My NOT Politically Correct and Extremely Bitchy Rant for the Month

1.Who actually EATS the freaking cheese filled chili hotdogs at AMPM? WTF! Really? Wow. And who makes pasta and then adds ranch as sauce?? Ranch noodles? What the hell. Gross. Apparently I am seeing how the other half eats. And it aint pretty. Eww their language is even rubbing off on me too. Ick.

2.What is with the freaking jonas brothers!? No one cares! Go away!

3.Wipe your kids nose already!

4.If you’re going to fulfill your stereotype, then stop whining about it!

5.Stop making out on the bus. Just STOP it. No one thinks its cute. Not even me, and im tolerant as shit (ok not right now, as obvious by this rant, but generally I am….I swear..)

6.When we ask you to phonetically spell your impossible-to-pronounce last name, don’t bitch to us, you’re fucking graduating and we’re trying to make it perfect for you, I don’t think you want us to say “spanikopita” when it’s really “spant-i-cop. OK!? OK! We’re doing you a favor. Plus, we ask everyone. We’re not singling you out. So shut your trap.

7.You "don’t like war either" republicans? Really? Really? Than STOP voting for it and then underfunding it! Jesus. Not very efficient, dontcha think? Yeah, thought so.

8.If you're going to cover yourself with cologne and fume-up our office on the random times you're actually on campus, thank you thank you thank you for making it an amazing, drool inducing, I'll meet you in the closet down the hall scent. I really needed that pick me up. And I'm really not kidding about that closet. Anytime.


.

Serendipity

After a lovely philosophizing filled coffee date last week with a very special professor of mine from college (feminism and self/identity classes to be specific), I got to thinking about the universe and serendipity and the whole cliché “one door slams shut thing” and how it’s truly is the universe telling you to go in another direction. And how synchronicity plays so well into that. How random moments and seemingly unimportant settings can yield the most miraculous of opportunities, or at leas the launching pad for a major life choice, a choice that you’ve been waiting to make, one that excites you even more than you thought was possible. Her examples ranged from having someone recommending the book that is one of the two she is holding and deciding between, to stuff like volunteering as a piano player that led to a job that would allow her to pursue her PhD. My life has been similarly touched by my time working here at the University of Portland. Of course my job has been central to that and not without some growing pains, but more so its been the whole picture, the whole setting of a campus. Interesting faculty and staff to network with, the chance to have coffee with old professors, to help with research, to get a grasp on the plethora of my future, and so much more. Above all, this year has been the time for me to explore my choices and listen to all the different voices and options. Need I mention the million things that I would be so incredibly happy doing in my life (and plan to do several of)? No, because I’m sure you’ve heard about them. :) But the best feeling is the feeling that of not being pressured to find the ‘right’ one, to know that I am not the only force pushing me in whatever direction I end up going. Because I truly believe in the power of those serendipitous moments and often times we get so focused on what we want to do, our next job, the next city to live in, the next relationship, or whatever it is that we obsess about, that we forget to see their magic. And the best part about this whole over coffee realization is to see the uncanny “this cannot be just a coincidence” muscle. And lets be real, serendipity is a great John Cusack movie, so im all over it :)


.

Shiny Happy Person

It has been the week of gifts for me. First it was the awesome blessing of finding a place to live with someone I know, in a great neighborhood, with little to no negotiating, and cheap rent. New smells, new people, new parks, new everything. I just want to reach out and grab it all. And you don’t even understand how ecstatic I am to be living within 5 minutes of new seasons. Take a second …thinking about it….yeah its glorious. Second, yesterday, there was the surprise of finding my computer and desk and keyboard completely covered in bright pink post it notes saying “I love you” and “I miss you” and “I have to show you my new hair color” and “you KNOW you’re so fab” from Diana. I completely laughed out loud with excitement when I came back to my desk. Thirdly, I got a wonderfully sweet thank you note from two students (with a starbucks card holla) for helping them put together their research poster for a conference last week. And TODAY, being administrative persons appreciation day, I got a lovely pink/white rose from Lorretta with a note of gratitude, and gratuitous amounts of chocolate throughout the day.

