...the merest hint of a thought of an implication that a better keikaimalu exists. And I'm happy to buy more miz_hatboxs (miz_hatboxes? miz_hatboxen? misses_hatbox?) if it means that I get one all to myself.

My friend from OR lost her grandmother today, which makes her the third one in the last 10 weeks. What is it with 2008 and grandmothers?

Dear body:
Why have you decided that 10p is not a particularly good time to fall asleep? Similarly, what could you possibly find so interesting at 2a that you feel I absolutely, positively should not miss it? Moreover, why on Earth have you set my internal alarm clock for 5a (or earlier)?

Last but not least, what rationale could you possibly have for thinking that 8-10a is the ideal time to catch up on the z's that you/we missed?

Love,
Me

Just got mail from Match.com saying that they're looking for members who might want to be in their 2009 ad campaign (video and print). If I'm interested, please send my first/last name and phone number (which they promised to keep confidential). So I did.

It's probably nothing, right? I mean, they probably send this out to everybody. Well, maybe not everybody. But a lot of people. Right?

Either way, could be a laff or two, eh?

[lifted, with edits, from tangerinpenguin]

Go to Wikipedia, enter your birth date (month/day), and then pick three events, two births, and one holiday that occurred on the day of your birthday.

Events
1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine.

1652 - Rhode Island passes the first law in North America making slavery illegal.

1980 - Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage. [Not to mention putting kind of a damper on my birthday party at the local rollerskate rink.]

Birthdays
1868 - Nicholas II of Russia, Tsar of Russia (d. 1918)

1919 - Dame Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer (d. 1991)

Holiday
International Museum Day

...to the Moore Theatre on Oct. 4. Any interest?

Rush is playing on Colbert tomorrow (Wed, July 16). This was a public-service annooncement, eh?

My TiVo won't recognize my cable signal anymore. I know the signal is good because I can route it through my (old) VCR and watch it on the TV. Perhaps the coax jack or the tuner itself is busted? Any ideas?

If it's the coax jack, might I be able to get a coax to S-video converter at, like, Radio Shack? Wishful thinking or likely solution?

Thanks in advance.

Weight Watchers is sponsoring a contest for people to submit their success stories: before/after pix and a 400-word essay (or three-minute video) that highlights their accomplishments. Grand prize is a trip to New York City, and I would be *thrilled* to go there twice in one year. Being more of a word person, I'm submitting an essay. I would appreciate any feedback, especially about anything that you found particularly inspiring or (more importantly) confusing or offputting. Thanks in advance.

( rough draft )

...pretty much stays in Manhattan, at least as far as photos of me go. Of course, the best shot would have been impossible to get anyway because it would have been me with a goofy grin, looking like a kid in a candy store in the second mezzanine at Radio City Music Hall. Alas, the event doesn't allow cameras, a fact of which we were not notified until we actually arrived. I did ask someone to get a shot or two after the event, back at the hotel. Unfortunately, he's not great with a camera, so you get my face but not much of the gown. (To miz_hatbox: It's periwinkle, not magenta, due to a last-minute switch. Details on request, but they're not that interesting.)



( 10 of the Best Things about My Trip to Manhattan )

OK, so I wouldn't go so far as to say that I (heart) NYC. But I am definitely developing a serious crush on it.

Should get whatever pix I have back tonight; will post any that are worthwhile. In the meantime:


:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)

So. Much. Better than I could have hoped. And the Tony awards were cool too.

Got the dress for the Tony awards, which is one week from tonight. However, I had to get a size too large because (of course) they didn't have it in my actual size. Anybody have an alterations place on the Eastside that they recommend? My heroically patient and yet completely unpaid personal shopper (jaunthie) assures me that the changes should be trivial for a professional, but time is rapidly becoming of the essence. In fact, I'm pretty sure that we passed "essence" a few weeks ago. But, hey, I had to do the job that pays for the trip that provides the reason for buying the dress in the first place. So I'm scrambling.

