Random Things

Favorite new website: StillTasty.com - As its name suggests, it is a searchable database of shelflife for all kinds of stuff. So far, I've only looked up black beans, but just knowing that it exists makes me a very happy girl.
Thoughts on Inception: I definitely liked it. I don't know that it will go on my list of favorite movies, but I am glad that I saw it. Definitely an originality factor to it. I could have done without some of the gunfire. Ok, so I realize that there's some mass appeal, male audience drawing power with guns and explosions. However, I'm not sure that all of that was really all that integral to the heart of the story. Also, fewer gunshots would have meant fewer minutes spent watching the movie through the crevices of my fingers. Just sayin'. I also thought that a few points were belabored. Some things maybe weren't quite clear enough (though the ambiguity is definitely part of the intrigue), but then other things repeatedly hit the audience over the head. And, of course, no commentary from Hyla would be complete without something about the soundtrack. They definitely chose one emotion and carried it through the whole film. At different points, I kept thinking, "If the music was lighter here, this whole scene would be light." But, truthfully, there was almost no reprieve from the pulsating intensity... if I was recording that score, I think my stress levels would be through the roof at the end of every session. It's just an awful lot of very similar, intense music. Once I saw at the end that Hans Zimmer wrote the score, though, it made a lot more sense.
National-Hyla-relearns-the-flute-month: August will be this month for me. I'm planning to spend the first week just doing tone and technical exercises. That way I won't feel so "flabby" when I actually start reading music again. It's been a long time since I've read much music. I'm hoping that after a month-long action plan, I'll be ready to consider playing in public again at some point.

Things that make me happy

(taken from today's experiences)

1 - holding Sebastian

2 - Pasta with shrimp, dill, peas, and feta

3 - Killer breakfast sandwiches from Presto Gourmet. (No seriously, they'll actually kill you.)

4 - calm evenings -- even if I am working

5 - editing copy (Yes, I know I'm weird.)

6 - planning stuff, like my super-fast visit w/ my sis-in-law on Monday, and seeing Jeremy this weekend.

7 - blogging

8 - diet coke

Dear weather gods,

Remember this?

Dear first (or 2nd?) date girl,

Don't let him do that to you again. Seriously. He had 150% of the control of your date. He owned the physical space by leaning like that. He owned the psychological space by asking you all of the questions and then butting in with his own stories. He did everything he needed to do to see if all the little details of your life, your ambitions, even your body would fit into what he wants. The date-cum-interview was honestly a little hard to watch. Don't you see how there would be absolutely no give-and-take in your relationship? Don't go out with him again. You're just going to end up feeling stifled and used.
Sincerely,
eavesdropping-while-waiting-for-my-friend girl

PS - You're really quite beautiful. A little less hairspray and makeup would become you.

Stuff I'm good at

Making quiche and business law exams
1 - Tonight, I made a quiche, including a homemade crust. It was awesome. And, it wasn't difficult at all. I am totally adding that to my repertoire. This one had onions, mushrooms and spinach, but I could add lots of different ingredients. I took it to Colleen and Nathaniel's and it disappeared in good time. (Although, I may have been the one primarily making it disappear. )
2 - I've been hesitant to put this on facebook or anything because I don't want to be too boast-y, but I totally kicked butt on my Law Exam this week. I actually got a 100. (There were 6 bonus points available so I did miss a few questions, but still....) I am very proud of myself. Never mind the intense level of fear I have about my grade on the Cost Accounting exam from last night.

New Goal: Survive this week!

Wow -- One crazy week down -- one crazy week coming up! Today I got up and studied for a few hours, threw some things in a bag and headed for Ebensburg, but not before catching about half of leadership summit. I have about 24 hours here with my big brother and little nephew before I have to head back for a week of work, two finals, and a couple of dr's appointments thrown in there. Whew - hoping I make it through this whirlwind!
More soon!

another life changer

Cilantro and Jalepeno hummus from trader joes. Seriously, I will never be the same again. You should go straight to Trader Joe's and get some. Do not pass go. But, go ahead and collect $200 if the opportunity presents itself!

Super-Hyla!

Well, paint me an S on my chest. I just got back from a run in which I did not stop and walk at all. When I got back, I promptly went to mapmyrun.com and discovered that it was 1.76 miles. Now, this may not sound particularly feat-ful to you, but to me.... well, I feel like a superhero. I don't think I've ever run more than about a mile without stopping before. So, this is a major accomplishment to me. I realize it's not exactly a marathon, but hey, it's something.
Yippity yay for the awesome weather outside tonight so I could do that!

the last, not the next

I woke up in the middle of the night with this going through my head:

I'm not looking for the next guy. I'm looking for the last guy.

