25 things

This is a task I got on Facebook. I figured since these posts automatically go on Facebook, I’d just post it here. Hence:

Rules:
Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

1. I have a pimple on my chin right now, after going years without having a pimple. I’ve always had really great skin. So this is really bothering me.

2. I still sleep with my green blankies that I’ve had since I was a baby. I also still sleep with a night light.

3. I’m a shopaholic. Since I’ve not had a job it’s been really really hard for me not to buy things.

4. My dream job is to design book covers. I’d get to read books then play around with design all day. So cool.

5. I love pineapple, both hot and cold. Especially on pizza.

6. I’ve crossed the borders of Mexico and Canada, but have never been overseas. I’d really love to visit major cities in Europe, like London, Paris or Rome.

7. I miss Caribou Coffee.

8. My 8 gig iPod is too small.

9. I have a thing for iconic women in art. The Mona Lisa, Girl with the Pearl Earring, Rosie the Riveter, etc…. I’m not sure why. But I like collecting magnets and other little trinkets featuring them.

10. I love editing grammar mistakes. Though I’m sure I make plenty of my own.

11. I’ve never seen Mary Poppins.

12. I’ve also never seen a Bond film.

13. I’m a fan of sports teams in a really regional sense. I like teams from Texas, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Georgia. For some reason, I don’t like teams from California, New York, Florida, Oklahoma, or Ohio.

14. On that same note, all that REALLY matters is football. Outside that, it’s just a bit of fun.

15. I speak French very well, I just don’t remember a lot of the words. Give me a page text written in French and I’ll read it perfectly, though I’ll have no idea what I’m saying.

16. I’m a horrible party-er because alcohol makes me tired.

17. Daisies are my favorite flower.

18. I’ve always thought that if I won a large sum of money, I’d first donate to a crisis pregnancy center, then to non-smoking campaigns, then animal shelters.

19. I still laugh at lolcats.

20. I’m horrible with laundry. I hate doing it. I hate folding it and putting it away. As you can imagine I’ve got clothes all over my room, and whether it’s clean or dirty… that’s all in my head.

21. I can’t dance.

22. I’m having a really hard time keeping this list going. I must be really boring.

23. I’m usually in bed by 9 p.m., asleep by 10 p.m. I sleep a lot.

24. I’m a cat person.

25. I love my hair ever since I’ve moved back to Austin… the soft water in my parents’ house is nice.

‘Blizzard 2009′

Well, I am back in Austin. I had been here for a few days–working on my dad’s web site, unpacking and getting settled in–when my mom’s uncle passed away. So I hopped up and went with her to Rayne, Louisiana, the Frog City. The drive is about seven hours one way.

It was a nice little trip, without considering the reason we were going. I didn’t know “Uncle Hawk” all that well, but I could tell he was a community man. He was a crawfish farmer and owned a restaurant called Hawk’s. He was married to my mom’s mom’s sister, Denise, who is known as “Aunt Richard” for some reason of which I’m not aware.

It was nice to see my mom’s side of the family, to which I was never too terribly close. I was very touched during the veteran’s tribute to Hawk. And I’m very thankful the mosquitoes left me some of my foot.

On the way back yesterday, my mom and I listened to the Jeff Ward show on News Radio 590 KLBJ. His show was one of the things I missed about Austin. And this episode was particularly hilarious. He spoke of Austin’s ‘BLIZZARD 2009′ (we’re below freezing today with a bit of freezing rain… the horror) and I nearly called in to joke about how I just moved from Minnesota and this is the worst I’ve ever seen it.

They also referenced the Snuggie, the creative, innovative, exciting blanket with sleeves!

Enjoy.

Update: Found the audio of the show: http://www.590klbj.com/podcast/index.aspx

Teaching myself new tricks

When I move back to Austin, I will be jobless. Obviously I’m on the hunt, but in the mean time, I’ll probably be working on my dad’s web site. If you’ve clicked that link you’ve probably realized that it needs a lot of work. I’ve been meaning to get cracking on it but have been too busy with work and Minnesota living that I haven’t had the chance.

Well, working on the site will be a great way to keep busy. And I’m actually getting very excited about building it from scratch. It needs an overhaul.

Today, I taught myself to do this using Photoshop and ImageReady (click the image below, animated .gifs don’t seem to work in WordPress):

It’s not perfect, but I can’t wait to tinker with it some more. I think when the time comes, I’ll have it show one quote after another, so that we don’t have to list all the quotes on one page, which can be overwhelming.

Also, it’s a way to pay my father back for helping me move.

Doogie Howser, you are my hero

Neil Patrick Harris gets a gold star for being able to laugh at himself.

Genius!

