May 31, 2004
Frederic Harold Dickson. World War
Frederic Harold Dickson. World War II, Korea, Vietnam Veteran. January 10, 1916 - November 17, 1997.
May 28, 2004
I went to the Yankees-Orioles
I went to the Yankees-Orioles game last night. It was a lovely evening for a game and I did have a good time, even if I did wish the score could've been a bit closer. In Brian's 4 at bats, he got 2 hits and walked once, which raised his batting average, which was nice to see. By the end of the game, both teams were playing players who were most definitely not starters. It was the first at bat (at least, this season) for a couple of the Orioles, and it was particularly gratifying to see Jose Leon's first at bat. He got a home run. How awesome would that be? Plus, it means his average is now 1.000. You know afterwards he was all, "Man, it sucks that we lost so badly. But I got a home run! My batting average is 1.000! I ROCK!!!" Anyway, in addition to a nice night out, it made me want to go to Yankee Stadium. I haven't seen a game there in ages.
Now I'm enjoying my day off. I have a ton to do today, but it was sooo nice to sleep in. Now I have a bunch of errands to run, and I want to go to a Toyota dealership to discuss getting on the waiting list for a Prius. We'll see how that goes. And I'm excited because Kathy and Robert are coming to visit tonight. Yay!
Current song in my head:
"Don't Let Me Get Me" by Pink
May 26, 2004
I realized today that I
I realized today that I only have a couple of weeks left until my next book club meeting and I don't even have the book yet. So I headed off to Barnes & Noble during my lunch hour and picked the book up. Since I have no willpower, I then proceeded to get some nachos from Baja Fresh for lunch.
Nachos in front of me, I pulled out the book and started to read. Now, if you click on that link and look at the cover of the book, you'll notice it has a picture of a baby girl on it. Maybe that helps to explain what happened next. But probably not.
I hear a voice saying, "Do you have a baby?" I look up and the man at the table next to me is looking over at me. I glance around. Yep, he's talking to me. Me: "Huh?" "Do you have any babies?" "No." Him: Laughs. "Well, you need to get some soon!" Turns around and goes back to his newspaper.
Well, that would've been strange enough. Except that he decided to start another conversation when he was getting up to leave. "Bush is going to pass a law that all single girls have to get married or they'll go to jail!" Me: Stares. Him: Laughs. "Yeah, he's a bastard!" Me: Stares. Him: Leaves, laughing.
Was he trying to pick me up? What was his deal? He was easily 50 years old. I...just don't understand. And while I'm sure other women have had random encounters like this, I somehow doubt most men have (which is not to say that I don't think any man has; on Saturday I witnessed our one young, attractive male get skanked upon multiple times at a conference function).
Current song in my head:
"Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams
May 25, 2004
I should be putting away
I should be putting away the various dishes and kitchen supplies into my brand-new cabinets. The kitchen is all pretty, but I'm having problems getting motivated. I think it's due in large part to all of the dust floating around the apartment. I can't breathe. My nose is running. My apartment is a mess. I need to change Colin's litterbox, but I have no kitty litter.
And thanks to a rain delay, Comcast SportsNet is airing a show called Endless Golf. Somebody, please shoot me and put me out of my misery.
I forgot to mention how
I forgot to mention how insanely cold it was in Minneapolis. We arrived on Tuesday and it was gorgeous. Nice, sunny, fairly warm. Wednesday wasn't too bad, but it started raining that night. And basically kept going until I left. And the temperature just dropped. It was 46 degrees there when I left on Sunday. And that was around 1 p.m.; it's not like that was the overnight low. I didn't even have a jacket with me. But next year's conference is in Long Beach, California, so I don't think cold weather will be an issue.
Check out Jon Stewart's commencement address at William & Mary, his alma mater.
Current song in my head:
"In a Little While" by Uncle Kracker
May 24, 2004
Colin has spent the entire
Colin has spent the entire day hiding under my bed. My apartment complex is installing all new appliances in the apartment--new refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, oven, microwave, cabinets, counters. But that means that there's been a group of five or six guys here since 10 this morning. They're loud. They make a lot of noise. I haven't seen Colin as anything other than a pair of eyes since they arrived. It's a shame they didn't do this last week. I would've arrived back from Minneapolis to a shiny, new apartment! But it was not to be.
Conference was good. Very busy, but we did a good job in Marketplace. I wrote a few stories and spent a lot of time at a cash register. We were guarded by Amber, the fabulous security guard who helped us merchandise our products. I ate some really nice meals and danced a little, too. It was very tiring, but good.
