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random sass & musing™

quips + wits + sarcasm + sageness = random sass & musing™
 

30 July 2004

last night i had my first taste of how a recent immigrant might feel while in the company of those speaking a foreign language. my roommate, maria, is from colombia. the country, not the city or town (which is still spelled differently yet most people are clueless. i'm just sayin', is all.) in honor of her birthday & another friend's birthday, we had about 16 women over to our house for a girl's night. of those 16 women, about 75% were of latino descent, bilingual & quite interesting.

after most of the english speakers left, there were three of us who were native enlish-speakers compared with eight bi/trilingual spanish speakers. it enthralled me to listen to the convobuzz of english & spanish, the transitions effortless & seamless as they spoke. after all the english speakers left (but me, because i live there ....), i spent about 30 minutes cleaning the dishes & kitchen while listening to spanish conversations in the other room. i imagine that's how an immigrant maid feels while working in a home in a strange & foreign country with a strange & foreign language. given the fact that i know more german & french than spanish, i was quite outnumbered & often had delayed laughter to the jokes (until some poor soul took pity & translated for the non-spanish speaking girl). & the convos they had about men? hot tamales.

*fans self*

i could get on board with some tango, salsa & flamenco dancing. that'll be on the calendar in the near future as these women were quite endearing.

in other news, i now have exactly a week to do calligraphy on some wedding invites. my first real calligraphy job. for cash. she's a friend of a friend & a nervous bride. i think i have calmed her nerves with my professional demeanor, not to mention she's already seen my work. i might consider advertising my services.

& today is friday. TGIF. my body is weary & my brain is on overload. a weekend of oR&R with a trip to the lake is on the agenda. you can find me dabbling my toes in the water off the pier. be sure to bring a tropical beverage with a tiny umbrella. those make them taste oh-so-much better.

28 July 2004

an onion article about holding a yard sale for my friend sarah, the obsessive yard sale queen.

A yard sale is a great way to make money while getting rid of clutter. Here are some tips to make your sale a success:
- To enable easier browsing, arrange items in order of their shittiness.
- Put your used underwear out for sale. Yes. Put it out. Yes. Yes. Oh, yes, put it all out for sale.
- Try to arrange your random cast-off crap in such a manner as to cause strangers and passersby to burst into tears at the sheer crippling mundanity of it all.
- Don't put out that used electric hotdog cooker. Not only will no one buy the appliance, but your neighbors will be filled with disgust over living so close to someone who owned one.
- A dollar is a bit pricey for those Reader's Digest condensed books, Professor Smarty.
- Please don't sell our Inchworm riding toy! We know we're 37 years old now, but please don't sell our Inchworm Ridey!
- A free box is a great way to get rid of incriminating evidence.
- The No. 1 thing yard-sale customers are looking for is a great value. Lucky for you, the No. 2 thing they are looking for is faded purple size-26 Hanes stirrup pants.
- Having shoppers sign a standard yard-sale contract will ensure that all sales are final.
- Yard sales are like love: If you let your guard down and present everything you've got to the world honestly and without shame, someone is bound to end up with a bunch of your old clothes.
- Don't let your children price items. They price the items too high, as you are raising greedy little monsters.
- Don't forget to chuckle and tell every single customer that the yard is, in fact, not for sale.



welcome to america. where size matters in more ways than one. where people act less than their shoe size & they like it. where people wear clothes less than their shoe size & they like it. where people claim their shoe size indicates other assets & they like it. where age is a no longer a number, but a definition & they like it. where careers are a definition of the person & they like it.

i was out shopping tonight & while in the dressing room trying on clothes, i hear a girl complaining about how she looks fat in a dress. when i came out of the dressing room to see the three-way mirror (incidentally, three-way mirrors are not always a triple latte experience, you know), i note that she is approximately 15 years old & a size 0. the dress she was wearing was a skimpy scrap of material that hugged every ... curve? yet she claimed fatness.

ey-yi-yi ... our future generations are seriously in danger of being slayed by media perfections. that makes me sad.

in other news, i got bested for a moderator position on a board for someone younger & slicker & more recent. it made me think of kathy bates in fried green tomatoes. with the two twits in the parking lot? i'll reenact for those feeble brains who cannot or will not recall:

*kathy sits in vehicle with turn signal on, waiting patiently for a space - two twits in a VW bug swoop into kathy's parking space, cutting her off - two twits exit the bug, wave spirit fingers to kathy, & say ...

