Is It Really All That Hard?

First of all, let me say that I love this song. The Boys II Men version is beautiful, and I imagine I will always love it. (Here's a link to the original, which is also fantastic.) This song is like a time machine- all of a sudden it's 1992 and I'm standing in the NSHS gym (wearing something simultaneously fabulous and appalling) and I'm fighting back the tears as my classmates perform this song in a choral or talent show, willing the school year never to end and nothing ever to change... It felt so hard back then to imagine that there was life after high school- relationships were just so intense, and there's pressure remember every moment and write lasting and important messages in yearbooks... For years to come this song would make me cry every time I heard it.

Fast forward to 2010. This song came on while I was at work last week (thanks to Beth's sweet playlist). Much to my surprise, I didn't find myself reliving the emotional turmoil of sophomore year, and there were no automatic waterworks. For the first time ever I found myself thinking, "no, actually, it's not that hard." In fact, there are many things about yesterday (and all of the days before it) to which I am more than happy to say goodbye. I've done and said a million stupid things (which, thanks to the lack of social media for most of my life, are mostly forgotten, I hope) and have had plenty of bad experiences, just like everyone else. And I just stood there thinking about how much happier I am with my life now than I have ever been before, and how saying goodbye to all of the past crap that makes me feel bad and/or guilty sounds kind of awesome. Why hadn't this ever occurred to me before? Today is pretty spectacular, and tomorrow promises to be even better! Sure, there are loads of people and good times that I hope I will always remember, but my realisation is this: I might like to reminisce about the past, but I never want to live in it. So goodbye to yesterday, and hello to NOW. (There, now that wasn't all that hard!)

Honeycrisp Apples- Who Knew?

Photo courtesy of New York Apple Association © New York Apple Association

I just had the most delicious apple I may have ever had in my entire life! It was crisp and tangy, but not too tart. It was just sweet enough, and it left me sad when the bowl was empty. Amazing! I know I live in Washington and that I should have apples like this all the time, but I never really paid attention before to when fruits are harvested, and it seems that it can make a HUGE difference in how an apple tastes! You all probably know more about these things than I do, but I grew up in Georgia, where seasonality wasn't a big deal- if it isn't in season there, you can get it from Florida or Chile, so there's never really a time when you can't get something- it's just more expensive out of season, I suppose. But that's not always the way in places that don't border the Sunshine State. While living in New Zealand I had a craving for blueberry pancakes one day, so we headed down to the Pak'N'Save, and lo and behold, not a single blueberry in sight! It was then that I really started to notice when certain items of produce could or could not be easily found. Lots of things grow in New Zealand, and sometimes they grow really big (see this celery photo from a previous post), but if something's not growing at the moment, it's gonna cost a lot to ship it, so we might as well just do without until the next growing season. What a concept. Now, I'm not going to go all locavore on you- while that idea definitely has some upsides, I know that certain things I want to eat (like rice, for example) are better grown elsewhere and shipped to my neck of the woods. (There's a lot of good information on the pros and cons in this book.) But I think there's value in understanding when things grow and are harvested for fresh, delicious meals, and when one is buying an apple that's been in storage for nine months and is going to taste like mothballs. That said, we have just become members of a local CSA, and will be enjoying big boxes of fresh, organic fruits and veggies on a bi-weekly basis. So far we have received one box, and already we've upped our fruit and veg consumption and are branching out and trying new things! I hope to tell you all about it in a future post. For now, if you live in Washington, go out and find yourself some super fresh honeycrisp or gala apples. You won't be sorry! =)

Alive and Well in Seattle

Hello, friends! As you may have gathered by now, updating my blog has somehow fallen by the wayside lately. I have lofty goals of keeping up with everything in my life- friends, family, husband, cat, laundry, cooking, baking, cleaning, writing, reading, crafting, sewing- not to mention getting all the way through "Battlestar Galactica" and figuring out what to do with the rest of my life, but lately it seems like I just can't do it all. It wouldn't be quite so frustrating if I didn't feel like once there was a time when I did do it all. I used to have more energy or time, or maybe I was a better prioritizer or something, but I look back about ten years and have an image of myself getting things done and making it all happen while still spending the quality time I wanted with my friends and family. (It is entirely possible that this is a total lie and that I'm looking back with rose-coloured glasses at a time when I was simply overly busy, but I don't remember it that way at all. I remember being both social and productive.) Now I do spend quite a bit of quality time with my husband and cat, and I do work enough to pay the bills and keep Clevie in organic kitty treats, but I rarely see or even talk to my friends or family, and I seem to be behind in every other aspect of life. I have an enormous list of things to get done which I call my Panda List, because I keep it in a pink notebook that has pandas all over the cover. The tasks are mostly small- have the stereo repaired, make a dentist appointment, host a movie night, send a (late) wedding present, hang pictures in the frames that we bought nine months ago- that sort of thing. But I guess I'm just not trying hard enough, because while I have the occasional productive day when I check off five things in one fell swoop and I feel really good about it, most days I'm just adding more things to the list that I halfway already know I'll never get around to! Then there are the things that I want to do in the future (learn to play the piano better, start going to the gym, etc.) that don't even make the list- the list is for things to get done ASAP, and future endeavours will have to wait. But what if there is no future because there is no end to the list?! What is a girl to do? Unfortunately, this isn't going to be some kind of uplifting post where I tell you all about my amazing action plan to make the most out of life, mostly because although I love to be uplifting, I really don't have a plan at all! I'm just wondering what I'm missing. I see people out there with a bunch of kids or really time-consuming jobs, and I really wonder how they get everything done that they want to do! If you threw a couple of kids in the mix right now, I would absolutely tear out my hair (probably good, since I wouldn't ever have time to wash it), and would most certainly end up in some sort of mental facility. Perhaps I have too many interests? Perhaps I have a ridiculous sense of time and think things take a lot less time than they actually do? Perhaps I should get up earlier in the morning? Perhaps I need to seriously rethink my priorities? I really need to spend some time thinking about these things, because I have to say, it's tremendously unsatisfying to feel like I'm living a list, the end of which I'll never see. Every day I am disappointed at how little I have accomplished, and every day I am anxious about how I will ever "live" my life when I feel like living is only possible after all of the items on the to-do list are crossed off. Wow- this went from a "I'll just post a quick vacation picture and say 'hi' to everyone" post to something wayyy less fun! I didn't mean to be Debbie Downer tonight, but I guess I have some things on my mind. And don't get me wrong, all in all, I would say I have a fabulously simple life and I am very grateful for it. I just have a few things I need to get figured out. I'm going to go add "figure out life" to my list. ;) (Here's that vacation picture, anyway! It's from our March trip to San Francisco, where we stayed with our friends Debolina and Jason and had an AWESOME time.) Thank you for listening. The end.

