Yesterday was Jill and Tristan's wedding, in which I was a bridesmaid. It was my first time in a bridal party, and I lucked out that my introduction to such a thing was with Jill, who is incredibly easy-going, pretty much the Anti-Bridezilla. The wedding was simple and laid-back--just enough nice touches to make it beautiful without taking away from the real purpose of the thing, to celebrate the couple and the start of their married life. :) They wrote their own script for the ceremony (leaving the traditional vows mostly intact), which suited them perfectly, and was read by a close friend of the couple (who became an officiant specifically for this wedding). The photographer was a friend of the couple, too, and I think his being familiar/comfortable with much of the group made for some especially excellent photos! The weather even cooperated, after threatening to rain all morning--I thought the misty clouds hanging just over the mountains in the background was a nice touch, actually.

here are a few photos from the wedding, by Eric Greenberg:
at the altar
bridesmaids
bride and bridesmaids
action shot
first dance
father/daughter hug

It was really nice to see a couple people I haven't seen since high school (including Tristan!), and Patty and Jennie again (the other bridesmaids). On Saturday night, the rehearsal dinner (an easy gathering at Jill's parents' house) included a bunch of Jill and Tristan's friends, who are all friendly and good-humored, so that was fun too. All in all a lovely weekend!

So, that's one wedding down... the next one is late July. Preparing for that one will be different since my role is cocktail hour musician (piano)--so I need to come up with (and practice) a playlist, and learn a few special-request songs. Then my brother is getting married in October--I'm the maid of honor for that one. Phew, it's like 2009 is the Year of the Wedding.

Otherwise, not much has changed since my last update. I've settled into my new job and am picking up hours when the other gals want a day off. At this point I will take whatever hours I can get--I need the money to buy parts and tools for my piano projects, which I have to finish and sell before I can start saving money to move... and I really want to move, if you haven't noticed, hehe.

I think I should go do something productive. Yup. Maybe I will make the switch to gmail, even though most incarnations/abbreviations of my too-common name are already taken... yahoo has been extra spammy and buggy lately, it's kinda driving me crazy.

If you are a regular/long-term reader of mine, you know the drill--each year I thumb through my lj posts of the previous year and summarize where I went, who I saw, what piqued my interest... and post photos to go with the memories. This year I am pathetically late in doing this, and it seems silly to talk about 2008 when it's already halfway through 2009, but I don't want to break tradition! So here we go. I think it'll be a little different than past year-reviews, because I'm looking back farther than usual, and have a different perspective now... looking back in order to look ahead, or something... hmm.
I don't really expect anyone to care about this now, and it's gonna be long and photo-filled, so I'll throw it behind a cut:

( procrastination station )

You know when you don't write for a while, and you end up feeling so overwhelmed by all the stuff you want to catch up on, that you put off writing? yeah. Well now I'm just gonna go for it. May was chock full of visiting family and friends, lots of driving to Mass, southern NH, Vermont (and accidentally Canada--maybe I should ask for a GPS for Christmas this year). Less exhausting than one might expect, which is nice--it's good to be busy but not feel stressed out by it.

I feel like writing tonight. I think this is going to be long. I should use titles, yes, I think I will.

I have a job, finally
I got a job, hooray! It kind of fell in my lap. There is this organization in a neighboring town called WREN, which was women-founded, and is focused on helping local businesses/entrepreneurs. Lots of networking and social events and the like. In recent years it's expanded enough to include a retail store, where members can sell their products/art [there's also an attached Gallery space]. So I'm working part-time in the store, and helping out with the Farmer's Market which is twice a week now through October. I haven't put in a whole lot of hours yet but it's a nice place to work so far, and it's definitely a plus to get out of the house and feel productive. I think having a work schedule to work around is helping me be less lazy overall, since I'm forced to be used to getting off my ass.

piano stuff
I finally got around to ordering some specialized tools so I can measure the grand piano's hammers, which I need to do before I can order replacement parts. A step in the right direction. I also just got a PPC/PDA and some tuning software, which should kick-start my learning tuning, since I'll be able to use it to check my work, and keep our piano in the ballpark (instead of screwing over its tuning as I practice). For a while I wasn't sure if I wanted to pursue the whole piano technician thing but after all this time I can't think of anything I'd rather do... it might not be the most lucrative field in a bad economy, it might be kind of a dying art, but I have to look on the bright side and remember there will always be real pianos at universities and concert halls and stores and piano teachers/students' homes, and therefore a need for technicians. WREN has a real "you can do it!" attitude about business endeavors, so maybe that positive energy is rubbing off on me. :)

and now to sum up (am I allowed to use the phrase "sum up," with my wordiness? don't answer that) the month's events...

Boston with Kirk!
Early May I went down to Boston for one night to hang out with Kirk, who's from England and was on a long holiday in the States. Before heading to a Red Sox game, we went to BeerWorks near Fenway where I had a Boston Bluebeery Ale, which actually had blueberries floating around in it like blobs in a lava lamp. I like quirky, and I like blueberries, so this was excellent in my book. Kirk had scored Green Monster tickets (standing room), which was pretty sweet. I usually don't care much about baseball (though I know the rules pretty well) but I like the atmosphere of being AT a game, and it was a really cool view! We got cold-rained on, boogied to the random psych-up music they played (yeah "Thriller!"), cracked the hell up at the awesome dancing-guy in front of us, and each had a Monster Dog, which is the most enormous hot dog I've ever seen in my life. And I ate the whole thing, kind of disgusting. I was just so hungry! But ugh, I filled my meat quota for a good two weeks. Haha. Oh and also, we saw a record breaking inning. I don't remember the exact numbers but it was like 2-1 Indians, and then in the 6th inning the Sox got something like 12 straight runs--crazy! And fun to watch the fans freak out, haha.
After the game we spent the night in a hostel, which I've never done before. I couldn't decide if I felt more like I was in early college, or summer camp. Sleeping in the same room with people you don't know at all, that's so summer camp. It made me think of wooden cabins, embroidery-thread friendship bracelets, and standing in line for meals. Hand-clap games, and that one where you pretend you are cutting open someone's arm and stuffing rocks and feathers into it, and sewing it shut, and then the arm feels heavy. That one was always freaky.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. Kirk and I had breakfast at a little bookstore cafe the next morning, where he got bubble tea and I got banana pancakes. [This made me think of B'Elanna from Voyager. God I'm a nerd.] Before I had to drive home, we went to the aquarium, 'cause Kirk has owned fish and knew quite a bit about them. [I always end up at the Boston aquarium, haha, maybe I should be a member.] I just think the penguins are cute. And I like the fish that obsessively digs a hole in the pebbles, I think it's called a Rockmover or something. It reminds me of that scene in The Phantom Tollbooth where people are doing never-ending tasks like moving a pile of sand one grain at a time. Hm, why did everything about this trip remind me of other things? Weird. Anyway, that was a fun trip, it was great to see Kirk. :)

family
Let's see... dinner at a Chinese place with my grandmother, aunts, and uncles for Mother's Day... not much to say about that. It was nice.
A couple weekends back we went down to visit my bro Jeff and his family. Their baby Adam is 3 months now and much less... alien-like... than the last time we saw him. He's looking people straight in the eyes now and smiling, especially when his big brother Alex plays with him. :) We all went to the driving range, where I hit maybe 10 out of 50 balls decently. I can't remember the last time I tried to hit a golf ball, several years at least, but that's pretty sad. I missed a bunch of times. Oddly though, I kind of could picture myself playing golf if I knew better what I was doing. Maybe someday. Then we went bowling, which I really don't do often enough. I kind of love bowling, even if I suck at it (not as badly as I suck at golf though... wow I'm making myself sound real coordinated!).
These past few days my oldest bro Jason and his lady Stephanie were up to visit. I didn't see a whole lot of them because they were dividing their trip in order to visit with different people, but they are always really nice to hang out with and talk to. :) Monday we all went out to the local Thai restaurant, which was my choice--a sort of belated birthday dinner. Later we played Scene It, which I won largely because I know Matthew Broderick does one of the voices in The Lion King (adult Simba). I think that's kind of funny... 'cause we avoided playing DISNEY Scene It so I wouldn't smoke the competition, and yet... ;)

