If a Picture is Worth 1,000 Words, This is a Really Long Post

Ah, DM's birthday. She's 40 now you know. To celebrate my best friend's special day, we each took a few days off work and made a long weekend out of the event. DM wrote a post about her weekend and I don't have much to add. Mainly, I'll provide the pictures.

I hope you enjoy!



On Friday night, we went to a goodbye party for one of my favorite co-workers. This is a picture of Mary (said co-worker) and me.


At Manny's after the opera


Forty and still able to rock. This picture has gotten the response, "Awesome," more than once.


There are more pictures on Flickr and DM has access to post some of the ones I marked private (friends and/or family only able to see). She may post a few more. I'm going to leave this post as just a few.

It was a great weekend, filled with laughter, friends, happy times, and well-wishes. Even crazy moments (such as surprise visitors at karaoke, getting lost, random Trivial Pursuit answers, and conversations about my ability to flip people off while driving) made the weekend that much more special. Best wishes and happy birthday to a wonderful woman! Dana - You Absolutely Rock. I can't think of a better friend.

An Actual Snowstorm

As we left the building at the end of a Saturday night at work, we were amazed to see that the snow was actually accumulating and still arriving.

I love snow. I really do. That's one of the reasons I live in Minnesota. Flakes caught in eye lashes of cute boys, catching flakes on your tongue, the feeling of softness on the ground, it is all wonderful. Since I live close to work, driving in snow doesn't bother me all that often and I'm actually hoping for a bit more snow to arrive and shut down the city for once.

The problem is that our snow removal system is efficient. It is pretty good. Usually the roads are cleared up within 3 hours of the end of the snow. I saw 5 plows alone circling our parking lot at work before we left. Keeping pace with the flurries I guess.

There was lightning and thunder. It's a thunder-blizzard! That's just fun. The snow is still coming now, but it has lightened up a little. The weather report says we should get some more tomorrow. Either way it will be an adventure to dig the car out. I had enough trouble getting out of a spot at work having only been parked there for 5 hours.

To prove my love of snow and how insane Char and I can be, I bring you pictures of the snow angels we made. We were almost frozen by the time we were finished, but it was fun.


Sea of White


Yes, We are Crazy Minnesotans (Char making an angel)


Finding the Perfect Place to Drop (Me)


My Fingers Were Pretty Numb By This Point


When is the Last Time You Made a Snow Angel?


Halo Effect (Fun with Photoshop)

Both of the angels shown here are from Char's angel. The pictures of my angel didn't turn out too well - frozen fingers by that point!

iPod, iPod in My Hand, I Hope the New Year is Not Bland

As the old man turned in and the world welcomed the New Year's baby, DM and I got together to watch the clock turn to tomorrow and celebrated the passing of 2006 and looked forward to 2007. Instead of karaoke, we decided to spend the evening with our cameras and relaxing at one of our old hangouts. The sky opened on Sunday, bringing the longed for "White Christmas" a week late. Snow flurries fell all day long, changing the brown lawns into winter wonderlands, dusting the treetops, and creating halos around streetlamps. There is something about snow that is magical and truly beautiful.

Before treking out in the snow, I spent the afternoon at my dad's. The view from his front lawn was charming, no people on the street and just a few rooms lit up in houses along the way. Beacons telling stories of families gathered together. That's what I imagine at least.



My father and I enjoyed a spicy spaghetti meal while watching "Rear Window." I had never seen the show before and was impressed with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly's performances. Truly a classic. Suspense, humor, and stunning cinematography really did make this film quite stunning.

By the time I went to pick up DM, there was about 3 inches of snow on the ground. This would make most places shut down, but not in the Twin Cities. I would not be surprised if readers in Wisconsin understand the minor inconvenience that snow causes. I say, "Minor," because I do mean, "Minor." In states where snow is common, the plows are ready and waiting. The cities spend millions of dollars each year to have the proper equipment on hand to clear the roads efficiently. The three inches of snow on the ground only slowed the traffic down about 10 miles an hour on the freeways. You learn to drive carefully, but you still drive. That's what it was like picking DM up. Give yourself plenty of room on the road, stay alert, drive passively, be careful, and don't hurry to where you're going are good ways to handle driving in snow. I was impressed, not surprised, by how quickly the streets were cleared. Since the driving conditions were not too bad, DM and I ended up driving through some city streets (which were not as plowed but you drive much, much slower) to take some night photographs of the scenery.







