Sgt. Pepper vs. Revolver

As I embark on an epic rewatch of The Beatles Anthology, I got to wondering. Where do I come down on the age-old Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band vs. Revolver debate? Which one is actually better? For a long time, it seemed that most people came down on the Sgt. Pepper side, declaring it not only the best of The Beatles' albums, but one of the best rock albums of all time. But Revolver has recently been gaining in popularity and status. So, what better way to determine this then a song by song match-up?

Taxman vs. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

While Taxman marks the beginning of George Harrison really making a hefty contribution to The Beatles catalogue, he comes off as kind of whiny. I'm so sorry that you have to give some of your millions to The Man, George, but seriously. We all hate paying taxes, blah blah blah. It does have a pretty kickin beat though. But Sgt Pepper is just....classic. From the fade-in on the audience, to Paul doing his gravely voice thing he does so well to the awesome random french horn quartet in the middle.

Winner: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Nothing beats the french horn, dude.


Eleanor Rigby vs. With a Little Help From My Friends

Argh! A really tricky match-up, and we are only on the second song. Eleanor Rigby, with its haunting melody, depressing lyrics, and amazing string accompaniment is one of the songs you turn on when the day is dreary and you want to feel better about your own crappy life. But With a Little Help From My Friends is the song you get drunk to and sing along with your buds (like in Across the Universe). Also, this is pretty much the perfect song for Ringo (I mean, Billy Shears) other than Yellow Submarine. But more on that later.

Winner: Eleanor Rigby. If this was the Joe Crocker verison of With a Little Help...it might take it, but for the blending of classical and rock sensibilities, you gotta give it to Eleanor.


I'm Only Sleeping vs Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

I'm a big fan of I'm Only Sleeping. Who doesn't want to just lie in bed all day and bitch at people who make noise? Also, it features George Harrison playing his guitar solo backwards and forwards. Not that I knew that until Wikipedia told me. Whatever. But Lucy...to me, it's like Willy Wonka, you know? It describes this amazing candyland and whether it's an acid trip or based on a drawing by Julian, it doesn't really matter. The tamboura and organ give it this off-kilter feeling, as do the key and meter changes. But underneath it all, Lucy is basically a nursery rhyme.

Winner: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds


Love You To vs. Getting Better

Confession: I am a sucker for a good sitar. I got my friend Julie at work (who is Indian) to make me a copy of this awesome CD she has with dudes singing in Arabic with sitar and hip-hop beats. And Love You To has a really great beat and, hello, sitar. But the actual melody and song = meh. Whereas Getting Better is one of those Beatles songs that I am convinced are part of our cultural memory, that we know coming out of the womb, and that I didn't even know was a Beatles song until I was like 15. But then, I think it was also used in a Target commercial which kind of takes away from the mystique.

Winner: Getting Better. It's classic, you can't fight it.


Here, There, and Everywhere vs. Fixing a Hole

Here, There, and Everywhere is a classic romantic song. And Paul's voice is so delicate. But Fixing a Hole is quirky in that Sgt. Pepper fashion, and it's also an ode to marijuana. Woo? And it's just so damn catchy!

Winner: Here, There, and Everywhere. Who am I to argue with Paul McCartney and George Martin who both say it is one of their favorite songs.


Yellow Submarine vs. She's Loving Home

She's Leaving Home is classic McCartney. Sweeping melody, lovely cello in the background, sung about loss and heartache. But Yellow Submarine is....come on, Yellow Submarine! It was required in my elementary school music class that we learn this song. You have not lived until you have heard a classroom full of 10 year olds singing this son. And he lived beneath the waves, in a yellow submarine...

Winner: Yellow Submarine. Sorry, Paul. In this case, quirk and cute beats lovely.


She Said She Said vs. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

Hmm. Tough. She Said She Said has this insidious power of getting into my head and not leaving. Even sitting here just THINKING about the song is enough to lodge it into my cranium where it will probably remain for the rest of the weekend. Gotta love that syncopation. Mr. Kite is pretty much the quintessential Sgt. Pepper song, where on the surface it makes no sense, but when you look deeper...it still makes no sense. But, hey! It was written when John Lennon saw a circus poster, and that's cool, right? See how craaazy John Lennon is??

Winner: She Said She Said. Sorry, Mr. Kite.


Good Day Sunshine vs. Within You Without You

Winner: Good Day Sunshine. Come on. No summer day is complete without it. Within You Without You = yawn.


And Your Bird Can Sing vs. When I'm Sixty-Four

Oh, man. How am I supposed to decide? The harmonies in Bird rock my world. And the call and answer style is so fun to sign along with. But When I'm Sixty-Four is so great. It's cute, yes, but it also makes you want to love someone that way. Where you will take care of them even when they are old and slow and wrinkly. And it features clarinets, which is like, unheard of in a rock song. AND according to Wikipedia, it was one of the first songs Paul McCartney wrote; it was written when he was only 16.

Winner: When I'm Sixty-Four. It's probably one of my favorite songs of all time, and the great thing is, it appeals to all age-groups. Old people like it, because it's about them, and young people like it because it's awesome.


For No One vs. Lovely Rita

Nobody can appreciate a song about a meter maid as much as me, because I am the type who gets unrequited crushes on UPS guys, strangers on the bus, the grocery store bagging guy...you know, people who you see in these tiny little portions of their life. But For No One gets in your head, not in the catchy pop way, but in the "OMG this song is following me around and trying to tell me something about life."

Winner: For No One. You can get the same vibe as Rita from Lady Madonna. But there's not really another tragic tale like For No One. I mean, Eleanor Rigby is depressing (see above discussion), but For No One is about once-happy lives falling apart. That's rough. And important.


Doctor Robert vs. Good Morning Good Morning

I'm kinda ambivalent on both of these. Doctor Robert is fun I guess, and Good Morning is interesting, but *shrug*

Winner: Doctor Robert. It's just a better rock song. And those "good mornings" get really annoying.


I Want to Tell You vs. Sgt. Pepper (reprise)

You go, George Harrison! I Want to Tell You is cool. It's almost like...it's a long piece of taffy that stretches out and gets better and better. Does that make sense? It has a meandering, but not directionless sound, and while it gets wordy, the piano pounding in the background drives it forward. Sgt Pepper in the reprise is cool, starting in a new key and modulating back to the original (I love modulation!), but we've heard it before.

Winner: I Want to Tell You.