"face it honey, we're younger AND faster."

*two twits trot toward the store - kathy at first is perturbed ... then, grasping the wheel she rams their car ... several times - two twits come tottering back to their bug with a look of sheer shock on their faces - kathy waves lowers sunglasses, waves spirit fingers, then state this & drives off ...*

"face it, honeys, i'm older & i have more insurance."

the difference? i think casey is an absolute doll. i won't ram her VW bug.

*blows kisses to casey*

perhaps there is hope for the youthful generations yet!

27 July 2004

ephesians 3:17b-19
and I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

i read that this afternoon because i wanted to throttle some people. in the head. with a heavy object. i'm certain this passage doesn't mean we can use that sort of power over people. oh how i wish it did, though. but then i'm thinking, "why the heck do i feel so entitled to do that?". what a reality check to realize those that irk us, perturb us, & disappoint us are really doing the same thing that we ourselves do. we are no better & no worse, just similar.

hello?! wake-up call, it's for you! (you meaning me & you meaning you & you meaning you/plural, not to be confused with youse, which isn't a word.)

thank you sir, may i have another? if you can't have humor & laugh at yourself, then i ask at whom can you laugh?

somebody stop me.

26 July 2004

what's with mondays? evility!

my brain is on overdrive. i'm disjointed today & my thoughts are following suit as well. i think seeing napoleon dynomite yesterday got to me. go. see. it. enjoy a good laugh or two or three. belly laughs galore, although i will say it's a movie that some will appreciate more than others.

after meeting for our resident aliens discussion group in a downtown dwelling yesterday i am again disirous of relocating to downtown. to have a home with more character than i have in my pinky would be divine. to be in walking distance of shops, coffeehouses, venues, & antique shops would be grand. must think on this.

also, men are as difficult to read as women. how is it that we have had generations of men & women who have done this very same "dance" over the centuries & nobody has yet perfected it? intriguing.

24 July 2004


making my way in the world. sha, circa age 3.

22 July 2004

i just got back a short while ago from our get-together for community leadership. i'm curious to see where all this planning & plotting will lead. sometimes i wonder how God doesn't get good laughs out of us in all our sincerity of planning. but no doubt He'll work with it.

nobody knew my strawberry pretzel salad had a mix-up of cherry jello. i'm just that good apparently. that & i admitted my faux pas before people ate it & all seemed to feel the need to tell me it was still good. & why has nobody had this so-called strawberry pretzel jello concoction before now? i thought it was the southern delicacy of all covered dish meet-ups around.

i wish wish wish i had a camera to document some of the things in my life right now. i can't begin to describe the things that catch my eye as artful, appealing & simplistic. i suppose i'll have to revert to describing things like this as they did in the old days. before heading over to the cook-out, i sat on my deck, drinking a glass of tea, pondering life. as i'm sitting there i observe the dreaded woodpecker flying to the side of one of the houses behind me. since he's not welcome in my house (after gaining illegal entry & scaring the bazooka joe out of me), i snickered under my breath for the poor soul who had him pecking at their house.

& then it occurred to me that this stupid woodpecker was doing what he was created to do. for some odd reason God felt the need to make a bird. which pecks at wood. loudly. whenever it feels like it. obsessively & compulsively. why, i ask why? i don't understand but at that moment, i thought to myself, "that damn bird is doing more of what he's created to do than i am. but that will change."

