Friday, April 29, 2005

Pilfering

Saw this on Lindsayism via the gum


Idea for a cartoon:
One panel. A girl with a Bettie Page haircut and tattoos is talking to someone at a cocktail party. Caption:

"Well I was raised goth, but I converted to rockabilly when I married Bobby."


I was shocked that the Swinger hadnt written it.

Shout out to the LDG

Today is the LDGs birthday! (Also known as Lasheroni and Cheese and Navin Letterman)




They dont look a day older than 5


People always forget that they are related, let alone born in the same litter. I think they forget that when a cat has kittens, there is no telling what those kittens are going to look like unless they come from pure breds. Since these two were probably born in a barn, it isnt terribly surprising that they dont look too much alike. When I got them, there was also a white one in the bunch. You just never can tell.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

That day

Well, this morning I got on the train platform and no one was there except a couple people (usually both north and southbound are fairly full) so I asked a guy standing there ‘so, why is no one here. Is there something I don’t know?’ and he says ‘I don’t know. I cant remember what time this train is.’ So I look at my watch and say ‘Its supposed to be the 8:48.’ And he says, ‘No, I think it’s the 7:55’ and I just stare in confusion and he explains that I am an entire hour early. I think that it was subconcious solidarity with Iron Chef Chicago who now has to be at work by 6am.

Immature post for the day: Feel free to giggle at the name

Much excitement is going on this weekend! Casual and I are having some sweet indian food on Sat. (no, you cant come with) then Sunday is the MS Walk, Dip it in the Sauce, and the Muchachos 2nd birthday. Still uncertain about having a party for the LDG, mainly because Eagle as so much stuff to do, what with moving and all. Now, dont you worry, I have soft cat food for their celebration. But whether it will be formal or not, still no telling. And I figure we are all seeing so much of each other this weekend that perhaps another party is not the thing to do. Heck, I offered Puck Snoop tix and didnt hear back. Folks must be busy.

Friday, April 22, 2005

Born to Run

So some of you have already heard my squeals of delight on this, but yesterday, for the first time in my entire life, I jogged a mile. Now, in the grand scheme of things, this may not seem like such a life-altering event, but it is. Its freaking huge.
I have mentioned the running thing before, but to reiterate a little context, I have wanted to run a mile my entire life. Like no kidding. I dream about it, and frankly have been putting a quasi-serious attempt at it for a couple years.
And I think more importantly to note, I really, really had myself convinced that I couldnt do it. I had so much evidence to prove that I just wasnt someone who could run. When I was in high school and in the best shape I have ever been, having dance practices for 12 hours a day, I still couldnt manage to run more than a couple blocks. I figured that if I couldnt do it then, there was no way I could do it now. I really occured for me like impossible and something I could chalk up to just one of things I am not good at. And thats why it so big to me, because I didnt quit. I had all the reasons to quit and none to keep going, and I did.
Now, for the nuts and bolts of it, I certainly didnt jog the fastest mile ever done. Not by a long shot. But as the end was in sight, I could feel a pull, almost literally, to stop running, to come just short of it. It was so unconscious it kinda scared me. And my legs were not happy with me, and I could have justified stopping. But to throw it in my own face, not only did I finish the mile, but I continued on for another quarter mile. Then I walked an 1/8 of a mile and then jogged the rest of the second mile. (How does she know these measurements, you might ask. The park I run around is a quarter mile each side. Makes for very easy distance calculation.)
And when I got home and was walking up the stairs, I started thinking about dinner. Then I realized that I was already ignoring what I had just done. That I had just done something that I thought was impossible, and realized that I didnt want to just ignore it. So I called Eagle, Muchachomama, and talked to CHLS and his little lady in the hallway. And now I am telling you, because I think its important to know - yesterday someone did something that for their entire life they thought was impossible.
And I bet that most of us have, so tell me about it in the comments.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Long train apparently

I really thought I was going to update this sooner. How time flies. Anywhoo...
While the apartment has certainly been missing The Swinger, and Navin is still obviously waiting for his return, Eagle and I are definitely taking advantage of having the apt to ourselves. We had forgotten that it had been awhile since we were just alone - not out together amongst other people, or in the apartment alone waiting for The Swinger to return. We had some fantastic chill out time. So great. And we are excited for The Swingers return on Sunday, wondering if he can top last years mexican death masks made by lesbians.


In race news, this weekend I am doing the Ravenswood 5k through my very own neighborhood. Considering it starts at 8am, I am glad I dont have to go far. And in related news, I had an all-time best continuous jogging distance on Tues. I jog around a rather large park and previously had only gotten around 2 sides before having to walk for a distance. Tuesday, I went 3 sides. And not only that, I kept up my usual walk/jog pace for the rest of the distance (I go around the park, and through the park, and back around, etc.) I felt so good about it that I havent gone back. I should do something about that tonight.


And in tasty news, Eagle and I are going to taste wedding cakes this weekend! This is the part of the wedding process I have been looking forward to the most. We got to request four types of cake to taste. My guess, pre-tasting, is that the Vienna will be the winner: 5 layers of yellow cake with alternating layers of custard, raspberry, and apricot filling topped with a white chocolate ganache. Jesus. And since we are also planning on having a sweets table, they are going to let us try some of their various pastries. Please let there be a napolean. Those are so my favorite. Wish I could remember how much I budgeted for dessert...


