being jennifer garrett

Roller coaster ride

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:26:00 +0000

The Storm game tonight was tough. On the one hand, the team rallied back from a double-digit deficit to win against the Lynx, improving their home record to 15-1. I gave myself a headache, I was screaming so much. On the other hand, all of that seemed pretty silly when Swoopes went down after an elbow to the head. She didn't move; it was awful. Especially because I knew her son, Jordan, is a ball kid and had to just sit and watch like the rest of us. They ended up taking her out on a stretcher, but thankfully, preliminary indicators are good.

And then after that, as newly minted season-ticket holders, we got to go to a special session after the game, and we met Sue Bird and Katie Geralds. That was pretty fucking sweet right there. (It was also there that we met the president of Force 10 Hoops, who gave us the good news about Swoopes.)

I wouldn't do that if I were you

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:08:00 +0000

J.R. and I hit Barnes and Noble tonight to spend our extra 15% off coupon. I was indulging and getting a hardback because it was going to be almost as cheap as Amazon, but I didn't have to wait for it and I didn't have to cringe in fear of the shipping fucking up my book. Now, anyone who has ever been to a bookstore with me knows that I do not enter into book shopping lightly. Whilst my sister Dawn is the champion shopper of the family, unquestioned, I take book buying to another level. Every book in the stack is scrutinized carefully for flaws, hanging chads, bent pages, and any kind of marking. (I'm extra fun at Powell's, especially as I'm digging through the used books, comparing spines and page discoloration.)

Tonight was no different, and I went through the entire stack of Careless in Red before I selected the perfect one. I mean, no way am I going against my "wait for paperback" mystery mantra without getting the best fucking hardback out there. Bygones. The point is this: I take my carefully selected books to the counter (I also picked up an excellent remaindered copy of One Good Turn), the cashier rings them up, and puts them in a bag. But then she appears to doubt her bag choice: Is it indeed strong enough to hold two hardback books? She shakes the bag. She fucking shakes the bag with my two carefully and painstakingly selected books in it! Bitch, I will kill you. She's just lucky J.R. was there to usher me out before blood was shed. Also, the books were fine. But she couldn't know that!

Juiced

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:53:00 +0000

Because I am so cool and hip to new tunes, I was super excited to finally get my Juice Newton from Amazon. For some odd reason, I couldn't find it in any stores around here. Bygones. There is nothing -- nothing, I say -- like driving in your '97 Saturn with the windows down, wind in your hair, belting out "Angel of the Morning."

Damning with faint praise

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:17:00 +0000

"Of course you do, Jen. You're a conformist that way."

Ouch.

Refueling

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:57:00 +0000

Never fear, more books are here! God bless Powell's.

Going coastal

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:23:00 +0000

Yesterday, we did something new in Oregon: We went to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, which was very cool. I think we all know how I feel about planes (as long as I'm not flying in them). And the Spruce Goose is ridiculously huge. I don't see how Hughes got it to fly even 70 feet off the ground. After we saw all that was there (the aviation portion was far superior to the space offerings), we headed to the coast, and saw Haystack Rock, of Goonies fame. It was all awesome.

Oregon trail

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:09:00 +0000

We're in Portland again. You know that can only mean one thing: Powell's. Sweet!

Storming

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:28:00 +0000

We welcomed the WNBA back into action tonight at the Storm/Comets game. The Storm continued their home dominance and held the Comets to a measly 49 points -- TT only notched 8 points, half of which came at the stripe. Which brings me to my point: Holy fucking Christ, Batman, did the officiating suck tonight. You want to call it tight? Okay. I don't like how it slows the game down, but fine. However, you have to call it both ways, bitches. The Storm was whistled for 29 fouls to the Comets 18, and five of those 18 were called in the last two minutes of the game when the Comets just started blatantly fouling because the refs likely wouldn't call it anyway. I couldn't count the number of times the boos rained down on the officials tonight, but I gotta say they deserved it.

The fouls really mucked things up, but even so, the Storm still look confused offensively without LJ. Their defense is really what is keeping them in these games, but 66 points isn't going to cut it every time.

