I take 90s music seriously, and have noticed some glaring omissions on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Songs of the 1990s.
While I may not be a music expert, some of the songs I remember best from that decade weren't even listed! Here are my additions:
Boyz II Men - Water Runs Dry, Motownphilly, or End of the Road
Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey - One Sweet Day (This one baffles me)
Cardigans - Lovefool (I owned every Cardigans album)
Janet Jackson - That's the Way Love Goes, If, Together Again, anything really. Janet was still big in the 90s.
NKOTB - Step by Step
The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony
Bush - Everything Zen
Madonna - Take a Bow, Ray of Light
Blind Melon - No Rain
No Doubt - Spiderwebs, Just a Girl
R. Kelly - Bump n' Grind, I Believe I Can Fly
Foo Fighters - Big Me (you all remember the Mentos-inspired video), Everlong (my wedding song), or My Hero
Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
Smashing Pumpkins - 1979, Disarm, Tonight Tonight, or Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Blink 182 - All the Small Things
Savage Garden - I Want You, Truly Madly Deeply (this is for Caitlin)
Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)
Snoop - Gin n' Juice
Nine Inch Nails - Closer
Garbage - I'm Only Happy When it Rains, Stupid Girl
Aerosmith - Cryin', Crazy, I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing (It also surprises me that this one wasn't listed)
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - Crossroads
Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson - Scream
Mariah Carey - Fantasy
and last but not least...
Guns N' Roses - November Rain
WTF, VH1?
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Awesome Takes Practice!
Matt's work had a book drive recently, and someone donated this gem: Anybody Can Be Cool...But Awesome Takes Practice. He and his coworker had a good laugh at the book's daily affirmations and the wannabe Zack Morris guy on the cover. When he pulled up the book on Amazon to show me, I nearly died when I saw the amazing reviews. This one is my favorite:
"For years, I struggled with meager coolness until I read this book. Now with my new-found knowledge and my "I am awesome" shirt, all the ladies want to get with me. It may look like they're just laughing and pointing, but I know that they truly find me irresistible. Since I've modeled my hair and clothes from the book cover, everyone thinks I'm Zack from Saved by the Bell. It just doesn't get anymore awesome than that. Oh yeah"
The book sounds like something a teenaged Barney Stinson would read and put into practice. To quote Barney, "When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story." While Barney's statements may sound superficial, I think they are great reminders of how you should focus on your positive qualities, and try to beyour best awesome.
I was astounded that someone would want to get rid of such an amazing cultural object, but then again I've been known to hoard strange books. Some people collect stamps or coins. I collect weird books. I am the proud owner of the following:
Official Guide to Disco Dance Steps
<--- A Michael Jackson picture book for children (Thanks, Aunt Claudia!)
A book about how to talk to your LDS teens about sex
Basketball for Girls, a very sexist book written in the 50s. In case you didn't know, girls can be ballers too! All of the illustrations show girls in skirts shooting hoops.
My Aunt Claudia also gave my mom an amazing book with a weird and insensitive title that I can't remember. It was either "My retarded brother" or "My brother is retarded."
For other great books, check out this site: http://awfullibrarybooks.net
"For years, I struggled with meager coolness until I read this book. Now with my new-found knowledge and my "I am awesome" shirt, all the ladies want to get with me. It may look like they're just laughing and pointing, but I know that they truly find me irresistible. Since I've modeled my hair and clothes from the book cover, everyone thinks I'm Zack from Saved by the Bell. It just doesn't get anymore awesome than that. Oh yeah"
The book sounds like something a teenaged Barney Stinson would read and put into practice. To quote Barney, "When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story." While Barney's statements may sound superficial, I think they are great reminders of how you should focus on your positive qualities, and try to be
I was astounded that someone would want to get rid of such an amazing cultural object, but then again I've been known to hoard strange books. Some people collect stamps or coins. I collect weird books. I am the proud owner of the following:
Official Guide to Disco Dance Steps<--- A Michael Jackson picture book for children (Thanks, Aunt Claudia!)
A book about how to talk to your LDS teens about sex
Basketball for Girls, a very sexist book written in the 50s. In case you didn't know, girls can be ballers too! All of the illustrations show girls in skirts shooting hoops.
My Aunt Claudia also gave my mom an amazing book with a weird and insensitive title that I can't remember. It was either "My retarded brother" or "My brother is retarded."
For other great books, check out this site: http://awfullibrarybooks.net
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
My favorite past time: yelling at children
I've often wondered why my family thinks I hate children. I love spending time with my nieces, once worked as an English tutor for second graders, and I studied to be a children's librarian. I know stories, songs, craft projects, and all of the major AND minor plot-lines from the Harry Potter books. Kids generally like me. Maybe it's because I'm sort of child-like myself. I love a good jump on the trampoline or run through the sprinklers, and own several pairs of brightly-colored sneakers.
