Happy End of DOMA Friday!

I don't write much about politics on here, mostly because it's one of those "Rules" of polite communication.
But forget that.
DOMA is over.  Gone.  Dead.  Thank Gaga things are moving forward for real.
Over the past few months, as we've seen 12 states pass laws allowing gay marriage or ruling that a ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, I have felt that we are taking big steps forward, and this one is another tangible step.   Not the final one, but an important one.
It feels like a big breath of good air again.  Much like when Obama got re-elected after a worrisome few months.  Or whatever it is that causes you to take in big gulps of relief-filled air.
I feel excited about whatever comes next.  Hopefully it is something a little more progressive than this, but even so, there seem to be at least another 9 states moving in the right direction soon.

So I post this image of San Francisco in a state of awe and pride:

And I say

images from here and here.

Happy Comic-Con Friday!

Happy Friday!

It’s been a dream of mine to go to the San Diego Comic-Con for years now.  This is the weekend of 2012 Comic-Con and so, in true geek nature, I’ve been stalking all of my comic blogs to absorb every possible detail about what’s happening in the San Diego Convention Center.

This year, the hype is all over the map.  Dark Knight Rises comes out a week from today.  The Walking Dead comics and show.    Neil Gaiman announced that he’ll be writing a new Sandman book. Wreck-It Ralph.  The Avengers, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man…

Yes yes, it’s all geek speak.  But I think there is one thing that almost everyone can get on board with. 

Geeks in costume rock.

Image from here.

Happy Pride Weekend!

Happy Pride my lovelies!

Pride weekend in Portland is one of my favorite few days of the year.  And this year, so much exciting stuff is happening!

Between Obama finally deciding to be awesome and honest, and the fact that this year's Pride parade is at 100% capacity for the first time in a long time, it feels like things are finally headed in a truly positive direction.

To me, this feels like a big deal and a beautiful sign for so many of the people I care about.

Next step: http://www.lovecommitmentmarriage.org/

This is my mom.  She’s pretty great.

This upcoming Sunday is Mother’s Day (or Grandmother’s Day, or Aunt’s Day, or Sister or Sister-in-Law, Foster mom, Adopted Mom, or Significant Other, or Cousin, or Great Aunt, etc. whatever makes sense for your family).

In our family, Mother’s Day actually lasts the entire weekend. Which is lovely, and a little funny.  Those of you who have been anywhere near me during my birthday month, now understand why my birthday lasts much longer than a day.

Over the last few years, she has decided that instead of gifts, she wants to give and receive experiences.  I love this idea and so as I was preparing for the upcoming Mother’s Day weekend, I was looking forward to hearing about what we would be doing.  Spa day?  A day at Powell’s?  A trip to the beach maybe?

Nope!

This year, we will be visiting the exotic, adventurous, and exclusive…

Mom’s Office.

My mom is a photo fanatic.  She has been working on a picture project for the last several years to collect, preserve, and share family photos. 

So Mother’s Weekend this year will be spent crowded around mom’s computer, sorting, editing, and otherwise fantastic-izing thousands of pictures.

Let’s wish them a happy day/weekend and thank them for putting up with the phase we went through when all we would do in pictures is stick out our tongues or give the thumbs up.

Happy 90's Music Friday!

Hello Friday Lovers!

Even though I was born in the 80’s, I am, without a doubt, a child of the 90’s.  My favorite color is flannel.  My favorite band will probably always be Third Eye Blind.  Secretly, I think Val Kilmer was a pretty good Batman.  And let’s be honest, the two best, most relatable movies ever are Reality Bites and 10 Things I Hate About You.

Recently, I’ve been back on a 90’s music kick. (ok, fine, I’m always on a 90’s music kick.  All the good music stopped in 2000).  And I have created the world’s greatest 90’s music playlist.  In the midst of clicking “add to on the go” a couple hundred times, I came across a few gems that I had to share with my Friday Friends.

Pick your favorites.  Watch.  Listen.  Enjoy.  And believe me when I tell you that your favorite Friday-er was the best flannel-and-torn-up-jeans wearer ever.

