Scottsbluff, CarHenge, & Wall Drug

We headed out on Thursday and made it to Scottsbluff, Nebraska to spend the night with an old friend of one of my friends. I must say that Scottsbluff surely wins the award for stinkiest town ever. Not only do they have the usual farm smells, but they have a sugar plant which emits debilitating fumes. As soon as we came within the city limits we were all gasping for breath until we could make it safely inside.

Friday morning we set out early to find Car Henge. Which is a lovely place in the middle of western Nebraska where old cars have been painted grey and stacked upon each other to recreate "Stone Henge." This was honestly one of my favorite places we visited. It was so odd seeing these cars strewn out over an empty field in the middle of nowhere. Both of my friends who have actually been to the real Stone Henge thought it was cooler because you could actually go in the middle.

As we were heading up to the border of South Dakota we drove past this gem. We promptly turned around and stopped to take pictures. How could we resist? Hilarious...

If you have ever been anywhere near South Dakota, you will know that the roads are strewn with massive amounts of Wall Drug billboards. Hundreds of miles away. It's out of control. We decided that the entire state decided to band together to create as many tourists traps as possible. Wall Drug, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Sturgis, & the Mitchell Corn Palace to name just a few. But I digress. We stopped at Wall Drug, took some corny pictures, drank some of their free (but terrible tasting) water, and bought a buffalo chip frisbee (plastic).

Next Post: The Badlands

I Know, I Know, I'm a Slacker

Yikes, I've sure been a slacker-butt blogger lately. And it's my car, not computer that's been broken so I don't have a good excuse. Tomorrow I'm off to North Dakota with some friends. We're going to hit up Wind Caves, Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, and Car Henge (Stone Henge imitation with cars!), so I should have lots to blog about when I get back. I'll also write an acceptance speech for the rockin' girl blogger award Sarakastic magnanimously bestowed upon me. And do Stacy's world domination meme...

Errrgg

So I'm trying to get home tonight after bowling. Not unusual. What was unusual was that my dashboard lights were flickering in and out. And then all of my warning lights turned on at once. Including my emergency brake and airbag lights. Thus began an official freak out moment.

Normally, I'm pretty good with cars. I can change my air filter, windshield wipers, my oil (well, i did it once anyway), etc. But that's all maintenance stuff. I don't do well when things suddenly go wrong. So of course I then proceeded to call people who of course didn't answer their phones. Freaking out a bit more by that time.

What happened next? My car started to accelerate and brake sharply in an alternating fashion. Clearly my car was being possessed by the unhappy spirit of my old muffler. Luckily, what was I to behold on the side of the road? An AutoZone. Perfectly situated in my time of need. The AutoZone lady then told me that all i needed was a new battery and replaced it for me. Unfortunately, she checked it afterwards and said that my alternator didn't seem to be hooked to my battery properly, but that she couldn't check and that I shouldn't pay to have it looked at either. Guess I'm going to see if I can learn what an alternator actually looks like tomorrow morning. Wish me luck. I'm not sure how I could somehow drive without an alternator, but apparently it's possible since I made it home all right. Errrgg...

In Case You Ever Wanted To Stalk Me, You Now Have The Tools...

I was tagged by the lovely (and currently under-the-weather) Stacy. Here goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Living in a podunk town and trying to survive middle school. Phew... I made it out okay.

What were you doing 5 years ago?
I had just graduated from high school and was going to school in Hawaii. Laying on the beach, hiking in paradise, and hitchhiking my way across the island. Those were some of the best times of my life.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I had just moved to downtown SLC and was just getting into cycling. I was also trying to avoid my research partner who kept trying to convince me to become his roommate (or wife) and cook for him. Yikes!

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
Currently: Watermelon, ice cream (too bad I can't eat it often cuz i gave up sugar with the quixotic pragmatist), otter pops, cherries, diet coke (does that even count as a snack?)

What are 5 songs that you know the lyrics to by heart?
Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel) - Billy Joel
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
Twentysomething - Jamie Cullum
Near You Always - Jewel

What are 5 things you would do if you were a millionaire?
Buy a house, pay off my loans, set up college funds for my siblings, travel the world in style with fun people, set up a foundation for refugees in Africa

What are 5 bad habits?
Letting my laundry explode across my bedroom floor, losing track of time, worrying, staying up late, impatience

What are 5 things you like doing?
Cycling, swimming, reading, singing, being with friends

What are 5 things you would never wear again?
Shoulder pads, diapers, those awful shoes i wore to prom that gave me blisters in 10 minutes, stir up pants, my heart on my sleeve :)

What are 5 favorite toys?
Books, guitar, hammock, Martin Jay (my road bike), computer

Who are you going to tag?
Anyone who wants to take the tag

4 Miler for the 4th

CoSprings is filled with fireworks smell. Just driving home, it looked like there was a mist covering the city. Or smoke. I love the smell of fireworks :)

Today was one of the best 4th of July's I've had in quite a while. I got my butt out of bed early this morning to run a 4 mile race nearby. I was a bit nervous because I've never ran in any sort of race before and I couldn't convince any of my friends to do it with me, but it turned out fine and I'm officially hooked. I love, love, love racing. It was amazing how many people were there of all different fitness levels and goals. Some were there to win, a bunch were there with their children (even a couple of somewhat insane people pushing strollers while running), and there were lots of walkers as well. My goal was to hold a steady pace without music or my running buddy. I'm actually not sure what my exact time was at the finish because I forgot to look at the clock, but after I had drank a few bottles of water and grabbed a bagel I went back and the clock was at 51 minutes. Which means I probably came in at ~47 minutes, holding a 12 minute mile pace. Not fantastic compared to all those running fanatics, but after not working out for a few weeks and being a self-proclaimed running hater a few months ago, I'm really happy with my time.

It was such a great feeling coming into the finish. The path was lined with volunteers and finished runners cheering everyone on as they finished. I can't describe the adrenaline rush I got after finishing. And that was only for a 4 miler. I can't imagine how amazing it would be to finish a marathon. So now I can't get enough. I plan on this being the first of many races. And for all of you out there who haven't ever done a 5k or something similar, do it! You won't regret it.

Finishing out the day, I went to the academy to watch fireworks with some friends. The perfect end to a wonderful day :)

The Devil in the form of Bronchitis

I hate bronchitis. It's not often that I resort to the use of the word hate, but it's official. I hate it. I started to get sick on June 10th and I thought I was finally over it this last weekend. My cough was hardly there and I didn't have a fever. So I resumed triathlon training yesterday and was up all night in coughing fits. Back to the vicodin. I wonder how bad it'd be if I tried to operate a bike while on vikadin. It's killing me to not work out. It cures my moodiness. Without it I'm a person you don't want to be around. Lame. Some of you must have had bronchitis before. How did you get over it?

Happy Late Anniversary to Myself

What! I apparently missed my one year anniversary of blogging on June 14. Happy late anniversary to myself. In celebration I thought I would revisit some of the past year, but after starting to do so I realized it was only making me sad and I'd rather focus on 12 things I want to accomplish/do in this next year. Here's the list I came up with:

1. Start a real career. Not a lame job to pay the bills, but an honest to goodness real job.


2. Focus on positive things. I know this sounds very general, but it's not really. Lately I've been falling into a bit of a thought trap. Too many critical, unhappy thoughts. I've decided that I will think the absolute best of people no matter what. It'll be hard, but I'll be happier and people will enjoy my company more. This also includes not dwelling on past things and thinking about what I can do to move on or make the situation better.


