Monthly Archives: July 2008

The earliest bloggers

I admit it.  I love Neil Patrick Harris.  I have loved him since Doogie Howser, M.D.  Come on, this man has done some amazing things!  Doogie Howser!  Starship Troopers!  How I Met Your Mother!  Dr. Horrible!  And some other things that I can’t remember off of the top of my head.

Nothing makes me laugh more than the Halloween episode of HIMYM when there is a knock at the door and Barney reaches in, starts a boom box, and appears in the door dressed as Tom Cruise in Top Gun.  I laugh and laugh and laugh.

I read a comment recently that someone thought Doogie Howser was one of the first bloggers.   At the end of every episode, he typed up his journal entries, discussing his thoughts of what had gone on over the past few days.  Sure, he wasn’t posting it on the internet, but he was posting it for everyone to see, in a way, if you break the fourth wall.  Not only was he a child prodigy, he was years and years ahead of his time.  Tragically, his computer was a bit behind the times.

It makes me want to revamp my templates to resemble Doogie Howser’s computer.  Everyone wants to read green text on a black screen all day, right? 

I wonder what Dr. Howser is up to nowadays.  I liked NPH’s opinion that he was probably an angry drug addict limping around a hospital on a cane and torturing his fellow doctors.

T-26 hours

My mother is coming.

*insert sounds of doom*

Umm.. hi Mom.  About that doom comment…

Seriously though, my mom, my sister, and one of my mom’s friends are coming to visit.  They’re driving out tomorrow, and should be here sometime late tomorrow evening.  They’ll be here til Wednesday morning, when they make the crazy drive back.  I’m looking forward to the visit.  I’ve taken off work Monday and Tuesday to go touristing with them, which should be fun.  There’s so much to do in D.C., and it’s hard to do it, even though I live here.  It’s a good excuse to visit the city.  And go back to the Spy Museum.  Because I love it.

However, that also means that I must clean like woah.  Ick.  Happy Friday night to me!

Oh Joss

I kind of love Joss Whedon.  Kind of a lot.  I was never a huge Buffy fan, but he captured me with Firefly and Serenity, and I often find his Equality Now speech running through my head.

And today, the first part of his latest venture is available.  Go check out Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.  Neil Patrick Harris.  Hilarious.  Nathan Fillion.  Hilarious.   

Packrat tendencies, perhaps?

I spent four hours last night writing css code.  That no one will ever see but me.  Why?  Because I realized I could do it, so I did it.  Rest assured, the admin area of this site is very pretty. 

Needless to say, I did not go running last night.  I did go on Tuesday night, however, and it absolutely amazes me how awful I have gotten at running.  Taking a month (well, probably closer to two months) off does not really help the training.  But it gives me a goal to work towards, and hey, it means my training runs are shorter!  Those two hour runs on the weekend were getting to be a bit much.  Perhaps I will not train up to those again anytime soon, seeing as I probably won’t run another race until the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile next spring. 

I’m seriously debating getting a roommate.  I fear the unknown, however, and so I’m absolutely not doing the random roommate thing.  At one point, I said I’d let a friend of a friend move in, but I’m not even sure about that one.  I do have one friend who’s looking for a place, so it’s entirely possible things will work out for both of us.  I don’t absolutely need a roommate, but given that I’m no longer getting my promised raise in September, a bit of extra money would be nice.   And it would be fun to have a friend around! 

I am not looking forward to cleaning out that room though.  Having lived in various two bedroom places for the past four years means that I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff because I have places to put it.  I am well aware that much of the stuff is stuff that I really don’t need and haven’t needed in years.  Of course, while unpacking after my move, all the stuff I didn’t know what to do with ended up in that room.  Or in the closet of doom, which also probably needs to be cleaned out.

When I moved, I paid the movers to pack.  Given the distance of the move and my fear that my truck would go off a cliff or something (if you had met the driver I was assigned, you would have been worried too).  Having the movers pack meant that I got way better insurance, and it meant I didn’t have to pack while worrying about the bar exam.  But it also meant that I didn’t do the traditional “Pack or toss” routine when I moved.  Everything moved!  And then when moving in, I didn’t want to have to deal with that dilemma – I just wanted everything put away. 

I think that no matter what happens with the roommate situation, by the end of the summer, I want to have that room cleaned out.  I want to be sure that I’m only keeping things I really want or need to keep, and everything else is getting tossed, donated, or sold.  I’m a little bit afraid of what’s all stashed in the closet, to be honest.

Answering questions

Yesterday, Kris asked

By the way, how did you get to sing in the choir at the Capitol Fourth?  Can you share your background in music?  You’re also a runner!  When do you find the time?  What is your favorite type of music and who is your favorite artist?  These are things we’d love to know about you.

I actually got to sing in the choir at A Capitol Fourth almost by accident.  The choir that performs is officially the Choral Arts Society of Washington.  Of which I am not a member.  Because they don’t have enough members available every year to perform in A Capitol Fourth (it’s summer, people are busy, spending time with family, etc), they put out the call to other local choral groups, including the group that I am in, the Cathedral Choral Society.  A few weeks back, I got an e-mail through our listserv asking if anyone wanted to sing on the Capitol grounds for the Fourth of July.  I honestly didn’t know that this meant A Capitol Fourth – I really didn’t know what it involved.  But we were given a person to contact for more information.  So I did, and I secured myself a spot, and then I realized what I had volunteered for.  Dumb luck, I guess!  I’m definitely watching closely for the call for volunteers next year!

I actually ended up in CCS almost by accident as well.  I was telling a co-worker that I missed singing, and she told me she had a friend in CCS and sent me the address to the website.  Just so happened that auditions were coming up in a week, so I auditioned and I was in.  I actually only sang one concert with CCS this season – I auditioned in January and sang the March concert, then was out of town for the May concert.  But I’ve reauditioned and am planning to participate next season.  Singing in the National Cathedral is incredible!

My background in music… I think I sang my first solo in church when I was in kindergarden or first grade.  It was a Thanksgiving song and I still remember some of the words.  I sang all through school, performing in choirs at school, cantoring at church, performing in musicals both in school and with community groups.  In college, I pretty much ditched voice for band.  I could sing anywhere at anytime, but getting the chance to play my French Horn was much more rare.  I still took voice lessons and gave a senior recital, but never bothered to major or minor in music.  I didn’t want something I loved to become a chore.  I’ve sung a few weddings as well, though not since I moved to D.C.

Other than voice, as I mentioned, I play the French Horn, though not much lately.  Played from 4th grade through college though.  I started piano lessons in kindergarden and took lessons for years, but it’s definitely not one of my talents.

I don’t know what my favorite type of music is.  I like a lot of different kinds of music, and it kind of all depends on my mood.  But I really like a good melody, especially if it’s something I can sing along to.  But it can be a slow ballad, an upbeat pop song, or the chorus to a rap.  Doesn’t matter.  I also really like orchestral music with a lot of brass.  I loved getting to sit right behind the orchestra (and right behind the horns!) while they played John Williams’ Olympic Fanfare last week.  It was so good that it gave me chills.

Favorite artist?  It probably all goes back to James Taylor, to be honest.  I was sort of raised on his music and you really can’t go wrong with his stuff.

According to iTunes, lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Kate Voegele, Girlyman, Hem, Vienna Teng, Michael Buble, LeAnn Rimes and Timbaland.  Yes, that’s a weird “and,” I know.  But TH fans, I did just buy his album from the iTunes store and so far, I’m really liking what I hear!

When do I find the time to run?  Well, looking at my training log, the answer is “I don’t.”  But really, it’s not so hard to set aside 30 to 45 minutes after work to get in a workout at least three times a week, sometimes more depending on what’s going on that week.  I’d like to get back to working out before work, but 5:15 is just so early!  I try to put in a chunk of time on the weekends as well.

Thanks for the questions, Kris!  I really enjoyed answering them!