I'm not making this up...

An 88-year-old Oregon woman's home was invaded by a 46-year-old naked man yesterday.
The man followed the woman around her house and then shoved her face-first into a chair.

Acting in self-defense, the woman reached back and grabbed his boy parts. That scared him out of the house, where police nearby tracked him down.

And when police identified him, guess what his last name was?

Dick.

I promise that's a true story.

holiday music and the economy

I love Christmas music. But I hate that radio stations only play it up until Christmas Day, and then that's it. Technically it's still Christmas until Epiphany, right? It's like, we start the season way too early, and then by the time it's Christmas Day, everyone's sick of it, even though the season isn't over. I don't like that.

I think part of the reason for this problem is because we don't really have special music for other holidays, so when it gets close to Christmas, everyone just gets super-excited and overdoses on holiday music in November, but then by the time it's actually Christmas, they're ready to be done.

Here's my solution: we should have holiday music for ALL of our nationally-recognized holidays. That way, we wouldn't overdo Christmas music. For example, what if we had Thanksgiving music? (Not just "Over the River and Through the Woods," because I'm pretty sure that's the only Thanksgiving song that exists right now.) Lots of songwriters could make big bucks writing all kinds of Thanksgiving songs, and then we'd start listening to those right after Halloween. Then by the time Thanksgiving came and we were getting tired of Thanksgiving music, it would be time to get out the Christmas songs (but not until the day AFTER Thanksgiving), and people wouldn't get as tired of it!

Also, there should be more songs for Halloween; not just "Monster Mash" and the soundtrack to "The Nightmare Before Christmas," although that is very good music. That would also get people more excited for Halloween and not rush into the Thanksgiving/Christmas season so quickly. And I think there should be special holiday music for like, Easter and Arbor Day. I think that in addition to allowing us to better appreciate the holidays, not only would this be a big moneymaker for songwriters, recording artists, and the entertainment industry in general; but it would also boost the economy because it would make these holidays a bigger deal, which would make people want to travel, throw parties, and buy gifts several more times a year, putting them in a more "consumer" frame of mind year-round. Then transportation companies, hotels and restaurants, and retailers would make a lot more money, which would result in the creation of more jobs and more frequent rises in the stock market.

So there you go -- holiday songs for all nationally observed holidays would solve the recession. You're welcome, Obama Administration.

my time of day

It's Christmas night/early in the morning the day after, I'm at work, and things are very quiet around here. So I'm just listening to some showtunes. And a song from "Guys and Dolls" caught my attention -- is this my song or what?

My time of day is the dark time
A couple of deals before dawn
When the street belongs to the cop
And the janitor with the mop
And the grocery clerks are all gone.

When the smell of the rainwashed pavement
Comes up clean, and fresh, and cold
And the streetlamp light
Fills the gutter with gold

That's my time of day
My time of day

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I'm still new to the texting thing, so I didn't get on the ball with the holiday text message, but I really appreciated the texted Christmas wishes I got from my friends!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Lis

There's only one more sleep till Christmas!

I just HAD to post this video...I can't believe I didn't see this until now!



There's nothing like the Muppets to put me in the holiday spirit! Well, that and Christmas music, wrapping presents, decorating, snow...and watching White Christmas.

Well I have to get back to work, but I just wanted to say Happy Christmas Eve! I love Christmas Eve about as much as I love Christmas Day because the anticipation of Christmas is so exciting! Just multiply that excitement times about a million and you can imagine how those shepherds felt as they traveled to the stable after being scared out of their pants by a choir of angels...they probably didn't know what on earth to expect, but the thrill of leaving their sheep and wandering out into the night had to have them chattering nervously together while they walked --

"Can you believe all those shining angels? I'm still seeing spots!"
"Who do you think we're going to meet when we get there -- will there be famous people at this thing?"
"Do you think our sheep will be ok?"
"We're gonna get in so much trouble for this!"
"Heheheeee!!!"

And then imagine their surprise to find out that the person causing all the commotion was surrounded by the humble and lowly conditions of farm animals, hay, and horse poop. Someone just like them! It must have been a sight beyond their wildest imaginations, and yet so familiar that they may have felt that it was real...genuine. Something they could believe in.

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope that tonight you feel the joy of giddy anticipation that those shepherds must have felt so many nights ago!

Peace on Earth!
Lis

grey gardens and newsroom nuggets

Let me first just say that I'm home in K-town for the weekend, I'm snuggled up in bed with my laptop in my pitch-black dark bedroom...and our cat (also black, like the night and this bedroom right now) is as nocturnal as I am and he is on the prowl. I keep hearing him stalking around, but I can't see him. Creepy...

OK, so anyway, I just thought I'd catch up and I apologize in advance because this is gonna be a long blog.

~~~

First, thoughts from the newsroom...
This morning was busy! When winter weather hits the Midwest, it really becomes the meteorologist's show, and today was a perfect example. I knocked out pretty much all of the news stories just for live shots and stories about road conditions, and I gave a TON of time to the meteorologist. Plus, schools were delaying and then cancelling, so that kept things hopping around the station as well. In case you didn't tune in last year, I am the person the superintendants call to say that school is canceled, and I am the one who puts it on the air in the little bar at the bottom of the screen. A friend of mine said yesterday, "Do you realize how much power you have? I mean, you could make a LOT of money off of that." That's assuming high school kids would be willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money to have me "accidentally" cancel school. It would have to be a ridiculous amount of money because I would get fired.

Anyway, this is just a small joy, but I noticed yesterday that two of my stories made it all the way through the day to the 11:00 news. Now let me explain why this is significant to me -- The only time I write anything is if it's new for the morning or if we have breaking news. The other day we had two breaking news stories: a train crash and an armed robbery. Now, usually these stories run again at noon, but by five or six, they don't make the news because there is a lot more new stuff twelve hours after my show. If the story does make the evening news, it's usually rewritten as a VOB or as a package. But when a story that I actually wrote makes it through the whole day, I always feel a small sense of pride. And yesterday it wasn't just one, but TWO!

Oh, lord, the cat is in here...somewhere...I wish I could explain how creepy this is! Haha!

