Hillary Ensues

Ok, one last quick question for everyone, and then I promise I'm done for tonight. Does anyone else ever find themselves in this predicament? You are in a situation that somehow spawns some sort of clever, witty, hilarious response in your head, but when you try to deliver, you giggle too much, and it loses all cleverness, wit and hilarity? :( That happens to me a lot. Apparently I can only be funny if I don't actually have to make my funnies out loud. (Hmm..that sounds somehow wrong...like I have silent farts or something). Ok. I promise, I'm done. Back to the guillotine for me.

Loosey Goosey

Ok as a quick post script, I have to correct myself, otherwise it's going to bother me. I said the French were loosing their heads, which really doesn't make much sense, unless they're half-way unscrewing their heads. Like loosening. What I really meant is that they're losing their heads. Loosing isn't a word. Thus concludes your daily word usage lesson from your psychic friend Cleo. To listen to it again, press 1. To hear it in Espaniol press 2. To speak to an operator press 3. To actually get a psychic reading, try giving Dionne Warwick a call. Thanks for calling! Bye bye!

Let the Procrastination Begin!!!

That statement should be followed directly afterwards by a fanfare of some sort. Kind of like we're beginning a royal banquet. Procrastinating is just as much fun, and less filling! So, it really didn't take long for this semester to turn into a long arduous tedious process. I have most of a book to finish tonight so I can write a 3 page book review tomorrow. Blah. All about the French Revolution. Although, I think maybe the book is going to start getting a little more interesting, as the French are starting to loose their heads over this Revolution thing. Haha. I'm so clever. I said "loosing their heads" which is a pun because they actually did LOSE THEIR HEADS! Ok, so really, I just stole that idea from the bazillions of people who've used it before me. Not to mention, upon reconsidering, that is kind of a morbid joke. On with the show.

Umm...ok, so there's not really much else of a show today. I guess I just wanted to make a morbid joke about the French and the guillotine. Hillarity ensues. (no, no, Hillary doesn't ensue...that would just be ridiculous).

Hey there...come here often??

So, it's been forever since I've posted, and since I'm being a little lazy this morning, I figured I'd throw together a quick one for everyone's reading pleasure. If anyone still reads my blog. Who knows? I may have grossed out everyone enough with that last post that no one wants to venture back. In any case, I'm going to write.

So, I guess life has been pretty uneventful since my last post. My lip has finally pretty much returned to its normal size and shape, except for a hugomungo scar that I've got. So it goes.

I started school again last week. Looks like this semester is going to be kind of long and boring. Blah. I have one professor (an education prof), who I think forgets that she's not teaching grade school kids anymore. We seriously spent an hour talking about what the difference between a positive correlation and negative correlation on a plot chart was. Oh, and that correlation does not mean causation. I think I learned that when I was a freshman, in HIGH SCHOOL! But whatever. The other class that's not too great is my Economic Education class. I think it was designed solely to torture students who want to be social studies teachers. I literally fell over last week when I got home from class, because it was SO BORING!! It's a 3 hour night class, so that doesn't help any either.

Hmmm...I went to visit Liz and Corey this past weekend for a night. That was really really nice. It's always good to have people to hang out with and do things with. Especially because my normal weekend companion is a 15 hour drive away. Stink to that but hooray for sisters.

I had a job interview last night for a Customer Service Rep position at Carlson Craft. I stayed there for at least an hour doing various interviewing things, only to finally be told that my schedule didn't fit with the hours that they were looking for. It seems kind of ridiculous to me to be expected to sit around for an hour, when they really could have figured out that scheduling conflict within the first 15 minutes or so. What a waste of my time. So, I'm still looking for a job. Anyone know of any openings? Anything but the Computer Store please.

So, nothing too new and exciting coming from Colorado. Marvin seems to be enjoying his experience quite a bit, just as long as work doesn't get in the way too much :) He's enjoying that fresh mountain air or something. On an optimistic note, 5 months from today, he'll be coming back for good. That's a good thing. Less than 2 months from now I get to go see him. Hooray! Now, to raise the money for such a trip. Plasma clinic here I come!

