EXHALE

oookkkkk i'm getting really fed up right now.

i'm at work. until 10pm.

i
don't
know


UGH. i need a vacation i think.

music therapy

THIS MOMENT that i'm in right now is a good moment. i'm sitting here, minutes before i have to go back to work, and i'm drinking a raspberry mocha latte and i'm listening to some of my favorite songs to help make my day not as bad.

and it's better.

all morning was full of stress and very difficult emotion, and i kept thinking, "if i can get through this, then i can go back and listen to (insert current favorite song here)."

and now i have to go back to work until 10pm and probably deal with much more difficult things that i don't really know how to handle.

but right now is good. and i wanted you to know that.




<3

what a night!

so. okay.

i am very tired. it's 3:06am. thursday morning. i have to be awake by at least 10am. yikes.

got back from the hospital not too long ago. false baby alarm. it was pretty stressful. i'm happy it was a false alarm.

we left the hospital around 12:30am. and i thought, "wow, i have to be back here in less than 12 hours!" another appointment. great.

i'm feeling kind of fed up right now. not like, a bad mood. but i don't know. something. just before we left for the hospital i was in the middle of writing a very frustrated email detailing about how i was feeling very annoyed and frustrated. and then the frustration just kept piling up.

it's very frustrating being with two teenagers at a hospital in the middle of the night. one of them 9 months pregnant. and then come back and have nobody to vent to.

oh, that's what you're here for. i know. but sometimes it's not the same. i kind of vented



OK, WOW. so, ONCE AGAIN, in the middle of me writing about how frustrated the night has been going, something else happens to make it even WORSE.

and now i don't even want to vent to anyone because i'm upset and tired. and don't know what to do.

i guess, i don't know.

wow. bad night at work. after nights and nights of uninterrupted quiet - it all happens tonight.


at least i can look over to the mountain and see my star.


ok. goodnight.

"i'd like to say hello and welcome you good day that is my name."

we can even go and take a walk or something like that or something like that.


oh hi.

it's me here for some late afternoon blogging. it's 5:31pm. wednesday afternoon. i didn't blog yesterday, i don't think. did i? no, i don't think so.

i watched movies yesterday! two of them! oooo let me tell you about it!!!!


- watched 'UP.' not to be confused with the George Clooney movie 'Up in the Air.' this is 'Up' the Pixar movie. i am going to be honest - i had absolutely no idea what this movie was about when i put it in my Netflix queue. i still had absolutely no idea what it was about when i pressed 'play' on the dvd menu yesterday. i simply rented it because everyone said it was awesome and it's probably going to win Best Animated Feature over (the other George Clooney movie) Fantastic Mr. Fox.

so, i watched Up.

and wow, i really liked it! within the first like, 15 minutes, i was crying.

here's the basic plot: in order to avoid moving to a retirement community, an old man ties a billion balloons to his house and sets sail to South America to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming an adventurer, and also in remembrance of his wife, who has recently passed away.

i really liked it. i thought it was going to turn stupid and silly when the talking dogs arrived on the scene. but, i stuck with it, and still really liked it.

yeah, i really liked it. i gave it four stars. really great music by Michael Giacchino. wow, i got his last name spelling right on the first try. i'm hoping he wins the Academy Award for best score. anybody know if he's going to be the musical director for the show?!?! he has been for the past couple years, i believe.

and i remember talking this past summer about how awesome it would be if he won an Academy Award and walked up from the orchestra pit. aw! that'd be so fun!! i think i was talking about if he won for Star Trek, though. because i also really liked that score. and he also does the music for the show Lost. he's a good composer. also did Cloverfield, whose soundtrack featured 'West Coast' by Coconut Records.

anyways. 'Up' was very good. and it's the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture since..... Beauty and the Beast? which was the first.

i liked Beauty and the Beast better. there's really no animated film that can beat it.

that's true.

and, i did like Fantastic Mr. Fox better than Up. for the record. i think it was more beautiful. funnier. i mean, come on.

and frankly, i don't know if i think Up should be nominated in both categories. it's nominated for Best Animated Feature and for Best Picture.