~~~

OK, topic two -- Grey Gardens. Grey Gardens is a documentary made in 1973 about a house of the same name, and the two ladies who lived there -- Edith Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter Edie Beale (or, "Big Edie" and "Little Edie.") Big Edie was Jackie Kennedy's aunt, making Little Edie Jackie's cousin, and like the rest of that well-connected family, they used to be very wealthy socialites. Then for a reason unknown to me (I'm going to have to find a biography), the glamour, wealth, and men in their lives faded away to leave a mother and daughter in a dysfunctional, codependent relationship. The two women became very eccentric and their once-fashionable home in East Hampton became a run-down house full of cats and raccoons. The Beales never left the house and lived in such squalor that apparently their home was finally inspected with a threat of eviction. After they passed the inspection, a pair of brothers came out to the house to film a documentary of the two women in their current lifestyles. The result is Grey Gardens, a charming yet disturbing chronicle of these two women and how they chose to live.

It's equally heartwarming and heartbreaking to watch the mom and daughter's eccentric mannerisms, conversations, and choices of clothing -- Big Edie is exposing herself half the time ("I'm about to get naked, so you better watch out!") while reliving her days as a singer by warbling to old records from the 1930s and talking about how she had a wonderfully fulfilling life..."I had my cake, loved it, masticated it, chewed it and had everything I wanted." Meanwhile, Little Edie fashions clothes out of everything in the house, always covering her hair with a dark scarf, dancing around the room, and talking about how her days at Grey Gardens are numbered and how much happier she'd be in "the city" (meaning New York City, where she once lived before her mother persuaded her to come back and take care of her). The soundbytes from the two ladies are so priceless and perfect that you'd think someone had written the lines ahead of time, and yet they are so delusionally and earnestly spoken that you know no one could ever come up with this dialogue.

Now, a few years ago, someone had the idea to make Grey Gardens into a musical, and it started off-broadway. It then came to Broadway in (I believe) 2007, where it didn't run for long, but definitely made an impact, winning several awards. Now that I've seen the documentary, I'm exploring YouTube for snippets from the show, and it looks like it too would have been fascinating to see. The first act is a sort of historical fiction of what the Beales' life would have been like when Little Edie was a young woman hoping to be married, showing how Big Edie's selfish desire to keep her daughter from leaving drove the two apart; Little Edie leaves with a suitcase at the end of the first act. Act two opens on the delapidated 1970s version of Grey Gardens, and (from what I've seen) weaves the wonderful lines from the film into song and dialogue between the now eccentric mother and daughter. Christine Ebersole played the role of Big Edie in Act One, and Little Edie in Act Two, and she is sensational. In all my research of the show so far, all I see is people pointing to her and saying, "Now that is how you sing a song on Broadway. Now that is talent!"

If by any chance I've sparked your curiosity, look up "Grey Gardens" on YouTube...the entire documentary is there in sections, as are several songs from the Broadway show. Especially check out "Revolutionary Costume for Today" and "Around the World." I would watch the documentary first because it gives you much greater appreciation for the songs, their lyrics, and Ebersole's ability to capture the essence of the women in the documentary.

OK, that is it for me! Sorry, I told ya it was going to be a long one! But hopefully I've given you an interesting read.

And I think the cat just farted. Is that possible? Do cats fart?

Until later!

if you can't stand the heat...

...get the hell out of the kitchen and FAST!

That's a little lesson I learned last night while trying to "deep fry" some chicken. I meant to go grocery shopping yesterday morning after work, but it was just too cold, and all I wanted was to go home, turn the heater up, and snuggle up in my amazing bed and sleep. So that's what I did. Then I planned to go grocery shopping last night, but my sister called and we ended up talking for almost two hours, which meant I wouldn't have time to hit the grocery before getting ready for work.

That's ok, I thought, I still have lots of frozen stuff in my freezer that I can cook.

Dun dun dun...

So, one of the things in my freezer was a bag of frozen, breaded chicken that you are supposed to deep fry. Now, let me explain what this meant for me. First, I have never deep fried anything myself before. Second, I don't own a deep fryer. These two things usually wouldn't be a problem; whenever I try cooking something new, I head to the trusty ol' internet to Google step-by-step instructions. I am an intense rules-follower in new situations (can you imagine what kind of a mother I'll probably be someday?).

But last night, for some unknown reason, I decided to do something totally uncharacteristic and just wing it. (Chicken wing it! Ahhh haha...lame joke, I know.)

Here's what MY step-by-step instructions would have looked like last night had I written them down:

Step 1 - Cut a hole in a box...

No, just kidding. That's just the first thing that came to my mind as soon as I typed "Step 1."

Step 1 - Get out a small frying pan, put it on the stove, and turn the stove up to about 6.

Step 2 - Get out your bottle of vegetable oil and pour it into the pan. Don't worry about measuring it out in measuring cups or anything; just pour it in till the pan is about half full.

Step 3 - Let the oil heat up, uncovered, while you put the chicken in the microwave to defrost (this will take about 7 minutes).

Step 4 - Once the chicken is thawed out, stick a fork in it and just dump it in the pan of hot oil. Don't be shy; just go ahead and toss it in there.

FWOOOOOSH!!!

Seething hot oil frothed up and spattered all over the kitchen as soon as that chicken hit the pan. I actually jumped about five feet out of the way and then just watched as hot vegetable oil covered the surface of the stove. I edged back over to turn the burner down, and I could feel little airborne drops of oil hitting my arms and face; it felt like tiny pins pricking me all over. Grabbing a sponge, I tried to wipe up the oil from the stove top, but I mean, it's oil, so it didn't really feel like soaking up into the sponge. Instead, it just spread itself all around and dripped onto the floor.