Peaches by the Presidents of the United States of America

No Rain by Blind Melon

Steal My Sunshine by Len

Buddy Holly by Weezer

I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan

Wear Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann

Image  from here

The End of 1000 Awesome Things Friday

Hi Friday Friends,

Yesterday, my favorite blog came to an end.  I’ve made references to it before in these emails, sent many of you specific entries that remind me of conversations we’ve had, and even spoken about it in Leadership Lunches. Over the course of four years, the author, Neil Pasricha, started here, on a mission to heal himself, and has ended up here.

1000 Awesome Things has had a hugely positive impact on my days.  I read it every day. 

Watching Neil’s Ted Talk about the 3 A’s of Awesome really got me as well.  It’s 17 minutes and worth every second. 

Watch it and be inspired to make every second of your time on earth really truly count by focusing on the small things that really matter and make us joyful. 

image from here.

Happy Titanic Friday

In April of 1997 I was 13 years old and, just like every other girl I knew, I was in love with the movie Titanic.  I can tell you with certainty, I saw it at least 6 times at our local theater.  Which means 3 things:

1) I somehow convinced someone’s parent to drive me to the theater 6 different times to see it (probably with my friend, Emma, who saw it 9 times)

2) I spent $27 on movie tickets ($4.50 X 6 = $27)

3) Clearly I knew the value of my allowance dollars.

In 2012, 3D movies cost $14 (if you’re luck)

X 6 showings (I’m not going 6 times, if I’ve learned anything in the last 15 years, it’s the value of my allowance dollars)

= $84!!!

Can you imagine?

I went to see Titanic in 3D last night after work.

And it was JUST AS EPIC AND AMAZING as I remember it being when it debuted in 1997.

Go.  Enjoy.  And know that my heart will go on.

Image from here.

Happy Oreo Friday!

On March 6^th (Tuesday) the Oreo cookie turned 100 years old!  You can use the link below to read the real, “official,” version of the cookie’s history.

But let’s be honest.  The question that matters is: do you dunk or twist?

Personally, I’m a twister.  When I was a kid, my grandpa taught me how to twist Oreos apart and stick the two sides with the most frosting together to make one giant Awesome-eo.  I certainly inherited my sweet tooth from him.

Celebrate Oreo’s birthday with some serious milk-and-cookie indulgence.  Out of respect for such an important institution, I am officially giving you permission to break whatever cleanse/diet/no sugar thing you are currently working on.

Images from here and here.

http://bites.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/06/10587326-chefs-celebrate-the-oreo-on-its-100th-birthday

Happy Presidents' Day Friday

Really it’s Monday, I know, but this year I actually have something to say about Presidents’ Day.  Apparently, the holiday used to be only about George Washington but is now meant in some states to celebrate multiple presidents.  So I’m going with that definition.

I went to the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana for college.  I love my university.  I love being a Fighting Illini and I still bleed orange and blue.  U of I was big and noisy and full of Midwestern behaviors that are odd to me now.  Because Illinois is the “Land of Lincoln,” we had a lot of Lincoln-themed locations on campus.

The one that stands out the most though is Lincoln Hall on the Main Quad.  When you would walk in the front doors, there he was, his skinny, beardy face peering at you from in between a split staircase leading up to the main auditorium.

We took a lot of final exams in Lincoln Hall and would rub his nose for luck as we walked up the worn marble staircases into the auditorium.

Whether his nose was really good luck for us, I don’t know.  I must admit I am a bit superstitious, so I probably would have rubbed his nose anyway.

So for Presidents’ Day, I’d like to say: thank you, Mr. Lincoln, for helping me get solid grades on my Women’s Studies 200 and Survey of American Literature Pre World War I finals sophomore year!

Image from here.

UPDATE: How was my New Year's Eve?

Apparently, New Year's Eve is the busiest time of year at the happiest place on earth.  A fact that we did not know when booking our trip.  The park was at capacity every day we were there (read: 85-90 thousand people).  Those of you who know my little idiosyncrasies know that I’m not for close contact with people I don’t know, so this was a bit overwhelming.

BUT

Disney has brought back Captain EO, which was one of the major highlights of my trip.

Overall, it's one of the best things I've ever done, worth every penny, minute, and bump in the crowd. I definitely plan on going again (at any time of year other than early January). 

Be happy and safe this year!

