Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Another Good Day

The last twenty four hours have been totally enjoyable. Yesterday I got home from work around 5:30pm just in time to meet one of my favorite people, Mr. Cavin, for coffee. Bronwen, Cavin and I left the house for the Green Bean but ended up in a new little café right around the corner from Natty Greene’s, across the street from the entrance to the Green Burro. This place is great. I think it is called the Brew House, but I am not sure. It has a few seats outside on the sidewalk and bright colored paintings done by one of the owners. Inside there are three round tables with a few chairs each and three large flat screen TVs. I think it would be a fabulous place to play the all important beauty pageant drinking game.
Around 7pm Dan and Piper showed up and we hung out for awhile. Cavin left to have dinner with a friend and Dan, Bronwen, Piper and I scooted home for dinner. After the girls went to bed, Cavin came back to the house. We played some serious Guitar Hero, drank amazing Haitian rum and black and tans and talked and talked and talked until 2am!

I was dreading the 6am wake-up call but was delighted when Dan bolted out of the bed to feed the little BB while I got to sleep for a few more minutes. I was even more delighted when he crawled back into bed to cuddle for a few minutes before we had to get up.

This morning was a sign of things to come. We had to get both girls up, fed, dressed and off to school, as well as get ourselves roused, washed, and caffeinated before 7:30am. I never get to see Dan in the morning because he doesn’t have to be at work until 8:30am so today was a nice treat.

Things are going to continue to be great. Dan’s birthday is Friday so that will be fun, and we are flying off the Philadelphia tomorrow to see the family. Keep an eye out for pictures.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Boredom is Death

I have always espoused the idea that boredom is death. I believe this only because when I am bored, I’d rather be dead. When I am bored, with work for example, my creativity oozes out of my ears and dries up, my inspiration drains out through my toes, and my brain shrivels into a dried up fig, only not as tasty. The good side of this problem is that I am rarely (excluding work) ever bored. I have always had the ability to entertain myself, and I have so little time to do the things I want to do that when I am sitting around I always have a project, idea, cleaning, or something I want to do.

I discovered this article today in Scientific American (my new favorite magazine besides The Week) called Bored to Death: Chronically Bored People Exhibit Higher Risk-Taking Behavior. It is a fascinating study which purports a number of interesting conclusions about what boredom does to people. A quick summary:

1) Highly bored people tend to lack the ability to entertain themselves thus making them tend to engage more in high risk behavior such as drug use and extreme sports.
This may explain the restlessness that occurs when I am bored. Instead of sitting around complaining I tend to move aimlessly around the house until I figure out what to do. If the opportunity to do something extreme were to present itself, in those moments I am pretty sure I would do it.

2) Chronically bored people tend to score low on measures of self awareness.
I think about the people that I have know in my life who tend to complain of being bored frequently and they are the same people who have a hard time figuring out what they want and what they desire. Does it work in reverse though? If I deconstruct myself and discover mt true desires does my boredom go away?

3) The ability to focus or engage plays a role in boredom.
This completely explains my performance and behaviors at work. Because I am not interested in my work it is very difficult for me to stay focused over long periods of time (anything over about 5 minutes to be exact). Therefore, I am not able to get much work done during the day because my inability to focus causes me to be bored, which increases my restlessness which forces me to lose focus and become more bored. It is a brutal cycle that can only be broken by finding something that engages me at work. (Or to quit my job and become a pirate and sail around the world burying my treasure on various desert islands.)

Anyway, enough self analysis for the day. Check out the article.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Saturday

Everyday that I am home and not traveling for work is a good day. It seems like it has been forever since I have not had to leave my family to fly off to run a new hire orientation on a Sunday so I lose my weekend. When I get back the next Sunday after losing a second weekend I am so desperate to see Bronwen and Dan that I try to smoosh fun into 8 hours and then get to bed to start another week in the office. I am really going to stop traveling (for work) and then I can have a normal life, whatever that is.