Then, I had a stunning revelation. I yell at children who misbehave in public.
Allow me to share two stories. The first story takes place last summer, when my family came up for the Chalk Art Festival. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it. Artists spend hours drawing on the pavement in Gateway Mall, and people pay to vote on the best drawings as a fundraiser for the local foster care system. Here is one of the drawings:
At the event last year, a couple of unruly children kept running around playing grab-ass, stepping all over the drawings. I promptly scolded them, saying "You need to stop stepping on these drawings. People worked really hard on them." My family thought it was ridiculous that I said anything, but I would do it again in a second.
The most recent encounter was last weekend. Matt and I were playing tennis in one of the local parks, and a group of about eight children kept skate boarding, scooting (or another appropriate verb for riding on a scooter), and running ON THE FREAKING TENNIS COURT. My first instinct was to hit balls straight at their heads to make them go away, but I opted for the more tactful approach of nicely asking them to leave. I sweetly said, "Can you please skate somewhere else? We are trying to use this court to play tennis."
Problem solved? NO. Those little bastards kept skating around the edge of the court, and when they thought I wasn't looking, on the court. A man and his father (or a random kind old gentleman) were on the adjacent court teaching a young boy (son/grandson) to serve, and they were clearly bothered by the juvenile delinquents also. The man said, "Please don't skate here," but they still did not leave. In the meantime, I was getting more and more angry.
It was at that moment when I decided to go with my first plan of hitting them with balls. Before you judge me, please consider the impact of a tennis ballfuriously lightly hit at a child. It wouldn't hurt very much, and likely wouldn't cause a concussion or the need for stitches, and it would look like an accident. Plus, they deserved it.
However, I underestimated Matt's ability to return my hits. The kids were right behind him, and when I sent some balls in their direction, he reached out his racket and returned the hits. This only added to my rage. After a couple more semi-polite comments to the kids (during which my voice got progressively louder and louder), I stopped in my tracks and looked the ringleader of the group straight in the eye andshouted said loudly, "You are being very rude right now. We are trying to play tennis. This is a tennis court, not a place to skate. You need to find somewhere else to go. NOW." Then I just stared at him with crazy eyes. I am taking some creative liberties here, because I can't remember exactly what I said. It's possible I was in a rage blackout.
Luckily, someone got video footage of my angry outburst.
It worked! The little demons went to the next court (separated by a fence) to terrorize four women playing a game of doubles...who also happened to be their mothers...who were right there the whole time, and did nothing.
Matt told me later that he was scared I would start a fight with the parents and he'd get his ass beat by the extremely large dads, who were grilling meats nearby. Maybe that is why he was playing so well, desperately running and diving for the balls I was aiming at the kids.
Moral of the story: I can use the tactic of fear to get Matt to improve his tennis game.
Then, I had a stunning revelation. I yell at children who misbehave in public.
Allow me to share two stories. The first story takes place last summer, when my family came up for the Chalk Art Festival. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it. Artists spend hours drawing on the pavement in Gateway Mall, and people pay to vote on the best drawings as a fundraiser for the local foster care system. Here is one of the drawings:
The most recent encounter was last weekend. Matt and I were playing tennis in one of the local parks, and a group of about eight children kept skate boarding, scooting (or another appropriate verb for riding on a scooter), and running ON THE FREAKING TENNIS COURT. My first instinct was to hit balls straight at their heads to make them go away, but I opted for the more tactful approach of nicely asking them to leave. I sweetly said, "Can you please skate somewhere else? We are trying to use this court to play tennis."
Problem solved? NO. Those little bastards kept skating around the edge of the court, and when they thought I wasn't looking, on the court. A man and his father (or a random kind old gentleman) were on the adjacent court teaching a young boy (son/grandson) to serve, and they were clearly bothered by the juvenile delinquents also. The man said, "Please don't skate here," but they still did not leave. In the meantime, I was getting more and more angry.
It was at that moment when I decided to go with my first plan of hitting them with balls. Before you judge me, please consider the impact of a tennis ball
However, I underestimated Matt's ability to return my hits. The kids were right behind him, and when I sent some balls in their direction, he reached out his racket and returned the hits. This only added to my rage. After a couple more semi-polite comments to the kids (during which my voice got progressively louder and louder), I stopped in my tracks and looked the ringleader of the group straight in the eye and
Luckily, someone got video footage of my angry outburst.
It worked! The little demons went to the next court (separated by a fence) to terrorize four women playing a game of doubles...who also happened to be their mothers...who were right there the whole time, and did nothing.
Matt told me later that he was scared I would start a fight with the parents and he'd get his ass beat by the extremely large dads, who were grilling meats nearby. Maybe that is why he was playing so well, desperately running and diving for the balls I was aiming at the kids.
