Oh, and also...

I got an email from Amazon today, suggesting that, as someone who has purchased or rated books by Louisa May Alcott, perhaps I would like to preorder....Little Vampire Women.  Which is apparently the latest in the "turn classic literature into horror novels" craze begun by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Don't get me started.  So I emailed Ash, who had left an Ash-shaped hole in the ceiling when she heard about the first one (I believe the email she sent me that time was titled "Blasphemy"), to see if she had heard about this latest development.


Me: ...and then Louisa May Alcott rolled over in her grave. Pun intended.
Ash: Do you think Jo gives up her teeth?  After all, in this version that may be her one true beauty. 

Things That Happened Yesterday

~ Homeless man complemented my "Mary J. Blige shades"

~Thought I might be dying.**  A little. Maybe.  Probably not. 

~Against better judgement, visited WebMD.  Convinced myself I was actually dying.  

~Took COO's car*** and went to urgent care facility in the middle of the afternoon.  

~Inadvertently left book at home.  Consequently, achieved level 20 on Brick Breaker on my BlackBerry while sitting in the doctor's office.

~Got an EKG (breaking news: my heart works!), a diagnosis of bronchospasms, and an inhaler.  (Now feel like a six-year-old again.) 

~Saw a dude on the Metro with a tuba.  No instrument case, just a guy with a tuba.

~Bought a pineapple.

**Gross exaggeration.  

***Borrowed (not hot-wired, obviously).  She offered it, probably because she didn't want me dying on the clock.

Smurfs, Ugly Betty, and the NEA

I had sort of hoped that if I put those three things in a title together, some sort of theme would come to me.  It didn't.  Consequently, this post is kind of all over the place.  As, by the way, am I.

So. Life is proceeding, now that I have a chance to experience the world outside my office again. Various things are going on here. I dug my desk out from underneath All The Piles of Paper, which was refreshing. Glee returned. The Capitals lost their first playoff game. I'm reading Game Change, about the 2008 election, and it is seriously excellent. I'm not normally much of a non-fiction reader, but I highly recommend it.

Hm, what else. My apartment is starting to look like I live with a Smurf, because there's blue fuzz everywhere from the towels I recently bought at IKEA. They are wonderfully soft and fluffy, but I swear it looks like I'm molting.  Washing them hasn't helped.  The problem is compounded by the fact that my dust buster is, ahem, busted (or it needs to be charged...one of the two), so the fuzz is accumulating.  

Huh. This isn't very interesting. Instead, how about a list? I like lists. We'll call it "Things That Are Currently Thrilling The Pants Off Me." Without further ado: 

Things That Are Currently Thrilling the Pants Off Me

She &Him, "Volume 2." And everything they contributed to the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack. Actually, the entire (500) Days of Summer soundtrack....Okay, FINE, if we're being honest here, I have a girl crush on Zooey Deschanel. I confess. 

Vaughan-Williams' "The Lark Ascending," specifically as performed by Hilary Hahn 

Neil Patrick Harris on Glee. This hasn't actually happened yet, but the anticipation is nearly as good as the event. 

These cookies from IKEA. HOLY PETE, I cannot get enough of them. 

My new(ish) yellow bag. J'adore, ya'll. 

Real Simple 

Lady Gaga, unless I have to look at her, which weirds me out. But the "Recently Played" playlist on my iPod doesn't lie.  Girlfriend's got pipes, yo.

Google Reader. Yeah, I know this is not new. It's not new to me either. But to say it revolutionized my life (or the 80-odd times per day when I click over to see what new posts have appeared) would be an understatement. 

My ATL cords, which I should've bought in lighter colors so I could wear them into spring. Live and learn. 

The Ugly Betty series finale. I stopped watching the show about two seasons ago, but I tuned in for the finale. My reactions were twofold: 1) Betty and Daniel? Really? Huh....Okay, maybe. 2) It's time for me to move back to London. 

Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits 

That Capital One commercial with the vacationing vikings and the goat on skis. Cracks me up every time. I mean, a goat on skis?! That shit is funny. 

New red shoes 


Things That Have Me Worked Into a Lather, and Not In a Good Way 
(or, Hold On While I Get My Soapbox...) 
Arts Advocacy Day was on Tuesday, and my coworker Scott saw this video and forwarded it around the office. A Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute called for zero funding for the arts, stating that all public funding for the arts should come literally from the public in the form of ticket sales or private donations. He called the National Endowment for the Arts a government-run “racket” that “extorts” money from taxpayers to give to “politically well-connected artists.” (After I calmed down, I asked Scott if he really expected any less from Fox News, and what the hell were you doing watching that anyway?!) 




