jannygirl

Snow!!

2010-02-12T17:05:00.001-05:00

...it's a rarity for us here in Georgia. During the big snowstorm of March 2009, I was in the midst of South American summer and missed the snowball fights, the snowmen on North Campus, and all the stories of people taking the day off work to relax and play with the kids.

I love snow.

I have very strong memories of 1980s Atlanta blizzards, but it's possible that they didn't occur as frequently as my mind remembers. Our neighbors had a huge hill behind their house, and we'd take all sorts of sleddish items up the hill and then slide on down. I remember in particular this dented, silver saucer with cloth loop handles on each side. The handles would be soaking cold, even through my gloves. I've always been one to get cold easily, and I remember getting worn out and a bit cranky by the time I needed to go inside for a break. Is it truth or my cliched memory that makes me think my mom made me hot chocolate as I tried to warm up? One of my friends taught me to run cool water over my icy hands before turning the faucet to hot--if I wasn't careful, I'd burn myself.

Now that the snow is drifting down and piling on the ground, I remember those times of sledding, building snowmen with numb hands, and eventually going inside to painfully warm my fingers and toes. (How it hurt when my fingers slowly thawed!) This afternoon I went for a walk and couldn't help but pick up a couple of snowballs along the way; after I came inside, I ran cool water over my hands, heated up water for tea, and was amazed at the sensual memory of fingers slowly going back to their regular temperature.

in case you needed one MORE reason to shop at your local bookstore...

2009-07-20T01:12:00.000-04:00

UPDATED! in all my fame and glory

2009-07-05T16:16:00.005-04:00

At long last I've found the notebook in which I scrawled the names of all the celebrities I've met over the years. Care to look? Well, I would, and I'd love to keep a copy of this on the interweb should I lose the original notebook yet again.

Who am I forgetting?

* = spoke with this person!
+ = saw this person on stage (I didn't really include musicians on this + list)

Mary Tyler Moore*
-I don't talk about this interaction much, but, to make a long story short, I met my idol during my last week in NYC due entirely to my parents' efforts!

Lars (Real World London)*
-I have a vague recollection of talking to Lars at some point. No idea what we talked about or why I was in the same place as he & Malik, but it must have been interesting at the time, as I wrote it down in my "celeb" list. Malik (Real World NY II)

Bryan Adams+
-Saw him perform on Late Night with David Letterman in duet with Celine Dion. Dear Lord.
Celine Dion
-Due to my friend Matt 1's urging, we waited for her to emerge from the LNWDL backstage door. There were TONS of chanting, yelling fans waiting for her, all of whom turned against her with merciless boos when she didn't sign autographs. Creepy mob experiment I never wish to repeat.

Jared Leto
-We passed each other in the crosswalk on University Pl. near NYU. I thought, "Man, that bleach-blond dude looks just like Jordan Catalano!" Turns out he was in the midst of filming Requiem for a Dream.

Wallace Shawn ("Inconthheivable!")*
-He came into Starbucks when I worked there and requested a grande iced coffee, no room for cream. Moments after he exited, my Wallace-Shawn-obsessed roommate came in for the first and only time to visit me at work. "Wallace Shawn was here two seconds ago!" I told her. "He went out that way!" Her face flushed and, teary-eyed, she bolted out the side door but had no luck finding him to say hi. Sad.

Liev Schrieber*
-We were BFF a few times when he came into Starbucks to get coffee while rehearsing for Hamlet at the Public Theatre.

Anna Paquin
-When I was a sophomore, I had to go to the admissions office one day. As I waited for my appointment, AP walked in and smiled at me.

Tom Irwin (dad from My So-Called Life)*
-This guy is too old for me but ever so cute. Another Starbucks coup! He came in with a friend and we all hit it off. I took my 15-minute break immediately after he left and called my sister using the Starbucks office phone. (I was a couple of years away from getting a cell phone so busted out the "emergency" family calling card number.)

Janine Garafalo
-She live(d) right in the Village, so we NYU kids saw her a lot. Once Kerri said to me, "It's not fair that everyone else has seen Janine Garafalo and I haven't!" Later that afternoon, we met up for coffee on 8th St., and who should be in line in front of us but Janine? See? God exists.

David Letterman*
-Went to his show a few times during college and once since. In May 2008, Jim & I went to the show and, before we hit airtime, I asked Dave about a quilt my aunt made him many a year ago. He then mentioned me and my Aunt Dorth on the show! Very exciting time in Kirchner life.

Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead)
-The night I prowled the Radiohead line looking for an impossible-to-find, affordable ticket, he popped out of the stage door right as I cruised by.

Sheryl Crow*
-Yet another NYC Starbucks interaction. My brawny Staten Island coworker was flirting with her like CRAZY, which was a bit embarrassing. We talked for just a minute while I rang her up, and after she left, I asked my coworker why he had flirted so shamelessly. Turns out he had no idea who she was.

Monica Keena ("Abby Morgan" from Dawson's Creek)*
-I met her 60 minutes after her character was killed off Dawson's Creek, a show I watched every week in college with my friends. It was surreal.

Amy Smart*
-My friend Carley & I worked at this "Women & Wine" event in LA a few years back. Amy was one of the invitees. I got to fill her glass with Veuve Cliquot a few times.

Bonnie Sommerville*
-See "Amy Smart."

Keri Russell
-Saw her in Washington Square Park doing location shots as Felic.

Philip Seymour Hoffman+/*
-Being friends with the theatre kids in college paid off. I got to go to free plays a lot and, in this case, attended a talk by PSH. It was incredible to hear him break down his acting techniques. I love him.

Gregory Peck
-In the audience at the opening night revival of Death of a Salesman, Lauren Bacall on his arm.
Lauren Bacall
Arthur Miller+
-Came out onstage to a standing ovation after opening night of DOAS.

Kevin Klein
-Outside the Guggenheim having a smoke before his car came to fetch him. (My parents and I were together, gawking on the opposite corner.)

Kevin Spacey
-He hosted the GQ awards the night that I, along with 50-some-odd other girls, donned a wedding dress to promote the huge runaway hit The Bachelor. We yelled in unison: "Kevin Spacey, will you marry me?!" He didn't every answer us. Hmm...

Liza Minelli
-She was half-dancing, half-walking down 2nd Ave. with an entourage of at least 5 younger men. All right, Liza.

Cynthia Nixon*
-I ran smack into her as she came out of her apartment near NYU. She was pushing a stroller. "Excuse me!" I said, and then, upon recognizing her from somewhere and figuring I knew her somehow, I said, "Oh--hi!" She graciously said hi. Days later I realized she was the redhead from Sex & the City, a show I'd not yet watched.

Holly Hunter
-We passed each other on some street in NYC.

Jennifer Jason Leigh+
-She thoroughly annoyed me with her "I'm-beyond-bored-and-sound-like-a-jerky-preteen-boy" voice as I watched her perform in Proof.

Christian Slater+
-Passed him and Uma Thurman in Washington Square Park over ten years ago. Then in college I saw him as a guest on Late Night with David Letterman. Dave was horribly mean, rude, and disrespectful--but much of his real-life interview was cut by the time the show aired that night. I like Dave, but after that experience I respected him less. Also, Sweet tells me we saw him in a coffee shop once pushing a stroller.

Lily Tomlin+
-Saw her read/speak/perform in small doses at the Union Square Barnes & Noble. I love her.

Christy Turlington
-OMG, we totally went to the same college.

Sigourney Weaver
-Coming out of Patricia Fields on 8th St.

Dar Williams*
-I've met her a few times and had a couple of mini-chats that dazed my teenage self. Most recently, I wrote her an email before her early 2009 concert in Athens and she was very cordial and sweet.

Joy Behar (from The View)
-Eating lunch at some outdoor cafe in midtown Manhattan.

John Mayer
-Standing on top of his tour bus outside Irving Plaza, spraying a group of horny barely-of-age girls with champagne. "Oh, it's that guy from Atlanta," thought I.

Al Franken
-Eating with his kid at Dojo near NYU in 1998.

Lisa Loeb
-I don't remember where I encountered this character.
Judy Collins*
-Kate & I met and chatted with Judy after her Fox Theatre show in February 1997. She was really sweet to us and we had a little email exchange a couple of years later! We also met and talked with Roberta Flack that night.
Roberta Flack*

Nina Persson (from The Cardigans)*
-Some of my high school BFFs & I stayed late after The Cardigans' 1998 Variety Playhouse show. Nina, the adorable lead singer, was nice to us. Lieeish and I like to quote her as she watched us shivering in the February cold: "Go home, get warm."
Amy Ray* Emily Saliers*
-Being a crazy Indigo Girls fan in Georgia means I've met the Indigo Girls a few times. Once Lieeish & I were complaining aloud that whenever we ate at one of the ATL restaurants Emily partly owns, we never saw her. Then we noticed she was at the next table--she glanced over and smiled at us knowingly. Ha.

Shawn Mullins*
-I met him a few times in the late 90s before he hit the big time ever so briefly with "Lullaby." On one occasion, we were chatting for a moment when he asked me to hold his coffee cup so he could sign an autograph for another fan. We're really good friends, obvs.

Nanci Griffith*
-Peyton & I waited to meet her after a show in Atlanta during high school. She had remarkably soft hands, we noticed.

Edward James Olmos
-Walking with the Mothers of the Disappeared in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, 2001.

Michael Stipe Peter Buck Mike Mills
-These guys, especially MS & MM, have houses in Athens, so we townies see them a lot. Luckily we're WAY too cool to think it's cool.

Martin Sheen
-He was staying at the same place as my dad & me in NYC once in the late 90s.

Tom Brokaw*
-Well, I didn't actually meet him, but a few members of my family have chatted with him, and my grandfather Gregory Kirchner was featured in one of The Greatest Generation books!

Mitch Hedberg+
-Went to his comedy show in early 2003. I have perhaps never laughed so hard at a performance in my entire life.

Audra McDonald+
-This Broadway star, whom I saw in Showboat during a high school trip, was on Conan or David Letterman when I went once. She was really pretty in person.

April Wilkner* (America's Next Top Model)
-Lots of my college friends are friends with this pretty young lady, though I haven't gone beyond exchanging pleasantries with her. For a while my 19-year-old self was jealous of her, as she dated my crush for a bit.
Steve Avery (Braves)*
-During a field trip to the bank in 1993 or so, the teller told us that Atlanta Braves star Steve Avery was in the lobby--did we want to meet him? So we all got his autograph and thought we were really cool. Clearly I still think so, as I'm telling the story 16 years later.
Walt Clyde Frasier (Knicks star)*
-Long story. In the end, I was sitting next to him at a swanky midtown restaurant as he tried to get me to try the various kinds of sushi that were laid out in front of him. He also told me I had really good style. (Trying to be nice, perhaps, as I walked into the restaurant with jeans and sneakers, not realizing I was going to be breaking an unspoken dress code.)

Cameron Diaz
-She sat near us at Yaffa Cafe on St. Marks.

Ben Folds*
-I've seen him in concert a handful of times, but the interaction that most sticks out is the time when Julie, Sweet, and I saw him at Yaffa Cafe with his parents. I didn't know much about him at the time, but we stood outside the restaurant afterward trying to decide what to do next and I started busting out the song "Brick" really loudly. I turned around when Sweet cleared her throat: he was walking right next to me, laughing quietly. Oops.

John Hannah (from Sliding Doors)*
-Amazingly enough, I ran smack into this dude as he exited the W. 4th subway station while I tried to enter. It was very Sliding Doors.

Gwyneth Paltrow
-She walked by me on the red carpet during the GQ Awards when I was dressed as a bride.
Neil Diamond*
-Once, out of dedication to my friend Phil G., I ran through college buildings in order to corner Neil as he entered his limo, which was tucked away behind a maze of buildings and protective road blocks. It was exciting and ridiculous.
Henry Winkler*
-He spoke at the Love of Literacy Luncheon sponsored by the Palm Beach Literacy Coalition in 2003. He approached the AmeriCorps kids' table and came over to me. Stroking my cheek with the backside of two fingers, he said creepily, "This must be the young table." Ugh.

Mandy Moore
-Sitting in the stands at the Chris Evert Celebrity-Pro Tennis Classic in Delray Beach, Florida. She was so sweet and kind to her preteen fans that I decided I liked her, too.
Dr. Phil+
-Played in the aforementioned Tennis Classic and got RUL tudey when half the stands left to get faux-referee Fran Drescher's autograph.
Fran Drescher+
-Pretend ref at the tennis thing. Obnoxious and unfunny, if you can believe it. (She and all the players were miked.) Andy Roddick+
-Played at the tennis classic, his then lady-love Mandy watching from afar. Jon Lovitz+
-Tennis thang.
Chris Evert+
-Tennis thang.

