Things That Did Not Happen To Me Today

1. I did not get married (I just thought I'd clarify that since it seems to be such a popular past time these days)

2. I did not get approached by a weird man at McDonalds

3. I did not give anyone on the road between here and work a sarcastic thumbs up

4. I did not forget to set my alarm (like yesterday)

5. I did not believe someone when they told me something even though I believed that THEY believed it

6. I did not figure out why people are mean

7. I did not see an elephant

8. I did not use all of my time effectively

9. I did not physically touch a single person all day long (I just realized that right this second while making this list....who says these blogs aren't thought provoking....?)

Things That Happened To Me Today

1. I accidentally listened to a Clay Aiken song.

2. I was thwarted in my attempts to find a professional and mature way to call someone an idiot via email

3. My favorite restaurant neglected to give me a fork for my "to go" salad causing me to contemplate the practicality of trying to eat a salad with my fingers.

4. I drove for nearly 20 minutes with my left arm unnaturally extended over the right side of my body just to prevent getting a sunburn through my window. I hate it when I forget my sunscreen.

5. I used baby powder in my hair so I could sleep another 20 minutes and not have to get up earlier to wash it.

6. I emailed approximately 5 people to tell them about someone I don't know and will never meet breaking their back and being in the hospital as if they were a close friend. (I'm sorry-- I happen to really like Jim and Pam on The Office! So sue me.)

7. I sent 3 emails to myself

Advice on Women:

To all of you single men out there looking for love-- let me offer you a tip. Hanging out the window of your car as you exit the drive-thru at McDonalds to tell a passing female (whose identity does not matter for this cautionary tale) that she's "looking pretty cute" and then asking her if she's single (since the nameless female is just going to lie to you anyway and tell you that she is not, in fact, single) is NOT the way to meet the love of your life.

I'm 99.9% sure.

Have you ever had someone tell you something so far out of the bounds of information you'd ever want to know that you have no idea how to respond and all you can do the whole time they are talking is try to think of ways to make yourself NOT laugh because even a smirk would not be appropriate in this situation? And then you wonder why you are worried about restraining yourself to an APPROPRIATE response to a completely INappropriate story that you never wanted to hear in the first place and yet there's no denying that you don't want to make the aforementioned "someone" feel bad for completely grossing you out.

A Defense of Mellow Music

It has happened of late that my musical taste has been challenged (by someone who shall remain nameless but lives in Nebraska) as being "too mellow" and my favorite songs are apparently too "slooowww". And while I freely acknowledge that my iPod on shuffle can sometimes take on the tempo of a Eastern European funeral, I feel this is an unfair criticism.

(Sidenote: you may at this point be saying to yourself "Eastern European funeral"? What in the name of failed communism is she talking about? I can only tell you I don't know...that's what came out when I was typing, so that is what I'm sticking with)

Anyhoo......I feel that mellow music often gets a bad rap. No, it isn't peppy and happy and the type of thing to make you bounce all over your car. And true, it can often be so moody and dramatic that it makes you feel way more "deep" and "introspective" than is probably wise while driving your morning commute...but the point remains that mellow music is important! Why? Well, it is my contention that more often than not-- it is the mellow music that is actually SAYING something interesting or thought provoking. We all know I like to analyze things, and this includes my music.

In case you still don't a)believe me or b)know what I am talking about....let's do a little exercise in comparing/contrasting the lyrics of mellow music vs the lyrics of peppy music....and you shall soon see what I am talking about! (bonus points for anyone who can ID the songs!!)


"Mellow" Example A
I was just guessing at numbers and figures,
Pulling the puzzles apart,
Questions of science, science and progress,
Do not speak as loud as my heart


"Peppy" Example A
All you people look at me like I'm a little girl
Well did you ever think it'd be ok for me to step into this world?




"Mellow" Example B
I found us in a photograph
I saw me and I had to laugh
You know, I'm not who I was
You were there, you were right above me
And I wonder if you ever loved me
Just for who I was



"Peppy" Example B
Mary Anne and Wanda were the best of friends
All through thier high school days
Both members of the 4H club
Both active in the FFA




Are you starting to see the difference? Did I make my point?