i mean, the Best Animated category was introduced in 2001 to honor the animated films. so, when Beauty and the Beast was nominated, there wasn't even an animated category at all.

it seems that if an animated movie is worthy of being nominated for Best Picture, then it should not be nominated in the animated feature category.

but, i guess if it really is the best picture of the year, then it would make sense to be nominated in both.

same as like, if a foreign film was nominated for both Best Foreign Film and Best Picture.

but, that's why they have the foreign film category.

i guess they should become more specific about the Best Picture category. they should not be opening it up to become anyone's game. oh wait, they already have! ten nominees, don't forget.

OH THAT'S SUCH CRAP. i can't believe they're actually going through with it.

IF I BECAME PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES RIGHT NOW - i would do away with five of those movies. immediately. first order of business. i would sit in a private theater and watch all of them once through, and then watch all of them twice through, and then pick which are the five best.

- avatar
- the blind side
- district 9
- an education
- the hurt locker
- inglorious bastards
- precious
- a serious man
- up
- up in the air

i have no idea which i would keep.

probably Avatar. even though i haven't seen it. i mean, James Cameron totally invented the new cameras to make this movie. and he's been working on it for like, 10 years. ok, give him the nomination.

Up in the Air was good. but, i don't see why it's one of the Best Pictures. best sound nominee? yes. (which it isn't)

District 9? um, i don't know. i thought it was a lot better than i expected. and i thought it definitely had a great message of accepting people who are different than you. much like Beauty and the Beast.

i don't know.

i would probably have a new slot called "flashback nominee" which would feature a movie from past years that should have either been nominated, or should have won.

THE 2010 "FLASHBACK NOMINEE" FOR BEST PICTURE: Revolutionary Road.

and then i would rig the voting so Revolutionary Road would win.

yeah, that's what i would do. i would do like they did on Veronica Mars when they voted for class president or something. and Duncan won over that other girl because they mismatched the choices so you thought you were voting for that girl, when really you were voting for Duncan.

actually, i guess i'll have to come up with a different plan seeing as how i just explained it all to you.

i don't know. there weren't really any movies this year that i absolutely loved. i can't remember the last movie i rated five stars on Netflix. well, i just checked through my Netflix ratings. and the only new movie i saw in 2009 that i rated five stars was...... Fantastic Mr. Fox.

and there you have it.

even 17 Again only earned four stars. ZAC. i chose an animated George Clooney fox over real-life fox, Zac Efron. THAT'S how good Mr. Fox was.

maybe i'll ask the Oscar guy on Twitter what he thinks about the Best Animated category. if he thinks Mr. Fox can pull through. OOOOOOO I HOPE SO.

ok. this was not at all where i wanted this to go. i was just giving a movie review. and then got off topic.

if we stay off topic, i would like you to all know that i just added 'Darren Robinson' as my friend on facebook. he posted a thing on twitter that was like, "friend me on facebook if you want!" and i said, "okay, i want." so i did.

and, moving on...


the other movie i watched yesterday was

GRACE IS GONE. starring John Cusack. about a guy who's wife dies while in the Army over in Iraq and he can't find the way to tell his two daughters, so he takes them on a family roadtrip to an amusement park instead.

i thought it was alright. most of the movie they had John Cusack dressed like a serial killer, which really bothered me. and the two young girls were never wearing seatbelts in the car. that also really bothered me. why weren't they wearing seatbelts? and it was super obvious because they would change from the backseat to the frontseat and everything. i didn't like that.

the movie was okay. i gave it three stars.


what i'm really looking forward to is TOMORROW.

folks. i have big news. big, exciting news which i think might make my 2010 a lot better.

tomorrow, in the mail, i am getting disc one of season one, of....... THE O.C.

YES!!!! i am going to start watching The O.C. i only ever saw one episode while it was actually on television. and i really didn't care to watch it. but now i am older and wiser and i feel a tv show like The O.C. will fit perfectly into my life.

i am really, really, freaking excited.

