We are still experiencing some technical difficulties over here. I sucked it up and sat through a Genius Bar session Saturday morning, bought a new computer battery and went on my merry way, thinking all of the problems in my world were solved.
Not so.
Now my computer doesn't want to connect to the internet at my new house, and since I got my computer two years ago and only opted for the one year warranty (idiot), I'm screwed. I either have to buy Applecare or pay a one-time service fee. I troubleshooted my little heart out and couldn't fix it myself, which was quite bothersome.
Meanwhile, I attended a joint bachelorette party for my friends AG and SR on Saturday and I can't upload pictures to my computer because even if they were there, I'd be unable to show them to you since OH YEAH, NO INTERNET.
On the flipside, I'm reading and cooking more, since there is no mindless clicking to be had in the evening hours for now. I also contacted someone about piano lessons, then decided that my brother and I will be hanging out poolside while he teaches me to play chess this holiday weekend.
Almost forgot what it was like to have hobbies.
We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing.
-Eric Hoffer
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
AM in the A.M.
Of all the random things, I seem to have taken a liking to sports talk radio.
My morning commute takes 20-25 minutes, and I usually just listen to music like a normal person who insists on applying mascara at stoplights.
A few months ago I found myself scrolling through AM stations and landing on one beloved by men all over the metroplex: SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket. I enjoy sporting events, more than most girls I would say, especially football, basketball and baseball. I even watch them at home, though I'd be lying didn't admit that the first thing my roommates and I just watched on our new big screen was Confessions of a Shopaholic.
I mean, we are girls. There are pink polka-dot curtains in our kitchen and lemons in the window sill.
So anyway, the first time I listened to them, the Morning Musers on the Dunham and Miller Show were talking about where to go to find attractive women in the DFW area. For one thing, they were referring to them as "Hots" the entire time, then started listing places to see different types of women: NorthPark mall, certain specialty grocery stores, Target as opposed to Wal-Mart, etc. It was like listening to an outdoorsman give advice on deer hunting.
They always have an interesting angle on sports-happenings and cover an unrelated to sports topic like awkward things to do with your parents, serial killers and nudist colonies. They make literally any topic entertaining and I'm not one of those people who thinks everything is funny, and a few months back even accepted a challenge to play against a local high school girls basketball team.
Guys are better in general at telling stories, in my opinion, and they can make something mundane like car trouble or a family vacation and tell it in such a way that I will be laughing out loud, by myself, in my car, pre-8:30 A.M and sometimes even pre-coffee. That is no small accomplishment.
Needless to say, this station has become a fixture in my morning routine, and if you live in Dallas and have never listened to them, I would suggest giving them a trial-run. Unless you are completely averse to all sporting events and humor in general, I think you might like it.
If you nothing else, you'll still get to work with your mascara applied.
I watch a lot of baseball on the radio.
-Gerald R. Ford
My morning commute takes 20-25 minutes, and I usually just listen to music like a normal person who insists on applying mascara at stoplights.
A few months ago I found myself scrolling through AM stations and landing on one beloved by men all over the metroplex: SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket. I enjoy sporting events, more than most girls I would say, especially football, basketball and baseball. I even watch them at home, though I'd be lying didn't admit that the first thing my roommates and I just watched on our new big screen was Confessions of a Shopaholic.
I mean, we are girls. There are pink polka-dot curtains in our kitchen and lemons in the window sill.
So anyway, the first time I listened to them, the Morning Musers on the Dunham and Miller Show were talking about where to go to find attractive women in the DFW area. For one thing, they were referring to them as "Hots" the entire time, then started listing places to see different types of women: NorthPark mall, certain specialty grocery stores, Target as opposed to Wal-Mart, etc. It was like listening to an outdoorsman give advice on deer hunting.
They always have an interesting angle on sports-happenings and cover an unrelated to sports topic like awkward things to do with your parents, serial killers and nudist colonies. They make literally any topic entertaining and I'm not one of those people who thinks everything is funny, and a few months back even accepted a challenge to play against a local high school girls basketball team.
Guys are better in general at telling stories, in my opinion, and they can make something mundane like car trouble or a family vacation and tell it in such a way that I will be laughing out loud, by myself, in my car, pre-8:30 A.M and sometimes even pre-coffee. That is no small accomplishment.