Alright, that's probably enough random news for now. I'll let you know when something more exciting happens.

I fart in your general direction.

You should see the other guy...

At least thats what I feel like saying when people look at my fat lip funny. Yes, yes, I have a fat lip. A fat, swollen, bloody (kind of) lip. Ok, so I really didn't get in a fight with anyone, although that would make for a much more interesting story. Real story: I had some oral surgery done earlier this week. Turns out I had a blocked salivary gland that was HUGE (like the size of a nickle, except much thicker), and a fatty tumor underneath my tounge.

So, I went into the oral surgeon on Monday expecting it to be a simple easy procedure. The dentist had assured me that it was really simple and easy, and I, like a fool, believed him. The oral surgeon did a quick examination of my mouth and felt up my lumps (oh does that sound dirty...not intentional at all) and quickly declared, "They will have to come out!" So, he lead me down the hall to what I guess was the "Make Sarah's Lip Puff Up and Hurt Like Hell Room." The nurse there then proceeded to take my blood pressure and hook me up to one of those finger pulse monitor thing, which was fun, because then I got to listen to exactly how nervous I was about the whole thing. She then swabbed some numbing goo that tasted like bubble gum on my lumps and pulled out a needle that looked like it should have been in some weird creepy torture room. I did not like that, and the heart monitor apparently didn't either. So, they injected a bunch of stuff into my mouth that made my tounge swell up and made me talk like I rode the short bus to school. (I'm special, mommy tells me so).

After waiting around for who knows how long for the anesthetic to kick in, the oral surgeon came into the room and dove for my face with a scalpel (ok maybe he didn't dive exactly..) Right before he started in, he told me "Umm..you might want to keep your eyes closed for this.." Which I interpreted to mean, "Umm..yeah, this is going to be really bloody and gross and I don't want to have to deal with a weak stomach when I'm trying to hack your mouth apart." So, I, like a smart girl, kept my eyes screwed shut as tight as I could. I like to think that I have a strong stomach, but I"m not sure I could handle watching blood from my mouth being splattered all over my face. Which it was.

I have to say that feeling the doctor cut these lumps out of my mouth was bad, but not the worst part of this whole experience. The worst parts (yes plural) came after the lumps were out. First were the stitches. I had no idea that they were putting in stitches. All I could feel them do is pull at these long stringy things that were coming from under my tounge. For all I knew they were pulling out a tounge tendon or something. That was way gross. Then, when they were stitching up my lip, the anesthetic wore off. That really hurt. Then they wanted to show me what, exactly, they had taken out of my mouth. That was really REALLY gross.

The very worst part though, came after I got home. I was making dinner for my parents that night. A really really good smelling roast chicken. And I couldn't eat any of it. Liquid diet for me. Granted the generic Vicadin that they perscribed for me knocked me out enough that I really wasn't that hungry. But the thing is, I still have a hard time eating solid foods and its four days afterwards. All I want is a cheeseburger people!

So anyways, that was my gross pointless story about why my lip looks like I"ve been in a fight with Brutus.

Not a whole lot else is happening that's too exciting right now. Umm..I hear from Marvin pretty much every day....That's about it.

Hope your lives are more exciting.

Grammy...granny??

I dunno, they sounded the same. I thought it would be appropriate. Kind of like exhibit sounds like ribbit.

Anyways, on with the show. I've been thrilled with the unusually high volume of really good rock albums to come out this year. By high volume, I mean, 4 that I can think of. At least 4 that I've been exposed to in recent history. So, I was hoping for some actual talented artists to be recognized this year at the Grammys. I don't normally follow much of the hoopla surrounding award shows like that, but I've been pulling for these 4 albums to do well. The four are:

Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand (by chance does anyone know the historcial relevance of the name Franz Ferdinand?? The history geek in me is thrilled to rattle off who Franz Ferdinand originally was. Let me know if you'd like to know)

Good News For People Who Love Bad News by Modest Mouse

Hot Fuss by The Killers

American Idiot by Green Day.

