Things I am really glad someone invented

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There are some things we all take for granted, but someone had to invent them.

I am really glad for:

  1. Air conditioning I may live in a mostly cool climate, but it can get hot here. It gets especially hot in my computer lab. It took 7 years for me to convince someone that I needed a/c in there and it has made all the difference. I am actually in a better mood during the heat waves.
  2. Reach dental floss holders I hate flossing my teeth. It is not a lot of fun for me to stick my fingers in my mouth. I floss every day now. My flosser is pink and his is blue. We also have a purple one that neither of us has used.
  3. Indoor plumbing When it isn’t so hot that you need a/c, it is so cold that you need a down parka. I am thankful every day that I don’t have to go outside to p.
  4. DVR For someone who does a lot of plays, it is great to be able to record “appointment TV” like LOST and Grey’s and watch it later. I hated messing around with tapes and the DVR is awesome.
  5. iPods Our local radio station got bought last year and when they changed over the owners got rid of the 2 great DJs that had been there over 20 years. I hate the new morning guy, so I really only listen for the local news. The rest of the time I listen to NPR on my iPod in the car.

1794 – Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin.

Simply not true

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Things that people believe(d), but just aren’t true:

  • The Earth is flat.
  • Walt Disney is in cryonic storage.
  • Federal law allows Texas to fly the state flag above the US flag.
  • Iraq has WMD
  • German would have become the official language of the USA, but for one vote.
  • The sun revolves around the Earth.
  • Britney Spears is talented.
  • Stars can be seen during the day from the bottom of the well.
  • Paris Hilton is hot.
  • We only use 10% of our brains.
  • The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object can be seen from the moon.
  • Chewing gum takes 7 years to pass through your system.
  • If you blog it…they will read.

1925 – Scopes Trial: A law in Tennessee prohibits the teaching of evolution.
1975 – Courtney C. and Joy D. born
1976 – Lisa H. born

Just PLAYing

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These are all the plays I can think that I have worked on outside of church and school. At least 40 of them before I was 30, not counting the 2 during elementary school. At this rate I will certainly hit 50 before 35! Unless a baby butts in.

  1. Moses and the Freedom Fanatics (second grade)
  2. A Christmas play with a forgotten name (third grade)
  3. Gypsy (1990 – costumes)
  4. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1990 – costumes)
  5. Rimer’s of Eldrich (1990 – costumes/asst. stage manager)
  6. Oliver (1991 – costumes)
  7. Matchmaker (1991 – Ermengarde)
  8. Merry Wives of Windsor (1991 – Mistress Page)
  9. Comedy of Errors (1991 – costumes)
  10. Dracula (1991 – stage manager)
  11. Sound of Music (1992 – stage manager/costumes)
  12. Spoon River Anthology (1992 – stage manager/lights)
  13. Large Fears, Little Demons (1992 – director)
  14. Taming of the Shrew (1992 – costumes)
  15. Romeo & Juliet (1992 – stage manager)
  16. The Wiz (1993 – assistant to the director)
  17. The Italian Straw Hat (1993 – stage manager)
  18. Charley’s Aunt (1993 – stage manager)
  19. Bye Bye Birdie (1994 – stage manager/asst to the director)
  20. A Children’s Hour (1994 – Karen)
  21. Twelfth Night (1994 – costumes)
  22. Lysistrata (1994 – asst. stage manager)
  23. A Girl’s Guide to Chaos (1995 – stage manager)
  24. A Doctor In Spite of Himself (1996 – stage manager)
  25. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1998 – stage manager)
  26. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (yes, 3 times) (1998 – stage manager)
  27. The King Stag (1999 – stage manager)
  28. Romeo & Juliet (2000 – stage manager)
  29. Toad of Toad Hall (2000 – stage manager)
  30. Stop Kiss (2001 – stage manager)
  31. Comedy of Errors (2001 – stage manager)
  32. Prelude to a Kiss (2002 – extra)
  33. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (2002 – Ophelia)
  34. A Christmas Carol (2002 – stage manager)
  35. Double Exposure (2003 – stage manager)
  36. Twelfth Night (2003 – producer)
  37. Spike Heels (2004 – stage crew)
  38. Equivalent Lands (2004 – Naked Bride)
  39. Taming of the Shrew (2004 – stage manager/producer)
  40. Bemused (2005 – stage manager)
  41. The Winter’s Tale (2005 – producer)
  42. The Tempest (2006 – producer)
  43. Light’s Up Broadway (2006 – stage manager/Elphaba)
  44. Variations of the Death of Trotsky (2007 – Mrs. Trotsky)
  45. All’s Well That Ends Well (2007 – stage manager/producer)
  46. HMS Pinafore (2008 – stage manager)
  47. The Lift (2008 – stage manager)
  48. King Lear (2008 – stage manager/producer)