Burlington, Cabaret
One weekend I drove to my OTHER bro Mike's (that is the last bro, I promise) town, to see Lois's annual Cabaret show. It was at a smaller, black-box-style theatre this year, so the big dance numbers weren't as extravagant, but the music was especially excellent. The band was really tight and spot-on the entire show. And they added an Anti Host of sorts, who was supposed to be kind of dark and evil (for most of the show)... and he played and sang songs he wrote himself, on the accordion, which was pretty sweet. I know most people would cringe at the mention of an accordion, but this is 20's-30's Cabaret music and it fits perfectly. The music was the best part of this year's show for me--my favorite skits were all musical numbers, if I remember correctly. Lois's chair dance (which she sings the lead for, every year), a sad song about a Soldier's Wife... and all the gifts he sends her, and the last one is an urn 'cause you know, he died in battle. The last lines were sung by a young girl and it made me tear up a little. The only thing I really missed this year, well, person, was BILLIE. Billie was the lesbian Cabaret girl character, who was constantly hitting on all the other girls in between and during skits and it just cracked me up. And she sang pretty too. Come back, Billie, you're my favorite! hahah.
Those of you on facebook may know this already, but driving to VT I neglected to take my exit and 40 minutes later, ended up just shy of the Canadian border. Like, I could see the border. Thus my comment about possibly needing a GPS one of these days.

bachelorette weekend
This past weekend I went down to Boston for a bachelorette overnight. It was just the bride and the three of us in the bridal party, and it was a pretty laid back weekend. Jill was content to wander the Gardens and Newbury St., before we made our way to Uno's (where they have gluten-free pizza). By the time we got to Uno's we were all ridiculously thirsty and the table went silent as we all downed our waters, haha. After dinner we went to see Angels and Demons, which held my interest but that doesn't mean I think it was good. I expected it to be more intellectual than it was. It was a bit too Blockbuster for me, too reminiscent of a movie like "National Treasure," where the protagonist solves age-old riddles in 10 seconds. The twists in the story seemed kind of random--like they were done for momentum, not 'cause they actually made a whole lot of sense. *shrug* I never saw or read The DaVinci Code so I didn't really know what to expect... but meh. 2 out of 5 stars.
The next morning we got some food from a grocery a street away from the Common, then sat on the grass and ate breakfast in the sun while people- (and dog-) watching. I just love the Boston Common/Gardens, I could just hang out there all day. I really love Boston... in the daytime. At night, it can be kinda scary. In Feb. Erin and I saw a dude trying to steal a bike and we had to consciously avoid a sketchy guy following us. This time we saw an obvious hooker in red heels leaning into a driver's-side window, and a broken glass shop window (which wasn't broken when we walked by it earlier that evening)--and this isn't in some red-light district or bad part of town, this was along the downtown/financial district edge of the Common. The fact that I don't feel safe alone in Boston at night is really the only reason I'm not sure I could live there, as much as I like Boston overall. It's a little sad. But ohhh well. Maybe it's just been sketchier lately 'cause of the bad economy and won't be that way forever.
Jill's wedding is coming up on the 21st! It was nice to get a chance to spend some time with the other girls (who are both very nice, easy to get along with, and fun! not that I would expect Jill to have friends that weren't) before the big day. :)

On the way home from Boston on Sunday, I went to lunch with my aunt and uncle, at a Japanese place called Sake. It was too early in the day for Sake but I did have miso soup and a few pieces of sashimi, which made me feel homesick, since the only time I've had that before was in Japan. Oh, Japan.

believe it or not, that's all I got for tonight. I kind of tired myself out writing all that... Well I might also be tired 'cause I worked a full day and it's 1:30am now... so maybe, just maybe, it's bedtime. Bed sounds nice. Goodnight!

no, just time, not space. ...no, I don't know what I'm talking about.
anyway, I was just realizing, that I've had this livejournal thingy since 2003--kind of a long time for a single journal (for me anyway), kind of neat. Just for fun, I went back to my very first entry from October 2003, all like, I wonder what was on my mind when I decided to start blabbing about whatever to anyone and everyone that cared to read it? And then I got all mind-blown about like, the progression of self or something. I say "or something" 'cause I have no idea if that phrase is what I mean, it just sounded good.

So first of all, in Oct. '03 I talk about having my first few drinks (at 18), and how I have a few left in the fridge and maybe I should drink one? Hah, aw, baby Jen. Completely unaware that Smirnoff Ice is totally lame and like, basically soda, and confused why 3 of them did absolutely nothing to her. Saying it'd be lame to have a drink by herself at the computer. What does she know? heh, heh.
Anyway enough of the weird 3rd-person talk, I'm starting to confuse herself. Um.

Back to the old entry: Then I'm talking about how I feel like 18 is all juvenile and I wished I were 5 or 6 years older, and guess what? THAT'S ME NOW. Past-self is totally talking about present-self. And now in 2009 I think, wouldn't it be cool if I could write my past-self a letter and be like, "dude, you are totally not going to believe it"? If I told past-self about some of the things that have happened in the past six years, I would have thought it was some big joke, like "haha, yeah maybe in my dREams, future-self!" It kind of blows my mind. [That, and trying to describe my various-tense selves talking to each other without sounding completely loony or nonsensical.]

Then again, it's not as if this is some fantastic revelation. It's not like 6-year-old Jen anticipated anything but the steady acquisition of more stuffed animals, and going to school, and someday being one of those whale trainers at Sea World (what can I say, I watched too much Free Willy). Or like 12-year-old Jen could possibly imagine hanging out with best-friend Erin at a bar, with red wine, trying to remember our old middle school writing code, 12 years later--and eventually remembering the entire alphabet of symbols. Oh by the way, said best-friend has a kid now, and not only does this kid kind of like me, but I'm pretty fond of her too--12-year-old me would not have guessed that at ALL.
Of course we don't see what's coming years down the road, why would we want to anyway?

But it makes me wonder if, 6 more years hence, I will look back and be like HA 24-year-old Jen was so completely not expecting this! Or will it be more like "oh yeah, that sounds about right"? Maybe somewhere in between, since now I kind of expect myself to find ways to go on adventures, and take advantage of unique experiences and special connections with people... I kind of expect myself to do the unexpected, to allow myself to explore the unplanned and the unusual. I'm not sure the 18-year-old me was quite that personally adventurous, or aware of the fact that yes, you can travel across the globe if you wanna; yes, you can fulfill your own dreams if you try (or some part of them--like, I'm never gonna be a famous musician but I do have a CD!); and yes, occasionally those crazy hypothetical scenarios you concoct do come true, one way or another.

It's especially weird when that last one happens, 'cause it's almost deja-vu, but it's also in some ways totally not what you expected, and so you feel like you're in some parallel universe but it's many many times better because it's REAL and not just in your head. So here's hoping when I'm 30, I do live in San Francisco or Boston or New Zealand, and I'm either an accomplished piano technician, or a Japanese-themed shop owner, or a horse-rescue ranch worker, and a pretty damn good belly-dancer on the side, with a sexy cherry-blossom branch tattoo wrapped around my left arm. And I'm sure there'll be some things I can't even imagine are possible, couldn't even begin to anticipate because they're so laughably out of my comprehension at this point in time. I hope that 6 years from now, I can look back at what I'm writing now and be like "dude, past-self, YOU ARE TOTALLY NOT GONNA BELIEVE IT."

Ever since the mass migration to facebook, I haven't paid much attention to Myspace, only logging in occasionally in case I have any messages. And even that's not really necessary 'cause it's not like anyone ever messages me there. But you know, it's in my bookmarks and that means it's gonna get clicked on now and then--tonight being one of those times.

I scroll down on the homepage, skipping by the usual updates and bulletins from random acquaintances--you know, those fringe people on your friends lists where you acknowledge "oh yeah, I know you" by accepting the "add," but you never actually connect with them. Nothing of any particular inter--oh wait. Tonight there's an update from a person I used to know, paired with a new profile photo. This one catches my attention so I click to get a better look at this new photo...

I have to stop and collect myself for a moment because, frankly, this person has never looked quite so beautiful as he does in this photo. I don't know exactly what it is--I mean, I could probably list several things about it but, I don't want to ruin it by over-analyzing. It just is what it is, and the sheer emotional reaction I get from seeing it is nostalgic and confusing and lovely and sad, all at the same time.

