I have. And I have never felt so alone in my life.
Attention, we are not under attack by terrorists. However, we have been invaded by
Mooninites.
Late this afternoon I got an email warning about traffic problems due to "suspicious devices."
Whenever something like this happens I start doing my own special research. I hit the
Universal Hub and when I saw the picture of the alleged bomb, I knew we were in for
something weird.
I recognized the Mooninite.
Today, I said to more than one person at work, “Do you know what a Mooninite is?”
Sadly, many did not.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force isn't just for college students. Or maybe it is. But I have a mortgage and have a 401k. I'm outside the demographic.
If you don't know - it is a somewhat recurring character on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force - a show on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network.
As one astute commenter on the Hub wrote, I'm not sure what is more disturbing: that the guerrilla ads were posted for three weeks before anyone noticed or that because they basically shut down the city for a few hours.
Indeed.
Meanwhile, aged anchors are talking about these cartoon characters and keep saying "Mooninite" which is very silly. And once they figured out, hours later, that these were cartoon characters - they started to carefully blur out the left hand of the Mooninite because that hand is flipping the bird.
So
to recap: the city was freaked out by a cartoon alien from the moon flipping the bird. Film at 11.
I expect that some member of my family will call any minute.
Labels: 2007, Boston, evil bird, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at Wednesday, January 31, 2007 | |
Most of the time I did a good job while navigating in Florida.
Driver is a little more overprepared than I am and he had lots of maps printed out and ready to go before we even got to the car rental place.
He handed me a map and off we headed to beautiful Orlando.
As we drove I marveled at the palm trees (a personal favorite) and the number of small fires we saw burning. I’ve read a lot about the building boom in Florida; things are moving so fast that crews are sometimes burning debris as they clear land.
And it was weirdly humid, like it gets in the spring just before it starts to rain.
So I was a little distracted and fell down on the navigating job almost immediately. We reached a large fork in the freeway and I read the directions in a hurry.
Me: It says head toward Disney World.
Driver: Really?
Me: Yeah, right here is where we go.
I read the next line and realized I’d made a little mistake (I'd read the line above where we were actually located), but we were well on the way to Disney World.
Me: I screwed up.
Driver: Oh.
I looked around for a place to turn off, but there was none. We were just blazing a trail to Disney World being welcomed by large signs and beautiful landscaping.
Me: Oh *%&@, we’re going to Disney World.
Driver: That’s now how it goes in the commercials.
Labels: 2007, filler, travel
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at Tuesday, January 30, 2007 | |
My dentist was very concerned about my pain issues. But I think he was focusing on the wrong stuff.
He talked to me at length about the possibility of a root canal if I felt any extreme pain.
I tried to get him to quantify the pain for me, but he had a tough time describing it.
Me: Is it like, mind altering and life changing?
Dentist: Yeah, that’s a good way to look at it.
Me: But not stuff like being sensitive to hot and cold.
Dentist: No. Sensitivity to hot and cold is normal, but like really excruciating pain is a problem.
Me: I’ll keep that in mind.
Dentist: Look, you’ll know it if it happens.
Me: I like how you’re selling it to me.
What he kind of underplayed wasn’t the hot and cold, although I’m certainly sensitive, he didn’t mention that my face would feel so sore and tender and bruised. That I’d feel like I went a few rounds with some guy with the name Macho or Sugar in his name.
Today it is smoothies for me and
more chicken soup for Deeps. Between the two of us we’re like one normal person.
Maybe normal is a relative term.
Labels: 2007, filler, health, marriage
By: Alyssa | Monday, January 29, 2007 at Monday, January 29, 2007 | |
Actually, I only mention my dentist in passing to explain why I sound so... subdued. My dentist drilled for gold on Saturday and after enduring an hour of dental work, I was a little sore on Sunday.
Luckily, Derek has lots of important things to say about Heroes, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, The OC and Grey’s Anatomy. We also review the new series on Sci-Fi called
The Dresden Files and I offered up a review of Mike Judge’s
Idiocracy.
Plus we announce a special opportunity to participate in our upcoming Veronica Mars podcast event. It's as easy as sending an email to podcast(at)thebigredblog.com
Oh yeah.
Listen to this week's podcast.
