Squishy...

I got to see one of my mentors the other day. He was my first teacher in my college major, and the first to show me that I could make a career out of... what I do for a living. It's a competitive field, and, because of that, many of my classmates ended up doing other things.

(Do you enjoy the vagueness? It makes for some awkward writing, that's for sure!)

Anyway. When I first met him, he was pretty intimidating (though I'd later learn he's really just a big softie underneath it all). He had high standards, and expected a lot of us. It was a huge deal when he chose me to manage the student staff of... the thing we all worked on (awk!). This was a paying job, and being selected for it was a big vote of confidence. I added a year to my time in college because of the opportunity.

Mind you, this was more than two decades ago, though we've stayed in touch all this time. He's been a really important part of my life.

So it was truly wonderful to hear him say that when people ask him about who his students were, I'm second on his list of the "most accomplished." (Number One is high-profile, and is well-known in certain circles.) Because I just realized this is the closest thing to paternal approval I'll ever get.

I may have lost my father when I was young, but I've been really fortunate to have some very special teachers/mentors in my life, and I'm really lucky that some of them are still in my corner.

I confess...

This one's for Joey, Melissa, Phil and Angela, who, sadly, had to leave before the DJ spun this fine tune...

AWESOME!

And I thought I knew my 70's disco. I'd never heard this song before last Saturday night. I've been missing out.

(I love that this is so low-rent, the person who put this on YouTube had to use "Saturday Night Fever" for video...!)

Low-energy cardboard performance art...

There are no words. This may be the funniest thing I've ever seen on YouTube.

Aside from random videos of people falling down, that is.



(Why is the comment option disappearing tonight?? WHY??)

Why I love this movie...

I cried at the end when I saw it in the theatre when it first came out, much to the confusion of the friends I was with, who were not nearly as moved as I was...

And tonight, I caught it on cable, and again welled up, more than once...which proves it's really the script that gets me, and wasn't my hormones wreaking havoc the first time around:

"Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy... there are Bavarian sugar cookies.

And fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin...

Or a kind and loving gesture.

Or a subtle encouragement.

Or a loving embrace.

Or an offer of comfort.

Not to mention hospital gurneys...

And nose plugs...

And uneaten danish...

And soft-spoken secrets.

And Fender Stratocasters.

And maybe, the occasional piece of fiction.

And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties which we assume only accessorize our days are, in fact, here for a much nobler cause.

They are here to save our lives."

Amen.

(yes, it makes more sense with the visuals, and in context, but the point is clear. in fact, i just got all teary-eyed again just reading this.)

Vote early and often!

Click here now! You know you want to...

Don't even recognize my own life anymore...

I know I keep saying I'll write about my trip to New York any minute now -- jeeez, has it really been more than THREE WEEKS since I returned?? -- but my life has been non-stop since I got back. I've hardly been home since I got home. I've had some sort of commitment -- and often more than one commitment -- each day.

Except for this past Sunday, when I had two commitments but had to cancel both due to extreme exhaustion and sinus cloggage. Thanks a lot, fucking allergy season.

Now, most of those commitments have been very fun, but they haven't given me any time to blog, sit on my ass, clean house, watch TV... all things I would normally have time to do.

So that's bad, right? Except... I don't really miss the TV much (surprisingly!). And I definitely don't miss the cleaning. I do miss the sitting on my ass, but it's more fun to go play. And I do miss the blogging, and keeping up with all of your blogs. A lot.

Things will slow down soon, and our regularly scheduled program shall return. With pictures!