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30 Minute Bug

2011-08-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

Is there such a thing?

If so, I had one from 10:45 to 11:15 this morning and then it was over. There is a good chance that it was the key lime juice that I put in my tea.

I have no idea how long that has been in the refrigerator.

Operators Are Standing By

2011-08-23T14:09:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm annoyed...

Apparently, I am much more active than I give myself credit for. Either that, or I just can't seem to sit still. Or, both.

Probably, both.

You see, I was/am training for another half-marathon. I needed a new pair of shoes desperately and had heard about the Five Finger monkey shoes that are now on the market. They are awesome, but I was warned that I needed to break them in slowly because our feet aren't used to using some of the muscles because of the shoes we wear this day and age.

I have had them a little over a month now and have really liked wearing them. I was breaking them in slowly. Wearing them at night when I got home from work for a week. Then I wore them to Zumba to see how they worked there. They were fine. My feet were a little sore, but it was just muscle soreness. I kept wearing them at night so my feet would continue to get used to them and I enjoyed wearing them because they are SO comfortable. My boyfriend, Wayne, and I went on a Zip Line tour and we had to hike a little through the woods and climb and jump and stuff. I was fine.

I continued to wear them for another week after that and then decided I should take a short run in them. It was weird, but it still felt good to run in them. The treadmill never saw such a thing as me running in my monkey shoes. I have to admit, I feel a little like Tarzan every time I wear them. I have this urge to find a vine and swing from it, yodeling all the while.

I'm off subject...

So, the day after I went for a run, I went for another run. (See how this works?) I felt really good from the day before and thought I would push it a little harder that day.

I only ran a mile, but it was a mile too far.

Towards the end of my run, my foot wasn't feeling great, but I thought I could just push through it. I only had about a minute left.

Bad idea. I had hurt something. Concerned that I had broken something, I did nothing and went to go lift some weights, on machines, sitting down. Quit worrying.

A personal trainer friend of mine told me that she thought that I had hyper-extended it. Great. Now I have to look up on WebMD what that means. Unfortunately, I did this today...a week and a half after the incident in the Cardio Cinema with the treadmill.

Thinking that it had healed up after last week, I stood on concrete for hours on end on Friday and Saturday. This is not a good idea. It does not say to do that on WebMD.

So, what I learned about hyper-extension. Lay off of it for two to three weeks and you might be better. So, what they were trying to tell me was don't do anything at all. Sit around with your leg propped up.

Doing nothing.

Great.

At the very least this gives me some time to teach myself how to embroider more things. I'll probably have gifts for everyone by next week. If you put in your order now, you get a free bookmark with every purchase. Operators are standing by.

Weekend Brain

2011-08-19T17:14:00.001-05:00

Ever had it?

I've had a bad case of it today. It's much like Senior-itis, but it doesn't last as long. Influenza is to Senior-itis as Stomach Bug is to Weekend Brain.

It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm recording a CD with my best friends tonight. That definitely adds to it, but normally I can push through work days when I have something new and exciting coming up.

I imagine it's much like being a kid again at the dinner table. You have to eat your vegetables first before you can have dessert. They're not so bad when they're hot and just served, but as I push them around the plate procrastinating their final demise it just gets worse. Their cold and I'm tired of the taste and texture. It also doesn't help that I can see and smell the hot brownies that just came out of the oven. Who is going to think about those vegetables anymore when the brownies are overpowering my senses?!

Oh man...

Now I have Chocolate Brain.

Adult Crayons

2011-08-18T17:10:00.001-05:00

I want every color imaginable so I can highlight all of the papers on my desk. Important or not, everything should be highlighted. Desk papers look better in technicolor.

I'll never actually do anything with them after they're highlighted, but they will certainly look better.

And, really, that's what important... right?

Alternate Universe

2011-08-17T09:42:00.002-05:00

Whoever woke me up this morning by sending me an email, I must say thank you. I fell asleep on my phone after playing (an apparent) riveting game of Spider Solitaire. I suppose that was the point, to fall asleep, but it worked too well. I didn't mean to pass out ON my phone. This is beside the point...

Before I was so graciously awoken, I was having a weird dream. Don't you hate it when you can kind of remember the dream, but everything is foggy up until the end and that's the only part you remember? It's like telling a joke and only remembering the punchline.

"Then the..somethings walked into this place, and this guy said to the horse "Why the long face?"

Unfortunately, I'm going to subject you to my foggy joke and only tell you the punchline because it's important.

A bunch of stuff was happening before this, but I was running through this awesomely decorated house with a lot of hardwood floors. I didn't really have time to admire the furniture because I was trying to find the bad guy. There were two sides to the house. One side that kept everyone that was good, and another that kept everyone that was bad. Why we would both house together is beyond me. It was a dream. Lay off. So, I am running around in circles around this house from room to room and I finally find him. The bad guy.

Colin Firth.

In what alternate universe would Colin Firth ever be a bad guy?

Deceived by the Sun

2011-08-16T14:32:00.001-05:00

It's been sunny here is Nashville for a few days straight. Calm, cool, temperatures have been keeping people level-headed for the most part. Haven't seen any fights lately.

In fact, it felt like fall this morning. You know the crisp air I'm talking about. I think I even inhaled hoping for that first taste of fall. No luck, but I could feel it coming soon. I'll give it a month.

On to the good part...

I hobbled to lunch with Kat. It was a lovely afternoon. Bright blue sky, big fluffy clouds smiling down on us as we walked with our ice creams in hand. She got chocolate with chocolate sauce. I got chocolate/vanilla with dark chocolate peanuts. As we made loving remarks towards our ice creams, enjoyed the bright, clear sky of summer, and walked back to the office we couldn't have had a better end to our lunch experience if we tried.

That was until the car driving by managed to find the only pothole in town with a puddle. Splashed between Walgreens and Sam's Clothing & Shoes. I don't think I've actually ever been splashed by a puddle until today.

Sunny days will teach me to let my guard down.

Fact: To Properly Maintain A Photo Account You Must Upload Photos

2010-06-16T22:55:00.001-05:00

I am admitting I haven't been very good about keeping up with my photography. However, I feel the winds of change a-comin'. Or at the very least, someone just turned on a fan...

I've been registered on Flickr for a while. I had no idea how awesome it was until approximately 5 hours ago...give or take. With this realization, I have been on a photo rampage downloading images non-stop. I fear I will fill up all of the available space that is the internet.

Be warned.

Haiku Time

2010-06-14T23:22:00.000-05:00

Haikus continue to be my favorite type of poetry to write. Probably because the ones I write end up being ridiculous, and most of the time they only have to do with what has been happening in my life recently. Unfortunately, this is probably only interesting to me.

With that being said, there are some ridiculous haikus that only have to do with me:

I bought some groceries.
Organic food is not cheap.
Free range chicken breast.

Almond Breeze ice cream.
Homemade by me and Kayla.
Frozen fingertips.

Forgotten make up
Sits on the coffee table.
Dark circles attack.

I bought some groceries,
But forgot to get shampoo.
Realization.

The Toilet Story

2010-01-31T23:49:00.001-06:00

It started as a normal day. It started as a normal toilet. It only went downhill from there.

Nearly 6 years ago, Last Minute had one of their first rehearsals at Jen Cooke's house. The first to arrive were Dee, Meagan, Cyndi (Mercedes) Lewis, and me. Cyndi came to watch. We're still wondering why she decided to come that day (not that we weren't happy that she was there), but we are so glad she did because she really is the one that makes this story funny.

Let's review some LM history:
Dee was new to the neighborhood because she had just moved to Tennessee from Lansing, MI to become a singer/songwriter. Barbershop is close enough, right?

Becca and Meagan knew each other from chorus and their riveting conversations usually went something like this:
"Hey, how are you?"
"Good."
"Good."
"Good."

Tiffany (who will not appear in this story) was LM's first bass, but I have no idea where she was that night. It is possible that she was having to work or finish up some stuff regarding the Navy because she was shipping out later that year.

Anyway, just to set the scene for you, we were waiting to get started. Dee was sitting in the TV room eating an ice cream sundae out of a martini glass and watching "Good Will Hunting", and I had to go to the bathroom. I don't remember what Cyndi, Jen and Meagan* were doing, but I had other things on my mind.

What started as a normal bathroom trip turned into, what is now, the most infamous Last Minute story ever told.

I won't go into details, but I went to the bathroom. Use your imagination.

The toilet flushed, but then to my great dismay started to go the opposite way that it was intended to go. Panic. Imagine how you feel when that happens in your own house. Now, imagine that happening in someone else's.

I sheepishly opened the bathroom door and called for Jen.

"Jen? The toilet is overflowing and I cannot get it to stop."

Laughter.

We got the water turned off, but that stubborn toilet would NOT unclog. I put all of my might into getting that toilet to flush and it would not budge. I plunged and plunged and plunged and plunged. No dice. It was angry with me and refused to comply.

Keep in mind that Dee is still in the TV room watching "Good Will Hunting" and eating her ice cream sundae out of the Martini glass. So while all of the toilet fiasco is happening, Dee dropped and broke the Martini glass that held her chocolate fudge sundae. We heard the crash from the TV room. (I'm surprised Jen still allows us to come over.)

"Oops.", said Dee.