After a few pictures, we headed to Perkins for our third New Year's Eve in a row (which sounds a bit lame, but is safe, fun, and relaxing) and as we pulled up, we saw the flag flying at half-mast to honor President Gerald Ford, the man whose death affected most Americans current lives by shutting down mail service for another day and becoming bigger news than the execution of Sadam Hussein. With the wind whipping our iconic of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness around, I had to take another picture or two. I liked this one.



Once inside the restaurant, DM and I turned to another tradition which we named the previous year as, "Ask the iPod." It is a bit silly and only proves our guillible natures, but we have made a game of asking questions about life to the device and using the song titles to give meaning to the questions. We managed to never actually post the answers the iPod gave us last year, but a few from this year we ones we found mentionable. Truth or fiction, you decide. Personally, it is fun, but I do not take too much stock in the responses. It is good, clean fun. Well, not always clean.

Some of the highlights are listed below. The questions have a B or D in front of them, designating if I asked the question or if it was the Queen of the Universe herself. You'll notice themes in our questions (can you imagine the men who are on our minds?). The iPod's responses are in italics (and italicizing the word italics is just silly but I enjoyed it).

D: Will I fall in love with someone else in 2007 (after questions leading her to believe there is a different person)? Maybe Katie

D: Am I going to become a lesbian? Whenever, Whereever

B: iPod, are you saying DM is going to date women? Testing 1, 2, 3

B: (After a question leading us to believe zombies are going to arise from the dead) Why are zombies going to arise in 2007? Addicted to Love (which is the best reason to come back to life)

D: Will I finish my Portugal scrapbook(s) this year? Laughable

D: Is Beth going to make a travel book to make money? Wish You Were Here (which sounds like a good title)

B: What should I do wild and crazy this year? Truth of the Heart

D: Will Beth ever appreciate the comic stylings of Adam Sandler? Too Little Too Late (by the way, I hate him. He irritates every bit of my soul. It offends me that he has made money by being an idiot and that there are people out there who pay for the immature humor - this type of humor annoyed me when I was 5 and it still does.)

B: When (and if) I see Andriy, what will happen? Moody's Mood for Love

B: What song should always remind me of Andriy? The Weakness of Me

D: What song should always remind me of James? Dying to Live (which, by the way, is a great song by Jonny Lang - "Are you living to die or dying to live?")

D: What song should remind us of Sarah? Just the Way You Are (which is sweet)

D: Will I have wonderful sex this year? Dance Without Sleeping

B: Is Andriy the one for me? Everyone is Waiting

D: What is my song fr 2007? Lovers in a Dangerous Time

B: What is my song for 2007? Learning to Fly

D: Who is the one? Do I know the one? I'm Afraid of Americans

D: Is my one male? It's Not Unusual and Piece of My Heart clarify: Mr. Jones

We did have some fun and asked silly questions and got worked up over concidental answers. All-in-all, I got to ring in the new year with my best friend and had a great time.

CarpeDM said: Hey! You forgot the corresponding answer to "I'm afraid of Americans "which was an Englishman in New York, leading us to believe we'll have to take a road trip to New York this year so I can meet an Englishman (or you know, an English woman since iPod hates me and thinks I'm a lesbian). I had so much fun with you. As always. Dude. You so rock. zsqrkw - when I try to say this in my head it sounds oddly like kurka. Dang it.

Frustrated Writer said: Great pictures, great post, and I love the answers the Ipod gave. Glad you were with each other on NYE and I am inspired by your wonderful friendship with each other.

Teri said: I hate Adam Sandler, too...