I went to get a towel to wipe everything up, and slid across the floor (oil + tile = slippery situation), so then I had to wipe off my bare feet AND the floor before stepping back onto the tiles.

Holy crap.

By now, the chicken is most definitely fried, and just as greasy as can be. I was trying to figure out what to do next, when an image popped into my head of what my mom and dad did when they were frying fish: put the fried pieces on a paper towel to soak up the extra oil.

But because I haven't been to the grocery, I am out of paper towel.

So the fried, oily chicken just goes onto a plate where it sits in its own oily little puddle of sad little dinner disaster.

I decide to put the chicken on some lettuce and smother it with honey mustard dressing, hoping that the lettuce will soak up the oil and the honey mustard will give it a flavor other than grease.

Nnnope. It was not very tasty.

So I think I'll stick to what I know for now: Hamburger Helper, eggs and French toast, quesadillas, and anything I can fit into a George Foreman grill.

Until I get a deep fryer and learn how to use it.

Home for Christmas (Show)

Pictures from my weekend during the 75th Anniversary Purdue Christmas Show, as promised!

Backstage during the show...




This is Clarice, who leaves her beautiful home in Hawaii every summer to spend the school year in West Lafayette studying engineering! She is the sound technician for the Purduettes and a total sweetheart!


In the green room with the Kids Choir!


The kids were fascinated with my camera and decided to take some pictures...serious close-up pictures! They were funny.


The view of an empty Elliott Hall from the stage.


Getting our line-up set before the show. It was so fun to meet all of these amazing alumni!


Back with old friends...


Israel, who like me works in TV and is also a Second City comedian in Chicago! So proud!


Greg, who is now married and expecting (well, his wife is expecting. He's not like that creepy dude on the news who got pregnant). He is going to be a great dad!


Kelly stopped by the alumni room to say hi on her way onstage. She was one of my little sisses when I was in Purduettes!


Chris, who now works for the Purdue Alumni Center. He and I will be doing a civic theatre show together this spring!


Jeff, who is engaged and getting married this spring. He is such a sweet guy and loves trying to imitate Will Farrell's Robert Goulet impression. GOULET!


Monica, my roommate for three years. She now works at PMO and is graduating at the end of this week!


Sunday afternoon I got to sit out in the house with my family and watch the show. Then I surprised my mom by being a part of the alumni set! She couldn't believe I kept it a secret from her...hehe!


The Purduettes and PMO Kids Choir onstage. The girls were, in my probably biased opinion, the best part of the show! I was so proud!


The Glee Club onstage.


After the last show, it's tradition to sing a song written for PMO, "There Will Always Be a Song." That definitely made me cry! What a memorable weekend!


Coming soon, more stories from the newsroom...it's been a busy week!

Until later!

vacation day five and the weekend that followed

I promise this won't be long because a) it's almost 3:00 AM, b) I am about to completely crash, and c) there is no possible way I can put into words how fantastic my Friday and Saturday have been!

I'll just say that this weekend I've been participating in the 75th Purdue Christmas Show as a member of the Alumni Chorus. Not only has it been a joy and a thrill to have the opportunity to be back on the Elliott stage for a Christmas Show, and to be surrounded by the beautiful voices of the Purduettes and Glee Club, but it's also been just overwhelming to get to relive these moments with some very dear friends I don't get to see very often.

Tonight in particular was fabulous...which is probably evident by the fact that I'm still up at this wee hour! But I don't think I can describe it verbally...when I get all my pictures loaded onto my computer, I'll just show you what a great weekend I've been having!

Until then...nighty night!

carpet cleaners (vacation day 4)

So, the carpet cleaners finally DID show up this morning...after me spending all week with my furniture upside-down, they came at 8:30 this morning.

The knock on the door woke me up. I had, once again, spent the night on my couch. But for some reason I couldn't get to sleep last night -- actually, the reason was that I went to the library and brought home a book that I started last night and haven't been able to put down -- so I decided to just stay up and watch the morning news that I am taking a week off from producing. That was like an out-of-body experience, and I kept calling shots to no one, just shouting them at the TV like our director Kim would be able to hear me across the river. I have a hard time watching our news when I'm at home sometimes because I start doing stuff like that.

Anyway, after the news was over, I read a little more and then eventually fell asleep, and then the knock on the door woke me up.

Crap, I thought, realizing I was a grungy mess. But I also was too sleepy to care if these guys judged me for my greasy hair, nasty breath, scrubby clothes, or very un-made-up face that definitely was showing some blemishes. I let the two guys in and moved the last couple of things out of the way, including my desk chair, which I rolled onto the kitchen floor and sat in with book in hand, thankful I'd have something to keep me occupied while the carpet guys were busy cleaning.

One guy was older, probably in his 40s or 50s, and the other was around my age, probably a little younger than me. They were both really nice, and made small talk with me over the roar of the carpet cleaning machines. The younger one observed that he could usually get an idea of what people were like based on what the inside of their homes looked like, and that he could tell I was "pretty laid back." The older guy asked me about my piano, saying he knew a lady who played organ at church and that when he went over to clean her house, he would always ask her to play for him. I wished with all my might that he would NOT request a tune from me, and thankfully he didn't. Which is good, because I honestly couldn't just sit down and play anything except chopsticks without putting someone through a very painful musical experience. I just don't play like that anymore -- strictly note-plunking for vocal purposes. When people ask me to play, I always feel like Kiera Knightley in Pride and Prejudice. Only worse.

The carpet dudes finish pretty quickly (not like I have just acres and acres of carpet floors, you know) and they wish me a happy holiday and disappear out into the hallway just as quickly as they came. I locate my slippers and gingerly make my way across the carpet back to the couch, my little island of living space while I wait for the floors to dry. No sooner do I crack open my book and find where I left off than I hear another knock on my door.

I get up and answer it. It's the younger of the two carpet guys, asking if they left a bucket in my apartment. I do a quick check around the apartment and then return to the door to tell him I didn't see anything. THEN he tells me the real reason he came back was because he wanted to ask me out on a date.