...........








(OK, here is where I make my confession that I only half mean what I said above. I love peppy songs as much as the next girl...and I honestly haven't been able to get "peppy" example B out of my head since I copied the lyrics.....but my point is really only this: DON'T DISS MELLOW MUSIC KATIE. I guess I could have started with that, huh?)

Making Myself Smile

Quite a few obnoxious things happened today, but instead of rehashing all of that (and really-- who wants to hear about the things that go WRONG?)....I am going to share the little things that made me happy today.

1. Discovering that The Frames are in a musical/movie that was shown at Sundance. And I will never get to see it in a theater since I live in OK, but that is what Netflix is for, I guess.

2. Looking at the team lineup for the Irish National Rugby team with Cheryl.

3. The clouds right before sunset.

4. The fact that my middle toenail isn't going to fall completely off like I thought it was, which would have made open toe shoes an impossibility for most of the summer (what? I know that's totally gross-- but I'm looking for the positive, people! It's not my fault I don't have much to work with right this second...besides, not wearing open toe shoes ALL SUMMER would have been highly annoying)

5. Finding an extra 50 cents in the bottom of my purse

6. Finishing a piece of jewelry that I actually get to keep



Annnd hm. Well, 6 is kind of pathetically small, but that is all I am coming up with right this second. But you know, it isn't about the quantity-- it is about the quality! And non-falling off toenails is quality positiveness....so there.

Brave New World

I've really got to stop taking my laptop with me when I travel to see various little people......they always become much more interested in it than in me.

I can't compete with an iBook! When will I learn??

Random Self-Focused Facts For The Day After May 1st (sometimes known as May 2nd)

*I don't understand how anyone can NOT like peanut butter

*It worries me that I'm wrong when certain people in my life agree with me

*I often wish that there was a mirror that made us see the things we refuse to see about ourselves.

*I cannot stand to listen to Bill Maher say one single word. The man could open his mouth to tell me about the weather and I'd STILL want to smack him.

*I don't know how to reconcile the warriors of the Old Testament with the message of Christ in the New Testament.

*My greatest pet peeve is being told to calm down.

*I only like birds in theory

*I don't sing along to the radio as much as I used to, and I don't know why that changed

*It annoys me when people are not satisfied with deluding themselves and must make others agree with their delusions as well. It annoys me even more when other people actually do it. I probably greatly annoy people when I don't.

*I eat far too many apples

*I don't think I wash my sheets as often as you are supposed to. I don't even know how often you are supposed to.

*I think Harry Reid is a disgrace.

*I don't remember a time in my life when I didn't obsess about a chosen television show

*I hate the ice cream truck that circles our neighborhood

*I'm not sure how morally correct certain fertility treatments are

*I think many churches are often country clubs with Bibles

*I don't know what I think of a world where we will tell a million strangers our every thought in the comfort of invisiblity but we can't find a way to know our neighbors names.

Things to Know When You Go to Ireland (Cause You Should All Go To Ireland) Part One

1. You need to get a Clark. (too bad I'm pretty sure there's only one.....)

This is Clark. (Well, technically, it's Clark along with Peter the Angry Irishman, who is also a very cool fellow and thankfully was not quite so bitter about Ireland's Rugby loss in this photo....)






Clark started out as a friend of a friend's brother who was going to let us crash at his place in Dublin-- but Clark wound up being far, far more than that. If any of you go to Ireland, you should be so lucky to stay somewhere as all inclusive in its services as Casa Clark. He's the best tour guide, rugby introducer, driver, explainer, stand in the snow and get ice-cycles on his head freezer, language explainer ("pants/trousers" "crisps/chips".....need I say more?) that any group of travelling girls ever had. It's not every man that will sleep on a deflated airmattress in his own apartment just to give the beds to one girl he knows and two girls he doesn't.