Today!

I copied this idea from a blog I love to read called Chez Larsson. She apparently found it somewhere else (as described in this post). I used to loooove to make surveys in school (I know you Spartans totally remember), and this is kind of like taking one myself! So here is what today is like for me. =)

Today...

Outside my window... crows are crowing, little birdies are tweeting, and something is fascinating my adorable kitty. Cars are going by, wind is blowing, and a really annoying dog somewhere is the vicinity is making a bizarre noise (that he makes all the time, btw) that sounds like a hungry/injured sea lion.

I am thinking... that though I am very sleepy I can make it all the way to bedtime and still be my lovely and charming self tonight at dinner with Michele and Jason. Now I'm thinking about how unlikely that actually is. Now I'm thinking about what time would be best for a nap...

I am thankful for... Jess Wetter and her generosity and willingness to help me today with all of my errands (and for just making the world a little bit nicer place to be)! Also for my awesome friends in general. You guys are just really amazing and supportive and nice people. That's why I like you. =)

From the kitchen... cometh nothing at the moment. (Although once upon a time I did make lasagne!) Right now there are some decaying bananas in there just begging to be made into banana bread. I'd better get on that.

I am wearing... moderately clean jeans. I noticed after I put them on that there's a 3"x 3" sticky patch on the front of my left thigh from when I wore them to work the other day and had leaky raspberry jam in my apron pocket, but I had already gone to the effort of putting them on before I realised they were kinda gross, and it was 8 in the morning and I couldn't be bothered changing pants. (Hey, you asked!)

I am creating... more work for myself with every moment I'm alive! How is it that I always seem to have a list longer than my hair of all of the stuff I want and need to do?! I'm always coming up with ideas and plans and schemes and never actually have enough time to do most of them! So many lists... Does anyone else have this tendency? Any advice?

I am going... to the San Juan islands for the first time this weekend! Our good friends Aaron and Vanesha are coming to visit from the UK and we're going for a cycling trip with them and another couple they know in the area. Awesome! =)

I'm reading... a book! I know, I totally can't believe it, either! Right now it's Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. So far, so good. It's about spelling, among other things. I enjoy spelling. =)

I am hoping... that someday I will know the glorious feeling of having an empty email inbox once again. (That doesn't mean I don't want you to write to me. I just want to be able to write back to you without a 4-6 month delay. I'm pretty sure that's reasonable.)

I am hearing... a lovely mix of tunage being spun by my CD changer. So far I have heard Indigo Girls (from their new CD- a vast improvement on the previous one), They Might Be Giants, Cat Empire, The Decemberists, The Clash, Cloud Cult, and something I didn't recognise.

Around the house... chaos and disorder rule the day, but not for long! The time has come for pictures to be hung, shoes to be stashed, laundry to be folded, and kitty fur to be swept away by our new little vaccuum that looks like this.

One of my favorite things... is finding really cool and unique stuff at the thrift store. I freakin' love the thrift store! Just think of all of that stuff that people could have thrown in a landfill that is being found and used and loved by someone new- I just love it! =) Goodwill is reasonably good here, but nothing beats the thrift stores in the ATL! I love Last Chance Thrift Store on Half-Price Monday! =)

A few plans for the rest of the week... Clean house, go pick up car from shop, have nice dinner with friends, clean house, replace spark plug for scooter, work on bike, work, work, meeting at work, clean house...

