Why don't they make videos like this for people learning Japanese? I could totally learn it this way. I'll let you know if at least the dances translate in Japan. The "diarrhea" and "it's your fault that this happened" phrases might be essential (in any and all languages, really).
Wait..."hasta la vista?"
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Countdown to happy hour...
I think that I might relate to men more often than I relate to women (as scary as that sounds), or I at least usually "get it." Sometimes I am still baffled, but for the most part, I guess the following result makes sense. All those years of studying must have paid off. ;-P
You Have Your PhD in Men |
 You understand men almost better than anyone. You accept that guys are very different, and you read signals well. Work what you know about men, and your relationships will be blissful. |
You are a Romantic Realist |
 Okay, so you fall in the middle. You know that love isn't like a greeting card... Yet you can always find a greeting card to describe your feelings. You are the best of both worlds Girly yet independent, dreamy yet serious. Almost any guy can find balance with you. |
Oh yeah, Happy Mother's Day
If you haven't seen this yet...well, where have you been? I've had this song in my head all day. Enjoy!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Fun things to do this summer
I'm always looking for something fun and different to do around town, and I usually find it. I tend to write ideas down on scrap paper periodically to keep track, but I thought I'd just try to collect my thoughts in one place, right here. There's nothing wrong with the typical bar and music scene, but these things will break you out of your routine. "There's nothing to do" is no excuse, you just don't know where to look! This should get you through July, anyway. ;) Feel free to consult the list and let me know if you're interested in going with me--if I'm not already there, I'll probably want to go (time is the only issue...). Oh yeah, did I mention these things are all either free or $10 at most? Bonus. Here we go:
Outdoor Concerts and Festivals
Outdoor Concerts and Festivals
- Belleville Art on the Square (this weekend)
- Spring To Dance Festival: May 21-23 at the Touhill (inside, but whatever)
- Rib America: May 22-24 (Third Eye Blind on Sunday!!)
- Fabulous Fridays (jugglers, fire dancers, guitarists, etc. on the street): starts May 15, 5-10pm, Central West End
- Clayton's "Parties In The Park:" third Wed. of the month
- Shakespeare In The Park: May 20-June 14, 8pm except on Tuesdays
- Jungle Boogie Friday Night Concert Series: 5-8pm at the zoo, starts on May 22
- Twilight Tuesdays: free concerts outside the history museum, 6:30pm until May 26
- Whitaker Music Festival: free concert on Wednesdays (June-July) at MO Botanical Garden, 7:30pm
- St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival: June 5 & 6 (new addition, and ok this one is $30 before June 4)
- RFT Music Showcase: June 7, 1pm-midnight, various places in The Loop
- "Live On The Levee:" weekends July 3-Aug. 1
- Soulard Bastille Days Festival, July 17-19
- "Girls Night Out" at Third Degree Glass Factory (how fun is that?!)
- Drive-In Movie (Fri.-Sun.)
- "Frontyard Features:" free outdoor movies at various locations
- Boathouse, Forest Park
- The Muny, June 15-Aug. 9
- Arch Rival Roller Girls
- Ghost Tour of Alton
- Katy Trail
- Botanical Garden
- Bocce Ball, Milo's Bocce Garden (The Hill)
- Laumeier Sculpture Park
- Horse races
- Car races
- Grizzlies or River City Rascals baseball game
- Funny Bone (Westport)
- Mini golf (blacklight mini golf? St. Louis Mills)
- Ice/Roller Skating
- Archery/Canoeing at Creve Coeur Park
- Art Museum
- Horseback riding
- Theology at the Bottleworks (Schlafly), third Wed. of the month
- Jive & Wail (6-8 on Fridays in June, FREE beer and no cover)
- Third Degree Glass Factory Open House, third Friday of the month
- Dave & Buster's
- Laser tag
- Paintball
- City Museum
- Albino Alley Cat Revue
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Dear former self
I read an article about someone who decided to write a letter to his former, 16-year-old self. It inspired me to do the same:
Dear 16-year-old Self,
This is an especially tough year in terms of family crises, but you are stronger than you think. Things get better (well, it comes in waves). Don't brood over it too much and be nicer to your mom. You are wise beyond your years in many ways, but don't rush the maturation process. Party and experiment more in college and even a little in high school--within reason, of course, but I shouldn't have to tell you that. (For starters, mysterious blond guys and alcohol are an interesting mix.) You have a lot of potential and many people will encourage you, but it won't do you any good until you start believing in yourself.
Most relationships are overrated and transitory, so there's really nothing wrong with you for deciding that you have more interesting or important things to do. In almost all cases, you actually do. This philosophy seems crazy to some people, but it will make you a more well-rounded, independent person in the future. Plus, you bring more to a relationship this way. Believe it or not, you can be independent and paired up at the same time, under the right circumstances.
