Friday, February 25, 2011

Retro Friday: Take On Me

Today's edition of Retro Friday features the band A-Ha and the song "Take on Me".

I love this song for so many reasons!

The first of which is, and yes this will totally date me, it was the very first cassette tape that I bought! And it's so funny, not only can I remember actually buying it, and I can even remember who I was with when I bought it!

The second of which is, I just love, love, LOVED the lyrics, and the video for this song. The lyrics to this song are a plea for love ... the perfect song for a teenager in the 80's ... love and teenage angst! What more could you want?!


The video features the band in a pencil-sketch animation called rotoscoping, combined with live-action. The video won six awards, and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.

The video's main theme is a story of romantic fantasy. It begins with a young woman (Bunty Bailey) drinking coffee and reading a comic book in a coffee shop. The comic is about motorcycle racing in which the hero (played by Morten Harket) is pursued by two opponents. As the girl reads the comic, the waitress brings her the bill. The hero, after winning the race, seemingly winks at the girl from the page. His pencil-drawn hand reaches out of the comic book, inviting the girl into it. Once inside, she too appears in the pencil-drawn form, as he sings to her and introduces her to his black and white world.

Meanwhile in the restaurant the waitress returns and believes the girl skipped the bill. Angrily, she crumples and throws the girl's comic-book into a trash-bin. This makes the hero's two opposing drivers reappear, filled with aggression and armed with a large wrench. Harket punches one of the thugs and retreats with the girl into a maze of paper. Arriving at a dead end, Harket tears a hole in the paper wall so that the girl can escape as he faces the two thugs, one of which brings the wrench down on him. The girl, now found lying beside the trash-bin to the surprise of restaurant guests and staff, grabs the comic-book from the bin and runs home, where she attempts to smooth out the creases to learn what happens next.

The next panel shows Harket lying seemingly lifeless, and she begins to cry. But he wakes up and attempts to break out of his comic-book frames. At the same time, his image appears in the girl's hallway, seemingly torn between real and comic form as he maintains the effort to break his barriers. He escapes from the comic book by becoming human and embraces the girl. This final scene is based on the 1980 movie Altered States.

Just love that video!! And now, for your listening pleasure, "Take On Me!"



Cheers!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Retro Friday: I Ran (So Far Away)

Today's edition of Retro Friday features the band Flock of Seagulls and the song I Ran (So Far Away).

Ahhh, A Flock of Seagulls. When I think of retro/alternative music from the 80's ... they are definitely one of the quintessential 80's bands that comes to my mind. From the retro, electronic keyboard sound ... to the hair ... you gotta love the hair!


A Flock of Seagulls was started by Mike Score and his brother Ali in 1979 in Liverpool. Mike, who was previously a hairdresser (go figure!), played keyboards, guitar, and vocals, Ali played drums and their friend Frank Maudsley played bass.

Taking the name A Flock of Seagulls, inspired from the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, the band started out playing shows in small venues. Club goers loved the driving electronic beat of elecommunications which became a dance club hit across England. And would forever come to remember the sight of the band - particularly Mike Score - singing, playing his synthesizer, and sporting a most unusual haircut of which his long blonde, heavily gelled, bang would cascade down over his forehead and eyebrows like a waterfall.

With the waterfall haircut and more so their music, so electronic, yet melodic and charged with emotion, A Flock of Seagulls soon became one of the darlings of the music industry. After signing a record contract, and touring in the US, in 1982 they released their first self titled album - Flock of Seagulls? To their swelling ranks of fans in the US and UK, the album was magical. I Ran - the first single off the album - is a song about being abducted by a UFO which came into the houses of many young Americans when MTV (then in its infancy) played it over and over and over.

In it Mike wears his waterfall haircut, as he and the band play in a room decorated with aluminum foil as the camera pans around and around. The video was simplistic but the futuristic images, sight of the band, and the superior music drove I Ran to 9th place on US charts. The band is recognized for breaking the ground for other musical acts during the advent of the video music area.

