This note has reached epidemic proportions on Facebook. I've played along and posted it on my profile, but I found it entertaining to compile so I'm including it here as well, sans the Facebook re-posting instructions:
1. I love all things purple – I even have a purple rose tattooed on my lower back.
2. Listening to live music is my idea of a perfect night. I love all kinds. As far as big names go, Dave Matthews is my favorite (yes Tom, I know you don’t approve), but I also drag people to see artists they haven’t heard of yet.
3. To go along with #2, I also have a thing for men who play the guitar.
4. Like several of my ladies have already said, I also can really dance for a white girl. I have my own private dance parties at home…yes sometimes even in front of the mirror.
5. True to my Texas roots, I love Blue Bell Ice Cream, Whataburger, Freebirds, and I put jalapenos on almost everything. I could also eat fajitas and drink margaritas every day.
6. Few things in life affect me like the ocean. I love being by the ocean and have spent some amazing times on beaches with my girlfriends Cory, Nicci, and Shawna. I wish we were better about making the yearly trips we promised we would make when we were 18.
7. I am not a morning person…at all! I really wish I could change that about myself. It’s pretty miserable.
8. I don’t think you need a reason to pop open a bottle of champagne.
9. I am insanely afraid of mice and rats, which is unfortunate given my affinity for living in cities where I have to see them scurrying around all the time.
10. The year after I graduated college, I was able to accomplish my lifelong dream of working in Manhattan. I absolutely loved the city, but the actual job left a lot to be desired and ultimately did not work out, but I am very happy for the time I spent there.
11. I am a proud Fightin’ Texas Aggie and have fun telling all my friends here about all our traditions. Gig ‘em!
12. I’m close to my siblings, especially my brother Mark. He understands me better than anyone else. Even though we don’t live in the same place, we talk every day and I tell him everything (even things I am sure he wishes I would not tell him!).
13. I am a little obsessed with “Sex and the City” and even have a Pomeranian named Mr. Big. I HATE when people call it “ Sex IN the City.”
14. I was raised in a very strict Southern Baptist family and was very active in church, and now I work for a national pro-choice group.
15. I have always been petrified of singing in front of people.
16. When I was 13, my mom let me be in the room when she gave birth to my youngest brother Joey. It gave me a greater love and respect for her, but talk about great birth control!
17. I'm half Irish and I like to put o' in front o'things.
18. I am very crafty. I make gift baskets, diaper cakes, and even elaborate edible cakes (although I don’t really enjoy making and icing real cakes and only do it for people who are REALLY special to me!).
19. I hate blow-drying my hair. I have started treating myself to blowouts from time to time. I also hate ironing clothes.
20. I have a remarkable memory – it is both a blessing and a curse!
21. I don’t like beer – and yes, I have tried different kinds and no, you are not going to change my mind with your favorite brew. Vodka and whiskey suit me just fine!
22. When I am bored, stressed, or anxious I pick my fingers. My grandfather says the condition of my hands is a reliable indicator of how happy I am in my life. To this day, he always looks at my hands before he asks me how I am doing.
23. I am blessed to have my dream job right now and am frankly a bit of a workaholic…and I’m not going to apologize about that!
24. I think sweet tea is the nectar of the gods.
25. Someone once described me as being more spice than sugar.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Friday, November 21, 2008
Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
A little bit o'Friday humor:
Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
Andy Borowitz
In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.
Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tic, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.
But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.
According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.
"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."
The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate -- we get it, stop showing off."
The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.
"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.
Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com.
Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
Andy Borowitz
In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.
Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tic, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.
But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.
According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.
"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."
The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate -- we get it, stop showing off."
The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.
"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.
Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
We Remember November 18, 1999
Nine years ago today, the Texas A&M Bonfire collapsed, killing 12 students and injuring more than two dozen others. I can’t believe so many years have passed.
I was a freshman living on-campus November 18, 1999 at 2:42 am. It was push week, and students were working round the clock leading up to the night before the t.u. game when Bonfire would burn. I was actually supposed to be out there working on the stack the night it fell. I remember planning to go, but then something else came up. It’s strange, but I can’t remember exactly what I did that night instead…I have an excellent memory (which is both a blessing and a curse) and can recall quite a bit about my days in College Station, but this night escapes me. I think I went to watch an intramural game and then hung out with friends. What I do remember is getting home around 2 am and walking down my dorm hallway, thinking that I should have gone to work on Bonfire and wondering if I could squeeze it in another night that week.