A picture to share... Here is a picture of some leeks. Thanks for reading! =)

Death Valley, Washington

A.K.A. Seattle! We are in the middle of some kind of crazy heat wave out here! Today we broke all kind of records around the region - most notably the one where Seattle had never hit a temperature above 100, and today the weather forecasting station near our house recorded a temperature of 105! (That's 40.5 for all of you smarty centigraders out there!) No wonder walking to the post office (6 blocks away) today felt like walking to the sun! Good thing we took smoothies with us on the walk, or we might never have made it home! As you may know, most of us Seattlites don't have air conditioning, so we flock to movie theatres, libraries, and restaurants during these times. The restaurant where I work was insanely busy tonight- so much so that I didn't finish work until an hour after closing because there was so much left to clean up! As I sit writing this, it's 2 in the morning and it's 82 degrees out! What is going on?! The forecast for tomorrow is 99 and sunny, and it doesn't look like it's letting

up any time soon. So if you guys are looking for a tropical beach holiday, this may just be the week to visit us! ;) Here is a picture of Gordon and I being hot. (It's from 3 years ago in Florida. We were almost as hot then!)

How is it suddenly July?!

What happened here? Have I been time-travelling again? How did I get here? This is not my beautiful wife! (How could I grow up in the 80's and not think of the Talking Heads at this point?) Six months have passed since last we spoke! Let me get you guys up to date on what we've been doing! In January we moved back to Ballard and found a lovely apartment walking distance from all of the good stuff! It was very cold, and I spent most of February in flannel pj's unpacking boxes and looking like this. It was all worth it, though- we're loving the new place and being so close to everything, though we have made a little too much use of the proximity to the phở restaurant... In March we went to Atlanta for our awesome USA wedding party. (Thanks again to everyone involved!) In April we were in Costa Rica for my cousin Kevin's wedding to the lovely Kathlen, who is from Costa Rica. It was an amazing trip!! I can't really remember much about May, but by the end of it I had a job! June was work, work, work, and somewhere in between all of those things there was a trip to Oregon, some hiking, some cupcake baking, and even a little bit of sailing! (Thanks, Jess and Wayne!) July brought an awesome visit from our UK friends Jo and Emma, and just after they left our furry new roomie moved in- Cleveland the cat! He's slowly getting used to us and seems to be settling in quite nicely. He very much enjoys chasing Gordon back and forth down the hallway, playing fetch with us, hiding underneath the laundry racks, and leaving tufts of black fur all over our beige carpet. (But what's a little bit of extra vaccuuming among friends?) Now we're all just trying to survive the heat! I can hardly believe it, but it was in the mid-90's today and tomorrow it may go above 100! Seeing as Sea-town is not big on air-con, we're all running around in our tiniest clothes and buying up all of the box fans we can find! Gordon and I were smart and got a fan a few months ago before the high temps hit, but it's still quite toasty in our top-floor flat, and Cleveland doesn't seem too enthused to be wearing a thick, fluffy fur coat... Today G and I decided that if you can't beat the heat at home, then it's a great time to go to the beach! (Cleves doesn't much care for the beach. He decided to stay home with his blue teddy bear.) So we rode our bikes down to Golden Gardens and soaked up the rays for an hour or two and ate Sno-Cones. It was awesomely hot outside! A collapse on the floor and cool shower later, I made a lovely curry from the book Jo got us as a wedding gift (Thank you, Jo!) and we hung out and watched a documentary about Mardi Gras beads and an episode of Heroes. The end. I'm going to stop writing now and get this thing published so I can go to bed. It's not so much that I'm out of things to tell you- it's more the fact that Gordon has already moved the fan into our bedroom... So I hope you're all staying cool where you are, and I'll be updating this again sooner than later! =)

Back in the 206

Ah, Seattle! The Emerald City, land of soy lattes and vegan donuts... With all of the moving around we've been doing, I hadn't even thought about Seattle and what it would be like to be back here, but so far I'm loving it! I know we haven't been gone that long- just under two years- but coming back to Ballard (my neighbourhood, slightly northwest of downtown) really feels like coming "home" in a way. Everything's pretty comfortable- I know where things are, I run into people I know in the streets, many of my closest friends are here in the neighbourhood- it's great! Add to that the fact that they're opening a Trader Joe's down the street, and I don't think it could get any better! (Unless, of course, all of our Atlanta peeps decided to move out here! Come on guys! We have really pretty mountains and stuff!) So right now we're just hanging out at Jess's house while we hunt for apartments. We have a few prospects, but nothing's final yet. Totally can't wait to have an address again so I can get mail, get my CD's out of storage, and set up our kitchen with all of the fabulous kitchen gadgets and cookware we have received as wedding/shower gifts from our awesome friends and family!

On another note, I have been tagged in this post by Kass, so here is the 4th photo from the 4th picture folder on my computer. I appears to be a family of really puffy sea lions. (I can't take any photo credit- I'm pretty sure it came from Cute Overload.) The explanation? There really isn't one except to admit that I have a sickness. I looove cute animals. I can't get enough of them. I stay up into the wee hours watching videos of guinea pigs and Roomba-riding kitties on YouTube, and sometimes I see adorable animal pictures online that are so cute I save them in a folder so I can look at them again later. And the 4th folder on my computer is where I keep them. =) I'm not tagging anyone else, because I don't really know other people with blogs besides Kass, but if you guys want to e-mail me the 4th pictures from your 4th photo folders I'd love to see them! =) Okay, peeps- gotta get back to work! Searching for apartments, jobs, furniture... Hope to talk to you soon!

Back in the USSA!

