WWCD?

So, I when I go to work at the State Fair I play a little game called "What Would Chris Ensweiler do?" Chris is a great physical comedian and an all-around warm-hearted dude. Since Splasher is a boy, I really try not to be too girlie on my walk-arounds the 50 Years of Boating exhibit. I guess this will count as my second Shout Out.

Thanks Chris for your inspiration.

Of course, I am all suited up and have a giant head, but if I can reach my inner clown, I'm a happy gal...I mean guy... I mean frog.

Wear your life-jackets, y'all.

Raise Your Voice!

Some of you may remember that on my first voice over demo CASSETTE I added the uber cheesy phrase "the voice of Hope" to the tape jacket. I promise to post a photo or scan of that soon for those of you who need that confirmation.

While at the Davis public library the other day I saw a pamphlet that said "Make Sure Your Voice Will Be Heard." It was for the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. I have always been interested in joining so I can more effectively "participate in democracy." Being around the outspoken movers and shakers in Davis may be a good thing. One more step than just listening to npr or reading the NYT online. 'Cause, come on folks, you wanna hear my voice, right?

Speaking of which the long awaited album I did with my Aunt Jan is FINALLY out. The title of the CD is Who Could Ask for Anything More. I got my copies in the mail the other day. I have yet to see the songs on itunes, but I have a few copies if anyone wants one.

Give me an E!

Today's shout out goes to my Big Brother. No, reality program or Orwell reference here -- just a holla to Mr. Eric Mirlis. Or as many call him "The Mirl." For some reason, it sounds odd coming out of my mouth. At times I call him E, but I rarely use his first name at all.

I mean as sole siblings, it's not hard to recognize each other on the phone.

So, my brother's famous. While I am the artsy fartsy one, my bro is all about SPORTS. I mean, this guy knows just about EVERYTHING there is to know about the subject and the cool thing is that he writes about it so stinkin' well. Talk about passion.

Most recently, he compiled a book called Being There. After finishing the last Harry Potter and a few plays for the class I teach in the fall, I FINALLY picked up the book and have been reading a few entries before bed each night. While I am not a sports fan, it's amazing the amount of detail that people remember about sporting events. It's an exciting read.

There are so many different events mentioned -- from the mid-50s through the present. My favorite is to read different accounts of the SAME event. I love to see how the various broadcasters, writers, and celebrities recount the events in very personal ways.

I mean, I am biased here, but I totally recommend it to all sports fans. And better yet, it makes a great gift.

For more information and to get additional writings on -- you guessed it -- sports, visit his website.

I love that smell...

sittin' on my couch, the fabulous smell of burning leaves is wafting in my window.

It must be fall.

Speaking of the fair...

You Are a Log Ride

You prefer to live a fairly calm, relaxed life... with a few surprises thrown in. You don't tend to get yourself worked up easily. You can roll with what life throws at you.

What Carnival Ride Are You?

Getting jiggy

The last email I got from Theroun Patterson he wrote...

"since you're all west coast now, I guess I have to rep my 'hood whenever I talk to you, so here goes . . . A-town down shawty. East sIDE!"

Okay, just try and say that. You know I did. More than once. And yes, it sounded just as silly coming out of my mouth on try 1 as try 15.

For those of you who don't know, I signed up for a class with the Experimental College, since I have a little time to kill before Fall Quarter. I had many options -- Vietnamese Cooking, Meditation, Sound Mixing. But I decided to keep a good thing going and registered for...

Intermediate Hip Hop

There should not be any laughing here, since I have to say that I am pretty good. I have danced with Melvina at LA Fitness, for what Steve? A year? I know that I am a petite, white girl. However, I was a little taken aback in the Experimental College office being asked, "Um, can you handle an intermediate class??"

Damn straight.

I mean Q (yeah, his name is Q) kicks our asses and I am the oldest person in the class. And did I mention this class is from 9:00-10:00? PM!!? But I am definitely hippin' and a-hoppin' and for the first time...poppin'!

At the end of class, we get kudos from Q and he walks around and we touch sweaty fists, ala the Wonder Twins turning themselves into the form of water and something else random.

