to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die

hiya.

have a good weekend? have a good valentine's day? i sure hope so.

friday night i was at work from 3pm to 10pm. didn't really do much of anything except make people mad at me. oh, and i did some knitting too.

came home. ate supper. i think i might have watched a movie. or, maybe not. i actually can't remember.

i watched this movie recently called Spread. starring Ashton Kutcher. now, i really like Ashton. i think he's a good guy and a good actor. and i kept seeing this movie, Spread, advertised everywhere. and every time i saw the cover of the movie, i thought it was a picture of Ashton holding a long, silver knife.


but, i didn't really take the time to look at it. and then one day i did. and saw that he was in fact, holding a scarf. and i thought, "oh, i guess he's not holding a knife. maybe i want to see that movie."

and then i read about it and decided that yeah, i think i would like it. about Ashton, who's essentially like a male slut. he doesn't have a home or a car or anything. just hooks up with these rich women to get them to buy him stuff and he lives in their houses, etc. but then of course, he meets the woman who he really loves and he can't have her. blah blah. yeah, it was pretty predictable.

overall, there were some funny moments. but it was mostly sad. especially in the end. but it's always nice to look at Ashton. so, it was an alright movie.

Saturday my mom came! she arrived just before noontime. i made coffeecake! it turned out really good. i was happy. Ruby Tuesday enjoyed some cinnamon and brown sugar.

we hung around the house for a bit. chatting and whatnot. Ruby was happy to see her.

now, ever since i have moved up here my mom has constantly been talking about going to visit the King Arthur Flour place which is in Norwich, Vermont. it's i guess where they make the King Arthur Flour brand. which is supposed to be the best flour ever, or something.

which i don't really understand because how could one flour be better than another? is there that much wiggle room in the 'flour making process?' i don't know. i was hoping for some information on this, but we found none.

we went to the big store though and looked at all the really, really expensive King Arthur products. baking essentials. cooking essentials. tools. aprons. napkins. spices. mixes. EVERYTHING. and everything was soooo expensive.

and the place was packed!!!! who goes there? i don't know. i was pretty confused. i asked my mom,

JULIE: Who do you think these people are? Are they local? Did they come from far away?
MOM: They're probably all bakers who come here to get their ingredients.

sure enough, we saw an SUV from New York loading up on huge bags of what appeared to be flour or something.

i was still confused. can normal people afford all this expensive fanciness?

i don't know. i suppose it was fun looking at all those things. but actually, i dislike kitchen stores. pretty much all the time. but, it was fun being with my mom. and pretending that maybe i was a good baker.

you know what? i AM a good baker. i am a good cook too. i just don't really like doing either of those things. but i like cooking better.

anyways.

after that, we decided we were hungry. so, after driving around for a while, decided to go to Jesse's, which is in Hanover. it's like a rustic place. everyone was always talking about how great this place is. Courtney especially.

so, we tried it! and it was very good! we had the salad bar, which is something they are well-known for, i think. very good! clam chowder which Courtney recommended! very good! and we got a tomato basil flatbread! very very good!!!! and i had some flatbread leftovers the next day and i think it was even better than the first day! it was pretty packed in there with people celebrating Valentine's Day.

everybody was ordering fancy things. like steak.

after that, we went to Kohl's because my mom had a 30% off thing. we pretty much just looked around. we were both feeling extremely full from dinner. she bought some things, though.

then we had to run into the grocery store. and then we went back home!

a nice night.

we relaxed for a while with Ruby, who was happy that we had returned. and then watched Love and Other Disasters. one of the greats. starring Brittany Murphy. i just really enjoy that movie. i love her clothes and i love her hair. and i love that every sunday she has brunch with her friends. and her best friend Peter who she lives with reminds me so much of myself.

then i had to start work at 10pm. it was a quiet night.

then we finished the movie, had tea and some cookies. talked for a while, and then went to bed.

all of us, including Ruby Tuesday, slept very late on sunday. then we got up, had some leftover coffee cake and made some scrambled eggs.

we basically just hung around all afternoon sunday talking and looking at various things online. it was really fun.