That's because this person is someone who's always been special to me, though we were never really friends. He was different than anyone I'd ever met, in a way I found wonderfully eye-opening; I felt like there were new colors in the sky I'd never seen before. He was the sort of person that leaves a mark on your life forever.

There was a time where we had a real connection, a stars-aligning thing perhaps, the kind of thing you would have missed entirely if it weren't for several strokes of luck. Real, but unusual and, as it turns out, temporary. We've been out of touch for quite a while. He should know my door is always open for him, so to speak... but, as it stands right now... We're not friends; he's out living his life and I'm not in it at all. It's fine, there's no hard feelings on my part, I just miss him. Just, sometimes it's still hard for me to accept that he's "gone."

And yet there he is, randomly showing up on my computer screen. I wonder if it would be harder or easier, to deal with missing people with whom you've fallen out of touch, or lost some connection or closeness, were it not for the internet and all these automatically updating profile sites. I mean, without that, if you lose touch with people, you might not have any idea of how they're doing, or if they were even still alive. It's easier knowing these people are okay... but at the same time, harder if they're still on your radar and yet you can't (or shouldn't) do anything about it.

...I can't help but love how our connectedness with other people is at once endlessly complex and ultimately simple. Throw in all the different ways we can communicate or "keep tabs" on each other with modern technology and you've got a regular labyrinth of high-hedged confusion. I don't mind the maze, but deep down all I really want is that garden in the middle--real, meaningful, direct human contact. There is nothing better.

Lillian

I imagine a young daughter
who has my eyes
and an unusually high emotional IQ
who is wiser about the world than I
was at age 18

in part because she is naturally precocious,
bright-minded and empathetic
(like her imaginary father)
but also because I have learned a thing or two
and do not hesitate
to share my heart with her

she can keep hers open
for children have little need for inhibition
and no one will fault her for being too honest,
or for loving too easily,
or too deeply

as I watch her bond with gentle-souled strangers,
I am reminded that we
are meant to experience those feelings too strong,
too colorfully wonderful,
to be contained
separately
in our individual earthly bodies

the moon and the surnise in the same sky, a panoramic view of my backyard at 5:30am. It's prettier in real life 'cause my eyes think the moon looks way bigger than my camera thinks it is. One little plus to the odd hours I'm keeping this week. :)

OK, so maybe, just maybe, I'm getting a little old for this goofyass chat archive stuff, but I couldn't help myself. I had a few nuggets tucked away and I just had to flesh out one more of these things for old times' sake. I guess it's partly a nostalgia thing--it's fun to look back on some of the best laughs... Cyn especially still cracks me up years after the fact, even if we don't talk all that much these days. All but one of them (Erin) live various amounts of far away, and damn do I miss them all!
anyway... what's funny is that this archive is pulled from like an entire year+ of chats... back in the day when I was in college and an Instant Message FIEND, a couple months would give me an archive twice this long! ...am I really admitting that? OK, whatever, here comes the silliness:

Lou: yeah i get nervous when i can see so many stars lmao
Lou: like i suddenly feel so small and breakable
Jen: awww!

Jen: i was just saying you're funny
Jen: that's all
John: ahh gotcha..thanks
Jen: you are welcome
John: I feel I should follow up with some sort of compliment lol
Jen: hahahah nah
Jen: you can wait for me to deserve
Jen: one
Jen: can't ytpe
Jen: dammit
John: haha
John: good typing :-)
Jen: LOL!
Jen: aww thanks john! smartass
...
Jen: 7 minutes to pizz time!
Jen: LMAO
John: pizz time ? hehe
Jen: hahahahhhaha that cracked me up so much
Jen: SPEAKING of my awesome typing... hahhha
John: if you got to go you got to go..no need to time it

Lou: SO MUCH ENERGY AND HAPPINESS AND NO WHERE TO PUT IT ALL!

Cyn: it was like dumping a bunch of people from different tv shows together and playing that 10 steps from Tom Cruise game, or whatever its called
Jen: LMAO 10 steps from tom cruise game
Jen: *Dies laughing*
Cyn: LOL do you know what I mean?
Jen: do you mean 6 degrees of kevin bacon?
Cyn: yeah LOL

Karen: We were playing "catch phrase" where you get a word and have to get the others to guess it by describing the word or using actions
Karen: This game we were playing actually went pretty fast - most of the words you could describe in a few seconds. It's a speed game. My hardest one was "London Bridge"
Jen: london bridge?
Jen: i would have just been like.. it's falling down! falling down, falling down
Karen: oh yeah, huh? LOL
Karen: I could only think that it was in Arizona, but how many people know that? *nerdface*
Jen: LMAO! it is?
Jen: karen: it's in arizona. me: ............lizards?

Jen: i should like
Jen: count to 5 before i say anything
Lou: lmao
Lou: there ya go
Jen: sounds like a plan
Jen: next time i will be Delayed Reaction Girl
Jen: instead of Foot in Mouth Girl #2

( more nonsense under the cut )

This is going to be a really bizarre week. I have the house to myself until Friday, as my parents are off visiting my eldest brother in Atlanta, and I stayed home (partly because I had my own big trip a couple weeks ago, and also so I could housesit and catsit while they're gone). I've banished their random paper/magazine clutter to places where I don't have to look at it, the radio is never on "80's, 90's, and today" soft-rock mainstream music, and no one cares if I do or do not wear anything but pj's. All of this is nice, although this is a big house to be alone in, and it's gonna take some effort to not get swallowed up by it. I've already played more harp and guitar than I have in months, after pulling them out to prominent places where they are totally, and purposely, in my way.

And also... I had a ridiculous sleep schedule before Japan, and then the jet lag coming back totally screwed me over (not being able to sleep 'til sunrise, that sort of thing). So I'm trying this thing where you push back your bedtime a few hours each night (but still only sleep the standard 7-8 hours at a time), until it cycles around to where you want it. Meanwhile, I'll have a totally wacky schedule (like for example, today I got up at 4pm, and will be staying up until something like noon tomorrow). It won't be much of a problem, as long as I can keep occupied, but the tricky thing is... well, the combination of an empty house all night with no one to talk to, and having to stay up until I'm dumb-tired... that sort of thing leaves me so emotionally vulnerable. Normally if I'm down or lonely or unsure, I can either logic my way out of it, or daydream to distraction--but there's a certain point where I don't have the energy, and whatever I'm feeling is completely raw and in-my-face... which I guess is sort of a good thing to experience, you can't hold your emotions at arm's length forever, after all. But it's not so easy to stomach, sometimes.

Forgive me, I'm being all cryptic and wandering around inside my own head. Uhh.
So! I think I mentioned that I recently went to JAPAN. It was seriously amazing, and though I wasn't altogether surprised by how nice it was there (and how kind, and generally fantastic the PEOPLE are there), because I'd had several heads up about that... it's something else experiencing it for real. I really didn't want to tear myself away--it felt so homey, oddly enough. I expected to feel like I'd landed on a different planet or something, but right away I was comfortable, and I just grew to love it there so much. And it was really great to spend the time with Brett--we've hung out in the past but only ever for a couple hours at a time, with years in between... so, getting to know him better and finding we are totally comfortable together, was no small part of why the trip was so lovely. :)

Tokyo is huge and in parts, stuffed to the gills with people, and yet it's impeccably clean in most parts, and there is a general feeling of respect among people. Except in super-touristy areas, if I was off wandering alone I was the only non-Asian looking person within sight--which I expected to feel kind of self-conscious about, but I found that I really didn't mind it at all, and in fact kinda liked "standing out." It may be because anyone who showed they even noticed/cared that you were a foreigner were the ones who were, completely unbidden, offering you their help. One time I was in Ginza, and I knew exactly where I was but wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go, so I was looking at a map--not looking stressed or worried, just patiently trying to get my bearings. And this lady stops and asks, "do you need help?," then proceeded to happily point me in the right direction. Not only that, but we ended up walking across the street together and she asked where I was from, and talked about how she's actually been to NH, years ago--and waved and gave one last point to my direction as we parted ways. So nice!