Mother of Invention said: Finally! Took me 3 tries to get this box to open! I'm envious of your snow! Send a few flakes our way! You had such a great NY's Eve...sounds perfect! And some of those i-pod answers seem unwittingly prophetic! (I've never seen an i-pod close up so I have no clue what you're doing with it!) Cool pics! If we EVER get snow, I'll post some!

Happy Moments

As predicted, Christmas at my mom's was pleasant, fun, and to put it plainly, great. My dad and I both arrived a little after 4. Sitting in the family room, recently redone (quite the project for my mom and Scott), we watched the "Yule Log," on TV and conversed for a bit before opening gifts. The pets are getting older and all sat back, monitoring quietly.

I gave my mom a book, some cooking pans she wanted, coffee, and a movie she enjoyed. Scott received a CD and an iTunes gift card. I got my dad a DVD TV set and a golf store gift certificate. The gifts all matched the person and everyone enjoyd what they got. I received money from both parents, plus a care package (toilet paper and Kleenex), a bunch of miniture liquor bottles (I collect them like my father does - they are never opened and never drank), one of those memory foam pillows (yea!), and a digital picture frame complete with an extra memory card for my camera. There was the typical random gifts from mom, the things she picked up for me that she just decided to wrap. One year I got a jar of mayo. This year I got two cans of De-Icer for the car.

After presents, we talked some more. Then we headed upstairs for an excellent meal. The Swedish Pancakes, an old family recipe passed on since at least my great-grandmother, were perfect and I remember how much I love them. Once the meal was cleared, my dad hung around for a little bit and then went home. My mom and I ended up playing Trivial Pursuit, a game neither of us has ever really played before (except for Saturday night when I played it with Char). We were terrible at the game, but had a lot of fun. We both ended up laughing hysterically over a question about who was greeted in Japan by a robot dog singing the Russian national anthem. The answer was Vladimer Putin but my mom missed the fact it was the Russian national anthem and answered, "Walter Mondale!" Which was very wrong.

I took pictures, of course.

Pepper was Santa:


The new additions to my collection:


My dad with a bow on his head. He wouldn't let me take a picture of him when the bow was on his forehead.


On Thursday, DM, Sarah, and I went to karaoke. We haven't exchanged gifts with each other yet, but we did bring up the gifts for Bryan, Liz, and James.
Liz, James, and bryan:


Now I'm back home, relaxing before the next work week starts. I have a few reviews I need to get written this week plus a couple of interviews (which could turn into evening training again).

There was also something nice tonight when I got home. More on that tomorrow. I hope everyone had a lovely day, filled with love and happiness.

CarpeDM said: Glad you had a great time. I love the fact that your mom wraps up mayo and De-icer. She rocks. My standard answer for Trivial Pursuit political questions is James Van Buren. No clue why. Why does James always look a tiny bit psychotic? It must be part of his charm.

Diana said: Glad your Christmas was lovely. I get a giggle out of your mom wrapping up mayo.

Mother of Invention said: susdxqivTrivial Pursuit gets easier as you recognize answers from previous questions...or not! I think it's great that your mom and dad get together so you can see them both. Perhaps it was never awkward for them. Sounds like everyone enjoyed all the gifting you did. I can't wait to see your next post! I'm already guessing what it might be about! Won't let me comment as Mother of Invention!

Ellen said: Love how your dad is decked out in a tropical polo for Christmas day, lol. Brad and I went over to Jeff's and he made prime rib for Christmas. It was nice. I should get the pancake recipe from your mom some day. I know it takes a lot of work to make them, though. Hope you have an equally awesome New Year's Eve/Day!

Lioness said: I'm so happy you had a lovely Christmas, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I wish we could meet again.

Frustrated Writer said: I am glad you had a wonderful Christmas! I am glad I can post comments on your blog again!

Inside Jokes...

Little words, phrases, or actions that make those in-the-know smile fill our lives. Out of context, the minute gestures or conversations may seem trivial or those observing two friends laughing hysterically will think those holding their guts and slapping their knees are certifiable.

While DM wrote a post today (Friday) about the letter Q, I could write a post about the letter K. For no reason what-so-ever, the letter K pops up into my favorite phrases regularly. Most of those result in an inside joke.

