A Picture's Worth A Thousand Presumptions

To further apologize for my poor blog etiquette towards Ivana I thought I would FINALLY post this picture which has been chillin' in my picture folder for months! Nothing about this room particularly grabs my eye or makes me ooh/ahh - it's much too contemporary and cold for my taste. What did make me want to share this though, is the framed picture of OBAMA. I myself am not as enthralled with Obama as some other people are, but I know Ivana l-l-l-luuuuvs this man and so naturally thought she'd be interested in seeing someone who feels the same way - unless they are trying to achieve some sort of ironic decor. This got me thinking about how in years previously, seeing a framed photo (however stylized) of the President of the U.S. would be something I'd associate with "hillbillies" - I know for a fact DOG the Bounty Hunter has a framed picture of Bush in his DAKINE BONDS office. But somehow, when it's Obama I assume thi person is an educated "Yankee" =D .... ponder ....

(It's Been) One Week

Note: The title of this post is meant to be sung to the tune of the same name by the Barenaked Ladies ... in case you wanted to know.

It has been a week since my last post and for this I apologize (sorry Ivana I know I promised... but I got busy). I think a quick recap of the past week's events are in order. Worked Tuesday - Thursday (nothing too interesting here). I was finally able to use up the Roots gift card that's been burning a hole in my wallet since Christmas. Went to a lovely dinner at Milestones in Dundas Square in T.O. with Dorcas, Calvin, Ivana and Kiani. Ivana and I were particularly amused by the Ken Display in the bathroom. Being rabid blogettes we naturally took a photo and vowed to post it - so here I am fulfilling this vow. Ivana and I then went on one of our epic joyrides on Lakeshore. I should explain. Each Joyride begins with a mixtape (see previous post) and a destination goal. I don't know why but every single time this goal is Appleby College. Our fascination with the affluent private school students of Oakville is unparalled. I should also note that we NEVER make it there. the closest we got this past Thursday was a drive-by in which I awkwardly turned to pull in before Ivana exclaimed the drive was blocked by a chain and there was a nightshift guardsman on duty - Phew close call. This kinda reminds me of the time Kiani and I joyrided (joyrode?) through the parking lot of that pretentious Rotherglen School on Neyagawa and Kiani threw something out the window and then we laughed...good times (note: I do not condone littering in anything other than exceptional circumstances - this was one of those circumstances). Anyway - Friday I gymed it up with Ainsley and then went to dinner with my mum who came to town for a visit. Saturday we got Pedicures, hit up Sherway and then met my two stepsisters for dinner. Sunday was pretty laid back, but I did go see STAR TREK (YAY!) and it was amazing/I loooooove Spock. So that just about sums up my week. Hopefully won't abandon the blog for too long again. In other news ... I simply must come up with an amazing post idea for my 100th post which is quickly approaching!!! ideas?

What I'm Listening To: Amber, My stepsister, got me Day and Age by The Killers for my birthday and I know I've already posted about this album but I just must share the delightful song I Can't Stay. I obviously love Human and Spaceman, otherwise I wouldn't have asked for the CD, but I think I Can't Stay may be my favourite song off the album. I was determined to listen straight through to get a feel for the album as a whole, but I had to replay this song about 3 times before I moved on. Other good tunes: Neon Tiger, This is Your Life.

	The Killers - I Can't Stay
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Happy Birthday Randy Travis

Cool fact: Randy Travis and I share the same birthdate (not including year...obvs). I mention this because I love Mr. Travis' song Forever and Ever Amen (did I post this already? I'm having blog deja vu). Any song that has lyrics like:

"They say that time takes its toll on a body / Makes the young girls brown hair turn grey / But honey, I dont care, Im not in love with your hair"

... Is a song I will cherish forever and ever, Amen.

Other Interesting Things that have happened on May 4ths throughout the years:

- 1932 – In Atlanta, Georgia Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.

- 1946 – In San Franciso Bay, U.S. Marines stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.

- 1972 – The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation".

- 1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

- 2001 – The Milwuakee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public. (I've been here!)

May 4th is also regarded by some to be STAR WARS DAY ("May the Fourth be with you") and is International Firefighters Day.

Background Music

Something old is new again ...