Got to Get You into My Life vs. A Day in the Life

Ooooh. Tricky. Ok, so A Day in the Life has that awesome orchestral chord and crescendo smack in the middle. And I love the little snippet of Paul's song ("woke up, got out of bed, ran a comb across my head..." This song is so progressive and so different than what other people were doing. It is one of the most famous Beatles songs and is probably one of Lennon's most powerful works. Got to Get You into My Life has the horns and the hints of motown. And the sparse instrumentation at the refrain. Sometimes simple is better. But I don't think it is this time.

Winner: A Day in the Life. It's just...the Beatles, you know? It's THEM. It encapsulates everything they stood for.

And bonus point for Revolver: Tomorrow Never Knows. Because there isn't anything else on Sgt. Pepper to compare it to.

Final tally: Revolver = 9 points, Sgt. Pepper = 4.

Ok, so I guess I Revolver is better. Alert the media, folks!

The Big Lebows...er, The Big Disappointment

I really like the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse. But after waiting 2.5 hours for the Dudefest to start (special showing of The Big Lebowski!) and the power blows 15 minutes into the movie, I really hated the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse.

Especially considering the management's response was "we are rescheduling for 2 weeks from now and you have to let us know RIGHT NOW if you need a refund or you won't get one and you have to wait another hour for us to run all your food and drink bills by hand."

Whatever.

So Doug, Tony, Tito and I are having our own Dudefest this Saturday. Which will be better because:

1) Tito's sound system rocks my world,

2) We will have a cook-out first,

3) With cupcakes for dessert,

4) We can lie around in our bathrobes, The Dude style.

Fuck it, Dude. Let's go bowling.

Another day, another engagement. Yay for Joe and Caroline! I think September 2009 sounds like a lovely time for a wedding.

You know, I never thought I would be married by the time I was 30, but I am beginning to feel like the odd man out. At brunch on Sunday with my law school friends, I had a total Bridget Jones moment:

Me: Can we please have separate checks?
Waitress: Sure, how should I split them?
Caroline and Joe: We're together.
Lori and Todd: We're together.
Moe and Brian: We're together.
Me: I'm alone.
Waitress: So, together, together, together, alone.
Me: *sigh*

And it's not like I want to be married right now. Ick. But I guess it's nice to have someone else like you.

But anyway, this is a time of celebration! So, congrats to Caroline and Joe!


Wedding Watch:

Andrea and Justin, November 2008

Lori and Todd, May 2009

Caroline and Joe, September 2008

Who will be next??

Learnin the Lingo

Now that I am well into my late 20s (how did THAT happen?), it's important for me to try to keep up with what the kids are doing/saying/watching these days. I really don't want to become a fuddy-duddy. Although, I feel like using the term fuddy-duddy is in itself evidence that I am a big fuddy-duddy.

I've seen High School Musical and High School Musical 2, I've watched Hannah Montana, I've read the Twilight Saga, so I'm not exactly hopelessly out of date. And it seems the latest craze is internet focused and is called "rickrolling."

Haven't heard of it? Allow me to demonstrate:

OMG you gusys!!!!111!!! Here is the latest Hannah Montana video!! LOL!

And then you click on the link, and see Rick Astley and his slammin dance moves from the video for "Never Gonna Give You Up." The irony is that the people with whom this prank is most popular, were not alive or even a twinkle in their father's eye, when this song came out. But it's still wacky and weird and kinda awesome.

Here is the urban dictionary definition of rickrolled:

rickroll
	To post a misleading link with a subject that promises to be exciting or interesting, e.g. "World of Starcraft in-game footage!" or "Paris Hilton blows Busta Rhymes' dick" but actually turns out to be the video for Rick Astley's debut single, "Never Gonna Give You Up". A variant on the duckroll. Allegedly hilarious.

It's the "allegedly hilarious" that makes it art. Also Paris Hilton?? Ew.

Oh, and here's a link to an interview with Rick himself. I swear that's a real link btw.

Yeah, I'm a yuppie alright.

This article prompted the following conversation between Caroline and myself on google chat, with the inevitable conclusion that I am a yuppie. You didn't think I spent time working at work did you?

caroline: hee! That link cracks me up dude

me: me too. white people love farmer's markets!

caroline: and 80's nights!

me: and I was just saying I needed to go to the old town one soon and get some fresh fruits/veggies. I love 80s nights!

caroline: hahaha. i know!

me: but I don't think I make enough money to be a true yuppie

caroline: i don't know dude. you do own a condo.

me: hmmm. true. but! it's only like 800 sq.ft.

OMG

am I a yuppie??

caroline: it's possible that you are

me: but my cell phone is totally ghetto

and my tv is 5 years old

and my computer is held together with duct tape

I am on the verge

eeep!

caroline: HAHAHA

caroline: i think the duct tape kills it

you're safe

me: whew

caroline: for now

hee

me: what about you? you love Apple

caroline: yeah, i know. but i share a two-br apartment with two other people and two cats

i don't think that's very yuppie

although i do have a pretty new phone

and i live in the suburbs

for the moment

eek!

me: even worse. you live in ARLINGTON

caroline: dude, you live in the suburbs too

me: but, dude. Clarendon?

yuppie central

case in point, Mike lived there

caroline: but, okay, you have a point. moe even calls it "yuppieville"

me: we are probably tied

caroline: i suspect you're right

me: we both get some yuppie points deducted for being government workers

caroline: woot!

me: so now I have to put this conversation on my blog

which probably proves that I am, in fact, a yuppie

caroline: ...yes, i suspect it does

me: well, I am sure as hell taking you with me

caroline: HAHAHA

I said YUPPIE.

That's more like it.

Actually, I think the biggest clue that we are both yuppies is how many times we both say, "dude." I never really noticed it before now.

Satire or just bad taste? You decide

Gene Weingarten from The Washington Post spent a lot of time today in his online chat talking about this article. It was written by a college student and was intended to be a scathing satire on the subject of racism at his school (think Jonathan Swift and the Irish eating their babies).

Apparently, a lot of people didn't get the joke. The author was forced to apologize and to attend "racial sensitivity" classes, and was suspended from his college newspaper. Which I find, frankly, ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the best example of satire. The story in the beginning about the Asian kid at the racquetball court was confusing, and I don't really see how it fits into the article as a whole. But it was clear (to me at least) from the very beginning that it was meant to be funny. And I laughed out loud a couple times, especially when the butterfly nets were broke out.

But you know what? It was clearly a joke. And the fact that the kid was punished for writing is completely wrong. Satire is supposed to be irreverent, it's supposed to be upsetting, it's supposed to make you THINK about the TRUTH the author is reaching around (pun intended).

In fact, from dictionary.com:

Satire: the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

So, seriously Boulder, Colorado? Are you really that sensitive?

