buckle up & hold on tight

t minus 37 days. . .

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:23:08 -0500

it feels like i’m slooooowly inching towards vacation. and the projects that stand between us are snarling their teeth at me. or maybe i’m just imagining that because i really want to go on vacation...
it’s been several years since we’ve taken off on a real holiday. we have plans... to do stuff and not do stuff. we are being very intentional about toning down the busyness. this may be the only shot we get at hawaii, so we want to do it well, and in our style.

but before i get to enjoy the sun without having to wear layers to do so, i am actually finding it possible to be restful even now. some specific choices have helped me:
I don’t work past 5:00 o’clock.
this may seem no-brainer to you. but my lack of a normal-person work schedule makes it easy for me to slip into workaholic-all-nighter mode... a simple “end of day” deadline helps me to stop working... and feel okay about it.
projects are prioritized
this requires a little bit of discipline, which i possess in extremely small quantities. i’m driven by what excites me at the moment (tools of distraction!), too often resulting in night-before last-minute insanity sessions that drive my husband batty. i tend to work well under pressure, but it’s gotten pretty ridiculous and it needs to stop.
evenings and weekends are for play
don’t ask me why it’s easier for me to want to sit down with my laptop and work on some typing when it’s gorgeous outside or i have music to arrange. maybe it’s easier to be a workhorse than sweat creatively. regardless, this helps keep in check my workaholism and guarantees my husband and I have time to hang out.

these have been great guidelines for me to try to live by. it makes the exceptions (assignments that require me to work late in the evening, a mid-week concert getaway) easier to handle when they come up, rather than stressing me out.

the next thing i need to work on is getting a good night’s sleep, which i am failing miserably at right this very moment. :P

listening

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 11:03:29 -0500

the last couple days i’ve been super tired. don’t know why. my body just decided it had enough, i suppose. i could have crawled into bed last night at 8:30.
of course i didn’t.
because i’m what the kids call smart.

i’m still romping around in my pj’s this morning. i’ve been listening to new music (most appropriately the band Wakey! Wakey!), thinking about doing laundry, and trying to rev the juices enough to work out... even to eat, since i’m not really hungry.

since it’s february now, it’s a little late and lame to recap 2009 in any way. but in looking at my most played songs for last year, they were all from the two albums pictured above. stars of track and field didn’t come out until september, so that’s saying something. man i love it!

the honorable mention most-played songs are “new divide” by linkin park (perfect for top-down jeep driving in the summer) and “love in stereo” by le sport.

and that’s all for this lazy sloggish day. until next time...

tomorrow is february

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:50:39 -0500

one of my favorite worship team retreat traditions involves stating things we like about each other (to each other). a few years ago someone said they liked that I’m “subversively creative.”
it’s true. and i’m updating my repertoire these days.
as a kid i used to sew a little bit. you know, shirts and skirts for Barbie. i even had a “store” where the Barbies could go shopping. i scoured the Benjamin Franklin or JoAnn Fabrics, or wherever mom took us, for fabric remnants. i sewed in homec class, making a stuffed shark-head pillow (that i named Funji), and have been known to sew on a button or hem a pant or two if necessary.
when we moved into our house, the basement was destined to become “the movie room,” thus requiring the utter absence of light for daytime enjoyment. the side door at the top of the stairs had a big window as well, that we didn’t want people to be able to see in. all of these windows, though, we agreed we wanted the ability to sometimes have light come through.
i said, “i can make curtains. in fact, i bet i can make some that raise and lower!”

and nothing proceeded to happen.

i am sometimes too ambitious for my own good.

in the meantime, we paint our upstairs light blue, and hang a bright red curtain on the side door. the downstairs turns orange, and the basement windows get black curtains crammed in them to block out the light. so real classy looking.
it took me more than a few months. a self-imposed deadline came and went. (i decided not to punish myself) i finished one with a friend’s help. then last night i finished the other two on my own.

pants with jeeps on them are next.

bleeding brown

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:15:35 -0500

I decided to tackle some remaining piles in my office tonight while chris watches the saints and the vikings in the living room. don’t worry, he’s keeping me apprised of important plays and abominable fumbles (and not always with words).
the piles bled into my file drawer, which i decided to straighten. and that my resume folder needed some weeding. i still have all my quality performance reviews from ups, who i worked for from december of ’97 to october of ’02.

so you could say i’m something of a pack rat.
or i just have a hard time letting go...

i flipped through those old reviews tonight. i mean, it’s been over 7 years since i last needed to care about my career development with big brown. (oh, yeah, i have all my career planning guides, too!) and it’s time to purge.

i saw the names of co-workers and supervisors who rated my performance every few months. some of whom escaped my memory until now, and i got a good chuckle thinking about them again. i remember my sadness after i left. it was an unspoken rule... when you’re gone, it’s like you never had a relationship with these people.

which is understandable.
there’s no longer a need or reason.
it’s all about where you are.

but if you know me, you know how i feel about connecting with people.
i guess they weren’t ever really my friends anyway.

I read through the coaching comments (action plans, anyone?) and an old, familiar friend crept into my stomach. the kind of friend you hope you never run into again.

unease.
the sense that the task is bigger than you can handle. or want to handle. a trapped kind of feeling, that there’s no way out but through. and after that there are only more bars to climb to. ad infinitum.

maybe i’ll burn these packets
instead of recycle them...

ups represents a season of my life. a crazy chapter. there were some storied moments, as well as ones I’d rather not talk about. i floundered, i grew, i succeeded,
i failed.

ultimately the greatest blessing of my life came out of it (his name is christopher) and for that i am grateful. the rest can turn to ash and blow away in the wind.

0-10

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:51:02 -0500

the last couple months of ’09 were insanely busy for me. before i knew it christmas was looming. new years eve passed me by before I realized it had snuck up on me. and now all of a sudden it’s january 17th, 2010.
there was so much i wanted to say looking back on 2009. lists i wanted to make. recaps i wanted to post. songs i’d neglected to share.
but when my busy-ness came to a screeching halt, and everything that was wound up and tense in my system went slack, something unexpected happened: i didn’t care. i was able to let go. i did nothing for awhile. i actually relaxed and enjoyed myself.
and i think it’s one of the smartest things i’ve ever done.

i’m so thrilled for this year and can’t wait to share it with you!

“i’m an idiot”

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 21:47:24 -0500

been catching myself saying these words quite often. like when i make a simple mistake, type something incorrectly, or just open the wrong application. while it doesn’t appear on its face to be particularly harmful, i’m well aware of the effect words can have on a person. and these are not three that i want to really start putting stock in.
this song is uplifting in direct opposition to what i’ve been saying about myself under my breath.

words have incredible power. (as do their absence.) do your best to wield them well. even if you’re only talking to yourself.

throwing down

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:05 -0500

fighting a cold really blows. the main weapons in my arsenal currently are: zicam, pajama pants, skim milk, chicken noodle soup, and shunning the out-of-doors. today i did venture forth into the wide world of woe to take care of very important matters:
a charge error from my salon and a grande mocha carmel.
i take withdrawal seriously. all kinds.

i have a big weekend coming up... full of travel, singing, a party, then more singing with some keys thrown in for good measure. i’ve really gotten better about not backing out of things last-minute out of fear (okay, terror), so i try not to do it at all (unless i’m dead; i think that’s acceptable) lest i backslide. besides, this “cold” i’m hosting is only located in my throatal region, so i’m quite hopeful it will get tired of fighting, realize it doesn’t have any backup, surrender, and move out. and isn’t a foggy voice supposed to be sexy anyway? shoot, next week’s advent service may be one you don’t want to miss!
i have accomplished a couple things during my holiday slothfulness: i totally beat Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, read Ted Dekker’s Green in one sitting, and finally viewed Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (and now i can finally read Bear’s blog post about the music in it because it had spoilers and i don’t like to be spoiled! i didn’t want anything spoiled!).
and now it’s time for my zicam. and bed.
see you ‘round.

