movies that i would see again, but you prolly wouldn’t…

i am a movie fool!  i mean, i will watch just about anything.  where some people will walk out of a theater or stop a rented flick right in the middle because they feel it’s an utter waste of their time, i will plug thru it bored outta my mind, and in the end, be able to name at least 1 part of it that was interesting, or that made the whole horrible 1.5 to 2 hrs i spent watching a little easier to swallow.  bottom line:  pretty much every movie has a shot with me. 
i’ve put together a list of just some of the movies that will probably garner a few disapproving head shakes or confused stares for whatever reason–but the fact remains, i watched (most likely more than once) the whole way thru…despite my age and self-perceived level of intelligence…and would probably watch each of them again.

Spice World (…so?)

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Some of Jim Carrey’s best work)

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (Not nearly as good as the 1st)

Snatch (very funny movie…but most important 2 words–Brad Pitt)

Finding Nemo (Ellen was freakin’ awesome)
Smoking Aces (Something about Alicia Keys & Common)
Practical Magic  (I like Sandra Bullock & Nicole Kidman in this one)
Me, Myself, and Irene  (for some reason, the train scene with Renee Zellweger cracked me up!)
The Incredibles (Animated or not–great story, and plenty of smart adult humor)
The Family Stone  (While I couldn’t stand SJP’s character, the story was pretty touching)
Tap (Movie with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. about tap dancing–I’ve practically memorized it)
Evan Almighty (Still confused about why critics bashed it…great movie)
Charlotte’s Web-2006 (Julia Roberts was perfect for this role!)
Pan’s Labrinth (Definitely different, but had to watch it twice before returning…still can’t figure out why…)
Peter Pan (2003 version–i found it enchanting)
Hook (Saw this in theater when it was released…still have no idea why the sight of Robin Williams in tights doesn’t disturb me more than it does…)
Finding Neverland  (Awesome movie with the ever-delicious Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet…beautiful story)
The Last Dragon  (Berry Gordy produced-music filled-chop suey-inspiring story of ‘Bruce Leroy’)
Purple Rain (yet another music-filled movie starring Prince…costarring his high-heeled boots & make-up…long live the ’80’s!)
Billy Elliott (Really good…funny, yet serious & entertaining)
The Long Kiss Goodnight (Geena Davis kicks ass all thru this flick and Samual L. Jackson is awesome as her sidekick)
Center Stage  (Lots of young, beautiful people dancing waayyyy better than they acted)
A League of Their Own  (I watch this every time it comes on tv…which is like, every weekend.)
Pleasantville  (Inexplicably, just a good movie to me)
Blue Crush (Horrible acting, but beautifully shot)
Queen of the Damned (the last movie role the beautiful Aaliyah would ever be cast in…R.I.P)
Van Helsing  (I have a thing for vampires & werewolves…and Hugh Jackman)
Catwoman  (I have a thing for cats and…nevermind)
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (…there’s a vampire in it.)
80 Steps to Jonah  (freakin’ Wayne Newton, 1969!!! …prolly haven’t seen this move in like, 25 years…but for some reason, I remember loving it…maybe I’ll rent…just to see what’s up with that)
The Learning Tree (Another movie from 1969 that I saw when I was very young…and it remains with me today…didn’t find out until about a year ago that it was directed by my hero, Gordon Parks.)
The Princess Diaries 1 & 2 (Am a very big Anne Hathaway fan)
The Devil Wears Prada  (Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep is too funny)
Get Smart- ‘08 (Anne Hathaway, again..but also, I’m a huge fan of Steve Carell & Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson)

Be Cool (John Travolta is good, but Andre Benjamin stole the show for me)

Baby Mama (Amy Poehler is genius in this movie!)
The Princess Bride (Love story, classic)