File this one under lame.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Although the unofficial moto for today is, "everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day," I take delight in the fact that I am actually Irish. Go, me! But I do expect everyone to wear green or be pinched. I even threatened my judge with pinching. And in a delightful bonus, he promised not to file a sexual harassment claim!

I knew today would go well when on the Metro this morning I saw two (count 'em, two!) hot red-headed boys. Yay! And then the mechanic called me and told me my car was an easy fix and would NOT cost me thousands of dollars as I had feared all day yesterday.

Tonight the Riley clan (that is, my non-Jewish relatives) are indulging in a good-old fashioned Irish supper with corn beef, cabbage, potatoes, and soda bread. You can take the immigrant out of Ireland, but you can't take the potatoes out of the immigrant. Or something along those lines.

In the spirit of St. Pat's, check out this article from The Washington Post about red-heads. Very gripping stuff. I have to say, my red hair never made my feel like an outsider. I was never really teased about it or anything. There were SO MANY other things for children to tormet me about, I guess the hair thing never really came up.

And here's a website devoted to Irish jokes (warning: some are quite lame). Here is my fav:

--An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman were reading a newspaper article about which nationalities' brains were for sale for transplant purposes. An Irishman's or a Scotsman's brain could be bought for £500 but an Englishman's brain cost £10,000. That proves,' said The Englishman, 'that Englishmen are much cleverer than Irishmen or Scotsmen.'
'No it doesn't,' said The Irishman, 'it just means that an Englishman's brain has never been used.'

AHHHHH MOTHERLAND!

Currently Watching: The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard. Great BBC show!

Currently Reading: The Judas Strain, by James Rollins. Think Tom Clancy, but easier to follow and with more fuzzy science. It's all about a scientist secret agents! No, seriously, it is.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince preview!!!

Awesome.

Things we know:

1) Matt Lewis hot

2) the scene with Draco and Harry hiding in the train car will be in the film

3) Emma looks good with blonde hair

4) Poor Rupert is never going to live down macking with Lavender Brown

Ladies and gents, I bring you....the Gayest Songs Of All Time!

I won't ruin the surprise for you, but let's just say I don't disagree with the top 10.

Spring spelled backward is Gnirps!

I know that it's only the beginning of March, but it really feels like Spring is right around the corner. Most people love to wax philosophic about Spring; how it's a time of renewal, how much they love warm weather and tanning and skin cancer, and they love seeing the little trees bud, yadda yadda. Me? I don't like Spring. There. I said it.

It's just....it gets hot, ok? I don't like hot weather. I like layering clothes and wearing cute sweaters and boots and I really really REALLY hate sweating. Remember, this is DC. It's so humid here you can literally see makeup leaking off people's faces. It ain't pretty folks. And while I don't have allergies, when I go to my car and the pollen is so deep I have to use an ice scraper to get it off, something is not right.

The one thing I will begrudgingly give Spring is that it provides beautiful evenings. After being holed up in my windowless office all day, when I can come home, open all my windows, and enjoy a nice breeze it sure does feel good. And I SUPPOSE all the new plant growth means it smells nice outside. And there is something to be said for not freezing my butt off at 6:30 in the morning waiting for the bus. But I am NOT about to run outside and start singing songs about how great Spring is, or how cute little lambs are when they are born, or any of that other lame movie-musical Spring stuff. No siree. Not now, not ever.

Cherry blossoms are pretty too. Damn you, Spring!

Coming Back to Normality

First of all, Mom is doing great. Today she went to the bank and got her hair done. The doctor told her she can drive again, and while she's still tired, I think she likes the freedom of being able to go out and run some errands.

I went back to the office today, and tonight I'm back home in my condo. On one hand, it feels really good to be back at my own place, to sleep in my own bed, tidy up the place, and let's be honest, watch my shows; but on the other hand, I feel bad about leaving Mom by herself. Not because I'm worried something will happen to her, I think we're passed that point (knock on wood), but because I know she gets lonely and wanted me to stay. Last night she gave me the old, "I wish you would move back..." comment in a little pitiful voice. Which didn't make me feel great. I mean, I can't move back. I have my own home. But I have actually liked spending time with her these past weeks, I wish it could have been under better circumstances, but we've had fun hanging out. In the evenings, we curl up on her bed and watch Gilmore Girls (WHY have I not watched this show before???) and I have enjoyed taking care of her. In a lot of ways, this whole heart attack thing has brought us closer together.

In any event, I'm getting back to my normal schedule, but it doesn't help that I seem to have caught a pesky cold. Or at least the beginnings of one. Sore throat, fatigue, post-nasal drip, sneezing, all check. No cough yet, thank the lord, but it could be waiting just around the bend! Actually, after spending 9 days in the hospital, it's amazing I didn't catch pneumonia or anything. So I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

So that's the latest and the greatest, hopefully now the blog will return to its usual critique of the foibles of others.

Mom Quote of the Month:

Mom (to the technicians at the hospital as they prepared to move her for the cardiac catheterization): Why can't I just move myself onto the table?
Technician: Because you're having a heart attack, lady!!
Mom: Fair enough.

Hey, did you know that heart attacks really suck? No? Well, then pull up a chair and let me tell you all about it....

Yeah, so my Mom had a heart attack. Basically, on Saturday, Februrary 9 at 6:00 in the morning she woke up with severe chest pain. She called me, I took her to the Kaiser Emergency Care Center, they performed an EKG, and the doctor told me that they were calling 911 and taking her to Fairfax Hospital since her EKG was abnormal. Cue the freaking out.

Seriously. I don't think I have ever been so scared as when the Kaiser docs threw nitroglycerin and aspirin down her throat, all those EMT guys stormed in, strapped Mom to a gurney, and the ambulance pulled out. I met them at the hospital, and after waiting 30 minutes in the waiting room, they took me back to see Mom. We were told she was going to have a cardiac catheterization (which entails winding a wire through the femoral artery to the heart).

I sat for an hour alone in the cardiac waiting room, waiting. The doctor came out, told me everything had gone well, and informed me that Mom had a 100% blockage of one of the major arteries of her heart, and partial blockages of two other arteries. The complete blockage had been cleared and a stent had been placed in the artery.

After her procedure, Mom felt a lot better. At least for a few days. While still in the hospital she developed fluid in her lungs, which resulted in her blood not becoming oxyginated to a normal amount. The lungs are naturally lubricated, and one of the heart's jobs is to pump out the fluid. After the heart has been damaged in a heart attack, however, it cannot pump as strongly. So the fluid in the lungs was not being removed. Basically, Mom had to stay in the hospital an entire week, until Saturday, February 16.

