Aging Oneself with Trends

"........as I was walking down the street one day...."

I'm finding a trend these days - when summer hits - I hit-up the Oldies music. It didn't occur to me until one night I had just downloaded some Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago & Elton John. My buddy called me and I answered with a "Cadilac, ack, ac, ac!!" Love 'ya Billy!

The sad thing is that this isn't the first time I've gong through this. The summer of 2005 I had a huge crush on The Carpenters. I had purchased the Gold-set for my mother on her birthday and then ended up 'borrowing' it (return date is iffy) right back.

This year the Summer of 2008 song list includes:
Tiny Dancer - Elton John
Bennie and the Jets - Elton John
Heart Songs - Weezer
25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago
Say it Ain't So - Weezer
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
Dream On - Aerosmith
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? - Chicago
Saturday Night in the Park - Chicago
You're the Inspiration - Chicago
Let's Grove - Earth, Wind and Fire
Lyin' Eyes - Eagles
Close to Me - The Cure
Lovesong - The Cure
The Final Countdown - Europe
Stayin' Alive - BeeGees
You Should be Dancin' - BeeGees
More Than a Woman - BeeGees

Thanks to Weezer I 'updated' myself.

Throw-up

Tonight I'm trekking my butt out of the 'burbs early from work to sit in 1.5 hrs of traffic so I can head to south Philly to meet my own kind.

Not a chick book club.

Not a group of sales people.

Not MN Alums.

None other than.......

Republicans. (GASP!!) (DON DON DONNNNN!!!)

With the election looming and even more daily saturation of rage against the GOP most notably in my union-heavy town, it's hard to find 'My Kind'. Not that I don't enjoy my opposite party friends; it's just that, even after hearing their thoughts and opinions, sometimes it's fun to not have to feel like I'm constantly in need to tip-toe around subjects and defend my personal beliefs.

This period is what I call...... Myself vs. Generation of the 'Selfish-Lazy'

Argue I'm lazy and I'll be saying sure....lazy about getting out of bed early, lazy at making myself dinner but certainly not lazy about doing something for myself and others to make our community stronger/better/safer.

So I'll try to be remember my 'civic' pride when I'm cursing my way through traffic tonight.

Maybe Ty was right - D) Space Colonization - (R)

Axis of Evil

".......The Axis of Evil, you know....Iran, Iraq and one of the Korea's."

One of my favorite political parodies is where Will Farrell plays GW talking about his "list" of those who belong in the Axis of Evil.

Well, I just realized that today, I just may have my own list of those who belong on the Axis of Evil.

FedEx
PopPop
The new Indiana Jones movie


Why?

FedEx likes to ship stuff back to me and charge me an arm and a leg for it though they didn't even consult me over the fact that customs rejected the product.

PopPop thinks 12:30 am phone calls are 9:30 pm. He's wrong.

Indiana Jones sucked the life out of me. 2 hrs of my life I'll never get back.

CELEBRATE!!

I made my first 'official' sale yesterday. Yes, I'm a little excited and feel a lot less defeated. Woohoo. I was even more pumped for the fact that it was on my mother's birthday. So fitting, I could deliver the good news to a lady who has been supporting me through some of the rougthest and bitchiest moments.

The laugh of the day came from when my sister-in-law called and left a message to congratulate me. The voicemail had here yelling praises and ending with, "I hope you're out celebrating tonight!!"

And if you were wondering, yes I was celebrating. I celebrated by spending two hours going from store to store (and making phone calls) to find a window AC so I could sleep in my bedroom during this 95+ degree weather with extreme humidity.

Yes, I know how to celebrate!

Morning Joe

Good Morning..............USA!

Yes, I'm crazy. Crazy tired that is. I have been enhaling RedBull in hopes of gaining wings to help my fly but it looks like the only 'flying' I'll be doing is my head whamming down onto my keyboard out of pure exhaustion.

Why exhaustion? Perhaps because on Saturday I decided that it would be awesome to go to a concert at Penn's Landing from 2 pm until 11 pm in 95 degree heat and then following that up with little sleep and then another afternoon in the sun hanging out on the Wall at the Manayunk Bike Race...gah.

And now I'm just trying to stay alive. Woohoo to 100 degrees today!

Summer has begun.

Well people, I know that technically it's not summer quite yet. But in all reality, when you are sweating due to heat and high humidity when just standing...I think that's a pretty good sign that summer is in the house. As much as I hate summer (okay, that's a lie) I do like a few things about it. For example, my birthday. Yes,the big 12 Days of Me are coming up soon and I need to start planning now. The other big reason why I like summer.....skirts/dresses. I can roll with the best of them, speaking of boys, but what keeps me grounded in knowing that I'm a full-fledged girl - the fact that I like dresses and cute shoes. Summer gives you the full on opportunity to wear bright colors, flowy dresses and feel pretty.