BUT. i don't think i'll be able to make it to the post office tomorrow, which REALLY bums me out. i'll probably have to wait until friday.

i am working tomorrow at 11am, i think. and then probably (but maybe not...) straight through until 10pm. if i can find a free minute before 3:30 to make it to the post office - I WILL. but, i'm kind of not counting on it. bummer.

but i'm really excited. and i mailed back two movies today, which means that if i wake up and go to the post office on saturday morning - i could have a whole weekend of The O.C. a head of me.

and even better: i think there is someone named Julie on the show.

even better tv show news: i learned via @joejonas twitter that season 2 of JONAS started filming this week!!!!!!! oooohhhhhh boy i am so excited about this too.


ok, moving on.


i learned today that the hott drummer from Paper Tongues is named Jordan. i like that. i actually learned all of their names. ready? let's see if i can do it:

ASWAN = lead singer
JORDAN = hott drummer
DANNY = bass
CODY = keys
CLAYTON = keys

CRAP. i'm missing two of them. ooooo julie you can do this. ok, focus, focus..... there's another one that starts with a D....

DEVIN = guitar

and i think there's another J one.................. ah!!!

JOEY = guitar

YES!!!! i think i did it. shall we check?

YES!!! i got them all right. phew. and none of those guys are brothers. they are just bff.

i don't know why it's so hard for me to find out people's names in bands. it took me two months to figure out the names of the guys in Tally Hall and figure out who played what.

it even took me a really long time to figure out all of Rooney. all i knew were Robert and Taylor. for like, years.

anyways.

i started following Rob Cantor of Tally Hall on twitter yesterday and he posted some pictures of the tour with Rooney and Crash Kings, and one picture was called, "Jason Schwartzman playing drums for Rooney" and i immediately clicked on the link, and sure enough, it was Jason Schwartzman playing drums for Rooney. ON THE TOUR.

WWHHYYY couldn't that have happened in Boston?!?!

i also started following Joe from Tally Hall on twitter and his twitter is the best. it's a "dream/nightmare blog" where he tweets about either his dream or nightmare from the previous night. it's really funny.

hm. what else.

Ruby Tuesday ate a whole slice of turkey breast today. i bought some at the store because i wanted a sandwich. and she ate a whole slice that i gave to her in pieces. well, okay, i had a little piece too. but, she probably ate 3/4 of it. and then she fell asleep. and then i went to go make the sandwich and she immediately came running into the kitchen because she smelled the turkey. so, i gave her a piece of cheese instead. and she sniffed it on the ground and then looked up to me with sleepy eyes. she was like, "yeah, i know this isn't turkey."

it was sweet.

and then i made a sandwich and watched the season finale of Heroes. it was good, i guess. not really climatic. mainly because i didn't really understand why Samuel was the bad guy until very recently. he just didn't seem that bad. but yet everyone was fearing him and saying how bad he was. and i was just like, "but he's irish and hott....." i just didn't see it. but then i guess he really was bad.

and Sylar turned good? i don't know. i don't really know what Heroes is about anymore. kind of like Lost. but i still really enjoy Heroes anyways, whereas i struggled to get through one episode of Lost a few weeks ago.

ok. what else.

i've been sleeping a lot lately. like, 10 hours the past two nights. i think my week of getting up early has caught up to me.

uugghh i have to go to work in two hours.

i might paint my nails coral. like, bright coral. in honor of my birthday week. which starts tomorrow and goes until the end of the month.

one week from tomorrow is my birthday! i am going to be 24 years old. OLD.

here's what my horoscope for today said:

Like a compass, you know where your true north is. You know your purpose here.

that was my "shortened horoscope." but i read that and thought,

1. OMG COMPASS!!!!! i really need to get that tattoo....
2. when am i going to find out these things?

where is my true north? what is my purpose here? beats me. maybe it will come to me in a dream tonight. ooooo now there's pressure for me to have an epiphanic dream.

did i just make up that word? the adjective of 'epiphany?' is that right? hold on.

i think that's right. or, should i have said, "now there's pressure for me to have an epiphanous dream." ?? i don't know.