"What happened?", I called from the bathroom.

"Dee broke the Martini glass.", someone called back to me.

What a fantastic start to our rehearsal.

While they were cleaning up the suicidal sundae, Cyndi and I continued to figure out how to get this toilet unclogged. We had exhausted the plunger plan and decided we just had to go for it. We had to go in and there was no looking back.

"I think we're just going to have to...(I hated to say it)...go in.", I told Cyndi.

"Okay, but just so you know I have a terrible gag reflex. I'll be fine.", she replied.

The idea to put full-sized garbage bags on our arms was mentioned, and since that was the only idea we could come up with, we went with that. Imagine if you will, Cyndi and I both clad with our garbage bag arms, tied off at the bicep with a ponytail holder.

At that point, Jen, Meagan, and Dee decided they needed to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately for them, I had tied up the only one in the house. The needed to go out for milk and bleach anyway, so they decided to visit the local gas station for all of their needs. Dee had told us that the bleach would brake up the blockage and at that point we were willing to try anything.

While they were gone Cyndi and I took turns pillaging the toilet, but because of Cyndi's sensitive gag reflex every 5 seconds I would hear her gag and then follow it with "I'm okay."

This is not a sound you want to hear just above your head.

When we found that nothing was in the toilet, we located some cleaner that had bleach in it so we threw some of that in the toilet to see if it would dissolve any blockage. When that didn't work we threw some Pine Sol in for good measure. Please note important fact. Bleach and Ammonia are NOT to be mixed. Apparently, that combination of cleaning products makes a lethal gas. Fortunately for us, we didn't use straight bleach. We probably would have been dead by the time the others came back from the gas station.

After our near death experience, we determined we needed to completely empty out the toilet. Why? You ask? It seemed like a good thing to do at the time. I think it was because every time we turned the water back on to see if the chemicals dissolved the stubborn blockage the toilet would fill back up again. Still rocking our garbage bag arms, we found some Glad Tupperware in Jen's kitchen and began to scoop the water out of the toilet and put it in the bathtub.

After a few minutes of this, Cyndi turned to me and said, "I have to go to the bathroom."

"I'm sorry, but this one is occupied at the moment. Why didn't you go with the others to the Gas Station."

"Oh no, I can't do that. That's not sanitary. I'll just go outside."

I just stared at her. Speechless.

When Cyndi returned from her more sanitary bathroom selection, we gave up on ever unclogging the toilet. When they returned from the gas station, I told Jen that I was just going to have to pay for a plumber to come and unclog the poor toilet. Of course Jen wouldn't allow it, but I knew secretly that I would somehow pay for it.

Jen had called her husband Chris and told him what was going on. When he got home I told him that I would have to pay for a plumber to come out to unclog the toilet because there was no way that a plunger was going to do the trick. Even though we explained every method that we had used to attempt to extricate the blockage, he went in the bathroom and tried it anyway.

The door was closed for about 5 minutes and while we were all waiting patiently, we expected him to come out of the bathroom defeated.

This was not the case.

After a few hits with the plunger, Chris was able to achieve the impossible. He freed the toilet from its despair.

I still say we just loosened it for him.

*Meagan, feel free to correct any information that is incorrect in this story.

Resolution

2010-01-15T20:36:00.000-06:00

My goal for this year is to read 3 books a month. So far this year I have read Eclipse (in four days). I've started on Breaking Dawn and Alice in Wonderland, and I am listening to Pride and Prejudice.

How is it that I have never read Alice in Wonderland? Actually, I still haven't. But, I have read more now than I ever have. What a fantastically, imaginative, trip through dreamland. To be as creative as Lewis Carroll, how amazing would that be?

I love writers who inspire me to write.

Just pick up the poop...

2009-01-09T00:12:00.005-06:00

I mean, really, how hard is it? Yes, it is disgusting, but you chose to have a dog at an apartment complex. And, for those of us who like to walk through the grass in the morning on their way to work, just pick up the poop.

It's easy!

Here are five easy steps telling how to clean up after your pet:

Locate where the package landed.
Take an inside out Wal*Mart, Target, or Kroger bag and place it on your hand.
With the hand that has the shopping bag, retrieve the package.
Is package is now safely on the inside on the shopping bag? (If not, repeat steps 1-4.)
Discard in the nearest receptacle.

See? Wasn't that easy? I think you're ready to do it on your own now.

Clumpers of America, UNITE!

2009-01-04T23:21:00.005-06:00

First of all, Happy New Year...

So far, it has been. I just returned from a fantastic church meeting at Grace Chapel in Memphis. Though my first intentions weren't solely to attend the meeting, I have to say I was truly blessed. Blessed by the messages, blessed by the people, blessed by the friendships. It is amazing how God works in our lives.

Though I got little sleep, I wouldn't trade that for the late night/early morning Clump Club. I learned some invaluable information from my fellow Clumpers, whom I dearly love. We laughed. We cried. We taught. We learned.

How I wish I could bring all of my dear friends with me, but it just makes it that much more special when I do get to see them and spend time with them. Though, when I come home, it reminds me how much I miss them. I suppose I will just have to do some more traveling this year. :)

As for the past six months...

I am an employee at the Barbershop Harmony Society.

I am trying to bring different types of art into my life.

I sing with my best friends.

I was in Daniel and Brittany's wedding.

I am going to be an aunt!

I love going to parties at my parents' house.

As for this year...

I am training for the Country Music Half-Marathon.

I am starting voice lessons.

I know that I haven't kept up with this blog like I had thought that I would, but I hope this year I will be more diligent. I know that writing is a good outlet for me, however silly I may be. I know being silly is a good outlet for me, however serious I may be. Anyway, the point is, I want to keep up with this blog so that I can remember more clearly the things that have happened in my life. I still enjoying reading past posts and I'm sure in future years I will enjoy it the same as I do now.

I'm blessed...

2008-06-28T01:25:00.003-05:00

for many reasons, but I have one specific reason in mind:

I have an incredible friend who will sit in the car with me for over an hour when we've already arrived back home and talk about deep stuff. While having some ice cream. I think that may be the only way to talk about deep stuff.

The plan was to put my clothes away...

2008-06-15T00:10:00.001-05:00

Four and a half hours later my room was clean and completely rearranged.

I like it.

Friday Flashback: The Note Edition

2008-06-14T23:54:00.003-05:00

I previously had posted a note that I found while cleaning my room back in November of aught six. I found another one (because I cleaned my room again), but this one has to do with high school relationships.

"Becca Box -

Hey! How's it going? Everything is great here. Did you hear about Ashley & Ryan? If not I'll tell you Ryan asked Ashley to the little dance thingy. But, Ashley is still stuck on Paul so she won't go with NE one else. So sad :(! Also unfortionate for her Pauly Poo has a girlfriend. (She apparently goes to another school and her name is Jennifer. But if I believe it is another story. B/C I'm not sure if I do. As for my b-day I have no clue what I would like. Just NE thing that you would like to get me. I'm open to any idea. Right now I am in Stelmies class and we are supposed to keep our nose out of the upstairs and stick it in the downstairs. Don't ask what that is supposed to mean b/c I sure have no clue. He's really a psychotic I think. Well I G2G learn Algebra I now.

- <3>

Kristen"

25

2008-06-03T01:43:00.003-05:00

Well, its my birthday again! A quarter of a century.

When I was little, I always imagined 25-year-olds as grown up and mature. I'm still waiting to get there, but I'm having a good time meanwhile.

I was thinking today back when I was 15, and I was asked where I thought I would be in 10 years. I was sure I would be married with 2 kids. Its interesting how God leads you down a path where you don't know exactly where you're going, but with enough faith you know you'll get to your destination someday.

I am happy.

Though its far from where I thought I would be when I was 15, its pretty awesome to be 25, happy, loved, and loving life with my incredible friends and family.

Friday Flashback

2008-04-25T01:17:00.003-05:00

Apparently, we were learning how to write poems this day in class, and we're still with the 6th grade theme.

"Sep. 20, 1994

What is a 6th Grader?

A 6th grader is

a very smart person,

very funny,

a worker,

a good listener,

always busy,

fun to be with,

a caring person,

also understanding,

always entergetic,

and really a very good friend

and that is a 6th grader."

Friday (actually Sunday) Flashback

2008-04-20T14:27:00.004-05:00

Sorry folks. This whole Friday Flashback is new. Okay continuing on with 6th grade...

"Things I Like to Do

I like to go to go to Opryland and ride all

to rides. I like skating at the Skate Center. I have

a pair of rollerblades. I like rollerblading with my dad

but doesn't have a pair of rollerblades. I also

like playing basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis,

fishing, and swimming.

One of my favorite things to do is go to Fort

Walton Beach, Florida. It's so warm and the water

most of the time is clear. Last year we say

rays swimming in the water. Two years ago

we were 10 minutes late seeing a sea turtle

lay eggs. That would have been neat!

I like going to my cousins house in Georgia.

Most of the time I stay for a week. She has a

trampoline and I like jumping on it. Her school is

nice. It's really big. Those are the things I

like to do."

Friday Flashback

2008-04-11T23:42:00.004-05:00

So as I was cleaning my room yesterday, and I found a treasure. My sixth grade reading journal. I have decided to give you excerpts from it every Friday because it is quite hilarious. I also want to write it just like I wrote it then, misspellings and all. Teacher comments in red.

