Hey, have you seen my little “27 things I love about Rand” countdown to our wedding? 🙂
New posts every day at erin-go-weddingblog!
27 things
2
Seasons of Love
This just made me cry like a little baby.
Books read in 2008 (so far)
I’ve gone on a reading binge this past week or so–particularly this weekend. Lots of YA and chicklit. I’ve hit a point where nothing on my to-read shelf is doing it for me. Please feel free to share your recommendations!
1. Love, Stargirl–Jerry Spinelli
2. Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable–JM DeMatteis
3. Neptune Noir–edited by Rob Thomas
4. Blood Price–Tanya Huff
5. Looking for Alaska–John Green
6. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom–Cory Doctorow
7. Young Avengers
8. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born
9. Kimmie66–Aaron Alexovich
10. Blood Trail–Tanya Huff
11. A Local Habitation–Seanan McGuire
12. Living Lost–J. Wood
13. Boy Proof–Cecil Castellucci
14. First Among Sequels–Jasper Fforde
15. I’d Tell You I Love You But then I’d Have to Kill You–Ally Carter
16. Size 14 is Not Fat Either–Meg Cabot
17. Buffy Omnibus, vol. 2
18. Gifts–Ursula LeGuin
19. Duma Key–Stephen King
20. Pirates of the Retail Wasteland–Adam Selzer
21. The House on Mango Street–Sandra Cisneros
22. Daniel’s Story–Carol Matas
23. Queen of Babble in the Big City–Meg Cabot
24. Big Boned–Meg Cabot
25. Ready or Not–Meg Cabot
26. Someone Like You–Sarah Dessen
27. Lily Dale: Awakening–Wendy Corsi Staub
New posts
Yesterday was 27 days until my wedding, and there’s a post up at my wedding blog.
Miss Shortskirt put up a new post at Required Reading.
After many, many months, I updated the 27 blog. (I was reminded by my 27 days post at the wedding blog)
Enjoy! 🙂
Saturday
I’m having a pleasant enough Saturday, despite missing Rand, who is entertaining the masses at DucKon.
I got up WAY too early this morning (after attending the Guitar Concerto Competition finals last night at Kleinhans, courtesy of Jen; more on that later) to go to yoga class, because I missed Thursday’s session. (I’d have contemplated just skipping it, but I missed a class during the move that I never made up. I was willing to let one go, but not two!) The Saturday morning class starts at (sigh) 8. But of course, once I got there, I was very glad to be there.
Made a quick Wegmans run to pick up a few essentials, then puttered around the house a bit before taking a shower and trying to get in touch with my little. We’d made a tentative plan to get together today, and I’d told her to call me yesterday after school. She didn’t, so I called and left her a message to give me a call back. She didn’t. So I tried again today, and still no dice. Ah well. She’s 17 now, and terribly hard to pin down!
I ran by the jeweler, who had wanted to do some repair work on my engagement ring. I had to leave it–sniff! I feel so naked! It’ll be done within the week. Definitely by Saturday, maybe sooner. That seems like an eternity right now, though.
I then headed out for a bit of pampering. I went out to Niagara Falls Boulevard to check out a nail salon I’d heard about. It was a very pleasant experience all around, but driving on Niagara Falls Boulevard was not. Ugh.
Stopped at Lowe’s to pick up some new cabinet fixtures for the bathroom. I’ll post some before and after pics for your amusement.
Then I ran by the library, because I wanted to get some books. Yeah, I am in possession of books that have not been read yet, but I wanted *different* books. Much to my dismay, I learned that my local branch is closed on Saturdays for the summer. Boo.
Thought about going to the art festival, but with Rand out of town, my little not responding, and Jen otherwise occupied today…well, I dunno. I don’t know if I want to go badly enough to go alone!
And finally, I am, like many others, saddened by the passing of Tim Russert. I have no profound words, just to say that it is a tragic loss, and he will be missed by many.
That’s about it for me. Hope you’re having a pleasant day!
How not to write a short story
Last night, I watched a random episode of Friends that TiVo kindly “suggested” for me. The episode was “The One with the List,” which (if I’m remembering correctly) was early in the second season.
Setup: Rachel and Ross have kissed. Ross has a girlfriend, but is in love with Rachel. Joey and Chandler suggest that Ross make a list of pros and cons to help him decide what to do.