If you like a guy and you think he likes you back, he almost definitely does. You don't have to do anything about it, necessarily, but don't avoid taking a risk for fear of "ruining the friendship" or [insert bs excuse], either. If he doesn't make a move and you move on, he is much more likely to regret it later and . . . well, you probably won't regret it at all, but you will be kicking yourself for second guessing your intuition once again. I'm pretty sure those don't work out for a reason, though. Which reminds me, do yourself a huge favor and always trust your initial instincts. You cannot and should not trick yourself into thinking or feeling otherwise.
Also, don't work so much. That hard work in school pays off for a while, but it won't last forever. You can still be good at your job and maintain a social life on weekdays. Those jerks (the jerks that make decisions) won't appreciate the effort, anyway, not really.
The world won't end when things don't go as you planned. Go with the flow and see where it takes you. Appreciate life's many processes and know that the only constant in life is change. You are sure to be surprised.
Love,
Your 24-year-old Self
p.s. Get renter's insurance and don't jump at the first opportunity to go to New York.
Dear 16-year-old Self,
This is an especially tough year in terms of family crises, but you are stronger than you think. Things get better (well, it comes in waves). Don't brood over it too much and be nicer to your mom. You are wise beyond your years in many ways, but don't rush the maturation process. Party and experiment more in college and even a little in high school--within reason, of course, but I shouldn't have to tell you that. (For starters, mysterious blond guys and alcohol are an interesting mix.) You have a lot of potential and many people will encourage you, but it won't do you any good until you start believing in yourself.
Most relationships are overrated and transitory, so there's really nothing wrong with you for deciding that you have more interesting or important things to do. In almost all cases, you actually do. This philosophy seems crazy to some people, but it will make you a more well-rounded, independent person in the future. Plus, you bring more to a relationship this way. Believe it or not, you can be independent and paired up at the same time, under the right circumstances.
If you like a guy and you think he likes you back, he almost definitely does. You don't have to do anything about it, necessarily, but don't avoid taking a risk for fear of "ruining the friendship" or [insert bs excuse], either. If he doesn't make a move and you move on, he is much more likely to regret it later and . . . well, you probably won't regret it at all, but you will be kicking yourself for second guessing your intuition once again. I'm pretty sure those don't work out for a reason, though. Which reminds me, do yourself a huge favor and always trust your initial instincts. You cannot and should not trick yourself into thinking or feeling otherwise.
Also, don't work so much. That hard work in school pays off for a while, but it won't last forever. You can still be good at your job and maintain a social life on weekdays. Those jerks (the jerks that make decisions) won't appreciate the effort, anyway, not really.
The world won't end when things don't go as you planned. Go with the flow and see where it takes you. Appreciate life's many processes and know that the only constant in life is change. You are sure to be surprised.
Love,
Your 24-year-old Self
p.s. Get renter's insurance and don't jump at the first opportunity to go to New York.
Weekend update
I should be packing. Right now I'm in the "throw everything on the floor/bed and consider putting it in a bag" stage. Okay, "everything" is an exaggeration, but try telling that to my messy room. I have one set of clothes figured out and at least a good portion of my toiletries so far, so it's a start. Usually I wait until the last minute, but I already know saving it all for tomorrow is out of the question. Since I'm only bringing a carry on, I have to make sure all the liquids are less than 3oz. I'm not bringing too much, anyway, since I will only be gone a few days.
This is the weekend that I'm going to visit Melissa in Baltimore! This is her final grad school book reading, and I'm pretty excited that I'll finally get to see what she's been working on. Plus, of course, it will be good to see her.
This is also the last weekend I will be able to leave town until the end of June. After this, my Monday dance class will move to Saturday until recital, and I'm pretty sure I have at least one additional thing planned all of those weekends, too. Spring marks the beginning of festival season! I love it.
I feel sort of guilty for skipping some taiko practices, but there are too many fun things going on. Last night Joel took me to the Cardinals game and we ended up on tv (Fox Sports Midwest, wherever they show that)! Like, they zoomed in on us for several seconds. Originally, I thought the camera was focused on his cute cousins in front of us and we happened to be behind them, but it turns out that we were actually the focal point. That strikes me as odd, though, because I thought they pretty much liked to zoom in on either cute kids or attractive girls (often blondes) with minimal clothing, so I'm not sure where we fit in there. Maybe they were trying to decipher my hand gestures. I guess that means the secret's out, though...if, in fact, it was a secret and if, in fact, more than one of my friends or acquaintances watches the game that closely. Ha. Yesterday was also Cinco De Mayo, and I'm considering celebrating the 5th of every month with a gigantic blue margarita from now on. Hey, why not?