21 July 2004

things i'd really like to know before i die:

(1) how political campaigners are exempted from my number being placed on the "Do Not Call" registry.
(2) why i cannot find any more tombo® pens in raleigh now that my favorite spring green one has given of the last of its ink.
(3) how sharpie® markers smell so good, yet make you so high.
(4) why men have nipples.
(5) why i still remember a victor hugo poem & two songs completely in french from high school yet forget dinner plans i made last week.
(6) why intrigue is so high on my list for someone i'd consider dating or marrying.
(7) why God sees fit to be good to me despite myself. 

20 July 2004

a maple donut from daylight donuts cured my headache.  i swear it did.  i think i'll try to purchase several of them & see if my flex benefits will approve it as a medical related cost. 
 
because you care, i'll keep you posted.

18 July 2004

i've noted that this blog has turned from my original quips + wits + sarcasm + sageness to long posts about my weekend? odd.

perhaps i'll have to add more movie referrals. there's several coming out that i'm looking forward to seeing. perhaps by myself. i'm selective about my movie-viewing partners for the more artsy/foreign ones that not everyone seems to appreciate. what's up with that?

whoa, nelly



blogger's interface is ginormous. it's huuuuuuuuuuuge, like sputnik!

winding down from the frenzy that was the weekend. actually only saturday was really frenzied, while the rest was time well spent with friends i haven't seen in forever. after the long, grueling week i rented a movie & after finally getting unattached from my cell phone (the one bad thing about have friends that are forever away from me), i popped it in & settled back for an evening of entertainment.

adrian brody (remember him from the pianist? if not, you must get that & then report back on your love for it) was a compelling nerdy lead in dummy. the quirky humor & wit in this movie are sometimes so subtle you miss the exchange & then pick up on it after the moment's passed. the cast also includes milla jovovich (in a so-so rendition) & ileana douglas (highlarious in her role).

saturday found me getting manicures at the beauty school (best place EVER to learn more ghetto talk). sarah & i entertained ourselves chatting with the students (because they were doing our manicures in the classroom where students wandered in & out? i dont know...). unless they were like the sweet lil asian guy doing my nails who didn't say a word & was obviously scared to death he would mess up my nails. he ran to get another student, poor thing. anyhow, we were highly entertained by the girl saying she knew me from somewhere (story ... of ... my ... life ... "i know i've seen your face somewhere before!").

after leaving there we headed to pick up my boss's baby gift. who's bright idea was it to get manicures first & then pick up a heavy bookshelf box? oh right ... that'd be me. after lugging the gift out, we headed to one of sarah's new clients' house. since she'd be dogsitting this great dane named pebbles & it was on the way to meet friends for dinner, we stopped by the house. i, typically unafraid of dogs, was rather freaked out by pebbles. she's 1.5 years old looks like a miniature horse. & she barked. loudly. i thought she'd take my hand off if i offered it, but after some time she calmed down. at any rate, she was rambunctious for about a half hour & apparently has never been left with anyone. since her owners were going out of town unexpectedly they needed a petsitter immediately. sarah, happy to oblige for her fledgling business, was distraught this morning she never made it to church because pebbles got out & was running loose in the neighborhood. heh.

after our pebbles escapade, a delectable dinner at chang-chang's. because i was a lamer & didn't get anything done in preparation for today, i sacrificed my saturday night to catch up on reading the discussion book we're moving through slowly but surely. as well as preparing some community leadership notes since today was my first sunday at the leadership meeting that i've missed the last three sundays.

more thoughts on community leadership to come in the near future. i'd venture a guess to say everybody will find something applicable from reading that book. even if you disagree with much of it. warning - it is incredibly wordy & theological, so be prepared to actually read, not skim. i've been made fun of already for my note-taking on same, but whatever works, yo.

my big mouth

16 July 2004

all day long i've had the posies' "my big mouth" running through my head.  perhaps it's a subtle (!) reminder about my mouth -- a blessing and a downfall.
 
do we ever really stop to think of the true potential we have in what comes out of our mouths?  encouragement & insults, wit & sarcasm, support & caustic statements.  i suppose what's on your heart is truly what's relayed through the mouth.
 
thank God He's not done working on me yet.
 
