First Time Was a Great Time, Second Time Was a Blast...

"The Right Stuff," New Kids on the Block


Last night Marisa and I went to the NKOTB show. It was outrageous. My top six favorite moments from the concert, in no particular order:

1) Joey yelling, "Holy shit!......That's right, I said 'Shit!'"

2) The revolving piano in the center of the arena that the boys all awkwardly and pathetically danced around, yet no one actually played.

3) Jordan Knight, wearing an unbuttoned white women's blouse, trying to be sexy while singing his solo "hit" song (circa 1995), "I Can Give it to You." During this number, Jordan's chest was slathered in a vaseline-like substance (fake sweat?), and there was a wind machine strategically placed to make his shirt billow seductively. Ridiculous and amazing.

4) Donnie Wahlberg (who, by the way, has been arrested a number of times, one of which I know was arson-related) trying entirely too hard to be the "bad-boy-gangsta-hardcore-rapper" of the group: He swore, wore entire ensembles bedazzled in what I can only assume he believed to be "bling," wore an oversized "Black Rock" shirt adorned with a HUGE marijuana leaf, and pretended to unzip and pull down his pants. Twice. Needless to say, he is now my favorite.

5) The fact that, on two different occasions, Danny and Jonathan didn't even grace the stage with their presence while Donnie, Joey, and Jordan sang. Now, everybody knows that those two are in the group solely to round out the number to 5, seeing as neither one of them contributes anything (vocals, dance moves, or otherwise). But really? For two songs they didn't even come out? At least Jonathan is cute...

6) There was not ONE SINGLE person in the ENTIRE audience-- NOT ONE-- that wasn't doing the dance and screaming along to "Hangin' Tough."

There were fans of all ages, although mostly women in their early-to-late 30's. There were women wearing old-school, tye-dye NKOTB t-shirts. There were women dressed so scandalously that I'm CERTAIN they were trying to go home with a New Kid. There were girls in the audience crying, pawing at Jordan, throwing their underwear on stage, and holding up signs saying, "Joey, the baby's yours!" In short, it was a chaotic fiasco. It was a debacle. It was immature, embarrassing, and shameful. And it was FANTASTIC. I'd go again in a heartbeat.

For Every Moment of Joy...

"I've got great expectations
I've got family and friends
I've got satisfying work
I've got a back that bends
For every breath, for every day of living
This is my Thanksgiving"
-Don Henley

My family and friends are healthy and supportive. I'm in love with my best friend. I love my job. Life's good and I have a lot to be thankful for. Today, Sunday, November 23rd, I'm especially thankful for:

Ahi Tuna for dinner (caught by Tim):

Knowing how to cook risotto (thanks, Amanda!):


A full wine rack:


Karaoke:


Our new(er) bed-set (thanks, Mom!):


Our Christmas lights (complete with Bailey peeking out the window):


Bailey and Tim:

And finally, the fact that, come Thanksgiving, I no longer have to dress up like this:

A Devastatin' Backstroke

"The Kids Don't Stand a Chance," Vampire Weekend

Tim joined the gym. He has decided he hates the monotonous run that we do a few days a week (rightfully so), and instead wants to get back in the water. He went two days in a row and immediately started lifting the same weights (machines and amounts) he was lifting in college. He currently can't feel his arms, and watching him put on a shirt or itch his face is the most pitiful and adorable thing I've ever seen. However, I don't think 100 years away from the pool could take away his speed or grace...

"...to be a sailor of the world, bound for all ports..."
-Walt Whitman

It's A Flawed Work of Art

"Take Back the City," Snow Patrol

A few of my favorite things from this week so far:

The hole in our guest bathroom ceiling (note: don't visit us this weekend):


The (surprisingly well-written) essay I received entitled "I'm a Straight Up G:"


Bailey waking up this morning:


Tuesday Night sunset in front of my house:

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

-Jack London

Just Get on the Floor and Do the New Kids' Dance

"Hangin' Tough," New Kids on the Block

There is a ceiling leak in the guest bathroom. I found out in the middle of the night, at about 2:00 AM, in the pitch-black dark, when I stepped on the bathmat and thought Bailey had had an accident. I can't find the phone number for our apartment managers (I looked really hard for about 45 seconds), so instead I sent an e-mail to the "Maintenance Request" address I found on the wall in the laundry room. At about noon today the metal pot--the one holding the dripping water-- filled for the first time, and the water had a slightly reddish-orange tint to it when I poured it into the tub. A normal person might assume the reddish hue is simply from pipe rust, however since I have CLEARLY watched too many murder-based Lifetime movies lately, I can't get the idea out of my head that one of our upstairs neighbors has been attacked and now is lying, lifeless and bleeding, on the bathroom floor.

In other, less demented news (well...I guess that's actually debatable), Marisa and I are going to the NKOTB concert on the 25th. I'm really not kidding. As I type, New Kids songs (both "classics" and well as titles from their new CD) are being downloaded onto my iPod. You know, so I can sing along when I'm rocking out at the Cox Arena. As a rule, large quantities of alcohol will also be required.

I heart Joey McIntyre...


In the meantime, I'm eagerly anticipating Maintenance's e-mail reply. I need somebody to alleviate the fear that the liquid dripping from the ceiling isn't just water...

Prepare for the Best and the Fastest Ride

"Everything's Magic," Angels and Airwaves

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.' That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

-Dead Poets Society

Pumpkin Faces in the Night

"Halloween," The Misfits

Tim's "Catch of the Day":