It would be great if I had an appropriate verbal response. And I'm not talking some old Randy Jackson "what up, dawg" kinda thing. I need something current.

Can anyone help a home girl out?

Whew -- close call

So I got home tonight and with wishful thinking I tried to get online. I am not sure what happened, but my old connection worked!!

So, I am sitting on my couch with a glass of local wine, watching Wheel of Fortune.

Second day at the Fair was just as interesting as the first. The Splasher suit is indeed a tad warm, but I did find a space to stash my ice packs. Thankfully it is the California Food Expo two doors down, so when I am in there switching out the pack, I sometimes can grab a little snack of leftovers from the food demos. Yippee!

Out in the fair grounds, I did have a delicious frozen banana and know that I will certainly have a funnel cake before all is said and done.

I do have to say that the reactions I get in the big frog suit are AMAZING. Adults smiling and waving, kids running up and giving me hugs. There have been a few uncomfortable adults and kids crying when I approach, but for the most part everyone is great.

A short list of memorable exchanges or "close calls" as you will:
-- When the handler was not looking, a young guy literally ran into me and grabbed me. He may or may not have been drunk. It was a little frightening, but finally she came back and shooed him away.
-- A woman asked to take a photo and I motioned her to come next to me. She grabbed my head and yanked it towards her and put my "mouth" next to her cigarette smoked lips. She also said, "I don't care if you are a man or a woman...I love frogs!"
-- A little girl followed me around the Expo saying, "Bring it on!" before she punched me in the arm.
-- At least 4 people coming up to me to tell me to clean up a beer spill by the surf boards.
-- The numerous people (adults & kids) who I sneak up on and surprise as they view the exhibit. Man, can people jump!

I'm sure I will have more and I promise photos soon.

Takin' it on the road

Okay, folks after a year of being on a laptop I finally have the misfortune of not getting free wifi from home. I know I have been scamming for that entire time and have been oh so lucky that my neighbors have not passworded their connection.

When I got home from my first day at the CA State Fair last night, I was welcomed with the news that I could no longer connect to the Internet. I went through all levels of healing until I finally reached Acceptance and put my laptop away and went to sleep. Bummer.

I am now having coffee and a really dry scone at Ciocolat, a little cafe around the corner from my cottage apartment. I see the Saturday morning Farmer's Market in the distance and the weather is fantastic. I am able to get my emails here and surf the web, but for some reason my emails will not SEND.

The big move-out is in 2 weeks, so my fingers are crossed that a NEW neighbor will have their wifi unlocked. There is also free wifi on campus. However, the thought of not being able to watch Grey's Anatomy from bed -- streaming on my laptop, is a very sad thing.

I may have to break down and BUY it. Oh my gosh, what!!?? No way.

Um, yeah.

The Adventures of Splasher the Frog

Okay, I tried the costume on yesterday and whoa, man it is HOT and the head is HEAVY!

I did my normal dancing around as I put on the padding harness and what looks like green footie pajamas. The web feet that I wear over my shoes are a little awkward and then came the giant life-preserver.

Still dancin'!

Until the head.

The thing is a little large and it is uncomfortable.

I stopped dancing.

There is this elaborate, yet low tech cooling system of little ice packs in this boustiere lookin' thing. Hopefully that will keep my sweating to a minimum.

Only 16 days, folks.

And a chance to get my photo with the Governator...

...as a giant frog!

Do you, do you, like my HAT?

I have my fitting tomorrow of the Splasher, the Frog costume. Wish me luck.

Look I'm a Simpson

Okay, I am just a hair behind the times. But look at my dorkiness...

a tight SQUEEZE

I have to say that it's very comforting for me and the cats to have my "stuff" here in California. But renting an apartment sight unseen makes it very difficult to know if all of your "stuff" will fit. Erin, Steve, Angela and Michele can vouch for the amount of stuff I gave away, but apparently it was not enough.

My mother, father and I tripped over ourselves and I had to sell the large chair and ottoman that matches my couch up on craigslist. The wire bakers rack is next, I just need to find a smaller replacement to hold my microwave and barware.

When we unloaded the relocubes we had to place all boxes right outside my front door since there was not be enough room to move around. It took my mother and I the full day to put things away and at the end of the day just pulled the final 5 boxes inside.

