For the T-shirt Lover in You

Threadless.com = Funny shirts






And my personal favorite:

Chinese gum and YAAAAMS!

So my parents just got back from two weeks in China, where they mixed and mingled in a new culture and worked towards setting up a student exchange between the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a Chinese university. Their sojourn to this foreign nation afforded me some lovely little birthday presents, Chinese-style. No throwing stars or anything, but along with a fanfreakingtastic purse and wallet, they sent some Chinese candy. Alongside the peanut M&Ms with Chinese letters on the wrapper, there was this one mysterious gum-shaped package with pictures of coffee cups on it. Sure enough, it was coffee-flavored gum. I was intrigued.

I mean come on, coffee-flavored gum. Not exactly an intuitive combination. Usually you chew gum to get rid of the coffee breath. I remember my art teacher in high school, Mrs. Babbitt, she had the worst coffee breath you can imagine. She'd come over to critique a project and the students would automatically lean six inches in the opposite direction. We liked her anyway. Anyway.

After settling down comfortably on my couch, I unwrapped a stick and began chewing the tan-with-dark-brown-flecks stick of gum. Chew chew chew...chew........chew... Huh.

First thought: What the mother of crap is up with this stuff?? Oh God. Is it gum, is it food? What's the deal?

Then, as the initial burst of coffee flavor began to fade: Oh, it's nice. I think I'll have another one.

It kind of reminded me of this Dutch candy, Hopjes. (actually pronounced "(insert spit-rattling, phlegmmy-H noise here)uup-yas", but my Americano friend Kyeathy and I call them "Hop-jeez"). Hopjes are actually hard candies, but they taste the same.

As for the YAAAAMS! ("Oh Will. But you-you've worked so hard.") For the past few days, I've been smelling something a little...off...every time I'd walk towards my kitchen. I thought it might be the garbage can so I scrubbed it out and sprayed it with lysol and all...but still the smell persisted. Well, as I was searching through my ridiculously deep cupboards for a box of brown rice today, my hand encountered something...soft. Yeah. I had come across a six-week-old, liquefied sweet potato, still in it's little produce baggie. Um. Gross.

Five Things

I lied. Six.

1. As of today, I have officially lived in Phoenix for 8 weeks.
2. There are 12 books on my bookshelf that I have purchased but not yet read.
3. There are 17 dvds on my dvd shelf that I have purchased but not yet watched.
4. Pat saw Snakes on a Plane. Not fair. (although, clearly, if I don't get to see it in the theater then I can just buy it when it comes out on dvd...and not watch it.)
5. I want these shoes.













6. These shoes cost $2,200.00. It's ok. I had a heart attack, too. We can be myocardial infarction buddies.

The Circus Is Falling Down On It's Knees.

Blue. Birthday.
Adam Duritz knows. He knows.

I need:
a phone call
a rain coat
a big love
a plane ride
a sunburn

a phone call
a rain coat

So this is the first really lonely birthday I've spent. Don't get me wrong, you guys were so great and I appreciate the calls more than I can say. And everyone at work was so nice - they had cake and little gifts and flowers and things. We even went out for mexican food and margaritas after work. But you know how sometimes having a nice time with people who like you - as opposed to people who love you - just makes you think about how much you've left behind and what you don't have? ~sigh~ I miss you guys.

Love.

Phoenix Days and Talladega Nights

I think I actually have an AZ friend or two, you guys.

After seven weeks of doing things pretty much all on my own (i.e. movies, eating, shopping, reading, living, breathing, etc.), I finally went out on a Saturday and did stuff...WITH PEOPLE. Take that, SpendingSoMuchTimeByYourselfThatYouPhotoshoppedYourFriends
IntoAnOldBostonPhoto-Kristen!

So I'd heard good things about Talladega Nights and wanted to go see it. But how depressing is it to go see a stupid-funny movie by yourself? (I mean, something funny happens and what do I do? I look to my left. I look to my right. No one to laugh with. Sadness. Movie ruined. Nine dollars wasted.) So I decided to invite a couple friends from my office (and their respective spouses) to go see Talladega Nights on Saturday afternoon.

We saw the movie (funny stuff) and then grabbed some ice cream. The theater closest to my apartment is the downtown fancy cinema located in Arizona Center. It's a nice outdoor shopping area with pretty deserty-palm-tree type landscaping. So we ate our ice cream outside in this little park area and then splashed around in the walk-through fountain thingy they have and talked. Other than the fact that playing fifth wheel to two couples on a beautiful summer evening is pretty much emotional torment, I have to say - human contact: good for the soul.

I have a new cell phone - a mass e-mail with contact information is in the offing.

Love you guys.

What if...

my readers were members of the band Boston circa 1976?




PS - Heath, you in this picture? Yeah, totally what your dad must've looked like in the 70s.

Because Sometimes We All Need A Little Motivation

Read and be refreshed.












And my personal favorite...



Awesome.