on repeat

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:00:12 -0500

this song has gotten a lot of play in my jeep lately. strong voice, beautiful musically (though vultures are intensely hideous! i love it.) and i really dig how it moves. it reminds me quite a bit of keane actually, and makes for great driving music.
and here’s a did-you-know:
Glass Pear is Yestyn Griffiths, Jem’s brother.

mp3

is anyone else confused by the state of the outdoors lately? it feels like spring outside. i find myself leaning towards that hopeful-near-spring-let’s-hide-eggs vibe rather than brace-yourself-the-snow-is-coming-sharpen-the-@#!*&-ice-scraper mood. i’m not exactly looking forward to that, but feel very lucky that christopher lets me park in the garage. it’s bad enough wheeling my bag through snowy parking lots in heels...

we tested out a bunch of christmas decorations tonight, most of which have to be taken back. some things just don’t look as good in real life as they do on the box. :P it’s a bummer, but at least we tried. whatever we end up with i’m sure my sister will be appropriately mortified by it!

tonight is exciting, though, because i get to sleep in my sleeping bag. this is one of my all-time favorite things to do. oh, how i love sleeping in my sleeping bag!! chris is on the very comfy striped former SLC sofa, cocooned in quilts. i will be luxuriating in my Coleman on the futon.
our normal sleeping arrangement of sharing a bed was disrupted earlier today by the discovery of a cat-made pond on top of the duvet that soaked down into the mattress. it smells great. i highly recommend it.
so while our bedding is soaking in Unique’s “Pet Odor & Stain Eliminator” in the tub and our mattress is getting its own Unique treatment, were roughing it 50‘s TV style. that and i now have the urge to refer to everything as THE ELIMINATOR.

The Case of Dorothy’s Questionable Stunt Double

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:59:52 -0400

There’s nothing quite like the satisfying weariness that comes after a
treasure hunt. Though all the work happens behind the scenes before
the competition begins, I usually expend a lot of mental energy while I’m
waiting for everyone to show up at the end. It’s not until all teams are
accounted for, scores are tallied, winners determined and trophies awarded
that I can finally crash.

it really is an abrupt, slamming stop.
and i love it.
all the late nights, last-minute panicky changes because of a monsoon, research and scheming, driving around town to hide clues, testing and re-testing a myriad of ideas, printing and assembling booklets and original clues, the intensity and mild anxiety... all of this catches up to me at once. you know how in the movies they can show someone who’s cheated time but then they age a lot of years in a matter of seconds? that’s how i FEEL.
chris and i usually do dinner afterwards and debrief. it’s a perfect way to wind down from the experience, spend dedicated time to talk about what happened, evaluate what worked well and what didn’t, identify things to consider for next time, discuss any feedback, and generally celebrate a job well-done... the emphasis equally on well and DONE. :)
you won’t believe some of the costumes from this Halloween party... but especially of one person you probably know:

bad blog parent

Sun, 4 Oct 2009 23:27:07 -0400

i’ve been distracted lately. i certainly didn’t mean to ignore you for an entire month! thank goodness you can feed yourselves...
i’ve been busy lately. besides my day job i’ve been doing some side work. flexing my creative chops. resting. soaking my brain in some positive and refreshing thought processes and words. i caught up on the final season of battlestar with my sister (second time for me), gladly riding that rollercoaster of emotion.
but i also have something tangible to show for my supposed busyness:
listen to jaymes lombardi’s ...sinners make the best saints, the recording project i recently contributed my voice to. my favorite things to do all wrapped up in one: singing, creating vocal ideas, recording. seriously, i live for this, and hopefully am only getting better.

more to come.
i promise. i love you, my friends

start again

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 22:32:43 -0400

life’s been ridiculously busy the last few weeks, and i’m reaching a really great balance. i’m in the middle of some exciting projects, and am anxious for fall to officially get here. there’s nothing better than that cool, crisp fall air, while meandering around in jeans and a sweatshirt. there’s so much on my mind at the moment, and trying to share it in this space is causing a bottleneck of information in my brain. so i’m going to share a song i totally got stuck on yesterday.
i really like this entire album, but this short 2:36 song had me hitting the back button repeatedly. i hope you like it as much as i do!

love singing along to:
but i should probably say that i’m unsure why i’m running / running away from the only thing i want
highlights:
each instrument, harmony, and bit of percussion feels like a colorful thread, or an interesting puzzle piece, and i like to focus on something different each listen. i hear something new every time.
download mp3

apple juice = creepy

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:47:11 -0400

sometimes i grasp how lucky i am. i have the utter privilege of belonging to a team whose depths and bounds of creativity are constantly being explored, stretched, cranked and celebrated... a team that dares to dream, cares sincerely, desires to serve and bring its best to the table... a team that values being together, laughing together and raising glasses together...
my dearest friends today have come from, or by extension of, these connections. six years ago i had no idea what i was getting myself into. but that is a story for another day.
today i’m going to introduce you to Weibke, ethan’s friend from amsterdam. while on a 10-day visit to the states, she and her silver trumpet joined us for a fun and satisfying set, made sweeter only by the fact that she’s just an absolutely delightful person.
i didn’t babysit much as a teen, but when i did i swear all the tots drank was apple juice. i now equate the liquid with awkwardness and children. (i’m not a baby/kid person, so babysitting wasn’t something i did... it was something i survived) needless to say, the beverage came up in conversation after rehearsal, then appeared onstage sunday morning.

because such creative effort was extended to provide the vile juice and plastic glassware, i gave it a sip. (technically the label said “cider.” it was worth a shot.)

the remaining contents of my cup was later poured back into the jar.

bright lights, big rapids

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:14:40 -0400

no one who knows me would ever refer to me as a morning person. i’m not even close to being a mid-morning person. if free to do so, i will sleep until early afternoon. it’s a struggle for me to get up in the morning. even in high school i was lucky if i could drag my zombie-self to class on time. in college i fell asleep in most of my 8:00 o’clock classes. even if i was sitting in the front row.
i also have a very extensive history of staying up late. i would quickly say that i’m a night person. i absolutely love the darkness. few people on the road. and have you noticed how the world just gets quiet and still? i’m not kidding. listen sometime. it’s peaceful. i love how it makes me feel isolated. it helps me focus in a non-frantic way.
when i worked third shift jobs i loved being able to sleep until my body was ready to get moving again. i loved the night air, and the lack of people crowding me at Meijer. in college i would stay up until 3am because the dorm was quiet and i was alert. if i was thirsty, i’d get a coke from the pop machine. i really didn’t care enough to take care of myself and i continued to subscribe to these unhealthy habits post graduation. even now it’s easily 1:00, 1:30 before i even think, “I really should go to bed,” and i drink soda whether i’m thirsty for it or not.

i realize it all works against me. but i’m still not a morning person, nor do i wish i was. oh, i sort of do, in a lofty, wanna-be-a-better-worker-person-with-good-habits kind of way. but i don’t dig the sunrise sky. i don’t like how that part of the morning feels, trying to force myself out from under the sheets hours before i need to be anywhere.

i learned something funny today.

you know how it’s recommended to figure out when you’re your most productive during the day, and then do your work then? i always hated that. like the “if you had a million dollars question.” hated it. it wasn’t that simple for me.
well, i moved a little closer to understanding today.
i got up today at 4:45. AM. i know. i had to pick myself up off the floor, too. i actually made a plan in advance (i’ll spare you the unnecessary details) and was out the door by 5:15. this is unprecedented. seriously. the earth may have stopped for a few moments until God picked himself up off the floor.
i made it to the big rapids biggby at 6am. got settled in a seat and began working. i had a couple hours before i had to report at the courthouse and wanted to get some work done. looking out the window, eating my brought-from-home breakfast, i felt great.
that’s really when it hit me. i love the darkness. and whether it’s day or night, if it’s dark out and the world is sleeping, i’m totally jazzed! note: it’s possible this may indicate vampirousness. don’t say i didn’t warn you. (chris said to me: you suck.)
and just like i had a hunch it would, once the sun started to rise, my joy did the opposite. i am the strangest person.

so what i’ve learned today about myself is this: i do my best, most intense work when i feel like i’m the only person in the world. and it’s black outside.
this also reinforces my understanding and belief that i can only focus on one thing at a time. apparently “the world” is a bigger distraction than i could have guessed ;)

so, like i hinted at on facebook, i’m choosing to become a morning person. but don’t be fooled. it really means i’m going to get up early so i can feel isolated and peaceful in the blackness and get some work done (and actually have fun while doing it!). then when light bleeds into the sky, i’ll crawl back into myself and let zombie-rie muddle through the rest of the day. (though it’s funny how much more enjoyable those hours are when you’re already awake! go figure.)

in other news, when i had to call a tow truck yesterday for a jump because i left my lights on all morning, i nearly had to pay a citizenship fee. because i of course get the only driver who’s a lifelong yankee fan.