Over the holidays, my mom treated herself to a new iPod Touch. In the process of helping her figure out all the cool things it could do, I rediscovered the Genius function. The idea is awesome: You choose a song you really love, and let the iPod generate a playlist (out of your music library) of about 25 songs based on that song. Here’s what came up for “The Love You Save” by the Jackson 5:

1. “The Love You Save” – Jackson 5
2. “Lovely Day” – Bill Withers
3. “Truly” – Lionel Richie
4. “C’mon and Ride it (The Train) – Quad City DJ’s
5. “Mess Around” – Ray Charles
6. “No More Drama” – Mary J. Blige
7. “Green Light” – John Legend feat. Andre 3000
8. “Breakin’ Dishes” – Rihanna
9. “All I Could Do Is Cry” – Etta James
10. “Crazy in Love” – Beyonce and Jay-Z
11. “ABC” – Jackson 5
12. “Use Me” – Bill Withers
13. “Someday” – John Legend
14. “Say You, Say Me” – Lionel Richie
15. “Hallelujah I Love Her So” – Ray Charles
16. “Rainy Dayz” – Mary J. Blige
17. “Umbrella” – Rihanna
18. “I Want You Back” – Jackson 5
19. “Lean on Me” – Bill Withers
20. “Endless Love” – Lionel Richie
21. “Georgia On My Mind” – Ray Charles
22. “Rehab” – Rihanna
23. “Ain’t No Sunshine” – Bill Withers
24. “Penny Lover” – Lionel Richie
25. “I’ve Got a Woman” – Ray Charles

How cool is that? Such a neat little mix of songs. I’ve also made Genius lists based on “That’s Not My Name” by The Ting Tings, “Southern Belles in London Sing” by The Faint, and “The Heart of Life” by John Mayer. So many possibilities!

Some personal notes

Something I’ve always wanted to do for Christmas: Buy a Salvation Army bell-ringer a gift. Last year when I took the bus on Nicollet Mall, I would sometimes watch the bell ringers stand out in the freezing cold ringing those bells away, and I always wanted to buy them a hot chocolate or apple cider. This year I don’t wait there for the bus, but I still see a volunteer on the skyway in the City Center.

So this morning I stopped by a place to grab a croissant and some juice, and on my way out grabbed some white-chocolate-covered pretzels. I put a dollar in the bucket and gave the pretzels to the ringer. He was very grateful, and I immediately fell into the Christmas spirit.

Also, on Sunday, I was digging my car out of snow to move it back to my street for the Snow Emergency. After about 20 minutes of trying to get it out, a kind stranger walked out of his house all bundled up and ready to help me. He eventually taught me rocking techniques for getting a car forward. After about another 20 minutes, we were successful. This is something I’ve often heard happens in Minnesota but never experienced myself, and I’m very grateful for him.

Tonight I pack for my trip to Texas to be with my family for Christmas, and tomorrow I fly out. Sometimes packing is half the fun, isn’t it? I say that now… but then I’m making the permanent move back to Texas and I’m sure that will be very… un-fun.

Merry Christmas!

Given a task (especially a fun one), I will complete.

Recently I came upon a fun game to play. It reminds me of my favorite assignment in a design class I took in college, where we had to redesign an album cover. Instructions:

• Step One: Go to Wikipedia and click on Random Article. This is your band name.
• Step Two: Go To Flickr and on the “Last 7 Days” section, choose the third picture. This is your album cover.
• Step Three: Go to Wikiquote and click on Random Page. Go to the last quote and copy the last few words in the sentence. This is your album name.
• Step Four: Assemble and post.

Here’s my creation.

Update: Here’s another. I couldn’t help myself.

Pretty!

Yesterday on my lunch break I stopped by the Romeo & Juliet shop in Gaviidae Common. I was in the mood to buy something nice for myself, after a couple of rough weeks. I found a really pretty necklace with a fused glass pendant.

Looking at the tag, it’s from Wild Dog Studio. So I Googled it and found the studio’s Etsy page. Very pretty stuff in there. And the items are very reasonably priced.

‘The Dullest Blog in the World’

Check out ‘The Dullest Blog in the World,’ a surprisingly delightful commentary on an over-blogged society.

Simple lesson: Don’t force it.

‘The worst book ever written’

Today my boyfriend shared with me a book review on Amazon.com. It’s fantastic. How lovely to meet (what appears to be) such horrible writing with such genius writing.

Read it here. This sums it up quite nicely:

THE SHADOW GOD is the perfect example of everything that’s wrong with publishing in today’s world. Anyone with the notion–talent or not–can write a “book”, then contact a place like AuthorHouse (“publisher” of this fine volume and, I’m sure, Rayburn’s second novel which I don’t care enough to look up the title to), and unleash this mess on an unsuspecting world. And then we wonder why no one reads anymore. Why should they? If this is the kind of stuff they’re being subjected to.

If you love that, then also visit Pajiba!, which lives by its mantra, “Scathing reviews for bitchy people.” I check it nearly every day.