Now that's what I'm talking about

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:36:00 +0000

Boys, I am always in the mood for an old-fashioned beatdown. Dustin, you enjoy that first career grand slam, and please feel free to hit those whenever you play against the Yankees. (Actually, please feel free to hit those, you know, whenever you come up with the bases loaded. Because they are the awesome. As are you.) I have to say, seeing the Yankees not make the postseason may make up for coming in second behind the Rays (formerly known as Devil).

Of course, I'm getting way ahead of myself. Boys, I'm going to need you to keep winning. Just until the end of the season. And then through the postseason. Okay? Thanks.

Impossibly old

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:19:00 +0000

How is it that 9 p.m. seems so damn late?

Every day is summer somewhere in the world

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:12:00 +0000

I'm continuing to make my way through books, sometimes it seems in handfuls at a time. I just finished Paint It Black, the latest from Janet Fitch. I loved White Oleander, so I was prepared to truly enjoy this book, and I did, even though the writing was frequently so honest it was painful to read. I'm finally moving on to Bleak House, and I'm pretty sure this is going to slow me down significantly. However, after it was mentioned in Smart People (which J.R. and I watched the other night), I knew it was where I had to turn next. And, truthfully, I think it may be good for me to slow down a bit, to savor the words for a while.

Golden girls

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:09:00 +0000

Four in a row! I'll admit I was a little worried about the Aussies, but the U.S. took care of them handily. In fact, you might call that an old-fashioned beatdown. I almost felt bad for Australia, but I snapped out of it pretty quickly. And then I got a little teary when it was clear that the U.S. had won it. I even got choked up when it was clear that Leslie had gotten her goal of a fourth medal, and she knew that it was her last one. What an incredible run for all of them.

The classics

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:18:00 +0000

I tend to read a lot of books and watch a lot of movies, and oddly enough, I expect every else to do the same. (I mean, what else is there to do? Okay, TV, you're right.) So it struck me as completely incomprehensible that J.R. had never seen Dead Again. That's a classic! Kenneth and Emma back in their glory days! Neo-noir! Did I mention Emma Thompson? (And on an unrelated side note, I lost all respect for Branagh when he left Emma, because, seriously? Who would do that? Bygones.)

The movie, for the most part, held up well. There were a few overwrought moments, and the one time I noticed the high-waisted jeans, but other than that, still a good flick. And did I mention Emma Thompson? I need to go watch Sense and Sensibility again.

Pretty

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:39:00 +0000

Just 'cuz I liked it so.

Say it ain't so

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Me: You don't wear your bra outside your clothes. You're not Madonna.
11-year-old girl: Who's Madonna?

Oh, lord.

A regular

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:42:00 +0000

With the heat here in Seattle the last few days, J.R. and I haven't felt like cooking. Yet I'm trying, again, to get on the wagon and stay there, so I don't want to eat out. Thusly, Panera. I'm currently infatuated with their turkey chickpea chili, especially accompanied by a half Greek salad (no olives, no peppers -- and, if I didn't take pity on the poor checkout girl, half the feta). One lazy night led to another, and we'd managed to hit Panera three nights running. We skip a night, and then we're back the next night, with the kids this time. At first, sweet, slightly clueless cashier doesn't recognize us, but once I hit her with the "no olives, no peppers," it all comes back. We joke that we need frequent flier miles, and she's just happy to get us out of there before I ask for something else weird that she doesn't know how to type in.

It's cold and raining today, and we didn't go to Panera. But, man, it was a perfect night for chili.

I'm going to need a longer commute

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:28:00 +0000

While I was in Boston, I made time for a trip to Newbury Comics, where all music lovers go to worship (also where those who love their pint glasses go to load up). I'm a proud recipient of the Newbury Comics e-newsletter, and a few weeks ago, they alerted me to a new disk from some chick named Antje Duvekot, which of course I couldn't find anywhere around here. I picked up Snapshots in Boston, and I love it. I've always been a sucker for a girl with a guitar, and that hasn't changed. Great lyrics, great sound. My favorite (for right now) is Merry-Go-Round.

