As I was waiting in the Austin airport to board my delayed flight to Long Beach, Carla called to chat with me about my transportation to Laguna. Carla had originally planned to pick me up, but then she found out that me and one of Jason's friends were actually coming in on the same flight...and this guy apparently had his friend [Jason's friend's friend....ummm, yes this gets confusing] picking him up on the way to Laguna...so she asked if I would be ok hitching a ride with them [Jason's friend {who we'll call Dude One} & Jason's friend's friend {who we'll call Dude Two}]...and since I'm a fan of adventure I (of course) agreed.
First, I have to find Dude One...who Carla had described as "a really tall guy who looks like he should be in Weezer"....note to all: most guys flying from Austin to Long Beach seem to fit this description. Just when I was about to call Carla back and tell her that finding this guy was like picking out Waldo in a scene where everyone's dressed like Waldo.....a guy walks up to me and says, "umm hey...I think you're Brooke"....ummm, yes that would be me. My introduction to Dude One. [One of my friends was like, "he prob was told to look for a petite, quirky Nancy Drew look-a-like with her iPod on and a book in-hand"]
While Dude One definitely had some Weezer-esque qualities (with the Buddy Holly glasses and tattoos)....he totally looked like Phil Dunphy from Modern Family! I'm a huge fan of that show...so the fact that Dude One not only looked like Phil, but the fact that he talked like him too was a genuine novelty to me.
Finally we made it to Long Beach, and got picked up by Dude Two....who just happened to resemble Mitchell & drive a Prius....needless to say, I had to restrain myself from giggling throughout the 45-minute car ride. Especially since I was wedged between car seats in the back seat.
When I shared this experience with my office mates (who also happen to be fans of the show)...they extrapolated that I was riding with the true inspirations for the characters...and therefore could end up in an upcoming episode as random girl #2 who Mitch and Phil "accidentally" pick up at the airport on their way to a wedding.
ps - click here to see some professional pics from Carla's wedding!
Showing posts with label drive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drive. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
road revelations...
On my solitary road treks to and from Austin, I seem to have several [minor] epiphanies that would not take place otherwise...most of them are inspired by my playlist [simply that hearing something leads me down a rabbit hole of thoughts]. My mental notes from this trip were as follows:
1. My mixed cd's should come with an 'explicit content' warning [or at least a heads up of 'don't listen to this in the presence your parents and/or children']. I could arbitrarily blame this on my love for rap, but I think that would be a lie [ie. track 5]. It also made me think about my workout mix, which features a certain Buckcherry song that is completely inappropriate...YET my favorite song to get me through a workout...and still I blush at the mere thought that anyone might possibly overhear this particular song blaring loudly out my iPod [considering that I do crank it up quite a bit as I pump through my time on the elliptical]. I guess sketchy music is my vice.
2. I've finally made peace with Regina Spektor. For the past several years I've avoided her music, because it brought up bad memories and just made me angry in general [especially when I started thinking about how an artist I liked got hijacked by circumstances]. I included one song of hers on this mix to specifically test if I could make it through without angry feelings brewing...and I found that it didn't make me want to break things...which I count as a success.
3. Watching the video for 'Kids' by MGMT may have permanently scarred me....enough to where I almost shouldn't listen to the song [which would be tragic since I really like the song...which is why I emphasized almost]. I even had strange dreams that I feel were inspired by the video. In one trippy dream, I was living with two other girls and a guy...but the guy was some sort of a mutant, because he could transform into a snake. Once I found this out, I no longer wanted to live with the guy [which I thought was justified...considering he = epitome of my worst nightmare]...but one of the girls insisted that we would be okay. She explained that when she was younger, she knew a boy who could change into an alligator [cut to grainy footage of kids in playpen, little boy pops out then jumps back in the pen as an alligator...catches little girl in a headlock using his massive jaw]. Creeeeeeeepy.