The next thing I remember is the phone waking me up around 5 am. It was a friend from back home who lived a few buildings over, and she was calling to tell me there had been some kind of Bonfire accident and another friend of ours from home was scheduled to be working there overnight with his squadron and we didn’t know where he was or if he was alright. Luckily, within a few hours we had located him and he was fine. The same could not be said for 12 others that morning.
I—like the rest of Bryan-College Station—spent the morning on the phone. I didn’t have a cell phone back then and so my dorm phone was jammed all day with calls from friends and family from around the country.
This incredibly sad time was my introduction to the amazing spirit of the Aggie Family. As the days went on and we learned the final number of casualties and started to come to grips with what had happened, my parents urged me to come home. Didn’t I want to get away from all the death and sadness? Didn’t I want to rest at home with my family? No. The honest truth was that the only place I wanted to be in the world at that time was College Station, TX. I wanted to be with my Aggie Family. With people who understood what I was feeling and could comfort me without even having to say a word. I remember going to the first memorial service on-campus at Reed Arena that week. Even after the official service had ended, people just stayed and linked arms and sang “Amazing Grace” a ccapella for what felt like hours.
We Aggies have a saying about our traditions and spirit: “From the outside looking in you can’t understand...from the inside looking out you can’t explain it.” And that’s exactly how I felt during this tragedy. I have never been more proud to be a part of the Aggie Family and I still have that pride today every time someone notices my ring, or asks me where I went to school, or mentions “that school with that Bonfire.”
Today we remember those 12 fallen Aggies: Miranda Denise Adams; Christopher D. Breen; Michael Stephen Ebanks; Jeremy Richard Frampton; Jamie Lynn Hand; Christopher Lee Heard; Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr; Lucas John Kimmel; Bryan A. McClain; Chad A. Powell; Jerry Don Self; and Nathan Scott West.
There's a spirit can ne'er be told and it's the Spirit of Aggieland.
I was a freshman living on-campus November 18, 1999 at 2:42 am. It was push week, and students were working round the clock leading up to the night before the t.u. game when Bonfire would burn. I was actually supposed to be out there working on the stack the night it fell. I remember planning to go, but then something else came up. It’s strange, but I can’t remember exactly what I did that night instead…I have an excellent memory (which is both a blessing and a curse) and can recall quite a bit about my days in College Station, but this night escapes me. I think I went to watch an intramural game and then hung out with friends. What I do remember is getting home around 2 am and walking down my dorm hallway, thinking that I should have gone to work on Bonfire and wondering if I could squeeze it in another night that week.
The next thing I remember is the phone waking me up around 5 am. It was a friend from back home who lived a few buildings over, and she was calling to tell me there had been some kind of Bonfire accident and another friend of ours from home was scheduled to be working there overnight with his squadron and we didn’t know where he was or if he was alright. Luckily, within a few hours we had located him and he was fine. The same could not be said for 12 others that morning.
I—like the rest of Bryan-College Station—spent the morning on the phone. I didn’t have a cell phone back then and so my dorm phone was jammed all day with calls from friends and family from around the country.
This incredibly sad time was my introduction to the amazing spirit of the Aggie Family. As the days went on and we learned the final number of casualties and started to come to grips with what had happened, my parents urged me to come home. Didn’t I want to get away from all the death and sadness? Didn’t I want to rest at home with my family? No. The honest truth was that the only place I wanted to be in the world at that time was College Station, TX. I wanted to be with my Aggie Family. With people who understood what I was feeling and could comfort me without even having to say a word. I remember going to the first memorial service on-campus at Reed Arena that week. Even after the official service had ended, people just stayed and linked arms and sang “Amazing Grace” a ccapella for what felt like hours.
We Aggies have a saying about our traditions and spirit: “From the outside looking in you can’t understand...from the inside looking out you can’t explain it.” And that’s exactly how I felt during this tragedy. I have never been more proud to be a part of the Aggie Family and I still have that pride today every time someone notices my ring, or asks me where I went to school, or mentions “that school with that Bonfire.”
