Time Capsule: 2006
Pop Culture and The Arts
I. Favorite Movies--
- Mad Hot Ballroom--I've been trying to get Melissa to take country and western dance lessons with me on and off throughout the years. This movie made me want to switch my request to ballroom dancing and had Melissa considering it for a hot minute.
- Little Miss Sunshine--I laughed and laughed.
- V for Vendetta--Many thanks to Steve and Brian for directing me to this kickass movie.
- House
- CSI
- Hustle--This doesn't come on enough for me!
- The Office--Provides much needed respite from our gloomy life.
- Misfortune by Wesley Stace--Another great book about gender benders. Don't know how Melissa found it, but I'm grateful for the gift.
- Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde--I always feel like going back and reading "the classics" after I get through with one of these books.
- Peace Like A River by Leif Enger--I know this book was a gift, maybe from MJ? but I'm not sure, and it was a great gift. I loved this book and oddly enough, the author is from the small town in Minnesota where my "out-laws" live (of course they would be my in-laws, except for I'm not allowed to make them lawful.)
- Indigo Girls--I can't get them out of circulation. I'm happily in a rut.
- Steve Earle--I love the Revolution Starts Now CD
- Dan Bern--I love the New American Language CD and he cheers me up
IV-A. Favorite New Artists
- Beth Hart--Thanks to Carla for introducing me to Beth Hart. She rocks!
- KT Tunstall--Thanks to Sarah for getting me to listen to KT Tunstall as someone other than a Top 40 artist. She also rocks!
- The Weepies--I found them in Borders while shopping for a friend's birthday present. Found out later they were touring with the Indigo Girls, and that always works for me.
- Pink--I honestly don't listen to Pink much and I don't own any of her music. But she is on the newest Indigo Girls CD, and if they like her, then so do I. And her song, "Stupid Girls" is awesome.
- "Delicious Surprise" by Beth Hart--Jo Dee Messina released this song first, but Beth Hart wrote it.
- "Pendulum Swinger" by Indigo Girls--This song makes me want to shout and cry and sing all at the same time.
- "Under the Weather" by KT Tunstall--
- "Gotta Have You" by The Weepies-- This is a catchy song that will have me feeling pathetic in an instant.
- Women's College World Series in OKC--we went to find one of Melissa's old college friends in the crowd. While we didn't find Melissa's friend, we found a lot of other stuff, including a creepy hotel room, a great place for breakfast in OKC, some old skeletons in our closet, and much much love. Who knew how transformative the Women's College World Series could be?
- Olivia's first piano recitals--these events are much more enjoyable for me on the other side of the piano.
- Cowboys v. Vikings preseason football--Brian and I went, sans one well-known Vikings fan. Had a great time gearing up for another year of heartache.
- Steve Carell--This man is funny
- Stephen Colbert--If all he never did anything good for the rest of his life, his "roasting" of GWB will earn him a lifetime appointment to this category.
- Ellen DeGeneres--still riding on her laurels from last year. I like people that make me laugh.
- Indigo Girls--I don't know why I haven't included them in this category before. Maybe because I think they're too cool to be called celebs?
I. Best Days--
- a vacation day just for myself before i started my new job
- Spending the day in Tampa and on a beautiful beach
- Santa Fe with Melissa, driving in the mountains, picnicking next to the fire in our casita, hot tubbing under the stars
- visiting our friend leann, hanging out in her backyard
- Road Trip to the Grand Canyon to find celebrate my new found freedom from grad school. We didn't ever get to the Grand Canyon, but we had a totally great time together. A great adventure.
- Work trip to Denver, CO. Had some great Indian food while I was there, but otherwise a very uneventful trip.
- Road Trip to OKC to see Women's College World Series--see Memorable Events.
- Work/Fun Trip to Orlando, FL. Melissa and I managed to squeeze in a couple of trips to the beach and some good Cuban food in Tampa. The beach soothes my soul.
- Trip to Kansas City to reconnect with our good friend Leann. Had the usual great food in her warm kitchen, the best drinks on her patio and porch, remembered why we miss KC.
- Trip to Chicago to catch up with Emilio and receive a much appreciated gift from my great friend Chris. Remembered why I hate living in Texas.
- what I'm cooking at home, whatever it is
- Tomatoes (of course)
- black bean dip from gloria's
- guacamole from blue mesa
- gloria's
- cafe brazil
- the flying saucer
- the grapevine
I don't like the categories we've used in the past for this section. (it's accomplishments, memorable news stories and relationship developments) In fact, this is a difficult section for ome because I don't feel like I'm passing any milestones. I did get a new job this year, one that is a better fit for my skills and one that pays better, so that's cool. The most important thing in my life continues to be my relationship with my partner, which we both work very hard on. We are never afraid to tackle the tough stuff and we are both very proud of our relationship. We both wish we could share that foundation with a family (children) and we continue to pass milestones in our journey to parenthood. However, those milestones aren't really best mentioned in this context. So let it be sufficient to say that we are stronger and happier with eachother than we ever have been and in spite of the challenges and disappointments of life.
