Once in awhile my brain comes up with something good. I've had this in store for awhile now, but debated about writing about this because it is rather insensitive. Also, it probably won't make too much sense. So, at the risk of offending my three male readers, here I go to explain The Narwhal Theory.
I have found lately that sometimes boys are Narwhals. "Meagan, what do you mean by Narwhal?" Yes, it's that strange animal that is a cross between a whale and a unicorn, the whale with a horn on top of it's head. The correlation goes back to that scene in the movie "Elf" where Buddy says good-bye to his North Pole friends. Here's the clip:
So here's the reasoning behind the narwhal-he has a certain glum/melancholy attitude in his voice when he says, "Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad.". This is the same voice that boys get when they are lazy/don't want to do something/too scared to do something/unable to act like a man and get whatever they need done, done. I've heard it multiple times and many times it's coupled with a claim of not knowing how to do something. "I don't know how to plan a party." "I don't know where I want to eat dinner." "Tell me what to do." "Tell me how to dress myself." Ok, not that bad...but seriously, it's sometimes frustrating the degree to which I have to mother some people just to get them to do simple things. I don't know whether it's because they really are that incompetent, or if it's just that they really don't want to/can't make those decisions for themselves. I don't get it. All of these people should be confident adults who are making their own decisions and have somehow made it through these past 20-odd years. And the reason I say it's boys is because I have yet to hear the same kinds of words come from a girls mouth.
I've also been discovering that it means that boys are a lot more sensitive than I once thought. They try and project a manliness, and usually hide whatever is hurting/bothering/annoying them. But now I know that some boys are more sensitive than girls (and by girls I mean myself). Hence the Narwhal comes out. I am really not a sensitive person so I sometimes forget that some people are.
Let it be known, this is not all boys, nor do I hate boys. It's just an observation I have made in learning from experiences that boys are sometimes not as manly and unsensitive as I once perceived them to be. Boys that read my blog, you are probably not one of them. I am not trying to attack you, this is just me making observations on life. It's just a bit of silliness, really.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Harry Potter 7.2
The end of an era. Here are my thoughts on the movie. **Spoiler Alert** Don't read if you haven't seen the movie yet. Also, while the movies are great, they will never ever be as good as the books. There is so much more to the story that you miss in the movies. I have made peace with this and accepted it, and now choose to enjoy both.
Movie review:
I think this last installment was just excellent. It was kind of weird the way it started off because besides being a sequel, it’s a continuation of the story from exactly where the 7.1 movie stopped. So they had to briefly recap a few things, but I think they did a good job. This one was definitely more action packed, they got things done rather than had to hide and figure out what to do. I loved the part where they snuck into Gringotts, having Hermione impersonate Bellatrix Lestrange was hilarious. Plus escaping on a dragon!! Epic. It’s sad in the movie because they don’t have time to get into Dumbledore’s past, his messed up sister, how he was buddies with Grindelwald. and how Harry doubts him. I love when they sneak back in to Hogwarts, it was a little sad because they couldn’t have everyone everyone back in the movie; like Oliver Wood, he comes back. But it shows Neville taking leadership and being in charge of their rag tag rebellion. Professor McGonagall is amazing in this movie. OMG, so I don’t think this part is in the book. Snape calls a meeting of all the students and tells them he will punish them if they know anything about Harry Potter. Harry is there all along and has put on a Hogwarts robe to blend in. He steps out, and he and Snape start to duel. But then Professor McGonagall steps in and starts battling Snape. She takes out the Carrow siblings and causes Snape to flee. It’s awesome because you know she’s a powerful witch, but she doesn’t show it too much, plus you think she’s rather old, but everyone in the theater cheered for her when she won. And she even had a great line to say to Harry, “Potter, It’s good to see you.” And then the whole Weasley family shows up to help defend Hogwarts, plus the rest of the Order, so we get to see Tonks and Lupin and Fred and George. I also love when McGonagall enchants the suits of armor to guard the castle and then gushes to Molly Weasley, “I’ve always wanted to do that spell!” Love her. I think the other award for best performance goes to Neville. He really gets over his fears and takes a leadership role. He faces a forest full of werewolves