1928 – Edward Albee, American dramatist

I didn’t do it

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Things I haven’t done, that you probably think I have

  1. Downhill skiing My parents took us once when we were kids and I hated it. I totally don’t understand the appeal. It is cold, windy, difficult, why would you want that?
  2. Spent large amounts of time in Canada You would think, since I live in a border state, that I would have been there a bunch of times. In fact, I have been 2 or 3 times. My parents claim we went when I was a child. We ate lunch just over the border when my sister was visiting her boyfriend at camp. We spent our honeymoon in Montreal. That’s it. 3 times. I’ve been to Cancun more times than that.
  3. Smoked pot I never really saw the need. I had a roommate in college that did, but she was not all that into peer pressure. I was in the room sometimes when my friends smoked up, but I never tried it. It probably has something to do with my pessimistic nature: I’d get caught; I don’t need the muchies to eat too much; I’d get sick; I would do something stupid.
  4. Had a lot of jobs My parents owned their own businesses when I was growing up (still do) and my dad figured I should work for them.  So when I was younger (okay, it wasn’t a real job) I worked in the store, stocking shelves, collecting empties, running the register.  You know, they sold the store when I was twelve, but I was still a better cashier and bagger than the kids who work in our grocery stores.  When I got older I had a lot of tasks around the appraisal office (in our house).  I sorted, labeled, recorded photos.  I photocopied and filed appraisals.  I have only had 4 “real” jobs outside of the family, but that is a list for another day.
  5. Seen a lot of plays I enjoy doing theater, but it has to be really good for me to sit through a performance.  I’ve seen more than your average person, but not as many as I should have seen considering my love for it.
  6. Read many “classics”  Mark Twain called a ‘classic’ a book that everyone praises but which no one actually reads.  I have always been more of a current culture sort of girl.  I have read some of those books others would call classics: Little House on the Prairie, Little Women, David Copperfield.  But I prefer modern fiction.

1959 – The original Broadway production of A Raisin In The Sun opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City.

Barbie-Q

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Barbies not yet on the market:

  1. Vermonter Comes with snowboard, Birkenstocks, pint of Ben & Jerry’s, unshaven legs, long straight hair, clothing optional. Accessories include beat up 20 year-old Volvo or Subaru, shotgun, craft studio, co-op membership, and “green” house.
  2. Britney Spears Comes barefoot and bald with short denim skirt and ill fitting top. Wigs at various lengths and colors can be purchased separately. Also available, two baby boys and a big black SUV. Car seat not sold.
  3. Goth Greta With black hair and multiple piercings, this doll defies the typical Barbie stereotype. Come equipped with black eyeliner and lipstick and wearing fishnets and thigh high boots.
  4. Bruce and Jason Barbie’s gay friends. Civil Union from Vermont sold separately.
  5. Puberty Skipper Twist her right arm around backwards and her boobs grow. Twist her left arm around backwards and she sprouts pubic hair.

1959 – The Barbie doll debuts.

