Go Grease Lightning

Do remember the pirate-themed party that Stein and I went to last summer? Well, this year's theme for that party is Grease. I thought about it for a while, and wanted so badly to think of something clever to get around the theme, like we did last year. (I mean, how many people will be dressed in jeans and white t-shirts on?) But alas, no luck.

I briefly thought about having Stein dress up like Frankie Avalon and I would wear a bouffant hairdo as in, "Beauty School Dropout". (Chris, great minds think alike!) And then, when I asked Chris for more ideas, I knew she wouldn't disappoint. She came up with some more obscure ideas that may be more fitting for Stein and me.

So my challenge for you is this: what can Stein and I wear for the theme party that will be different from everybody else? Oh, and it needs to be something we could pull from our closets, or from a quick trip to the thrift store. And please don't suggest the stretch pants that Olivia Newton John wears in the "You're the One That I Want" scene. There ain't no way you will ever see this body in pants like those. Just sayin'.

A Waste of 2 Hours

Whatever you do this summer, DO NOT go see Tropic Thunder. It is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I wasn't too keen on seeing it, but when I checked out Rotten Tomatoes to see how it fared with their rating system, it got an 83%. (Am I reading these numbers wrong? After seeing it, it would make more sense that it got a 17%, or lower.) The cast was also promising, seeing that it had a bunch of people that Stein and I normally like in movies: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey, Jr. And as we watched it, more well-known stars were in it: Tom Cruise, Nick Nolte, and Matthew McConnaughey. I said to Stein afterward, "Didn't these stars see themselves at the premier and think, this really stinks?"

Man, did it ever. I don't know what was worse, the movie, or the 2 women behind us who laughed at ANYTHING. I mean, the opening scene shows Ben Stiller standing there. Again, standing there. And what is this woman doing? Laughing hysterically. After 2 hours of laughing at everything, Stein and I wondered if maybe they were drunk. I never laughed once. I smiled probably two times, but never laughed. Dumb doesn't even begin to describe it.

Don't get me wrong. We love our fair share of comedies, be it silly or slapstick. But this was neither of those. This was stupid. (Another word I don't use often unless I mean it.) I wouldn't even recommend it on DVD. That's how bad it was.

I read that it is leading box office sales and is ahead of Dark Knight (a GREAT movie, by the way). Seriously? I weep for the insane people who actually like (and laugh at) this movie. Like the two crazy women behind us at the theater.

Olympic Withdrawal

I'm having a bit of withdrawal today without the Olympics. I told you about my obsession with the Olympics? Well, now I'm feeling the effect of not having them around. It became a schedule for Stein and me. Every night at dinner, he would ask me what time it was. Eventually we would have to come in to do the dishes (or load the dishwasher, as we do) and get settled on the couch to watch the events. Last week, when I was home in-between my trips, I found myself up until 11 or 12 each night to watch events. One was beach volleyball, another was track and field. Saturday night? The men's marathon. And then there was always the Today Show recapping the night before, having interviews with the winners, etc. Today it just seemed boring when they were broadcasting from Rockefeller Plaza.

This year the Olympics took on a whole other dimension for me. I think it was my last ditch effort to savor summer. I've been struggling with this the past few weeks. I've been grasping onto anything and everything to make summer last. I am in denial that the students are moving back this week, and the first football game is Saturday. I am in denial that next Tuesday is the first day of school, and every store and sale ad is hawking school supplies. Do I have to mention again that I loathe winter? I don't mind fall, really, in fact I love the change in the air, but it just begins a slippery slope into winter which I hate. Hate. I don't use that word very often, you know.

Last night as we were watching the closing ceremonies, I said to Stein, "Don't you think that these athletes are kind of saying to themselves, 'what next?" He agreed with me, and we both mentioned that it probably is like graduating from college only worse. I mean, in the Olympics, you work hard for four years or more, perform, maybe get a medal, and then what? At least with college, you get a diploma, and hopefully the possibility of landing a job, or going to graduate school, or something. Life after the Olympics seems a lot more unknown for most of the athletes.

Now what? Well, we just got the Big Ten network available to us on cable. So now we can watch any given game from any given year every night of the week. It's kind of how the Olympics were this time with knowing a lot of the outcomes beforehand. We know who wins, but it's football all the same.

Next year fall won't be so bad. At least I'll know that the Winter Olympics are just a few months away.

Sensory Overload

Well, I'm back. Again. Stein surprised me with a spontaneous trip to Chicago on Friday for our anniversary. "Do you want to go to Chicago?" he asked on the phone. "When?" I asked. "Now," he replied. And so we were off. (After I unpacked my stuff from Chicago/Baltimore and repacked the same stuff for Chicago. Wow, do I have laundry to do.)


Like the post I did on my trips to Chicago and Baltimore, I can only think about things in bullet points. This summer, I feel, has been a series of bullet points. Quick little glimpses of people and places that come and go in a flash. This weekend was no exception. On the ride home from Chicago yesterday, I realized that my senses have been overloaded with sights, sounds, and smells. I am not complaining about any of this, this summer has been really fun, but just busy. I feel like I haven't been able to capture entire moments, because small moments came and went too quickly. As much as I loathe the impending arrival of fall and then (ugh) winter, I do look forward to slowing down. (Come to think of it, didn't I say that about the beginning of summer? Well, we all know how that turned out...)

So, without further ado, here is our past weekend through my senses:

• The sight of dying trees on the side of I-94, and wondering whether it is the lack of rain we've had that led to their demise.
  
• The sound of NPR on the radio, giving us the updates on the Olympics and other pressing news.


• The sight of virtually no traffic, something that is very rare on trips to Chicago.


• The first sight of the skyline from the skyway that always reminds me I'm back in my hometown.


• The sounds of honking taxi cabs as they weave themselves through tight spots on the city streets.
  
• The sight of the lakefront from our hotel room window.


• The sight of tourists walking around downtown, craning their necks to see the tall buildings around them.
  
• The smell of the lake mixed with car exhaust, flowers, hot tar, and sunshine on my skin.


• The sound of a boy beating on a plastic bucket with drum sticks in front of the Art Institute.


• The sight of people taking dance lessons in the park, crowded onto a dance floor with barely enough room to move.


• The sight of Millennium Park filled with people walking, enjoying the sights and gathering for a concert.



• The sound of kids running through the water in Millennium Park, slipping and sliding in the fountains and water.

• The sight of the "bean" in Millennium Park and all of the buildings and blue sky reflected in it.


• The sight of a taxi cab pulling up to take us to a restaurant.
  
• The smell and feel of a hot and humid taxi cab with plastic seats in summer in the city.
  
• The sound of talking and laughter at a rooftop bar full of people enjoying the end of the work week.
  
• The sight of the bellman at the hotel waving and whistling for the next taxi to pick us up and take us to dinner.
  
• The smell of Mexican food being made at Frontera Grill while we waited for a table in the bar.
  
• The taste of mint in the mojito I sipped as we waited.
  
• The sound of glasses clinking as Stein and I toast our anniversary.


• The sight of the coveted outside table where we were seated.
  
• The taste of guacamole and chips and queso fundido with spicy chorizo.
  
• The taste of delicious marinated pork with fresh tortillas.


• The sight of the sun streaming through the curtains in our hotel room.


• The sight of traffic as we made our way out to the suburbs.


• The sound of babies as we got onto the maternity ward.
  
• The sight of baby Ellie as we arrived at Shark and Jane's hospital room.


• The sound of Ellie's coos as she slept in my arms.


• The sight of fall colors (ugh) on some of the trees along I-94.


• The sight of our home as we rounded the corner of our street.
• The sound of my sigh as I sat on our couch.

Welcome to the World, Elliot Anne!

Shark and Jane had their baby! A little girl - Elliot Anne. They call her Ellie. We went to see her this morning (yes, we were in Chicago again this weekend - more about that later). She is precious, and everyone is doing well. We're all Ellie fans already.

Congrats, Shark and Jane. She's beautiful!