Wedding planning is happening, slowly. We are going to have the cake made at the Spring Garden Bakery (I really like that place). I am having a hard time deciding between white almond cake and chocolate. Anyone want to fight for one option or another? I think I might just have to go for a tasting!

I have an idea of what I want the invitations to look like. Now we have to design it ourselves, or get it made for $500. I am starting to lean to the $500 option. I think they would just look so much better. Or I could save that money to help pay for the open bar because god knows with our friends and family, the bill is going to be hefty.

Now I just need to get a dress, make the favors (just you wait, they are going to be great), get a photographer, get a DJ or figure out something else, pick the menu, get an officiant, design the ceremony, and pick out or make my bouquet. That’s just scratching the surface.

By the way, for those of you who don’t know, the wedding and party are going to be at the O’Henry Hotel on Green Valley road. And the Green Valley Grill is catering so you know it is going to be good.

On a totally different note, Jeanie and Josh and Sam came over last night. A copious amount of wine was shared and our little babies played together. Like a fool, I forgot the camera; next time. I had the most fun playing the Buffy karaoke on the special features of season six. Singing along with Anya’s bunny solo was amazing!

Friday, February 23, 2007

In response to Phil's comment on Thai food

Per Phil’s blog the other day, Bangkok Café is the best Thai place in Greensboro. It is right across the street from Arigato on Holden and it is smooshed between a Latin market and something ubiquitous like a cell phone place, I can’t remember. They have about nine tables. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and the whole place is run by family. They have an appetizer called Yum Woon Sen (I think) and it is shrimp with cellophane noodles in a spicy lime cilantro sauce; very spicy and amazingly flavorful. Phil liked the curry (they have 5 different types) and the Pad Thai is good. Their soups are also very good.

Here is more Thai info. Taste of Thai now has a lunch buffet. I think it is all you can eat for $6.99. I like getting to try a little bit of everything. There were some unique dishes like fried cod in ginger sauce, but overall I was under whelmed. The Taste of Thai buffet can’t hold a candle to the amazing Saffron lunch buffet which I would eat everyday if I could roll out of the restaurant and straight into a hammock. All that delicious nan and curry makes me sleepy.

6am every morning

Waking up at 6 am is never fun. And I should be used to it by now, but I am not. But there is one thing that makes waking up early alright and that is Bronwen. You just can’t stay grumpy when you see her little sleepy eyes gazing at you. And when she stretches, yawns, and smiles a big gummy grin at you, you can’t help but be happy. She is such a happy morning monkey. It makes my mornings wonderful.
I have taken a bunch of new pictures of her which I have loaded onto Flickr. And hopefully you have seen the video above. That’s Bronwen just being herself.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Another Thursday

Last night I got a chance to pull out the Dance Dance Revolution game again. It is ridiculously fun for what it really is. It is amazing the learning curve. Once you learn a few “moves” you start to look like you know what you are doing. When you first start playing the game, you positively trip yourself trying to get one of your feet in the right place at the right time. But it gets better. I also played more of Guitar Heroes. I think I am getting worse at that game. Who cares because it is fun.

Tonight I have to finish my taxes (buy a house and have a kid and you get a fat refund!), maybe settle Catan, if folks feel like playing and get ready for Buffy Friday. My neighbors are coming over for Buffy on the big screen. I can’t wait. I am not sure if we will watch season four (they have seen all of them, but are rewatching and are on season four) or if we will go from where Dan and I are stopped. We’ll see. Either way I hope little Sam and Bronwen can play together. They are both sitting upright and I have been waiting for this since we both found out we were pregnant!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Nap Time

There is nothing like taking a nap in the middle of the day. I love naps so much; I will give up meals in order to take one. I love racing home during lunch time and jumping into bed. The house is warm and sunny and the cats are especially lazy. They all come to sleep with me during a nap.
I love stripping off my work clothes and crawling under the comforter in the middle of the day. The world is awake and everyone is working, but not me. I am sleeping diagonal across the bed with three purring cats and no one to bother me for a whole hour. I turn off the phone and the house is quiet.
I hate waking up from a nap and having to go back to work. The last thing I want to do is get out of my cat warmed nest and put my stuffy work clothes back on and go back and sit at a desk. But naps are the quintessential example of “all good things must come to an end.” Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a nap at all, but a good day’s sleep; which by the way, I also love.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Greg Brown...My Hero.