G-uh...what?!

I explain to him that I'm not really dating right now, which is true, but he takes it as a cop-out answer that he nevertheless accepts, wishes me a nice day, and leaves.

Aww geez. Seriously? I'm so glad I'm not a guy. I cringe at the ribbing he's probably going to get from his work partner when he catches up with him at the next apartment. You have to hand it to him for having guts, though.

So there you have it. I got asked out by the carpet guy. I'm so glad this 4-day-delayed carpet cleaning at least turned out to be the makings of a good story!

I'm going to bed.

just another reason to love NBC...

I realize that three blogs in one day is seriously overkill for the two of you who read all of my posts, but I'm just so excited about this that I couldn't wait to talk about it. Kind of like in the movies when the guy gets the girl's number and he's supposed to wait more than 24 hours but he can't because he's so excited to ask her out (is that the rule? 24 hours? I wouldn't know since I'm not a guy).

Anyway, if you know anything about me, you know that I love TV so much, I decided to get a job making TV, and you also know that three of my favorite things about TV are on NBC: 30 Rock, The Office, and Saturday Night Live.

Well, now you can add one more thing to that list: Jimmy Fallon.

I don't know how I missed this until now; starting in March, Jimmy will be back on NBC hosting Late Night! And for people like me who are information junkies, he's doing a daily blog on his show's site to keep everyone updated on the show as it comes to fruition (ha HA! How often do you get to use THAT word?!).



And not only can you use the show website to ask Jimmy questions and make comments on his video, you can also link up with him via several social networking engines like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (good thinking, NBC!). So, Jimmy is here, there, and everywhere letting us know what's coming in March. Could a girl be any happier?

Yes. If I could get a job working on Jimmy's show, that would probably make me insanely happy. I wonder if his producers could use an assistant? Someone to help time the show? Get the guests ready? Make coffee? Lol. But seriously, working on a show like that, especially at NBC in New York would pretty much be the cherry on top of a career ice cream sundae.

But in the meantime, I am really excited we'll be seeing much more of Jimmy!

ooh! one more thing!

I just wanted to say really quick that the countdown is ON for the next season of The Bachelor, and this time I will actually watch it all the way through (usually I only watch The Bachelorette; I always seem to forget about The Bachelor and then realize it's happening about two episodes from the season finale). But not THIS time, because this season is special for two reasons:

1) The Bachelor is Jason from Deanna Pappas' Bachelorette season, so this is the first time a Bachelor season will spin off from a Bachelorette season.

2) Jason is a dad! He has a little boy, so all these ladies are signing onto the show knowing that they're not only dating a bachelor, they're also dating a kindergartener. And of course, I'm sure there will be a LOT of contrary opinions from child psychology and parenting experts, discussing whether this is harmful for the kid, or whether it's a healthy process for him to get to meet all of these ladies and help his dad pick a new mom...is this season gonna be good or what?! (OK, I love reality TV a little too much lol.)

And in preparation for the January premiere, I have added the best Bachelor Recap Blog ever to my links here on my blog, so if you are following along this season, you will know where to find it. This girl writes the most hilarious recaps after every episode; it just makes the season that much more fun to watch unfold!

OK, that's it, for real!

vacation day 3

Yesterday was an eventful day. And on top of that, I think I'm finally adjusted to normal people hours, so I couldn't even stay awake late enough to blog about it last night.

So here we go...

9:30 AM - My cell phone alarm goes off. I wake up and think, "It's kinda dark in here," because when I went to sleep I'd left my Christmas tree lights on (remember I was sleeping out on the couch because my bed was covered in stuff I took off the floor for the carpet cleaners). So I go to my bedroom to shut off my actual alarm clock before it starts blaring...and there are no red numbers on the clock face, which tells me that the electricity must be out.

Cooooool.

And I can't figure out WHY the electricity is out because while my laptop does operate on battery power, the wireless internet router in my building does not, so I had no information outlet. So I just curled back up on the couch, thinking terrible thoughts of my friend Tommy and his 57-degree apartment when his heater wasn't working, and wondering how cold it would get in here after a day without power.

10:15 AM - The power comes back on. So much for my dramatics! I get on my station's website and find out that a power line pole just down the street caught on fire, and that's why our electricity went out. And Kelsey told me later that a car crash caused that to happen, which made a lot more sense because I was starting to wonder if there had been a lightning storm overnight or if power line poles just spontaneously combust these days.

10:30 AM - I get a call from Kate, the director for "Children of Eden," the civic show I auditioned for the previous night. Here is where she cast me:

-Act 1: a "storyteller" (basically the chorus) and the Snake (which as far as I can tell is an ensemble thing with a lot of dancing and tight harmonies, which sounds very much like something I would enjoy)
-Act 2: Aysha, who is a daughter-in-law of Noah (like Noah and the Ark)

And I just have to say that is the fastest casting in the history of mankind. I have never heard back within 24 hours of auditioning before! That was awesome.

So I text my friend Chris, who also auditioned, to let me know when he gets his call.

11:45 AM - A trip to the eye doctor to check up on my diagnostic contacts, make adjustments, and then order new boxes. Luckily this trip to his office didn't last two hours like last time.

1:30 PM - I check my email and there's one from Mom and Dad, who are up North moving furniture into their new lake cabin. They have sent pictures and Brrrr it looks cold up there!

1:45 PM - Chris texts me back. He is playing Adam (like Adam and Eve) in Act 1 and Noah's son Shem in Act 2, which means we will be husband and wife. That's awesome since it's always kinda weird to pretend to be married to someone you don't even know, you know?

So all afternoon I'm working on other things around the house, washing dishes, taking out the trash, and waiting for the carpet cleaners to show up. Finally, I call the office to ask what the deal is.

"They couldn't come today because the electricity was out," they tell me, which doesn't really make sense to me, because the electricity was only out for the first 15 minutes that our building's office was open. So I ask them when the cleaners will be coming, and they say tomorrow (meaning today, Wednesday). So I just decided to take down all the furniture so I could have friends over to play cards.