Random thoughts: This saturday is laser treatment #2. Will let you know if anything reportable happens. Next friday, the 29th, is Navin and Lashers birthday. Thinking about having a shindig. Will consult with the Swinger and then get back to you. And OH.MY.GOD friday is Eagles last day of work! (and no, he doesnt have another job yet but still...) yippee!

Monday, April 18, 2005

Oh so quiet

I know I have been rather quiet on this here board for a couple of days. Not terribly sure why, probably some kind of performance anxiety. Moving along.

The Eagle, Vinnie K, Missy and I went to go see Sahara. Remarkably not as terrible as we would have expected. Its kinda like a Bond film, not at all believable, plot line has plenty of holes, but the writing is good, the scenary beautiful, and overall quite entertaining. I would certainly see a sequel.

Totally skeezed out on seeing Andrew Bird. Part of me regrets it, but Eagle and I were having such a great weekend, its hard to regret anything about it.

Wow, just realized I have to catch a train. More later.

Friday, April 08, 2005

Those mysterious eggs

Wow. So, after the favorable review by Lazlo regarding Andrew Bird's The Mysterious Production of Eggs,(Note to the Eagle, he got the title of the album from a magic book.) I decided to go ahead and take a listen. (For those just catching up, I loved Weather Systems, but not so much the stuff he did with Bowl of Fire so I was hesitating and waiting for the word from Lazlo who likes both sounds.) I was on my way home from being at dinner with the MuchachoMama and walking by Lauries Planet of Sound and decided to go old school and buy the CD hard copy. I was instantly pleased as the CD came with an egg! Filled with snacks and a notice about the CD release party. More about both of those later.

So this morning I took the NIN out of the CD player (it is a rare occasion when I take the time to switch out what I have in the CD player, but I had lots of time and actually remembered that I had a new CD.) Anywhoo, wow. You know its a good thing when you are listening to something for the first time in the background a room away while getting ready and its so good that you stop what you are doing to get yourself closer to the source. Specifically I am talking about Fake Palindromes (which my iPod has misspelled as Plaindromes). Jesus, 2:52 of pure joy. I found myself saying unconsciously 'brilliant.'

The rest of the album is great as well (any album that has as a refrain 'There will be snacks' is already tops of my list) but I immediately had to go back to the Palindromes so many times that I havent really spent enough time with it. It did, however, solidify that I will be attending his CD release party on the 16th. Anyone else game?

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Satan has left the building

Satan chooses to visit my workplace in various different forms. One of his most appealing forms is the Chili Cheese Frito. On those days when he shows his frito-rific face, I forget all about that lovely wedding dress that, in order to fit, requires me to lose a half inch in the buttocks area. I throw away all the good I do by jogging in the morning. I forget just how foul my breath will be if I eat them. I dig through my bag with a ferver usually reserved for nachos and indulge. So it is with great joy that I announce that once I paid my mere 50 cents for satan-in-a-bag, that what appeared behind it in the vending machine was nothing other than his lazier, less appealing cousin - the plain frito. All is right again.

And no, I dont know why I blogged about that.

Monday, April 04, 2005

Saturday sun/Being Careful/The big finish

What a marvelous weekend. On the quasi-recommendation of Hilesh, I spent Saturday morning with Eagle and Swinger listening to Guero to fantastic results. I think at points all of us found ourselves dancing in the apartment, probably me more than the others, but still. Great results. I dont know how Girl could possibly not end up being a hit this summer. Well, at the very least it will be a hit in our apt.
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Some of you may have noticed that I have had a hard time crawling out of my hole these last couple of months. Truth be told, I have been rather depressed (not for any particular reason) and even more annoyingly in a terrible mood. And terrible doesnt begin to describe it. Just an awful cycle. I think I can safely say that the mood has passed for the moment. Man, this being human business can really get in your way of having a good time. Heres hoping I can keep it at bay for awhile again.
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Well, Missy and I finished the Shamrock Shuffle this weekend. And we were even running when we finished! Now, we werent running the whole time but I would say that of the 5+ miles, we at least ran half of them. Not too bad for people who were not at all trained or ready for such a feat. On the high of that accomplishment we registered to do the Ravenswood 5k in our neighborhood and are thinking of doing a 10k in two weeks. However, before that I have to get new shoes. Some of you are familiar with the ongoing saga which is me trying to find shoes. Buying expensive shoes and once I have worn them and cant return them I find out that they arent the right fit for me and my feet are in pain. The good news is that my muscles werent sore after the race, just my feet hurt. I wonder what I will be capable of once my feet dont hurt. Most exciting possibility. Will keep you posted.

Friday, April 01, 2005

Not enough time

At the back of the fantastic guide book I have been reading, they have a quick list of all countries with information on Visa requirements, water conditions, ATM availability, etc. So, for fun on the way into work I put a check next to all the countries that Eagle and I are fairly certain we are going to.

Already, the guidebook's number one tip came into play: You cant see everything.

I had checked off 48 countries. In a years time, that would leave about a week per country. Not at all the pace we were looking for. I doubt I could be in nearly enough Bollywood films if we were only in India for a week. You cant do Everest in a week unless you are a Sherpa. We are already planning 3 weeks in Australia with Iron Chef Chicago. Clearly, we have an issue to resolve. And what a great issue to have.