Office Decorations

The last two years of college, I worked for the secetary of the University's Department of Psychology. I had a desk and a computer. Pencils, staplers, a scanner. You know, the usual stuff. There was a filing cabinet directly across from my desk, with this poster taped to it:



The poster was somewhat fitting in that office, seeing at how it was the Department of Psychology and all. And if you're a Psych student or professor, you clearly should know the signs of depression. Or even if you're not, I'm sure it's just a good thing to know. Weirdly enough, looking at it makes me nostalgic. It wasn't the most exciting job, but it was very non-stressful and I really liked working with kooky professors every day. I wish I could steal the poster to put it up on the wall of my office now. Since I dislike my current job so much, maybe I would just put it up there so I could keep tabs on myself, lest I develop the tell-tale signs of depression that these cartoon poster people have! Or perhaps I could just pretend I was back at the Psych Deptartment, alphabetizing scantron sheets and making copies of scholarly articles about weird behavioral experiments. Or maybe just pretend I was back in college again.

Top 5: Christmas Songs

Again, I've been horrible about posting. Sorry! However, I bring you, just in time for the holidays, a new Top 5 list! Here are my Top 5 favorite Christmas Songs! I'm also currently working on my yearly "Top 10 Albums of the Year" for 2009, so hopefully I'll have that finished before the end of the year.

Without further ado...!

5. "The Little Drummer Boy" - Bing Crosby and David Bowie
I think I've mentioned this before on my "Favorite Duets" list, but I just love this. There's nothing better than two legends singing a traditional Christmas song. And the banter before the song actually begins in this video is just adoreable.


4. "What's This?" - Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas
Does this count as a Christmas song, technically? I'm not sure. I do know though that the thing that I love about The Nightmare Before Christmas is that you can watch it around Halloween AND Christmas and it works pretty well for both holidays. However, I think this song is the most "Christmas-y" of the bunch. And you've gotta love lines like "There's children throwing snowballs, instead of throwing heads!"


3. "Santa Baby" - Eartha Kitt
God, do I miss Eartha Kitt. She was just awesome in every way. This song appeals to everyone's inner-materialist...which is, of course, appropriate for Christmas. But Miss Kitt also brings her own own unique brand of playful sexiness to the tune.


2. "White Christmas" - Bing Crosby
Hey, you can't go wrong with classic Bing Crosby. There's just something about this song that just feel so soothing and cozy.


1. "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" - John Lennon
This song is a great Christmas song. It's like...the exact opposite of Paul McCartney's Christmas song. It's somehow both hopeful and sad at the same time and the children's chorus gets me every time.


And now I invite you all to share your favorite holiday jams!

Marlowe

I've put off a post about Marlowe for a long time now, because I didn't feel up to it. On September 23, I had him put to sleep, after his pneumonia became too advanced to be treated.

I still miss you, Marlowe.

These are the last pictures I took of them, with the camera on my cell phone. He was naturally a cuddly, affectionate rat. In his last few months, however, when I would let him out of the cage, he would often want to come rest on my pillow or, if I was also laying on my bed, in the crook of my shoulder.

Let's Go Out Tonight: Ferretstock '09

I meant to make this blog post many months ago. I got lazy. Oh well!

For the past few years, my mom, her friend Susan, and I go up to Maryland for Rocky's Ferretstock. In case you're not in the ferret enthusiast community (or are related to someone who is), then you might not know of the wonderfulness of Ferretstock. Or the weirdness of it, at any rate. Ferretstock is an excuse for ferret lovers to get together in rural Maryland to eat, drink, and win (ferret-related) prizes. People come from all over, many camp on site. All of the money that is raised from the event benefits Rocky's Ferret Rescue, a shelter in Baltimore County, Maryland. So you know you're eating and drinking and raffling for a good cause.

This is Barb here, in the blue shirt. She runs Rocky's and she's a very sweet and awesome lady.

You might ask what in all goes on at a Ferretstock. Well...there's a cake walk (cake not pictured in this blog post).

There's raffling.

Usually for ferret-related things like this cute little wooden box.

And of course, a fundraising event for a ferret shelter usually has adoptions for adoreable little ferrets. This little boy will learn a very important lesson here.


Which is that ferrets are very, VERY slippery.

Wouldn't you want to take one of these critters home?

I mean, their bodies are just as long and tubulars as the tubes that they like to crawl through and play in.