6:45 PM - Bethy calls and we get caught up and have a good conversation about how people should just handle their own business. Or bidness, as Amy Poehler would say (Baby Mama, anyone?).

7:00 PM - Tommy is here with Reese's Christmas Trees, and Caitlin and Troy are not far behind, followed by Kelsey, followed by a hilarious game of Phase 10, which it turns out is NOT an old-people's game like some of my co-workers thought! I would love to recount in detail how this game went, but I will just say it involved Troy needing to charge up his energy-drink slap-bracelet every couple of rounds, Caitlin being sad because she didn't get to play a single card for the first few hands, Kelsey and I revealing or remembering rules at inopportune times for Troy and Tommy, a table discussion about why "My Favorite Things" is considered a Christmas song, which led to a discussion of what "schnitzel with noodles" might consist of, and Tommy "technically" skipping Phases and "technically" winning and needing to check the rule book for loopholes at the end of the game. It was fun. I hope we get to do it again.

11:00 PM - I have a voicemail from Molly, one of my beloved little college freshmen and HSM buddies. She has a paper she wants me to look over for her, so I call her back and she emails me the paper. I do a little proofreading, email it back, and decide it's time to call it a day.

Now, this morning I woke up and put all my furniture and stuff back up and out of the way because the carpet cleaners are supposed to come this morning, although the office didn't know what time they'd be here, which again, seems strange to me. Maybe I'm asking for too much detailed information, but I feel like I'm just asking for normal information that would be really useful. Anyway, I was amazed at how fast I could carpet-clean-ready my apartment this time! I'm getting good at this.

Also, I was excited to find upon logging in to my blog that Kelsey has uncovered the mystery of what schnitzel with noodles is. And after a little reading, I found out that schnitzel is apparently veal and in Germany is considered "a hearty winter meal," which may be a contributing factor in the whole Christmas song issue: "snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes," "bright paper packages tied up with string," "doorbells and sleighbells and schnitzel with noodles!" And then, after some further reading, I discovered that Rogers & Hammerstien messed up big-time because according to this blog, Maria and the von Trapp family, all proud Austrians, would have eaten schnitzel with french fries! Huh!

Well, you really do learn something new every day. Until later!

second day of vacation

I wonder if this is gonna turn into a song..."On the second day of vacation, my true love gave to me..."

Anyways...guess what. This is gonna be another email of random items.

A) So, last night I stayed up pretty late just because my little inner clock is a little confused right now. But that's ok. I had told the girl filling in for me at work that she could call me if she needed any help Sunday night, since I figured that would be her roughest night. And she definitely took me up on that! She called me FOUR TIMES between 11:40 PM and 1:30 AM. Haha! Nice to be needed, I guess. I'm just hoping that she'll be fine tonight and won't need her lifeline ;)

B) Something from Kelsey's blog that I need to do:

what's in my purse
This is tricky, since I switch purses a lot, but we'll go with my current staple purse...(because this could be a LOT longer and MORE random if I included all of my purses!)

-my little leather wallet with all the important things in it...DL, bank cards, insurance cards, my friend Chris's business card, and a ticket stub from "Four Christmases."
-a pack of Orbit Sweet Mint gum
-my camera in its case (I try to always have my camera with me...you never know!)
-my pocketbook (why do they call this a pocketbook; this would never fit in your pocket!) full of library cards, video rental cards, more insurance cards, and some expired "buyback bucks" from Follett's bookstore
-my pink alligator dayplanner book, with Mortar Board (yes, I still buy those), pink Sharpie, sticky notes, more people's business cards, thank-you notes, show schedules for PMO groups, and an autographed headshot of Mike P. that I was supposed to give to a girl in the marching band (oops)
-the holiday issue of "Helen" magazine (the only magazine for the women of Lafayette-West Lafayette and the surrounding areas! We do a tie-in segment with them on our show every week, hence the shameless plug!)
-my emergency make-up kit (blush, mascara, gloss, concealer, and eye-liner...it comes in handy after working overnight for eight hours when I have to go somewhere afterwards, or just when I need a little touching up. Wow, that makes me sound really high-maintenance.)
-a blank DVD-R (meant to record my live shot hits, but then I found out someone else is making a copy for me)
-a "Welcome!" brochure from the TCPL, since I got a library card there last week
-the program from IU Union Board's production of "Cabaret"
-the program from Harrison High School's production of "Alice in Wonderland"
-an almost-out tube of B&BW Japanese Cherry Blossom body cream (my favorite Bath & Body scent!)
-directions to a friend's house from this summer
-trash paper, which I will throw out now
-a heart-shaped Madagascar 2 pin I got for donating money at the movie theater
-some Burt's Bees Beeswax lipbalm
-check book
-ticket stub for "Alice in Wonderland"
-pen from PEFCU (or "Perrfcu" as I like to call it)

That's it. Next time I will do celebrity crushes, also from Kelsey's blog!

C) When I resigned my lease, the building offered a free carpet cleaning, which I signed up for. And it was supposed to happen either today or tomorrow, so I called the office today to find out when the cleaners were coming, because they had told us to get everything off of the carpet in the areas we wanted to be cleaned. The guy at the office said they'd be here today and possibly tomorrow, depending on how long it would take to get all the apartments cleaned that had been signed up.

"Is there a certain day you'd like yours done?" he asked.
"Today," I said. Then I put everything that could be moved up onto my table or my bed, and moved everything else to the bathroom or kitchen so it would be off of the carpet. I even put away everything that was under my Christmas tree so it wouldn't get in the way.

And unless these carpet people work evenings...they are not coming today.

I don't really want to move everything off of my bed just to move it back in the morning, so I'll just sleep on the couch tonight.