I'm ba-ack! =) Fresh off the plane from the South Pacific and ready to blog again! =) I'm currently staying with my mom and Kevin in Atlanta for the holidays and will return to Seattle in mid-January. It was not easy to leave gorgeous, sunny NZ or my adorable husband behind, but I get to see all of my peeps here for a while, so it's worth it! Besides, Gordon is meeting me in Seattle in January (just six short weeks from now), and summer will come to the northern hemisphere eventually, right? RIGHT?! (I say this as I listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain on this gross, grey winter day...) At the moment we're just getting ready for Christmas, which always means spending some quality time at Macy's and Target and enjoying the delicious buffet at Sweet Tomatoes. Life is good. Here are some pictures my mom took of my adorable baby cousin, Gianna, eating a cupcake. There's enough cuteness there for five blogs, so that should keep you all happy until Christmas, just in case I don't get around to writing again! ¡Feliz Navidad!

Pengins! =)

Who doesn't love penguins?! I can't think of any major anti-penguin groups operating in the world at the moment, and people don't eat penguins, right? So I think it's safe to assume that writing about them here will not only serve to keep my legions of current readers happy, but perhaps to attract millions of new fans to my blog. ;) (By the way, a quick Google search for "anti-penguin" did yield this weirdness.)

I don't want to talk about emperors, those penguins who march across Antarctica (though you should probably watch the 30-second version of that movie re-enacted by bunnies here), and I don't have much to say about rockhoppers (the ones who apparently compete in surfing competitions). Instead, I would rather fill you in on the cutest and tiniest of the penguins- the little blue ones! =)

Little blue penguins are known as fairy penguins in Australia and as kororā to the Maori people of NZ. They belong to the genus Eudyptula (Greek for "good little diver"), and they only live down here in the southern hemisphere, so you'll have to come and visit us if you want to see some. =) I have met some of these little guys, and boy are they cute! =) At 16 inches, they are the teensiest of the 17-20 modern penguin species, while the emperor is the largest at about 3'7". (The largest extinct species of penguin we know of is called Nordenskjoeld's Giant Penguin, who lived roughly 40 million years ago and whose fossils have been found here in NZ. He was a big guy- taller than me (close to 6 feet tall!) and way fatter (200 lbs)!)

Little blue penguins usually live for about 7 years, but some individuals have been known to live for over 20! They spend their nights in cosy nests in sheltered rock crevices or dug-out burrows and spend their days out in the sea hunting for yummy food like squid, plankton, krill, and anchovies. (Mmm... krill...) At dusk they all come home with full bellies, usually in groups (called rafts) so they're better protected against predators like seals, killer whales, and large gulls. (Some penguins opt for more urban accommodation and build their nests under buildings and stacks of timber. Also, they have no problem accepting the artificial nest boxes that humans sometimes build for them. I'm totally going to put one in the backyard and see if any penguins come to live with us.)

Breeding begins around age 3. They're monogomous (like me!) and return to the same burrow every year to breed (not like me)! They lay 2 eggs at a time, which take about 5 weeks to hatch, and males and females take turns incubating the eggs and caring for the babies. (Very egalitarian. I like that.) They can lay up to 3 sets of eggs per season. After about 2 months of hanging out in the nest and being fed regurgitated food, the chicks have lost their down have grown waterproof feathers like their parents. They naturally know how to swim and are ready to fend for themselves, so their parents kick them out of the nest. They disappear from the colony for at least a year, but will return to the same site to breed, usually within a few metres of where they were raised.

Here in Christchurch you can see some of these guys at the Antarctic Centre, though I'm pretty sure they don't actually live in the Antarctic- it's too cold for tiny penguins down there! They have a small colony living in captivity at the Centre, most of whom wouldn't survive very well in the wild due to various conditions and injuries. Here's a picture of Elvis, who is blind and does a lot of singing. I'm not sure why she's standing on one foot. (All of the other penguin pix here are from the Centre, too.) They live all over the place around the South Island- apparently they're fairly easy to see in the wild, though I still haven't managed to spot any! (We did see a yellow-eyed penguin in the wild, though, and that's far more rare! There are only about 4,000 of those in the world compared to about a million little blue ones!)

So, in conclusion, little blue penguins are short, blue, and very cute. You should come to New Zealand some time so you can meet some. The end. =) (P.S. If you enjoyed reading about the penguins here, you might want to take a look at the similar work done by Julian and Charles from Anderson's Creek Primary school in Australia- they have excellent illustrations on their page.)

UPDATE: September 2010: Ancient giant penguin unearthed in Peru! And he wasn't black (or blue) and white! See story here.

Mawwiage. Twoo Wuv.