Things seemed to be improving throughout the week Mom was at home, but starting Thursday, she began to experience pressure and slight pain in her lower chest. We took her back to the hospital on Saturday, February 23, and they admitted her. The good news is, nothing is wrong with her heart. Her EKG looked good, blood work showed that certain enzymes that are present during a cardiac event were normal, and a chest CT showed no pulmonary blood clots. The doctors determined that her problem was epigastric in nature and sent her home.

The only caveat is that a stomach CT showed a mass outside her stomach. We have no idea what this is, but the doctor said that its most likely benign, and it's probably just some kind of cyst that will be reabsorbed naturally. We're making an outpatient appointment for an endoscopy and/or upper GI for later this week.

While it's probably nothing, it's just scary. The words "mass" and "tumor," while medical and themselves merely descriptive, instantly make me worry. But there's really nothing that can be done or determined until more tests are run. So I think we aren't really going to think about it too much, and just let the doctors do their jobs. Mom's spirits are up, she's feeling better, and she's glad to be home.

The best part? I found ice cream with only 1 gram of fat and only 80 mg of sodium, so Mom can eat them. Because she would be willing to do anything the doctors tell her...except give up ice cream.

Awesome Birthday Part I

I am officially 28. I know, weird, huh? The claim that I am in my "mid-twenties" is now completely laughable. Actually, it was completely laughable a year ago, but that's not gonna stop me.

My friends and family, once again, came through and helped me celebrate an awesome birthday. Things started off on Friday when Caroline and Joe took me to see U2-3D. Let me just say this. I love U2. I don't care how old Bono gets, dude is hot and can still bring it. And this movie was the most AMAZING film I have ever seen. First of all, digital picture and sound. Second, IMAX. Third, it's 3D, motherfucker!! Bono...right in front of you. I could reach out and tune The Edge's guitar. Ah-mazing. I'm going again with Moe, because seriously. I'll never be able to replicate this kind of viewing experience again.

Saturday it was party time! Selvi came up from Charlottesville and made the cutest cupcakes (they spelled out happy birthday!!) and the usual suspects got together. I have taken the liberty of posting pictures:

Best cupcakes of all time!

Me and Carly

The triumpharate! Kristin, Mags, and the Selvster. Don't mess with the pie hoes.

Moe and Brian. Awwww.

Anne and Me, redhead power!

Andy, Tony, Me, Anne, and Jim

You can cram a lot of people into my condo.

More pics to come!

This just in! Maggie not as geeky as previously thought!

I don't really make that much of an effort to hide my nerdom. But according to The Onion's A.V. Club, and their list of obsessions even geekier than Monty Python, I would say I come in somewhere around the middle.

I am well-acquainted with the tv-related geekdoms (no surprise), but can safely say that I have managed to avoid the nerd activities that spill into the real world. Just in case you were wondering here is how I rank on The Onion's guide to geekiness:

Likes

Star Trek

Battlestar Galactica (but only the new series, I have some standards)

Joss Whedon

The Simpsons

Doctor Who


Not Likes

Renaissance Faires

Fantasy Sports Leagues

Michael Jackson

Wikipedia (as a resource, yes, as a hobby, no)

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Media specific role-playing

Frank Zappa

Magic: The Gathering

World of Warcraft

Game-show trading

Anime

Cosplay

Live-action role playing

Second Life/Myspace/Facebook

Fanfic


As you can see, one list is clearly longer than the other. For the first time, I fall towards the normal side of the geek spectrum!

And the villagers rejoiced!

MUST. OWN. NOW.

Indiana Jones Mr. Potato Head

NEW DISHWASHER!!

The good side of all your crap breaking, is that you get to replace it all with new crap! Last Wednesday my NEW DISHWASHER was delivered. It's quieter, faster, cleans better, and doesn't have bugs living inside it! Yeah, you heard me. The old one had bugs. It was gross. But! This one is awesome.

When the delivery guys brought in the dishwasher, I was really happy.

See?


When the dishwasher was installed, I loved it so much, I wanted to live in it.


Surprisingly, I didn't fit.


Oh, dishwasher. Never leave me!

Remember when I said things were at their darkest point? Yeah, not yet, folks! On Thursday my internet went out. Dead. Kaput. So I spent an hour on the phone with Comcast trying to get it working again...nothing. Which of course, I immediately thought that my computer had broke AGAIN.

Thankfully, when the repairman came by on Friday, it turned out that it was not my computer that had broken, but was instead my modem box. So we plopped in a new one, set up a new network, and BAM! Back in business, baby!

They say bad things come in 3s. That when it rains, it pours. Oh, and that it’s always darkest before dawn. I say, “screw you.” Because basically everything I own has broken in the past two weeks and I am starting to majorly freak out about money here. So far, here’s the broken list:

- Dishwasher

- Toilet (the wax seal broke meaning that I had to pay to have it repaired, plus pay for the damage that it caused to my downstair neighbor’s ceiling)

- Work laptop

- Ipod (totally dead)

- Internet (either Comcast screwing up, or my computer has broken AGAIN)

Sigh. I mean, can I catch a break? I am not doing so well.

I just found out my Aunt and Uncle on my mom's side are conservatives. I found this surprising because 1) they are Jewish, and 2) they always seemed like such nice people. Just kidding. But not really. Anyway, it basically came out that they vote conservative based on economic policy. And I vote liberal based on social policy. So we came to an impasse where we had to just basically respect each other's differing priorities and points of view. I hate that.

But seriously, voting purely based on your pocketbook has always seemed kind of...selfish to me. And I know that's unfair. I'm just not willing to give up some basic liberties so I can save a couple bucks on taxes. The fact that I am also a single woman only responsible for supporting myself has, I am sure, a lot to do with that. I have the luxury of principles. But I just can't ever see myself voting Republican.

I am trying really hard to not let this color how I see my Aunt and Uncle, but still, Fred Thompson, Uncle Dave? Really?

Christmas 2007 Pics

Finally. Finally, it has happened. I can enter the 21st century properly, with a new digital camera firmly in tow. Which means the two people (counting me) who read this blog, won't have to wait 30 weeks for me to post pictures. Enjoy!

Mom's Christmas tree. It's the biggest treee I have ever seen in an actual house. It was the tree that ate Cleveland. 8 feet tall, at least.


The top of Mom's tree is a crown with ostrich feathers. It's modeled on the Regency Tree displayed in the lobby of the Williamsburg Inn. Nice, no? And she made it herself.