Here is the first entry in my journal:

"6th Grade

I think 6th grade will be neat.

The only bad part will probally be

dimerits. I the the teachers will be

great! I look forward to imural sports, band,

field trips, and more. I hope science and

social studies will be fun. In the cafiteria

food is good. I look forward to computer lab,

teen living, p.e., and tec lab. I don't look for-

ward to tests. I hope to make alot of new

friends and keep the old ones. Hopefully

they can get it a little warmer in the

classrooms. The teachers seem nice.

I band I want to play clairnet. The

reason why is I hope it will be fun and

if you don't want to play anymore you

can play a different insterment.

I hope to go to Chicago with every-

one. I wander what we'll do besides

watch a baseball game? Go to lots of museums!

I think riding on the bus is

fun. I get to sit and talk with my

friends. Then the time comes for us

to leave.

I hope I get to come in 7th and

8th grade. Woodland Middle is a great

school! I agree! WMS is #1"

Ode to the Sewing Team

2008-04-08T23:29:00.004-05:00

My quartet, Last Minute, had a very interesting time getting our dresses for our annual contest that is held every year at the end of March. This year we ordered some from David's Bridal in plenty of time, but we didn't receive them until the day we were to leave for Chattanooga. Fortunately, we had a sewing team down there who are members of the TuneTown Show Chorus (we are also members of them too) and they hemmed Erica's dress for us.

We honored them on Monday in poem.

We ordered our dresses
In plenty of time
"They'll be in March 18th"
We said, "That'd be fine"

We waited and waited
For that glorious day
We called to check in
And to our dismay

No dresses were found
A week had gone by
Not Tuesday, not Wednesday
Give Thursday a try.

The day before contest,
They arrived at the store.
Only one other problem,
Erica's dress dragged the floor.

We left for the Choo Choo
In hopes that we'd find
A team to sew quickly
And put in the time.

On Bonny, Lynett
Cindy Knight, Fish, and Judy!
(Jane and June are a set.)
They sure worked their booties.

She stood on a table
With hands on the ceiling.
Bonny taped up her hem
And had a good feeling.

They worked through the night
They cut, taped, and sewed.
When morning had broken
10 piggies now showed!

Cursed by our name
Our dresses were late
But you saved the day
So now we may state:

You all helped us win
what we have on right now
So honorary Last Minutians
Turn and take a bow!

Accio Purse!

2008-03-24T00:19:00.005-05:00

I need to get up off the couch and get something out of my purse, but its cold and I have a cat on me and I don't want to get up and its cold.

I'll just will it to come in here to me. That, or use my Jedi mind powers.

..............

Hmm, I seem to be a little out of practice.

I'll have it medium rare.

2008-03-23T00:01:00.003-05:00

While I was enjoying a chocolate chip cookie from Lenny's Sub Shop, (by the way, there is one just around the corner from me again!) I was noticing that it was not quite cooked all of the way but still very delicious.

Which made me think of steak...

When ordering steak, (which is very rarely) I order it medium well. Now, this is a step up from a few years ago when I would order it well done. I can handle a little pink now, but for the most part I like it not mooing.

On the contrary, when ordering a cookie steak, I order it medium rare. Edges are done, the middle is gooey.

See how that doesn't translate to regular steak? I don't know about you, but gooey steak doesn't sound as appetizing as gooey cookie.

...and, There is nothing worse than a well done cookie steak.

I am Internet

2008-03-21T19:13:00.002-05:00

Look out! We're famous on the internet.

YouTube legends.

Inspiration by Katy

2008-03-20T23:00:00.008-05:00

Its amazing how you can be so much like someone that you are never around. This came to me today when I was walking out of front row rehearsal and Jen was on the phone with her sister Katy. I don't remember what they were talking about, but I chimed in on the conversation and Katy said the exact thing I did at the same time.

So for my next trick, I would like to bullet point out how we are very similar:

we both like to use bullets
we're both geminis
we both have the same sense of humor
we like one word sentences. fun.
we both want to go on a cruise.
we both can quote obscure movies and know what the other is talking about
we both get confused for celebrities on a daily basis

See?

The list could continue, but you would stop reading. So really, I just did you a favor.

We're basically the same person.

Except:

you have a sister
you have children
you live in maryland

That's about it.

Cheers.

LOST

2008-01-29T01:34:00.000-06:00

Who else is super excited about Thursday season premiere?

This is how much of a nerd I am. I have been watching all of the episodes to catch up, so I can remember what has happened. Its important that you know what's going on so you can follow along with the show. If you haven't watch or now anything that is going on, you'll be...well...lost.

On Wednesday, I'm going over to a friends house who has never seen an episode and we are going to watch a few of the first episodes. Then, I have to "sum up" what else has happened. We'll see how that goes.

Any suggestions?

Awesome Moment of the Week

2007-12-17T01:29:00.000-06:00

I sang with Johnny Cash's sister in Applebee's.

"Amazing Grace. Key of C."

Hey erybody, its Christmas

2007-12-07T00:02:00.000-06:00

Feel free to leave a load of gifts.

A Confession

2007-11-28T21:56:00.000-06:00

I am a nerd.

Here is a little peek into my brain:

Every once in a while, when I am shopping in a store like Target, or Walgreens, or CVS, I wander over to the card section. I like the read the funny birthday cards and think of who I can send one to and then tragically realize that I can never remember anyone's birthday. That, unfortunatly, is not the nerdy part.

After being very ashamed of myself, I give up on trying to remember and look in the other sections like "Miss You" and "Love" and "Blank". And, what makes me nerdy, and happy, is finding a "Love" card that I can give to my future someone. I found one a long time ago, and again tonight I found one that, I hope, will pretty much sum up my relationship with him. Now, these aren't you're normal mushy cards. They are short, one or two sentences, with some sort of witty comment that expresses how I feel.

I feel this makes me a nerd.

I'm ok with that.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

2007-09-30T19:14:00.001-05:00

One week from today, Lord willing, I will be in Calgary with the TuneTown Show chorus for an international barbershop chorus competition. We've been working non-stop for this awesome week and we're all super excited. We compete on Oct. 11, and you can watch us online just click here and follow the instructions. I think we should be on around 12:45pm central time, but if you want to watch you might want to get on earlier.

I've never been to Canada so this is even more exciting for me. I love travelling to new, far-off, places. I'll update after I get back, I'm sure I'll have lots to tell.

How My Brain Works...

2007-09-18T00:31:00.000-05:00

Have you ever pulled up behind a car at a stop light that is exactly like yours in every way and thought, "What if that is me one minute into the future?"

I think these kinds of thinks a lot.

Daily Observation

2007-09-16T22:31:00.000-05:00

My favorite types of clouds are the ones that look like blankets across the sky, and I especially like them at sunset. I am always seeing photographs in daily life, driving down the street, walking through the store, taking a walk, etc. And, I was thinking today on my way back from church, that these clouds are the best for taking pictures, dramatic enough to be interesting but subtle enough blend into the background if they aren't the focus. To me, these clouds are more of a rare breed, so they tend to be more exciting for me to see.

I also like the single fluffy clouds in the afternoon.

Yes, I realize I didn't use any of the proper names, but who does? Besides people who know then, like scientists or....science teachers.

"Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong." -Donald Porter

2007-09-13T19:18:00.000-05:00

Customer service is of utmost importance to me. I have worked in sales long enough to know that if you are good to your customers then you get repeat business and a good repoire with them every time they come to the store. If you aren't good to them, then they spread the exact details and tell all of their friends, and anyone they run into, not to go to Said Company.

I would like to tell all of my friends not to go the the Sbarro in downtown Nashville.

Let me recount...

Most of the time I get water because I just want to drink it, and buying bottled water is just silly to me. I got tap water at this not-so-authentic Italian eatery, along with baked ziti and a garlic roll. I was pretty thirsty so I took a drink of my water, and then proceeded to over to the condiment counter where I got some parmesean cheese, salt, and a fork. I got over to my seat and was about to take a drink of my water, but I noticed some black specks floating in it. Ew. I went back over to the cashier and told him I had black things in my water. He poured it out and got me some more, but this time he noticed that there were still black dots in it. An awkward silence...

"Would you like something else to drink?"

"Well, yeah.", I thought.

"I really just want some water.", I replied.

"Would you like a bottle water?", he asked.

"Yes, that would be great.", I answered back.

"That'll be $1.98.", he told me.

"Seriously? He's really going to charge me for some water when I just had black floaty things in mine?", I thought.

Awkward silence...
I just stared at him until I said, "No, I just won't have anything then".

Now, I realize that I didn't pay for a drink. I get that, but my free drink should not be hazardous to my health. If I were that Italian food server/cashier I would have (1) apologized profusely and (2) given me a free drink.

Customer service, people. Get some.

Yes, that is the same person.

2007-09-04T16:26:00.000-05:00

If you can remember about a 2 years ago (wow), I posted some pictures. One of which, was the ugliest picture I ever took of myself. Dee, Dan, and I decided it would be fun to take ridiculous pictures of ourselves. I succeeded, by far, in taking the ugliest picture...I have ever seen of anyone. This was all in fun, of course, but still very gross.