Basically when it comes down to it – My life is so awesome, I have a great job, a great place to live, amazing and unique friends. I am so blessed :)

Ps: and to top if all OFF, I will officially be roommates with Ali Brown for two and half months. I KNOW, RIGHT!?



.

I'm moving!

Ok, so it's like the third time in one year, but I'm not even annoyed about it! Which I'm really proud of myself for. I'm just plain really really excited, despite all the frantic packing/lifting/cleaning I'm doing today (thank god for free boxes, itunes shuffle, and the need to work off tater tots and a mimosa). This move feels a little more legit too, because I'm moving to a whole new neighborhood, out of No Po!? I know, I know. It's a big step slash miracle, but as much as I love north portland, it is time for a new frontier! So off I go to southeast portland, specifically a pocket of it called Ladd's Addition. It's got some pretty neat history to it, and loads of round abouts, which makes me feel very city girl with a dash of european. Plus those round abouts are full of roses! yay! I'm really looking forward to the following about the move

-Dish TV, not gonna lie, I've missed it!
-moving in with someone I know and like
-I'm close to Hawthorne and all the indie/coffeeshop/bar/biking awesomeness that will ensue
-that it's residential but also near things/city/bustling
-roses
-storage, more than just putting one suitcase into a closet in a smoker roomates attic room
-a substantial closet (yippee!)
-cheaper rent
-not being harassed by creapy losers on lombard

And since technically I'm not even there yet, (moving tomorrow with the help of some awesome and extremely generous friends of mine, thank you jillian thank you jess!), I can't wait to discover all the more reasons why I love it :)

Visitors welcome :)

A Memory Game

As we all know.... I have a terrible memory. Whether its the conversation we just had, where we decided we're going to dinner on friday, a highschool fight that I never thought I would forget, or almost all of Grapes of Wrath even thought I've read it twice, I probably don't remember it now. If someone gets me going by giving me a hint or explains it to me, I'll find it somewhere in my mind and remember the whole thing, although ther are times where I still can't find it. But, in stark contrast to that annoying trait of mine, I have an amazing and uncanny memory for social stuff. Like who's dating who at UP, or who dated who freshmen year of highschool, or who lived in what dorm and is part of what social group, etc etc. It's kind of really fucking weird. And if you're a nursing student, I probably know your full name, hometown, and what you wore the day you had your first big test in pharmacology. Not. even. kidding. So as an excercise for my mind, and also just cause it's been fun, I've been writing down memories in my journal every night. Sometimes they're from childhood, or from yesterday, or stuff that my mother reminded me of. Sometimes its painful to remember stuff, and other times I'm not sure whether some things are even worth writing down, but I usually just write it down anyway, cause I do believe that it popped into my head for a reason. And I think one day I'll really be glad I did this, maybe to show my kids or help my sister write a screenplay. We would have such a magical story to tell. Regardless, I'm going to start putting one up here every once in awhile. Maybe weekly, maybe less, maybe more. And who knows? It may even be like a blogging form of sudoku, and since I really hate that stupid game (sorry, its just how i feel :), and I since I'm not big on conforming anyways, it can be my way of staying sharp.


.

Tight!

Maybe its the fact that I've had two drinks, and a shitload of laughs and nachos with my coworkers, but this video is fan-freaking-tastic. I love it when parents are so cool :)

Bizzarro

This weekend has been nothing short of bizarre, very eventful, and long. So many things. So many ups an downs. And too much jumbling is going on in my mind to muster more than a list. But it will be entertaining I promise. This is what I did all weekend.

Ate some yummy manicotti (great word) with Kari Lynn McGinley and chatted about her upcoming wedding/life!

Walked for three and a half hours for the Relay for Life (cancer awareness) with sarah, her family, kari, jillian, and other friends on the UP campus as the sun set.

Shaved Sarah's head for charity. I even shaved some lightning bolts in the back, just for fun and of course they were temporary. She was honored at the mentioned event as a survivor. She is also one of the closest people to my heart. And she is beautiful.




Ran into a friend from Seattle/highschool on my way home that night, on the corner of willamette and portsmouth - talking, hugging, laughing ensued.

Woke up with a fever, feeling like a bear was sitting on my chest and head.