Needless to say, this station has become a fixture in my morning routine, and if you live in Dallas and have never listened to them, I would suggest giving them a trial-run. Unless you are completely averse to all sporting events and humor in general, I think you might like it.
If you nothing else, you'll still get to work with your mascara applied.
I watch a lot of baseball on the radio.
-Gerald R. Ford
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Happy I'm-Not-a-Parent-Day to Me
After returning early from my work trip to New Jersey, I went by to see my parents and give my Dad a big Happy 24th Father's Day hug. It was a good hug, I assure you. Definitely worth driving home for.
So this was my dad's Father's Day gift to me...
It's a Nespresso machine which makes the best coffee known to humankind.
The culinary experience at my new house just keeps getting better and better... I came home from work last night to a Tom Collins with a twist waiting for me on the counter. I had never tried one before, but it was delicious.
You should seriously re-evaluate life if you don't live with girls who make cocktails on a Monday.
Coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise with.
-Drew Sirtors
So this was my dad's Father's Day gift to me...
It's a Nespresso machine which makes the best coffee known to humankind.
The culinary experience at my new house just keeps getting better and better... I came home from work last night to a Tom Collins with a twist waiting for me on the counter. I had never tried one before, but it was delicious.
You should seriously re-evaluate life if you don't live with girls who make cocktails on a Monday.
Coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise with.
-Drew Sirtors
Friday, June 19, 2009
Weekday Toasting
A conversation from this morning that sums up last night:
BF: i am a mess!
Me: why?!
BF: hellllllllllllllloooo surprise party at a winery.
on a worknight
who does that
BF's boyfriend threw her a surprise birthday party at a winery last night. If you're wondering- yes it was his idea, yes he coordinated everything, and yes he is precious. We had two long wooden tables full of fun people sipping and talking and moving around to see everyone over the course of several hours.
There were five flights of both white and red wines, and many of us who had not gone home beforehand started feeling both tipsy and hungry around our fourth white. We practically attacked a cheese and cracker tray, and I glanced at a menu to see that for those desiring more food (me and company) there were five nearby restaurants who could deliver food within minutes. My kind of winery. Someone had legitimately thrown out the idea of a Taco Bell run, but then we spotted pizza delivery as an option and phoned in a large margherita.
Such a great decision.
I lasted through five whites and three reds and turned into a pumpkin around 10:30 when I realized that 1.) I needed to pack for my work trip to New Jersey this weekend, and 2.) how do you pack with no suitcase?
I was there long enough to enjoy my dear friends, the wine, the pizza, obviously, and to see BF's bf (ha- funny) give a thoughtful toast about how crazy he is about her and what a wonderful woman she is.
Something everyone in that room already knew, to be sure.
My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.
-John Maynard Keynes
BF: i am a mess!
Me: why?!
BF: hellllllllllllllloooo surprise party at a winery.
on a worknight
who does that
BF's boyfriend threw her a surprise birthday party at a winery last night. If you're wondering- yes it was his idea, yes he coordinated everything, and yes he is precious. We had two long wooden tables full of fun people sipping and talking and moving around to see everyone over the course of several hours.
There were five flights of both white and red wines, and many of us who had not gone home beforehand started feeling both tipsy and hungry around our fourth white. We practically attacked a cheese and cracker tray, and I glanced at a menu to see that for those desiring more food (me and company) there were five nearby restaurants who could deliver food within minutes. My kind of winery. Someone had legitimately thrown out the idea of a Taco Bell run, but then we spotted pizza delivery as an option and phoned in a large margherita.
Such a great decision.
I lasted through five whites and three reds and turned into a pumpkin around 10:30 when I realized that 1.) I needed to pack for my work trip to New Jersey this weekend, and 2.) how do you pack with no suitcase?
I was there long enough to enjoy my dear friends, the wine, the pizza, obviously, and to see BF's bf (ha- funny) give a thoughtful toast about how crazy he is about her and what a wonderful woman she is.
Something everyone in that room already knew, to be sure.
My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.