Recently I went to see my favorite singer/song writer Greg Brown. It was a big night for me. I have been listening to this guy for a long time and I have never seen him in concert. Auntie Chris babysat while Dan and I made our way to Carrboro to attend the concert.

The first thing we noticed when we walked into the Cat’s Cradle was the rows of folding chairs covering the main floor and even up in the side and back “decks.” I have been to the Cat's Cradle many times and have never seen chairs. I prepared myself for a pretty sedate evening. Dan and I got our seats about 20 minutes before the show (directly in front of Greg’s chair) and commenced the important and oh, so entertaining people watching part of concert going. Full beards and plaid flannel shirts made a strong showing. Middle aged women in attractive but sensible sweaters donned the arms of the bearded professor types. Dan and I saw many funky hats: gatsbys, knitted caps and one amazing white furry hat that was ridiculously out of place but that I really wanted to pet as the lady passed by. Despite the fact that with the exception of Dan’s full beard we really didn’t fit in with the crowd the vibe was friendly, albeit academic, and it didn’t matter to me anyway, because I was ready to see Greg!

Bo Ramsey opened the show with a few down home numbers. I have never heard his solo stuff. It is obvious that Bo and Greg have been playing together for years. His music was heavily influenced, but leaned a little more to the blues side. He had a great song about the town drunk who died in a car accident. He played in an open tuning (probably G) and used a slide. He was fun to watch because as he really got into his song he would turn his head from side to side as if he was thinking “no, no, NO!” in his head. Actually, it was kind of distracting after awhile. He played for about 30 minutes. When he finished I had to wait 30 more minutes until Greg came on. It was unbearable!

At 9pm Greg Brown and Bo Ramsey walked onto the stage and Greg sat down with his guitar. He played some new songs and then started talking. He talked about the state of the world and his church. (I think he said he and his wife are Pentecostal). Then he sang a new song about the ineffectiveness of our government and the tragedy of the war. He was obviously preaching to the choir, which made it even more fun!

It struck me that Greg was looking old and a little pudgy, but his voice was soulful and warm and his song writing was as wry and insightful as ever.

He sang one of my favorite songs, Just by Myself. And he played two encores, as we wouldn’t let him leave the stage. It was great.

I had a few too many beers (only four but I hadn’t eaten dinner) so Dan drove us home and I talked about music the whole way home…or until I passed out 15 minutes into the drive home.
Greg Brown has a new album out, The Evening Call but I haven’t heard it yet. If you are interested I would recommend the following to give you a good idea of what Greg Brown does: One Night... (1983), The Poet Game (1994), The Live One (1995), Slant Six Mind (1997) but all of them are amazing.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Last night in Destin

Well, I can't say that I haven't eaten well while I have been here in Destin. Tonight a few of us went out to a pub and drank delicious local brews and ate ribs, baked bean, potato wedges, and dark brown bread dripping in honey butter. Not too shabby. This restaurant was also a little strange in that the ceilings were covered in dollar bills. Not plastered with bills, but with the bills hanging down. When you walk in it feels like there are millions of flapping bats hanging over your head. The waitress said there is over $600,000 handing from the ceiling.

