Saturday, July 30, 2005
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Waiting for the Man
Today was a really great day, in all senses of the word. I mean, work was eh, but not bad - I got some really good stuff done, at least in the first half of the day, and I worked in some time to chat with my mom. The weather was absolutely PERFECT - you could not dream up better.
It was just filled with random nicenesses. Chatting with mom was one. Receiving praise from the boss was another. Receiving two cds from two different people. Buying Katie's birthday present. Happy hour at New Deck. Walking to South Street with Tom. Buying concert tickets (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! at the First Unitarian Church). [Finally] buying The Velvet Underground & Nico (from which the title of this post comes). And tomorrow is Friday!
The day was honestly spectacular. I think it was mostly because of the weather. I am realizing how much the weather affects my mood lately. More the intense heat than anything else. Although intense cold has just the same effect. I hate weather that makes you just want to stay inside. Although I like rain... But anyhow, today was just wonderful.
And it was preceded by a rather decent week and a great weekend. My darling Olivia had come to visit on Saturday. We had a big dinner party in her honor, I made green and white lasagna (which turned out great, quite unexpectedly, as it was my first try), Kate made breadsticks, Deanna made salad, the boys brought wine, we listened to the Amelie soundtrack as we ate, there were namecards involved - it was lovely!
Anyhow, so after dinner, Tom, Andy, Olivia and I decided to go to Monks and we brought our namecards with us. We got seats at the bar and started the fun. I decided to drink scotch instead of beer, as their selection is quite intimidating, and I had my first taste of an Islay malt (Laphroaig 12 year) - which made me realize that I'm not a huge fan of the Islay. It wasn't bad, just VERY flavorful and peatish. So then after I had finished I took another look at the selection. I saw a "21" among the bottles and was quite intrigued. I queried the bartender, Bernadette, about the bottle and found out it was a 21 year old from the Orkney islands. It was a merchant label (The Glenhaven) which means that they buy surplus casks of a whisky and sell it in the States under their name. I wish I knew which distillery it came from, but I didn't examine it closely enough. Anyhow, I knew I wanted some. It was $15/dram but weeeellllll worth it. I was drinking a scotch as old as I am, fer Christ's sake! It was really gorgeous and definitely the best I've had thusfar. Smooth, slightly fruity, stimulating, light color, definitely full-bodied and robust. After that, although I did want more, my pocketbook was still scolding me, so I got a dram of a 12 year old MacCallan, which was quite nice as well. But the 21 year old was fabulous! While I was drinking, I struck up a conversation with a man behind the bar, who turned out to to be Tom, the co-owner, and a lovely person. We chatted about wine, Scotland, and of course, scotch. He also complimented us on our namecards! It was a really fantastic evening.
Well, I have been indulging in my Harry Potter habit and Tom just brought me the most recent publication, so I think I'll go start it. Have a splendid night, friends and lovers.
It was just filled with random nicenesses. Chatting with mom was one. Receiving praise from the boss was another. Receiving two cds from two different people. Buying Katie's birthday present. Happy hour at New Deck. Walking to South Street with Tom. Buying concert tickets (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! at the First Unitarian Church). [Finally] buying The Velvet Underground & Nico (from which the title of this post comes). And tomorrow is Friday!
The day was honestly spectacular. I think it was mostly because of the weather. I am realizing how much the weather affects my mood lately. More the intense heat than anything else. Although intense cold has just the same effect. I hate weather that makes you just want to stay inside. Although I like rain... But anyhow, today was just wonderful.
And it was preceded by a rather decent week and a great weekend. My darling Olivia had come to visit on Saturday. We had a big dinner party in her honor, I made green and white lasagna (which turned out great, quite unexpectedly, as it was my first try), Kate made breadsticks, Deanna made salad, the boys brought wine, we listened to the Amelie soundtrack as we ate, there were namecards involved - it was lovely!
Anyhow, so after dinner, Tom, Andy, Olivia and I decided to go to Monks and we brought our namecards with us. We got seats at the bar and started the fun. I decided to drink scotch instead of beer, as their selection is quite intimidating, and I had my first taste of an Islay malt (Laphroaig 12 year) - which made me realize that I'm not a huge fan of the Islay. It wasn't bad, just VERY flavorful and peatish. So then after I had finished I took another look at the selection. I saw a "21" among the bottles and was quite intrigued. I queried the bartender, Bernadette, about the bottle and found out it was a 21 year old from the Orkney islands. It was a merchant label (The Glenhaven) which means that they buy surplus casks of a whisky and sell it in the States under their name. I wish I knew which distillery it came from, but I didn't examine it closely enough. Anyhow, I knew I wanted some. It was $15/dram but weeeellllll worth it. I was drinking a scotch as old as I am, fer Christ's sake! It was really gorgeous and definitely the best I've had thusfar. Smooth, slightly fruity, stimulating, light color, definitely full-bodied and robust. After that, although I did want more, my pocketbook was still scolding me, so I got a dram of a 12 year old MacCallan, which was quite nice as well. But the 21 year old was fabulous! While I was drinking, I struck up a conversation with a man behind the bar, who turned out to to be Tom, the co-owner, and a lovely person. We chatted about wine, Scotland, and of course, scotch. He also complimented us on our namecards! It was a really fantastic evening.
