Tomorrow morning I am packing my bags and going to summer camp for a week.  I’m slightly afraid for my sanity. It’s hanging by a thread as it is!  

I haven’t been to camp since I was a junior in high school, so… 6 years or so, at least.  I remember having so much fun at camp, but then I was a camper with all my friends. It’s a little different to go as a counselor! I have to be responsible and whatnot.  Granted, I know all the kids I’m going with, and we’ll have a blast, but it’s still kind of weird. Now I feel like I’m in high school. I mean, I am going with high school kids, but still.

I think my group will be pretty self-sufficient, so I’ll probably have a fair amount of time to myself to just do whatever. I am so looking forward to that; even if I don’t have any time alone, I don’t even care.  I need a break from work and the overall hecticness of life, and just be, without having to worry about deadlines or anything.  I have a lot of things to think about, both professional and personal, and I think a week with no connection to anything I normally have other than Jesus and these kids is just what I need.  And hopefully I’ll have time to take some naps, too.

Because then my friends and I go straight to a bachelorette party! One more wedding this year, and the first where I’m not in the bridal party and could actually bring a date and be able to sit with them!  I’m so thrilled for this one, mostly because I can just sit back and enjoy it 100 per cent.  Weddings are so crazy, but I love every minute of it. 

Anyways, I will probably come back more exhausted then when I left, but I’m hoping that I’ll also come back with some clarity and focus on multiple issues. It is my prayer for the week. 

I’m so excited!

To tell you the truth, I’m kind of surprised I’ve never posted about it before.  What is it, you may ask? I answer: you should know what the happiest place on earth is, and if you don’t, well, you don’t deserve to know.

No, that’s probably not entirely true. I’ll tell you, but it’s mostly just because I don’t think I could write a post without using the name of the place I’m writing about. Although that would be quite a challenge… hmm. Anyways, moving on.

Disneyland. Just rolling the name off my tongue or typing and watching it appear on my computer screen gives me a tingly feeling inside. I love everything about it! I think that is the single best thing about living here. Not even the weather can beat it (at least in my book, since I’m opposed to the whole idea of the sun other than for the fact that we need it to live). 

I am not a people person; in fact, large crowds frighten me. I think that’s called enochlophobia.  Probably I don’t really have that severe a case, I just prefer to avoid large crowds whenever possible. But that melts away at Disneyland. There’s nothing better than zipping through the crowds, avoiding the strollers, the families glued together by the hands, the couples whose hips melt into each other so it’s like they’re moseying along in a three-legged race… it’s fabulous. 

And then there are the rides.  I just went on the new Toy Story ride, and let me tell you, it was totally worth the wait. I don’t even think I waited that long. It was phenomenal. Space Mountain - only the best ride ever. Every time I go it’s like a new ride. Although the last time I went on it, they somehow managed to block my friend from getting on with me, and sent me off without her. Then they put her all by herself in the next car so the party behind us didn’t get split up. It was ridiculous - we were in the front too. But really, I could list every single ride and they would just all be amazing in my book. Even the lines are ok, because I like to people-watch. There’s the ever-popular game of finding the oddest couple, or the most bizarre outfit, or eavesdropping on the random conversations around. There’s something for everyone.

I think that I need to go to more of the shows though.  There’s an Aladdin show at DCA that I’ve never seen. I haven’t been in the Tiki Room since they refurbished it, nor have I ever been in the Aladdin story-telling thing that is apparently now some Indiana Jones-related thing (which I definitely want to see).  And now they even have Indiana Jones fighting off bad guys above the Jungle Cruise!  I only saw the end, but Indy won. Obviously. I think there’s others, but whatever.  And one of the last times I went, some amazing 80s cover band was playing.  They were pretty hilarious, and actually not all that bad. We heard some Prince, some Go-Gos, some Billy Idol, watched some crazy lady rocking out a little too hard… then we left. 

Do I even have to mention the fireworks? Not only do I love fireworks more than a lot of other things, the Disneyland fireworks are just that much more exciting. They have lasers now too. It’s pretty spiffy.

So all in all, it really is the happiest place on earth for me.  I could be in the worst mood when I go, and as soon as we get on the tram - no, as soon as I pull in the parking structure - my mood melts away and I’m like a little kid again. It’s the weirdest thing, but it never fails. And it’s always depressing to leave. I don’t know if I could ever move out of this area, because then I would have to give up my annual pass. Or maybe I wouldn’t and I’d just come back once a month just to visit my old friend.  Who knows?