& other stories

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:02:28 -0400

since i’ve been up to my eyeballs in busy-ness lately, i’ve neglected you all a little bit. well, chris has fallen into further addictions...
random flowers have sprung up around the place...

i’ve given impromptu tours to adorable visitors...
and, after hearing a strange “thump” outside, looking behind me through the window at a bird feeder that’s rocking by itself, meeting a new neighbor...

among us

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:34:37 -0400

i saw these squatters out in the yard today. first of all, they’re huge. and gross. and trying to colonize our new world. you can see a few of their minions out in the distance.
this is unacceptable.
and gross.
secondly, how long have they been there?! because they’re not small. i employed no zooming functions in order to frame such a disturbing close-up.
i’ve also determined that i need to become an inventor or mad scientist so i can engineer some kind of mushroom-destroyer plant. with or without roots. it may need to be a mushroom itself *gag* so that once it has eradicated the invading fungus, it merely turns on itself thereby eliminating any risk of it going rogue. the last thing we need is a real-life little shop of horrors.
admittedly we’ve been distracted all weekend with the parentals being in town.
and as you can see, we had important business to attend to.

no time to be scouring the grass for signs of enemy subterfuge.

yet we must be ever vigilant!
the lesson has been learned. and now i’m safely back inside, where i can keep an eye on the infestation from several feet above. and behind a window.
and no, i didn’t see any smurfs.

the rest of SD

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 20:49:33 -0400

right now my husband is shooting nazi’s with his cousin. this cracks me up. life is back to normal.
i love looking at my pictures from our three days in san diego. i’m super glad my sister came with me. i see her more these days than i ever have (and we’re all three taking a big vacation together in 8 months) but it’s always badass when we get to do stuff together. the last time she and i roadtripped was in ’98 to colorado (again for something i was attending). i didn’t make her take a tram up a mountainside this time, though.
our plan was to not try cramming so much into such little time that we killed ourselves. and despite the fact we only planned three big things to do, we still ended up succeeding in exhausting ourselves.
Rose and Ecatarina at the Hotel Occidental are the lovely, lovely ladies who took care of us. after being up all day thursday, all night friday and landing in san diego at 9:45am, we just wanted to sleep. out the window went our plans of shopping and busing around hillcrest. we ate breakfast, checked in early and passed out. we were up, showered and cute in time for dinner and bsg, and then it was back to room 229 for more sleep.
saturday we took a loony taxi ride to seaworld. the driver was near twitchy as he yelled back at dispatch, “i don’t know what you’re talking about! i picked up my bill at occidental! 2 to seaworld! no, to seaworld! i don’t know what you’re talking about! i’m on my way to seaworld!” we didn’t know what he was talking about either, but we arrived at our destination unharmed and entertained.

you could easily spend a whole day at SW, but we had something to do at 1:30, so we had a list of exhibits to eyeball, then hightail it out of there. yeah, we spent a lot of time watching the sharks. the BEST part about it was the creepy music that was playing while they floated menacingly along, mouths agape, teeth everywhere.

i’ll be honest with you. i never got what the big frickin’ deal was about shamu. or killer whales in general. whatever. but we watched a show and i love them!!! they’re beautiful, graceful, adorable... giving humans high-fives, splashing people in the stands (we watched from the side walkway) and jumping completely out of the water.
AMAZING.
we zoomed out of seaworld to pacific rent-a-car, thereby succeeding in making the poor girl behind the counter VERY busy. but she was very goodnatured about it and we like to think that our goofiness helped make the busy-ness a little more bearable ;)
we were then off to drive around. we had less time than we thought we would originally, and by this point it was a little late for sunscreen. so first, we were off to point loma and the cabrillo national monument. after the gps tried to make us go through some kind of high-tech security gate, we made our way to the tip, overlooking the city and ocean. um, yeah. gorgeous.
next stop was hodad’s for hamburgers, until we saw the line 50 people long outside. sorry jonathan! it was like real food on a sunday at 11am, but 10x busier. moving on, we saw crowds gathering along the coast, so we stopped to see if there was something going on. there wasn’t, but we did find a little beach utterly perfect for our step in the ocean!
and we watched where the water was coming up to. so we stood in the ideal spot, camera ready...
but when the water came in, it came up to our thighs!! children ran, squealing!
then we explored the scenic drive a bit more. or tried to. we decided that we really like la jolla (pronounced correctly OR incorrectly) and feasted on a dinner from the motherland.
from there we were on a mission to find a place to watch the sunset. we ended up driving down a random street (bird rock), parking at the end, where there were stairs down to the water. the coast was all rocks, so we got comfortable, made friends with the little crabs sidestepping all over, watched some surfers retiring for the night, and a few riding the waves as the sky turned pink.
that night we got ice cream and snacks from the party store across the street, then watched some B sci fi movies... malibu shark attack and the last 20 minutes of eye of the beast. they made me miss mike, crow, tom servo and gypsy, but did give lisa and i something to mock incessantly!
my hair was a little crazy the next day.
lisa checked us out while i took a shower, then it was bon voyage occidental. we had some time before the car had to be returned, so we decided to look for the hat shop i wanted to visit. lisa attempted to parallel park (this time without my supervision), we tried on hats, bought cute hats, perused a book store where we were accused of twinnery, and then began the trip home.

since our mode of transportation was paralyzed, we had to take a taxi to our sunday night hotel. which was bad news, since we thought we didn’t have a choice but to take a city taxi, and had to pay meter and a half. just plain stupid. the next day we met a tow truck in the F lot, got new tires for edgar at just tires, and drove home.
poor lisa got to work just a few minutes before she actually had to work. and we never made it to ikea.
now we’re back! and wouldn’t you know it, we’re already booking our next vacation!

aloha ;)

BSG @ SD HOB

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 19:34:49 -0400

friends, you know me. i love music. i love sci fi. i love good stories, adventure, mystery and a little bit of mythology. and edward james olmos.
the composer for the new Battlestar Galactica series, which ran four seasons, is my hero. bear mccreary is brilliantly talented, gracious, approachable and inspiring. his music is intelligent, complex and moving on multiple levels. and his openness about the process of composing music, interacting with fans on his blog or via e-mail, actually asking for their input regarding the season 4 soundtrack, makes it fun to be a fan.
these are all the reasons my sister and i hopped on a plane last weekend headed for san diego. bear and the battlestar galactica orchestra put on three shows at the house of blues, performing music from battlestar galactica. there are hopes for future concerts, but these were definitely happening. a once-in-a-lifetime chance, to be sure.
i have one regret.
that i didn’t go to every single show that weekend.
it was no doubt the best concert of my life. and i have not been the only fan to say so. actors showed up, a director, producer, all great fans of the music as well. when edward james olmos was directing episodes, he would play pieces of the music on set before filming. we were able to buy the double-disc season 4 soundtrack before anyone else in the world could get it, and were able to meet bear and all the other musicians afterwards. i confess i was a little starstruck, but at least i didn’t do anything to embarrass myself memorably. sadly, though we came all the way from michigan and were but mere feet from our two favorite officers, we never got to meet them.
it may be hard to understand what’s so exciting about music from a sci fi cable tv show. or why the soundtracks have been in the top selling soundtracks and CD’s on amazon lately. i honestly never paid any special attention to the music until chris brought home the season 3 soundtrack from the library. and then i started following bear’s blog. and a whole new dimension to this show that i love was opened up to me. sometimes music is present just to fill space. sometimes it enhances what is happening on screen. but sometimes music truly helps tell the story, sometimes better than words or actions possibly could. this is the beauty of music, why this particular music moves me (and others), and why instrumental music (with strings, woodwinds, rock guitars, taiko drums, uillean pipes, and piano) at the house of blues had us dancing in our seats and screaming at the top of our lungs.