Any insight welcome. TIA.

Huh. Apparently, my soccer team has lost its/our goalie for the spring season, and the captain has decided that the only fair solution is for the rest of us to rotate to that position. With 12 games and 11 players, I'll likely play goalie for an entire game. (Actually, two halves of separate games, but whatever.)

Here's the thing:
--Many players in my league aren't very good (such as myself) and rarely kick with significant force. Not a problem.
--Some are quite skilled and kick with not only significant force but also wicked accuracy such that the ball will probably come nowhere near me and yet still manage to fly into the net, leaving me discouraged but uninjured.
--The rest are somewhere in between and might manage to propel the ball directly at my face with alarming speed.

I wonder whether it's not only unfashionable but also against the rules to wear the mask of a hockey goalie. I'd lose some "cred," but do I care? Moreover, can I manage to short-circuit my God-given and occasionally quite useful instinct of ducking when a projectile of any shape approaches my person in an intimidating and possibly concussion-inducing way? Inquiring minds...

Yours,
Hiker "Not in the face!" Chick

( stuff I did this weekend )
If I keep this up, I might become the healthiest hermit that you ever did see. Well, "hunkering down" might just be what I need right now. I'll be glad when the class is over and the current crunch at work has receded. I presume that I'll come up for air... eventually.

"Imagine that you are trying to simultaneously quit smoking, hold your temper with your foolish boss, plan a wedding and finish a complex deadline project while helping your kid with his algebra. Many of us pride ourselves on our ability to multitask. But if willpower and mentally strenuous work both require the same fuel, and that fuel comes in limited supply, something along the way probably has to give. It's just a matter of what."

Pretty catchy, huh? Too bad it comes at the very *end* of a two-page article that describes, in detail, the experimental methodology of two cognitive psychologists from Florida State University.

(Sigh. No, I really can't turn off the editing part of my brain. It's one of those blessing/curse deals.)

Y'know, sometimes I wonder whether the best thing about dating is that it feels so good when you stop.

I'm going the the 2008 Tony awards! I swapped seeing Young Frankenstein (with Megan Mullally, which I saw last fall when it opened locally) for Spring Awakening (Best Musical of 2007). I wanted to see Wicked, but it was sold out, and The Homecoming (revival of a Harold Pinter work with Raul Esparza, whom I adored in last year's Company) will close later this month. Oh well, I'm sure I'll see Wicked at some point, possibly with friends. And the Harvey Fierstein thing should be a hoot.

Now, how the hell do I find a dress that's red-carpet worthy...
(OK, I'm sure I'll be in the nosebleed seats. But a girl can dream, can't she?)

Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I was thinking about how the sounds of breakers gently rolling onto the beach was kind of like listening to the slow, deep breaths of the ocean.

Long sigh... mmmmmmmmmm... long sigh... zzzzzz.

This last week really sucked on a couple of levels for me. I watched this video; it helped some. Your mileage may vary.

Please note: it is a full lecture (1 hour, 15 minutes) by a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. (Sorry if it gives tangerinpenguin and miz_hatbox flashbacks.) You don't need to watch the whole thing to get the basic message, but one of my favorite moments came at the very end.

From this Slate story about the role of editors at the Washington Post:

"The plan also mandates "fewer touches" on some stories by editors, which will elicit cheers from many Post reporters. They've long complained about "drive-by editing" in which editors up and down the chain of command drop into their stories and fiddle with them to the point of destruction. According to the memo, a half-dozen editors routinely make changes on A-section stories, and an internal audit discovered one inside story that 12 different editors changed. ... The reason many newspapers rely so heavily on editors — a reason rarely spoken — is that some reporters can't write. Their copy isn't edited as much as it's rewritten. Bennett has a message for them: 'Reporters who can't write are a dying breed.'"

The quote is amusing, but the story sounds like mgmt. is saying, "We can fire most/all of the editors if we just hire reporters who can write in the first place." Which is sort of cute and horrifying at the same time.