2. Everything is always Cheryl's fault. Everything

3. Watch your body language in pictures. I present Exhibit A:




When you are taking a picture meant to convey that you are dangerously near the edge of a dramatic cliff (which in all fairness-- we really were)...you should not pose knees bent with ankles jauntily crossed like you're out for a afternoon stroll in the park. Crossed ankles are never edgy.


4. Stay at Petra House in Galway. Not only is it a lovely place to stay with yummy breakfast, but you are also treated to the dulcet tones of Frank's voice. I feel confident in my assertion when I tell you that Frank is the most soothing man in Ireland. He could be telling you that your hair is on fire and you would just feel incredibly good about it.

A Break From Ireland Talk

I thought I would give you all (yes, all 5 of you) a breather from the Ireland talk (only momentarily, of course)....and give you my March Song Recommendations before the month of March ends.

But in a way, this isn't really much of a break from the Ireland talk because a lot of these were songs I was listening to on my iPod on the train! So HA!

Something Beautiful (The Newsboys)
--An incredibly catchy song about love how it was meant to be. You wouldn't think they could make a borderline deep dance song, but there you go.

Eyes (Rogue Wave)
--I'm obsessed with this very short song right now. I keep making other people listen to it. "Missed the last train home......birds pass by to tell me that I'm not alone."

So Are You To Me (Eastmountainsouth)
--I hesitate to recommend Eastmountainsouth as they broke my heart. I found them a couple of years ago only to discover that this singing duo had already broken up! Boo. But their CD is beautiful....as this song will illustrate quite nicely.

Rum and Coca-Cola (The Andrews Sisters)
--I can hardly have a list and leave The Andrews Sisters off of it.

Street Map (Athlete)
--So soothing. "I would like to think our paths our straight, disconnected from choices we make. There is no reason why it can't be like you said. One day........it's going to happen. Don't know when....I'll be on your street. I know one day.....it's going to happen. You're gonna be swept off your feet."

Moonlight (Beethoven)
--Ok, this might seem a dramatic choice, but I've always loved this piece of music. And it makes for great "contemplation of the countryside as you whiz by on a train" music.

Steal My Kisses (Ben Harper)
--This song is irrationally catchy given the topic. "She said I love the way you think, but I hate the way you act."


Oh, and just so you don't think I've completely forgotten that I WAS LEAVING FOR IRELAND AT THIS TIME LAST WEEK....here's one of my favorite pictures from last week as a parting gift. It's called Peter the Angry Irishman Who Does Not Know How We Do Things In America

Two Ways to Approach Travel (Mom, You Might Want To Skip This One)

One of my favorite places we visited last week were the Cliffs of Mohair. For those unfamiliar with Ireland, here's one of my snapshots I took while we were there:





There are two basic ways to approach the cliffs (given a pretty, NON windy day like we had). The first consists of what could be called the "Recommended Route"-- or what we started calling it, THE SAFE WAY (meaning you were on the approved "tourist path" with a four foot tall wall between you and anything interesting....)




This was nice and all, but to be honest....seeing the Cliffs this way was kind of depressing and just kind of made me feel like a Treadmill Tourist. Much MUCH better was the second option---what I like to call FUN Tourism:











And sure, it may have involved scaling a small wall and going onto private property-- but some things were just not meant to be seen from behind a concrete barrier.


(Mom? Are you still breathing? I told you not to look!)

I Love Being 30

I never would have believed it, but turning 30 was a complete and utter blast. I have very few pictures of the actual "day" yet (most of them are on Erin's camera), but here's one that I do have:




This is lunchtime in Dublin and Erin and I are enjoying some of the yummiest food known to man. I'd tell you what it was called, but sadly I've forgotten. Erin (and her "sophisticated palatte") will have to post a comment reminding me!


Many more posts about the trip will be coming (I think), but for now I just wanted to share some proof that I did turn 30 quite successfully.

Being a grown up ROCKS!

Help

I'm thinking of making a list of places I want to see in my life. (Maybe I'll start with the old standby number of top 10....)

This is going to take research to figure out just the right places....but in the mean time, I am asking for help. Have any of you people (both the people who know me that read this and the people who don't know me who stumble on to this and happen to read this) read about places you think just sound amazing? Tell me about it!