antsy

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:06:34 -0400

monday was leisurely busy. today i was in court all day. as i will be tomorrow. my evenings are spent formatting and sending files out to the typists, finishing up the last of my own typing, and catching up on things I won’t want to think about come thursday morning.

because thursday morning i’m on vacation.

and i am checking out.

got my tickets. got the gps. got the local lowdown. got my tennis skirt.
can’t wait to get gone.

just sharing my impatience :)

happy humpday

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:51:08 -0400

this time it’s fine

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:54:10 -0400

one of the albums in my top 10 is the soundtrack to the movie “bounce.” listening to any song on it takes me back to the 7th floor, christmas lights all around the living room, doing tae-bo religiously, teaching myself how to play the violin, the blue comfy sofa todd helped me find at a garage sale, and listening to 28th street traffic.

for central reservation i simply have to stop what i’m doing and listen. it relaxes me. i can’t say that about many things.
orton sings through vowels in a way that i can usually only tolerate a couple songs worth at a time. but when this song comes on when i’m shuffling or needing to chill, it’s perfect.

listen to something this weekend you wouldn’t normally give a chance.

...& counting

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 17:54:12 -0400

two weeks from today i’ll be packing. trying to not forget anything important (like tickets) and trying not to bring too much. we’re only spending 2.5 days in southern california, but i would happily pack half my wardrobe just in case. i mean, i just might need a gray & red striped sweater, frog slippers or corduroys! do you think the airline would object to a baseball bat?
the MC’s for the san diego shows were announced today. edward james olmos (admiral adama himself!) is MC’ing thursday & friday night, and grace park (athena/boomer) is MC’ing friday & saturday night. so the night lisa and i will be there BOTH of them will be MC’ing. FRAKKING AWESOME!!!! i don’t know yet if our vip situation means we’ll get to meet them as well... i can only desperately hope and pray ;)
and yes, i shrieked out loud when i found out :P
lisa and i will make one more shopping trip before departure. anything we should take with us we might not have thought of? and i haven’t decided what to wear to the concert... my cute sundress? jeans? go-to tennis skirt?
also, i’m concerned the humidity will render my flat-iron useless. but it’s already been proven that i look HIDEOUS in pictures if my bangs are pulled away from my face. so i think i’m going to bring it anyway. (pictures are second in importance to the actual experience)
aren’t you so glad you’re reading my blog right now?!

in other news, i’ve been given a really cool assignment this month. normally my company records pre-trial depositions, hearings, insurance exams, that kind of thing. but for the next three weeks i get to be a part of recording an actual trial. this will be by far the most interesting thing i’ve done with network. not to mention that i’m getting closer and closer to the five-year mark! this will be the longest i’ve been with any employer, and the longest i’ve held any position. i was at ups two months shy of five years, split between several positions, so the record is about to be broken! maybe i’ll have a party and then symbolically sledgehammer an effigy of a ups package car... or better yet, a cake in the shape of a package car! that would be fun... and tasty! gallagher style.

but tonight...

jealous?!

to cap again...

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 21:56:56 -0400

friends. it’s been a jampacked, exhausting few days. my body has had enough and decided to cramp up today. and make me sleep in until 1pm. I HAD NO CHOICE. so while i sit here trying to relax, i will share my latest escapades with you all. this might take a minute.
we’ll start with thursday night. i had rehearsal, then an early exit so i could make it to the intersection in time to meet up with some friends and see mat kearney play with a band. i arrived even later than planned because when i went out to my car and turned the key... the battery was dead. ugh! when i got to the intersection, parking was impossible. but i drove down cherry just the same, and saw a guy holding a sign that said “$5.00 Parking” for a lot right between the intersection and that tire place. i pulled alongside and said, “Will you take $2? I don’t have 5.” i figured, why not try?! he thought a moment, then waved me in. !!!!!!! i ran all the way up the hill and got inside just in time... to wait another 20 minutes before the music started. >:P
the next day was AWESOME. i slept in, got up and brushed my teeth. just then someone rings the doorbell at our side door. i throw on a robe to greet my neighbor, who has arrived with her son, Henry, and a pecan roll fresh from Herman’s boy. “We thought you could use some sustenance for your big day!” absolute sweetheart. (& not to mention my hair was sticking straight up from being in barrettes the day before!) i take my shower, and as soon as i’m done the front doorbell rings. i’m expecting a package that has to be signed for, and will be shipped back if i’m not there, so i quick throw on my robe. i’m dripping wet. i fling the door open to greet the fedex guy and sign for my box. he just chuckles when i apologize for my “just-out-of-showerness.”
i catch up with terrific tasha at lunch, then i hit the road with liz and jami. the tickets are safe in the glove box. we have nosebleed seats at the palace, but seats nonetheless, to see no doubt. *happy happy sigh* it’s been seven years since i last heard them live. we arrive in plenty of time and make our way to our seats. the picture to the right is the view from our seats at the palace. section 228. row 19. just a few feet from the freaking wall. but we’re there.
and then something miraculous happens. some kind of palace employee walks up the steps right to us and asks, “Are these your seats?” we have no idea who he is, but say, “Yeah.” then he hands us tickets for these seats:
WHAT?! this has never happened to me before. we saw the guy give some other people in equally crappy seats new tickets as well. coolest thing ever. see a few more pictures here, on flickr or facebook.
after the most awesomest show i’ve seen probably ever, we drive jami to a hotel. (she has a dog show in ann arbor the next morning and jeff is just going to pick her up on his way in) GPS took us the most direct way possible, through quite a ritzy section of town. we hit up a taco hell, dropped off jami, then rocked out to linkin park so i could stay awake. “shut up when i’m talking to you!”
saturday morning i slept in awfully late... the old body isn’t quite as quick to recover as it once was... and i’m very glad to not have been responsible for any kabob preparation for our 4th of July cookout. some neighbors stopped by and even went on one of my popular house tours, doug dropped in from colorado and split wood with a shovel, liz sewed, and dwight wore a garbage bag tunic. we also learned that i can channel wolverine with grill skewers. view more photos here, on flickr or facebook. you won’t be sorry!

but the stories don’t end here. OH, NO. because the next day i had to be at church by 7:45am. to sing. so i got a few hours sleep, and it took me the entire half-hour drive to warm up. UGH. but it was a good day. i’m so glad i get to be a part of this team.
then i had an afternoon rehearsal with the mines + alan. we would be leading worship monday night for the Poets, Prophets and Preachers conference at DeVos. rehearsal was great except for the lack of lyrics. i laa-laa’ed my way through a great set of six songs.
monday afternoon (today) alan and i couldn’t figure out how to get from the parking ramp to the lobby. so by the time we crawl onto the stage everyone’s ready to go. which isn’t a bad thing. i decided against wearing a sundress, but did go with girly high-heeled shoes. i think it threw todd for a loop. (alan described his getup as “lumberjack shiek.” I LOVE IT!) anyway, we soon discover that the person who was supposed to print up the lyrics and bring them to devos forgot. FORGOT. we have no lyrics. all of these songs have three to four verses and are wordy. so i decide i will hijack matthew’s laptop and copy down the lyrics. (it’s better than having to turn around to the screen behind us every two seconds... which would also look bad) but matthew gives me something of a grimace and says “probably not” since he needs to go through rob’s presentation with him.
CURSES.
joshua james mikrut is my hero. he answered his phone, was home, not doing anything right at that moment, and was willing to go online, open up the song files and READ OFF ALL THE LYRICS TO ME WHILE I WRITE THEM DOWN. seriously. i’m not making this up. six songs. they were scribbled hastily in sharpie on yellow legal paper and put on a music stand. dude. josh mikrut to the rescue.
and then i quite literally got off the phone, gathered up the papers, and we were being organized in the hall to huddle up and pray. and then it was go out and play. timing. wow.
i didn’t end up sticking around for rob’s presentation, though. i kind of wish i had, but i wanted to get home. i’ve had a great few days, a TON of laughs and lots of hugs. i will certainly not complain.