For example, I am extremely ticklish. It is so bad that I will giggle and laugh and feel like I am being tickled with just someone mentioning the word tickle. Those I work with and those I know from karaoke (another word with K) all torture me with this fact. I cannot tickle someone else without giggling uncontrollably and there is another supervisor at work who gets great pleasure at making me laugh all afternoon long.

Monkey! A few years ago, I was watching "Planet of the Apes," with Keem and DM. To annoy Keem, each time an ape was on the screen, I would say, "Monkey!" Yes, I know apes and monkeys are different. This was done to annoy Keem. I like monkeys, somewhat. They are cute and all, but no where near my favorite animal. But since I said this during the movie, people keep giving me monkeys. I have one that I really like, a stuffed animal that Ellen gave me years ago named, Elwood. She has his brother, Jake. Now Steve, my tem lead, loves monkeys and can do a pretty good impression. It doesn't hurt that he looks a bit like Curious George to begin with. Today, to entertain our HR consultant who was having a bad day, I was pulled into her office to be tickled while Steve acted like a monkey. It did make her smile.

There are other words that have strong K sounds in them that have been picked up as vocab between DM and I. Our trip to Canada helped us learn Kakabeka. A trip to Wisconsin helped us pick up Kinnickinnick (which is totally fun to say).

But the ultimate word that has a K sound in it that I've adopted is Chicken. Thrown randomly into conversation is a great way to watch DM throw up her arms and make the disgusted, "ARGH!" noise. The beauty of chicken is the fact that it is a common topic and references to it are easy to make.

It started simply, when DM would ask a question (such as, "What should I sing?"), I would reply, "Chicken." Then I grabbed the Ukrainian-English dictionary I have (before I had heard from Andriy) and learned the Ukrainian word for chicken is pronounced as "Kour-kah." More K sounds.

Then it has become a great challenge to find new ways to involve the word into conversation or throw a reference to it into DM's life. I'm particularly proud of the greeting card I sent inter-office mail to her, wishing her happy thoughts and CHICKEN! A radio ad helped me quite a bit by stating, "We've asked everyone and the answer keeps coming up CHICKEN." Co-workers (the other supervisor, Steve, and Sarah) have all sent her chicken related emails.

Earlier this week, while Christmas gift shopping with DM, I preprogrammed my cellular phone to say, "CHICKEN!" when closed. She was not expecting that one. Sarah told her last night that she is getting DM chicken for Christmas.

Two weeks ago, my team had a meeting where we watched a movie. The team chose to watch "Chicken Run." When I got to karaoke, I told DM that we watched a movie about chickens. Her reply, "No, no you did not. You're trying to get me. What did you watch?" Then I told her it was "Chicken Run."

The great part is now every time someone brings up the topic of chicken to DM, she thinks I had something to do with it.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy, safe, memorable, and pleasant holiday season. Don't cook the duck. It just tastes like chicken.

Teri said: I think you should learn to say chicken in other languages in order to drive DeeEm totally crazy. Spanish: Pollo (Poy-yo) French: Poulet (Poo-lay) German: Hähnchen (han-chen) Latin: pullus go here to get millions more language options...

CarpeDM said: Stupid thing wouldn't let me comment earlier. Teri, that's just mean. But funny! Beth, I loved this, especially about the monkey and the chicken part. It's always fun when you get goofy! Merry Christmas. I'm going to take a nap now.

Mother of Invention said: A Krafty and Kool post! HA! Have a wonderful Christmas...feast and fest!

Writing Emails

Tonight, I got caught up in responding to emails. I have a few contacts I still need to reply to - MySpace is not something I look at often, but I managed to find three people that I actually know trying to contact me through it. One was my friend, Melissa, from my pool hall days who now seems to be interested in computers. I had two emails from high school contacts - I'm delaying those responses. Also, a friend from the bank who moved away over 2 years ago found me and contacted me. That was a nice surprise.