3. Write thank you notes to share my gratitude. I feel like I have a good start on this one. I try to get thank you notes out and always show gratitude, but sometimes I get lazy about it and I can do a better job.


4. Write 2 songs that I'm really proud of. Guitar, piano, harmonica... Doesn't matter, but I think it'd be nice to be able to say "I wrote that" when people fall in love with my wonderful future songs.


5. Make and keep a budget. We're talking a serious financial system that would even make Banker Chic proud. Not just checking online every other day.

6. Sort out my religious thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. This one is sure to take a long time and hard work, but I've been treading water for far too long in my beliefs.

7. Enhance my relationships with family members. Not that they're that terrible right now, but I've always been closer to the female members and I should put more effort into all of them.

8. Bike a century (100 miles), run a 10k (this is far for a wussy runner like myself), and do several triathlons.




9. Give up refined sugar and caffeine permanently. Let the withdrawals begin.





10. Become more honest. I had an interesting conversation with Scrabble Boy tonight that really made me think about the whole concept of honesty in general. I've been unknowingly operating under the philosophy that sometimes lying is necessary when feelings are involved. And I still think that is sometimes it is necessary, but that those times are far and few between. I'm going to try to be brutally honest with myself and just plain honest with others.



11. Read one new classic a month. I tend towards contemporary literature although I have typically enjoyed classics in the past. Here's me broadening my horizons.





12. Develop my artistic talents. I used to be a photography major, but after I switched I stopped taking my "real" camera with me everywhere looking for good photo ops. I'd also like to learn how to draw more accurately and quickly, especially faces.




They're not easy goals and I won't be able to tackle them all at once, but I think with some hard work and determination I can succeed. woohoo! here's to year #2!

jeepers!

I don't know what my problem is lately, but i've been feeling large amounts of anti-boy frustration lately. it's not breaking news, but jeepers (my new favorite word) they sure can be infuriating. at least half of my close friends are having boy trauma at the moment and i just don't understand so many guys of my generation can be so... not with it. get it together guys. on a lighter note, you should visit the fabulous Vermillion Vixon's site and read her response to an article about what guys/gals should have accomplished by the age of 21.

Boys-Are-Stinky Pie

Today, my little sis and I watched "Waitress," which is an independent movie starring Keri Russell as a pregnant waitress with an abusive husband who falls in love with her ob/gyn doctor. It's pretty much the stuff that country songs are made of. Although the movie itself was only so-so, the pies she makes throughout it are fabulous. She's constantly inventing yummy pies with names like I-don't-want-Earl's-baby-pie and Falling-in-love-chocolate-mousse-pie. We came home inspired to make our own inventive pie and settled on a Boys-Are-Stinky-Pie. The first round was graham cracker crust, mashed up blackberries, cheesecake pudding pie filling, and crunched heath bar on top. While the outcome was yummy, we've decided that next time it'll be lemon pudding filling and more blackberries on top. Yumm.... Stinky boys have never been so palatable :)

Want Some Gum?

Okay, it' s kind of blurry because we were driving while taking this picture, but what you're seeing is a giant gumball machine attached to a trailer being pulled by a truck. My sister and I thought it was too random to not document.

Brevity is Not my Forte

This past week has flown by with visiting friends, a John Mayer concert (awesome), hanging with my little sis, getting sun burned, and getting over bronchitis, but I can't seem to think of anything to blog about lately. So I've taken Lynette's tag for the meme on one word answers.

1 Where is your cell phone? somewhere
2 Relationship? hah!
3 Your hair? shorter
4 Work? frustrating
5 Your sister? sunburned
6 Your favorite things? friends
7 Your dream last night? forgotten
8 Your favorite drink? tea
9 Your dream car? audi
10 The room you're in? living
11 Your shoes? summery
12 Your fears? boys
13 What do you want to be in 10 years? awesome
14 Who did you hang out with this weekend? SLCers
15 What are you not good at? brevity
16 Muffins? Mimi's
17 Wish-list item? career
18 Where you grew up? minnesota
19 The last thing you did? bowling
20 What are you wearing? pajamas
21 What are you not wearing? girdle
22 Your pet? adorable
23 Your computer? sweet
24 Your life? breezy
25 Your mood? relaxed
26 Missing? gramma
27 What are you thinking about? geometry
28 Your car? dirty
29 Your kitchen? full
30 Your summer? fabulous
31 Your favorite color? green
32 Last time you laughed? now
33 Last time you cried? may
34 School? done
35 Love? you
36 Tag? whomever

Note to Self:

Do not do your laundry at 1:00 in the morning. When you go to pick up your dry clothing and sheets you will be drenched by the wayward sprinklers lining the path to the laundry facilities. Also, the door to the laundromat will be impossible to open in the darkness forcing you to fumble with the key and lock for a good 3 minutes while submitting you to the sprinkler aimed directly at you. Heaven only knows how the grass actually gets any water. On your way out you will try desperately to keep your laundry dry, but it won't work so you may as well not bother.

But Mom, I Don't Want to go to School Today

I don't get sick. Once a year in the fall I get a cold. And that's pretty much it.

But today I am sick. It started last night with a sore, scratchy throat. I started popping cough drops and knocked myself out with NyQuil but in the middle of the night I woke up and couldn't breathe. This morning I'm feeling putrid (love that word!) and have to get stuff done anyway. Lame.

Okay, I'm officially done whining to the blogosphere.

Mimi's Muffins For Free

How to get free muffins from Mimi's Cafe:

1. On a weekday, pull into the parking lot at 10:55 pm. 5 minutes before they close.

2. Walk in alone (it is very important that you not take a friend) at precisely 10:58 pm. Do this with full knowledge that you will be striking fear into the hearts of all the staff.

3. After giving the host a moment to consider his fear and loathing, give him winning smile and say something like, "Oh don't worry, I just want to get a few muffins to go."

4. Continue to flirt with the host.

5. Everyone will be so relieved that you are not there to eat that they will find you muffins and send you away with them on the house.

6. Take the most marvelous muffins on the planet home and enjoy!

Overheard While in the Old Navy Dressing Room:

Old Navy Girl (with disdain and pity in her voice): Did she ask you out?

Old Navy Boy: Uh.... no, not exactly

ONG: So wait, what happened then?

ONB: Well I got stuck back there and you know how she just got that tattoo?

ONG: Yeah...

ONB: She asked if I wanted to see it and I was trapped so I said yes. But then she just took her shirt off.

ONG: What! She couldn't just pull it up in the back?

ONB: You'd think so. And then she turned towards me.

ONG: I keep telling her she NEEDS to wear a bra.

Vanity, Oh Vanity...

Found this on a friends's myspace and I'm vain enough to post my own :)

http://www.myheritage.com

Maywood's Sanctuary

As I was reading Newsweek today I came across this quote from Heather MacDonald:

"The city of Maywood in Los Angeles County declared itself a sanctuary zone for illegal aliens this year. Then it got rid of its drunk-driving checkpoints, because they were nabbing too many illegal aliens. Next, this 96 percent Latino city, almost half of whose adult population lacks a ninth-grade education, disbanded its police traffic division entirely, so that illegals wouldn't need to worry about having their cars towed for being unlicensed."

Seriously? Out of control. I'm not necessarily taking issue with Maywood offering "sanctuary," but how can they possibly change so many policies/laws to make so many unreasonable concessions?

