Proof of Life

Paul spent the week in Wilmington, North Carolina on business. He says it was a very picturesque but boring town. He stayed in a bed-and-breakfast with theme rooms. ("More tasteful than the Anniversary Inn" he said.) His room was the Cousteau room. Here's a picture of him in it. You don't get much proof of life for Paul, so I thought perhaps you would enjoy it. He almost got trapped at the Wilmington Regional Airport, but his flight was able to depart in a brief window of clear weather and the weather delays actually helped him make his connection flight. And thanks to the winds, his flight arrived 30 minutes early here. His father, I hear, was not so fortunate. He was stuck in Gainesville, GA last anyone heard. Let's hope he makes it home soon.

A Very Special Double Post: That's What You Get

When you let you heart win. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist!) I'm very excited because a certain event--holiday, even--is approaching. Yes, birthday season is less than a month away. And I already know what I'm getting! No Doubt concert tickets! Hurray! Certain gentle readers (my mom, Mary) will remember that going to a No Doubt concert was how I celebrated my 18th birthday as well. Then, tickets were $35 for general admission. Now, tickets are $80 for mid-level seats. (Which is what I got. There's not point in spending $60 for bad seats when you could spend $80 for decent ones. Whether bad seats should be $60 is another story. Did I mention that Fleetwood Mac tickets are $144 for a half-way decent seat?) Anyway, Paramore is the opening act which really sealed the deal, hence the cheesy blog title. I'm quite excited (did I say that already?) to go (but not to find a parking place--I hope I can get there using light rail). I do feel a little bad though that Paul's first concert experience (at age 27) will be Paramore and No Doubt.

A Very Special Double Post: Talking in Your Sleep

Sorry for the long lag in posting. March is like a marathon, I can only wonder what horrors April will hold. I thought I'd have time to post something over Spring Break, but Spring Break went like this: wander about aimless for 2 days not knowing what to do with self, 1 day on enjoying a vacation, and 2 days of jumping back into the old routine so that homework is finished on time. (It's those Daoist texts, I tell you! They're like word vampires that feed off my precious time.)

Anyway, I am finally getting around to posting. And it's a funny story, so you should read it and maybe comment on it, eh? Paul, as those of you who have lived with him know, is a heavy sleeper. He is such a heavy sleeper that no matter what he is doing or saying, he is asleep if his eyes aren't open for more than 10 seconds. It's the saying that's really tricky. Usually, he can carry on a pretty coherent conversation. But Wednesday, he slipped up. Below is an actual, word-for-word account of a conversation I had with a sleeping Paul.

[Setting: Living room, on our awesome futon sofa]

Me (shaking Paul after he fell asleep during House Hunters): Hey, I think I'll sleep out here on the couch.
Paul: I'm glad you got the den on house #2 that you wanted.
Me: Um, okay. (Pause) Where's the cell phone? I should set the alarm.
Paul: (No response)
Me (shaking Paul again): Where's the cell phone? I need set the alarm.
Paul: What are you going to use for a defense?
Me (giving up on really waking him up): Oh, the usual.
Paul: No, really. Tell me. I want to know.
Me: Uh, knights?
Paul (smiling): Tee hee.

The Facebook Dilemma

I have been invited to join Facebook. By a close, personal friend. (Not all those distant, communal friends I have.) Someone with whom I would like to be in greater contact and is not great at replying to e-mails. (Something about a 17-month old and buying a house and moving and other lame excuses.) The problem is I don't do Facebook. I don't really know that much about it, I don't know how to use it, and I don't want to start. As far as I can determine it's a cross-between a directory and a scrapbook. I don't care about directories and I don't keep scrapbooks. If I did, I don't know why I would want it exposed to the world. Frankly, I'd close this blog if I thought anyone other than people I've told about it ever visited. I don't even like that it shows up when you do a Google Blog Search. Censoring for group consumption and interest is one thing, censoring for total public publication is another.

Getting back on track, I'm torn between possibly being better-connected with a good friend and being more publicly exposed than I like. What to do?

2015

That's how long ASU expects me to be here. From 8/24/2008 to 5/15/2015. That's seven years! I'll be thirty-one before I leave this place. They'd better start stocking chocolate chip ice cream, that's all I can say.

A Fiendish Conspiracy of Unfathomable Proportions

Dear readers, I feel I must alert you to a Fiendish Conspiracy of Unfathomable Proportions (FCUP). Chocolate chip ice cream is ridiculous hard to find here! Seriously, it's one of the basics, people. Yet of the many flavors and brands available at our local Albertsons, only one (Dreyer's) had it. Albertsons didn't have it, Breyers didn't have it, Blue Bunny didn't have it, Blue Bell didn't have it, Ben and Jerry's didn't have it, Haagen-Dazs didn't have it. That's six major brands of ice cream that don't believe in chocolate chip apparently. Assuming that chocolate chip ice cream still exists in other parts of the country, I am forced to make some terrible judgments. Namely, the stores here don't carry it because it doesn't sell. This means there are people in the state of Arizona--a lot of them, it would seem--that do not like chocolate chip ice cream. How is that even possible? What do you find unpleasant? Vanilla ice cream? Chocolate? Seriously, they're delicious and universally liked. I fear something is wrong with the people here. Probably something in the horrible, horrible-tasting water.

Also, they do not celebrate Presidents' Day here. How is that even possible?

Things You Don't Want to Get in the Mail

Things you don't want to get in the mail:

10. Animals (dead or live)
9. Glass bottles with syrups inside
8. Things for someone else important enough not to throw away
7. Anything from the bank
6. Firearms
5. Solicitations
4. Underwear
3. Body Parts
2. Biological Agents
1. Sex Offender Notification

Guess which I got today? Yep, numero uno. I opened my mail box today and right on top was a flyer with the words: "IMPORTANT Sex Offender Notification." My first thought was, well it's probably someone just in the neighborhood who 'likes' little girls." Not good by any means, but not something I have worry about. But nope, I open it up and the first thing I see is my address, #18. Yeah, that came as a bit of a shock. Was not expecting my next-door neighbor, the loud one who loves football and parties. I've only seen him once and I'm definitely not his type so there won't be any extra paranoia, but still. Not the kind of thing you want to get. (Although I suppose it is better than not knowing.)