Since Amanda was the newcomer to our Christmas (and the youngest--by 4 weeks), we made her be Santa and pass out the gifts.

Bill and Mom on Christmas Day evening.


The next day, we went to my Grandmother's, and here is Bill and my Dad. Still not a Scottish Santa.

This is Lumpy. Lumpy is attacking my Stepmom. Or just trying to cuddle. Since Lumpy weighs 90 pounds, the difference is not always clear.

And here's my humble little Christmas tree. Which, sadly, has to come down this coming weekend. Boo.

Wake up, Maggie. NOW.

I had a really disturbing dream last night. I'm not usually one who lives in fear of someone breaking into my house (even though I am woman living alone), but this one has almost got me there.

In the dream, I am in the bathroom washing my face, when I heard the front door open. I poke my head out and see a slightly chubby guy in some kind of uniform. He tries to feed me some line about being from the USDA (dreams are weird, just go with me here), and I basically throw him out. I remember in the dream strategizing that the best way to get this weird guy out of my house is to come off as really aggressive. So I immediately start shouting for him to get out. He hems and haws and keeps trying to get me to let him stay, but I remain firm, and keep saying, "NO. GET OUT. NOW." Which I'm actually rather proud of myself for. I think a lot of time women get prayed on because we are too timid in confrontational situation, something about society teaching us to be quiet, not make a fuss, blah blah, but in the dream I was all, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE."

So the guy left and I locked the door. But since it's a dream, the door was not locking. And the weird guy kept opening it. I kept shutting it and yelling that I would call 911. But he kept. trying. to get in. So I ran and got my phone...but there was no 1 button. Everytime I tried to dial 911, I would dial 922 which = useless. By this time I was getting really freaked out (in both the dream and in my real mind).

Then, all of a sudden, it wasn't just the weird guy, but he had his sister with him too and both of them were trying to get in. I kept trying to lock the door, but for some reason the locks would not hold. I was also still trying to dial 911, and getting more frantic. Also, since it was a dream, my door was not the solid piece of metal that it actually is, but instead had glass panes in it, like a kitchen door of a house. So the creepy dude and his sister starting busting through the glass and opening the door. At this point, I ran into the bedroom, grabbed a baseball bat and waited for the inevitable confrontation.

Then I woke up.

This dream has really shaken me. Like I said, I've never really worried about someone breaking into my house, but I do take certain precautions. 1) I live on the 16th floor of a high-rise, so nobody is coming in through the windows. 2) there is one entrance to my place, and it has a metal door with a deadbolt and knob lock that I keep locked at all times, even when I am home. But I am thinking of investing in a baseball bat to keep next to my bed (NO GUNS) and maybe installing a security chain. And making sure that I always have a phone with a 1 button on it.

*shudder*

Brain, too full.

The past couple weeks, ok, months at work have been tough. But here's the thing. My job is not stressful. I mean, it's a job, and I am expected to do well, keep my numbers up, etc., but the person putting on the pressure is me. Let me explain: at work, we have quotas (called "fair share") of how many cases we are expected to do. If you are "green," you are ahead or at the point you need to be. If you are "yellow," the bosses start to look at you askance and wonder what you're up to. If you're "red," you're fired. Just kidding, not really. But as long as your numbers are good, management doesn't really care what you do, when you work, or how you work. There is no micro-managing, and we are not expected to work long hours or stress out about cases. As long as the numbers are good, they leave you alone. Which is refreshing.

Anyhoo, staying green is not that difficult (cue Kermit jokes here). It means you have to write 3 cases a week, I usually average 5. But the past few months...maybe it's all the new attorneys we've been hiring, but the cases have been very difficult lately, and I'm slowing down. None of the higher-ups have said anything, I doubt they've noticed, but I have noticed. Which means the stress begins. Because, as the old saying goes, my harshest critic is myself.

Out of the 70 attorneys on my team last year, I had the most cases, which made me the so-called, "top producer." I ended up setting the bar pretty high for myself. FYI, when I say year, I am referring to the fiscal year, so the new year began October 1. Confused? Yeah, me too. But since I am no where near where I was last year, I've been putting all this pressure on myself to work faster and better. Which means I am stressing myself out.

Why is it always we give ourselves the hardest time? Why do we beat ourselves up over things that probably don't matter that much on a macro level? Is it ambition? Or arrogance, in that we think the world revolves around us? Or does this just stem from a life-time of striving for over-achievement, like how I freaked out over that C+ I got on a chemistry final my sophomore year of high school and OMG NOW I WILL NEVER GET INTO COLLEGE NO MATTER HOW MANY AP CLASSES I TAKE. So, really, it's probably our parents' faults. As is everything, right?

Anyway, these are pretty heavy thoughts. Basically, things have just been slightly more stressful than usual at work, and with preparing for the holidays, it just gets compounded. Stay tuned for the return of happy-go-lucky Maggie after the New Year. And now, to make up for the relative seriousness of this post, here are some Mom quotes.

Regarding the giant Santa head Mom affixed to the wreath on the front of the house:

Mom: "What do you think??"
Me: "Honestly? I think it's kinda creepy."
Mom:" Damn you, Margaret. It's not creepy, it's vintage!"

Wedding Pictures, Finally.

My Uncle Tom (father's brother) spent 20 years as a wedding photographer. He was on-hand at Bill and Amanda's wedding in October snapping his own photos, and in my opinion, they are nicer than the photographer they hired. So without further ado, here are the (belated) wedding pics!


Bill and Amanda


Bill walking Grandma down the aisle.


The bridesmaids and bridesman, Amanda's brother, David.


Exchanging vows as the Maid of Honor (Katie) and the Best Man (Adam) look on.


Joining of the Clans, the Bride and Groom's hands are wrapped in both their tartans by the families.


Mom and her Uncle Bill. He was a WWII flying ace with Chuck Yeagar and Bud Anderson. That's Amanda's mother in the background.


No, that's not a Scottish Santa Clause...it's my Dad!


The newly married Mr. and Mrs. Riley.


How cute are they?


End of the receiving line.


My grand entrance at the reception!


Cutting the cake.

All in all, a very enjoyable wedding!

Things that irritate me, Volume MCMXLVXIII

People who take the elevator only one floor. Unless you are old, in a wheelchair, or visibly limping...come on people. It's ONE FLIGHT. Now you have made everyone else in the elevator 20 seconds late.

Holiday Mash-up

So tonight I came home from work, plugged in the Christmas tree, and lit the menorah. Happy first night of Hanukkah, everyone! In case you wanted some details on the Festival of Lights, check out the wikipedia link. Although it doesn't explain why Hanukkah has three spellings. Hanukah. Chanukah. Yay, Hebrew!