4. Maybe I misjudged Patty Griffin's 'Flaming Red' album. I used to think she tried to change her sound/image too much with this cd in particular...but I'm slowly coming around to various tracks...especially "One Big Love"...
5. I recently saw "Whip It"...which influenced me in my Tilly and the Wall selection. LOVED that movie...not surprising since it was filmed in Austin, features the sarcasm of Ellen Page and has a great soundtrack. Definitely made me want to be a roller-derby girl...for like a day [because, let's face it, one day would be enough to hospitalize me]. But seriously, it hits a nerve with another wish of mine...I reaaaaaallly wish I could tackle someone [like football-style tackle, not jokey-fun tackle]. BUT not with the force of my tiny-little-lady self...but with the power of someone like Ndamukong Suh [with the appearance of my little-lady self]. I think it would be awesome to do that just once!.....or twice....
6. Dang Miley Cyrus song...makes me all teary-eyed every time! [I directly associate it with the movie preview for "The Last Song"...and since I read the book already, it makes me get all emotional].
7. With the combination of realizations #1, #2, #3 and #5, you might think that I'm a slightly disturbed person....but I promise I'm not! Jamie Foxx may blame it on the [ah-ah ah-ah ah] alcohol, but I blame it on my song selections.
'ghost of good' mix:
1. Imma Be - Black Eyed Peas
2. One Big Love - Patty Griffin
3. On Top - The Killers
4. Graces Amazing Hands - Dave Barnes
5. Keep Yourself Warm - Frightened Rabbit
6. Pot Kettle Black - Tilly and the Wall
7. Blame It (feat. T-Pain) - Jamie Foxx
8. When I Look At You - Miley Cyrus
9. Just One Look - Doris Troy
10. Love Me Through - Port O'Brien
11. That Time - Regina Spektor
12. Kids - MGMT
13. Today Was a Fairytale - Taylor Swift
14. Got 2 Have U - Color Me Badd
15. Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) - Janelle Monáe
16. WTF? - OK Go
17. On to the Next One (feat. Swizz Beatz) - Jay-Z
18. Wish You Were Here - Incubus
19. Roll Over Beethoven - The Beatles
As for right now, 'i guess i'm taking my chances...'
1. My mixed cd's should come with an 'explicit content' warning [or at least a heads up of 'don't listen to this in the presence your parents and/or children']. I could arbitrarily blame this on my love for rap, but I think that would be a lie [ie. track 5]. It also made me think about my workout mix, which features a certain Buckcherry song that is completely inappropriate...YET my favorite song to get me through a workout...and still I blush at the mere thought that anyone might possibly overhear this particular song blaring loudly out my iPod [considering that I do crank it up quite a bit as I pump through my time on the elliptical]. I guess sketchy music is my vice.
2. I've finally made peace with Regina Spektor. For the past several years I've avoided her music, because it brought up bad memories and just made me angry in general [especially when I started thinking about how an artist I liked got hijacked by circumstances]. I included one song of hers on this mix to specifically test if I could make it through without angry feelings brewing...and I found that it didn't make me want to break things...which I count as a success.
3. Watching the video for 'Kids' by MGMT may have permanently scarred me....enough to where I almost shouldn't listen to the song [which would be tragic since I really like the song...which is why I emphasized almost]. I even had strange dreams that I feel were inspired by the video. In one trippy dream, I was living with two other girls and a guy...but the guy was some sort of a mutant, because he could transform into a snake. Once I found this out, I no longer wanted to live with the guy [which I thought was justified...considering he = epitome of my worst nightmare]...but one of the girls insisted that we would be okay. She explained that when she was younger, she knew a boy who could change into an alligator [cut to grainy footage of kids in playpen, little boy pops out then jumps back in the pen as an alligator...catches little girl in a headlock using his massive jaw]. Creeeeeeeepy.
4. Maybe I misjudged Patty Griffin's 'Flaming Red' album. I used to think she tried to change her sound/image too much with this cd in particular...but I'm slowly coming around to various tracks...especially "One Big Love"...