Subscribe to the podcast with
iTunes or your favorite
podcatcher.
Labels: 2007, podcast, television
By: Alyssa | at Monday, January 29, 2007 | |
Hello!
I’m in Florida right now.
For business.
I’m not kidding.
It’s been raining since I arrived and I briefly saw the sun as I moved from one meeting to the next. I don’t really write about my job or anything, I think that’s best for everyone. But I thought I’d share a bit about my first trip (ever!) to Florida.
The weird thing about doing business in Florida is that everyone assumes you are here on vacation.
Let me make it clear, I’m not here on vacation.
In fact, I’m here with the only other person at my company who is surlier than I am. He asked if I’d blog about him and I said I might. I told him he could pick his blog name. He didn’t come up with one, but after several suggestions we agreed on Driver.
So Driver and I are here in Florida on business. And everyone is on vacation and it is weird.
Ultimately, if I had to be away from Boston and in Florida during some freakishly cool and wet weather, I guess this is a good time. I’ve heard from Deeps that is about 10 degrees and he has some kind of weird cold thing. I’m hoping it isn’t the
Asian Cat Flu.
I hear it might be going around.
More dispatches when I get home tomorrow. I will say this: when I read several of
Carl Hiaasen’s novels I thought he was exaggerating the wackiness of Florida. But from my limited exposure, I’m not sure it’s much of an exaggeration.
I come really like a weird place like this.
Tomorrow: Why is Florida burning? and Oh God, I think we’re in Disney World!
Labels: 2007, health, travel, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Thursday, January 25, 2007 at Thursday, January 25, 2007 | |
Last night we had a fine dusting of snow during our drive home from work. As we slowly made our way up Massachusetts Avenue I felt like we were in some kind of
heinous video game.
I was the spotter and Deeps, per usual, was the driver.
The spotter helps you, the driver, understand what terrors await you and who will try to crash into you.
A spotter might say something like:
Watch out for that cop, he’s going to walk right in front of us.
I don’t think the lady in the mini van sees us.
I’m not sure what this guy is doing? Oh he’s on the phone.
That dude may try to ram us.
Why do people insist on jaywalking with their babies in a stroller? Do they not love their children?
Oh God!
We’re going to die!
What is wrong with people.
Sometimes the spotter falls down on the job. Now in other circumstances and towns the spotter would be a backseat driver. But we drive as a team and whenever I’m not spotting I hear about it.
Why didn’t you tell me about that cop? It’s really dark out.
Or
Did you see that dude who tried to ram us?
Yeah, so it goes both ways. Since I’m often most-likely to die from the ramming or car crash, I figure I’ll just keep spotting and apologize later.
This kind of defensive driving is necessary and important. Now, add in a mysterious element like snow and the drive can be a little treacherous. Sure, there was a dusting of snow, but it was a enough to be a little be slippery.
Me: This added element of danger makes the drive home more exciting.
Deeps: Hmm.
Me: And by exciting I mean, why are these people so stupid?
Deeps: I don’t think they are intentionally stupid. They’re distracted.
Me: Right. It’s a hard day. You get into a vehicle that weighs, roughly, 2000 pounds and decide this is a good time to talk to your friend and do your taxes.
Deeps: People are busy.
Me: Yeah.
Deeps: Besides, these people are just getting their stupid on.
Me: What?
Deeps: See, they forgot what winter is like so today is the first day that they can get their winter stupid on.
I started to laugh, but found a gasp instead as a guy ran a light and nearly sideswiped us.
Deeps: Classic winter stupid, that's what you have there.
Labels: 2007, filler, marriage
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at Tuesday, January 23, 2007 | |
Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote
500+ word tome about buying new furniture for my bedroom? Yeah, that was good stuff. Some day you’ll have children who will balk at writing 500 words about Huckleberry Finn.
Anyway.
The furniture was delivered and when Deeps got home, we set about tearing apart the huge boxes the goods arrived in. Now we didn’t get flat packed furniture, which was the point, and our “assembly” was pretty straight forward. We had to screw some legs onto the dressers and put the bed together.
Now when we purchased the furniture we had the option of paying $15 to have the bed frame assembled. It is just a low platform with a headboard – we opted to put it together ourselves because how hard could that be?