Well, I have been indulging in my Harry Potter habit and Tom just brought me the most recent publication, so I think I'll go start it. Have a splendid night, friends and lovers.
The Way I See It
I found this on my Starbucks cup this morning:
"The Way I See It #37
Embrace this right now life while it's dripping, while the flavors are excellently woesome. Take your bites with bravery and boldness since the learning and the growing are here in these times, these exact right nows. Capture these times. Hold and kiss them because it wil soon be very different.
-- Jill Scott"
Ok, so this was shocking enough - Starbucks advising me how to live my life, attempting to be inspirational, yet numbering their little stolen "insights" etc. But whatever, that I can deal with. What really got me was what was underneath said quotation:
"This is the author's opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks."
Ok - WHAT exactly are they afraid people are going to believe here?? What do they envision might happen if someone believes this is actually the opinion of Starbucks? Are they afraid that someone is actually going to find life, take bites out of it, lose some teeth, and sue them?! Some days I feel that my father may just be right about a couple of things.
*Octuple (??? Is that real???) sigh*
"The Way I See It #37
Embrace this right now life while it's dripping, while the flavors are excellently woesome. Take your bites with bravery and boldness since the learning and the growing are here in these times, these exact right nows. Capture these times. Hold and kiss them because it wil soon be very different.
-- Jill Scott"
Ok, so this was shocking enough - Starbucks advising me how to live my life, attempting to be inspirational, yet numbering their little stolen "insights" etc. But whatever, that I can deal with. What really got me was what was underneath said quotation:
"This is the author's opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks."
Ok - WHAT exactly are they afraid people are going to believe here?? What do they envision might happen if someone believes this is actually the opinion of Starbucks? Are they afraid that someone is actually going to find life, take bites out of it, lose some teeth, and sue them?! Some days I feel that my father may just be right about a couple of things.
*Octuple (??? Is that real???) sigh*
Friday, July 22, 2005
Buy this!!
I always mean to write album recommendations on here, but I forget so here is a couple OUTSTANDING (and I don't use the capitalization lightly) albums:
1. Buy immediately - Funeral by the Arcade Fire.... I think they are my favorite new band of the year. Amazing. And beautiful.
2. Also buy immediately - Demon Days by Gorillaz... loving it. Hard to not dance to. Get it.
Songs to download (not all new songs but all good) - basically it is a "what is Melinda listening to these days" sort of list: Colours by Donovan, A King and a Queen by Okkervil River, Sexx Laws by Beck, Lost and Found by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Cocaine by Eric Clapton, Banquet by Bloc Party, Night Moves by Bob Seger
GO, MUSIC LOVERS, GO AND FIND YOUR FORTUNES!!
1. Buy immediately - Funeral by the Arcade Fire.... I think they are my favorite new band of the year. Amazing. And beautiful.
2. Also buy immediately - Demon Days by Gorillaz... loving it. Hard to not dance to. Get it.
Songs to download (not all new songs but all good) - basically it is a "what is Melinda listening to these days" sort of list: Colours by Donovan, A King and a Queen by Okkervil River, Sexx Laws by Beck, Lost and Found by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Cocaine by Eric Clapton, Banquet by Bloc Party, Night Moves by Bob Seger
GO, MUSIC LOVERS, GO AND FIND YOUR FORTUNES!!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
"Someone told me long ago, there's a calm before the storm..."
...I know! It's been comin' for some time."
Note to readers: Be careful what you wish for!
Note to readers: Be careful what you wish for!
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Massive update.
