restoring faith

can faith be restored when it never actually existed to begin? maybe it just becomes a lack of disappointment.

anyway, i went into starbucks yesterday morning--yes, every single day I continue to pay way-too-much for an unfair and inequitable flavored coffee beverage, despite my home delivery of the best coffee beans around (Porto Rico Imports). But this day would be different for I had forgotten to bring my mug.

So when I got to the counter, the manager breezed by me and said, "Rebecca, where's your mug?" Stunned, I explained that I had forgotten it. He smiled and questioned,

Will you still have a grande* vanilla latte?"
"Um... yes," I replied slowly

As I left the store, the man behind the register called out,

See you tomorrow."

Mission accomplished. Thanks, Starbucks.

I remember.mp3 Damien Rice


*I always order a medium and refuse to call a medium by any other name just because some corporate giant has trademarked an otherwise inaccurate description of the one in the middle.

the hierarchy of internet safety

streaming_media

r rated

pornography/adult content

dubious/unsavory

Dubious slash unsavory? By far the best denial of all.

on the rocks

taking a night off from whiskey drinking to post some pictures about whiskey drinking.

whiskeybreath.mp3 Devotchka

almost there.

On hold with my mortgage company. I once loved my mortgage company. That is, until they put me on hold for 22 minutes and forced an instrumental eight-minute version of Lisa Stanfield's "If I could change the way" upon my unwilling ears. Still on hold. New song. This one sounds country. I can't quite place it. Oh, I'm off hold. Michelle, my loan associate, does not know what is playing on the instrumental channel. And no, they don't give her a playlist. Anyway, I love my mortgage company again because they approved my loan and I am One Step Closer to growing up. On a related note, I spent yesterday afternoon hanging out at the denver art museum with my niece. And llama riding. Which was purely coincidental. So all day she had been talking about her new friend Maddy and how excited she was to have a new neighborhood friend and Maddy this and Maddy that and when I dropped her off, I got to meet Maddy who, after I smiled and offered sweetly but not condescendingly in that tone that adults use with children whom they know should be kept on their good side, "It's so nice to meet you; I've heard so much about you," gasped as her jaw dropped and said, "you're Aunt Becky? You are not what I was expecting." And so of course I asked her, a little bemused, exactly what she was expecting. She thought, from the stories that Lily told her about me, that I was Lily's age. Lily is five. I'm not sure what to make of this.

2 + 2 = 5.mp3 Radiohead Baby Rock

growing up, part two

Having my second go-round at real estate. Rather than the 19th century fix-me-up residential jalopy I was sure that I was craving, I decided to heed my infinitely-wiser brother's advice and consider a condo. So I did. And when I walked in, and saw the shiny wooden floors, granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances beaming newly with pride, I was sold.

Tomorrow the contract headaches begin anew.

Here it goes again.mp3 OK Go
Here I go again.mp3 Whitesnake

why starbucks should fail

i enjoy coffee as much as the next girl. i have my beans delivered to my house, even. but i keep forgetting to grind those beans.

so for the last two months or so, i've been stopping by my neighborhood Starbucks for a medium vanilla latte. Every single morning. Same time. The same people wait on me. Every single day for eight weeks.

And every single day, they ask me what I'm drinking. Every day.

Here's the thing is that it might be nice if they just tried to guess. Even if they were wrong. It might be nice.

Here's the other thing is that every single day I bring in my own cup: a bright orange cup with a sticker of a horse on it. There's a fucking horse sticker on my cup. And nobody notices that I come every day.

It's not like they're completely aloof. This morning, the younger girl barista told me I looked like a movie star in my sunglasses. On Friday, the older lady barista told me she liked my hair in a ponytail and asked me if I was ready for spring. Christ, that same lady once asked me if I knew who won the Frontier Airlines Denver's Favorite Animal contest. "Ummmm, no..." I replied slowly. The customer behind me thought it might have been a penguin.

Every time I have to remind them at the register that it's a personal cup and I get a ten cents discount (whoo!). Today, the young girl barista was ringing me up and, as she rang up my order, I remind her that it was my own cup.

Personal cup, you mean?"
"Yes," I reply, "every single day."
"Oh, good for you!" she offers in mock enthusiasm.

Last week, the flamboyantly-friendly guy barista, after I paid, commanded for me to hold on a minute. He then reached into his tip canister, grabbed a dime, and exclaimed, "Oops! I forgot to give you your personal mug discount,"as he dropped the dime into my hand.

