different one from ours) didn't want them to have pets. This was several weeks ago, so I thought maybe they had worked it out. But today, dude knocks on my door saying that the chick finally R-U-N-N-O-F-T and left him with the bills and the dog. He was moving, couldn't take doggie with him, and wanted to know if we still wanted to take her. BF was sleeping, but of course I couldn't say no, so.... here she is, meet Sally!
She is the sweetest. We think she's some kind of Border Collie mix, and she is smart as a whip. Now, I must go and play with her! But expect more pictures in days to come...
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Yeah Yeah Yeah
I know, it's been too long. I bet nobody even bothers to check this blog anymore, but I need a space for my thoughts, so here goes!
A lot has happened since last time I guess. I turned the great 3-1, as in the number of flavors Baskin-Robbins boasts. I wasted the actual day of my birthday trying to get to a wedding in Lafayette that I still to this day do not know whether it actually went on or not. That day I learned my first valuable lesson of being 31: Don't do anything you don't really want to do. Don't do things out of obligation anymore.
Now of course, that doesn't apply in every situation -- there are things I may not want to do for work that I have to/am obligated to do or else I lose the job. And I may have family obligations that are unavoidable. But in situations like this one, where I was really going out of my way for someone who would never go so far out of her way for me, I should have sat that one out. And I will from now on!
My new job is going swimmingly. I'm headed to Vegas in a week or so for our annual retreat, and it will be nice to get away and finally put some faces with the voices I've been hearing on conference calls for the past two months.
I did another adult thing this past month and got preapproved for a mortgage loan. Scary!! It was a lengthy, pain-in-the-ass application process, and at the end of it all I still don't know if I can really afford to buy a house. The fact that I chose a social services field coupled with the fact that I have a reasonable amount of debt means that I am not worth all that much, financially speaking. It sucks that one person (in my situation) can't afford to buy a decent house all on her own. Not that I could count the BF's income anyway, because right now there isn't any, but even if he did have some I wouldn't want to include that. I want to do this all on my own or not at all. I guess I should have gone to law school or something, but then I'd have a buttload of student loan debt. It's a no-win situation. Anyway, I am going to try my luck with a different mortgage broker, but I have a feeling I may be a renter for at least another year.
On the flip side of that, though, I keep thinking about all the other things I'd rather spend money on than a mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance and repairs on a home. I want to travel. I want new clothes. I want to eat really well. I want to get my sewing machine fixed and start making a lot of stuff. I want to upgrade my cable subscription so I can get HBO. I want to take tap dance classes.
I'm not sure I could do all of those things if I were spending all my money on a home and the things that go with it.
For now, I'm just going with the flow. I'm calling a realtor who also knows a mortgage broker this week and I will see what he says.
The BF and I have been spending a lot of time at his P's pool. We are quickly becoming brown berries, and also getting into shape. I usually just float like a lazy manatee when I "go swimming," but this year I'm trying to actually exert some energy in between sunning sessions. I have decided to really bite the bullet and do whatever it takes to get my butt in shape this year. I've even *GASP* started getting up EARLY on most weekdays to work out. SHOCK! AWE! SURPRISE! It actually isn't so bad. I get up at 6am and turn on the Exercise on Demand channel, pick out a workout or two, and I'm done in 30 min. or so. And since I now don't have to be at work until 8:30, I still have like an entire hour to do stuff in the morning. I have absolutely NEVER been a morning person, but for some reason lately I really have enjoyed having all that time in the morning to lounge, eat cereal, watch the History Channel or make fun of the inane stories on the morning talk shows, and read. Good Lord, I'm becoming an adult.
I think I'll go for now, but I will make just one more comment. The Netflix fairy delivered The Kids in the Hall this past week and I was watching it last night. I used to watch this in high school all the time, and watching it on DVD made me realize 1) they must have shown a crapload of commercials during the show, because each episode is about 15 min. long, and 2) the skits themselves are really really short. And maybe 3) A lot of their skits are not so much funny as they are performance art. I guess performance art is lost on a 15 year old, because I don't remember the show being that way at all. I need to re-watch The State now too and see what else I was missing.