And that's just one example--everyone was just so respectful and helpful. The last morning, when I made my way back to Narita Airport by train, my first train was absolutely packed because it was during morning rush hour and we were on our way to one of the larger stations in Tokyo. [Brett lives a bit west in Tokyo, in a section that feels more like a big town than part of a giant city] Salarymen and schoolchildren all squeezed in, and I felt bad 'cause I had my luggage taking up extra space. I think we may have gotten people-pushed onto the train, though I couldn't see if that was the case. But nobody gives dirty looks, nobody even looks stressed about it--they are just used to that close proximity and are totally chill. I didn't see this, but apparently on some of those train rides that are so full you remain standing just by the pressure of everyone around you, dudes actually just fall asleep on each other, 'cause there is that level of comfort/trust. You walk through Tokyo and there are rows and rows of bikes lining the streets, none of them chained or locked down (some of them have a small wheel lock, but that's it). Tons of vending machines EVERYWHERE but not a whole lot of trash cans, and yet you almost never see so much as a single bottle on the ground. It's sort of mindblowing, and also kind of reassuring that modern, civilized society is possible without the extreme abundance of disrespect (including general rudeness, carelessness, littering, and crime) that you see in American cities. I'm sure there are exceptions, but in Japan, respect seems to be the rule. Brett says the literal translation for their word for "no" (iie) is actually "good, but..." and even then they avoid saying that actual word as much as possible. It's somethin' else how considerate they are.

I really didn't see a whole lot of what you'd call "touristy" stuff, though I did go to a few sites like Meiji-Jingu (shrine) and the Sony Building in Tokyo, and Kyomizu-dera (temple) in Kyoto. Most of my touristing time was spent wandering in various areas, like Yoyogi-Koen (a park near Meiji-Jingu), which was filled with people due to the at-peak cherry blossoms. And that's fine with me--I'm not the sort of tourist that likes to have an "itinerary" that's strictly followed in order to squeeze in as much as possible. I'd rather just BE in a place. And in Tokyo, after only a couple days there I was so comfortable (if completely illiterate) that it almost felt like I was actually living there. The city just really resonated with me. And since I was staying with Brett, I ended up at some great places without even trying, my favorite of which was an amazing restaurant in Shimo. There was this mackerel sashimi (raw, and not balled up in rice or anything) that they seared with a mini blow-torch right in front of you, and you put lemon juice on when they're done... it was probably one of the best things I've ever tasted in my entire life, hehe (I say "one of," because I haven't talked about the curry doughnut or okonomiyaki yet).

Anyway, I have FAR more to tell about Japan... and if I'm not careful and let myself keep going on about it, it'll be 2 hours later and I'll realize I'm still telling Japan stories, in no particular order. Not that there's anything wrong with that, necessarily, but I'm getting kinda hungry and I think it might be "lunchtime" (at 11pm). So, that's all for now. More about Japan to come in the near future, though.

Oh, and here are a few photos for the road... All 350+ of them can be found at my flickr page (under Travel), and I have my 100ish favorites uploaded on facebook. Feel free to take a look!





(There seemed to be a real water theme throughout my trip, both in and out of the photos I took... which I kinda love. It seems fitting, somehow.)

hello hello! Scrolling through the "current mood" choices here on lj, I realized I most often pick "okay," "sleepy," or "awake." It's like my personal evaluation of my current mood is limited to how alert (or not) I feel. No real emotional involvement whatsoever. Or maybe I'm just subconsciously keeping it a secret, something for you readers to figure out within the entry. Or maybe I'm just overthinking this. Yeah, probably that.

So it's been over a month since I last wrote, and neither have I gotten around to a 2008 review post like I've been meaning to (at what point in 2009 is it too late to talk about 2008? ...maybe I will write it on a day I feel "nostalgic," and then I can select "nostalgic" for my current mood! two birds with one stone! ...actually I don't like that metaphor, it just sounds mean. maybe I can say "two flies with one swat" instead, I am low on sympathy for flies. they are the sort of creature I don't rescue from my deadly housecats. I think perhaps now I am searching for a phrase to end the parenthetical babble...), nor have I written about recent things like Boston/Ryan+Cardinals show with Erin or meeting my new nephew Adam, nor have I managed to upload photos since like, last summer. Ah well, this stuff will have to wait; I don't feel like playing catch-up at the moment. I'm... in the /now/. (that's deep, right?)

Today I started writing a packing list for Japan. A list is necessary because when I don't have one, I overpack like crazy. So this is like, an exercise in concis...concision? conciseness? ...wait, are those both words? Spell-check isn't underlining either of those. Hm, concision. Well, you know what I mean. right? Knowing me I will dictionary.com it 2 minutes after I post this, making half this paragraph completely unnecessary.
ANYway, I'm surprisingly not stressed out. I'm like, I have over a week to get everything together, yeah? It's all good. I was unusually chill when I went on a group trip to France in high school, too--and that included a few-day stay with a host family I'd never met; you'd think that would make me kinda nervous. Part of me likes that I apparently take international trips in stride, but another part wishes I would truly, physically freak out about it. Like Wheel of Fortune contestants that win the bonus round and jump up and down like 5-year-olds on a sugar rush. I wonder what would make me go nuts like that. I'm not even sure winning a big money prize would do it--I think I would just be dumbfounded, that girl who covers her wide-eyed face and is like "you're kidding me!" Someday I hope to find something that makes me go absolutely batshit crazy (that phrase makes me miss Cyn!).

I also assembled a couple nesting mission end-tables for my mom today (not crazy-inducing--try again), which involved wood glue and dowels, and man, I had no idea how much I'm in the habit of wiping glue on my pants until I used it while wearing non-work pants. I miss the days of wiping glue on my pants. Is that weird? hm.

(shameless reality show babble alert!)
Anyone else follow American Idol? Normally this is the kind of show I pay mild attention to while I'm home 'cause a few of the people have decent voices, and 'cause my parents are watching it so why not. But this season has a few people I really like (Matt and Kris, and yeah I like quirky-ass Megan too), and there is this one dude called Adam Lambert who is like, insane. First seeing him you think, eh, okay, one of those emo boys in makeup, whatev. But then he gets on stage and it's like whoa. His vocal range is ridiculous, and his nearly-professional performing style (partly influenced by a musical theater background) is completely over-the-top, dynamic, almost scandalous. He did this sitar-tinged, dark-dramatic, Jeff Buckley soundin' version of Cash's "Ring of Fire" last night that was probably the best thing I've ever seen on AI (I've only seen a few seasons, but I can guess what the rest were like). His other songs have been kickass, too, but this one was also crazy-strange, gloriously WTF. Everyone seems completely flabbergasted by him, which makes sense 'cause he totally doesn't seem like he belongs on this cheese-fest of a show, complete with capable but none-too-exciting almost-blind guy, All-American blue collar "mainstream America will love this!" guy, teddy bear widower with the raspy voice guy, and awkward but power-singer teenage girl. Those are the types you expect on this show. Adam is like the ultimate black sheep here and I love how his being there sometimes makes it seem like the show is about to implode. Even better is watching the AI review-writer on televisionwithoutpity.com try to describe it. I love that site, they are so snarky and hilarious.

okay, I'm itchin' to cross-stitch. I only said "itchin'" 'cause it like, almost rhymes. or something.
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night! [yup, totally googled that, I always thought it sounded like "all veet-es and" go me.]

Now for the rest of the updates...

-My parents and I ended up having Maverick (my brother's dog) for something like 2 months, because Jeff's family decided they weren't the best home for him (they both work and so Mav didn't always get all the exercise/attention he needed, plus they have a baby on the way), and didn't take him back when they moved into their new house. We luckily found a great home for him in a neighboring town, with true dog people who are very outdoorsy and active. They may even take him skijorning (which is like dog sledding except you ski behind the dog) someday, which I'm sure Mav would love since he has SO much energy. Maybe best of all, this family has friend with dogs, so Mav will often get canine playtime, which might just be his favorite thing in the world. :) Very nice to have a happy ending, a "forever family" for him.

-My best friend from high school, Erin, came home to visit for a couple weeks in January, but circumstances have since changed and it turns out she'll be here long-term with her 8-month old daughter Tegan (living at her parents' place). I've been spending a lot of time with them (for some reason Tegan seems to have taken to me... I don't get why kids like me so much, haha). It's been years since Erin and I have really hung out on an everyday basis but we get along just like we used to, if not better since we have both grown a lot. This doesn't mean we've forgotten all our stupid middle school inside-jokes. ;) So Erin and I are playing Wii at her house, hanging out with Teg, occasionally going out for a drink, and going to the gym together. It's really nice to have a close friend around, and she's going through a tough time right now so it's nice to be able to be here for her. It's a little oddly fateful, I think, that we both end up back in Littleton temporarily, but indefinitely, at the same time. Seems like it will help us both move forward and not get stuck in a northern NH rut too badly.