I took today off as one of my comp days (seeing how I'm no longer paid by the hour, I get comp days instead of overtime) and ironically I woke up with a really bad sore throat, so I could legitimately take today as a sick day. I haven't gotten much sleep...and didn't watch the shows I taped or read the papers I missed. But it's still been nice.
This is a bit disjointed; I think I lost all capacity for thought around Thursday. Hopefully it'll come back.
Current song in my head:
"Bad to the Bone"
May 17, 2004
May 16, 2004
So on Friday night I
So on Friday night I went to see the O's play the Angels. It was one of the better baseball games I've been to...except the heartbreaking ending. They fell behind in the first two innings, 9-0 (I saw my first grand slam; too bad it was the wrong team that hit it). But throughout the game, they managed to score while preventing the Angels from doing so. The bottom of the 9th rolls around and somehow the O's score 3 runs to tie it up. It was glorious. I've never heard a crowd be quite so excited. Of course, they blow it in the 10th. But still, the game was fantastic. And there were fireworks after!
The weekend otherwise has been quiet. Yesterday I had my last tutoring session with one of my students that I've been working with since November; we've only met 15 times during those 7 months. And last night was another low-key evening of just hanging out. Now I'm trying to motivate myself to do laundry and start packing for my trip to Minneapolis. I leave Tuessday. Whee!
I kind of feel like I should go out and buy a fan for the living room. But that would involve getting dressed. I like hanging out in my pj's. So I think I'm just going to live with it.
Current song in my head:
Greatest American Hero theme
May 14, 2004
The other night in one
The other night in one of my books clubs, for some reason we started discussing sibling relationships and how younger siblings look up to older siblings. One member talked about how she got annoyed when her younger sister copied her opinions because she wanted the sister to think for herself. I can think of a number of movies/books/shows that I decided I didn't like because Kathy didn't. I have no recollection of what I actually thought of them; Kathy didn't like them, though, so I didn't. For example, E.T.. I remember seeing this and being weirded out by the government guys who come. Beyond that, nothing. But Kathy hated this movie. So I did, too. And for a while I hated Evita because Kathy did, but I got over that. I love that musical.
Of course, then came the backlash: If she liked something, I hated it. The example that springs to mind is when she was really into Journey. I would protest listening to them just because she liked them. Ignoring the fact that I don't mind them.
Now we're at the point where we do like most of the same things, but slightly diverge at points (she doesn't like Will Ferrell; I avoid most sci-fi), but it all works out in the end.
Current song in my head:
"zak and sara" by Ben Folds
Even though the fifth installment
Even though the fifth installment hasn't aired yet, CBS has picked up The Amazing Race for a sixth season. Hurrah!
May 12, 2004
NOVEMBER: Has a lot of
NOVEMBER:
Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never gives up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates self. Does not appreciate praise.
High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.
What does your birth month say about you?
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Homely? Geez, like my self-esteem isn't bad enough.
May 11, 2004
It's a fact of life
It's a fact of life that we associate certain songs with certain events in our lives. We may have an "our song" with a significant other, that sort of thing. I'm annoyed because I now have two songs that I associate primarily with the end of television shows. Back in 1998, some radio station in Richmond used "Time of Your Life" by Green Day in relation to the finale of Seinfeld. So whenever I hear that, part of me thinks of Seinfeld (I also think of my last night in Gettysburg, so at least it's not just a television memory). And now I have to associate "Walk On" by U2 with the Friends finale. Argh! Damn you, NBC promos!
Last night, per usual, I
Last night, per usual, I watched The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. The guest was John McCain and during the interview I realized that I've burned out on the news. I don't think I can deal with it anymore. I couldn't focus on what McCain was saying; I wasn't paying attention to Jon (shocking, I know). And I'm not really sure what to do about this situation. I only skim the first paragraph or two of these stories in the paper. Maybe I should cut out reading the stories in U.S. News & World Report and Time? But then I'd feel guilty about not knowing what's going on in the world. I don't want to get my news from the cable news channels. I don't know. It's quite the conundrum.
Current song in my head:
"Call and Answer" by Barenaked Ladies
May 10, 2004
Looks like my original Reserve
Looks like my original Reserve Oriole Boyfriend, Jerry Hairston, will be back in the lineup tomorrow night, as the DH. At least Brian is still at 2B, where he belongs.