I have a found a fantastic website that everyone needs to start using immediately.  Pandora.com is pretty much the best thing ever.  Basically, you type in a band you like… or a song you like… or a composer you like… and Pandora puts together your very own online radio station of other music you’d enjoy based on those preferences.  You can keep a station purely focused on one artist, or combine a bunch of different ones to make a mix tape that you’re pretty much guaranteed to love.

It’s all based off the Music Genome Project, which is some complicated algorithm of some sort to “capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level.” I don’t know. But it works! And that’s what’s amazing.

At the moment I have a station based off The Cure and a station based off Etta James’ song “At Last,” which is pretty much my favorite station ever. I’m going to start a new one tomorrow. I have a feeling this is going to become a new obsession - come up with the most random combinations of whatever to make a phenomenal smash mix tape!  

I know this isn’t really “new” but it’s new to me and really exciting, and I hope you get excited too.

At the risk of turning this blog into a crazy stalker blog, the first season of Pushing Daisies comes out on DVD on September 16. If you have not already pre-ordered, you should do it. Then you don’t have to remember to go out and buy it in three months.  And it’s just in time for season two, so you can catch up or refresh your memory or just enjoy it over and over and over and over…. you get my drift.

I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last night with my brother and his best friend. First of all let me just tell you that I LOVE Harrison Ford, and I have since junior high. I don’t know what it is about him, but I think he is so good-looking (although he is getting up in years now - I prefer Star Wars/original Indy era HF) and I will probably go see any movie he’s in. In fact, I have gone to see some not-so-great movies, just because he was in them. It’s my blessing and my curse.

I also have a newfound love for Shia LaBeouf.  I think that kid (I can call him that because he’s younger than me, if only by a year or something like that) is going to be a major star. Maybe not a blockbuster actor, but someone whose movies will always be enjoyable. Like Harrison Ford!  He’s pretty good-looking too.

But anyways, this is not about how much I enjoyed looking at this movie. It’s about how much I actually enjoyed it.  Maybe a little overkill in some parts (the refrigerator, anyone? Or the vine-swinging?) but it was a blast.  And I think it kept true to the spirit of Indiana Jones.

The subject matter was a little bizarre - I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it, although I think this might be online already - but once I really thought about it, it’s no more bizarre than any of the other Indy story-lines!  I was discussing it with some friends tonight over coffee (and next to a giant sign that wanted to kill us), and it falls more in the supernatural-type category, like Temple of Doom, rather than the Biblically-based stories in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade, which might be why people don’t like it as much. Temple of Doom is definitely my least favorite of the four, and I think it’s the same for a lot of other people.

Granted, I would take the other three over this one (although maybe not Temple), but I think any sequel made so long after the other movies in the series have become cinematic history would have that same reaction.  The first three are classics, there’s no changing that. But I think this one can hold its own against the originals. It entertains for a couple of hours, and sometimes that’s just all you need. And come on - any movie that brings Harrison Ford back to the silver screen is going to be ok in my book.

I finally start my new job on Tuesday!  I’m beyond excitement at this point - I have been ready for a change for so long that it seems kind of surreal.  It’s not a complete change yet, since I’m starting part-time at the new job and staying part-time at the old one, and then moving to full-time after two weeks, but it’s change nonetheless.

But it’s happening!  After almost a year to the day of searching and wondering if I’d ever find a job, I’m starting at one that I’m actually excited about.  I’m nervous too, but more excited!!  I’ve wanted to work in non-profit for such a long time now; it just seems like a perfect fit for my values and my gifts, and I couldn’t think of a better organization or more dedicated people to work with.  It’s all coming together!  

I know God kept this for me for that year of searching, and it’s amazing to see how His timing is more perfect than anything I could imagine.  I was just thinking about some of the other jobs I interviewed for, and I’m almost positive that by now I would have been miserable.  I can’t wait to see how His timing plays out in the other areas of my life - life is such an exciting journey.

So wish me luck, say a prayer, and I’ll keep ya posted!

You know what I did today?  I took a nap.  Let me just say that it was probably the best thing I’ve done for myself in weeks, probably months.  Two whole hours of undisturbed rest.  You should try it sometime this week.  It was fabulously fantastic.

