Albums

It's Saturday night. It's 9 PM. And I'm using frazy.com to make a pictoral list of 20 albums that I like.

Man, I need to make a friend or get a hobby or something. Seriously.

Anyway, here's twenty albums I like. It's actually really hard to think of twenty albums when you can't see your CD collection.

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Nifty, eh?

And I thought I liked Harry Potter...

Some people read Harry Potter. Other people dress like Harry Potter. Some people even write fan fiction about Harry Potter.

But it takes a special kind of fan - a kind of weird fan - to form an entire band around Harry Potter.

If you want to have a listen, skip right on over to their MySpace site.

It kind of leaves you speechless. But amused.

Screw twenty questions, I have fifty-one!

Jen sent this to me in an email, and I thought it was entertaining enough to send to all of you.

1. FIRST NAME? Christine

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No, but several names were dismissed because my dad had dated women with the same name. I almost became Kristin, but I already have two cousins with that same name, so my parents settled on Christine.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I don't really remember. I guess that's a good thing.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I like my handwriting when I look at it. But when I compare it to someone else's, I hate it.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Turkey. And nothing smoked, glazed, or otherwise tampered with. Just turkey.

6. KIDS? Nope

7 . IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so. Man, wouldn't it be weird if I said no?

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Other than this blog, no.

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? It's an important part of my overall ability to communicate.

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep! My appendix too. It's all here.

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way! I'm not entrusting my life to elastic!

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Special K Red Berries, or Rasin Bran, or Reeses Puffs.

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, never. If I had my way, all shoelaces would be elastic.

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically strong? No way. Emotionally strong? Yeah, probably. Headstrong? Absolutely.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Blue bubblegum with multicolored bubblegum bits in it! Failing that, really good strawberry or Breyer's raspberry-chocolate-chip work too.

16. SHOE SIZE? Way big

17. RED OR PINK? Red

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My nose. Possibly my vision. I like my glasses, but I'd also like to be able to navigate without them.

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My friends who I haven't seen in a long time since they live far away

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Meme it, baby!

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I'm barefoot, a state I'd like to be in constantly. I'm also wearing blue jeans that are pink. Just kidding - blue jeans are blue.

22. LAST THING YOU ATE? Ice cream...I've been craving it a ton lately

23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My ceiling fan

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Cerulean blue. That's pretty good.

25. FAVORITE SMELL? Mike when he's been outdoors.

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mike. I couldn't smell him, though.

27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their personality. Really. I'd be turned off even by the most gorgeous man on earth if he was a jerk.

28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yep!

29. FAVORITE DRINK? Nonalcoholic: Fruit punch. Alcoholic: Smirnoff Twisted or screwdrivers.

30. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Wheelchair basketball. Those guys mean business!

31. EYE COLOR? Bluish, kinda.

32. HAT SIZE? Wow. I have no clue.

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Sometimes, but mostly I wear glasses.

34. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy endings! Scary movies give me the willies at bedtime.

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Thank You For Smoking - it was pretty funny.

37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black

38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer. Oh my gosh! I hate being cold! My fingernails are blue until June!

39. HUGS OR KISSES? Depends on who's giving.

40. FAVORITE DESSERT? I'm totally not picky on this issue. Anything is all good.

41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Dunno

42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Hey, that's almost the same thing.

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Unfortunately, as I was lamenting to Mike recently, I'm not reading much of anything. I've been reading a lot of magazines simply because I don't have the time to go get or read books. But I keep meaning to stop at a bookstore and pick up "The Sociopath Next Door." Maybe tonight's the night!

44. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD ? Nothing. It's all touchpad, baby!

45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Nothing. The last time I watched TV was on Sunday. I watched a Discovery Health program about a parasitic twin.

46. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Music, happy sighs, my cats' purrs.

47. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? The Beatles after they got all into drugs and trippy.

48. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Either Idaho or Georgia. I enjoyed both.

49. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Talent? I dunno. Is empathy a talent?

50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? In Bloomington, Indiana on Dec. 20th.

51. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Jen.

Camping!

This weekend Mike and I went camping at his parents' trailer.

Well, "camping" might be a little generous. To me, camping means staying in a tent. His parents' trailer is actually pretty nice - it has real walls, electricity, a working stove. The only hardships were that it was quite cramped and lacked running water. Other than that, it was a home away from home.

