Well DUH!

According to Find Your Spot the ideal place for me to live is Portland, Oregon. Corvallis, Oregon (where I went to college, and desperately wanted to stay after graduation) was #7 of the list. 6 of the 24 cities listed were in Oregon: Portland, Eugene, Corvallis, Bend, Salem and Medford.

Perhaps I DID have a bit of bias as I completed the quiz.

Seattle and neighbors, surprisingly, did not make the list. Perhaps because it asked me how much I wanted to spend for a house, and I picked a number I liked and might actually be able to afford, rather than a number that is realistic in this housing market.

Note: The Sweetie took the quiz last night. Portland and Corvallis ranked in the same spots on his list. Now if Oregon would just get its act together regarding public education so sweetie would have some hope of finding a worthwhile job down there perhaps I could convince him to make the move. Friends in Oregon with political connections - this is your calling. Spouses of friends in Oregon with political connections - make sure the word gets passed along. You know who you are. :)

Lint

After laundering a blanket or a load of new towels there is something oddly satisfying about cleaning the lint trap in the dryer. There's heft to the lint that makes it fun to peel of the screen. And, depending on what was in the dryer, the colors can be really pretty.

Franz Ferdinand

As a result of Endfest I now have a new band I love, and I think you should go check them out, too. It's Franz Ferdinand.

They're four pretty boys who dress well and now how to strut on stage. They're from Scotland, so they have adorable accents.

As for the music, I'd say it's reminiscent of Adam and the Ants - think Vive Le Rock or Place in the Country. It's that combination of guitar and synth pop with that certain something to the vocals. Although there are moments when the harmonies remind me of The Mamas and the Papas.

And since you're probably having a difficult time trying to figure out what four boys who sound like a cross between Adam Ant and Cass Elliot sound like you should just go check out the CD.

The beginning of The END

Today I'm reliving my twenties, going to Endfest, the local alterna-rock radio station's festival concert. Last time I've been to one of these was probably HORDE circa 1997. Nowadays the shows you're more likely to find me at are Aimee Mann at the Zoo or Elvis Costello at they symphony hall.

It's not that I've suddenly started listening to the music of today's youth, but look at the list of bands I will get to see: Psychedelic Furs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, X, Echo and the Bunneymen, Violent Femmes, Presidents of the United States of America. They show is reliving my twenties as well.

The Doc Marten boots are at the ready. Although, unlike in my twenties, I'll be bringing an appropriate jacket in case it gets cold or starts to rain, and now that I'm a little more liquid, I won't have to spend my food budget for a month just to get something to eat.

The thoughtful clerk

Wednesday night I found myself at the food court of the local mall. I was starving and had to be somewhere soon, so needed to grab a quick bite to eat that I could take on the road.

I am one of those people who, when the bill is $4.97, will give the clerk a $5 bill and two pennies to get a nickel back rather than three cents. In my days as retail clerk at Target I'd be the one to ask if you had the four cents so I didn't have to give you 96 cents change. That's just how my mind works.

My bill that evening came to $7.07. I handed the clerk a $20 bill and, because I had no nickels in my wallet, 12 cents change (a dime and two pennies). From past experience, a clerk in this situation will have one of three reactions:

1. They will understand what I've set out to do, and gladly give me my change.
2. They won't understand what I am trying to do, so will ask why I gave them that particular combination of bills and coins. Once I explain myself, they will gladly give me my change.
3. They won't understand what I am trying to do, so will punch the figure I handed them into the cash register, then will gladly give me my change.

Not that night. Someone else had rung in my order (another story). I handed the clerk my cash. She looked at the cash, looked at the cash register that showed $7.07. Back at the cash. To the register. To me. To the cash. Then she asks me, "Did she ring you in?" "Yes, she did." To the cash. To the cash register. Eventually she went for route number 3, but it took her a while to get there.

Thursday night I was to go to Sweetie's house for our weekly viewing of Survivor. I was scheduled to make the sweetie dinner that night and had stopped at my local Whole Foods to pick up supplies. When it came time to check out I picked what seemed like the shortest line, but the checker was taking her time. Originally I thought the produce and bulk foods confused her, she didn't know the codes.

But then she picked up the mango that the customer ahead of me had decided to purchase. She wasn't just figuring out the code, she was pondering the mango. Contemplating the mango. Communing with the mango. Really, what IS a mango?

That's when it hit me. These checkers weren't just stupid people out there to piss me off on my particularly type-A days. A new breed of thoughtful, contemplative, zen-like checkers had entered the world. Shopping is no longer about just purchasing goods and services. It's a life altering experience.

The Sound of Silence

The phone has NOT stopped ringing this morning! I usually e-mail a summary of the day out around 8:45 am (when I first get into the office). It went out at 10:45 today, because I spent all morning on the phone.

The phone has rung three times in the course of my typing this blog entry.

CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY!!!!

I Think I'm Posessed

First, a plug: if you ever have opportunity to sit at your computer and listen to music you really should check out Launch at Yahoo. If you aren't familiar, it's an online radio service. The thing that makes it cooler than the others is that you get to customize it, tell it what bands, songs, albums you like, tell it what you never ever want to hear again. Your playlist is based off of these songs, but then it will also mix in new music it thinks you will like based off your preferences, so you get exposed to new stuff you might not have otherwise heard. If you go for the free service you have to listen to an ad every few songs, which isn't that obtrusive, and you can only skip a certain number of songs a month, but I've never hit that limit. I listen to my Launch station at work all the time.