Josh Taylor
-Days of Our Lives Star! My sister shook his hand at Disney World in the 80s. So exciting.

Sandra Burnhardt
-Walking out the backstage door after Elaine Stricht's one-woman Broadway show in May 2002.

Real World/Road Rules guy Mark
-At a deli in Melbourne, FL.

Demi Moore & kids
-Emerging from their Central Park West apartment building and then getting into a car. The doorman informed me that I had just missed Bruce.

Brian Dennehy+
-He starred in the revival of Death of a Salesman.

Alan Rickman+
-Starred in Noel Coward's Private Lives, which my mom and I watched from the front row.
Lindsey Duncan+
-Starred with Alan Rickman in Private Lives.

Some old-ish dude who claimed to be "THE Jack Hanna(h)"
-At a sushi place in Buenos Aires, 2001. The cartoonist was dead by then, and this guy was NOT the animal dude. So... I have no idea who this guy was, but he was flanked by people and paid for some of our drinks.

Jennifer Nettles*
-Formerly of Soul Miner's Daughter and the Jennifer Nettles Band, this former Athenian is now some megastar in Sugarland. Good for her.

Julianne Moore*
-Met her at Book Expo America in May 2009. She was stunningly gorgeous in person and was kind enough to sign a copy of her new book for me.

Julie Andrews+
-She spoke at Book Expo America in May 2009. It was surreal to be in the same room as she.

John Irving+
Richard Russo+
-I LOVE these authors and was thrilled to be in the small audience when they spoke with one another at BEA 2009.

Neil Gaiman*
-Saw him at Book Expo this year. AND he sent me a personal message on Twitter.

Steven Tyler+
Chuck Klosterman+
Clarence Clemons+
-These two rock stars were the keynote speakers at Book Expo 2009. I found myself really liking Clarence and really disliking Steven Tyler. Sorry, Liv.

Cher+
Cyndi Lauper+
-I saw Cher & Cyndi TWICE on their summer 1999 tour. Amazing. I believe.

Ed Begley, Jr.+
-Book Expo keynote speaker, 2008. Amy & I faux-stalked him for a few minutes before the keynote. We are awesome.
Craig Kilborn+
-Went to the Daily Show with friends in 1998 or so and nearly died laughing during the portion of the show about the Ohio man who impersonates first ladies.

Conan O'Brien+
-Went to his show a couple of times. He's very tall.

Recent additions others reminded me of:
Lisa Loeb
-On the sidewalk near Bloomingdale's while walking with Sweet

Nancy Grace*
-At Book Expo America, NYC 2009. Jim waited in line to meet her while I was at a seminar. "Who should I make this out to?" she asked him. "Make it out 'to Aunt Evie,'" he replied. Nancy gave him an odd look (or so I surmise) so Jim proceeded to spell it out: "A-U-N-T..." HA! A few minutes later, I appeared and got in line to acquire an autographed book for our friend Matt (who loved the surprise, personalized gift!). A new bookstore friend came up to us post-signing and asked us, "Did you meet Nancy Grace?" "Yes." "I went right up to her and said, 'You are the most obnoxious woman on CNN." "No you didn't!" He continued: "She just laughed and said, 'I KNOW!'" (This snippet made me like Nancy Grace more.)

Amber Tamblyn*
-She's a poet as well as an actress! I met her this year at Book Expo and had a good chat. She's reached out to a lot of young writers and even personally critiques their work on her website. I liked her a lot.

John Carter Cash*
-Son of June & Johnny! Autographed his kids' book for me so I could give it to Mary Beth & Oscar.

Tomie dePaola*
-Multi-award-winning children's author/illustrator.

Walter Dean Myers & son*
-Multi-award-winning children's author with his artist son (they just came out with a book).

Mary Karr*
-Author of the acclaimed memoirs The Liars Club, Cherry, and (coming soon) Lit. Told her I "loved" her books, which is sort of a f'ed up thing to say to someone who's chronicled her scary, abusive, alcoholic former life. Oops. (Her books are great and very brave.)

Craig Ferguson+ Jeannette Walls+
-Craig (late night host) & Jeannette (author of The Glass Castle, which is a phenomenal memoir) appeared on a panel at BEA 2009.

Philippa Gregory+
-On stage speaking at BEA 2008.
Meg Cabot*
-Jim and I had a little crush on her--such a funny, enthusiastic woman (and Key West resident, which is awesome). When Jim went up to get his copy of her new book, a story for preteen girls, he had her make it out to him. He's a weird dude, but he's MY weird dude.

Kathie Lee Gifford
-At Book Expo 2009 signing whatever she wrote. She looked all made up for TV but was in a fluorescently-lit conference hall. Weird. And a tiny bit scary.

Joan Baker*
-You'll know her voice more than her face. Jim befriended Joan at BEA this year and then told me to go up and talk to her. (She was as great as he'd promised.) She wrote a book about voice over acting and has been featured in TONS of commercials, ads, etc. Really nice woman!

Dr. Ruth*
-Yep, that Dr. Ruth. She was tinier than I expected (which is saying a lot). Jim and I got autographed copies of her book and were, quite dorkily, among the first people in line to meet her. (Truth be told, we wanted to spy on her a little bit and listen to the funny things she was saying to her publishers as they got ready for the signing.)

one reason why I'm sad to be missing the Brandi Carlile show in Athens...

2009-05-05T20:42:00.002-04:00

Brandi Carlile is an amazing live performer with an electric voice. Even if you are inclined to dis people whose work has appeared on Grey's Anatomy, I encourage you to give her a chance anyway. Listen to her voice and guitar work! I just love her.

This video was posted a few years ago and still brings a tear to my eye. Can you imagine the joy and excitement that girl must have felt?!

because you really want to know about my alphabet.

2009-04-30T21:46:00.003-04:00

You've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with the ABC's of YOU.

A - Age: 29

B - Bed size: queenie

C - Chore you hate: scrubbing nasty, old, wet, formerly crusty crap off pots and pans

D - Dogs or cats: small baby kittens only

E - Essential start your day item: coffee & smoothie breakfast combo

F - Favorite color: rojo

G - Gold or Silver: Silver

H - Height: 5'11.72"

I - Instruments you play: I used to be able to play clarinet and took piano in college. Plus my singing voice is AMAZING.

J - Job title: scientific & English document editor; future bookstore owner

K - Kids - I sure do love them, but I don't want any of my own.

L - Loud or quiet: this is silly. But I'll choose quiet.

M - Mom's name: Mary Carol

N - Nicknames: Jan, Janny, J-bird, Regretta Person, Janevie, Jan-Jan, Janey, Janny, Handicapped Twin (or "HT"), ROSE, Neighb, Bonzi, Jon, Jonny, Jenny, Jynni, Word, Geddeeeeeeezzzz....The list goes on and on, really.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: no thank you.

P - Pet Peeve: pen-tappers in otherwise quiet spaces

Q - Quote from a movie: "Ted, where's that fancy corkscrew? You know that fancy corkscrew for the wine bottle? Uh-Ted?" (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: Rosaurio Dawson Rose Rosacea Rosalita Rosalia

T - Time you wake up: rarely before 9:30, dahling

U- Underwear: under WHERE?

V - Vegetable you dislike: eggplant, and I had way too much that soggy stuff served to me in Argentina a couple months ago. Yech!

W - Ways you run late: I tend to forget VERY IMPORTANT THINGS inside and have to run back and forth to grab all the goods pre-departure. Once I was on the way to the Atlanta airport for a trip to Europe and realized I had left my suitcase in the parking lot. Neat.

X - X-rays you've had: Teefs, neck, foot

Y - Yummy food you make: breaded chicken breast! Pasta with sauce! artichoke & spinach dip! Guacamole! Hummus! Stirfry! I am a CHEF!

Z - Zoo favorite: In Melbourne, FL, it's the crazy birds who have been known to peck at my father's head A. Hitchcock-style

problems of the famous

2009-04-21T16:35:00.003-04:00

If I got super-famous and super-stalked by the media, I wonder which of my "friends" would turn his/her/their back(s) on me and spill my secrets to the press.

I wonder this each time I read stories on celebrities, stories in which the following phrasing is used: "an unnamed source, a close friend of the family's, says..."

Is it you?!

Or...you?

Which one of you would sell me out for money from Star?

when I want a little pick-me-up...

2009-04-12T20:35:00.002-04:00

I'll watch this.

why do I keep watching Brothers and Sisters?

2009-04-02T20:31:00.003-04:00

I mean, the show drives me crazy. There are lots of good actors, that's true. Maybe I'm wishing Brenda--ahem, Rachel Griffiths--will be as frustratingly terrible and lovable and hate-able as she is on Six Feet Under. Maybe now that I've started involving myself in the Walker family story I can't just bow out.

Here's an email I just wrote to my mom. The show is making me mad! Not as mad as The L Word does, but still.

This new half-brother is annoying the crap out of me! The whole show is, as usual, but of course I keep watching.
1. All the Walkers are happy.
2. Oh wait. Each person suddenly has a personal crisis.
3. Nora decides everyone should come over for dinner.
4. All the kids realize what each other's crisis is. They decide not to tell their mom.
5. During the group dinner, everyone acts crazy and, one by one, the secrets start to spill.
6. Nora gets upset.
7. The kids yell at each other.
8. Nora yells at all of them to be quiet.
9. People storm off.
10. Later, Nora explains that she is strong enough to hear whatever they have to dish out.
11. Everyone apologizes and says "I love you."
12. Start at beginning again.

Love,
me

P.S. I have entertained myself. Time for a blog entry. But first I must kill Ryan the obnoxious half-brother!

ways in which technology makes my life easier

2009-04-01T19:10:00.003-04:00

I have a pretty sweet deal with work, especially considering that I am often ill with migraine and have not yet worked myself up to the reality (and necessity) of working full-time. I work far fewer hours than my contract outlines, but I get paid a salary regardless of how many hours I've worked. So when The Company fails to bombard me (or even slightly burden me) with projects, I am still raking in the cash. (If by "raking in the cash" I mean "getting paid well and then finding out that huge percentages are taken out in The Company's country as well as mine. But that's another spoiled brat gripe for another time.)

Tomorrow we have the first of four weekly Webconferences. I can't make the second and third, but I'll be calling in for the first and fourth. Apparently, it goes a little something like this: we editors will dial in to the main terminal (for lack of a better word) at an appointed time using our personal phones while simultaneously logging into The Uber-Company's Webconference page. So I'll be holding my phone to my ear talking to 5-8 other people while we all scroll through documents together on a shared site.

Um, hasn't anyone heard of Skype? The technology is out there. We could go hands-free, phones-free and do the entire Webconference (a word I loathe even more in written than verbal form) online, I know. Yet we won't. I will be using my daytime minutes and getting a crick in my neck as we argue about whether or not that comma goes there or not. Lord help me.

We have a homework assignment before the Webconference (gross, I said it again), and I was actually going to look into completing it even though it's not required! BUT I then received a manuscript to edit on a short timeline and will be doing that work instead.

"This'll be a breeze," I tried to force myself to think. "I'll just print that baby up, pour a coup of coffee, and start editing."

Cue printer problems. Cue outdated-and-crappy-work-PC-laptop problems. I spent the last 48 minutes trying to get the durned computer to let me print even though INK LEVELS ARE LOW!!! Once I replaced every single outlandishly overpriced ink cartridge, the computer warned me, "CANNOT HAVE MORE THAN ONE INK TANK INSTALLED. PLEASE REMOVE INK TANK(S)." So I did. Then I got, "ONE OR MORE INK TANK(S) MISSING. PLEASE INSTALL ALL INK TANKS AND THEN PRINT."

This went on and on. Eventually (as I like to see it), I was so swift that I deftly switched printers and then tricked the computer into thinking we had enough ink for the job.

I'm so happy I have multiple computers and printers to get in my way of holding a piece of paper and a pen in order to do my work.

something an ol lady said once

2009-03-31T20:10:00.005-04:00

I just remembered one of my favorite quotes of all time.

Here's my dad a couple summers ago in Geneva, OH with two cousins.

Once my dad and I were visiting my grandma in Pittsburgh. We were near the elevator bank when we came upon a woman in a wheelchair. She stopped dead in her tracks, looked at my dad in happy surprise, and said, "And who is this tall, shiny building of a man?!"