Today we remember those 12 fallen Aggies: Miranda Denise Adams; Christopher D. Breen; Michael Stephen Ebanks; Jeremy Richard Frampton; Jamie Lynn Hand; Christopher Lee Heard; Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr; Lucas John Kimmel; Bryan A. McClain; Chad A. Powell; Jerry Don Self; and Nathan Scott West.
There's a spirit can ne'er be told and it's the Spirit of Aggieland.
Monday, November 3, 2008
1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Sex, Blue Sex
This week's New Yorker features a piece on why so many evangelical teens become pregnant. As someone who participated in the "True Love Waits" campaign in high school and now works for a national pro-choice group, I found this article particularly interesting.
A few quick things that stood out from Dept. of Disputation: Red Sex, Blue Sex that I don't have time to comment on tonight:
- "Social liberals in the country’s “blue states” tend to support sex education and are not particularly troubled by the idea that many teen-agers have sex before marriage, but would regard a teen-age daughter’s pregnancy as devastating news. And the social conservatives in “red states” generally advocate abstinence-only education and denounce sex before marriage, but are relatively unruffled if a teen-ager becomes pregnant, as long as she doesn’t choose to have an abortion."
- "During the campaign, the media has largely respected calls to treat Bristol Palin’s pregnancy as a private matter." Funny how it's a private matter only if a woman carries a pregnancy to term...
- "Bearman and Brückner have also identified a peculiar dilemma: in some schools, if too many teens pledge [to remain abstinent until marriage], the effort basically collapses. Pledgers apparently gather strength from the sense that they are an embattled minority; once their numbers exceed thirty per cent, and proclaimed chastity becomes the norm, that special identity is lost."
Friday, October 31, 2008
You can't use an elliptical machine with a martini in your hand...or else I would love the gym!
My DC partner in crime drug me to the gym last night. Unfortunately, I'm not the biggest fan of working out. I walk a lot around DC...usually in heels so I consider that my cardio. I know I should do more, and I know you feel better after it's over...blah, blah, blah.
I did manage to do twice the cardio I normally do and did feel great afterward. Plus, it made me so tired that I actually fell asleep at a decent hour, which hasn't been happening the last few months.
Is it bad though, that for the first 15 minutes I was there, all I could think about was how much I wanted a dirty martini and a cigarette??? I have issues...
T-minus 3 hours til I get this weekend started with champagne at my office to celebrate 2 years on the job...
I did manage to do twice the cardio I normally do and did feel great afterward. Plus, it made me so tired that I actually fell asleep at a decent hour, which hasn't been happening the last few months.
Is it bad though, that for the first 15 minutes I was there, all I could think about was how much I wanted a dirty martini and a cigarette??? I have issues...
T-minus 3 hours til I get this weekend started with champagne at my office to celebrate 2 years on the job...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Happy 2-year Anniversary to DC and me!
Today marks my two-year anniversary at my job and living in DC. In some ways it seems like so much longer than that, and in others, like I just loaded up my U-haul truck and drove halfway across the country.
After months of phone interviews, follow-up calls, and shameless self promotion, I traveled to Washington, DC at the beginning of October 2006 for a face-to-face interview. I accepted the job on the spot, then went back to Texas and made preparations to move within three weeks. Although I was excited, I actually wasn’t sure I would like DC. I’ve had a lifelong infatuation with Manhattan and was even fortunate enough to work there in 2005, and I just wasn’t sure how our nation’s capital would compare. But looking back over the last two years, I know moving here was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Still, it’s been a surprising journey…one that continues to shock the hell out of me. If you had told me two years ago all that was ahead of me, I would have told you that you were crazy. I would never have believed that I would:
- be promoted to Communications Director;
- end a six-year relationship…and this time for good;
- move in with two total strangers (who would both end up having a Texas connection) and one of them would end up becoming one of my closest friends;
- be single, living on my own, and ok with that;
- actually get rid of my storage unit and make a real home in DC; and that I would
- have met so many intriguing people from across the nation who would challenge and change me.
All this makes me wonder how different my life will be in the next two years, or five years, or 10 years. I’m a bit impatient so of course I want to know now, but I guess I have to just settle in and enjoy the ride.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Palin can't name her 'vast variety of sources' for news...
I don't know whether I'm more entertained or scared by this video. Seriously! When pressed, couldn't she just throw out The New York Times? Oh, I can't wait until the debate tomorrow!
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