Accentuate the Positive

This should make somebody's Sunday. Kyle Chandler, much like George Clooney, just gets better and better with age. The picture above is from his Homefront days. Homefront only ran for two seasons ('91-'93), but it's in my list of top five favorite TV shows of all time. The network was crazy for canceling it. It was like the Wonder Years for WWII. But the purpose of this post is not to just talk about Kyle Chandler. It's to talk about Friday Night Lights ... starring Kyle Chandler.I just finished watching season 2 of Friday Night Lights this weekend. I'm completely hooked, and I'm very excited about the DirecTV/NBC deal for the third season. Starting Wednesday (Oct. 1) you can watch season 3 on DirecTV. Then season 3 will air in February on NBC. No fun that it's not a full season, but that setup saved it from getting cancelled. And I go crazy when my favorite shows get great reviews and still get canceled because the audience is slow to catch on (ex: Arrested Development). It's such a great cast -- Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton can pretty much do no wrong. So please watch it, starting Wednesday. (See, he's begging you ...)

Time Is On My Side (Yes It Is)

Tonight I spent a lot of time thinking about ... well ... time. In no way were these profound or intellectual thoughts. Quite the opposite, really. They were basically ridiculous thoughts.

My first "time" thought was literally "just what time is it?" Until the other weekend, only two of my devices that told time -- my phone and my laptop -- were set to the correct time. Every other clock was wrong. My kitchen clock has no batteries, so it's always 10:10. As I type this, my oven says it is 8:18. My microwave doesn't even try to give me a time anymore. That's why I always just rely on my phone. Because it's always right. I don't even wear a watch. I've tried, but I just don't like watches. Mostly because I hate telling time. I even hate telling time when it's not even technically telling time. Like when people try to get you to look at something or someone ... "to your right ... he's at your 2:00." Just point! It's so much easier.

Anyway, back to hating time. A few weeks ago I did a massive cleaning job on my car. That's another story altogether. But as part of my quest to make my car look presentable and professional, I decided to set my car clock to the right time. It had been 1 hour and 23 minutes fast for quite some time. I guess since the last Daylight Saving Time. (I won't even get started on my Daylight Saving Time issues ...) I adjusted to my car clock, though. In the mornings I knew that as long as my car clock did not go past 9:53 I was not late for work. But now that my car clock is set to the right time, I think my brain is trying to overcompensate. It doesn't trust the time. Case in point ...

Tonight I needed to stay and work late. I left my office at about 8:15 and had to drive to Lewisville because I left my debit card at a restaurant. Even though my car clock was usually ahead, tonight I kept thinking the clock was an hour and a half behind. So by the time I got to the restaurant I was halfway convinced it was 10:00. But it was really just after 8:30.

Oh yea, I'm also horrible at guessing how much time something will take. I thought it would take me about 45 minutes to get from my office to the restaurant. It took less than 25. So close.

Here's where time was not my friend. After retrieving my debit card, I drove back to Dallas and decided to stop at Target to buy Friday Night Lights season 2. I have a new love for that show, and I just finished watching season 1 last night. I went to Target and they were sold out. On another night I might have just given up and gone home. But I was already in a mood, so I decided to go to Blockbuster and rent it or buy it. Got to Blockbuster and it wasn't in stock. By this time it's 9:45 and I only have a very short window left. I'm not ready to give up on Kyle Chandler. I can't make it to Best Buy before it closes, but I can make it to Borders. I get to Borders and they don't have it either. So I had to give up. For whatever reason it was not meant to be. And that made me think of how much time I wasted driving around my neighborhood looking for a DVD set I really wouldn't even watch until tomorrow. 

Last thought on time ... there are few songs that are as terrifying to me as "Time Is On My Side." I blame this on the movie Fallen. If you haven't seen it, rent it. You'll see.

Big Bad Wolf

If I haven't said it enough, I love this weather. I think it's my favorite time of year. Ale and I sat outside at the pub upstairs for several hours, and the weather could not have been more perfect.

Here's the other thing that made this a great day ... my trip to Target. I went there to get cleaning supplies, but (in addition to the supplies) I left with something much better. There was a Teen Wolf/Teen Wolf Too DVD combo on sale for $5.50. They had two left. So I bought both of them. One lucky friend will be getting the Teen Wolf collection for Christmas. You're welcome.

Money Ain't A Thang

I forgot to write something earlier today. This is an open letter to Dow Jones.

Dear DJ,

Please stop taking all my money.

LC

-504.48 = grrrrrrrrrr.

In The Ayer

Love is in the ayer. My friend Magstridamus is engaged and is getting married in November.

This weekend was very exciting because I finally got to see her after a three year absence. We were interns together at the same PR firm five years ago, and then one of us (not I) moved home to Florida. When we last saw each other -- actually, because of that trip to Tampa -- I was beginning my Joaquin Phoenix/Walk the Line obsession. Good times. 

Below are a few pics ...

1) Wearing our monocles. Monocles are very important to us. And to Mr. Peanut.

2) Throwing Jeannie's fake sorority signs ... 

3) This picture actually is normal. What you can't see is that Jeannie's bird Piper is actually taking the picture. She's paying her way in Atlanta as a professional photographer. 
The new campaign I've started is for Jeannie and Scott to combine a traditional first wedding dance song with the "Let's Get Married" Remarqable Remix. This now takes the place of the $200 bet for someone to "accidentally" fall into the pool during the engagement party.

Long Day

"I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work."

Big changes today. Big, big, big.

Calming song of the day: "What if You" by Joshua Radin. I'm playing it right now and will easily be asleep in 10 minutes.

Get Out of My Dreams (Get Into My Car)

This post is the first in a two-part series loosely related to cars. 

Today's topic concerns the old family car ... the Chevy Corsica. (Which would later become my first car. And which, until I went to A&M, I had to drive with an "I'm a Baylor mom" bumper sticker on the back.) When in the Corsica, the following is a list of cassette tapes we used to cruise to in beautiful Leawood, Kansas: Billy Ocean (hence the title of this post), Patsy Cline, The Big Chill soundtrack (arguably one of the best soundtracks of all time), Whitney Houston, and Cruisin' Classics Volume IV: More 60s and 70s (including hits like ... "Midnight Train to Georgia" ... "Chain of Fools" ... and "Build Me Up Buttercup"). This last tape was by far my favorite.

Here's why Cruisin' Classics tapes were awesome (and I admittedly had to look up this information just now) ... the tapes were only $1.99 at the Shell station when you bought 8 gallons of gasoline. A steal at twice the price! I played that tape over and over, and whenever we'd go to my grandparent's house my cousins and I would make up dance routines to the songs on Volume IV. My grandfather could whistle through his nose, so we'd always make him do the "whoo hoo" noise (from "Midnight Train") with his nose. Both sides of my family are very big on musical entertainment when we get together. I love it. And speaking (earlier) of trains, if we happen to be watching Soul Train together (which is a strong possibility), my brother likes for us to get up and do the Soul Train line. Fun family, good times.

In the next installment of pseudo car stories, I have a big announcement about the exciting thing I found in the trunk of my car. And how it will potentially get me in trouble with my neighbors. Stay tuned.

Falling Slowly

This week has been wonderful. Nothing particularly remarkable has happened, and maybe that's part of it. Everything just feels very relaxed and upbeat. And calm. I attribute it to the weather. It's gorgeous outside, and for some reason it makes me really miss A&M this week. It's perfect "walking to class" weather. I love playing outside, and I'm very ready for fall. 

Favorite yoga pose of the day: the "no handed" cobra. Pretty sure that would be all cobras, but whatever. Potato, Potato. (Hmmm. So I just realized that's an expression you really need to hear out loud ... it loses its impact when you only read it.)

Song of the day: "You Got Growin Up To Do" by Joshua Radin. Love this song.

Starry Starry Night

My mom gave me some art canvases for Christmas, and I thought this weekend would be the perfect time to finally use one of them. I knew I wanted my painting to include these colors ...

I ended up painting this. I've tried turning it a few different ways (four, to be exact), and I think I like it best this way. I might paint over it or add to it, but for now it is what it is.

I hung out with Ry last night, right after I had finished painting. Because I usually just paint swirls and waves instead of actual objects, I was jokingly referring to the painting as a poor man's "Starry Night." Ry's response was, "Yea, all it's missing is a mask and a bridge." Um, what?

Then I realized he was probably talking about this painting ... "The Scream." To which he said, "oh well, same artist." Nope. Not the same artist. But in looking at the paintings side by side, they do have some similarities. I'll never not think of the movie Scream when I see this painting. And when I think of Scream, I'll always remember the ridiculous number of times they say "cellular telephone."

I still have one canvas left, and I need some ideas ... please send suggestions my way.