Worked an 8 hour shift with Kaytlynn through the haze. She is a develementally diabled girl with special medical needs that I help take care of. It was a long day, but I learned a lot and feel a lot more comfortable caring for her.

Dozed off and on all night saturday, sweating as I slept partly due to crazy summer time weather going on this weekend.

Went for a walk with an Lauren's ipod and was thoroughly intrigued and entertained by her music collection.

Compiled ideas and music for my hopefully-going-to-happen music blog. Oh its gonna rock. I'm bursting with excitement about it. :)

And the last part (today) was not that bizarre, but slightly weird because it was the first time in weeks that I had seen Ali freaking Brown in a long long time! So mainly we just spent the day being, oh ya know, just us, chatting it up, laughing, shopping, talking politics, a new seasons adventure, discussing how gross we both felt (ie sick to our stomachs, feverish, lightheaded), and watching some wonderful trashy tv. YAY. well except for the bug-getting that is apparently going on.

*And the entire crazy weekend, I kept pushing a thought aside, that next weekend I will be moving. Eeeek. Denial isnt just a river in Egypt folks.


.

I'm just sayin......

.

Cramp in my style YO

Ok, so I don't consider myself a shy person, not the most outgoing of the outgoers, but certaintly not awkward or uncomfortable in new or different social situations. But last night, I realized something that I've been doing lately, which was startling, to say the least. After a failed attempt to go see a performance in northeast portland from a really cool group, we ended up at Kell's for a quick bite to eat, (going home would have been so anti-climactic... I know right?). So we're sitting chatting and sharing a quesadilla and I realize that I am having the hardest time making continual eye contact! Like for reals, a hard time! I had no idea why, I just couldn't. I found myself talking but not looking at the person across from me, or intermittently looking at the wall or the bartenders or whatever. And I don't know if it was because there was someone there I didn't know well (and you know how you don't want to give too much attention to someone you've just met, that would be weird, especially when they're of the male sort) or if I was just uncomfortable. I thought maybe it was because I'm such a people observer extrordanaire, but it was Kells on a sunday night, not exactly hoppin. And then I realized that another time, when out with a really good friend, I was doing it also, and she asked if I was ok. And I had to force myself to snap out of it. What is the deal? It's freaking me out. And its more noticable now that I'm aware. Have I been doing this awhile, or eek maybe forever, and not realizing it? And people have just failed to tell me? Thanks a lot people! Or maybe I'm just over analyzing. I do tend to be a fat worry wart most of the time, let's be real, so maybe I just need to go fill up my waterbottle, go to the gym, and stop creating more wrinkles.


.

How do we restore our political culture from spin to movement, from muddle to purpose?

After spending this week reminded of Martin Luther King, the anniversary of his death, I sought out some food for my mind this weekend. During my usual meanderings through nytimes and cnn and some other, more alternative news sources such as truthout and Democracy Now! - I came across an eloquent op-ed piece from the new york times, written with a clear biblical theme, that discusses his relevance today. I thought it touched on some interesting points and am including my favorite snipit below:

"More than once, the dominant culture has turned history upside down to make itself feel comfortable. And when a civil rights movement rose from the fringe of maids and sharecroppers, making it no longer respectable to defend racial segregation, wounded voices adapted again to curse government as the agent of general calamity. We have painted Dr. King’s era as a time of aimless, unbridled license, with hippies running amok.

The watchword of political discourse has degenerated from “movement” to “spin.” In Dr. King’s era, the word “movement” grew from a personal inspiration into leaps of faith, then from shared discovery and sacrifice into upward struggle, spawning kindred movements until great hosts from Selma to the Berlin Wall literally could feel the movement of history.

Now we have “spin” instead, suggesting that there is no real direction at stake from political debate, nor any consequence except for the players in a game. Such language embraces cynicism by reducing politics to entertainment."

-Taylor Branch

His remarks are echoing in my mind today, and I hope with the coming election that we can put aside the meaningless terms or categories that limit our understanding of politics, move beyond our often assumed understandings of one another, and embrace the system of our government, despite its faults, and force a forward movement.