*image from here.

Happy Virginia Friday

I read the Yes, Virginia letter every year.  More than any movie, song, or epic sweater, it makes me feel the merriest and least Scrooge-like.

I’ve always really loved the idea of Santa Claus.  In my family, he is still very real and very well-represented on Christmas Eve.  I’ll be honest, if I had my way, I would still believe in Santa.

So, even if Christmas or Santa Claus aren’t part of your life, I encourage you to read this.  It’s really about the Spirit of the season.  

Be jolly and joyful.  Enjoy whatever lovely break you may have from work and have a beautiful, healthy, happy, and safe end of the year, however you celebrate it.

image from here.

Happy Rex Manning Day Friday!

I am a lover of all things 90’s.  When plaid started coming back into style, I nearly passed out from excitement.  When Everclear (read: 1 of the original members) came to play in a small hole-in-the-wall bar in central Illinois during my senior year of college, I quite literally screamed after buying tickets.  When I feel like I really need to get into spreadsheet-level focus mode, I usually put on some loud grunge music.

When my friends and I discovered the glory that is Empire Records (on VHS), rented it, and watched it in the basement, we fell in love.

So we made an official tradition.  Rex Manning Day.  Every year on October 20^th (the date the movie was released), I still watch Empire Records, watch this, and remind myself not to dwell, not on Rex Manning Day!

*images from here and here

Happy MY BIRTHDAY IS TODAY Tuesday (A Special Bonus Post)

When I was a kid, birthdays were a HUGE deal in my family. 

Recently, I was cleaning out Rubbermaid tubs full of old papers and school things with my mom.  You know, things made of popsicle sticks, purple glue sticks, and too much glitter.  While she got teary-eyed and insisted on keeping some poorly colored-in pumpkin I had made when I was 3 years old, I found handfuls upon handfuls of birthday cards from family.  Mom had kept my birth announcements, 1^st birthday cards, all the way through my 18^th birthday. I come from a big family, both on mom’s side, and dad’s, so, after doing some quick calculus, I came up with nearly 200 bazillion cards.

Today I am 27 years old. 

Because of my crazy card-sending, Mickey Mouse ice cream cake-eating family, I have grown to LOVE my birthday.  It’s a whole holiday to me. Between public countdowns, reminding people about my love of peanut butter cookies, and practically yelling from the rooftops that my birthday is approaching, I like to make sure no one could possibly miss such an important day.

Happy birthday to me!

In Honor of Steve Jobs Friday

I was going to write about my birthday for this post.  But I think there are more important things to say today.

With Steve Jobs passing away on Wednesday, I could say that he left a hole in the creative and technological world.  But I don't think that's really true.  He had a hand in creating some of the most exciting and crave-worthy technology and art that has come about in my lifetime, and I'm grateful.  For that reason, for that joy and gratitude that I feel for his part, I think that he hasn't left a hole, but a constantly evolving way for us to pursue more and more wonderful creations.

Because of his amazingly innovative spirit, we have this.  And this.  And I'm not going to lie, he even had an influence on this.

Whenever I felt like I needed a little extra boost or some inspiration, I would hop on Ted.com and listen to his Stanford commencement speech.  It lifted me up every time.

So on this Friday, I am choosing to seek out some inspiration, feel joyous about what Steve created, and maybe watch a little Toy Story. 

* image from here.

Happy I-Wish-I-Could-Work-From-Home Friday

One of my co-workers once asked me why I never work from home.  I live in suburbs pretty far south of Portland so my commute is at least 20-25 minutes on a good day.  And, even though we don’t live in a place where traffic looks like this:

I do end up putting a lot of miles on my car in a week.

The simplest answer is that I am easily distracted by my surroundings.  I have two roommates, really awesome movies in my Netflix queue, and a lots of comic books to read.

But if I’m being really honest with myself, those aren’t the real problems.

This is my dog, Stevie (she’s named after Stevie Nicks).  Believe me when I say she is even more distracting than she is cute.

To get a real idea of what it was like the 2 times I tried to work from home,  watch this (it’s only a minute and a half).  Imagine a red, wire-haired miniature dachshund instead of the cat and I feel like you will all understand me so much better.

*images from here and my heart.