A lot has happened since last time I guess. I turned the great 3-1, as in the number of flavors Baskin-Robbins boasts. I wasted the actual day of my birthday trying to get to a wedding in Lafayette that I still to this day do not know whether it actually went on or not. That day I learned my first valuable lesson of being 31: Don't do anything you don't really want to do. Don't do things out of obligation anymore.
Now of course, that doesn't apply in every situation -- there are things I may not want to do for work that I have to/am obligated to do or else I lose the job. And I may have family obligations that are unavoidable. But in situations like this one, where I was really going out of my way for someone who would never go so far out of her way for me, I should have sat that one out. And I will from now on!
My new job is going swimmingly. I'm headed to Vegas in a week or so for our annual retreat, and it will be nice to get away and finally put some faces with the voices I've been hearing on conference calls for the past two months.
I did another adult thing this past month and got preapproved for a mortgage loan. Scary!! It was a lengthy, pain-in-the-ass application process, and at the end of it all I still don't know if I can really afford to buy a house. The fact that I chose a social services field coupled with the fact that I have a reasonable amount of debt means that I am not worth all that much, financially speaking. It sucks that one person (in my situation) can't afford to buy a decent house all on her own. Not that I could count the BF's income anyway, because right now there isn't any, but even if he did have some I wouldn't want to include that. I want to do this all on my own or not at all. I guess I should have gone to law school or something, but then I'd have a buttload of student loan debt. It's a no-win situation. Anyway, I am going to try my luck with a different mortgage broker, but I have a feeling I may be a renter for at least another year.
On the flip side of that, though, I keep thinking about all the other things I'd rather spend money on than a mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance and repairs on a home. I want to travel. I want new clothes. I want to eat really well. I want to get my sewing machine fixed and start making a lot of stuff. I want to upgrade my cable subscription so I can get HBO. I want to take tap dance classes.
I'm not sure I could do all of those things if I were spending all my money on a home and the things that go with it.
For now, I'm just going with the flow. I'm calling a realtor who also knows a mortgage broker this week and I will see what he says.
The BF and I have been spending a lot of time at his P's pool. We are quickly becoming brown berries, and also getting into shape. I usually just float like a lazy manatee when I "go swimming," but this year I'm trying to actually exert some energy in between sunning sessions. I have decided to really bite the bullet and do whatever it takes to get my butt in shape this year. I've even *GASP* started getting up EARLY on most weekdays to work out. SHOCK! AWE! SURPRISE! It actually isn't so bad. I get up at 6am and turn on the Exercise on Demand channel, pick out a workout or two, and I'm done in 30 min. or so. And since I now don't have to be at work until 8:30, I still have like an entire hour to do stuff in the morning. I have absolutely NEVER been a morning person, but for some reason lately I really have enjoyed having all that time in the morning to lounge, eat cereal, watch the History Channel or make fun of the inane stories on the morning talk shows, and read. Good Lord, I'm becoming an adult.
I think I'll go for now, but I will make just one more comment. The Netflix fairy delivered The Kids in the Hall this past week and I was watching it last night. I used to watch this in high school all the time, and watching it on DVD made me realize 1) they must have shown a crapload of commercials during the show, because each episode is about 15 min. long, and 2) the skits themselves are really really short. And maybe 3) A lot of their skits are not so much funny as they are performance art. I guess performance art is lost on a 15 year old, because I don't remember the show being that way at all. I need to re-watch The State now too and see what else I was missing.
Monday, May 5, 2008
El Cinco de Mayo
Just watched this movie tonight. I'm sorry, but Wes Anderson is a cinematic genius. I have seen all his movies and they seem to get successively better. Not to mention the colors that he uses and the delicious soundtracks. I would like to live in one of his movies. I'd climb onto that train and snuggle up with those cute Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton suitcases and drink sweet lime for hours. And maybe get to hang out with Adrian Brody. He is so cute to me, in a freakishly skinny kind of way.
I watched this movie, smoked a cigar and drank a Yoo Hoo all by myself tonight. And it was good.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Up on the 12th Floor
Can I just say it?
I love Jackson.
When I first moved back here from Memphis, I was really at a loss for words or thoughts. I had thought I would stay in Memphis forever. I didn't think that Jackson had all that much to offer. I thought I already pretty much knew everyone there was to know around here.
I was wrong.