I have made a little photo compilation with two extremes. One is absolutely hideous, and one is over-the-top-almost-silly glamorous. I thought an update after a couple of years would be a fun way to bring back that picture that caused a lot of people a lot of laughter. I also have to give props to Eddie for this hilarious idea. Thanks! :)

Encore! 2007 Tickets On Sale Now!

2007-08-16T18:29:00.000-05:00

Mark your calendar now and invite your family and friends to Encore! Join the TuneTown Show Chorus for a rousing night of four-part harmony at the Acuff Theatre, Saturday, September 22nd at 7:00 p.m. (next to The Grand Ole Opry House).

Back by popular demand is the Hot Air Buffoons. If you were in the audience during their last Encore! performance, we hope you have fully recovered from any injuries suffered as a result of "sidesplitting" laughter. Their performance is one-in-a-million...not to be missed!

New to our stage this year is Durant. While you will definitely enjoy this young group and their unique collection of music, they'll also wow you with their energetic and rich vocal harmonies.

Also performing will be our very own Last Minute (International Rising Star second place quartet medalists!), Fiddlestix (headed for International quartet competition in Calgary, Canada ) and of course, your very own TuneTown (who are also headed to Calgary this October for chorus competition against 33 choruses from all over the world!)

You can buy tickets online at www.tunetownshowchorus.org

Click it. It'll be awesome.

First in sound

2007-07-31T17:51:00.000-05:00

2nd in the world. Woo! Last MInute was at an international quartet competition in the middle of July and we won 2nd! It was a wonderful trip. You can find more information on www.myspace.com/lastminutequartet

Pictures from this weekend...

2007-06-12T00:15:00.000-05:00

First place international quartet champions, the Buzz, let us wear their crowns. It was the highlight of the weekend.

Glad to know someone will remember me.

2007-05-29T01:38:00.000-05:00

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Oh, the things you see at midnight

2007-05-27T01:35:00.000-05:00

I was painting my desk turquoise because I thought that was a good color for a desk. Around 11:30pm, I heard some tapping of little feet across the sidewalk. I looked up and saw a mama raccoon and her baby climbing up a tree. I thought this was pretty cool, but I didn't get a good look at the baby. They went up the tree and hung out for a second and climbed back down into the sewer. Then I saw a motorized carriage (not a car), but a tricycle with a covered back for a couple to ride in drove by. I wanted a ride because it looked fun.

About 30 minutes later, I heard the raccoon again with her baby and she climbed up another tree. But here's the twist, she came down with 2 more childrens and started to cross the street. This made me a little nervous because the street tends to stay fairly busy. As she was in the middle of the road, ANOTHER baby started down the second tree. So, she stopped in the middle of the road to watch. The baby made it down and all 5 of them made it across the road, but of course she decided to cross when a car was on its way. She and a baby made it across the street in front of the car, and thankfully the rest of them had enough sense to wait.

Just as they got across the street, a couple of night bicyclers were cruising down the street wondering down fast they were going.

"How fast do you think we were going down that hill?"

"Probably like 30 mph."

"Yeah."

Fortunately for the raccoon family, they got out of the way in time for the speed bicyclers to pass and she made her way back into the neighborhood across from me.

The babies were absolutely adorable, and I want one. I don't think the cats would appreciate that.

Opportunity's Hard.

2007-05-11T01:42:00.000-05:00

I was completely out of underwear. Completely. Today, I had to wear the ones that stay hidden in the back of underpants drawer until it's absolutely necessary to pull them out. And, I think we all know how uncomforable that pair always is. I just went to Wal-Mart to buy some new ones because it was time for some fresh bloomers.

As I walked, in I noticed a security guard and said hello. I thought I heard some kind of accent when he responded back, but I wasn't completely sure. I went in, and went straight for the skivvies. I found the drawers that I needed and found a few necessities. A $7.50 movie (Unbreakable), a Label Buddy, different colored tapes to go in the Label Buddy, and a KitKat bar. Clearly, all important.

As I was walking out, I saw some money on the ground. I stood there for a second and stared at it blankly.

"Crap.", I thought.

I didn't particularly want the responsibilty of taking care of this lost money, but I felt since I saw it I should do something about it. So, I picked it up. From where I was standing it only looked like a few dollars, but when I looked through it and I noticed the two 20's that were hiding behind the 4 ones. I had already decided to give it back, and fortunately for me the same security guard that I said hello to earlier was walking around near me.

"I found this $44 and I thought I should hand it over to you." I told him.

He looked at me and said in an accent that I couldn't recognized, "Okay, I'll take you to one of our managers."

"He must be new." I thought.

Nobody seemed to want to take the money from me, and I was trying to give it to everyone. We finally found a manager that would take it.

"Thanks!", she said.

It really was no problem.

"I would hope that someone would turn it in if it were mine." I told the guard.

He went on and told me that I did the right thing.

I don't know how we shifted from the money conversation, but he asked me what my name was and I told him. Then I asked him.

"Ariga."

It was very hard to hear in the Wal-Mart and I think I just stared at him.

"Manyahe."

He then pointed to his nametag. A. Manyahe.

"Manyahe?" I asked.

"Ariga Manyahe." He said.

"Okay, Ariga Manyahe." I repeated back to him.

He then proceeded to ask me where I was from, and I said from here.

I asked where he was from.

"Ethipoia."

I have never met anyone from Ethiopia before that I know of.

I asked him what he was doing here and he said, "Opportunity."

He was a high school teacher in Ethiopia. Now, that he's here he has to start everything over. He has to go back to school. It's hard to live in Ethiopia, and it's hard to move towards "opportunity" here.

Opportunity's hard.

I'm not one to just start talking to people that I don't know. But, I glad that I met Ariga Manyahe.

This one's for Dee

2007-04-28T23:27:00.000-05:00

SLITRK1 is gene 13q31.1-A portion of this chromosome has broken off, turned upside down and reattached, therefore the genetic material is inverted. (inversion)

Chromosome 13

Mmmm...

2007-04-24T19:47:00.001-05:00

I had Lenny's for lunch today...

...and the bread was better than normal!!

I love how the trees bloom...

2007-03-29T08:20:00.000-05:00

As I was driving home yesterday, I realized (and this happens every year) how much rain really makes spring happen. It's true. I can't really explain the feeling that comes over me every year at this same time, but it's something like happiness, only...better. The trees sprouting their baby leaves overwhelms me with that better-than-happiness feeling. Rain showers are welcomed now. Effect. Things happen now when it rains. Yes, this is a warm rain welcoming the baby leaves back again.

.

Springtimery

2007-03-14T11:35:00.000-05:00

It's my favorite. Go outside!

The Irish love a twinkie...

2007-02-26T00:56:00.000-06:00

Dee and I went to Wal-Mart tonight. Here are some pictures from our trip.

That hat got Punk'd.

We got stared at a lot. This...we are used to.

I might have to go back and get this wig.

Dee still looks hot.

We went a little overboard with the wigs, but had a good time. We always do.

Birds Can't Snap

2007-02-21T16:46:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting outside because it's beautiful today. It's sunny and about 60 degrees. It's amazing what a day like this will do for a person's mood. I just feel better because it's nice out today. I think the birds do, too.

At first, I just saw two of them talking to each other. And now, I think there are 5 or 6 of them. But are they actually communicating, or are they just enjoying the sounds that they are making? Is it just a deep discussion or are they composing a song, hymn, aria, ditty, bird shanty?

They seem to be congregating in groups. One group is on one side of the tree and the other is residing on the opposing side. This reminds me of West Side Story. Except, there's no snapping because birds don't have opposable thumbs...or fingers.

I can't wait for spring to get here. Winter is such a dreary season.

P.S. I just saw a dog with a ghetto booty.

Christmas is Over

2007-02-19T17:01:00.000-06:00

Today, February 19, 2007, Dee and I took down our Christmas tree. We thought it was about time.

We also took the day to clean the house, which needed it badly. It's much better. Here's us after we finished the downstairs.

This is us in the music room where the Christmas tree used to be...for so long.

This is us in the bathroom with our lovely butterfly shower curtain.

This is us in our tv room. Dee's holding a red teddy bear.

And, this is us in the kitchen. We're planning on getting rid of that ugly yellow thing.

Haikus (It's been to long)

2007-02-16T00:18:00.000-06:00

I enjoy a good haiku.
Here are some for you.

Snow

Snow makes me playful
White and fluffy and happy...
When is spring coming?

Green Socks

Children with green socks,
Brown shoes and a blue jumper
Wave sideways at you.

Juice in a Baggie

I have a straw, so...
I put juice in a baggie
It just tastes better.

Enjoy and feel free to respond in haiku form. (It's more fun that way.)

Valentine Flyguy says...

2007-02-14T02:00:00.000-06:00

happy valentine's day!

My Latest Creation

2007-02-11T01:21:00.000-06:00

I recently downloaded a trial version of Photoshop CS2 onto my macbook. I have missed having access to such a wonderful program. My old computer, is so old and full of...just stuff...that it doesn't function properly anymore. So, it's nice to have Photoshop back only if it is for a moment. Or, 30 days as the trial works. I find that I lose all track of time when I play in Photoshop, which I don't mind, really. It's a bit like being back in the photo lab at school, except without the stains and the chemical smell...