My side story on the Flock of Seagulls is as follows. When I first got a MySpace page, it was when my High School was planning our last High School reunion, and so a lot of us were connecting with each other on MySpace. This guy sent me a friend request, and I was not totally sure who he was. We chatted a little bit back and forth before I finally accepted. (His original comment was ... Damn, your page is locked down tighter than Fort Knox! haha) He was a year older than me in High School, but had married a girl from my class, and when he was explaining to me what he looked like in High School (because now he is FOLLICALLY-CHALLENGED) he said ... "I had Flock of Seagulls hair."

When I read that, I seriously almost spit out my soda. I immediately went and got my year book, and sure enough, there he was and his Flock of Seagulls hair. Love. It.

So every time I hear a Flock of Seagulls song ... not only am I taken back to the 80's ... but I also think of all of the crazy hair that we all had in the 80's (including my awesome, totally rad, mall bangs! *see below*)


Okay ... here's a little Flock of Seagulls and I Ran (So Far Away) for your listening pleasure!

Cheers!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

If You Could Do It All Over?

As my husband and I are preparing our eldest child to embark upon the journey that is known as High School next year, I have been doing quite a bit of looking back at my own High School experience. What did I do right? What did I do wrong? What would I do differently?

So I've asked a few of my friends what they would have done differently if they had the chance to a.) do it over again, and b.) do it over again knowing what they know now ... and here are some of the responses that I got!

(THANK YOU to everyone who responded to my call for help!)

- I would get into more trouble and learn some lessons earlier.

- I would have focused on my future instead of the attention of others.

- On one hand would think to be more studious, yet if I did things diff would I get here? Not a bad place in many ways.

- Worry less about what other people thought and more about my future.

- I would have found the balls to ask her out. :) #donedifferently

- I would have enjoyed the days more instead of wishing for next milestone.

- I'd change nothing. Those lessons then prepared me for today.

- Study way harder and I wouldn't sweat the small stuff, HS is such a small percentage of your life to worry about it.

- I would love to do it over again and realize that I didn't need to wear a paper bag on my head. I was a pretty girl ;)

- I would actually apply myself!!!

- So much - One thing I would for sure do is be more involved with school functions. Maybe even play a sport.

- Having since learned to read social cues, I wouldn't have been so oblivious to the fact that girls actually did notice me.

- Also wouldn't have been so terrified of the people who threatened, and pushed me around.

- Differently? I'd ask more girls out. :)

- Work harder on enjoying learning.

- I would have rethought the mullet look!!!! (haha ... love that one!!)

- Do homework, build good study habits, and ignore the stupid stuff.

- Separate the judgemental qualities from my passion and assertiveness! And also dress more like a girl, heh.

- Care a lot less about what other people think. And study...so that my stellar SAT score wouldn't go to waste with my poor GPA.

- I probably would've dreamed bigger too...

- Not spend as much time trying to be cool and just to be myself. Took me halfway through college to figure that one out.

- More study and more work.

- I'd study harder and take more math classes. Seriously I would. I got an ok ACT score, but didn't take any math after 9th grade, I didn't have to for whatever reason, so needless to say, if it requires more fingers and toes than I have, I'm in trouble!

- High school was perfect. Wouldn't do anything. Id WOULD though have fun outside of school by moving the road layout stakes in the middle of the night to screw with IDOT.

- ‎1) Go to a different high school! 2) Actually try in some of my classes.

- Apply my self more and hit the beach less....well, maybe apply myself while @ the beach!

- Believe in myself more and not let the nay says have as much of a voice. Glad I got over that!

- I'd have broken more rules. A lot more.

- I would have actually studied. I passed everything but could have excelled. My school wasn't motivating at all! Should have stuck with Catholic school.

- I was the typical teen aged girl with emotion/drama. I would have been much more laid back.

- Spend more time with those who live Christ.

- I wouldn't have dated that jerk. ;-) lol

- Okay so I wouldn't change a thing, because I like who I am today..and without all of my learning experiences i wouldn't be me. So no.