It was a lot like when I decided to switch colleges after my freshman year because I realized that it was actually better to be where I knew some people. And once I got to that second college, where I originally thought I already knew everyone, I was pleasantly surprised to meet people from all over that I never would have known otherwise.
Anyway... tonight I attended a meeting of a group of young professionals that really care about this city that I have always sort of taken for granted. We heard William Winter speak, y'all. I think he is my new hero. He is so wise and so kind, and has always been ahead of his time, I think.
This group is planning some really great things, and I am so glad to be a part of it. It was good to get the BF out of the house, too, and he made some promising contacts for his private practice adventure. I am calling that an "adventure," because so far that is what it has been! He's getting some cases, slowly but surely, and that is a good thing. Making money is good!
I'm not going to use this blog to talk about my job -- but the thing is, I really love my job so far. I am happy that it is something I can really jump into and get excited about doing. I don't dread getting up for work every day like I used to. Don't get me wrong -- getting up early is a bitch -- but it's okay, I have to remind myself, we like this job.
As for other jobs, I am working on an article for the new BOOM Jackson publication, and so far I'm not pulling my hair out, so that is good. It helps that BF and I have been trying our best to get out and do something every weekend, too -- especially outside stuff. There really are a jillion things to do around our fair city. So far we have:
*Walked the nature trail and roamed the Natural Science Museum
*Gotten a big batch of crawfish and eaten them at a park in Belhaven
*Gone to a show at Cafe Seven
*Visited the Zoo and heard some great jazz music
*Gone to the art museum
And this weekend I think it's the Belhaven Market. This is my favorite time of year in Jackson!
I love Jackson.
When I first moved back here from Memphis, I was really at a loss for words or thoughts. I had thought I would stay in Memphis forever. I didn't think that Jackson had all that much to offer. I thought I already pretty much knew everyone there was to know around here.
I was wrong.
It was a lot like when I decided to switch colleges after my freshman year because I realized that it was actually better to be where I knew some people. And once I got to that second college, where I originally thought I already knew everyone, I was pleasantly surprised to meet people from all over that I never would have known otherwise.
Anyway... tonight I attended a meeting of a group of young professionals that really care about this city that I have always sort of taken for granted. We heard William Winter speak, y'all. I think he is my new hero. He is so wise and so kind, and has always been ahead of his time, I think.
This group is planning some really great things, and I am so glad to be a part of it. It was good to get the BF out of the house, too, and he made some promising contacts for his private practice adventure. I am calling that an "adventure," because so far that is what it has been! He's getting some cases, slowly but surely, and that is a good thing. Making money is good!
I'm not going to use this blog to talk about my job -- but the thing is, I really love my job so far. I am happy that it is something I can really jump into and get excited about doing. I don't dread getting up for work every day like I used to. Don't get me wrong -- getting up early is a bitch -- but it's okay, I have to remind myself, we like this job.
As for other jobs, I am working on an article for the new BOOM Jackson publication, and so far I'm not pulling my hair out, so that is good. It helps that BF and I have been trying our best to get out and do something every weekend, too -- especially outside stuff. There really are a jillion things to do around our fair city. So far we have:
*Walked the nature trail and roamed the Natural Science Museum
*Gotten a big batch of crawfish and eaten them at a park in Belhaven
*Gone to a show at Cafe Seven
*Visited the Zoo and heard some great jazz music
*Gone to the art museum
And this weekend I think it's the Belhaven Market. This is my favorite time of year in Jackson!
Friday, April 4, 2008
We're all getting older...
So the BF and I are discussing shortbread cookies; specifically the kind that are shaped like windmills and are sort of spicy -- like cinnamon/ginger/cardamom. I had totally forgotten about these cookies until he brought them up, and I wanted to call my mom and find out what they were called because we used to get them all the time growing up.
The BF warned me not to call because it really wasn't worth it, but I didn't think anything of it and called, anyway. My dad answered, which was great because I love talking to my dad and he is rarely ever home, much less answering the phone. He couldn't remember what the cookies were called, but he did remember something else he wanted to talk to me about.
