When To Say Uncle?

crap.

i hit a brick wall tonight.

i usually bounce back. or surge right through.

but these days, it takes longer for me to get back up each time.

Song Of The Day/Maybe Even the Year: Slow Me Down Emmy Rossum

And Gary On The Kick Drum! Come! Come!

This is completely 107% random, but I find it hilarious.

Last year, while I was still living in Spokane with my roommate Annie, we used to love this particular scene from Jennifer Aniston's movie, 'The Break-Up'. We would sit in our apartment, pop in the DVD and only watch this scene. And giggle uncontrollably. Or we would just be doing nothing and either she or I would look at each other and simply say "And Gary on the kick drum..Come! Come!". And then giggle uncontrollably. I had kind of forgotten about it, but I talked to my friend Nehemiah the other night and he reminded of our mild obsession with this. Needless to say, this has been in my head for the past week. I find it absolutely hilarious. Take a look:

Reason No. 395756 Why I Love Seattle

When I drive to work in the morning, I have the windshield of my car full of mountains. Now, I know I’m a girl from Montana, but the city I’m from has nothing like what Seattle has. As I’m zipping down I-5, Each way I look I see them. On my left, I have a dark outline of the mountains set against a bright orange sky. To my right, I have the rocky tops of the Cascade Range, covered in snow, set against the backdrop of a dark sky. And, hopefully, on a good day, I have Mt. Rainer staring straight back at me. It doesn’t even matter how little sleep I got the night before, or what I have to do that, I can’t help but smiling.

Even when I’m driving home, as I come off I-5, I have the mountains in my window.

For me, this is where true beauty lies. It’s not on the tv, the shopping malls, or the magazines. It is the majestic mountains that encircle this city I call home.

10 Things I Love About Heath

Today, shortly after lunch, I received several text messages and emails from friends to inform me that one of my favorite actors, Heath Ledger, had been found dead in a New York City apartment. Here is my tribute to Heath Ledger:

10. That smile. I mean, seriously, that smile has the power to melt glaciers, move mountains and make my knees weak.

9. The accent! I really don't need to say much about this, one right?

8. The scene in 10 Things I Hate About You when he sings to Julia Stiles at soccer practice. Showing here:


7. A Knight's Tale. By now, most are familiar with my quote book. One of my favorite entries into my beloved quote book was spoken by Heath in this movie: "Love hath given me wings so I must fly"

6. He fell in love with Dawson's Creek's 'Jen'. She was really the only character on that show I liked. Well, I liked Katie Holmes until she married that alien.

5. Brokeback Mountain. I mean, c'mon, this was one risky role and he took it all the way to the Oscars. He was phenomenal in this movie. And that leads me to my next one...

4. After the huge success of 10 Things, he didn't let himself slip into 'teenage heartthrob zone'. He instead was picky with his roles and allowed himself to not be cast into the box of another teenage movie.

3. The part in 10 Things I Hate About You when Julia Stiles asks him "Tell something nobody knows" and he responds "I hate peas" and then flashes that million dollar smile. Seriously.

2. Ledger started a record company with one of my favorite singers, Ben Harper. He directed Harper's music video for the song "Morning Yearning". Talk about a Renaissance Man--he knew his Shakespeare (10 Things I Hate About You), American History (The Patriot), Medieval times (A Knight's Tale) and classic music (I'm Not There).

And the #1 reason I love Heath Ledger:

1. I got to fall asleep to him watching over me every night freshman year of college. I had the movie poster from A Knight's Tale hanging over my bed, lovingly watching me as I slept. It also helped me get up in the morning because the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. He wished me well on all my midterms, he coaxed me to do my homework and we watched alot of movies together. I will miss those times the most.
January 22nd, 2008. A sad day for the movie industry. A sad day for Michelle and Matilda. A sad day for Perch, Australia. And a sad, sad day for me.

In Honor of MLK

"Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere"
Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. I think that this holiday is such an important day for all Americans. It's great day to reflect on the past--a past full of such great injustices. And to help us look to a future that can hopefully reflect the hard lessons learned of such climatic time in American history.

It also turns my memory back a few pages to a trip I took my junior year of college. I went with a group of fellow spring breakers to Clarksdale, Mississippi. This was definitely not the typical spring break--no sandy beaches, no copious amounts of alcohol and definitely no sleeping in til noon. We traveled to the Northern Mississippi Delta for a program called Mission:Possible and it was our 'mission' to help out at a Boys & Girls Club and a soup kitchen for a week. On the first Sunday, we had the privilege of going to the Civil Rights Musuem in Memphis, Tennesse. If you ever have the opportunity to get to Memphis, please, Please, PLEASE go to this incredible museum. Now I've been to my fair share of museums and I must say, this is, by far, one of the BEST museums I've ever been to!

The facade of the musuem is actually the facade of the Lorraine Motel--the motel where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. They even have the cars parked out front of the balcony, just like they were that fatal day.

