Oh Great!

My jaw dropped with an audible gasp of joy when I saw that ABC (your favorite network) was airing "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." It's not necessarily because I love this show. Or because I still have yet to pick a costume for Halloween (one of my most FAVORITE "holidays"). And it's not because I'm still searching for a place to wear the said non-costume. Or because Charlie Brown's presence will allow me to have just one more thing to distract me from actually working. It's because I love fall. I just do. And Charlie Brown, Halloween, and great pumpkins remind me that once again the wind is changing, the air grows crisp, and somehow I can just smell joy bouncing through the breezes.
*sigh*

Did you know Snoopy's a beagle just like Watson? I think Watson's even more of a rascal than the Red Baron.

Six Degrees... or None

While discussing a story assignment this afternoon, my co-worker gave me the typical details of a story: the focus, visual elements we have already, and our contact person -- who is Devon White, who is one of my girlfriends from back home.

I keep telling you people that the DC area is God's Country. It brews all sorts of good people. And now, apparently, I believe we're quickly working toward just taking over everything...

Can't wait to hang with Devon on Saturday.

Pictures From Ansley's Visit

If we had taken pictures this past weekend, you would see a shot of my picking up Ansley from JFK Friday night.

Then you would see our late-night girly chat about life, moving to new cities, boys, friends, boyfriends, and my silly pets.

And here you would see a shot of us finally awaking Saturday afternoon to a beautiful day in the city.

Oh yes! Can't forget the pics of us walking all around downtown seeking out the hot spots in the Village! Yummy desserts! More yummy dessert! A shot of Ansley's cute new red necklace. And finally dinner at John's Pizza. Mmmm. Eating pizza next to a picture of Johnny Depp. Two tasty treats.

Sunday is our day of MORE walking. We both split up for a bit to meet up with some of our old college buds. I met up with Arvis (doesn't he look just the same as five years ago?) and she met with Serge, who we both decided is the world's best husband (even though he left his sick wife at home to come hang out with us...). Of course, here is where I would show you the cool antique shops we hit up -- and the cute, chunky green necklace Ansley bought. I bought nothing but received a phone call from work asking me to come in. Couldn't do it though. We were having too much fun!
We continued down to Union Square where I bought some cute shoes and boots. Ansley absorbed the new Trader Joe's -- and we avoided the checkout lines wrapping around the store.
We grabbed some food and headed home where I realized my new "black" pumps were, in fact, dark brown. This is where I would post a pic of them and ask, "Don't these look like black to you???"

Monday. On the agenda: exchange shoes for actual black pair. Do even more walking. Hit up shops in midtown. Meet up for lunch with my friend Ashley (sister of my sixth grade crush). I've known Ashley most of my life but it took until her recent visits to New York for us to reconnect and become good friends. She's adorable. Just look at her picture, right?
Monday also included our venture to the City Bakery. Apparently this cute little spot is known for its "hot chocolate." We prefer to refer to it as "lukewarm chocolate soup." It was disgusting.

Ansley headed back to Salt Lake on Tuesday. If I were producing this well, you'd see a nice shot of her waving goodbye from a seemingly desolate departure drop-off.


Glad I could share all these nice pictures with you.


My father the photog would be so proud, wouldn't he?

Grammar Goddess

In light of my other post provided with help from dictionary.com, I found this appropriate to also post. It's an email I received from my dear KATU cohort, Matt.

Ever seen “Dirty Harry” with Clint Eastwood? Mark Sutton gave me a quote that makes me think of you:

“I know what you’re thinking, punk,” hissed Wordy Harry to his new editor. “You’re thinking, ‘Did he use six superfluous adjectives or only five?’ – and to tell the truth, I forgot myself in all this excitement; but being as this is English, the most powerful language in the world, whose subtle nuances will blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel loquacious?’ Well, do you, punk?”

Cheers,
Matt

Feeling Grody

nau‧seous  [naw-shuhs, -zee-uhs] –adjective
1. affected with nausea; nauseated: to feel nauseous.
2. causing nausea; sickening; nauseating.
3. disgusting; loathsome: a nauseous display of greed.

nau‧se‧ate  [naw-zee-eyt, -zhee-, -see-, -shee-] verb, -at‧ed, -at‧ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to affect with nausea; sicken.
2. to cause to feel extreme disgust: His vicious behavior toward the dogs nauseates me.
–verb (used without object)
3. to become affected with nausea.

Usage Note: Traditional critics have insisted that nauseous is properly used only to mean “causing nausea” and that it is incorrect to use it to mean “affected with nausea,” as in Roller coasters make me nauseous. In this example, nauseated is preferred by 72 percent of the Usage Panel. Curiously, though, 88 percent of the Panelists prefer using nauseating in the sentence The children looked a little green from too many candy apples and nauseating (not nauseous) rides. Since there is a lot of evidence to show that nauseous is widely used to mean “feeling sick,” it appears that people use nauseous mainly in the sense in which it is considered incorrect. In its “correct” sense it is being supplanted by nauseating.

Coney Island

A few weeks ago Steph and I headed to Coney Island for the day.


She thought it would be good to take her shoes off and call her family to brag about the good time we were having.



Then she added to her seashell collection.



Steph's very picky about which shells are worthy for her to keep.







I was trying to get as close to the water as I could without getting my feet wet.


Steph said, "Hey Tam! Let me take your picture!"






But then the water came in and got my jeans wet.












We'll be back soon I'm sure... and I will remember to wear shorts.

A Science Experiment

Aluminum foil + lamp = bad idea

Inspiration

One of the many things I love about my friends is their willingness to dream, conquer, and inspire. I have no idea how I became so lucky.

Here's a copy of an email I wrote to Lumina yesterday. I wanted to share it with you because, well, it just goes to show how we tend to inspire each other without even knowing it. Plus, it shows what's going on inside my head lately.

I just posted a comment on your blog about your I AM AN ARTIST entry.

I just want to let you know how grateful I am for you, your art, your fearlessness for your craft, and for your daringness to do what scares the hell out of you.

You are courageous. You are defiant! You are an artist!

I started singing lessons a few weeks ago. And I think I'm going to begin acting classes again. I'm SO SCARED. I'm scared because I used to be good. I used to believe in myself. I used to take risks. But I was never good ENOUGH. I could only allow myself to plumb just deep enough so that a character was sufficient. But didn't take the risks I needed to make my characters real, survive, breathe, feel as if true flesh... any of it. And I'm scared. I'm scared because I know if I go back into this that I can't do it half-assed. I know I owe those characters part of me. I know I owe it to myself to take those risks. And I know that it will make me different. It will set me apart. It will bring out my insecurities. It will make me feel imperfect. It will make me realize that sometimes, I don't do everything wonderfully well.

And then there will be those moments. Those rare moments when the world of art and reality collide. When you feel as if time has stopped and locked you into an unknown universe -- a place where dreams exist. A place you never want to leave in that instant. And I think it's those moments of actual artistry that I fear. The ultimate escape. The ultimate high. The ultimate point of intimacy.

That's reality.

And I know, more than anything, that that's why I need to take the risk, tear myself down once again, and just dive.