and talks back to Voldemort himself. Plus I kind of like it that Neville gets to kill the snake Nagini. They kind of change how this happened in the movie making it more of a battle than just stabbing the snake, but it’s kind of awesome. I also liked how they portrayed Harry saving Malfoy from the fire in the room of requirement, but it’s kind of an eye-for-an-eye thing, and afterward, Harry has bigger things to worry about than whether Malfoy is good or bad or gets punished or what. I was kind of shocked at Snape’s death scene because they showed Nagini just striking him again and again; Harry, Ron and Hermione are listening outside and you can hear Snape's body being thrown against the window. Kind of graphic. When Harry gets Snapes memories and looks at them, I think it’s a little different in the movie than in the book. I think they could have done a better job showing Snape and Lilly being friends, but they only have so much time in a movie I guess. The movie made me forgive Snape a little more, I still don’t fully believe he was a good person in the end, much less someone worth naming your son after! Also, Voldemort is super creepy whenever he laughs or is really pleased about something. Plus, when he takes Malfory back on his side he kind of gives Malfoy a hug and it’s very disturbing. I even felt bad for Malfoy. One thing I was disappointed with was the scene where Harry finally kills Voldemort. They are flinging spells back and forth at each other and the final spell to finish him off is kind of understated. The whole theater was a little thrown and didn’t realize he was dying for a second. So we didn’t hoot and holler as much as we could have; Voldemort was dead and they should celebrate!! One of my favorite parts was when Bellatrix Lestrange went after Ginny Weasley. Molly Weasley steps in and it’s one of the best lines of the book. I was really hoping they kept it, and they did! Molly stares Bellatrix down and yells, “Not my daughter you ‘b-word’!” We all cheered for her. There’s a sweet moment where after the battle you see Filch trying to sweep up the rubble of the school. It shows he really does love Hogwarts and it also shows that the characters in the movie plan to move on with their lives. I think I liked the final scene in the movie more than the book, the whole 19 years later at the train station. It wasn’t as hokey and too cliche like I thought the book was a little bit. The only thought I had was that it was too bad they couldn’t end the movie the same way the book ends, with the line, “and they lived.” I did get sad when the death eaters started to demolish Hogwarts. And I did tear up a little when they showed Fred Weasley dead, and especially when they showed Tonks and Lupin lying dead next to each other looking like they were trying to hold hands. It wasn’t as emotionally traumatic as it could have been. I think it was more so when I read the books. It was a fantastic movie, and I really appreciate that the director didn’t make all the fight scenes really shaky and choppy, it’s not what we HP fans would’ve wanted. It was a great end piece to a decade long story in the making and I think these last few movies truly represented the books very well. I love the world of Harry Potter and very much enjoyed this last movie. I can’t wait until it comes out on combo pack dvd so I can buy the complete 8 dvd set!!
Movie review:
I think this last installment was just excellent. It was kind of weird the way it started off because besides being a sequel, it’s a continuation of the story from exactly where the 7.1 movie stopped. So they had to briefly recap a few things, but I think they did a good job. This one was definitely more action packed, they got things done rather than had to hide and figure out what to do. I loved the part where they snuck into Gringotts, having Hermione impersonate Bellatrix Lestrange was hilarious. Plus escaping on a dragon!! Epic. It’s sad in the movie because they don’t have time to get into Dumbledore’s past, his messed up sister, how he was buddies with Grindelwald. and how Harry doubts him. I love when they sneak back in to Hogwarts, it was a little sad because they couldn’t have everyone everyone back in the movie; like Oliver Wood, he comes back. But it shows Neville taking leadership and being in charge of their rag tag rebellion. Professor McGonagall is amazing in this movie. OMG, so I don’t think this part is in the book. Snape calls a meeting of all the students and tells them he will punish them if they know anything about Harry Potter. Harry is there all along and has put on a Hogwarts robe to blend in. He steps out, and he and Snape start to duel. But then Professor McGonagall steps in and starts battling Snape. She takes out the Carrow siblings and causes Snape to flee. It’s awesome because you know she’s a powerful witch, but she doesn’t show it too much, plus you think she’s rather old, but everyone in the theater cheered for her when she won. And she even had a great line to say to Harry, “Potter, It’s good to see you.” And then the whole Weasley family shows up to help