Starla Hits a Road Block

Today ended up being one of those days everything ends up going wrong. I can't say it was terrible, but it was definately frustrating.

Here's what was supposed to happen:

Get up and make the journey to Wellington Lake (~60 miles away) to see what my June 16 triathlon course was like. I'd get up there, bike/run the course and then get back into CoSprings with plenty of time to shower, run errands, and go to my bowling league (where I'd announce my new bowling name: Starla. Thanks Joel! Cd on the way).

Here's what did happen:

Got up to find that Lawrence Christopher (my pansy not-quite-a-mountain-bike) was having a temper tantrum. After working on him for a bit, he shaped up and started working again. When I came upon Decker (2/3 of the way there) I realized that my map is old and not up to date. Spent an extra hour looking for the road that would supposedly take me to the lake. Finally found it and traversed the pothole laden road without killing my Jane, my litttle Sentra (a major feat!). Got a map from the lady in the office which did not match up with the one I had printed out before leaving home. Spent another hour trying to figure out where the bike/run started. Eventually figured out that the bike is done on the pothole laden roads I had just come up on. A bad sign, but I figured I had trekked all the way up there and might as well give it a whirl. Bad idea. The first three miles are a super-steep downhill which left me dodging potholes at 20 mph on my pansy, fake mountain bike. Then Lawrence Christopher decided to freak out (for the 4th time this week) and I ended up pulling off to fix him. I persevered though. Got back on the road and went for a few more miles only to find myself thoroughly lost. Again. Figured that I just hadn't come to the turn off yet and kept going. A really bad idea. Ended up going four miles off course and through some serious terrain. Turned back and headed back to the lake and my car. Tackled the steep pothole laden road once again (the uphill was actually easier than the downhill). When I got back to my car I realized that I only had two hours to get back to my apartment, shower, and leave again. Unfortunately it took me two hours and ten minutes to just get to my apartment, which made showering an impossibility. Gross. Luckily I'm not trying to pick up on any of my bowling teammates :)

Result:

There is absolutely no way that I'm going to be able to compete in that triathlon. The website said it was not technical, but it's definately too technical for my pansy, no-shocks mountain bike. That keeps breaking down. I will kill myself trying to do it fast. So now I get to figure out a different race I can do in the next month so that I don't have to do my olympic length tri in August cold turkey.

Almost Famous

The wonderful Heidikins has graced me with interview questions. Here goes:

1) What is the craziest, most spontaneous thing you've ever done?
Moving to Colorado. Although I had been thinking about moving for a while, the decision was made quickly after things snapped in SLC. It took me about half an hour in front of a map to eliminate most of the United States and then finally pick Colorado Springs, a town I had only driven through once before and didn't know a soul who lived there. A couple of weeks later I was here and looking for places to live with all of my junk in tow. One of the best decisions I've ever made though!

2) If you suddenly won 1,000,000 dollars, what would you do first, second, and third? (Tax-free, we're talking One. Million. Dollars. here!)
My answer is super lame, but I tried to think about what I would really end up doing:
First - I would buy furniture. There is a serious lack of it in my apartment.
Second - I'd probably take at least one of my friends out to dinner to celebrate.
Third - I'd pay off all of my student loans.

3) What is one of your most memorable vacations? Why?
The vacation I remember loving most was taken when I was about 13 years old with my family and best friend from junior high. We started out by driving to the west coast of Canada. Went to the Butchart Gardens in British Columbia (beautiful!) and then back in Seattle we saw all of the major sights. My favorite place we visited there was one of the coolest science museums I've ever been to. I've never had so much fun in my life (Yup, apparently I've been nerdy for quite a while). We then headed down the coast and stopped in both the Redwood National Park and the Sequoia National Park. So green everywhere! We then traveled down to San Francisco, hitting up the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and Golden Gate Park. We continued our way down the coast and took in the Monterey Bay Aquarium and lots of random overlooks for whale and seal watching. In LA we went to Knott's Berry Farm where I watched the particularly insane members of my family get incredibly sick by riding a horrible roller coaster over and over again. Suckers. In San Diego, we all went the famous San Diego Zoo, but I'm not going to lie to you. This was my least favorite part of the entire trip. Never been a big fan of zoos. Actually that's an understatement. I detest zoos. Even as a child. But I do remember liking the sky tram that took us over the entire zoo. We finished off our trip by crossing the border and heading into Mexico. I don't remember much from Mexico, but I do remember clearly that my Dad is terrible at negotiating prices. Poor Dad.

4) What are your favorite books? Authors? Why?
I guess my favorite authors are CS Lewis and Jane Austen. They're the only ones I've read many books by. I love Lewis because he's so incredibly logical and usually end up with a list of words I've never heard of that I get to incorporate into my vocabulary. Austen is just genius when it comes to her characters and comedy. I can read Emma and Pride & Prejudice over and over without getting sick of them.

One of my favorite books is The Life of Pi. I was chatting with some friends the other day who hated it, but I just don't understand how it's possible to hate that book. I was enthralled by the story of a boy who gets stuck on a small boat with a Tiger. So symbolic and very interesting. The Kite Runner is also a recent favorite.

5) What is your definition of a perfect day?
One in which I get a lot accomplished and spend quality time with people I love.

Bowler Seeking Help From The Blogosphere!

Don't think I've mentioned it before, but I've signed up for a summer bowling league. I've always wanted to be on one and I figured this summer was my chance. Last night was the first of twelve and my team is pretty much the coolest team ever! First there's Harry who is about 85, basically drops the ball onto the lane, and somehow still adds spin to it. Then there are the cousins (to each other, not to me), Donald and Paul. Donald is about 75, teaches bowling at a local high school, and felt at ease giving me sweet bowling tips. Paul is the youngest of the three (~55) and strikes me (ha! a pun and i didn't even mean it) as the silent, brooding type.

But I realized that I'm missing something extremely important to any good bowler. I need a name. JenKneeBee just doesn't cut it in bowling. I need a better one, which is why I've decided to open it up to the blogosphere. You all are much more creative than I am and will think of something brilliant. I have faith in you :)

So here's the deal:

*Leave your idea for a bowling name in the comments

*Post it by next Tuesday (May 29th)

*Winner will receive one rockin' awesome mix cd (any
theme of their choosing)

My Favorite Red-Headed Twinner Friends

Meet my red-headed twinner friends. Aren't they absolutely adorable together? Scrabble Boy and Banker Chick. Of course those aren't their real names, just their preferred ones. Since Banker Chick was visiting for the weekend, I took the opportunity to make them pose for a twinner portrait. They could totally be related. Hopefully neither of them kills me for posting this either...

Butterfly Pavilion

Last Saturday some friends from SLC and I went to the Butterfly Pavilion up in Denver before hitting up Wicked (so good!!!). Here are my favorite pics:

JenKneeBee: World Champion Ambidextrous Bowler!

I'm sure you will all be ecstatic to hear that tonight I achieved one of my lifetime goals! I bowled a 110 with my left hand!!! Woohoo! And a turkey! (For all you non-bowling types, that's three strikes in a row).

It's a bit hard to see, but I'm the third one down:

Bird of... Steel?

Today Miss Heidikins and I were coming down Cheyenne Mountain and happened to catch sight of a house which had amazingly weird metal structures all over it's front yard. This "bird of steel" was our favorite by far. It acted as a giant weather vane, turning with each change in the wind. So cool. But incredibly weird.

