Thursday, February 22, 2007

iPod game

My iPod isn't working well lately...I think it's dying. I charge it and it runs for maybe an hour. Anyone else had a similar problem? Anyway.

It did work long enough for me to put it on shuffle and give this game a try...

Opening Credits: American Girl, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

First Day of School: Back on the Chain Gang, The Pretenders

Falling In Love: Lips Like Sugar, Echo and the Bunnymen

Fight Song: Overdrive, Foo Fighters

Breaking Up: Crime Scene Part One, The Afghan Whigs

Prom: Welcome to the Jungle (Live), Guns & Roses

Life: A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square, Ella Fitzgerald

Driving: Jump Around, House of Pain

Flashback: Under Pressure, David Bowie & Queen

Getting Back Together: Mayor of Simpleton, XTC

Wedding: Rocket Queen, Guns & Roses

Party: Candy Everybody Wants, 10,000 Maniacs

Birth of a Child: Here Comes My Girl, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Death Scene: Almost Gold, The Jesus and Mary Chain

Funeral Song: Just Like a Woman, Jeff Buckley

Ending Credits: Any Way You Want It (Live), Journey

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

little bitch, part II

I titled a previous post "little bitch" a while back. That post shared the story of a small, annoying dog in my condo building. This time, however, the little b*tch is me. I've been in a bit of bad mood this week (it's only Tuesday).

When I'm in a bad mood, I quickly lose patience for things I can generally deal with just fine. Example A: There is a woman in my office. We'll call her Joann. Joann is a well-meaning person who talks too much. She works part-time, in the afternoons, and her cubicle is directly outside my office door. Mornings are comfortably quiet and serene, until 1:30 - when Joann arrives. From this point on until the end of the day, Joann is talking. She's talking on the phone, she's talking to the employees who share cubicle walls with her, and if those folks aren't available, she's talking to me.

Joann is one of those people who knows no limits - the natural boundaries we learn in communicating with others - Joann doesn't know about those. If I'm on the phone, or clearly busy with something, Joann will still come in my office. She will stand, and stare at me, until I am available; available to listen to her talk. And she's not talking about anything work-related. Joann is talking about her neighbor with the house that won't sell because their yard looks so bad, or she's talking about her dog with a hernia, or she's talking about her growing frustration over the fact that her husband plays with his XBox too much. Joann drives me nuts.

However, when in a good mood, I have no problem being nice to Joann. I listen to her stories, I nod my head and make some sort of comment validating whatever point she's trying to make, and then I tell her that I need to get back to what I was doing. No problem. But yesterday, I was in this bad mood - and I was a little rude to Joann. She came in to tell me about the Southern Living party she'd gone to the night before and, well, I kind of lost it on her. "Joann, I'm really sorry but I have a lot to get done today. Could I maybe hear about this another time?" I couldn't believe I had said it - and I said it in such a snotty, nasty way. She just looked at me and said, "Ok. Sorry." I felt like I had kicked a puppy. Joann is a nice person, and she didn't deserve that. I apologized to her later in the afternoon, which worked - she immediately felt comfortable again and launched right into the story I had snubbed just a couple of hours earlier.

Example B is not something that happened at work. It happened at a rehearsal last night for a one of the two groups I sing in. As luck would have it, me and my terrible mood ended up seated next to a member of this group that I have to say I like the very least - an incredibly unfriendly woman we'll call Nan. My worst mood is nothing compared to this lady's general demeanor on a daily basis - she's just a mean old woman - and I always end up seated near her, but never directly next to her . The timing couldn't have been worse. During rehearsal I opened a bottle of water, seltzer water, and it made a light fizzing sound when I twisted the top. Nan said, "You're really not supposed to have any beverages in here. Has anyone told you that?" Usually, I would laugh this off and say some wimpy something like, "Guess I forgot - oops!" But last night, the bad mood stepped in and said, "Yes, I do know that - and I'm choosing to break that rule. Thanks." She looked at me like she hated me - but it did shut her up, and Nan had no more comments for the remainder of our rehearsal. So, in that case, I guess my bad mood actually served me pretty well.

Wishing you a good rest of the week - and a good mood to match!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

dearly beloved....

....I was really disappointed by Prince's performance at the Super Bowl. I am a big fan of Prince - well, everything he did prior to assuming that stupid symbol as his primary moniker.

I tuned in, ready to get my groove on with the great purple wonder. However, the minute he appeared with that rag on his head, well, I knew I wasn't going to be pleased with what was about to follow. I did watch it to the end, but was left feeling let down by a man I've always loved. Something was missing.

But let's not dwell on the negative. I did notice one impressive thing that kept my attention - Prince has not aged. Not at all. And he's still really little; I'll guesstimate my calf is about the width of his thigh. We haven't really seen Prince, in the flesh, in years - and I was just amazed at how incredibly well preserved he is.

This led my sister and I into a conversation about Prince. He's one of those celebrities that I have a very hard time imagining doing daily things. What does Prince wear to the grocery store...does he go to the grocery store? And what's in his kitchen....does he eat cereal, oatmeal? And what does Prince watch on TV? Does he ever get up in the morning and watch the Today Show?
And now I'll totally copy Bossy and ask a question of you, the readers (of which there are 3 or 4, I'm still assuming)....what celebrity would you most like to follow for a day?