Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Calendar Girl [Neil Sedaka]
Some time ago I started making desktop calendars. Then I stopped. Apparently I've started again. Here is June, ready to be placed on your computer and stared at for 30 days. enjoy.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Working Class Hero [John Lennon]
Aside from what I've formally trained to do, in my life so far I've done a number of other things for money. Every job helped to shape my attitudes and ethics at work. And reflecting on them all, I realize (more than ever) that I love the career I've chosen - even if I can't do it right now. And I don't see how people back in the day just changed careers so easily - even if I didn't like what I'm supposed to be doing, other professions are so choosy that I can't even get a foot in the door.
But, back to that that non-career job list. Since the age of 15, I have:
bagged groceries
worked at 2 different Dairy Queen restaurants
washed dishes in a local pizza joint
made sandwiches at Mr. Goodcents
shelved books in a library
worked overnight at a textbook warehouse
worked at/co-managed a bowling alley
sold clothes at The Buckle
roofed houses
worked as an outdoor TV cable installer
stocked the backroom shelves at Target
taught interior design to a bunch of spoiled brats
It's not the most exotic list - I'm sure some of you have done crazier things. It's not even a really long list. It's just my list. And like I said, it's shaped the way I act and perform as a working adult. although not every action at every job was the smartest. at those various jobs listed above I have:
stretched the truth to get a job (Mr. Goodcents)
stretched the truth to quit a job (Mr. Goodcents)
been let go for 'insurance purposes' (pizza place)
quit without notice (bowling alley)
quit after arguing with the boss (bowling alley)
been accused of nepotism (the second Dairy Queen)
made out on company time (the second Dairy Queen)
used company resources to job hunt (bowling alley)
nearly severed a tendon with a rusty knife (roofing)
nearly fallen off of a ladder (roofing)
used my place of employment as my own personal playground (bowling alley)
turned down a promotion by quitting (target)
moved 600 miles from home to do a job it turns out I really dislike, but am now stuck in (take a guess on this one...)
next time, let's talk about bagging groceries.
But, back to that that non-career job list. Since the age of 15, I have:
bagged groceries
worked at 2 different Dairy Queen restaurants
washed dishes in a local pizza joint
made sandwiches at Mr. Goodcents
shelved books in a library
worked overnight at a textbook warehouse
worked at/co-managed a bowling alley
sold clothes at The Buckle
roofed houses
worked as an outdoor TV cable installer
stocked the backroom shelves at Target
taught interior design to a bunch of spoiled brats
It's not the most exotic list - I'm sure some of you have done crazier things. It's not even a really long list. It's just my list. And like I said, it's shaped the way I act and perform as a working adult. although not every action at every job was the smartest. at those various jobs listed above I have:
stretched the truth to get a job (Mr. Goodcents)
stretched the truth to quit a job (Mr. Goodcents)
been let go for 'insurance purposes' (pizza place)
quit without notice (bowling alley)
quit after arguing with the boss (bowling alley)
been accused of nepotism (the second Dairy Queen)
made out on company time (the second Dairy Queen)
used company resources to job hunt (bowling alley)
nearly severed a tendon with a rusty knife (roofing)
nearly fallen off of a ladder (roofing)
used my place of employment as my own personal playground (bowling alley)
turned down a promotion by quitting (target)
moved 600 miles from home to do a job it turns out I really dislike, but am now stuck in (take a guess on this one...)
next time, let's talk about bagging groceries.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Give a Little [Hanson]
apparently the Hanson boys are back (actually, they have like 8 studio albums) This is the second single from their newest album, and I'm not ashamed to say I am absolutely in love with this song.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Macho Man [The Village People]
to go along with today's raspy voiced singers, we have some bad news about a raspy voiced wrestler and "meat snack" spokesperson. This morning Macho Man Randy Savage died at the age of 58. When I was younger I used to watch a bit of wrestling (what little boy didn't?) and I can still recall a fair number of wrestlers from the 80's and 90's. Even though he was never my favorite, he was pretty memorable in the classic WWF lineup. I had a brief moment of silence for him earlier today when I found out.