the posies, my big mouth
the lines across your face are drawn with hate
cause i'm drawn to someone else
(looks like you could use a little sleep)
 
i had some i didn't mention
you caught me coming late (framed by the door)
onto a floor that's freshly waxed
and shows my tracks and raises some important questions
i ask you to be nice - it has no effect
and I suspect that you suspect
but didn't I say feelings are the last things to make themselves felt ?
don't make me explain myself - you don't need to know
what's going on in my big head right now
it could appear that I should have a statement prepared, but
don't make me open my big mouth
 
the words come quickly I feel sick
i use that for an excuse to exit
looks like you don't buy it
and I'm trying your patience
but what i leave unsaid sticks in my head
the guilt puts me in a spotlight
looks like i might reveal
you're not my sole engagement
i ask you to shut up - it's as i didn't know myself 
i wish you didn't know that i can't turn back,
but I didn't plan to tell you that
don't make me explain myself - you don't need to know
what's going on in my big head right now
it could appear that i could want to defend me, but
don't make me open my big mouth
 
you tell me to get out - i can't get out of it
and i wish that we both could split
but splitting doesn't mean the end of the backlash that i couldn't defend
don't make me explain myself - you wouldn't like what you find
inside my, inside my big head
it could appear that i would want to reassure your doubts
 
don't make me open my big mouth
don't make me, don't make me,
don't make me, don't make me,
don't make me open my big mouth 

14 July 2004

whyever do people feel the need to go above & beyond to impress? don't hear me wrong, there's nothing wrong with making a good impression. it should be a goal as a person, as a christian, as an artist, as an employee, as a ... whatever. we should strive to make a good impression. but going above & beyond who we are to do so is nothing more than being a pompous idiot.

perfect example. i was shopping in trillium for baby gifts for some upcoming baby showers & i overheard some woman attempting to be pretentious. at first i cut her some slack. she was discussing with her mother, a woman who seemed to appear & act rather down to earth. it was obvious she thought her 50 year old daughter had lost it. her daughter was insisting that this 70 year old woman buy a "power suit", only she refused to let her mother purchase it in black. she insisted that if her mother had to have the suit, then she must purchase a turquoise (pronounced "tur-qwahz") shirt under it. at first i gave her the benefit of the doubt. but when she continued to use "turqwahz" another five times, together with the word "sassy" to describe a plain white cotton shirt which she was trying on, i gave up.

since my mind was already a million miles away, i began wondering to myself why people feel the need to impress others. we all do it. i do it. i see a need to impress someone with my wit or my knowledge or my intellect or relate to their situation. but i find that as i've gotten older it's been less a requirement to impress regular every day people. treat them with respect & kindness, yes. attempt to "prove" i am somehow better than them, no.

at some point it would seem to keep up the farce of impression would be to discount who we are as a person. it's essentially inflating a part of our personality & deemphasizing another. not an awful thing unless it becomes our assumed reality rather than our true reality.

those were my ponderings today.

for other wonderfully surprising ponderings & admissions of being human, check out without you my dear. i've met this girl once or twice (never officially) when i've attended her family's venue in greensboro, cafejam. she wouldn't know me from the man on the moon, but her writing has always entertained & impressed me. there's soul to it.

& i'll bet she doesn't see truth in impressing for the sake of impressing.

shoutout to my pops



i fixed a couple links that i had off. quirky css.

i also was amazed to discover today that my father is speaking. in georgia. about the book he wrote on the gillespie rifles.

for those interested in history, we are descended from the gillespie family. my dad recently published his small book on both the family & the rifles which he owns & reproduces, one of which was owned by daniel boone himself. you can see my dad's website here. i am pleasantly surprised at the hoopla that has surrounded both the book & his rifle-making skills. suffice it to say that between that hobby & restoring his '57 chevy, he's keeping busy since retirement, much to my mom's continued happiness. at least he's not tearing the house apart with home repairs. at least not often ...



who knew i was getting married?

