The worst ad on TV rant.

RoomStore has the most irritating commercial I've ever seen. It features this elfin-inspired red-haired waif in bad clothes perched on an incredibly ugly bed (complete with horrible tropical inspired bedspread) or sometimes holding a sign in response to a seemingly rhetorical question in her poorly written script. The ads show this dumb ho-mama scribbling on a piece of fake poster board proclaiming savings and the general goodness of the store. Then when the stupid bitch turns the piece of paper around to show you, the attentive viewer, how you can really benefit by a trip to their second-rate home furnishings store you see that she hasn't written anything at all! The scribbling is fake, and she holds up a sign that was clearly printed by a computer printer. I know this probably doesn’t make much sense to you reading it now. That's my anger and rage speaking. As you may know, there's no DVR at our house, so when there's a bad commercial on TV we just switch the channel. I tried this method just a moment ago, and imagine my horror when that stupid spokesperson was on the alternative channel too. A girl can't even watch the news in peace. I've gotten smarter; I'll mute all commercials immediately. At least RoomStore is good for one thing: making me a savvier TV watcher.

The Insider.

The Insider is the name of my hometown school newspaper. Actually, I don't know that I can go so far as to say "newspaper." That's because no actual news is reported. Regular features include a column about a student's car, senior spotlights, reports about the sports teams and elementary school happenings. My April 20 edition of the "news" arrived today, and I'd like to share with you some drama that reminds me of something I read here. (Expect the Insider drama appears in actual newsprint instead of cyberspace.)

Anyway, the crisis du jour is in response to a senior spotlight column. Rather than try to describe it for you, I've constructed a fake senior spotlight so you can get a better sense of how silly the response is.

Jane Ann Doe was born on a beautiful May Day in 1988 to James Doe and Jeanette Doe. Jane's brother Johnny welcomed her home. Johnny is now a senior at Crazy State University where he studies insurance. During high school, Jane was active in four years of cheerleading, four years of drill team, four years of band, two years of golf and two years of National Honor Society. In her free time, Jane worked as a CNA at the nursing home and waited tables at Pizza Inn. Advice Jane gives to underclassmen is "respect the upperclassmen and know your place and remember to just have fun." Some of her hobbies include driving around, watching movies and baking cookies. Her favorite teacher in high school was Mr. XYZ teacher, because he is a good teacher and funny. If Jane could change one thing about the school, it would be to pave the parking lot, have a longer lunch period and have open campus all year. Next year Jane will attend Crazy Private College to study English. When I asked Jane where she sees herself in ten years, she said married with three children and teaching English. Good luck Jane!

The drama is because a brother's name was omitted from the list of siblings in his sister's column. I'll spare you the entire (poorly written) response. The editorialist did say it caused "a week full of personal confusment, public curiosity and nationwide hysteria."

Mmm hmm. I could have sworn our nation was concentrating on an unjust war, a civil right crisis with the death of Floridian Martin Lee Anderson and insane fuel costs, just to name a few.

I know it's all about perspective --- and to each his own. I've used it as opportunity to think about how privileged I am, and how something that seems like offensive personal humiliation really isn't so bad in the grand scheme of things.

I wish the editorialist could get some perspective and see it the same way. And if you find the definition of "confusment," be sure to let me know.

I just had a working lunch.

That is to say a lunch that worked for me. For months I've been complaining about spending too much money on lunches out. At least six times out of ten, I don't enjoy the food. Of course, company at lunchtime is always a treat, but today I indulged in a treat of a different sort: some me-time.

I brought my own lunch, mixed field greens with parsley and vegetables served with a small portion of homemade dressing. I had a sensible snack of trail mix (no chocolate) earlier and I can't wait to eat this watermelon my co-worked shared. I took a walk around some of campus and have returned to the office. Successful, don't you think? I'm already happier with my health decisions, seeing as how I was getting into that oh-shit-my-clothes-don't-fit zone and only two weeks later, I'm making strides to wearing the summer clothes I already own.

Despite my tweaking of the weekday lunch plan, I have decided not to give up Key Lime Poundcake. A girl's got to have plenty to live for!

Miss January

Some of this sounds about right --- other parts of it not so much. I'll identify with the bits I like and ignore the rest.

