Some Statistics That You May not Know:

Results for Bloomsday 2002
Jennifer J Staab
Time: 1:14:15 Place: 5908
Ran the race with a pace of 09:57 per mile.
Placed first among people from Bothell, Wa
117th among people the same age
The average time for 27-year-olds was 2:11:34
1672th among female runners
13th among people born on July 8
First among people with the same last name

Bill and Ted would call these two : "Excellent Medieval Babes"

Text Poll:

What is your favorite flavor of Starburst?

Results:
Lemon -2
Cherry-2
Orange
Strawberry

And the more creative types:
Kiwi Mango
Watermelon

And the ones who live in Atlanta, who don't read their text messages very well, and who shall remain nameless, but are moving to Seattle in January (at least that's the rumor):
Chi frap with vanilla

And the ones in foreign countries who have no clue what Starburst is:
im a little confused...

And the roomate who can't make up her mind:
I don't know and even though I am opinionated person , on these kind of questions, I just don't have an opinion.

---------------------------
I wish more people would have responded to this poll, so if you didn't and would like your vote to be counted, leave a comment.

PS: My favorite is Orange, but I didn't count my vote as I couldn't send a text to myself... The reason it is orange is completely arbitrary. When I was about 13, my cousin Roxann and I decided to find out which was the best Skittles flavor, so we played this game called Stadium Marbles with skittles instead of marbles. Well, orange won it, so we made a pact that orange was the best flavor no matter the type of candy.

Look. Blue Sky.

I felt a little silly tonight at my friend E*'s house. We were eating BLT's in front of the TV, watching the news. Some crazy credit card commercial was on with vikings and I was laughing at it. She looked at me and said, "you haven't seen that?"

No. I don't watch TV, like ever. So its been a while since I've seen commercials. I wish there was a channel on the internet where I could just watch all the commercials, so I can feel up to speed with American pop culture. Actually, that probably does exist, huh? And you are going to tell me about it huh? Well, let me tell you... !

I do like vikings. I almost bought a TShirt the other day called "real men kill deer with swords"

Switchfoot

Hazy. 1500 people. Hot. Bad venue management. Great second band, Eisley. Sweet light show. Mesmerized crowd. Mostly played from "Beautiful Letdown"--I guess even they don't like their new album. Best part--Bob Dylan cover.

With all the "to-do" about Harriet Miers, I thought it would be good to look up some more reliable sources on the internet...and I found....

Harriet Miers Blog!!

My favorite is the "Princess Sparkle Pony"

(some people have way too much time on their hands)

Calvinist Friendship

How in the world do some friendships begin? To look at the facts of the matter, most of the time it seems unlikely that I and the other person would ever connect in any deep let alone shallow level. Many people say that friendship is a choice based on likes and dislikes, a social contract of sorts, just like the constitution or a business contract. However, there are too many unknowns to factor in such as differences of belief, gender barriers, age gaps and radically different music tastes. Sometimes random conversations begin a friendship while other times, a friendship can start after long periods of conflict with an opponent. I have had both.

It could be that Calvin was right. Nothing starts or ends without the sovereign working of God. Where does free-will play into it all? I am not sure if it has much to do with it. Some of my favorite people are people that I rarely see because of geographic boundaries or other such circumstances. Not that the people whom I choose to spend my time with aren't favorites, but just because I am not around a person doesn't mean I wouldn't love to see them.

Perhaps choice determines the short-term relationships or even aquaintances, but with long-term relationships there is definately something bigger going on. It is never so simple. Friendship is a lot of work and I suppose without God, nothing would last very long. He seems to know better than I do which people are the best fit for me.

Announcement: Two papers finished and turned in. Am I prolific? I am prolific. Perhaps as not at prolific as Ryan Adams, but we all know that he doesn't keep appointments. I do my best to keep important engagements. It's funny, right now I feel like I am on top of the world right now, but tomorrow when I face my stack of books and the other two papers that are due on Friday, I may have fallen deep into the depths of despair. How melodramatic. Lovely. I will name my alter ego Melanie Ivana Demetrius. Three claims to heritage--being British, Russian and Greek Orthodox. She drinks cheap wine by the case, writes very bad poetry, is drop-dead beautiful with waistlength chocolate brown hair, and drives a 20 year old Benz, cream colored. Diesel.

Tonight is a full moon.
Not that we will be seeing it in Seattle because of the clouds. But, I will be looking.

Update on my car: I sent it in for a therapy session today. Two large cavities called brake rotors, along with the heater core. The damage is great. Do I bite it and pay the money or stop driving a car? Is the car even worth it? Perhaps I should just become a pedestrian once again?

I'm going to think about something more positive, like the fact that there is a full moon tonight.

Tonight is a full moon.