defend Hogwarts, plus the rest of the Order, so we get to see Tonks and Lupin and Fred and George. I also love when McGonagall enchants the suits of armor to guard the castle and then gushes to Molly Weasley, “I’ve always wanted to do that spell!” Love her. I think the other award for best performance goes to Neville. He really gets over his fears and takes a leadership role. He faces a forest full of werewolves and talks back to Voldemort himself. Plus I kind of like it that Neville gets to kill the snake Nagini. They kind of change how this happened in the movie making it more of a battle than just stabbing the snake, but it’s kind of awesome. I also liked how they portrayed Harry saving Malfoy from the fire in the room of requirement, but it’s kind of an eye-for-an-eye thing, and afterward, Harry has bigger things to worry about than whether Malfoy is good or bad or gets punished or what. I was kind of shocked at Snape’s death scene because they showed Nagini just striking him again and again; Harry, Ron and Hermione are listening outside and you can hear Snape's body being thrown against the window. Kind of graphic. When Harry gets Snapes memories and looks at them, I think it’s a little different in the movie than in the book. I think they could have done a better job showing Snape and Lilly being friends, but they only have so much time in a movie I guess. The movie made me forgive Snape a little more, I still don’t fully believe he was a good person in the end, much less someone worth naming your son after! Also, Voldemort is super creepy whenever he laughs or is really pleased about something. Plus, when he takes Malfory back on his side he kind of gives Malfoy a hug and it’s very disturbing. I even felt bad for Malfoy. One thing I was disappointed with was the scene where Harry finally kills Voldemort. They are flinging spells back and forth at each other and the final spell to finish him off is kind of understated. The whole theater was a little thrown and didn’t realize he was dying for a second. So we didn’t hoot and holler as much as we could have; Voldemort was dead and they should celebrate!! One of my favorite parts was when Bellatrix Lestrange went after Ginny Weasley. Molly Weasley steps in and it’s one of the best lines of the book. I was really hoping they kept it, and they did! Molly stares Bellatrix down and yells, “Not my daughter you ‘b-word’!” We all cheered for her. There’s a sweet moment where after the battle you see Filch trying to sweep up the rubble of the school. It shows he really does love Hogwarts and it also shows that the characters in the movie plan to move on with their lives. I think I liked the final scene in the movie more than the book, the whole 19 years later at the train station. It wasn’t as hokey and too cliche like I thought the book was a little bit. The only thought I had was that it was too bad they couldn’t end the movie the same way the book ends, with the line, “and they lived.” I did get sad when the death eaters started to demolish Hogwarts. And I did tear up a little when they showed Fred Weasley dead, and especially when they showed Tonks and Lupin lying dead next to each other looking like they were trying to hold hands. It wasn’t as emotionally traumatic as it could have been. I think it was more so when I read the books. It was a fantastic movie, and I really appreciate that the director didn’t make all the fight scenes really shaky and choppy, it’s not what we HP fans would’ve wanted. It was a great end piece to a decade long story in the making and I think these last few movies truly represented the books very well. I love the world of Harry Potter and very much enjoyed this last movie. I can’t wait until it comes out on combo pack dvd so I can buy the complete 8 dvd set!!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
birthday
Growing up (and even now) I always wanted a summer birthday. Just so I could not have school on my birthday, and be able to have a pool party outside. Sadly, the 8th of February is not very conducive to these ideas. My birthday is always at the end of winter, when we are all so sick of gray and cold and just want to feel some sunshine on our face. All the holidays are over and there is still two months till spring vacation. The other sad thing I realized was that my birthday comes at the height of flu season. It's rare for me to not be sick on or around my birthday. That is a major bummer. Today I realized a solution to this while looking at a blog of a photographer who was taking about the starkness of winter. Move to the southern hemisphere! Then my birthday will be in the middle of summer and it will be fabulous. (The blog I was looking at was this lady based in New Zeland. I felt sorry for her that her blog posts were labeled July but she was complaining about the cold.) It would be weird to have Christmas and it be warm outside, but I could maybe get used to that. But that means all my peeps would have to move to so they could come to said birthday party. Ok? Ok. I'm thinking Australia.
oh, look, a panda celebrating her birthday!
Monday, July 11, 2011
come join my pitty party
I'm not one for posting vague yet fully exposing statuses on facebook whenever the crap hits the fan in my life...but that doesn't mean I'm above putting it on my blog. (It'smyblogandIsayso). Today was a crap monday. Lots of people called in sick at work, which meant things didn't go as well and that I have to do other job duties on top of my own. Stressful. Also, there was a huge gap in patient care today which somehow left me consulting some woman (I normally don't talk to patients at all) and she was crying and it was stressing me out/I couldn't do anything for her/I kind of got yelled at by my boss.
Aaaaand. I had to take Atticus to the dealership because he got super overfried this weekend. The results-over $1,000.00 in parts and labor. I'm trying to be grateful that I have the money to pay for it, but gheez. If I wasn't living with my parental units I wouldn't have the money at all. I don't make anything at my job but I can save everything. I was just starting to show something in my bank account and now...suckfest 2011.
So now I'm drowning my sorrows in M&Ms and Neil Diamond. Seriously, I love Neil. Lots of his songs are a little folksy, but with that rich deep voice, and the musicality of the songs and how a lot of them start off slow and grow to rockin' at the end. It's good stuff. May it make your day awesome.
and
Aaaaand. I had to take Atticus to the dealership because he got super overfried this weekend. The results-over $1,000.00 in parts and labor. I'm trying to be grateful that I have the money to pay for it, but gheez. If I wasn't living with my parental units I wouldn't have the money at all. I don't make anything at my job but I can save everything. I was just starting to show something in my bank account and now...suckfest 2011.
So now I'm drowning my sorrows in M&Ms and Neil Diamond. Seriously, I love Neil. Lots of his songs are a little folksy, but with that rich deep voice, and the musicality of the songs and how a lot of them start off slow and grow to rockin' at the end. It's good stuff. May it make your day awesome.
and
Saturday, July 9, 2011
i'm still recovering from last weekend
I love the 4th of July. Food, fireworks, sunshine, pool, friends, and red, white & blue. Just love it. I ended up having a four day weekend due to an error at work, and the clinic was closed. What did I do?
Friday-after a delicious morning of sleeping in, I took my mom to the Richland farmer's market. Which, by the way, is ten times better than Provo's, seeing as how I live in agriculture country. Not one stupid flower-hair-bow thing in sight. I tried fudge, cherries and bread. We had fun strolling along and seeing what the vendors had to offer. Even peeking in at a new bakery and a lady shop. I ended up getting huckleberry turnovers and some pink peonies. We even ran into Scott and Katy out to look for someplace to lunch. Then we took our purchases home and went back out to "stimulate the economy." I had to fix my HP7 shirt, that I keep getting the wrong kind of, and we took a little stroll around the mall. Then because we had coupons we stopped in at two different craft stores so I could stock up on my scrapbooking supplies. (After the GRE I'm going to start my DC scrapbook). The ysa activity that night was ice blocking at Carmichael Hill, it was good. Then I hung out with some awesome friends who gathered to see our dear friend Andy who was in town for the weekend. Again, we went to Shari's for pie after 1 am (I really don't understand the 1 am thing, it's not like it's on sale or anything) and I was up super late.
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Saturday-after sleeping in again, I tried to mow the lawn, but the lawn mower wouldn't start. Oh darn. I guess I'll just go to the pool. I was there for like five hours. I invited a whole bunch of peeps and we had fun playing in the pool. Then Nikki and I caught the last half of the Dust Devils game, a minor league team associated with the Colorado Rockies. We snuck in subway to eat and had lots of fun watching the game. It was a good game too, close score, coach ejected and 11 innings. There were also fireworks after the game. And because Nikki and I are awesome and my iPod adapter was broken, we rocked out to my Rihanna cd that is like three years old in my car waiting for the parking lot to clear out. Then we swung in Scott's hammock for an hour and then had late night chats with Scott and Andy, who are two of our favorite people. Again, another really late night.
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Sunday-went to church. It was good. Got some serious stuff talked about with some important people. Ended up going to a BBQ later that night. Got bit by a mosquito on my forehead and it swelled up really big. Played some gin rummy. Went to bed at a lot better time.