If they didn't taste terrible and cause heartburn, I'd snap into a slim jim as a sign of respect. You'll be missed, Macho Man. Oh yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaah.
If they didn't taste terrible and cause heartburn, I'd snap into a slim jim as a sign of respect. You'll be missed, Macho Man. Oh yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaah.
The Voice [The Moody Blues]
This week's music friday is all about the voice. While i love the music/lyrics in these selections as well, the common theme is a raspy, gravelly voice.
first up, tricky. i dont love trip-hop, but i love tricky. this song is off one of his best albums, and it just feels like a late night driving in the rain type of song.
next, rob dougan. we've heard him before, in instrumental form. his album is strange but beautiful. it's generally a classical/electronica mash up, and also makes for good driving music.
lastly, tom waits. he's a take it or leave it type guy. i'm still deciding if i'm going to take him or leave him, but i love this song - lyrics and music (horns, of course)
first up, tricky. i dont love trip-hop, but i love tricky. this song is off one of his best albums, and it just feels like a late night driving in the rain type of song.
next, rob dougan. we've heard him before, in instrumental form. his album is strange but beautiful. it's generally a classical/electronica mash up, and also makes for good driving music.
lastly, tom waits. he's a take it or leave it type guy. i'm still deciding if i'm going to take him or leave him, but i love this song - lyrics and music (horns, of course)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Paper Walls [Marc Cohn]
are you kidding me? this is crazyness. can you imagine the time it took to do this? I kinda want one for my house.
some french lady cuts things out of paper
some french lady cuts things out of paper
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Say My Name [Destiny's Child]
So the other day I sent an email to my father-in-law, giving him some info on a memory card adapter for his phone. I was unsure how to start the email, so I went to my standard fallback, which is Mr. Last Initial. He responded to my email with his normal brevity, and signed off with his first name. Now, I'm sure at some point in time he told me to call him by his first name. I dont remember it happening, but it must have happened. I know I have done it a few times, but mostly I get by without having to call him anything - it's just "hey" and "howdy" and "sir" the like. Same with the mother-in-law. it's either Mrs. Last Name, or it's "ma'am" It's not that I'm uncomfortable with calling them by their first names. Okay, actually it is. Also, I don't know that I feel right calling them mom and dad. Now I have no problem saying things like "happy mother's day" and "happy father's day" Strange. I talked to KTO about it, and she told me I was being silly - which i already knew.
We talked about how the "Call me XX" conversation would have went, and how we could both hear/imagine him saying it. Then she said that he probably even made a lame joke like "call me X, or call me Dad, just don't call me late to dinner" - and i said that i couldn't imagine him saying that. it's something i use, but i don't picture him using it. so that brought us to the topic of how I'm similar to her dad in some ways. We call this the Fat Father Syndrome - which was taken from this (the source starts at 2.35, but the rest of it is worth watching, too):
Now sometimes they (whoever they are) say that guys marry their mothers and girls marry their fathers. I know without a doubt that KTO is nothing like my mother, except they are both super awesome at making peanut butter sandwiches with a smooth, even peanut butter spread, and the same goes for their cake frosting skills. other than that, nothing. But did KTO marry her father? We both make up answers to things, we both use some of the same not-quite-swears (god bless america being a favorite) we both have randomly and unnecessarily short tempers at times. Maybe she really does have FFS.
--------------
video from S3E3 of the cartoon Home Movies, one of the funniest shows to ever be shown. check it out if you don't know.