There are soo many other movies that I could add…maybe I will later, but this is just a taste of the types of things I could be watching (but you prolly wouldn’t) on any given day…

notes to self (work)

never walk into a public restroom with your mouth open–i don’t care what cool person’s holding the door for you as they walk out–keep your lips closed & wave at them…or chance being greeted by remnants of the monster scent they left behind that will stick to your teeth ’til you can brush them again…seriously, sometimes it’s like, worse than your dad’s was when–nevermind.

never use just any coworker’s lotion–soon as you start slathering it on, you realize that they are the confusing smell lingering in the copy room that you could never figure out.

do not work out with coworkers at the gym if you’re sensitive to smell–you’ll never look at them the same again…

do not make ‘yucky face’ when you recognize the brown clogs that made a bee-line from the stall to the door of the restroom (bypassing the sink) after the flush, earlier that day.

do not make ‘yucky face’ again when you realize that ‘brown clogs’ brought in the cake your cube-mate is devouring after lunch…and do not smile about it either.

my tv makes me do it…

so, i was watching tv last night and (probably due the nature of the show that had me so engrossed) i decided that i’d finally admit that…my taste is a little different.  my list of shows ranges from dark documentaries to freakin’ cartoons…
i do get ribbed for some of my choices, but…do you think i care?!
i found a new show last night that reminded me soo much of ‘MXC’ (most extreme elimination challenge) that’s shown from time to time on the Spike network. MXC was a japanese game show that was dubbed over in english by a comedy troupe called ‘the groundlings’ who are based out of LA. they were sooo funny–like, the voice overs were often the best parts of the shows, coupled with the expressions of the brave (really?) souls who didn’t mind risking the one drop of ‘cool’ they had left in them by participating in such a crazy, dangerous, senseless episode of japanese tv for my entertainment…and for what, exactly? anybody know? i don’t think i ever found out what the prize was…but anyway, the show ‘wipeout’ that debuted on abc last night is sort of the same thing, but filmed here in the U.S. this show again pits mere mortals against nearly impossible physical challenges and a ridiculous obstacle course at the end for those who are lucky enough to make it that far. some of the funniest parts are when you can hear the contestants as they struggle thru the thing…some curse, some mumble incoherently, others establish a spiritual bond they never found the use for, until they began their approach to the ‘big red balls’ (yeah, ew).
hosted by John Henson (E!’s Talk Soup) and John Anderson (ESPN’s Sportscenter), you seriously can’t help but laugh…especially when Jill Wagner (fellow NC hot girl, and 3rd host) is laughing so hard, she can’t utter a word because of something a contestant has grunted while being bounced 15 feet into the air unexpectedly. but i’ve said enough…haven’t seen it yet? have a peek at yet another simple pleasure of mine:

last night’s episode was waayyy funnier than this preview, so i’m actually excited about the rest of the season. yeah, maybe it’s rude or silly to laugh at a few random folks brave (unfortunate, maybe?) enough to put their bodies and reputations on the line for a mere $50,000…but…sssso??!! blame my mom for introducing me to ‘double dare’ on nickelodeon all those years ago…was apparently just a seed…

my tv does show me things that are more mentally stimulating…i promise. will chat about them later…

more things i might like to know…

why i sometimes shove food into my mouth like i’m afraid someone is gonna try to steal it…why i sniff when certain types of people walk past me…why i hold my breath when other types walk past me…why your smell tastes so good to me…why i’ve now watched ‘high school musical’ 3 times…what it is about LL Cool J…why this is the 1st year i’ve ever watched the BET awards from start to finish…why i’ve never thought d.l. hughley was really all that funny…why i still really want envogue to get back together…why all my jeans fit differently every freakin’ time i put ‘em on(!)…what it is that folks see in lil’ wayne…seriously…why that ‘kiddie’ voice you do freaks me out…why i like jumping rope like i do…why i waited ’til i was 32 to start running for exercise…why i don’t admit more openly that gospel music is probably my favorite…why i don’t like curtains in my bedroom…why i love how ‘cool water’ smells, but would never wear it myself…if i’ll ever sing in front of a church again…why the football never spirals when i throw it…why i never watched dave chappelle…how alicia keys became so eloquently gangsta…why some people don’t seem to understand that when i say, “i’m allergic to your pet,” i’m not kidding…how those dudes keep their sagging jeans from falling around their ankles…how i survived for so long without an iPOD…why i hate cold weather, unless it’s snowing…how the heck i know the 2 correct answers i get each week on jeopardy…why rainbow sandals cost fifty freakin’ dollars…and why i pay it…why i wanna know.