Monday-4th of July! Helped my mom make food for my bbq that I was having that night. Did all the must haves. Potato salad, red white and blue jello, watermelon, chicken, etc. Then I went to the pool again, saw more peeps. Got ready for bbq, arranged awesome music in the stereo, patriotic, Journey, America (duh), The Temptations, got chairs out, helped mom grill and played hostess. The high points were using the van carseat/bench as a seat, cutting the watermelon with a machete, and Scott rigging up a tarp to provide shade from the sun. Then we cleaned up and got ready to go see fireworks. We took Scott's couch and put it on the bed of his truck to watch. On the way to the show, Scott and I saw these two girls trying to ride a bullet bike, rather unsuccessfully. They pulled to a stop, and then kind of fell over. They had helmets on but were wearing skimpy shorts and tank tops. Clearly they had no clue, and it was quite entertaining. We watched a good fireworks show plus plenty of illegal fireworks, Kennewick caught on fire and we watched the flames grow and then the firemen put it out. I tried to take pictures of fireworks, but it's really hard. Might do better with a tripod. More chats with good friends, pulling goat heads out of our shoes and we were ready to come home.
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And after only a four day work week, I'm still trying to recover. I love America!!
Friday-after a delicious morning of sleeping in, I took my mom to the Richland farmer's market. Which, by the way, is ten times better than Provo's, seeing as how I live in agriculture country. Not one stupid flower-hair-bow thing in sight. I tried fudge, cherries and bread. We had fun strolling along and seeing what the vendors had to offer. Even peeking in at a new bakery and a lady shop. I ended up getting huckleberry turnovers and some pink peonies. We even ran into Scott and Katy out to look for someplace to lunch. Then we took our purchases home and went back out to "stimulate the economy." I had to fix my HP7 shirt, that I keep getting the wrong kind of, and we took a little stroll around the mall. Then because we had coupons we stopped in at two different craft stores so I could stock up on my scrapbooking supplies. (After the GRE I'm going to start my DC scrapbook). The ysa activity that night was ice blocking at Carmichael Hill, it was good. Then I hung out with some awesome friends who gathered to see our dear friend Andy who was in town for the weekend. Again, we went to Shari's for pie after 1 am (I really don't understand the 1 am thing, it's not like it's on sale or anything) and I was up super late.
Saturday-after sleeping in again, I tried to mow the lawn, but the lawn mower wouldn't start. Oh darn. I guess I'll just go to the pool. I was there for like five hours. I invited a whole bunch of peeps and we had fun playing in the pool. Then Nikki and I caught the last half of the Dust Devils game, a minor league team associated with the Colorado Rockies. We snuck in subway to eat and had lots of fun watching the game. It was a good game too, close score, coach ejected and 11 innings. There were also fireworks after the game. And because Nikki and I are awesome and my iPod adapter was broken, we rocked out to my Rihanna cd that is like three years old in my car waiting for the parking lot to clear out. Then we swung in Scott's hammock for an hour and then had late night chats with Scott and Andy, who are two of our favorite people. Again, another really late night.
Sunday-went to church. It was good. Got some serious stuff talked about with some important people. Ended up going to a BBQ later that night. Got bit by a mosquito on my forehead and it swelled up really big. Played some gin rummy. Went to bed at a lot better time.
Monday-4th of July! Helped my mom make food for my bbq that I was having that night. Did all the must haves. Potato salad, red white and blue jello, watermelon, chicken, etc. Then I went to the pool again, saw more peeps. Got ready for bbq, arranged awesome music in the stereo, patriotic, Journey, America (duh), The Temptations, got chairs out, helped mom grill and played hostess. The high points were using the van carseat/bench as a seat, cutting the watermelon with a machete, and Scott rigging up a tarp to provide shade from the sun. Then we cleaned up and got ready to go see fireworks. We took Scott's couch and put it on the bed of his truck to watch. On the way to the show, Scott and I saw these two girls trying to ride a bullet bike, rather unsuccessfully. They pulled to a stop, and then kind of fell over. They had helmets on but were wearing skimpy shorts and tank tops. Clearly they had no clue, and it was quite entertaining. We watched a good fireworks show plus plenty of illegal fireworks, Kennewick caught on fire and we watched the flames grow and then the firemen put it out. I tried to take pictures of fireworks, but it's really hard. Might do better with a tripod. More chats with good friends, pulling goat heads out of our shoes and we were ready to come home.
And after only a four day work week, I'm still trying to recover. I love America!!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
fantastic weekend
My weekend was fabulous. Por que? Porque I did all this fun stuff that you do in the summertime. Excellent. On Friday I went to the local ysa dance with my bestie Nikki. Yeah, I know. But all I ever expect out of them anymore is for me and Nikki to get our groove on. Which we do. And it probably scares some people. But we got the moves so we gots to share them.
After staying as long as we could tolerate, we headed over to Tour de Marshall at Scott's house. Tour de Marshall consists of each participant getting on a bike and riding around the block as fast as they can. A time trial. And Scott lives on Marshall. Thus, Tour de Marshall. It started as something to do when we were bored, but now it's serious. We keep track of our times and the winners get bragging rights. The boys and girls are separate though, and we ride different bikes. Which is fair because Scott is 6' something and I am 5'2" so the same bike would not work for the both of us. My goal for this edition was to improve on my time. I didn't really try too hard the previous times we've done it. I also donned my full body black spandex suit with hood to make me more aerodynamic. (Really I just wanted to wear it). This week we were more legit, Scott got lights for the bikes-we ride in the dark which makes the event more exciting, but if cars are coming, it's a bit dangerous-and we also had yellow jerseys for the leaders. When it was my turn I got all stretched out and warmed up. I have to have my bestie Nikki hold me up on the bike to start because it's too tall and it wastes time getting up onto the pedals. I called Nikki and Scott my pit crew. As I cycled to the first corner I saw a car approaching and it saw me, we both slowed down and didn't know what was going on. So I just casually finished the route to come back and rest to try again. The second time I went I forgot to put the helmet on, which on one hand probably made me faster, and on the other it was kind of scary because if I was going really fast and wiped out, that would be bad. The second time went a lot better, but man, I was breathing hard! I crossed the finish line and circled back around. My peeps were cheering for me. I was afraid to get off the bike because not only could I not reach the ground, I was really wobbly from the race. Scott tried to hold the bike up for me but I kind of managed to fall off anyway. Then they let me know my time: 1:30! Totes better than my other times. And then the best news of all, I beat all the other girls times of all the Tours! I was pretty proud of myself. Scott gave me the yellow windbreaker to wear as the other leader. We took pictures. Later we celebrated with pie at Shari's, it was really for Ariel's birthday, but I was celebrating.
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The next day I took my bike gang, Crank It Slow, on a new route. We met at my house and had a pretty good turnout. It was me, Bonnie, Jenny, Michelle, Will, Brian, Scott, Ariel, Nick and Canadian Mike. The route I took them on was the shelter belt around Richland. It actually was really shaded and quite pleasant. We biked all the way to Fred Meyer and got ice cream at the McDonalds next door. Then we biked back. The only down side of that path is that we had to cross highway traffic a few times. But hardly anyone else was on the trail.
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After the bike ride, I took everyone to my neighborhood pool. It was so nice because it was actually warm and sunny outside. We did lots of different stuff, diving board, baseball, handstand contests: I won best handstand, and we made a whirlpool in the baby pool. I even got a little bit of a tan. I was pooped after swimming.
But that was not the end! On Sunday we had a BBQ at Scott's house after church for Ariel because it was his birthday. We had carne asada tacos, which were pretty tasty. Scott has a sycamore tree in his backyard and I really wanted to climb it. But having a 5'2" frame is not super conducive to reaching branches. I tried, but I am not 10 years old anymore. Then this other kid kind of broke the lowest branch. But Scott really wanted me to get up in his tree. So Scott and Katy got me into a climbing harness and showed me how to repel myself up the rope. It was intense, and I have zero upper body strength. I had to put my foot in a loop of rope and then stand up, then hitch this thingy up the other rope and then sit down in the harness so I could move the rope for my foot up more. I soon got the hang of it and went up the tree. It took me awhile, and everybody was watching, but I'd never done anything like that before. And I made it. Then I unhooked my harness and climbed up the tree a bit. Scott also showed me how to repel down and that went a lot faster. I thought it was a pretty cool way to climb a tree. After that we played a few rounds of Mofia which were pretty fun, I get singled out a lot because I accuse people and I have a loud mouth.
After staying as long as we could tolerate, we headed over to Tour de Marshall at Scott's house. Tour de Marshall consists of each participant getting on a bike and riding around the block as fast as they can. A time trial. And Scott lives on Marshall. Thus, Tour de Marshall. It started as something to do when we were bored, but now it's serious. We keep track of our times and the winners get bragging rights. The boys and girls are separate though, and we ride different bikes. Which is fair because Scott is 6' something and I am 5'2" so the same bike would not work for the both of us. My goal for this edition was to improve on my time. I didn't really try too hard the previous times we've done it. I also donned my full body black spandex suit with hood to make me more aerodynamic. (Really I just wanted to wear it). This week we were more legit, Scott got lights for the bikes-we ride in the dark which makes the event more exciting, but if cars are coming, it's a bit dangerous-and we also had yellow jerseys for the leaders. When it was my turn I got all stretched out and warmed up. I have to have my bestie Nikki hold me up on the bike to start because it's too tall and it wastes time getting up onto the pedals. I called Nikki and Scott my pit crew. As I cycled to the first corner I saw a car approaching and it saw me, we both slowed down and didn't know what was going on. So I just casually finished the route to come back and rest to try again. The second time I went I forgot to put the helmet on, which on one hand probably made me faster, and on the other it was kind of scary because if I was going really fast and wiped out, that would be bad. The second time went a lot better, but man, I was breathing hard! I crossed the finish line and circled back around. My peeps were cheering for me. I was afraid to get off the bike because not only could I not reach the ground, I was really wobbly from the race. Scott tried to hold the bike up for me but I kind of managed to fall off anyway. Then they let me know my time: 1:30! Totes better than my other times. And then the best news of all, I beat all the other girls times of all the Tours! I was pretty proud of myself. Scott gave me the yellow windbreaker to wear as the other leader. We took pictures. Later we celebrated with pie at Shari's, it was really for Ariel's birthday, but I was celebrating.
The Black Spandex Body Suit with Hood is not forgiving on the body, so I have to wear shorts.
Scott and me, Tour Leaders
The next day I took my bike gang, Crank It Slow, on a new route. We met at my house and had a pretty good turnout. It was me, Bonnie, Jenny, Michelle, Will, Brian, Scott, Ariel, Nick and Canadian Mike. The route I took them on was the shelter belt around Richland. It actually was really shaded and quite pleasant. We biked all the way to Fred Meyer and got ice cream at the McDonalds next door. Then we biked back. The only down side of that path is that we had to cross highway traffic a few times. But hardly anyone else was on the trail.
Crank It Slow at Mickey D's
But that was not the end! On Sunday we had a BBQ at Scott's house after church for Ariel because it was his birthday. We had carne asada tacos, which were pretty tasty. Scott has a sycamore tree in his backyard and I really wanted to climb it. But having a 5'2" frame is not super conducive to reaching branches. I tried, but I am not 10 years old anymore. Then this other kid kind of broke the lowest branch. But Scott really wanted me to get up in his tree. So Scott and Katy got me into a climbing harness and showed me how to repel myself up the rope. It was intense, and I have zero upper body strength. I had to put my foot in a loop of rope and then stand up, then hitch this thingy up the other rope and then sit down in the harness so I could move the rope for my foot up more. I soon got the hang of it and went up the tree. It took me awhile, and everybody was watching, but I'd never done anything like that before. And I made it. Then I unhooked my harness and climbed up the tree a bit. Scott also showed me how to repel down and that went a lot faster. I thought it was a pretty cool way to climb a tree. After that we played a few rounds of Mofia which were pretty fun, I get singled out a lot because I accuse people and I have a loud mouth.
It was a pretty fun weekend, you'd think I was 12 by the stuff I did. But it just goes to show that you can have fun in the Tri-Cities.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
i forgot how good HSM is
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my iTunes for shuffling onto "Gotta Go My Own Way" from HSM 2. It reminded me that even though those movies are: for 10 year olds, super cheezy, not a real depiction of high school or real life; that I highly enjoy them. And they have good songs.
Also, when I saw HSM 3 in the dollar theater in P-town, it was highly entertaining. So much hollering and laughing at the cheesiness, and tell me who doesn't love Zac Efron doing his Kevin Bacon/NSYNC punch dance through the school?
Mmmm, Kevin Bacon
Also, when I saw HSM 3 in the dollar theater in P-town, it was highly entertaining. So much hollering and laughing at the cheesiness, and tell me who doesn't love Zac Efron doing his Kevin Bacon/NSYNC punch dance through the school?
Mmmm, Kevin Bacon
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