Man! Two and a half years can fly by when you spend it living on three different continents with the man of your dreams! =) It doesn't seem all that long ago that I was driving back and forth to Canada (which is really big) on the weekends to spend what little time I could with Gordon before he was potentially whisked away back to a place where he could live legally, and now I get to keep him! =) Forever! =) How cool is THAT?! For those of you whose e-mail addresses I don't have for whatever reason, let me just clarify- WE'RE GETTING MARRIED! =) Hooray! =) I couldn't be more excited if a Dr. Pepper van pulled up in front of our apartment and started giving out free Big Gulps, a vegan Chinese restaurant opened in the empty lot up the street, and a new pair of shoes magically grew in my closet every morning to match my outfit! Seriously. I am ecstatic! =)

As one might imagine, this exchange of vows, being a Kiwi-American affair, may have its share of complications, but none of them are gonna rain on my parade! In the immortal words of Matthew Wilder, "Ain't nothing gonna break my stride!" The big kahuna is all of the crazy, complicated paperwork required to make it so Gordon can come back to Seattle with me! (There are soy lattes just waiting to be sipped at Vérité, and we can hear the call of Mighty O donuts all the way down here!) Who knew there were so many forms a person has to fill out in quadruplicate! Quadruplicate! I have to agree to be on the hook for all of Gordon's bills for ten years or so, just in case once he gets to the US he decides that sipping soy lattes all day is actually his new career path. Also, we'll have to go to one of those interviews like in Green Card where they ask me what colour his toothbrush is and how we met, and then he gets all confused about what kind of face cream I use... Yikes! (For the record, I don't use any- what is face cream? Is it that stuff girls in movies are always wearing with cucumbers over their eyes when their hunky love interests come over for a surprise visit? I think it is, but I can't be sure. I'm thinking it's in the same family as cold cream, another elusive beauty product for which I apparently have no use.) Bronte in Green Card uses Monticello, not Monte Carlo. And that "big, French oaf" can't get the answers right and the feds toss him out like last week's escargot! Oh la la! That's just the kind of thing that can tear a perfectly legitimate couple apart! :o Gordon, if you're reading this, my toothbrush is green and my favourite food is broccoli. =) Yum.

So, there's going to be a party in Hotlanta. We're thinking early 2009. It will be SO MUCH FUN to have some of our closest peeps together in the same place! =) I can't wait! =) I want to keep it pretty simple- I'm definitely not the Bridezilla type, but I could see how I could become one if I had to deal with the colour of chair sashes or cream v. buttercream tablecloths! I don't want to be all stressed out, throwing a tanty the night before the wedding because of some insignificant detail! I'm sure it's every bride's intention, but I want to keep the party pretty small, fairly simple, and more or less free of stress. We'll see. Of course, we can't set a date yet- no idea when G will be legal to attend. We'll just have to wait and see what the good folks at US Immigration have in store for us, and then I'll send out invites. =) Sweet. =) I'm totally getting a tiara. ;)

So, thank you to everyone who has replied via e-mail and snail mail to our announcement- you guys are the best! (Speaking of the best, check out this fantastic card Kass made us!!! =) I love it! =) Especially the sombrero and the cute little pedestal I have to stand on to be as tall as my squid husband. =) Spectacular. Thank you, Kass!) I'll respond to all of those awesome e-mails really soon, and I promise there will be penguins on this blog ASAP! Thanks for the well wishes! Talk to you all very soon! =)

Phone Book Day!

I went out to get the mail yesterday (my favourite time of the day- I love mail!), and there was a small pile of wet, plastic bags full of heavy, soggy phone books just waiting to be claimed by residents of our building, who would presumably give them good homes and lovingly blow-dry their sodden pages... The sight of all of those disintegrating phone books brought up a lot of thoughts and questions for me. I'd like to share some of those thoughts with you now and see what you think.

1) I'm sure there's a reason our phone books were delivered on a day when it was raining heavily, but could the people who deliver them perhaps have tried to find a more appropriate location to dump them other than in a heap on the ground beside the mailboxes (where they are not only not under any kind of rain shelter, but pretty close to sitting in puddles)?

2) Printing and delivering millions of phone books seems like a huge waste of paper, ink, plastic (for shoddily protecting them), and petrol (the gas that's used for the massive trucks needed to ship unnecessary quantities of enormous books all over the place). Shouldn't there be some kind of system whereby a person can opt out of (or, better yet, opt into) receiving phone books?

3) Do we need new phone books? We already have some, and we've never even used them. Not even once. I mean, aren't phone books a little bit antediluvian? Does anyone ever even use them anymore? Isn't the Internet easier/better?

4) Who's going to clean up the pile of plastic and pulp that's left by the fence over there in a week or two when the people who live here have all declined to take wet, (arguably useless) books into their homes?

I think that's enough questions. Now for my answers/opinions.

1) Yes. Leaving them in the rain was dumb/lazy. They could easily have been left by our front doors where they would have been more sheltered from the elements, and thus not rendered useless by water damage.