did anybody know about this?! it’s crazy. i love it.

suddenly my only friend

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:59:22 -0400

the last couple weeks have been a struggle to get my office in order. it has quite literally morphed into my command center, complete with wireless printing, musical instruments at the ready, maximization of closet space via kickass shelving, and a sweet black chair to lounge on when i’m in creative mode.
in the midst of painting, setting up, rearranging, hammering, trying not to say unkind things to my electronics when they’re not doing what i want them to, i’ve been listening to a lot of music. mostly my itunes has been shuffling, which makes for a very disjointed listening experience. but it’s kind of like a reboot of sorts; shaking the etch-a-sketch clean.
and as a result i will tell you how much i love miles davis, and how cool i feel just listening to him. not sure why. i just float around smiling and feeling downright chill.

i will also post this most excellent song by swedish progressive rock band paatos. i dig peteronella’s voice... a little sweeter and breathier in the verses... then by doubling and using a clearer tone delivers “suddenly my only friend is loneliness / all that i am wishing for is happiness,” which actually sounds a little more despairing because of the strength behind it.

i like singing...
the words “loneliness” and “happiness”

only this band...
has a member named HUXFLUX
(capitalized only for ease of reading)

listen / mp3 / buy

the other side

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:37:14 -0400

you have to make your own life. other people may seem to be in better situations, but you can’t use that as a measure.
this is sometimes a struggle to be at peace with.
i can think of people i know who have really good things happen to them. and my gut reaction is not happiness for them. it’s jealousy. why them? why not me? i’ve been a good girl. lived a moral life. done the right things. why do they get this and i don’t?
one of my favorite moments in literature is from c.s lewis’ the horse and his boy. the character aravis is wounded by a lion, and later learns it was actually a punishment; because she needed to know “what it felt like” (she had drugged a servant girl in order to escape, but the girl was whipped for letting her get away). she then wanted to know more about the servant girl and aslan said, “I am telling you your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own.”
i can’t tell you how many times those words have echoed in my mind. just a little reminder that i’m accountable for myself. that things happen to other people for reasons that are none of my business. life isn’t about things being equal or fair; it’s not like buying something at the store, or getting a special pass because of the good things you’ve done. it’s about living my best possible life, come what may.

old & lame

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:54:32 -0400

that’s how we felt like describing ourselves today. chris’ cousin eric, who just graduated from high school, came up to hang out and visit. nobody had a plan (classic) and we’re all pretty indecisive and happy to do what everyone else wants (perfect). so besides mocking ourselves and not knowing what we wanted to do, here’s what ultimately happened:
we played video games. a deeply satisfying amount of zombies were destroyed.
we made eric walk over 2,000 steps with us into town and back. strolled past a fresh fender bender. ate hot dogs. and ice cream. i changed my clothes three times. we rode fast go-karts. twice. hit slow baseballs at the batting cage. eric as a lefty. and i made solid contact on at least 4 of the “very fast” baseballs. chris had promised he would buy me dinner if i actually hit one. i’m an overachiever. with a bruised hand.

eric had his eye on a hat in the arcade, and was soon on a mission to win the necessary 300 tickets.

hysterically, he did.

all at once.

in fact, not only did he get his hat, he also got us the stewie hat i liked. then gave his remaining 145 tickets to a kid at the counter.

it was a relaxed, laidback kind of day.
i heard a good amount of laughter....

...and lots of zombies dying.

lots.

ineffably witty pop

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:25:34 -0400

that’s how this band describes itself on their myspace page. i didn’t come up with “ineffably” all on my own. i don’t even know what it means. terribly empty pockets are from columbus, ohio. i profess to despise the state (buckeyes? really? please.) but i didn’t mind columbus the three times i’ve been there. in fact, i had dinner at a pretty sweet pub.

but i won’t tell you where to find it.

what is life without a little mystery and adventure?!

besides, i can’t remember.

so much about this song makes me happy, but especially when the singer gets to the “o” in “okay.” it’s a little out of control.
like someone just pinched him.

listen / buy

tonight’s tale

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:33:51 -0400

so i’ve been waiting for my stupid closet to shape up. i painted it green, then applied a second coat of beauty the next day. which was dry to the touch, but when i pulled the painters tape off two days after that, the paint just peeled off with it, like it never intended to stay put in the first place.
chris’ brilliant idea was to use a box cutter and slice the paint from the tape along the edges. which i finally got to today, and to my impatient delight solved the problem. now i could get to the good part of hanging rails and uprights, using the drill, and THEN the fun part of setting up all the shelves! and using the drill!
apparently studs are important for this kind of application, so i made an effort to locate them. but even though the stud finder is beeping at me i find it hard to believe it really knows what it’s looking for. i knocked on the wall a LOT just to make sure.

long story short, the first rail has this going for it:

1 screw with wing anchor -- check.
1 anchor blown through drywall making screw unremovable -- check
1 stud screw with stripped head that won’t come out or go the final 1/4” in -- check
1 empty hole and i can’t remember why -- check
1 super short screw from the toolbox definitely solidly in the drywall -- check

so a good start on the shelves.

the second rail was a breeze. none of this stud nonsense. i just drilled holes, put in the wing anchors, applied force to screws. PERFECT. no problems.

the rails are stacked because they only come in 40” or 80” lengths, Lowe’s can’t cut them, and this closet is 77.5” wide. i just have to be odd.
the only other thing i encountered was it seemed like i had to drill through two sheets of drywall. it would go through the wall, then there was a space, then the drill went through more drywall. but with all the remodeling that had been done in the house, i didn’t really think too much of it.

chris got home a little bit later.
he stared at the wall like it had just bared its fangs and hissed at him.
here’s a closer look at what he saw.

he thought they were spiders at first. i looked up and couldn’t believe we’d never noticed these holes before.
man, i’m slow sometimes.

all in a day’s work

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 20:23:40 -0400

i love my friends. chris and i are always on the lookout for things that would make our friends smile. so while drooling in the new Sweet Shop downtown (okay, just chris. i was just trying not to slip on his drool) i grabbed a handful of candy cigarettes for our jenny. i dropped them off today after my last-minute dep downtown. though when i first called to see if they were home, dwight sounded like a decepticon.
I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING. it made me laugh really hard and i couldn’t bring myself to hang up! i wanted to keep hearing evil-sounding mechanical dwight!!
regardless, i stopped by and even had a taste of potato pancakes. (i would eat them with ketchup) and i got to see miss elisabeth wearing a badass onesie some really crazy cool people must have gotten for her...

consider this an invitation:

to make me better

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 01:00:21 -0400

i love music that sounds like it was meant to be played on a rainy day, while sitting on a couch, staring out a watery window, lost in soggy thoughts.
lately i’m really digging vocals that sound like they don’t even have to try; like it just flows out of the singer.
what’s most interesting to me here is the instrumentation in contrast to the melody. it doesn’t carry the song along by playing a matching progression of chords. each line is a delightful discovery rather than predictable turn. in the B section the piano & guitar plays in unison with the vocal, ultimately fanning out along with the harmony before reverting back to its previous form.
despite the use of several instruments and voice, it never feels cluttered. and at only 2.5 minutes it sneaks by, refusing to overstay its welcome. it leaves you wanting more, prompting a repeat. at least once.
this album was just released yesterday.

highlight(s):
the “hmmms” are simply gorgeous.

listen/buy here.

