my magnificent mitten

I love Michigan. I love almost everything about it, and lately I've been thinking about it more and more. Like a distant yet vivid memory, I think about Michigan almost like I think about a long lost friend.

Three years ago, I traded the Great Lakes for the Pacific Ocean and the Mackinac Bridge for the Golden Gate. And California is certainly a beautiful place to be, from the mountains to the prairie to the oceans white with foam. As far as changes of scenery go I could have done much worse.

In so many ways, however, California can not compete with my magnificent mitten. This bout of nostalgia might be coming from the time of year it's morphed into. When did that happen by the way? I deeply miss the crisp Michigan autumn, and knowing that when fall comes Robinette's will start cranking out fresh apple cider and cinnamon donuts. The entire concept of a place for cider and donuts and hayrides is lost on the good people of California. I also miss the brilliant changing colors of the trees,  the endless fields of ripe corn, the way Midwesterners get a little crazy with the Halloween decor, and that weird in-between transition from fall to winter. And in a twisted masochistic way, I even miss the snow. 

Compared to the Midwest, it feels like there is less tolerance and more acceptance here in California. People are a little less judgmental, or at least they're better at hiding their judgements. I like that I can go to San Francisco see a burly bearded man wearing fishnets and a pink tutu and he gets no more than a passing glance. He's allowed to just be himself without harassment - even if that means being a beautiful ballerina. And even though my hometown of Grand Rapids is an ostentatiously conservative place that could potentially benefit from a heaping dose of progressive open-mindedness, I've learned to accept it for what it is. After all, I am who I am because of that place, and the people in it.

I don't know if I'll ever live in Michigan again. I'd like to but my hubs, being the brilliant engineer that he is, requires that we go to where the jobs are. And for his kind, that would be here in the valley of the silicons. I also have a pretty sweet gig here, and am happy staying here for now and soaking in as much of the beauty and culture and experiences that California is willing to impart. But I have no doubt that every year when the calendar rolls around to September, and onto October, I'll always think of my pleasant peninsula and wonder if she misses me too.

Stevens, you salty dog

Sorry for my somewhat prolonged absence. I guess that thing called life catches up with you sometimes. Especially when I look at the calendar and see that September starts in two days. Holy Moses! I remember saying the exact same thing when August started about seventeen minutes ago. I really need to find the pause button.

My obsession as of late has been finding reasonably priced Sufjan tickets. I looked at ticketmaster and they were all gone! I know he's not really like underground indie, but I also didn't think I had to be waiting at my computer the second the tickets went on sale either. You feel me? Anyway, so I happened to check TM again today and lo and behold, there were some available! And decent, non-nosebleed, ones! Apparently he's big here because he's playing the same venue two nights in a row. I think it has to do with being from Michigan.

      "Oh Hey, I like totes just sold out the whole arena because I play the banjo and wear wings"

Can "Street View" be a verb? Like, " I totally just street-viewed myself man"

Living in Mountain View means that I am surrounded by Google. "The Big G," and it's fondly referred to here, is so ubiquitous that it's impossible to walk down the street without seeing someone in Google swag, or someone riding around on a sky blue Google bike (This certainly isn't a bad thing and I appreciate them for being a non-evil company, and sending the hubs home with a paycheck bi-weekly). And on certain special days, when gaseous Google-colored planets somewhere in the universe align, you may even see the Google Street View Car. It's just a normal car that drives around with a spherical multi-lens camera setup on top, but it has given the world the opportunity to pick up stalking as an acceptable online hobby. 

I myself have seen it quite a few times and the next time I do I totally want to do something approximating this!:

"Quick, it's coming!"

"Ahh, what can we do that would be awesome?!??"

"Let's get on top of the weird window-less mini-van-type vehicle we're driving and look nonchalant!"

But I would NOT do this - kind of un-funny. Kids these days!

G.C.O.T.N

I present my Girl Crush Of The Now - Zooey Deschanel!

I like Zooey for many reasons. She's so multi-talented it sickens me in a good, girl crush kind of way. Like she was amazing in 500 Days of Summer, and yet hasn't been in anything since then. I appreciate that. Just because I like you doesn't mean I want to see your face in every. single. production. that comes out in a calendar year. I mean, Seth Rogen kind of killed it for me because I started seeing his ugly mug everywhere. Anyway, back to Zooey.

Other things that make her crush-worthy:

Her name is Zooey with two o's - need I say more. She is wonderfully dead-pan and more than mildly sarcastic. Her eyes look like someone squeezed the blueness from a Kashmir sapphire. She can act, sing and just sit there looking pretty to make people happy. Speaking of singing she has a sweet little gig called She and Him going in which her folksie melodic voice makes me want to frolic through a field of sunflowers. She has managed to perfect that somewhat-vintage-but-still-modern-yet-not-really-trying style I so desperately try to pull off and usually fail. And last, but certainly not least, her bangs. Those bangs are so think and full and dare I say luscious.

Oh, plus she did that cotton commercial. And if cotton is the everyman's fabric then Zooey is the everywoman's woman:

They climbin' in yo windows, they snatchin' yo people up

I'm not going to bother with a lame-o introduction because if your eyeballs are reading this right now there's a good chance you already know me. Or know of me, because there's a difference. But if you become a faithful reader you can get to know me even more and we can become bff's, ok? Anyway, yes I realize that starting a blog is so 2001, and I'm behind the times - thanks for pointing that out.

Most of the things I post here will be things that make me laugh, cry, think, feel happy/angry/saucy, things that are pretty or are so hideous it makes them pretty. Other possibilities include things I see, things I create, and my incredibly intuitive insights into the behavior of the weirdest animal of them all - humans! And pretty much anything thing else I want to.

Want to know what's been making me laugh* for like the last three days? Ok it's a three step process so pay attention.

1. First watch this:




2. Then watch this:




3. Allow song to get stuck in your head, because it will, and that's ok

And if you need to see even more of his genius (umm, I did) you can check out his website! Score!


*I think we can all agree that attempted rape is a non-funny subject matter. What is funny is Antoine Dodson. He could be getting all hyped up about cheesecake and it would still be funny. And I love his do-rag. Or is it dew-rag? Doo-rag? I apologize for my whiteness.