Chandler has typed the list on his new laptop. Rachel sees the list (only that is something about her) and insists that they show it to her. What happened next had me laughing so hard, I was nearly crying. I took it back and watched it again, and then made Rand watch it. I don’t think he thought it was quite as funny as I did. 😉
Rachel: Chandler wrote something about me on that paper and I want to see it!
Ross: Chandler isn’t that the short story you were writing?
Rachel: Short story? And I’m in it? I want to read it!
Ross, Joey, Chandler: NO!
Joey: Why don’t you read it to her?(this is the part that had me in tears…)
Chandler: It was summer… and it was hot. Rachel was there… A lonely grey couch…”OH LOOK!” cried Ned, and then the kingdom was his forever. The End.
Is this as funny as I think it is? I’m still laughing. I think the next line was Joey saying Chandler was the worst writer EVER. 😀
The song remembers when*
(this will be the first of a series of posts)
During the move, I found a box full of old cassette tapes. Most of them were mix tapes I’ve made at one point or another…I thought it might be fun to pull them out and post the track listings with a bit of background as to what was going on in my life at the time.
I’ve arranged them more or less in chronological order. People who know me well will notice some major holes, and here’s why…after every breakup I’ve ever gone through, there’s been a massive purge. I made *dozens* of lovey-dovey mix tapes for K in college, and they’re all gone. I just couldn’t bear to have them around, and putting them in a box and hiding them wasn’t enough…
Ahem, anyway. The first one is titled “And So It Goes…”, and it was made during the summer of 1993, between my freshman and sophomore year of college. Earlier that year, I had broken up with J, and when I came home for summer vacation, I briefly dated this guy (we’ll call him E) with whom I’d engaged in mild flirtations with the previous summer. E was also freshly out of a relationship. We tried to do casual, but neither one of us seemed to do that very well…and when he finally broke it off, I made him this mix tape:
Side A
This Night — Billy Joel
And So It Goes — Billy Joel
Take This Heart — Richard Marx
Kiss — Prince
Send Her My Love — Journey
Can’t Fight This Feeling — REO Speedwagon
In Your Eyes — Peter Gabriel
Something About You — (I have no idea…I don’t even know what song this is.)
If You Leave — OMD
The Longest Time — Billy JoelSide B
No Ordinary Love — Sade
All Shook Up — Elvis Presley
Kiss the Girl — from The Little Mermaid
Fever —
If — Janet Jackson
Paradise City — Guns ‘n Roses (this one had an inside meaning)
Can’t Help Falling in Love — Elvis Presley
(I had thrown in a couple of lame instumentals to fill up space. and as with most mix tapes, the first side is much stronger than the second…)
Was I in love with E? Did he break my heart? I don’t know…I was in a pretty vulnerable place that summer. When I think about this tape, I remember sitting alone at night on a swing at the park, wondering if anyone would ever love me again, though I know that was more about J than it was about E…
I linked to the lyrics to “This Night,” because that song, more than any other one, sums up that short-lived romance with E. We’ve been in contact since then. He’s married. And I, after a few wrong turns, soon will be. I have no hard feelings, and I smile when I think about him and the summer of 1993…
*post title is from a Trisha Yearwood song that I always powerfully identified with. Music is so strongly tied to our emotions, isn’t it?
Fun with Eminem
I’ve talked before about my irrational love for the song “Without Me” by Eminem. Nothing makes me want to get up and boogie quite like this song. So much so, that I really want to play it at my wedding.
The tricky part is that the song is pretty, uh, profane. I downloaded the *clean* version, and I listened to it all the way through today. It makes for some pretty entertaining sections of the song. To demonstrate, here are the lyrics. I’ve replaced all the profanity with a [EXPLETIVE DELETED]
Two trailer park girls go round the outside;
round the outside, round the outside
{*scratches*
Two trailer park girls go round the outside;
round the outside, round the outside
{*scratches*Guess who’s back
Back again
Shady’s back
Tell a friend
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back, guess who’s back, guess who’s back
guess who’s back, guess who’s back, guess who’s back..[Verse One: Eminem]
I’ve created a monster, cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more
They want Shady, I’m chopped liver (huh?)
Well if you want Shady, this is what I’ll give ya
A little bit of [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mixed with some hard liquor
Some vodka that’ll jump start my heart quicker
than a shock when I get shocked at the hospital
by the doctor when I’m not co-operating
When I’m rockin the table while he’s operating (hey!!)