How I lost track of time tonight:

This is for Robin Williams (not the actor)

2007-02-09T00:08:00.000-06:00

Double Woot.

2007-02-05T17:52:00.000-06:00

It finally happened. 1,000. Yay! Now, I can be in the cool club.

A Last Minute Update

2007-01-25T00:49:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't know, Last Minute (my barbershop quartet) has a new member, Erica Kawano. Meagan got married last May and is expecting this May, so she decided that she wouldn't be able to sing with us, so we were all very sad. Fortunately, Erica was willing to step in and keep Last Minute going. We are continuing to prepare for regional in March and international in July, which we hope to win to get money to go to Calgary with the chorus in October. Recently, we had a photoshoot featuring some hot Christmas sweaters. Here's an example:

Erica is the one with her hand on her face. Oh man, I love this picture!! Haha...

This is only a test...

2007-01-17T18:42:00.000-06:00

I gave in to the whole thing. Have fun.

Take My Quiz on
QuizYourFriends.com

The Holodeck: Helping Real Men Get Fake Women

2007-01-06T02:19:00.000-06:00

In a 2:00am viewing of an early Star Trek: The Next Generation, I came across a real gem. A real gem.

Lt. Will Riker enters the holodeck which is set in a smooth, laid back, jazz club. He then procedes to create himself a woman, as they do, and blonde appears from thin air. Will rejects her because apparently (and I didn't know this), blondes don't belong in jazz clubs. Sorry. It's a fact. Then, a nice-looking brunette appears. She wasn't good enough, so Will asks for a woman that is more sultry. One appears. Will is mezmorized by her. Their eyes lock. Instant love. There is obviously an instant connection, and Lt. Will Riker delivers a pick-up line like no other...

"What's a knock-out like you, doing in a computer-generated gin joint like this?"

You can't hire writers like that anymore.

Blah.

2006-12-28T23:54:00.000-06:00

I have a cold.

Boo.

Merry Christmas...almost

2006-12-23T00:21:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy month. I've worked a lot, and then I worked some.

I can't believe that Christmas is almost here. It doesn't feel like it. It may be a combonation of the warm weather and that I basically work 6 days a week, so really, it still feels like October to me. There's talk in the air of a promotion, but I'm not sure if I want to take it or not. I still have to think about that a little. I try to keep an update on the situation.

Meanwhile, my feet are numb and I think I did something to my knee this week. I was on a very tall ladder today and as I was climbing down my knee didn't want to come along. I need to keep an eye on it, and my numb toes.

Nobody wants numb toes...

Ugh.

2006-12-07T00:19:00.000-06:00

yeah. ugh.

Congratulations to Katy!

2006-11-26T00:52:00.000-06:00

The sole participant of the Mad Lib. You win!

Here's the winner's contribution:

Everyone knows that telephones can change lazily, and it's largely a guessing game as to the best time to spit. Car rental prices can also dribble -- swiftly at times, and there's no way to tell you're getting a deal except to continue shopping around after you've made a bubble gum.

80 bazillion weeks ago, I needed to burp a turkey for an upcoming trip. I had done searches on Orbitz and Sidestep, which shop fuzzy frying pans at once, and wound up booking a bottle with Thrifty for the best price at the time: $.75 per skateboard, plus $eleventy per extra popsicle. With wagon and water skis, my itinerary was sprinted to cost $88 and 3/4. I had farted the company in the past and was a member of its iPods program, so felt nifty with the reservation.

But because I knew that beautiful rates change from time to time, I spanked out the same itinerary more recently. This time, the rate quoted -- for the same flowers, same style of hot dog -- was $199 per week, $34 per day extra, bringing my projected total, with taxes, to $287. Oh Snap! Unlike with flights, there's no charge for changing or canceling car rentals, so I quickly dropped the original television and made a new one.

The moral: If you're lingering for the best deal, no matter which car rental agency you're looking at, your job isn't done simply because you've made a church. It took all of 2,000,000 goats for me to save over $100 -- and you can bet I'll continue to periodically museum out the belly button until the day the trip begins.

A Car Rental Tip To Remember

2006-11-17T16:54:00.000-06:00

Who remembers the game Mad Libs? Well, I have made one for my large and vastly populated fan base to enjoy. Have fun, Katy. :) I'll repost some funny ones if you leave them as a comment, and we'll see if it actually worked. Time wasting begins now.

Plural Noun _______________
Adverb __________________
Verb ___________________
Verb ____________________
Adverb __________________
Noun ___________________
Number _________________
Verb___________________
Noun ___________________
Adjective ________________
Plural Noun ______________
Noun ___________________
Number _________________
Noun ___________________
Number _________________
Noun ___________________
Noun ___________________
Plural Noun ______________
Past-Tense Verb____________
Number _________________
Past-Tense Verb____________
Plural Noun ________________
Adjective _________________
Adjective _________________
Past-Tense Verb ____________
Plural Noun ________________
Noun ____________________
Exclamation _______________
Adverb ___________________
Noun ____________________
-Ing Verb _________________
Noun____________________
Number__________________
Plural Noun _______________
Noun ___________________
Noun ___________________

Good to know...

2006-11-17T00:39:00.000-06:00

My sugar wafers don't have any topical oils in them.

Would you like to share that with the class?

2006-11-15T00:09:00.000-06:00

We all know how tough those middle school years are. All of the changes that are going on and the discovery of the opposite sex and let us not forget note writing (which sometimes helped nab the opposite sex). Note writing played a crucial part of the everyday life of the average to popular 7th grader. You knew you were special if you got notes from your friends. They risked getting called out in front of the whole class and also took the time to write you a note about what they had for lunch. Middle school existence would not have been the same if I didn't have a play by play of all of my friend's lives.

Recently, I found such notes that I had saved over the years. I shall share one with you.

"Becca~

Hey! I'm writing with my new markers! I am so glad it's Friday! Did you get your Mom anything for Mother's Day? I got my mom a gift! I have to finish my poetry project all this weekend! I'm going to do bad on the Math test! I don't under stand what we did last night for the home work! Oh well! I m so glad I got a 100% on my S.S. quiz! do you think you will be able to go to Greer's tom? I'm not sure if I can. Well Gotta Go! W/B

Jennifer"

This was obviously important imformation that needed to get to me. I'm not sure a lot of people know this, but you can measure the degree of signfiicance by counting all of the exclamation points in the note. This one has 9 total, but I think you can all see how crucial this note was for me to receive. Go ahead and dig up some old notes and determine the significance. It will probably also tell you how popular you were too.

My favorite part of the note is: "I got my mom a gift!"

I've been camping for the past 5 months...

2006-11-06T00:06:00.000-06:00

...but now I have a bed with a frame and everything. I was sleeping on a mattress that was on the floor. It was fine for a while, but I eventually got tired of it and now I'm a big girl.

It feels good to be civilized again...

Most people don't believe elephants can tap dance

2006-10-28T10:32:00.000-05:00

I'm good at starting stories. That's the easy part.

My foot was stuck and the train was coming fast...

You want to know what happens after that. At least, I do. But, the hard part is finishing the rest of the story and making it just as interesting as that first sentence. By no means do I declare myself a writer, but I was thinking as I was driving the other day that I would like to be able to write interesting stories. And, I came to the conclusion that I am a better introduction writer than anything else. This could be because of some of the books I had to read in high school and college that weren't very interesting to start. I think it may be the most important part of the book. The intro has to grab my attention or I don't want to read anymore of it. I understand this could be tragic because the rest of the book could be the best thing ever written, but 9 times out of 10 I wouldn't want to read it anyway.

Her pen hit the paper in anticipation of writing something magnanimous, ingenious, even Nobel Prize worthy. She began to write slowly and efficiently. "My name is Sarah Marie Lancaster and I am 5 years old." Brilliant.

I like kids.

2006-10-22T21:38:00.000-05:00

"Now, let's talk about digestion.... Ducks poop."
~ Jason, 4 years old

Katy's Quirkiness Challenge

2006-10-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

Here's what you do; list five things about yourself that are unusual, anal or quirky. Try to find things people might not already know about you. Comment away and everyone who reads this is automatically tagged. (Sorry this took me so long, Katy.)

I always put my shoes on the same way. Left sock, right sock, left shoe, right shoe. If I don't, its just weird.
I don't like it when people pronounce the word jalapeño with out the "nyuh" sound, making it "ha-lah-pee-no".
Watching a movie at home by myself is okay, but I wouldn't go to the theater by myself to watch something.
When I was in elementary school a kid tried to kiss me on the bus, so I elbowed him in the stomach.
I still have a baby tooth.

Emma

2006-10-21T23:06:00.000-05:00

Its a good movie.
I think I'll watch it.

Superfluous

2006-10-11T22:56:00.000-05:00

I don't want to say anything important. I just wanted to have a post where my hideously ugly picture isn't the first thing I see.

It's selfish really.

Maybe I should find a picture that is more pleasant to look at. Hold please....

This guy was awesome.

Jen's Ugly Picture Challenge

2006-10-10T00:58:00.000-05:00

I hereby challenge you to find the most unflattering picture you have of yourself and post it on your blog.
The rules are:
1. Post an ugly picture of yourself,
2. Don't post ugly pictures of your unsuspecting friends, and
3. Everyone who comments on the Ugly Picture Post must come up with a clever caption that fits your picture.

