This moment

"Do you know this song? It's Jason Mraz. I have the album," says my brother Eric.

We're out to dinner at a local fest last Friday and the band is playing I'm Yours, one of my absolute favorite songs of 2009.

It is, in this moment, that I realize (again) how much we have in common. And yet we are so completely disconnected and distant.

More my fault than his - I moved away after all. But it is painful to consider all the vast richness of day-to-day everything I am missing, being so far away. And not just with him, but with my parents as well.

This makes me unbelievably sad.

However. It's never too late, right? Eric and me, we're off to a good start and I think (I hope) to find this re-acquainting process easier than we imagined.

This makes me happy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am listening to: A quiet house
I am reading: Sister Carrie - T. Dreiser
And I am: Hopeful

Good Things Friday

My brother Eric is coming to visit today
I am sitting on the screened porch with Gromit
The sun is shining and there is a lovely breeze
Had a great time at Swedish Days last night
The new Chianti beer garden is perfect
I am totally lost in the novel Pride & Prejudice
Had a GREAT time with Nelson & Kyra last weekend
Cleaned the front porch last Sunday
It was a complete wreck - cobwebs, dirt, bleh
Now it's much better
Nelson introduced me to the game Angry Birds for the iPhone
It's fabulous silly fun
I love it when the pigs laugh at me for missing them
(You slingshot various types of angry birds at laughing pigs in glass and wood structures)
It sounds crazy but it's very good
Had Cheerios for breakfast
Two highly recommended movies: Zombieland and Tropic Thunder
This enlightening article on Stan McChrystal, which got him fired
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am listening to: The Fray - All at Once
I am reading: P&P by J. Austen
And I am: Fine

Good Things Friday – Cautionary Tale Edition

“Do you want me to tell you what I told everyone at work or what really happened?”
“Well that’s intriguing. Both please.”
I can’t provide any more detail on this but it is one HELL of a story and a cautionary tale for our time
It’s the perfect illustration of a man showing his true character in the face of some horrifyingly self-induced adversity
My brother Eric will be here one week from today
This really is my favorite season because of all the friends/family that visit
Nelson was here last weekend for his annual trip
Nelson AND Kyra are here this weekend
Nelson is my oldest friend (who I stay in touch with/see regularly)
I don’t know why it’s so important
But we did meet in third grade
Which is why this ridiculous article from the NY Times on the end of best friends makes me want to puke on my shoes
These ass-tards are keeping scads of little Nelsons and Heathers from a lifetime of laughs, comfort and fun
It’s tragic
Back to good things
Speaking of old friends visiting, Susie booked her flight this week
We are doing the annual long weekend of sunning/shopping/boozing in July
Tom Cruise was on the MTV Movie Awards
He did his Tropic Thunder dance as Les Grossman live on the stage
It was fucking awesome
And (nearly) cancelled out his whole Oprah/couch dance thing
Last week is over
The worst trade show of my life
And that includes the time I dropped my mobile phone in the toilet at Oracle Open World
And not a damn thing I could do about any of it
In spite of that, we got 90+ solid leads
Hosted a webinar today with 75 more
Best webinar ever
So things are rolling along nicely
Got some rather lovely, unsolicited positive feedback from our new operations guy
And made Employee of the Week (2nd time this year – yay me)
Mike the Painter is here working on the deck
He already painted the floor of the balcony “porch gray”
And it looks exactly like I imagined it would
Perfect
Had dinner with Mr. & Mrs. You Know Who Tuesday night at the Blackberry Inn
Their jalapeno cheeseburger is burn-your-face-off fabulous
Plus, did a shot of Dr. McGillacuddy’s something or other with Mrs. YKW, the bartender and wait staff
“It’s an 8 o’clock tradition for all the women”
It tasted like peppermint gum
Yummy
Got to see Susan from Susan's Snippets Wednesday night
We are working on a project together and I really really like it
Got my nails done Monday night
Is it a bad thing to say a shop is “ethnic”?
Because it is
But I don’t know if it’s racist to say it
(Maybe I do know the answer but I’d like to hear it to confirm)
It’s ethnic in that everyone there except me is not white
And they like to do nails really really really long
With all sorts of funky designs and colors and shit
And I’m just this silly white chick
Who wants a simple, short French manicure once in awhile
I’m constantly fighting to get what I want there
To the point where I have gone back and said “Do over please, too long.”
The irony is, the guy who does my nails is named Long
He is Chinese but from Vietnam
What would you do?
Go somewhere else?
Stop being so picky?
STFU and stop being a racist prima donna?
Anyhow
I am reading Pride & Prejudice right now
It is delicious
It’s awesome and refreshing to just sit and read a book
And it makes me laugh out loud
Which is good for a book written
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am listening to: Ludacris – Get Back
I am reading: Jane Austen’s Price & Prejudice
And I am: Calm

Good Things Friday – Hmm Hmm Hmm Edition

44 years ago today, Mom & Da got married
That’s a very long time to be with one person
But if anyone could do it, they could
I think the key to a good marriage mostly depends on having a good sense of humor
Sang the “Happy Anniversary” song to Mom this morning (out of tune)
“Thank you. I just got done singing it to your father.”
I’m not going to tell you what she said next
But it involves partial nudity
And a good sense of humor
It’s been a tough week at work
More stressful than the usual
Not because of anything I have control over
I guess that’s what makes it more stressful
The guy who looks like the eagle from The Muppet Show is sitting across from me on the train
He looks crabby and mean
And all I keep thinking is “Naked! People…under their clothes are NAKED! Birds…under their feathers…NAKED!”
One week from today I’ll be picking up Nelson from the airport
We drink, we laugh, we bitch, we listen to music, we hang by the pool, and we play Scrabble
Can’t wait
His annual visit always kicks off Official summer around here
Went to the original Ferrara Pan Candy family bakery on Taylor Street Wednesday
If you’ve ever had Lemonheads or
You know about them
It’s very cool
Jim was in Paris & Belgium this week
So I’ve been singing “There’s a place called France where the ladies where no pants…”
He gets home tomorrow
While I really enjoy the alone time, everything is better when he’s here
I am reading a fantastic book right now: Give the Lady What She Wants – The Story of Marshall Field & Company
It was written in 1952
Great history of Chicago and the guy who pretty much invented the money back guarantee
Anyhow who sells anything should read it
It’s about customer service and marketing and merchandising – fascinating
Plus the great Chicago Fire
Lots of old photos too
Got my teeth cleaned yesterday
And a haircut
Always feels good getting spiffed up
Found out the AP Stylebook is an iPhone app
It is very cool and makes writing press releases much easier
I watched the original Willie Wonka movie earlier this week
And I’ve had the song “Pure Imagination” in my head all week
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am listening to: Morning huddle for work
I am reading: Give the Lady What She Wants
And I am: Trying to get in tune Hmm Hmm Hmm