D) I went to auditions tonight for "Children of Eden" with civic theatre. I think it went OK. It's just hard to tell...I feel like my song could've been better, but it wasn't terrible. And they had me read some dialogue from the script, but there's not a lot of dialogue in the show, so I don't know how much they were able to get from hearing me say a few lines. I think it's always hard to get a good read on what the directors think. But whatever. The hard part now is trying not to think about it until they cast the show, which they said would be by the end of the week. A friend of mine auditioned too, and told me to call him when I was done, so I called him tonight and we were both just like, "OK, let's just not think about it or talk about it anymore." Haha. Luckily, I have a bunch of music I need to memorize for the Christmas Show this weekend, so that will keep me busy!

E) I made a list of things I wanted to get done today, and I got every single one crossed off! That makes me feel really good!

OK, that's all for today. Until later!

first day of vacation

I'm going to say tonight is my first day of vacation, although it's still Sunday, because let's face it - Sunday night is actually my Monday morning.

Actually, as far as I'm concerned, vacation starts the second you walk out the doors of your place of employment, so technically by those standards, I've been on vacation since Friday morning.

Actually, yes, and actually, I'm Annie.

(That's a Parent Trap reference that only Molly or Marla would get. I just say that whenever I start using the word "actually" a lot. Maybe "actually" should be my word obsession, like Curtis' current "glory" obsession. Which, by the way, entirely changed my worship experience this morning at church. Every time I saw the word "glory" it really made me think. Thanks, Curtis.)

OK, I am obviously a little wound up. I think it's because I don't know what to do with myself because I don't have to work (yay!). Moving along...

I think I am more productive when I'm on vacation - when I don't have to be doing anything - than I am the rest of the year combined. I think I have this aversion to obligation. Like, I don't want to do something just because I am supposed to, but as soon as it's optional, extra-credit, or extra-cirricular, I'm all over it. Explain that to me. That might actually be a middle child thing...actually, yeah, I think it is. (Here we go with the actually's again!) By the way, did you know I am obsessively fascinated with birth order? I've probably mentioned that. Geez, I sound like I'm on speed or something. Anyway, the only reason I'd ever go back to school is to become a psychologist and for my thesis or whatever you have to do to get your degree, I'd probably do something on birth order. I need to get my own copy of the Birth Order Book. Again, moving along...

So I haven't even started the actual part of vacation where I don't have to go to work, and listen what I've gotten done so far:

- Cleaned up/picked up my dining room/living room area

- Found a dress to wear for the Christmas Show. I don't know if I've written about this yet, but this year is the 75th anniversary, so they invited the alumni to come back and sing a few songs in the show. I think they even asked some back to do solos and specialty groups and stuff! It should be pretty cool. Anyway, they told us that for the Purduette alumni set, we needed to have either a black skirt or black pants, and something sparkly that would look good in the stage lights on top. Since I'm not Sheila Klinker, I had to go shopping to find something sparkly and stage-appropriate. I figured I'd just get a black dress that has some sparkle, so I'd cover both requirements with one garment. It was really fun; I haven't had any excuses to wear a dressy dress in years, so it was fun to be able to look in that section of the stores with the anticipation of buying something instead of just looking for fun. I found the perfect dress - a black party dress with tulle trim peeking from under the hemline, an asymmetrical layer over the skirt that gathers on one side of the waist, and a little column of rhinestones where the waistline gathers. It ties in the back, so it can be adjusted to fit to my waist, which is something I have a hard time finding. And the bodice and under-layer of the dress has these little clear-reflective specks that sparkle very nicely in the light but don't look obnoxious in a normal setting, so I can actually (is anyone keeping count here?) wear it to parties or weddings or stuff like that. When I saw it on the hanger, I pointed it out to Marla, and she said, "Eh, I don't really like those shorty-short dresses." But then I pointed out that I'm 5-foot-two, so those dresses end up being just above knee-length on me, which is exactly where this one ended up falling. On someone of average-to-tall height, it would be sexy, but on me, it's just short enough to be sassy. I'm so excited! I love dressing up, and I never get a good excuse to these days!

- I also figured out what I'm going to wear to the station Christmas party this Saturday night. I didn't go last year, and I know people dress up, but I'm not sure just HOW dressed up they get, and I was worried my new little party dress would be overdoing it, so I decided to wear this really basic, classy black strapless dress I got at the Gap. I know, I know, I never buy anything from the Gap, but this year I actually (!!! I promise I'm not trying to do that!) found something there that fit me. Anyway, I figure it's dressy but not too over-the-top, and it's pretty conservative as far as strapless dresses go. So I'm glad that's all figured out.

- I got Christmas presents for Mom and Dad, and for Michelle, and I got great ideas for Marla.

- I bought wrapping paper and ribbon and got my mom and dad's gift and Michelle's gift wrapped and under my Christmas tree! I really wish I had more of my shopping done so I could do some more wrapping! I enjoy wrapping presents! So if anyone has some wrapping they need done, just bring it by...I have really cute wrapping paper!

- I picked out a song for my audition tomorrow night, finally. I dislike picking out audition songs about as much as I like wrapping presents. I just feel like it's a lot of pressure to put onto one song, and that if I pick the wrong one, it's going to ruin my audition. I just don't like auditioning in general, although auditioning for civic shows is a LOT nicer than auditioning for my high school shows was. I'm really excited, though, because I got one of my friends I used to sing with at Purdue to audition for the show too. He is incredibly talented, and he went and tried out tonight and said it went well, so hopefully he'll get the part he wants and we can have fun doing the show together! I hope my audition goes well...I just hate waiting to find out whether you got the part or not. Blech! Anyway, I've been trying out all these different songs, and I tend to be a belter, so I sing pretty loud, and I'm a little worried about my neighbors getting upset with me. But whatever. Hopefully they'll be at work tomorrow during the day when I'm practicing!