13 July 2004

apparently david's bridal. as if it's not enough that i should have "professional bridesmaid" behind my name, i received a voice mail today from david's stating that they were following up on my "search for a bridal gown" & wanted to know if i had yet been able to bring my "mom in to see the two gowns i selected with the veils".

that'd be a big negative.

apparently they somehow mixed up my one of a bazillion cards i've filled out at david's (you know -- one for each wedding because they cannot recycle the last card) with deena-the-bride's card. which is surprising considering she already had her gown. not from david's. yeah, take that david's & stick it where the sun don't shine.

oh yeah, i'll be in there in august to order the bridesmaid dress. thanks, dahling.

*sashays away*

big brother's involvement



here's a great article about the american perception of government involvement. an excerpt:

The message of the news and most Americans is simple: If we can just get government to save us how we want the government to save us, then we’ll be OK!


God help us if the government is our saving grace.

did you hear that? it's my eyes rolling so far back in my head i'm staring at my brainwrinkles.

however, that will not dissuade me from my enthrallment with the show big brother. i can't help it. i am drawn to voyeuristically watch these people interact with one another. it's like people-watching. at the mall. or at the zoo. or something.

12 July 2004

as i type this entry there is the steady drone of falling rain & thunderclaps. there's nothing better than a thunderstorm when you want to relax -- the steady rainfall, the occasional booms of thunder. i curled up earlier this evening with a book & a mug of tea just 'cause it was thunderstorming outside. most likely also because i'm recuperating from my weekend. but that is another story.

after a slow start on friday (various last minute issues that sarah & daryll needed to work out for their accomodations for her marathon ... because she's only had this planned for a month ... EXACTLY), we made it to boone around 7:45 PM. daryll new his duty was to get sarah to her carb load-up before she went bezerk. girlfriend loves some food & nothing & nobody should ever attempt to stand between her & the very same food.

but what am i talking about since i was gorging myself on philip-the-chef's homemade delicacies for dinner: marinated steak, spicy couscous with mushrooms (not a mushroom fan but these were tasty), & a zucchini, tomato & garlic sauté. so good. no wonder deena complains about gaining 15 pounds since returning from switzerland, not to mention has concerns about fitting into her wedding gown.

after dinner we headed up grandfather mountain for the celtic jam session that evening. the most entertaining group by far was off kilter. (their website is quite amusing, as well.) plenty of fetching young scottish lads were lurching about in their kilts, including one who insisted upon escorting us up to the stage area. that's the first scot i've ever heard with a western north carolina accent.

apparently we brought the heat from raleigh to boone this weekend. according to deena & philip, it's been around 80-some degrees for the last few weeks & obviously cooler in the evenings. somehow it was around mid-90s the whole time we were there. sarah was about to die, but more power to her. she ran a 26 mile marathon up the side of grandfather mountain, in 90 degree weather, at a higher altitude in 5 hours, 15 minutes, 41 seconds. she got third in her division & was thrilled to receive her first marathon trophy. she was also more enamored with the snacks provided then even with the trophy. heh.

deena & i spent the day shopping. i can't believe i found more deals in boone than in raleigh. i came back with a skirt, necklace, earrings, new plates & various household accoutrements. what's with that? it made me realize that i miss that smalltown atmosphere of shopping in a town with a general merchantile store that carries funky childhood reminders -- those slinky dogs, paddleball games, jacks, & old-fashioned candies (including mary janes!) by the pound. also they had some of the best ever thrift stores due to the hippies at app state.

we also nipped over to the hip little restaurant where philip is a chef. after our cheese plate appy & my bucatelli pasta with pancetta, carmelized onion & green pea rougôut i thought i would die from happiness.

saturday night we ventured out for the horn in the west outside drama. supposedly it was about daniel boone he was really a minor character. the drama wasn't bad but after a day of wondering around in the heat & sitting on the uncomfortable metal chairs outside at the amphitheatre & the rain beginning to fall, we weren't so happy. on top of it there was a screaming child who would shriek at the top of her lungs every time a musket was fired (imagine ... quite a bit ... outdoor ... revolutionary war drama ... i'm just sayin'.)

