100 Years of Fine

Last night I went to see Harry Connick Jr. in concert. He’s a pleasing kind of musician that most people enjoy, but Victoria is IN LOVE with him. Seeing how excited she was about the concert was part of the appeal for me, and then Harry ended up being quite the charmer! Do y’all know how funny he is? Not many people can get away with saying “Shucks, man” and talking about eating at The Lady & Sons and get a laugh from a multi-generational crowd. There was a woman in the audience who is about to be 100 years old that he was flirting with. So cute – he called her “100 years of fine”.

While he started out thanking us for missing a night of American Idol to come see him, we ended up having a genuine star-making moment. A local singer, Kim Michael Polote, was in the front row. She handed her cd to Harry and told him she sang at Paula Deen’s wedding, so he got her up on stage to sing a song. This woman belted out “At Last” so powerfully - that was bonus #1. Bonus # 2 was a member of Harry’s band, Lucien something, who sounded just like Louis Armstrong, and that is a sound I’ve only ever heard on a cd. But what I liked best about Harry Connick Jr. was that he was punctual. No celebrity antics here; he started at 8 PM on the dot, and finished at a week-night satisfying two hours later.

Baby's Got Sauce

Here are one sentence summaries of the movies I watched this weekend:

Reno 911 - The tv show is better because of the undercover identities and frequent Tee Tee "situations".
Jesus Camp - Manipulating and brainwashing children is evil, Ted Haggard.
Half Nelson - Oh, it's awful watching someone ruin their life with drugs.
Flushed Away - For months I've been calling this movie Toilet Mice, and now you can too!

Wave of Mutilation

Next month we're having a white elephant party at work with the theme of "Tacky Tasteless Trash". The idea is to bring in the cruddiest, most dreadful piece of junk you can find (gift wrapped, of course). Some poor soul is going to end up with this item. The thing is, it probably won't even be the ugliest thing that gets unwrapped. There are rumors of a pelican shaped planter. Note how I'm once again exploiting the card catalog - those trays work great.

New Kind of Kick

There’s something about this time of year that makes me want to replace stuff. I look around and wish for new everything. New clothes, new furniture, new towels, new cosmetics. It spreads to wanting fresh music to listen to and different meals in my rotating list of standards. It could be spring fever, except I actually like cold weather. The daydreaming about travel starts up, and eventually I’ve convinced myself the only solution is to move to a new town, start a new job, and get a house. This combines with wanting to get rid of stuff. I have fantasies of buying organizing thingies and purging my belongings to a state of Martha Stewart serenity. This year I take particular exception to my shoes and how they disappoint me daily. The whole lot can go as far as I’m concerned. But since I don’t have the Martha sized funds, I’ll have to content myself with burning down a candle I’ve had for over a year, and chucking out the salmonella suspicious peanut butter. That'll do.

A Fine Romance

It's hard not to gush when, for the first time ever, you finally have a boyfriend that gets it right. Valentine's Day may not be my favorite, but it's hard to be a holiday hater when you get flowers delivered at work. As that guy in Moonstruck says, "A guy who sends flowers really knows what he's doing". Thank you, Owen! I'm so happy to have you in my life.

Everybody Loves a Fight

Politics. Religion. Money. Jealousy. These are issues that people get into serious, heated arguments over. On the other hand, my fate is to share a bedroom wall with a couple that fights – LOUDLY – over a much different topic.

I was woken up at 1 a.m. when I heard shouting in the apartment next to mine. As I tried to pull out of my grogginess and figure out if I needed to call the cops, there was no mistaking that an intense, hate-filled dispute was going on. My ears finally tuned in on what the trouble was. The raging shrieks and cursing were caused by the man farting in bed. It’s awful enough to be startled awake by neighbors fighting, but to get that brutally explosive because of a fart is unbelievable. Thanks a lot you trashy losers next door. If I hadn’t spent the entire day with a headache from being tired, this might seem funny.

She Travels in Style

We came upon an unusual scene during this morning's walk: a limo parked outside our apartment. Never before have I seen a limo in an apartment complex, but I do have a few theories:
1. Limo driver lives here and drove his work car home
2. Visiting (unknown) celeb is staying with a friend
3. Lady Buttercup's driver arrived early for a day of shopping, lunch, and spa treatments

I had a fourth theory - gangsters hiding out - but that has been discarded. Everyone knows gangsters only drive black town cars.

Craft Club

Much like her brother, Amy Sedaris is delightful. Please buy her book if you haven’t already, because is it funny and entertaining and there are recipes and helpful tips. Some of my favorite parts: her list of foods to eat when you’ve got the munchies, the framed owl jewelry, the extra-large print on the “Entertaining the Elderly” section, the carrot coins and the cakes, the old-school crafts. I love it so much that I was inspired to have a craft night of my own. What could be better than lasagna and brownies and drinking with your girlfriends, all while cutting out shapes from felt and hot gluing them to canvas bags? Check out our results. It's okay to be a wee bit jealous.

Groundhog Day

In Georgia, people aren't going to leave it up to some yankee groundhog to tell them when spring is coming. That's what General Beauregard Lee is for, Georgia's very own groundhog weather watcher. Unlike most groundhogs, Beau lives in his own classic southern mansion, complete with white columns. To get Beau's prediction, people scatter hash browns outside his front door. They must have been some delicious hash browns this year, since Beau did not see his shadow.