- I wouldn't change a thing. I do wish my brother had a different experience though. He got picked on ALOT & I don't think anyone should have to go though that.

- Not too much differently. I would have put more effort into all aspects of my life, been nicer to my parents, and talked less in Mrs. Kelly's class.

- I'd keep High School the same, maybe a little more networking for my ideal profession. There are a few things I'd change about undergrad, though.

- Take more chances, play soccer, and take Spanish instead of (worthless) French.

- I would have been a better friend and less boy crazy.

- Not give a sh*t? :)

- I wish I would have been nice to everyone.

- I would be nicer to people. I would take more chances.

- I wouldn't have worried so much about my " permanent record".

Thank you for all of the wonderful feedback! I feel much more prepared to guide this child through the formative years called High School. And though hard work is very important, I want to make sure he has a little fun too. That is what I would do differently ... not take High School SO seriously, have a little fun, and not worry about what others thought about me!

Got any more comments? Add them below please!

Cheers!


Monday, February 14, 2011

An Irishman's guide to dating an American girl

I stumbled across this article this morning, and thought I'd share it with those of you who don't have someone special to share Valentine's Day with ... and also to serve as a memory jogger for those of you who do!

This is courtesy of IrishCentral.com
By CONN CORRIGAN, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

The language of love can very, very easily get lost in translation. What may be perfectly acceptable when dating in Ireland can warrant a well-aimed slap in the face in the U.S.

Remember: it was America that invented “dating.” It’s not an Irish concept – but one that has been imported from across the Atlantic.

And even though it’s an American import, the rules for dating in the U.S. differ vastly in many ways than the rules for dating in Ireland.

As such, this brief guide is intended for the Irish male who finds himself at a loss at what to do when dating an American girl.

(We at Irishcentral.com take no responsibility for possible assaults, drinks over the head, etc. that can happen in the application of this guide. Use at your own risk!)

1. Try not to get too drunk

This especially applies when you are on a first date. Although Irish girls are often fairly unimpressed at the sight of their date slurring his words and talking to inanimate objects, in many cases, it is the Irish girl who is even more drunk than her partner for the evening, so this problem can be avoided, and the Irish male doesn’t have to be as careful in not getting too hammered. In general, however, American girls drink far, far less than Irish girls. And they can get pretty disgusted at the sight of their date making a total fool of himself.

This rule is probably the most critical in this guide – but is one that the Irish male typically grapples with the most. Remember: Americans often go on dates that are non-alcohol related – which can involve things such as “cups of coffee” and not going to the pub. The standard response from the Irish male to this activity in this situation might be: But where will my confidence come from?

It must come from within. When the date does take place in a pub or bar, the Irish male should take care to remember that the graph showing the relationship between pints and charm looks like this: it goes upwards initially, levels off after about three or four, and then at about six pints it takes a dramatic nosedive. In other words, it usually takes about six drinks before charm turns into sleaze.

2. Pay for everything

The U.S. may be the birthplace of the modern feminist movement, but when it comes to picking up the tab for drinks and dinner, American females are thoroughly old-fashioned. American girls will inevitably expect you to at least offer to pay for dinner, and if you do offer, most will gladly accept. The same goes for drinks. If you are on a first date, and you don’t offer to foot the bill, don’t expect a second. It doesn’t matter that she is better educated than you, earns more than you and is likely to outlive you. She'll still expect you to pay. That’s just how it is.

3. Play up the accent

If you have a fairly neutral Irish accent, then scrap it quickly – you won’t sound very “Irish” to the American girl you are trying to impress. Go and watch “Darby O’Gill and the Little People,” and try to talk like some of the characters in that movie. Sure, you won’t sound genuinely Irish – simply because no one in Ireland talks like that – but the girl you are on a date with won’t know that, and probably thinks that everyone in Ireland talks like Sean Connery in the 1959 classic.

Throw in a few Irish expressions here and there – even ones we don’t really use, like, “To be sure, To be sure.” Add a few more that you know the girl won’t understand, thus making her curious, playing up your Irishness and impressing her.