vegas, huh…?

sooo…i’m a north carolina girl, born and raised.  while i’ve visited a few other states, i’ve only lived here. i’ve resided in a few different parts of the state, from western nc where i’m from, to the central part of the state, where i live now. i love it here and have never seriously considered living anywhere else.
since i moved to this particular area, i’ve felt that it’s the most ideal place for me at this point in my life. my family isn’t very far away, my friends are close…the weather’s awesome, i’m only a few hours from the beach or the mountains…i get to play all the sports i want (whether i’m actually any good or not)…which speaks to the thing i find that’s most important about this area–the people here are freakin’ awesome. everywhere i go here, i feel like i’m home–if i’m not mistaken, there’s actually a saying (or maybe it’s a song) associated with this state: i love calling north carolina home. …sickening, isn’t it? someone so happy to still be living where they’re from.
but…i’m starting to wonder now…
could my ‘happiness’ just be complacency? am i just content living here because it’s familiar? safe?
i’ve been posed with the question recently of whether or not i would move away from here…start over with someone. without ever feeling i had a reason to before…i find myself actually feeling tingles of excitement when i think about that possibility. my family would probably think i was crazy if i expressed this to them….but i know they would understand…my friends would understand.
i will flourish, i will succeed, i will do my part…for us. while i have jitters, i won’t worry. i know that if there was ever a perfect opportunity, a perfectly valid reason for me to try something/somewhere new, it is now…you…my one…my prize.
where ever you want to go, i will too. i can succeeed anywhere you are. and vegas sounds like a good place to start.

the letter

so, i’ve been asked if i had any questions about what happened with us.  up until now, i’ve said no, and that i had nothing else to say to you.  i felt this way because i was convinced that you’d remain closed off emotionally and would never open up about how you really, really felt, what your take is on everything that happened, or about any motives you may have had.  i can’t say that i’ve changed my mind…i’ve had no indications that i should…i’m thinking now of the questions my friends have about who you were then, and who you are attempting to be to them now.  i will continue to stay out of it, just asking that you mean everything you say to them, because by some measure they still tend to believe you, as it’s how we’re all sort of built…and why we have the relationships we have together.  be careful with them.
anyway, as i started writing this, it occurred to me that if you ever did come around, this is what i’d want to know:
did you intend to become all the things you said you already were, but then you got here and i proved to be too heavy for you emotionally?  or not what you wanted physically?  do you really feel like you were the open, affectionate, selfless person you described yourself to be and that maybe i was the one who was different than i described?   
i’ve just never seen someone become so…indifferent so fast, or create the change in me that you did.  i became a totally different person than i ever was, before you or than i have been since.  i actually really started to dislike myself at one point…so i can only imagine what you thought of me in the end…more than once, you called me judgemental & argumentative–two words that were never used to describe me previously…i’ll openly admit that when i was with you, i think i was at times…but as i’d never been that way before you, i maintain that i was just dealing with what i had been dealt, in a sense.  i truly hate that you ever had to see that side of me, no matter what my reasons were for being that way. 
i don’t want any apologies from you–that’s not what this is about.  i’m not even sorry it all happened–i don’t know that i’d have realized how blessed i am today, if not for the loss i felt when i realized that i had been in denial about what you and i had.  i painted the perfect picture, based on promises, of what we were supposed to be…when the truth was, it was all only preparation for the kind of love i was intended for…the kind of love i have today.
i hope you have found whatever it was you were searching for…whatever it was that i wasn’t…and that you’re genuinely happy.  i still don’t believe i ever saw you that way, no matter how hard i tried.
the best of wishes in whatever you do,

