10 simple pleasures

I got tagged by Aura, so now it’s my turn to spread the cheer. Ten simple pleasures, in no particular order:

1. My lilac bush is blooming! Finally! I planted it about three years ago and had begun to despair of ever enjoying that perfect fragrance from my own shrubbery, but it has blossomed at last. SNIFF!
   
2. Mother Media spent the last nine days making Sensational Acres a better place. I was up at the crack to take her to the airport this morning, and I miss her already.
   
3. Mother Media left chocolate-toffee cookies and three kinds of ice cream behind. Not to mention a new hosta/fern garden, new mailbox, clean laundry, spoiled cats and the keys to her car.
   
4. Mother Media will be back at my house in a week.
   
5. Long weekend, no real plans except deploying the hammock and cracking the spine on a candy book.
   
6. Books!
   
7. I have several episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report downloaded and ready for viewing.
   
8. I have all of Season 2 of Lost downloaded and ready for reviewing during the summer rerun season. How about that finale, eh?!
   
9. Those thingies that hang on the back of a door and are covered with clear plastic pockets for stashing shoes? Those thingies are genius. I have two.
   
10. I biked to work today but did not end up with a bad case of helmet hair — or my coworkers are too kind to point out my misperception. Either way, I win.
    

Let me hear from you: what are your top 10 simple pleasures?

ice cream shake

This is my new ice cream maker, a birthday gift from Sister-san.

1. Pour liquid ice cream ingredients (half & half, vanilla, sugar) into a cylinder in one end, then turn it over and fill the rest of the ball with ice and rock salt.

2. FYI, crushing the ice in the blender is much, much easier than putting it in a large baggie and whacking it with a hammer.

3. To freeze: Shake it, Ma!

4. Shake it some more. The instructions said to shake, rattle and roll for 15-20 minutes, but it took about 40 for our batch to freeze solid. That was partially due to our using too-large hammer-whacked ice chunks in the beginning. Once we moved to blender-crushed ice, the process went quicker.

5. Check consistency. Almost ready!

6. Assemble possible toppings.

7. Enjoy!

Not pictured: ice- and ice cream-splattered kitchen and two happy cats helping with clean-up.

Clerks. Jerks?

I saw Clerks shortly after it came out on video, probably in 1995. The movie — excuse me, the film — was hailed as a ground-breaking indie tour de force, a gripping social commentary, a Gen X anthem, etc., and I agreed with every positive review.

I rewatched Clerks this past weekend and was only faintly and intermittently amused. I wanted to slap the whine out of the protagonists, preferably several times, and suggest to the director that self-indulgence is not the same as coolness.

What a difference a decade makes! In 1995, I was just a couple years out of school, just a couple years older than the main characters, and still working as a part-time clerk myself. In 2006, I'm a veteran of the cubicle wars with a mortgage and not much patience for slackadasical customer service.

Have I officially become a snooty old bitch, or have I simply gained some age-related perspective?

NYC photos

Come see the first page in the annotated photo album of my trip to the Big Apple!

And the second page!

And the third page!

priceless

plane ticket: $235
miles walked through various parts of Manhattan: approx. 3,000
blisters developed: 0
money found on Brooklyn sidewalk: $.01
excellent tiny restaurants dined in: 4
Metro cards bought: 2
t-shirts bought: 5
t-shirts saying “I [heart] NY:” 2
photos taken: 127
e-friends partied with: 3
former mid-level children’s television stars partied with: 1
future opera stars partied with: 1
cakes seen abandoned on park benches: 1/2
e-mails waiting when I got home: 150
% spam: 75

long weekend in New York: priceless

home again home again

I'm home from my adventures in NYC and pleasantly tired. I could not have asked for a better birthday.

I was hoping to upload a few of my favorite photos, but Blogger isn't cooperating right now. So I'll just get to work on the fully annotated album and post the link when it's ready, OK? OK.

Mahattan seen from Brooklyn

Waiting in a park to meet Laura for lunch. I'm looking over the East River, waiting for a body to wash ashore.