May 07, 2004
OK, I remembered what I
OK, I remembered what I was going to say.
I should've had a cat when I was younger. Specifically, when I was in 4th grade. We had just moved to Connecticut and I became an 8-year-old insomniac. I couldn't fall asleep. I would stay up and read. I would lie in bed and toss and turn. I would listen to the radio for 2 hours until it automatically shut off. It would be late and I would be the only one awake, but sometimes I felt a bit lonely. So I would get up and go to the bathroom, flush the toilet and run the water in the hopes of waking up someone else. Sometimes it worked.
That's why a cat would've been great. There's just something really comforting about having Colin with me. And even when I get up randomly in the middle of the night, he'll trot into the bathroom with me, even though he doesn't need his litter box. He really can be a sweetie, when he's not trying to kill me.
Current song in my head:
"I'll Be There For You" by the Rembrandts (damn you, Friends finale!)
May 06, 2004
With tonight's finale of Friends,
With tonight's finale of Friends, I'm reminded of the finale of Cheers. I was in 9th grade and my geometry class spent a good 10 minutes trying to talk our teacher into not giving us homework so we'd be able to watch the finale. We claimed it was a cultural milestone and we needed to be included. Needless to say, the argument didn't work. I did watch it that night, but I remember more clearly the rerun of it in August. My mom and I had driven to Ohio to drop my sister off at college. The two of them were off doing some orientation thing, and I was alone in the hotel room watching the Cheers finale. And crying. More because of my sister leaving, but the finale was my excuse.
My other Friends story: In the fall of 1998 I studied abroad in England. I arrived in London in the beginning of September, meaning that I missed the beginning of the new season of shows (and the UK wouldn't get the new seasons for quite some time; the previous season had just ended there). Friends, per usual, had ended the previous season (Season 4) with a cliffhanger: Ross saying Rachel's name at his wedding to Emily. I make it to the University of Essex, complete with a letter from my mother mentioning what happened in the Season 5 premiere. And I get asked at least a half dozen times by my new British friends what happened.
I had something non-Friends-related to say, but I don't remember. Oh well. Maybe later.
Current song in my head:
"Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley
Edited to add that I can't remember what I was going to say that wasn't about Friends, but I did remember that I wanted to state that I think Rachel should run off to Paris, with Gunther in tow.
May 04, 2004
I went to lunch today
I went to lunch today and we were discussing our celebrity boyfriends. I was enthusing about my boy Brian--who has been playing fantabulously, by the way--when I noticed that the large tv in the restaurant was tuned to ESPN2, and was recapping last night's Orioles game. They happened to be featuring Brian at that moment, so I very excitedly pointed and said (loudly), "There's my boyfriend!" In addition to drawing the attention of the people I was with, the people at the next table also stared a bit. Who knows--maybe they left thinking that they had lunch next to the girlfriend of an Oriole. Dreamy.
In other news, my mom just visited (which was nice, albeit brief) and brought some pictures from my grandmother. I've posted a few of them, so if you want to see a wee Barb, check out the Barb and Family albums.
Current song in my head:
None, as I'm watching the O's game (in which Brian has scored 4 of the Orioles' 8 runs, having also stolen 4 bases; Larry scored once)
I'm looking forward to May.
I'm looking forward to May. The books really are gone now, so my life at work is a lot quieter now. I'll be heading off to Minneapolis in a couple of weeks for conference, which I'm looking forward to. Then it's Memorial Day, and I'll see my sister and brother-in-law, and it's the launch of summer. Baseball games. Soccer games. Sun (hopefully). I'm in a good place right now. Though I could go for a nap.
Current song in my head:
"Tiny Dancer" by Elton John
May 03, 2004
Friday was lovely...today is totally
Friday was lovely...today is totally not. It's rainy and cold and I woke up this morning with a sore throat (which has mostly disappeared). But my mom is here, which is nice. I even cooked real food for dinner last night, proving to her that I'm not completely incompetent with regard to living on my own. And it's a good thing I got motivated to dust Saturday night (or really, Sunday morning, around 1 a.m.), as my mom arrived 2 hours early.
It was a good weekend. I didn't do much; watched some movies, hung around the apartment. But it felt nice and long and I wasn't stressing out about work (well, except for compulsively checking my work email to see if an index I was waiting on had come; it still hasn't as of this writing). So yay for that.
Current song in my head:
"Let's Live for Today" by the Grass Roots