I think one of my favorite things about this museum is that as you walk in, they have this huge photo gallery that clearly demonstrates the entire climate of the country at the time the Civil Rights battle was in high gear--everything from Vietnam War protests, college campus incidents and the many incidents of Civil Rights violations. As you continue through the museum, they have several "displays that put you in the place of the people as they were forced to sit in the back of the bus, drink out of different water fountains and everthing else they were forced to endure. You can even stand in the room that MLK was staying in.

The entire week in general had such an incredible impact on myself personally, but this musuem really stood out in mind and I gained a great deal of insight and respect for Martin Luther King Jr.

Despite everything that happened during Martin Luther King Jr's life, he shines as beacon of light for all--his commitment not only to his faith, but his commitment to what is right, revolution through nonviolence and standing up for what you believe in no matter what is something we all can and should emulate.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Martin Luther King Jr.

Game Night Done Right!

Let's talk about how great game night is!Because, let's be honest, it's pretty freaking great. And who are the greatest game night hosts ever? Brett and Jodie of course!

Friday night we had yet another fantastic game night. Game night is only as great as the people that attend game night. That formula is obvious. And let me the be the first to say, that this was a REALLY great game night because we had some fun people! My co-worker Emily was able to make it to her first game night. And her equally as awesome roommate, Laura, joined as well. Hopefully, it will be the first of many for them both. Showing here:
Zach, Brett, Jodie and Scott rounded out the guest list. A pretty good mix of guys and girls. For warm up purposes, we started things with a little Catchphrase. If there were an Olympic event for Catchphrase, I would train so hard for it! I love that game. Then we moved on and tried a fun dice game that Brett and Jodie learned at home during Christmas break. It was a fun game, but next time, we're definitely playing with money. The main event was a game called "Loaded Questions". It was fun game to get to know everyone because the game asks questions and everyone writes down their answers and the person whose turn it is has to guess who said what. It provided lots of laughs and we all learned a lot of random things about each other.

And to close the night out, we had a little Guitar Hero session. I love this game. It almost makes me think I actually do have music talent. But then I quickly come to the realization that I don't. I just play Pat Benator's 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot" over and over. I'm getting pretty good. Or my memory is just improving.

Emily and I squared off:

























Not sure who won.

Well, all I have to say is 28%.

Girl Night In

Oh the sweet blessed day that was Wednesday. All I know was that Jen Neill needed a break from reality. And Wednesday night was that much needed break.

So, work has kind of been stressful. Yeah, I'm busy with a couple of huge projects, but sadly the stress is self inflicted because I keep making stupid little mistakes! Gah!

And I'm worrier. When things are bothering me, I have a tendency to let them overrun my thoughts. And one thing in particular has been distracting for quite some time and I'm just painted into a corner about how to deal with it.

And my ankle hurts.

So, I needed a Jen Neill night. And a Jen Neill night I had. It all began with an adventure suggested by Miss Emily. I got my eyebrows waxed at a delightful little spa in U Village. A delightful experience with a fantastic result. I've been missing out for years!

Then I headed to Blue C Sushi and got some take away.

Headed back to the ol' apartment, hopped into my favorite faded Gonzaga sweats and a comfy t-shirt, watched my favorite show, Gossip Girl, and ate my sushi.

Glorious. You go Jen Neill.

Steph Visits!

There are only a few things that I don't like about Seattle. One the biggest issues I have with this city is the fact that my good friend Stephanie does not live here! However, this weekend, I was able to put that issue aside (temporarily, of course) because she came and visited the Emerald City!

It had been a year since I had had a Steph Lebsack hug and that is obviously way over due. That last time we saw one another I was living in Spokane and she came up to visit my roommate and I--we had all been roommates in a quaint little house in Spokane. Needless to say, I was over overjoyed to see my little Denver Nugget.

She came up for the annual Battle In Seattle basketball game played at KeyArena. The game was a bust--we lost to Tennesse (I won't bore you with my analysis of that horrendous display of athletic discombobulation). We are able to see loads of fellow GU alum--most we hadn't seen since we graduated in May of 06. At some points, I will admit, it was like sensory overload! You'd be having a conversation with someone and either A) out of the corner of your eye, you see your sophomore year lab partner who you absolutely MUST go say hi to or B) Someone sees you and attacks you before you even know who you are hugging. It was absolutely awesome!

Sunday was Steph and I's day to take on Seattle. We went up the Space Needle--something I hadn't done since the very first time I fell in love with Seattle when I was in 5th grade. We took some pictures, froze our butts off, drank some coffee and caught up, in person, 520 feet above Seattle. It was absolutely fabulous.


Monday came way to fast and I had to deposit my dear Stephanie at the airport. I'm so thankful she was able to come and visit! Now it's my turn to hit up Denver!

And finally, Happy New Year! This year, I'm throwing out resolutions and just sticking with an overall statement--make this the best year yet. This eliminates the
hard and fast "lose 10 pounds", "eat more veggies" type of things
and allows me to adjust it to make sure
I'm doing what I need to do to make it great in 08.

Cheers to you in this New Year!