4. Think of non-alcohol related date activities

Be creative in where you take her. Remember (as per point one) that Americans are not nearly as pub-centric as Irish people and don’t need alcohol at every social occasion. Take her to an art exhibition and impress her with your knowledge of the early modernist period…

5. Be chivalrous

You don’t have to put your coat over a puddle of water on the sidewalk so she doesn’t wet her shoes, but you do have to hold doors open, pay for drinks (see point two), pull out her chair and so on. As a rule, you can’t go wrong with chivalry with American women.

6. Try not to talk about your mother

Yes, it is hard being away from home and yes, no one makes bacon and cabbage like your mother can, but try to keep these details to yourself. If you go on too much about your mother, you will reconfirm a stereotype that your date probably already has about Irish guys and their mammies. So keep the mum discussion to a minimum. On the other hand, your date may be relieved to hear that your mother has no interest in being her new best friend.

7. Make vague references to a troubled past

Some Americans have a romantic idea of Irish people as inherently troubled. This may make you seem more attractive in the eyes of the American you are pursuing, so play this up. If you had quite an idyllic childhood, then fabricate. Come out with lines like: "I remember the day the soldiers came to the village...They took every last man, woman and child...The screams, I still hear the screams...” before gazing away sadly into the distance. Refuse to elaborate, adding to your mystique.

8. Don't forget where you are from

Your true Irish character might frighten them, but that’s okay. You do not need to pretend you are the personality that they would imagine an Irish person to be. Let your bitterness, begrudgery and down-to-earthiness shine. You might lose her, but you will still be YOU.

Cheers!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Retro Friday: I hope you know this will go down on your permanent record ...

Today's edition of Retro Friday features the Violent Femmes and the song Kiss Off!

Ahhh, the Violent Femmes. They pretty much kicked off my freshman year in college! And the story goes something like this!


Notre Dame brings the freshman class in a few days before the rest of the students arrive to do a Freshman Orientation Weekend. Freshman Orientation Weekend consists of moving in (duh), going to speaker sessions, going to Mass, and mixers among other things. The most memorable "mixer" from Freshman Orientation Weekend was the "Graffiti Dance." At the "Graffiti Dance" you wear a white t-shirt, bring a marker, and meet other people in your freshman class and "sign" their shirt with your name and/or phone number. Well, you can imagine that this just becomes a total meat market, but it was still fun all the same!

We actually had our t-shirts from the "Graffiti Dance" hanging up on the wall in our dorm room for most of freshman year. It was such a funny reminder to us of how all of this started!

So we met these guys at the Griffiti Dance (isn't that how it always starts?) who invited us to a party the first weekend of school. Cool. We've only been here one day and we've already gotten a party invite. These guys lived in Grace Hall and had this awesome set up. There were like six of them in this three room suite, so you can only imagine how great that was for a party!

The guys that we met at this party ended up being great friends to us all throughout college. Including the upper classmen that we met at this party (who were Juniors) who ended up being our "big brothers" of sort. But one of the most memorable events of this particular party is as follows.

This guy, (we'll call him "J"), invited me into one of the rooms because he wanted to play this song for me. He was cute and so I figured, what the heck! So we're in his room, and the song he plays/sings for me is "Kiss Off" by the Violent Femmes. And if you don't know the lyrics to the song ... let me just say that it's kind of a weird song to sing to a girl that you've just met!

Then all of the sudden I got this panicked feeling that maybe something bad was about to happen, so I quickly made my exit the first chance I got! The guy ended up being harmless, just really weird, and he ended up dropping out of school after freshman year. I often wonder what ever happened to him ... but maybe it's better off that I don't know. The guy from High School that I often wondered what happened to him, when I finally found out, I was greatly disappointed ... so maybe I'm better off leaving well enough alone with "J."

In case you are curious ... here is a link for you to enjoy "Kiss Off" and the lyrics are below the photo!