I also wrote back to Andriy. Finally. I had a couple of problems writing to him. Part of it had to do with the fact his reply was delayed and I didn't want to seem too anxious. I also didn't know what to write about. I'm being overly careful with my correspondence with him. I don't exactly know why. And the main reason for the delay? I didn't want to be stuck in the "oh-when-will-he-reply" waiting game again. It's going to be a continuous cycle.

I've given up on trying to post each night - but I am back in the habit of writing more than once a week. I'm going to try and find something to write about each night - even if it is just an update about my day.

Oops!

Well, I missed a day in the whole NaBloPoMo. Oh well. I guess missing one day isn't that bad and I am back in the habit of posting more often.

The problem? I'm running out of things to write each day. Taking the time each night to stare at a blank screen does seem to help and I randomly just start writing about something.

This weekend, I was an awful friend. DM moved and I didn't help. I feel bad about this. My stomach felt good, mainly because my reason for skipping out happened to be Thanksgiving dinner at my dad's. And that dinner included garlic injected turkey. Yum, yum, yum!

After dinner, Dad flipped through the channels and found Pulp Fiction playing. I do enjoy this movie (because I'm morbid or something) and we had to laugh at the horrible editing job the cable channel did. To edit for content on a movie that violent and that heavy on foul language, it certainly was interesting. We only watched a few scenes, but they were just plain bad. An entire character (while a minor character - but one that drove a significant storyline) was deleted. There was also a part where the "kind of" replaced the word that is never allowed on basic cable (unless it is really late at night).

And what really bothers me about TV editing of foul language? Movies are changed to leave out words like (and pardon me here) "Fuck," "Ass," "Goddamn," and "Balls," (the last is absolutely ridiculous) and leaves in words like, "Bitch," "Whore," and racial slurs. Why is it appropriate to use terms that are derogatory towards women and minorities, but white, heterosexual males are protected? Pisses me off. Sorry, that was my rant of the morning.

I've been helping Sarah with her accounting homework. Well, there's this problem that we've been working on this past week and it kept stumping me. Tonight, Sarah brought her homework up to karaoke (yes, I still went even without DM - horrible friend! Yes, I know.) And I finally figured it out! It's kind of lame to be this excited to have figured out a basic accounting problem, but I guess it frustrated me and I am glad it is over.

I think that's good for tonight (morning). There's something else I need to write (non-blog related) and I'm stumped with bad writer's block. And it bothers me. If you were me, and you needed to write to someone in a way that is interesting, what would you suggest I write about? Work? Family? Silly movies that were edited in a bad way? Okay, strike that last one.

Oh, I like Paul Simon, who's that guy I don't like?

I love Dana. Not in that way. I do love her as one of my best friends in the entire world. She's great. She's said so herself (as in, "I'm great, I just don't remember it"). A night out with Dana is worth more than a year of comedy clubs, a decade of warm fuzzies, and a lifetime of penguins. (Did I mention, I'm kind of random?)

Before I go too much further, I need to explain the title of this post. This is one of the reasons I love Dana.

I like music right? I think most people in the world would say they do. I know that everyone has different tastes and that's perfectly fine. Sometimes though, Dana scares me. I had gone CD shopping one late Tuesday night (just to check out the late-night record shop) and yea! I found Paul Simon's greatest hits. I, of course, am overjoyed. My friends, Dana included, have enjoyed listening to other Paul Simon albums many a nights of playing Sheepshead.

The next day, I go to work as usual. Sharing my excitement, I show Dana my new CD. She scoffs and gives me this look like she's thinking, "Oh my God, why did she buy that crap?" I stare at her in this puzzled fashion and feel a little hurt that she never mentioned not liking Paul Simon's music before. I decide to let it go.

After work, Dana and I were to go hang out with Matt. As we're getting to my car (Dana does not drive), I let her know her choices of music for the evening. I have Eminem or Paul Simon. I know that she hates Eminem and this she confirms by stating (imagine a heavy sigh first), "I'll put up with Paul Simon." So we get Matt and are driving (for the life of me I cannot remember where). The music is playing and Dana says, "Well, I like this Paul Simon song." (I think it was Graceland.) 'O.K.' I think to myself. The next song comes on and she repeats herself. After about 7 songs, Dana turns to me and says, "Oh, I like Paul Simon! Who's that guy I don't like?"