We talked about how the "Call me XX" conversation would have went, and how we could both hear/imagine him saying it. Then she said that he probably even made a lame joke like "call me X, or call me Dad, just don't call me late to dinner" - and i said that i couldn't imagine him saying that. it's something i use, but i don't picture him using it. so that brought us to the topic of how I'm similar to her dad in some ways. We call this the Fat Father Syndrome - which was taken from this (the source starts at 2.35, but the rest of it is worth watching, too):
Now sometimes they (whoever they are) say that guys marry their mothers and girls marry their fathers. I know without a doubt that KTO is nothing like my mother, except they are both super awesome at making peanut butter sandwiches with a smooth, even peanut butter spread, and the same goes for their cake frosting skills. other than that, nothing. But did KTO marry her father? We both make up answers to things, we both use some of the same not-quite-swears (god bless america being a favorite) we both have randomly and unnecessarily short tempers at times. Maybe she really does have FFS.
--------------
video from S3E3 of the cartoon Home Movies, one of the funniest shows to ever be shown. check it out if you don't know.
Obvious [Blink 182]
Not very original, but this week's Friday Music Post songs are about Friday.
while i don't care for the video/still shot, here is our first song:
and here's our second. Sometimes I wish I had Robert Smith hair:
friday i'm in love
sorry, had to link it, cause it wont let me embed, but this is the official video, so it's the one i want to share.
*edit* if you look at the last few music posts, i'm all over the cure. i like them, but not as much as you would guess by my posting.
while i don't care for the video/still shot, here is our first song:
and here's our second. Sometimes I wish I had Robert Smith hair:
friday i'm in love
sorry, had to link it, cause it wont let me embed, but this is the official video, so it's the one i want to share.
*edit* if you look at the last few music posts, i'm all over the cure. i like them, but not as much as you would guess by my posting.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Fast Car [Tracy Chapman]
So today, as a special mother's day treat to myself, I went to the theater and saw Fast 5. That's right, I said it. I paid money to see the 5th installment in the Fast and Furious franchise. And I'm not emabarassed to admit it.
As a movie goes, it was okay. not terrible, not great. As a movie about fast and/or furious driving, it was slightly less than great.
If I were to rank the franchise in terms of overall movieness, it would go 1, 4, 2, 5, 3.
If I were to rank them in terms of fast and/or furious driving, it would go 1, 2, 4, 3, 5.
The thing about fast driving movies - the FF franchise, or the Italian Job, or pretty much anything with Jason Statham in it - is that when the movie is over, and for the next 3 or 4 days, I tend to drive faster/more aggressively than normal. This doesn't happen with other types of movies - i don't think I can beat people up after fighting movies, I don't think I can hunt and kill humanoid aliens with infrared vision and creepy faces, I don't think I can pull off bank heists (actually, I do).
The driving thing happens because it's actually something I can do well. I don't really think that I can drive like they (the stuntmen) do, but I can drive confidently, and I know how to handle my little 4 cylinder import. Being that this "driving bug" falls upon me after movies, I sometimes think that I need to get a big old clunker of a car for my next vehicle, just to keep me from zipping around like a jerk. but then I think, where's the fun in that?
And since my little car is almost ready to retire, I've spent some time tonight looking for a new car to race around in.
As a movie goes, it was okay. not terrible, not great. As a movie about fast and/or furious driving, it was slightly less than great.
If I were to rank the franchise in terms of overall movieness, it would go 1, 4, 2, 5, 3.
If I were to rank them in terms of fast and/or furious driving, it would go 1, 2, 4, 3, 5.
The thing about fast driving movies - the FF franchise, or the Italian Job, or pretty much anything with Jason Statham in it - is that when the movie is over, and for the next 3 or 4 days, I tend to drive faster/more aggressively than normal. This doesn't happen with other types of movies - i don't think I can beat people up after fighting movies, I don't think I can hunt and kill humanoid aliens with infrared vision and creepy faces, I don't think I can pull off bank heists (actually, I do).
The driving thing happens because it's actually something I can do well. I don't really think that I can drive like they (the stuntmen) do, but I can drive confidently, and I know how to handle my little 4 cylinder import. Being that this "driving bug" falls upon me after movies, I sometimes think that I need to get a big old clunker of a car for my next vehicle, just to keep me from zipping around like a jerk. but then I think, where's the fun in that?