As for news--I hate the news. It feels like it's always bad and it just reminds me how apathetic and lethargic I've become. I've spent the year trying to be more engaged but I surely don't want to reflect on the sorry state of public affairs.
Material World
I. Gifts Given/Received and Purchases Made
After much reflection on this category, I have decided that my memory isn't good enough to pull this off at this late stage of the game. As for gifts given and received, the most significant gifts to me are those that come at times when we least expect them and when we most need them. Sometimes it's just the gift of forgiveness or the gift of friendship that is the most significant to me. Perhaps that's a trite way to look at it; but it doesn't matter because I honestly can't remember any gifts given or received this year. As for purchases made . . .
I bought a cool piece of pottery when we were in Santa Fe.
II. Appearance changes
- Gained back a bunch of weight I lost in 2005
- had a series of horrible hair cuts, which I am still trying to recover from
- my skin is getting older, more wrinkled and softer
- my hair is getting grayer
III. Favorite Clothes
- my pj's
- my syracuse t-shirt
- cargo shorts
- new doc sandals
Sports
I. Favorite Hometown Athletes
- Cat Osterman
- Demarcus Ware
II. Favorite Non-Hometown Athletes
- Peyton Manning
8 comments:
Great to see this here. Thanks for sharing. I don't have time to respond now, but hope to soon.
looking forward to it. you might also check out my new book blog, listed in the links section.
thanks for sharing this with us. I am so grateful for having been a part of so many "bests" and for the fact that you don't feel it necessary to list the "worsts" (as I am part of most of those as well.) Keep fighting the good fight and remember, "Life goes on and you don't touch tigers." (Life of Pi)
A book blog?!? Zowie! That's great news. I look forward to checking it out.
As you may have noticed (?), I didn’t blog all of my time capsule categories. My intention was to keep a separate capsule off the blog that would include more personal (?) matters like The Best Days, Trips and Visits, Favorite Meals, Top Accomplishments, Relationship Developments, Memorable Gifts Received, Significant Purchases and Gifts, Most Worn Clothes, and Appearance Changes. As it turns out, however, I have let that auxiliary capsule task slide. I am very glad that you and Melissa both have gone blog with these categories because I find them to be so interesting and because it has motivated me to go back and work on these categories myself. Don’t yet know if I’ll go blog with the results (whenever I produce them).
A few comments:
Thanks in part to the rave reviews you guys gave The America Office, I gave it a second chance and haven’t looked back since. It may be my favorite show now.
I’m eager to listen to the songs you mention. Wish you had included links to them.
Your capsule reminds me of the importance of road trips, which usually end up being the most memorable events of any year. It’s probably a good idea to schedule one whenever you get a chance.
That said, though, years from now getting a new job will be the kind of milestone that will set this year apart from others for you, methinks.
Another reminder: material world stuff is very easy to forget.
Finally, I am somewhat surprised to see that I have not eaten at any of your favorite restaurants. Maybe we can remedy that the next time I come down.
i'm glad you're watching The Office american style and that you're liking it. I have to admit i still have some remnants of baby sister looking up to older brother hanging on and as you introduced me to the office bbc style i was reserved about recommending it.
as for links to songs, i wish i would make the time to include links on this entry as well as photos, etc. but i thought it better to get it out than to put it on hold any longer while i sifter through the formatting nightmare. I am much happier with blogger now that they have switched to this newer version. it feels like those kind of things are easier, but i don't want to get hung up on formatting.
road trips are one of my favorite pasttimes.
i would LOVE to take you to some of my favorite restaurants next time you're around. your visits are always pretty booked though and i don't always feel like battling the crowd. :)
Maybe we should set our sights low for something like just one restaurant and go from there.
I found this all very interesting. I haven't read any of your books or eaten at any of your favorite places and don't know any of your favorite songs. I think road trips may be the avenue of discussion about such things. thanks for sharing. Love
thanks for the comment mom. i think you might like some of my favorite songs, i'll have to play them for you. as for my favorite restaurants . . . I thought you went to Gloria's with us the last time we went there. It's an Ecuadoran/Mexican food place and Melisa and I really like their black bean dip and the fried plantains. Cafe Brazil is a place we like to eat in Dallas (*sounds like a road trip*) and the other two places I've listed are bars.
As for my books, I think you would really like Peace Like A River.
Hustle will be starting again on April 18th. Get the DVR ready!
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