I need someone a person to talk to
Someone who'd care to love
Could it be you could it be you
Situation gets rough then I start to panic
It's not enough it's just a habit
Hey kid you're sick well darling this is it
You can all just kiss off into the air
Behind my back I can see them stare
They'll hurt me bad but I won't mind
They'll hurt me bad they do it all the time
Yeah yeah they do it all the time
Yeah yeah they do it all the time
Yeah yeah they do it all the time
Yeah yeah they do it all the time
I hope you know this will go down
On your permanent record
Oh yeah well don't get so distressed
Did I happen to mention that I'm impressed
I take one one one cause you left me and
Two two two for my family and
3 3 3 for my heartache and
4 4 4 for my headaches and
5 5 5 for my loneliness and
6 6 6 for my sorrow and
7 7 for no tomorrow and
8 8 I forget what 8 was for and
9 9 9 for a lost god and
10 10 10 10 for everything everything everything everything
You can all just kiss off into the air
Behind my back I can see them stare
They'll hurt me bad but I won't mind
They'll hurt me bad they do it all the time
Yeah yeah,yeah they do it all the time
Yeah yeah,yeah they do it all the time
Do it all the time
Do it all the time
Do it all the time time time
Yeah yeah they do it all the time


Cheers!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Circle of Life

This is a follow up to my post, Joy Comes from Unexpected Places!

A few weeks ago I told you about the mice that brought so much joy into my daughter's life. Well, tragedy struck this week. She came into my room sobbing the night before last. Apparently, one of her dear mice took a nap, and did not wake up. So, we retrieved the poor little thing (we had only had it for three weeks, and it was only three months old when we got it) out of it's cage, placed it gently in a shoe box, and took it outside (for Dad to take care of ... eeeew!).

Then I tried to calm her down. The poor thing was so upset. She had grown so attached to these two little mice in the three short weeks that they had been with us. And she knew that their life expectancy was not overly long (one to three years), but she also knew that it was certainly longer than just under four months.

(Sport)


We then had a discussion on how fragile life is, how one must appreciate the time that we have, and how we have to be responsible when caring for living things, but nothing really seemed to console her. I think she cried herself to sleep, which just breaks my heart. She was pretty sleepy when she got up yesterday morning, so I'm sure she did not sleep well.

Yesterday, on my way home from work, I bought her a new mouse. It's funny, because we were just at the pet store on Saturday, and she had been eyeing this red-ish colored mouse, and I told her no way. We already had two mice. No way were we going to get another one. So I went back to the same pet store, hoping to pick up that same little red-ish colored mouse that she was looking at, but it was already gone.

Now, while I am at the pet store doing this little surprise for her, she is incessantly calling my phone. Where are you? Are you almost home? Can we get a mouse tonight?

Geesh child ... relax and let me do something nice for you!

So I told her that I had to run an errand on my way home, and that her brother had band tryouts tonight, and that they had religion class, and that I just wasn't sure that we'd have time to go get a mouse tonight. (Mean, huh?)

I pull into the driveway, and I see her putting on her jacket ... thinking that we'd run to the pet store before we took her brother to his band tryout ... and I look at her from the car and shake my head no. Her face instantly falls. And then, I hold up the little pet store box with the mouse in it, and her face immediately lights up. She runs out to the car to get her new little mouse, and she is brimming over with joy!

Once again, a silly little rodent fills her life with happiness!

I sure hope this one makes it longer than the last one did. I'm not sure we can handle tragedy like that every three weeks!

This morning, on our way to volleyball practice, she says, "I love you Mom. You are the best Mom in the world."

Amazing what one little mouse can do, eh?