-John Maynard Keynes
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Credit Is Due
I would love to have taken Latin at some point in my schooling, to learn more about how our language has evolved. From where I sit, seven years of German was a semi-huge waste of time since you don't hear much of it in Texas. Seems like a dead language would have been a more productive undertaking.
I guess it's not too late if I want to be a life-long learner some-such, but I don't know if my abundant spare time would permit me the opportunity.
Who am I kidding? I don't make time to do things like that. File it away under Wisful Thinking behind learning to play the piano and chess. Someone please sit down and teach me to do those things one day- ball is in your court.
Anyway, I like knowing where people's names came from*, and why they were named that name in particular...
Two of my childhood friends, MK and MD, have the same first and middle name, both spelled the same way, because their mothers (who did not know each other at the time) read the same novel while they were pregnant.
An old coworker in New York was named after a legendary Dallas Cowboys football coach.
One of my childhood neighbors got her middle name because her dad loves the Rolling Stones and named his daughter after one of the band members' daughters. He even went to one of their concerts the night she was born.
FR's parents heard her first name used in an elevator in Las Vegas.
My own middle name is four generations deep with women on my mother's side of the family, which I love since boys are typically the ones named after family.
Since no one has ever asked, I'll tell you that the name of this blog actually came from a book. Manhattan Transfer, by John Dos Passos, was a book I read for the 20th Century American Novel class taken the fall of my senior year of college, before I had seriously considered the idea of moving to New York. I unearthed it a few weeks ago, in preparation for my move, among several other novels from that year, while going through boxes that have been in storage for almost two years.
I remember it popping off the page of my syllabus when I glanced over the lengthy list of novels we would eventually cover. It's not the greatest book I've ever read (Pride and Prejudice holds that distinction), and it wasn't my favorite of that semester (Fitzgerald and Hemingway are tough competition).
If nothing else, the title made an impression.
*(Of course I would love to know how you were named and/or how you named your blog...)
What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing, he knew nobody had said it before.
-Mark Twain
I guess it's not too late if I want to be a life-long learner some-such, but I don't know if my abundant spare time would permit me the opportunity.
Who am I kidding? I don't make time to do things like that. File it away under Wisful Thinking behind learning to play the piano and chess. Someone please sit down and teach me to do those things one day- ball is in your court.
Anyway, I like knowing where people's names came from*, and why they were named that name in particular...
Two of my childhood friends, MK and MD, have the same first and middle name, both spelled the same way, because their mothers (who did not know each other at the time) read the same novel while they were pregnant.
An old coworker in New York was named after a legendary Dallas Cowboys football coach.
One of my childhood neighbors got her middle name because her dad loves the Rolling Stones and named his daughter after one of the band members' daughters. He even went to one of their concerts the night she was born.
FR's parents heard her first name used in an elevator in Las Vegas.
My own middle name is four generations deep with women on my mother's side of the family, which I love since boys are typically the ones named after family.
Since no one has ever asked, I'll tell you that the name of this blog actually came from a book. Manhattan Transfer, by John Dos Passos, was a book I read for the 20th Century American Novel class taken the fall of my senior year of college, before I had seriously considered the idea of moving to New York. I unearthed it a few weeks ago, in preparation for my move, among several other novels from that year, while going through boxes that have been in storage for almost two years.
I remember it popping off the page of my syllabus when I glanced over the lengthy list of novels we would eventually cover. It's not the greatest book I've ever read (Pride and Prejudice holds that distinction), and it wasn't my favorite of that semester (Fitzgerald and Hemingway are tough competition).
If nothing else, the title made an impression.
*(Of course I would love to know how you were named and/or how you named your blog...)
What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing, he knew nobody had said it before.
-Mark Twain
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Experiencing Technical Difficulties
My laptop is having issues. I think the battery is shot, and I just need to make an appointment with a little Mac Genius and figure out how much money I'm going to have to cough up for a new one.
Let it be known that there are few things I enjoy less than the Apple store and paying to fix technology. Add that to the fact that the new iPhone is coming out this week and there is no place I would rather avoid that the throngs of crazies waiting in line for their Latest and Greatest. Let's just be clear that there aren't many things that will scare me away from the mall, but iPhone release day is one of them.