-I'm trying to shift away from too much video games/TV and get back to some hobbies... reading, cross-stitching, word puzzles. Not that those are any more /productive/ but at least it gets me in a more "doing" sort of mindset. Still following my favorite shows, still have my favorite movies on in the background while I cross-stitch, but less screen-time overall.

-I'm having less success trying to shift my sleep schedule, though--seems like in order to shift it significantly I have to force myself up earlier than I'm ready each day (since going to bed before I'm tired does squat), but then I am sleep-deprived and have no energy to exercise or do anything meaningful, which means I don't tire myself enough to stop the late night alertness from kicking in... blah. I wish I was a morning person. That's so much more in line with THE REST OF SOCIETY. heheh.

-We finally found a suitable workbench for my dad's workshop, that I can use for my piano work. The next step is to set up accounts with a couple supply companies and order stuff for job #1 (replacing the hammers/shanks on the grand piano). When we put the action on the workbench, I turned it around in a practiced, automatic way since it's something I did a lot at work, and in that moment I really missed my old job. I mean, there were definitely days that it was real monotonous, or sometimes frustrating (piano work is very precise and finicky at times), but overall I really liked the work I did. It makes it hard to be enthused to get a retail or office job around here, but that's pretty much all there is. I think I'd be okay at waitressing but I would also kind of hate it. Some point soon though I will just have to bite the bullet and remind myself it's for the paycheck, not for a career.

-In a couple weekends Erin and I are spending the night in Boston, and we have tickets to a Cardinals (Ryan Adams) concert at the Orpheum Theatre. Sweeeeet. It's gonna be fun. :)

-and, last but certainly not least... I am going to Japan!! Yes, yes, I am, in early April. I'm going alone but staying with a friend who lives in Tokyo (for a little over a week), so hopefully that will lessen the whole "lost and clueless" effect that a completely foreign country is going to have on me. I was in France once, but I spoke/understood a fair amount of the language... pretty much all I can say in Japanese is like... konnichiwa (hello), hai (yes), arigato (thank you), samurai. (OK, that last one is cheating.) I'm hoping to get at least some basic phrases down before I go. Like, "do you speak English?" heheheh, nah, just kidding. I know locals appreciate when you at least try to communicate in their language (instead of assuming everyone should speak English, 'cause like, that's only a little arrogant, hehe), and I intend to show that kind of respect. Japan sounds like a really cool place, I'm really excited that I'm actually going. I even have a plane ticket so it is official (even if my own brain isn't quite wrapped around the reality, yet).
I'll be in Tokyo most of the time I'm there (perhaps with a couple day trips, I'm not sure), except a couple days towards the end we'll go to Kyoto, which is considered the "cultural capital" of Japan, and is famous for its temples/shrines, and the geisha district (Gion). We're staying one night in a ryokan (Japanese inn), with the tatami mats, futons, meals served in the room, shoes-off-at-the-entrance, gardens-just-outside and everything. It's called Ryokan Motonago, and it sounds so uniquely great. Well, the whole trip does really. I have a bunch more research to do, but only a couple more things I have to take care of in advance... the rest is just figuring out what I might want to see, and that sort of thing. Though I am much more of a soak-it-in tourist than a see-all-the-sights-you-can-possibly-fit-in-a-day tourist, so as long as I get to walk around plenty I'll be happy. :) Cool foreign country aside, it will be great to hang out with Brett throughout the trip--we've always gotten along great, but haven't had a whole lot of in-person bonding time over the years.
so, yay! that's the big news and what most of my attention has been focused on in my free time. Thankfully though, the time-consuming job of researching flights and accommodation is over, and now I just get to fill my brain with everything Japanese (my mom is already sick of hearing about it, heheheheh).

And now, that I have timed this entry almost exactly with the CD I'm listening to... after this song, I'm gonna go up and shower at 3:10am (something I can only do when the parents are away), and hit the sack. goodnight!

Hello everyone! Let's see, how long has it been... like 2 months since my last proper entry, eh? I'm not gonna try to remember everything I missed, but I want to write about some stuff, like my NYE Vegas trip. Normally I do a "year-in-review" type post at the start of the New Year, and I will probably still do that even though it's already February... but for now, installment #1 of catchup posts:

Christmas
The holidays were typical with lots of family time, and this year all the visiting was spread over a few weeks, so it was like an extended onslaught of family instead of one hectic week. Which is kind of nice. I had fun at the pre-Christmas get-together on my Mom's side... I have always been the "in between" cousin, 'cause there is an older group, a younger group, and I'm somewhere in the gap. It was nice chatting with a few of my younger cousins who are now high-schoolers and pretty cool/funny people. :) And I won the traditional family card game, "Oh Heck." That may be partly because my grandparents weren't in the game messing everyone up with their crazy-ridiculous bets, but still.
My parents and I ended up having the house to ourselves on Christmas day itself--a first, and a little strangely quiet for my tastes. I think my brothers grew up and went their separate ways before I was ready to let go of crazy Christmas mornings with toys and games, and I always miss that vibe a bit. (But who doesn't, right?) We watched A Christmas Story for the first time, and the part where the kid snarfs into his food pretending he's a pig or something, completely cracked us all up. That and the Chinese Christmas duck and how they are all laughing at it, and how the waiter-dude chops off his head, ha! Definitely a new classic for me, to be watched at Christmases hence.
After Christmas, my dad's side of the family had a get-together, and for some reason I really dug the food, especially the salad. And I had a good talk with my aunt and uncle (both very talented, worldly sort of people) about music and inspiration, the need to get out there and do stuff, explore, surround yourself with new things, in order to spark creativity. They live a T ride away from Boston so I may be staying with them on and off while I apartment/job-search, once I can afford to move down there. For now though, it was nice to have their encouragement and understanding. :)
And of course, I saw my siblings, niece, and nephew... always nice, if sometimes exhausting. ;)

New Year's in Vegas
For New Year's, I hopped on a plane to Vegas, where I met up with a bunch of friends--the group I roomed with a few years back (most of them, anyway) plus a few friends of friends. Unfortunately I got whacked with a nasty cold just before leaving, so I didn't have the energy or sense of adventure I might have otherwise... that did lead to not spending much on alcohol, which I guess is a plus. ;) We spent New Year's Eve at Margaritaville, where I had Jerk Chicken that was really good but HOT. Thankfully the margaritas helped, so my mouth wasn't aflame all night. We watched some dude jump his motorcycle onto the fake Arc de Triomphe on TV, danced a bit to a cover band... I'm beginning to wonder if I'm actually capable of dancing cool. I used to think that I can, and just chose not to, but now I'm not so sure. But hey, being cool is overrated. It's all about having FUN! hehe.
We went out to the strip just before midnight to watch the "fireworks" and be with the big crazy crowd for the countdown... the fireworks were pretty lame, but we could at least see one set of them by TI. I've never been amongst a crowd for NYE so that was kind of neat, but I can't say I really prefer it over just watching the countdown from home. Also it was weird to see the East Coast celebrate on TV when it was only 9 o'clock for us--I'm used to having NYE first, dammit! ;) So after the countdown, we all eventually made our way back to NYNY... Cyn was nervous about the big half-drunken crowd, and scared about getting lost in the shuffle, so we held hands the entire way down the strip. Karen too, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't scared. She had her arm all tense like she was ready to beat someone up, hahahah. It was silly. Fun-silly, though. And miraculously, walking 2/3rds of the strip in high-heeled boots didn't cause me any pain whatsoever. Man I love those boots. I only paid like $12 for them but they are worth something like $90 and are sooooo comfy. Anyway, I digress.