You waited this long, now stop debating
Cause I’m back, I’m on the rag and ovu-lating
I know that you got a job Ms. Cheney
but your husband’s heart problem’s complicating
So the FCC won’t let me be
or let me be me, so let me see
They try to shut me down on MTV
But it feels so empty, without me
So, come on and dip, bum on your lips
[EXPLETIVE DELETED] that, [EXPLETIVE DELETED] on your lips, and some on your [EXPLETIVE DELETED]
And get ready, cause this [EXPLETIVE DELETED] about to get heavy
I just settled all my lawsuits, [EXPLETIVE DELETED] YOU DEBBIE!Now this looks like a job for me
So everybody, just follow me
Cause we need a little, controversy
Cause it feels so empty, without me
I said this looks like a job for me
So everybody, just follow me
Cause we need a little, controversy
Cause it feels so empty, without meLittle Hellions, kids feelin rebellious
Embarrassed their parents still listen to Elvis
They start feelin like prisoners helpless
’til someone comes along on a mission and yells [EXPLETIVE DELETED]!!!
A visionary, vision of scary
Could start a revolution, pollutin the airwaves
A rebel, so just let me revel and bask
in the fact that I got everyone kissin my [EXPLETIVE DELETED]
And it’s a disaster, such a catastrophe
for you to see so damn much of my [EXPLETIVE DELETED]; you asked for me?
Well I’m back, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Fix your bent antenna tune it in and then I’m gonna
enter in, endin up under your skin like a splinter
The center of attention, back for the winter
I’m interesting, the best thing since wrestling
Infesting in your kid’s ears and nesting
Testing, attention please
Feel the tension, soon as someone mentions me
Here’s my ten cents, my two cents is free
A nuisance, who sent? You sent for me?A-tisket a-tasket, I go tit for tat with
anybody who’s talkin this [EXPLETIVE DELETED], that [EXPLETIVE DELETED]
Chris Kirkpatrick, you can get your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] kicked
worse than them little Limp Bizkit [EXPLETIVE DELETED]
And Moby? You can get stomped by Obie
You thirty-six year old baldheaded [EXPLETIVE DELETED], [EXPLETIVE DELETED] me
You don’t know me, you’re too old, let go
It’s over, nobody listen to techno
Now let’s go, just gimme the signal
I’ll be there with a whole list full of new insults
I been dope, suspenseful with a pencil
ever since Prince turned himself into a symbol
But sometimes the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] just seems
everybody only wants to discuss me
So this must mean I’m dis-gus-ting
But it’s just me, I’m just obscene
No I’m not the first king of controversy
I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley
to do black music so selfishly
and used it to get myself wealthy
(Hey!!) There’s a concept that works
Twenty million other white rappers emerge
But no matter how many fish in the sea
It’ll be so empty, without me
Pretty amusing, eh?
Six Degrees of Bloggeration
A little while ago, I received an email from fellow TC editor Faith. The gist of it was something like this:
“As you may remember, I have the Big Ideas blog (bigideas4u.blogspot.com). A gal (Annemarie) I know was apparantly very inspired by my last idea, titled Six Degrees of Bloggeration. My idea as posted: “Someone should start a blog that will simply show us how many known blogs, in multiples of six, it would take to connect all the blogs in the blogosphere.” She suspects I am right, that we are all a lot more interconnected than we could imagine.”
So Annmarie picked six bloggers. Faith was one of those. And Faith picked six bloggers, and I was one of those. I’ve already left my comment and emailed my picks, but I wanted to share them with all of you:
1. All Things Jennifer
Jen is a real life friend–we’ve been friends since our first year of college. We were roommates for the subsequent three years. I moved to Buffalo because of her. Her blog is funny, honest, and always entertaining.
2. Superfluous Juxtaposition
Hilary is a Jewish gal who lives in LA. We connected because we were living somewhat parallel lives on opposite sides of the country. We turned 30 at the same time. 😉
3. Dispensing Happiness
Stephanie is a very old friend of mine. She’s a very active food blogger, and I love reading about what she’s cooking!
4. Byzantium’s Shores
Kelly is smart, interesting, and lots of fun to read. He writes about football (in season), pop culture, writing, and his family, among other things.
5. Silly Little Mischief
Linda is another blogging bride-to-be. She’s getting married a week after me!
6. Glitter for Brains
Lee is the most fabulous blogger in all of London. I discovered his blog through a mutual love of Alias.
There were lots of others I could have chosen, of course…I tried to find some variety, of location, subject, and so forth. I also tried to choose people I thought would be likely to participate. (of course, if you’d rather not, please let me know. I’ll choose someone else!)