I suppose I've felt like this for a while, but I don't know that I've thought about it quite like this. I don't want someone to date anymore. I want someone to spend my life with. I want to stop looking. Dating is difficult and often so hurtful... not only do I get hurt, but all too often, I'm the one hurting someone else. I'm not foolish enough to think that the hurting will stop if I get married, but at least a path of wanton hurt can stop at that point.

I no longer have time or energy for the next guy. But, I certainly have the energy for the last guy.

Today's score

Getting to sleep in a little since I was driving today: +1
Hearing "Single Ladies" on the drive in: +2
Learning that McDonald's now has breakfast snacks: +1
Resisting using new information about McDonald's morning menu: +2
Getting "Straight Up" (that's right - Paula Abdul, baby!) stuck in my head: +4
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Today's score so far: +10

Completely Random Things

New Vocabulary Word: penumbra --A partial shadow, as in an eclipse, between regions of complete shadow and complete illumination; An area in which something exists to a lesser or uncertain degree. (This word-of-the-day brought to you by my Law for Business class.)
Me vs. Women's Groups: I love, love, love small groups. Call 'em life groups, small groups, mini-churches, discipleship groups... call 'em whatever you want. I love them. Except... women's groups. I am afeared of women's groups. I've been involved in a few and unfortunately those experiences weren't great. (With the one exception of the Women in Leadership group I attended at 730am a few years ago) Too often, though, women's groups deteriorate into surface-y conversation or gossip or "Singleness is hard" bitch sessions or even too-personal-too-fast scenarios. However, I'm giving it another shot. Tonight I went to a small group led by one of my favoritest chicks. All the women seem to be married or engaged so maybe that will help cut down on the "woe is my single self" factor. Or, maybe in three weeks, I will just feel completely inadequate. Who knows?
Mrs. Warren's Profession: I went to dress rehearsal of Mrs Warren's Profession last night. I'm not very familiar with George Bernard Shaw's work, but it seemed awfully narrative. Monologues that just go on and on and on. Perhaps, I was just too distracted by things I still wanted to accomplish. I don't know. It also seemed that people in the front found it a lot funnier than those of us a section or two back. Maybe the lackluster projection was prohibiting the funny from getting to us? The sets were pretty, though.

Another weird dream

So, I had another totally bizarre dream. I'll leave it to you to decide which detail is the most implausible.
I was shopping at Wal-Mart when a guy with some unruly hair growth on his neck came up to me, shoved an electric shaver/trimmer in my face and demanded that I shave his neck. I employed my usual tactic of dismissively saying "No, man. Sorry." (To clarify, this isn't a tactic developed from experience with shaving requests... more just random people wanting to "walk and talk with me" or asking for money.) Anyways, back to the dream. So, I started to walk away, but he grabbed me from behind and continued to demand that I shave him. When I refused, he started threatening to hurt (kill?) me. So, I started screaming for help right there in the aisle of Wal-Mart. Someone started holding him back and I took that opportunity to grab the trimmer from the guy and throw it across the store. (I'm not sure how that is really helpful, but whatever.)
Once I got free from him, I apparently gained access to the employee break room where my brother was waiting there to comfort me. So, I just stood there and hugged him for a while. Then, I stooped down to tie my shoe. When I stood back up to hug Grant again, Chris (who was apparently an employee of Wal-Mart) was there in his place. I don't remember much else other than that an attorney wanted to talk to me on my way out.
Weird.

A few pictures as proof of state 43

This is my proof that I was in Kansas... that I am holding a Kansas magnet. Because, obviously, this is foolproof.

Me with Maddie and Lizzie (Annie's girls). We had fun getting to know each other for a few days. Yay!

Me and Jeremy! (Apparently, there were no pictures of Annie??? Sorry!!)

Me with the Nelson kids. (Again, no pictures of Lisa!! AAACK!!)

I'm sorry, but is this not the cutest thing ever??

The way the midwest won

I've known for many-a-year that I'm allergic to spring. However, I've most recently been reminded that I am oh-so-allergic to Midwest May. Holy cow! Seriously, I haven't had this serious of a reaction in a long, long time. Perhaps, not even since the horrific outdoor date in Philly a few years ago where I was so full of allergens and sneezing and such that there was absolutely no way that any other human would want to touch me, let alone the hot-former-coworker guy. But, I digress. The point is that I am pretty much unable to go outside here and am quickly acquiring a claritin addiction. Throw a couple of cats into the mix and I am feeling pretty suffer-y. Yuk. Oh well, seeing friends of awesomeness is totally worth it.
Down with pollens!