I’m sure you know where this is going.
It’s about three hours of hard. Three hours of tired. Three hours of stupid. Three hours of silent seething. Three hours of watching your marriage come apart at the seams. Okay, maybe not that bad. But still.
We had to put the bed together in order to go to bed – so we were motivated. I won’t go into details, but let it be known that two adults who’ve spent the week working very hard at their respective jobs are not always in the best condition to assemble furniture. Even something as simple as a box with some slats to hold up a mattress.
That night, we slept the sleep of the righteous. Before we drifted off, I asked my husband a question. Was it worth it?
Deeps replied, “I think so.”
I added that some day we might have to hire guys to move the furniture out of the bedroom, because I won’t be helping.
He laughed and said “You’re kidding, right? We’re selling the bedroom furniture with the house.”
Labels: 2007, filler, marriage
By: Alyssa | Monday, January 22, 2007 at Monday, January 22, 2007 | |
Derek is back this week and he talks a little bit about this year's MIT Mystery Hunt Experience. I share a delightful story about how much my Dad loves 24.
We also bring in our really smart friend, Chris, to talk to us about popular music - a subject we are sorely lacking on in our pop culture podcast. He talks to us about critically acclaimed but overrated music from 2006 including works from
Bob Dylan,
Joanna Newsom,
TV on the Radio, and
The Hold Steady.And of course we talk about lots of TV in the run up to sweeps including three shows worth checking out:
Eureka,
Extras and
Psych.
Listen to this week's podcast.
Subscribe to the podcast with
iTunes or your favorite
podcatcher.
Labels: 2007, podcast, television
By: Alyssa | Sunday, January 21, 2007 at Sunday, January 21, 2007 | |
Attention people of New England, I have not infiltrated your region in order to bring my special brand of Hoosierness (7 layer salad anyone?) and Indianapolis Colts love. We moved here because we got jobs, so we could pay for luxuries like food and electricity and, on occasion, heat.
Yes, I remember going to bed one night without a professional football team and waking up in the morning with one. That was cool.
Like Santa. Or the time when we moved into a new house and a landscaper came and put down sod and planted a tree. I took a nap and when I woke up – instant front yard!
I know that many of you have, what I would call, an irrational hatred of Peyton Manning. That’s fine. I understand that. I feel much the same way about Gwyneth Paltrow. But I don’t let it control my life.
When I first came to New England many years ago and people heard I was from Indiana they would immediately – I’m not kidding – ask if I knew Larry Bird. Personally.
Of course! I know Larry. We go way back! I used to drive by his car dealership sometimes. We were super tight. He got busier and doesn’t right that often, but I still send him cards at Christmas.
So when you think of Indianapolis, city of my birth, think of Larry Bird and NCAA championships and crazy people driving 500 miles in less than three hours. Think of David Letterman.
Let’s not let this game thing turn into something we cannot overcome. All I ask is that you remember it’s a game – the stakes are high, but come Monday morning we’ll just go back to being able to live together.
I’ll tell you that I know Larry Bird and you’ll say “wicked” and everything will be cool.
For my father, a senior citizen with a disability and who has spent his life teaching children, I will add: Go Colts!
Labels: 2007, Boston, sports
By: Alyssa | Friday, January 19, 2007 at Friday, January 19, 2007 | |
Me: Wow.
Deeps: I know.
Me: You know - I actually clean under there.
Deeps: Me too. I pull the bed away from the wall and vacuum behind it too.
Me: I guess there is no way to easily move the dressers for cleaning, huh?
Deeps: Guess not.
Me: Does the cat sleep under there or something?
Deeps: It looks like something bigger than a cat was under there.
Me: Gross. At least we don't have a carpet under there.
Deeps: Seriously, where does all this stuff come from? We've only lived here for a year and a half.
Me: For a while I thought those cat litter commercials were just little stories to sell litter. Now I realize they were also warnings against cat parties. I think that's what's been going on. The Poopus has been rocking out up here.
Deeps: With the other cats from the neighborhood? Could be. I know she's been sleeping on my side of the bed.
Me: How do you know that?
Deeps: Well, if I don't find her there when I get to bed, I find the big cat-shaped dent with the mysterious warm spot.
Me: You're like Colombo!
