Hear Me Out

OK, but I completely reject...

2009-01-03T01:42:37Z

In 2009, hiker_chick resolves to...

Buy new miz_hatboxs.
Tell my family about tangerinpenguins.
Learn to play the fisherbear.
Find a better keikaimalu.
Back up my jaunthie regularly.
Drink four glasses of singingnettle every day.

...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.

tough year for...

2008-12-23T06:24:42Z

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?

an open letter

2008-12-22T21:29:42Z

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

my 15 seconds of fame?

2008-09-14T16:05:12Z

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?

birthday meme

2008-08-17T03:06:05Z

[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

Mythbusters is coming...

2008-08-03T23:37:50Z

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

Calling all Canucks

2008-07-16T03:04:41Z

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

any TiVo geeks?

2008-07-02T13:14:48Z

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.

rough draft

2008-06-21T19:38:56Z

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.

"My heart sank when, in August of 2005, my doctor recommended that I try artificial appetite suppressants to manage my weight. I knew that my weight had climbed up each time I went for my yearly exam, and I hadn’t been happy with how I looked or felt for a long time. But I just couldn’t believe that suppressants were the right answer for me. A close friend had joined Weight Watchers the previous year and lost a significant amount of weight, so I went to my first meeting a few days after my doctor appointment. Eight months later, I had lost more than 40 pounds, jogged three miles in under 30 minutes, and hiked four miles and 3,200 feet in less than two hours. More importantly, I’ve kept the weight off for two years after I made “lifetime” on June 11, 2006.

Soon after I joined Weight Watchers, I realized that exercise and water were the only appetite suppressants I needed. As long as I worked out several days a week and drank eight glasses a day, I could plan my meals, control my portions, and do what I needed to get and stay healthy. If I started to slack off on either of those habits, my better instincts would falter, and the scale would show it at my next meeting. But I generally lost about a pound per week, and I tracked my progress on my computer. I gave myself milestones by calculating what I would weigh on Halloween if I stayed on the program, what I would weigh on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. I remember doing some last-minute shopping for the holidays and being distracted by how loose my jeans felt. I decided to duck into a department store and buy a couple of pairs in my new size. After all, I had earned that gift to myself!

The best part about getting healthy is how it changed the way I feel about myself. I found strength and determination that I never knew I had. People make eye contact with me more often because I stand taller and I walk with more purpose. I also inspired my sister and a couple of friends to join Weight Watchers because they saw what a difference it can make. I look forward to being much healthier at 40 than I was at 20 and continuing to discover my greatest accomplishments."

Apparently, what happens in Manhattan...

2008-06-18T05:11:57Z

...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

(10) Admiring the gleaming marble and gorgeous vaulted ceilings of Grand Central Station, er (excuse me) Grand Central Terminal on Sunday morning and trying to imagine the madness of the same physical space on Monday morning.

(9) Being one of 3,000 people all trying to slowly shuffle out of Radio City Music Hall at the same time and realizing that Glenn Close is shuffling not two feet away from you in the opposite direction.

(8) Hot bagels and Central Park. 'Nuff said.

(7) Watching Patti Lupone get her second Tony award, 30 years after Evita.

(6) Getting caught in a downpour and waiting it out on the red-carpeted steps of the Plaza Hotel.

(5) Watching Spring Awakening (Best Musical 2007) and A Catered Affair and realizing that no time spent at a Broadway show is ever a waste.

Well, except maybe Xanadu. No, I didn't actually see it.

(4) Strolling right past the Applebee's and Cold Stone Creamery in Times Square to Restaurant Row on 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, which is filled with small, low-key, low-pretention, ethnically interesting eateries in which you needn't feel awkward asking for a table for one.

(3) Tearing up, again, at the animal parade from The Lion King, with which they opened the awards show. If you haven't seen it, I can't explain it. If you have seen it, I don't need to.

