the beast

Here's the car from the hubcap story.  Picture it in white.  We were stealth like ninjas.  Totally cool car, though.

I guess the plan of telling stories from days gone by did last about five minutes like I thought it would.  My roomie's coworker didn't like the idea.  She thought it wasn't relevant, and clearly she has become the boss of me.  I want her to think I'm cool. 

Question of the Day

Back by popular demand (from one person), I give you the Question of the Day . . .

Before I get to the actual question, I feel I should let you know that the first question I pulled out of the deck was "Which one sexual activity would you like to try if there were no negative consequences?" As a couple of my family members read this blog, I'm going to go ahead and skip that one. They just don't need to know about my predilection for whips and chains. So here's the actual question:

Q: Which long lost childhood object would you most like to find?

A: In 1986-87 my family lived in Spain while my dad was doing research in the archives there. (Let's pause for a moment to reflect on my glamorous life . . . ) We took a trip to Portugal and I of course brought along my beloved stuffed koala bear. This bear went everywhere with me and was the best friend a girl could ever have. Well, until I grew up and discovered other things to be my best friends, but I digress. We checked out of the hotel and a short time later I discovered that my koala was nowhere to be found. We went back to the hotel, but couldn't find it. It was devastating. My parents tried to tell me that koala wanted to stay behind to eat the eucalyptus leaves in Portugal. Ha! What did they take me for, a fool? Just because I was little didn't mean I was stupid. My sweet baby koala would never abandon me like that just for some stupid leaves. To this day I still think one of the maids stole it, because really, who wouldn't want a dirty, worn out stuffed koala bear? Last year my parents finally bought me a new stuffed koala, which now sits on my dresser as a constant reminder of the tragedy that nearly ruined childhood for me. So . . . to answer the question, I really want my koala back. I'm pretty sure that this devastating event led to questionable choices in my adult life, as well as a lifelong distrust of maids.

song of the day and a nugget of a story

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) by Shakira. It's the official song of the 2010 World Cup. And, because I think I might actually like this version better (which tends to be the case with most Shakira songs), here's the Spanish version . . .



And since we're on a Shakira kick, here's Gitana. I love this song because when my family lived in Spain I would go around singing about how I was a gitana (a gypsy). I would also try to sell flowers to the tourists in the park because that's what the gypsies did and I really wanted to be one. Sadly, due to my American citizenship (although I wasn't actually born here, a fact which could indeed further my goal) and non-nomadic lifestyle, I fear that dream will never be realized.

tales from junior high

Since today’s Song of the Day is from Green Day, I thought I would tell you a little story about how I came to enjoy Green Day.

So you know how I have kind of an obsessive personality? Well this was never more obvious than in junior high. You see, there was this guy named Paul and pretty much, he was beautiful. He was a year older than me and had the bad boy vibe going on, which obviously made him that much more attractive. Because of this, I pretty much stalked him every day during lunch. My little group of friends and I followed him everywhere he went, from one end of the school to the other, although he usually just hung out by the vending machines.

Besides being artistic and having great hair, Paul also liked Green Day. And since no 14 year-old girl’s life is complete without changing herself for every guy she has a crush on, I decided that I needed to like Green Day as well. This was like 1994ish, and the album Dookie had just come out. One of my BFF’s, Dawn, had the tape (yes, children, this was before CD’s), so I would go over to her house all the time and listen to it, fast forwarding to the songs that were on the radio and were cool. (Side note-remember how tedious it was to have to fast forward and rewind tapes?)

I soon decided that just listening to the songs wasn’t enough, since obviously Paul didn’t know I was listening to the tape because I never actually spoke to him. Fortunately, he had a Green Day t-shirt that he wore all the time and, as luck would have it, Dawn had the exact same t-shirt. (I tried to find a picture of said t-shirt, but I can’t because it was just that cool and that special and rare. And it was a really long time ago.) So, of course, I borrowed the shirt from Dawn and started wearing it all the time. And before long, Paul noticed and actually started talking to me, and then not much later, asked me out!

Hahahaha! Actually, no. I continued wearing the shirt and stalking him, and Paul continued ignoring me. And that is how I came to enjoy Green Day.

playlist

I just posted a new playlist of all the music I've been listening to lately. As always, it's pretty random, ranging from sweet 80's soundtrack songs to country to lots of Britney Spears to new age to one random classical song to celtic awesomeness. Oh yeah, and it's possible there may be some New Kids on the Block songs. And maybe a song from High School Musical 3. I know.

Only on Jezebel

. . . will you find an article debating whether Blossom or Clarissa (from Clarissa Explains it All) is cooler. I love it! And in case you were wondering, I'm on Team Clarissa.

Love it!