Good news is that there is a decent amount of storage space. Little cubbie holes here and there for me to place my office stuff, extra kitchen things and linens.

Today I will work on the final boxes and hopefully find my glass pitcher.

It's the little things...

that make the day great.

Sleeping late, yoga, movies and ice cream!

What could be better?

I started the day feeding the cats and eating cereal, but before long I found myself back in bed. I finally got up around 11AM, did one of my yoga podcasts (as Maxie jumped on my back during down dog which made the poses a little difficult), took a shower and grabbed an unfortunately bad burrito from a little restaurant in town.

I then saw Hairspray at the Regal Davis 5. Laughed at the whoopie cushion jokes (gotta love farts!) and thought it was a nice touch to have the talent agents in the final scene be: Ricki Lake (the original Tracy Turnblad in the 1986 Waters film), Mark Shaiman and Scott Wittman (the musicals composer and lyricists), and lastly the films director/choreographer - Adam Shankman.

Then a nice little walk to the other side of town to Ben & Jerry's. One of the employees was dressed as a giant sundae and another employee was leading her out to give out coupons. Before I thought too much about the foreshadowing, I grabbed a coupon which got me two dollars off of the featured shake -- Mint Chocolate Buzz. My two favorites, folks. Mint chocolate chip and coffee.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

Pictures from "the past"

I know, I know, it's not so long ago. But here are photos from events in my last few weeks in the ATL.

My going away party
(Does anyone have any of these?)

Sushi Making with Chris and Angela




The Kangaroo Conservation Center with Erin. Yes, I know the animal I am petting is a deer. We really could not get any closer to the roos.

Grilled cheese night at Souper Jenny
Yes, the sandwiches are really that ooey, gooey!


That's all I have folks. Are there any others?
One from the Zoo, perhaps? Or 4th of July?

The best laid plans

It's amazing how things just work out. I arranged the timing of everything right before I left, however little happened as plans. I am very lucky to have had my folks here and for the way the schedule turned out. Gosh, has it already been a week?

Here's what I planned in Atlanta...

Wednesday -- Relocube delivered and signed for by my landlord, Kate; Mom and I arrive by plane from Atlanta to Sacramento, Chad delivers futon mattress so my mom and I don't have to sleep on the floor
Thursday -- Moving crew arrives at 9AM to unload cubes; Mom and I put everything away; cubes and futon are removed
Friday -- Mom and I continue to unload, start shopping for supplies and misc.; pick up Dad in Sacramento at 10PM.

Clockwork, right?

Well, when I got off the plane there were 7 messages on my phone. Nice messages from Margaret and Bill and then 2 from my landlord, Kate which in a nutshell said that the cubes were NOT delivered because my jerkie neighbor never moved his car. So, on the way to Davis, I called the movers and rescheduled for later in the day. Since the cubes are only delivered between 2PM and 6PM, I had the movers on hold for Thursday afternoon. They had a job at 2PM that should have lasted 2 hours.

The cubes were delivered around 2:45PM, but I still had not heard from the movers. After numerous messages on both their phones, I got worried. I got on craigslist and some other moving sites and callied around to other companies. As of 8PM, only one company called back and I scheduled them for Friday morning.

They said they could come between 9:30AM and 10AM. Since my mother and I have been getting up at 6:30AM, I said that the movers can come earlier if they wanted. In preparation for the long day of unpacking, my mother and I went out to breakfast on Friday morning and I got a call on my cell at 8:30AM that the movers were in front of my door. Yikes! Thanks for the heads up, guys! They also failed to mention that there was a 3 HOUR minimum -- for my little 1 hour job. We settled on 2 hours which left plenty of time for them to put together my bed.

