Pandora's Box

Last week I got moved out of my cozy under-the-radar office in the back of The Record's Circulation Department to new digs (a desk) right outside the Circulation Director's Office. (The jury's still out on whether or not this really was a promotion . . .)

So not the point though.

The point is that this change resulted in an amazing new discovery on my part. You see, my boss highly recommended the MSN Pandora music player. For those of you as clueless as I was, Pandora is a free service where you can type in your favorite music artist and they will start streaming music not only from that musician, but from others that have a similar sound.

IT IS SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!

For the past few days I have been streaming Switchfoot radio, which gave me some great indie, punk, rock selections. Today, for a nice girl-power, self-esteem boosting change, I typed in one of my favorite pop artists (who I refuse to name out of embarrassment). Cough, Hilary Duff, Cough Cough.

The coolest part of all this is that you get to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to each selection. This helps the music player format even further to your musical tastes. The only bad thing is giving a thumbs up to a song that you know is abysmal, but still love it anyway.

For example, a few minutes ago I gave a thumbs up to a Britney Spears song. For a moment I felt like there could be a programmer in an office somewhere judging me.

Wishes Do Come True!

Hope. Strength. Joy.

The purpose of the Make a Wish Foundation is to provide hope, strength, and joy to kids with life threatening or debilitating illnesses. I have been really lucky to have aligned myself with this awesome organization for the last 3 years. Over the weekend we started a new chapter in San Joaquin County history. Our first Make a Wish radiothon!

For the better part of two days we took over the airwaves of Kat Country 103 in Modesto. I heard stories that made me weep and met tons of amazingly strong wish kids and their families who have been through hell and back. Lauren is 18 and in remission from Leukemia. She is gorgeous and had her wish granted live on air. She left for New York City on Monday and gets to spend 4 fabulous days shopping, sightseeing, and living it up on Broadway! I met Diego who has osteo-something-or-other, a type of cancer that has affected his growth and bone development His wish? Hot wheels! Then there's Gianna who actually gave her wish to the family of the little boy whose donated liver made it possible for her to live. And these are only a few of the stories!

After all was said and done we raised over $90,000, had 10 calls from prospective volunteers, heard from a mom who wants to fundraise at her child's school, had a business offer to sponsor a wish, and got tons of awareness around the Central Valley! I feel so fortunate to have found an organization that I am passionate about and where I can see firsthand what my work is doing. In fact, this Saturday I will be taking 8-year-old Isaac on a shopping spree to Toys R' Us. So you see, wishes do come true!

(Oh, and I got to spend the weekend hanging out with Kitty Cougar. She rocks!)

www.makeawish.org

Ridiculous Optimism

I like to consider myself a happy and optimistic person. I usually take things in stride and find delight in simple things. Unfortunately though, I've noticed that when things happen that don't fit with my plans, my perception tends to skew on the negative. I also get strangely passive aggressive and become highly cynical. Weird. Part of me does it because it's funnier than just passively accepting something that I can't change.

A good friend bought me an awesome book for my birthday. It's called "Before You Leap: A frog's-eye view of life's greatest lessons" and is "written" by my hero, one Kermit T. Frog. Here are a few pearls of wisdom that caused me to stop and re-adjust my attitude.

"I believe that we form our own lives, that we create our own reality and that everything works out for the best. I know I drive some people crazy with what seems to be ridiculous optimism, but it has always worked for me."

"Life is great. But without the bad times, we wouldn't know the difference."

and my favorite . . .
"Always be happy. When people are in a bad mood, the last thing they want to do is hang around with happy people." :)

The world would be a better place if we all thought like Kermit!

Why do they do that?

I don't understand when restaurant servers take mental notes of my order. Am I supposed to be impressed? When you are the type of person that has a lot of variables to their order, you want the server taking copious notes.

Never having worked in the food service industry, perhaps I am unaware of the strategy or reasoning behind this practice.

Please enlighten me.

Ch-Ch-Changes

I've decided that I really like change as long as I like the change that is occurring.

Other than that, change sucks.

Bad Blogger

Well, I have come to the conclusion that I am a bad blogger. I love to read other blogs, but have a very difficult time sitting down and committing to my own.

So, for anyone out there who actually checks in on my blog on a semi-regular basis. SORRY! I'll try to update a little more regularly from now on!

