Hope on top

Sad day in the world of laughs, smiles and all things funny...Clark informed me this morning that one of our favorite comedians, Mitch Hedberg died this morning or late last night. In Jersey of all places...

For those of you not familiar with his work, myself or Clark could always burn the CD for you.
Although you really need to hear the delivery to get the full appreciation of his talents...here are a few favorites...

"I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long."

"I wish I could play little league now. I'd be way better than before."

"Y'know, I order a club sandwich all the time. And I'm not even a member. I don't know how I get away with it. I like my sandwiches with three pieces of bread. So do I. Lets form a club. Okay, but we're gonna need more stipulations. Yes we do. Instead of cutting it once, lets cut it again. Yeah, four triangles. And we shall dump chips in the middle. Let me ask you something, how do you feel about frilly toothpicks? I'm for them."

"An escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. You would never see an 'Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order' sign, just 'Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience.'

"I don't have a girlfriend. But I do know a woman who'd be mad at me for saying that. "

"I don't own a cell phone or a pager. I just hang around everyone I know, all the time. If someone needs to get a hold of me they just say, "Mitch," and I say, "what" and turn my head slightly... "

"I got into and argument with a girlfriend inside of a tent. That's a bad place for an argument, because I tried to walk out and slam the flap. How are you supposed to express your anger in this situation? Zipper it up real quick?"

"I opened up a container of yogurt, and under the lid it said Please Try Again because they were having a contest I was unaware of. But I thought I might have opened the yogurt wrong...or maybe Yoplait was trying to inspire me, "c'mon, Mitchell, don't give up. Please try again. A message of inspiration from your friends at Yoplait. Fruit on the bottom, hope on top."

And...scene.

So you're driving to work (school, ballet practice, etc..) and you see someone you know in the car next to you. Head nod acknowledgment, maybe a wave, certainly a smile (some may even choose to write a sign...). You drive along for a couple more miles and glance to your left and notice them next to you - again. Maybe another smile, possibly a slight giggle or funny face depending on how well you know the person. But the next time you make eye contact, what are you supposed to do? I mean, there just isn't enough time (between drinking coffee, taking pics with your camera phone of cool sunrises or funny street signs, listening/singing/dancing to music, searching your bag to make sure you remembered your iPod, oh yeah, and driving) to smile/wave/mime to an acquaintance numerous times while driving. I'm sorry. I apologize. Not trying to be rude, it's just the way it has to be. So new rule: wave/smile/make funny face/acknowledge his/her existence. once. fine. Maybe (and this is a big maybe reserved for very special folks...) make a wave-like-gesture as you take your exit off the freeway. Otherwise, I may just ignore you completely as to avoid any such awkwardness or confusion.

Song o' the day... Can't Stop Now...Keane

my vacation countdown...17 days...

*Smile like you're surprised you made it to work alive with all the stuff you try to do while driving...*

Most of the time

Sometimes the past comes back to haunt you... and sometimes the past just comes back to remind you how lucky you are...

Sometimes faces appear in the most unlikely of places, and sometimes you don't get to see those faces... But word on the street is they are definitely there. Forgotten faces, like ghosts appearing out of no where... and not always a face, sometimes just the mention of the person/place/thing. Sometimes, your memory of a face fades or changes with the passing of months and years, and sometimes you're thankful that you've started to forget. Sometimes, you worry that if you saw that face, even just for a moment, you'd question everything you know. That's sometimes. But most of the time, faces/places/memories you tried to forget/almost forgot/tried to never forget...only come around to remind you that everything is as it should be. And you wouldn't change a thing.

Don't even think about pinching me...

Have you seen how many St Patrick's Day cards are at the stores this week?! It's amazing. Every year there seems to be more and more of a greeting card market for holidays. I remember when you had to make cards for St Patrick's Day and Sweetest Day. Now, you can always find a card for these holidays. And not just at Hallmark or specialty card stores...you can now find them at Longs, Sav-on, 7-11...the list goes on and on. Is there any holiday we haven't completely commercialized yet? Well, yes actually I guess I just answered my own question. Groundhog Day has really stayed true to the mission and escaped the once thought inevitable commercialization of the holiday. It's remained pretty innocent in many ways. Except in Punxsutawney, PA of course. That place probably gets wicked crazy on February 2nd. I'm not sure though. I wonder if it's close to Scranton? I'll ask Ryan "Douglas Emerson" Cognetti next time I see him.