Cheers!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Girls Love Hockey Too

Everyone knows that I love football. Especially Notre Dame football. But you may not know that I love hockey as well. There are three sports, well ... three professional sports ... that I love, and they include football, hockey, and baseball. As the 2011 Twitter Hockey Hottie contest gets ramped up, I thought I talk today a little bit about my love for hockey.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I was not a huge hockey fan. One of my high school friends, Leslie, her family had season tickets to the L.A. Kings, and I learned a lot from her. Including, but not limited to: DO NOT turn around and talk to Gretzky's wife DURING the game ... as when she was doing that she got hit in the back of the head with a puck and had to be rushed to the ER for stitches! LOL

So when I got to Notre Dame for my freshman year, I already had some knowledge of hockey, and then I met Mike Russo. He was one of the goalies for the ND Hockey team, and had played hockey in High School in St. Louis at CBC. He always wore his High School Letterman jacket around campus, and maybe that's what caught my eye, that purple jacket, but I soon rearranged my walking paths so that I would run into him on my way to and from class. We chatted a lot, running into each other like that, freshman year, but I never did get up the nerve to ask him out. And freshman year my friends and I really didn't go to many hockey games. It was enough of a challenge just getting used to being so far away from home, and trying to master classes, not a whole lot of extracurricular activities happened freshman year!




At the end of the summer after freshman year in college, my parents told me that we were moving to St. Louis. St. Louis?? What?? I was crushed. I had four days to say goodbye to my friends before I headed back to college and I could not believe that my parents were doing this to me!! (Typical 18 year old reaction, right?)

And then everything gets put into perspective.

When I got back to campus that first day of sophomore year, I picked up a copy of the first "Observer" of the school year ... the school paper. And there it was on the front page. Freshman, Mike Russo dies.

I think all of the blood rushed out of my face. My friends had tried to get to me before I got a paper, but they didn't make it. Boy, didn't I feel stupid that I never asked him out ... that I was too shy to take the first step. Talk about missed opportunities. I was so upset, I could not even go to the memorial that the school had for him. I was absolutely crushed. I really had no intention of EVER going to a hockey game ever again. All it did was remind me of him.

But then, life has a way of taking care of things. Flash forward to Junior year. My roommate got engaged in November and decided to move off campus with her fiance, and left me needing a roommate. So the rector of our dorm gave me a list of all of the girls from our dorm who were in London for the fall semester and asked me if I knew any of them. I did recognize this one girl (Cara), and I knew we had a friend in common ... Carl, who was (you guessed it) a hockey player ... so I figured she would be okay. And so I picked Cara!

I ran into Carl at the dining hall and told him that Cara and I were going to be roommates the next semester, and his reaction was less than positive. He said ... "Uh, Cara? Really? Oh my." And I said ... "What do you mean??" He replied ... "Well, you are the eternally HAPPY person, and she is the eternally CRABBY person!"

And thus started a wonderful friendship between Cara and I! For the record, she and I were perfect roommates. We were the perfect mix of happy and crabby, and we had a wonderful time that semester! In fact, to this day, we are still the best of friends, she was in my wedding, and she is Offspring #2's God Mother! Okay ... back to the story!

Living with Cara that semester ... she and Carl got me back to going to hockey games again. And then, during my senior year, my Dad let me bring his VERY nice camera, with a telephoto lens, to school with me and I started taking pictures at sporting events. First at football games ... and then at hockey games. I started making copies and enlarging some of good pictures to give to the players, and word got back to the hockey coach of how good my pics were, and I got invited to ride on the team bus with the team and be the team photographer!!

Well, shy me passed on that offer ... but I did road trip to as many games as I could and took TONS of pics.

Watching the game through my camera developed my love for the game, and I have loved it ever since. That, and getting to know quite a few of the guys through my pictures, and getting to know the "characters" that hockey players are ... it was a good thing!

And then, after I graduated from Notre Dame, I got a job doing sales for a local professional soccer team in St. Louis. The best part of that job was two-fold. First ... the soccer team played in The Arena, where the St. Louis Blues played, and our offices opened out onto the top row of the arena ... so I cannot tell you how many hockey games we got to watch from up there!! (shhhh!) And secondly, from hanging out with the soccer players at the drinking establishments near The Arena, we got to meet and get to know a ton of the Blues players ... Hull, Shanahan, CuJo, Jeff Brown ... the list goes on. It was truly a great opportunity (the job that is) and a very fun time in my life!
(Photo at right is Wayne Gretzky's daughter ...)

