The Phantom Headphones

Apparently if you wear iPod headphones for extended periods of time (e.g. 7 hours while at work), and then take them out, it still feels like you're wearing them. Even though you're not. What could be creepier? I keep trying to take them out of my ears! But there's NOTHING THERE.

I get the point.

YES! I'm finally DONE with Flags of our Fathers! I have to say, if there's one thing I learned while reading that book (It was required for my class), it's that I really don't enjoy nonfiction books (or probably fiction ones for that matter) about huge war battles. Who really does? I honestly think every time I read five pages or more I cried a little. WAR IS BAD.

by Billy Collins

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House

The neighbor's dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.
The neighbor's dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,
and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.
When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton
while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

Not that I'm a lesbian or anything

I feel slightly awkward in my head because my roomies have a friend named Ruby who comes by a lot, and WHENEVER I hear her name or see her I get that freakin' song in my head that has the chorus

Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby!
Do ya do ya do ya do ya?
Know what you're doing doing to me?
Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby!

I try to avoid singing it aloud when she's over; it might just be a bit too creepy.
But I just looked it up and it's by the Kaiser Chiefs. Interesting. It's a freakin' annoying song. But after it's been in my head about thirty times I'm starting to warm up to it.

Man!

What if I want to see Ben Folds and NOT John Mayer?! Why do they have to tour together?
(Sorry any John Mayer fans, but he's just not worth the money he charges for a concert ticket.)

While talking on the phone tonight, Mom gave me a small lecture about how Leah and I need to stop thinking about whether boys are "worthy" of us, and basically that we need to stop scaring boys away because our standards are set so high.

Does anyone else get lectures like this from their parents?!

Playlist of the day

"Everything's not Lost"--Coldplay
"Everything Will Be Alright"--The Killers
"Even the Bad Times are Good"--The Tremeloes
"Everybody Hurts"--R.E.M.

All the songs happened to be in the "E" section of my iPod songs, but they made me feel just a little better about yesterday's tragedy.

?

Cover of the White Stripes newest album, revealed!


Please don't ask me what they're wearing.

He doesn't know what to do with himself*

There's a rumor going around that Jack White will have a cameo in the film Walk Hard as...Elvis. This love-hate relationship I have with Jack continues. Why does he constantly do such bizarre stuff? I guess it could be worse (like writing a Coca-Cola jingle), but still--I'm somewhat baffled.

And mensch, is that guy gonna need to get a tan if he's really gonna do it!

*A song by Bacharach, covered by the White Stripes on Elephant. In case you cared.

Wherever I go in this world, my

Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki comes with me. (I just bought a bottle today, realizing how incomplete and boring my life was without it.)

This is the only story I can think of right now

Last night, while wandering the streets, I found a free newspaper with a picture of an old man playing accordian on the front. It delighted me to such an extent that I took it with me to a salsa club, intending to put it on the wall when I got home.
But when I put the newspaper down so that I could dance better, the waitress took it and threw it away.

No one warns you about the heartbreak that is Washington, D.C.!!

I just need something else

...to put up instead of my gross knees. They are much better now!
But I have no exciting news or random thoughts.
So I will put this up:
Because it makes me smile.

Schlechte Idee

This is why one should not go jogging on the uneven pavement of Davis when it's dark outside (this is before swelling!):



But one did anyway, and now one regrets it.

Life at Work

They were playing Ben Folds (SCORE!) at the Coffee House while I was working today, and I discovered that I am still not immune to the sappy corniness (yet also greatness) that is "The Luckiest." You know, that one song at the end of the Rockin' the Suburbs album where Folds sings about how much he loves his wife.
I was getting tears in my eyes while spreading mozzarella on the raw pizzas. When will it end?

Also, if you come to visit me at work and I'm totally zoned out staring at the floor or some distant place in space and time, this is probably what I'm thinking about:

If I had a dog that looked like this:

















I would name him/her Tiny Dancer. And maybe just call it "Dancer" for short (Dancey?).

And if I had a dog like this:














I would name him Willy Brandt, after my favorite German chancellor. They share a striking resemblance, trust me.

I don't plan to have either of these dogs, but I felt like sharing my innermost thoughts with you anyway.

Have a nice FRIDAY!
I have a linguistics midterm to look forward to.

Off to see the Oral Surgeon!!

I'm flying home tomorrow! For no particular reason. Except that I need to have a pre-surgery check-up so that they can make a "splint." I don't really know how you make a splint for a tooth implant, but I'm trying hard not too think about it excessively.

It's fun to have an excuse to go home though! If not to see the 'rents and bff Cammy, then at least to see our doggy Jinny and become somewhat less animal-starved!

PS-All of my roomies at this moment are either drunk or not at home. I wonder if anyone will be able to give me a ride to the airport in the morning? I have my fingers crossed....

This I Believe

My parents are big fans of the NPR series "This I Believe," which is a project where people (some famous and some not) talk for about three or four minutes about what their beliefs are, relating to life or just their philosophies about certain things. It's deep, man.
But no, really, it's pretty interesting sometimes. And the point I'm coming to is that Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips gloriousness read one recently, and I liked it. My Dad sent me the link.
This is it, if you're interested.

P.S. Hannah, do you and your roomies actually go out in public while wearing said headbands? This I gotta see.

Has anyone seen this movie?

Other than my roomie Alicia, when she was eight, and now me? Because it is one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever seen.

It's Been a While

But not a while as in that one song, by Puddle of Mud or P.O.D. or some other less-than-stellar band....

I want to post two totally unimportant and self-absorbed thoughts (But perhaps all blogger posts can be categorized in this way?).

Thought #1:
I really wish I could pull off a headband. Like the one Luke Wilson's wearing in Royal Tenenbaums, or just some kind of bandana tied in the same way. There's this guy at my work who wears a headband like that often, and it inspires me. Too bad I'm not a guy, because the effect is definitely not quite as, shall we say, formidable, when seen on women.


Thought #2:
I wish I had a boyfriend (or husband!) who looked like Jeremy Sisto. I was watching this movie last week for my German film class called The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (a rare example of a good German film--I recommend it!) and the male love interest kind of reminded me of Jeremy Sisto, and renewed my mild obsession with him. Yes, he looks a little creepy and mildly ape-like, but that's why we love him, right?

And that is all for now.

A late thank you

Not sure who reads this exactly, but I just want to say THANKS! for all the birthday wishes on Facebook/my blog/in person! It was honestly one of the best birthdays I've had in a while. All I did was go out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (which was delicious as usual--I did my annual vegetarian-breaking tradition of eating salmon), but I felt like I have such great friends and family! And I do!!

I wondered why no songs came up!

You know you've been working on your linguistics paper too long when you absent-mindedly type "nouns" into the music search on iTunes.