15 years later

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:50:12 -0400

chris’ cousin graduated from high school today. we made the trip down to miller auditorium to see him march. i was rapt watching the slideshow of pictures and reading the scroll of names at the end.
i thought about my graduation, 230+ kids in chairs on the football field, my flimsy gold robe, our multiple valedictorians, grandparents present, and how long my hair was.

i thought about 20+ kids the next town north, that i spent all but three years of school growing up with, from spelling bees to camp rotary, from mr. smith’s military tangents to driver’s ed with mr. springer, and from putting a jukebox in the cafeteria to adding wrestling to the athletic department.
a part of me regrets not sticking it out with them.

i look back at how much hope and promise the future held for me in 1994. at how full and fulfilling my high school experience felt. at how much yet how little it seemed i’d actually changed.
i have stories to tell that make me laugh out loud, tales that still make me cringe from embarrassment, and some that i can’t help but shake my head at in wonderment. i hope i don’t ever forget them.
i had friends in both my schools. and while some i’ve always known (and can’t remember ever NOT knowing) i can remember quite vividly the first ones i made when i moved. they were the bright spots of my sophomore year; they made it bearable.

we’re not all where we thought we’d be 15 years later. that’s a good thing in some respects, because at 18 i sure didn’t know what i wanted or what was best for me. i’ve met people and done things i never could have dreamed of otherwise. i kind of think that’s how life is supposed to work.

one more thought:
my future still holds hope and promise.
life is far from over, and anything is still possible.

love, love

Sat, 30 May 2009 17:09:40 -0400

in an effort to increase the red surfaces of my skin, submit my nostrils to the ungodly foulness of high school trash receptacles, and keep my shots within the lines, liz and i made our first foray onto the grandville greentop.
the advantage was all mine, since i had been out the week prior warming up my arms with the sayerses. but alas, i fell 6-3. what the deuce?!

i kind of always knew

Fri, 29 May 2009 18:35:48 -0400

this is one of my quintessential summer songs. it makes me think of pink hair, northern michigan, freedom, nothing but road and a hotel somewhere ahead of me. it’s the first song i ever heard by no doubt, and led to a crazy hunt for their music whilst in houghton, michigan. which was funny because that very night their vh1 behind the music was on in my hotel room.
i went no doubt crazy soon after, but that’s forgivable. rock steady came out a couple years later, and i tried really hard to like it. i succeeded somewhat. when they came to the state theatre in detroit, i took the wrong day off work and i swear we got in line after everybody and their cousin mick. thus, i couldn’t see ANYTHING all night and my feet hurt. for the last few minutes i was able to kneel on a stool. kids, if you learn anything from my mistakes, get in line AS SOON AS YOU CAN!

one other thing you should learn: don’t be ashamed of music you really like.
mp3

hehehheehe

Wed, 27 May 2009 21:09:19 -0400

our dsl is being retarded. and unfortunately, i just entered a bid on ebay (which i can’t watch anymore), chris just downloaded a game (that he can’t play now), and the rest of my to-do’s for tonight involved online browsing (closed...please come again). every time i come up with something else i can do in the meantime, i remember it involves a world wide web connection. how did i become this dependent on an invisible data stream? did anyone see this coming?! as beetle bailey would say, “@#%*&$!”

so i guess it’s back to basics.
and apparently my itunes (not internet-dependent! ha-HA!) has tested my mood and landed on aaron niequist’s with broken fists. always a good time. not to mention the unbidden slideshow in my head that it lets loose!
here’s how much of a nerd i am: i’m filing papers, organizing my fontbook, tweaking the budget, prepping the 2009 tennis tally for the bog, and debating what dessert i want. this girl needs her sweets.
i also made a very fun purchase (before the death of an internet salesman) for future treasure hunts... oh, the things that make me giggle with gleeeeee!!!

iona’s foot

Fri, 22 May 2009 17:59:40 -0400

this weekend is the first where we don’t have big stuff scheduled. we dig it! we’ve now been in our house exactly four weeks. it’s kind of funny how it feels so easy. that it doesn’t feel weird. like we’ve finally settled into this space that’s just been waiting for us to fill. i actually feel strangely grounded now.
i don’t think everything leading up to this was necessarily wrong or a mistake, but like only the pain of loss or grief leaves deep scars that allow us to appreciate joy and happiness more fully, we know how far we’ve come and what we’ve
gone through to get here. it’s a grateful and astonished arrival.

i started keeping score:
star trek III
terminator: salvation I

if anyone wants to see either of these movies, i’m there.
i’m so there.

here we go again

Thu, 21 May 2009 22:25:05 -0400

while it’s true i am prone to extremism and guilty of being easily excited, this is one instance where i demand you pardon me.
i accidentally heard this mat kearney dude when he opened for mutemath, some new band chris wanted to see, at a free concert at calvin college in a tiny lecture hall, just a few rows from the “stage,” along with maybe 20 or 30 other people. this is the only “before they were big” moment i own.
but tonight i’m talking about mr. kearney. two days ago he released a new album. i’ve already listened to it 10 times. i’m not even exaggerating. just choosing one song to post HURT.
it is a standout album in my unrefined opinion. i just want to crank it and float, if not drown, in the waves that buoy this voice along, unhurried, like he’s just sitting on a couch singing for the love of it, not worried about who’s listening.
i will also gladly sacrifice my feet to see him again. who’ll stand with me?

favorite line to sing along:
oh-oh, here we go again
i know how i lost a friend
we go round and round again
oh-oh, oh-oh

favorite musical moment:
starting at 2:55 the piano dives into a sweet line that both Chris & I thought came straight out of Crashing Down, but it merely
echoes the chord progression.

mp3

his goal with this album:
a bigger sound

follow mat’s tour blog

revelations in the rock

Tue, 19 May 2009 16:44:16 -0400

i’m a one-sitting girl.
it’s how i like to read, tackle projects, eat s’mores, learn new things, so on and such.
i have a very simple brain.
i can only impart attention to one thing at a time, and it’s to the exclusion of everything else around me.
i always have something to do next.
my thoughts are anchored to projects, work, clues, organizing, commitments, what i think is expected of me and what i expect of myself.
i have to force myself to relax.
while i enjoy things that many people dread, and actually do them often for FUN (balancing the checkbook, creating spreadsheets, filing), i’m inept at resting -- that is, doing nothing -- without feeling guilty.
i like being remembered.
today was my second day in a row at epic and the barista (not sara) remembered what i ordered yesterday. !!!
i function mostly out of fear.
i avoid things because they’re unfamiliar. i don’t ask because i don’t want to be rejected. i don’t try because i don’t want to fail.

i never thought i’d still be figuring myself out at 33.
but i’m kind of glad for it.

so today i finished a string of massive typing jobs, which also caught me up completely on typing since i haven’t had any assignments in a few days. it’s chris’ long workday, so i have the night to myself. i’m listening to mat kearney’s new album and LOVING it. i let my thoughts graze unhurriedly while i walked to the library. i made myself sit and read on a bench for a bit. i didn’t allow myself to feel guilty for not being “productive.”