Deeps: Colombo with the hideous under bed dust bunnies.
Me: I think bunnies are too small to describe these. We have to think bigger.
Deeps: Mastodons?
Me: Look at the big brain on you!
Labels: 2007, filler, marriage
By: Alyssa | Thursday, January 18, 2007 at Thursday, January 18, 2007 | |
So I went to the dentist yesterday.
I have negotiated with my dentist and basically we’ve agreed to a 3x a year cleaning schedule to help stave off heinous tooth problems in the future.
I dealt with a lot of icky gum problems last year and at my last cleaning in 2006 we discussed what was in store for 2007 – just regular cleanings. Huzzah!
Then I spent all of the money from my flexible spending account on eye glasses and contact lenses since Deeps got his swanky new glasses last year. And I had no major dental worries.
Until today. Of course.
Apparently my famous pimp tooth – home to my first ever cavity at the age of nine – has developed a problem. It’s one of those teeth in the far back – so far back you can’t really see it.
First I had a regular filling. About 12 years later it fell out. Then it got fixed with a gold overlay. I kind of protested but my dentist told me to stop being a baby. I told her I didn’t want a pimp tooth. She thought that was hilarious.
So now, nearly ten years later the pimp tooth needs to be upgraded to a gold crown (pimp crown). I guess there was some decay under it and my tooth chipped and well… bad things are in store for me. My best case scenario is just having a crown put on (installed?). My worst case scenario involves the crown and a root canal or maybe an implant.
I pondered all of these things carefully before making my next move. My dentist was kind enough to explain to me all the costs involved and what my insurance would and would not cover.
Dentist: So is this something you’d like to address in the near future?
Me: I had planned on installing a patio.
Dentist: But now you’re getting a gold crown.
Me: It isn’t the world’s greatest trade-off.
Dentist: Not really.
Me: I can’t sit on my gold crown and drink gin and tonics and complain about mosquitoes.
At least my dentist finds me amusing. I live to make them laugh.
I told Deeps about all this and how annoying it is. Luckily, I’m not in pain, we have insurance and the cash to cover such emergency expenses. At least, that’s what Deeps reminded me as I grumbled about flossing and fancy toothbrushes.
Me: You know, the crown alone cost more than my first car.
Deeps: Wow.
Me: And if I have to have a root canal on top of that – it will cost more than my second car.
Deeps: You can’t think about it like that.
Me: Yeah, it’s depressing to think I have two crappy cars in my mouth.
Deeps: That should be the title of your first blues album.
Labels: 2007, health, marriage, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at Wednesday, January 17, 2007 | |
I got a surprising and alarming call last night.
Cuddles called with a quick update about summer plans. We chatted for a few minutes when I noticed that Deeps’ ears kind of perked up.
He mouthed to me: They’re coming?
I nodded.
He mouthed: All of them? Here?
I nodded.
He got this goofy grin on his face. I’m not sure if it is the promise of hilarity to ensue or if he’s still got a nerd weekend hangover.
Regardless, Cuddles is finally coming to town. With BIL. And their three children. And something I like to call
The Mighty Cthulhu. They are making a short visit to Arlington en route to a good friend’s summer place near the Cape.
Cuddles and co. travel in style. I think their RV is has more square feet of living space than my house. This should be awesome.
It is too big to fit in my driveway, let alone my street. I’m not even sure we can bring it into Arlington. Luckily, I have six months to solve that problem.
Labels: 2007, filler, holidays
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, January 16, 2007 at Tuesday, January 16, 2007 | |
Deeps: Just to remind you, I'm going to the movies today.
Me: Oh yeah, to recover from the nerdstravaganza you're going to the movies.
Deeps: It's a movie that is very rarely shown on screens.
Me: What is it again?
Deeps:
Sátántangó. It's a Hungarian epic.
Me: Okay.
Deeps: I'll be back really late. It starts at 2 and runs until like 10 tonight.
Me: You're going to see an eight hour movie.
Deeps: Yes.
Me: You know, other wives lose their husbands to football every Sunday. I lose mine to nerd puzzles and an all-day movie.
Deeps: I've got a different set of priorities.
Me: And I love you for it. Now....
Deeps: Yeah?
Me: Are you packing sandwiches?