10 Awesome Moments from Sesame Street

It's possible that I still sing the Pinball 12 song on occasion. Really, though, who doesn't?!?

ehhh

My 10 year high school reunion is coming up this summer and I'm a little freaked out by it. I guess I knew in the back of my mind that it was coming up, but now apparently there is an actual date set. This really shouldn't phase me as I'm like 115% sure that there's no way in you-know-where that I will be going. I think what freaked me out is that there's a group for this reunion on Facebook and I looked through all the pages of people who are members. It was weird to see everyone. Actually, no, weird isn't the word. Disturbing is more appropriate. For a moment (or ten) I felt like I was back in high school. I'm pretty sure I don't need to relive that misery again. So anyway, I don't know what the point of this post was supposed to be, other than now I'm having a slight panic attack at the thought of all these former classmates descending upon my town come July.

must find

I woke up thinking about Airborne. Not this Airborne.


This Airborne.

I must find this movie. It's completely craptastic and I must watch it. Like right now. If you've never seen it, let me tell you why you should watch it. It has Seth Green and Jack Black in it before they were famous. And Seth has long, 90's style luscious locks in it. It also has the secretary from Ferris Bueller (Graaaaaaace!) and the teacher from Saved by the Bell. And oh yeah, it has Shane McDermott in it, who did pretty much nothing after this movie, but hello . . . he looked like this . . .


And o.k., so the movie isn't great (it got a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes), but the 90's weren't exactly known for their quality teen movies. They had a lot to live up to after the genius of the 80's and the Brat Pack. So, just watch it for fun, not for quality entertainment, and you'll have a great time. Trust me.

Some stuff

• Went to lunch with Ashlee today at the Brick Oven. I forgot about that place. I used to live across the street from it and went there a lot. It was delicious, especially the apple beer.
• Been listening to the new NKOTB album. MUCH more adult than 15 years ago. I like it. A lot.
• This stuff is magic. Really, it is. I'm pretty sure they make it with the dust of fairy wings and a drop of unicorn tears to really give it staying power. You must have it. For reals.

• Going to Wyoming for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to get out of Utah. No offense, Utahns, but it's better for all of us if I leave the state every once in a while. I think everyone is much safer that way. My guess is most of you feel the same way.
  
• I am now the proud owner of an original Nintendo, along with the first and greatest Mario Bros. and Zelda. You should probably come over and play Nintendo with me. One of the best things about it is the simplified controller. I can't play any of these new game systems because there are too many buttons and crap for my elderly mind.

best birthday ever

Remember when birthday parties at McDonald's were the ultimate in coolness?

Just a side note. . . the guy I have my arm around was my first kiss. I don't remember his name.

this picture makes me shudder too . . .

The 80's were not a good time for me, fashion-wise. I'm pretty sure those glasses could not possibly be any bigger.

still makes me shudder

This one time (not at band camp) when I was in the first grade, my family was outside when the phone rang. I started running inside to get it, but unfortunately I tripped and landed face down on the cement steps. I got all cut up and my upper front teeth were pushed back up into my jaw. Fortunately they were baby teeth so there was no lasting damage (well, other than the obvious brain damage-don't even try to tell me you weren't thinking it!). This picture and the thought of my teeth being viciously shoved back up into my skull still make me shudder violently.

Don't look too closely at the haircut-I think it was my mom's doing. A completely unrelated story-when we lived in Spain when I was in kindergarden, she trimmed my bangs and they ended up way too short. Everywhere we went people would say "Pobrecita!"

Not an Addict

I love this song ("Not an Addict" by K's Choice). But don't worry-I'm not addicted to it. Muahahahaha! O.k., that was kinda lame. Sorry.


BTW, I apologize for the Telejunkie weirdness at the beginning, but you take what you can get with YouTube!

For all of you Wii fans

Nothing will ever compare to the original Nintendo. Don't even try to beat it. Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt and Zelda were the best.

one of the best pics ever

I never really have any pictures to post, so I decided to post some from back in the day. This is probably one of my favorite pictures of all time. It's my Grandpa Kull, trying to light a cigarette. Every other year we used to have a Kull family reunion at the beach in Emerald Isle, North Carolina. My Grandpa and all the other guys were big into fishing (when he died, he was cremated and some of his ashes were put into fishing lures for some of the men in the family) so a lot of time was spent at the pier. This particular evening was a bit windy, thus the lighting of the cigarette in the trash can.


On a side note, those trips are some of my best memories growing up. I love the ocean, particularly the Atlantic. There's a huge difference between the Atlantic and the Pacific, namely that the Atlantic is the shiz and the Pacific sucks. Anyhoo, if I can't fall asleep, I picture the ocean and I swear to you, I can hear it. Hearing the ocean isn't the same as hearing voices, right? There is nothing in the entire world like the smell, sound and sight of the ocean. For a long time growing up I wanted to be a Marine Biologist and study sharks. Then I realized I have a tendency to burn immediately upon stepping into the sun (I'm kinda like a vampire) and so being on a boat in the middle of the ocean might not be the best career choice for me. I did keep reading about sharks though, and as a result I don't like to actually go into the ocean. Or lakes. Pretty much any water where I can't see what's nibbling at my toes freaks me out. But I do still love to just sit and watch the waves.