I hope he was flattered. I know I thought it was a pretty awesome compliment.

midwifery + Kim is awesome

2009-02-23T22:45:00.006-05:00

My friend Kim Dau was featured in a snippet on an NPR station (WUNC) last week. She's a very happy, very talented midwife in Durham who coordinates a local program called Centering Pregnancy.

Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to post it on here. Fortunately, I was able to put it on my Tumblr.com page. Scan through my page and find it on 2/24: http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/jannygirljr

I'm applying for the best job ever!

2009-02-21T01:23:00.003-05:00

It's my birthday, by the way.

I finally finished my video application for the Best Job in the World. Video applications are due 2/22, so of course I finished mine 2/21. You'd be amazed--simply amazed!--at the amount of crap I got done today, crap I've had to do for weeks. Funny what a month-long trip away from home will inspire a girl to do. I mailed a ton of letters, sent off boring paperwork, took care of my taxes (read: mailed all forms to an accountant), did Addieville duties, picked up some Argentine pesos, tidied the house, and more, more, more!

Plus I went out for an hour this evening to celebrate Baby Neighb's birthday. And I watched a movie and did this video! Life is good. Hope I'm not too sleepy when I wake up all too early tomorrow.

Watch the video, but don't write evil comments or give me less than 5 stars. 'Cause then, you know, I'd be sad--and a girl shouldn't be sad on her birthday.

let's race with destiny

2009-02-19T23:52:00.005-05:00

I started watching this as a joke and then ended up with tears streaming down my cheeks. Thanks, Whitney.

I hear that she's doing well these days, that she's kicked the drugs and is coming out with a new album. That's wonderful news--as much fun as it was to marvel over her non sequiturs and generally dazed, giggly nature on interviews and that awful reality show she Bobby had, I was always sad to see how badly she was doing. This is the woman whose poster I had on my wall after my mom and aunt went to a late 80s WH concert. (I wonder now where that poster is. I seem to recall there was a crooked rectangle situated inside another, pink and/or teal confetti sprinkled all around Whit's face. God, that was a good poster--it was on the back of my bedroom door for quite awhile there.) I did a Google image search for it and came up dry. Luckily I found a couple other gems that made me feel better. Look how adorable she was!

I'm hopeful that she really is doing well and that it lasts awhile. At least creepy Bobby is out of the picture.

I want onnneeee moment in tiiiiimmmmeee!

Looks like it's time to pop in that Greatest Hits album!

could she be any cooler?

2009-02-04T13:12:00.003-05:00

I've told you before about some hilarious kids in Georgia I have the great fortune of knowing. I could have sworn I've mentioned Rio before, but perhaps not. She is the wonderchild of my NYU friends Eliza and Eric Obenauf (of $2 Radio fame).

Check out how awesome she is!

(photos courtesy of Eric & Eliza Obenauf)

I heart drugged up kids

2009-02-03T23:05:00.000-05:00

noncommittal blogging alert

2009-02-03T20:21:00.004-05:00

I decided to get a Tumblr.com account. My username is jannygirljr. Thanks, Lawson, for the inspiration.

There are often moments when I see things I want to share with people, but it's getting to the point where Facebook is rife (or overstuffed) with users' posts on TONS of stuff, so I'm discouraged from posting mine. I don't know why I resist--maybe I don't want people to see how much I am on Facebook wasting my life away.

The articles, photos, and slice o' life stories are often not substantial enough for a blog entry (in my strange rule system), so I usually end up not sharing. Tumblr has granted my wish to be able to have a thought occur to me and post it immediately. Today I remembered a funny photo of my dad and decided to post it along with a story. I guess I could've written about it in my blog, but it seemed more fun to post on my mini-blog. Ew. Mini-blog.

Adieu.

watch & learn!

2009-02-03T20:18:00.000-05:00

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=11448

new passion: video ichat

2009-01-28T00:46:00.006-05:00

What do you do when you are bored and want to see a friend who's far away? What do you do when your friend Chris is in Buenos Aires and you haven't seen his smiling face in weeks? What if Sweet Blond moved to Ireland in 2000 and never looked back*?

Why, call him on your iChat video! This works best if it's very late at night, chatters have had a drink or two, and everyone is giddy and strange. Note: try not to talk about anything of substance.

*slight exaggeration

hmmm...

2009-01-27T18:03:00.004-05:00

Of course I find it sad that John Travolta's son died. Of course I think it's crappy that the paramedic (& others) tried to extort a ridiculous amount of money from JT after his son's death.

But I cannot get over how weird looking the kid was! Also: I'm very affectionate with my parents, but some of the photos make it look like Jett & John are on the verge of a kiss, or at least a lovers' embrace. Ick.

I'm evil. Goodbye.

podcast recommendation of the day

2009-01-26T20:11:00.002-05:00

Are there any English majors out there? Anyone who wanted to take more English classes but decided to pursue some other interests instead? You might want to keep reading to find out what podcast I'm going to recommend and why. I promise it's good--you should stay tuned.

As someone with an undergraduate degree in English and American literature, I can recall many, many hours of discussion-based literature classes during which pompous classmates dismissed others' theories and claimed their interpretations were the "right" ones. Luckily, far more prevalent are the memories of having one "aha!" moment after another during class discussions, grateful for others' insights that led me to understanding the story, poem, or essay more deeply. Despite my initial discomfort with revealing to others what I saw in the patterns and prose of fiction, I eventually opened up with the knowledge that almost any self-proclaimed theory about literature can be argued as long as you have some evidence and well-picked quotes to support it. Work may be created by the author with one particular goal in mind, but his readers will walk away from the piece with a variety of insights the author may not have intended--and each reader may have a completely unique interpretation.

Other than a few informal meetings of our local fledgling book club, I haven't much talked about literature in a critical sense since I graduated from NYU in 2002. I read voraciously and definitely reflect on my reading, but I don't go out of my way to push myself to understand a novel more deeply or try to see someone else's point of view. I read and reflect alone, then put the book back on the shelf. I hadn't realized I missed the push and pull of roundtable literature discussions, hadn't known that I'd missed the part of myself that could pull all-nighters writing twenty-page papers about my particular take on a poem.

Until now. On a whim, I downloaded a few episodes of The New Yorker's Fiction Podcast. I bundled up for a walk a couple weeks bag and pressed play on my iPod and was whisked into a wonderful, beautiful story. I can't remember what episode I listened to that day, but I can remember smiling as I walked down the streets of Athens. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow! I feel as if I'm in one of my English classes with a really good teacher and no obnoxious, holier-than-thou classmates!" You see, the show not only features the stories themselves--it comes complete with a brief discussion before and after the story is read. One famous author picks any story he wants that has been published in The New Yorker. The guest author reads this story he admires and then discusses the ins and outs of the work with the magazine's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, who has a really pleasant voice (unlike the voices I've stumbled across on several less-established podcasts). I did a quick Google search for her so I could link to her name and came across a really great article from The New York Times--click on her name and read it, if you'd like. Sounds like a cool woman in the NYT article.

And she sounds like a cool woman in her recorded life on this podcast. She isn't abrasive, judgmental, or dismissive when it comes to guest authors' interpretations of the work they choose to read. She retains the wide-eyed wonder (overused phrase--sorry--but it seems to ring true here) of a girl who's still in love with reading, who's still amazed at all the tricks of language and tone. Deborah and the guest author talk about whatever has moved them in the story, about the author's language and motivation, about his/her diction and use of imagery. I've listened to about ten of the episodes so far, and no one has annoyed me. The stories are always great, and the intimate conversation that follows really does shine light on the story.

Have you never ventured into literary criticism but wanted to know what intellectual bibliophiles had to say about so-called "good" fiction? Did you take one (or twenty) literature classes in college and then go cold turkey, not having another literary discussion after age 22? Are you an avid reader who thinks she immediately knows all there is to know about a piece of writing? Are you curious to know why I love this show so much? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I have an answer: this is the podcast for you.

Let me know what you think of it.

I want to be a part of BA, Buenos Aires--BIG APPLE

2009-01-08T01:03:00.006-05:00

Oh, it was probably a mistake to sing that song. Now it's going to be in my head for hours. Ick.

All that is to say that I'm returning to Buenos Aires for the first time since I studied abroad there in spring 2001 (that's pre-economic crisis, folks). It was one of the best, most rewarding, and most challenging times of my life. It is my belief that the majority of traveling students feel that way about study abroad programs.

When I got to Bs. As., I was a month away from my 21st birthday and spoke not two licks of Spanish. (Granted, I could say "Hola," which I thought was spelled O-L-A, and I could say one extraordinarily rude thing that didn't sound so bad translated into English.) The first full day I was there, I was STARVING and had no idea how I could go eat. I went to a neighborhood store and pointed to an orange juice container (something familiar!) and perhaps a pack of crackers. Smiled a lot to show my gratitude. Ate the snack and was still hungry.

One of my randomly assigned roommates was a hot young thing from Columbia (that's the university, not Colombia the country). She was confident, funny, smart, and (joy of joys) Spanish-speaking! She took me to a restaurant we found around the corner from our place and ordered for me after translating the menu items.

photo courtesy of Arturo Vasquez, random guy I found on Google Images search

I met so many friends there, started feeling more excited and open-minded about my life (which had recently gotten sort of bland and sad for me, friends and loved ones living away from NYC or moving to other countries). A semester in BA was exactly what the doctor ordered. Since my mid-May 2001 departure, I've been daydreaming about returning. I've spent hours upon hours looking at maps of the city and poring over my photos of gorgeous buildings, lush parks, charming little plazoletas.

Am I very different from the Janet that landed at the Buenos Aires international airport almost exactly eight years ago? Perhaps. Do I want the same things out of this trip as I did the last one? No.

I'm going to try really hard not to annoy my traveling buddies with tales of people they've never met; I'm going to make the effort to keep those old stories to myself (and perhaps email them to former fellow students of the ill-fated first edition of NYU in Buenos Aires). I don't want to relive the long nights I spent drinking too much tummy-expanding Quilmes dancing with friends.

What I'm most excited about is strolling down the beautiful streets, wandering through the parks, soaking up the energy of the city. (Oh you sweet, sweet cliches--keep on keepin' on!) I want to shake myself awake a bit and be somewhere where I'm not entirely comfortable. I want to practice my Spanish and have a lot of alone time. I want to drink wine in a park-side cafe with Liz and Chris and Sweet.

I'll be gone for a month--just cashed in my SkyMiles today for the plane ticket. I'm so, so happy. I'm at the point in my life where this makes sense: my job can be done from anywhere I have internet access, I have some money saved for an apartment and living expenses, and I have the time. It just so happens that one of my dear friends will already be down there (Chris is spending 3 months in Argentina); it just so happens that two of my best friends will be taking turns sharing my adorable apartment with me. Sigh. I feel like a girl with a big ol' crush that makes her smile to herself all the time.

intense TV moments

2009-01-03T23:01:00.003-05:00

Sometimes watching The Wire is like this.

Sometimes it's like this.

moneybags

2008-12-27T00:51:00.003-05:00

While looking through piles upon piles of old letters from family and friends, I found $43 in cash! One $20 bill was from my dad in 2002; the other $23 came to me in 2003 on my 23rd birthday.

Best part of this is that RIGHT before I picked up the birthday envelope to inspect it, I told Julie & Jim: "Man, it's my dream to find a twenty dollar bill in one of these old envelopes."

Being psychic is awesome and rewarding.

gnocchi by your personal chef, Janny

2008-12-15T11:05:00.003-05:00

Last evening I decided to use the recipe I'd found in a magazine called Family Fun (my mom sent it to me--some creative ideas in there, kids!). So what did I make? I made homemade gnocchi from scratch! How strange is that for me?

Let me first say that it was FUN. Secondly I'll out-dork myself and reveal to you that while I was waiting for the water to boil on the stove, I sat down and WORKED ON MY PUZZLE.

Love,
Old Italian grandma

P.S. The gnocchi was really good. Next time I'll try a homemade sauce instead of store-bought, perhaps.

my neighborhood

2008-12-14T10:14:00.001-05:00

some favorite photos (summer 2006)

2008-12-08T19:50:00.004-05:00

taken in Toronto

Just one of many gorgeous spots on the Islands in Toronto

My grandfather's name was Herbert Geddis, and he was a fireman. I was
delighted to find a fire station on Herbert Av. in Toronto!

The Tilt-a-Whirl at Erieview (or "Pera's") Park in Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio. A few
months after this was taken, the longtime amusement park was dismantled and is now no longer.