Do you remember being a kid?  We took naps every day.  It was practically required of us.  Now, we’re so jam-packed with work and school and family and friends and just random other things that we can barely get a full night’s sleep.  I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time fully functioning if I don’t get a full 8 hours of sleep at night.  And I don’t know about you, but for me that’s virtually impossible.  

I have this tendency to go to bed late, but then I can’t get up when I need to.  This is going to pose a problem when I start my new job, as I have to be there at 8 in the morning.  Since that’s when I’ve been getting up for the past year, apparently I need to start changing my habits now.  

Anyways, I propose that nap-time be mandatory for everyone, not just kids.  Really, kids are the happiest people I know, and I don’t think it’s because of the no job, no school, no responsibility, no worries thing.  It’s definitely the naps.  I think that even just 30 minutes every afternoon would leave you feeling refreshed, more productive, and probably even help with sleeping at night.  I know it would help me.  And more to the point, it would help the people around me (because I am all about others).  Maybe I would be less grouchy during the day.

Maybe.

Ok, so I’m working on this project with a coworker, and we need to get this survey done.  I would appreciate it if you could take 5-10 minutes and fill it out.  (Attention to my friends that I already emailed it to - you don’t need to do it again).  It would be a huge help to us both!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=I7_2bmQNm_2fnr_2fW1iqA6vLA_2fw_3d_3d

And there’s a little incentive for you at the end  Thank you!

I was driving today, and I heard “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse on the radio.  Muse always makes me laugh a little bit, because I have a friend who absolutely loves them, and it’s just funny to see her talk about them because she loves them so much.  She gets really worked up about them, it’s great!  Anyways, I laughed about that for a second, but then I got to thinking:  Are there any bands that make people laugh when I talk about them?  

There are a lot of bands and musicians that I really like, maybe even love.  Some of them I just think are fun, while others represent certain times in my life that were meaningful and so they always hold a special place in my heart (see this post for a prime example).  I think everyone has these kinds of bands in their life, whether it’s some teeny-bopper band or just some band that completely differs from your usual tastes.

But if some random person came up to me on the street and asked, “What’s your favorite band?”  I don’t know if I would actually be able to answer honestly.  I don’t even know what I would answer if I was asked at this particular moment.  I would probably say The Killers, but I think that’s only because Sawdust is currently playing in my car.

Maybe the problem is is that I tend to weigh individual songs rather than individual artists.  For example, one of my favorite albums of all time is The Cure’s Acoustic Hits, but I don’t think that The Cure is necessarily my favorite band.  They definitely rank up there at the top, at least top ten if not top five, but I don’t know if they would be numero uno.  

Although as I think over my musical preferences, I realize that I have a lot of favorite songs. None of which have artists that I would call my favorites.  My favorite song of all time is “At Last” by Etta James.  It’s hauntingly beautiful, with fabulous orchestration and emotion, but Etta James is not my favorite artist.  Wilco’s “Heavy Metal Drummer” makes me smile every single time I hear it because I first heard it in high school, during a time when I had a huge crush on a drummer, but Wilco - not my favorite band.  I know every single word to Dramarama’s “Anything, Anything,” and gladly sing along at the top of my lungs, but I don’t know if I’ve ever even heard another one of their songs. Or at least I didn’t know it. And those are just some of the examples I could give.  I won’t bore you with them all - it would take a long time.

I don’t really know if there’s a point to me telling you any of this, other than that I’ve come to the realization that I have a very eccentric taste in music.  I kind of like it - I will always have music to fit my mood, and I could probably make a killer party mix.  But in some ways I feel like I’m missing something.  There isn’t one band that makes me thrilled to be alive when I hear their songs.  There are certain songs that make me feel that way, but no one particular band.  It’s kind of sad in a way.  It feels that if I’m any kind of music fan, I should have that one band that blows my mind like none other. 

Are you a one-band individual, or do you focus more on the songs as they come?  Let me know!  Oh, and if you have any suggestions on new bands/artists to check out, tell me. Who knows, maybe you’ll introduce me to that band that could one day become my favorite!

This made me laugh.  Because heaven forbid you should go without texting someone for the length of time you may have to walk down the street.  I think I would maybe want one though, because it seems way more protective than a regular umbrella.  Although imagine trying to walk down a crowded street or through a busy campus with that thing. You’d be bouncing off people right and left!