5. I recently saw "Whip It"...which influenced me in my Tilly and the Wall selection. LOVED that movie...not surprising since it was filmed in Austin, features the sarcasm of Ellen Page and has a great soundtrack. Definitely made me want to be a roller-derby girl...for like a day [because, let's face it, one day would be enough to hospitalize me]. But seriously, it hits a nerve with another wish of mine...I reaaaaaallly wish I could tackle someone [like football-style tackle, not jokey-fun tackle]. BUT not with the force of my tiny-little-lady self...but with the power of someone like Ndamukong Suh [with the appearance of my little-lady self]. I think it would be awesome to do that just once!.....or twice....
6. Dang Miley Cyrus song...makes me all teary-eyed every time! [I directly associate it with the movie preview for "The Last Song"...and since I read the book already, it makes me get all emotional].
7. With the combination of realizations #1, #2, #3 and #5, you might think that I'm a slightly disturbed person....but I promise I'm not! Jamie Foxx may blame it on the [ah-ah ah-ah ah] alcohol, but I blame it on my song selections.
'ghost of good' mix:
1. Imma Be - Black Eyed Peas
2. One Big Love - Patty Griffin
3. On Top - The Killers
4. Graces Amazing Hands - Dave Barnes
5. Keep Yourself Warm - Frightened Rabbit
6. Pot Kettle Black - Tilly and the Wall
7. Blame It (feat. T-Pain) - Jamie Foxx
8. When I Look At You - Miley Cyrus
9. Just One Look - Doris Troy
10. Love Me Through - Port O'Brien
11. That Time - Regina Spektor
12. Kids - MGMT
13. Today Was a Fairytale - Taylor Swift
14. Got 2 Have U - Color Me Badd
15. Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) - Janelle Monáe
16. WTF? - OK Go
17. On to the Next One (feat. Swizz Beatz) - Jay-Z
18. Wish You Were Here - Incubus
19. Roll Over Beethoven - The Beatles
As for right now, 'i guess i'm taking my chances...'
Saturday, February 27, 2010
my love/hate relationship with the open road
I'm either extremely lucky on the roads...or very unlucky...depending on how you chose to view it (I choose lucky). My road encounters are notorious...but by the grace of God alone, I've been very fortunate to avoid any major catastrophe. A few examples...
Case #1:
I'm driving from Austin to Buna on a narrow back-woods road [lined by a wall of pine trees on each side] in torrential rain/wind, trapped behind a truck carrying chickens while desperately trying to avoid a tornado that was in the area. Thought I was going to die in a swirl of feathers and pine needles, yet somehow I escaped the wrath of the tornado [but not the feather/pine needle mix].
Case #2:
As I'm driving from Austin to Dallas [a drive that has caused me much torment over the years], a piece of sheet metal blew out of a guy's truck, flew underneath my car and sliced a tire open. Seriously thankful that the sheet metal went under my car and not through the windshield instead.
Numerous other incidents could be listed including the time I lost power steering [in a van on I-35....not good], or the time I lost the ability to accelerate [on I-10 in Houston...also not good], or the time a muffler fell off the car in front of me and hit my car, etc...but you get the point.
My most recent 'incident' occurred during my drive home for this weekend...which I personally think takes the cake...
Just as I was beginning to see relief from the damaging hail, I heard a loud pop on the roof of my car quickly followed by an extremely bright flash of light in the rear section of my car [I also noted that most cars chose to put fair amount of distance between themselves and me after the fact...I can't blame them, I would be wary of any driver that got zapped as well]. I think that my immediate thought was something along the lines of "Ok God, [you've got my attention] I'm listening." My dad claims that he even found a mark on the top of my car to substantiate my claims....but my brother remains slightly skeptical. I seriously wish I had eye-witness accounts, because I would love to know what the people in the cars around me saw.
I could easily see these circumstance as a "target on my back" issue...but instead I think that I've got an awesome shield around me. Kinda makes me feel stealth. :)
*hail
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)