You heard it here first, Edition 3

So, knowing my music obsessed self, I didn't think that my number of per day "oooh whats this song?" or "this is such a great song!" moments could get any higher, but they ARE. I know right? Ridiculous. So I'm just letting you know that you've been warned, because this next edition might be a bit overwhelming, but I'm bursting at the seams with good finds and really really have been itching to find time to put this together. It was even hard to pair it down to these 7. I hope you find it as well rounded as I tried to make it, with shout outs to old school stuff (I'm in a old school rap and beatles phase, dont ask), bubbly pop (cause god knows me need a little driving with your girls music) and of course some alternative gems (as usual). Enjoy!

1. Sometimes the best finds happen while looking up something else. From mispelled google searches, like bands on their myspace friend list, or just someone else who did a song with the same title or lyric. Youtube is fantastic for that kind of thing. So in searching for a band called American Music Club - who I ended up not liking very much, I stumbled across Sarah Pace. And she is just lovely. Reminds me of modern day americana, a little bit of dixie, with haunting vocals. My Reccomendation is to check out "Western Sky", but all her stuff is great.

2. The next is a really interesting mix of sounds that instantly makes me smile. Mainly because it's slightly boy bandish, a little bit of hiphop ala jason mraz , and a dash of maroon 5; but mainly because they are so darn cute. Yeah, they got me at "they're Irish". They're called The Script..

3. As mentioned above, I have been on a huge old school kick lately, not exactly sure what old school means in this case, but just older stuff, sometimes old as in ninties and sometimes it means the beatles. Depends on the day. But it has been pretty awesome. Recent itunes giftcard purchases = Boys II Men, Nina Simone, Tupac, that Tootsie Roll song (word!) and this unforgettable song by Freak Nasty (give me just a second to flashback to the days of Kube 93 sponsored junior high dances all sweaty and khaki wearing) and here you go. Plus this video cracks me up :)




4. Next on the playlist is a really rockin awesome new POP song, and I really mean that. But its genius. I can't get enough. Mariah has new competition. Her name is Leona Lewis. And since the Brits (including her) continue to be just a wee bit cooler than Americans, they were all over her way before us of course. I'm sure you've heard it on the radio, the song is called Bleeding Love, and since youtube won't let me borrow a video for this one, you will have to go look her up!

5. Ok. Back to my roots. Rock. R.E.M. has always been one of my favorite bands, I used to hang their CD insert sheets on my wall, especially the cover for their Automatic for the People album. I have always regretted giving up on the piano because I never learned to play "nightswimming", Le Sigh. The summer I was 11, my older sister caitlin and I even made up a dance, which turned out to be more of a lyrical acting type thing, in our empty living (we were re-painting). I don't remembe much of it, but it was to this song and involved folding my arms across my chest and laying down. I dont know, but we were really into it. But they have a new album (yay) and here is one of their new songs. It's a goodie, in true R.E.M. form.




6. Regardless of it being a christian song (kind of) which usually isnt my thing, I'm drawn to this song by Switchfoot, that I happened upon while saying hey to a friend on facebook, which was spurred by running into him on campus, and since we're both grads, and he is extremely sweet, was a pleasant part of my week so far. Anyways, this song, played acousticly here by the bands lead singer, is really sweet and calming. Enjoy. The first verse is incredible.




7. And i'll just leave you with one thought. Kanye West and Chris Martin from Coldplay. YEAH. Contain yourself. Go look it up!


.

Sometimes you just need a little parental nagging

reasons i love my mom

mom: so guess what im doing this weekend instead of getting a real weekend?
me: something basketball related?
mom: YAH, chaperoning maria's basketball overnight camp, all the single moms get the shaft when it comes to volunteering
me: oh crap, that sucks, im sorry, you should slip some dramamine into their icecream that im sure they'll manage to get their hands on at 1 am.....do it!
mom: totally. hahaha. wait. have you gotten your bus yet? its awfully late to be out in the dark my little one
me: yes, its coming. dont worry, 930 is not that late, and yeah, dont forget about that 'dramamine in their ice cream' idea
mom: ok, i wont, and you have good shoes on so you can run if you need to?
me: yes mom
mom:goodnight claire
me: goodnight mom


.