Labyrinth Update

I still haven't seen the movie, but my mom just clarified in an e-mail to me what the heck she was talking about when I asked her about Labyrinth.



Anywho, hopefully I will be able to move onto a new subject soon.

Dance Magic Dance

While visiting some friends in Portland a few weeks ago, my friend started singing this song. I think that she has been singing this song everyday for the last ten (TEN! has it been that long?!) years that I have known her - or I've heard her sing it on three separate occasions , I'm not sure which scenario it is. Anyway, I didn't know what movie the song was from and my friends were amazed...AMAZED that I have never seen Labyrinth. After checking some facts on the movie, I have come to a few conclusions as to why I haven't seen the movie. 1.) I was 8 when the movie came out. David Bowie can seem quite scary to 8 year olds (not that I knew who David Bowie was at the time.) 2. Fraggle Rock scared the crap out of me as a child. I think that it still does - the creatures look Fraggle Rockish to me. 3.) 'Back to the Future' came out in 1985 and I know my dad took my brothers and I to see the movie in the theatres multiple times, I was too occupied by Michael J. Fox mania to notice silly creatures that sing (did I mention that they are scary too?!) To further prove that it isn't MY fault that I have never seen the movie, I can look to my mom's response when I asked her about Labyrinth. Our conversation went something like this, "Mom, have you seen Labyrinth." "Yes, it chases a ball." HUH??

Perhaps I will add Labyrinth to my NF queue - BUT I'm not bumping it to the top of the queue. (Also, I'm not watching at my friends house in Portland - they use a projector and screen to watch all of their movies - and while I find their set-up schweet, no one needs to see David Bowie in tight pants larger than life.)

Candlebox, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Soundgarden and butt rock.....

I don't think that our upstairs neighbor has bought a new cd since 1997. I also think his feet are made of cinder blocks.

Just an observation.

24 Hours Away From the Volkswagen

My 99 Jetta has now reached the stage in its life where it likes to teach me about different parts of itself and how they work. Unfortunately, this means that I get to take it to the mechanic in order to 'learn' these lessons. Two weeks ago, the battery was dead - thats not too big of a deal, been through it before. Last Friday, the car wouldn't start again. A friend helped jump start the battery. (To that friend: I will never mock your choice of limited employment ever again.) He followed me to a local mechanic and let me barrow his car for the rest of the day so that I could get at least a few hours in at the office. Later in the afternoon the mechanic called to let me know that the only problem was a faulty battery terminal. My gratefulness of the minimal bill outweighed any embarrassment for not checking the terminals myself. After work AC and I picked up my Jetta. AC drove our friend's car out of the parking lot and then my car died. A faulty terminal wasn't the only issue my car was having.

That evening AC and I decided that we needed to get away. Arrangements were made for a rental car and a night's stay at the Bellwether Hotel in Bellingham, WA. Jenks would get to spend some quality time at my parents house with their Boston Terrier, Bo.

The next morning, before we left, I was informed that we would have to tow the vehicle to a VW authorized garage - AWESOME, more money! I made a few phone calls to arrange the tow and service. AC walked over to the garage to pay the bill and then we left for Bellingham. (After dropping off friend's car and Ponkey.)

Our trip to Bellingham was great. We hit one of my favorite watering holes, Archer's Alehouse, where a few buddies of mine were bartending. Afterwards, we decided to walk around Fairhaven, so I could point out college memories to Alex. ('That was my favorite coffee shop my sophomore year, oooh and that's the table that I sat at all the time.' You know, the stories that are entertaining when you think of them, but when you share them with others, you realize you're just setting yourself up for an obligatory nod.) While walking past Dos Padres a friend of AC's popped her head out to see if it was really him walking by. We joined her and a few more padres for a bloody mary and cribbage spectation. All of this just reminds me of how much I love Bellingham.

We retreated back to the Bellwether where we inspected our room like little kids who have never been in a hotel before.
'Oooh look, a patio.' 'Awesome, a fireplace.''YES, we got a wheelchair-accessible room, this bathroom is HUGE!' (Seriously, it was the size of our living-room at home.) 'Schweet, we have eight pillows, you'll get one, I get seven.' 'Hey, if you open the doors above the jet tub, you can watch tv from the toilet!'... You catch my drift.

The next morning we headed out to my favorite breakfast joint, which was overflowing with people waiting to eat. I forgot that you either have to show up an hour before sunrise or right before it closes to get a seat. We ended up crossing the street to Bob's Burger and Brew for their breakfast. The food was alright - I have to say, that was the first time that I have ever left BB&B not painfully full. I was thankful.

We then got a call from AC's friend who had AC's shoes for the past month (and AC was wearing his shoes - long story short, don't drink beer and swap shoes.) Anywho, he was playing indoor soccer at the Sportsplex, so we decided to stop by and swap shoes. AC's friend was on the field when we arrived so we watched some of the game. I was content. Soccer memories of years past flooded my brain. This time I even kept them to myself for AC's sake! No luck for you the reader, I'm going to share a few. "There was the spot that I scored my third goal in a game. That was the spot that I trashed-talked some opponent and then took the ball away from her. Over there I scored the game winning goal in the last few seconds. Against that wall is where I snapped my ankle. Thats the spot where I had the own-goal. There is where I charged at the ref and got thrown out of the game." I could go on forever with these memories - I played there on multiple nights for about 4 years.

Shoes were swapped and we were on our way back home. When we had finally returned to our apartment, I realized that 24 hours away was exactly what I needed. My mind was able to think about things other than work, money and the Jetta. I know that I spent a lot of time thinking about my college days, but I wasn't trying to relive them. (Even if the 3B wasn't torn down, I made a promise to myself that I couldn't go there after a certain age. I will miss you 3B!) My point is that I was able to give my brain a break from worrying about the daily stresses that we all have in our lives and just sit back and be content for a moment.