I win.

Interesting Observations

2006-10-07T15:10:00.000-05:00

There are some things in life that we see but don't really pay attention to and think about. Sometimes these things are quite humorous.

I saw a lady carrying two mink coats walk into a hair salon today. I thought it was ironic.

Maybe, it's one of those "you had to be there" kind of moments.

Not being in school....

2006-10-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

.....after 19 years of schooling is weird.

Ms. Something (I used to remember) was my pre-school teacher. My cousin Tiffany was in that class with me. We played duck duck goose and on St. Patrick's Day a leprechaun turned all of our milk green.

Mrs. Johnson was my kindergarten teacher. She was mean. If you got in trouble she whipped out her Sharpie and put dots on your knuckles. I think this is where my need to make everyone happy started. I didn't want the black dots. They scared me.

Mrs. Hanks was my 1st grade teacher. She had a redhead fro. It was awesome. She was nice and I liked her. She had a candy/toy bucket that you got to pick something from when you had been good all day.

Mrs. Bonds was my 2nd grade teacher. She was my best friend's mom. We had globes that asked us questions about the world. It was like computers but in globe form.

Mrs. Taylor was my 3rd grade teacher. She made a girl cry once because the girl was writing in cursive to slowly. She made me cry once after I blacked out and hit a wall.

Mrs. Carter was my 4th grade teacher. My brother had her for 4th grade too. She was nice. We timed multiplication test in her class. I thought they were fun. One time I told on myself for talking across the table at lunch and she made me put my name on the board. I cried.

Mrs. Blair was my 5th grade teacher. She lived across the street from me. We had a 21st century classroom where we played Oregon Trail. She was my favorite teacher.

Woodland Middle School 6th grade - 8th grade. I had a lot of teachers and basically only remember the ones that I didn't like very much like Ms. Hawkins who, in 7th grade, made us memorize all 95 counties and county seats of Tennessee. I think I got a 77 on that test. I might have taken it twice.

Brentwood High School 9th grade - 12th grade. I had a lot more teachers and remember a lot of good ones. Mr. Box taught band. He's my uncle and a good teacher. I was his office assistant and I went in there during my study hall(s) and watched movies for two or more hours. Mrs. Goldfarb was my Spanish II and III teacher. She was short and Jewish. She called me Maria and my friend Ryan, Paco. We were the only two in her Spanish III class that she called by our Spanish names. We would purposely leave off an accent mark when we wrote on the board so she would have to jump to fix it. Paco took a picture once. She was my favorite teacher.

Middle Tennessee State University 13th grade - 18th grade. I had professors. Some were good and some were terrible, like Professor Kerrick. Don't ever take him for English. Mr. Norton grew on me after time. He taught a class called History of Photography. Most people take it twice. I was one of those people. I grew to understand and appreciate him a little more by the time I graduated.

There are more memories than that, but that should give you an idea of what my last 19 years of schooling was like. Joyful, stressful, thrilling, infuriating, fruitful, wasteful, confusing, tearful, happy, etc...

Apology...

2006-10-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

...sorry September was lame and had only two posts. (That was to all my loyal readers who pined for my witty stories about air horn hands and youth in Asia.)

Now, get over it. September was crazy. The end.

Now, it's October and I'm no longer working at Quizno's!!! Yaaay! Actually, that happened in September, but I'm writing about it in October.

I'm now working at Cole Haan. It's a fancy smancy shoe, purse, coat store where I make more money. I'm kind of like a used car salesman, except I don't sell used cars and I'm not a man.

This is only my third week of working, but it's going well. Everyone there is very nice. I am a little overwhelmed about everything because a lot of information was thrown at me all at once and then they throw you out of the sales floor and tell you to start swimming. You don't even get little floaties.

September's been crazy...

2006-09-28T00:18:00.001-05:00

...I'll talk about it later.

Monkey Pants

2006-09-01T19:24:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to work on my graphic design skills because that's what I'm really into right now. I made this one this afternoon playing around in Photoshop.

I might even open up a retro-chic clothery.

a haiku

2006-08-29T17:38:00.000-05:00

snorkel monkey pants
a silly combonation
i like words a lot

Resume

2006-08-28T15:15:00.000-05:00

As you may or may not know, I've been looking for a job, preferably in the art/photography/graphic design area. So, I thought I'd put my resume on my blog. Here it is...

Rebecca Box
P.O. Box 1831
Brentwood, TN 37025-1831
rebeccabox@mac.com

Education:

-- Brentwood High School - 1997-2001
4 years of marching band, including two years of being drum major.
Received the John Phillips Sousa Award of Excellence
Received the Tennessee Honors Diploma

-- Middle Tennessee State University - 2001-2006
Graduated with a degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Photography
and a minor in Art
Resident Assistant from 2005-2006

Work Experience:

-- Current
Internship with Arlund Photography (www.arlundphoto.com)
Part-time photographer for Out of the Box Photography (www.outoftheboxphotography.com) (www.ronboxphoto.com)
Shift manager at Quizno's Subs

-- Past
Resident Assistant for Middle Tennessee State University Housing - August 2005 - May 2006
The Picture People - December 2002 - January 2005

Skills:

-- Extensive Mac and a PC experience
Photoshop
Microsoft Word
Excel

-- Multimedia graphic design
Silkscreening, book-making
Sketching (graphite and pen and ink)
Painting, collaging
Adobe Photoshop, Power Point

--Photography experience
Film-based and digital cameras
Darkroom and digital processing (Adobe Photoshop)
Historic processing
Large (8x10) and medium (Hasselblad) format cameras
Studio-lighting
Environmental portraits, commercial, editorial, and black and white photography
Color slide film, color processing

-- Leadership
Drum major, resident assistant, and shift manager at Quizno's

-- Communication
Excellent people skills
Customer rapport
Energetic public speaking skills

Memberships and Affiliations:

-- TuneTown Show Chorus
International bound, 1st place Sweet Adelines chorus

-- Last Minute Quartet
5th place International Barbershop quartet

-- Brentwood Camera Club

*References available upon request

I missed my blog's anniversary....

2006-08-21T00:07:00.000-05:00

...because the chorus was busy winning a competition that day. We won all of the categories we could. The only thing we didn't win was Men's Chorus Overall.

It was an awesome weekend!

Her name is Beasley...

2006-08-15T22:12:00.000-05:00

and she's a cat.

Peach is good.

2006-08-13T20:02:00.000-05:00

Dee and I have started redecorating our kitchen, one wall at a time. We decided way before I moved in (about a year) that we would start with the kitchen. One tiny section was already a peachy color, so we decided to brighten the peach and continue it to the rest of the wall. That's pretty much all we've done so far. The rest of the kitchen will be painted white. For the backsplash and countertops, we plan to get little light blue and white tiles and mosaic them all along that area.

...we also got two fish to match the room.

Wow!!

2006-08-06T18:52:00.000-05:00

Why do we get so bogged down in our lives? (I'm specifically talking to myself.) Why do we rush around and try to do everything ourselves?

On my way home from church, I did one simple thing. One thing that we should all be doing, and this one incredibly simple thing gave me so much joy because I did it because God said in His word to obey the laws of men.

I drove the speed limit. I don't normally do any excessive speeding, but this time I tried to stay exactly the speed limit.

This may seem very minor to some, but because of everything that God has done for me I think I can do one simple thing, like drive the speed limit. Do you know what I thought about the whole way home? I thought about how incredible, amazing, HUGE, there isn't even a word to describe in full detail how amazing God is. And, I thought about how I'm so unworthy of His mercies, but He still chose me as one of His children anyway. Wow! That blows my mind everytime I think about it. I just want to jump for joy out of sheer happiness!

I had a look around at this world that He created, and thought, "Wow!". Every once in a while, I'll just stop and look. And, everytime He amazes me more and more.

And, that was just one small thing that made me think on Him....

"Thank you dear Lord for my left shoe"

2006-08-04T00:23:00.000-05:00

Contest Day

Our morning was very relaxing. We got up, and since the only thing we had was cheese and crackers to eat, we grabbed ourselves a few of those. (I had forgotten to mention that that was the only thing, minus a barbeque joint, that we ate all weekend. I don't think I'll ever look at a packaged cheese and cracker the same again.)

Anyway, we did some warming up, so that we could be prepared for that evening. Everybody showered and got ready to go over to the college so we could warm up over there and get our costumes and make up on.

We had decided that it would be best if we were ready about an hour before we needed to actually leave. Who knows why we decided this, but I sure glad we did because the story that follows will knock your shoe off.

Everyone was ready. Dee had her suit and shoes on, Meagan had her suit and shoes on, I had my suit and shoes on, and Sherida had her suit and only one shoe in her hand. You'd think in a moment like that you would panic a little. We didn't really. We looked everywhere in that dorm room and everytime we counted we came up with seven. Seven shoes just won't do. We almost decided to go out onstage barefoot, but then thought that probably wasn't a very good idea. With about 50 minutes before we had to be in our "pattern" we dropped Dee off at our hotel to look for the divergant shoe and then the rest of use drove to Payless.

Let's recap. Dee, Meagan, Sherida and I all had on blue skirt suits with a silver sparkly top. Our hair was poofed out to perfection and we had on more make up than any of would ever dream of wearing in public. Ok, let's continue...

