Thursday, February 28, 2008

no more drunky driving!

Anyone who's ever met me knows how hypersensitive I am when it comes to drinking and driving. Chalk it up to friends having learned heartwrenching lessons, having read one too many stories or having seen one too many MADD billboards, or even dismiss me as paranoid. The fact remains that drinking and driving is, at its best, really risky if you're thinking about the legal battle you'll face if you have to blow into a breathylizer. At its worst, you or others could die.

But let's get a little happier, shall we? In last month's Paste, I read about this service in select cities, a service whose drivers scoot to you on scooters, pack the scooters into your trunk, and drive you home in your car. No trying to figure out how to get your car from that parking lot downtown the next morning as you're facing a huge hangover. No playing games with your fate, hoping you're just on this side of sober to be able to make it home safely.

Check this out!
Considering the locations of the few people that read this, I'm pretty sure it's in a city near you.

a once* in a lifetime Oscar moment

*pun intended

Last week, I watched parts of the Oscars while playing Mexican train dominoes with my sister and Jim. (That domino game is my newest obsession--my sister bought it for me for my birthday, knowing full well it'd become an addictive habit.) We watched a few boring acceptance speeches, all of which were cut off by music even more quickly than in years past. We watched and listened to the Best Song nominees sing their songs, but Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's live version of "Falling Slowly," from the indie film Once, blew the others out of the water with its raw emotion and genuine luster. I loved it and, as usual, found my eyes getting watery. Some songs just do that to you.

A few minutes after their performance, all the Best Original Song nominees were named. And guess who won? That's right, these little indie-filmmaking, adorable people. Glen made the acceptance speech, but when it came time for Marketa to have a moment to thank everyone, the mic had already been turned off and she was further drowned out by the music.

Imagine our collective delight when, after the subsequent commercial break, Jon Stewart made way for Marketa Irglova to walk onto the stage again. She had a few moments to make the comments she'd wanted to make in the first place--never have I ever seen a moment like that on a huge awards show, a moment when they gave someone a chance to talk further after having been cut off. (Granted, there are two times in recent memory when those talking just kept barreling over the music--Kanye West mentioned that it'd be in good taste for the Powers that Be to cut the music as he was speaking about his late mother at the Grammys.) But to invite her back to speak after she raised no onstage protest? What a lovely moment.

This video below shows the moment they got the award as well as both winners' acceptance speeches. It's worth watching, I promise.

bumpy mcbumperson

I have red, painful bumps on my back. Out of nowhere. I'm convinced I am carrying yet another deadly disease--this one in addition to the hundreds of others I've diagnosed myself with over the years. I don't remember getting bitten by any wintertime insects, all my medical website searches say that detergent and perfumes are very rarely the cause, and the bumps are definitely not pimples. They're gross. And they hurt!

Awful Theory One: Last week when my friend gave me a little peck on the shoulder post-hot tub she gave me herpes. (She was having a cold sore outbreak and we joked about her giving me herpes--I am fairly confident this is not my ailment.)

Awful Theory Two: I have shingles. You can have shingles if you had chicken pox, right? (I've barred myself from further internet searches due to increased hysteria, so I can't look it up myself.)

Awful Theory Three: There are small bugs that live in my bed and bite my back, side, and two spots on my leg while I sleep.

Awful Theory Four: I'm suddenly allergic to something rather constant in my life and I've broken out in hives (though my grody bumps look nothing like the photos of hives I've done a google image search for).

Awful Theory Five: Soon my entire body will be one red bump and I'll have one month to live. You all will forget what I really looked like and only see me as a red rubber ball.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Tune into SNL!

This is pretty exciting. I know Casey from NYU, though it's up for debate as to whether or not she remembers me. All the same, I'm happy for her. Her BFF/partner in crime, June Raphael, was on Flight of the Conchords for one episode the first season and was really good.

Too bad I can't make it to L.A. one weekend when they're doing this show. Wah.

xo
me

(Thanks for the news update, Lizzie-Lou!)

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

something my sister heard

My sister has a knack for overhearing really funny things. My father and mother share this gift. Come to think of it, relatives on both sides of the family do--my mom's side of the family tends to remember funny quotes from strangers' conversations by heart, whereas my father keeps little scraps of paper on which he'll write humorous tidbits. Ever the absent minded professor, he'd forget the specificity of the instance and only remember a general sense of hilarity.

Julie (my sis) has been sending me emails containing funny names she and her friends come across at work, in the newspaper, and on TV. The names are RIDICULOUS. The very best ones tend to be her friends' students at school or my people my sister has heard of through work, so that means I cannot share them. Confidentiality and all that. (I suppose very vague rules may've been breached, but posting them on the internet would be a little obvious.)