rie’s relaxation methods:

reading a magazine (my favorite is fitness)
creating playlists for my ipod
aimless top-down driving to loud music (not applicable in winter)
listening to a new album on repeat
blogging

maybe you should sleep

Sat, 16 May 2009 16:17:16 -0400

i love projects. they’re like puzzles to me. i totally live for the details; organizing all the pieces, striving for efficiency in function, creating a visually interesting or appealing format. there’s something deeply satisfying in the process (like creating order out of chaos, or untangling a mess of wires) and then having something tangible when you’re done that sews up all your efforts in a nice little package.
starting them is easy. i have several i’m jonesing to kick off that should be a lot of fun. but i’ve never been one to finish things well. this is a significant aspect of self that i have had to consciously work around. in fact, right before my final year of college i quit my awesomely fun job of directing a choir of kids i loved simply so i could finish strong. i knew i couldn’t afford any distraction (even one that involved singing, bus rides, the no toes in armpits rule and a healthy respect for my pythons).
the big project this year, with a deadline before christmas, is to move the sheldon family photo library into the digital age. and then trade in those bulky photo albums with the yellowing static pages and brittle tape ghosts for photo books. a lot of faces are waiting patiently in my closet.
i’m also going to start another blog shortly to chronicle my next project, which you can also participate in if you would like: a LOST book club. dozens of books have been seen, referenced, used on the show, etc. i am going to read one book each month until the final season begins. i just decided this last night, so that’s as organized as i am so far. i welcome any thoughts, ideas or questions, and plan to begin in a week or two.
mom and dad came down this weekend to celebrate my larry bird birthday, see our house and tour our new town. i think fishing is in our future (well, not chris’).
and now, i think i need some sleep.

godmother, day 1

Mon, 11 May 2009 14:30:52 -0400

the first phone call came early this morning that dwight & jenny were on their way to the hospital. and by early i mean around 12:30am, after i was done removing a bottle of wine from my stomach.
chris kept me apprised of all the updates, and i was really grateful to have a typing day today so i would be able to go to the hospital at any time.
i was sitting at the table, debating whether to head right to the hospital or wait a bit when i got the call from dwight, “It’s go time.” i scrambled out the door, ran to my car and raced to the hospital. i ended up making it there just a few minutes after she was born, and waited with jenny’s dad, sister and nephew in the hallway until we could go in. dwight came out a bit later, fists in the air, red-eyed and tired. it was taking awhile to get everybody cleaned up and dressed (and whatever else was going on), so he came out again a few minutes later with his camera so we could see a couple pictures. chris called me and left a voice-mail, “Did you touch her yet?” and asked for a better picture than the one dwight sent him that only showed the baby’s ear.
and now is your chance to meet little miss eliza, and learn how i induce labor.
the first video is worth all 4 minutes.

all that jazz

Sat, 9 May 2009 23:53:08 -0400

there’s something about the era of jazz. the dancing, the fashion, the state of the world. i’m especially enamored with big band. my senior year of high school i played piano in jazz band (my sister trumpeted) and i pine for anything with a similar feel. i do not, however, miss getting “the look” from mr. whitmer when i make a mistake at state festival.
my all-time favorite jazzy recording is from my dad’s college days of trombonist Urbie Green playing with central’s jazz band. i had a cassette tape recording off the original reel to reel that i loved to blare out of my gray oldsmobile, and i wore that sucker out. i don’t even know if the original exists anymore, but it was THE BEST.
sing, sing, sing to me is the quintessential big band tune, and i think pretty accessible for the swing novice. the best recording of it i’ve found is on the soundtrack for the movie “swing kids.” download it here.

today was a blast. my sister treated me to lunch and then took me to see star trek at the imax (it’s just as amazing the second time!) then liz came over and we took a bike ride, made salads, baked a crazy double-decker cake, and i attempted to climb a tree.

in related news: i’m really short.

cleats may be in my foreseeable future.

next week my mom and dad are coming down to see our house and celebrate my birthday. and then i will stop talking about it ;)

so say we all

Fri, 8 May 2009 02:17:09 -0400

thirty-three years ago i was born.
you could say it was a good day for me.
three years ago chris surprised me for my birthday by conspiring with my work, and getting me to take a fake assignment. i showed up in a suit, wheeling my equipment behind me, and walked into a room that held a bunch of my friends and a lot of qdoba. i had been 0% suspicious and was utterly stupefied. it took awhile for the shock to wear off and to fully grasp what was going on (and that i wasn’t getting paid!). but i will never forget that for as long as i live. best surprise ever, baby!
not having a work assignment today i got to sleep in a little. i went to the secretary of state (they were so happy to see me they took my photo!) and then had the best hot dogs of all time for lunch. jane still has her banner up. happy birthday to me!

then it was off to downtown GR to scope out some art at kendall. one of the drummers on our worship team is graduating tomorrow, and when i heard about his senior project i just had to see it for myself.

students had to develop a project around the concept of energy, and jay’s effort was to get people to interact with each other. (he has a much better explanation but, as you know,
i turned old today, and we’re lucky i remembered energy had something to do with it!) the stairwell between the 3rd and 4th floor has been transformed to the:
sorry for the blurry photos. thank goodness it doesn’t make this less awesome.
i am so glad i stopped by to see this!
there was also a gallery set up where you could see everyone’s projects, and that was unreal. i am amazed by the depth of creativity and breadth of vision and concern. that people are not afraid to pursue their passions and work at their dreams.

AND NOW, more about me. it is my birthday, after all.

M is for marching bands.
love, love, love them!!!
i get this from my dad, who was a marching chip. once when he took us to a DCI show, he illegally recorded some audio and we listened to it on the drive home.
my dad rules.

A is for apples.  my favorite is the granny smith. not those icky bland red apples. this is also why i named my laptop “smith.”

R is for rockford, within whose city limits we now reside. And the Rogue River, the most badass name for a river.

I is for Imogen Heap, who has one of the most unique voices i’ve ever heard, and makes some killer music.

E is for Everafter, one of my most favorite movies of all time. I can’t tell you how many times i’ve seen it.

winding down

Thu, 7 May 2009 00:58:08 -0400

it’s been a long couple days. who knew sitting in one spot for eight hours only moving your fingers could be so exhausting?!
i have discovered the antidote: the cinemaplex.

thank you wolverine and james tiberius kirk.
i owe you one.
tomorrow is my larry bird birthday.
just in case you didn’t know.

i don’t feel particularly older this year, just more adult-like.
but i am staying up past midnight tonight.
big time stuff.

suspenders & beer

Sun, 3 May 2009 19:10:02 -0400

elisabeth jean wade is anticipated to enter this world a week from today. until then, she is being kept safely tucked away in jenny’s belly. which you may rub.
in celebration of her existence and impending arrival, we threw a slightly goofy (what else would you expect?!) laidback baby shower for our dwight & jenny. liz helped me plan it and set everything up, which was the best thing ever.
we surprised jenny first by wearing suspenders. jenny LOVES suspenders! and her reaction is so much fun :)

the other surprise involved beer. jenny will be able to drink again soon, as will dwight (in a show of support he has also been abstaining). so it’s time to start stockpiling and we thought we’d help!

all in all it was lots of laughs, a generous showering of gifts and seeing chris’ mullet yearbook pictures. i’m not sure how that was relevant, but it happened.
also, dwight got peed on by an infant.
for more details and commentary, check out dwight & jenny’s blog and the rest of my pictures, or visit our respective facebook photo albums. because facebook is where it’s at. (at least that’s what i’ve been told. my sources may not be the most reliable, therefore i cannot be held responsible if this is pure fiction.)

in other news, peppino’s peppizza is a mere three-minute walk from our house.

rie’s work strikes again

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:35:32 -0400

my employer is really good at celebrating. whether it’s a new apartment, a new house, a company anniversary, the end of a really crappy week, a birthday... they truly care. it’s one of the things about network that makes me feel like i’m more a part of a family than just a button pusher. (not knocking button pushers. whatever keeps the electromagnet apocalypse at bay!)
the above bouquet was delivered this morning to our front porch. fresh flowers, a cool vase, lots of color. it’s really fun and cheery!

i discovered that Herman’s Boy, the coffee/random shop around the corner, does NOT have wi-fi. very sad.
but i was able to get a portion of work done in a cute little corner.