Anyway. What a tool.

Heartbreak hotel

I was home in Tennessee for Easter this weekend.  It was delightful and relaxing, but also a bit odd because I was sleeping in the guest bedroom with my sister.  My grandparents are currently staying with my parents as my grandfather recovers from his knee replacement, and they are occupying both my old room and G's.  So we were in the guest room, and G's boyfriend was on the air mattress in the den, and WOW, that made for a whole lot of showers to coordinate on Easter morning.  Also, G and I are not the most amiable co-sleepers, AND she had a cold, so that was interesting.

The big event of the weekend, though (aside from Jesus, you know, rising from the dead, which is a notable event, and also my acquisition of the Most Awesome Red Shoes Ever--pictures to come!), was the West Virginia/Duke Final Four game.  And since four of the seven of us LIVE in the great state of West Virginia, there were, shall we say, some emotions about how the game went.

It didn't go well, in case you missed it.  It was pretty tragic. And so we all desperately wanted Butler to win the championship on Monday night.  Which they didn't. 

But that's okay.  It was a beautiful weekend, and we ate many eggs and large quantities of jelly beans, and I bought shoes, and a good time was had by all.  The end.

Well, HELLO there!

My heart is all aflutter, and I simultaneously feel like I just awoke from one of those dreams where I am on the Metro and suddenly realize that I'm not wearing pants.

It turns out that there ARE more people reading this blog than my family and two best friends and Jules' mom. And if it weren't for the lovely Keenie Beanie, who, I have just learned, lives on the whoooole other side of the country, I would never have known it. So, hello Krys, and hello to Helen from Postcards from the Edge (of the West Country), who apparently led Krys (and, presumably, others) in my direction! And also to whomever else out there is reading Unagi that I'm unaware of. Welcome! I hope you'll stick around.

I cannot tell you how exciting it was to click over to Postcards and see my humble little blog's name in a list with my fave, Nothing But Bonfires, and several other of my must-read sites, so many thanks to Krys, for commenting and leading to this little revelation. Guess I need to step it up a bit and put on some pants. Metaphorically.

It also seems that Helen has "nominated" me for this “Kreativ Blogger” thing, which I don't really understand, but hey, I'll take it. (I'm so surprised! I didn't even prepare a speech. I'd like to thank the Academy...) And as part of the "rules" for that (wow, so many "quotes" in this "paragraph"), I am supposed to share a few things about myself. So without further ado…

1) I will eat nearly anything, but I strongly dislike olives, anything banana-flavored (except actual bananas), Indian food, and anything blue (except blueberries).

2) I quote Friends and The West Wing kind of a lot. One or other is nearly always applicable.

3) There is something about the shape of pigeons that makes me kind want to kick them. Not repeatedly or anything, but punted like a football, which is exactly how they are shaped. I expect that it would make a rather satisfying thwok sound. I should clarify that I have never actually kicked a pigeon, and I’m unlikely to do so unless I have just caught it pooping on my car.

4) The #1 place on my very lengthy to-visit list is Greece. It has been since I was ten years old, when I marked off the previous #1—New York City—which I visited while dressed like a young Amish girl. At the time, it seemed like the height of fashion. But a denim dress and a scrunchie were involved, so I’ll leave you to make your own judgment.

5) I get highly irritated when people pronounce “Appalachian” like “App-a-LAY-shin.”

Anyway, hello, nice to meet all of you, wherever you are. Please comment away so I’ll know who you are, too!

*****

In other news, G and Beth were here this weekend, and we had a grand old time. Basically, we went out for brunch (multiple times), introduced G to IKEA, watched WVU beat UK (word) and Tennessee lose to Michigan State (bummer). Oh, right, and went to see BON FREAKIN’ JOVI last night—the whole reason for their visit. I thought G was going to burst a blood vessel waiting for “Livin’ on a Prayer,” which, naturally, they played last. And, besides being awesome, the concert was also quite the cultural experience. It was as if all of rural Virginia and Maryland had put on their old Slippery When Wet tour t-shirts and ventured into the big city, though there were also a fair number of cardigans (we had three of them) and pearls in the hizzouse, too.

