Post 200

Since I started this blog in October of 2006, I have posted 291 entries. Since I am an editor first, and a writer second, I agonize over many of these. I actually write most of my posts in Gmail, and then send them to myself to have a separate archive. I guess in case the whole internet except for Gmail disappears? Regardless, I only use this method for things that aren't just links or surveys. So, out of these 291 entries, 92 so far have been links or surveys. This is post 200 of the "real" posts.

I knew it was coming up, so I was trying to figure out what I wanted to write about. And in fact, there are two things we can talk about.

1) Yesterday, I received a text from one Stephanie Pierce. A text from her brand new phone in Georgia! For those of you who don't know Steph, she spent from May 2007 until July 2008 deployed in Iraq. And now she's back and coming here in mere weeks to visit.

2) Today would be Harry Potter's 28th birthday. What has he been up to since we last saw him? He married Ginny, of course. They have 2 or 3 children at the moment - James is about 3, Albus is about 2, and Lily is born sometime in 2008 (we just don't know when). Last year, he was appointed Head of the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. Seems like he's doing pretty well for himself so far! Good to know that he keeps that up for another 9 years, at least.

So, Happy Homecoming to Steph, and Happy Birthday to Harry.

Oblivion, or why Alex Carpenter might be important

Being completely oblivious and ignorant can have certain advantages, I suppose. Since going to the Wizard rock show on Friday, I have spent much time listening to and finding Wizard rock. I can't get over how adorable it is to listen to songs and sing along about Harry Potter. Seriously, so much fun. Why did I never pay attention to this before?

But it turns out, uneducated in wrock as I was, that meeting Alex Carpenter is a Wizard rock fangirls' dream come true. I also introduced myself to Matt Maggiacomo of The Whomping Willows since he was sitting right there. Since I had missed most of their set, I really had no idea who he was, and have only found out by seeing pictures of him online while finding more wrock.
I wonder if they are so used to squeeing from their fans that they were amused by the fact that I was not? Did they realize I had no idea? If so, was that refreshing or disappointing?

I am definitely glad that I didn't ask for hugs or pictures or such (at least at this first meeting, lol). We'll see if I can contain myself next time, or if the squee will overflow. I figure if I'm surrounded by 15 year olds, I can't possibly be the most excited fan there.

Wizard Rock!

Tonight, I managed to convince LeeAnn and two of the Germans (Marc and Fred) to come to the free outdoor Wizard rock show with me. They sat on the grass at Schenley Plaza while I stood at the back of a very excited group of kids, aged 10-15.

So, the headliners was The Remus Lupins. Head over to his MySpace and listen to 'Seven Potters'. It was my favorite song of the night. The entire experience was absolutely adorable. All these girls (and the two boys) jumping around and singing every word to the songs. It was infectiously awesome. And not unlike the Tom Petty show, except that we could legally drink.

After the show, I wandered over to talk to Alex Carpenter (possibly the only official member of the band?), and also met The Whomping Willows' Matt Maggiacomo. Since this was my first live Wizard rock experience, and the rest of it is from the one night I spent trolling on MySpace to listen to various bands, I had no squeeing fangirl in me. I went to the show because I am a part of the fandom and you do these things to support it. Of course, there hasn't been anything about the fandom that I've rejected yet, so I guess I am now Wizard rock's newest fan.

What do you say to someone you don't know about at all? Naturally, I asked the most controversial question I could think of - where did he stand on the whole JKR vs. RDR thing?

You know how you're not supposed to talk about politics or religion? Yeah, I'm terrible at that rule.

He told me what he thought and we had a good discussion about it. They are playing here again next Sunday, but I'll be out of town. Bummer! This was really tons of fun, as you can see from the 5 second video below:



And here's the artistic interpretation of the really blurry pic I took while jumping up and down (hey, it was also infectious):

Heat seeking missiles, bloodhounds, foxes, barracudas...

It's almost that time. 'Pineapple Express' comes out in 12 days. *squeal!*

I feel like I am far too old to get this excited about:
1) A celebrity
2) Stoner movies
but I am anyways. Based on this review, I have a feeling I may like James Franco's character better than Seth Rogen's. He "immediately wins over the audience with his affable, perpetually stoned demeanor and often hilarious non sequiturs." There's nothing I like more than hilarious non sequiturs.

Though, I never understand why critics review movies like this as if they are expecting something more than stupid high people doing stupid high things. Justin Chang isn't entirely dismissive or critical of it, but he does seem disappointed. Since I'm not expecting it to be nominated for any Academy Awards, I think I'll like it just fine. Plus, it's theme song is the amazing 'Paper Planes' by MIA that I have the EP of. Yup, I bought 5 different versions of this song.

Here's the trailer, in case you haven't seen it yet:
(possibly NSFW...there is drug use and cursing)

Speechless

Yeah, I really have no words for this. Pretty amazingly sums things up.