then she left around 4pm. i took this time to be sad. clean up a bit, but not really.

then decided that i wanted to go to the grocery store. and i bought things to make pad thai. things such as rice noodles and special pad thai sauce. i looked EVERYWHERE for frozen shrimp but i couldn't find it for the life of me. i walked through EVERY frozen aisle in the place. like, four times.

all this time i am thinking, "i can't wait until i am president and grocery stores will be ALPHABETIZED." i couldn't even find like, fish sticks. any kind of frozen fish was nowhere to be found. where was it? why wasn't it in the frozen food section? i have no idea.

yes, i could have asked somebody. but i didn't really feel like talking to anyone on Valentine's Day.

then i came home and took a bath. Ruby took a nap first on the cabinets and then moved to my bed.

after my bath i went to work. came back upstairs and said,

JULIE: Holy crap I never made my annual Valentine's Day iTunes playlist!!!!!

this is unbelievable. every year i make a new Valentine's playlist. and this year i just didn't even think about it. and i also never talked about remembering to wear pink or red like, a month in advance. both are things i do every year.

this year? i am just not myself.

but, how am i not myself?

i guess maybe i am just changing.

anyways. so, i made a playlist at around 11pm on Valentine's Day. here is a selection of songs:

- Thirteen, Big Star
- Forever, Chris Brown
- Sunshower, Chris Cornell
- Courtyard (instrumental), Coconut Records
- My Love, Crash Kings
- Kiss the Girl, The Little Mermaid
- Wedding Ring, The Hard Lessons
- Burning Up, Jonas Brothers
- Lovely Tonight, Joshua Radin
- I Hear the Bells, Mike Doughty
- Us, Regina Spektor
- I Was Made For You, She and Him
- There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, The Smiths
- I Summon You, Spoon
- I Love You, The Zombies

it's also great making new playlists because they force you to go through your whole music library. and i came across Tally Hall.

remember them? they were the middle band in a Crash Kings/Rooney concert sandwich. and i had downloaded a bunch of their songs but then forgot to listen to them because i have been so consumed with Crash Kings.

so i said, "i'll listen to them right now!"

and i did. and then i remembered that they had recently tweeted about a March tour which was starting in Boston. so i looked that up. and guess where they are playing?!

Great Scott!!! where Kara and i were just a few weeks ago! and that made me so happy to think that they are playing in the same spot where Crash Kings were. and they must be kind of friends because they were on tour with each other for like, a whole month.

oh, that made me so happy. and then i went on YouTube and began watching Tally Hall's "Boralogue" videos, which documents their time in the recording studio from this past fall.

it's so funny. and then! i noticed that they had a TON of other videos uploaded, so i started watching them. and i realized that this band is not only a band, they are pretty much a comedy troupe.

they create these short little skits and put them on youtube. and a lot of them are REALLY FUNNY.

it's not like Rooney video diaries, where Robert actually sits down to do a post.
and it's not like Phantom Planet blog videos, where they just start filming whatever they are doing and it ends up being hilarious.

it's actually more like, The Lonely Island. Andy, Jorma and Akiva. they would create these super short little skits. and most of them are like, one minute, but they are sooo funny.

i found myself laughing OUT LOUD for most of the videos. these guys are so funny. they are like, five best friends from Michigan who love being entertaining. and it's soo great!

and through watching these videos, i finally figured out who they all are. and i will write it in here so i don't forget:

ROB = yellow tie = main vocals
ANDREW = green tie = pianos
JOE = red tie = guitar/vocals
ROSS = grey tie = drums
ZUBIN = blue tie = bass

remember how they always wear colored ties? and there's that great rap part in the song 'Welcome to Tally Hall' where Zubin raps about each of them and calls them by their tie color.

but then, they can go from being these really silly guys, to creating beautiful songs! immediately after listening to all their songs, i decided that 'Greener' is my favorite at the moment. but i also really like, 'Good Day' and 'Smile Like You Mean It,' which i believe was featured on The O.C. which i decided i might start watching because i realized i really enjoy watching Rachel Bilson. she was on that show, right?