I got a chance to listen to all four of these while on the way to Colorado, if not many times before, due to my boyfriend's exceptionally good taste in music. The Franz Ferdinand album is definately my favorite followed closely by American Idiot. Franz Ferdinand is giving me what I've been looking for for a long time. Music that is DIFFERENT!!! and still good. Their most recognizable song "Take Me Out" is good, but not my favorite. Marvin and I probably both agree that "The Dark of the Matinee" is the best song on the album. Alexander Kapranos, the lead singer, has a dark, mysterious voice that makes Franz's music seem rather undergroundish.

American Idiot restored my faith in Green Day. I loved Dookie, but after that, it was kind of hard for me to stomach anything else Green Day put out. Especially after "Good Riddance" was played over and over and over and over again at every graduation ceremony I can remember. American Idiot is kind of a concept album, that I've heard compared to the Tommy Rock Opera by the Who. It includes something that people rarely see outside of classical music; songs with movements! The music geek in me loves that. Not to mention the music itself is mature, dark, and definately intelligent. I recommend the song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

Good News For People Who Love Bad News, while not as great as the first two, is still a really great album in my eyes. I realize that Modest Mouse has been around for a while, but I've only recently been exposed to them. "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty" are the two singles currently out from that album, but again, not my favorites. I must say I did love the video for "Ocean Breathes Salty." The kid in that video was just so cute! I think "Black Cadillacs" is probably the best song from this album. Marvin just bought an older Modest Mouse album, so we'll have to see how that one fares.

I chose to list Hot Fuss by the Killers last, because although I really dug "Somebody Told Me" and "Mr Brightside," the rest of the album didn't really do a ton for me. Maybe I'll have to listen to it some more and warm up to it, but to be honest, I can't even think of any other song on the album. These guys are from Las Vegas, but definately sound more like European underground sorts. Lots of electronica sounds on this album, and the lead singer's voice has kind of a weird androidish sound to it.

Anyways, while all four of these artists are nominated at least somewhere for their work, I was really REALLY hoping that they would be a little more prominently represented. For example, the song "The Reason" by Hoobastank was nominated at least twice. Once for Song of the Year. Have the Grammy people actually listened to that song??? It's awful!! It's repetitive and whiny and completely unoriginal. American Idiot is pretty well represented, but how about throwing Hoobastank completely off the list of nominees and replacing every one of their nominations with a Franz Ferdinand nomination. And what about the nomination of Maroon 5?? Their music is poppy and enjoyable on a very basic level, but they sound exactly like Train, who sounds exactly like some other terrible pop band. They're really not that great!

Another thing that kind of irks me is the complete loyalty of the Grammy people to older artists regardless of the quality of their music. For example, U2's Vertigo. The chorus was kind of catchy (Hola!!), but Bono kind of half sings, half talks the verses, and really, they kind of suck. Really not very impressive for a band, who in their heyday released such spine tingling songs as "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (my first U2 exposure, and still my favorite U2 song). They also nominated the Vertigo video for best video. That video was really kind of mediocre. U2 was standing in the middle of a beige and white Target sign playing their song, when all of the sudden the Target sign began to gyrate, etc. It made me wonder if Target was sponsoring their next tour or something. I know there are many (or at least one, Hi Becky) die hard U2 fans out there who would dispute my criticism, but I'll stick to my guns on this one.

In other Grammy comments, I was happy to see older, sometimes less recognized artists gracing the lesser known nomination lists. Tom Waits, brilliant as always, was nominated for Best Solo Rock Performance. Al Green and Van Morrison, two of my all time favorites also appeared here and there.