I think this began to officially annoy me on Thursday, after I went to my local hipster pizza place for the third time in two weeks. I walked in and, without even looking up, the guy behind the counter said, "Greek salad, right?" Three fucking visits and they know why I'm there. Because it's their job. And they didn't even try to upsell me, like they do every single morning at Starbucks. I don't want your crappy pastries, Starbucks. I don't even want your crappy coffee, it's just on the way and I keep forgetting to grind my beans. And when I get to the counter, and you say to me, "any pastries today?" and I say, "no thanks," do not accuse me with, "are you sure? I saw you looking in that pastry case." Yeah I was looking in your pastry case. What else am I going to look at while I stand in line? Shall I whip out my phone with defiant self-importance, confident that everybody in the entire store wants to hear my business at 7:30 in the morning (loudly, at that)?

I'm going to go grind me some coffee.

...although the masochist in me wants to go back to Starbucks for as long as it takes for them to remember my drink order. Or, at the very least, let me know that they know that I'm there every morning. I'm a regular, dammit! Notice me.

Music for morning people.mp3 Kid Koala
Fucking alone.mp3 Iggy Pop

ending the day with a song

Sentiments of love and hate.mp3
(right click on link + save as to download file.)
Total playing time: 32.14.

Late-night music-compiling feeling-sorry-for-self sort of mood.

1. Tom Waits - 2:19
2. Grizzly Bear - Shift
3. Decemberists - 16 Military Wives
4. Modest Mouse - Satin in a Coffin
5. Deerhoof - Flower
6. Simon & Garfunkel - Only Living Boy in New York
7. Uncle Tupelo - Still Be Around
8. Deerhunter - Lake Somerset
9. M. Ward - Chinese Translation
10. The Boy Least Likely To - Warm Panda Cola

Maybe I wasn't meant to grow up

The inspection report on the house was miserable. Miserable! So it looks like I am a not a homeowner after all. My inspector told me that it was the worst house he had ever seen and that, under no circumstances, could he recommend its purchase.

Adding to my Be A Grown Up Initiative was this weekend's purchase of a bunch of mutual funds. Nice that my Very First Business Day would welcome the very worst stock drop in six years.

Which makes me want to immediately take off for the Greek islands with only my passport and a credit card. Or, at the very least, take advantage of Frontier's round trip special this weekend of Denver to Mazatlan for $159.

I don't wanna grow up.mp3 performed by The Ramones
I don't wanna grow up.mp3 written and performed by Tom Waits

growing up a little

As of yesterday, I am a home-owner. It needs a handful of work and is just on the fringe of an emerging neighborhood (according to the American Planning Association, anyway) and I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

Come On A My House.mp3
Rosemary Clooney

Mix Tape 07 Part 3 of 3

Fourteen Degrees on a Tuesday Evening (getting colder).
(right click on link + save as to download file.)
Total playing time: 32.14.

The third in my thirty-minute series of nothing much at all.

1. Jim White - Burn the River Dry
2. Hello Stranger - We Used to Talk
3. Animal Collective - Grass
4. British Sea Power - A Wooden Horse
5. Air - You Make It Easy
6. Billie Holiday - The Man I Love
7. Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies
8. Peeping Tom feat. Kid Koala - Celebrity Death Match
9. Persephone's Bees - City of Love

Absurdistan

So I was casually glancing about Wikipedia (procrastinating on the headache that is laundry) when I read that, as of December 21, 2006, Saparmurat Niyazov* has died. Reportedly of a cardiac arrest, though some theorists believe he was poisoned.

What is that going to mean for Turkmenistan? Apparently, they amended the constitution so that those of mixed ethnic backgrounds could be president (read: Saparmurat's son, Murat).

Also according to the constitution, next in line to the presidency was Öwezgeldi Ataýew, but he was coincidentally thrown in jail on the exact same day that Saparmurat died, on charges that he was harrassing and humiliating his daughter-in-law, driving her to attempt suicide.

Presidential elections are this Sunday. I can't WAIT to see what happens. But it gets better.

Acting president is Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhammedow, who was a dentist, before he entered Turkmenistan politics. He is said to be responsible for the mandate that closed ALL of the hospitals outside of the capital city (based on flawed logic that if you are sick, you want to be near the best resources). Uncoincidentally, Turkmenistan is reported to have the worst healthcare among the former Soviet nations.

According to rumors, the acting president is also the former president's illegitimate son (not to be confused with his legitimate son, also a presidential contender, Murat).

*You may recall Saparmurat Niyazov from his greatest hits like: "President For Life;" "Ban Ballet and Opera in the Name of Useless;" "Close All Rural Libraries and Hospitals Since the Common Man Knows Neither Books Nor Medicine;" "Dogs and Video Games Are Forbidden Because They Stink/Stink of Violence."

