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March 30, 2005

Those poor little bunnies laying all those big eggs

Easter was great, Na and I colored easter eggs and took them over to my parents house for traditional ham, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and deviled eggs. Yum!

Sidenote: I was sad today when one of my coworkers informed me that they aren't really deviled eggs unless you put hot pepper or hot sauce in them. Why was I sad? because well, I've always had them without hot sauce and I love deviled eggs so much and well I sort of found myself thinking maybe other peoples deviled eggs have more spice, more excitment. Is it cheating if I only take a taste of someone elses deviled eggs?

Anyway, so after dinner my family reminisced we just can't stop ourselves when we have an audience (poor Naomi). My dad recounted that he saw a cartoon in the Sunday Post that reminded him of a story he used to tell my brother and I every Saturday before Easter when we were growing up. Billy and I would get ready for bed eagerly awaiting all of the chocolate/marshmellow bunnies that we were sure to get as soon as we found our easter baskets the next morning. My Dad would tuck us in and then we'd ask him, "Please oh please, tell us a story!" He'd protest but only for show (he liked telling the story just as much as we liked listening to it) and then he'd sit down and begin his tale.

Once upon a time there lived a mean Easter Bunny. He loved Easter, it was his favorite time of year. He'd dye the most beautiful and colorful eggs you'd ever seen. They were every color of the rainbow, and had elaborate designs on them. Nobody could resist such an Easter Egg. Then on Easter Morning he'd sneak out early before the children were up and he'd hide his eggs around the yard. Then he'd jump behind a bush where the prettiest of all of his eggs was hidden. When the children came out of the house for the Easter Egg hunt he'd lay perfectly still and he'd grin the biggest meanest grin you'd ever seen. He'd wait until the little girl or boy saw the egg in the bush. He'd crouch down, waiting, waiting, as the child got closer and closer. Then BAM, out jumped the Mean Easter Bunny and he snatched the little kid and ran all the way home where he'd cook the child in his Easter stew.


Ok so that's not exactly how it went, but you get the idea. When the Mean Easter Bunny jumps out from behind the bush my dad would always pretend to snatch us out of our beds and we'd squeal and giggle with delight. Am I boring you yet with such a Rockwellian scene?

The Mean Easter Bunny was one of our favorite stories growing up, and you wonder how it is I turned out the way I did? I liked the Mean Easter bunny so much that my first story I ever wrote in Vienna Elementary School was titled "The Mean Birthday Cake". Basically the same story, the Mean Birthday Cake would gobble up the birthday girl as soon as she blew out the candles. It had this wonderful drawing on the front of the little booklet, a Birthday Cake with evil looking fangs and other sharp teeth there might have been blood drawn in too, I don't remember. But my Mom still has that booklet hidden away somewhere in the house. I'm sure she's just holding on to it so that she can bring it out on my wedding day.

Happy Belated Easter to you all!

March 22, 2005

Mo Ghile Mear

I'm posting right now out of sheer self preservation. Do you think that it's possible to go insane from staring at a computer screen, scanning through pdf's of Ph.D.'s addled ramblings, day after day?

My own addled ramblings:

I was sad to find that I couldn't find the website that used to host pictures of my month long camping trip through the center of Australia. I believe that the guy who used to run it is still a University of Melbourne employee but I remember sending him an email a couple years ago and not getting a response so I figure I won't ask him where it went.

The more I listen to Barenaked Ladies the more I like them, I missed them when they were popular years ago but bought a cd of theirs on iTunes the while ago to make the video of Colorado and I just love them. I also heard an instudio interview with them on one of the local radio stations (most likely 101.1 or 104.1) the other day. These guys are hilarious, they're witty, they're funny, they're zany, and they make happy-sing-out-of-tune-at-the-top-of-your-lungs-when-you're-alone-in-your-car music, I think I'm in love.

Mo Ghile Mear (Our Hero) by the Cheiftains in collaboration with Sting came up on my iTunes at work today, and I was reminded of just how much I love that song. It's soulfull and beautiful (of course Sting is singing isn't he?) and it's partially in Gaelic. I was curious as to what the gaelic chorus meant so handy handy google provided a much needed break from dreary 200 page documents on Lupus disease.

