Observations on an April Afternoon

1. My grandma can't remember what year she got married, but she knows that her favorite Braves are (in order) Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones. She also likes Bobby Cox. (Obviously, the Braves beat out Wheel of Fortune. Grandma likes 'em just as much as Granddad. She even has a jersey that says "Mean Jean" on the back, courtesy of my aunt and her husband.)
   
   
2. Watching baseball on TV is, while not the most exciting pasttime, strangely relaxing. (Although I wonder if that's mainly because I didn't care about the outcome; thoughts?) Going to games is fun, but last night I made it through three innings of the Braves vs. the Mets and actually enjoyed it.
   
   
3. Boboli now makes a whole wheat pizza crust! Go Boboli! Now may I suggest the same in the individual size...
   
   
4. Publix is a happy grocery store.
   
   
5. Krystal cravings simply cannot be ignored.
   
   
6. I think God likes to have a little fun with me sometimes.
   
   
7. The likelihood of my babbling increases exponentially with the relative perfection of the male with whom I am conversing.
   
   
8. I like goatees. Well, depends on the guy, but generally.
   
   
9. I am much more efficient at work when wearing track pants and able to sing along with my iPod. Can I work at home?
   
   
10. MySpace is internet crack.

Conversation

I just got off the phone with my grandmother. As close to verbatim as possible:

GM: Hello?
Me: Hey Grandma, it's Jennifer!
GM: Well hi!

[Note: The surprise inevitably results in feelings of guilt on my end. Which reminds me - I should call my other grandma.]

Me: Hey! How're you feeling?
GM: Oh, pretty good. What you know?
Me: Oh, not much. Thought I'd come see you tonight, if you're going to be at home.
GM: Weellll...we're goin' up to eat sometime. We're usually there about four, four-fifteen.
[Note: "There" is Fairview's Kountry Kafe, also known as "Holly's." Holly being the owner. My grandparents go there just about daily.]
Me: Oh, well, I'd probably be there around six or so. Is that okay?
GM: Okay, we'll be glad to have you. Bye-bye.

Abrupt end to the conversation.

I love my grandma. Anticipated tonight: My arrival at approximately 6:00pm, followed by a few minutes of chatting, followed by Wheel of Fortune at 6:30. Wait. Do the Braves play today? Uh-oh. Yes, at 6:35 Central. Conflict. Granddad must watch the Braves. Who will prevail?!

Thank You, America

It appears that you have listened to my sage advice.

Bucky went, then Ace. Now Pickler is gone. Thank you, America, for choosing wisely.

Next up: Paris.

(And if Chris had to sing a sappy love song, may I say he picked an excellent one. I love that song. And he even cut the "see your unborn children" line, which has always creeped me out a tiny bit.)

We Have a Winner

The new ringtone is:

"Under Pressure," by David Bowie and Queen.

Just thought you'd want to know.

Keeping My Promise

And I promised I'd link to it.

Props to Fulbright. Happy Friday.

Amazingly Well-Rested

I overslept this morning.

Two hours.

As best I can recall, after going to bed at midnight, something woke me up at about 3:45. Thinking, "UGH. There is no way I can get up to work out," I reset the alarm for an hour later - or so I thought. Later, the rain woke me up. I rolled over and looked at the clock. My eyes told me it was 6:52.

My eyes were wrong.

Evidently it was 8:52. My alarm, I believed, was set for 6:55. When it seemed to be taking an extraordinarily long time for the radio to come on, I forced myself to awake more thoroughly. At which point I bolted upright, said "Oh, crap!" and raced to the shower.

But after waking up two hours late, I made it into work only an hour and a half late. Not bad.

* * * * *

Why, you ask, was I up until midnight, when my normal bedtime is (or should be) between 9:30 and 10:00?

I was trying to find a good ringtone.

I have Verizon, and my "new every two" upgrade kicked in a couple of weeks ago. My brother needs to borrow my old phone - their adorable dog decided my sister-in-law's was a good chew toy, and his upgrade doesn't kick in for two months. So I went to the store yesterday and got an LGVX5200. Not top-of-the-line, but free, and it has a camera, which is exciting, I guess. Anyway, I like the phone, but all its ringtones stink. I think it's a conspiracy to make you spend three dollars on a new one (along with the old car charger not fitting by a millimeter). Of course, the ploy worked with me, and I spent an hour and a half trying to find a good one. What I didn't know was that the ringtones are now actually the songs, rather than the old midi-sounding tones. Amazing. I thought I would just download "Rocky Top" and be done with it - but they don't have it. I couldn't find one that I thought I could stick with. So far the top contenders are "You've Got It (The Right Stuff)" by, of course, NKOTB, and "Baby's Got Sauce" by G. Love and Special Sauce.