My mom took pity on whoever made these ferret costumes and put a raffle ticket in. She won. Hers was the only ticket. We haven't had the heart yet to put one of our ferrets in the costume.

Oh yea, I forgot to mention before. There's beer. And a LOT of it. And it's free.

And there's food, from this here food booth, appropriately called "Cafe Fuzz".

My lunch consisted of potato chips and a strawberry daquiri (very strong). Probably not the smartest or healthiest idea.

However, the thing I love best about Ferretstock is that it's a goofy, but really fun way to spend time with my mom. Because I love my mommy. She's the shizzle.

Top 5: Cover Songs

Yes, yes, I've been lazy about blogging again. I apologize. It's a shame, because there are plenty of things I could be blogging about, but I'm just too plain lazy! However, I was letting my mind wander at work and starting thinking of cover songs. I go crazy for cover songs. I don't know why. I love seeing what another artist will do with a piece of music. Hearing a different spin or different interpretation of something. Seeing how one song can have many layers of meaning. So I compiled a list of my top five favorite cover songs.


5. The Mountain Goats - "One Fine Day" (Carole King)



The lyrics of one fine day tell a tale of unrequited love, but Mr. Darnielle strips away the doo-wop poppiness of the original track and what we're left with is raw emotion and more than a little desperation.

4. Nirvana - "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (Leadbelly)



Nirvana's haunting version of a classic Leadbelly song becomes a classic in and of itself. I've heard several covers of this song and Nirvana's is probably my favorite.

3. The Afghan Whigs - "Creep" (TLC)



Greg Dulli is a genius at covers. He takes something unexpected...say, a TLC song, and completely makes it his own.

2. The White Stripes - "Jolene" (Dolly Parton)



In the original version, Dolly Parton pleads with a woman to please not take her men. Jack White does the same...except his plead comes out as a desperate yowl.

1. Johnny Cash - "Hurt" (Nine Inch Nails)



No offense to Trent Reznor or anything...but I honestly think Johnny Cash's cover trumps the original. I find it much more moving, at least. Cash's version is more sparse than the original, and sung with the somberness of a man approaching the end of his life.

Let's Go Out Tonight: H Street Country Club

I always like to find new and crazy things to do in the DC area. So, when I heard word this past summer that they were opening up a bar on H Street in NE with skeeball AND put-put, I could not say no! Mallary and I paid it a visit way back when to test out their epic mini-golf course.
Behold, dear readers, I bring you...the H Street Country Club.

Why yes, you CAN drink while playing put-put at the H Street Country Club!

All of the obstacles on the course are from DC landmarks or reference DC history in some way. This one recreates the famous "Awakening" statue...in the likeness of former mayor Marion Barry.

These "lawyers" were particularly hard to get around.

Though, strangely enough, not as tricky as the Lincoln Memorial. Curse you, Lincoln Memorial and your deceptiveness!

And then, of course, there were the zombie presidents, arising from the grave.

And one mustn't forget the Iowa Jima painted on the wall...WITH actual plastic toy soldiers!

The "Mixing Bowl" they have here is just as treacherous as it is in real life!

Mallary and I survived the put-put course, unscathed and WAY over-par, and lived to see another day. And hopefully next time there will be an epic game of SKEEBALL.

Adventures in Vegan Cupcake Making - Part 1

I've been so busy the past month with moving to a new apartment and other general life things that I've been too lazy to post on this blog. Sorry! So, to ease myself back into the habit of posting, I will share with you one of my more recently acquired pasttimes - Vegan Cupcakes!

I thought I would give vegan baking/cooking a try after several visits to Sticky Fingers, a bakery in the neighborhood of Columbia Heights in DC. I admired their delicious confections and discovered that you don't have to use milk, eggs, or butter to make tasty baked goods.

This brought me to the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (of Post Punk Kitchen fame) and Terry Hope Romero. There are over 75 cupcake recipes in that book and over the course of this summer, I'm determined to try making many of the amazing-sounding recipes in this book. So here are the first few attempts. I'll keep you posted.

Batch 1 - Chocolate Cupcakes (Made with Agave Nectar!) with Vanilla Buttercream Icing, Topped with Berries.

Batch 2 - S'mores!

Batch 3 - Margarita Cupcakes!

Batch 4 - Cookies & Cream

Anyhoo, those are all the vegan cupcakes I've made for now. I'll keep you posted as soon as I try some of the other crazy recipes in that book. Stay tuned!