How Embarrassing

So Stacy tagged me for this most embarrassing meme. But because she majored in English, she decided to make it much harder than it originally was by adding in a bunch of plays, poetry, and short stories. Most of which I've never read and some (to my shame) I've never heard of. I'm claiming chemistry major ignorance on this one. I also went back to the original meme and brought back some books I just couldn't leave out.

Directions:
*Blue font for everything you've read
*Red font for everything you've started but never finished
*Purple font for everything you've read but wished you hadn't
*Yellow font for everything you'd never read, even if you and that book were the only things to survive the apocalypse
*Black font for things you've never read
*Green font for things you want to read
*Orange font if you've read the author but not that particular work

Stacy's version:

The Bible
Medea (Euripides)
Oedipus Rex (Sophocles)
Odyssey (Homer)
The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer)
The Inferno (Dante)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare)
Tartuffe (Moliere)
Pride and Prejudice (Austen)
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Coleridge)
The Eve of St. Agnes (Keats)
Frankenstein (Shelley)
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)
Moby Dick (Melville)
Great Expectations (Dickens)
Little Women (Alcott)
War and Peace (Tolstoy)
Madame Bovary (Flaubert)
The Awakening (Chopin)
The Turn of the Screw (Henry James)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll)
Ulysses (James Joyce)
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)
The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)
Brave New World (Huxley)
The Sound and the Fury (Faulkner)
The Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Lord of the Flies (Golding)
The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger)
Lolita (Nabokov)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Williams)
The Bell Jar (Plath)
A Good Man is Hard to Find (O'Connor)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston)
Where are you Going, Where Have you Been? (Oates)
Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
White Noise (DeLillo)
The Bluest Eye (Morrison
The Satanic Verses (Rushdie)
White Teeth (Zadie Smith)
Middlesex (Eugenides)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Chabon)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
Everything is Illuminated (Foer)
Gilead (Robinson)

From the other meme:

Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (Irving)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
The Hobbit (Tolkien)
Life of Pi (Martel)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Adams) - Currently reading it
Tuesdays with Morrie (Albom)
1984 (Orwell)
The Power of One (Courtenay
The Alchemist (Coelho)
The Kite Runner (Hosseini)
Angela's Ashes (McCourt)
Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky)
Catch-22 (Heller)
Les Miserables (Hugo)
Emma (Austen)
The Secret Life of Bees (Kidd)

Can't Wait Till I'm Calico

Ah...

Summertime has arrived in Co. Springs. Which means I get to pull off the layers and go biking in shorts and a t-shirt. Woohoo! This also means that I currently look hilarious (due to biking shorts and gloves):

And that at the end of the summer I will look like this:

Running at Garden of the Gods... Again

Probably Opening a Can of Worms

Confession: I'm fairly obsessed with politics. You wouldn't know by reading my blog because I've shied away from writing about it. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it has to do with the nature of politics. Everything is very, very complicated and no matter how much information you have on any particular issue, there's still more you could learn. And although I have my basic opinions and try to follow things closely, I admit that I can be wrong about things. Since most people seem to be either extremely opinionated or apathetic when it comes to politics, I haven't really felt like opening that can of worms. Until now. At the request of one of my fantastic Colorado friends, I'm going to start blogging about my views.

First on my agenda: the death penalty. Although I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about this topic, I've only recently solidified my opinion on it. Here are some of the pro-death penalty arguments and my rebuttals for each:

1) It's a just punishment. They deserve to die for what they've done. I worked as a tutor for prisoners trying to get their high school diplomas a few years ago and it really opened my eyes to a completely different world than the one I was brought up in. While there were scary, scummy prisoners, it was easy to see that a lot of them had been born into really bad situations. Situations so bad that if I was placed in them I'm sure I'd be in prison as well. It was amazing to see how they reacted to the program I helped implement. Most of them were so thirsty for any bit of knowledge and kindness they could get. While they had all made serious mistakes, they wanted to change for the better. I'm not naive enough to say all prisoners are like that, but I am saying there are some who, when given the chance, will change for the better. They may deserve to die for what they've done, but as a Christian who believes it's possible for people to change, I just can't support this argument.

2) It deters other potential criminals. Whether or not the death penalty deters future criminals has been thoroughly studied by many criminology experts. While there is some support for the deterrence argument, most experts agree that it doesn't work. Would sentencing more people to death or decreasing the time spent on death row lower the crime rate? It's hard to say, but I really don't think so.

3) Getting rid of the criminals prevents them from committing the crime again. This is true. It does keep them from committing the crime again, but so would incarceration for life without parole.

4) Countries with the death penalty have lower crime rates. Yes, but these countries are: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, etc. Oh wait, do we really want to be like these countries? Because I'm pretty sure we should be taking our cues from Iran. It being an axis of evil and all...

5) The death penalty costs less than incarceration. I won't even pretend it's not expensive to keep a prisoner for life. That's a lot of money spent on food and amenities that could have been used for something like education or law enforcement. Unfortunately it can also cost as much or more to execute someone. Costs for trials in which the death penalty is sought are significantly more expensive than ones in which incarceration is desired. And I'm not sure that it's completely logical to kill someone (no matter how awful they are, they are still human) in order to save money.

So there you have it. Feel free to share your opinions.

Phobiaphobia - The Fear of Fear Itself

Stumbled upon a list of phobias in wikipedia and thought it was a fun article:

Here are the ones that apply to me:

Acrophobia - Fear of heights. Me and half of America.

Agoraphobia - Fear of a place or event where escape is impossible or when help is unavailable. I hate feeling trapped somewhere. Like being snowed in. Shudder.

Androphobia - Fear of males. Okay, not really, but I thought it was funny. It's interesting that they don't have a term listed for the fear of females.

Taphophobia - Fear of the grave, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive. Definately don't like coffins. That story about tying a string to the fingers of corpses and attaching it to a bell up top always gives me the willies.

Tokophobia - Fear of childbirth. Aren't all women? Ouch!

Trypanophobia - Fear of needles, injections, or of pointed objects. This is probably the only seriously debilitating fear I have. They had to give me valium before they could insert an IV last December.

Musophobia - Fear of mice and/or rats. Okay, I lied. This one's debilitating too. In one really old house I lived in a couple of years ago, we had a few mice and it was so not okay. Talk about flipping out.

Arachibutyrophobia - Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. Or things being stuck in my teeth.

These are the funniest/weirdest/coolest ones:

Gymnophobia - Fear of nudity. Anyone else an Arrested Development fan? And Tobias as a Never Nude?

Xenophobia - Fear of foreigners. It's okay Allie, I'm not a xenophobic :)

Aibohphobia - The fear of palindromes, which is a palindrome itself.

Anatidaephobia - Fear that somewhere, somehow a duck is watching you. Weird.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - Fear of long words. Ha!

Going With My Gut

I'm going to try and express a thought that's been floating around in my head for a while now, but if it doesn't make sense... sorry.

I've always been the sort of person who just implicitly trusts people. I meet them, think they're fabulous, share thoughts and feelings. No problem. This has sometimes led to disaster. Like the time when my cousin Lyndsi (also a very trusting person) and I met a random girl in the ward who needed a place to move into and we jumped at having her as a roommate. Looking back at the situation, we DEFINITELY should have picked up on warning signs that she might not be the best roommate in the world. And that she was a complete crazy person who couldn't go five seconds without lying. Okay, I'm exaggerating, it was more like 30 seconds. But even though I've had a few sticky situations, I've always been glad that I was so trusting. It's a great thing to bring into friendships.