I need to preface this by saying that I am 30, nearly 31, and I live with the BF in a modest, inexpensive apartment in the suburbs of Jackson. I have never owned a home, in fact, I have been mortified of the home-buying process up until this point. All the horror stories I have heard from friends who have done it (both single and married) have kept me far, far away. But, in light of the fact that I've lived in apartments for the better part of 10 years, and in light of the fact that I recently got a really great job that pays really greatly, I have decided it's time for me to look for something bigger (a house) that I would purchase. I told my parents about this, and I'm sure they sighed with relief that their oldest daughter was finally sorta acting her age.
Further background: My little sister is 25. She finished college in 3 years (nursing school), got a good job right away, married her high school sweetheart and has been married for 5 years now, bought a house in a nice suburb right after they got married, and had a baby last year. And now she and her hubby are planning to build a house right next door to my parents in a few years. In my parents' eyes, for the most part, Sis has done everything right. Now, don't get me wrong -- I love my sister and am very proud of her. I think she has done quite well and she did what was right for her.
Me on the other hand. I am 30. It took me 5 years to get a B.A. in Psychology, which automatically means graduate school, so 2 more years later I finally graduate and enter "the real world." I moved to Memphis for grad school and was told "You'll never find anyone to marry up there," by my mother instead of "Good luck! You'll do great!" Three years later, I moved back home and took a crappy job with crappy pay. Then took a slightly better job that quickly turned into a nightmare, but I did meet my BF through that job. Before him was a not-so-long line of short-term relationships that went nowhere. But, since the BF and I have been together for 3 1/2 years and are only living together, I'm still not where I'm "supposed to be" because we should have been married by now. Heaven forbid we would want to be sure that was the right decision before taking the plunge!
So, my dad tells me that he knows of a house for sale and that it is a "really nice house, great neighborhood" etc. He says it is reasonably priced (although at this point I have no idea how much house I can even afford). The problem? It is located even further into Suburbia than I am now, something I am trying to get away from. My parents know this. My dad goes into a diatribe about how I am "throwing my money away paying rent," and how I am "getting older -- I mean, we're all getting older," and I should "invest in a house." I explain that I do want to buy a house, but I just started my new job this week and need to wait a couple of weeks before I go to the bank asking for a loan. So this is what he proposes next: "Well, your Mama and I have talked about it, and we could buy the house and you could just rent it from us. Then later if you wanted to, you could take over the note."
So let me get this straight: I should quit throwing money away on rent and invest in a property, and the way to do that is rent a house from my parents. I love my dad, but I am afraid he may be smoking crack. Nothing about that deal makes any sense. This is a house that we have not even seen yet, I haven't even had the chance to find out how much house I can afford, yet my parents are rip-roaring ready to buy the thing and rent it to me?
My parents are not that well off -- they do okay, and have very little debt, but at this point in their lives I don't know how they would have the funds to purchase another home. No my friends, what I really think is going on is this: My parents are so afraid for me to buy a house in Belhaven, Fondren, or NE Jackson, that they are willing to BUY A HOUSE FOR ME. Just to make sure I am living in an appropriate neighborhood? You betcha. My parents have lived in Crystal Springs for 30 years and have lost all reasoning about the realities of the city of Jackson. Never mind that they grew up here, at least my dad did, and my mom spent a lot of her formative years here. They believe that the entire city is riddled with crime, and that I would be much better off and happier in one of those cookie-cutter houses in a forgettably bland suburban neighborhood. Never mind it would take me even longer to get to work (and more gas) than it does now, or that the property values in these homes are actually not going to increase much more than they already have. No, God forbid, I may move into a home with a Jackson zip code and BLACK PEOPLE nearby*.
Needless to say, I was offended/flabbergasted by this offer. On the one hand, it was quite generous, but on the other, it was a loaded offer that smacked of obligation and awkwardness. No thanks.
My plan is to get pre-approved, talk to some realtor friends of mine, and look in the neighborhoods that I want to look at. I may not let my parents know anything until they get the change of address card. While their assistance with say, a down payment or furniture would be great, I'd rather be a REAL grown-up and do things on my own.
*I could go on for days about this subject, and it probably will be the topic of many a blog post to come. I'm reading Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream. It is helping me fine-tune my already strong opinions on this subject.
The BF warned me not to call because it really wasn't worth it, but I didn't think anything of it and called, anyway. My dad answered, which was great because I love talking to my dad and he is rarely ever home, much less answering the phone. He couldn't remember what the cookies were called, but he did remember something else he wanted to talk to me about.