i've had a few awesome people ask me where i find my totes brillz horoscopes. and i find them, HERE:

totes brillz horoscopes.

on Yahoo. i think they have a really good astrology section. and make sure to read your Chinese Astrology too. that one is usually really good. (i am a tiger. and this is MY year.)

it's funny. because, this is also the year where Jupiter is moving through Pisces for most of the year, which is supposed to bring me happiness and optimism. and, this is also the year of the Tiger, which is supposed to make everything awesome for me as well.

i guess i'm not really feeling any of that good stuff yet.

and now i'm one year older.

let's stop talking about this.


if you've ever been to visit me here in Lebanon, NH, you might know that we have a total sketch movie theater on "Miracle Mile," on which there really is nothing miraculous.

this is the movie theater where the heat was broken in like, half the theaters for pretty much the whole month of December. and they tiny space heaters in the front of the auditoriums. it was lame.

this is also the theater that is in dire need of some new letters for their marquee out front. today, i drove by and looked at what was playing. i said to myself, "what is that movie 'Hunter' about?' i thought and thought. "it sounds like a movie possibly starring either Gerard Butler or Mark Wahlberg."

and then, i was almost home and i realized, it did not say, 'Hunter,' it said, 'Avatar.' THAT'S how bad their movie lettering is. let me try and recreate how the sign looked:

HVnTRR

no, this is not a joke. it looked pretty much like that, except the first R was backwards, which i cannot do on my laptop keys, i don't think.

they must have been completely out of letter A's, because they used an H, a lowercase n, and an R to try and get the look of an A.

i came home and immediately started trying to find a place to buy them a set of sign letters. it looks like i would need some information from them. like, what type of lettering they use. slide letters or snap letters. it looks like a set of letters runs from about $70-$90.

if i had an extra $100 to give away, i would probably buy them a set of letters. as a donation. because they are in dire need of it. and maybe someday soon, i will buy them those letters. if i wasn't trying to save up for a plane ticket to British Columbia, then i probably would.

oh, and student loans, too. oh, and there's car insurance. and my subscription to Entertainment Weekly which i just renewed.

HEY! here's something FREE that will brighten your mind and your day and heck, probably your whole WEEK!!!!!!

http://whoisthecalifornian.com/

remember when i was super promoting that show in Silverlake, California by the band The Californian? Darren's new band.

WELL. they are about to release their EP sometime not soon enough, and TODAY they released a track fully mixed and fully mastered. and it just so happens to be my favorite song of theirs that i've heard via their myspace.

SPIN ROUND. oh, this song is so good. i'm just about to start listening to it for the third time in a row. it's so great.

and next week, they're playing their second show at On the Rox, which i think is either above or below The Roxy. probably above since it's "on the rox." i'll fully promote that one when the time comes.

but for now! please go listen to that song. that one song. it's like, 3 minutes 38 seconds of your time.

just go to that link, and under the first blog post at the top of the page, there is a little silver bar with a "play" button on it. press that button. and prepare yourself for awesome.

i'll give you some time to prepare.


(....................................................)


okGO.

speaking of OKGO, has anyone else heard their most recent record? i hear it's total and complete amazingness. is this true? i've never really listened to them much. except for some of their songs. and that one time i saw them in concert. but, i will listen to this new record if it's that's awesome. which i hear it is.

ok. i think that's all. it's currently 7:19pm. i've pretty much been blogging straight through. except for those few times where i needed to go look things up online.

1. check the names of the paper tongues guys.
2. epiphanic
3. best picture info

alright, friends. i hope you are having lovely wednesdays. i'm having an alright one, i suppose. i think i'm going to go take a bath right now.

it's been kind of lame because the water temperature here can only be so hot because of the daycare regulations. which means that MY hot water can only be so hot. which means that sometimes it's not as hot as i would like it to be. which isn't very satisfying.

oh well.

there, i have at least written 3 minutes and 38 seconds of more blog so there's really no excuse for not going to that website and listening to Spin Round. it's so good, i promise. if you don't like the song, then leave me a comment saying, "ya know what, i didn't really like that song." and leave your name, and i will write an apologetic blog to you.

and i will follow through on that promise so that when i am running for office they can look back and say, "wow, she does follow through on her promises!"

