The Land of Rach

Oh what a Feb

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:51:47 -0800

Today is February 28. I think since we get a holiday at the beginning of February (Groundhog Day) we should get one on the 28th. Or maybe there are enough holidays this month. G'hog, Superbowl, Valentime's, Presidents', and a bunch of my friends' birthdays.

Today's topic is, Would Dwight Be A Good Boyfriend.

Pros

You could watch Battlestar Galactica and The Wire together. (In Customer Survey, he tells Kelly she "juked the stats," and while this doesn't necessarily mean he watches the Wire, it's a safe bet)
Cool Trans Am.
Tall, strong, knows how to do things.

Cons

Bad hair
Would probably want to have kids, to carry on the Schrute name or what have you. Although this is a pro for some people.
He killed a cat once.

I hope this has been informative.

Vague plans for today

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:53:36 -0800

Today is February 18. Here is what I am going to do.

Scrape some more ice off the driveway since the sun is shining and that is a great help
Shower, blow-dry hair
Go to B&B, get a sandwich, some bread, and if they have those good donuts, some of those.
Take donuts to Apple Store friends so they can have a treat while handling the state wrestling crowds.
Try to use my coupon at VS
Come home and do whatever
Leave for State Center by 5:30 - watch Louie & the North Polk team beat West marshall!

Maybe Christopher Cross did deserve that Grammy

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:28:48 -0800

Today is February 4. The last time I did karaoke, I sang Christopher Cross's 1980 hit "Ride Like The Wind" (feat. Michael McDonald). It's such a good song it had an SCTV sketch written about it. I've liked this song for a long time, but I will admit that when I sang it, I was surprised to learn some of the lyrics. My favorite line is probably "Lived nine lives / gunned down ten" which sounds like it would be a tagline for a James Bond-type movie about a cat.

Lived nine lives....gunned down ten. Summer 2010, Mr. Jingles is gonna ride like the wind.

Yesterday, Dad and I went to the Power Farming Show over at the Iowa Events Center. We watched a video from a grain auger company and saw our friend and old neighbor Chuck! Dad didn't have his cellphone so I loaned him mine to call Chuck and tease him about being a "big star." I got a bunch of pens, a pad, a keychain, and a picture of cows. It was a good day.

Maybe Christopher Cross did deserve that Grammy

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:01:26 -0800

I'm a tabletop gamer now. NBD

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:49:28 -0800

Today is January 31. Yesterday was a pretty great day. Jesriedl and I went to Uncle Wendel's for a BBQ lunch, and then shopped at ZZZ records. Heard it straight from the clerk's mouth that it is pronounced Zee Zee Zee and not "Triple Zee" as I am fond of saying. I was trying to find the Xenophanes pink vinyl (or at the very least have them order it for me) but no dice. I did take advantage of their 8-for-8 LP's, and Jess found a Dwight Yokam album she seemed happy about =)

Then we went to the mall and also Hobby Lobby. After a rather unsuccessful mall visit, we came home and watched The Simpsons Movie on FX and I took a nap. Then Jess went home and I went over to Keith's and played Arkham Horror with him, Steve, and Clover. It was pretty involved but still fun! I like playing with those folks because they are always nice to me and explain things so I know what to do.

Bad blogger is bad at blogging

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:20:56 -0800

Today is January 16. RVAS had a mobile adoption event today at the PetCo over on 73rd street. It's technically in Clive, but it's like the verrrry southeastern little tip of Clive. Anyway, Petey was not excited about getting into the pet taxi, and he squeaked quite a bit on the way over. Once we got there, he did his typical sulk and sit in the litterbox. The main exciting part was that a guy named Ken seemed very interested in adopting him! He said he had recently done some pet-sitting in his home for his daughter's cat, and I guess he liked having a kitty around again. So I hope this goes somewhere. As I have said before, it's not that I don't love Pete, it's just that he deserves to live somewhere where two idiots aren't constantly growling at him.

I have now about 3.5 hours to kill before SNL comes on. I kind of want to get up and do something productive, but a little baby bear (Calypso) is curled up right next to my leg. I'm sure he will be glad when Pete is gone, and would probably prefer if Trinity left with him!

Monday I'm taking another civil service-type test, and I resolve to do better on it than I did on the postal exam back in 2007. That was such a bummer. Then after that I guess more applying for jobs. I think I have become such a lousy blogger because of Twitter (and Facebook, to a lesser extent) but also because I have NOTHING to talk about. "Today is December 4. I stayed inside all day! Then I took a shower and put on different pajamas." You guys don't wanna read that, and I sure as hell don't wanna write it.

Two of my BFFs' birthdays are coming up next month, and I hope to do something special with each of them!! To have birthday right before or right after Valentine's day must be so trying. Around my birthday, I only have to compete with voting, and you just get stickers for voting, not red roses or candy. Maybe in Florida.

In which I continue to depend on the kindness of strangers

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:44:23 -0800

Today is December 10. Sunday night we had our first snowstorm and I handled it easily on Monday, even brooming off the porch. But Tuesday, we got hammered with snow. It started on Tuesday and continued through the night. Basically the entire state of Iowa shut down on Wednesday. Caylor and I made a valiant effort of clearing the driveway, and then neighbor Dave came by with his snowblower and finished the job, and also cleared the sidewalks. (So nice!)

Of course, when the city plowed 27th street, it shoved a bunch of evil icy snow back into the driveway. Caylor drove over it OK to go to work, and this morning when I went out to scoop the front walk, I tried to chip at it a little. This didn't really work, probably because I was using a plastic shovel, and also because I give up too easily. In the afternoon, I decided to make a Hy-Vee run, but wouldn't you know it, I got stuck at the bottom of the driveway. I think if I would have really gunned it, I probably could have made it out, but who knows. I had gotten stuck last winter, and managed to get myself out by rocking back-and-forth. Nothing was working. I saw a car coming up 27th street and I gestured at the driver and yelled "You'll have to go around." To my surprised he got out of his car to help me. He tried to push me out fully into the road, but it wasn't really working. Then a couple guys were dropped off at the house across the street, and we enlisted their help too. With a combination of shoveling, kitty litter, and pushing, we managed to get the car out into the street. At the end, it was just me and the original guy, and I tried to give him some money, but he wouldn't take it. He also helped me clear more of the end of the drive so I would be able to get back in successfully. When I came home, I drove past my drive and turned around so I could approach it from the same angle. Getting back in - no problem. Although I must say I'm not in a real hurry to go out again!

I hope everyone had a good November

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:58:36 -0800

Today is November 30. It was a confusing time for me. I know I had my birthday and I got to spend time with different friends. Also I took some food up to my dad and Gary and Beau while they were combining. It was good to feel useful. Last weekend it was Louie's confirmation, and then of course Thursday it was Thanksgiving. Dad came over to my house, it was a pretty small affair. The cats are doing fine. I have discovered that Pete likes Cool Whip on his face.

My Plan of Action

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:30:38 -0700

Today is October 9. I thought I would list out my plan for the rest of the day, even though I know what they say about the best-laid plans of Rats and Rachels. Right now I'm eating some of the delicious baked chicken that I made last night, so I can have a hearty lunch and then go mow the yard. It's getting kind of long, and also I can chew up some leaves in the process. Then I'm going to get cleaned up and do whatever until about 4, and then I'm heading up to Ames to meet some friends. I'll be hanging out at Headliners for a couple hours, then meeting up with other folks for Zombieland. (I told Caylor I was going to Zombieland this weekend and he replied, "You'd better.")

Weekend Wrap-up

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:30:38 -0700

Today is October 12. Friday I didn't get the lawn mowed but I did everything else. I had some cheese balls at Headliners that were dang tasty. Mom and Jonathan and I used to get them at the Maid-Rite. Zombieland was a great night at the movies, really funny. Does not beat Shaun of the Dead for best funny zombie movie but it was enjoyable.

Saturday I finished up the Bankrupt part of the Wheel blanket, made the chart for Lose a Turn, and then knit Lose a Turn. The chart wasn't so bad since all the letters in TURN appear in BANKRUPT. It's like a bonus for Grandma Hazel since she is good at those word games where you make little words out of bigger words. My intarsia technique improved quite a bit from Bankrupt to Lose a Turn too.

Also on Saturday I watched Jeff Garlin's movie "I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With." Great cast of Chicago Second City folks, and also Sarah Silverman. I was kind of excited to see her in an acting role outside of her normal cute/smartass persona, but unfortunately she basically played the same character she always does. Oh well. I thought she was funny in the movie. David Pasquesi (Stew the Meat Man from SWC) was also great. I looked him up on Wikipedia--apparently he's going to be in Angels and Demons? Interesting, but not enough to get me to go see it.

Sunday I had to go back to Ames to get my cell phone that I left in someone's couch. I had a good deep talk with Jesriedl in her kitchen. Been a while since I had a good deep talk so that was beneficial. Then I came home and wove in the loose ends on Bankrupt and Lose a Turn. I forgot to DVR the Simpsons but I did catch American Dad. Mainly I like to DVR the Simpsons because it's in HD and looks so cool. Otherwise, I probably would have given up on the new ones by now. Caylor stayed up all night Saturday--->Sunday, which I found very Rock'n'Roll. I still haven't managed to do that during the Summer Of Rach (Held Over! Now the Autumn of Rach!!)

Pete's Personal Ad

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:29:32 -0700

Today is October 2. Male DLH seeks anyone. SWF, GBM, DWPCF, SAM, WiJF, BHM, anyone! I am very quiet and clean. I love to cuddle with you! I have a purr like a diesel engine. I enjoy fine dining on Iams cat food, and long walks in a fenced-in yard. I would also do fine in an apartment. My soft orange coat is nearly maintenance-free. You can also check me out online, but please note, I am much more sane than I look in those photos. My big shiny eyes just reflect funny in pictures, I think. Looking forward to meeting you, and getting away from my psycho roommates. Love, Pete.

As you can see, I'm still trying to find a home for foster cat Pete. He is a good boy, and he deserves a loving forever home. It's been rainy the past couple of days here. I've been jamming on the Wheel of Fortune blanket again; I have finished 6 more dollar-amount wedges since Sunday. I have 2 more purples to go, then Bankrupt, Lose a Turn, and the glittery $5K wedge. I'm a little irked since I know there is a partially-finished silver wedge SOMEWHERE in this house, (like how there's gonna be a jailbreak, somewhere in this town) but I just can't find it! GR!

If it's not raining too hard, I should get out and make sure the gutters are clear enough to let the water through. I also have a ton of laundry to fold. But as you know, I mostly enjoy my creative pursuits (knitting, scrapbooking) when I have something else I should be doing ;-)

I am getting excited for Halloween. I already have 2 good costume ideas, on top of the other costumes that I already have in my closet. I can't wait for trick-or-treat night in DSM again. It was so much fun last year. I wonder what my little buddy, Cowboy Mouse, will be dressed as this year.

I will try to get more than one entry in this month! Sheesh, that was a pretty poor performance last month.

Current status

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:39:23 -0700

Today is September 18, just after midnight. I am experiencing many behaviors of a depressed person, but I'm not actually feeling any despair. I've just got the, y'know, not wanting to leave my house, not showering, only wanting cereal to eat, couch all day, type of thing, while feeling on a relatively even keel. It's weird! I'm going to blame that for why I put off posting this page for so long.

I finally figured out what people mean when they say they have a dry sense of humor. It means barely anyone gets their jokes. I have a very dry sense of humor. Those who do get our jokes are rewarded with a close bond of uncomfortable friendship.

More later (ideally). I just wanted to let everyone know I didn't fall off the face of the earth.

Highway run, into the midnight sun

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:36:18 -0700

Today is August 26 (after midnight so it's really the 27th but I'm ignoring that). So Sunday night was the long-awaited Heart and Journey show at the State Fair Grandstand. I had seen each band once before, but I was going with two of my BFFs so that was the main attraction for me. And to check out the newest Perry replacement, of course. I kind of assumed they were touring as co-headliners as Styx and Speedwagon did in 2000. Alternating who went on first each night, maybe even jamming together at the end.

Well it turned out that Heart was actually opening for Journey. As a result, their set was shorter and much tighter. I wanna say I knew or recognized all the songs. They didn't do "Even it Up" (one of my Heart-rockin' faves) but they DID to "Kick it Out." Ann had a beautiful top on with a peacock feather motif, but the "eye" of the feather also looked like an upside-down heart. So she could look down and remember what band she was in. There was a bit of a grabby sue in front of us (getting handsy with her date) but other than that, everyone around us was chill.

Here is the setlist for what Journey played. Ever since hearing Captured, I have an urge to yell "BON SOIR, MONTREAL" whenever I hear "Majestic," but I was able to control myself. Starting off with "Separate Ways" was smart since it's a high-energy tune that everyone loves. Now I've said this before but I really miss Greg Rolle. I feel like the direction the band went under Jonathan Cain was not a good one. Sure, they had some big hits, but everything else just sort of blends together. With Rolle and the Hammond B-3, they were truer to their roots as a blues outfit. W/e. So I didn't get to hear "Feeling That Way/Anytime." The songs they played that I DID like were amazing. Faithfully in particular was really full of emotion. Stone in Love was great for an outdoor summer show. Arnel Pineda did an amazing job in the frontman role. Not to be a dick but you could kind of tell he wasn't a native speaker of English - something about his s's. (Although as I listened to some Yes on Monday I heard the same oddity in Jon's voice, heh). He of course had a CRAZY amount of energy and we were shocked to see on his wiki page that he's 42. He had the classic Steve Perry long shiny black hair, and the stage moves of Cedric Bixler-Zavala.

Overall it was a good night but I heard many remarking that Heart had stolen the show. Obviously a longer set for Journey allowed for more "filler;" I just wish that filler was off of Infinity/Evolution/Departure. I recalled the bit from the Simpsons where Homer sees BTO at the State Fair and demands that they play "no new crap, 'Takin Care of Business,' now! And get to the 'working overtime' part."

More like State UN-Fair

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:53:08 -0700

Today is August 25. Thursday the 20th was a big day, actually a pretty good day, all things considered. I met up with Jesriedl since she had a two-day class at the Mercy Holiday Inn. We got lunch at Chicago Dog and Deli since we wanted someplace quick and tasty! Then I drove up to the farm and gave Dad a lift over to Nevada so he could get his repaired tractor. IN THEORY REPAIRED TRACTOR that is, but of course we didn't know it at the time. While he drove the tractor back to the shed, I went home and spent some time in the Museum of Rachel & Jonathan, a/k/a our basement. Dad came home and we hooked up this amplifier for his TV antenna. Results were: "better than nothing." After that, we went to Story City to see mom's stone and have dinner at the Cottage.

On my way back to DSM, Jess called and we went to see a late show of The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. It was two non-consecutive hangouts on one day! It was a funny movie, and I really liked it apart from the parts with the Feelings. I loved spotting all the great comedy people.

Friday I watched a DVD and listened live to Comedy Death Ray Radio. Then I was importing an audiobook onto my computer but one of the tracks was all hosed. Since I already had the printed copy, I just read the passage represented by the faulty track myself. I was excited that I thought of the solution. I megauploaded the audiobook if anyone is interested. Then I watched Friday Night Standup on CC since it was all Flight of the Conchords related. Some good stuff, obviously a wide variety of material from Jim to Bret & Jemaine, Kristin, Arj, Eugene, and Rhys.

Saturday I went to Paper Heart at the Fleur and then came home and watched WALL-E (on the Xbox, from Watch Instantly). I also played some Beautiful Katamari. Sunday was another big day: got up way early (for me, heh) and rode with Dad and Austin to the fair for my performance on the Susan Knapp stage with the West Des Moines Community band! I thought we really sounded great and I hope they invite us back next year. The turnout was small but I noticed that as we played, more and more people sat down to watch

The three of us did a mini tour of the fair, including Wonderbars, Dad reading the vulgar t-shirt slogans of the iron-on/airbrush t-shirt place, 2009 Iowa maps, Butter Cow/Astronaut/TV, a corndog for me, and a giant turkey leg for Austin, farm equipment, and walking by the WHO Crystal Studios just as the current on-air personality was talking about SATAN.

TOMORROW: Concert wrap-up.

Fun Fact: they do not actually say "Gentlemen, start your engines" at Knoxville

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:36:05 -0700

Today is August 18. As promised, here is a writeup on going to the races Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday is normally the culmination of 10 nights of racing (if you go down to Oskie for the midweek stuff). Dad had gone Weds, Thurs, and Fri. Sometime I'd like to go Friday because I guess there's a lot more action with everyone fighting for what feature they're going to be in. Dad and Jess and I rolled into town a little before six and got our dinner at the Marion County Cattlemen booth. We saw Chuck Potter while we were eating.

The sky had been worrisome all day. Everyone had their theory on what direction the storm would go, if we would get hit or passed by, or if it would fizzle out. Jess pulled up the radar on her cell phone (actually we were debating what the difference between radar and satellite was, in terms of weather forecasting) and there were some largish orange storm systems moving their way across the state.

We climbed up to our seats, in section H, row 33. This is a good row to be in, because it's the row with the pole that supports the overhang. We were sitting in our seats and then this group of real dorks came, and the guy sitting next to Jess was extra-insistent about sitting EXACTLY on seat 19. She was getting irritated and Dad proclaimed him a "dick" so we girls went down and sat in the empty space in the next row down. Much more comfortable.

After hot laps, time trials, etc., etc., they had the prayer and the anthem and the night was truly underway. The prayer part kind of bothers me because they make no effort whatsoever to make it non-deominational; it's all about Jebus. First came the E Main, 10 laps of cheering for Robert Bell near the tail end of the pack. (GRR Robert your site is down...I wanted to link to the pictures of you building your first car in your house trailer). Then in the D Main, I think it was, there was a pretty severe wreck. While they were seeing to the driver and cleaning up the track, it started to rain. So they had to wait for the rain to stop, and then they sent the trucks out to pack the track. There was a good hour where nothing happened. Even though we weren't technically under the overhang, because of the wind or whatever the rain had a trajectory where it was still going horizontal over us. We only got a tiny bit wet. Tons of people in front of us donned purple Super Clean ponchos, which smelled like the worst new plastic smell ever. Not the good new plastic of a new innertube for summer. This was just nasty.

Eventually the track was deemed ready for racing, and they completed the D Main. Next came the C Main where we cheered for Rock and Roll Billy Alley (Dad's favorite driver). Billy finished second in the C which meant he'd transfer to the B. Just as they were getting ready to start the B Main, it started raining, much harder than it had before. At this point, we all knew what was coming, but waited for the official word that they had called it.

*** *** ***

According to Dad, the forecast for Sunday evening had an even higher probability of rain than Saturday's had. Even so, we decided to go back down to see the rest of the racing. No more Cattlemen grilling, so we had our typical race night tenderloins. When I worked at Hy-Vee, I would only ever have one tenderloin a year, and that was at the State Fair. But now that I don't have to fry them every day, I will have them when I go to the races. (Or at George the Chili King too, haha).

The weather was actually really nice on Sunday. Less humid it seemed, nice breezes. They still had the prayer but it was sorta more of a poem, and just about keeping the drivers and crew members safe. The same singer performed the anthem. She had a personal motif where she'd sing the last bit of a *different* patriotic song before launching into the SSB. It was interesting.

I don't really remember the B Main but I think it was pretty clean and quick. Then there was a lot of pomp and circumstance for the A Main. All the cars were lined up on the front stretch, pointing towards the crowd, and each of the 24 drivers got a personal introduction. Lots of booing whenever Schatz's name was mentioned (this is the winner of the past 3 Nationals). Then they drove around the track a few times and did the famous four-abreast formation.

The race was actually really exciting - Schatz hung out in third place for the bulk of it and then pulled ahead just at the end. I was really hoping for Saldana to win. We were also pulling for Terry "T-Mac" McCarl to win since apparently no Iowa driver has ever won the Nationals! WTF? Well of course Schatz won and there was more booing. I guess if he can execute a maneuver like that, it took some skillful driving so he deserved to win.

Everybody is already excited for next year because it will be the 50th annual Nationals. If you want to read a possibly more factual account of the race, you can check out Knoxville's results page. I just like going down there because it's a fun thing to do with my dad and yes, cars going around in a circle (oval, really) can be exciting!

The Land of Rach

Oh what a Feb

Vague plans for today

Maybe Christopher Cross *did* deserve that Grammy

Maybe Christopher Cross *did* deserve that Grammy

I'm a tabletop gamer now. NBD

Bad blogger is bad at blogging

In which I continue to depend on the kindness of strangers

I hope everyone had a good November

My Plan of Action

Weekend Wrap-up

Pete's Personal Ad

Current status

Highway run, into the midnight sun

More like State UN-Fair

Fun Fact: they do not actually say "Gentlemen, start your engines" at Knoxville

Maybe Christopher Cross did deserve that Grammy

Maybe Christopher Cross did deserve that Grammy