ampersand

Last-minute resolution-type thing

OK, you know I’m at home being lame. And being lame at my apartment has meant a lot of looking around at my stuff. And a lot of that stuff, much of which has accumulated in 2008, is comprised of unread books. So, a goal for 2009 is to read (or attempt to read!) a book a week. 52 books in 1 year. Doesn’t seem like that much. In fact, that number would’ve been nothing to me when I was a kid. Of course, back then, I didn’t have a job, cable had far fewer channels, the internet wasn’t as widespread, and a whole bunch of other reasons. But, enough of the excuses. Tonight, I will finish Sarah Vowell’s The Wordy Shipmates. Tomorrow, I begin Richard Florida’s “Who’s Your City”. A warning: if it ends up that it was New York all along, I am going to be PISSED. Mostly because I STILL can’t figure out a legal way to move there. And, I’ve known that since I was about two. Thanks, Captain Obvious.

Anyway, Happy New Year, gang!

Also, I have absolutely no way to profit from this at all, but if you want to laugh a lot in 2009, you should totally watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in 2009. It’s totally sick and twisted and hilarious. Plus, Fred Savage directed a bunch of episodes in season 3 & 4. And you love Kevin Arnold, I know you do. Come on. And, it’s on the internet. You can watch it at work!

2008 in Review

2008 in review

Because I can’t be assed to actually write a year in review entry, I’m stealing this survey from Facebook and putting it on my blog. Shut up, it’s happening.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?: I made more money than I ever had. I went to New York City for a week. Other things that do not require a public announcement. Went to the hospital for treatment for my migraines.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?: I typically don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, because I’ll never keep them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?: yes.

4. Did anyone close to you die?: no, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?: the United States

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?: more success with the whole hopes and dreams thing.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?:
Um, none, really.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?: not dying from the constant migraines? Learning to not be so hard on myself.

9. What was your biggest failure?: I’m not going to answer that question.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Anything bad?: Migraines. And I messed up my knee in February. And mildly sprained my ankle in November. But mostly, the migraines. They need to end. I’m going out of my mind.

11. What were the best things you bought?: plane tickets, my iPhone, IKEA furniture (my apartment looks less like a teenager lives here!)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?: mine, for even managing to be a functioning member of society.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?: certainly some friends.

14. Where did most of your money go?: bills, rent, IKEA, booze.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?: going to New York, going to Finland in March ’09.

16. What song/s will always remind you of 2008?
Mercy by Duffy
other songs I can’t remember right now.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?: sadder, slightly.
ii. thinner or fatter?: about the same.
iii. richer or poorer?: richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?: writing things I actually care about.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?: working

20. How will you be spending Christmas?: i spent it with the family

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?: no. but not for lack of trying.

22. How many one-night stands?: i’m pleading the fifth.

24. What was your favorite TV program?: How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Office, Mad Men, Flight of the Conchords

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?: I’m not sure if I hate anyone, but I certainly see a number of people in a very different light. Which will absolutely come back and bite them in the ass at the worst possible moment.Yes, I know I’m evil.

26. What was the best book you read?: Hands down, Watchmen. SO GOOD. Again, I’m late to the party. But if you haven’t read it, go buy it now. I don’t care if you don’t read graphic novels. I don’t really, either. Do it anyway. GO. God, just trust me on this.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?: The Weepies (Thanks, Sabrina!)

28. What did you want and get?: to go to New York more than once! to spend time with awesome people.

29. What did you want and not get?: a boyfriend. but not in a desperate way. seriously, I’m not clingy and really enjoy my space. a girl just likes a little something’ somethin’ every now and again. and someone to hang out with on weekends and stuff. Jeez!

30. What was your favorite film of this year?: Juno.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?: On my birthday, I was 28. I had a birthday party at my place. We played rock band and singstar. It snowed and was gross outside, but it was a fun night.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?: fewer migraines. making acquaintance with people who could make up their ever loving minds.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?: jeans, cardigans, chucks.

34. What kept you sane?: ice packs, rudy, alcohol, god (hey man, there has to be some kind of higher power to have gotten me through this ridiculous year without either dying or going batshit insane), sleep, amazing friends (of which there are sadly few)

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?: um, I have no idea. Jason Segel? But not with the haircut he had for the bulk of 2008. That was HORRIBLE. But not Dr. Horrible. Because Dr. Horrible was AWESOME, dare I say LEGENDARY.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?: Hoping that Hillary would be elected President, then wondering why people were so crazy about Obama (and if there was Kool-aid involved), even though I don’t mind the guy at all. I just don’t think he’s the second coming. A refreshing change, yes.

37. Who did you miss?: People who’ve proven to be sucky friends, people who aren’t here

38. Who was the best new person you met?: hm, tough call. There are some awesome new people around.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008: life can really suck. that’s when you’ve gotta take the time to pay attention to the small and awesome stuff and suck all the joy you can out of them.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Wasted on a Saturday
Join the great majority
All the ways I tried to keep in touch
You’ll never know.

Ohh come on come on come on
Give me a sign of life
‘Cause there’s another way
That I’d rather be
If I could only get you alone
It’s an inside joke that I never get
And I’m dying inside
But I’m not dead yet, dead yet…

(The Weepies, Not Dead Yet)

A (much delayed) miniBookExpo: Business Edition review | Relevance by Tim Manners

Relevance took me a long time to read. I want to state that up front and for the record. But I also want to say that it’s not really the fault of the book. When I signed up for the mBE:BE at OneDegree, I didn’t expect  my life to become as hectic as it did this fall. So, it turns out that I’m lucky to have ended up with a book like Relevance, one that was written in small, easily digestible chunks. I could leave the book and come back to it days (and sometimes a month) later, and still be able to pick up the thread of author Tim Manners’ argument.

And what is Tim Manners offering up in Relevance? Using bite-sized case studies of well-known brands (think Starbucks, Disney, Wal-Mart and Toyota, just for starters), the book is split into three parts: Relevant Problems, Relevant Solutions, and Relevant Outcomes. Manners discusses what he believes to be the most important aspect of marketing – relevance.  And in a tautly written 256 pages, he does a masterful job.

The well-researched and interviewed case studies examine the concept of relevance from a number of perspectives (including design, advertising and investment), giving marketers a lot of new ways to consider the way they market their own brands. The main thing I’ll take away from this book is something that I (and probably other marketers) allow themselves to forget when we get bogged down in the day-to-day: Only one thing is relevant to consumers, and it’s always been the same thing: The product. Definitely something for marketers to always keep in mind, especially in times like these.

Super great awesomeness

This week has had some awesome things happen. I am choosing to ignore all the snow. Though, the snow has made people marginally nicer to each other in limited circumstances, so that’s pretty cool.

Awesome thing #1. I went to Buffalo and got to hang out with two of my favorite people and meet the youngest Great Dane to ever win a Rally Obedience title. Don’t think for a second she didn’t have a big head. She’ll be a huge diva by her first birthday, just you wait. But the REALLY awesome thing is that I was allowed into Buffalo by the wonderful U.S. Border Guards. Read more…

One Singular Sensation

I was thinking about it the other day, and realized that this blog probably puts an interesting picture of me forward to the world, particularly in the whole relationship department. Mostly because this is my main forum for whining about being single, other than to a few friends. But now that I’ve made the (perhaps ridiculous) decision to feed this blog to my Facebook account, perhaps I’m going to rethink my blog’s content strategy. Yes, I just used the phrase “content strategy”. I officially have no idea who I am anymore.

Because yes, while I do want to one day grow up and get married and have kids and a house and maybe a dog (but not a minivan, I am here and now calling “no dibs” on the minivan), there are a lot of things that don’t suck about being single. And, as someone whose default setting is essentially “table for 1″, I know from single. Read more…

Teacher, teacher, can you teach me?

Growing up, we were one of few families in my neighborhood with premium cable. Seriously, the day I came downstairs from a nap and discovered we had it,  it was a WHOLE NEW WORLD. Yes, at the ripe old age of three, regular television (except for SNL — which, yes, I had already seen a handful of times) already bored me.

ANYWAY, becoming a pop culture junkie as basically a zygote has led me to connect more easily with older people (I’m the youngest person in my immediate family by ten years, and I jumped on that learning curve like a fat kid on a smartie), appreciate the golden age of sitcoms (that’s the ’70s, kids), and watch a crapload of movies from the ’80s that almost nobody remembers. The most glaring instance of that is the movie Teachers, and the .38 Special song from the film, “Teacher, Teacher” (YouTube link). It’s like Nick Nolte and JoBeth Williams spent a chunk of 1983 in Columbus, Ohio just for me. Obviously, people on the Internets remember it. But nobody I’ve met in real life does. Sigh. I’m sick of getting the blank stare.

Rewatch Redux: Once

[editor's note: i wrote this during the first week of December. My spirits have lifted some since, but i still felt the need to post this.]

Most of this week has been spent laid up with a migraine — trying to ignore or will away the pain, numbing it with an ice pack, sleeping, being on the verge of tears from the pain, the isolation, and the disruption of the semi-contented little routine I’d built up these last few weeks.

So what better time than now to rewatch a flick about people falling in love (along with it’s heart-rending soundtrack)?

Blessedly, it’s a short film. The beginning is a bit rough — neither the nameless guy nor girl (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova) are actors, so it’s a bit like watching me do improv — uncomfortable & worrisome. But then, as hard as I try to fight it, these people and their story get under my skin.

There’s something about these two people, ordinary except for their considerable musical talents. Getting so intimately into their lives is kind of a salve, it eases at least my troubled mind, knowing that other people have ridiculously retarded love lives as well. Except this one has a customized (to them) soundtrack.

Much of the film has an improvised, realistic quality. Very clearly not a documentary, but more real than your average scripted film. Part of that comes from the über-low-budget and fly-by-night production style. Cinema verite, to get all fancy pants on you.

Entertainment Weekly recently listed Once as one of it’s 50 Sexiest Films Ever. And I’m now inclined to agree. The music transcends the story, just like the love you can see growing between Hansard and Irglova. If anything, the film has (however briefly) restored my faith in love, that it actually can happen to everyone.

I think the next movie I rewatch will have to cut that back down. Because every time a little bit of hope finds its way to the surface, something swoops down instantly to kill it.

improv books are here

and waiting to be read. apartment is waiting to be cleaned. christmas cookies are waiting to be baked. presents are waiting to be bought and wrapped. i am here, stranded on the couch, my head alternately pounding and stabbing with pain. i’m on the verge of tears, wishing someone was here to take care of me, even though there’s nothing anyone could do, and i’d just be mean anyway. because, to quote Almost Famous, i’m “rebellious and ungrateful of [your] love”.

i think it’s time to go rummage around the freezer for the ice pack. and hope that that pound of frozen butter doesn’t fall on my foot again. because that really freaking hurt last night.