I am not computer savvy- I'm sure I don't understand half of what my computer is capable of, and I also don't care. I have simple needs- I want to edit my thousands of pictures, sync my phone and carry on with my life. Oh and I love making lists on the little Stickies. Those are cute. Since I sit in front of a computer all day at work, I prefer to read, cook, watch pointless T.V. shows, exercise or just have a little old-fashioned human interaction when I'm at home.
Speaking of pointless T.V. shows and "technical" difficulties, I hope that someone else also saw the previews for next week's Bachelorette. I don't think that anything so personal, invasive or downright mortifying for men has ever been so publicly discussed on a reality show. We even had to rewind it to make sure we heard them correctly. I can't imagine anything so public that could possibly be more embarrassing.
I guess there are worse things that could happen to me this week than having to buy a new computer battery?
Technology...is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other.
-C.P. Snow, "New York Times"
Let it be known that there are few things I enjoy less than the Apple store and paying to fix technology. Add that to the fact that the new iPhone is coming out this week and there is no place I would rather avoid that the throngs of crazies waiting in line for their Latest and Greatest. Let's just be clear that there aren't many things that will scare me away from the mall, but iPhone release day is one of them.
I am not computer savvy- I'm sure I don't understand half of what my computer is capable of, and I also don't care. I have simple needs- I want to edit my thousands of pictures, sync my phone and carry on with my life. Oh and I love making lists on the little Stickies. Those are cute. Since I sit in front of a computer all day at work, I prefer to read, cook, watch pointless T.V. shows, exercise or just have a little old-fashioned human interaction when I'm at home.
Speaking of pointless T.V. shows and "technical" difficulties, I hope that someone else also saw the previews for next week's Bachelorette. I don't think that anything so personal, invasive or downright mortifying for men has ever been so publicly discussed on a reality show. We even had to rewind it to make sure we heard them correctly. I can't imagine anything so public that could possibly be more embarrassing.
I guess there are worse things that could happen to me this week than having to buy a new computer battery?
Technology...is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other.
-C.P. Snow, "New York Times"
Friday, June 12, 2009
Crisis Averted
One thing I like about my new Dallas house is that there is no shortage of excitement. I love my parents, but they are not this entertaining.
My roommates had gone to dinner with some other friends from our Community Group last night, but I had gotten home late and decided to stick around and manage dog relations in our house (Ruby has been joined by another puppy, just for the weekend).
KS and MG arrived home and our friend AW and BF came with them to see our house and watch So You Think You Can Dance. The tally is up to five girls and two dogs, if you're keeping track... and we may have replayed the opening dance number once or twice.
A guy stops by to see KS- which apparently she was expecting but still sounded shrill and surprised when she answered the door "PE-TER... Hi! I wasn't expecting you! Just kidding, I knew you were coming over!" it was a little odd. I am oblivious to anything going on at this point, and KS shows him her portfolio for one of her design classes, he stays and watches the show and plays with the dogs, etc.
Peter eventually leaves and KS comes back inside looking relieved. Apparently she had gotten a call in her car on the way home from dinner, which her Bluetooth picked up, and since not all of her numbers are plugged into her car, she assumed she was actually talking to another guy, Jack, who she just went on a date with last week. She and Jack had talked about hanging out last night, so when she got a call, she assumed it was from him. So obviously when Peter showed up at the door, the potential for disaster was definitely in the back of her mind, and she kept thinking of what to do if for some reason Jake came to our house unannounced.
She said that when he came up to the door she first thought: Jack looks a lot cuter than he did the other day!
Yep, that's because it wasn't him.
KS was pacing the entire time she was telling us this- stressed the entire time, even after he left, by the very idea of something happening.
On a walk with the dogs and MG this morning, she said that Jack eventually did stop by for a while last night to see KS. I joked that we will have to employ the Halloween tactic of turning off the lights when you run out of candy, so that guys coming over to our house will know when her dance card has already been punched for the evening.
There's no reason for either of them to know she has a date with a completely different guy tomorrow night, too.
You know, I'm not really any good at working out when people are flirting with me. And I think I'm too flirtatious with people I'm trying not to flirt with! What I am good at is making people feel uncomfortable.
-Josh Harnett
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