( shows: Ka, ToK, BMG )

(otherwise)
The rest of the trip, we mostly spent walking around, hanging out and chatting... most of us hadn't seen each other in years so it was nice to catch up and get reacquainted, especially since I'm not really in regular/direct contact with most of these folks anymore. Just one of those things where you are close with certain people for a time and then you end up going in different directions, even if you still see each other once in a while and will always be friends. It's not a bad thing, it just meant the excitement and energy level that we've had as a group before was more mellow this time. Well, except for when Nicole and I laughed so damn hard we cried and hid our faces in our napkins at the Brazilian Meat Place (not really my thing, but neat to try... and the pineapple was awesome). And there were definitely silly times--like when a few of us hung out in the shops/food court area at NYNY after midnight on New Year's, and John went to sit down across the aisle ('cause there weren't enough seats and he was kind of out of it, hehe), and he looked like a broken-down businessman bum on the streets. Karen and I went to the carnival arcade in the Excalibur, where I won two stuffed animals for winning the horse-racing game (once against 8ish people, once against just Karen), which I gave to a couple small children. I kinda love giving prizes/tickets away to kids at arcades. They almost always seem SO excited about it. In this case, the girl was very quiet and kind of aloof but hugged the Lion right away... the boy (her older brother) didn't seem to care at all, but he got some cheapo snake thing so I can't say I blame him.
Anyway, I gotta yoink some photos from Nicole, Lal, and Brian--I didn't end up taking a single photo! durrr. It was a nice trip to Vegas. Not the craziest I've ever had, partly due to being sick, but it was nice to see everyone, and a fun way to kick of 2009. :)

"Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you." :)

here we go...


1. I LOVE heights, flying, and those really big drops on roller coasters. I'd love to go skydiving someday.

2. I'm ridiculously wordy. You might have noticed. I tend to write novels for e-mails and journal entries. It's both a blessing and a curse that my typing can actually keep up with my brain. I have to really focus to be concise, and even then I'm only partially successful.

3. I grew up with Nintendo and am still a big fan. I am up for a good run-through of Contra III or a Mario Kart tournament any day. All I know about fish types I learned from Animal Crossing. And I own like 5 different Harvest Moon games.

4. I am interested in learning more about pretty much everything except economics/finance/business.

5. The instruments I've played over the years are: piano, harp, bassoon, clarinet, guitar, alto sax, and flute. The ones I'm more advanced in are piano, bassoon, and harp--although I don't own a bassoon anymore and haven't played one in years.

6. The only time I'm afraid Hell might exist is when I'm in the dentist's chair.

7. I am equally geeked out about sci-fi/space (certain Star Trek series, futuristic technology, scientific discoveries) and fantasy/medieval stuff (Lord of the Rings, chick flicks with corsets, knights and castles).

8. I love Boston--I've been there many, many times and hope to live in or near it within the next year or two.

9. My all-time favorite actor is Rufus Sewell (check him out in Shakespeare Retold: The Taming of the Shrew as Petruchio).

10. I loved working in a piano shop with wood, power tools/saws, glue all over my pants, and dirt under my nails. There is something very earthy and satisfying about it.

11. I enjoy performing open-mic style, a couple songs at a time, but I really don't like being the "sole entertainment" like you are with a real gig.

12. My personal DVD collection is almost half Disney animation. My favorites are The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and 101 Dalmatians.

13. I like hobbies that require attention to detail but still leave space to daydream... like cross-stitching, and jigsaw puzzles (totally addicted to these--i would do 10,000 piece puzzles if I had a space for it).

14. I want to take dance lessons... bellydance is at the very top of that list.

15. I'm ultra organized about keeping track of my money, but I'm terrible at saving any significant amount.

16. My second-favorite subject in college (after music) was philosophy, despite "Philosophy of Religion" being the only class I ever regularly fell asleep in (I blame a 2 hour morning class, comfy chairs, and a soothing prof voice). One time I heard "turn to page 87" and went to do so, only to find my book on the floor. Didn't remember dropping it. It was probably loud and extremely conspicuous with the in-the-round setup. Oops.

17. My two closest friends live in Ohio and Oregon.

18. I hope to write and publish a book of piano solos someday.

19. I've been to Europe twice. In middle school, I went on a horseback riding trip outside of London with my aunt and cousins, where I got to gallop over the moors on the most awesomest spunky paint named Jamie. My senior year of high school, I went on a school group trip to France, where my favorite place was Mont St. Michel--a little almost-island in Normandy, with an old monastery and a little winding village below it.

20. My mom's side of the family is from Lithuania; my dad's adopted.

21. I have three older brothers (the youngest is four years older than me), and most of my good friends are 10+ years older than me. I'm used to being the youngest and/or the only girl in a group.

22. I'm going on a solo trip to Japan (Tokyo) for about a week, in a couple months. I'll be meeting someone there, but will be doing a lot of exploring on my own, including to the city of Kyoto. It's terrifying but crazy-exciting!

23. When I was in orchestra at Skidmore, I had a prominent harp part at the beginning of one piece--a duet with the solo violist, who happened to be first chair in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I had to sit in front of the orchestra, and took a bow with him afterwards. Pretty neat... even if I only actually played for like 2 minutes. ;)

24. Besides Boston, the major city I've been to the most is Las Vegas (which is kinda weird since it's all the way across the country). There was a time I was thinking about moving there, but that's not really in the cards (haha) anymore.

25. I don't like reading magazines/watching TV/etc. in waiting rooms. I'd rather sit, think, and observe.


*for you lj readers... my 25 people are tagged via facebook, but anyone here that wants to join in is absolutely welcome to!
I'm way behind on lj and have been meaning to update, but well, you know, the usual. See ya when I get around to it! Hope you're all well!

I typed the entry title like that, 'cause I was imagining it like the song lyric. Know which song I mean? Marvin Gaye or someone like him. A couple entries ago I said "this is my house, I have to defend it! [name that movie!]" No one named the movie. Here is another quote from said movie: "Buzz's girlfriend--Woof!" I need to watch that movie this Christmas. I'm pretty sure I skipped it last year.

Anyway. I don't have any big news but I thought I would pop on here and write a few updates anyway. I commented on a couple folks' journals tonight and it made me feel like writing. Anything that comes to mind as worth writing about, even if it's not really worth writing about. Who am I to judge, anyway?

-I recently rented PS. I Love You, and cried through the ENTIRE THING. Seriously, in the whole movie there were probably 15-20 total minutes that I was not all teary, if not actually /cry/ing. Admittedly I am a sucker for those meant-to-make-you-cry moments in movies, but it's usually not the whole movie. *sniff*

-Last month, Shayna came to visit her family near Boston and we spent a weekend in the city together. It was lovely, and I felt special for sharing her 22nd birthday with her. :) We saw Blue Man once but the show, although enjoyable as usual, was not really the highlight of the trip. More memorable was playing in the fountain by the Reflecting Pool at night, in winter; seeing Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which was surprisingly good and fantastically awkward; hanging out at the Charles bar (yay for Jason!) and hearing Brian demonstrate just how weird the word "wrath" sounds; getting miffed at the waitress who assumed we were under 21. Oh, and one night we played War at the bar (yes, we are that dorky)... Shayna was down to 2 cards at one point but came back, and after a while we set a time to stop--and whoever had more cards then would win. When we counted cards we each had exactly 26. HOW CRAZY IS THAT. What are the odds? Anyway, it was a pretty laid back weekend but lots of fun, and it's always great to spend quality time with a good friend. :) Hm, I still need to upload my handful of photos...

-My parents and I have been dogsitting for my brother for the last month... Maverick is an Australian Shepard and although he's a sweet dog, he can be a total pain in the butt and he's just overall too needy for me. I like dogs a lot but as far as animals LIVING with me, I am so a cat person. At least when a cat gets pesty and wants your attention, they just meow cutely, instead of barking until they give you a headache. Oy.

-Most of my immediate family was home on the weekend after Thanksgiving, and though it was hectic (with the dog, and two young kids), it was nice to see everyone. My niece will sit in my lap and yell "AUNTIE JENNNNNN!!!" which is kind of funny, if wholly unnecessary.

-I'm way too invested in certain TV shows lately. Thankfully a few of them wrapped up recently or are about to. And I kind of lost interest in House, for now. This is good because that leaves 5 shows I'm still following... two old favorites-- Law and Order: SVU and The Office... and three new ones--The Mentalist, Crusoe, and The Eleventh Hour. I don't expect Crusoe to make it, 'cause apparently it's unpopular enough to get moved to Saturday nights, but I like it. It feels kind of like an extended movie to me. Maybe it's 'cause of the landscape/cinematography. The Mentalist has a cool vibe (and a hot lead, I'm not gonna lie). There's more humor in it than other crime shows, but in a subtle/natural sort of way, not like cheesy puns and off-the-wall sidekick characters. I'm glad it's doing so well.