What else happened this week? I'm behind on my writing...oh! I finished teaching the dance to my class. Um, yeah. They don't really know it yet, but they at least learned it. We can spend the rest of the month cleaning it up, even if it means stopping my flamenco class in order to have more review time for hip hop class. They'll get it, I think. I hope. They have to...or else! (uh, or else...they won't know it and I'll feel bad. Yeah!).
Oh, I guess I'm not going to Off Broadway tonight. An old Momentum coworker invited me because it's sponsored by them (well, one of their brands), but I feel like I'll barely know anyone there anymore. Besides, I already went to my weekly happy hour event. Actually, these days, every hour that I spend outside of work (dance doesn't count as work) seems to be pretty "happy" (with or without the alcohol). :)
This is the weekend that I'm going to visit Melissa in Baltimore! This is her final grad school book reading, and I'm pretty excited that I'll finally get to see what she's been working on. Plus, of course, it will be good to see her.
This is also the last weekend I will be able to leave town until the end of June. After this, my Monday dance class will move to Saturday until recital, and I'm pretty sure I have at least one additional thing planned all of those weekends, too. Spring marks the beginning of festival season! I love it.
I feel sort of guilty for skipping some taiko practices, but there are too many fun things going on. Last night Joel took me to the Cardinals game and we ended up on tv (Fox Sports Midwest, wherever they show that)! Like, they zoomed in on us for several seconds. Originally, I thought the camera was focused on his cute cousins in front of us and we happened to be behind them, but it turns out that we were actually the focal point. That strikes me as odd, though, because I thought they pretty much liked to zoom in on either cute kids or attractive girls (often blondes) with minimal clothing, so I'm not sure where we fit in there. Maybe they were trying to decipher my hand gestures. I guess that means the secret's out, though...if, in fact, it was a secret and if, in fact, more than one of my friends or acquaintances watches the game that closely. Ha. Yesterday was also Cinco De Mayo, and I'm considering celebrating the 5th of every month with a gigantic blue margarita from now on. Hey, why not?
What else happened this week? I'm behind on my writing...oh! I finished teaching the dance to my class. Um, yeah. They don't really know it yet, but they at least learned it. We can spend the rest of the month cleaning it up, even if it means stopping my flamenco class in order to have more review time for hip hop class. They'll get it, I think. I hope. They have to...or else! (uh, or else...they won't know it and I'll feel bad. Yeah!).
Oh, I guess I'm not going to Off Broadway tonight. An old Momentum coworker invited me because it's sponsored by them (well, one of their brands), but I feel like I'll barely know anyone there anymore. Besides, I already went to my weekly happy hour event. Actually, these days, every hour that I spend outside of work (dance doesn't count as work) seems to be pretty "happy" (with or without the alcohol). :)
Monday, May 4, 2009
"Empathy" is a four letter word?
A supreme court justice just announced his retirement last weekend, and Obama said he would pick a replacement judge that has "empathy." According to Fox News, this means that Obama wants an "activist" judge, which in turn makes him/her "pro choice." Obviously, "empathy" and "activist" can only describe bleeding heart, crazy liberals...? What does that say about conservatives? Is Fox News implying that pro choice people are more empathetic than pro-lifers?
Somehow, I doubt it, but then I fail to see their logic. I must be missing something. Of course, I am just speculating as well, but maybe, just maybe, Fox News would have manipulated his words regardless of what he actually said. Maybe they jumped to conclusions a little too soon. *gasp* Obama may go with a pro choice judge, sure, but his speech didn't actually reveal anything specific.
I am more surprised at the fact that empathy in a judge is considered such a terrible thing. Maybe I'm naive, but I thought our constitution was at least partially built on empathy, and that empathy and the law can actually co-exist. In fact, if they were mutually exclusive, I'm pretty sure we would be living under some kind of dictatorship...or at least another administration.
P.S. In case you were wondering, that last statement is not meant to imply Bush or anyone in particular. Bush is disqualified, since I'm pretty sure his administration was mostly devoid of both the constitution and empathy. :-o (haha, zing)
Somehow, I doubt it, but then I fail to see their logic. I must be missing something. Of course, I am just speculating as well, but maybe, just maybe, Fox News would have manipulated his words regardless of what he actually said. Maybe they jumped to conclusions a little too soon. *gasp* Obama may go with a pro choice judge, sure, but his speech didn't actually reveal anything specific.
I am more surprised at the fact that empathy in a judge is considered such a terrible thing. Maybe I'm naive, but I thought our constitution was at least partially built on empathy, and that empathy and the law can actually co-exist. In fact, if they were mutually exclusive, I'm pretty sure we would be living under some kind of dictatorship...or at least another administration.
P.S. In case you were wondering, that last statement is not meant to imply Bush or anyone in particular. Bush is disqualified, since I'm pretty sure his administration was mostly devoid of both the constitution and empathy. :-o (haha, zing)
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