This past year however, a series of events slowly stripped that naive, trusting instinct away. I didn't quite realize how much it really affected me until I moved to Colorado and started making friends here. I feel like a broken and crazy person half the time. Which I'm sure is mostly in my head, but annoying nonetheless. I've noticed that I tend to spread myself around. Meaning that I become friends with lots of people and then let them each see different pieces of me. Kind of like investing your money in diverse ways. If one stock crashes, no worries. Huh... I totally just gave an analogy using finance. Weird.

I guess the conclusion I've come to is this: Being an distrustful person doesn't suit me. It makes me feel broken. It's not natural. I've decided to stop fighting my natural instincts and do what I want to. I may crash and burn, but having done so before, I know that it'll all turn out okay. It always does if you wait long enough.

So there we go. New goal: Trust people. Believe that they're good. Believe that they won't drop kick me and then use me as a floor mat afterwards.

Note to Self:

In the future, please refrain from opening your mouth while cycling down hills at speeds of 30+ mph. It'll keep you from eating bugs, I promise.

Play MASH to Celebrate!

Hurrah for my 100th post! I'm officially not a newbie blogger now!

And what will I choose to blog about on such a momentous occasion? Something nerdy of course. Did you really expect otherwise?

So today I ended up following a bunch of children around at our local Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Scrabble Girl is a teacher, her kids were taking a field trip, and one of the chaperones dropped out at the last minute. So there I was trekking across the zoo listening to the conversations of sixth graders. Side note: I am incredibly glad that I will never have to go back to sixth grade. Fifth through seventh have got to be the most awkward stages of a person's life. Seriously. Anyway... The two girls in the group, who were incredibly hyper, kept going on about playing MASH on the bus.

Which made me think of the conversation I had with Scrabble Girl the other day about how MASH is still fun to play as an adult. What could possibly be better than a great round of MASH when you're incredibly bored? Absolutely nothing. Clearly. You know you love it. Which is why you should hop on over to the Play Mash website and play a quick round. Here are my results:

I will live in an Apartment, drive a Dark Green Audi, marry the Cabana Boy, have 5 kids, and be a mechanic in Kona, Hawaii.

I must say that considering all the crazy things I put as options, I made out pretty well. Cabana boys are always attractive and I'll be living in Hawaii. Rockin' awesome...

iPod Madness

A while back ago Allie had a post I've been wanting to copy for a while, but haven't had the time to actually do it. Until now that is. Questions about your life and future? Want to know the answers? No problem. Just locate your iPod and use the songs that come up at random to receive fool proof answers. Here's the verdict on my life:

1) What should I do with the rest of my life?

Sweet Baby James - James Taylor
There is a young cowboy he lives on the range
His horse and his cattle are his only companions
He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons
Waiting for summer, his pastures to change

Ha! Clearly I need to start looking into getting some cattle. And now google telling me to milk the cows makes way more sense.

2) What kind of person do others think I am?

Rains in Asia - Jump Little Children
She wants to know does everyone feel this way
When it rains in the summertime
She wants to know does everyone feel this way
When you're sure that he's gone forever

3) What kind of person am I really?

Daughter - Vienna Teng
Well it's time to be wise
Wise in the ways of the heart
To come out from under the covers
This voluntary state of apart
From the faces, oasis
In this Sahara of sorrow
These graces that hold me
It's from you that I borrowed

Woah, scary how accurate this one is.

4) What's my love life looking like for over the summer?

Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel
Cecilia, youre breaking my heart
Youre shaking my confidence daily
Oh, cecilia, Im down on my knees
Im begging you please to come home
Come on home

Uh, hopefully I get to play the part of Cecilia and not the lover on his knees begging.

5) What's the outlook on the rest of my life?

Answer - Sarah McLachlan
I will be the answer
At the end of the line
I will be there for you
While you take the time
In the burning of uncertainty
I will be your solid ground
I will hold the balance
If you can't look down

Hope so.

6) Do I have a secret admirer?

Something's Missing - John Mayer
Something's missing
And I don't know how to fix it
Something's missing
And I don't know what it is
No I don't know what it is

Ouch. Outlook not good.

7) How can I make myself happy?

Flake - Jack Johnson
The harder that you try baby, the further you'll fall
Even with all the money in the whole wide world

Interesting.

8) What should be my theme song?

Change Your Mind - The Killers
Racey days
Help me through the hopeless haze
But my oh my
Tragic eyesI can't even recognise myself behind
So if the answer is no
Can I change your mind

Sweet! Time to pull out persuasive JenKnee!

9) What sort of men should I date?

Father Figure - George Michael
I will be your father figure
Put your tiny hand in mine
I will be your preacher teacher
Anything you have in mind
I will be your father figure
I have had enough of crime
I will be the one who loves you
Till the end of time

Hahahahaha...

10) How's the rest of my day going to be?

New Shoes - Paolo Nutini
Hey, I put some new shoes on,
And suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
It so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
But long on time,
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
And i'm running late,
And i dont need an excuse,
'cause i'm wearing my brand new shoes.

Better go get my new Pumas :)

11) Any final advice?

Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out!
Tomorrow takes me higher
Pressure on people
People on streets

I'm not really sure what the cosmos are trying to tell me with this...

Men's Health Magazine is Full of Crap

After a long blogging break (okay, so only about a week) I'm back in the blogosphere. I was reading over at Trish's Dishes and apparently according to Men's Health, the best place to get a guy is in Salt Lake City. Now I'm pretty sure that most of my SLC readers will agree when I say that Men's Health was clearly misinformed. While there might be single guys, they surely aren't dating. I was fairly blown away when I found out that boys in Colorado actually get girlfriends. Opened my eyes to a whole new world. So in case you were contemplating moving to SLC to find a boy, I'm warning you... don't do it.

Hiked part of cheyenne mountain today with scrabble girl. One of the views looking back down towards co. springs.

Whole Lotta Randomness

I really should rename my blog "Whole Lotta Randomness." But really all I have floating around in my head is a bunch of random things so here we go:

* The other day I was watching an old movie called Indiscreet that has Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant in it. There's a part where Ingrid's character is terribly depressed and doesn't want to leave home much to the distress of her older sister. Her sister then says something like, "Oh come on, you'll feel much better in a girdle" to try and convince her to go out. Which I happen to find terribly amusing. I plan on making that my new catch phrase every time someone is down in the dumps or I'm trying to convince someone to do something with me.

* In regards to making the same mistake over and over again. Thanks to Allie's strong woman vibes and help from my oh-so-wise friend Jill I have taken steps that will ensure I don't make the same mistake again. And then end up wallowing in my misery because of it. I have set boundaries, extremely clear ones, and I'm dedicated to staying within those boundaries. And the boundaries are livable, so i feel certain that I'll be able to do it. Cross your fingers for me.

* My lovable but chronically ill Jane is now feeling much better after some major repair work on the muffler system. For a while now she's had this awful jangling sound every time I put her into gear and it hasn't been fun driving my dear ghetto-mobile around with people staring at me everywhere. Apparently the pipe leading to the muffler had rusted completely through so half the system was just hanging and bouncing around as it pleased. I'm a little surprised I didn't die of carbon monoxide poisoning since I had been driving her around like that for so long. Oops.