First here are the Lyrics:

MO GHILE MEAR (Our Hero)

Traditional; arr.: Paddy Moloney
English lyric translations by Sean MacReamoinn

'Se/ mo laoch, mo Ghile Mear
'Se/ mo Chaesar Gile Mear
Suan na/ se/an ni/ bhfuaireas fe/in
O/ chuaigh i gce/in mo Ghile Mear

Grief and pain are all I know
My heart is sore
My tears a'flow
We saw him go.
.. No word we know of him, ochon

'Se/ mo laoch, mo Ghile Mear
'Se/ mo Chaesar Gile Mear
Suan na/ se/an ni/ bhfuaireas fe/in
O/ chuaigh i gce/in mo Ghile Mear

A proud and gallant chevalier
A high man's scion of gentle mean
A fiery blade engaged to reap
He'd break the bravest in the field

'Se/ mo laoch, mo Ghile Mear
'Se/ mo Chaesar Gile Mear
Suan na/ se/an ni/ bhfuaireas fe/in
O/ chuaigh i gce/in mo Ghile Mear

Come sing his praise as sweet harps play
And proudly toast his noble frame
With spirit and with mind aflame
So wish him strength and length of day

'Se/ mo laoch, mo Ghile Mear
'Se/ mo Chaesar Gile Mear
Suan na/ se/an ni/ bhfuaireas fe/in
O/ chuaigh i gce/in mo Ghile Mear


And here is a translation of the chorus done by someone else, who I'm not sure:

He is my hero, my dashing darling
He is my Caesar, dashing darling.
I've had no rest from forebodings
Since he went far away my darling.


Historical note, that possibly no one really cares about but my dad and I:
Apparently, the original gaelic version was written in the 1700's to incite the Irish to join the Jacobite cause and rally behind Bonnie Prince Charlie. I don't think that it worked that well, however. Also, the Chieftain/Sting translation apparently has nothing to do with the original gaelic version, although I think it's a lot more poetic.

March 21, 2005

Brian, do you have something to tell us?

I've been meaning to post this since our party the other weekend. Scott had wandered into my room and saw my display of foreign currency. He wondered why it is that Brian is on the 1000 Rupiah Indonesian note that I had picked up from my recent trip to Bali.
I hadn't noticed this before and was surprised to see the very strong resembelance our friend Brian has to one Kapitan Pattimura aka Thomas Matulessy who lead a revolt against the Dutch on Saparua Island in 1817.


What do you think? perhaps this isn't the best picture of Brian but it's the only one I have, just try picturing him with a sword, he's already got a Balinese hat on.

Touché, Pussy Cat!

I really like the lunchtime conversations at our office, we made it from Rawandan genocide to My Cousin Vinny to Warner Bros cartoons in a freakishly short period of time. I revealed that while enjoying a classical concert, in which my friend Jen performed, a couple weeks ago I simply could not stop images of cartoon bunnies and bees and Wile E. Coyote from running through my head. We wondered why it was exactly that the coyote didn't just send away for food, he obviously had access to the mail system. I propose these answers:

The Cynic:
The only sponsor (Acme) did not sell food and would therefore not profit from Wile E. Coyote ordering from a competitor.

The Biologist:
As a mammal of canine relation the coyote is ingrained with a need to hunt and catch his own food, his instincts will not allow him to recognize food in any other form.

The Psychologist:
Wile E. Coyote suffers from a strong case of father envy and he percieves that the only way to prove his own masculinity is to commit a violent murder of an otherwise inocuous animal.

The Romantic:
Wile E. Coyote gets joy out of the thrill of the hunt and does not in actuality wish to eat or kill the Road Runner although he may believe that he does.

Oh and also, one of my coworkers revealed that she was once kicked out of her Endocrinology class for performing an impression of the wonderful Wile E. Coyote.

March 18, 2005

It's like I'm floating on air!

If you go here you can see a picture of me running the St. Patty's day 10k last Satuday. Look I'm flying!

Whiskey in the Jar and Penguins in the Bar

So did you go out for St. Patricks day last night? I hope so, I sure did. We didn't make it into a Irish pub cause we wanted to eat dinner and they laughed in my face when I asked about the chances of getting a table and dinner at Molly Malones in Clarendon. But this was blessing in disguise since we ended up at Hard Times where they had Killians for $1! What a sweet deal! Afterwards we went to Mr.Days and had a much needed Irish Car Bomb. Poor Naomi was sick and we headed home a little early but I was plenty drunk enough for a Thursday night and ended up passing out on the couch in from of Best of Will Ferrell SNL. Anyway, so if you did make it into an Irish Pub last night, did it feel like this?

This is a picture that one of my reviewers from the other day took on his trip to Antartica with his granddaughter. Those are all penguins! So cute.