a couple things you may not know about me:
1. i gravitate to the sports magazines in waiting rooms and lobbies.
2. i enjoy surprising people in ways that involve their vehicles. past exploits involved a shopping cart fence, ugli fruit, little green soldiers, brussels sprouts & saran wrap. here’s my latest:

we are the same

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:00:38 -0400

my office/music room is taking shape. i just finished a book that stirred me artistically. yesterday i committed myself to a writing endeavor that is bigger than my selfish self. my little painted bird reminds me i have a voice, and things to say with it. my thoughts are healthy, if a little hesitant.
this song fits my mood right now. i feel like i’m in this transitional state, accepting truth and ready for the necessary forward movement, but understanding the weight of what it means. that i have to do this for myself, above anyone else. and really, that it’s okay to be me.
here’s to many more evenings of reflection, and continuing to surround myself with what inspires me. for tonight, it’s the quality of this voice, the imagery that effortlessly transports me and the layers that make this song so captivating.

what i like to listen for:
where the piano comes in at 0:49
lyrical brilliance:
“don’t you wish you could throw your pennies back at them”

mp3

flan-again

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:52:56 -0400

almost exactly one year later, andy flannagan returns to grand rapids. of course it happens to be at the same time we’re busy stressing out over closing on our house, packing up a 24-foot truck and moving into adulthood.
while the timing was a bummer, we were able to catch up with him at lunch this afternoon, along with troy and his sidekicks, the sayers. i’m trying to think of a good way to sum the experience up, but i can only shake my head and grunt because it’s just not possible. regardless, it was the best way to end my weekend. i laughed a lot a lot a lot. and i bowled higher than 40.
this weekend has been busy, insane and exhausting. while our inclination is to talk about how lucky we are, we know luck has nothing to do with it. but it feels kind of creepy christian to walk around saying how blessed we are. there has to be a better way to express it than by using phrases that come off sounding canned and dated. what do you think?
in other news, my feet hurt and i have an office to work on.
but first, bed.
and yankees suck.

on the move

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:30:43 -0400

it seems like everytime chris’ laptop was on and music was streaming from it, this is the song that was playing. and this is reason numero uno for its selection this week.
there are a few bands i didn’t get excited about right away upon hearing their music. sure, they were good, but it wasn’t until i saw them live and experienced the energy of their music in person that i actually became a fan. this is what made the difference for me for anberlin, mutemath and mat kearney.
there is a killer station that we get on satellite called palladia. i’m not sure what else is on its schedule, but it broadcasts tapings of live concerts. one day we saw that their lineup included kings of leon, kaiser chiefs, lenny kravitz... and that was just what was coming up in the next couple hours.
what we watched was the kings of leon performance at the oxegen festival in the uk from 2008. and though we weren’t technically there in person, it was pretty darn close. “knocked up” blew me away and i immediately scoured my itunes to see if i had it, which i did. it was listening to the guitar and feeling that spaciness, and seeing the tens of thousands of people blanketed by the night sky, with the stage lights illuminating the band, that altered my perception forever.

what i like to listen for:
whoa-oh whoa-oh

ideal setting:
playing in the background

mp3

to the rescue

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:19:19 -0400

today i painted a garage. asked a stranger carrying a potted plant for help. made a friend laugh who really needed it. bent my driver’s side door. ate chocolate. showed up to work late. pushed my jeep around. met a couple neighbors and one dog.
right now my feet are elevated. we’re slowly coming to a decision about dinner.
tomorrow the appraiser will inspect the garage. chris’ mom and dad came up to help, and honestly we could not have gotten the job done without them. the seller’s realtor showed up later and unlocked the house so we could use the bathroom, which was awfully nice. it also meant we could giggle excitedly while looking around again. okay, so it was just me.
it wasn’t my best day, and i worried my way through it. but we worked hard on the garage, and my in-laws were truly amazing. it’s kind of hard to see, but here is a before and after shot of the offending building:

we’re still trying to decide about dinner. i also feel a dull pain in my head that really wants to grow up and become a headache.
chris came into our bedroom this morning, tears in his eyes, because the forecast had been rain every hour and when he woke up the forecast was completely devoid of rain; nothing but sunshine and temperatures 40+. “God really cares about the little things,” he said to me. this is just one more time where “coincidence” just isn’t a good enough way to label our circumstances. and the weather held, was really windy (which did cause leaves and some weird tree pieces to stick to the siding). we felt a few sprinkles at one point, but then the sun came out and stayed out.
if all goes well, we’ll still be able to close on friday. and we’ll find out sometime tomorrow.
i still haven’t started packing my office yet.

i’ve had it with today

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:39:23 -0400

i’m normally eddie rabbitt’s opposite and love a rainy day, but i had to walk around in it downtown. in a suit. wheeling my equipment behind me. across the street and back. and then do it again four hours later. you know, just to see if anyone would notice.
in between those trips there’s the email notifying us that our loan just got out of underwriting (though the credit union was awfully tightlipped about it’s information extraction methods) and now we have to produce a bunch of documents and...
wait for it... it’s going to be awesome...
scrape the paint off the garage and then repaint it and then it has to be reinspected by the appraiser before they can complete the loan so we can close which is scheduled to go down friday morning and it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.

which for some reason trips my anxiety breaker.

yeah, it’s been one of those days. my spirits were kept afloat by a few things, like kendra’s wicked fro wig, elizabeth’s inbox ninjas (and now i have my own!), spending an hour with a really good book, and finding paint we can use on freaking clearance (plus other great buys at the blue hardware multiplex).
also, christopher fielding a bunch of phone calls and handling the majority of the paperwork bi’ness really kept me tethered to my sanity.
(and did you hear i have ninjas?!)

i’m up way too late. my office looks like a cyclone and a tornado showed up for a breakdance competition. then the rock and rvd showed up (i know! weird, right?!) and really started cooking (i can still smell it) and something got shoved sideways. and then ninjas showed up (ninjas!) and fought to the death.

in other news, i wore a dress on saturday.

hold me down

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:28:19 -0400

the first song i heard by augustana was the song “boston” from their album “all the stars and boulevards.” i was sold on the vocalist and loved that they weren’t afraid to jangle a bit on the piano. then there’s talk about boston. and you know how i feel about that.
their second album “can’t love, can’t hurt” came out last year, and was one of the few i was really anxious to get my hands on. it was sooo worth getting. you can really tell a difference in the production and arranging, and the songwriting had matured immensely as well.
“sweet and low” is my go-to song when i have an augustana craving. it’s catchy right from the get-go. i like that in each part of the song the vocals take you somewhere different, so it doesn’t pound your brain relentlessly from the same spot in his range or with the same tricks. and it’s really satisfying to sing along with the chorus (keep singing higher boys, that just makes it easier to belt out sweet harmonies in my car!).
this album is also one of the few i really enjoy listening to from start to finish.
i hope you enjoy “sweet and low”

what you’ll want to sing (the chorus):
Hold me down, sweet and low little girl
Hold me down, sweet and low
and I will carry you home,
Hold me down, sweet and low little girl
Hold me down, and i'll carry you home

mp3

a leisurely saturday

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:26:22 -0400

we close on our house two weeks from yesterday. we’re so excited. if you know anything about us at all, this is a big deal. i’ve officially lived on my own since the spring of 1997, and since then have moved 17 times.
this is probably not normal.
my dreams as a kid were to go to college, get an apartment, and get married. those are the only things i’ve ever wanted out of life. i guess i need some new dreams!
more on all this in the days to come :)

today we spent a leisurely saturday getting coffee, and wandering around home depot and lowe’s. just looking, chuckling over the fact that we’re buying a house (us!), and commenting on the lessons learned over the last seven and a half years, and how we’ve gotten to where we are. this morning chris found us a washer and dryer on craig’s list. after meeting his mom in wayland so we could swap vehicles with her, we drove out to lowell to pick up our purchase.
as we left lowell, i made chris turn the minivan around. i confess, i love this stuff: