Friday ruminations

"Why is Russian water a she, and why does she become a he once you have dipped a tea bag into her?"

fruition

I have new respect for the writing process. Last Sunday, I sat down in a fabulous little "European" cafe to write my entry and... nothing. I stared at the keyboard blinker for a few hours and listened to Edith Piaf singing and nibbled on a blueberry pastry and thought a little bit and erased a lot of ideas.

Then I wrote two sentences.

And then I was done and went home and was in a very bad mood. :(

Keep Calm and Carry On

I did something absolutely terrifying a few days ago. Something that makes my skin crawl and my neck burn and my stomach plummet to my toes.

I went to a local karaoke bar and serenaded a roomful of strangers while stone cold sober.

[Ok, insert laugh here.]

It wasn't the most graceful performance and the song seemed to stretch out a lot longer than usual (a Disney song, which made the whole experience even worse) and my hands transformed into granite blocks as soon as I reached out to grab the mic, but it was the first time I've sang solo in front of more than two people. Afterwards, my face was slick with embarrassment and my hair felt wilted. Somewhere out there, Walt Disney was turning in his grave and stuffing a fresh pair of ear plugs into his head.

Still, I am glad that I did it. I spend so much time observing others and avoiding the spotlight that it's kind of refreshing to change it up.

Although now I am aware that shower acoustics cannot prepare one for singing on a stage.

seven days in Tibet

I started planning out Tibet/Hong Kong?/Nepal? last night and my head started buzzing like I was strung out on caffeine and sugar cookies. I was excited, almost too excited to sleep.

Lost: one cell phone

Somewhere between the office and my car, I misplaced my cell phone. As usual, it's an exercise in restraint and small frustration. Maybe it's time for an upgrade?

neon red goopity goop and other randoms

1) I have the weirdest craving for Chef Boyardee. Yet no one has ever been able to convince me to eat more than a tentative bite of it.

2) Why do I find myself averting my eyes away from everything Portland?

3) I can actually read Chinese.

4) I'm waitlisted for Russian and Spanish classes.

5) I like my job.

6) Life is good!