I also discovered the latest from Kris Delmhorst there, and while I like it, too, it's a departure from her earlier sound, which I loved. All in all, a lot of good music, and I just need to find more time to listen to it.

Also

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:24:00 +0000

All my Ohio pictures are up now. I know y'all were anxiously waiting. I particularly enjoy where J.R. illustrates how tall corn should be and when Gracie hams it up.

Dark knight of the soul is real

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 03:14:00 +0000

We finally saw The Dark Knight last night, and it was as good as promised. I've pretty much loved Christian Bale since I was 16, so he can do no wrong in my book (though he didn't really have to act too much in this one). Heath was as creepy and disturbing as possible, and damn! it's still hard to believe he's gone. The major miscasting for me was Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel. Not that I was a huge fan of Katie Holmes, but Maggie is just ... wrong for this part. She's not beautiful, though I think she's very attractive in a unique way, and she never really connected with Batman or Harvey -- or me for that matter. I wasn't sad when her storyline ended -- and Batman didn't seem that upset, either.

Bookish

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:39:00 +0000

You gotta love me: One minute I'm googling lists of the 100 best novels of all time to see what I should read next -- Madame Bovary, Catch-22, For Whom the Bell Tolls (though it's fairly unlikely I'll start with Hemingway). And then, next thing you know, GoodReads informs me that a friend just read and liked these Anne Stuart novels, and I'm off like a shot to investigate trashy romances (which I love). At least you can't call me a snob. Well, you could, but who the hell asked you anyway? I'm trying to be good and compile a list of books to look for when we go to Powell's later this month, but it's going to be hard to resist the temptation to hit B&N tonight.

This is what happens when you sit in a metal tube for six hours

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:52:00 +0000

It�s somewhat disturbing how much I take cross-country flights in stride these days. Not that I don�t still have my moments of �ohgodohgodohgod� during turbulence, but I�m definitely in the expert traveler lane these days. The ubiquitous babies don�t even faze me anymore, and I thought I�d gotten used to the shared TV-watching experience on JetBlue, but I was wrong. Red Sox game on ESPN on a Boston to Seattle flight? Everyone is on the same channel. Pats? Ditto. But I was caught off guard when the plane erupted in various cheers when the one of the members of the US men�s gymnastics team stuck his landing. It was kind of awesome.

And, as the flight wore on and the Olympics wore off, it occurred to me: How do I know that I�m really flying? I mean, this plane looks like a damn movie set. I could be sitting in some weird fake plane for six hours when really they zapped me across the country in six seconds. What if it�s all some great conspiracy with the oil bastards to continue to charge me ridiculous amounts of money? I�m just saying.

Oh, say can you see

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:44:00 +0000

Thoughts upon the close-up of Michael Phelps during his first medal ceremony of the '08 games: I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I know they are right on my face right now, and I'm not going to cry. Not even when they play the national anthem. I got a bunch of these four years ago, this is old hat. I'm not going to cry. Okay, it's still pretty cool.

I love the Olympics.

Good times

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:36:00 +0000

We went to the Reds game last night, and like every single other time I have gone to a Reds game, the damn home team lost. Seriously, I know they're not that great a team overall, but not once? I'm beginning to think it's me. Bygones. It was Ladies Night, which means I got a free hat, and later on, free Dove chocolate. Apparently, there were some massages, too, but I was too busy watching the Reds lose.

Snapshots

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:01:00 +0000

We drove through the Ohio countryside to go to a cookout at my dad's place at the lake. Lots of pretty corn, cute shops, barns, the usual. On the way back, we saw matching Speedways on opposite sides of the street -- but only one was open. What does that mean? I don't know.

Because I am a mature grown-up

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:04:00 +0000

I send unflattering pictures of myself to my boyfriend because he mistakenly likes them. Also, I responsibly purchase gifts at Barnes & Noble and don't buy anything for myself (I am going to Powell's later this month, after all). I know how to season a cast-iron skillet. I discuss inflation and the current price of chicken. I talk about mortgages and PMI and sometimes actually know what I'm talking about. Also, I stomp my foot and pout when the store doesn't have any Zebra Cakes.