Here are some photos from summer 2006 that I shot. I have recently tried to get back into photography a bit, and I'm succeeding! I want some fancy lenses and such that will fit my digital SLR. When I bought my digital SLR a year ago, I was under the impression that my rather large collection of lenses and accessories (given to me by my grandfather) would fit the body of the new digital. Wrong impression. It seems there's no adapter to get these lenses to fit on any camera made in the last ten years, so I'm pretty disappointed.

The need for this statement won't ever arise, I'm sure, but here it is anyway: Please do not repost, reprint, or share the photographs on this site without express written permission from Janet Geddis. Thank you.

baby neighb

2008-12-06T19:02:00.004-05:00

I just got in after a day o' fun with my dear friend A., a girl who just so happens to live two doors away! How convenient to find your neighbor funny, smart, and quite companionable!

Before I got a chance to hang out with A., we exchanged many messages posted to each other's doors. With each note we upped the ante a bit, always saying in one way or another that we should hang out soon. At last we got a chance to have a date, and ever since then we've been going strong. I'm very grateful to have her around!

Though more artistically talented than I, we share a knack for creating little homemade gifts and greetings. Imagine the happy snippets of delight I experience when I find a felt flower accompanied by a little note that says, "Happy spring!" or a little greeting card on my windshield when I walk out to my car to drive around and do errands.

Here are but two photos of greetings A. (or "Baby Neighb," as I and only I am allowed to call her--my rule) has left for me to discover.

For Halloween this year, she made little cupcakes; for Thanksgiving, a hand turkey with google eyes. It's my (well-researched) belief that engaging in little creative activities now and then keeps up your spirits, lets you relax, and causes you to feel more at ease with your life. Listen to me, guys: I have a Master's degree in this.

watch!

2008-12-04T15:48:00.000-05:00

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Dancer vs. Politician

2008-11-25T22:23:00.002-05:00

I love this band. The members are charming and extraordinarily attractive (I dare you not to have a crush on lead singer/composer/founder Sanni Baumgartner), and the music really resonates with me despite my not knowing a lick of German. (A number of the songs on the new album, A City Half-Lost, are in German; the rest are in good ol' English.)

I've seen this video a number of times, but I can't get enough of it. It's lush and beautiful--the setting is so very Georgia summer, if you will. The music is pretty yet unpolished in the video, which is a part of a series I'd like to know more about.

Take a look:

Dancer Vs Politician: Justin Fairborn
by eikonproductions

HOPE

2008-10-29T12:33:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's The National song playing in the video. Maybe it's Barack's message. Maybe it's the unabashed hope so many millions of us are feeling. In any case, this video inspires me, tears me up, and moves me to action. VOTE OBAMA!

Top 5 Reasons Obama Supporters Shouldn't Rest Easy

2008-10-21T11:33:00.003-04:00

Hi, guys. The Obama campaign folks sent me the following list and I thought I'd take their advice and repost it. If you're not pro-Obama, rest easy--I'm not going to pressure you to change your mind (even though I really think you should!). If you are pro-Obama, reading the following list is very important!! Repost this list if you desire.

TOP 5 REASONS OBAMA SUPPORTERS SHOULDN'T REST EASY

1. The polls may be wrong. This is an unprecedented election. No one knows how racism may affect what voters tell pollsters—or what they do in the voting booth. And the polls are narrowing anyway. In the last few days, John McCain has gained ground in most national polls, as his campaign has gone even more negative.

2. Dirty tricks. Republicans are already illegally purging voters from the rolls in some states. They're whipping up hysteria over ACORN to justify more challenges to new voters. Misleading flyers about the voting process have started appearing in black neighborhoods. And of course, many counties still use unsecure voting machines.

3. October surprise. In politics, 15 days is a long time. The next McCain smear could dominate the news for a week. There could be a crisis with Iran, or Bin Laden could release another tape, or worse.

4. Those who forget history... In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote after trailing by seven points in the final days of the race. In 1980, Reagan was eight points down in the polls in late October and came back to win. Races can shift—fast!

5. Landslide. Even with Barack Obama in the White House, passing universal health care and a new clean-energy policy is going to be hard. Insurance, drug and oil companies will fight us every step of the way. We need the kind of landslide that will give Barack a huge mandate.

If you agree that we shouldn't rest easy, please sign up to volunteer at your local Obama office by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/obama/office.html?source=blog&id=14534-5183653-nFgmwbx&t=1

that time R.E.M. played a private show for me and I didn't show up

2008-10-08T22:55:00.004-04:00

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! My dear Brandi posted a couple of Blogotheque videos on her awesome blog, and in my monthly review of her writing, I stumbled across this one of R.E.M. playing in Athens.

Playing behind my house.
Literally behind my house. Maybe fifty feet from my porch. WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS WAS HAPPENING? True the shows aren't publicized. True Michael Stipe doesn't know we're friends (even though we are, of course). Oh I'm sad. But also excited. I mean, R.E.M. played a show next to my house.

See it here. Now if Sweet and Sarah Beth could cry with me for a minute, I'd feel better.

Athens Banner Herald's readers' choice awards 2008

2008-10-07T13:47:00.002-04:00

The awards are now posted on the newspaper's website. For the most part, the winners are predictable and boring. No big surprises there.

I was really sad to see this:

Bookstore
1st place - Barnes & Noble
2nd place - Borders

People! This is terrible! In the town we all love so much and believe is cool, independent, and creative, our favorite bookstores are national chains? (Not that there's much of a choice--that is, until I am able to open my store.)

The end.

VOTING!

2008-10-05T16:28:00.002-04:00

With the HUGE issues looming out there (money, health--you know), some very important concerns are getting lost in the shuffle. Click on the following link to see how the presidential candidates plan on supporting the arts and art education--if they're supportive at all.

http://www.artsactionfund.org/artsvote/default.asp

Deadline to register to vote is OCTOBER 6! That's tomorrow! Hurry it up, kids!

$2 Radio & Vroman's Bookstore

2008-09-22T12:33:00.002-04:00

When I went to the Book Expo America this past May, I was thrilled to see some old friends (Eliza, Eric, Alissa!) and really happy to meet a new one (Patrick Brown of Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, CA). Imagine my surprise and delight to have stumbled upon this blog entry, written by Patrick for the Vroman's site, starring Eliza & Eric of $2 Radio!

Independent publishing houses are able to publish works that you might not ordinarily come across while browsing through Barnes & Noble's bestseller displays; independent bookstores are inspirational and inspired places where you can find all sorts of reading material to feed your brain.

I am so excited to be a part of all this in my own small way--perhaps this time next year I'll be ready to say that I've assumed an even bigger role!

save bitch!

2008-09-17T14:48:00.002-04:00

kwotable kidz III

2008-09-17T14:48:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple from the little girl I babysit:

E., 3, wanted me to play with her. "What should we play?" I asked. She thought for a few moments, and then her face lit up. "You be the prince, and I'll be the princess putting on lipstick!"

E. also loves to look through my photos on my iPod Touch (fancy fancy). A few days ago, I uploaded all my photos from Panama & Costa Rica, and she looked through them one by one. When she got to this picture of my friend Sweet, she had a sharp intake of breathy surprise and said in awe, "Look at she! Look at she! She's proud....Proud of me."

Sweet does look sort of proud in this picture, though I doubt she was thinking of a three-year-old girl in Athens, GA.

And a couple quotes from a HILARIOUS little girl at AAHS...

While at AAHS for storytelling last week, our resident comedienne, who's about 5 1/2, was on a roll. When Miss Rachel was leaving for the night, Miss Comedienne yelled out to her, "Bye! Bye, Miss Rachel! I'll be glad if you get everything you want! Be safe! Be safe!"

A few minutes later, Diane and I were asking the kids about different foods in a picture of a picnic. The same little girl wanted to name all the foods she saw, so she began a list: "I see chicken, potato chips, hot dogs, possibilities, ice cream..." Wait...what? "Possibilities"? (Said as she was pointing to a stack of tomato soup cans.)

Gooooo Eagles!

2008-08-15T10:01:00.002-04:00

My high school reunion is coming up. One day more 'til I see TONS of people I've not seen in a decade. This will be an adventure.

I'm sort of afraid to see some of these people around booze.

I'm not here.

2008-08-06T20:22:00.004-04:00

At long last, someone from Charter came today. At 6 PM, an hour later than promised. But that's a story for another time.

Turns out a Charter agent had driven out here last Thursday morning and physically disconnected my internet connection. Pair that with this event, and I feel like a ghost: I got a hot pink slip in my mailbox today informing me that my house was vacant and no mail should be delivered.

What's going on? Is this a prank? Is the Charter disconnection connected to the USPS note? Did I perish a week ago yet continue to think I live? Is there a Janet living in a parallel universe who just moved out of her house?!

WHOA! Then I got this message from blogger just now!

Conflicting edits

There was more than one attempt to edit this resource at the same time. This may have been because you double clicked on a link or a button or because someone else is also editing this blog or post.

perfectionistic boss lady who doesn't want to work

2008-08-04T10:58:00.004-04:00

Here's the deal: I'm the treasurer of my condo community and, while I value the experience (especially as it relates to my future bookstore business), I'm tired of it! I've been tired of it since the week after I said I'd be the secretary.

When I moved in here, I was thrilled at the notion that I wouldn't have to cut my own lawn or paint my own house when either needed upkeep. My monthly condo dues would pay for that! The condo board would just handle any issues that came up.

Except I wasn't expecting to be on the condo board. For much of my time living here, I've been the only [frequently] active member of the board. I resent the time these duties take away from my schedule, but I'm too much of a perfectionist to let someone else take over. Oh wait--no one would take over.

In all, the official duties as treasurer aren't so bad, as long as things are working smoothly and no major snafus come up. Too bad so sad that MANY a snafu has risen (GROSS phrase) and being on the board is not so peachy keen, and not so easy.

I just wanted to vent. Someday I will have my own house and will pay for someone to cut the lawn. I will not worry about someone else's trash on our common property. I will not have to get approval from my neighbors if I want to alter the appearance of my house. It will be grand.

Until then, I plow on...

new kwotez from the kidz

2008-08-02T12:49:00.004-04:00

In late June I told you about some good quotes from my favorite kids. Here are three more:

P., the five-year-old, wanted me to play Lego people with him. He gave me a tiny Lego man who was wearing a plastic grey wig. "This is Old Granny. You'll be Old Granny, okay?"
Later, E., the three-year-old, joined the game and asked for me to put a plastic sword in her character's plastic claw hand. She then adopted this grainy, mean, rough voice and slammed her Lego man into mine and said, "I WANT TO KILL OLD GRANNY!!"
P. and B. (who's 8) were chasing each other around the house. B. decided he was a good guy, the best guy you can be: God. "I'm God, okay, so I made everything...?" "Okay, but I'm mean," replied Pace. B: "Okay, let's play now. [beat] Get away from me, Satan!" P (in a slight country accent with hint of surfer dude voice): "I'm not Satan....I'm a guitar player!"
E. met Jim yesterday and became completely infatuated. She had a bevy of hilarious quotes. First off, she couldn't get his name straight, first calling him "John" and then deciding upon "Joe." On the way home from my house (after saying goodbye to Jim), she was talking to herself in the backseat. "Oh, I miss Joe," she said in her own voice. "Me too," she replied in another voice. "I love Joe." "Me, too!"
When we got home, E. and I ordered pizza. I finished mine first and sat in the living room leafing through a magazine. E. was playing by herself. She held up her crust and pretended it was a person: "Hi, my name is Joe," she said gruffly. In her natural voice, she replied, "I love you, Joe!" "I love you, too," gruff voice replied. Then she took a huge bite and chewed hungrily. Hilarious.

kwotable kidz

2008-06-24T23:26:00.003-04:00

I babysit for three smart, funny, and--let's face it--adorable children. They have all been known to say pretty hilarious, ingenious things, and once in awhile I write these things down.

