Angsty Yowls of the 49th Parallel

I'm making a mix for Anna's upcoming trip to Canada, and managed to put together a whole mix tape of travel-themed songs by Canadian artists using nothing but my iTunes. Some were easy, like Amy Millan's "All the Miles," the Weakerthan's "Relative Surplus Value," Po Girl's "Movin' On," etc. Others were harder, but still kind of hint at the theme, like Broken Social Scene's "Windsurfing Nation," KD Lang's "One Day I Walk," or Rufus Wainwright's cover of "Across the Universe."

Others are obviously just inappropriate. Tegan and Sara are not literally singing about taking someone anywhere, Avril Lavigne's "Sk8r Boi" is not primarily about skates, Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket" is not really about hailing a taxicab. It's a long flight, maybe Anna will fall asleep before the end of the CD.

Panic Fun

Yesterday was a kind of draining, stressful day. Today, I agreed to join a team for a trivia fundraiser that will possibly be conducted in Afrikaans, got started on the process of applying to law school in the fall, set up drinks and dinner with my ex-girlfriend who is somehow an anthropologist in Cape Town, and sort of impulsively booked a half dozen tickets to backpack through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia. One or all of these plans will backfire, but for now they seem pretty fun. I also bought Turkey Lurkey Time for my work computer and listened to it on a loop as I edited all day. I'm really grasping at straws, here.

Status Update of the Month

Brady: Tickets: $40. Blue Moons: $12. Donna McKechnie telling me after the show that her neck and shoulder problems are a direct result of Turkey Lurkey Time: Priceless!

I know I post this about every three months, but it's impossible to stop watching. Donna McKechnie's neck is surreal.

The One Where a Creature Bursts from Dian Fossey's Stomach, Killing Everyone Present

We finished watching Avatar last night and I made some offhand remark about liking Sigourney Weaver because she's such a versatile actress. And then we tried to think of other things Sigourney Weaver has been in, and could only remember Alien and Gorillas in the Mist. We also realized that Avatar is basically just what you get when you combine Alien with Gorillas in the Mist.

(Later, I remembered Heartbreakers. I still think she deserved an Oscar for that.)

Photos!

This is the view from my bedroom. This is unlike any other view I have ever had from any of the many other bedrooms in which I have lived, which tend to have a) tundra, b) the upper portion of a tree, or c) a couple fighting across the street.

And this is the view from our patio, which looks out onto Signal Hill and the City Bowl. See that, in the distance? That is where I trudge to work in the morning.

BEHOLD, THE WHEEL OF EXCELLENCE.

And Mike and Anna, whose facial expressions do not do justice to how excellent the wheel actually was. I'm still recovering.

All the Gin Joints in All the World

Anna's birthday party was on Saturday, which meant that I spent Saturday and the early portion of Sunday being swept along from dinner at Grand Daddy to drinks at Buena Vista to dancing at Casablanca. Casablanca was excellent - there were tons of people, Anna and I did shots of Jagermeister at midnight, and then they played Single Ladies and I pretty much gave up any pretense of dignity. (I gave it up with my yoga instructor, who is blonde, German, and insanely fit. The whole time I wanted to be like, "Simone! Simone! Look at my posture! Note how my back is straight as though there is a string going from my spine to the ceiling!" but I stopped myself.)

I barely ever go to straight clubs with straight friends, and it was kind of fascinating watching everyone flirt with each other in a kind of sexual roulette all night. One of my friends was like, "I think all the guys are really into this girl because she's a little crazy," and I was like, "yeah, that seems plausible." About two minutes later I looked up and the friend was dancing on the bar, which had been doused in liquor and set alight. I was like, "oh, heterosexuality," and then Poker Face started and I went totally buckwild.

Yesterday, the craziest part of my night was watching half of Avatar until the power went out and Ma and I conspiratorially ate half a bag of cookies in the dark while Anna tried to get a hold of the power company. I like my weekends like that.

By Popular Demand

I look like someone from the Street Fighter B team.