jumpstarting my comeback

Most of you don't know that I used to play the violin. I played all through school up until my junior year of college when I called it quits. I really loved playing and practicing. It was competitive and I did pretty well. Some of my teachers were out there. I remember once Russian woman in particular who scared the shit out of me each week. I would walk shakily into her apartment and she would hammer out the beat on the music stand as I tried to keep up. She would routinely scold me in her harsh accent and chide me for my mistakes. It finally became too much for me when I discovered the world of boys and drinking.

Now that my priorities have evened themselves out a bit, I've decided to pick my ole' violin again. I went to the music store today and bought a music stand, a tuner, and a couple of method books. I really want to learn bluegrass fiddle. I LOVE bluegrass music and have spent countless hours twirling and dancing on big lawns to the rambunctious beat and folky melodies. My thinking is that since I've forgotten so much of what I learned, this is the perfect time to relearn in a different genre.

So I picked my ole' girl today, got her all tuned-up, and put the bow to the strings. Lord, it was ugly! I was horrified by the noises I produced, embarrassed that my neighbors were listening. I actually heard my upstairs neighbor leave! I hope it wasn't on account of the torturing shrieks coming from my apartment. This is definitely going to take some time, many many hours, perhaps an entire lifetime. However, I am optimistic that within the week I will master "Cotoneye Joe" and be able to play it along with the Mel Bay CD that accompanies the book.

Just be thankful this blog doesn't play sound.

I am on a lonely road...

...and I am traveling, traveling, traveling.

This week I was on my own again driving up and down the California coast. The drive from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara is absolutely one of my favorite short road trips ever. The hills to the East are rolling and kind of wrinkled, bright green and dotted with farms. There are cows and horses, vineyards and almond trees.



To the West is the pacific ocean. It shines bright azure blue in the midmorning sunshine. The beaches are flanked with palm tress of various sorts. The coast is rocky with high cliffs and little private beach coves.



Driving down the 101 listening to Joni Mitchell, now this is a place I could see myself spending a lot of time.

Today marks the official 1st birthday of Brinki*Dink. It's hard to imaging that an entire year's gone by but it has. This blog has documented quite a few important events in my life including my stint as an inkeeper, my induction to the world of html, my amazing trip to bonnaroo, my summer in Portsmouth, Zack's trip to MS with the Red Cross, my plans for running a goat farm, my my new job and my move to AZ. In addition this space has been a recepticle for much word vomit including innocuous cat stories, accounts of my cleaning frenzies, and my all too talked about tea obsession.

For year 2, the plans are even bigger. We've got big plans, baby! Plan to see bigger, better displays of graphic art and photography. Plan on reading more engaging fiction, smart political commentary, and wild poetry. Of course, we promise to include bigger and better lists and various other word vomit.

because you're the cat's pajamas

A meme for my girl, Cibi...

Four jobs I've had:
1. Barista, before the job was called Barista
2. Philosophy Dept. student worker
3. Executive Assistant at a publishing company
4. Innkeeper

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Romeo and Juliet w/ Leo and Claire
2. Labyrinth
3. Boondock Saints
4. Legends of the Fall

Four TV shows I love (I'm slightly embarassed about my response here):
1. Related
2. 7th Heaven
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Anything on the Food Network

Four places I've vacationed:
1. Hilton Head
2. NYC
3. Teton National Park
4. Acadia National Park

Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Anything curried
2. Buffalo chicken
3. Goo-balls
4. Soup

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. Santorini, Greece
2. Northern Cali
3. Tennessee
4. Maldives

:)

Happy Valentine's Day Bitches

This morning on NPR I heard a woman, I can't remember her name unfortunately, talking about women and money. She said that over half of women over 50 do not have adequate savings for their retirement. She also said that many, many women rely on their husbands to provide for them in old age.

I think the most poignant thing she talked about though was the importance of money, sex, and communication in a relationship. You have to be able to talk about money and how you want to use in within your relationship. Discussion of your mutual goals and expectations regarding finances is essential. The same goes for sex. Without communicating about these two very important components of a relationship, your chances of a happy life together are slim.

I'm so thankful that I'm learning this lesson now when I'm 27 rather than when I'm 50 years old divorced and broke. Not that I don't think I could handle that possibility, but I'd like to try and avoid it if possible.

Happy Valentine's Day!

oh my sunburn

What a lovely mid-afternoon. Today, having a shitay morning work-wise I decided to go to the gym. After a brisk jaunt on the eliptical and 75 reps on the crunch machine, I took my slightly sweaty ass over to the pool. There, I ate lunch and talked on the phone for a while watching the gaggle of little girls scream and jump in the water. It totally made me flash back about 20 years to a purely innocent, giddy time in life where water and sun and little girlfriends were the only thing that mattered.

Then an old man with a mustashio and a grey lepord print speedo sat down next to me.

My Apartment, A Photo Essay

Nothing like wasting a little water in the desert. As long as it's pretty, right? right?


I wish this pic had more of the art that's in this room. As it is you can only see 'The Literate Cat' calendar, a true representation of our taste.


Yours truly feeding the dish monster.


Our living room. You can sorta see Pong over in the corner diging a hole to nowhere.


My outdoor office. The waterfall's nice eh? Yep, you can swim under it.

smart and funny

FBR at the TPC

I guess it's only fitting that since I'm now a resident of Snottsdale, I should start following golf. Z got us tickets to the annual FBR open held at the TPC Golf Club right up the road. I guess the event was pretty high profile in the gold world considering there were over 160,000 attendees.

Normally, when I've been part of a crowd of this size I've been listening to music, wearing homemade clothes and testing the limits of sobriety or lack thereof. The FBR yeilded one of out three. There's nothing like sipping Miller Light before noon on the green.



It was interesting to listen to some of the conversations going on around us. Trophy wives complaining about how impossible it is to get good help (seriously, I heard this). It must be hard when you're just too busy getting your hair frosted or your lips injected to cook dinner for your family. The attire was intersting though not quite as exciting as it could have been. I was fully expecting to see plaid knickers and hats with pom-poms on top.

The highlight of the experience was watching Phil Mickelson at Hole 16. I guess Hole 16 is one of more well known spots on the course. It's a short one with possibilities for holes in one. Apparently on year, maybe last, Tiger Woods shot a hole in one and the fans went crazy tossing their beer cups on the green. The hole is now surrounded with double decker boxes keeping the fans at a safe distance. I have to say I was impressed with the level of booing, jeering, and chanting. I didn' think the audience had it in them but they certainly had a few things to say to the poor souls who overshot or undershot the hole.



All in all it was a good experience. It was fun to see such magnificent talent on the course. I can't image the skill it takes to get that tiny ball into the tiny hold so far away from the starting point. It was also a good reality check about how the other half lives. I can say with confidence and assurance that I love my life. It may not be grande, full of wealth or status, but it's true and honest and mine.



Don't I live in a beautiful place? Damn, I'm one lucky biach.

get it together

Every other week, give or take, I am on the road traveling for work. This requires me to pack a suitcase way more often than is advised. I'm a notorious over-packer. I like to be prepared and usually there's nothing wrong with that. When camping, I like to pack the car full with groceries, beer, assorted liquors, drums, firewood, blankets and the sort. While I certainly don't need all those crazy survivalistic accoutrements when traveling for business, there is a preparedness that must be present when packing.

I find though that I have yet to achieve the balance between being prepared and being shirtless. I usually end up with too many bottoms and not enough tops or vice versa. I almost always forget something essential like underwear or toothpaste. And, I have to worry every single time that my suitcase is going to exceed the 50 pound limit that airlines so strictly enforce (this has already happened to me 3 times and has resulted in my carrying-on between 5-10 pounds of beauty products or paper).

So, if any of you out there have travel packing tips I would love to hear them. Perhaps I need a weekly check-list? Maybe I should wear the same outfits each time I travel so I can just wash and repack after each trip. Or maybe I should just give-up and resign myself to living with way too many choices of eyeliner and never enough bobby pins.