While playing an imaginary war game, B. (who was 7 at the time), said to his enemy, "Well, I'm not listening to the devil! I'm listening to God and Jesus. Or whatever their names are."
P., who has been highly quotable from a young age, tends to create various accents during every game he plays. Once last year when he was 4, he stood on the couch and said to me very earnestly, "Davy Crockett. He had a wolf hat, cut up clothes, and bare feet." This was delivered in a country accent (with gestures) as the introduction to a Davy Crockett game he'd just thought up.
E. (3-year-old girl) who is potty trained but still needs help, thought it was hilarious that her underwear was on the bathroom floor next to the tub while she sat on the toilet to pee this afternoon. "You left my underwear on the floor! The bathtub will be laughing and crying about that." She then erupted in a cascade of giggles.
P. has a flair for the dramatic, as I mentioned above. He sometimes gets very apocalyptic and serious. Here he's playing the superhero-gone-bad game he likes so much, explaining why he, the bad guy, ended up in such a rough place. "The devil turned us evil until the devil died and we killed God!"
While playing Wild West shortly after his fifth birthday, my character told P.'s character I was proud of him for surviving in the desert. His accented response? "There's no proud here. This is the Wild West." During that same game I offered him a glass of milk. He refused me and then said, "We don't like milk. We like blood."
During a tour of the nonexistent family graveyard, one of P.'s self-created characters took me around to the tombstones to tell me about each family member buried there. "This is my grandpa. And my little brother, Tommy. And my mom, and my grandma, and my great-grandma. [beat] And I love this guy the best: God and Jesus."
During that same game, I asked him how his [imaginary] grandpa died. "He died in the war and got killed by an evil troll with an axe."
P.'s friend R. was over to play one day. R. has the adorably high-pitched voice of many five-year-olds. (I'm not being facetious here--she really is cute.) She was playing with some dolls and didn't want P. to play with her, since he said he didn't like dolls. Eventually he reneged and approached her with, "Can I play?" She reluctantly acquiesced. "Okay...but you have to be a mother." P. considered this and said, "...Or a dolphin?" "Okay!"
Nearly three years ago, 6-year-old B. inspected 3-year-old brother P.'s class picture and had a very important question he couldn't wait to ask. "P.? P.? P.? P.! P.?" "Yeah?" "Who's this Asian-colored kid?"

very angry that I have a SUPERIOR computer

2008-06-13T15:00:00.002-04:00

Georgia libraries now offer this AMAZINGLY EXCITING program where you can borrow audiobooks from an online library using your library card and...oh wait...your PC. That's right, it's for PCs and PCs only, and I couldn't be more frustrated. You'd be hard pressed to find an Athenian more excited than I about this venture. And of course the damned thing doesn't work with my computer.

Angrily yours,

J.E.G.

my lava lamp and other forgotten boredom-busters

2008-05-21T18:18:00.004-04:00

Last night I rediscovered my old lava lamp. In eighth or night grade, the lava lamp with red lava (or was it a red base?) was my most coveted item to be found at Spencer Gifts at North Point Mall. I wanted a lava lamp. I needed one. I would not accept one unless it was silver and red.

When I saved up enough money to get one (or convinced my parents to donate to the cause), I found that Spencer's only had silver lamps with black lava. I dropped my stubbornness and got that one--such was my desperation.

In the last ten years, I've probably turned it on once. Many are the times I've thought of selling it or giving it away but a, who would buy it? and b, WHY WOULD I GIVE AWAY ANYTHING THAT I MIGHT POSSIBLY USE ONE DAY IN THE FUTURE?*

Today I plugged the old girl in. I'd forgotten how gross and blobby it looks for the first twenty or thirty minutes. Yech.

* This is my general policy and results in my having a three-bedroom house filled to the brim with my own crap. Crap that I love.

accidental drunk

2008-05-12T13:17:00.001-04:00

From an email I composed 12/6/2006:

Ah, the lovely prospect of a tall glass of 100% good-for-the-soul-and-bladder cranberry juice on a Monday afternoon when you've slept little and worked all afternoon with whiny tutees, as we are wont to call the oft-bratty children Janet tutors at the elementary school. Craving a glass of orange juice but knowing there is none in her fridge, Janet is thrilled when she encounters a jug of cranberry juice at her fingertips. "Ah," thinks she, "someone brought this as a mixer for last night's shindig." She pours a tall--and I mean tall--glass for herself and chugs it down. Before the cranberries can register, she pours another half-glass and chugs that.

"Ah, what a lush am I!" Janet muses. "I so rarely drink cranberry juice now, and the only time I consume it is about once every month or two at the Flicker Bar when it's mixed with a little touch o' vodka. I'm so conditioned that I am now convinced that this here cranberry juice tastes like alcohol. How embarrassing!"

Then, in a hazy flash (ah, can a flash be hazy? trust me, it can), it occurs to her: BONNIE. Bonnie is the culprit. Or at least Bonnie's mixed drink. She remembers her dear advisor having walked in the house the night before announcing something to the effect of, "This looks innocent enough, but really this juice has..." (The ellipses is meant to include all the sorts of alcohol Bonnie stashed in the innocent-looking juice jug.)

So, folks, that is the story of how a very tired Janet accidentally did shots of alky juice at 6:15 on a Monday night and got drunk in a jiffy.

Thanks, Bonnie.

Love,

Janet

Program Me In

2008-05-12T12:03:00.001-04:00

You have to see this new Je Suis France video. My friend Jeremy Wheatley has been hiding away writing songs for a long time, but only recently has he started playing the gee-tar and singing for his adoring fans.

He's in an awesome band called Je Suis France, and he's the star of the new video. I LOVE this video. The song is really cool, too.

THE END.

Did you see me on TV?

2008-05-08T02:00:00.002-04:00

Tonight's (Wednesday's) David Letterman show features Dave talking about the quilt my aunt made him as well as a little zoomed-in shot of Jim and me in the audience. (I'm opened-mouthed, surprised he mentioned Auntie Dorothy despite my having reminded him of the gift she gave him years ago.)

Here you can read about my stardom. Clips are unavailable, much to my fans' chagrin.

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/wahoo/index/php/20080507.phtml

The end.

Love,
superstar

fortunista Janny

2008-05-05T21:24:00.003-04:00

By the way, this photo was of me when I was PRACTICING my look two days before the event. My real fortune teller self did not look like a drag queen. The outfit and scarf were different and made me look like A GEN-YOO-INE GYPSY. Really. I just don't have any pictures.
I would like you all to know that I just ran into one of the girls whose fortune I read at the Homeless Day Service Center Benefit. She and I recognized each other but weren't sure how we knew each other. Finally I said, "Oh! Did you have your fortune told?" (HOW DID I KNOW THAT?!)

The answer was yes. She told me the fortune was really good. Turns out I have amazing skills when it comes to saying what people want to hear. Ta da!

foodie

2008-05-05T02:58:00.008-04:00

Asian Noodle Bowl (complete with chopsticks I usually use to stir tea!)

Garlic Shrimp with linguine

Two hairy guys eat my food and claim to like it.

Brown rice, zucchini + broccoli all spiced up, and herb baked crunchy chicken

Delicious Hummus of my dreams

I started cooking in the last few months. Turns out I'm not all that bad! Also turns out it takes forever to load photos onto blogger. (Anyone know how to speed up that process?)

things that are okay if you're with someone but sad if you're alone

2008-04-21T15:27:00.003-04:00

Here is a very long list of things that are okay to do if you're with someone but a tad heartbreaking if you're alone.

Please feel free to add to my list of camaraderie and pain.

1. Feverishly scratching lottery tickets

dreaming of Dawson

2008-04-21T11:16:00.002-04:00

Right before waking this morning, I had a dream in which the faces from a Dawson's Creek poster started moving and speaking from the poster--and then they hopped off and went to the laundromat and pontificated on everything (of course). The real poster, I've found, is of normal color--in my dream, it was sepia and very serious.

Robert Deniro was on the poster, too--he had granny glasses on his nose and a wise senior English teacher air about him. When I woke up he was loading a dryer and talking to Dawson.

I can't even deal

2008-04-20T23:58:00.002-04:00

I can't stand Tyra Banks. I feel I cannot reiterate this enough.

Zingo in ATHENS!!!

2008-04-09T22:43:00.003-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I called Zingo for the first time. I'd first heard about it in Paste and was eager to try it. Here's the deal: you go out, have as many (or as few) drinks as you'd like, and make the smart choice of not driving home with alcohol in your system. You call Zingo. Someone arrives on a collapsible scooter within a certain amount of time (times vary according to which city you're in). The person grabs your keys, puts the collapsible scooter in your trunk, and drives you home in YOUR car. Then he/she gets out, hands you the keys, and removes the scooter. Driver makes his or her way to the next pickup, and you go in, knowing your car is safe at home and that you won't have to worry about being arrested or, as a less drastic option, about having to figure out how you're going to get her car the next day.

Joy!

Last-last Saturday night in Atlanta, Amy, her beau, and I waited at a bar for awhile until our driver showed up. He drove us home safely and quickly. It was over $40 because the bar was several miles from Amy's. (In Atlanta, the service is $30 flat, plus $2/mile and tip.) The article I've linked to at the end of this post shows it's cheaper for us Athenians! ;)

I asked our driver if there was a Zingo in Athens yet, and he said that, last he'd heard, it wasn't in my lovely town yet.

Imagine my joy when I stumbled upon this!

JSYK: themigrainegirl.blogspot.com is where it's at!

2008-04-03T23:38:00.002-04:00

Hi guys,

I haven't been writing on here much, but I have kept up my anonymous-until-recently blog! It's really is a project for me that has ended up benefiting lots of migraineurs as well as my family and friends, who want to understand my Migraine disease better.

Have at it if you'd like: http://themigrainegirl.blogspot.com

another MTM Show celebrity spoken to!

2008-03-24T23:51:00.006-04:00

(A note before you begin: I tried and tried to fix the font size in here but can't seem to get the swing of it. Sorry!)

I went to see Cloris Leachman at the UGA Fine Arts Building. She was giving a lecture (more of a question & answer session, really) as a follow-up to her one-woman career retrospective show (that I didn't get to see...). If you have ever met me or seen my walls, you know that I am a ridiculously huge fan of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I first saw Cloris on MTM--she plays the ever-on-the-go, perfectionistic neighbor/landlady who's friends with Mary and always at odds with Rhoda (Valerie Harper, an actress I *almost* saw years ago but who was unable to perform in the play I attended--boo!). She is brilliant. Most recently I've seen her as the loving, half-drunk, serious-when-she's-gotta-be mother of Tea Leoni in Spanglish--but she's done lots of work before Mary, lots of work in between Mary and Spanglish, and is still really active.

Jim & I went to see her today. The theatre wasn't the fancy one I remembered--we must have been in a different studio or something. Harsh overhead fluorescent lights, a smattering of fans and actors-in-training, and a microphone that didn't work. With the heat (or AC?) blasting continuously the entire time, I missed out on about 1/2 of what was said. Despite the frustration that accompanied that, I was thrilled to see her in person. She looks amazing at almost 82 years old--in good shape, able to walk swiftly up and down stairs, and really quick witted and extremely silly.

I wish I'd taken a photo of when she started scooching her chair closer and closer and closer to the host, prompting lots of laughter from the crows. I did get a few good shots, though. Here's one of her in a girlish pose, feet hung over the side of the chair.

When Jim & I went to leave, I had a feeling she was going to call us out. She did. We started walking quietly toward the exit and she said, "Excuse me," to the crowd. Looking towards us, she asked, "Where are you going?!' I told her I was going to work; she asked me what I did. Then she looked at Jim and pointed. "What about you?"

"Oh, I have to go to the doctor," he explained. She, like any woman over 60 (or perhaps any woman of any age?) was charmed by Jim and expressed genuine concern for his back problem. After their quick talk, she snapped back into stage-Cloris and said, "All right. You can go."

I love her.

The end.

i now live on mars...

2008-03-14T00:00:00.003-04:00

...since I was abducted by aliens.

Come save me and my poor father!

I ban't believe this.

2008-03-07T17:31:00.001-05:00

This is all over the news, I know, but the Gawker article is just too hilarious to not share with you.

no more drunky driving!

2008-02-28T20:43:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-28T18:32:00.002-05:00

*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

2008-02-28T00:52:00.002-05:00

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.

Tune into SNL!

2008-02-22T18:28:00.002-05:00

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!)

something my sister heard

2008-02-13T22:34:00.003-05:00

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!"

stalker memories

2008-02-11T18:06:00.000-05:00

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.

This is so incredibly accurate it's INSANE!

2008-02-10T20:59:00.000-05:00

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

I just can't get enough

2008-02-07T23:27:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-07T21:54:00.000-05:00

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!

comings and goings

2008-02-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

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.

YES WE CAN! Rock the vote on Tuesday.

2008-02-03T23:22:00.000-05:00

A plan for the timid

2008-02-03T13:16:00.000-05:00

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.