Here's the funny part. When she asks me "Who's that guy I don't like?" I respond, "Bob Dylan." This was correct. Matt is now in the backseat of my car, scratching his head and looking for Rod Sterling. (For those wondering how I figured out the guy she doesn't like, you have to know Dana and follow associations. Paul Simon and Bob Dylan were both folk singers from the same era. Their last names could be boy's first names. There is a connection.)

On a regular basis, Dana asks me why we are friends. She's adventurous and impulsive, I'm logical and follow the rules. She works days, I live at night. At first glance, you would say the only things we have in common are: we're female, we both breathe air. But then, life is not made up of appearances. (If it were, many people with mullets would be in prison.) Dana and I met through our jobs at a bank (to remain nameless - this is not a place to slam a corporation). We both worked together on the helpdesk and at one time had similar schedules. We still work together (only 3 hours a week) in positions that include the helpdesk and functions similar to assistant managers. Does that make us friends? No, it doesn't. I work with many people (some for even more than 3 hours a week) and I wouldn't call them my friends. I would call most of them co-workers. So that doesn't answer the question.

Dana and I are both avid scrapbookers (so is Keem, but she'll get her own post). We can watch movies, cut paper, laugh at pictures, drool over new cropping toys, and spend entire evenings working on creative projects to store our photos. Does this make us friends? It's an interest we both have and we have a good time doing it, but no. I don't think this is what makes us friends. I know other people who I definitely would not call friends who love to scrapbook. I can walk into any scrapbooking store and see other people with the same interests I have and not call them my friends. So, that doesn't answer the question.

When it comes to music, Dana and I are pretty close to being on the same page. (Or should I say Page?) We do both like Barenaked Ladies and Matchbox Twenty. There are other bands we both enjoy, but then we both have some differences in our music choices. So because we can laugh and sing to the same songs, does that make us friends? I think not. I've been to a few concerts and I wouldn't call the entire crowd my friends. It just doesn't happen.

Are we friends because we both love watching movies? No. Lots of people watch movies and even if the movies we like are the same, it doesn't make people friends.

I think this entire random string boils down to my definition of friendship. Friendship is one of the most challenging and exciting things about life. Many people out there will tell you family is the most important thing, but I don't believe it. I do believe family is important, I love my family dearly, but I think friendship is better. I never hear anyone saying that they want to spend the rest of their life with their family. They want to make their own family. How do you make a family? You surround yourself with friends. I think you can make members of your family into your friends. What is special is when your friends have become a member of your family. Friends can be those family members you want around.

Friends can make you laugh. They can make you cry. They can be a shoulder when times are tough, or they can be a sun shining in the happy times. What is most important in friendship is knowing they are there for you, just as you are there for them. Dana is one of those people who I know, deep down in my heart, will always be a friend. I will always want to hang out with her and laugh all night. I will always want to get into deep discussions about politics, religion, or even minor things such as music or books with her. If there is a problem in her life, I will want to help her deal with it. She deserves the world and I want to help her in her journey to get it.

Dana and I are friends because I know she will always be true to herself and those around her. She doesn't hide who she is. She is willing to try new things, have fun, and chalk up the bad to learning experiences. Dana has a kind soul, she loves life, and she spreads joy. In knowing her, I call her my friend. Friendship is a combination of so many factors, and when they come together, it is the best thing. With Dana, friendship comes together. She makes those around her smile. She can be eccentric, she can have her silly days, but when all is said and done, she is true and one of the greatest people in the world. I'm lucky to know her and (dare I say it) blessed to call her my friend.

1 Comments:

At 10:43 PM, CarpeDM said...

Damn it! You made me cry. I was going along, just fine, laughing at the whole Paul Simon thing and then boom - tears! Thank you for all of the wonderful things you said about me. Gosh, I'm great. Oh, c'mon, you so knew that was coming.

Love you much! Ciao!