* I went swimming at my local YMCA this morning and as usual there were a ton of old people there. Which is not a bad thing, it's just a fact. My YMCA is populated with mostly old people, a few children, and myself. And the teenage workers. Anyway, there were two very cute old men sitting in the lobby and I eavesdropped on their entertaining and snarky conversation as I was filling up my water bottle at the drinking fountain.
Snarky Old Man: I keep getting all these offers from people claiming they'll be able to lower my mortgage.
SOM's friend: Oh yeah?
SOM: Yeah. Every time the phone rings it's someone saying they can lower it by a hundred or two hundred dollars.
SOM's friend: Well that's not too bad.
SOM: I always ask them if they can lower it by three hundred dollars and when they ask why I tell them that's how much my current house payment is. Then I hear the click. *Laughs maniacally*

* I have decided which triathlons I'll be competing in this summer. The first one is one is the Buffalo Creek Triathlon (short course) on June 16. Even though it's off-road I think it will be a good starter course. The second one I'll be competing in is the Rattle Snake Triathlon (olympic length!) in Aurora, CO on August 18. Yikes! I think I'll probably add a small bike race or 10k into the mix during July, but I haven't decided upon anything definate yet.

A Couple of Ponderings

1) When I moved, I decided that I wouldn't tell any of my new friends about my blog. For some strange reason it makes me uncomfortable when select people I know read it. Weird since a whole lot of people I have never met before read it and that seems to be okay. Maybe I'm just old fashioned in that I want people who I see on a regular basis to get to know me the regular way. Unfortunately Scrabble Boy found out that I have a blog and now wants to read it, especially since I told him he couldn't. Maybe it's my paranoia that if our friendship ever dissolves he'll keep reading it and I'll have a silent Internet stalker. I already have one of those and really don't feel like having two. Anyone else get a little weirded out when people they know in person read their blogs?

2) I've decided that I have to be the dumbest person on the planet. Most people fail at something once and then don't let it happen again. I unfortunately do not seem to be able to learn from my mistakes. Every time the same thing starts all over again my head and heart get in a big huge war and my heart wins out. This time it's not going to be that way! Nope! My head is winning and I'm not going to let myself go down that path again. Must. not. give. in...

Brain Dead Jennie

I just got done sitting in a waiting room at the car shop for four hours. I'm officially brain dead. Once again, my chronically ill car, Jane, is trying to give up the ghost. Poor Jane. Brain dead Jennie. Maybe it's from all those mechanical smells.

My Life According to Google

Allie has tagged me with a fantastic meme. Just google your name along with "needs" and voila! Everything becomes clear in an instant! Here are my results:

Jennie needs our backing to beat scourge. That's right. I don't understand why I'm not getting more support in overcoming my drug addiction. I expected more from the blogosphere.

Jennie needs encouragement to clean her teeth properly. I try so hard, but sometimes I just can't make myself do it. Like google says, please encourage me.

Jennie needs time to process instructions so give her time to respond. Right, so be patient if I don't immediately follow your good advice in overcoming bad hygiene and drugs.

Jennie needs to milk the cows. Sorry cows, I'll get on that... someday.

Jennie needs your vote! At this time I'd like to announce that I'm officially running for... most rockin' awesome blogging triathlete in America. Feel free to cast your votes multiple times.

Jennie needs a special home that can commit her to rehabilitation. Only because I'm not getting the backing I need to beat my drug scourge.

I'll tag Heidi (fellow Google addict), Diane, and Hot Bawdy.

Famous For a Day

Lynette has been kind enough to humor me with some fantastic interview questions. Here goes:

1. A crazy billionaire wants to bankroll one of your passions - but only one. Which would you pursue?
Oh no! Only one?! Very difficult. I can easily eliminate all but two: triathlon and photography. It'd be a dream come true to have a darkroom of my own, numerous cameras, unlimited film, traveling money, etc. On the other hand how can I pass up free bikes, sporting gear, and trips to random places with great races? It just can't be done. Triathlon is the winner. Plus, the feeling of pushing myself through a really tough workout can't be beat.

2. What is your favorite state or region in the U.S. and why?
Another very tough question. While I am completely in love with several of the places I've lived (Hawaii, Colorado, & Minnesota), I have to go with California. Gorgeous groves of Redwoods and Sequoias, picturesque San Francisco, Monteray Bay, Lake Tahoe, perfect beaches, San Diego, and great scuba diving off of Catalina Island. But the best thing about California is Yosemite National Park. I fell in love with it the first time I went and can't get enough of it. It's awfully tempting to become a backpacking bum and just live there. Pretty sure my parents wouldn't approve though.

3. Think of the celebrities that you find totally hot. Now picture them never having been famous and pumping gas in some podunk town. Which one(s) would drop off your "hot list"?
Christian Bale would be hot doing pretty much whatever so he gets to stay. Jimmy Fallon is cute, plays guitar, and charming so he also gets to stay. And since Jon Stewart is hilarious and smart he's not booted either. I have a feeling that if Edward Norton and Alan Rickman were pumping my gas and decided to hit on me I'd be fairly creeped out. *Shudder*

4. If you could put yourself into any movie, which would it be and how would you work into the story line?
My all time favorite movie, Casablanca. I'd be the Nazi spy disguised as a lounge singer who tries to seduce Victor Lazlo to get the Letters of Transit from him. After failing to obtain them by those means (because obviously Victor loves Ilsa and doesn't even have the letters) I would succeed in stealing them from Rick's piano. Later on I would have a change in heart, give the letters to Ilsa and Lazlo, and win Rick's undying love.

5. Who do people say you remind them of - is it a famous person or a friend/family member?
People are always telling me that I remind them of someone they know or trying to play the "I know I've seen you before and let's try to figure out where from" game. I've only ever had one person tell me that I reminded them of Princess Leia, but I'm pretty sure they were smoking dope.

Happy Not-So-Lame Birthday To Me

Okay, call me a pessimist but I was completely expecting my birthday yesterday to be lame. Seeing how I just moved somewhere new, all of my old friends are in SLC, and half of my new friends are out of town for spring break. Like partying with me isn't as good as a vacation :)

I happened to be completely wrong. It was the best birthday I've had in quite some time. Low key but extremely enjoyable. I started it out by letting myself sleep in. Then I went biking on Cheyenne Mountain (see previous post below for a picture). It was a great little ride. Only about six miles but still a good workout because it's uphill. Then I treated myself to lunch and some Barnes & Noble action. Rounded out the day with friends and DDR. I know it's completely nerdy to love DDR so much but I've never professed to be anything but nerdy. Is it possible to be rockin' awesome and nerdy at the same time? I think so. Clearly achieving it. Oh! And Scrabble Boy learned how to play "Victoria" by John Mayer as a most wonderful birthday present. Love love love that song. He wins brownie points for sure...

View after biking gold camp road, a short but steep climb.

Awaiting a Flood

I'm a bit baffled. I think I'm getting taller. Or all of my pants are getting shorter. I have short legs and I'm too lazy to get my pants hemmed so I tend to invest in shoes that have a bit of a heel on them. This past week I've tried to wear my tall shoes with some of my pants and I couldn't. I looked like I was awaiting a flood. How is this possible? I don't understand. I don't think people get taller at 23. Do they? Could my pants spontaneously shorten themselves? Huh.

The South Will (Not) Rise Again

On Monday I happened to find myself at a ChuckECheese birthday party (which is a story for another day). While rollicking in the mouse fun, I was lucky enough to meet a guy named Branden. We started chatting about the usual: what do you do, where are you from, etc. During the conversation I found out that he is from sweet home Alabama! I then shared with him my intense fears of The South. Most people are afraid of the unknown. Some view the unknown as Arabs, Latinos, Canadians, etc. My unknown is The South. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have shared my thoughts with him as that's not a very good way to make friends with someone from The South.