[ soapboxing on parents with annoying children ]

you'd think the parents would have taken the child out after she refused to calm down after the first five minutes of screaming. or at least relocate to a section where nobody was around them, as it really wasn't crowded.

[ /soapboxing about parents with annoying children ]

church on sunday, more entertaining than teaching. not that the pastor was off but i was completely unfocused. apparently deena & philip have only been to this church twice before in their church-shopping. this was the first sunday they planned to check out the sunday school, so off we went with sarah & daryll in tow. only to find out that sunday school was cancelled. because nobody could teach? this was a decent-size church. two services. we had at least 350+ in our service. instead of leaving, we hung out until the 11:00 service.

daryll got to prove his point to us about him being considered an oddity. i think he's got me beaten with the randoms talking to him. apparently people consider him somewhat like a zoo animal ... a big, black guy who looks like a gentle giant, clad in brooks brothers & (*shock* - what's this?! - *shock*) who actually speaks without the ghetto talk?! no lie ... three different white people came up to him to introduce themselves to him & welcome him. none of them were interested in speaking to the remaining four white people. apparently they just wanted to make it known that a "black" was welcome to join them. we all had to hold back the laughs when one friendly 70 year old man kept shaking daryll's hand for five minutes as he welcomed him to the church & asked about the weather. daryll's reply was that "it sure was african hot out there". grandpa had no idea how to respond & you could see it in his eyes. hee.

after church, more philip specials (sesame chicken & rice - gorgeworthy, so much so that i couldn't eat dinner that night), & then we headed back to raleigh.

thank God for days off to recuperate. this monday has been far better than most mondays. & tomorrow? back to the grind.

liberal lethargy

09 July 2004

heh. nation's liberals suffering from fatigue outrage.

and also, did you know shrek's a sell-out?!

7-Year-Old Loses Respect For Shrek After Seeing Him In Burger King Commercial
KANSAS CITY, MO—Cale Parnell, 7, said Monday that he no longer holds Shrek in high regard, ever since the green ogre started appearing in TV ads for Burger King Kids Meals. "Shrek just wants to sell things and make money," Parnell said. "He doesn't care if kids like me are having fun." Parnell added that Shrek is "just like that stupid money-grubber SpongeBob SquarePants."


o how the onion makes me cry.
with laughter, that is.

time keeps on slippin'



& it's slipped right past me lately. the week has been another blur. not a bad thing, but a blur, nevertheless.

so, since everyone is waiting with baited breath for my rod stewart review, i'll oblige. but only because the unwash masses will revolt otherwise.

rod is 59 & fine. he is still spry, entertaining & enjoying his craft, so to speak. i have been feeling certain i would hate the show, the crowd, the heat, et cetera, et cetera, & et cetera. but i was surprised. rod gives a good show with a great mix of his new stuff, old stuff & good humor. he's obviously loving what he does which is a big plus for any & every artist. face it, when you're at a show & the artist doesn't want to be there, it's obvious. or maybe that's just me.

i expected more leopard spandex in abundance. sadly, i was disappointed. except not.

so last night was worship night at vintage & i was pleased to meet erik. he came in & took control, meeting plenty of vintage folks on his own. i imagine he'll fit in well with the vintage community. after worship, several folks went to helios, which i've been wanting to try for some time. good times, good convos (who knew so much about microscopic fish & urethras & piranhas?), & decent atmostphere. certainly a delightful night & one for which i'm paying this morning with a bit of draggage when coming into the office.

but all is right with the world. this afternoon, sarah, darryl & i will head to boone for sarah's marathon & for the grandfather mountain highland games. you can find me chasing sheep for the heck of it ... pray for my safety. or maybe the sheep's safety. or maybe the mountain's safety.

& now for work so i can leave on time today.

your heart in my brain

06 July 2004

what a tasty article!

