Awards Galore! / Hip Hop Hurrah! / Misc.

Thought you would all want to know that our very own Bob took first place in a very large brewing competition with an as of yet unnamed Oatmeal Stout. And as his dad would say, Panfastic!

And I know that lots of folks who read this disagree, but man was I happy that Crash won the Picture of the Year award. I did a little dance in a restaurant in Stamford CT when I heard. Fortunately, Eagle and I saw this before any hype, and before we ruined it for people by wildly exclaiming that it is the best movie either of us has ever seen EVER. We saw it based on one preview I had seen. And Swinger and I have talked about this, as he is one who disagrees, but I really do think that it broke ground and not only was important, realistic and relevant, but damn finely acted. And to be fair, I havent seen Brokeback Mountain, but it has got to be about more than just 2 guys who have sex once a year to get me to change my mind on this one. Seems like just another love story - although I am sure its a good one - with risky politics. Crash blew my mind like no other movie has. I will give Brokeback a chance though and will report back in.

In junk in the trunk news, the hip hop/funk/house dance class continues to be a winner. I have already signed up for the next session.

In random news, I was doing another round of listening to albums I bought and never listened to, only to find out that not only had I listened to the album, I knew all the words (Ryan Adams Demolition). That was bizarre. It was actually my favorite album a couple years ago.

For those of you who dont know, Lasher is starving to death these days. He has hyperthyroid that we havent gotten a handle on, although we are working on it. I think Lasher is loving it though as he gets to eat all the time - and soft cat food at that! Some days I think he is less boney, then other days I panic. But the vet has upped his meds so we have our fingers crossed.

MIA and such

Its been a dogs age since I blogged. And so much has happened. Kinda. Well I guess the first thing to acknowledge is that in general, I wasnt doing so good for quite some time. And all the signs were there and I just wasnt noticing them. I was biting my nails, not blogging and sleeping more than usual. I am talking falling asleep at 7:30. And that all just made the depression all the worse. Not to mention that I have been working serious hours at work. But I was offered a position in management at work and I turned it down. After that, things started to look up for me. It felt really good to turn it down. When it was presented to me, it sounded a lot more like a threat than an acknowledgement of the hard work that I do. Not to mention that because I had just gotten a raise, they werent willing to raise me up to the salary of a manager. So once again I would be underpaid for what I do. In addition, if I didnt meet the expected statistical measures, while figuring out how to delegate the extra persons job I am already doing, while getting project management certified and managing darn near all the companies websites, he said there would be no guarantee that at that time I would be moved up to a proper salary. And while I originally agreed, I called the boss later that evening and declined. It felt awesome. There is of course more drama and outrageousness to the story, but it just angers me to reiterate so I am going to stop there. I think that whole experience really helped to illustrate just how sad I have been. And really, I dont think there is much to do about it. These things happen in life. I am just waiting it through and letting Eagle know what is going on.

In awesome news, I started my HipHop/House/Funk dance class last night. It was just what I was hoping for. It was physically really challenging (complete with 10 minutes of ab work, followed by push ups and a back bend. Brutal. And while 10 straight minutes of ab work doesnt sound hard, I recommend you try it before judging.) The instructer was seriously cut, both arms and abs. And the class itself was just the kind of dance I was hoping for. Totally applicable to party dancing, if thats the right term. And as I expected, I was terrible at it. I am really going to have to alter how I am used to moving my body to get this. And I really wish I had a mirror to practice in front of. As much as she talked about how you have to just sell it and not worry about doing it right, thats not how I work - or specifically, not how I dance. I have to count this stuff out, memorize, get it perfect. I'll do that 'go with it' thing when I feel less like an ass doing the moves. And thats ok with me.

Well, I am feeling like this is a rather dull post, lacks focus, so my apologies on that. Just trying to get back in the saddle.

Best quote I've heard in a long time

From Bono at the National Prayer Breakfast:


Stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Get involved in what God is doing - because it's already blessed.



The boy has got a way with words.

It is ON, Petey

Its that time of the year where I look at my CD collection and go, wow, there is so much here I have never listened to. And then I force myself to spend some serious time with each (half-assing it is only an option for a new CD.) There have been some fabulous results. I finally listened to the Arcade Fire Funeral which I bought probably almost a year ago, downloaded to the iPod which adds some shame. Since it was on EVERYONES top 10 list, I thought I would give it a shot. As everyone but me already seems to know, its a great album. The exciting part of it though was discovering 'Wake Up'. In addition to being a fabulous song, it is one of the songs U2 plays right before coming out on stage. Having seen them several times on this tour, I was very jazzed about finding that song as I loved hearing it in the stadium.
And now, for the controversy. I also started listening to Mercury Rev's Secret Migration. And man, do I love that album. I told Petey, who asked if I listened to Deserter's Songs, wildly held to be their best album. I hadnt so I put that in the mix as well. And I have to say, Secret gets my vote. Of course, Deserters has some really REALLY great songs. But as a whole, Secret delivers the goods for much longer than Deserters does. And any album that almost gets me to reach for the curling iron 'microphone' while I am already singing and dancing in the bathroom is just genius.

Other winners in this endeavor include Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine and most of the mixes The Swinger brings home.

today's tiny miracle

The photographer was supposed to send me several to look at on the trip. She sent just this one. Previously I was unable to download it or save it. For some reason it worked today. Excellent.

Rolling with the punches

So, I was hoping that this would be a blog about how the surgery went, some funny story (probably the one where I forgot to zip and button my pants and walked around the hospital completely oblivious) and other general nonsense. Unfortunately, on our way to dinner with Chivas and Improv for Chivas's birthday, we got that news that indeed, all our wedding pictures are gone. They couldnt save anything. Not a single pic. Both myself and the photographer were crying. (well and Eagle too of course.) Man, I just didnt really think they would be gone. I thought it would be a great dramatic story that got resolved. Part of me is still in shock. Our freaking wedding photos. Wow. So anyway, we are looking for a second opinion - just in case. If anyone knows anyone who would look at the drive, we'd love some advice. And if someone reading this has pics from the wedding, we would really love to see them.
And we are thinking about some solutions to this, but right now we are just being sad about it.

The bright side of this is that really, nothing went particularly well about the whole getting married process, from the ring, to the dress not fitting, to the sound system not working, to the bridesmaid who is no longer speaking to me, to these pictures. Really, lots went really wrong. But wow, being married has been awesome. Its so nice to be continually delighted by the strength of our marriage. And as we wanted, being married really changed everything. Life was astoundingly different from the moment we were pronounced husband and wife. Even the little things. I sleep different because now I sleep next to my husband who promised his life to me. Like that, all over my life. A complete state change. And nothing changes that. Excellent.

Uncomfortable 2: Electric Bugaloo

Well, I finally did it. I finally registered for the Hip-Hop/House/Funk dance class that I have been eyeing for quite some time at the Old Town. And man, I love to dance, but wow, I have no idea what I am doing in the realm of Hip-Hop/House/Funk. Hence the uncomfortable part. (And for those that dont know, Uncomfortable 1 was Belly Dancing.) I can hold my own at most types of dance, but this one is nothing like anything I have ever done. But I am excited about it, and maybe, just maybe, I might let folks know when the recital is this time. We shall see.

Oh, and the surgery is tomorrow. At 1:30! I thought those doctors like to have this stuff done early. Oh well. Makes for a short work week again. Yippee!