2) I think there should absolutely be a system whereby people who want phone books can tell the companies who print them that, yes, they would like phone books, please. (Or, at the very least, that no, they would not like phone books, please.) According to paperlesspetition.org, the Yellow Pages industry dropped over 540 million phone books in North America in 2006- that's way more than one per person! (In the UK, according to the Yellow Pages website, it was 28.3 million copies in 2006. That's about one for every two people, which is still a lot!) Why so many?! Well, in the olden days when people still had landline telephones, they would automatically receive the Yellow Pages. Now that more people are switching to cell phones, there's no real list of recipients, so they use a system of "saturation distribution" to make sure everyone and his brother/sister/dog/goldfish can get his hands (paws/pectoral fins) on a copy. Also, there can be many different versions in a single market- some people could get as many as 10 different phone books! Also, if Yellow Pages wants to make money, they have to say things like "we have a distribution of 70 gajillion" so that advertisers will fork over the cash to get their ads in there. If people could easily say no to phone books, those numbers would go down; maybe it would be harder to convince advertisers to splash out on pricey half-page ads. Yellow Pages apparently makes 97% of it's revenue ($14 billion in the US in 2006) from printed directories, and only 3% from online ones. That's why there are so many phone books! Some people try to opt of of receiving them, but it's not easy. I read one account of a person who had called the distributor and requested not to be sent any more phone books, but who continued to receive them. When she called to find out what was going on, she was told that the delivery people are given a list of people who do not want to receive the books, but it's so few people (since it's practically impossible to figure out how to make the request in the first place) that it's easier just to deliver them to everyone than to have to check the list. It's really hard to not get phone books. But I say there's got to be a better way. Maybe it could even be a system where you put a card on your doorknob like the "Do Not Disturb" ones at hotels. Yeah, that's it! The week before phone books come out, they could send a postcard out to everyone letting them know when the books would be delivered. That postcard could have one side that says "NO PHONEBOOKS, PLEASE" that you could hang on your door on delivery day. That way nobody has to keep track of addresses, which seems pretty complicated. It would be simple and easy. I am a genius. (I know that sending out millions of postcards seems like a waste of paper, but it's not as bad as millions of giant books, and it's the best I could come up with.)

3) As for the usefulness of phone books, well, I had to give this one the most thought. My first reaction was that they should just stop printing the things, but having considered it a bit more, I'm not so sure that's the way to go. Though some people argue that phone books are antiquated and want to get rid of them (like the good folks over at Paperless Petition), some people still find phone books to be quite useful. You may be surprised to know that although I use the Internet all the time, I am actually one of those people. Okay, sure- it is completely ridiculous to print 540 million copies of something that's going to be outdated almost as soon as it hits the presses. One could argue that if the phone directory were online, it could be easily updated- no need to print another 540 million books in a year's time. Sounds good. But not everyone has access to the Internet. And not everyone wants to/can afford to pay to call for directory assistance when he/she needs to find a phone number. If I needed a plumber, the first place I would look would be in the book. I like the ease of being able to circle the numbers I have called and make notes next to different companies if I'm comparing price quotes. I find that difficult to do with online directories, and I'm a paper person by nature, so I find the phone book easier when I want to find certain things. That said, I would still opt out of receiving new phone books if I had the option. I can sacrifice a little convenience in the name of saving some trees. Besides, most of us have old phone books lying around the house; I'm happy just to use those for a while longer. Surely some of the businesses that existed in 2004 will still be around, right? It's not really life-threatening for me not to have all of the latest listings, is it? But it is life-threatening to a bunch of trees, so I still think I should be able to decide if I get phone books or not. (Please see my brilliant plan under number 2. It works well in this case, too. I don't have to opt out forever. If I feel like my 2004 book isn't cutting it anymore, I can get new ones. But I don't have to. Did I say "genius" already?)

4) Who's going to clean up the mess over there by the mailbox? Well, judging by past experiences with other people's unwanted mail, probably me. Humph. Stupid, useless, wet phonebooks! Grumble, grumble... Maybe after they dry out I can use the pages to make some kind of phone book crafts like the trees and angels people used to make with old Reader's Digests? Hmmm...

So what do you think? Phone books- only good for dinosaurs, or "keep 'em coming; I hate trees!" I'm interested to hear your thoughts!

P.S. There really are penguins coming your way in a post or two- I just really needed to talk about phone books! I'm done now. Thanks for your patience. =)

Canterbury Adventures

It's been a busy winter for us in cold, cold Christchurch! Our friend Jo from the UK (see her guest blog here) came to visit for about a month, rousing us from our state of apartment hibernation! It can be hard to make oneself want to leave the flat in the icy winter, but with the help of thermal underwear, Jo's new winter wardrobe from Glassons, and the promise of lots of coffee and cake at our city's fine cafés, we managed to get ourselves out and about quite a bit!

On Jo's birthday we went for a lovely walk (partly in the snow!) in the Port Hills, which separate Christchurch from Lyttelton Harbour. We walked from the Sign of the Takahe restaurant to the Sign of the Kiwi, a small café on Coronation Hill. From there we got a great view of the Cashmere Valley and of the harbour. All the way along our route there were stunning views of the snow-capped mountains in the distance and the chilly weather was actually perfect for a nice, long walk. Here is a picture of Jo and I at the Sign of the Kiwi.

Later that week we drove through NZ's longest road tunnel (yikes!) to get to Lyttelton, where we met up with our new friend Suzanne who lives there. We did a little shopping at the farmers' market, then Suzanne took us on a beautiful (and steep) walking tour through one of the cemeteries and back down into the town. It was lovely (and tiring). Luckily, I had consumed enough All Blacks Powerade to get me through the day. (I think the flavour is called Silver Charge, but it says All Blacks all over it, so I decided it tasted like All Blacks. They play rugby really well, but I have to warn you- they don't really taste all that great, especially when warm. I'm definitely more of a Gatorade girl.) Lyttelton, incidentally, is where Peter Jackson shot The Frighteners and where Joe Bennett, the guy who wrote this book I just read about underpants lives. (It was a really good book. You should read it.) Here's a picture of Lyttelton.

