Barb's Burblings

I skipped that "rebellion" part

It wasn't until I got to work today that I realized something. I glanced at what I'm wearing--jeans, golf shirt, New Balance sneaakers--and realized that this is exactly an outfit my mom would wear. It's the sneakers that put me over the edge, as I usually wear my Chucks. It's not a particularly upsetting revelation, as I think my mom is cute. I guess I was more amused than anything else.

Snapshot from Indy

Gotta love medical conferences.

Off to the cornfields

I got in to work this morning, and maybe 15 minutes into the day, my boss came and sat on my desk right next to me. This completely threw me off, because (a) I thought she was out today, and (b) hello, personal space. (People at my job seem to have little awareness for other people's space--when they want to talk to me, they usually come right up to me. Ack.) Anyway, the conversation went something like this:

Boss: I'm supposed to go to Indianapolis to exhibit at a conference this weekend. If I can't go, would you like to go?
Me: ...Indianapolis?
Boss: You'd be going with X and Y, who've done this a number of times before, so it'd be a good way to ease you into this.
Me: ...This weekend?
Boss: You'd fly out Thursday, or Friday even, and come back Sunday. There's no pressure--if you don't want to go, that's fine.
Me: [Somewhat confused look]
Boss: I'll let you think about it. Let me know by noon.

So...I'm going to Indianapolis. Tomorrow. Should be interesting. And I had to have earned tons of brownie points; I mean, filling in for my boss at the last minute? And I do like traveling--particularly when someone else is picking up the bill.

Of tap, Shakespeare, and attacking foliage

Last night was my big tap recital. I was actually a bit nervous about it, probably because I had never tapped in front of anyone I knew before. And big thanks to Brent, Katie, Steve, and Becca for coming out--it meant a lot to me. I had a lot of fun and I did pretty well, I think. I may try to get a copy of the tape that one of the women in my group made. It was exhausting, though--out of 10 numbers, I was in 7 of them. It took me hours to cool down.

A few days ago, I got a brochure for the Shakespeare Theatre's 2007-2008 season. I flipped through it, then I noticed something: They offer a young patron season ticket. I know of other places with that (Round House being one), but those usually top out around 25. Not the Shakespeare, though. It's good for people up to 35. I could see 7 shows for $105. That's only $15 a show! I'm not really chomping at the bit to see any of the shows, but in some ways, I'm like, "How can I resist?" I'll have to contemplate this some more.

This morning I was walking down to the garbage cans behind my building when I noticed that the bushes in front of the building had been trimmed. It's a miracle! There are steps that run from the front to the side of the building, leading not only to the garbage but also the laundry room. I've been attacked by overgrown bushes for weeks now. And now I can stay on the sidewalk! Yay!

Niece update: Rachael's now a month old (and today is Kathy and Robert's 6th anniversary!). Ain't she adorable? (She's about 2 weeks old here.)

And my blog apparently decided that it would accept comments again, so feel free to go nuts.

He even managed to lose to Teddy

Ever wonder what it would be like to dress up as one of those mascots who run races during baseball games? In Pittsburgh they have pierogi races and in Milwaukee it's sausages (which once involved a cruel attack by a Pirates first baseman); at RFK for Nats games, Tom Jefferson, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt careen around the field. And a Baltimore Sun report got to be Lincoln one day. It...didn't go well: "...I do feel bad for the Nationals' bosses, who had no idea I'd be a worse performer than the ballplayers on their payroll."

Yes, I did recognize the songs mentioned

This story in today's Post about teenage Girl Scouts caught my attention because I, too, was still a Girl Scout in high school. The only reason I quit was because we moved after 10th grade, and I wasn't motivated to try and find a troop in Montana. We called it our "secret club." One of the girls in the story finds out that some of her friends are also Girl Scouts; in my case, there was only one troop for senior Scouts in our town, so we knew each other. And we did do some fundraising activities in public, so it wasn't terribly secret. But it definitely wasn't something we proclaimed.

And it's silly, really. Girl Scouts only gets more awesome as you get older. In middle school we started going on trips right after school ended--Martha's Vineyard, a dude ranch, the Jersey shore. A group from my troop when to an international Scouting event in England after 9th grade. You get to do cool projects. The only part that sucks is selling cookies, which I always hated.

Although I admit that when we got a bit older, we did have a bit of attitude. We never would've gone to something like the Sing-a-Long that took place this weekend (and yes, I certainly noticed the Girl Scouts running around town lately--the matching shirts are a tip-off). There was one weekend that Hershey Park had a "Girl Scouts Weekend" with discounted entry, and everyone camped at a nearby campground. There were campfire activities with singing and such. My troop? Went to Pizza Hut.

I like the new strike zone

Another fun thing in baseball? Managers getting ejected, then getting creative.