01.18.07
What’s up? Me!
Well, I was, about an hour ago. Now I’m tired and kinda feeling low, but it’s only because I’m tired.
Last weekend was great. We started out spinning with my usual Euro-crew. Els had brought me her daughter Charli’s bike shoes to try on and she said I should keep them through the spinning season to get used to them before I invest in shoes of my own. So nice of her and Charli! We followed that up with the usual after-spinning bagel breakfast, which has now become such a nice tradition.
That afternoon, the Chow sisters came up to visit. That was so much fun. They tried to trick me so many times, and Daisy can be quite convincing! At one point, they made me believe that they got lost on the way - that they were on their way to NYC instead of NH, that I decided to go out and do some shopping instead of waiting for them at home. Well, needless to say, they arrived after few minutes and there was no Deeds. Ha. Well, everything in town is only 10 minutes away, so they didn’t have to wait long. We went shopping in downtown, and Daisy and I got some MOD (Chow-lingo) dresses. Lyds had no luck, unfortunately, but at least scored with notebooks and a humidifier the next day.
And then, that night, we had a thanksgiving dinner with the Euro crowd - complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and stuffing. Mmm. We watched a Czech movie afterwards which was pretty cool. It gave us all a bit more insight into Radka’s background and history.
Anyway, the next day, was more shopping, and more food. Aftwe they left, I went over to my friend, Francie’s house for dinner. So, the weekend was friends- and fun-filled.
Well, today was another one of those days.
After work, I went for my spinning class. Bob was there, and Jacob was there. And it was such a small class that it felt like we were all friends. We were all joking around and complaining (mostly me). It was nice. Don’t get me wrong, I was in pain throughout most of the class, but it made it bearable because I was at least comfortable around the people who were there - which doesn’t happen too often.
Cycling is really hard for me. My legs stiffen up and they get heavy and slow and uncooperative. The instructor tells us to go faster, and I tell my legs to go faster, but they won’t. Bah. I’m being hard on myself because I wanted this to make me a stronger biker. But I don’t know if it will. I’m wheezing and coughing and, oh man, just having a miserable time altogether throughout the class. And I’m always watching the clock, which is always in slow motion in that room.
I hear Bob cranking up his resistance to my left, and Jacob’s going nuts with his on my right. Me, and I do a couple of clicks and I could barely keep up the speed that we’re supposed to be in. The guys beside me? Pedaling like crazy!
Towards the end of the workout, he got all the four guys 5lbs weights, and when he asked me if I wanted any, I asked for the little pink ones. I didn’t know they were only 1lb weights. Man, I felt like such a wuss, doing little punches with the 1lb weights. I can be such a girl sometimes it’s pathetic. I had such grand visions of upcoming spring time bike rides when I’m just as strong as the other riders, and don’t get left behind on bike trips like what normally happens. But, they’re all doing it with me too, which is great, but they’re all getting stronger too! Ack! I’m still going to get left behind. Ah well. I’ll just have to suck it up and they’ll just have to wait for me.
Oh yeah, back to the friends part. So the class was nice and friendly and all that. But it didn’t end there. I had to rush out to go to a movie night at my friend Cindy’s house. She had invited the B’s - a small group of women friends from work who have taken me under their wing. And we watched Kinky Boots, a really funny English movie. And I just remember thinking as I was driving home that I was so lucky to have all these wonderful friends. It’s no wonder I love where I am. I’m in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by everything. *sigh*
01.08.07
TB == 27++
Happy Birthday. Have a good one, T!
You are only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime.
- John P. Grier
01.03.07
Moonlight Hike
I just got back from a full-moon hike up Putney Mountain. It was gorgeous! Up there, it was still snow-covered, so the moonlight reflected, to really light up the place. I had never done that before and now I would highly recommend it. Tonight was especially nice. The weather was perfect - cool and clear. Just a word of advice though, do not wear summer socks - you know, those thin, quick-dry socks that are sooo nice to have in the summer, for a hike up a mountain in January, no matter how unseasonably warm it’s been. Your toes will get cold.
There was a big group hiking, my friend, Els, had her parents, so we had a whole Dutch contingency taking up the rear. We had two ladies in front, and me and Colin took the middle. It was nice. I had previously only hung out one-on-one with Colin one other time, and that was to watch our friend Alex play in town, so there wasn’t really much talking happening then. This was probably the first time we had a long conversation. It was nice. He told me about his current relationship and the challenges he was having with it. Sadly, but funny as well, by the end of the night, he found out he didn’t have to deal with the relationship (or lack thereof) anymore. Oh well. It’s the broken-heart bug. It’s going around.
01.01.07
Blogroll mixtape credits
So, the mixtape is basically in chronological order, based on when I met the person for whom the song is for. I’ve added some songs for me, but I found out today that the order with which I distributed those messed up the order. But anyway, here goes…
1. Friendship Test (Tenacious D) - Intro This is just to start the CD off. It’s hilarious.
2. Phenomena (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) - KF They sound so cool, and the song is one of my favorites in the CD. They remind me of KF and her life in Seattle. She’s successful, cool, independent, and funny. This, combined with the fact that she graduated from my high school makes her a Phenomena in my book. Hers is the only blog I read from my high school’s graduating class. 
3. It’s Such a Pity (Weezer) - Casey He’s the first American I talked to from any of my classes at NEU. This album could have been the soundtrack of that summer of ‘05, when Casey was up here a few times. Plus he was the only one who saw how the guitar solo part sounded like it could be the background music for Voltron’s formation act. I could’ve picked Beverly Hills too. Casey used to sing “hey baby, hey baby” for “gimme, gimme”. Funny.
4. Map of Your Head (Muse) - Tashfeen T was the one who introduced me to Muse, and most of the other bands I now listen to. Plus, he’s my living diary. He’s got a map of my head whether he likes it or not. I had so many songs for T, it was hard to pick just one. They were all for old memories though. I can’t wait for him to move back to Boston. We need new memories!
5. Standing on my Own (Travis) - Mine I picked this out for the transition period I went through moving from Boston to Keene. My Boston friends made sure I had stuff to do during the weekends and the holidays. They always picked up the phone and welcomed me into their homes. I just need to get them to drive up to NH. “I’ll sleep on the settee!” *
6. Know Your Onion! (The Shins) - Daisy She was one of the nicer people at Argosy. They were all nice, of course, but because we had the same bus route, did the same kind of work, played against each other in ultimate frisbee, we got to know each other. Aside from the perfect title (Daisy knows everything about food), there’s a line here I think Daisy might be able to relate to.
7. Lost in the Supermarket (The Clash) - Me “Came in here for a special offer - guaranteed personality” That’s so me. I’d be going to the supermarket for that, especially if they had a special offer for it. I’d probably even have a coupon cut out for it. I wish.
8. Old Sh!t/New Sh!t (Eels) - Jacob He’ll never have a blog, so he’ll never be on my blogroll, but I’ve been sharing my music with him, so I thought it fitting he get a spot. I had a different song for him (Invincible, Muse). It speaks of following your dream despite challenges from other people, but, because he’s leaving all that behind now and moving on to new adventures, this song seemed more relate-able. I can see him singing “I’m tired of the old sh!t, let the new sh!t begin..”
9. Slow Descent Into Alcoholism (The New Pornographers) - Lydia The two of us went to the liquor store to get beer for Daisy’s birthday party. After making what we thought were the best-guess decisions on which ‘indie’ beer to buy, we made our way to the checkout counter. My purse, which was at their house, had my ID proving that I could indeed have beer. So, without the proof, they wouldn’t sell us the beer, even though Lydia had hers and she was buying. After vainly trying, (Lyds exclaiming, “But she’s older than me!”), I had to step outside the store and let Lydia buy and carry it all out.
10. Stop Whispering (Radiohead) - Ian Ian’s also moving on to new adventures (and a new marriage) in - Japan, so although he’s also not on my blogroll, I wanted to give him something to remember us by. But, I wanted to kill two birds with one stone (I don’t really, I’m just using the idiom), so embedded with the song is a message. Stop whispering, dude. You’ve got stuff to say! I’m glad I’m one of the few who’ve gotten to know you because despite being so incredibly quiet, you’re actually funny, and nice, and interesting. Let more people know that. Speak.
11. Gravity Rides Everything (Modest Mouse) - Catherine This is for the memories of the Muse concert we saw together. On the drive back, I asked you to pick a CD, and this was the one you picked. And then, you proceeded to sing to the songs while we ate up my cones. I remember thinking how much fun it was. I hope we get to do that more this year!
12. Sound of Settling (Death Cab for Cutie) - Mine I had been obsessing over something and not exactly doing anything about it. T’s been trying to tell me to get it out of my system. “Regret’s a b!tch”, he says. Well, T, I stand by my decision, and I think it was the right way to go, even if it was the sound of settling. When I said, months back, “I wish I could fast forward to when I know what happens”, I must’ve meant now. I know what happens. And I did the right thing. No regrets, thankfully.
13. Dude, I totally miss you (Tenacious D) - End This goes to everyone I hadn’t seen in a while.
If you’re reading this and you’re not on the list, don’t take it personally. It’s a blogroll mixtape with two exceptions. You’re not here because you’re not on the blogroll. If we’re friends and we haven’t seen each other in a while, you fit #13.
Thanks for the friendships. It’s been fun.
Bring in the luck this year with Black-eyed peas…
Got together with the Chows and Casey today for a New Year’s brunch - sausage and biscuits for the breakfast part, black-eyed peas for the lunch part, and Frito-chili pie + cornbread for the late lunch part. Not to mention, oranges, chocolates, and Casey’s blueberry walnut bread.
Oh yeah, black-eyed peas is apparently a southern new year’s tradition. It supposedly will bring in cash because the peas resemble coins. Even if it doesn’t work, they were good.
Of course, like always, we played the token Cranium game, but added three games of Blokus - a new game from Daisy’s mom, and six rounds of Scattergories. Casey totally tried to trap me in Blokus, but failed miserably. He was left with a very many 41 squares during the second game, and made a declaration of war for the third game. But alas, the Deeds was unstoppable. Yes! I didn’t win, but I didn’t lose either. I won the first round and Daisy won the next two. Casey and I made up to team up for Cranium, successfully bringing down the Chow sisters. Sweet. Game day/night rules!
It’s always fun at the House of Chow. And we always leave stuffed with excellent food up to our nostrils - even if we skip out on ‘yummy desserts’. Man, that’s never going to get old. Inside joke though, sorry folks.
Oh yeah, and… for our new year’s resolution? Use ‘LOL’, and ‘for realz’ as often as possible. I’m being sarcastic, in case that isn’t obvious. I mean, I was only kidding, for realz!!!1 However, if you do need to use ‘LOL’, make sure chat partner can actually hear you laughing out loud. And if you really want to use ‘for realz’, make sure you’re Asian, and 14 years old.
Also, I gave Daisy and Lyds their scarves, which they proceeded to wear all night. And they played the mixtape I made for them. So… onto the intro… read next entry.