We (literally) took the scenic route home from Lyttelton, skipping the tunnel and instead heading over the hills to Sumner, where we ate fish & chips on a bench on the beach promenade. (Jo had the fish; G and I had the chips. We found that the three of us are a lot like that nursery rhyme about Jack Sprat. We make a good team.) Jo had two thumbs up for the yummy snack, but Gordon was distracted by something to the right over there. Was it a bird? A plane? A guinea pig playing soccer? A seven-year-old gymnast doing five press handstands? We may never know...

We're really happy that Jo came to see us; we had a great time! There are more posts to come about our fascinating adventures, so stay tuned! There will be penguins! =)

Joss Made Me Do It

Voila! The teaser for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the new and exciting series from Joss Whedon, starring Doogie Howser MD and Captain Mal Reynolds from Firefly. Joss told me (and everyone else who can read) to spread the word about Dr. Horrible, so I am. When Joss says "jump," I say "to what planet?" And seeing as how he's a far better writer than myself, I'll let him explain the master plan, which I stole from the official Dr. Horrible website.

A LETTER FROM JOSS WHEDON

Dear Friends,

At last the time has come to reveal to you our Master Plan. BEWARE! Those with weak hearts should log off lest they be terrified by the twisted genius of our schemes! Also pregnant women and the elderly should consider reading only certain sentences. Do not mix with other blogs. Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this blog. You must be this tall to read. ‘Kay?

It is time for us to change the face of Show Business as we know it. You know the old adage, “It’s Show Business – not Show Friends”? Well now it’s Show Friends. We did that. To Show Business. To show Show Business we mean business. (Also, there are now other businesses like it.)

ONE WEEK ONLY! AN INTERNET MINISERIES EVENT!

"Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:

ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.

ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.

ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.

All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.)

And now to answers a few Frequently (soon to be) Asked Questions:

1) Why, Joss? Why? Why now, why free, why us?

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system.

Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.

The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.

2) What happens when it goes away? Does it go to a happy farm for always like Fluffy did when mommy was crying and the neighbor kept washing his fender?

No, Dr horrible will live on. We intend to make it available for download soon after it’s published. This would be for a nominal fee, which we’re hoping people will embrace instead of getting all piratey. We have big dreams, people, and one of them is paying our crew.

And somewhat later, we will put the complete short epic out on DVD – with the finest and bravest extras in all the land. We’ll go into greater detail about that at Comiccon, but we’re changing the face of Show Friendliness a second time with that crazy DVD.

3) Joss, you are so kind, and generous, and your forehead is like, huge, like SCARY, like I think I can see Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint hanging off it… what can WE do to help this musical extravanganza?

What you always do, peeps! What you’re already doing. Spread the word. Rock some banners, widgets, diggs… let people know who wouldn’t ordinarily know. It wouldn’t hurt if this really was an event. Good for the business, good for the community – communitIES: Hollywood, internet, artists around the world, comic-book fans, musical fans (and even the rather vocal community of people who hate both but will still dig on this). Proving we can turn Dr Horrible into a viable economic proposition as well as an awesome goof will only inspire more people to lay themselves out in the same way. It’s time for the dissemination of the artistic process. Create more for less. You are the ones that can make that happen.

Wow. I had no idea how important you guys were. I’m a little afraid of you.

4) Joss, do you ever answer a question simply or coherently?

Shledzguohn?

There’ll be more questions, and more long, long answers, but for now I’m just excited that we’re actually making this happen. We (and a lot of other people -- gushing to commence soon) worked very hard on the show and we hope/think you guys will be pleased.

Until July 15th , I remain, yours truly, -j, of the firm j, j, m & z.

So there you have it! I hope everyone will join in and log on to enjoy the sing-along hilarity!

Ridiculously Cute!

Kitties. Sooooo cute. I wish I could have one of my very own to squeeze, but that would involve living in a country for more than a year at a time. Hmph. I lieu of that, I present to you some of my favoourite "lolcats" from I Can Has Cheezburger- perhaps the most adorable site on the entire interwebz. (Kass turned me on to it- she has a nose for cuteness!) Here you goez!

And the cutest of them all...

Sometimes I Read

I used to read constantly as a kid. When I sat on Santa’s lap at the Ohio Valley Mall, every year I asked for the same thing for Christmas- books. (I’m sure there were additional items on my list, but none come to mind except for Fruity Pebbles cereal.) Now, I’m not saying I was demanding Dickens or anything- at age 10 it was mostly Sweet Valley Twins and The Babysitter’s Club for me; I absolutely adored them! I begged and pleaded with my poor mom to get the newest ones as they were released- she must have spent a fortune at B. Dalton, but I had to have them! I’m sure I read at least 30 or 40 of each series, and a lot of those were read and re-read. When I found these pictures of the original cover art on Amazon, I was blown away by the flood of memories they brought back! Not memories of me as a skinny, nerdy kid with no friends, but memories of Sweet Valley, where Jessica joined the Unicorn Club with Lila Fowler, and where Elizabeth redecorated her room in navy blue and beige, and of Stoneybrook, where the Babysitter’s Club met at Claudia’s house and talked about their “charges” and Kid-Kits and wrote a journal about their experiences… I got totally lost in those worlds, and I remember so many of the details! It’s amazing how things like that can still be lodged in my brain after 20 years! I can barely remember what I had for breakfast, but I can still conjure these vivid scenes of an imaginary middle school from the 80’s… I continued my love affair with literacy all through middle school, when I tried to go through the entire fiction section of the school library in alphabetical order. (I didn’t succeed, don’t worry. I’m not a total freak.) I especially loved Ellen Conford, Mabel Esther Allan, and Paul Zindel. Sadly, though, high school hit and books all but disappeared from my life. My reading habit has never fully recovered. As an adult I’ve gone through a few periods of heavy reading, but they’ve been pretty short-lived, and even then it’s been more non-fiction than anything else. In the last couple weeks I have read four fiction books (I’m pretty proud of myself) and I’m starting to realize how much I’ve really missed it! I miss fiction! I just finished The Jane Austen Book Club about an hour ago (it wasn't earth-shattering, but it held my interest), and I’m going to make an effort to keep this little bookworm ball rolling by diving right into something new tonight! I’ve got a few books on the shelf waiting to be read, but when those are done I’ll be looking for suggestions, so if you’ve just read something fantastic, please leave me a note in the comments! Gotta run! It’s time to go get cozy with a cup of tea and a new adventure! See you at the library! =)