Suggestions?

Weekend Rundown

Friday: Girls poker night. Texas hold 'em at Caroline's. Awesome. I had never played poker in my life, but I did decently. I'm addicted.

Saturday: Helped Tiff and Michelle move. I am a hoss (in a good way). Made my first actual trip to the Donut Den for post-move Icees.

Sunday: Morning Easter service at OC. Lunch with the delightful family of the Fabric Snob. Potluck before evening Easter celebration service. Booked plane tickets for our upcoming weekend jaunt to Chicago. Ran the dishwasher. However, the splash guard in my Nalgene bottle now smells like dog. Don't know how that happened.

* * * * *

Quote of the day, from Maegan L. Rogers:

"These boys, we shouldn't let them have such power over us."

LOST Is Done!

So apparently the Google blog linked to my Dennis post because I linked to its Dennis post. A plethora of people have clicked on The Blog because of it. That weirds me out a little. Probably should have thought about that...

* * * * *

Well, it's done. I am finally caught up on Lost. After starting in January, staring at televisions for hours at a time in five different abodes, experiencing the wonders of technology, and debating Sawyer vs. Jack (correct answer: Jack), it is done. Last night Tiff, Katie, Chadd and I (henceforth known as "The Tailies") went over to Cory's early to watch the last three episodes, before everyone else showed up to watch this week's. Yay for togetherness. (Well, sort of. Some of our number could not make it for various reasons, including this year's Easter festivities at my alma mater.)

I had a theory that Zeke was actually Henry Gale + theater beard, but that got shot down, as Zeke is way bigger than Henry. But Henry - man, that guy freaks me OUT. As did that shot of Libby in the psychiatric hospital. Shiver.

Hooray for Dennis

How cool is this? I found out today, via the Google blog, that one of the guys I was on yearbook with in high school is now in charge of drawing all the holiday doodles for Google. Dennis, of course, would have no recollection of me, as he was a year ahead of me, but he did an awesome drawing of the school building for the yearbook cover his senior year. He's a super nice guy. Here's an interview with him from a few years ago.

* * * * *

Off to finish LOST. Finally.

Maintenance

The Blog will be undergoing some cosmetic changes. Please bear with us and feel free to make any comments concerning aesthetics. Or hey, just concerning whatever.

Thank you,

The Management

PS: Singles retreat pictures are now on Flickr.

An Open Letter to Nashville's College Students

Dear y'all,

I had the... experience of seeing The Fray with many of you last night. The band was enjoyable. The venue was nice. But I need to thank you.

When we arrived at the show we felt old. We are not, objectively speaking, old. At twenty-five years of age I am only four years removed from my own college experience. But we felt old. This did not initially strike me, though. There was no foreshadowing. It just seemed an anomaly. Perhaps that was my naivete. Perhaps it was my justifying by saying, "Of course it's mostly students; it is a weeknight, after all, and I was debating the wisdom of staying out so late myself when I have to be at work in the morning."

When we walked into the Cannery Ballroom, we found a good spot and settled in (well, as much as you can settle in in a standing-room venue). But you did not care. Apparently we were a sidewalk to you. Drink in one hand, boy or cigarette in the other, a multitude of spaghetti-strapped girls ran us over in attempts to hug each other or talk to boys. One of you guys just about ran over my foot - and proceeded to place your six-two frame directly in front of all five feet six inches of me, causing much amusement for my friends. So thank you, students, for allowing us to serve in this way. For teaching us true humility.

Blue Suit Guy, you were my personal favorite. Thank you so much for not only standing in front of me, but for elbowing me when you reached back to hug the girl beside me. For allowing me to watch you tease your girlfriend all night. And most of all, for providing an example of true love as the two of you shared your cigarette, directing the smoke back to my face. The scent of my jacket will forever remind me of you.