A Week Away From Reality, Phase 1

So, after all the chaos of getting the new season launched and a new performing arts center opened, I was finally able to slip away for a week prior to my summer classes beginning. So, on Tuesday I flew into Kansas City for a week-long getaway in Kansas (plus airport time in MO). In addition to this being my 43^rd state (yahoo!), I get to spend some long overdue quality time with two of my favorite people. Since Tuesday, I’ve been hanging out with my friend Lisa and her family. We went to both college and grad school together, but haven’t seen each other at all since they moved out to Topeka about 3 years ago. It is so good to reconnect with someone who knows so much of my history and with whom I am completely comfortable just being myself. And, to boot, I get to hang out with kids, which I never get to do. It’s been pretty cool to hang out with Joshua (5), Kayla (3), and Tyler (1) the last few days and realize that they have no idea that I am completely experience-less with kids. They just trust me and love me and want to hang out with me. There’s something so charming about children that just expect you to be a part of their life from the moment they meet you. It’s a crazy-stark contrast to my usual day-to-day life, but it’s really quite refreshing.

Tomorrow, I’m on to Kansas, Phase 2: Jeremy, Annie, and the girls. More reports soon.

Once-in-a-lifetime

Last night, I got all dressed up and headed out for what may have been a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. Saturday night was the gala dinner and performance (a.k.a. the formal night) of the three-day grand opening weekend at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. George Mason (my employer) is one of the three significant partners in establishing this gorgeous venue in Prince William County. It is located on one of Mason's campuses and the operations side of things rests squarely on GMU's shoulders. As such, I have had a role in preparing for its opening over the last year or so. Though my role is fairly insignificant in the whole scope of things, it was definitely enough to give me a real sense of pride in the whole project.
As I sat in a brand new chair in a beautiful new hall, looking at musicians sitting on a brand new stage, I couldn't help but get excited about the many years of enriching arts experiences that would be had in that hall, or even in that very seat. Someone may be inspired to write a play, pursue playing the piano, take up ballet, or underwrite a season of concerts from that very spot. I had gotten so caught up in the minutia of the work that I had forgotten what a monumental event this really was. Performing Arts Centers don't get opened every day. And, most certainly not in this economic climate! It was an honor to be there among the first to be a part of this event.
I would love to be a part of opening another new venue someday, but I also realize that this may have been a once-in-a lifetime experience for me. I am honored and humbled, thrilled and inspired to be a part of enriching the lives of a community in a new way. This is what inspires me.

Random things from today

• I finally mailed Christmas presents to my family. I gave up on actually having all of the birthday presents to go along with them. So, they get a package of May presents and that's just the way it is. Hey - at least they get them!!
• I love my job. It is crazy and I can't keep up with it, but I really do love it. I am so fortunate to be in a field where my passions also are.
  
• I was amused by a very serious looking envelope I got in the mail today from "Federal Investigative Services Division" that was imprinted with the date and "Have a nice day". Looks like they're trying to do some image management? It just seemed like a very lighthearted thing to print on such a dour federal envelope. It would have been a bit better, I suppose, if it said 'The Feds say, "Have a nice day!"'
• Dinner with Liz tonight! So good to see her again -- she was my first ever frolleague. Someday, we will once again have adjacent doors and get a custom plaque that says "codependent since 2007." Yay for time to actually catch up with friends!
  

Old news

So a few weeks ago, I cut a bunch of my hair off. Here are two before shots and one after. I'm still not sure which I prefer. It's possible that I have a little cutter's remorse. I mean, don't get me wrong. I love, love, love my new hair, but now that I'm looking at the pictures, I kind of miss my pretty long hair, too.

Awesome things from last week

Awesome Thing 1: My Birthday! Ok, so I may be stretching the definition of week a little tiny bit here. However, it was lovely and low-key and involved several of my favorite people, including my mama!! Success, I say!
Awesome Thing 2: Amy came to town!! Yay! She was here to interview for a fellowship, which she got. Congrats, Ames! So... now she gets to come back to town in a little over a week. Whoo-hoo! Lots of Amy doses. Plus, she reminded me that they are supposed to be relocated to Georgia this fall, which means much easier Amy-dose-procurement. Yippity!
Awesome Thing 3: We saw a dog walking down the street beside its owner carrying its own bag from Pawticulars. That was awesome.
Awesome Thing 4: So, I was thinking the dog bag-carrying trick was pretty cool until later that night when I got to meet Sebastian - Colleen and Nathaniel's brand, new shiny baby. Ok, maybe not shiny, but definitely new and a-dor-a-ble! We've all been waiting so long to meet him that it was just so cool to finally see him. Double-yay for new family members!

I'm all out of awesome things for now.

A Day Charged, A Penny Saved

So, I thought my old-school phone had finally bit the dust. I couldn't seem to get it to charge during the day yesterday so I wrote it off and figured I would be without a phone for a few days until I could replace it. However! When I got home I was able to fanangle my charger to start pouring some resuscitating life back into my phone.
In the words of my astute frolleague: "A Day Charge, A Penny Saved"