(2) Reveling in the distinct smells not only of a theatre's backstage (in this case, during a tour of the theatre that's doing Young Frankenstein but it doesn't matter because it's exactly the same smell as in my high-school auditorium) but also of a grand old library (in this case, the New York Public Library but it doesn't matter because it's exactly the same smell as the downtown branch of the county library in Portland).

(1) Wandering around looking for something or other and suddenly realizing that you're rapidly approaching the New York Times building. For a former college journalist, this is truly hallowed ground.

(.5) On the morning before you leave, realizing that the NYT building is right next to the theatre for Rent, which is one of your favorite musicals of all time, and that they are both just across 41st Street from your hotel. Which means that, strictly by chance, you spent three nights sleeping next to two of your greatest passions in life.

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.

trip report to come for NYC/Tony awards

2008-06-17T15:01:27Z

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.

nip here, tuck there

2008-06-09T03:25:12Z

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.

didn't see that coming

2008-04-14T23:30:22Z

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

all kinds of virtuous

2008-04-14T03:45:05Z

--went to the Sa/7a meeting of Weight Watchers at Northgate (another month of free meetings: yay!)

--hightailed it down to Bellevue by 8a to spend 4.5 hours ostensibly learning C# (We're really not much past dragging buttons and check boxes onto a form. My dialog box is named "Bonjour Le Monde.")

--did a jogging workout (Sa) and a swim workout (Su)

--shopped for groceries (twice) and picked up stuff at Fred Meyer (also twice: yeah, I didn't plan that particularly well)

--cooked enough fajita filling, chicken fried rice, and black-bean soup that I shouldn't need to go to the cafeteria at all next week

--finished and filed my taxes

--watched this year's production of Sense and Sensibility (Say what you will, jaunthie, it was pleasant if for no other reason than that the actress who played Marianne reminded me of monkeybard every time she was onscreen.)

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.

Don't. Bury. The Lede.

2008-04-08T20:08:57Z

"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.)

for better or worse

2008-04-05T22:21:15Z

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

speaking of childhood dreams

2008-04-04T05:08:20Z

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?)

soothing sounds

2008-03-25T03:42:29Z

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.

need a pick-me-up?

2008-03-24T04:56:45Z

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.

caught my eye

2008-03-17T14:26:49Z

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.

round two

2008-03-02T21:26:37Z

May the gods of warm, gooey chocolate smile on keikaimalu tomorrow!

paying back a friend

2008-02-28T02:46:14Z

Leave a comment and I will:

1. Tell you why I friended you.
2. Associate you with something - a song, a color, a photo, a word, etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
6. Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.

Who'da thunk it?

2008-01-29T14:20:21Z

Tonight, I played my first indoor, coed, recreational soccer game with a bunch of strangers. An open invitation went out on the alias for Mountaineers under 40, and I thought "What the hell..." I asked whether I needed skillz of any kind, other than general fitness. They said, nah, come on by. And it was really fun. I'm not sure I served the team as much more than a warm body. (Specifically, they really needed someone to relieve the other three women on the team. In this 6on6 setup, you need three women on the field at all times.) But I think I played as much as the other gals. And I managed *not* to get hit in the face with the ball, as someone else did (totally not her fault, though). Or score against my own team, fall, foul another player, or anything like that. Yay me.

But the point of this post is that there might be something to this whole team-sports thing, despite what I thought in PE class in junior high school. Of course, not having to deal with other junior high schoolers is a huge bonus...

hiker_chick @ 2008-01-28T11:17:00

2008-01-28T19:26:23Z

If you're even thinking about seeing Mike Daisey's Monopoly! this weekend, go! We're talking one guy, sitting behind a table with a glass of water and pages of notes (which he does not look at), completely transfixing an audience for two hours straight (no intermission). Sheer brilliance!

Great week for theatre: also caught Seattle Shakespeare Company's Swansong with tangerinpenguin on Monday night. Delightful in a totally different way!

This can stop now. Really.

2008-01-26T00:44:33Z

Of the 18 workdays elapsed so far this year, I've taken six off due to illness. WTF?