My Super Soul Sucking Sixteen

From ew.com's Popwatch blog in reference to MTV's launch of a website for aspiring "My Super Sweet Sixteen" fameseekers:

"I don't know about you, PopWatchers, but for some reason, I cannot bring myself to click on any of the buttons on the My Super Sweet 16 site. Deep down, I can't shake the fear that I'll open a giant portal to hell on my computer screen, get sucked into a flaming pit, and spend eternity as a foot-servant for one of these pampered, fork-tongued teen-beasts. -- Michael Slezak, ew.com

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

I must confess I have tuned into this trainwreck in the name of television on several occasions, but only because I was looking for The Hills or Made. Much higher quality right? Who's with me?

Update to Observations and Tangents

Well, I reviewed three senior projects last week and was incredibly disappointed. The first girl did hers on becoming a bakery chef. She created a concoction called "Dirt." The recipe for which included vanilla pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms all mixed together in a flower pot. Now, I don't fancy myself the cooking/baking expert, but I don't think any of the above ingredients actually require BAKING. Not to mention that the rest of the sub-2 minute presentation didn't appear to have involved any research or effort.

The best of the three presentations was about the life and times of Tupac. The presenter used a tri-fold presentation board with uneven lettering and poorly cut out Internet photos as his "visual aid."

Who will take care of me in my old age?

Observations and Tangents

Thanks to my job at The Record I have paid many visits to elementary, middle, and high school classrooms to do presentations on the newspaper. One consistency I have found in every single classroom is that there is never a clock with the correct time. I have a difficult time understanding how kids (or speakers for that matter) are supposed to keep track of class time without a properly functioning timepiece. It is very disconcerting. Do they just wait for the bell to ring? Does the teacher have to wear a watch? After so many hours in such close proximity are they all functioning on the same internal clock? I don't know the answer, but I do know that it is very problematic if I forget my watch.

On a related note:
Tomorrow I get to sit on a panel to review high school senior project presentations. Let it be known that I LOVE high schoolers (and junior highers for that matter), so I cannot wait to hear what creative things they come up with.

On an additional related note:
I chaired the Lodi Chamber scholarship committee a few weeks ago. We met with six AMAZING high school seniors and were forced to narrow down our choice to three. It's so much fun to see these kids at the cusp of their futures . . . and to wonder if any of them will actually end up in their chosen field after 4-5 years of college.

Tangential Path #1:
Speaking of futures. Back when Sommer was graduating high school and Justin and I were graduating college we used to joke that the favorite question at friends/family get-togethers was "so, what are your plans for after high school/college." We always thought it would be funny to make up some really grandiose or complex answer that would get us off the hook. I had an intern this semester who did exactly that. Her response was "I want to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company."

Hmm.

Can't really compete with that.

I asked her to give me a job.

Professor Perry

I got the graduate assistantship I applied for at UOP, so I get to teach a section of public speaking next semester at UOP.

I

AM

SO

EXCITED!

Don't Make Me Hate You This Summer (at the movies edition)

Special Thanks to Entertainment Weekly for following refresher:

With the summer movie season in full swing, it's a good time to review proper movie theater etiquette:

1) No matter how bad the movie is, no one wants to hear you talk through it.
If you go to the bathroom during the film, you are allowed one 5-second recap upon your return. If you can't hear it or don't "get it," sorry.

2) Try not to laugh when a fellow audience member yells out something funny. You will only encourage him.

3) If you show up after the previews have begun, you've forfeited your right to ask someone — especially an elderly person — to move seats so your six-person party can sit together.

4) While we appreciate you leaving your seat to make that call on your cellphone, we can still hear you if you're standing inside the theater doors. Step outside.

5) If you're one of only a few people in a theater, do not sit directly in front of one of them. Even in stadium seating.

6) Do not spend five minutes looking through your bag for something after the movie starts. It's dark. You're not going to find it.

7) Open the candy quickly. Yes, it will be loud, but only for a second. As opposed to what happens if you try to do it slowly. And you make noise anyway. And your friends feel the need to laugh at you.

--My own personal additions

8) If it is occupied, under no circumstances should your foot come in contact with the chair in front of you. Chair kickers are the worst!

9) Do not bring your small child or baby to a late night showing of any film. There's nothing worse than having an epic film or summer blockbuster ruined by crying, incessant chatter/whining, or frolicking in the aisles.
(Clearly I'm not a mom yet.)

Anything I missed? Have fun at the movies this summer!

RIP Big Red

Justin's loyal Ford Ranger was the innocent victim of a traffic incident on Tuesday.

The Ranger sustained fatal injuries.

Justin's were less serious, but still got him an exciting ambulance ride to the emergency room at Dameron.

We mourn the loss of our red friend.

The driveway doesn't look the same without him in it.