Word of Mouth

I have been tagged! I think that makes me some kind of official member of the blogosphere. What are tags and how do they work? Well, I'm not entirely sure, but it seems to me that they are a way for your friends with blogs to make you write about whatever they want, presumably because they think you are a gifted writer and value your opinions on the topics they have selected. (But maybe it's really because they know you're too lazy to write your blog at all unless publicly asked to do so, and then linking to it, so you can't get out of it without everyone knowing! Tricky...) So, I am honoured, of course, to have been tagged on Kass's 3rd Word of Mouth post. This means that it's my turn to think of things I enjoy and recommend them to you, the public at large. =) So here goes! =)

A classic. I used to use this as a kid because my mom always had it around. It came in a big ol' plastic tub with a screw-off lid that I could almost stick my whole 8-year-old paw into if my mom wasn't around to see it. ;) My mom eventually moved on to (inferior) Neutrogena face products, and so did I. (While I don't like their soap, I have to say that T-Gel is my hero. I would have it on my cereal if it wouldn't make me throw up.) In my teens and twenties I branched out to all different face products, and even fell for the hype and ordered that (also inferior) Proactiv stuff that Jessica Simpson is always peddling on tv. But now I'm back where I started! I looove this stuff! It leaves my skin all soft and nice, doesn't make me break out, smells good, isn't too pricey, and isn't tested on any of our furry friends, so what's not to like? =)

Who woulda thunk it? I like modern fiction! Those of you who know my reading preferences would likely be surprised that I should deign to read anything not written before 1900... Really, anyone current enough to have had access to a typing device (aside from Barbara Kingsolver) is inconsequential as far as my literary habits are concerned. (I'm not saying it's right; I'm just stating the facts.) But Gordon left this one out on the table and I read it. I don't know why I never listen when he tells me there are good authors under 100 years old, but I should. (I hope he doesn't think I'm one of them- if he reads this I'll surely be eating my words!) Anyhow, this book was very good. =) It had interesting, believeable characters, the writing was really smart and very funny, and there were many mentions of office supplies. Definitely recommended.

Man! How is this show still so good? It's nothing short of brilliant! I remember watching it with my mom on tv the first time around and loving every episode, especially the ones with lots of Ed Chigliak. I love that guy! My adoration for the show (and Ed) was shared by my penpal Donna who even sent me a pocket-size Northern Exposure notebook, which I'm pretty sure I still have somewhere. Gordon and I have been watching the series again on DVD recently, and it hasn't lost anything over time. Okay, maybe the jeans are a little high-waisted, and the music on the DVD's is nowhere near as good as the original music, but it's still just great. First thing on my list when we return to Washington is a weekend trip to Roslyn, where it was filmed. I know we won't run into Ed, but we can still go to The Brick for a brewski!

Pigs. I'd like to recommend pigs. I'm not sure for what, but definitely not for eating. Pigs are friends, not food! Here is a picture of me with my friend Edgar from Best Friends Animal Society in Utah. He is very, very cute and does not enjoy romaine lettuce. I kinda feel like pigs don't get the respect they deserve. I mean, people are always on about how other animals (like dogs) are so great (and they are- look at cute Rockford), but if we're grading on intelligence and personality, pigs are actually smarter than dogs, and just as playful and loyal. (They're even smarter than 3-year-old humans.) They know what's going on. I know of at least one person who really appreciates pigs- Judy, the founder of Pigs Peace Sanctuary. Such a cool lady and an awesome organisation. Go check it out- hooray for pigs! =)

Lastly, I'd like to recommend Google Reader, my new best friend. There must be other programs like this out there, but I'm a big fan of Google because they make everything so easy for those of us who are maybe not-so-techy. So I subscribe to all of my favourite blogs, and then I never have to look for them again- I just sign in to Reader and it tells me if any of them have been updated and shows them to me right there on the same screen! It's like subscribing to the newspaper and only getting the sections you like to read! Brilliant! =) Try it- you'll like it! =)

I hope these suggestions have been useful! I'm tagging everyone!!! Every last one of you! Now, go forth and recommend stuff! =) (Okay, I kid. But you could always recommend your favourite things in the comments!)