Marriage License by Norman Rockwell
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Franklin, TN, USA
Manila, Philippines
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Friday, March 30, 2007
Too Funny Not to Get
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Cry Me A River--Harry Connick, Jr. (Come By Me) Got a babydoll T-shirt at thinkgeek.com :-)... Had to buy it, it was too funny :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Roberto Michelucci--The Four Seasons, Op. 8: Concerto No. 1 In E Major, RV 269 "Spring": 2. Largo (Vivaldi: The Four Seasons / Violin Concertos From "L'Estro Armonico") Things were pretty busy this weekend. The biggest thing that happened Saturday was that I decided that it was time to finally put up some sort of screen that covered the entire back porch.
It being spring, and a warm spring at that, we've got bugs and birds starting to form nests. We don't mind the birds so much; it's the wasps that make us nervous. It seemed silly to me that we don't get to enjoy sitting out on the porch because of a few insects.
Our first instinct was to look for mosquito netting, but nobody sells just one long sheet of it (we needed one about 12 feet across and 8 feet high). They're all fashioned into little tents or canopies for when you go camping. Smart ideas, but none really that we could use.
Then one of the store employees, after we told him what we were looking for, suggested nets used for fishing. I wasn't too sure that would work, but we took a look anyway.
Turns out it was perfect :-). Well, almost perfect :-). The netting was small enough to keep the big bugs out, but not so small as to keep you from enjoying the view. It also had weights that would help hold the net down even if there was a strong wind.
So why almost perfect? It had floaters at the top of the net, and the nets themselves were only 4 feet tall. Nothing that I couldn't take care of, though. All I needed to do was cut off the floaters, then connect the two nets together to make them 8 feet high.
That actually works out even better, because now there are weights holding the net down at the bottom *and* halfway through :-).
It works out great--makes it nice and stable :-). Now I can sit out on the porch any time I want, at any time of the day, even when there are bugs keeping the *other* tenants indoors (so far we're the only ones that have been able to successfully net their back porch :-)).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: A Love of Home--Jim Chappell (Laughter at Dawn) While we were out Saturday afternoon, I asked Steve if we could drive by Shelby Farms. "I just want to see the horses. We're not going horseback riding today; I just want to see them."
Shyeah, right :-). Soon as I SAW the horses I wanted to go horseback riding, even though it was chilly out. We signed up for an hour trail ride, but we had to wait about half an hour before the next one started.
Steve and I decided to visit the horses while we were waiting. Most of them were just napping on their feet. One came over to say hello, but it was more a passive curiosity than anything else.
I looked at the grassy patches behind me. "What if I got you some grass?" I asked.
"Oh, his ears just perked up!" Steve told me. "I guess he knows what THAT means."
So I pulled up some fresh crunchy grass and walked over to feed the horse. He got real friendly after that :-).
As I was getting ready to post this entry, I noticed how the picture reminded me of a cartoon panel in Arnold Arre's Mythology Class. It's a great comic book that incorporates many characters in Philippine Mythology.
Both Steve and I liked it--I liked it because of the story and Steve liked it because he learned about different Filipino mythological creatures :-).
Anyway, that cartoon panel I was talking about--it's my favorite cartoon panel in the entire comic book. The main character, Nicole, had begun to dismiss her longtime belief in Philippine mythology. Then she meets her first mythological creature: the tikbalang, and her childhood wonder in what was possible was restored.
I found a picture of that panel, and it took me by surprise when I noticed how coincidentally similar it is to the picture that Steve took :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square--Manhattan Transfer (The Manhattan Transfer Anthology: Down in Birdland) To accommodate Steve's latest work schedule, I have to bring my lunch to work and eat at my desk because I'm not going to have the luxury of taking an hour off for lunch.
Today we were running late--late enough that when I realized I needed to pack my lunch, there was no time to do it. "Eh, I needed to lose weight anyway," I said to myself as I went down the stairs.
One of my coworkers came into my office this morning holding a big bag.
Her church still had loaves of bread left over after giving to the needy, and she insisted that if I didn't take some, they'll just go bad. I now have four different types of bread in my work drawer: 6 whole grain french sandwich rolls, a loaf of buttermilk bread, 6 whole wheat English muffins, and 6 cinnamon raisin bagels.
Looking at all the bread I'd suddenly been given, I couldn't help but think of Jesus' Feeding of the Multitude miracle, where even after feeding 5000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, there were 12 baskets' worth of food left over.
I didn't have lunch, and now I have enough bread to last weeks. How the Lord does provide :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Blanket of Stars--Jim Chappell (Nightsongs and Lullabies) Renting movies instead of buying them.