So, Jen, Meagan, Sherida, and I ran into Payless on a frantic shoe search. I can only imagine what those other people in the store must have been thinking. Finding fours pairs of shoes in all of the right sizes was going to be a tough task, but we were totally prepared to destroy that store in search of some shoes. Fortunately, Dee found in the hotel room, hiding, under the bed.

All of a sudden I heard Jen yell, "She got the shoe, she got the shoe!!"

The four of us ran out of that store like we stole something, and went and got Dee and the wayward shoe. On the way back to the campus we heard singing in the backseat.

"Thank you dear Lord for my left shoe..." sang Sherida.

This would be funny if you knew the song "Thank You Dear Lord For Music".

Anyway, we ended up being early for our pattern, which was pretty much a miracle, considering we didn't know our way around San Antonio very well and we only had an hour.

Our set went fabulously. We all felt pretty relaxed, well, as relaxed as one can feel on stage, and when we got off stage we felt good about what we did. Now all we had to do was wait. And, these Sweet Adeline ladies like to draw things out. We went 5th out of 18 or so and then we had to wait on the judges to tally up all the scores and then they had to thank the judges and their children and their bosses and all of the choruses for being there and all the quartets for doing a great job.

When they finally rolled around to calling out the top 5 we were quite ready. Well, folks, I just like to thank you for sitting here and reading this, and I'd like to thank the judges for being there, and I'd like to thank the judges children for being wherever, and I like to thank my boss for letting me off work so I could be there, and I'd like to thank some of those choruses who listened to us, and I'd like to thank all of the quartets for competing so that there could be a competition.

Last Minute came in 5th at an international competition, and we got a shiny medal to wear around our necks. It was a fantastic night, and we all slept in our medals, except for Meagan who forgot because she was took a shower and didn't put it back on, but we're not bitter.

The next day we played in a fountain, and then went to watch the chorus competition and the chorus from our area won they're division and came second place over all. It was a very good weekend for Region 23.

On Sunday, we drove back to Nashville and it was the most fun I've had on a road trip in a while, and I can't remember anything of consequence that happened on the way.

13 hours isn't so bad.

It's all about intimidating the 12 year olds.

2006-07-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

We got to sleep in, and after the night that we had it was quite nice.

All we had to do on that Thursday was go to the quartet briefing, which told us where to go and how we got onstage. Normally, you walk on sing the beginning and end of your songs and walk off. But, they didn't have the microphones set up so we weren't sure if we should sing or not. We almost did, but then decided it was dumb because the sound would be different the next night anyway. We were 5th out of 17 or so, and as more people went up, more people were "testing" the sound. Really what was happening was a sing off between some of of the quartets. One would do the opening of there uptune, which would probably be loud, and then another would come up and sing even louder and have a "what are you going to do about that" attitude as they walked off. I'm glad we didn't sing. It was quite silly.

We also went to go see Metro Nashville Show Chorus practice. (There's a chorus competition at IES the day after the quartet competition.) They sounded amazing.

After that we sang for a group of ladies that were from an Oklahoma chorus. The one who was talking to us the most, we think she was the director of this chorus, is an international judge and she told us we were really good. That boosted us up a little.

Then we headed over to Mabee Dining Hall (obvious jokes were told), and we ate and sang some. It is what is done before you compete. You intimidate all the little girls and their families.

After that we practiced some more and I'm pretty sure we went to bed rather early, like around 11:30. I know. Shocker.

End day 2: San Antonio

Dee swears she saw a dead guy.

2006-07-22T18:57:00.000-05:00

San Antonio. What a fantastic town. Let me tell you our story...

Our plane ride(s) were great. Nothing abnormal.

11:30pm
We got to the airport baggage claim and we called our director, Sher, because she was supposed to pick us up from the airport but she was having issues getting into her hotel room because they gave it away. So, we found a yellow pages and found our hotel's number. I called them and the long of the short of it is is they didn't have our reservation. Not good. But, she told me a few more numbers of other of the same Rodeway Inns. So, Meagan called one. No luck. So, Sherida called one. No luck. So, Deidra called one. No luck. So, Sherida called one that the one that Deidra called gave us the number to. Finally, we still had our reservation.

Our next step was to find a cab to get to our hotel. San Antonio is a lovely place in the daytime. Unfortunately, we arrived at 11:30pm and got our cab around 12:00 (after the whole hotel fiasco). The cab driver didn't speak much English, and I asked him if he knew where the Rodeway Inn Sam Houston was and I thought I heard him say yes.

"Luggage!"

So we all handed him our luggage and then we all got in the van.

"Address!"

"Rodeway Inn, Sam Houston", I replied. Apparently, he didn't hear me the first time.

"Eh, address?"

So, Sherida called the hotel again and of course no one answered. Mind you, we're in the cab driving around the airport and he begins to veer onto Some Rd. Sherida continued to try to reconnect with the hotel but there was still no answer.

"Address!!"

"We're calling the hotel right now. Hang on.", I replied back.

Finally, Sherida got through to them and we gave him the address, which I will remember for the rest of my life. Yay. We were finally on our way to our hotel.

12:20am
As we drove down Austin Hwy, we saw a bunch of cop cars and road flares outlining an area and cops redirecting the little traffic that was on the road. I didn't want to take a close look because it looked sketchy and I was scared I would see something that I didn't want to see. Dee looked and she swears she saw something covered with a blanket on the curb, exactly what I didn't want to see. The cab driver turned where the police man directed him and then began to scratch his head.

"Eh, I dunno."

We drove through a Wendy's.

"Eh, I dunno."

We sat in a Wal-Mart parking lot for a few minutes.

"Eh, eh...", as he scratched his head and threw his hand in the air.

Then we drove to a sketchy looking Lowes and sat in that parking lot for a few minutes. Meanwhile, Dee, Sherida and I were trying not to burst out laughing, while Meagan thought we were all going to die. Don't ask why we thought it was funny. It just was, and we were tired. He finally figured out were he should go and he went, fast. We got back to Austin Hwy and we finally saw our hotel, two blocks down from where the crime scene was.

12:40am
We pull into the hotel and I hand him a credit card. If you ever have to take a taxi, pay in cash. This was perhaps the slowest credit card machine in the history of credit card machines. Meanwhile, we were locked inside the taxi, silent, scared, and a little tickled about the whole situation. Finally the card went through, I didn't leave a tip, and we got our luggage and we ran away from him as quickly as we could without looking like we were running away from him as quickly as we could.

12:47am
The hotel had a night window. This did not make our night any more pleasant. We got our key and ran got in our room. Without turning on any lights, Dee started locking the door. It had three locks; a deadbolt, a chainlock and one of those latchy hotel locks. And, Meagan started dragging a chair over to the door, but we didn't keep it there because it wasn't tall enough. We couldn't have been happier to be in the room. The inside was very nice compared to the outside, though it did remind me of the sketchy hotel room that Mulder and Scully stayed in on The X-Files. We went to bed pretty early that night. I think it was around 1:30am. And, Dee had a dream about a guy coming in our room. But not a mean one. Or dead one.

San Antonio

2006-07-12T00:18:00.000-05:00

In 24 hours, Lord willing, I will be in the place named above.

Why, you ask? Well, I might tell you and I might not...

...ok I'll tell.

My quartet, Last Minute, will be competing on Friday at 7:55pm in the International Young Women in Harmony barbershop quartet contest. We're quite excited, and I believe it will be loads of fun.

Yay!

By node id sdod ub...

2006-07-04T00:51:00.000-05:00

which apparently affects my typing as well. This cold needs to go away pronto! I have to compete in an international competition in a week and a half. This competition requires me to sing.

Oh, happy 4th.

Tuna Fish and Tomatoes

2006-06-28T18:06:00.000-05:00

I never liked tuna fish. I never liked tomatoes on my sandwiches. But yesterday, yesterday, I had a tuna fish and tomato sandwich...

...and it was good!

"What made you try this delicious treat?", you may ask.

Well, it was free.

People who know me fairly well may be in a state of shock about this, but may I tell you not to fret or become highly anxious or run around screaming, "What is happening in this crazy world of ours?".

I'm fine, and I knew exactly what I was doing...

...and it was good!

Let me just say, it is not something that I now must eat everyday, but I think that the every-now-and-again-tuna-fish-with-tomatoes-sandwich will be a delectable treat for me. I don't want to go tuna-fish-and-tomato-crazy, you know, because when I eat it I always want to be able to think...

...and it was good.

Thankfulness

2006-06-24T00:32:00.000-05:00

I like to think that I'm a good driver. I'm usually very aware of what's going on around me and I tend to imagine scenarios that could possibly happen, and then proceed to figure how to get out of the situation that I just made up in my head. Whenever I see vehicles with things hanging off of them, or trucks carrying flamable liquids, or trucks carrying milk (because they look like gas tankers), I tend to get out of the way. You don't want to be in the way if one of those things was to tip over. (There's a new mental picture of cow-tipping.) I guess my imagination gets away with me sometimes, but I always want to be ready for anything that could happen.

Today, I saw a truck carrying something that would be worse than gas or milk or random objects if it were to tip over on the interstate; even worse, if this particular truck tipped over on me.