So it's a long and boring Saturday night. I was supposed to go to a Phillies game with the family, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it did not happen. And since my awesome, athletic little sister has a double header of super important softball games tomorrow, it also did not make sense for me to make the trip back to Lancaster. So thus, I'm in my room. I just finished watching Bridget Jones' Diary, which is of course, a single girl's reassurance that she will not die unfulfilled and unloved - thus also explaining its extreme popularity. All I can say really, is Colin Colin Colin Colin Firth. That reminds me of a conversation I had with Tom the other night about my few and far between celebrity crushes. Typically it takes more than good looks and on-screen charm for me to fantasize about these surreal personalities but I usually have about a handful in reserve. My current ones are (in no particular order):
Ewan McGregor - bonus points for being Scottish and having a gorgeous voice
Dylan Moran - Irish, hilarious, with shaggy hair - plus is a total chain smoking, wine-drinking scoundrel in Black Books - how can one resist? (Actually I did steal this one from Paul, but we've agreed to share him - I get him nights and every other weekend).
Johnny Depp - a little more typical answer (although Ewan McGregor isn't exactly obscure), but his acting is phenomenal, so ridiculously talented and for some reason, he can make everyone from Edward Scissorhands to (yummmmm) Captain Jack Sparrow extremely sexy
Stuart Murdoch - lead singer of Belle and Sebastian, boyish charming Scottish... clearly one can see a pattern here....
That's it for now anyway. Those are my boys in reserve for when the real world doesn't cut it. Which, right now anyway, it doesn't. *Super duper quadruple sigh*
Anyhow... so I haven't written for awhile. Sorry about that. I've had things, but haven't been exactly what I would call terribly busy. Just haven't been in the mood for writing. But now, at 11:58 Saturday evening, I have both an abundance of time and a desire to exercise my fingertips. God, that could be taken in a really wrong way. Ah well.
Let's start from the last thing I remember not writing in here. Tash and I (see picture below) decided to have a ladies' night out. We got all dolled up and went down to Olde City, only to be a bit disappointed in the insane crowds and lack of proper dancing. So where to head? The gayborhood, of course, the sight of Tash's new apartment! We had a few gorgeous drinks (and one gorgeous and fabulous waiter) in Bump (which is also, by the way, famous for its happy hours - $3 martinis!) and then were directed to find some Euro-style dancing in a club called Pure. So we went to Pure, only to find an outrageous cover and a members-only bar. So, naturally, what did we do? Became members, my dear readers, naturally! The dancing was fabulous though, and due to the location of T.'s apartment (right across the street), I have a feeling the membership will pay itself off quite quickly.
*Side note: Although it was a great evening and I truly enjoyed Tash's company, I missed Paul like mad!*
The weeks generally sort of pass, so let's skip on to the next weekend, which was quite exciting - Live 8! There were a million people in the house, but they were all pleasant and it was really nice to have some new faces around. We started the morning with a breakfast consisting mainly of Peach Schnapps and headed down to the Parkway. We got there to find a truly MASSIVE crowd and opening remarks by Will Smith. We edged our way into a decent position and continued to enjoy the show. We lost Tom and Adam pretty much straight away, but the rest of us (Tash, myself, Kate, Jeff, Dave, Cathy and four of Kate's friends - including one girl from N. Carolina named Jessica who I really got on with) managed to stay together for the rest of the day. Tash and I danced pretty much throughout. Everyone there was very nice and even the heat wasn't too bad (although I did acquire an awesome sunburn, I'll post a picture so you can really imagine the experience).
Highlights:
Black-eyed Peas doing Bob Marley's Stand Up For Your Rights (at least I think that's title, I mostly just remember singing Marley around a campfire - you can imagine the circumstances...)
Jay-Z's set was actually a lot of fun - Tash and I went to work making each and every passerby dance with us
Will Smith doing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song was CLASSIC
Josh Groban just being Josh Groban and letting me look upon his beautiful face
Stevie Wonder - Superstition was great! Dancing to the max!
So an all together enjoyable day and memorable! Then, as you do, I had an after party to go to at the boys' house. Sunburn comparing and lots of liquor later, a handful of us ended up on the front porch taking many many ridiculous pictures of eachother - it was great (I'm a total narcissist so pictures of myself really get me off). I'll post a few of those too.
Next day = recovery.
Monday was July 4th, so no work and all the essential ingredients to a proper American Independence Day --- beer, a barbeque and fireworks. Oh, and an Elton John concert. It was fabulous, good friends, good food, and all the other cliches. Rufus Wainwright also played too, which I really enjoyed. Elton was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC though. Highlights: Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, Philadelphia Freedom (duh!). Good fireworks display too, right behind the Art Museum - I'll post a pic of that as well.