The Eleventh Hour is something I might never have tuned in to, except the lead happens to be my favorite actor, Rufus Sewell. I do miss his British accent (since he plays an American scientist), but I love watching him act. He's got such a range. Most people don't know who I'm talking about if I mention him, even though he's had supporting roles in some major blockbusters (Tristan and Isolde and The Illusionist, to name a couple more recent ones), but I think he's great. My favorite role of his was in this random remake of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, as Petruchio. His character was so bizarre and eccentric and emotional and crazy and sometimes scary and sometimes silly and it was just glorious. Dr. Jacob Hood is a faaaaar cry from that guy, hehe. Anyway, I'm liking his new show a lot and definitely not complaining about him being on TV every week. :P

(Did I mention I'm too invested in TV lately? durrr. This is why I don't have cable when I have my own place.)

-This weekend my oldest brother Jason and his partner Stephanie are coming up from Atlanta to visit. :) Mike and his family will be here as well, and there's an extended family get-together (Mom's side) on Sunday. So, family family family! hehe. It should be fun. And a little less hectic than last time because we'll be boarding Maverick while people are here (last time he barked at Mike all weekend). I am looking forward to some Mexican Train Dominoes and spiked egg nog. And the traditional family card game, "Oh Heck," on Sunday. good times!

That is all for now, once again I have rambled more than I planned to. What can I say. Methinks someday I will look back at this and miss the days when I all I had to talk about was visiting with family, Rufus Sewell, and trips to Boston.

I hope everyone's holiday season is going well, and that none of your are getting hit too hard by this crappy economy. I'm not so good at keeping up with e-mails and lj entries these days but I do keep an eye on facebook and my lj friends page and think of you guys often. :) I probably should have said that at the beginning of this entry, since likely very few of you are still reading down here at the bottom. ;)

I am in a weird mood where I want to write, yet I don't. It feels like the kind of atmosphere and mood I would like to write in, but I don't really feel like writing a lot, does that make any sense?

My parents are away for a few days, so I'm home alone, which is nice for a change. I can dance around at random to the radio and shower at 2am and not have to share my mashed potatoes with anyone. Three of the four cats are hovering around in this room like they are waiting for me to do something interesting. I'm listening to Ryan Adams after reading a wonderful account of meeting him by my dearest friend Christa. It is a good night.

A couple hours ago I was listening to my Zune with supposedly noise-canceling earbud headphones, but I hadn't realized how sweet they were. The phone rang through to the answering machine (four times) a foot away from me and I didn't even hear it. Note to self: don't wear these particular headphones jogging. Not that I ever jog.

The other morning I dreamed extensively of chocolate-chip pancakes at I-Hop.

Current near-obsessions: Lord of the Rings, Photomosaic jigsaw puzzles, Lego Star Wars on my DS
Just in case you were wondering if I'm still a nerd.

Last month I saw Ryan Adams and the Cardinals in Boston, with my good friend Eric. It was at the Bank of America Pavilion, which was a big white dome thing floating on the water, and Ryan called it "the next best thing to floating in space." Neal (guitar, vocals) posted on their blog that the show made him "feel like [the photo of fireworks he'd just posted] inside." It was pretty rad. Ryan rambled on about how fascinated he was with the name "Pizzeria Regina," and Neal did a hilarious medley of well-known rock songs. Ryan wanted him to shred, and Neal was like *plink plink* Welcome to the junnngleee... *eerie off-key soft voice* Oh and also every single song they played was perfectly executed and soul-soothing, even though it was not the small, intimate, acoustic atmosphere of the last Cardinals show I saw. It reminded me that I should under no circumstances pass up seeing these guys when they are in my area. And being in Boston, though briefly, made me once again think about living there in the not-too-far future... it's on the short list, anyway--I'm still not sure if I want to go somewhere far away and crazy, or if the lure of Boston Which I Love will win me over (even if I can't afford to live right IN Boston). Hmmm...

Before that, my entire immediate family got together on Labor Day weekend. It was pretty fun. I had wine and played cards. I am pretty easy to please, really. I am a huge sucker for games of any kind. I mean, more than the average person, I think. Anyway, there are a bunch of photos from that weekend on my flickr... here is a quick sample, just to make this entry more colorful:


(goofiness runs in the family, you see.)

My best friend from high school, Erin, is in town for a couple weeks--with her four-month old baby girl, Tegan. Who is awwwwful cute. She is still in that stage where pretty much all she can do is wobble her little arms and legs around, and make wacky baby noises. And giggle. Erin seems like such a natural, comfy new mother. :) I'm going apple-picking tomorrow with them and Erin's parents. I don't think I have been apple-picking since an elementary school field trip, and even then I think it was just a tour of an orchard and not a time we could actually /pick/ anything. So I guess that's not really apple-picking. So I guess I've never been! ha.

I had much more to say than I thought I did. Am I all caught up now? Well, besides the umpteen folks I need to get in touch with, or reply to, or whatnot. Especially my NY friends. I thought I would be out there for a visit by now, but the purse strings are kind of tight, and it is also a lot of driving. A while ago my parents and I went to see this singer-songwriter Tom Rush, at an old (mostly refurbished), small movie theater in small-town NH, and the atmosphere reminded me so much of Lena it made me a little homesick. In fact Tom has played at Lena, I'm quite sure. He was really good. And funny. I'd see him again. Anyway, back to my NY friends. Speaking of them, I think I will listen to Victoria now. Fortunately since nearly all my friends out there are musicians, they all have myspaces and what-have-you, and I can hear their voices via their CDs or songs online as much as want. :) I do still need to get in touch with them though. I feel I am being a crappy long-distance friend. Bad Jen.

But for now I think it is about time to get off the ol' computer and wind down. It's about that time.
goodnight!

Domino and Willow


Penelope and Emma

(click on any of these to see more at my flickr page)

All right, so, in the past I have only been vaguely interested by the Olympics--as a typical none-too-sporty girl, I pretty much only cared about ice skating in the winter and gymnastics in the summer. And the equestrian stuff, if anyone actually aired it. This time around though, I am totally hooked, right from the opening ceremonies... parts of which were crazy--my favorite part was probably the part with the choreographed printing block things that rose up from the floor--I totally thought it looked computerized/machine-powered, but it turned out to be done completely by PEOPLE. 2008 traditional drummers. 2008 Tai Chi masters in ridiculously perfect circles. And just some really pretty stuff. All those pretty sign-holding and medal-presenting Chinese women in pretty dresses (those ones with the high collars and intricately decorated towards the top)! I did hear that one of the little girls in the opening ceremony was actually lip-syncing--she replaced the real singer on stage, because the original was deemed not pretty enough by the Chinese officials. Which is sad. Poor girl that could sing.
Anyway, I know there are always politics and questions of legality (drug use) and the like surrounding the Olympics but I love the premise of the whole thing, and there are so many great individual stories/moments. Like how a lot of the swimmers reach over the lane-buoys to congratulate, shake hands with, or even hug the race winner (not just when they are already friends or on the same team). And NBC did a piece on a Chinese artist (quite possibly the one behind much of opening ceremony)... they showed him brush-painting a silver fish symbol, seemingly off the cuff, and gosh. Also they said they'd booked an hour with him and he ended up giving them 5--just seemed like a very wise, gracious, forward-thinking sort of person. What it comes down to is there are beautiful, talented, worthy people everywhere in the world.

But enough with the optimistic We Are the World mushy-mush. Day to day I just like watching the athletes. I admit it, I'd hardly heard of Michael Phelps until now. But holy crap! He's like, inhuman. They were doing some feature on him tonight breaking down his body dimensions and such and showing how he is physically perfect for his sport. Ad commentary and newscasters alike cannot get over how great he is. Between swims tonight they showed two assistants working him over to loosen/revive his muscles. While at the peak of training, he eats 12,000 calories a day(!). In a lot of his races he just pulls away from the pack. He totally reminds me of like, a fine racehorse. It's like in the book Seabiscuit, the scene where he's matched up with this champion racer (War Admiral?)... and there is a whole paragraph or two just describing this monster stallion who is a physically perfect specimen, and Master of His Universe, and so on and so on. That is just how Michael Phelps gets talked about. I mean, I see WHY, but it still strikes me as kind of bizarre, haha.