why not start watching The O.C.? everybody else has seen it. yeah. i think i'll do that.

anyways. Tally Hall. i had forgotten about them, but i am glad i remembered. because now i am in love with all five of them. especially red tie.

and there are some great videos of Joe dressed in a gorilla suit, going about normal life. which makes me wonder, 'what's with awesome bands that like to dress up as gorillas?'

man. i really can't watch those Tally Hall videos at work because i am laughing too hard! they are sure to brighten up this unhappy time in my life.

i really love two things:

1. when bands are best friends within the band
2. when bands are best friends with each other

i love the same thing with celebs. like, how Jessica Biel and Jennifer Garner are best friends. that's so great!

and it's so much fun watching the Tally Hall guys because they're best friends!

and this morning Paper Tongues tweeted about how much they will miss touring with Crash Kings and how great they are. and then Crash Kings tweeted back to Paper Tongues saying that they will miss touring as well, and how great it's been.

that's so cute.

AND. speaking of bro bands, i just learned that KINGS OF LEON is composed of THREE BROTHERS and ONE COUSIN. who knew?!?! did you know this? why am i just finding out now?!

yes. Caleb, Nathan and Jared are the bros and Matthew is the cousin. so great!

so, Kings of Leon can be added to the Bro Tour featuring music by Hanson, Jonas Brothers, Crash Kings, and Kings of Leon, with special guests Robert and Jason Schwartzman.

this also makes me wonder, 'why are there no sister bands?' how come parents always end up having bunches of musical brothers? where are the musical sisters?

there are The Chapin Sisters. who i got an email from this morning.

maybe after i teach myself how to play piano kara and i can form a family band. i feel like people make fun of family bands, but CLEARLY that's the way to go.

ALY AND AJ. they are sisters who have a band. Kara reminded me of that. they sing 'disney appropriate songs.' kara also recently described the plot of a movie starring Aly and AJ called, Cow Belles. about two rich socialite sisters who end up working on a diary farm and learning important life lessons along the way.

speaking of bands, i have been wanting to post this link for you that i got via Darren Robinson's twitter. i believe it's pretty much his favorite link ever:

http://www.isnickelbacktheworstbandever.com

pretty good.

anyways, i am posting a link to Tally Hall's main youtube page in case you have any desire to laugh or have your spirits brightened.

laugh! spirits brighter!

there you go. please enjoy them. and please enjoy the Tally Hall cuties. here's what they look like:



how cute.

anyways.

i'm at work. have been all this time! did i fool you? did you think i was at home?!

last night i was getting into bed and thinking and people who live at their jobs. and the only other person i could come up with was Barack Obama.

awesome, right? and then i was like, "i should talk to him about his strategies for separating home from work."

ya know? because he basically just gets dressed and then goes downstairs to work. right? although, i think his work-related travel is probably much more grand than mine. in a lot of ways though, i think Barack and myself have the same job.

we both live where we work.
we both have people get mad at us.
we both work with hard situations.
we both try and make people's lives better.

when i am putting together my presidential campaign, i will have to remember this blog post so that i can recall all the similarities between this job and being president. as well as all those other blog posts where i outline my campaign strategies and focal points.

but the living at work is a big thing, though. not a lot of jobs are like that. and i think it's a crucial point.

ok. i have to do some real work now. it will probably take me approximately 10 minutes.

there is nobody in work today. currently i am the only staff in the house. diane is out to lunch with a friend. sue is on a walk with a resident. everybody else is away.

i don't know what my plans are for tonight. probably hanging around. maybe i'll organize the cabinet under my toaster and coffee maker. that needs some work. maybe i'll hang up that cork board. maybe i'll clean out that corner next to the couch.

i think Crash Kings needs to start doing more online promotion. i think they would be good at doing what Phantom Planet did. creating "blog videos" which, again, was just them, filming themselves at random times, which turned out to be funny.

they have one video like that. where it's them hanging out at a random dance party in a mall. it's pretty funny. and they need to more of that.

hm. okay. what else was i going to say?

something important.