Deeps: That is your solution to everything.
Labels: 2007, filler, marriage
By: Alyssa | Monday, January 15, 2007 at Monday, January 15, 2007 | |
I didn't forget about you, don't worry!
This week Derek sleeps off his nerd hangover so I recruited my friend Salena to pitch hit. She does a good job as we discuss: How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs, The Office, Grey's Anatomy (why is "To Be Continued" even necessary?),
Armed and Famous, Alec Baldwin's terrifying powers on 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, and we tease a little something we saw on the Internets about LOST and Veronica Mars.
Plus we wax nostalgic (ever so briefly) about Patrick Swayze,
Dirty Dancing and slumber parties. Don't worry, we don't over-girl it.
Listen to the podcast.
Subscribe to the podcast with
iTunes or your favorite
podcatcher.
Labels: 2007, podcast, television
By: Alyssa | at Monday, January 15, 2007 | |
I went in for my bi-monthly (that’s every two months, right?) visit to the salon for the Big Red Spruce Up. I get a cut, I get a color, I get to read for freaking ever because I have so much hair and it takes so long.
I finished the last third of
“The Case of the Missing Books” and got about half-way through
"The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. Both were/are quite enjoyable.
Anyway, I’m usually in a low-level coma by the time I arrive at the salon after work. I need to eat, but I don’t have time and then I sit around for a couple hours with a bunch of foil on my head while a teenage girl with some new hair experiment shampoos me with the same method I’ve used to bathe unruly dogs.
My hair designer usually asks me if I’m comfortable enough or if I need anything or if anything is burning (we are using chemicals here). This week she warned me about half-way through the process that I might not like the initial highlights because she essentially creates these white blonde streaks that she later tints a soft shade of copper.
I decide this is a great opportunity to mess with her.
She pulls the towel off my head, I keep my head in my book as she gives a quick blow-dry before the next round of coloring. When she’s nearly done I look up and gasp in horror.
Then I loudly cry, “Oh my god – what have you done to my hair?”
The salon goes totally silent.
My hair designer isn’t really sure what to do. I wait a moment, letting the delicious tension build. And then I start to laugh. Really, really hard. It was great. The salon erupts in laughter.
My stylist is greatly relieved and I tell her it is hard to freak me out unless, of course, my hair starts falling out in clumps or something.
I guess I know what awaits me on my next visit.
Labels: 2007, books, filler
By: Alyssa | Friday, January 12, 2007 at Friday, January 12, 2007 | |
Tonight we make our second annual pilgrimage to Costco to procure supplies for the Nerd Party (aka the
MIT Mystery Hunt). Tomorrow the nerds make their way to their headquarters.
I have heard two interesting things. Word on the street is that some producers from
This American Life will be on the MIT campus documenting the event. I’ve had no confirmation, and frankly I don’t get paid to run down stories anymore. It seems semi-reliable, but who knows.
The second interesting thing is that
the team that both Deeps and Derek play for has shrunk considerably. The guy who is most invested in organizing the team (since travels a fair distance for the event) is, alas, grown up now and is awaiting the birth of his child. Any day now.
This could mean curtains for the nerd team, as I’ve known it. It could mean the end of my one weekend a year of being a nerd widow.
I don’t like it one bit.
Sure the nerds smell, they eat horribly and they never sleep – but this is their last, best chance to recapture whatever camaraderie they all had in college. They’re getting older and busier and more responsible. I’m not sure the nerds know how to let loose.
Nerds need to flourish in their natural environment – however unnatural that might seem to others. But this is the way of things; old nerds find other things to do to make room for the next generation of nerds.
I read that in a book by Darwin.
Labels: 2007, Boston, nerds
By: Alyssa | Thursday, January 11, 2007 at Thursday, January 11, 2007 | |
Friend: I see that you’ve got that snowy scene on your blog now.
Me: Yeah, I thought I should swap out the Christmas ornaments for something that would last for the rest of the winter.
Friend: It’s good to take down your Christmas stuff as soon after Christmas as possible.
Me: Yeah, that rule isn’t just for the icicle lights on your porch. It’s for the blog too.
Friend: But I can’t help but notice that we have had no appreciable snow this winter.
Me: Yeah, I dug this out from my photo archives. I think it’s from a storm we had a couple of winters ago.