I'll knock you off your broom...

Hee! Colleges have started their own Quidditch teams!

There was even an element of surprise: Streakers with nothing but broomsticks scampered out of a dorm, around the field and back to the dorm, sending the crowd wild. Who could ask for anything more on a crisp autumn afternoon?

And as the sun set and the temperature plummeted, Middlebury's Mollywobbles defeated Vassar for the championship. A bit of a rout, really. Vassar never scored.

The Mollywobbles! I love it.

Also, if this kid was a dude, I would totally marry him:

"Of all the things I've done in my four years at Middlebury, this is by far the best," says Ellie Molyneux, 21, a psychology major from Worthington, Mass., who played for the Bad Ass Muggle Flyers. "I won a Jell-O wrestling contest one year, but this is far better."

There are just some movies that I have seen a thousand times. And yet, whenever they are on television, I have to watch them again. And some of them are not very good. Some of them are, in fact, very very bad. Here is a sampling:

Bring It On: Look, I saw it in the theatre, I own the DVD, and yet whenever it's on I HAVE to watch. And I don't even like Kirsten Dunst. But something about this movie....the montages! The dance routines! The slang! Must watch. No choice.

The League of Extraordinary Gentleman: I know this is a bad movie. It's actually painful at times. And Stuart Townsend has got to be the gayest straight man I have ever seen. But come on, it's Sean Connery! And Captain Nemo is kinda badass. Yeah, I have no justification for this one.

50 First Dates: You know, I think I also have the DVD of this one, but for some reason Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler just make me so happy. I guess the Wedding Singer is another one that I can't turn off. They are just so precious together! And I think that she makes him act, you know, like an actual normal person instead of someone who is missing a brain.

Lord of the Rings: There was a period when TNT was running these over and over. And I always had to watch. And with commercials, each movie is like 5 hours long. I think eventually one time I realized how dumb it was to be watching it on television, so I just popped in the DVD and finished it out without commercials. I do like things to be efficient.

ETA: How could I forget about The American President??? Aaron Sorkin is a genius. A cokehead to be sure, but a genius. Love this movie!

Hodge Podge

The good news is that I am back from Texas. The bad news is that it is 40 degrees colder here. Which isn't really that bad, since I would actually rather have it be 45 degrees than 85 degrees. I mean, Thanksgiving was in 10 days while I was in Texas, and it was summer weather. Weird and unnatural, says I.

In my post, I mentioned a bar called Howl At The Moon. If you're ever in San Antonio, I highly recommend it. It has a stage in the middle with two pianos shoved together. A full band and several pianists entertain the crowd the entire night, playing songs by request and performing little musical bits with the audience. Singing rude songs to bachlorette parties seems to be the norm. The crowd was also really well-behaved. The bar did great crowd control, so we weren't all shoved together and there were a ton of tables and chairs. But we had a great time, the drinks were cheap, and I got to hang out with Cheryl and two of her friends, Janie and Chris, who were awesome.

Now that I am back, I have been playing catch-up at work. These trips require a ton of paperwork, including the writing of a travel memo which I still haven't done (oops?), and the filing of numerous documents like my expense report. Which just got approved! *happy dance* So now I can pay off the $1400 I put on my government card to pay for my trip. Don't worry, that includes the airfare and hotel and stuff. I'm not THAT bad a person that I would rip off the VA, and by proxy, veterans. Or am I?? *shifty eyes*

Thanksgiving is now only a week away, and I fell way unprepared for the holidays. Even though I began my holiday shopping in August. But there is always so much to get done, and I just heard that my Grandmother is feeling poorly again, so now there is that to worry about. But I am going to try to not let it get me down, and to just enjoy what remains of the fall. I'm seeing Grandma on Saturday, and I'll get the whole scoop from her then. Keep your fingers crossed!

Shut it, Texas, I am totally going to mess with you.

So here I am, in San Antonio, Texas. I've been here since Sunday for work, sent here to help a judge conduct hearings for veterans who live in the area. So far, Texas seems a lot like the western towns of Northern Virginia (Manassas, Herndon, etc.), just a lot browner and a lot scrubbier. Basically, there is a small downtown area surrounded by miles and miles and miles of urban sprawl. And scrubby trees. And dirt.

While I was sent here presumably to work, since more than half of our veterans either cancelled or just failed to appear for their hearings, we basically got done around 1:00 every afternoon. Which means I got to nap, watch movies on my portable DVD player, walk around downtown, and do nothing all week. Every evening I would meet my judge for dinner and we would walk down to the Riverwalk and eat at the really nice restaurants there. Because, hello, per diem. So, thanks for the paid vacation, federal goverment! Although now when I go back to work and I have to write up my travel memo (basically describing what we did and how many hearings were held), it's not going to look very good.

But the best thing about Travelboard trips is that I can request to go places near people I know. Like in May, when I went to Seattle and got to see Jennifer, I asked to come to San Antonio because Cheryl has moved to Texas and we are hanging out this weekend together! Which is awesome since I haven't seen her in like 3 months. I'm not sure what we'll do, since there isn't a heck of a lot around here, but we will definitely have to take one of those boat tours of the Riverwalk and maybe walk around the Alamo. Which is plop in the middle of the city surrounded by hotels. It's kind of depressing actually. I've also heard tell of a club called Polysters (isn't there one of those in DC?), and and some place called Howl at the Moon.

Did I mention my hotel is next to a gay club? Ru Paul is going to be there this weekend! I guess red states aren't all bad...

Halloween is almost upon us....mwahahahaha! As one of my favorite holidays (behind Christmas and Arbor Day) draws near, let the Halloween mayhem begins!

Check out these these Extreme Pumpkins!


PUMPKIN ANGRY!!! SMASHY SMASHY!

The hell?

My tolerance for wacky shit is pretty high. I mean, I own Reefer Madness. But this? Totally perplexes me. It has Anthony Stewart Head so = awesome. But it also has Paris Hilton so = evil. And Sarah Brightman and Paul Sorvino...and weirdness. I think this might be the strangest, wacked out, most acid-dropping movie trailer I have ever seen. Feast your eyes on...Repo! The Genetic Opera.


So. Creepy.

Plaid skirts and blazers are very flattering

Who says school dress codes are all bad?

HA! Take THAT crocs, you purveyors of EVIL.

So I have basically spent the last 30 minutes trying to upload pictures of Bill and Amanda's wedding, but since the jackholes at Best Buy screwed up my computer, I have no picture editing software and I can't get them any bigger than thumbnails. Dammit. So you'll just have to keep waiting.