There are two things in life that I'm terrified of and here they are:

1. Germs- specifically kitchen germs

2. The South

Why am I so afraid of The South? Good question. I've known plenty of normal Southerners and they seem mostly normal (well, most of them). As normal as the rest of the country anyhow. But maybe that's just because they've lived elsewhere for a while. Maybe the people who actually live in The South and never come out are the weird ones. I'm pretty sure that's it.

If I ever moved down there, I might end up flying a confederate flag in my front yard and another one on my car for good measure. And go around saying things in my slow Southern drawl like, "The South Will Rise Again!" or "Damn Yankees!" Sending my children to bad schools and letting them marry their second cousins. Canoeing through swamps. Catching alligators. Oh, and I might become a republican. Although since Utah and my parents didn't do that to me, it'd be a long shot.

Here's just a little excerpt from a website called The Confederacy Project that illustrates these fears. "Another PC myth was that slaves were mistreated, starved, and beaten. Not true, slaves were treated better than share croppers and day laborers; they were provided adequate food, shelter, clothes, and medical care. Slaves were private property and were expensive to buy and keep so they were not used for the extremely dangerous jobs such as mining, building of canals, and other such projects because the risk of loss of slaves in accidents would have an high economical impact on their owners, especially if they were injured and not able to work any more. So much for another PC myth that slaves built the infrastructure of the nation and so reparations must be paid to their descendants. Even after the War Between The States, many freed slaves stayed with the families that formerly owned them." Right... so it was okay to treat people like property. I mean, as long as they were well taken care of. Just like cars or a house. They're worth a lot so you take care of them. No biggie...

They say that to overcome your fears you should face them head on, but I just don't think I can do it. Nope. Can't make me.

Wicked!

Ha! Wicked is coming to Denver in May and I'm slated to go see it with my dear friend Samantha. Totally pumped!

Love Fest

Have I mentioned yet that I LOVE living in Colorado? Because I love, love, LOVE it here. Here are some of my favorite things so far:

*The gorgeous skies. Everyday I walk out of my apartment and am amazed at the beautiful blue sky always dotted with lovely, puffy white clouds. After living in SLC where the skies are covered with inversion 50% of the time, I can't get enough of the blue.

*The constant breeze. I think Colorado Springs should take over Chicago's title of the "windy city" because it's always going. Maybe in the winter I won't love it so much but right now it's spring and the breeze is fantastic!

*There are bike trails everywhere. Not just bike lanes, but honest to goodness trails that twist through neighborhoods and connect the many, many parks. I'm in heaven. After this I don't know if I'll ever be able to live in a place that doesn't have a fabulous trail system.

*My scrabble groupies. Yes it's true, I already have scrabble friends and they are quite lovely. And they're good too. It's hard enough to find people who like to play, let alone people that will give me a challenge.

*The little children living in my apartment complex who have taken to calling me Miss Jennie. Of course it's extremely possible that they only love me because I let them play with my "Twister" & "Rockem' Sockem' Robots" set and read my children's books, but I'm okay with that.

*Palmer Park. This park is like a ski resort for mountain bikers. Each of the many trails in this park are labeled like ski runs would be: green, blue, black. And it's free!

*Manitou Springs. This neighboring town is like my own little Park City.

Did I mention that I love it here?

Okay, I'm officially done with my love fest...

Views from the top of palmer park. This fabulous biking mecca is close to my apartment. In this pic pikes peak is the one to the left with snow.

Someone Else's Embarrassing Moment

I'm sitting in the library using their computers because, uh, they're free. Anyway, this poor kid's computer across the way just announced to the whole computer lab in a high squeaky voice "Hey everybody! I'm watching porno over here!" Which of course he wasn't (it is a public computer lab and all). Turned 5 shades of red while the rest of the patrons snickered. So cruel I know, but amusing nonetheless.

Pictures Below

Yesterday I had a bit of extra time and decided to hit the large area on my map that said "Garden of the Gods." So glad I did! It's this large park on the outskirts of Colorado Springs that is southern Utah meets mountainous Colorado. All I can say is that I think I found my new favorite cycling location. Woohoo! Snapped a couple of pictures with my phone and mobile blogged them yesterday. Hence the pictures with very little explanation :)

Garden of the gods 2

Garden of the gods

Time for a Filter Change?

My friends and I always joke about my lack of filter and how I need to obtain one for the purpose of screening some of the things I say. I am in the habit of saying what I think when I think it and that's not always a good thing. Sometimes I'll mull over things if I haven't formed a concrete opinion but as soon as I form one.... out it goes. But I don't think I'm the one in need of a filter overhaul. The past couple of days I've had the great fortune of encountering two male specimens who need a new filter.

First I'll give you creepy mattress boy. Here are just a few things that slipped out of his mouth while I tried to shop for a mattress and he tried to get a date and make a sale (neither happened by the way):

*If I were you I'd definitely go for the queen size bed because, if you don't mind me saying, you're a cute girl and you might be wanting to have a few "adult" sleepovers. If ya know what I mean. Wink wink.

*I can give you the best deal because I don't care about my commission. This isn't my real job. I'm really a news anchor in New York City.

*Don't get a firm mattress. I have two screws in my back and I'm telling you that soft mattresses are the way to go. I got injured when I saw a chiropractor for a news story I was doing.

*I used to be a world class runner. And I even did triathlons on the side!

*Do you like dogs? What are you doing tonight? Do you want to walk my dog with me at the Doggie Park? Here let me show you my dog's web page on MySpace.

*You've only been in town for a week? Then I'm really going to hit on you now! (Like you weren't doing a pretty good job of it already).

Seriously. You need a filter Creepy Mattress Dude. Get one now. No your lack of one did not get you a date. Instead I booked it out of there as fast as I could.

Now on the other end of the spectrum I give you Been Friends Forever And I'm Holding a Grudge Against You For Something You Said Three Years Ago That You Don't Remember But It Really Bothers Me And I Won't Address The Issue Guy.

I recently found out through a mutual friend that I had said something really stupid and hurtful to this friend in jest. No I'm not proud of it. I don't remember saying it. It's not even true. But apparently it really hurt him. I wish that he would have addressed the issue with me. I was really dumb. I would apologize. Several times. If something is going to bother you for three years, you should say something!!! And now I can't even take up the issue with him because I was sworn to secrecy. Driving me crazy!

It really shouldn't be this hard to get a happy medium should it?

The TV is Sucking my Soul

Tuesday I saw my first ever episode of American Idol. Amazing eh? I figured I should see what all the fuss is about while I actually have a tv in my possession. I have to say that I wasn't all that impressed. Although I have heard from the news people that Tuesday was a major let down for most fans as well. Apparently the boys weren't exactly up to snuff. All I know is that I'm not hooked and it's a good thing because I won't be able to watch it unless I decide to invest in a tv which isn't a likely situation. The tv in my hotel room is sucking my soul. When I get home I end up watching tv instead of reading books. Or other useful things. Lame.

In other news, I am moving into my just barely remodeled apartment tomorrow. And there was much rejoicing!

Listen to These Guys!

Listen carefully. Actually I guess it should be read carefully. Whatever. I'm going to share with you all some of my favorite bands/musicians that aren't extremely well known... yet. Some of them may actually be getting a bit of airplay (finally), but since I don't really listen to the radio, I don't know for sure. Anyway, they're fantastic and you should check them out.