Friend: But we haven’t had snow this season.
Me: What started out as seasonally appropriate has now become ironic.
Friend: Right, but your winter scene isn’t really reflective of reality.
Me: Neither is my blog.
Friend: Good point.
Labels: 2007, filler, weather
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at Wednesday, January 10, 2007 | |
I guess spam is becoming more clever. Most of the time they end up filtered out of my inbox. But I do have a couple of email accounts that I call the "spam accounts" that I use when I have to sign up for stuff.
These accounts are - more or less - unfiltered. Last night I was blazing through one spam inbox doing a little clean up when I saw a subject line that said something like:
O'Reilly to appear on the Colbert Report.
I thought, hmm, maybe this is a press release. A couple of months back during a podcast we discussed One Tree Hill (Derek watches it as a guilty pleasure, I mocked him for it) and the next week I started getting OTH (like the kids say) newsletters in my podcast email.
For our 2006 year in review
podcast we talked about how The Colbert Report really found its groove and what a great show it was and continues to be. So I thought, someone decided to send me a press release.
And so I was only half surprised to open the email and see it was a stock touting spam. Good one email spammers. Good one.
Labels: 2007, internet, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | at Wednesday, January 10, 2007 | |
You’d think I’d learn.
I thought “family game night” would be hours of harmless fun. Instead, Deeps and I are in a struggle to the death on a near nightly basis. I think for most people family game night is like one night a week. We’ve been playing
Scrabble for days – arguing, challenging, fighting and generally being evil to each other.
It has been fantastic.
I’m a great speller but I suck at the strategy. He takes forever to plug in a word and I hate him for it. Plus I'm on a spectacular losing streak. While he’s deliberating I think of ways to plot against him.
Me: You know - if you get another triple-word score I’m going to stop feeding you.
Deeps: You barely feed me now.
Me: But still.
Deeps: I have my cheese and crackers.
Me: Then I’ll put cat treats on your pillow.
Deeps: Like treats from the litter box?
Me: Gross! Like those little kibble treats the cat likes.
Deeps: So?
Me: Then the cat will eat them and drool on your pillow.
Deeps: Hmm…
Me: Or worse. She’ll start sleeping on your head and you’ll wake up with cat fur in your mouth. It will be very annoying.
Deeps: You need to work on your insidious torture.
Me: Yeah, I should really watch some
back episodes of 24 or something.
Labels: 2007, marriage
By: Alyssa | Monday, January 08, 2007 at Monday, January 08, 2007 | |
It is Sunday and another Sunday means another podcast.
This week Derek and I thank our nice fans for leaving us iTunes feedback. Then we review three new shows:
In Case of Emergency,
The Knights of Prosperity, and
Dirt. I review
Slither and Derek shares his insider view of the annual
MIT Mystery Hunt. Plus we keep it under 30 minutes. Happy 2007!
Listen to this week's podcast!
Subscribe to the podcast
with itunes.
Labels: 2007, nerds, podcast
By: Alyssa | Sunday, January 07, 2007 at Sunday, January 07, 2007 | |
We bought some furniture - finally - and we had a very slow, relaxing day. From what I could tell, every single person in the great metro area was out and about today.
Sometime around 2 PM the thermometer in our car read 70. In January. Just a few scant miles from
Boston, Massachusetts. Not to be confused with say Boston, Florida.
Our neighbor was in shorts running down the street. Kids on bikes and no jackets were popping wheelies. The bulbs I planted in late October, have sprouted and grown nearly a foot. Here I was worried that I might have planted them too late and they might not grow. Guess that won't be a problem any longer.
I turned the heat off a few days ago. Windows are open, birds are not just chirping - I heard a songbird this morning. The cat stared intently out the screen door since I'd opened up the back door.
My grass is green and lush. I don't think it looked this good in June. If we hadn't winterized the mower already I'd consider cutting the grass.
But it won't last. At least that's what the weather guy says - we should drop into the 40s tomorrow. If this is winter, I can't imagine what summer will be like.
Labels: 2007, Boston, weather, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Saturday, January 06, 2007 at Saturday, January 06, 2007 | |
Today, we take the plunge to buy new bedroom furniture. We are grown-ups. We own property. I just paid a huge property tax bill. I guess we're probably ready to have a dresser that isn't old, broken, and the best thing I could afford in 1998.
