Sunday, April 30, 2006

I almost ran smack into this today, literally. I was all set to run along the Mall after work, but thanks to an alert coworker who pointed out that this rally was about to fuck up my rotation, I headed for Gravelly Point instead. I had one of the best runs I can remember in the last 6 months despite fighting a substantial headwind the whole time. Sometimes the bod is just ON IT and I wheeze a little less than usual. I cherish those moments.

Friday, April 28, 2006

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, SUZI!!!!!

The ever-cooking, Chinese-speaking, Ivy-League-educated, 5'4"-if-she's-lucky, Rachel-Ray-loving, Costco-groupie, hostess-extraordinaire and one of the best friends a girl could hope for joins the 4th decade ranks today. Welcome, sister. You're the breast!!!

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

He looks just like this and says "Fuck". A LOT.



Pam and I went to see Colin Hay at the Birchmere on Monday night. Y'all may remember him as the former frontman of Men at Work; he's also been on an episode of "Scrubs" and has songs on that soundtrack as well as the Garden State soundtrack, all excellent. I have not heard anything by him that wasn't tremendous.

I'm not very good at writing about music--you'll have to see XO London for that--but the thing about Colin that stops me in my tracks are his lyrics. For me this is saying something, because I'm not a big lyrics girl. I'm a medium-grade music fan; if it sounds decent, makes me want to dance, or has a catchy refrain I'm on board without needing much else. I appreciate a good story in a song but usually have to have the more deft works pointed out to me. But Colin had me at hello and his words speak to me in a way that doesn't often happen. I cannot recommend him enough; you can find tour info and mp3s here.

The show itself was memorable for several reasons. 1. Excellent opening act. Schuyler Fisk, whose name was very familiar and Pam and I placed bets on whether Schuyler was a he or a she. I had this niggling feeling that I knew Fisk from somewhere but didn't know where until the show started. A. Schuyler is a she. A beautiful she whom you may remember as Colin Hanks' girlfriend in Orange County. B. She is Sissy Spacek's daughter. C. SISSY SPACEK WAS THERE, ON STAGE, SINGING THE 3RD PART HARMONY. No shit. Oscar winner, farm girl, and chanteuse. Talk about getting our money's worth.

And 2. Colin brought down the house. He told many hilarious stories, all involving the F bomb. His first drop of the night: "Are there any children in the audience?" (some clapping and cheers). Hay: "That's fuckin' great!" He finished with an amazing a cappella rendition of "I Don't Know" which sounded vaguely like a Celtic folk song (fitting as he's Scottish) prompting me to break my "don't buy it at the show" rule. I shelled out for his Going Somewhere CD and then waited to meet him and have him sign it. Of course I just happened to mention that it had been my birthday on Saturday so I got a little extra conversation for my trouble. Shameless, table for one.

PEbs took some photos and once she gets the downloaded sorted out I'll post them. So you have that to look forward to.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Other than displaying poor ribbon-evenness-management, this is a pretty cute kid


I'll take your guesses in the comment section as to how old you think I am in this picture. It might be hard for you because, basically, I look EXACTLY THE SAME NOW, minus the ruffled denim ensemble.

I keep trying to figure out glib ways to put this but none of them strikes the right tone so I'll just play it straight here and say

Today is my 30th birthday.

It feels very, very weird to write that. Which is odd because I've been building up to this day all year, basically robbing myself of being 29. Whenever anyone would ask me how old I am I would say, "Almost 30". I mean, since last May. Waaay premature. So it turns out that this birthday gives me pause, as many people said it would. I have some notions as to why--things like a newly-simmering feeling of panic at not having some sort of retirement fund in place, still feeling intimidated when I don't know anyone in a room, or the fact that I still adore watching Transformers cartoons and running through sprinklers. Somehow along the way I've developed an idea of how 30 is supposed to feel, and now having arrived at this birthday with a zero in it, I don't feel "that" way and so come away thinking I must be doing something wrong. Which is of course total shite; I can think of 30 different 30-year-olds who are all living drastically different but equally excellent lives. I guess I thought at this age I'd have more answers, more of the details in place. Come to find out that basically no one ever has all the details in place. I think the lesson here is that I watched waaaaay too many movies as a child and going forward my progeny have a very Amish-like existence awaiting them. The DVR in Mommy and Daddy's room will be OFF LIMITS until you're 18. But you can sip from our beers as soon as you're old enough to hold the can!!