9 things I hate about everyone

Usually I don't mind getting cheesy forwards. The political ones that my uncle sends just to piss me off? Ok, I mind. But the "Funny things kids say" and "What your cat really thinks of you" usually put a (short-lived) smile on my face.
This one was just ridiculous, though. It's even worse than the "why do we park in a driveway and drive on a parkway?" one.

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?
I actually like this because I am never prepared for random person to talk to me, and if they are pointing at their wrist, I actuallly know what they are saying to me without having to ask "What?"

2. People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for the T.V.. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the channel manually.
Yes, because when I watch TV, I put on one channel and would never ever change it or the volume level.

3 When people say 'Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too'. Damn right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?
What good are idioms if they don't make literal sense?

4. When people say 'it's always the last place you look'. Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they? Gonna Kick their asses!
This is just plain stupid. If you looked in many other places first, this makes perfect sense.

5. When people say while watching a film 'did you see that?'. No Loser, I paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor.
I guess they've never sneezed/fallen asleep/wanted to talk about a movie before.

6. People who ask 'Can I ask you a question?'.... Didn't really give me a choice there, did ya sunshine?
"Can I ask you a question?" doesn't actually mean "Am I physically capable of asking a question of you?", SUNSHINE. It means, "Do you have a moment to listen to and talk with me?"

7. When something is 'new and improved!'. Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it, couldn't be new.
By being improved, it is different. "New", you might say.

8. When people say 'life is short'. What the hell?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?
I don't know, nonexistence or the afterlife might be, you know, FOREVER.

9. When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks 'Has the bus come yet?'. If the bus came would I be standing here, dumb ass?
These people obviously don't wait at bus stops where more than one bus comes.

Seriously, who writes these things? Taking everything everyone said literally never works. And it's not funny to boot.

No-poo

My apartment has been free of any toxic and non-biodegradable cleaning products for well over a year now, and I have to say that I don't miss them one bit. As I continue my one-woman crusade to save the world, my next stop was the bathroom - specifically the shower.
I love bath and beauty products, but I was starting to feel guilty about dumping all that sodium laureth sulfate down the drain. I have also reasonably guessed that since it's not good for the environment, it's not good for me and my body, either. So I bought a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap as body wash and some organic shampoo. The shampoo was awful. It made my hair feel both greasy and like straw. So I bought another one, and it's ok, but my hair is still feeling a little weird. Before I bought any more, I figured some research was in order, and I discovered the "no-poo" movement. Yes, you're going to think I'm crazy.

In not using shampoo, you still want to remove dirt and grime from your hair, without stripping all the natural oils out, which is what conventional shampoo does. The solution? 1 tablespoon baking soda dissolved in 1 cup of warm/hot water. Massage it on your scalp and through your hair and rinse well. You can also create a "rinse" that conditions your hair by making a solution of 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar and 1 cup of warm water. Same procedure. I didn't have any apple cider vinegar, but I tried the baking soda solution. I also used my organic leave-in conditioner.
Now, my hair is still wet as we speak, so I don't know how exactly it will feel later, but right now all I can smell is wet dog, and I have a feeling it's my hair. I may abandon this, unless somehow my hair is gorgeous and shiny and perfect later.

Reality-Based Intellectualist

Yup, sure am.

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

Thanks Jen!

"You're the only one."

If you hang out with JP and me often enough, you will hear him say to me (fairly frequently), "Why do you struggle through life so much?" I know part of it is my own fault sometimes. Chopping things while on rollerskates - not a good idea. Trying to stack 7 drinking glasses in my arms to avoid an extra trip of 5 feet from the dishwasher to the cabinet - just plain silly. Add these sorts of things to my natural inclination towards clumsiness and you get a difficult life. But other than my misinterpretation of a pregnancy test, this one really takes the cake.

Yesterday, Tim and I went to Giant Eagle. We went through the self-checkout line. He went first, and I bagged for him. I had more groceries, so when I was done ringing out, I went to help him finish bagging. We got everything together and left, with me complaining the whole time about how slow the people in front of us were. We drove the 5 minutes home, and I was getting my groceries out of the back seat when I looked at Tim and said, "I didn't pay for my groceries." He asked me if I was sure, and I thought about it. I had walked down to the other end to help him bag, and then just walked out. I couldn't remember swiping my card, entering my pin, getting a receipt - nothing. So I went inside and called Giant Eagle.
I had to talk to about 4 people before someone told me that I needed to come back in to pay for them. I put away my cold things, got back in the car, drove back, and went to the cashier in the front. I explained it to the guy there, and he rang me out, with me apologizing the whole time. As I was getting ready to leave, I said to him, "I can't be the only one who's done this, right?" to which he replied, "Well, you're the only one who wasn't actually trying to steal to do this. I've been here awhile, and I've never had anyone call us. We usually find them and call them." I apologized again, and he was super nice about it ("No, thanks for calling and coming back. We really appreciate this."), but I have to say that I felt so incredibly stupid. Still do, in fact.
I'm just glad that I remembered, since I had swiped my Advantage card and they would have known it was me. If I had been banned from this Giant Eagle, we would have been screwed. It's where I do 90% of my grocery shopping. JP just chuckled when I explained it to him. I think he knew I wasn't in the position to take any grief over it at that moment.