I just got a drunk phone call from Tom and the others in Lancaster. Absolutely hilarious. Especially when they all tried to do Boston accents. Brilliant guys. =)
Actually the next week was a bit exciting because JOHANNA CAME BACK!!! I was so excited, due to opposite Study Abroad schedules, I hadn't seen her in almost a year. We had a cute little wine and cheese party (where J. and I actually ended the night smashed and dancing in my room) and it was just SO NICE to be able to see/talk to/dance with her again. I really did miss her a lot, but soon the whole family will be together again - hip hip hooray!
Alright so last weekend... my adorable little athletic sister Katie came down for the weekend. My mom dropped her off on Friday and we went with Brigit, Deanna and Deanna's little sister Chelsea to see March of the Penguins - this absolutely ridiculously good documentary on penguins narrated by Morgan Freeman. Honestly, I laughed, I cried, see this film.
Then Saturday, we had a big barbeque at our house to celebrate Kate's 21st which was chill, but fun. The rest of the gang went out to party, but I was obliged to stay home, so me and Katie watched Edward Scissorhands and then played a rousing game of Cranium with Daniel, Deanna and Chelsea. Very charming night - very home-feeling.
Sunday Katie and I walked all the way to the Philadelphia Zoo and spent all day viewing the various animals. It was actually a lot of fun - Katie's such a great kid. She's hilarious and I would adore her even if she weren't my sister. We were comtemplating getting our faces painted (I was going to be a leopard and she was going to be a tiger) but we decided against it because it would be a little awkward trying to get on a Philadelphia bus with that getup (ie. I'd get my ass kicked, or at the very least, harassed).
We actually ended up walking back though because I couldn't figure out Philly public transportation. Katie wanted to murder me. Then I made dinner for us and for my mom who came to pick Katie up. Once they left - I shouted I'm footless and family-free - let's get drunk! We got some wine and relished in Moran's charismatic glow ("Which one of you bitches wants to dance?") for a Black Books / Melinda's Pub session.
This week and weekend has been fairly tame. We all went to see Wedding Crashers last night which I felt was quite good - in the way that you would expect. Funny, charming, a little raunchy at times. Vince Vaughan is amazing though.
Oh shit, I put White Rabbit on this playlist? God, it just makes me feel like watching Fear and Loathing. If I ever go to Vegas... hahaha, nevermind.
Well I think that's about enough for now anyway. I always have things I want to put in here, you know, like deep thoughts, revelations, theories etc. but I always forget them before I get to it. I'll try and do better in the future. Well I suppose that's good night, gentle readers, hope you enjoyed the little update and are having more fun than I right now.
Oh and if you're bored, I would highly recommend reading Dylan Moran's articles for the Irish Times.
Ewan McGregor - bonus points for being Scottish and having a gorgeous voice
Dylan Moran - Irish, hilarious, with shaggy hair - plus is a total chain smoking, wine-drinking scoundrel in Black Books - how can one resist? (Actually I did steal this one from Paul, but we've agreed to share him - I get him nights and every other weekend).
Johnny Depp - a little more typical answer (although Ewan McGregor isn't exactly obscure), but his acting is phenomenal, so ridiculously talented and for some reason, he can make everyone from Edward Scissorhands to (yummmmm) Captain Jack Sparrow extremely sexy
Stuart Murdoch - lead singer of Belle and Sebastian, boyish charming Scottish... clearly one can see a pattern here....
That's it for now anyway. Those are my boys in reserve for when the real world doesn't cut it. Which, right now anyway, it doesn't. *Super duper quadruple sigh*
Anyhow... so I haven't written for awhile. Sorry about that. I've had things, but haven't been exactly what I would call terribly busy. Just haven't been in the mood for writing. But now, at 11:58 Saturday evening, I have both an abundance of time and a desire to exercise my fingertips. God, that could be taken in a really wrong way. Ah well.
Let's start from the last thing I remember not writing in here. Tash and I (see picture below) decided to have a ladies' night out. We got all dolled up and went down to Olde City, only to be a bit disappointed in the insane crowds and lack of proper dancing. So where to head? The gayborhood, of course, the sight of Tash's new apartment! We had a few gorgeous drinks (and one gorgeous and fabulous waiter) in Bump (which is also, by the way, famous for its happy hours - $3 martinis!) and then were directed to find some Euro-style dancing in a club called Pure. So we went to Pure, only to find an outrageous cover and a members-only bar. So, naturally, what did we do? Became members, my dear readers, naturally! The dancing was fabulous though, and due to the location of T.'s apartment (right across the street), I have a feeling the membership will pay itself off quite quickly.