I have no idea what this photo looks like. The sunlight is too bright for me to see the Treo screen.

Photo op

A wedding couple look for just the right spot to get the Manhattan skyline in the background.

Brooklyn Bridge

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Super views! I even saw the Statue of Liberty in the distance -- too far for a photo, though.

Manhattan viewed fromBrooklyn Bridge

Cafe Henri

Brunch at Cafe Henri: savory crepes and unsweetened chocolat. Seating capacity: 25.

Beauty Bar

The after-party began at 12:45 a.m. And show no sign of slowing down.

Here I am!

Laura's living room/guest room/concert hall.

Concourse F

5:30 a.m. I have a gift for departing from the gate at the farthest end of the concourse. But I'm on my way to New York.

My lawn

Thank dog I had the lawn-care service apply weed & seed chemicals! Otherwise I might have LOTS of dandelions.

If I were . . .

Copy, paste, modify, and post your own!

If I were a month, I would be: October
If I were a day of the week, I would be: Sunday
If I were a time of day, I would be: 7:00 p.m.
If I were a planet, I would be: Mars
If I were a sea animal, I would be: a dolphin
If I were a direction, I would be: up
If I were a piece of furniture, I would be: a comfy chair with armrests and a footstool
If I were a sin, I would be: gluttony
If I were a historical figure I would be: Ride. Sally Ride.
If I were a liquid, I would be: mercury
If I were a stone, I would be: sapphire
If I were a tree, I would be: a sequoia
If I were a bird, I would be: a hawk
If I were a tool, I would be: the lever
If I were a flower, I would be: lilac blossom
If I were a type of weather, I would be: 70 degrees F & sunny, with a light breeze from the southwest
If I were a mythical creature, I would be: a phoenix
If I were a musical instrument, I would be: the oboe
If I were an animal, I would be: a jaguar
If I were a colour, I would be: indigo
If I were an emotion, I would be: amusement
If I were a vegetable, I would be: a Republican
If I were a sound, I would be: one hand clapping, or else laughter
If I were an element, I would be: water
If I were a song, I would be: “Closer to Fine”
If I were a movie, I would be: Real Genius
If I were a book, I would be written by: the love child of Jane Austen & David Sedaris
If I were a food, I would be: pizza
If I were a place, I would be: a mountain lake
If I were a taste, I would be: savory
If I were a scent, I would be: lilac or jasmine
If I were a religion, I would be: surprised
If I were a word, I would be: unintelligibly
If I were a body part, I would be: hands
If I were a facial expression, I would be: Spock arching an eyebrow and saying, “Fascinating.”
If I were a subject in school, I would be: English 101
If I were a cartoon character, I would be: Lisa Simpson
If I were a shape, I would be: a circle
If I were a number, I would be: 13
If I were an item of clothing, I would be: the soft, frayed, holey t-shirt you’ve had for 15 years
If I were a piece of jewelry, I would be: a platinum ring set with sapphires
If I were a clothing accessory, I would be: a black belt

tangerine dream

COOLEST LUNCHBOX EVER!

Superthanks to Chef Jeff for scoring me this baby as an early birthday present. He also sent me an autographed poster from a performance by comedian Dat Phan, plus some "homecoming lotion," which appears to be basic lotion with a college-logo label on it.

It's that kind of outside-the-box thinking that makes this guy my favorite brother-in-law in the whole wide world.

hello, Bolly

You need to rent Bride and Prejudice. No excuses. Do it.

Not interested in yet another adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice?
Watch it anyway.

Not familiar with Bollywood movies — Indian cinema?
Watch it anyway.

Not a big fan of musicals?
Watch it anyway.

Not (yet) a member of the Naveen Andrews fan club?
Watch it anyway.

Got no sense of humor?
Watch it anyway.

Fearful of bright colors?
Watch it anyway.

Averse to snappy dialogue?
Watch it anyway.

Watch it anyway.

Watch it anyway.

You’re welcome.