Strange Is Good

It's 10pm in Hong Kong, and I really should be going to bed since I have another jam-packed day of looking at jewelry ahead of me tomorrow. (you know, it's amazing how much BLING can fit into one convention hall, it really is)....but I'm not going to bed at the moment.

What AM I doing you ask? Well, besides downloading the latest episode of Heroes to watch on the flight from Tokyo-- I'm looking at other people's blogs to see what other people have been doing and thinking while I've been gone. It's weird that I would think the world at home would just kind of stop when I'm not there......and I don't. Not really. (Ok, I do a little....sue me) But travelling really does feel like a weird sort of time warp to me most of the time. Things that happen here seem so seperate in a lot of ways from things that happen at home....from the people that are at home. I'm rambling....and I am aware that I sound like I've been up to all kinds of shennanigans or something-- which I haven't....(I'm saving the shennanigans for Ireland, it just sounds more appropriate, don't you think?).

I don't even really know what I'm trying to say. But I told people I would update and I haven't-- so now you are just getting a stream of consciousness (is that how you spell that? I'm too tired to check it) entry that makes little to no sense.

You're ever so welcome.

Let's try this:

10 Things About My Trip You Don't Yet Know

1. I had an amazingly cool plane ride from Prague to Paris featuring a fascinating conversation with my seat mate (who was not Jini)

2. I do not enjoy the bacon at the JW Marriott, Hong Kong

3. I got to shop at the H&M in Prague and had a good time doing it

4. The Mucha Museum in incredibly small

5. When people scan my passport, they sometimes get information about an Indian man. This can be problematic and confusing.

6. At the risk of sounding like a bitter old hag, I have developed a philosophy that includes this thought: Schmoopy couples that are in love should not be allowed to walk hand in hand along the street or the MTR tunnel or the hotel hallway if they are not able to walk at a normal pace while doing so. Your need for togetherness should not hinder my ability to get where I'm going faster than a snail.

7. I've now actually been to and used an airpot that only opens for a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the afternoon...and when you land, they just let you out on the tarmac and point you towards the building.

8. BMW 7-series vehicles have an absurd amount of leg room. I recommend them for all wealthy and tall people I know

9. I had my first McDonalds cheeseburger today in a year and a half.

10. I think there might be NBA players staying at my hotel. That, or I just have a need to stereotype freakishly tall men in their 20s who wear lots of Nike gear. It's a toss up.

Food For Thought

This was my gmail quote of the day, and it amused me. So now I am sharing:


"Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid."
~Hedy Lamarr~

The Tipping Point

Something that has become increasingly apparent in my life lately is how much the process of tipping people stresses me out. I don't object to it on moral grounds. I'm not cheap. I don't mind tipping someone when I know it's built into the equation, they've offered good service, yada yada yada.

So what stresses me out about it, you ask? Two things:

1. I resent it when it's not my choice. If I go to a hotel and choose to let the little guy in the lobby take my bags up to my room, of course I owe him a tip. But if I choose to take my bags up on my own (because honestly that's my preference....I don't enjoy a parade of hotel workers leading me to my room when I'm tired and jet lagged)....I don't want to get a disapproving look as if I've robbed you of your nightly wage. Same thing with Sonic. I'd be happy to go in and get my food, but that's not an option. So why am I expected to tip the guy or girl that brings it out? I don't tip the drive through person at McDonald's, you know. What's the difference?

2. I don't know how much to tip people! Some of us can't do math quickly in our heads.....so I panic and either drastically under tip or completely overtip (depending on my mood). Sure 10% is easy enough to process......but that's too little. Is 15% OK? Or is that considered cheapo now too? And as if doing this in dollars wasn't enough to discombobulate me, now I have to do it in multiple currencies while travelling for work! Do you have any idea what it does to my brain to try and convert currency in my head while also trying to figure out the correct amount to tip the taxi driver vs the dude that was standing there and loaded your bag in the trunk? (Please see #1 in regards to this dude. I don't mind loading it myself, you didn't give me a choice, so I am annoyed that I must pay you for a service I didn't ask you to perform. It's like going into an Arby's only to have someone meet you at the front door and insist on ordering for you and then expecting to be paid for offering you the convenience you didn't want in the first place)

My question is: anyone have any advice to help me overcome this challenge?