OK, I think that's everything I've gotten accomplished so far. I'm not going to set an alarm clock tonight in celebration of the fact that I'm on vacation. Ooh - Casting Crowns "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is playing on my AOL radio right now...this is such a cool version of this song. Very powerful. I think it would absolutely ROCK as a piece in the Christmas Show cantata...a male solo with the chorus in the background. I wish I could plan a Christmas Show. So many awesome songs out there. Alright, I am finally running out of things to say, so I'm gonna leave it here.

Until later!

the good, the bad, and the stupid

The Good:

No, wait, actually let's get The Bad out of the way first, shall we?

The Bad:
Still no chairs. Unbefreakinglievable.

Ok, here is the story --
As I've mentioned before, we wanted to order new chairs for the studio's interview set, and Mr. Promotions Guy told me THREE times (once in writing, no less) that he would be able to buy them for us as long as the total cost was under $1000 and we bought them before the end of the year; promotions basically had some extra money in their budget that they had to get rid of before the end of the year, so he was willing to spend it on the new chairs we wanted for the studio.

I delivered on my end of the deal, finding a chair model of the appropriate size, color, shape, and PRICE -- quoted at $274 per chair (so $822 total price for three chairs; well under budget, if you didn't notice) -- and gave Mr. Promotions a photocopy of the chair as pictured in the store's catalogue as well as a written quote and contact information from the store. About 24 hours later, I checked in to see if he liked the chairs and if we could get them. He told me he was "this close" to working it out with accounting.

WHAT?! What happened to having the money in the budget?!

OK, fine. So that was like three weeks ago.

TWO weeks ago, still no news. With the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided not to sweat it; the normal 9-to-5 folks in Promotions and Accounting wouldn't be around anyway, so nothing was likely to get accomplished.

ONE week ago, I checked in again via email:
"Hey, how are things going with the chairs?"
"Just trying to do some creative budgeting to make it work."

WHAT?!?! What happened to being "this close?!!"

TODAY, I see Mr. Promotions Guy and wanted to chew him out completely, but instead, I said, "Any progress on the chairs?"
"Weeellll..." Mr. Promotions Guy says, "We just have to get it approved...see, it's all really stupid the way it works, like, it's money from MY budget, but we have to get it from another account, and then THEY have to take that money from OUR budget, and..."

The way you talk, all I hear is blah blah blah.

"OK, keep me posted," I say, hoping that hints his need to get this taken care of.

Seriously, if he wasn't actually in control of the money in the first place, why would he tell me what he told me in the first place? It wouldn't be as big of a deal if he'd have just said, "I can't promise anything, but if you try to keep it under $1000, there's a better chance we'll be able to swing it with accounting."

But instead he remodeled his office and then left something that EVERYONE could use, like the new interview chairs, to the uncertain fate of the accounting department.

What stinks is, I really like this guy and I think he's trying to do a lot of good things for the station. And I really like what he did with his office. But it's like the time I bought a new outfit and then found out one of my paychecks was coming a month later than I thought it would. You don't spend money you don't have, or in this case promise to spend money you don't have.

Frusterating.

The Good News:
1.) It's Friday. Holla! (Yep, that just happened.) And that means all the good Friday things that come with it, including new episodes of 30 Rock and The Office that I watch Friday mornings online (and by the way, this week's Office episode is about the place where I work! Crappy copier, crappy chairs, budget surplus!!! It's too perfect. It absolutely made my day and gave me an easy way to laugh about how ridiculously inefficient things seem to be around there sometimes).

2.) I am officially on vacation! I'm not going anywhere, but I will have lots of time to do Christmas shopping, read, relax, maybe do some video editing, go to the gym, and also do some of that day-time stuff I don't normally have time to do, like eye and hair appointments. Plus I get to sleep at night like a normal person!

3.) I get to go see Justin's play tonight! Justin is pretty much me in a 6-foot-five boy's body. (Scary, huh?) This kid thinks like me, loves movies, musicals, and music, and all of the trivial information about them, as much as I do! I always tell him he's the little brother I never had. He is also a very talented and enthusiastic performer and I am so excited to see him onstage tonight! I've seen so many plays this fall thanks to all my little civic theatre buddies...so much fun!

4.) There is a package in the mail on its way to my door, which is always super-fun! I got a gift card to Victoria's Secret for my birthday, but didn't use it until now, and today I tracked my order and it is on its way out of Missouri. It's so fun to track packages; it's kind of like watching cookies bake in the oven -- if you can see the progress, it's a little easier to wait for the final product!

The Stupid:
1.) Here's the situation: I get home from work this morning. I'm holding my purse and lunch container in one hand and a stack of books and my keys in the other. So my hands are a little full, and it's a smidge chilly outside. The way it works at my apartment is, you can get in the first set of doors without a key, but you have to unlock the second set, and it's an oldish set of doors, so you have to jiggle the key in the lock a little bit, you know what I mean? It's not like a magnetic strip card or anything. And there's kind of this unspoken but universallly understood rule of common courtesy that if you're inside the building and near the front door, and someone who clearly has a key to the building is trying to get in, you go open the door for them so they don't have to mess with the key. Especially if they've got stuff in their arms. Now, if the person is a creep, just standing there waiting for someone to let them in, you should keep the safety of yourself and your fellow building dwellers in mind and let the dude fend for himself. But I'm saying if their key is in hand, indicating that they clearly belong inside the building, you go ahead and let them in.

OK, so back to me at the door this morning, with arms relatively full, fumbling with my key. There is a girl standing right in front of and I mean RIGHT IN FRONT OF the front doors, wearing her fuzzy slippers and bathrobe, flipping through a magazine or newspaper insert or something. I am trying to unlock the door and she is staring right AT me and just stands there, thumbing through whatever glossy piece of publication she's got. It is taking me longer than usual to jiggle the lock and get the doors to open, and she WALKS AWAY.

Seriously?!?!!