*Side note: Although it was a great evening and I truly enjoyed Tash's company, I missed Paul like mad!*
The weeks generally sort of pass, so let's skip on to the next weekend, which was quite exciting - Live 8! There were a million people in the house, but they were all pleasant and it was really nice to have some new faces around. We started the morning with a breakfast consisting mainly of Peach Schnapps and headed down to the Parkway. We got there to find a truly MASSIVE crowd and opening remarks by Will Smith. We edged our way into a decent position and continued to enjoy the show. We lost Tom and Adam pretty much straight away, but the rest of us (Tash, myself, Kate, Jeff, Dave, Cathy and four of Kate's friends - including one girl from N. Carolina named Jessica who I really got on with) managed to stay together for the rest of the day. Tash and I danced pretty much throughout. Everyone there was very nice and even the heat wasn't too bad (although I did acquire an awesome sunburn, I'll post a picture so you can really imagine the experience).
Highlights:
Black-eyed Peas doing Bob Marley's Stand Up For Your Rights (at least I think that's title, I mostly just remember singing Marley around a campfire - you can imagine the circumstances...)
Jay-Z's set was actually a lot of fun - Tash and I went to work making each and every passerby dance with us
Will Smith doing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song was CLASSIC
Josh Groban just being Josh Groban and letting me look upon his beautiful face
Stevie Wonder - Superstition was great! Dancing to the max!
So an all together enjoyable day and memorable! Then, as you do, I had an after party to go to at the boys' house. Sunburn comparing and lots of liquor later, a handful of us ended up on the front porch taking many many ridiculous pictures of eachother - it was great (I'm a total narcissist so pictures of myself really get me off). I'll post a few of those too.
Next day = recovery.
Monday was July 4th, so no work and all the essential ingredients to a proper American Independence Day --- beer, a barbeque and fireworks. Oh, and an Elton John concert. It was fabulous, good friends, good food, and all the other cliches. Rufus Wainwright also played too, which I really enjoyed. Elton was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC though. Highlights: Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, Philadelphia Freedom (duh!). Good fireworks display too, right behind the Art Museum - I'll post a pic of that as well.
I just got a drunk phone call from Tom and the others in Lancaster. Absolutely hilarious. Especially when they all tried to do Boston accents. Brilliant guys. =)
Actually the next week was a bit exciting because JOHANNA CAME BACK!!! I was so excited, due to opposite Study Abroad schedules, I hadn't seen her in almost a year. We had a cute little wine and cheese party (where J. and I actually ended the night smashed and dancing in my room) and it was just SO NICE to be able to see/talk to/dance with her again. I really did miss her a lot, but soon the whole family will be together again - hip hip hooray!
Alright so last weekend... my adorable little athletic sister Katie came down for the weekend. My mom dropped her off on Friday and we went with Brigit, Deanna and Deanna's little sister Chelsea to see March of the Penguins - this absolutely ridiculously good documentary on penguins narrated by Morgan Freeman. Honestly, I laughed, I cried, see this film.
Then Saturday, we had a big barbeque at our house to celebrate Kate's 21st which was chill, but fun. The rest of the gang went out to party, but I was obliged to stay home, so me and Katie watched Edward Scissorhands and then played a rousing game of Cranium with Daniel, Deanna and Chelsea. Very charming night - very home-feeling.
Sunday Katie and I walked all the way to the Philadelphia Zoo and spent all day viewing the various animals. It was actually a lot of fun - Katie's such a great kid. She's hilarious and I would adore her even if she weren't my sister. We were comtemplating getting our faces painted (I was going to be a leopard and she was going to be a tiger) but we decided against it because it would be a little awkward trying to get on a Philadelphia bus with that getup (ie. I'd get my ass kicked, or at the very least, harassed).
We actually ended up walking back though because I couldn't figure out Philly public transportation. Katie wanted to murder me. Then I made dinner for us and for my mom who came to pick Katie up. Once they left - I shouted I'm footless and family-free - let's get drunk! We got some wine and relished in Moran's charismatic glow ("Which one of you bitches wants to dance?") for a Black Books / Melinda's Pub session.
This week and weekend has been fairly tame. We all went to see Wedding Crashers last night which I felt was quite good - in the way that you would expect. Funny, charming, a little raunchy at times. Vince Vaughan is amazing though.
Oh shit, I put White Rabbit on this playlist? God, it just makes me feel like watching Fear and Loathing. If I ever go to Vegas... hahaha, nevermind.
Well I think that's about enough for now anyway. I always have things I want to put in here, you know, like deep thoughts, revelations, theories etc. but I always forget them before I get to it. I'll try and do better in the future. Well I suppose that's good night, gentle readers, hope you enjoyed the little update and are having more fun than I right now.
Oh and if you're bored, I would highly recommend reading Dylan Moran's articles for the Irish Times.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