In the past I've told you about the day I was born and great birthday cakes from parties past. Today I'll just give a quick but cute anecdote:

When I was very little we lived near a lot of extended family. I had no end of willing baby sitters and teenagers who loved to treat me like a living doll. Apparently in the lead up to my 2nd birthday someone among that coterie taught me, when asked how old I was, to answer "Two in April!" Which, like the good monkey I was, I did. It was my party trick for quite awhile, so much so that to this day, when greeted by a certain aunt and certain cousins, I'm not addressed by my Christian name; they call me Two in April. It's my Indian name. Cherokee Pride!



There's a party tonight, with cake and a DJ and most likely many, many pictures. If you're here come on out; if you can't make it I miss you and stay tuned.

I bet you didn't know this about 1976:

1. In Philadelphia 28 people die of a mysterious virus dubbed "Legionnaire's disease."

2. Military spending in the world skyrockets to $300 billion a year. (ah, the good old days)

3. The Top 5 Television Shows of 1976:
Happy Days
Laverne & Shirley
The ABC Monday Night Movie
M*A*S*H
Charlie's Angels

4. 5 Popular Movies of 1976:
Rocky
A Star Is Born
King Kong
Silver Streak
All The President's Men

5. Super Bowl: Pittsburgh d. Dallas (21-17)
World Series: Cincinnati d. NY Yankees (4-0)
NBA Championship: Boston d. Phoenix (4-2)
Stanley Cup: Montreal d. Philadelphia (4-0)

6. The US Navy tests the Tomahawk cruise missile.

7. Agatha Christie died.

8. And also born on April 22nd:
Henry Fielding author (1707)
Immanuel Kant philosopher (1724)
Vladimir Nabokov author (1899)
J. Robert Oppenheimer nuclear physicist (1904)
Charles Mingus jazz musician (1922)

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Italians think it's good luck, but it's still poop

I was jogging along the Mall today, feeling fairly spry, hale, and hearty. The sprinklers near the Washington Monument had been on and I had run through like a giddy school girl. Hello World; hear Anne roar!!! The weather? Glorious. My workout mix? Rockin'. My ponytail? Jaunty.

Then a pigeon SHIT ON MY HEAD. Right on the sassy ponytail.

Cruel World: 1 Anne: 0

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

We both know you're jealous...


that I had yesterday off and went hiking in Rock Creek Park. Full album here.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

You really can get *anything* on EBay



I'm in the market for a ceiling fan and have been doing online research in an effort to find ones that are cheap, simple, and easy to install. What? A girl can dream! Anyway, my search turned up some hits and some misses, one of which is pictured above. Found these on EBay--they're the blades to a ceiling fan that have been customized with John Deere logos and pictures. Maybe if I lived in Roanoke....

And I can't help but point out the other eye-rolling element of this picture: the stamp emblazoned overtop of the blades "Now Your Talking". I find all those buzz phrases "Ain't Skeered" "Git R Done" etc. so tiresome, not least because of the grossly poor grammar. You're. NOT Your. I'm not just saying; I'm mad.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

The only 2 things that make life bearable after a night inside at work, missing the 80 degree weather...


Sofia's individual champagne and Aussie rules football on MHz.


I refer to them as adult Capri-Sun because of the handy extendable, bendable straw that comes with each can. And doesn't this dude remind you of Ogre from the Revenge of the Nerds franchise? Anyway...I've been working every night this week while it's been stunningly beautiful outside and I'm incredibly cranky about it. Now I get to do a quick turn-around and be back in at 6 am tomorrow. GRRR. But at least I'll be free come afternoon to go grill it up with Suzi and Tom.

OK, the boys on the telly demand my full attention. Happy Easter, all!!

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

"I regret every bite I put in my mouth"

So quoth me yesterday around 9:30 p.m. Starting at 1 p.m. with the Opening Day game for the Nationals and continuing well into the evening vegging chez Annie I ate, in no particular order: 2 super dogs, KC Masterpiece barbecue chips, roasted peanuts, 3 ballpark beers, 1/2 pound of Twizzlers, 1/2 pound of Milk Duds, 1 bottle of champagne, 4 slices of Lost Dog pizza and several brimming handfuls of original WheatThins. There came a point somewhere in there where it hurt to take deep breaths but I kept on trucking. Don't tell me I'm not dedicated to my craft.