Christmas in July

If this could be sent in the mail, it would be my Christmas card this year.

Wair iz best fwend?

Yesterday, my in-laws were over for a little bit in the afternoon. We were hanging out in the living room, and I happened to walk past Odessa while she was sitting on her favorite dining room chair. Normally when you walk past her, she gives a little meow to remind you that she is there and would like some lovin'. This time, I walked past and she started yelling.
I know, I know, cats don't yell. But Odessa tried her damndest. She was meowing with such volume and distress that I was immediately concerned. I looked at their food and water - both full. I had just cleaned their litterbox earlier that day, so that couldn't be it. Plus, this was more than annoyed - she sounded very worried. My next thought was that something was wrong with Sirius.


moar funny pictures

I enlisted JP's help and we started to hunt for Sirius. Nowhere in the apartment. He does have a bad habit of trying to leave the apartment, but we have a small foyer with a fire door that he can't get out of, so if he gets accidentally shut out there, he yowls after a few minutes and then we hear him and let him back in. I checked the foyer, no Sirius. We rechecked the apartment, no Sirius. We finally thought to check the rest of the apartment building to see if he had somehow made it past the fire door.
Bingo!
He was on the third floor (where the fire door is propped open to their foyer), sitting in front of our upstairs counterparts' apartment, screaming his bloody cat lungs out. His yowling was so loud and mournful. JP went upstairs and grabbed him, and he still cried the whole way back into our apartment. Once he was inside again, both the cats calmed down. They ignored each other, and moved to their separate (but equal) spots.

I was truly amazed at both their distress. I don't know if Odessa could hear him up on the third floor or if she just knew he wasn't there, but she knew something was very wrong and very clearly told me. And Sirius is such a badass most of the time that I never imagined him sounding so sad and scared, thinking he was trapped in the apartment stairwell forever.
Poor kittehs. That's probably the scariest thing that's ever happened to them.

4th of July

It has long been a tradition in our circle of friends to spend the 4th of July weekend at Silent Bob's parents' lakehouse, near Scranton. This year was easy, with the 4th on a Friday. I took Thursday off and left after work on Wednesday with Josh and his dog, Zehe. We left Pittsburgh at 8pm, and drove the 6 1/2 hours to the lake. I think I am getting too old to do that. It was exhausting and never-ending, especially since 80 has no lights toward the eastern part of the state. We arrived at 2:30am, and JP, Silent Bob, Brian, and Keiser were already there. The next night we were expecting 9 more people, and then 1 more on Friday, to make us 16 in total.

In the past, we have had to leave the house at least once a day to go pick up beer and food. No one likes to leave the lake, so we decided to get everything ready ahead of time. This meant ordering 2 kegs and making a grocery list for 6 meals for 16 people. I was asked to put together the food list, and Josh and I volunteered to go get food on Thursday before everyone was there. The list included things like 7 loaves bread, 144 hot dogs, 12lbs of pork roast, 8 bottles BBQ sauce, etc., etc. We filled 3 carts with groceries, and the total was around $400. Not a bad deal at all. I kept the receipt to take a picture of, but it's actually too big if it's on the floor, and I didn't feel like hanging it on the wall, so I measured it. 75 inches. That's 6'3" long. It's a good thing I thought to sign up for their discount card - it saved us $50.
So we had pancakes, bacon, and fruit for breakfast on Friday, BBQ chicken, corn, and roasted potatoes for dinner; eggs, bacon, toast, and baked beans for breakfast on Saturday, and pulled pork and coleslaw for dinner. Planning, cooking, and cleaning for 16 is exhausting even with tons of help. I'm glad that JP and I do not have 14 children.

There is so much that I love about the lake that it's hard to pick my favorite thing. Afternoons of reading while there is hacky sack in the background?

Naps on the lawn?


Fireworks set off from our dock and the dock next door? (Which, by the way, rival any that I have seen, especially as you are close enough to have flaming ash rain down on you)


The fires and marshmallows and s'mores?

It might be the stars seen laying on the dock late at night. How many constellations do you know? We could pick out 4 - Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Casseopoeia, and Orion (who can only be seen early since he is low on the horizon in summer).

When JP and I travel, we like to explore. Neither of us wants to spend days laying on a beach. We would much rather wander around an unknown city and eat at hole-in-the-wall restaurants. The lake is the only place that I go to just escape it all. As soon as I see it, there's just this feeling of peace and leaving everything else behind. We call it recess for adults - pure fun that lasts for days and you get to drink.