n

friends

you don’t have to see them everyday to know they’re there. you don’t have to test them repeatedly to know that you could if you needed to. you don’t have to laugh at everything they say, or eat everything they cook. you can be allergic to their pets, or to the foods they eat, so they can’t always kiss you goodbye. you don’t have to know all their family members to know that you’re one too. you don’t have to call them sisters, to feel just as close.
what you do have to do, is appreciate any time you get with them, because the fact that your lives, relationships, careers, and goals are all different makes everything you have in common–even if it’s just your differences–and everything you do together more special…more real.
what you do have to give them is your respect, your understanding, and anything else they ask for that’s in your power to give. they’re your family away from home. you don’t have to always get along in order to be close, or agree in order to get along. you just have to love them–tell them, if you have the words, show them if you don’t..and realize that chances are, they’re taking care of you at times when you don’t even realize. give thanks for them, and cherish them, as they do you when you have no idea you’ve even crossed their minds.
for as long as you’re lucky to have them…show them how lucky you feel that, at least a small part of them, for a fraction of time, is there for you.

funnies

…every now & then somebody i know says something that makes me giggle, if not fall over laughing altogether, and i write it down in a book i keep with me at all times. i’m lucky enough to be surrounded by, and related to some of the funniest people in the world. i laugh often. i’ve listed examples below…

short conversation between my aunt, who was expressing interest in learning spanish, and my grandmother who either wants or provides an answer to everything:
aunt laura: boing boing (she was destroying the spanish phrase, “muy bien.”)
my grandmother: mm!! you need to get ‘Roberta Stone.’
aunt laura: uh, is that Rosetta’s sister?

later the same night:
me to grandmother: muy bien
grandmother: …what is that?
me: very good
grandmother: but, what is it?
me: spanish
grandmother (a little louder): but what is it?!
me: muy bien
grandmother, (after a minute, very quietly): but what IS that?
i stop the conversation here. grandmother later explains that she thought ‘muy bien‘ was a spanish food that i thought was very good, and that apparently, i just didn’t feel like telling her what was in it.

lesson in love from my grandmother:
grandmother: you should never go a day without talking to your husband.
aunt joanne: do you talk to yours everyday?
grandmother (chin raised, eyes closed, with an aura of wisdom about her): nope–we use ‘mental celebrithee’.
a couple of people witnessed this conversation with me, but personally, i know for a fact, that because of this incident, i will never say ‘mental telepathy’ again.

part of conversation between me and coworker/friend lissette:
me: i don’t use a blowdryer–i let my hair air dry.
lissette (who speaks very quickly, with a slight spanish accent): no, i can’t not dry my hair. seriously, i’ve tried–i look just like a broccoli.

my friend susan (the editor) and i…talking about fonts…and fruit?
susan: …you know–helvetica–you’re not familiar with that font??
me: no. are you familiar with papyrus??
susan (matter-of-factly): …well yeah, the fruit–not the font. papyrus is the plural for papaya.

friend susan was telling me about someone’s motto…and she drifted:
susan: “until i’m satisfied, you’re not done.” but that’s not my motto–when you’re satisfied, i’m done…or, when you’re done, i’m satisfied–either way, you’re gonna be done and satisfied!

anonymous friend to me: i’ve been snapping bras since you were just a ‘fetae‘.

a classic from my friend shonta, when discussing the fact that male college athletes often receive special treatment academically. (stated very passionately): i don’t think any of them should get ’special prefforations!!!”

one of my friend dee’s best quotes: it never ceases to fail.