Two more comments before I stop rambling and boring all of you who've made it this far to tears. One: That song be Gretchen Wilson, Redneck Woman, should NOT be nominated anywhere. Maybe I just have a beef against it because my roommate loves it, but really, who wants to be called a redneck?? Last I remember, redneck implied uneducated, racist, smelly, and hick. Never in a million years, no matter how country I was, would I declare myself to be a redneck. Two: For the Best Producer of the Year award, John Shanks was nominated. Now, John Shanks apparently has produced for such *high end* stars as Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Hillary Duff, Alanis Morrisette, and Robbie Robertson (who??). Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morrisette, I used to like. But "First Cut is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crow made me want to puncture my ear drums and anything after "Jagged Little Pill" by Alanis just seems to be kind of schlock. As for the other four artists mention, ugh..ugh UGH. Granted I can't say much about Robbie Robertson, because I don't know him. But Ashlee Simpson can't sing worth a damn, which has been proven on national television a couple of times. Hillary Duff just bothers the crap out of me. She pretends to be so squeeky clean, but still somehow manages to come off appearing...dirty. As for Kelly Clarkson, if you have to go on a game show (yes I consider American Idol a game show. A long, drawn out, painful game show) in order to make it in the music industry, I'm not sure if you really count as an artist.

Anyways, enough of my ramblings. I saw a listing of the Grammy nominees and that set me off, but really, I shouldn't be expecting big things from the Grammy people. They pretty much suck. If you're interested in the list of nominees, take a look: http://www.grammy.com/awards/grammy/47noms.aspx#04

Otherwise, if you haven't, definately take a listen to the four albums I listed earlier on. Hope your eyes haven't fallen out by now.

The Trek from the West is Complete!

Ok, so I know I haven't posted in a long long long time, and for anyone who finds my blog worth reading, I apologize. I can't even remember the last time I posted. Before Christmas I think. Yup. It was that long ago. Wow I stink. I'll hide behind the excuse that I've been way way too busy these past several weeks to even think about spending a few spare moments posting.

So, Christmas was good. It didn't really feel like Christmas with the change in traditions and all, but that's ok. Marvin had his first experience with the Keiffer Christmas, and I'm surprised that he came out alive. He did miss the White Elephant gift exchange/wrapping paper wars, so maybe that was a good thing.

New Years was...not so good. We went to Marvin's parents' and cooked them dinner. That was a pretty good time and I found a recipe that might be a keeper. Afterwards though, we went to a party that pretty much sucked. I didn't know the guy who was hosting very well, and for the few times that we've hung out, he's either made me cry, or I've had to walk away in anger. So that wasn't too great of a start. Then, all the people I knew there were deeply involved in a game of Presidents and Assholes when I got there (for those of you who don't know, it's a drinking game). That was kind of disappointing, because I didn't really want to drink a whole lot. So, it was a lot of drunk people and a sober Sarah and Marvin. Oh! and Becky Kuehl. That was good to see Becky again. I hadn't seen her since she left for Germany in August. For those of you who don't know, Becky was my old roommate at Gustavus. I really missed her when she was in Germany and it was good to catch up. So, Marvin and I were pretty much ready to go by the time 1:00 rolled around.

New Year's Day was pretty good though. Of course Marvin and I spent most of the day running around trying to get ready for the trip to Colorado. At night, though we braved the ice storm to drive to the Cities for the Timberwolves game. We met Marvin's sister for dinner at Famous Daves (MMMM!!!) and then worked our way to the T-wolves game. Unfortunately they lost, but at half time we worked our way from the nose-bleed section to about 15 rows off the floor. That was really neat. I think I did well in buying those tickets for Marvin's Christmas present.