Masta Cleansuh Diego Catalan

2008-01-31T22:58:00.000-05:00

Jim is doing this crazy Master Cleanse. My sort-of friend Crystal* (a lovely gal I like lots but don't know well--she's my friend Garrick Cheyne's wife) did the same cleanse several months back and wrote about it on my myspace blog every day for a week--the results were positive overall, but I'm not going to fast anytime soon. For one thing, skipping a meal or two is a recipe for disaster on the Migraine front. Plus I like to eat, and I'm sort of a bitch when my blood sugar is low. (Don't corroborate that story too eagerly or I'll punch.)

Anywho. This marks the end of the second full day of his lemonade diet. He's made these brews according to a very specific recipe. I shall now summarize it generally: A little lemon juice (from lemons, not from the bottle!), some purified water (preferably warm), real maple syrup (darker grade the better), and a smidgen of cayenne pepper. YUM! I took one sip and it wasn't all that bad, especially since fasting with it for ten days or more promises "the fastest and most effective way to regain your vitality and to feel the joy of living again."

I'll let you know how he's acting and feeling after a few days. He tends to get a bit grumbly when his tummy's empty (like me!) but hasn't been like that at all, surprisingly. Perhaps he is as tudey as he usually is when starving, but this time he's holding it in because he has this new monastic je ne sais quoi about him.

I leave it to you.

some pain in the membrane

2008-01-30T18:11:00.000-05:00

I have had the same Migraine for two days now. This hasn't happened to me in awhile, though it used to be the routine. This feels like my Migraine pain of yesteryear. I once described it to my mother like this: someone has used a cold metal drill to drill out a hole from my eyebrow straight back through my head, behind my eye. Now a cold, cold, icy wind is blowing through, sending the nerves into fits and starts as they spasm in pain. Like floaters in your eyes or dim stars in the sky, the pain is not always easy to sense--the moment I try to focus on it to describe it, it morphs and seems to dissipate. Seconds later, I get distracted and it comes rushing back, the stars becoming clear as soon as I shift my vision to the left or right a bit.

It sucks.

But I don't mean to complain.

I do wonder why I always am so worried that people think I'm complaining. If you think I'm complaining and don't like it, don't read it!

And now I'm worried I'll offend.

Turns out I'll just lie down now and hope the meds finally kick in in time for me to do my storytelling job at 7. So far I'm thinking they won't, as all day I've felt the same. Blllaaaaaaaaahhh. Wah.

One week 'til the primary!

2008-01-29T21:10:00.000-05:00

Another handy-dandy internet quiz helped me determine what I already knew: Barack Obama is probably going to be my main man when I go to the polls next week for the Democratic primary. Last time I voted in a primary I was a bit confused to find out that I wasn't registered--turned out my little hippie self had registered independent in Florida, so I couldn't MAKE MY VOICE HEARD in February 2004. This year things are much different, as we all know.

I've taken a couple of those internet quizzes designed to help you decide which candidates' points of view mirror yours best, but www.glassbooth.org is the best one I've come across (thanks, Kimizaki). You start off with twenty points and can allocate those points to a list of issues as you wish--for me, health care and the environment were two issues that got more points than others. On the next page, you take a quiz dealing with the most pertinent issues. The third page shows you which three candidates you match up with best and (here's the best part) why. There's a drop-down list to the right where you can choose other candidates' names and see how close of a match you are to them. I am matched up to Barack 75% according this one survey; another, less in-depth survey had him and me togetha foreva at 83%.

Anywho. If you're drifting along as cluelessly as I tend to be, www.glassbooth.org is a good jumping off point. We haven't got much time to get in the vote! (Even if you're one of the few non-Democrats reading this, I do so want you to be informed, too. More than that, I want you to vote for who I vote for. But we'll let that rest for now.)

Rest in peace, Cayle Bywater

2008-01-11T23:14:00.001-05:00

It's with a heavy heart I tell those of you who haven't heard yet of the news that Cayle Bywater's body was found in a Memorial Park lake in Athens this afternoon.

A quick Google.com search will let you find any and all recent, relevant articles.

letter to the press

2008-01-07T15:44:00.000-05:00

I can't stop thinking about the missing girl. It has occupied my thoughts for days. Today I found out that the last person to see her is a casual friend of mine. That must be such a strange position to be in.

Here's the letter I've been sending to news outfits. Feel free to use it as a template or a starting point for your own. It's far from polished, as I whipped it up in about 50 seconds. Links to the places you can email letters to can be found in my previous post.

Take care and be safe.

To whom it may concern:

I find it surprising and disheartening that Cayle Bywater, a 29-year-old graduate student in Athens, Georgia who has been missing since December 31st, is not getting more prominent coverage in your paper. In order to ensure her safety and increase the chances of her safe recovery, this story needs to get out to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Please do a feature on Cayle, including her photograph(s), so that people will be able to recognize her as a missing person if they come across her.

All press releases, photographs, and information you need for getting contact info for her family and the Athens Clarke-County Police can be found at http://findcayle.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for your time.

Sincerely,
a concerned Athens resident

http://findcayle.blogspot.com/

2008-01-06T18:56:00.000-05:00

A site has been launched to help consolidate all information related to missing UGA grad student Cayle Bywater. I copied some information from an Athens Banner-Herald article about her disappearance a few days ago and have gotten some comments and messages from friends and people on the search team thanking me. As in all cases when someone is missing, I suppose every little bit counts.

Walking around downtown Athens this weekend, I saw her face on the MISSING posters in several windows of stores, bars, and restaurants. You can hear people here and there talking about her in hushed tones, people who don't know her at all or who have seen her around. People who wonder where she could be, people who hope she has just wandered off for a bit and will soon be discovered. My friend Paul told me that six years ago or so a young woman in Athens just up and vanished and was never heard from again. I don't know what the details of that story are or how sensationalized it is, but it made me go cold inside, just as I went cold when I first read about Cayle, whom I've never even met.

The local and national news channels are going haywire covering what little information they have on the missing Georgia hiker and her dog, but there's been virtually nothing on Cayle. In no way am I trying to minimize the anguish of the missing hiker, who is, according to the news reports I read this evening, now believed to be dead. That is awful. But how is one human being's utter disappearance any more important than another's? It seems we're stepping into elusive territory here. One friend said, "Maybe that's 'cause going missing in the mountains is creepier somehow." I disagree. I think it's far scarier, far more menacing to go missing from your own home.

I'm sure that hundreds of people go missing each year, and the media become obsessed with one or two of them. We can make it our job to make sure they pay attention to both these Georgia women. Perhaps you can write a quick email to your news channel, even if it's just to direct them to http://findcayle.blogspot.com/ They'll find all the news articles and links there.
Below I've created a quick list to get you started. Won't you take a minute to do this? Thanks.

1. Here is an article on the 11Alive website. You can post a comment to ask them to cover the story more prominently. (I just wrote a comment--writing it took one minute!)

2. Here's the Fox 5 Atlanta article. Same ol', same ol'. Here's their contact form--why not ask them to feature it on the news and not just on the webpage?

3. Write The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and ask that they make the story a feature. Their contact address is: newstips@ajc.com Be sure to send them the link to the blog with all the news articles! (http://findcayle.blogspot.com/)

Taking the devil right out of Halloween!

2008-01-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

My friend and former roommate NYU Sarah (known to me by the name of "Lover") sent me a wonderfully helpful link during the Halloween season. Unfortunately for all of us, I never check my NYU email account, so I didn't get the message in time to follow the Christian webmaster's suggestions. If I had, we could have had a Hallelujah Party! (you know, where people dress up as Bible characters!) instead of going downtown and drinking on Halloween.

Let's get planning for next year, kids! http://retirementwithapurpose.com/hobbies/afhalloween.html

missing person: CAYLE BYWATER

2008-01-02T16:51:00.000-05:00

I thought it couldn't hurt to repost this news release. Nuci's Space is also having a search for her tomorrow (Thursday, 1/3) at 9AM. The link to their site is below--you'll find info on the search there.

http://www.nuci.org/

ATHENS, Ga -- The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is asking for help in locating 29 year old, Cayle Bywater.

Bywater was reported missing on New Year's Eve when a neighbor found her dog running loose near her S. Milledge Ave. home.

She was last seen on Saturday and spoke with a family member that same day. Police found her backdoor open. Her purse, wallet, keys, cell phone and car are all still at her residence.

Cayle Bywater is described as a white female, 5'3" tall, 113 pounds, with curly red hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information should call:

Athens Clarke County Police Central Communications (706) 613-3345

BLOGGERS: Please post this notice about Cayle on your blogs, especially if you're in Athens!

save me!

2007-12-31T21:03:00.000-05:00

I really should be getting out to meet my friends now, but I'm on a Migraine research roll and keep finding new tidbits of information!

Whether or not you know someone who's easily affected by the omnipresent flickering of fluorescent bulbs, this website and newsbrief should be mandatory reading for all people--certainly for all Migraineurs.

I signed the petition electronically but wished I had a pen I could bare down on with all my strength and fervor.

don't go warmin' my leg...

2007-12-31T19:53:00.001-05:00

I bought a pair of cozy leg warmers over a year ago while on vaycayshun and have yet to actually wear them. Part of my being still remains stock-still against the Huntley Hills Elementary cafetorium wall during the seventh grade dance, fearful that making a move toward the center of the room will bring attention to what is surely the wrong pastel, flowered dress.

Most of me doesn't care what others think of what I'm wearing. (See? I'm soooo self-actualized.)

After having slept off a Migraine most of the daylight hours, I am not feeling too festive. I miss my GHP friends right now and wish we were having one of our characteristic lock-ins. Heartbreakingly, these events are now a thing of the past. Wah. Going out this evening will be festive, I'm sure--seeing The Diamond Center last night was awesome enough, so tonight will be even more fun, especially since the Tom Petty cover band, Heavy Petty, will follow. But bar-hopping and going to see some bands play and friend-DJs spin sort of feels like any other night. If only Chris (see photo, courtesy of C. Tinsley) would get all souped up in his cheap-ass Santa outfit again.

Happy last day of 2007.

Happy Birthday, Mary!

2007-12-29T00:45:00.000-05:00

It's Mary Tyler Moore's birthday today. She was born on December 29, 1936, so that makes her 71.

This is my 221st blog entry. My birthday is 2/21--it's a SIGN!!!

Voudriez-vous une cigarette?

2007-12-28T20:17:00.000-05:00

In what I see as an incredibly wonderful twist of fate for the health of millions, the French government has decided to outlaw smoking in bars and cafes beginning January 2nd! (They are going to allow smokers to party and puff away on New Year's Eve, kind souls.) Next time I go I don't have to retreat early to the hotel due to smoke-induced Migraines. Sweet heaven!

No need to get into a whose-right-is-it-to-say-where-and-when-we-can-and-cannot-smoke debate here, folks. The fact of the matter is the issue has been decided and we will no longer smell like cigarette butts upon leaving French bars at 4 AM, nor will we have secondhand smoke hangovers the next morning. Freedom, sweet freedom. Ah, bon.

The Average Debaters

2007-12-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

Lord, I'm so happy I'm not the only one out there who's not fawning over The Great Debaters.

sickypoo strikes again

2007-12-27T22:56:00.000-05:00

Last night I couldn't fall asleep. I had the strangest ball of pain in my stomach. Unfamiliar, unsettled pain. It wasn't the lurching pain of an upset stomach or the hard rocky feeling of a gassy stomach (ew--did I just say "gassy stomach"?).

Around 6 AM, after having napped about twenty minutes between 2:40 and 3:00 AM, I got up suddenly and was sick sick sickeroo. Food poisoning? I'd only had Chick-fil-A and a few handfuls of snack food at Dallas's earlier in the day. Did I overnog it? I had a mug full of pumpkin eggnog that was marked "sell by Dec. 24." Does that mean it was bad by the evening of Dec. 26th?

In any case, I was sick and then lay down in bed in more pain, whining and moping and not falling asleep for another hour or so. Today was shot, and by the time I did get up I was weaky mckinserson and couldn't do much of anything without getting winded. Taking a five minute shower just about knocked me out!

I'm grateful to have this time off work. Nothing much is going on right now. Obviously it would have been nice to help Jim with dinner despite my tendency to grunt about helping (truly--I'm not very good!), and dropping all my stuff off at the post office would've made me feel as if I'd accomplished something. But no such luck, eh?

My dearest Denise did send me a link to a "fun" website, though. For all of you with whom I've bitched about misplaced or completely unnecessary quotation marks, this site's for you!
http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/

Hope everyone's in good health! Remember that Mary Tyler Moore's birthday is this Saturday night, 12/29!!!

