talking about music is like dancing about architecture.

one of my projects at work right now requires me to call a ridiculous number of rite aid stores everyday and talk to them about their internet connection for their photo machines. i spend a lot of time on hold because many elderly and foreign people seem to work at these stores and they never have any idea what i'm talking about so they stick me on hold forever while they go and try to figure it out. while on hold, i get to enjoy rite aid's interesting selection of on hold music. i mentioned a few weeks ago how i got to hear sisqo's "the thong song" and yesterday, they busted out 'n sync "this i promise you" and two mariah carey jams in a row, "hero" and "fantasy". so today, i decided to take on the task of writing down every song i heard while on hold from 10:45 am through 5:15 pm. there were about 20 or so that I couldn't identify because I didn't hear them long enough or it was just music so there were no lyrics for me to google but here are the rest. for some of them, if i didn't know the song, i looked up the words and that's how i discovered i was listening to people like merle haggard and blood sweat and tears. haha.

• harry connick jr - "she belongs to me"
• "mama said there'd be days like this"
• kenny rogers - "lucille"
• "breaking up is hard to do" (i heard this one twice)
• corinne bailey rae - "seasons change"
• sonny and cher - "i've got you babe"
• gavin degraw - "nice to meet you"
• "sunny"
• "oh ah, i want to be with you everyday"
• daniel powter - "bad day"
• three dog night - "joy to the world"
• "sweet dreams baby"
• "why should i keep loving you when i know you're not true"
• sara evans - "no place that far"
• beach boys - "wouldn't it be nice"
• john lennon - "instant karma"
• vanessa carlton - "a thousand miles"
• van morrison - "moondance"
• "will you still love me tomorrow?"
• the beatles - "crying waiting hoping"
• "just remember i love you"
• "cool night"
• jars of clay - "5 candles"
• dolly parton - "before the next teardrop falls"
• everly brothers - "devoted to you"
• elvis - "love me tender"
• john lennon - "woman"
• dixie chicks - "wide open spaces"
• "baby i'm yours ... until the stars fall from the sky"
• "i hear you knocking"
• roberta flack - "killing me softly"
• "why must i be a teenager in love?"
• john legend - "ordinary people"
• "going in circles"
• lisa loeb - "do you sleep?"
• diana ross and the supremes - "you can't hurry love"
• patsy cline - "why can't he be you?"
• barry manilow - "mandy"
• whitney houston - "why does it hurt so bad?"
• lifehouse - "first time"
• barry white - "let the music play"
• doobie brothers - "listen to the music"
• olivia newton john - "have you never been mellow?"
• shery crow - "you don't bring me anything but down"
• hall and oates - "i can't go for that"
• "all roads lead to you"
• fleetwood mac - "say you love me"
• dusty springfield - "son of a preacher man"
• simon & garfunkel - "sound of silence"
• blood sweat & tears - "and when i die"
• boyz II men - "in the still of the night"
• the beach boys - "little surfer girl"
• van morrison - "wild night"
• merle haggard - "green green grass of home"
• vanessa carlton - "ordinary day"
• "everybody plays the fool"

Yup. that's how i spent my day today. i also literally told this woman that was driving me crazy, "can you please give the phone to someone who knows what they're talking about? thanks." :)

... because i'm awesome.

twentyfive.

I have made a list of people I would make out with before I made out with Michael Scott: a turtle, a fridge, anybody from the warehouse, a wood chipper, Kevin, a candle, and Lord Voldemort.

YES.

Everyone on facebook has been filling out the "25 Random Facts" survey. I already did a version of it, back in December, when it was "16 Random Things" so I don't want to post another facebook note.... but since no one really reads this and it's just my ramblings, I figured I'd post my 25 random things on here. So, yeah.