----------JANUARY-------------------
Easy to talk to, though hard to understand. Thinks far with vision, yet complicated to know. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having lots of ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Has that someone* always on his/her mind. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Abiding. Able to show character. one guy/girl kind of person. Loveable. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. loves music. pretty/handsome. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Sensitive. Down-to-Earth. Stubborn. A fighter.

Let's talk shop.

I literally just came from a workshop sponsored by the Capital City Chamber of Commerce with Lucas Held, director of communications for the Wallance Foundation. The lecture (with invaluable question and answer period) covered Wallace's Diversity of Cultural Participation findings. The lecture also covered lots of info from RAND's Gifts of the Muse. Both of these are very exciting publications, highlighting arts, accessability, importance, priorities, benefits and lots of other topics near and dear to the arts and/or arts administrators. Of course, there are lessons for everyone in these participation/access publications, so check out the summaries even if you don't think they are relevant to you.

Also of note was the question and answer session. Essentially it turned into a dialogue amoung those representatives present regarding these diversity and access issues and how they affect our community. I left the workshop invigorated and ready to handle some big challenges. It all starts with that first step.

Though I doubt they'll ever see it, thanks to the Capital City Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Held from the Wallance Foundation and Peggy from the Tallahassee Leon County Cultural Resources Commission (soon to be COCA) for such an engaging and informative presentation.

Hit the CRC's website for upcoming opportunities.

Have a great day, and use it to make a difference for yourself or someone else.

Mmm hmm, that's right.

I had a great day professionally yesterday. I attended a workshop about arts access. The panel included arts professionals and several artists with disabilities - one blind panelist, one confined to a wheelchair, another who walks with crutches and a sign language interpreter. The group discussed the Americans with Diasbilities Act and how those accomodations are a starting place, but there's still a long way to go to making the arts accessible to diverse populations. So, thanks to the event organizers. I'm looking forward to more workshops that focus on how the arts really can be for everyone. (As they should be, of course!)

After weeks of life at a standstill, the ball is finally rolling on a few exciting projects. Here's a few current exciting happenings: Pete successfully defended his master's thesis; I'm hosting a small group at our house this evening; and the weekend is within grasp.

Plus yesterday I got a really cool dress. When all else fails, it still pays to look (and feel) good. It's an instant attitude adjustment.

Joy Spring.

Spring is indeed a joyous time. There's so much to love about spring - beautiful flowers, the feeling of rebirth and growth, shorter hemlines, the wool gets packed away, the toes get painted, plans for the first beach trips of the season made and executed and it's once again a pleasure to be outside. What a perfect appetizer for summer spring is.

What other time of year would you consider eating Peeps, or a pie made of molten Peeps goo? What other time of year do bridal shower and invitations flow as freely as in springtime? When else does music sound so hopeful, expressing the promise of our great big world? (I'm listening to a playlist created by Pete. Presently hearing "A House Is Not A Home" by Eric Alexander. It's even the perfect time to express the desire for world peace, through through what is typically consider normal channels or through special, strange, unconventional means.

If I seem optimistic today, it's because I am. I've had a pretty decent week. It's had its moments, like yesterday when I ruined our DVD remote in a fit of rage. (Not that I'm proud of it, I was acting like a toddler...) But today even that seems okay.

Life is good. I have beautiful relationships with my husband and family, great friends, a sweet pup, a job and vacation hours saved for my mini-break in Portland. The beauty of spring has me reflecting on life's truly important things. How true --- spring is a joy.

A lovely day.

Hum the Bill Withers hit to yourself as you read this post --- it has been a lovely and ironic day indeed. A few serendipitous moments: discussing the Pat Metheny tune "James," my favorite right now and how it is as pleasing to the ear. My friend Jess remarked that she found James Taylor pleasing to her ears. I found out later that Pat Metheny wrote "James" as a tribute to James Taylor for the 1982 album Offramp. If you don't know this Pat Metheny fave, click here to have a little listen. It is indeed a treat.

Ironic incident #2, discussion during lunch regarding the virtues of myspace, and my comments about how I would like to use it to track down my long last friend Brian. I met this dear, sweet friend in high school and we have lost touch over the last couple of years. I can't help but think of him often - his birthday is shortly after mine, he is politically savvy and very smart, not to mention hilariously funny. To my complete surprise and delight, he left me a friend request on myspace.com (that I got the moment I returned from lunch). I am such a lucky, lucky girl.