Happy Xmas.

2007-12-24T18:43:00.000-05:00

This is the first year I have spent Christmas without my parents, and it'll be the second Christmas morning I'll wake up without my sister. No, nothing sinister or heartbreaking happened to her--she just spent Christmas with her former girlfriend's family one year and came home a few days after to have an after-Christmas get-together with us.

My parents didn't feel like traveling away from their adopted Florida homeland. I didn't feel like going to their Florida home for the third time in three months only to turn around three days later. Julie didn't want to book air travel from Milwaukee when the Midwest has been erupting in snowstorms every few weeks. (She thought correctly on that one--Milwaukee is all snowy and wintry mixy right now, and many people's travel plans have screeched to a halt.)

I'm here in Athens with my beau and my friends. It's chilly, and it's quiet. Mary Beth just called and offered to bring me a delicious plate of food from her family's Christmas dinner. Sounds wonderful, as I've had just a teensy bit of food since my lunch earlier today. I'm going to take my new camera and the handy-dandy portable Scrabble game down to Flicker to visit the bartender boyf til he gets off work at midnight. Maybe we'll see Santa flying through the skies!!

It's certainly a nontraditional Christmas for me. Stranger than the year Julie and I were on a cruise with our parents? P'raps. That was 9 years ago. Or 10!! I'm old.
Guess it's time to bust all out on my own, right, y'all?

this short video of a small child will restore your faith in humanity

2007-12-20T23:58:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt so tired you just nodded off in the midst of what you were doing? I can recall dinners, classes, and of course books during which I caught myself as my head and/or body started heading swiftly toward the closest hard, horizontal surface.

A few months ago the little boy I babysit (one whom I've known since he was a couple months old--now he's 17 mos. or so!) was being a Crabby Appleton, as my beloved Grandma Mary might say. During his lunch he barely ate a thing, so hunger wasn't at the root of his bad mood. Halfway into his meager portion of vegetables the problem surfaced: his eyelids grew heavy, he comically half-fell toward the highchair table again and again, only to catch himself at the last second. (I had my pand poised at the ready, of course--I wouldn't let that teensy little head get all smooshed in vegetables, let alone bruised!) But sweet lord--that was hilarious. I think it was my laughter that kept waking him up. The transition from wakefulness to sleep took about 2 minutes--amazing. I wish I could fall asleep that fast.

I cleaned him up and put him in his crib, where he went out like a light. Later I described this adorable and very funny phenomenon to Jim, but words could not begin to describe the event.

To my happy surprise, someone has captured the same event with a different child on video! And I know the people involved, so it's not like I've been cyberstalking a small baby! My friend Eliza and her husband Eric have a little girl named Rio; since Rio was born they've been recording short videos and posting them on youtube.com so that friends and family far away could see what she's up to.

Take a look--it's only about 1.5 minutes at the most and you can watch it on mute. So cute and funny. And the blog subject doesn't lie, unless you really are the grinchiest of them all.

Love,
me

Flight of the Conchords--watch it!

2007-12-19T10:33:00.000-05:00

Today's Paste email announced that Flight of the Conchords (do I italicize that? I guess not since we're talking specifically of the performing duo here and not their TV show) are going to release a full-length album!

My mom had Jim and me watch Flight of the Conchords over Thanksgiving. This was after it came highly recommended from a few friends, including the ever-zealous "F'n Jimmy," who promised Nancy and me that we would love it, especially since she and I tend to sing about what's going on at any given time. Well, I saw a couple episodes of my mom's season 1 DVD and I can verify this: the show is amazing. Hilarious. Original. So funny. Watch it.

I just went to youtube.com and found a clip of them performing "Business Time" on stage in front of a live audience. It's still very funny, but I really do prefer seeing the duo perform within the auspices of their television show. They definitely have the means to up the ante there and make things more ridiculous, silly, and clever. All the same, it's worth a watch if you've never seen any of Flight of the Conchords and want a dose of their humor.

Next stop: Vision Video, Amazon.com, or wherever you go to acquire DVDs! Get to it!
xo-
Janet

I do not exist.

2007-12-18T21:20:00.000-05:00

I am standing in a home not recognized by UPS, FedEx, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, or Dominoes.

You see, this evening marked the third or fourth time I've found out from a worldwide, highly reputable delivery service (this description does not include the pizza places mentioned above) that my "delivery address does not exist." It's lots of fun to pay for expedited shipping only to discover that you can't be shipped to due to your own nonexistence.

Granted, my house address is a little misleading. The house itself is in a little community of homes off one street, and the house address bears the name of another teensy street that forms that back border of the small neighborhood. But let's go over a few key points here:
1. The teensy street EXISTS.
2. The teensy street has a NAME.
3. The teensy street has a LEGIBLE ROAD SIGN.
4. It is the year 2007 (soon to be 2008!) and I do reckon there's better technology out there than paper maps and compasses. (No, I'm not besmirching the glory of the compass. But an in-cab cheapo GPS system seems fairly routine these days, and what stops 'em from calling the main office or--dare I say it?--the phone number on the shipping label, my number, for more descriptive directions?)

Now I have to wait a whole extry day for this and this.
And that makes me feel like this:

Ho, ho, ho!

2007-12-14T19:27:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to force someone I know and love to get into the Christmas spirit. First I told him that I'd be home in Athens for the holidays, a warm body for him to cuddle by his side [in this 70 degree winter chill], a loving girlfriend to keep close as the holiday doldrums attempt to hit each and every one of us swiftly below the belt.

This news was not taken as excitedly as I'd wished. Hmmff.

Next plan? Get a Christmas tree! Decorate it while Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole make us filled with dreams of sugarplum fairies!

It just so happened that I bought the tree by myself. (See earlier post.) GrinchyBoyf (TM) did seem a bit disappointed when I told him I'd done so ("I thought we were going to do that together!") but expressed zero interest in decorating it with me. You see, the lad just doesn't celebrate Christmas in that cheesy way I do. I get overly excited and overwhelmed with countdowns and lights and icicles (Chris would have me call them by their collective name, "tinsel") and the sheer anticipation. Jim doesn't go for this. Not one ounce of it.

Today I ended up half-forcing him to "want" to help me put the lights on the tree. By the time he said he would and that he "wanted" to help, I rejected his offers. Hours later, we were both in our element: he relaxed before a show by watching the classic Christmas heartwarmer, Letters from Iwo Jima, whilst I decorated the tree in jean shorts in mid-December. Guess we came to a compromise after all.

let the tipping begin! (or "karma chameleon")

2007-12-14T00:45:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I caught myself making a grave mathematical error about five beats after the person I was selling two CDs to caught me making a grave mathematical error. Ignoring the error would have saved him $20 and lost the band I was working for that same amount. Luckily we both realized my mistake. (Trying to balance too many things at once--a conversation, selling CDs for two bands in the selfsame minute, and such.)

I was really hard on myself for this mistake. Truly, I beat myself up for these things much more harshly than I think most people do. Time, learning, reading, and a little degree in gifted education (in which I learned a lot about perfectionism and how it manifests) has solidified what I didn't want to believe: I am a perfectionist, and this is not entirely healthy. Though I'm pretty secure with myself and have a shiny self-esteem (ahem--some scholars/psychologists might say that I am not too much of an inwardly-focused perfectionist), I really take it hard when I make a mistake in front of someone else. Falling on my butt, flubbing my words, etc.--that's usually fine, because I can laugh at myself first. But making a mistake that may make the other person perceive me as dumb? Oh, boy. That is really difficult to take.

That man at the rock show, the one I sold the CDs to for almost-free? Wow. He probably thought nothing of our interaction, probably thought what I would have if I were in his shoes: "that girl done got confused, guess I'd better tell her what's what." But that's not what I imagined, and not what I still imagine he was thinking. Oh, no siree. You see, he was thinking about how this little young thing in a dress was hired to sell CDs but can't even multiply by tens and do simple subtraction. He was wondering how much money I'd lost the band thus far. He was trying so very hard not to roll his eyes, thinking I might have looked a little cute but was probably not all that smart.

Let's face it, kids. Very few people in this world are as harsh as the way I imagine(d) that man to be in that moment. In fact, he handled the situation gracefully and I probably did as well. I am well aware that I need to get over making mistakes in front of people. People don't need to know that I'm smart. It's just...

Oh, shut up.

Anyhow. Today I went to the soon-to-be-closing nursery on the East Side of town, Charmar. The drought is making it so this quaint and usually successful family-run business is closing its doors in 17 days. (I originally heard about the store after they made the decision to close while listening to a local NPR story. I think that's right, but perhaps it was the UGA channel or 100.7. Whatev.) It's really a shame. I'd never been in before this afternoon, when I dipped in between tutoring appointments in the hopes of scoring one of their pretty Christmas trees. (30% off, and the only Christmas trees I've seen in town, truth be told. There were only five left when I was there. I think I'm a late bloomer.) When I handed the woman at the cash register a twenty and a ten to pay for the tree, which was $28.45, she gave me a ten and change in return. I rewound time in my head to be sure and then said, "Oh, um. I think I gave you thirty, not forty." "No, you gave me forty." "I'm pretty sure I didn't. It's hard to tell by my wallet since all the cash is jumbled together, but my ten is gone." She looked in the drawer, and sho' nuff, there was a ten dollar bill in the space where the twenties go. She reddened a bit and smiled gratefully. "Oh, THANK YOU!" "No problem," I replied, handing the cash back to her. She must have said thanks four more times, blushing all the while. I threw her a bone, mentioning I'd done a similar thing recently. That cured any awkwardness I'd sensed (maybe I was projecting it all the while?) and we chatted for a moment.

While I was there, three ladies bought plants for their houses and talked to the cashier/owner as they did so. "I just can't believe it," one woman in her sixties said, referring to the imminent closing of the store. "It just makes me start to tear up!"

"Well, don't start, 'cause then we start. We have eighteen days left now. Let's make them good."

A nice young feller carried my tree out to the car and lay plastic in the trunk so the needles wouldn't get everywhere. Feeling suddenly rich since I'd momentarily had a ten dollar bill and given it up so valiantly (ho ho ho), I whipped out a fiver and said, "Is it strange to tip? Is that done?" "It's not strange," he said, and I handed him some money and thought about holiday tipping and my blog and how much of a dork I am.

The end.

Go get yourselves a little plant or something.

tipping the babysitter...?

2007-12-11T22:34:00.000-05:00

So one of the top stories on Google News talks about holiday tipping. And babysitters are mentioned as one of the people in one's life who should be tipped. Now I have been babysitting for years and have never received a holiday tip. I'm not complaining, just noting.

In New York, I was what a family called the "alpha babysitter," or the main babysitter. I watched an adorable and hilarious four-year-old boy four nights a week in his rather upscale Gramercy Park home. Now that's a family you'd expect a holiday tip from, eh? But no. No tip.

Before that NYC job, I babysat a lot but never regularly enough to be the recipient of a tippy tip tip. Nowadays I am the regular babysitter for a couple of families (I share this duty with Kelli M.!) but didn't get any holiday tippage last year; I don't expect it this year. That being said, I won't be disappointed not to receive it.

It's almost strange to me to see that people are supposed to tip the folks that help them out throughout the year even more over the holidays. Does anyone else do this? I am already so overwhelmed with needing to get presents for my family and the boyf--I can't go spending money on my elevator operator and parking lot attendant.

Anywho. Mainly I wanted to know if anyone else out there gave holiday tips to his or her hairdresser, handyman, or pet groomer. It seems such an adult thing to do. Surely I can be excused since I only have a part-time job and little to no cash. Tee hee.

Josh on TV

2007-12-09T19:27:00.001-05:00

Thank goodness for youtube.com.

Check this out--it's nothing like seeing Josh with a live audience that's there to see him, nothing like experiencing his fun and silly and occasionally serious banter, but hey! I'm guessing the clip is from 1999, when Useful Music was out, and before the Josh Joplin Band morphed into the Josh Joplin Group. (The reference to Shawn Mullins as a semi-star also dates the performance.)

Anywho, this is for the likes of Lieeish and Dallas and Sweet, assuming they ever read this blog. It's also for any of you who feel like watching. The end.

My So-Called Life

2007-12-09T14:08:00.000-05:00

My So-Called Life is online for free! I fully support buying the newest DVD set, which has lots of cool features. But hey--for those of us who can't afford that, let's truck on over to abc.com and watch Angela Chase.