In other news, Andi's wedding this past weekend was super awesome with the most gorgeous weather, which resulted in a most gorgeous sunburn of yours truly. But no worries! Because Andi and Jeff are hitched and are just about the cutest couple of all time.

Selvi's parents graciously let me stay at their house for the weekend and we even got to play bridge on Sunday morning. The following exchange took place, which I shall try to do justice:

Selvi: *thinking of which card to play*
Selvi's Mom (in a blatant example of illegal table talk): "There is no more trump. All 13 have been played."
Selvi's Dad: *plays trump card*
Me: Aren't you a doctor, Mrs. S?
Selvi: Yeah, of mathematics.

Hmm...I guess you kind of had to be there. Bridge humor is not for everyone I guess.

In other news, being out of town every weekend is really starting to take its toll. Me = tired.

Leaving...on a jet plane....

So in a few short hours, I'm heading off to Michigan for the wedding of the millenium...or at least the first of three that I have this month. Yes, the legendary wedding of Bill and Amanda is in two short days. My mom and my brother have been steadily freaking out, and having my mom and my dad together is always awkward, so I can't really say that I'm looking forward to it...but I have been feeling increasingly optimistic as we get closer. Stay tuned for updates and pictures, and pictures of my camping trip last weekend.

But so you won't miss me...here's a little something to tide you over...according to the Washington Post Express, "Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon were granted a marriage license late Saturday in Las Vegas." For those of you who are not immediately familiar with Rick Salomon, he was the douchebag who was married to Shannen Doherty and made the sex-tape with Paris Hilton. So now he is going to be married to Pamela Anderson, also of sex-tape fame.

My response to this news is appropriately filed under the ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME??? file. I mean, I don't really care what these two people are up to, but come on. How trashy can you get?? There is definitely a hierarchy of trashiness, and on a scale of Sienna Miller (only vaguely euro-trashy) to Britney Spears (totally trashy), I think Pam and Rick have now blasted the scale out of the water. I mean, when you and your future spouse can REDEFINE what it means to be trashy, you know you have come far in the world.

Roughing It

This weekend, Doug, Carly and I are hitting the road and going camping! That's right...it'll be "Maggie: The Great Outdoors Edition." And I mean, it won't be too bad, we're staying at a KOA which is like the Marriot of campsites, and we rented a cabin with actual beds. I don't sleep on the ground, ok?

But it's still roughing it, dammit! We have to walk OUTSIDE to get to the bathroom. My Grandma's cabin in Minnesota had an outhouse, y'all. I am not an amateur. So stay tuned for the exciting results. And if you don't hear anything, send one of those hot Canadian guys in the red coats with the goofy hats to find us.

Cupcakes rule, y'all.

If you don't believe me, go to Buzz or Cake Love sometime.

OH MY GOD I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.

I mean, it's really sad and all that he is dead, but now I will never know how the books end!!

Fuck.

Wedding Shower Pictures

The happy couple...my brother and my friend Amanda. Mom and I traveled to Michigan for their wedding shower last weekend. Don't they look (disgustingly) in love? Don't mind me I'm just jealous....of Amanda's kickass kelly green dress. Seriously, how cute is that dress? Although she had to add a jacket later in the day as the high temperature that Saturday was 70 degrees.

The shower was held at Bill's best friend's (Adam and Danita) home. There was a large white tent erected in the backyard, and the food was delicious and vegetarian so Amanda would be able to eat it all. Believe it or not, the flower arrangement in the middle of food table was made by Amanda's brother (and my soon-to-be brother-in-law), David. Who knew that flower arranging was part of an engineering degree at Virginia Tech?

After all the food was consumed, we made left quite a mess! But we all dragged our chairs over to the other half of the backyard for the best part of any shower, the loot!

The crowd eagerly watches each gift being unwrapped....

That must be a really interesting gift card....

And Bill is really excited about those towels!

And then, finally, the children in attendance took over the shower. Note to self--do not allow children at my wedding shower. But Bridget and Julia are mighty cute!

A donkey? Really?

Tonight Chris, Kent, Doug, and I went to a little club in Arlington called The Comedy Spot. Tickets cost 10 bucks and it was inside a mall, so our expectations were not very high. It was late-night adult improv show and it ended up being quite funny. Some of the gags went over better then others, but on the whole it was very good and we will definitely go back. But the best part, nay, the part that will live on in INFAMY, occurred during a game where the audience had to supple an action that one of the contestants would have to reenact. Allow me to transcribe what happened.

Host: Someone give me an action.
Random Dude in the Audience: Oral sex!
Host: Ok, now whom is she giving oral sex too?
Kent: A DONKEY!!!!

Allow me to provide some background. Earlier that night, I had tried to get Kent to yell out masturbation in response to a similar question. He refused on the grounds that he was too shy. Ten seconds later he was shouting out that a woman should perform fellatio on a donkey. And he didn't just shout it out either, it was like he had lived and waited his entire life for the moment when he could answer this question, and the words burst forth from him like a seismic reaction. Needless to say, the crowd was horrified, but it ended up making for a very funny sketch, and we only had to pretend we didn't know Kent for another hour or so.

LOL Me

Part of me finds this whole LOL Cats thing to be ridiculous. I mean, pictures of cats with poor grammer. Wha? And the other part of me thinks it's just about the funniest thing ever. I suppose the most enjoyable aspect of it is how it has spilled into other areas. For example:

LOL Presidents

LOL Doctor Who

LOL Tribbles

Where will the madness end??!!

This seems to have all started on the livejournal community, of which I am not a member, but I need finally break down and join Facebook. I honestly don't see how people have time to have myspace pages, livejournal blogs, blogspot blogs, and be on Facebook. Maybe my problem is I prefer interaction of the face-to-face nature.

Prophecy 2007: who knew HP fans were such freaks?

This past weekend, Selvi and I attended Prophecy 2007, a Harry Potter convention held in Toronto. We had a great time and I managed to give myself whiplash. Don't ask.

The majority of the weekend was spent running from conference room to conference room seeing presentations and participating in discussions related to all things Harry Potter. There was a roundtable discussion of Snape (I still think he is a magnificent bastard and a horrible person, but apparently much of fandom has a major hard-on for him), presentations on the themes and progression of the entire series, and a discussion on the symbolism in Deathly Hallows. Not only were these sessions informative, but they really increased the understanding I have for the books, and I think I appreciate them even more, especially from a literary standpoint.