Incidentally, I had no idea how polarizing Bon Jovi is. Reactions to the news that I was attending the concert ranged from “SWEET!” to “Ew. Why?” But whatever, dudes, we all have our own cheesy musical proclivities, and mine lie squarely with Mr. Jon Bon Jovi and his apparent allergy to buttoning the top four buttons of his shirts.

Coming up for air

For approximately six weeks—from the beginning of February (pre-Snowpocalypse) to March 17—I did three things: eat, sleep, work. Get up, work a ten hour day in the office, come home, eat dinner, work until bedtime, lather, rinse, repeat.

Oh, and I destroyed my office. So much so that I had to bring in a second desk and computer because I couldn’t find the first one.**

Old desk:

Additional desk:

**That was mostly because my computer died and I had to use one of the office laptops for a few days, but there was no room on my actual desk, so I brought in another one. And during the last week of the work craziness, I had entered something akin to Finals Mode in college. At one point, I realized I had papers piled on every flat surface, three half empty coffee mugs, assorted food items, and a pair of socks in the corner.

And, okay, yes, the Olympics happened in there somewhere. But did you know that the Olympics make for a great background distraction while working? They do.

Since March 17, I have done the following:

• Read an entire book.
• Mentally composed an entire blog entry/rant about F***ing Republican Tourists and Their Incompetent Driving and Parking Habits, which I did not publish because it involved too many swear words for a blog whose limited readership includes grandparents, great aunts, and my mother. (And before I get yelled at for generalizing, yes, I am sure they were Republican, due to the McCain-Palin sticker on the back of the Escalade.)
• Become obsessed with spring scarves.
• Gotten lost in IKEA.
• Went car shopping for someone other than myself. (Note to Dad: you’re handling my car purchases forevermore. Thanks.)
• Discovered that the OnDemand feature of my cable also includes current TV shows, which led to my devouring of nearly the entire Burn Notice series.
• Had a one-woman dance party to Lady Gaga in my apartment. (That was the evening that I finally was free of my work restraints….and also St. Patrick’s Day. Surprisingly, green beer was not a factor.)
• Mentally composed a blog entry extolling the virtues of The Good Wife in general and Josh Charles in a leather jacket in particular, which I did not publish because it would’ve contributed nothing to public discourse. (If you’re wondering, it went something like this: “Josh Charles: more attractive as Will Gardner or Dan Rydell? Discuss.” ....Perhaps you can see why I did not post it.
• Bought a new purse. It’s yellow. And awesome.
• Spent several hours watching C-SPAN and thinking up pithy things to say about the healthcare debate as seen through the eyes of a West Wing fan (If you’re not on Twitter, you probably missed them. My work-obsessed mind could not handle anything beyond 140 characters, unless the subject was Yo-Yo Ma.)

And that is where I have been, lest you think I have abandoned cyberspace for greener pastures. They were not green, I assure you, but rather covered in stacks of paper and discarded Post-It notes. But I'm back. Hello.

Down with Plushie!

Well, our boy Evan Lysacek got it done last night, and aren't we glad? Who says the Cold War is over. Down with Russia!

I kid. I have a soft spot for some of the Russian athletes. So: down with Plushenko! I've taken to calling him Plushie. It's far less intimidating. (Unrelated, has anyone noticed how all the "official" athlete photos look like mug shots? Even the very gorgeous women look like hell.)

Anyway, I thought the men's skating was pretty awesome last night. Evan and--my favorite--Johnny Weir skated beautifully.

But. Did you see Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic? Frosted blonde hair, skated to Gershwin's "An American in Paris"? Here he is. Did he remind you of anyone? Perhaps....this fellow? With the frosted blonde hair, who skated to "An American in Paris"....but better?



That, of course, is American Timothy Goebel, who won bronze in Salt Lake City, was ALSO coached by Frank Carol (Lysacek's coach, and formerly Michelle Kwan's), and whom I adored. And while we're on this trip through Olympics past, here's one of my favorite men's performances of all time, by 2002 gold medalist (and, I should point out, Russian) Alexei Yagudin. That was the first year that I remember quads being a factor (he landed two of them, flawlessly), and it was the competition that began my loathing of Plushie.



Ahhhhhh. Love it.

And lastly, apropos of nothing, here's a response to those (who shall remain nameless) who find NBC's coverage a bit, say, sappy:

"Without patriotic fervor and feel-good stories, the Winter Olympics are just a series of options for going down a mountain. That hasn't been interesting since Moses did it." (From Sports Illustrated. Hat tip to Jules.)