2.) There was like a fifteen-minute span this morning during which I could not make calls with my phone. A friend called me while I was still at work this morning, and I silenced the call. On my way out to my car, I tried to call my voicemail to see what he'd said, but my phone kept showing this "call failed" message. So then I tried to make just a regular phone call and the same thing happened. I finally tried calling my phone from my landline when I got home, and my cell phone wouldn't pick up the call. So then I decide to just check the voicemail through my landline phone, and I put in the password to get into my voicemail THREE times, and it wouldn't let me in. And I know I was putting the correct password in, because I watched myself punch the numbers and even said it outloud the last time as I dialed, but still no dice. So then just as a last shot, I try calling my voicemail again from my cell phone, and it works. Then I call my friend back...the phone works fine.

So I dunno what that was all about.

3.) This is stupid, but not in a bad way. Yesterday I had a dream that I met Amy Poehler, which is weird because earlier that day (don't ask me why), I was thinking about what celebrities I would most want to meet, and I came up with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Kristin Chenoweth. And I don't usually have the kind of dreams where something happens to me that I was thinking about that day; I usually have the kind of dreams where my teeth are falling out, or someone is chasing me but I can only move in slow motion, or I'm trying not to be shot or stabbed. Yes, I do not tend to have pleasant dreams. If they are on the more enjoyable side, they are usually totally random and have nothing to do with what happened the day before. But yesterday in my dream, I met Amy Poehler and we wanted to get our picture taken together but no one would take a picture. Like, people kept getting out their cameras and we kept stopping our conversation to smile at them, but then the people with the cameras would never actually take the picture...they'd just look at us through their viewfinders and then go back to what they were doing.

Analyze THAT!

(See, that was stupid, wasn't it?)

OK, that's all I've got. I'm officially on vacation. Yay!!!

Until later!

Tightening the Belt

This report from New York magazine shows how Manhattan's upper crust are being affected by the economic recession.



Good to know I'm not the only one scraping by.

it's tough

(Random Thought for 1000: Are contacts amazing or what?! I finally went to the eye doctor today after I ran out of contacts like two months ago, and he gave me some "diagnostic lenses" a.k.a. freebies that I can wear until I get some new boxes of contacts. It's so nice to not be a four-eyes today!!! Also, this was my first time to do something that was covered by my own insurance. Weird!)

OK, girls. And guys (I guess a lot of you have this problem too.) Kelsey got me thinking...sometimes we ARE too nice.

I've always had this impulse that I have to try to avoid hurting people's feelings, or making them mad, even if it means doing something I don't feel like doing...like being nice. But this always seems to backfire, as many people interpret acts of "niceness" for acts of enthusiasm, friendship, or sense of duty.

Example: You are at work, where people are complaining that someone needs to put more paper in the copier. You volunteer to do it, not because you really want to, but because you figure if you do it, at least everyone can move forward. Your co-workers either somehow misread this as a special little joy you get out of refilling the copier, or automatically assume that from here on out, part of your job description includes refilling the copier. Even though you realize it's not just your job, you keep doing it because if you don't, no one else will, and you don't want to be mean and tell someone else to do it for a change.

What I've been learning is this -- if you find yourself picking up the slack on little chores like this, delegate. Chances are someone is standing around doing nothing. Hand them a ream of paper and say, "Hey, can you put this in the copier? Thanks!" Walk away. Don't listen to their lame excuse for why they can't do it. They can do it. If you can do it, they can.

Did anyone watch "The Office" last week? When Pam left a note about cleaning up the microwave? I loved when Ryan told her she should just clean it out instead of leaving notes, and she replied, "I guess that's why we have a temp." (Pam is so much gutsier than she used to be!) Take a page out of Pam's book (not necessarily with the note-writing thing, but with the delegating thing).

Next example: Everyone has that friend-that's-not-really-your-friend-but-they-think-they-are. I have one of those. The person who always texts you to say, "Hey, we should hang out," even though you've never hung out before and you've never given him or her any reason to assume that you were the kind of aquaintances who would hang out spontaneously. The person who always wants to tell you their problems, even though you've never reciprocated that level of personal interaction by telling them about why you're stressing out. The person who has the uncanny ability to get you alone and then make you feel trapped like a lobster in one of those lobster-crates. (You know what I mean? It's easy to get in, but impossible to get out, and the lobster is like, "How did I get into this mess?!?") This is the type of person who doesn't seem to pick up on subtle hints. Too bad for you, since you're the type of person who only deals in subtle hints, because you don't want to hurt this person's feelings by saying something like, "go away," "I don't care," or "I'm not interested." And now that this person has worn down your last nerve, you really WANT to say one of those things to him or her, but you now realize that since this person mistakes your politeness for genuine interest, he or she thinks you are friends and if you say something blunt, his or her feelings will be hurt.

This is one of those "nice" problems I'm still trying to figure out. One way I've found to be effective is lack of communication; not returning phone calls, texts, or facebook messages. I always hate when guys are like, "why would you lead me on if you weren't interested in me?" when all I did was do what I thought was polite and friendly, like answering the phone, replying to facebook messages with non-committal answers like, "I might be busy...we'll see," and saying hello when I saw them around town. Apparently, things like that can be misconstrued as interest or even flirtation. (What?!?! I know.) So just don't do it. Don't communicate, in any way.

Of course, that doesn't always work, especially if you have to see this person multiple times a week, like if they work with you, go to church with you, or you're in a class together or something. That's the part I don't have figured out, but I think what we really have to do is just have some guts and not be as friendly as we feel obligated to be. Is that un-Christian? I don't know. I really struggle with figuring out how much I need to tolerate being bugged by someone while still treating them as one of God's children, and at what point it's just not fair to me to continue to put myself in what seems like a compromising situation.

It's tough.

I obviously don't have the answers to these problems; this is just what I've worked out so far (and by "so far" I mean over 24 years lol). And if you have anything to add to this discussion, please chime in! I started this blog because I thought there were probably other people out there going through the same things as me; starting new jobs, living alone, dealing with relationships, struggling with independence, etc. This is one of those things I think a lot of us are trying to figure out. So please feel free to share your thoughts, either in the comments or in an email!

Gotta get back to work. Until later!