Breezy is off the Wheezy

This morning, I was asked to write an introductory letter about the company intended for potential clients. What started out as cheese-tastic [the first line was a question befitting of the zaniest infomercials followed by the obvious this-approach-sounds-too-good-to-be-true statement] miraculously turned into professional poetry. How does this happen? Perhaps the more important question is, why doesn't this happen more often? Is there a proverbial switch somewhere? I can't find it! Maybe it's the delicate balance of my breakfast ensemble. Maybe my karma was good for whatever reason, I don't know. But after a rocky start the words just started flowing. I'm becoming prouder of my work with each passing assignment! I think they just need to give me a steady flow of work because otherwise, my brain turns to mush.

On a more tragic note, the brochure I wrote for a client that I was so proud of I even showed it off to my boyfriend and roommate who really couldn't care less (it's about MOLD - I can't say I blame them), was wiped off the slate and replaced with crap of the purest form per our client's request. Y'know, they hired us for a reason. If they're not going to listen to our suggestions (I say "our" because the guy who heads this project completely agreed with my copy), then they should stop wasting our time. I had to proofread this new copy no less than six times. It pained me. It literally pained me. There were parts that just didn't mesh well at all with the flow of the sentence but nooooooo. They didn't want a single word changed. But hey, if they want to sound uneducated - fine. It's out of my hands anyway.

During my lunch break, I skitted on over to The Beaumont Club to purchase tickets to see Matisyahu. For those of you who think that I just experienced a phalangeal spasm, allow me to explain. Matisyahu is a truly original, incredibly talented, rapping, beat-boxing reggae artist.

He is also an Hasidic Jew.

He is frickin' amazing and Brett and I have tickets to go see him! I'm not sure how wide-spread his music has become. I'm certain he hasn't made it to the 'Ta, but in KC they've been playing King Without A Crown a lot. It's awesome, you should go check it out.

In other news, KU beat Baylor!!!! I was worried there for a minute. They were playing like poo for a while but they got their shit together for the second half. The next face-off is the biggie - Texas. But I think they can pull it off. These are some phenomenal freshmen and sophomores. :) Go Jayhawks!!

Aw darnit. They gave me research to do at work. It's vague research, too. Yuck. *sigh* Okay - I'm going to solve the mystery of why Johnson County's rich snobs don't want to pay a minimum of one million dollars for a house that is adjacent to a cemetary. That's a tough one! Pretty obvious if you ask me but hey - why not do a bunch of pointless research?? Alright! Let's do it!

I missed it. I can't believe I missed Puppy Bowl II on Animal Planet! Brett and I stumbled upon Puppy Bowl last year and I just went nuts over it. I loved it so much that I actually spent money on a DVD of it! Yes. I own the inaugural Puppy Bowl. I thought I'd share this with you all:




"http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/puppybowl/video_gallery.html"

(grr why don't my links ever work?!)

You will be rewarded with clips from Puppy Bowl II and a special clip from their KITTEN HALF TIME SHOW!!

On a side note, I feel unbelievably inarticulate today and it's giving me a raging headache.

I have the sweetest boyfriend ever. Yesterday, he made me breakfast in bed, gave me lilies (my favorite!) and made me an exquisite dinner of balsamic roast pork tenderloin and asparagus with a hollandaise sauce. We had wine. And he dedicated a song for me: I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie.

Love of mine some day you will die
But I'll be close behind
I'll follow you into the dark

No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
Waiting for the hint of a spark
If heaven and hell decide
That they are both satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knucles bruised by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me
"Son fear is the heart of love"
So I never went back

If heaven and hell decide
That they are both satisifed
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about
'Cause we'll hold each other soon
The blackest of rooms

If heaven and hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
Then I'll follow you into the dark.

Valentine's Day is a mere four days away. It's going to be pretty laid back this year, or so I anticipate. I don't even want to do anything big. All I need is to be with Brett. Well... maybe some candy would be nice but not chocolate!

Ideally, I'd want a Valentine's Day reminiscent of the elementary school vday party. Those were great. Bring in a red treat and a box of those cheap, cartoon Valentines. That's what I want. Some of those heart-shaped cherry suckers, red hots, conversation hearts and a miniature Valentine with, I dunno, Curious George on it.

Last year was the big year. A dozen red roses, a new chain for my necklace, a diamond bracelet AND a ginormous box of Russell Stovers chocolates. That was good for a few years.

This is what I looked like when I shook hands with Dave Barry.

It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life after the biggies like Brett, Europe, and the Rolling Stones. I got to meet my literary hero - Dave Barry. THE Dave Barry! He was in Kansas City promoting his new book, Money Secrets. And he is just as funny in real life as he is in print! I planned ahead and wore my "Dave Barry for President" shirt. It was a big hit. Prior to this event, I never once got a comment on it. I suppose I should have been more prepared when walking into a sanctuary filled to the brim with other Dave Barry enthusiasts. Many random people said things to me like, "Wow I love your shirt!" or as I was passing, "Ahh I don't have a Dave Barry for President shirt!" or even, "Hey, nice shirt."

Poor Brett. I made him sit there with me for an HOUR before it even started because I had to be in the front row. A photographer for kansascity.com was fluttering around, catching people unawares with her ridiculously bright flash. She came right over to me as soon as she spotted my shirt and started taking pictures. Here is one of them:



I will be making this my new profile picture.

After he was done speaking, there was a book signing. The order was determined by the numbers on people's tickets. Brett and I were numbers 325 and 326. Brett missed the better part of a KU game just so he could stand in line with me for this! Isn't he wonderful? We did eventually get up there. Brett's sister Jill has an english degree and would've appreciated an autograph by Dave Barry probably more so than Brett. Plus it was her birthday. So Brett selflessly got a signature for her instead and Dave Barry [fyi: I will always have to refer to him by first and last name because he is THAT awesome] wrote a little happy birthday message to her. How nice!

Then I got up there and the woman who was standing behind Dave Barry pointed out my shirt and he goes, "Oh hey! That's nice! Where'd you get it?" Me: "I customized it on a website myself." Dave Barry: "Wow, that looks better than the ones we were selling on the website!" Well first I felt bad that I customized it on another website and didn't buy it directly off of his. But that's a good compliment from Dave Barry, right? There was another local photographer there, Michael Doyle, who was taking pictures of all the signings and before I walked off he said that he just had to get a shot of us standing together and shaking hands in the traditional political campaign handshake. How awesome. So that picture can be viewed at this website (copy and paste):

http://mdoylephoto.morephotos.com/mp_client/pictures.asp?action=viewphotosloggedin&size=thumbnails&resetsession=no&bypass=&eventid=17537

Brett and I are the second line, all but the last picture.

Wow... I cannot believe how fast this week has gone by. It is already THURSDAY! They are actually giving me work. All week they've been giving me work! It's fabulous, but it continues to be grammatically frustrating at times. Here's a real quick example: proofing a proposal that was to go out to a client, someone here actually used "their selves" - TWICE. Oh my head.....

Brett and I will go on a trek to Wichita tomorrow. I'm so excited! I miss home! And I get to see Jessica! She's apparently really pregnant now. I'm so excited to see!! She's one of those sickeningly cute pregnant girls too. The kind that stays exactly the same shape as they were before but just with a belly. Ugh. She has only gained 5 pounds. She's due in May. I can't wait!