I still think of Mike every time I go to a hockey game. I probably always will. And though I don't have as much time as I used to go to, or even watch hockey games ... I still thoroughly enjoy it every chance I get.

So there's the roundabout story of my love for hockey! I have many more hockey stories about my friends on the hockey team ... but some of those *wink* will have to remain unsaid! LOL

Cheers!

Hey ... while I've got you here, can I make a shameless plug? Please vote for me?
2011 Twitter Hockey Hottie Contest

Friday, February 4, 2011

Retro Friday ... Borderline

Happy *Freezing* Friday to you all!

Today's Retro Friday features the song "Borderline" ... and the artist Madonna!

Yeah, yeah ... Madonna is not exactly what I would consider "Retro" ... but she is from the 80's ... and I've been singing "Borderline" since I heard it at the gas station yesterday morning on my way to work ... so I need to get it out of my system!!


Ahhh ... Madonna. Many of my formative years include many of Madonna's songs as it's soundtrack! My favorite Madonna story is told by my Mother! When I was in Middle School I sang in the choir at school. Now, growing up in Southern California, you get some interesting fnd raising opportunities. For example, my Girl Scout troop did some fund raising by helping put flowers on Rose Parade floats. Not a bad gig, eh? And my school choir, they would take us to a game show (such as Wheel of Fortune, or Hollywood Squares ... something like that) and the studio would PAY your organization to sit in the audience and applaud. Not a bad gig either!


So my poor Mother has a car full of 7th grade girls, headed down to the studio for our fund raising gig, and "Like a Virgin" by Madonna comes on the radio. And there we are ... all awkward and giggling ... and singing "Like a Virgin" at the top of our lungs. So my Mom asks us ... "Do you girls know what that song is about?" ... and back then, at 12, we truly had no idea ... so she just enjoyed our laughter and didn't make a big deal about it.

Good grief ... if we had only known what we were singing!

So hopefully, now that I've put pen to paper (so to speak), now I can get Madonna out of my head (and into yours)!

Here's a little Madonna for your listening pleasure!

Cheers!







Thursday, February 3, 2011

Pittsburgh Folks Are Everywhere

Well, I had a rant all set and ready to go today, but I decided to take a deep breath, and be nice today instead! *snark alert downgraded*

So instead, I am going to share how it seems to be, that everywhere I go, I run into a fellow Pittsburgher!

Here I am with one of my #SMCSTL friends @u2acro ... you guessed it, a fellow Pittsburgher!


This phenomenon has been occurring to me for quite some time. I have not lived in Pittsburgh since I was a child, but it seems as though I attract people from Pittsburgh wherever I go!

I remember when I was in High School, my family and I took a three week vacation in which we drove from L.A. to Vancouver and back. When we were in Portland, Oregon we stayed in this lovely Bed & Breakfast. The woman was explaining to us where everything was and when breakfast was when my Dad interrupts ... "Are you from Pittsburgh?" To which she replied, "Why yes I am! How did you know?" and he responded "I would recognize that accent anywhere!"

These chance encounters happen to me all the time! It's the strangest thing!

And most recently, I was on a retreat a few weeks ago with my church. Towards the end of the first night we broke up into small groups, and when our group leader started talking I immediately thought to myself ... oh my gosh, that sounds like a Pittsburgh accent. After our small group discussions were over I asked her, "Are you from St. Louis?" And she said, "No, not originally." And then I asked, "Are you from Pittsburgh?" And she replied, "Yes!!" What are the odds, that in a group of 88 women, I would be in a small group with a lady from Pittsburgh?!

It's crazy I tell you! I don't know if us Pittsburghers just attract each other or what, but I must say it's pretty cool!


I am very excited about the Super Bowl! I was going to borrow my Dad's Jerome Bettis jersey, but I found an old Steeler tee in my drawer, so I am good to go!

How about that ... I turned an "Angry Thursday" into "Happy Thursday!" :)

Cheers!