Now we get to the part where I'm posessed.

It started with my CD changer. When I listen to CDs on shuffle play my changer has the habit of picking one song off one CD it REALLY likes and continually comes back to that one song. It ALWAYS favors one CD over the other four. I used to say my CD player was posessed. Shortly after getting it I decided to move it with the CDs still inside it one day and lost my Pearl Jam CD inside the player for 5 years. I didn't dare crack the case on a brand new CD player in 1993, so I had to wait until the CD player decided it was time for me to get the CD back. Between this and the clear favoritism it shows it obviously has a mind of its own.

But now, with Launch, I'm beginning to think I'M the posessed one. About 90% of the time I start it up the first song played is by the Violent Femmes. I think they're always played within the first three songs. 99% of the time the song selected is off Viva Wisconsin. Had I written this post yesterday it would have been 100% of the time, but today it graced me with a song off Add it Up. Don't get me wrong, I love the Femmes. They are my favorite band. If I were only allowed to listen to one Femmes CD the rest of my life I would likely choose Viva Wisconsin. But gosh darn it, show a little diversity! I have Music for the Masses by Depeche Mode ranked as highly, and maybe get one song a day off of that.

Now I'm beginning to think I have some weird aura that forces the CD players and radio stations around me to always revert to the same song. Maybe they can do a study about me. In the meantime, I think I'll go listen to some music I've heard before.

I'm getting old

James Spader just accepted an Emmy award for best actor in a drama series. Among other he thanked his children. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe James Spader was the one in The Sure Thing who offered John Cusack promises of "No Questions Asked, No Strings Attached, No Guilt Involved, A SURE THING." If that wasn't him, he at least played a similar role at some point in his past.

The guys who played the party all night parts in the teen movies of my youth have grown up and gone on to lead responsible lives. This is just not right. They're still supposed to be out there partying and living the wild life. My teens and twenties are past me, and I'm thankful for that, but I at least want to be able to go watch those movies of my youth and PRETEND that they are still living the wild life.

KenJen rant of the day

The comments to yesterday's post about evil incarnate have really had me obsessing about him today.

I think I've finally cracked the shell! Back in the mid-90's I met the (then) second-highest money winner on Jeopardy ever, Bob Verini. He made the finals of the master tournament of champions in 2002. Bob is one of the nicest, unassuming guys I've ever met. He's brilliant, but even when he's displaying his brilliance in front of you, it doesn't make you cringe, it makes you aspire to equal brilliance.

During it's run I once stumbled across an episode of Win Ben Stein's Money in which Bob was a contestant. Bob made it to the Best of Ten Test of Knowledge (of course) but did not win. That was the day I realized how truly, astoundingly intelligent Ben Stein is.

I bet if they resurrected that show and brought KenJen on he wouldn't even register against Ben's intelligence. Better yet, invite Ben to be a contestant on the show for just one episode, and show KenJen what true intelligence is.

Whatever you do, just make him go away. (KenJen, not Ben).

The Continuing Saga of a Game Show Ho

With the return of the new TV season comes the return of the ultimate Game Show Ho, KenJen.

Here are some questions I've been pondering as I watch his further quest for world domination through stupid trivia:

1. At what point do they stop introducing him as "software engineer" and start introducing him as "former software engineer, and now on a quest to take over the world through game shows"?
2. Are they seeing a drop in applicants since KenJen took the throne? I know as interested as I might be to make it on the show (although Millionaire is much more my style), I'd never try out if there was a snowballs chance in hell I'd face this savant.
3. When will they wise up and realize how stupid it was to take away the five win rule, and reimplement it, so we can get on with our lives?

Now I've heard everything...

Today I heard a quote from W. regarding taxes. Here was his basic argument:

• The democrats want to increase taxes on the rich.
• Rich people have accountants and lawyers, so will not have to pay the increased taxes.
• The rich people, with their accountants and lawers, will somehow find a way to make you pay for their increased taxes, since they don't have to pay for them.
• Therefore, if you try to increase taxes on rich people it will cost you more money.
• Vote for me.

I wonder what sort of rhetoric he'd spew if a flat-tax candidate were on the ballot.

Bright, Shiny Objects

If you are a friend who reads my blog you probably already know this. If you're a stranger who has stumbled across my musings you probably don't care.

My sweetie and I are now engaged!

This is my pitiful excuse as to why there have been no posts in the last week. Here's a summary of the week for you:

"Look at my ring, it's so sparkly"
"Holy crap, I only have 11 months to plan a wedding, move all my stuff, and attempt to have a regular life on top of that!"
lather, rinse, repeat....

I'm starting to surface out of the haze now, and am desperately hoping that I can plan a wedding while continuing to maintain a life outside of that. To those ends, this is the last you will read of the impending nuptials on this site. I've set up a separate blog for that purpose.

If you're interested, surf on over there and take a look. If you're not, don't, no skin off my nose. If nothing else, it will serve as a forum for me to spew forth on the topic so my brain doesn't get overloaded and paralyze me into procrastination.

That said, it may be a few days before this site gets updated again. There's a LOT of wedding-related clutter in the brain that needs to be downloaded to get me to where I can interact with a normal human being on normal human topics.