Tomorrow I fly out of VPS (Fort Walton) at 6:03am. I will get to see my favorite Dan and Bronwen at 12:15pm tomorrow. And then we get to play for half a day until I have to go back to work. Oh well. At least I will be sleeping in my own bed.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Florida

Ahhh, Florida. Here again. For some reason, despite my best efforts, I continue to end up in Florida. Destin is an interesting part of Florida. I haven't visited any places that were hit hard by the recent hurricanes until now. It really is amazing the extent of the damage. And there has been a lot of reconstruction here.
I haven't had any time to hit the beaches and it has been 40 degrees everyday anyway. But the beaches here in Destin are amazing. White sugar sand stretches straight from the highway to the water. And the gulf water is clear blue and green. Amazing. Beautiful.
Tonight a co-worker and I searched for a local hangout to eat and drink a few beers. We found a place on the beach called A Whales Tail. We ate fried shrimp, steamed crab legs, fried oysters, boiled shrimp, fish, corn on the cob, new potatoes, rice and veggies. Add a few cold beers on tap and I was in heaven. We sat in the warm room, overlooking the picnic benches that must be full of locals when it is warm, and out to the ocean. I understand why people want to live near the ocean. There is something stirring, inviting, comforting, terrifying and just plain big about sitting on the beach at the edge of it. I love it.
However, only 2.5 more days and I get to go home and that is the place I really want to be. I miss my family! See you guys soon!

Friday, February 9, 2007

Today was a good day. I had the day off so I went to work (stupid me scheduled a meeting on my day off) and then the meeting was cancelled. So I set off to get things accomplished. Went to the bank, the post office and bought some clothes for Bronwen and me. Then I came home and played Guitar Heroes for an hour. Why is that the most fun game ever? And cleaned the house. And took a nap. And picked up Bronwen and took another nap. All in all a very good day.

Now Bronwen is asleep and I am trying to figure out what I should do next? More Guitar Heroes? My wrist is killing me from earlier today so that is out. Maybe some more Sports Night, or Buffy. Or maybe just an early night so I can be rested for tomorrow.

By the way, tomorrow night I am going to see my hero, Greg Brown. He is performing at the Cats Cradle. I think there are few people out there who realize what this concert is going to be like for me. You see, I was going to marry Greg Brown. I have been listening to his music as long as I can remember. He is my guitar hero. And he is an incredible song writer. I can’t wait. I will write more after the concert if words are able to describe how incredible it was.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Dieting and Exercise

I am on a diet. Ick! I am trying to cut out sugar, fat and calories and all that. I have read the literature and I understand how it works. Eat less, exercise more. It really is very simple. Then why is it so hard? I really hate denying myself things that make me feel good. And food makes me feel really good. I am a foodie in every way. I love preparing and selecting food and I love serving food and I really love eating food. I can appreciate the most subtle dishes with truffle, fois gras and delicate sauces. And I can delightedly chow down on a bacon cheeseburger with crispy fries. And let's not even go into the beer problem. How could beer have so many calories? And since I am a beer snob, light beer is not an option.

I recently read Anthony Bourdain’s new book The Nasty Bits and in it he writes about a sushi restaurant in New York City. He describes in luscious details each dish, each trembling piece of Toro, each hand roll topped with glistening salmon roe, and on and on. It is food porn. I felt like I needed a cigarette after I finish reading it.

The point is I love food. And now I am on a diet. And dieting and good food are incompatible. No more pan au chocolate for me. No more cheesy quesadillas with sour cream and salsa. No more french fries, beer, pizza, chocolate, ice cream, pasta, cheese and pickle sandwiches, oh the humanity!

On the bright side I have figured out the most fun way to get my exercise in. If you have read this blog before you know that I just purchased a PS2. With it I bought Dance Dance Revolution and the dance pad. There is a workout mode where you can set a goal of distance danced, calories burned, or time spent dancing. It is hilarious and so much fun. I was completely exhausted after about 30 minutes of DDR yesterday. Do you think if I get in shape through dancing Playstation will pay me to endorse the product? You know like the Subway guy? Then at least the money I get can fill the void that food has left behind.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Buffy - Season Five

I promised myself that I would not write any more about Buffy because it is really quite childish, my obsession with this show. But I can’t help it. I finished season five last night and for those of you who watch Buffy, you know what happens at the end of season five. I can’t say that I was surprised. After watching 100 episodes of Buffy in about 3 months (hey, that’s an average of 0.92 episodes a day. Yikes!) I am beginning to get in the heads of the writers. Things are beginning to be more predictable. But I did enjoy this season. I liked four better, and I may have liked three even more. So tonight we start on season six. I already read the back of the DVD so I know kind of what happens, but I am looking forward to witchy Willow kicking butt.