So to recap, after all of the planning, this is what I wound up with:

Wednesday -- Arrive in Sacramento, reschedule movers, Chad delivers futon mattress, he joins my mother and me for a slice and beer and Woodstock Pizza on G Street.
Thursday -- Drive to Natomas (a suburb of Sacramento) grab breakfast at the cafe at Barnes & Noble; buy cleaning supplies and pet supplies at Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Petsmart. Return home to clean, clean clean! Gosh, for supposedly having the place ready to move in - it was gross. Lunch at Ciocolat because it got so stinkin' hot in my apartment that we had to take a break; cube arrives and remove the vacuum cleaner to get the floor and the furniture; then a run to Vacaville to buy an air conditioner at Costco, plus additional cleaning supplies at Target, dinner at the Thai restaurant in town and then pass out on the futon
Friday -- breakfast at Cafe Bernardo, movers arrive, Mom and I unpack all day, skip lunch, dinner at Ding How as we did laundry at Suds in the Anderson Crossing shopping center, Chad removes futon, Mom and I pick up Dad at the airport.

Any questions why I got sick?

Not so off the truth...

Look at the great video the Behnke-Haas' made me for on the eve of my departure!



Thanks so much, guys and Happy Birthday, Erin!

Now the party begins!

After our first In-n-Out burgers, I escorted my parents to Pole Line Road to get them back to the airport. I am feeling better, but very tired after getting my apartment set up (with huge help from my folks) and adjusted to my new home. The kitties are settling, as well.

Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty to do. I have a few things to put away, I need to replace my baker's rack with something smaller and I need to recycle all of my moving boxes.

But for now I will just lie on the couch and continue reading the final Harry Potter book.

I'm sick!

And it sucks. Except for the fact that I have a kitty on my belly.

Darn cold!

California Dreamin'

For the last 2 days my mother and I have awakened from our slumber at a bright and early 6AM. Well, that's sleeping late, if we were on the East Coast. The time change is really kicking our butts -- especially my mother who asks me to call my landlord to ask for a vacuum at 6AM. Yesterday I called Erin and Jen Lev early to give them an update and it was almost 10AM. No big deal for the East Coast, right? But no, I am not calling the movers or the landlord until at least 8AM.

I really cannot believe that I am here. The transition is so much easier with my mother here and I have to say that I could not do the flight with both cats alone.

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport was busy on Wednesday afternoon and with the cats we were not allowed to do curbside check-in for our luggage. We waited in the ever long First Class line (a courtesay for the cats) and then we had to wait in the uber long line for security. No special assistance, no nothing. I carried Maximillian's carrier in my arms and my mother had Lincoln (who weighs in at 17.4 pounds!) on one of those metal wheelie things. A little luxury for my big fattie.

As expected once we got to the front of the line, we had to remove our shoes, I had to take my lap top out of it's case and then I grabbed Maxie and walked him through. Thankfully there was one security dude who helped a bit. He consolidated our bus tubs of stuff and even grabbed Lincoln out of the carrier and walked him through. There was a little movement and a bit of mewing, but for the most part it was uneventful.

We asked to board the plane early to get the cats situated, but my mother was told no. Unfortunately, once we entered the plane with our Zone 7 tickets, we realized that with the new screens on the back of each seat, the equipment would not allow the cats to go under the seats in front of us.

We had every flight attendant and even a gate agent figuring out what to do. Luckily there were two empty seats and after a bit of musical chairs, each cat sat on the floor of an unoccupied seat at the window. My mother and I sat in two middle seats across the rows from each other.

I fail to mention up until this point that I decided not to sedate either cat. No Benadryl for Maxie for the car ride. Which meant that he freaked out in his carrier to the point that I took him out of the case and held him in my arms for most of the ride. He got away at one point and walked across the dash board of Jennifer's New Beetle convertible. She can tell you about the fits of laughter filled with a bit of anxiety.

The lack of sedation also hit us big on the plane. Maximillian would just not relax and started to widen the holes on the carrier that he made on his vet visit last week. He was moving around so much and started to mew that I grabbed my mother from across the row, we removed Max from the carrier and gave him a half of a pill. He calmed down for a while, but 30 minutes later he was up to the same hijinks. Another half pill did little and he was fighting the sedation so much that we now had 3 larger holes on our hands. I spend the rest of the flight trying to keep him in the carrier by putting my hands over the holes as he was pushing out. My hands (and arms and neck) were a mess of scratches and bites. His eyes were completely fucked up, but the monster still fought. The flight attendant brought us some fix-it supplies and look at the pretty art project that my mom and I made!

I think I will put it on ebay.

Any takers?