Mar 08

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I have been kind of lazy, just posting lists and not really blogging about them. I have been so busy with HMS Pinafore, that I don’t feel like doing anything else.

I am going to blog every day for the month of March though. I joined NaBloPoMo and the theme for the month of March is lists. So I have been making lists. Lists are hard. I am afraid come March 25 I am going to be making lists of everything I ate that day.

I know I don’t HAVE to make lists, I just have to post. But lists are fun. (was that poor sentence structure or what?) At least I thought they would be fun. I wish I was a better writer. I think of things to write about and then I don’t have time. Or I forget. Or I don’t want someone to find what I wrote and realize it is about them. Although, there is little chance of that happening, since the only people I know in real life who read this are the Lord, Best Lady and Mooch. And I don’t really have much to say (bad) about them. In fact, I am not even sure Mooch reads this any more. She has a full time job now. I suppose I could blog about her.

(are you still with me?)

Things I have been doing instead of writing decent blogs (not that you have come to expect them):

  1. stage managing HMS Pinafore
  2. teeching kids two right gud
  3. laundry
  4. shopping
  5. not cleaning
  6. watching Monk

Top 10

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 In honor of the iPod patent, these are my 10 most played songs on my iTunes.

  1. This Flower: Kasey Chambers
  2. Complicated: Avril Lavigne
  3. All I Wanna Do: Sheryl Crow
  4. Meet Virginia: Train
  5. Say Goodbye: Dave Matthews Band
  6. If I Had $1000000: Barenaked Ladies
  7. Anything But Ordinary: Avril Lavigne
  8. Galileo: Indigo Girls
  9. One Week: Barenaked Ladies
  10. Goodbye Earl: Dixie Chicks

2006 – Apple Inc. is granted the patent to the iPod.

39 things I would do if I won $390 million

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  1. Hire someone to repaint the outside of my house and fix the shingles.
  2. Finish doing over all the rooms in our house.
  3. Buy new cars. A Ford Escape Hybrid either in Vista Blue or Kiwi Green for me.
  4. Buy a new car for my sister and each of our parents.
  5. Buy the most high-end Macbook available.
  6. Give a large donation to my church.
  7. Give a large donation to my college.
  8. Buy a theater curtain set for the high school auditorium.
  9. Pay for a really nice wedding for my sister.
  10. Get braces on my bottom teeth.
  11. Make a scholarship for Star Island in honor of my old friend Sarah.
  12. Make a scholarship for a girl, from our high school, going to a women’s college in honor of same friend Sarah.
  13. Hire a personal trainer and a nutritionist.
  14. Fix the steeple on our church.
  15. Buy a new house.
  16. Adopt.
  17. Buy a house for my sister.
  18. Invest.
  19. Hire a personal masseuse.
  20. Have a chef (to work with my nutritionist) and housekeeper.
  21. Completely rebuild the outdoor stage at the park.
  22. Do over the computer lab at my school.
  23. Make Girls on the Run free for girls in WSESU.
  24. Endow a really nice birthing room at the hospital.
  25. Pay off my parents’ house and apartments.
  26. Rehab the entire downstairs and Sunday School wing at church.
  27. Help Star Island with the electrical and fire improvements.
  28. Locate the two “Little Sisters” I had at Tye River and send them to college.
  29. Buy a radio station and hire John Ashley to play nothing but oldies and do contests.
  30. Boob job (smaller and higher).
  31. Buy a house on a loch in Scotland.
  32. Open a yarn shop.
  33. Buy a new building for the Drop in Center.
  34. Rehab and add onto the Morningside Shelter.
  35. Rehab and add onto the Women’s Crisis center.
  36. Repaint the Grange and get new lights and curtains.
  37. Help out the Nursery Schools and Childcare centers in our area.
  38. Give money to my town to fix up the town offices.
  39. Retire and travel the world.

2007 – United States lottery Mega Millions set a new world record for the highest jackpot ever offered of US$390 million.