Small Moments

I'm back. I had a wonderful time in Chicago and Baltimore. I saw so many friends in both places, ate fantastic foods, and saw fabulous sites. But my favorite parts of these trips weren't very monumental. My favorite parts of these trips were small moments. Moments that came and went in a flash, but will have a lasting imprint on my memory and emotions. Things like:

• Waiting for the el to pass on my way to Rick's house to pick him up. There are only a few places in the city where the el is at street level, and it always makes this stop (our stop near our house growing up) seem special to me.



• Going to the Daily Bar and Grill with Rick for lunch and drinks. We watched the planes from the air and water show there scream by on their way east to the lake. We laughed so hard we cried at some silly stories. The weather was beautiful. Sunny, warm (but not hot or humid), with blue skies everywhere.



• Going to a play downtown with Chris, where we watched the planes in between the breaks in the buildings. Throngs of tourists stopped in their tracks and looked up to the sky.



• Ordering food from Leona's late night with Chris and watching Olympic swimming she had taped earlier.



• Going out on Patty's boat on Saturday, where we had a perfect vantage point for watching the planes over head. I spent a lot of the time floating in the cool water and looking up. It was another beautiful day - perfect for being on the lake.



• Sitting on the back of the boat with Patty and Chris dangling our legs in the cool water while we rode back to the harbor.

• Hanging out with Chris and Rick at the party on the dock before the sunset. It was a beautiful night for a party on the dock.
  

• Watching the sunset from the dock, water all around, boats in the harbor, and the skyline in the distance. I love this city.



• Hanging out in Shark and Jane's kitchen on Sunday enjoying a delicious brunch with Steve and Kathryn, Chris, and Colleen and Todd and their kids.



• Riding in the car with Chris for 4 hours back to Ann Arbor, where we always had something to talk or laugh about.



• The feeling of going on vacation on Monday morning when Chris and I flew to Baltimore.



• Laughing hysterically about the rental car with very touchy breaks that made us jerk every time we stopped.



• Seeing Karen when the door opened at her sister's house.



• Hugging Karen and hearing her voice and laugh in person.
• Hanging out with Chris, Karen, and her sisters by the pool all afternoon.

• Having a delicious dinner outside on a beautiful night with Karen, Chris and Sara. Talking and laughing about old stories, recent stories, and making new memories.
• Hanging out and talking with Chris and Karen early in the morning in the hotel room.
• Hanging out with Chris, Karen and her mom, and then going to Target with Karen where she took advantage of the strong Euro and bought gifts for her kids.
  

• Going to Camden Yards for the first time, hanging out before the game, watching the people, laughing with Chris, Ellen, and Karen, and smelling delicious ballpark food (crab cakes?!) being cooked in tents nearby.

• Joking with Chris and Karen about the Orioles slogan, "This is Birdland". Pointing our fingers with force to the ground, and saying, "This is birdland," very seriously.
  

• Laughing hysterically at Karen strutting her stuff in her new Orioles t-shirt. She conned it out of a guy on our way out of the ballpark. (They gave them away to the first 10,000 fans, and Karen was bound and determined to get one).
• Laughing hysterically again when Chris and I got back to the hotel and searched for food in a place where pizza isn't delivered very late.
• Walking in the door of our house when I got back to Ann Arbor.
• Seeing Stein when he got home from work.
• Sleeping in my own bed.
• Feeling relaxed and refreshed this morning after two great trips.

Bear With Me

I have a bunch of things going on this week, like the end of summer school, a trip to Chicago this weekend followed by a trip to Baltimore on Monday, and some other stuff that just needs to get done this week.

I'm not promising a post a day as I had hoped in the slowness of summer. In fact, this summer has been everything BUT slow. Stein and I just talked last night about how next year it will be different. "We need to remember how busy we were next year," he said. Yes, like we remember most things a year later....

So I may be posting here and there, from here and there. And I know I owe you pictures from the canoe trip and stories from our cold Tigers outing.

In the meantime, savor every last bit of summer you can. The tomatoes are bursting, the basil is getting "woody", and oh yeah, I saw mums being sold at the store yesterday. Hold on tight, folks. Maybe if we do, we can keep it a little longer. Have a great week!