Most of all, thank you for reminding us what it is to be young and obsessed. When I paid $14 to see The Fray, I was, strangely enough, expecting to hear mostly... The Fray. But thanks to you, I was able to hear two hundred nineteen-year-old girls yelling all the words to "How to Save a Life" from the very get-go. I was able to see girls ghetto dancing to tunes that evoke Coldplay. Don't even get me started on the screaming as soon as "Over My Head (Cable Car)" began. Oh, you. To be young again.

So thank you.

Thank you so much.

Love, Jennifer

P.S. - the show really was good. Promise.

Miscellaneous Drivel

Hello, faithful readers. I realize it has been two weeks since my last update. Sorry - I just haven't had much to say lately. I could talk about the Nancy Grace brouhaha, but not as well as Mike Cope or get as many comments as Travis. I could mock the top-seeded Dookies getting knocked out of the tournament so early, but with all the recent controversy that could be in poor taste. (Besides, they and UConn trashed my brackets. And George Mason. No worries - Orange and White game this Saturday.) But I feel bad that you, those of you who tune in regularly, have had nothing to read lately. And so I will use this, my lunch break, to play catch up on Jennifer's life (similar to "catch up on Robyn's life," a fun game we used to play in England. Now that Robyn has somehow found the blog, I thought a shoutout was in order).

Important things in my life since March 23, in chronological order:

- I switched shampoos. Pantene to Herbal Essences.
- We had our first Team England meeting.
- I visited the Nashville Farmer's Market.
- I decided not to shop at Wal-Mart.
- I made approximately 327 servings of chocolate sauce.
- I went on a retreat.
- I went to a reception for alumni and prospective students for my beloved alma mater. At a Lexus dealership.
- I read an article that has me convinced I have eye fungus.
- I attempted to wrangle a two-year-old on steroids. (Failed miserably.)
- Mandisa got kicked off American Idol.

Some words of explanation.

1. Pantene was making my hair limp, after years of use. And Herbal Essences smells pretty.

2. We're going to Loughborough to do a VBS and youth weekend in October. I'm really excited. More about this later, I'm sure.

3. Lunch with the girls. As of yet I have only been in the food court. One day I'm going to make it to the "flowers and produce" section.

4. No, not because of the sweatshops. Every time I go to Wal-Mart I feel the need to stock up on things because they're thirty cents cheaper. So I wind up spending a hundred and fifty dollars. Ridiculous. I have much more restraint when at Target or Kroger, as I am more aware of the spending impulse. Well, restraint except for Monday, when I bought Pride and Prejudice on DVD. But let's face it, that purchase was inevitable. Anyway, we're going to try the no-Wal-Mart for awhile. I'll let you know how it goes.

5. For the retreat. See next item. Approximately 300 of these servings are currently in my freezer, except for the ones which would rather have stayed in LB's car.

6. OC singles retreat. Fantastic weekend. I am tired. I'll post pictures soon; till then, go look at Tiff's.

7. Turned out to be way more of a recruiting thing than an alumni thing. Oh, well. I did snag a few copies of an admissions brochure featuring one of my very close relatives. And I got to see my friend Becca, who was very excited about getting to fly on the Harding plane.

8. Well, just the paranoid side of me. The realistic side of me realizes that the reason my contacts are bothering me is because I wore them for approximately 60 out of 72 hours over the weekend and have yet to catch up on sleep. Reference #6 above.

9. No lie. Sometimes I help Tiff and Lesley teach the two-year-olds on Wednesdays. They are generally adorable, which is why I like doing it. However, one of them is currently on allergy meds, which means when he is sad he is very, very sad. Although it's not very pleasant to be kicked at and told "I DON'T LIKE YOU! I DON'T LIKE YOU!", it's hard to be mad at him. Poor little guy. He's normally fun. On the upside, I have become the master potty taker. Last night I had to actually crawl under the stall door to unlock it. Awesome.

10. Yes. It was very sad. Although I have to say, when it was just her and Elliott I was really hoping Elliott wasn't going home. I just like that guy. Please, America - Bucky, then Ace. Although if Ace goes home Brandon can no longer make fun of Lesley and do his awesome Ace Young impression. Hmm. Something to ponder.

Well, readers, I hope this has sated your appetite for now. Hopefully more frequent postings in the future. Until the next time, happy Thursday!