Moral of the story: I can use the tactic of fear to get Matt to improve his tennis game.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
My new job: more than you probably want to know
Three weeks ago my life was easy. I had a job I understood and was good at, a little group of friends to go to lunch with, and a ten minute commute. Then, I decided to throw a wrench in things and take a new job in an industry I know nothing about --natural gas pipelines.
If you think a librarian has no business working with a bunch of engineers, you are wrong. Every business has data, and it is a librarian's job to organize it and make it accessible. Without revealing too many details, here is the scope of my project: the company has boxes of documents that are somewhat organized but not digitized. Currently, if you want a document, you go to the archives group and they can locate the box your document is in (hopefully), then you have to sort through files of papers to find it. Eventually, the goal is to scan these documents and put them into some sort of content management system, so users can use search criteria to find a digital version of the document.
So far, the hardest part of this transition (other than waking up an hour earlier) is the cultural change. On my first day, I tried to open my Gmail account to read a work-related article I had emailed myself, only to find the site is blocked. It is also interesting to be one of the youngest employees, as I couldn't contribute much to a conversation about colonoscopies (Me: Yeah, it's important to get those things...").
I am an independent contractor, not a permanent employee, so I often feel like the red-headed step child. The thing I'm most jealous about is the on-site gym the permanent employees are allowed to use. I have to keep telling myself that it isn't personal, and have to remind myself of the benefits of my situation.
Though today is only my 4th day of work, I do think this is the most challenging thing I've ever embarked on, including graduate school. The majority of the people on my team have a PhD, so I'm hoping I can learn from them. It's sort of like playing tennis; the best way to get better is to play against someone who is better than you....right?
If you think a librarian has no business working with a bunch of engineers, you are wrong. Every business has data, and it is a librarian's job to organize it and make it accessible. Without revealing too many details, here is the scope of my project: the company has boxes of documents that are somewhat organized but not digitized. Currently, if you want a document, you go to the archives group and they can locate the box your document is in (hopefully), then you have to sort through files of papers to find it. Eventually, the goal is to scan these documents and put them into some sort of content management system, so users can use search criteria to find a digital version of the document.
So far, the hardest part of this transition (other than waking up an hour earlier) is the cultural change. On my first day, I tried to open my Gmail account to read a work-related article I had emailed myself, only to find the site is blocked. It is also interesting to be one of the youngest employees, as I couldn't contribute much to a conversation about colonoscopies (Me: Yeah, it's important to get those things...").
I am an independent contractor, not a permanent employee, so I often feel like the red-headed step child. The thing I'm most jealous about is the on-site gym the permanent employees are allowed to use. I have to keep telling myself that it isn't personal, and have to remind myself of the benefits of my situation.
Though today is only my 4th day of work, I do think this is the most challenging thing I've ever embarked on, including graduate school. The majority of the people on my team have a PhD, so I'm hoping I can learn from them. It's sort of like playing tennis; the best way to get better is to play against someone who is better than you....right?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Food blog!
Caitlin and I now have a blog dedicated to our cooking adventures. Check it out, friends!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Julie and Julia and me
Since now is the time for resolutions, it's time I share mine. The majority of resolutions probably have to do something with exercising or losing weight, but I'm going to go another direction. While I do have the desire to be healthier and will make an effort to exercise more, Caitlin and I have decided to each make 100 recipes in 2011, and blog about them. I'm already a step ahead of Caitlin, since I have a blog. Maybe we'll start a new one together--depends on how motivated I feel.
This goal will help me in three ways:
1. I will eat at home more often instead of going out to eat.
2. I will hone my cooking skills to an Iron Chef-like ability.
3. It will encourage me to blog more often, instead of having month-long gaps.
4. I will fatten-up Matt so the hot girls in his office won't flirt with him. (Kidding! Sort of.)
In order to make this easy on myself, I'm not really setting any rules. Caitlin made the executive decision that drink recipes should also be allowed (she's a boozer). Let's see how long it is before the inevitable happens and I, like the rest of the nation, forget about my resolution.
This goal will help me in three ways:
1. I will eat at home more often instead of going out to eat.
2. I will hone my cooking skills to an Iron Chef-like ability.
3. It will encourage me to blog more often, instead of having month-long gaps.
4. I will fatten-up Matt so the hot girls in his office won't flirt with him. (Kidding! Sort of.)
In order to make this easy on myself, I'm not really setting any rules. Caitlin made the executive decision that drink recipes should also be allowed (she's a boozer). Let's see how long it is before the inevitable happens and I, like the rest of the nation, forget about my resolution.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Craft Inspiration
I hope everyone out there in blog land had a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/Festivus/whatever. I know I did, partially because Matt gave me the awesome gift of a new sewing machine that also does embroidery! I am very excited to start some new crafts. First up are some new throw pillows for our couch. I re-covered the pillows that came with the couch, but no longer like that fabric. So, here are some pillows that I like and can hopefully replicate somehow (but in other colors). If you can't tell, my style is very granny.
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