Sorry if I just made you gag, but I will admit, I'm sitting here and typing away in a summer dress.

I may have mentioned two of the big reasons why I can tolerate summer but there are some others.......

1. Baseball
2. Cookouts
3. Drinks on the deck
4. Sunhats
5. The smell of freshly cut grass
6. The lake with my family
7. S'mores
8. Gin & Tonic in Bubba Keg quantities
9. Chinese lanterns at outdoor parties
10. The lax attitude

Lost: One Phone Call

To: My Generation of Newly Engaged
From: Me

Re: Pick-up the Damn Phone

We all know you can't wait to 'share' with the world your excitement and enthusiasm of locking that special someone down but please think first before announcing. Think of those who are close to you and would love to revel in the excitement with you. These are people who have been by your side through the good and tough times in your life, and that 'relationship' that you are now calling 'engagement'. These people feel a certain pride in your finding that special someone. So I say, think of these people before you announce to the world, via StalkerNet (a.k.a. Facebook).

These people do want to share that excitement with you and perhaps the best way for them to do so is over a quick phone call instead of randomly reading about it in their "News Feed" as they have logged on to check who bought them on the Friends for Sale Application. Really, how can your engagement be one the same level as the Friends for Sale & Green Patch applications?

Think about it. Facebook is a great social tool, but it's not the phone. It's as impersonal as it gets for communication.

So I say, think about it. Think of the family and friends who deserve to know about it before your '1,245 E-friends' or the crazy-ex (who by now has stalked your fiance/finacee).

Have some class and pick up the phone.

Hrm. Gah.

I get coffee about 3-4 times a week....correct that...I get Dunkin' coffee about 3-4 times a week.

Well I'm boring and end up getting the same order: Medium French Vanilla with skim milk and sugar. Sadly, my version of being crazy is swaping between sizes!

So today I decided to get a bit risky, that is, order something completely different. Perhaps an iced coffee?!

I ended-up ordering the Berry Berry iced coffee with a little cream and sugar.

One word: YUCK!

Sorry boys. I'll stick to what I know is good.

And another one gone......

Something must be in the air...

College friends: 10
Me: 0

I must be defective.

The best part of a Wednesday in 2008 is going onto Wonkette.com and reading the "Live blogging" segments for the Presidential debates and Primary concession/victory speeches.

My favorite excerpts from Obama's speech in IOWA after the Kentucky loss and awaiting for his Oregon win.......

10:12 — He's outside in Iowa, as we are now in the 2-month "warm season." This place is loaded now, because of the Farm Bill, which Obama supported so he could give this speech without feeling awkward.
10:13 — He says he has a really good-lookin' family and gives Michelle the bedroom eyes. This is the horniest speech ever.
10:14 — Oh look, he pays his respects to Ted Kennedy, who actually endorsed him. Unlike Hillary, Barack does not list the legislative work he has done with Kennedy, because that is rude. (Also because Barry has only been in the Senate for like -2 years.)

Love it! Wonkette.com cracks me up even when they are mocking some of my favorite people. Since moving I've lacked my daily dose of political junkie talk that you found at every corner and overpriced bar in the Beltway. So between email chains with Beltway friends and Wonkette I can feed my political addiction.

********

I think I've lost my touch.

I no longer have any desire to watch baseball. I see the Phillies on TV and I immediately turn the channel. Other than one glimpse of a clip from a Twinkies game in China, I've got nothing. I check the scores on average once a week in comparison to 2x a day. What's wrong with me?

********

People need to stop getting married for a few good reasons......

1. I'm broke and you getting married makes me even more broke.
2. Sappy crap makes me gag and I'm not a fan of gagging.
3. 85% of married people lose their zest of life that I knew when they weren't married.
4. I hate bridal/bachelorette parties....perhaps too many women "oh'ing and ah'ing" over linens.
5. No offense but I get five days of vacation/yr.....it is not vacation when I have to take those days and fly to some area in the middle of nowhere and pretend to enjoy myself when I'm the only single person in the congergation of 250.

One word - Elope and remember that you're still human and you still need to have fun (whether with spouse or not).

McD's

Being the very-American that I am, I am not ashamed to say that my first meal back in the States was a Mickey D's cheeseburger and a Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

Suffice it to say, one can only inhale so much squid/noodles/rice/pork before they long for a crappy form of American cuisine.

I know I'm not alone on this issue.