With that...Happy birthday to my better half...Jennifer!! Guess how old she? Just kidding. I won't broadcast the news although I'm sure she's not embarrassed of it. She's always been more grown up than her age... I wonder if that will start to change now? When Jenn was 16, I felt like I would never be that grown up. I'm probably still not. But now...with the exception of that whole mom/wife thing, I feel like we are pretty similar. Yet, totally different. Those of you with close siblings probably understand that feeling. When I think of my future and hopefully having children someday, I think of my sister when thinking of the number of children I want. On the one hand, I like the idea of having just one child. No favorites, probably easier to provide for, etc...but then I think of my Sis and how my life wouldn't be the same without her. If I was an only child, I wouldn't have this life long best friend, role model, secret teller and keeper, memory holder, and inspiration. How could I justify denying someone of that bond I've so enjoyed for 22 years? Oh well, I guess only time will tell, but point being...I love my sister and I am thankful everyday for her. Happy Birthday Sis.

Enjoyed a lovely night out last night with Britt and Ming to see one of my favorite local boys, jturtle, perform at Lestat's. Britt and I went to Ould Sod with mister turtle and met the lovely Saba and Dustin Shey there. Both cutie pie musicians/singer/songwriter types. We enjoyed a couple beers (or 6 whiskey and cokes if you're Dustin...) and conversation before heading back over to Lestat's. I enjoyed when Dustin and Saba sang 5th Avenue and the Damien Rice cover of Volcanoes. Good combination of voices those two. Although, we couldn't stay awake long enough for all of jturtle's set, it was a good few songs.

Merry St. Patrick's Day to one and all...it's Thursday...and you know what that means...

XO Smile like you've got something to look forward to XO

Manic, indeed

It was a good weekend...okay maybe not full on "good"...but not bad. Definitely could have been worse. After working two 13 hour, overnight shifts I was expecting to be a wreck. Not able to sleep or falling asleep at inopportune times. But, apparently I can sleep anywhere, anytime. I think I may have even fallen asleep in traffic on the 405. hmmm, probably not the safest nap I've ever taken.

So much happening. This coming weekend will be the last "quiet" weekend I have for a while. Not that I mind. Keeping busy, keeps me from getting into trouble I assume. I had another night of vivid and detailed dreams. Always very "realistic" though. Real people, places, things and somewhat realistic scenarios. In last nights episode of Shannon's dreams, Coronado island was more like the Hamptons and San Diego folks spent their summer weekends there instead of the typical local park or beach like we do now. It was funny, San Diego became deserted on summer weekends and you could find everyone on Coronado. I think I dreamt about that because Clark and I were discussing Martha's Vineyard and the Hamptons...courtesy of "Vineyard" by Jackopierce... (thanks again Kevin!). Anyhow, I always wake up and spend at least half my shower time figuring out my dreams. Not really analyzing the secret meanings, but just figuring out what brought that person, place, thing, or feeling into my sleepytime state of mind. Usually brought on by a conversation or picture I've found. Anyhow, dreams have always intrigued and inspired me. I remember being in elementary school and competing in the school science fairs. I remember every year the same sweet, smart girl won first place. Kids did the typical projects...mold, coke eats a penny, how does electricity work?, nutrition, etc. Then one year, the rebel girl, the one with the different clothes and hair got all her friends to participate in various sleep and dream studies. There were different mini-groups within the test group and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The presentation was very psychedelic, if you will, weird colors pictures and even weird music. Now, obviously, this "study" would make no real scientific discoveries and certainly wouldn't help prove that watching a scary movie before bed or eating an apple before bed would affect your dreams. But, whatever it was worked because that's how I won my first, first place science fair ribbon. I even did a more advanced version of this project a few years later. Not because I felt there was more to learn about it, mainly because I didn't feel like studying something I had no interest in. But, this is starting to become a ClarkAnderson type story so, I digress. Point is...I've always been fascinated by dreams and it makes me kinda sad when people say they never remember their dreams. I can't remember a morning when I haven't remembered at least a dream or two.

Monday summed up: Glad to be out of LA, super glad to be in SanDiego, glad to sleep in my own bed (whether that be the Grand Ave bed I call my own or the Thomas Ave bed I call my own...), happy to have my iPod keeping the outside noise out while I furiously work away the day, refreshed to have Ray LaMontagne's music in my life, super happy to know that our tropical getaway is only a mere 33 days away (!!!), and as someone kindly pointed out to me today, I'm happy to know what I want in my life. I guess I take that for granted sometimes. Everyday I see the wonderful people in my life wonder if they are coming or going and where and when and why and with who...it's really quite amazing to have the answers to those questions for the time being...and even better to be excited, not worried, about when some of those answers change.