March 17, 2005

No Green Beer for me, please!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

I thought I'd commemorate this St. Patty's day with a few photos from my trip to Ireland. Oh, and a lot of Guinness tonight!


Here's a picture of the famous St. James' Gate, the main entrance into the Guinness Brewery, it's still in use as you can tell. The Guinness complex is absolutely huge, with it's own train system and museum.


Here's a picture from the gravity bar in the Guinness Brewery where they serve the best pint of Guinness you'll ever have.


Here's me kissing the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle. I had no idea that you had to bend over backwards above a 6 story drop to do it. Apparently, I was supposed to be able to bullshit really well for a year, but I didn't notice any difference. I won't mention the rumor as to what the locals do to the stone at night.


And here's an old guy I met at a pub in Galway (I think) he grew up in the town, one of 11 children and he was completely adorable. He bought me a Bailey's and Goatsmilk drink, which was actually better than it sounds.

March 14, 2005

Monday Mic Night

I went to an Open Mic night tonight with my Dad and Gianluca. It was actually a lot of fun, the range of talent was vast. There was a guy probably still too young to drive, a Mom who seemed to go every week, and a 40-something guy playing acoustic piano versions of hardcore scream songs. One of the choruses went something like "Rev my engine over and over again". I think that the best thing about it was that each act was limited to 10 minutes so there was a light at the end of the tunnel for even the most painful "musicians". It was held at Jammin' Java, which since its been converted from ultra christian to cool upbeat coffee shop with a liquor license has become quite a nice concert venue. It's small and comfortable and it has fairly good espresso. The best acts in my opinion were a guy who just moved from Washington state playing acoustic instramentals and a girl from Alexandria who apparently just got back from touring the country. Of course the most boring act of the night brought the largest following of teenage girls and therefore got the loudest applause. Also, I saw a guy I used to have a passing crush on in high school, you know the type, the really cute, sweet guy that got voted Best All Around Senior Year, sigh. They have these things every monday, I may have to go back again.

I think with more beers I'll get more yeses

So another weekend of too much beer and way too little sleep for me. On Friday, Na and I headed to Bailey's to get tickets for the St. Patty's day Block party in Ballston the next day. We stayed to watch the first half of the UVa vs. Duke BBall game. I'm generally not a BBall fan or much of a college/professional sports fan, with the exception of Soccer, sometimes. But I must admit that it was kind of fun when you have a die hard Duke fan on your right and a whole group of Techies on your left. We got to talk trash and then head home before we were totally trounced. Good stuff.

The next morning Na, Brian and I ran a 10k race around the Capitol. Catherine was supposed to run too but a bad sore throat and over all state of sickness got in the way. It was a beautiful morning with no rain or snow in sight, and I finished in about 53 min, I think. Afterwards, we went to the Ballston Block Party. Let's just say that drinking a 23oz Guiness before lunch makes Julie a very happy girl. There was much laughing, a little drunk dialing and a lot of spilling of beer all over myself, half the time it wasn't my fault though. Also, Na and I started playing the Yes/No game. This is old hat to all of you guys I'm sure but I'd never played it, and it was quite fun. What you do is, every guy you see you say whether or not you would date them, based purely on looks. I surprised Naomi a little with at least one of the guys I said Yes about. Also, Naomi and I confirmed our theory that the reason we get along so well as roomates is that we have completely different tastes in guys. There was only 1 guy the entire afternoon that we both said Yes to.

Now, I did something really mean at the Block Party. I feel bad about it, but really, I didn't mean to be mean. I laughed uncontrollably, and well, maybe a little manically, in a guys face. Here's some background information. There were at least 2 people at the race that morning and another 1 or 2 at the block party that I had had a 5 min conversation with, without knowing a) their names or b) where I know them from. This is a common ailment of mine. I'm the worst at remembering people, usually if I recognize someone but can't place them I will completely ignore it for fear of offending them or humiliating myself. But when they come up to you, and say something like "Julie! I haven't seen you in forever, do you still live in the area? How's your family doing?" It's really hard to ignore them. So generally, I have a very pleasant conversation then afterwards rack my brain for any information about them, usually I come up with nothing. Anyway, after this has happened 3 or 4 times in one day I was starting to think I was going crazy. So when this poor guy came up to me and grabbed my arm to get my attention then said "Hey, how are you doing?" I thought that it was someone else from my past that I had completely forgotten. As drunk as I was, at this point more beer ended up on the street than in my mouth, I gave him an extremely rude look and shouted in his face "DO I KNOW YOU?" The poor guy looked extremely startled then mumbled a "Um, No". I couldn't stop myself, I began laughing uncontrollably directly in his face! I don't think I took a breath for at least 2 minutes and would have fallen over if I weren't held up on all sides by other revelers. The poor guy practially sprinted out of there, which is impressive with the amount of people cramped together. I wish he had stayed around for me to explain why it was I was laughing in his face, and that I didn't really mean to damage is poor ego, but it probably would have come out completely incoherent anyway, and he's probably better off. Sadly, I guess into all lives a little drunken Julie must fall.