"I don't know if it will shock people. People tend to react with disgust on the one hand and curiosity on the other. We always say I love you so much I could eat you," said von Praunheim, adding the movie would be laced with black humor.


i'll have to remember this the next time i say someone is so cute i could eat them with a spoon.

what?

countdown to rod stewart

05 July 2004

2 days & counting.
don't be jealous.

blurrage



it seems this last week & weekend has been a blur. i am so slammed at work that i rarely leave the office before 6:00 PM & i have to ask, "what's a lunch?".
the one day earlier in the week that i was actually stopping for lunch, i decided to still keep it short & eat in our breakroom. that is until i was cornered by her. you know the one i'm talking about ... the resident (s)talker. she's the one who will corner you in the hall or in the breakroom & talk. & talk. & talk. & talk some more, all the while never picking up on the social hints of you slowly backing away while muttering about all the work at your desk. i have never eaten a sandwich so fast in all my life until that day. if i heard one more word about clay aiken & his career i seriously thought i would chunder everywhere. i fled to my desk & finished my lunch there. 20-something women should not be clay aiken fans. that is all.

this weekend was pleasant & entertaining, not that i expected less. friday i racked upon shopping deals for the holiday weekend & spent much of the time catching up with sarah. i didn't realize how much i missed her until she came back. my month while she was in europe was simply a blur. she asked what i'd been up to & i was silent trying to remember. old age? eek.

saturday i joined catherine & her greek family for some family bonding time. ey-yi-yi ... it's always an eye-opening experience with them. they're loud. & northern (although they seem to think i'm one of the few southerners they've met with the northern personality.) & very, very greek. we went to see spider-man 2 which contained some of the most spectacular special effects i've seen in a long time. not to mention the entrancing animation intro. i was spellbound for that & would call that worth the price of admission alone. overall, though, i wasn't overtly impressed with the film, but it was an entertaining 2 hour span, amongst all the crying babies & toddlers. why do people bring screamy kids to a movie? & then not take them out when they begin to wail? so very rude.

after dinner we adjourned to a greek restaurant (which i cannot recall by name, i was so overwhelmed by the experience, apparently). after many minutes of arguing over the appetizers & going down memory lane with aunt irene & uncle george (brother & sister who are first-generation americans, raised by their family who immigrated from greece in the '40s), appetizers were procured & the menu was still being dissected. it took 8 of us approximately 40 minutes to order our meals. i was starving. had someone said an inflammatory thing to me, i might have taken their head off. i'm just sayin'. thank God for the greek bread served with a dipping mixture of olive oil, lemon, garlic & oregano. i could have eaten that alone for my meal & been quite happy.

*mouth waters*

when my meal arrived, i was the laughing stock of the table for being one of the only non-greeks who ordered from the menu. my biftiki de monstiere (or something along those lines ... wish i could find their website & online menu!) was the greek version of a cheeseburger. i didn't care as it was seasoned with some wonderful cumin with greek cheese (not feta as i'm not a feta fan) melted over the top & served alongside lemon potatoes & seasonal veggies. let the record show that everybody tried my dish & amongst all the authentic dishes they tasted, found it to be the best. our waiter explained the reasoning behind the dish ... apparently in greece a monastary decided to rent out the lower portion of one of their buildings for some extra income. the restaurant enterpreneurs knew that to appeal to tourists they should offer some sort of americanized dish, so they chose the "cheeseburger & fries" version. this dish is still going strong in greece & has been for 60 years, now being included on every restaurant's menu. so the non-greek girl has the last laugh. oh yeah.

yesterday after church i spent the afternoon with sarah, darryll, blaine, neil & some random guys that work with blaine. blaine? so proud of his pork shoulders that he'd been grilling since 9 AM. we spent plenty of time holding back the dogs from the delectable meat that neil & blaine we're chopping in front of them. after a glass of red wine, i crashed in the hammock for an hour or so, waking up with a headache. on the fourth of july? when fireworks would be bursting in air? not a good thing ...

04 July 2004


what an amazing photo my dad took recently while in alaska. this pic was taken through a viewing scope honed on a bald eagle, our national feathered symbol. happy independence day!
 
   





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