Song o' the day...California (part II) ~ Mason Jennings
" California...I'm gonna stay away from LA...I'm staying far away from there..."

~ Smile like you're where you want to be ~

i think Ice Cube said it best...

My Tuesday started off a bit rocky...couldn't get out of bed...not enough sleep...wished Clark and I could either A) stay in bed all day or B) be back in Seattle with the lovely Reitz family. Thanks to a candlelit shower (not as romantic as it sounds; just my space age bathroom light not working...) and a soy chai latte I was off and running ready to attack my day. All the way to work I thought of my wonderful weekend with my wonderful family in wonderful Seattle. Did I mention it was wonderful? On Saturday, Jenn, Mason, Clark and myself headed downtown to Pike's Market Place. Had a lovely lunch and enjoyed the shops, stops and fishy smelling spots. My favorite was the cool design studio where local artists share and sell their creations. Our purchases included a wicked awesome handbag for me and a wicked awesome multi-colored duct tape wallet for Clark. Very cool. The weather was beautiful. No rain. Few clouds and lots of sun. Upon our discovery of the numerous deli's up and down the street at Pike's, Clark and I began our complaining about the lack of old skool deli's in San Diego. As much and I love this city, the one thing it lacks are deli's. Anyhow, it was a great day. That night, the rest of the family met up for a yummy dinner at Spazzo. Unfortunately, they had run out of the nights special of potato wrapped halibut, but the risotto con funghi tartufato that I decided on was fantastic. The food was good, but the company was great.

The next day Clark and I took one of the family vehicles to Seattle Center for our day-o-fun. We started by checking out the top of the Space needle for a bit, then eating at one of the Lebron James owned restaurants, 'Sport' (clever name huh?). We enjoyed a great meal, watched a great NCAA basketball game, then headed over to the Seattle center arcade. We decided we'd play a few friendly (yet competitive) games of mini-golf and skee ball. Good times. We checked out a great record store in the area before heading over to Key Arena for the Sonics vs. Suns game. Six rows up from the court made for a great view. We couldn't have picked a better game. As Clark put it, lots of 3's, lots of dunks, high scoring, lots of technicals and the home coach even got thrown out. Good stuff. Monday brought more shopping, playing fooz ball and pool at the house and hanging with tha sista. The departure was sad as I left my sister curbside at SeaTac. I had to make it a quick goodbye otherwise she would see all the tears behind my sunglasses and I'd see hers too. I'm sure she understood. I can't stand living so far from her and I'll make damn sure I don't go another 12 months without seeing her beautiful face.

Soooo...on to today(!!)...I found out today that my passport was put in yesterday's mail from the LA passport office which means I should have it within days! Anyone who's talked to me in the last couple months knows this is huge. Many obstacles, tears and paperwork later, it looks like everything will be set for our tropical vacation coming up in 39 days (oh yeah, i'm counting...)! Can I get a yippeee!!?? Thanks to everyone for their prayers, well wishes, shoulder to cry on, ear to listen, Buddha belly rubs, and intentions... :-) it sure helped.

So, yeah...I gotta say, it was a good day.

that about sums it up

went to vegas...had a blast!...enjoyed lots of fantastic food and even better company. Clark, Kathi (with an 'i') and Charlie (aka..'pop-pop'...aka...'McRib') were wonderful to spend my days and evenings with. I discovered a new black and pink combo that I love...yup, the $100 chip from BarbaryCoast casino. I played roulette for the first time and enjoyed a couple beers while I discovered this super fun/easy vegas game. It was nice to spend just a little money, play for a while (unlike many vegas games which eat up your money in a heartbeat), and even win a little in the process. I played $40 and was given a black and pink chip upon cashing out. Hey, $60 is a lot of money in my world! Anyhow, the company was what I went for and I couldn't have asked for better. A couple naps here and there, lots of walking, and a new bracelet courtesy of my lovely boyfriend...and a wonderful three day weekend...but, wow...what a filthy city. All the smoke filled casinos/restaurants/bathrooms kept even me from lighting up on this trip.
On with the work week... and Seattle just around the corner!!

"and i'm no weatherman, but you are lightning...striking.
here comes that sun...
want rain...
all at once...
how it sing...
in the midst of the morning, pull up a blanket of a cloud
and await for the warning of another come down
because the water is healthy for the roses in your cheeks
my well holds plenty for penny wishin' in your deep end
and when the lights go out, no doubt, with you i'll be...
and crazy is the forecast all week
and if them rains should fall for sure with you i'll be
ahhh... because crazy is the forecast all week long...."

song o' the week... crazy is the forecast ~ jasonmraz