Paolo Nutini: I've been listening to his cd These Streets almost non-stop for the last month or so and it is fantastic. His voice is a bit rough (like David Gray's) and most of his songs are upbeat without being annoyingly so. His music and lyrics are really fresh and different from most of the stuff that's out there right now.
Favorite Tracks: Jenny Don't Be Hasty (my theme song?), Last Request, Alloway Grove

Brandi Carlile: The first time I heard her on KCRW I was skeptical. Very much so. She has a really interesting, different sounding voice that is not necessarily easy on the ears at first. Don't stop there! The second time through I really started to love her and the third time listened I was completely hooked. Back in June I was lucky enough to see her in concert where she was freaking amazing. Her performance ties with Billy Joel for the best artists I've seen live. Her second "real" cd is set to be released on April 3rd (happy late birthday to me!) and since I've heard most of the songs on it, I can say with confidence that it's going to be fantastic.
Favorite Tracks: Fall Apart Again, Someday Never Comes, Happy, Late Morning Lullaby, Shadow on the Wall

Ray Lamontagne: Love, love, love Ray. He's got this super grainy voice that he sings so softly and soulfully. He's got two cds out, Trouble and Till the Sun Turns Black, and they are both really fantastic in different ways. Trouble is more upbeat and heavier on the acoustic guitar while Till the Sun Turns Black is softer but has such beautiful melodies.
Favorite Tracks: Hold You in My Arms, Forever My Friend, How Come, Empty, Can I Stay

The Feeling: This is an honest to goodness pop group. Purely fun music with a good beat and catchy hooks. You can't help listening to them without ending up singing along. It took them forever to release their album Twelve Stops and Home in the US, but it was worth the wait.
Favorite Tracks: Never Be Lonely, Sewn, Fill My Little World

Amos Lee: Just telling you that he was under the same record label as Norah Jones tells you a great deal about his sound. His voice is smooth as butter and his songs are extremely soulful, sometimes jazzy, and in the case of his second cd, fairly bluesy. His cds Amos Lee and Supply and Demand are both worthy buys. I've also had the privilege of seeing him perform live and he was just as good or better than his cds.
Favorite Tracks: Arms of a Woman, Black River, Sympathize, Night Train, Long Line of Pain

I have more people I could talk lovingly about, but I think I'll stop there before you get too bored. Seriously though, check these guys out if you haven't already heard their stuff.

A Couple of Hours Down the Drain

All this road-tripping has given me ample time to think about a variety of things that I usually try to forget. For instance, during my 23 years of life I have seen a few movies that should never have been made in the first place and I certainly shouldn't have watched. You know the kind of movies I'm talking about. You're sitting in your living room/the movie theater and about ten minutes into it you think to yourself, "Why the hell am I watching this? This is awful. Incredibly awful. Walk out now. Just do it." But you keep watching it because you're with other people who want to see it, you spent the money on a theater ticket, you tell yourself it'll get better, etc. Afterwards, you can't believe you actually spent a couple of hours on that junk. I've compiled a list of the worst movies I've ever sat through instead of walking out of the theater; movies I've wasted money AND time on. So here goes:

10) Waterworld: This movie officially ended my celebrity crush on Kevin Costner. He was the love of my pre-adolescent life. Robin Hood? Break me off a piece of that! Ow Ow! (Can I have some Alan Rickman as a side dish?) But in Waterworld where he was posing as half fish/half man he needed some serious help.

9) Flushed Away: I heard so many good things about this movie that I went to see it even though I don't like cartoons in general. I thought to myself, it has Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman in it so it should be an exemplary cartoon. I was soooooo wrong.

8) Oklahoma!: This is my least favorite musical and I've had the great misfortune of seeing it plenty of times. My mother actually convinced me to sit down and watch the Hugh Jackman version because "Hugh Jackman is in it!" Nope, still didn't like it. Try again.

7) Full House: Yes I realize that this is a TV show but I'm putting it in here anyway. I loved this show when I was little! I have absolutely no idea how I could stand it. Now every time it comes on, I start forming a rash and my gag reflex goes out of control. I could have spent my time more wisely.... like watching more Saved By the Bell or something.

6) It's a Wonderful Life: I realize it's extremely probable that you all absolutely love this movie and it's not a proper Christmas without seeing it at least once. I still can't stand it and no one will ever be able to convince me of it's worth. And I'm a big Jimmy Stewart fan. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is I hate about it, but the entire movie just gives me the creeps.

5) Talladega Nights: I saw this movie with friends who REALLY wanted to see it but I knew I would hate it even before I was in the theater. Unfortunately I let myself be talked into seeing it anyway. And then spent the entire time wishing I hadn't carpooled to the theater.

4) The Land Before Time II, III, IV...: I think they must be up to The Land Before Time 14 by now. And no I haven't really seen them all but I've definitely seen a couple because my little sister had awful taste as a child. And I was forced to watch them.

3) My Super Ex-Girlfriend: I should have known. I really should have. I'm dumb and my love of Luke Wilson clouded my better judgement. No one should ever, ever, EVER watch this movie.

2) Billboard Dad: I don't really remember the entire premise of this movie (pretty sure I tried to block it), but I do know it involved the Olsen twins trying to hook their single dad up through a billboard advertisement. Again, my sister had really, REALLY awful taste as a child. Barf!

1) Little Nicky: Adam Sandler plays the son of an angel and a devil. He's stuck in the middle on earth. Need I say more?

Looking back on my list I realize that I should never watch anything with the Olsen twins and I'm more than a little surprised that nothing with Robin Williams is in my list. A bit shocking.

Now that I've shared the movies I've wasted my life on, it's your turn. Save someone from the awful fate of watching a horrible movie :)

An Adventurous Journey

The last few days have been insane. Our trip started out just lovely, but things went downhill after hitting the mountain passes near Vail, Colorado and a huge snowstorm. I'm not a fan of driving in the snow. Actually, that's not completely true. I grew up in Minnesota and learned to drive in massive snowstorms. But I did NOT learn how to drive in massive snowstorms involving mountainous terrain. I've had the great fortune of getting stuck in truly awful snowstorms while on massive inclines and let me tell you that I am soooo not a fan. This storm wasn't the worst I've ever been in, but the mountain seemed to keep on going forever. It tends to feel that way when you're going 20mph I suppose.

But we finally got off the mountain alive. At the bottom, we stopped at a deserted gas station to fill up with fuel and my sister says to me, "I'm going to run over to the starbucks across the street and see if I can use their restroom." So she goes over there and I followed after my car was full, but I couldn't find her. The store was locked and all the lights were off. There wasn't a soul in sight. I called out her name, but she was around. So I went back to the gas station thinking that maybe I missed her coming back. After shuttling between the two locations for about ten minutes and not being able to find her, I was officially in freak out mode. I now know that if I ever have children and ever lose them in a crowd, I will be the hysterical mother not thinking straight. Luckily as I was getting ready to call the cops, she came out of the Starbucks. Apparently the side door was open and she had broken into the closed store. After driving in hellish weather and losing my sister I was, to say the least, very shaken up.

I recovered. We made it to Colorado Springs and I think I found an apartment that'll be ready in a week after being remodeled. And until them I'm living in a hotel. I feel like I'm in monopoly. Can I be the thimble?

My nerdball siblings

In the middle of FREAKING nowhere

Biker babes

First step in the moving adventure: super cleaning out my car and figuring out mobile blogging