I haven't been camping in forever, since I was in Girl Scouts. I really enjoyed it then, though, and so we registered for a bunch of camping equipment for our wedding - a tent and sleeping bags and a few other things. I was eager to get up to the trailer because I thought it would be a good way to ease back into camping.

However, in my long hiatus from the camping world, I had forgotten a few things.

1. Nature contains bugs

The only bugs that really bother me are ticks, so I made sure to bring some bug spray with a high concentration of DEET. The thing I was really worried about was the spider population. I entered the trailer with a can of Raid in one hand and the other hand ready to commence panicked flapping if a spider made an appearance. Luckily, aside from one spider-like animal on the outside of the trailer there were no other arachnids present.

2. Nature also contains animals

We didn't see any, but I did hear a loudish thump outside around midnight. Normally it wouldn't bother me, except that it happened right after Mike and I had talked about whether or not there were bears in central Wisconsin.

Subpoint 2a: Some of their nests are weird

We saw some kind of odd web-looking nest that looked like it was made by bugs. Mike took a picture of it while I stood away from it saying, "Are you poking it? Don't poke it. Are you poking it?"

Subpoint 2b: Some of their nests are cute

At the end of our trip we noticed a bird had built a nest in the shelter that covers the trailer. She was bringing a worm to her hatchlings, and it was very cute.

3. I love showers

Yeah, the lack of showers didn't bother me when I was eleven. It does now. Especially when it's 90 degrees, I'm in a non-air-conditioned trailer, and I'm covered with two days' worth of bug spray. I think I used the phrase "I'm gross" more than I ever have before.

4. Talking is fun

Mike and I talk to each other a lot. I'm not sure if it's because we're shy and don't talk to a wide variety of other people throughout the day or if it's because we enjoy activities that naturally lend themselves to conversation, but either way we chatter quite a bit. In the trailer, though, there's almost nothing to do after dark, and so after we exhausted the supply of two-player games (which consisted solely of an ancient edition of Gooses Wild) we started talking. We talked on and on about a bunch of different things. It was very nice.

5. A well-balanced diet is important

I'm used to being able to grab what I want from my decently-stocked kitchen, or being able to run to the grocery store or order some food whenever I want. You can't do that while camping. On Monday morning we were scrounging for breakfast and Mike was listing off our food choices..."Let's see, there's pudding. And cheese. There's crackers here too, if you want them. Or not," he concluded, seeing my scrunched-up face. To me, breakfast is a bowl of cereal or a hot scone or a tomato-and-basil bagel topped with garden vegetable cream cheese. We decided to hold off until lunch.

6. The journey is half the adventure

I like traveling with Mike because he stops to look at things. We stopped to see the following things: gas stations, a restaurant that he remembered from when he was a kid, and every single wayside we encountered. We also decided to stop at a rummage sale on the way home, but we didn't see any good ones.

All in all, I enjoyed my camping adventure, and I can't wait to do it again. Maybe we'll even use a tent!

But next time I'm brining my dad's portable camping shower, and two cans of Raid.

Memorial Weekend

I had an awesome Memorial Day Weekend. Unfortunately it was also tiring, so instead of writing about everything I'll just leave you with some pictures. Those are fun. Check them out here.

Pigeons

Today I was walking home from the pharmacy while Mike was at band practice when I saw a group of pigeons.

Now, I know that people hate pigeons. They call them flying rats and chase them away from their homes. I've never really understood the big deal about pigeons. I grew up in the country where there are birds all over, and pigeons seem fine to me.

When I saw the pigeons I actually stopped to watch them for awhile. Pigeons are beautiful birds. Really. They come in so many colors - I saw dusty gray ones with black stripes on their wings, soft charcoal ones, even one pigeon that was the soft red color of aged brick. Their heads are iridescent and as they bob along their feathers shimmer and reflect purple, pink and green light. Their feet are bright pink. They're pretty.

The pigeons also didn't seem to be violent birds. They didn't fight amongst themselves or chase smaller birds away. They just pecked quietly in the street and made throaty coos.

Where's the pigeon love, people?

I suppose that maybe city people think of pigeons the way country people think of sparrows or mouring doves. We want to see the flashy birds, like cardinals or blue joys or orioles, and so we resent the sparrows and mouring doves because every birdhouse they occupy and every seed they eat is one less for the birds we'd like to see.

For shame. Sparrows and mourning doves and pigeons need your respect as much as the pretty birds do.

Awhile ago I made a bird feeder and Mike hung it in the backyard for me. I hope the pigeons find it.