PVG to ORD to PHL

I am sitting at the airport in Shanghai and I am so ready to get home. Don't get me wrong, China was amazing but there is something that gets me all giddy about returning to the States/my house (if domestic).
About China-
1. Pudong is amazing with all of its new architecture.
2. I want to lobby for all of the Starbucks to be replace with Dunkin'. Seriously, too many Starbucks.
3. I checked out a McDonalds and the menu looked like homes' (though I didn't try it so I cannot compare taste.)
4. Kiki - my 23 year old interpreter made me ashamed of myslef and other American students.(Our lack of diligence in acedemia)
5. The Chinese food I was served wasn't that exciting.
6. SMOG = Yuck!
7. I was taken for on my first taxi ride.....jerks.
8. One night I ate Italian, yep, I know. Enough.
9. This was my first trip where I wasn't hit on (sad!). I guess big, white Midwestern girl is kinda threatening to the local men! (That's the only logical theory that works in my book.)
10. After one week I remember about five words in Chinese, managed 18 hrs of sleep and made 50 contacts for work.

6:30 to Grape Street

I'm tired. Tired of packing. I hate packing. Don't ask me why, for I cannot tell you with good reasoning. My mother used to say, "Half the fun is planning it!" Well...I think I'm going to contract my mother to do my packing for me from now on. Luckily, I won't be flying for at least a solid 3 wks after the 17th, so I'm sure my stress level will decrease quite a bit.

Oh...point to make. Tomorrow I'm hopping on an int'l flight by AA to Shanghai. Cool right?! Yeah....well it's for work so there's a bit of extra stress involved. Not to mention the last minute 2 hr Saturday pitstop at FedEx that I made today. I'm pretty sure I'll make it to China before my goods do and that - it not good. But we'll just have to make do with what we have. (a very empty booth!)

So it's 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday and I'm all packed for my flight that will be taking off in 13 hrs. I plan on spending a solid 4 hrs at a party being hosted by my friends boyfriend. Awkward but I'll get over it. I'm showing up fashionably late (that's what I'm calling it seeing that I just spent the last 2.5 hrs packing and consuming White Russians). Which, reminds me.....if I ever get product into Russia, and yes I'm working on that, I WILL go to Russia. I DO NOT CARE what people say...I am going to go. If my first country to visit was in the Middle East, I think I can certainly go to Russia.

So we ask. "Why are you sitting here blogging and not at the party?" Simple. I still have a 1/2 of a White Russian left. Hate to waste.

Oh! Story about how the WR came about.

Last night I was coming back from downtown and making mental notes of what I have for food that is perishable and should try to consume before I leave. Well, I noted that I had just bought a 1/2 gallon of milk and being a dairy girl, there is NO way I can let that go to waste (sidenote: my roommate is lactose intolerant...sad, I know). So I'm thinkingl.."Hrmmm....I have milk, and A LOT of vodka! (another story) I should have WHITE RUSSIANS!" So I drove over the the local liquor store and bought a HUGE thing of Kahlua and have been consuming White Russians since last night with long pauses to work.

Don't worry....Kahlua isn't perishable.

beyond a girl

In a matter of 8 hrs I managed to leave a major gash on my left leg from a new razor and then drop my curling iron on my right leg giving it a second degree burn that is puffing up and getting all nasty.

It's awesome. Glad I leave for a hot, sticky climate on Sunday where skirts were in my wardrobe plan.

You know....if I wasn't a girl....I wouldn't have had this happen. Damn X chromosomes...

p.s. Tonight is the night I have been looking forward to for months is finally here! I am going to see my favorite non-political-crass-book writing-bat**** crazy blogger - Jen Lancaster. I'm so freaked out and nervous. I've met major political leaders and haven't been this nervous. Not sure what that says about me?! ha.

Thursday Night - Drink Night

It was declared 6 months ago. We have fallen through one too many times.....but tonight, tonight we remembered and even created a fabulous drink.

So far the duration of my Drink Night has included the following.....

- Scrubs & The Office
- Me preceeding each scene of Superman with details and quotes for my roommate
- Downloading a bunch of Chicago songs and listening to "25 or 6 to 4" eight times over...
- 3 text msgs telling friends what I just downloaded
- Downloading Earth, Wind & Fire

I would be embarrassed but technically it's still Drink Night; therefore I could care less.

Happy BIRTHDAY!!

Minnesota is now 150 yrs old. I feel so proud.....*sniff* I will toot my own horn by mentioning that I have an entry on the MN 150 page talking about the MN State Fair. I swear, nothing screams MN tradition more than the fair. Read the "Runner-up" section...I'm there!

And my rants of the week...