And for you, Saparmurat, The Man Who Would Be King.mp3.

i'm a breck girl

Scenes from Breckenridge this afternoon, which was sometimes sunny and always beautiful and not at all crowded on account of the football game. My only complaint was that we had to pay $10 for what used to be the free parking lot. Which would have been fine because the gondola took us straight to the mountain and we didn't have to wait for the bus.

But when we left for the day, mechanical problems kept the gondola from bringing us back. So we had to wait for the bus anyway, but without a parking fee refund. Which seems unfortunate, because the only reason the parking lot is pay (as of 01/07/07 or thereabout) is because of the gondola access.


video music - Hanasakajijii (One: The Angry Neighbor) by Anathallo.

saturday afternoon skiing

Rocking the Molly Hogan at A-Basin.

Mix Tape 07 Part 2 of 3

Twenty-Two Degrees on a Tuesday Evening.
(right click on link + save as to download file.)
Total playing time: 32.28.

It always ends the same (alone).

1. Super Furry Animals - Hello Sunshine
2. Hello Saferide - The Quiz
3. Devotchka - Queen of the Surface Streets
4. We Are Scientists - Nobody Move (acoustic)
5. Wilco - Will You Still Love Me
6. Elliott Smith - Say Yes
7. The Mountain Goats - Love Love Love
8. Bright Eyes - We Are Nowhere And It’s Now
9. Bjork & Tricky - Black Coffee

identity theft frustration

Blockbuster called me yesterday to tell me that my account was about to be charged $150 for my unreturned videos.

"What?" I asked myself. "I don't rent from Blockbuster."

I promptly called the number left behind via the Robotron voice, only to learn that somebody checked out various episodes of Grey's Anatomy under my name.

"You must have loaned your card out," Blockbuster assured me.

"No, I did not," I assured back. "Check and see how they paid for these videos because I swear to you neither I nor anybody I know would ever rent them."

"With a Visa. Oh, and Becky? It's signed with your name."

"But I don't have a Visa card. And Becky isn't my name. It hasn't actually been my name for decades. Clearly this is an imposter."

"Well, we'll just remove the charges on your behalf."

"Okay... thanks. But shouldn't you call the police or something?" I asked, still mildly horrified by the idea of someone signing my childhood nickname across a credit card receipt, twenty minutes on the other side of town.

"No, you'd be surprised how often this happens. Nine times out of ten, you just loaned your card to a friend and forgot that you did."

"But I'm a 31-year old science teacher. It's not like my friends and I run around town, loaning out our Blockbuster cards to rent back seasons of mediocre television programs."

"Don't worry, we are not going to charge you anything."

"But that's not the point!"

"Well, you can call Customer Service, but there's not actually anything they can do to help you."

sandwich vernacular

I've been noticing grinders on menus as of late. At Keysone Resort this weekend. At Starbucks this morning. That's right, Starbucks serves up a grinder.

But theirs isn't right. Their grinder has turkey salami. Lettuce leaves. God only knows what else. Probably chopped onions and sliced pickles.

A grinder should have 1. shredded lettuce and some tomato slices 2. salt & pepper 3. oil 4. provolone and 5. fucking genoa salami. Genoa.

Jeez.

skiing (gone so wrong)

Voici un photo de Keystone, which would have been glorious if only someone had not stolen my skis in the end. Quel dommage.

Mix Tape 07 Part 1 of 3

Sunday Afternoon in Duluth*.
(right click on link + save as to download file.)
Total playing time: 33.16.

*now! with new directions.

Upon review, I see that two songs are about death (1 and 10). That makes a death sandwich. With a pinch of anger (9), aliens (8), alcohol (7) and sex (4).

1. Architecture in Helsinki - In Case We Die (parts 1-5)
2. Air - Radio #1
3. Tapes 'n Tapes - Insistor
4. Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
5. Feist - Mushaboom
6. Devotchka - Miette
7. Devotchka - Ocean of Lust
8. Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien
9. Delgados - All You Need Is Hate
10.U.N.K.L.E. - Lonely Soul (abridged)

more on steamboat, less on vegas

My whirlwind trip to Vegas came to a staggering halt when I caught word of yet ANOTHER snowstorm in Denver. To hear it told, it would once again shut down the city. Argh.

So I ran as fast as I could from Las Vegas, catching an earlier flight. Only to arrive seven hours early in Denver, where there was little to no new snow.

No pictures from the city of sin (just a distant memory of whiskey at the Playboy Club), however more pictures from Steamboat:

felíz año nuevo

As I slowly emerge from my New Year's daze, I must pack for Vegas. Busy, busy. I spent the weekend on a mini-ski holiday in Steamboat Springs. I was able to keep my 1999 resolution, that is, to never forget another NYE. This one was spent drinking coke and watching fools be fools.