Here's an excerpt from an email she just sent. It made me laugh and made me overjoyed yet again that she'll be here next week for MY BIRTHDAY!

I overheard a strange conversation the other day at the grocery store. It was so strange that I didn't even remember it for several days.

Kid: I have a headache!"

Mother: "Well, duh! You had your head stuck in a hole in the wall!"

Monday, February 11, 2008

stalker memories

Just now I remembered for the first time in years that I was semi-stalked as a freshman at NYU. Later it came out that Jene, this creepy dude who either went to NYU or just claimed he did, was also creepily following other tall, thin girls around. (Sweet was a victim, as was Jill. I forget who else.) I can't recall the details right now; I'm more surprised at how this memory, once at the forefront of my mind, just popped up randomly.

Ha!

The end.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

This is so incredibly accurate it's INSANE!

NOT!

I especially love the 2nd and 8th one.

Why did I do this? It was more entertaining than writing another work email, I suppose.
Ha.

Love,
Rachel Bilson/Heath Ledger/the six other people below I've never seen

Thursday, February 7, 2008

I just can't get enough

Will I never stop being utterly in love with this band's music? Even seeing clips of songs I love the most moves me to tears, just as hearing (and seeing) performances of certain songs ("Secret Meeting," "Lit Up," "Mr. November," "About Today," "Fake Empire," "Apartment Story," the list goes on) in concert makes my eyes swim with emotion.



It's now old news to fans: both they and Modest Mouse are opening for R.E.M. on the early summer tour. I seriously doubt there's any chance I'll get tickets, despite my being a huge fan of two bands and a pretty good fan of the third (MM). Dammit, Michael Stipe, I can throw a football and hit your house.* And Mike Mills, you should just give me a ticket since I am the reason you were so entertained a certain night at Go Bar when Jim emerged from the bathroom wearing my tight-fitting pink shorts.

*assuming I could throw like one of those football folks I saw perform in that Superbowl spectacle (footnote added, Chris--thank you very much)

man of fire

Tonight Jim gave me a little smooch and left my house, making his way downtown for work.

A few minutes later, I got a call from him. He was on his way back to my house due to the fact that he had mysteriously caught on fire! He no longer smokes and had no lighter in his pocket, yet his middle jacket (he had three: a hoodie, his DBT Staff jacket, and a leather coat) had ignited. I surmised that a pack of matches was still in his pocket and had somehow ignited--but no charred remains exist!

Quite the mystery. Maybe I just have one hot man.

yeow!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

comings and goings

I knew when I got a job with the school district's Homeless Education Program that the kids I got to know through weekly storytelling and daily tutoring might come and go at the drop of a hat. My boss Tamara (quoted extensively in this year-old Athens Banner-Herald article that remains relevant) warned that getting close to children and then having them leave with no chance to say goodbye was commonplace.

In the last ten months of my employment, I've walked into shelters and had staff tell me, "Oh, So-and-So's not here anymore, so she and her kids won't be meeting with you, but there's a new family that'll be here..." I tend to nod my head when, in more cases than not, I want to say, "Wait, what? They're gone? When did they leave? Where did they go? Is everyone safe? Is their moving out a positive thing, or were they kicked out? What happened?" This information is not my business, however, and I know it. So I nod and think of how I'll probably never see Jane and Joe and Jim ever again. (Granted, the names tend to be a bit more inventive than that--extremely exotic, sometimes beautiful, and sometimes baffling--but I can't reveal them here. Confidentiality and all.)

Today I found out that a family I've known for quite a long time is leaving: I'll never see them again, barring any accidental run-ins (during which I'm not supposed to acknowledge knowing them--there goes the confidentiality again). No goodbye.

Got to another place tonight and was told by a young child that a few other kids are now gone from that shelter, as they moved out. I've known those kids for many months, too.

The families that are moving on are going to be successful. I have much hope for them. After months of struggle with a couple of kids from each of the families (as well as really good times, too), I had some big breakthroughs in the last ten days or so--hugs, smiles, and "I love yous" from heretofore pouty, somewhat violent children. Perhaps that's my closure.

Tamara said it'd be hard to get used to the fact that the kids are in your life one day (or one year, even) and out the next, without a trace. Still, I hadn't felt that sadness today.

That's all.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

YES WE CAN! Rock the vote on Tuesday.

A plan for the timid


Thank the lord once again for Found magazine. I thought I'd post this handy find of the day from last week or so to help out those out there who might want to get some action but are not sure how to go about getting it.