March 12, 2005

this is an audio post - click to play

March 10, 2005

To those who are about to be HardCore...

I Salute You!

It snowed on my way to work this morning. "What's the big deal?" You say? "It was just a dusting." You say! "It was kind of PRETTY." YOU SAY! I beg to differ. You see, I biked to work this morning, so it was snowing 8 out of the 12 miles of my ride. The cold I was prepared for but, the snow caught me by suprise. Normally I probably would have wimped out when I went outside in my PJ's and realized just how fucking cold it was, but I had got it in my head that I was going to do an Olympic sized triathlon in 3 days and far be it for me to let a little cold get in the way of my Ox headed dream. On Tuesday I ran 10km and yesterday I swam 1.5km so when I realized my round trip commute to work by bike was 40km I thought, "hey, I can do this!" If I had time I might tell you about the time I hiked through gale force sub zero winds in Scotland but that will have to wait for another time. Needless to say, sometimes I'm just not that smart.

Anyway, so the real reason that I'm writing this morning is to do some shout-outs to the various other insane people on the W&OD trail this morning.

To all of the other bike commuters, I salute you!
To the early morning runners with your discmen and all, I salute you!
To all the old guys powerwalking with Balaclavas one, I salute you!
To all the people walking or running with their cute dogs, I salute you!
To the construction team at Difficult Run, I salute you! (even though you weren't doing any work and you took up almost the entire trail so I had to swerve around you)
To the cute biker that said good morning to me in Vienna when the snow was at it's worst and I was really in need of a pick-me-up, I salute you!

And then to my waterbottle that began to freeze at about mile 7, what is your problem? Why is it that typical biking waterbottles have absolutely no insulation? Well, at least it didn't freeze up all the way.

So now my triathlon competeing roomates and coworkers are trying to convince me that I need to do a Sprint Triathlon which I'll admit sounds pretty tempting, but really do they have to be so expensive? The one my coworker forwarded this morning is $74 not to mention that I'll probably have to get my hands on some special swim suit that I can also run and bike in as well as a special Tri Bike that I hear is ridiculously expensive. So we'll see...

March 04, 2005

PARTY TIME EXCELLENT!

Our house is having a party tonight, YAY! We have people coming from Charllottesville, NYC and Virginia Beach! We spent most of last night buying party related paraphanalia and cleaning and rearranging the house. There are even going to be a couple people that I haven't seen since highschool, I'm soo excited! We've got at least two people celebrating their birthdays and one who just got into the best journalism schools in the country. Also, I've just bought a ticket to Italy for April since my boss finally OKed it. Plenty to celebrate! We'll have 7 hours of music in every area of the house, a keg, Allaire Punch, Flip-cup, and Beer Pong. I feel like I'm back in college only our keg is filled with Miller instead of Natty Light, the Allaire Punch will actually be in a punch bowl instead of a tupperware tub, and .... well, now that I think about it, it's going to be exactly like college again. Sweet!

March 02, 2005

A Royal Outback Welcome

From Reuters, the Aussies in typical outback fashion have decided to throw the visiting Prince Charles a bachelor party. They've promised to keep it tame but from what I remember of Alice Springs that's not saying much. I visited Alice Springs once in the midst of a Didgeridoo festival of all things. Most of the "city" is pretty quiet but once you get in the bars it's hard to keep a sober head on your shoulders, and I've been to the bar where the Royal Stag party is scheduled to be held. Here's what I remember of that bar: the camel meat pie was just about the worst meal I've ever had and there was a Giant (I'd guess about 40ft long) Boaconstrictor that one of the locals had brought in for the fun of it. I along with 30 or so other people helped hold the enormous snake for the Webcam they have perminently installed above the dance floor. The band also taught us visiting yanks a local song, with motions and all, which we drunkenly performed for the promised internet audience. It was a rip roaring wonderful night, aside from the Homemade Camel and Guiness Pie of course. Perhaps I should have gone for the Thai Style Crocodile Salad or the Homemade Todd River Gum Smoked Emu instead. If you don't believe me check out the Menu.

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