It's SO good. If you've seen it before, watch it again. If you've never seen it, you owe it to yourself to watch the episodes. It's amazingly written and so well-acted.

The end.

candle in the wind

2007-12-06T22:45:00.000-05:00

As I think I mentioned a while back, I'm reading Donald Spoto's biography of Marilyn Monroe. This 500+ page book is taking me FOREVER to read. It's full of facts, names, places, and sadness. It's not boring, though--not in the least. I can't quite get a grasp on all the names and faces, and that's my fault. What I want to grasp onto but almost hate learning about is how beautiful and fragile and funny and smart Marilyn was. I've rented two of her films while making my way through this book--I watched The Asphalt Jungle (a movie in which she has only a handful of lines and just a couple minutes of screen time) and Bus Stop. I wanted to see them for their own sake but also because I'd just read about her auditions, the other cast members, her agonizing self-criticism that caused her to ask for take after take until she got things somewhat right. A classic perfectionist (and not a narcissist, as it's erroneously believed), she would make and remake her face for hours before going out into public, terrified of any possible scrutiny, feeling as if she always had to look her best. The reasons for this fear were founded in her upbringing as well as her own temperament, I'm sure.

Donald Spoto's biography of her is well-revered for many reasons: it's well-written and very well-researched. He strips away layers of myth surrounding her, myth that was often created by people on her periphery (or even people who didn't know her in the least), people who used her name to make themselves some money. The whole JFK "love affair"? Yeah, that was one time. The two of them met exactly four times and shared a bed once. The way that story spun out of control is all documented.

Most of the book isn't made up of Spoto unraveling myths. On the contrary, he paints a beautiful picture of this vivacious, loving person who made her place in Hollywood and the world.

Right now my reading has slowed to a snail's pace. Look at me as we speak: I'm writing about the book instead of reading it. Why, you ask? I've reached 1962, the year of her death.

And I've just come to love her.

more fun (and occasionally painful) local stories

2007-12-05T23:39:00.001-05:00

I'm not inspired to write, but I am inspired to share...

1. From the Oconee County Blotter:
Theft: On Nov. 23, deputy William Elrod was dispatched to the Waffle House on U.S. Highway 441 where a manager had counted the previous shift's cash register drawer and found it came up $83 short.

2. After I read the following little blurb, I actually sighed, "Oh, man!" aloud. Truly, I say!

From the Madison County Police Blotter:
Arrest: On Nov. 20, deputy Jason Luke was dispatched to a home on Cherokee Road, Comer where the dispatcher said a man was armed with a BB gun. When Luke arrived, he took cover behind his patrol car while he waited for backup. However, a woman and man exited the house and he asked them who had the gun. "This is him. He ain't got the gun now," the woman responded. Luke then patted down the man and secured him in the patrol car. The deputy asked the man what was going on and the man said he was "raising hell." The family said he had been drinking most of the day and earlier that day took a machete and damaged the kitchen floor and wall. Joseph M. Collins, 50, was arrested for disorderly conduct.

3. Police on lookout for window climber
(I didn't include link because it came with all these attached ads. Ew!)

A woman in an apartment near Lexington Road was awakened Friday morning by a man climbing through her bedroom window, Athens-Clarke police said. The man opened the unlocked window to her Woodlake Place apartment, and when the woman woke up, he told her he was looking for his sister, police said.

The man was polite and left without taking anything, the woman told police.

But after going back out the window, he tried the same thing at the window next door, again telling the woman inside that he was looking for his sister, according to police.

Police put out an alert for the unidentified suspect and were able to lift a fingerprint from the window, police said.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 120207

4. Pitched potato knocks out husband
(again, no link due to the ads--visit onlineathens.com to search for the article yourself, if you so desire.)

Jackson County sheriff's deputies were called to a Nicholson home early Thanksgiving morning after a 43-year-old woman knocked her husband unconscious with a potato during an argument, according to sheriff's reports. The woman told deputies that she and her husband started to argue in the kitchen about 1 a.m. Nov. 22. He had used an expletive to describe her, and she threw the potato at him, hitting him in the nose and causing him to pass out, deputies said. The couple told deputies that they been drinking.

She told deputies that she didn't mean to hit her husband and called police as soon as he fell unconscious. The man, who suffered from a large knot on his nose, told deputies he did not want to press charges. The woman was not arrested and no charges were filed.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 120607

5. Okay, I admit I'm getting on a roll here. But the following little snippet from the Madison County blotter is pretty funny. It's very small-town Georgia.

Arrest: On Nov. 23, Lt. Steve Kimbel was patrolling on Neese Commerce Road about 11 p.m. when his radar showed an approaching Toyota Corolla traveling at 69 mph. When he turned to catch up to the car, it continued at a high rate of speed and suddenly turned onto Dillard Road. Kimbel caught up to the car when it stopped for a stop sign at Martin Griffeth Road. The driver, Ashlei Elizabeth Baker, 23, denied attempting get away and explained she was going to visit her father. Kimbel told Baker he knew where her father lived and it made no sense for her to take a longer route. At this point, she admitted she tried to elude the officer. She was arrested for speeding and attempting to elude and taken to jail.

6. The person writing the Madison County blotter has got to be having some fun here and there. Despite some challenges he or she faces when it comes to grammar and how to make words plural, the little tales are pretty convoluted and funny. Perhaps a stenographer writes down exactly what the officers say? I'm not sure. I like how the writer seems so sure of the characters' actions and feelings in this real-life drama.

Assault: On Nov. 25, Lt. Steve Kimbel and deputy Jason Ring responded about 8:15 p.m. to a dispute in Danielsville where a young man's father engaged in a fight with his son's in-laws. The young man said he and his wife went to visit his parents, but his wife doesn't like to visit there and often finds an excuse to leave early. When she wanted to leave this time, the man's father confronted her and she became upset. The woman and her father-in-law argued and when she pointed her finger at his face, he slapped her finger. Afterward, the couple left and drove to a nearby convenience store, where the woman's mother and sister also arrived. The wife said she would ride home with her mother. But as they left, the husband saw that they were returning to his father's home. He followed with the intent of trying to keep the peace. The father came outside and met the three women. When he called his daughter-in-law an uncomplimentary name, the sister hit him in the face. The father then pinned the sister against a vehicle and as his son tried to pull him off, the mother hit the father on the head with a flashlight. They eventually separated and left. Kimbel questioned the father, who said he only was trying to defend himself after the sister hit him. The father had some knots on his head and a cut under his eye. The deputies told all those involved to stay away from each other and if they wanted to take out warrants, they explained the court procedures.

Marfan Syndrome

2007-12-03T20:22:00.001-05:00

While perusing the facebook.com "Causes" application and signing up for all the things I believe in (anti-smoking, "let's stop drunk driving," etc.), I decided to do a quick search to find out if anyone had a Marfan's awareness group. Lo and behold, there were three.

One of my very best friends died from Marfan Syndrome on the first of October, 2001. The very day (or night? I'm not sure) of the Josh Joplin show I mentioned in my previous post. Jeffrey was already dead or was about to be dead while I sat in a room crowded with people listening to a song that, even then, made me disarmingly nostalgic about the past, especially my days growing up in Chamblee, GA.

In any case, one of the Marfan Syndrome Awareness groups had this youtube.com video posted. It's pretty interesting. Never before had I heard that Jonathan Larson, the creator and director of the smash hit Rent, was probably suffering from undiagnosed Marfan Syndrome. Assuming Larson did have the disease, he and Jeff were in the same boat: neither one of them had any idea of their condition while alive.

The quick video is informative and interesting. As Anthony Rapp says (in badly synced vocals, if your computer plays it the way mine did!), knowing the signs could help you save a life.

no Josh Joplin show for me. :(

2007-12-03T17:41:00.001-05:00

I bought tickets to the sold-out Dec. 8 late show at Eddie's Attic to see the incomparable Josh Joplin only to find out that my three fellow concert attendees could not go. Lieeish and her main squeeze have a company holiday party to attend. Jim had a feeling there was something going on that night (Lawd o lawd, won't somebody buy him a cheapy-cheap pocket-sized planner?) and remembered what it was when he got a wedding reception invitation in the mail. So now none of us can go and I am quite sad.

The drive to Decatur isn't particularly thrilling, nor is the wait to get seats at Eddie's, assuming they 're still doing that name-calling thing. (If you buy online as most people do nowadays, you wait as the names get called according to the order in which tickets were purchased. You try to scramble in the rather small but every-so-homey "listening room" to get the best available seats.) In the olden days, the teensy tables were up for grabs, too--now they're more expensive and sell more quickly than the general admission tickets. Alas.

I love Josh Joplin. Only recently have I realized that this admiration has somewhat cheesy connotations to some--a few of my Athens friends tend to think that he's dorky and not so talented. These are folks who've not seen him live, or so I'd like to think. Verily I don't know their history with Josh. I am the one who drove to Borders after Borders to see his free shows the summer that Useful Music came out (for the first time, before it was rereleased by a major label and screwed around with). I sent funny, dorky fan/friend emails with Dallas and later, in the midst of Josh's short-lived radio popularity, sent him an email requesting that he sing a then old song, "Better Days" at his crowded NYC show. He played it for me and gave a little shout out that prompted the newbie fans in the crowd to look around for the girl who had requested the song.

Despite the ticket agency's denial of my request, Eddie's Attic reassured me kindly that they'd be more than happy to refund my ticket purchase. I'm $60 + service fees richer again but sad to be missing out. Guess I'll get drunk at some strangers' wedding and wax nostalgic for times past.

My #1 band has the #1 record!

2007-12-01T21:16:00.000-05:00

Check this out. My new Paste arrived today, and The National's album Boxer got best album of the year. The online article is here. I'm very excited for them. Earlier this year, I saw them in Paris for free with Sweet (the story there is pretty exciting--if I've not told you it already, please encourage me to do so). Sigh. That was my first time seeing them up close. I'd seen them just three weeks or so beforehand when they opened up for The Arcade Fire in Atlanta, but my seats were far back and I missed part of the show (that story's not so happy).

Upon my return to the States post-Paris, I saw them in Atlanta in June with the Crackbaby Mack and then again in September with Nancy.

If you're one of the folks who've not heard them, buy their record. You can even do that emusic.com thing where you sign up and get 25 downloads + an audiobook for free (no gimmicks--even I did it). Make your downloads a couple of albums by The National.

If you're a folk who's heard 'em but not seen them, buy tickets to a show--IN ADVANCE, mind you.

Okay, bye.

Love,
moi!

you know you're in love when you buy...

2007-11-30T15:59:00.000-05:00

THIS.

yelp me, yelp me!

2007-11-29T01:44:00.000-05:00

I didn't feel inspired to write a blog post today, but I have written a few things on my homepage here at yelp.com. I know I've put a plug in for it before, but I again encourage you to visit this handy-dandy website. There are more and more people posting reviews about Athens places, and if you're getting set to travel, it's a great resource! Find places to eat based on customer recommendations and
not advertisements. What a novel concept!

Nighty night.

Mitch Hedberg & his widow

2007-11-27T21:40:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't already know it, let me say it to you now: I adore (adored?) Mitch Hedberg. He died in March 2005 and I sincerely wept upon hearing the news--for several months there, I wasn't able to listen to his comedy CDs at all. It was just too unbearable.

Clearly my grief is nothing compared to that of those who knew him. I ain't claiming that in the least. But it is strange when someone whose words you've laughed at uproariously and memorized for their wit and humor is suddenly gone from the world. His wife Lynn Shawcroft was one of those left behind to mourn him, and just tonight I stumbled across her blog. I don't necessarily recommend it unless you're really curious about her as a comedienne or wondering what her life (or life as Mitch's widow) is like. In my few minutes of browsing, I did come across a few particularly candid entries dealing with her loss and grief--in these particular entries the writing was really bare and unflowery. It made me scared for the time when I will begin to lose those who are close to me because she tossed neither herself nor her readers the smallest morsel of comfort. If I knew her, perhaps I'd commend her on the bravery it took to put those words to paper (or screen, as it were). What does it say that she then posted them to the internet? I'm not sure.

In any case, now I'm thinking about love and loss and Mitch and what it must be like to lose your partner when you and he make your living as comedians. You must perform and make others laugh if you are to succeed in the business--but how do you do that when you're mourning? I suppose it's the quintessential question all actors face. Truly, it's probably what most people face whenever they're going through a period of loss. I would guess that most people struggle to maintain a somewhat normal facade to cover up what's going on behind the scenes.

Ramble, ramble, ramble.

The end.