Though I don't consider myself extremely religious, I often do a little reflecting during Easter week. Before I got into humming "James" this morning, I was singing the arrangement of "House of Gold" from the Kenny Rankin Album. It seems ironic that I somehow lived my whole life listening to the beautiful orchestration of this particular song and didn't know it was a Hank Williams tune. The Hank Williams original (find it on iTunes if you want to hear it) is visceral, raw and edgy. What an ironic contrast to the Kenny Rankin take, which is lush and velvety. Also ironic: there's a James Taylor tune on the same album. Sometimes life really does come full circle.

What I learned today.

It seems to be true that everyday you learn something new. For me, today's learning was equestrian in nature. My pals Gaylen and Karin took me to the ranch where their three horses board. These three horses are not your average horse, my friend. They are Paso Fino horses. What does this mean for me, the rider? A smooth gaited ride on a horse perfectly scaled to my liking. Plus the Paso Fino enjoys a special place in Florida history, what with its Spanish ties. How appropriate that this week in 1514 Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for the Spanish. Today's afternoon at the ranch was non-stop fun. I saw baby horses only days old. I played with four dogs. I celebrated the birthday of Gaylen's leading man, her horse Gallon. I did plenty of walking, a little bit of riding, saw a Featherlite trailer that reminded me of Iowa and topped it all off with a visit to your average North Florida roadside stand to pick up a few highly sugared, fat-laden praline pecans. I love learning and experiecing new things and this beautiful Sunday afternoon was no exception. Three cheers for fun!

God bless the IRS and other fun stuff.

Ha! Who knew that I could officially respect the tax code? Well, respect might not be the right word for it, but today my taxes turned out okay. Had them prepared for free (happy to tell you all about it if you still need to get yours filed!) and then the refund looks better than expected. I am inspired to continue the quest toward adulthood so we've discussed and decided the cash will be used to pay bills, save for retirement and treat ourselves a little. Trip to Oregon to visit some of Pete's siblings maybe? That's one of the goals on the to-do list that would be nice to knock out. Anyway, things turned out fine which I wasn't expecting. Thank you Uncle Sam for at least throwing me a little bit of a bone. With so much stuff wrong with our governmental system I would have really been down on life if I would have been made to pay in.

The barn trip has been postponed until tomorrow so I think I'll check out a birthday party this afternoon before Pete's colleague joins us for a red-blooded American dinner of steak and salad. Yum. Treats. Speaking of treats, last night we ate manicotti and watched more Sopranos. We're now fully and totally engrossed in Season 4. Only three episodes left in the season. I find that I can hardly watch other TV shows now because the Sopranos is so far above average. The writing is so sharp, the photography so clean and diaologue so ironic. What's not to love?

Okay, back to the house cleaning. Still putting everything in place from the addition of Grandma's stuff. And what good stuff it is. Cheers y'all...

Addendum

This purpose of this post is to demonstrate the power of a live bookmark.

Yee haw!

What's up?

Nothing much... I had a couple of conversations about having a blog today, so I thought it only appropriate to post. The new furniture is in place, it's a beautiful Tallahassee day PLUS the weekend has arrived. Maybe things aren't quite as lame as the life I usually see myself leading. Here are a few non-lame highlights from the past couple of days.

A trip to Marianna with esteemed colleague Gaylen to check out the Chipola College arts series. Lovely to see the arts making an impact on a rural population. As you can imagine, that's near and dear to my heart.

A few 10' long 8' tall bookcase that looks like it was built into the our living room wall.

Longer evenings with light later. If I have to sacrifice morning sunshine at least I get something good out of the deal.

A trip to the horse barn tomorrow!

Hearing about the highlights of Morgan's rad honeymoon trip to Hawaii and her return to married life. Hurrah!

A nice chat with two arts admin ladies who will soon move on to greener pastures. Double Harrah!!

Did I mention the weekend?

An email from long last pal Laura.

New "friends" to support my recent myspace.com flourish.

Willie Nelson playing on my iPod, with my autographed poster nearby. Still waiting on the photo of us together.

Etta learned how to shake! She is officially the cutest little dog in her weight class.

Maybe life's not so dull after all.