Speaking of gorgeously athletic horses (er, well, a few sentences ago--that was an awkward transition that made it sound like I think Michael Phelps is a gorgeously athletic horse, heh heh)... I've caught some of the equestrian stuff 'cause they show it here and there on Oxygen (haha). The cross-country course was really pretty/unique. Fortunately, only a handful of riders fell (plus one horse) and everyone (including that horse) seemed to be just fine, though obviously disappointed in being eliminated. Some cross-country jumps are insane--like where the horse can't see beyond it--and so it is kind of controversial with the possible danger to the competitors (meaning the horses--the riders know what they're getting into!)... it's always a relief when no one gets hurt. They were showing the dressage competition today, where the horses do pretty moves like changing canter leads every stride (which makes it look like they're skipping!), and piaffes (trotting in place), and dramatic half-passes (where they move diagonally, meaning they have to cross their legs just right in order not to trip on themselves). It makes me go ooooh ahhhh. *horse geek*

Tonight I watched women's gymnastics--the all-around individual final. I was rooting for Nastia Liukin 'cause she is so graceful/artistic and pretty to watch, and she's especially good at uneven bars and balance beam (which I like better than floor and vault). Both of the American girls did so well and absolutely killed their last (floor) routines--really neat to watch live. And yay Nastia! I guess it is nice for the US to win medals, but in this case I really just liked her better than anyone else. It's really amazing what some people are capable of. My interest will probably dwindle a bit when gymnastics and swimming are over, but for now, woooo Olympics! hahaha.

In other news:
-keeping a strict budget these days, and managing to stick with it so far. It is pretty easy not to spend around here, fortunately.
-my parents and I are totally on a puzzle kick (of the pencil variety). Evenings we sit around and confer on crosswords. "What is the Spanish word for 'bears'?" "oh, I just had that on another puzzle lately... it's O-S-O-S." We are nerds.
-I have not been as productive as I should be, but I've started my piano course... unison tuning is haaaard. Supposedly though it's one of the hardest things about tuning--and tuning is the one piano work area I've had the least experience/success with, so I'm trying not to get too frustrated with it.
-I already miss So You Think You Can Dance. But Kenley, Korto, and Terri and my favorite Project Runway designers so far.
-Kitty photos are on the way.

This morning, I dreamed I transported back to my house to find a mob boss taking a bath in my tub. He didn't see me, so I snuck past to hide in my dad's closet. Only I didn't count on said mob boss borrowing my dad's clothes. So he opened the door, saw me there, and hit me over the head a few times with a baseball bat or other baseball-bat-shaped-object to kill me. I am pretty sure this is the only time I have ever died in a dream (that I remember). Unless I was just knocked unconscious. But I felt somehow self-aware of having died. Of course later on (in a separate dream), I was alive again and there was a second mob guy in the house, and apparently I'd already killed the first one (in self defense, of course--"this is my house--I have to defend it!" [name that movie!]), contrary to previous dream-events. It was like my subconscious was like, wait... do-over.

This was one of those dreams I can pinpoint the origin of pretty much every element of the dream (the first part, anyway):
-Mob Wars on facebook (which I added after Matt Greene's third "join my mob!" request, ha ha, but haven't done a single thing with since)
-checking a window in my dad's study and noticing the closet door open (exactly how I found it in the dream)
-the characters on a Desperate Housewives repeat hiding in an "inner room"/closet during a tornado
-mom taking a bath last night
-Star Trek (transporters!)
-a 2-second clip of a bloody bat on an ad for some forensics show (like a real-life one, not CSI)
What this all adds up to is that I am probably watching entirely too much TV. I should get back to reading Anna Karenina, cross-stitching, music, and taking pictures of my cats. That would probably add up to a nicer dream. ...I would probably be a grandma in it, huh.

This morning my mom and I watched the tail end of The View and they had this story about a lion, with a video that looked like a scene out of Disney movie. It made us both cry and reach for tissues.
"Love knows no limits and true friendships last a lifetime" *sniff*

"Christian the Lion" (youtube it if the one I've posted doesn't work)

Finally got around to journaling about my weekend in Boston with Denee! Good thing I'd written notes.
(my photos from the weekend.)
( the journal, under a cut since it's on the long side, as usual )

I have been here in NH for about a month, and in a way I'm still in "vacation mode." No job, and the days are filled with whatever-I-feel-like-doing. I'm all unpacked, and my room is set up to my liking, though overall I don't feel quite settled. My parents' house is full of random stuff, which is either theirs that they've let pile up (papers everywhere!), or stuff we kids have left behind from our childhood or our various moves. I mean, I already knew this, but living in it is kind of an adjustment after having my own, pretty organized/neat apartment. It makes me want to go around organizing stuff, and it's kind of frustrating that it's not mine to organize/get rid of/etc., haha. I want to go through my old room/stuff, but right now that room is being used for storage and I can't get to anything. Oyyyy. So instead I am helping organize the game closet. Slowly. Mom has trouble getting rid of stuff, you see.

So, things have been pretty uneventful, which is why I haven't written all month. Well, that and the fact that I have cable here. I am not actually bad about sitting and watching TV, 'cause I don't have the patience, but if I have it on for background noise, or I am doing other stuff during the ads, it can mean I will sit around doing a puzzle or playing nintendo DS or whatever when I wouldn't otherwise. And no one needs hear about Star Trek reruns and the fish I catch in Animal Crossing. Still, there are a few things worth noting, and some photos...

My pianos came safe and sound, and I've taken a couple "before" pictures of them. I'll take more when I'm working on them, and taking them apart... but here they are as-is:


Dice moved out here soon after I did, and she settled in at the new place amazingly quickly. She's been kind of a difficult, sometimes skittish horse in the past, so it surprised us a bit when her new Everyday Mom, Becky, raved about how well-behaved and great she's been. She was turned out with the other two mares within the first couple weeks with no incident--she seems to have made fast friends with the filly, Greta--and she just seems so calm and happy. :) My mom and I are going over to see her tomorrow. So far we've just been grooming/visiting, but pretty soon I will be giving her some exercise. I plan to ride her some, though I still have to clean up my tack and bring it to the barn. No real rush.


Aaaaand, I went down to Boston a couple weekends ago to hang out with Denee, see a couple Blue Man shows, and just enjoy Boston. It was a pretty laid-back weekend, but a lot of fun! The guys at the Charles always put on excellent shows, and are a bunch of sweethearts. They make it so easy to want to go back. :) This trip Denee and I walked around quite a bit on Sunday, through the Common and around the Copley/Prudential Center area, which has a lot of beautiful old architecture right up next to the modern buildings. Ahhhh Boston. I plan on writing more about that weekend (I wrote some notes!), but for now, here are a few of my favorite photos from the weekend (haven't yoinked Denee's yet):



Also, last night I went to see Wall-E. I loooooved it. Pixar's films are always pretty great, but this one had a really deep, mature, real-world-relevant message in a way that I've never seen in an animated film. Even the typical themes had a different weight to them... which might be largely due to the overall style of the movie. At least half of the movie played like an animation short, with very little or no dialogue, so the whole story was told through visual cues and with the (at times, gorgeous) musical score. Overall it wasn't as "funny" as expected (though it definitely had its moments), but that was okay because it was great on other levels. It just amazes me how animators can take a robot whose only facial expression is eye-lights, and make it so damn expressive. I almost cried towards the end. Had to literally bite my tongue. But then again, me crying in empathy for animated characters is not all that out-of-the-ordinary.
Meanwhile, my mom completely missed the boat on half the plot and thought that Wall-E got Eve pregnant with a plant. (Sorry Mom, I couldn't help but add that in... it's just too silly.)
What's interesting is that I had read on the Blue Man boards that people were loving this movie... and now I can totally see why BMG fans would "get" this movie real easily--a lot of the themes (including the subtle-yet-real expressiveness) were really similar. The "humanity" of a non-human, the value of an active/productive life, the visceral need for connection with others, curiosity about the world and our history... It kind of makes me shake my head that the animated space-movie BMG worked on was Space Chimps, haha.

OK, that is all for now. I'm gonna try and write a bit more often, if just to make sure my brain is still functioning. And besides, I'm sure there are kitty photos on the way. There are four of them here, you know. They are finally all learning to co-exist (thank goodness).