So, as much as it embarrasses me, there will be more Buffy entries until I finish this series. And if my calculations are correct, if I continue to watch Buffy at the same speed as I have been watching I will finish the series in 36.8 days from now. I’ll keep you posted.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

And the Dork Award goes to...

I have done something that may qualify me for complete and utter dorkdom. I really don’t know what came over me. I mean, I do tend to lean towards the dorky side. And I really don’t feel bad about it. But this has taken me to the pinnacle of dorkiness. I bought a Playstation 2. But wait, that’s not all. I also bought two games (this is the kicker!) I bought Guitar Heroes I (and I bought the game guitar controller) and I bought DDR (Dance Dance Revolution for the less dorky out there) and the DDR dance mat.

I was feeling like I had exceeded my dork quota for my life and I wrote Matt (fellow PS2 dork and Catan settler) and he wrote me back the best dork response ever.

Let the dork rain wash over you like a nerd baptism,
fill the pocket protector of your heart with beautiful dork accessories, let thedork light shine into your soul, submit to the future dorkocracy. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Jocks I fear no homophobes for thou art with me; His wii-mote and light saber comforts me. For mine is 100% all difficulty levels forever.


It’s the true dork inside of me that makes me laugh my ass off every time I read that. Anyway, the DDR dance mat arrived yesterday. I bought everything used on Amazon so each piece is arriving separately. Still waiting for the PS2 so I can start plugging things in. I think it is going to arrive tomorrow so I will have lots more to write about in the future. Maybe even some fun pictures of me DDRing. Ha!

1000 Count Cotton Sheets

Last night Dan and I slept for the first time in our oh so luxurious sheets that have been provided by Sunshine and Cavin as a house warming present. 1000 count cotton ain’t too shabby.
Outside the wind was blowing and the mercury was falling, but inside, our cold finger and toes were snuggled together in those sheets. Yummy! The only problem came when our beautiful daughter started crying in her crib. How can I leave the comfort of this bed and tiptoe across the treacherously cold hallway to pick her up? Well, fortunately, she stopped crying and fell back to sleep, so I didn’t have to make the decision. Who knows what I would have done?

Monday, February 5, 2007

Catan

Catan
Catan,
originally uploaded by sudokugirl.
We all love settling Catan. I mean, how can you not? But it brings me particular joy to have the people that I love over to the house to play for hours in our beautiful orange dining room. If I had my way, we would play much more often than we do already.
This is a picture of the third game that I won in a row. (Sorry Phil!) But it was the last victory for me. On Firday night Phil's stunning victory ended my winning streak, possibly for good. I knew it was too good to last!

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Another Buffy Entry?

That’s it. I’m done. No more Buffy for me. The really sad part about this is I knew it was coming. I already knew what was going to happen. I even knew what the episode was called. But no, I had to keep watching because I am an addict. But I can’t take it. I cried from beginning to end and it never got any better. And now I feel crappy, and Buffy is supposed to make me feel good.

You know, after watching 5 straight seasons of Buffy, you begin to take Joss for granted. At this point, it’s like I grew up with these guys, his characters people my dreams now. But then he comes along and completely blows you out of the water with something so incredibly insightful and so heartbreaking you almost have to…I don’t know, cry I guess.

Anyway, I’m done. I can’t go through that again. Buffy is going back on the shelf. I will have to have another obsession for awhile.