4 weeks, twenty papers, that's two dollars....Gee Johnny, I don't have a dime....Didn't ask for a dime....TWO DOLLARS.

Well, for me it's more like one week, 4 papers....I wrote the shortest tonight. Tomorrow is a big one. I'm excited to tackle it. And I will leave you with this.

We must change our language....

And at this moment, i have had 360 visitors to this site. Nod to BillG and MS.

In response to Mr. Touch Down over at Don't Wait I say this....
Don't get sucked in to the gaming console business, young man (I can say this as I am two years older than him, and much much wiser) or else you will end up like this guy or this guy.

The marvels of reproduction....

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: families that reproduce people tend to reproduce ideas, as well. The most vocal non-scientist proponents of ID are those delightfully fertile Catholics, Evangelicals, and similarly right-leaning middle-class college-educated folk -- the kind whose children will inherit the country. Eventually, the social right will have the sheer manpower to teach ID wherever they please." --from "Why Intelligent Design is going to win"

How often does a movie come out the weekend before a paper is due that happens to be on the very same topic? Lucky me. Now, my paper isn't about communism, but rather the cultural war between the left and the right, the rhetoric each side uses as their weapons, so on and so forth...I'm grabbing my notebook and heading to catch the flick on the silver screen.

Fall is such a beautiful time of year. It is also a time for reflection and meditation. Long walks and evenings at coffee shops should be on the program. Friends should not be neglected, but take out that book forgotten on the shelf, wipe the dust off and take a few evenings to read.

What am I saying? I can't read whatever I want! I have 3 textbooks a week to digest. Well, perhaps in 2008...

All arguments and debates seem to come down to one point.

The world is an open sytem, created by a transcendent God, who orders and defines all reality.
OR
The world is a closed system made up of cause and effect and reality is defined in either human or natural terms.

so, this is what a rockstar feels like...

Random Thoughts

I am so glad that I am not working retail during the upcoming holiday season.

I bought three things that sparkle yesterday.

My new dentist said I have good bone structure and no tooth decay. Direct Quote: "You have beautiful teeth." I like him already.

Fall has really set in. The grey days are here to stay.

I hope my car survives the winter. It keeps blowing a specific fuse. The one that controls my speedometer and gauges. I finally figured out the problem. When I turn on my lights and the windshield wipers at the same time, it blows. I have a stash of fuses. I figure I will just put in one a week to make sure I know how much gas I have.

My car has also been making some funny noises lately: a squealing belt on cold mornings, a grating brake sound in the rain, squeaky wheel on the drivers side. None of these things seem to happen ALL of the time, just some of the time.

I think I worry too much.

I like drinking barley green and orange juice. Wierd, but I really like the taste!

It's difficult to take pictures of the moon with a digital camera, but I had to try as it was such a gorgeous October moon behind bare tree branches.

Yes! I am studying.

I just wanted to say that I really like the snickerdoodles at Cafe Ladro in Bothell, WA.

Dreaming of Motorcyles.

The plan is: at age 50-ish, I'm buying a Harley. I will wear a long black Aussie coat, Leather Chaps, and Motorcyles boots. I won't dye my hair. It will be long, braided and grey. I will spend all of my free time riding the open road, philosophizing and writing poetry in the Dakotas.

C will pull up beside me at some random small town 4 way stop. She will be in a pearl white Cadillac--Long, Wide and Sleek. She'll be wearing a long white camel hair coat, white silk scarf and large gold sunglasses, very Jackie O.

I'll rev my bike at her before roaring off and leaving her in the dust.

The movie Everything is Illuminated was playing at Queen Anne, so I headed down with E. You know, when I read the book, I remember it being cryptic and disturbing. The movie wasn't so much that way. I enjoyed Elijah Woods. Excellent Cinematography and the music, perfect. I still wouldn't be able to recommend it unreservedly as I think any movie about, or even just generally about the Holocaust is disturbing in some way. I will say, that the sunflower part is just about the best bit of the whole movie, along with the dog. Anyway, thanks TH and AP for letting me know the movie was playing. I think I'd rather have just seen the movie than read the book, but too late to go on about that now.

Wow. A typically mundane and a little boring post, here. Don't worry, I'm sure I will spice it up a little tomorrow.

Update: as requested...

Jonathan (Elijah Wood): "Are you my translator?"
Alex (Eugene Hutz): "Forgive my speaking of english, Jonfen, as I am not so premium with it."

Another note about blogging...it's annoying when people leave their sidebar as such:
Google News
Edit Me
Edit Me

If these folks can't figure out how to change that, use MySpace or someother hyper-user-friendly blog space...PLEASE?

Whoah, Jen! Good thing it's the weekend, eh?

Say Hello to Henry everyone! (He likes carrots, btw)

Welcome, Gus. I just want to know which kind of blogger you are....

Lucie over at International Orange created a word called meta-blognition: blogging about blogging. There are different kinds of bloggers, just like there are different kinds of personalities. Here is my list:

1. Hyper-texters: These folks find thing of interest and fill their post full of links. Another name for this kind of person could also be "Internet Tour Guide." One example: "Don't Wait"
2. Social Commentarians: The blogosphere is full of these. Sound Politics and Michelle Malkin are two of my favorites.
3. Gimmicksters: Gotta have a trick or some type of clever scheme to attract readers. Daily Dancer is probably one of the best I've seen, along with Anonymous Lawyer.
4. Dear Diarians: One interesting thing about these bloggers is the large amount of personal information that they share on their online "journal" that they would never say out loud. I won't give any examples of these as I wouldn't want to outright embarrass anyone.
5. Escapadists: People who blog after some sort of crazy event or adventure. The question I have about these is this: Do they have adventures, then blog or do they have adventures so that they can blog? I would admit to being one of these.
6.Cranberries: "Everyone is doing it, so why can't we?" Practically every person on MySpace.com
7. Conglamorites: Any combination of the above.

I have an addition...

8.up-Daters: Here we have people who are "talking without talking" to someone in particular.

The Roomate

Yesterday, many of you were breathless with anticipation to hear more of Marsha's Adventures, but the author is going to take a small rabbit trail today, to tell a story about Marsha's roomate, Opal.

A few years ago, Opal also had some car troubles. Luckily, her cousin loaned her a car for a few months. A 1965 Mustang. Was she excited? You bet. True, there was no heat, but who cared when driving a Mustang! For a few weeks, everything went great. And, on top of it all, she knew that she was just really cool. However, one cold winter day, she was pulled over--for the first time in her life, I might add.

"Your tabs are expired."

Opal's heart stopped. What was she going to do? Well, she started by handing the officer her license and reached for the insurance. (I must rewind a little. Opal's cousin's kid had been playing in the Mustang the day before and had strewn the insurance cards all over the floor.) Opal searched the entire car for the right one, but could not find it, so she had to hand over an old card.

Opal received a very large ticket.

Wait. The drama does not stop there. She headed over to the Shoreline Municipal court to plead her case to the judge. The insurance part of the ticket was removed, and so all that had to be taken care of was the tabs. She gave the information to her cousin and thought no more of it....

...Until a year and a half later, no longer driving the Mustang, Opal receives a call from a bill collector: "You have a $175.00 ticket you must pay and your license has been suspended."

"What? For how long?"

"Six months. We've been trying to track you down."

Opal had been driving around for six months with a suspended license. And had no clue. Some people, especially Opal's mother think she needs a husband to take care of minute details like this one, but the author isn't so convinced. It's more the issue of being a victim of the American Legal System, don't you think?

One other quick note, we just were informed that Opal also forgot to renew her license this year and so drove around for a month, and even rented a car, on an expired license...

Maybe she does need to get married.

The Continuing Saga of Marsha* and Her Vehicles
Or better known as, Where'd I Park my Car Last Night?

* names have been changed to protect the identity of the innocent.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Marsha. She had car problems and as she had money problems concurrently, the car sat for three months in someone's yard. Finally, the money was lined up and the car was fixed. Soon after she started driving it again, Marsha noticed that there was horrible smell in the car. She thoroughly cleaned the car, washing it down, vacuuming it, even bleaching the seats and dashboard. She could not completely eradicate the smell, but it was at least borderline tolerable.

One morning, while driving to class, with her carpool--a young man named Leroy--Marsha was pulled over for speeding. At the moment that Marsha asked Leroy to pull the registration out of the glove box, the unthinkable happened.

As Leroy opened the glove box (yes, I realize that some of your smart thinkers have already jumped the gun on this one, just hold on and wait for our slower readers to catch up) a most horrific smell poured out along with all the contents of the glove box that had been recently shredded and nested in by a large rodent. The policeman immeadiately stepped a few few away from the car. "What is that godawful smell?"

Marsha was not let off the hook by the tragedy, and still had to pass her half-eaten registration over to the now Tee'd off cop. And yes, she received a ticket.

Tune in tomorrow when we find out why part of the guard rail on Highway 2 is now gold-flecked...

Sometimes, when I am in my new apartment, with the electric kettle boiling, the sound of the washing machine overriding the Rachmaninoff on the record player, the smell of bleach in the air and candles lit, I feel as if I am in someone else's house.

But, when I am in my bed, with the covers pulled to my chin, and the sound of rain coming in from the open window,

Or

if I am in the kitchen with the pots and pans out, vegetable peelings in the sink, the fridge partially open and the combined smell of olive oil, garlic and onion,

I feel completely at home.

I don't think I will try an analyze this one.