Do I Get A Reward For Two In One Day?

So I spent most of my free time today working on jewelry designs, and as has become my habit of late, I was listening to my iPod on "shuffle". This is always entertaining when it goes on for hours due to several reasons:

1. There are no songs on my iPod that I didn't put there myself, and yet I always wind up with multiple songs that leave me wondering "Who is THAT?" I blame iTunes and their free weekly downloads.

2. There are no songs on my iPod that I didn't put there myself, and yet I always wind up with multiple songs that I HATE, have no idea why they are on my computer, swear I'm going to remove them immediately and then promptly forget about until the next time I'm making jewelry.

3. Musical whiplash is a frequent happening as going from the Andrew Sisters to The Offspring to the score of Schindler's List is not unlikely.

4. I rediscover songs that I've forgotten that I love (I know, I know....can you really forget something if you love it? That's a post for another day when I'm feeling a bit deeper....)

What brings us together today, however, is my desire to share with you some songs that I think you should give a listen to-- at least once. I know I can't make you love them as much as I do....afterall, songs are like books: one person's revelation is another person's annoyance. But you should at least give them a try.

So without further ado, I present February's List Of Songs I Love

(wait, I lied-- I do have one more ado: I don't think these songs have anything terribly objectionable...but I make no promises. It's music, people, No Getting Offended!) :-)

1. Shadow Boxer (Fiona Apple)
*I know some of you are rolling your eyes right now....but the woman's got some great beats and even better lyrics. Yes, she is odd in concert, this is true. But still. "Once my lover, now my friend. What a cunning way to condescend." I love that line. I really, really do.

2. Airport Song (Guster)
*I've had an irrational love of this song for nearly 3 years now. So sinister and so dang catchy! "You'll Be Selling Books At The Airport"!

3. Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (The Andrews Sisters)
*I grew up in the 80s, so it doesn't quite make sense that these ladies take me back to my childhood, but they do. And I defy you to listen to this song and not be singing along by the second verse.

4. On Your Porch (The Format)
*I will never, ever get sick of listening to this song. I love it. A great song about family. "And if you fail, well then you fail...but not to us"

5. Arms of a Woman (Amos Lee)
*Another one that is impossible not to sing with feeling, despite the fact that I'm not personaly looking to be at ease in the arms of a woman.....

6. I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You (Colin Hay)
*Erin loves this song. I'm just copying her.

7. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (David Gray)
*"You and I had to be the standing joke of the year"

8. Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)
*Until this afternoon, I forgot how much this song entertains me

9. Ada Plays (Gabriel Yared- Cold Mountain Score)
*Just a gorgeous piece of music...makes me wish I'd never quit piano because I was "so busy" as a 3rd grader.

10. Hide and Seek (Imogen Heap)
*Weird in a totally wonderful way.

It Seemed Fitting

This quote from Helen Keller was used in the lesson this morning, and it was so fitting given the last post, I had to add it:

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

Helen Keller, The Open Door (1957)


I don't know if I agree or not, but I thought it was interesting.

The Intoxication of Security

I've been thinking a lot this week about the comfort zones we create for ourselves and the lengths we go to to preserve them. We can go days, weeks, or even years without even being aware of the corners we back ourselves into....and then all it takes is one tiny thing that sits just out of reach of that zone....one tiny thing that catches your eye for inexplicable reasons (or perfectly logical ones) and suddenly all you can see are the walls that you built ever so carefully because they are what is keeping you from reaching that one tiny thing.

A safe life may be long, but it is rather dull.

Another Reason Apple Rocks

Somehow my iPod lives.

Apparently, he just needed a little time overnight to gather his wits about him. He has now been christened Amerigo because of his soggy journey.