I am a huge fan of the summer 'mixtape' (in my case a cd). It's a relatively affordable way to maintain your cool in the car or at home on your woefully out of date stereo system (ipod hookup not enabled). Making a mixtape is lovely and I often theme them. Obvious choices are Golden Oldies, Best of the 80s, songs with the word 'groovy' in the title and so on. I also like making mixtapes for those around me who are out of the music loop as it were. Mainly this is my stepmum. Each summer I make her a CD with mellow, cute music that I know she'll appreciate. I have to admit this is not a completely altruisitc task. If I have to listen to music in the car with the fam, I'd rather listen to something I've carefully put together for enjoyment than Three Day's Grace (courtesy of my brother), Guero by Beck (courtesy of my dad --> good album, in fact I bought it for him ... but not after the 100th listen), or Aly and AJ (*shiver* courtesy of my sister).

Anyway I was thinking about lazing about this afternoon and getting some Goalatude work done by reading a book. Naturally I needed some background music. I carefully thought about each CD as I passed over it, finally selecting In Between Dreams, because J. Johnson never fails me. when I pulled it out though, one of my mixtapes fell out as well. All it said was "For Sue" so I thought I'd pop it in and see what it was all about it. Turns out it was a CD I made about 2 years ago for the summertime. I've now listened to it twice in a row and I'm still not completely sick of it - brings back all the memories: good and bad from summer '07. Some of the songs I know got carried over from summer '06 and of course remind me of my last days of highschool ... all wonderful. I am now determined to make one this summer that will be just as memorable.

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Track Listing of "For Sue"
1) Boston - Augustana
2) Still Fighting It - Ben Folds
3) Swallowed in the Sea - Coldplay
4) Ode to My Family - The Crandberries
5)We Both Go Down Together - The Decemberists
6)Let Love In - Goo Goo Dolls
7)How To Save A Life - The Fray
8)We Will Still Need a Song - Hawksley Workman
9)You And I Collide - Howie Day
10)The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson
11)My Lady's House - Iron & Wine
12)Flake - Jack Johnson
13) In the Sun - Joseph Arthur
14) Somewhere Only we Know- Keane
15) Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright
16) Spike the Senses - Of Montreal
17)New Slang - The Shins
18) Engine Driver - The Decemberists

My Sweet New Ride

Yay! Tomorrow is my birthday and in anticipation of this blessed and revered event my dad surprised me by taking me to pick out a bike! I have been thinking about getting a bike for quite some time now. I had resolved to wait, but it turned out to be such a wonderful present. I've already Christened it with a ride through the forest by my house and then messed up the seat flying through a hidden pothole in between two speedbumps in the Sheridan College parking lot. All is good and fixed now and I am so going to be a bikeaholic (new vocab continues - Goalatude #8) all summer (Getting outside - Goalatude #4). As for the rest of my weekend. Most of it has been spent entertaining my cousin Maddie (her birthday is today!) and sister Laura by giving them mani/pedis and teaching them about life and such...

Breakfast Anyone?

wouldn't you just love to sip coffee and dig into bacon (canadian) and eggs in this airy room? Wonder how this design would hold up through a Canadian winter though?

(source: apartment therapy)

Radio is Good? ... Sometimes...

While I was working on my carpal tunnel - I mean data input today I was listening to good old iTunes radio. I was on the illest (yeah I don't know if I can get away with it but I'm just gonna go ahead and try - wut up 'Sauga Crew!) station. It was playing some golden tunes that I hadn't heard in a while ... some examples you ask? Why of course dahling...
Pass the Dutchie, Fade Into You - Mazzy Star and Follow You Down - Gin Blossoms. I know crazy random songs of the 80s and 90s --> how I adore you.

Anyways ... As I was downloading these songs I had one of those {woah} moments. You know, example: {woah}, Steve Winwood made some killer music in the 80s (hello!: 'Valerie' and 'Higher Love'). Well this {woah} moment was like: WOAH - remember when Billy Talent was cool? And I loved their music .... and I bought their CD .... yeah.... (end of {woah} moment). I do have to say that their first album still holds up for me - it's quite good actually upon further thought ... unlike my S Club 7 CD...but let's not go there.
Listen to River Below (for old 'highschool' times sake - I know Try Honesty, The Ex, were possibly bigger hit singles but this song is soooo goood)