I've never been a fan of Port-a-Pottys. They're stinky and unsanitary, and who know's whos been in those things and how long they've been sitting out in the sun for hours on end, festering. I think I'd be even less of a fan if one tipped over on me while driving down the interstate. My mind then began to imagine this happening. I quickly became very grossed out thinking about it (probably about how you're feeling right now). As I passed the Port-a-Truck, I remember being very thankful that it didn't tip on or even near me. And, then I remembered thinking how weird it was that I was thinking about that.

Nevertheless, I think it's good to express what you're thankful for, and I'm thankful I didn't end up in a Port-a-Potty on the interstate.

Update

2006-06-13T23:46:00.000-05:00

I work all the time, and I need some ice cream.

June 3, 1983, 2:22pm

2006-06-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

Well, it's my birthday again. That's about it. Haha.

It doesn't feel like my birthday, and this is mainly because I really had a rockin' graduation party not even a month ago. Dee demanded that I have a party, so tonight after singing at church we're going to have a tiny shindig at the house. I don't need anything big.

I finally got that laptop that I was wanting except mine in newer and cheaper and cooler than the one that I blogged about. This one the the macbook. And.....it's incredible. You should get one.

Anyway, there ya go. It's my birthday.

I'm over it.

2006-06-01T00:27:00.000-05:00

I've had an interesting couple of weeks, and I've been a bit frustrated (I'm sure you noticed from an earlier post). I think that graduation (and other circumstances) have had more of an impact on me than I thought it would. I'm better now.

While I'm waiting on a job at Chromatics, which is a photography printing studio, I'm a Quizno's employee. The past three weeks have been interesting.

I'm not a confrontational person. I've never liked confrontation, but for some reason with this job I don't really have a problem speaking my mind. Now, I don't go around complaining all the time, but if my manager or the bossman asks me something that's been going on around the store, I'll let him know what's been happening and how I feel about it. Last Friday, was a very stressful day for me. I think I just woke up in a bad mood because when I got to work I immediately wanted to leave. I think that if anyone said anything remotely upsetting to me I would have gone off on them. Come to think of if, I think I even had some scenarios planned out. And, let me tell you what, you would not have wanted to be the in path of my quick tounge. I'm just glad I got to spare everyone from a severe tounge-lashing by me. It would have been harsh. (I think we all know that I wouldn't have done this, but at the time, thinking about it made me feel better.) Anyway, I told Dave, who hired me, all about last Friday and apparently it affected me more that I thought it did becuase I started to get teary, and if you know me well at all you know that I don't cry in front of people. Anyway, I got it all out and told Dave that I'm not interested in being a manager, especially for the owner who made me so angry last week. The story is actually quite funny now, but at the time I was quite annoyed.

The owner is an eccentric man, a loud, eccentric man. He comes in the store to "help" out which ends up him walking around yelling things over the music and annoying the customers who are just trying to eat in the 39 minute time frame that they have for their lunch break. On Friday, while he was walking around talking to himself and customers, he asked someone if they were looking forward to the Memorial Day weekend. The rest of the conversation went as follows:

"Looking forward to your Memorial Day weekend?", Jim said in an extremely loud voice.

"Sure.", the customer mummbled scared to say anything to make Jim continue talking to him.

"You know what Memorial Day is about don't you? The Civil War! My great-grandfather was killed by a pumpkin ball to the head in the Civil War!", his voice raised above the music as the customers were trying to order.

The customer left without saying anything as Jim continued to talk about pumpkin balls as he paced back and forth behind us. Meanwhile, Chris was trying to figure out what a man was trying to order in front of him. Mind you, the man was missing his front teeth, but it was still hard to hear over the loud music and our eccentric owner yelling PUMPKIN BALLS!

"I'll have them white bottles right there." said the man.

"What?", asked Chris

"PUMPKIN BALLS, I TELL YOU, PUMPKIN BALLS!"

"I'll have the white bottles..."

"I'm sorry I can't hear....WOULD YOU PLEASE BE QUIET!?!? I CAN'T EVEN HEAR THE CUSTOMER ORDER!",

Chris had snapped. It was fantastic. We finally figured out that he wanted, black olives, but he called them white bottles. Which according to him, they were one in the same.

Anyway, this job has motivated me to get my resume together so that I can get out of there as soon as possible. It's not as terrible as I make it out to be, but it's not really what I want to be doing. Making sandwiches is not my forte. No, let me rephase that...I don't want sandwich-making to be my forte. I'm not sure if I've found my forte yet, but I can check this one off the list. That's it about the new job.

As for the other frustrations, I'm fine for now. I won't go into detail, there's no need.

'THE PUMPKIN BALLS!! THE PUMPKIN BALLS!!'

Hey...

2006-05-29T22:49:00.000-05:00

I don't feel like blogging right now.

Everybody's gotta have purple hair...

2006-05-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

I saw this girl on tv today who had purple hair and it looked awesome. Now, I want it. I'll think about it....and then probably do it.

frustrations

2006-05-24T00:54:00.000-05:00

ugh...

My face is 6 feet tall...

2006-05-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

...on the corner of Hobbs and Hillboro. Apparently, it's a marketing ploy. I think anything that has my face 6 feet tall and 40 feet off the ground is a fantastic marketing ploy, and I approve.*

*This message has been approved by the TuneTown Show Chorus.

Words cannot express....

2006-05-15T16:52:00.001-05:00

....how much I hate shopping for khaki pants.

I don't know what it is about them, but they never look right and I hate them. There. I had a fit. I'm over it. But, I still hate shopping for khaki pants.

The end.

I like it.

2006-05-09T20:14:00.000-05:00

It's going to hit me in August that I'm not in college anymore. Right now, my life is still as it has been for the past few years. School lets out, I get a job. Except this time, I have to find a full time job. So, I went out looking today. I need to get a resume together and that sounds boring. Haha. I'm also getting a laptop soon and I'm thinking of getting this bad boy. The 15-inch Macbook Pro. I like it. I think it will be excellent for me and the photography stuffs that I do. It will be awesome when I can put it on my lap.

Status

2006-05-07T16:14:00.000-05:00

GRADUATION: COMPLETE

Statistics

2006-04-24T12:56:00.000-05:00

1 paper to write DONE!
1 project left to finish DONE!
1 day of class DONE!
1 class left DONE!
2 games of frisbee golf
1 jumps for joy in anticipation DONE!
1 project to turn in DONE!
1 desk hour <---- this one is dumb DONE!
----------------------------
TODAY is GRADUATION! DONE!

*abstract math was used to come to this solution

My contribution to my book

2006-04-20T01:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all who helped me out with my book. Those were some pretty fantastic poems. I thought I'd share the ones that I put in there as well.

Leonard's Spaceship

Leonard found a spaceship
It was out in his backyard
He tried to tell his mom and dad
And caught them quite offguard

"I promise you its out there!
I rode it to the moon.
A robot out there greeted me
As Captain Blabberboon

He showed me all the things up there
Like craters and moondust
It wasn't what I thought it'd be
Green men, I thought, a must

Bored with the moon we rode back home
My robot friend and me
I'd like for you to meet him
'Cause he's out beside the tree."

His parents looked in disbelief,
But saw something outside.
The robot waved and greeted them
His parents ran to hide.

"Don't be scared, he isn't mean
His face just looks that way.
He cared for me while on the moon,
and got me back okay."

"We're sorry that we doubted you."
His father said to him
"We didn't think you told the truth
But we were wrong again."

"Ah ha!", he cried, "You doubted me,
I did not tell a lie."
This goes to show a robot
Is a worthy alibi.

Cars, A haiku

Little boys like cars
Driving everyplace they can
Up their mother's leg

Tractors, A haiku

Tractors are my firiend
They dig and pour all day
Someday I'll drive one

Girls Are Weird

Why do girls like dressing up?
Why do girls like saying 'yup'?

Girls are weird.

Why do girls stay up all night
talking 'bout the boys they like?

Girls are weird.

Why don't girls like playing war
or playing with an apple core?

Girls are weird.

Why do girls like kissing boys?
I would rather play with toys.

Girls are weird!

Vegatables

As you can see
I hate broccolli
Greenbeans make me sick.

Carrots are gross
Turnips can't boast
Celery makes me go "ick!"

Mom makes me eat
Her "vegatable treat"
I'd rather go chew on a stick.

What can I do
When Mom makes me chew?
Tell her I'm as full as a tick.

Well, there they are.

Leonard's Spaceship is my favorite.

Can I Graduate.....NOW?

2006-04-18T04:11:00.000-05:00

I don't think it's a good sign when you look at you're clock and think, "Oh good, it's only 3:35am. I thought it was 4:35am. I have still have 5 more hours to work."

2 more weeks of classes...

3 more weeks 'til graduation...

You Could Be Famous!

2006-04-14T21:53:00.000-05:00

Hey folks I need your help. I'm making a book and putting poems in it about little boys doing little boy things like finding spaceships or dinosaurs, or about cowboys or their dogs. If you would like to help me out just comment your poem in the comment place. Haha. Really, I need them as soon as possible. The book is due Tuesday. I'm keeping true to form and waiting until the last second to do things. When I'm finished with the book I'll post pictures and poems and such from it. Who knows maybe I'll publish it and become famous. It could happen.