I have come to the conclusion that I am a canon purist. Meaning, if it's not in the books, I don't really get it. I think that Harry Potter fandom overall is huge, but the people who come to these conventions tend to be the more rabid fans, who take it all to the next level. I have never really been one for fanfiction, but I was surprised by the number of people who are all about the fanfiction. I have tried to read a couple fanfics before, but if it's not JK writing it, it just seems wrong. But I think it's awesome that people love the characters so much that it inspires them to write their own adventures for them. But don't get me started on slash fanfiction; I don't begrudge anyone their tastes in fanfic, but reading slash is like seeing your parents have sex. It takes people you know really well and puts them in a context you never imagined. It's definitely not for me.

The weekend wasn't all intellectual, however. On Thursday night, Selvi and I went to a wizard rock concert, where we saw Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Malfoys (party...like...you're....EVIL!), and went to a screening of Prisoner of Azkaban. The crowd at the movie had a lot of slashers, and all I will say is, I will never look at Sirius and Lupin the same way. On Friday night there was a midnight live podcast featuring the folks from Pottercast and Mugglecast (OMG y'all Andrew is the best!!!11!!!), and on Saturday night we attended the Decade of Enchantment Ball where we got gussied up and shook our ass to the excellent DJ for 4 straight hours. Hence the whiplash.

We had time for some sightseeing; on Saturday afternoon Selvi and I had lunch at the top of the CN Tower (the tallest freestanding structure in the world) in their revolving restaurant. It was a gorgeous day and we had the best view of the city. Then we walked back to the hotel down Toronto's main drag and did some shopping. Canadians are very nice, and their city is very clean, but Jesus CHRIST, their signage sucks. It's like they get enjoyment out of confusing tourists and watch us wander around like the people in Roller Coaster Tycoon.

So here are some top Prophecy moments:

-discussing how awesome Molly Weasely is to rebut the catty neo-nazi "feminists" who look down on her as being "just a mother."

-seeing the dancing Snapes at the Decade of Enchantment Ball, siriusly, there were like 5 of them dancing at once, it was awesome.

-reading Selvi's HILARIOUS fanfic about Draco's new pet.

-discussing symbolism in Deathly Hallows, JKR is a genius.

-meeting a rad girl named Jessica in line for the podcast who didn't mind that I called her a whore after knowing her for 5 minutes (in all fairness, we were playing hearts and she stuck me with the queen of spades).

-cutting to the front of the line to get to the top of the CN Tower; "we have lunch reservations," "right this way!"

-Slytherin winning the House Cup, they take a lot of shit in the book, so it was nice to see them win something for once. Plus, they deserved it.

-Selvi teaching me how to swing dance.

-seeing so many people waling around the hotel in wizarding robes; it was like stepping into the twilight zone. If the twilight zone was made of AWESOME.


Prophecy Quote of the weekend:

Me: Maybe it's a magical force that nobody understands, like gravity!
Selvi: Maggie, we know how gravity works.
Me: Oh.

Egyptian Plagues for a New Millenium

The other day at work, I was working on a case where the veteran was seeking an increased rating for his boils. No, seriously. His boils. Anyway, it got me thinking about the Plagues of Egypt, you know, when the Pharoah (voiced by Ralph Fiennes) wouldn't let the Jews out of slavery, so Moses (voiced by Val Kilmer), was the servant of God and watched as he sent these horrible plagues to Egypt. Frogs, locusts, boils, water turning to blood, it was allllll good. So, I was thinking, what would the good plagues of Egypt be? Here is what I have come up with so far...

1. Plague of Rainbows

2. Plague of Puppies

3. Plague of Chocolate

4. Mani/Pedi plague (tm Caroline)

5. Plague of garden gnomes (tm Chris)

6. Water runs as Blackthorne cider

7. First-born sons find lollipops under pillows

8. Down comforter plague

9. Coupons for free pizza plague

10. The yet-to-be-determined plague; leave suggestions in the comments area!

Currently Watching: The Thirst, a vampire movie with my friend Patrick from college!

Currently Reading: The Maytrees

give me heart attack

Sometimes, the inner fangirl in me comes out to squee. Usually this is precipitated by mention of Jensen, Zachary, the Doctor, or any other adorable Sci-Fi boy. But occasionally, you need a real man. So I give you the first photograph from the set of the Indiana Jones 4:


I knew that I was looking forward to this movie. I have faith that it will be good (I really don't think Spielberg and Ford would sign on to a dud or make the film with a lame script), and I was really bummed when I heard that Sean Connery decided not to appear, but I don't think I was prepared for how pscyhed seeing this photo would make me. Like everyone my age, Indiana Jones holds an extremely high position in the film character hierarchy, and when I clicked the link and the photo opened, I think I actually gasped. Because! It's Indiana Jones! And a new movie! Next year! And Harrison Ford looks really great! And IT'S INDIANA FREAKIN JONES, PEOPLE!!!

it's a good day

The laptop has returned! Hallelujah and praise JEEESUS. If you believe in that stuff.

Bestbuy finally got off their ass and got me my computer back. It has a new hard drive, a new motherboard, and a new screen. So it's basically a new computer. But! If it breaks down again it will fall under the "no lemon policy" of my warranty, since it will have needed 4 repairs. So bring, Bestbuy! I will so get you if you mess with me again.

In other news....I am going to see The Daily Show with Jon Stewart! Carly and I went to Riverdance at Wolftrap this past weekend and we talked about at some point going to New York and trying to score tickets to The Daily Show. So on a whim, I went to the comedy central site just to see what the availability was. Turns out there were only 4 days with tickets available. 4 days through June of 2008. And they just so happened to be in December and on one of my off-mondays. So I am wringing my hands trying to figure out if we should go and Carly is all, "eff this, we are going" and reserved tickets. This is why I love Carly.

So Jon Stewart plus laptop returning = good day!

See, Al Gore? I paid attention during the movie.

In an effort to reduce my carbon footprint and save some money, this morning I started taking the bus to the metro. This also has several other benefits: I use less gas, have less chance of my car getting hit by someone, can sleep in 20 minutes later, and cut my commute by 15 minutes. AND the metro buses take the SmartTrip card!

So why have I driven to the metro for so long? I pride myself on being independent and the idea of being restrained in what time I can leave work or arrive home due to the bus schedule was very unappealing to me. Yeah, I got over that. The bus is awesome, especially since they have copies of The Washington Post Express on it. And I also get a big thrill out walking up to the Pentagon to get to the metro station. Yeah, I know I'm a dork. Whatever. I can probably make one tank of gas last two weeks now. Woot!