AH HA!!!! my purpose in life!!!!!! maybe my true north is pointing to WASHINGTON, DC!!!!!

ugh i just had to kill a spider on my wall.

ok. i'm on my fifth time in a row listening to that song. maybe i'll change it to the National Anthem. then everyone would have to listen to it and have to learn all the words. great publicity, eh? who says there can only be one National Anthem? not me. i never said that.

we could turn it into a reality show! let the people choose the national anthem!! it is their song, after all. (but, i would really get the ultimate say.) or, i could just take a tip from, cough myself cough and rig the voting!!!!

i like that. i am going to like it when i am president. i think you will like it too. i guess i better stop talking about rigging the voting system, though. that will probably backfire.

anyways.

now i'm going to go. and now there's definitely been enough time for you to go listen to that song.

ok! love you. have a great evening. i'll talk to you again soon.



spin round three more times
open your eyes, tell me what you see.
everything you want looks just like everything you need.



<3

"i was airborn for more than five minutes. that's how i got the nickname 'Ross.'"

it's 9:35pm and i wanted to give you an update on my evening since i last talked to you. just so you're not on the edge of your seat wondering what went on in my life.

- i came home from work at 6:30pm
- ate some more homemade pad thai which i actually really enjoy and so does Ruby
- watched some Tally Hall Internet Show (T.H.I.S.) videos. i think i watched like, 4 of them. that's 40 minutes. my favorite one was the one where Zubin dies and his dying wish is for Joe, Rob and Andrew to kill Ross. but nobody knows why. so then they made a plan to kill Ross after deciding that it's the right thing to do. and then Ross is like, "wait, don't i get a dying wish?" and then nobody knows what to do... it was very funny. and i'm still in love with Joe. what a cutie.
- then i hung out some more on the internet
- and before i knew it, it was time for me to go back to work!

i don't know what i'm going to do now. possibly more T.H.I.S. why not?

oh! i know what else i did tonight. i wrote out those checks to the City of Lebanon to register my car. i included a "thank you!" note inside. i don't know why. i guess i figured that if i were actually going in to register the car, i would thank them for helping me. so, i thought since i am doing it by mail, i would include a note. i think it was the right thing to do.

i also filled out a survey for Geico. i recently signed up for their car insurance. and then they sent me a survey. they included a prepaid envelope to send it back in, so i thought, "eh, why not?"

and i made a pile of things to mail tomorrow. and then i have to go to the bank. and that's it! no plans.

OH! actually, i may be doing some belly casts tomorrow. but i'm not sure. i have to email the other Julie. don't let me forget.

i think i'll be able to go to bed early tonight. i'm pretty tired. at 8pm i thought about taking a nap for 45 minutes. but then i thought, "eh, with my faulty alarm phone i better not."

apparently we might get 3-7 inches of snow tomorrow. that'd be weird. we have pretty much no snow at all.

hey!! this weekend my mom and i could see people skiing down the mountain behind my house!!!!! it was awesome! when my dad was up we also saw people skiing down, but not from my house. we could actually see them! it was really cool.

it's a really pretty ski slope on saturday nights. because the whole mountain is all lit up with lights on the side, and then the big star at the top. it's so pretty!

i promise one of these days i'll get a good picture of the star. it's hard because i would just walk and do it, but i don't want to be a creeper taking pictures in front of people's houses. and i would go later, but then i have to work.

oh! i have more good news. there is a house in my neighborhood that leaves their porch light on all the time. there is someone there who returns from something around like, 2am. so the light is on for them. and just this past weekend, they switched to an energy saver light bulb! you can tell! i was very excited to see this.

hmmmmm. alright. i think maybe that's all.

my birthday is in 10 days.

ok. that's all for real.

Happy Future President's Day to me, a future president of the united states of america.


have a great ruby tuesday.



<3

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.


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