I need to preface this by saying that I am 30, nearly 31, and I live with the BF in a modest, inexpensive apartment in the suburbs of Jackson. I have never owned a home, in fact, I have been mortified of the home-buying process up until this point. All the horror stories I have heard from friends who have done it (both single and married) have kept me far, far away. But, in light of the fact that I've lived in apartments for the better part of 10 years, and in light of the fact that I recently got a really great job that pays really greatly, I have decided it's time for me to look for something bigger (a house) that I would purchase. I told my parents about this, and I'm sure they sighed with relief that their oldest daughter was finally sorta acting her age.
Further background: My little sister is 25. She finished college in 3 years (nursing school), got a good job right away, married her high school sweetheart and has been married for 5 years now, bought a house in a nice suburb right after they got married, and had a baby last year. And now she and her hubby are planning to build a house right next door to my parents in a few years. In my parents' eyes, for the most part, Sis has done everything right. Now, don't get me wrong -- I love my sister and am very proud of her. I think she has done quite well and she did what was right for her.
Me on the other hand. I am 30. It took me 5 years to get a B.A. in Psychology, which automatically means graduate school, so 2 more years later I finally graduate and enter "the real world." I moved to Memphis for grad school and was told "You'll never find anyone to marry up there," by my mother instead of "Good luck! You'll do great!" Three years later, I moved back home and took a crappy job with crappy pay. Then took a slightly better job that quickly turned into a nightmare, but I did meet my BF through that job. Before him was a not-so-long line of short-term relationships that went nowhere. But, since the BF and I have been together for 3 1/2 years and are only living together, I'm still not where I'm "supposed to be" because we should have been married by now. Heaven forbid we would want to be sure that was the right decision before taking the plunge!
So, my dad tells me that he knows of a house for sale and that it is a "really nice house, great neighborhood" etc. He says it is reasonably priced (although at this point I have no idea how much house I can even afford). The problem? It is located even further into Suburbia than I am now, something I am trying to get away from. My parents know this. My dad goes into a diatribe about how I am "throwing my money away paying rent," and how I am "getting older -- I mean, we're all getting older," and I should "invest in a house." I explain that I do want to buy a house, but I just started my new job this week and need to wait a couple of weeks before I go to the bank asking for a loan. So this is what he proposes next: "Well, your Mama and I have talked about it, and we could buy the house and you could just rent it from us. Then later if you wanted to, you could take over the note."
So let me get this straight: I should quit throwing money away on rent and invest in a property, and the way to do that is rent a house from my parents. I love my dad, but I am afraid he may be smoking crack. Nothing about that deal makes any sense. This is a house that we have not even seen yet, I haven't even had the chance to find out how much house I can afford, yet my parents are rip-roaring ready to buy the thing and rent it to me?
My parents are not that well off -- they do okay, and have very little debt, but at this point in their lives I don't know how they would have the funds to purchase another home. No my friends, what I really think is going on is this: My parents are so afraid for me to buy a house in Belhaven, Fondren, or NE Jackson, that they are willing to BUY A HOUSE FOR ME. Just to make sure I am living in an appropriate neighborhood? You betcha. My parents have lived in Crystal Springs for 30 years and have lost all reasoning about the realities of the city of Jackson. Never mind that they grew up here, at least my dad did, and my mom spent a lot of her formative years here. They believe that the entire city is riddled with crime, and that I would be much better off and happier in one of those cookie-cutter houses in a forgettably bland suburban neighborhood. Never mind it would take me even longer to get to work (and more gas) than it does now, or that the property values in these homes are actually not going to increase much more than they already have. No, God forbid, I may move into a home with a Jackson zip code and BLACK PEOPLE nearby*.
Needless to say, I was offended/flabbergasted by this offer. On the one hand, it was quite generous, but on the other, it was a loaded offer that smacked of obligation and awkwardness. No thanks.
My plan is to get pre-approved, talk to some realtor friends of mine, and look in the neighborhoods that I want to look at. I may not let my parents know anything until they get the change of address card. While their assistance with say, a down payment or furniture would be great, I'd rather be a REAL grown-up and do things on my own.
*I could go on for days about this subject, and it probably will be the topic of many a blog post to come. I'm reading Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream. It is helping me fine-tune my already strong opinions on this subject.
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