OH YEAH. i need to buy an alarm clock. because, again this morning, my phone alarm failed me. it went off, but the volume was very, very low. and i don't know why this was. i checked to make sure it was set at a high level, and it was set at the highest level volume. both the overall volume on the phone and the alarm volume.

and the battery was all charged up. there is no explanation. i dislike that phone. i hate having to slide it open. i think that looks pretty obnoxious.

me and one of the residents here were just doing Pop Culture Quizzes on People.com. yeah, we did pretty good at the "name that party girl" quiz. and REALLY good at the "love connection" one. it was like, "nick jonas dated....." and then there were choices. and it was "selena gomez." and then it was like, "selena gomez dated...." and the answer was taylor lautner. and then, "taylor lautner dated....." taylor swift. "taylor swift dated....." joe jonas. "joe jonas dated.....camilla belle. camilla belle made out with.......robert pattinson." the end! it was a big accomplishment of the day.

maybe i will start an internet tv show.

sometimes i think i would like to do blog videos. but then i think about it and decide 'no.'

OH OH OH. i know what was very important that i tell you about.

ALIYA'S WONDERFUL BLOG. for the whole month of february she is doing "an art installation-a-day." it is beautiful and inspiring and you will love it. please check it out.

ok. now we're plugged in.

i just had to go out into the kitchen for a minute, and when i was walking back to the office, i said, "is that cake on the counter?"

and sure enough - it was. and as soon as i saw the frosting i said, "man i really want frosting right now."

so i enjoyed a piece of cake. it was chocolate. and delicious. with pink and green frosting. it looked like it might have been leftover from valentine's day. perhaps it was a donation this morning. cake donations are the best kind.

i guess i'll wait on getting an alarm clock. i have a CD player alarm clock in maine that i can bring here when i clear out my room.

wow. i can say that today at work has been really boring. although, i have gotten a lot accomplished with writing this blog post.

it is currently 4:38pm. i have been working since noon. i have about another hour. nothing is happening. there is still nobody here.

just took a long phone call.

currently 4:51pm.

now there are two people here with me.

doesn't this feel like an Airport Lounge update? just me sitting here, coming up with different things to say on the spot.

still no plans for tonight. no plans at all for tomorrow either. or wednesday. maybe i'll try and get my car inspected. that needs to happen this month.

actually. i should probably mail out those checks this week. for the registration.


so, the way things have been going here, it looks like there MIGHT be a SLIGHT chance that i COULD go on the Crash Kings Roadtrip Concert Weekend. on the 6th and 7th of March.

i'm not getting my hopes up. and i haven't talked to the girl that i might go with. but, i think i might mention it to my boss that if everything goes that way it looks like it might go, then i would want those days off.

HOW MUCH FUN would that be?!?! at first i was all upset about possibly missing the Oscars. but did you read that wonderful comment i got from a woman who had been all around the country for 10 months following her favorite band?! and how many awesome friends she made?!?!

i have to start making new friends. and what better way to do it than over a common interest!?

right?!?!

oookkkkkkk. i suppose that might be all i have to talk about.

5:04pm now.

what else can i say to you?!

i think that's all.

1. listen to Tally Hall.
2. watch their online videos
3. eat some cake
4. see the Ashton Kutcher movie if you want
5. listen to some romantic Valentine's songs
6. be well
7. (tbd)

have a great night everyone. perhaps i'll talk to you later. but perhaps not. but maybe because i'll most likely be lonely tonight. but, maybe not.

my horoscope today said this:

Congratulations. What you're about to enjoy is better than Ed McMahon showing up at your door with a giant check. The heavens have arranged an absolutely heavenly -- if you'll pardon the pun -- array of callers, all of whom will be intent on making you happy. Fortunately, the right one will indeed be among the crowd that's amassing. All you have to do is show up and interview applicants. Tough job.

unreal, right? BETTER than a giant check. an array of callers? calling upon me? really? i doubt that. because nobody lives up here and nobody knows where i live.

but hey, you never know. i guess.

anyways. okay. now i think that's all.

have a lovely evening.

lovelovelove.


<3