I know. No-brainer, huh?
Now that I think about it, I don't really know what stopped me from joining Blockbuster's Total Access program sooner. I guess the habit of buying the movie was too ingrained, even though I know I'd only ever watch it once. I guess the "It's MINE" aspect of it was just too strong :-).
Let me describe the Total Access program to my friends and readers in the Philippines. It's pretty cool--you never even have to set foot in the store. You sign up online, pay your rental membership fee online (fees vary depending on how many DVDs you want to receive at a time), and then you choose your movies online by creating a movie priority list. Blockbuster then delivers the movies to you by mail.
Already you know this setup ain't ever going to work in Manila :-). This assumes you have a trustworthy postal system to begin with :-).
Anyway, you get the movie in the mail after about one business day. You watch it, and when you're done you put the DVD in the supplied return envelope. You then mail it (free of charge) back to Blockbuster. When they get the movie back, they send you the next one on your list.
"But I don't really watch movies that often," you say. "I don't want to have to rent a movie and then have to mail it back when it's due without having watched it."
That's the beauty of it. You keep the DVD for as long as you need. NO late fees.
I'm serious :-). You watch it when it's convenient for you. Pretty neat, huh :-)? Now I can catch up on ALL the Full Metal Alchemist series episodes for $10 a month (even in Pesos that's cheap--P500 a month) and not have to buy each individual DVD (which is at least $20) :-).
That's the subscription option I signed up for, by the way: $10 a month for unlimited movies, rented one at a time. If you want to rent more than one at a time it gets more expensive :-). But if you're like me (I don't really watch movies that often), one movie at a time is all you'll ever need :-). Also, it's in your best interest to watch the movie quickly and get the next one--it lowers your rental cost per movie per month :-).
I'll never have to say, "I'll just wait until it comes out on cable" ever again :-).
Speaking of Blockbuster, I LOVED their Superbowl commercial :-)...
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Nothing right now Okay y'all know I love Gene Kelly. As a matter of fact, I posted the Singin' in the Rain video a couple of times on my blog.
I came across this commercial for the VW Golf. You've GOT to watch it--it is UNREAL!
Current Mood: CC is listening to: a commercial for Bare Minerals Ever seen a ropefish? It's also known as a reedfish. Steve and I got one yesterday :-).
I was told that it was a scavenger type fish, but after some research I found out that while it'll play nice with medium-sized fish, it will feed on smaller fish. That's actually a GOOD thing, because we sort of have a guppy problem :-). You'll probably notice it when you play the video--lots of little guppies swimming around in there :-).
You'll know which one's the ropefish when you see it :-). Yes, that is a *fish* :-).
Kind of reminds me of the dragon Haku from Spirited Away :-)...
Believe me, I'd love to name it Haku, but every time we name a fish, it dies. So it'll be nameless :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: nothing right now Last night, for Steve's birthday (it's not until the 7th, but this was the weekend prior to it), we went to a restaurant we'd never tried before: Texas de Brazil Churrascaria.
We LOVED it :-)! If you've never eaten there before, let me tell you how it works: you come in, get seated, and you're given these cardboard discs about the size of a lens cap. It's red on one side and green on the other. I'll explain how this works in a little bit, but for right now, your server will have it red side up.
Meanwhile, you get up and go over to their 50-item seasonal salad area that also has roasted vegetables and other side dishes.
As you're eating your salad, you'll probably notice these guys (called "gauchos") walking around holding up various kinds of meats on what looks like a portable spit. They stop at certain tables and slice off chunks of meat for the customers.
Once you're done with your salad, you're ready for the good stuff :-). You'll be given a new plate, and now you turn your disc over so that it's green. Essentially that's the signal for the gauchos to come on over to your table and to offer the meat.
Oh MAAAAANN that was some good stuff. If you're having dinner here, it would be a good idea to prep yourself by not eating lunch :-). I tried the Brazilian sausage, the garlic beef steak, and a little pork tenderloin. Steve tried the lamb chops, the garlic beef steak, and the filet mignon (it's SOOO soft it practically melts in your mouth). There were SO many different kinds of meat you could try, I doubt there's any way you could try it all in one trip.
You're also given these awesome side dishes (apart from what you can get at the salad bar): fried bananas with a hint of cinnamon and sugar, garlic mashed potatoes, and cheese bread.
When you need to stop and catch your breath, flip the disc over so that it's red again:
You might be wondering: how do they bill you for something like that? It's all fixed price. When you go there for lunch, it's $20.00 a person, when you go there for brunch it's $35.00 a person, and for dinner it's $43.00 a person.