My husband agreed with this sentiment like four months ago when he pointed out that one of the dresser drawers wasn't opening right. Then he tried to "fix it" and things haven't gone well since.
We discussed our furniture options. At the time we didn't have a lot of choices. At least w in the Midwest the options were either very high end or very cheap. There wasn't a lot of middle of the road. I had no idea furniture and politics had so much in common.
When we were in Chicago we had a hard time finding stuff we could afford. So Ikea helped a lot. I think they have nice things - but we're ready for something that isn't flat packed.
Of course, flat pack would solve a lot of our problems. We live in an old house - now a townhouse - but once a single family home. This place clocks in at about 120 years old. Walls are uneven, hallways are narrow and closets are more implied than actually realized. Good storage is important and how to haul that furniture up three flights of stairs to our bedroom is the big dilemma.
Deeps went window shopping in lots of locations. I gave him a budget to work with - since I wasn't especially inclined to endure the hard sell of desperate furniture sales folk. He's immune to them because he'll pretend he doesn't speak English - or any language they could possibly know. It's one of his super powers.
After a few weeks he told me about something he saw that he thought I'd like. We drove to the store and took a look. We measured the door, the hallway, the other hallway, the little weird part at the top of the stairs where the hallway actually gets more narrow.
We thought we could make it work. Done. Sold. We'd just wait for a sale.
Those stupid furniture people must have been on to my plan because there was never a sale! No Halloween sale (which I'll admit, didn't surprise me), no Thanksgiving Sale, no Christmas Sale, no After-Christmas sale, and no New Year's Sale. The stuff we wanted never went on sale.
Not only am I buying stuff - but I'm paying retail? You've got to be kidding me! My husband has been very patient about this. He and I alternate playing the role of "let's just get this over with" and "let's see how this plays out."
He's been ready to pull the proverbial trigger since October. I've been holding him off until today.
I told him last night we could buy everything today. He was quietly pleased.
"Good," he said. "But we have to do it - because now that furniture is dead to me."
Labels: 2007, consumerism, filler, marriage
By: Alyssa | at Saturday, January 06, 2007 | |
In less than two weeks I will lose my husband, Deeps, and my podcast partner, Derek, to a weekend full-blown nerd-dom – the
2007 MIT Mystery Hunt.
I’ve
written about this before, but it happens every year. Nerds – I call them extra nerds –
descend on MIT and unleash their special nerd powers on a weekend-long cornucopia of puzzles and projects and schemes.
Now, I have my own special brand of nerdiness. Some would say that having a weekly podcast about pop culture is pretty nerdy. I think of it as recording my cocktail party chatter for posterity. I’d do one on politics but I don’t want to get people angry at me.
We all have some inner nerd. If you love something so much that you obsess over every detail – you’re a nerd. That means you, insane football and baseball fans. Baseball is sport totally built for nerds, there is so much minutia you could (and have) write thousands of books, host dozens of radio and television shows.
Where was I?
Oh yes, my nerd. I have kept myself relatively removed from the nerd weekend because boys need their special time together. I find puzzles to be somewhat tedious. Last year I did show up and tackled a puzzle about America the Book – I answered all the questions and still missed the correct answer. Damn you nerds!
I haven’t decided if I’ll play any role in the festival of nerds this year. I’m inclined to clean the house and do our taxes. Say what you will about taxes, but if you’re getting cash dollars back – they get pretty exciting.
Each nerd has a job: someone books a room on the MIT campus, someone else gets the laptop gear, and another person brings printers, paper and pencils. Deeps has appointed himself the grand poobah of the food.
If I participate I am often in charge telling people when they smell, when they need to eat or when they should go home.
My job isn’t so different from my blog. Or my life.
Get excited kids – just eight more days until Nerd-a-palooza!
Labels: 2007, marriage, nerds, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Thursday, January 04, 2007 at Thursday, January 04, 2007 | |
Yesterday I outlined how I offended the fine people of
Watertown, Massachusetts.
And today I shall share with you my latest offenses. Bear with me; I don't want to ruin the punchline....