THEN, began the trip to Colorado. The drive was pretty uneventful, which is a good thing for a drive of that length. We left Marvin's parents at about 2 PM on Sunday and drove until roughly 10:30 (mom, I know Liz told you that we stopped in Dunnell on Sunday...that was a miscommunication...we stopped in North Platte, Nebraska). Luckily we missed having to drive through Nebraska in the daylight. Ugh. We left North Platte at about 11 AM the next morning, and with the help of the change to Mountain Time, we got to Colorado Springs around 2PM that afternoon. The rest of the trip consisted mainly of finding good food to eat, finding a place to stay, moving Marvin into his dorm room, and coming to terms with the fact that I actually did have to leave him there at the end of it all.

Then comes my ultra fun airport experience. So, my flight was due to leave Denver at 7:50 AM on Wednesday (yesterday). We drove to Denver the night before to the hotel I had booked for the night. Much to my (ahem) delight, at about 10 PM, we discovered that the hotel allowed pets. A couple doors down from our room, someone had two really REALLY annoying yippy dogs that would NOT shut up all night. I think they stopped sometime later in the night only to start up again at 5 AM. So that stunk. Marvin drove me to the airport around 6, and I got my boarding pass. We stopped to grab some breakfast, which later turned out to be a bad idea. Finally we decided that we should probably say good bye so I would have 45 minutes to go through security before I boarded. Saying goodbye stunk. After having seen Marvin almost everyday for almost two years, knowing that I won't see him again until the middle of March kinda sucks. BUT it could be worse. Anyways, I digress.

I got into the security line and waited and waited and waited...until I was at the front, where they informed me that I had been selected for Super Special Double Secret Probation Security Screening (anyone know what movie I just referenced?? movie trivia time!! Let me know!) So, I got into that line. And waited..and waited...and waited...and realized that I had 15 minutes before my flight left. In a panic, I begged the guys in front of me to let me go ahead of them. They were nice enough to let me so that was good. But by the time it FINALLY got to be my turn, I had only 5 minutes to go through security and dash to my flight. I was almost in tears, and the security lady noticed and was very very sweet about rushing me through the security process to make my flight.

So I ran.....50 meters to the shuttle to my terminal and waited...and waited...and waited....until I got to terminal C. My terminal!!! The running began again as I dashed towards my gate, which was thankfully the first gate at the terminal. The guy at the desk saw me run up and magically knew my name. "Sarah Louise Clarke??" "Yes YES! That's me! Did the flight leave??" So, he proceeds to pick up the RED PHONE (I don't know, was he going to call Commisioner Gordon??) mumbles into it for a while, hangs up and walks down that portable hallway thing to the plane. Of course that gave me all the hope I needed. I was convinced that I could still get on. He comes back, and completely bursts my bubble. "I'm sorry, they've already closed the door and can't open it again. You need to call Sun Country and rebook your flight. Here's a toll free number, use any of the pay phones." I almost burst out bawling right there.

I made my way to a pay phone and called Sun Country and waited on hold...and waited and waited. Finally I got someone to pick up and tell me that the next flight I could get on was on Friday and I was only on stand-by on that flight. Oh no!! What was I going to do?? Marvin had left the airport already. I was starting to get images in my head of having to live in the airport for the next two days. I wanted to call someone, but the only pay phones around only took calling cards, and I really REALLY didn't want to collect call anyone. Finally I found a calling card machine, but it only took cash, which I didn't have. So, I found the only ATM at the terminal, but it was broken!!! I heard my name being paged over the intercom, and found out that Marvin wanted me to call him. How the hell was I supposed to do that?!?!?! Finally in desparation, I turned my stupid broken cell phone on in the vague hopes that it would work and I would get some sort of signal in the airport. Miracle of miracles!!! It worked and I got a full signal!! Not even roaming!! So, I finally got to make the calls I needed to and got the whole mess straightened out. I got on a Northwest flight a couple hours later, and ended up home, mercifully safe and sound.

So, thats my frustrating stressful airport experience. Blah. Today's Marvin's first day of work. I hope things go well for him. It will be exciting to see how it all goes. Now, I have a ton of things I have to do today. Hopefully I'll be better about posting more regularily.

I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok.