DECEMBER 2003 - FEBRUARY 2004

02.26.04 - My Brother Is A Winner

    I had the privilege of watching probably the most inspired performance I have ever seen. I am so proud of my little brother, Ben, and their musical theatre group, Hillary, Jen, Josie, Katie and Bill. They performed a part of "Seussical: The Musical" focusing on the "Horton Hears a Who" story. I have never seen any of this musical but I walked away humming the songs. It was such a pleasure to watch the audience react to the energy in the performance. From the moment they walked in until the moment the critic judge was done commenting on the piece they exuded "Seuss." They were so engaged that they drew everyone into their world and that is truly a feat that few performers ever accomplish. It was a moment I will never forget, as I jumped out of my seat after their final pose, being so proud and so amazed to see them succeed. It was no suprise that they walked away from the awards ceremony with the critic's choice banner for musical theatre. They, along with all of the speech groups from Union High School and Roberson and Mitchell, worked so hard on everything. CONGRATS!!! You earned it.

    I spent the weekend in Ames and got to see my family... including my long lost brother, Jeremy. And we had a fun time hanging out. I also got to visit some of my friends who are still in that area.
    In other news, I got to see Aaron and Cody last night. They were passing through on a shoot and it was very nice to spend some time with them. And the sun is actually shining today. Yesterday, the Weather Channel kept saying that it was mostly sunny, when in fact the sun didn't shine at all.

02.18.04 - This City Makes My Head Hurt

    Why? Because of the smell. Because they only half-plow the streets. Because drivers never use their turn signals (and a million other traffic violations.) Because it takes too long to drive anywhere in the city. Because it hasn't been at or above normal temperatures in over a month. Because there is still almost 2 feet of snow on the ground. Because there is more snow on the way. Because of the Wind Chill Index. Because there are never any good movies to rent. Because the people in the movie theatres rarely know anything about courtesy. Because there aren't that many good places to eat out. Because there isn't much in the way of good entertainment. Because there are too many "cowboys." Because it's in Iowa. Because it's too close to Nebraska. Because I let it.
    Enough of that. I needed to get that out of my system. There are things I like here. LAMB Theatre is one of them. The people I work with and the kids that I teach are wonderful. I have so much fun and feel so welcome there.
    This weekend I am going to Ames to watch my little brother perform "Seussical" on Saturday at Large Group All-State Speech. I am going down on Friday and staying until Sunday. Which is good because I need a vacation.
    It is a little warmer today. And the sun is shining...

02.04.04 - What I Know

    January was cold.
    Our apartment was a chilly 45 degrees last Thursday.
    We have about 16 inches of snow on the ground.
    February is the shortest month.
    The complete NBC lineup from 8:00am to 5:00pm.
    Marlena is the Salem serial killer on "Days."
    The Timberwolves are doing awesome.
    The Patriots won the Super Bowl.
    I'm apparently the only one on the planet that missed the half-time "show."
    Gas is $1.50 a gallon.
    There are no cars allowed in Venice.
    The guy that lives downstairs plays loud country music.
    LAMB School started it's spring semester this week.
    I'm teaching Creative Dramatics I & II and Theatre Improv.
    February is cold.
    I want to move somewhere that you never have to shovel snow.
    LeBron James didn't make the cut for the All-Star Game.
    You can buy 4 shirts for less than $16 at Target.
    Sioux City drivers are the worst.
    Iowa Hawkeye basketball plays when "The Bachelorette" should be on.
    Pop-up adds are annoying.
    Ben will be performing with his musical theatre group at State Speech on Saturday.
    I have to get up at 5:00am to judge State Speech on Saturday.
    I haven't updated in a long time.

01.11.04 - I'm Still Here

    Well, I'm sitting in my newly clean apartment, surfing the internet for new vegetarian recipes and waiting for the "Lord of the Rings" special to start in 20 minutes on A & E. And I thought, "Why not give people what they want?" So that's exactly what I did. I updated my webpage.
    I don't have any stories nearly as interesting as Aaron's Jesse Ventura one, but I do have some advice. Get your hands on the extended versions of "Fellowship" and "Two Towers." They are awesome.
    Oh, if you have any recipes... send 'em my way.

01.04.04 - The Long Expected Update

    I know that I haven't been keeping up the site, and I wish I could use the 'I was too busy' excuse. But I can't. So I'll just use the 'I was too lazy' one instead.
    I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the holidays. I certainly did. I went home on Christmas Eve and celebrated Jeremy's birthday and Christmas with my mom and brothers. Christmas day... well, I got through it with the help of Ben and Jeremy and a PS2. Celebrated with my mom's family on Saturday in Fort Dodge and then too much food and a day later I was back in Sioux City. I got a lot of really cool stuff for Christmas. And that makes me happy.
    Worked for a couple days at the beginning of the week. Then watched the countdown on Conan's show to ring in the New Year and I've pretty much been watching football and Mythbusters since it began. I also got a chance to enjoy the nice weather we were having. (50 degrees in January!!) Now it's in the low 10's and freezing and snowing and blowing. I'm off to hibernate.

12.12.03 - Holiday Happiness... Maybe A Little Too Happy?

    I have a 20 minute commute to work in the morning and when my radio actually works because it's warm enough, I listen to the Christmas music station. Trying to get into the holiday spirit or whatever. But I've noticed something in one of the songs that really disturbs me. I'm sure you've all heard "Winter Wonderland" and thought "Hey, this is a pretty catchy tune. No wonder many music artists have performed it." But have you actually listened to the lyrics? Here's a sample...
In the meadow we can build a snowman
And pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say, are you married, we'll say, no man
But you can do the job while you're in town
    Now, can you tell me what that means? Is the singer actually saying that they are not married but the snowman could substitute for a husband until it melts? And there are more than one persons that this snowman can do the job for... isn't that bigamy?
    I have a place to sit and watch tv that is not the floor! I purchased a nice wooden futon last weekend and it was delivered yesterday. It looks really good in our livingroom now that we've rearranged.
    And they now have books that read themselves to children, so parents don't have to interact with their children. All you have to do is get an electronic book for your and a talking treat ball for your pet and you could leave for a vacation this holiday season and no one would ever know the difference.

12.08.03 - The Snowmen Are Coming! The Snowmen Are Coming!

    It looks like we'll be getting freezing drizzle late in the evening, followed by 3 - 6 inches of snow. Just what I need... I'll only have to get up 2 hours earlier that I normally to to scrape and chip my way into my car in the morning. The upside is the ice will most likely freeze the little door for my gas tank shut and I won't have to worry about it flopping open all the time.

12.03.03 - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

    On my webpage. It's snowing and blowing and freezing. Only 5 more months... I can handle it. Went home to LaPorte for Thanksgiving and got to see my family. I did venture out on the day after Thanksgiving, my little brother wanted to check something out at Best Buy. We didn't go until 10:15 in the morning but it was still mass chaos. After one store, we took a break and then went out to eat. That was enough for us. I'm going to do my Christmas shopping online.
    I would give you a list so you can shop for me for Christmas... but sending money would probably be a better idea and a lot easier too.