…i’m sure i’ll add to this list as time…life goes on…

one day, i might like to know

why i think the way i do…why i walk like this…how to see auras i feel…why some people are brave enough to stare, but too afraid to speak to me…how to not be ticklish when my brother attacks me…why it took me so many years (over 30) to wanna watch an entire nba game…why i want to travel so much…how i know i’ll get to…how it is that we get on like we do…why my family is so cool…why kids seem drawn to me (good)…why cats seem drawn to me (bad)…why i can remember some dreams, but not others…whether or not my dreams are in color…why i like rollercoasters so much…why i wish for thunderstorms…how i stay ahead, despite how unorganized i am…why writing makes me feel so good…how it is that i’m allergic to the entire planet…why i’m always asked to play so many sports when i really don’t know how…why i notice the little things…why so many little things make me laugh…why so many little things make me cry…why i get so many hugs…how i got to be so blessed…why i get sooo excited about the summer olympics…why i love the water so much…how i’ve gotten to meet so many cool ass people…why i love naps the way i do…how pancakes became my favorite thing(s)…how i was in the dark about blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup from the cracker barrel for so long…how i’ll ever keep from eating them weekly, from now on…why it’s called the cracker barrel…what it is about alicia keys…if i could ever really skydive…what made me bungee jump that one day…how my mom was able to watch without fainting…how my brother got to be so smart and brave…why i love babies the way i do…how i became such a good baker…why i burn so much food in the microwave…why i can’t get enough of you…why my weight balloons up and down…what i’m gonna be when i grow up…why you chose me…why bugs creep me out…why anybody would eat a squid…why we let dubya’s first ‘election’ into the presidency stand…who was actually dumb enough to vote him in a second time…what all the men who translated the bible were like…and how much of what we believe is based on how they believed…how i contain all my love for you…who ever said stirrup pants were cool…why my mom believed them…what it is about brad pitt…why i smile so much…why i laugh so hard…what those i care most about dream of…what my dad thinks of me…when i’ll get to take a cruise…which mobile company does have the largest coverage area…why i want to know…

say it

and if you feel something, will you say it?  or hint at it, whether it’s good or bad?  if you do nothing and i sense something…will you change your mind and open up…let me in, even if only for a peek?  for you, my schedule’s open, so i can stay as long as you like…or until you’ve given all you want me to have.  i’ll listen more than talk.  please understand that i may not understand everything that you share…but feel that i’ll feel every word you say. 

or if you feel something, will you show it?  will you move beyond the promise to the action of what you feel?  …will you initiate an opportunity to drop all your inhibitions and let me see what’s really up–give me a glimpse inside and underneath what’s out for all the others to see?  can you communicate without words for a bit…filling the quiet with your own unconventional silence…the loudness of your emotions, deafening…your movements echoing your melody, composed for my ears only…filled with the truest words never spoken…and the purest of intentions…all without uttering a sound?

will you?  can you?  and then teach me to do the same…?

cracked me up!!

i dunno…some days, just about anything can be funny to me.  i believe i was at home, taking it easy on a saturday afternoon…maybe i was half asleep when i saw this, but i ended up in tears from laughing so hard.  my favorite parts are:

1) the older lady in the frackin’ cat suit showing off her ‘best model poses.’

2) the impersonation of the frackin ‘peeker’ behind Oprah.

play.jhtml?id=1589047&vid=239743

her tears

my mom is faced with the fact that her grandmother may be dying…below was written for her.

so she cries, and it hurts like i caused it myself
she can’t talk for the effort to breathe
i try to find words that i feel i’m equipped with
but nothing comes out as i freeze

she wants to be strong but i know that she’ll stay
where she is, in her deepest of blue
she is hurting so bad all she knows is her sad
there is nothing anybody can do

by the time it has landed-that very first tear
i know what the ending will be
by the end of the night i will put her to bed
where she’ll sob well into her sleep

when she wakes from no rest with the sun the next day
she is tired, emotional-but drained
it’s all over her face, weighing down each breath
all the heartache in the world, all the pain

so she cries, and it hurts like i caused it myself
as she prays that her prayers aren’t in vain