1. I don't eat cereal. Even as a baby, I didn't eat dry Cheerios and the ladies at the daycare center couldn't figure it out. The whole idea just kind of grosses me out. The texture thing - the dry cereal in milk? I don't know. I can't stand behind it.
2. I'm meeting up this week with a friend of mine from grade school that I haven't seen in like 12 years, thanks to Facebook. See, it's not just for stalking.
3. Speaking of grade school, I discovered yesterday that a kid I went to grade school with (Ryne Robinson) is now in the NFL. Random.
4. I met Judy Blume in September at the Banned Books Week event in Chicago and I started to cry. It was unexpected emotion but the excitement of meeting someone who wrote books that kind of shaped my life when I was younger came up on me all the sudden. Judy Blume, seeing that I was starting to tear up, was so moved, she reached out, squeezed my hand, and started to tear up as well. So, I made Judy Blume cry.
5. My parents were in a band in the 70s called Vicious Rumours.
6. I go through very specific movie watching phases - like, wanting to watch a slew of Bill Murray movies from the 80s or all of the Vacation movies or every season of a TV series. Like, missions that I need to accomplish.
7. I never met my great-grandma Sanna (my dad's mom's mom) and from what I've heard from my dad and my aunt, she wasn't a very pleasant woman but one day, I'd like to name my future daughter after her. I think that Sanna is a beautiful and unique name and I'd also like to honor my Grandma Phyllis by naming my child after her mother. And c'mon, honestly, I'm not going to name a child Phyllis. That's just mean.
8. I listen to and enjoy NPR. Not the classical/banjo folk music version of local public radio - the news and programming like "This American Life" and "All Things Considered". I feel like I learn so much now when I'm in my car.
9. My passport has two stamps in it: one from canadian customs and one from Heathrow airport in England.
10. I'm pretty surprised when people remember me, even though I remember them. I just don't think I'm super memorable or have really distinct characteristics or something...
11. On the other hand, I've been told several times that I look "just like" specific people they know. I apparently look just like my stepmom's best friends' gyno and also identical to a sales rep for a company that we use at work. I'd really like to see these people to gauge people's perspective of what I look like. I'm very curious about that.
12. I hate doing dishes. HATE. One day, I will live somewhere with a dishwasher. That will be a happy day for me.
13. If there was any feasible way for it to happen, I would love to write for a TV sitcom. Like, sitting in with the writing staff of "The Office" is one of those dream scenarios for me.
14. Growing up, I wished I had an older brother. Instead I'm the oldest with 4 younger sisters (who I love immensely and wouldn't trade for the world, of course). :)
15. I need some kind of GPS system because my general sense of direction is very poor.
16. I've wanted a tattoo for a long time. I know exactly what I want, where I want it... I feel like I want to wait for a special occasion to get it, though. What that occasion is? I don't know.
17. I cannot cartwheel, do a headstand or a handstand, or do the splits.
18. Because my parents are divorced and remarried, I have a lot of family and stepfamily. I'm closer to a lot of my stepfamily than I am my "blood" relatives.
19. I don't have a set career goal or life plan but when I was younger, I did want to be the lotto girl. I still think that'd be amazing.
20. Sitting around a fire in the summertime at night is one of my favorite things. I love the smell, the sounds of the fire, the calm, the warmth, the night breeze, roasting marshmellows, cold drinks, conversations with family and friends, listening to music... It just makes me feel at peace.
21. I get into creative moods, go to Michael's, buy canvas, and I paint. It's not like I'm any good but it's relaxing and fun. Sometimes I just need to put something onto a blank canvas. That's kind of how I feel when I look at a a blank page in my notebook or a blinking cursor in a Word document. I need to fill space.
22. I named my sister Sarah. My mom says that I told her that she was pregnant with a little girl before she knew she was pregnant so she saw it as a sign that I was awesome and should name her. There was a girl in my Pre-K class named Sarah who I apparently thought was a snazzy lady - she was pretty, always wore dresses, and seemed popular so at 4, Sarah seemed like a valid choice. Sarah has complained to me for years about my decision but whatever. It's a good name.
23. I was a 9 year old women's rights activist. In the 3rd grade, I spoke out about how unfair it was that girls couldn't wear pants as a part of our uniforms. We got cold in the winter too! Later that year, the school changed their policy so girls could also wear pants, not just skirts and jumpers. My teacher listened to me, took up my cause, and change happened. There you go.
24. I never heard one joke about my last name until I hit high school and my drama teacher said, "Oh, do you WORK hard? hahaha" and I genuinely was like, "Wow, I've never heard that before." She thought I was being sarcastic (which makes sense since that is inherintly part of my nature) but I was like, "No, I've honestly never heard that." I realized that I do have a kind of funny last name.
25. I love infomercials and want the Magic Bullet mixer, the Vidalia magic chopper, the weird clip that holds your bra straps together so you can wear racer back tops, and every TimeLife CD collection known to man.

:)