* Women at the gym annoy me. one lady took over 10 minutes to get dressed and another lady walked right infront of me, stealing a shower without even looking back. Luckily the staff rocks and are friendly.

*Drivers in Philly are scared of the rain, I swear...when it sprinkles they freak out and cause a number of traffic accidents.

*I love my porch and the ability to sit outside and enjoy the weather....but I don't enjoy the three screaming neighbor kids and their chain-smoking parents (seriously, these people have THREE ash trays on their porch) and not to mention, all the cigarette butts on our lawn.
**story: with the continuation of the butts being thrown on our lawn my roommate one day collected them all and put them on their porch. Bold move but got us no where. Regardless, I'm still proud of her.


I think someone here needs a happy hour and soon!

We All Need a Little "Amazing" in Our Lives...

This young man saw a picture of a windmill in a book and from that was able to build his own working windmill in Africa to power his family's compound.....

My, "Oh my gosh, he is amazing," moment of today.

Makes you feel pretty darn lucky and naive.

Stress = No Funnies

Here I was sitting at work, alone in the office - 7:15 p.m. read the clock. I'm chillin' and reading some old blogposts (reason: because of a convo earlier in the day). Anyhow, as I read from past to more present posts I realized that they progressed into more depressing posts. Not saying where was the fun? Where's the laughs? Okay, there may be a few less laughs lately but my life hasn't become that dull!

So to those faithful ones..........

I promise:

To be a bitch that you can laugh at again.

To pause and think twice before writing something that makes me come to tears of sadness instead of tears of "I think I'm going to pee my pants, this is SO funny."

To give a sarcastic view on Philly that will make the cast of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" cringe.

To share the crazy-ass stories that come out of this little thing called international travel (seriously, I've made it across the Mexican border with a bag full of white [dairy] powders, I just may have a few more things to share about my encounters with foreign custom agents!)

Next post.....tommrow. Right now I need to finish packing.

p.s. I loathe packing.

Slurp. Sip. Gulp. Missed. Crap! Repeat.

A favorite female blogger, who's site I visit religiously, just recently posted about summing up life in six words. This was nothing original. She took it from a story about Hemingway making a bet with a man in a bar. The man won and Hemingway owed him. It got me to thinking of at the mere age of 25, what would my six words be? They would be simple, no? I am young, am I not? It is only assumed that I am lacking the experience of someone who is 20-30 years my senior.

But I will disagree. I have experience. There are many places and people that I have been to and met along the way that others will never experience. I have moved away from my home, attempted to do my own taxes, argued with mechanics, traveled to places that people would not want to travel to while carrying milk powder (another story), etc. Not that I'm the only one doing this but I gurantee my independence is great than most who are in their twenties. I hate dependence therefore I learn and experience many things the "hard way" (and yes, I admit, I am the sole reason for that). But I like it. I like the challenges, the stress and the lessons.

Therefore, my six words would be: Slurp. Sip. Gulp. Missed. Crap! Repeat.

This came from the moment while reading Jen's post about the six words and her thoughts I had reached for my coffee, and moved into slurping, sipping, gulping and then missing. I exclaimed with a, "Crap!" but then right back to slurping, sipping and gulping, perhaps a bit more cautiously. Again, I'm 25 and holding the hand of no one. I grab at life and either sip or slurp my way along in hopes of satisfying my needs and wants. A good number of times I miss. Whether it was with whom I decided to date or a job that I took. I may yell crap and get a bit angry but I eventually get over it and repeat. Though perhaps the repeat won't include the 'Crap!' and instead come out with another exclamation. Regardless, I learn everytime and if it is positive, great! If it isn't....fine, I will try again and repeat the motions, just in a different style.

So, it's okay to slurp, sip and gulp your way through life. Well...I hope so cause it looks like I'm not going to be rerouting anytime soon. And, umm, yeah. I see the two new coffee stains on my chest. Beautiful!

See you later.

It's final. NWA merged with Delta. I'm not happy. There will be less flight options and the service will be rendered differently. The most upsetting part - NWA, the airline name that I have depended on since I flew for the first time, will no longer be. It will be Delta. Gah. Delta?! MN is not considered to be "down in the Delta"...seriously.

So I say goodbye to my old airline. I have now been a faithful WorldPerks Miles member and WorldPerks Visa Signautre card holder for a bit of time now. I will not have to fully let you go, but it won't be the same. I guess I'll just treat the next 6-8 months (the time that the entire transition will be under process) as if nothing is happening. I'll continue to go to my 'favorited' nwa.com site to book flights and redeem miles and dine at the Dining for Miles restaurants.

Maybe come 2-3 months down the road you decide that this was a bad decision............please.......hint!