And since my little car is almost ready to retire, I've spent some time tonight looking for a new car to race around in.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Roads [Portishead]
Music Friday, 2 days late. I feel like i've been on a bender - I meant to post actual things this week, but my face has been full of sinuses, so i've just been sleeping and working. next week will be better i (dont) promise, but i almost guarantee.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
From Yesterday [30 Seconds to Mars]
I wrote this yesterday. forgot to post it. oooops.
--------------------
I'm sitting in the airport listening to some corporate d-bags talk about all sorts of stupidity. I don't know where I'm going to end up once I get out of this stupid job, but I feel pretty certain that wherever I go I will probably not end up working with people like this. People like this don't really exist in my world. maybe it's because we're a creative industry, or maybe i've just been lucky. whichever, I'm certainly glad that's the way it is. Also, listening to their conversation makes me realize that I love our friends. I realize these people are coworkers and maybe not friends outside of work, but i have to think even our friends don't have these types of inane conversations with their coworkers. as a collective group, we're too good for that.
Anyway - The trip home was as nice as it could be with a face fill of sinus problems. I flew home Thursday night, did yard work on Friday while KTO was at work, then we celebrated our anniversary (a few days late) with a really good g. love concert. One of his best recently, and maybe his best I've seen (maybe). Also, we had an after show snack at Cicero's, where we encountered Jason and Jackie, some 20 year old newlyweds. They were there because Jason got a new job and his coworkers were throwing a going away party, and one of their little friends was hilariously drunk. That kept us entertained while we waited for food.
Saturday we celebrated homeownership with some friends by eating delicious gyros at The Majestic. And we also won (and immediately spent) a $25 gift card from The Container Store. Sat afternoon my sinuses kicked it into high gear, and by Sunday I felt line my face was 2x as big as it already is. Saturday evening was hanging out and eating sushi - two of my favorite things. Sunday afternoon we went to a bday party for a friends baby boy, and while we were there we got a quick surprise visit with designerjules and her family.
The sinus issues aside, it was a great visit - we have a fantastic relationship, if i do say so myself, and despite everything we've been through, we've entered our 4th year of marriage in good spirits. Things are bound to go our way soon. And, if we can make it through the last 2.5 years with no (or minuscule) issues then we can make it through anything.
--------------------
I'm sitting in the airport listening to some corporate d-bags talk about all sorts of stupidity. I don't know where I'm going to end up once I get out of this stupid job, but I feel pretty certain that wherever I go I will probably not end up working with people like this. People like this don't really exist in my world. maybe it's because we're a creative industry, or maybe i've just been lucky. whichever, I'm certainly glad that's the way it is. Also, listening to their conversation makes me realize that I love our friends. I realize these people are coworkers and maybe not friends outside of work, but i have to think even our friends don't have these types of inane conversations with their coworkers. as a collective group, we're too good for that.
Anyway - The trip home was as nice as it could be with a face fill of sinus problems. I flew home Thursday night, did yard work on Friday while KTO was at work, then we celebrated our anniversary (a few days late) with a really good g. love concert. One of his best recently, and maybe his best I've seen (maybe). Also, we had an after show snack at Cicero's, where we encountered Jason and Jackie, some 20 year old newlyweds. They were there because Jason got a new job and his coworkers were throwing a going away party, and one of their little friends was hilariously drunk. That kept us entertained while we waited for food.
Saturday we celebrated homeownership with some friends by eating delicious gyros at The Majestic. And we also won (and immediately spent) a $25 gift card from The Container Store. Sat afternoon my sinuses kicked it into high gear, and by Sunday I felt line my face was 2x as big as it already is. Saturday evening was hanging out and eating sushi - two of my favorite things. Sunday afternoon we went to a bday party for a friends baby boy, and while we were there we got a quick surprise visit with designerjules and her family.
The sinus issues aside, it was a great visit - we have a fantastic relationship, if i do say so myself, and despite everything we've been through, we've entered our 4th year of marriage in good spirits. Things are bound to go our way soon. And, if we can make it through the last 2.5 years with no (or minuscule) issues then we can make it through anything.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)