{tries to see if I can find a menu} OOhhh, you're in luck! Click on the picture to zoom in.
Steve and I will definitely come back for special occasions. $43 a person is expensive, but man, it's worth it :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Isaac Stern--Concerto For Two Violins And Orchestra In D Minor, BWV 1043: I. Vivace (Bach: Violin Concertos) I'm a geek. I admit it :-). However, I didn't realize how much of a geek I was until I visited www.thinkgeek.com. I absolutely LOVED a lot of their products :-)!
A combination mug warmer AND USB Hub! How brilliant is THAT?
An LED faucet attachment that shines a blue light onto the water stream, giving you glowing blue water :-)!
A cordless phone that lets you receive Skype calls anywhere in the house
A laser device that turns any flat surface into a keyboard for your Bluetooth phone/pda
These two mugs are just way too funny :-)
I know what "WTF?" means. I didn't know what RTFM meant, though, so I Googled the term. It's really funny if you're the type of person that other people rely on to work their gadgets :-). It's not as funny if you're the other party, though :-).
I'm getting two mug warmers (one for me and one for my boss) and the blue LED faucet attachment for the apartment .
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Mythbusters Today was the Germantown Mardi Dogs Parade. Here's the flyer information for it:
People who love their pooches are invited to join the Parks and Recreation Department and the Houston High DECA, An Association of Marketing Students, for a Mardi Gras parade in honor of canines. Dogs of all shapes and sizes parade on Exeter Road then return to the park for the announcement of awards in seven categories. Prizes are given for best dressed, most original costume, most patriotic pooch, most unique and to the pet and owner who look most alike. The queen and king of Mardi Dogs will be crowned. Local pet-oriented businesses are on hand to greet parade participants. Pre-registrants receive a complimentary doggie scarf and a doggie bag full of goodies. Don’t have a pup of your own? Bring a chair to lounge along the parade route and watch the procession.
Steve's Petco branch was one of the local vendors who had set up tables. I took pictures :-).
Steve and I left after the parade started, so we don't really know who won. We'll probably find out when the local newspaper publishes the story :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Symphony No. 6 In F Major, Op. 68 "Pastoral": V. Hirtengesang, Frohe Und Dankbare Gefuhle Nach Dem Sturm (Allegretto)--Columbia Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven: Symphonies ) I was at a Walgreens last night when I happened to see these wild multi-colored toe socks on the clearance rack. Here are my thoughts, in chronological order:
"Oh my GOD how Punky Brewster!"
"Who would BUY that? It's so silly!"
"...You know, wearing that could be pretty funny..."
"Oh this is going to look SO funny on my feet!"
And they do :-). I actually ended up making this picture my cellphone wallpaper, it's so silly :-). My feet look like Muppet feet :-).
You know, toes being uh...individually wrapped like this feels so WEIRD :-). But at least my feet are nice and toasty :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Piano Concerto No. 2. In A: Allegro Animato--Sviatoslav Richter (Liszt: The Two Piano Concertos / The Piano Sonata ) I was at the bookstore yesterday looking at business books when I picked up "Life's Missing Instruction Manual--the Guidebook You Should Have Been Given at Birth."
I like it :-). It's kind of hard to explain, but reading it feels like I'm being given good advice by a grandfather--someone who's been around the block and has lived life and learned its lessons.
Here's an excerpt. You'll get what I mean :-).
Your Parents Did the Best They Could
I never liked how my father raised me. He was an ex-Marine drill sergeant and a former professional boxer. He treated me like a drafted recruit in World War II. I grew up resenting the beatings, the discipline, and the constant terror.
A friend of mine in college shocked me when he said, "Your father could have tossed you in a garbage can when you were a baby. He didn't. He raised you the best way he knew how."
I've since learned that all parents are winging it. None of them went to parenting school. Few of them read parenting books. Most of them raise their kids either the way they were raised or the opposite of the way they were raised. None of them raised their kids with ill intent. They were doing the best they could.
Your parents did the best they knew how to do, based on their beliefs, upbringing, and best guess about how to handle you.
Forgive them. Understand them. Love them. All they want from you at this point is to know that you understand they did the best they could. Tell them so. Don't withhold the very thing they long to hear.
See? I can almost imagine a grandfather telling me this from a rocking chair on a porch.
{flips through the pages some more} There are many things in this book that I agree with, a few things I don't completely agree with--but if you think about it, that just increases the "human" feel of the book. It's not meant to do your thinking for you. It gives you things that older and wiser people have learned as they lived *their* lives--how you decide to use the information is entirely up to you.
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