I was headed home from work - a little frustrated by our buggy new subway passes - when I ran down the stairs to the red line platform just in time to see the doors close and the train pull away.
It is entirely possible I muttered some very naughty words to myself.
I walked down the platform in a huff. I had an
eye doctor appointment (my last!) and didn't want to be late. I grumbled a bit to myself and pulled out the novel I'm reading,
Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore.
A few moments later another train pulled up and I hopped aboard. I moved towards the center of the car and positioned myself near a pole. My bright pink book was propped open and I did a quick survey of the car. I looked to my right and noticed three little women - nuns.
I looked at the nuns. The nuns looked at me. Then they looked at my book. Then they looked at me. I smiled. They didn't.
I put the book away - a little spooked and very thankful that I wasn't reading one of
Moore's other books like
Practical Demonkeeping.
Can I conjure up things from novels? I realize nuns aren't fictional creatures like unicorns. It is just that I very rarely, if ever, encounter nuns out in the world.
Thank God I wasn't reading
Frankenstein or something.
Labels: 2007, books, Boston, the T, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, January 02, 2007 at Tuesday, January 02, 2007 | |
I guess I'm in the middle of a low-level blog war with some nice people over at the
H20town site.
Well, maybe not a war - since I just referred to them as nice and they've referred to me as an "out-of-towner". Hardly the stuff of a war, hardly even a rivalry. But I'll take what I can get!
The war started when I wrote a piece about crazy holiday shoppers and
the nice lady at H20town linked to it with a funny little remark. See - I made a huge mistake and didn't qualify a statement I made about the much beloved Watertown, MA Target. For that I am sorry.
I should have said you should avoid it during the holiday shopping season because it is rough. Although, in fairness I have no idea where the people who shop in Watertown are from - I shopped there while inhabiting both Cambridge and Arlington. I unfairly singled out the people, implying the people of Watertown.
Anyway, I've sparked much lively discussion over parking problems in Watertown (apparently there are many problems!), socio-economic class (I never alluded to class, but whatever), vague racism (my post wasn't racist, but whatever), shopping in general, fond reminiscence about restaurants/shops past and a probably about how I'm stupid (I totally am!).
To counterpoint a few arguments: I didn't allude to class or race in my post - two white folks, strangers to me and each other, got into an argument in the cat food aisle at a Target. For the record, both people were better dressed than I was. Does it matter? Hell no! I thought this was funny and odd and to a degree embarrassing for both of them and me.
Funny/weird/embarrassing = blog entry. It's that simple. And if you're a regular reader you'll see I try to write something every day. Some days those are good posts and sometimes I write about planting grass seed. They aren't all winners!
And I'm sorry for not being more specific in my feedback - the Target is too small for the community it serves and the parking is atrocious. Those two specific people in the cat food aisle were a little nuts - yelling at strangers is weird, especially when you're sober - and that's what the holidays can do to you.
You can go a little loopy.
Now, who said something about my mama?
(kidding!)
Labels: 2007, internet, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | at Tuesday, January 02, 2007 | |
I forgot to mention - what with my trip to the ER and my flight home - that I got a big package from Donor's Choose. Inside the package I found about 30 thank you letters from students I'd helped earlier in the year when I spent about $75 to help buy dictionaries for kids at a school in northern Indiana.
Sometimes I'm amazed at what you can do with a little money - $75 to get a full set of dictionaries and thesauruses for a class. I remember the day I did it, I was kind of frustrated with myself and thought I might indulge in some retail therapy. Then I stopped and thought, what if I bought something for someone else? I felt just as good at the time. I had no idea I'd get the extra hit of good vibes a few months later when all these letters came in the mail.
Thanks for saying thanks, seventh graders in Hobart, Indiana. I'm glad I could help you out and you totally deserve it.
I understand not everyone has $75 to spend on someone else. I know for a long time I didn't. But with each year I find I get more settled and stable and I can find a few bucks now and then to help others. It's nice and I've
decided in 2007 I should really do it a little more.
I'm not so ambitious as to declare 107 or even 17 things I might do this year, but if I do - you'll hear about it first.
Happy New Year!
Labels: 2007, good stuff, internet
By: Alyssa | Monday, January 01, 2007 at Monday, January 01, 2007 | |