James, would y'all consider including me in the next ThickBurger contest? I believe this shows I can make a respectable go of it. I could be a contender.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

The request is both a north- and south-bound exercise

VA Rt. 15, north of Buckingham County 4/2/06

Don't know why it's taken me so long to recap this, but last weekend I went to Holliday Lake outside of Appomattox for a 3-day outdoorswoman weekend. Yes, the word is bobo but the ethos is surprisingly palatable. It's run by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and it's a smorgasbord of activities to get women interested in/comfortable with the Great Outdoors. Potential courses offered range from Wilderness Survival to Kayak Fishing with not a little bit of Republicanism in-between. Actually, the whole thing is decidedly apolitical, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that a few of the attendees and the general atmosphere weren't a bit more Red State than I'm used to. There was a healthy bit of scorn for Northern Virginia as not being part of the rest of Virginia which I didn't exactly appreciate, but whatever. I freely give up claim to large parts of the state Legislature when it suits me, so that runs both ways.

Specifics of the weekend: Pam and I went together and were pleased to discover that Erin S. and several of her coworkers from Norfolk had also registered, so we commandeered a cabin together on the rowdy "Night Owl" side of camp. And the rowdies aren't messing around. When we showed up Friday at 10 a.m. 2 cabins-worth of that side were already installed, smoking and playing poker, jamming to tunes emitting from a circa-1984 boom box, displaying a carved wood sign that read "Chicks on Vacation". Salt-of-the-Earth? Hard-scrabble? YOU BETCHA. Cabano Quince tried hard to live up to that with a fair amount of farting and drinking (and a little puking) but we are obviously neophytes at being CoVs.

My activities for the weekend: introduction to firearms (where I ran into a girl I hadn't seen since 7th grade!), which was a prerequisite for my next class, intro to handgun. I'd never shot before last weekend and was more than a little nervous about it, but oh man was it fun. I fired a .22 caliber revolver and a Mark Ruger semi-automatic (also .22 cal) and suffice it to say, clay pigeons and wicket targets throughout the Southeast should cower and fear. Saturday afternoon I tackled (successfully) a 40-foot climbing tower and learned how to belay. Saturday evening I ate goose tenderloin and bear sausage meatballs. Early Sunday morning I threw it all up. ROCK. Sunday morning I learned about bass fishing lures and did a little casting, but unlike the clay pigeons the region's freshwater fish are in no danger. By 1 pm Sunday PEbs and I had packed up and were headed home. The flawless weather we'd enjoyed all weekend (and I mean, seriously, how gorgeous was it? So lovely it hurt me) followed us home and we finished up with grilling out at Pam's and feasting on Serenity in general and Nathan Fillion in particular, and I didn't roll up home until 11 that night.

I think the best way to show you what an incredible weekend I had comes by way of the fact that the whole time I was gone all the stress that I usually hold in my back, neck, and shoulders (that has put me on a "gold-star patient" basis with my chiropractor) WENT AWAY. Completely. In a matter of hours. You know how they say you can spontaneously develop allergies later in life that you never had before? Well I think I'm allergic to life in D.C. Or at least to adult responsibility. It doesn't suit my delicate constitution.

Friday, April 07, 2006

You can't make this shit up

I have a cool aluminum can that I'd like to keep and do something interesting with...more interesting than making it a pencil cup, etc. So I Googled something along the lines of "crafts with aluminum cans" and found a forum of advice/suggestions. This Martha Stewart-esque tip needs no editorializing:

My alcoholic uncle made a table and two chairs using beer cans and boxes for me when I was younger. They were very sturdy and I was impressed. He also had a beer bottle headboard. Made by facing one upright and gluing to one face down, etc. He had the matching side boards and and everything. He was working on making a guest frame out of his skoal cans.

The posting ends there but I feel there's an implied "before he died of cirrhosis" at the end of that skoal anecdote.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, CHRISTIE!!!!!

1976 was a great year, bringing the nation the first Concorde flight, the debut of The Bionic Woman, the $2 bill, and a whole crop of kick-ass chilllrun. The Swiss Miss made her debut 30 years ago today and we are all better for it. Here's hoping that you have a great birthday...I wish I could be there to celebrate with you!!