Wheels & Vices

Have you ever had to use a wheelchair or crutches? I always think of this when I'm walking around and see people with strollers, in wheelchairs, or using crutches. I have friends who have kids and when you are waking around with a stroller, you realize how many walkways are not sloped into the road. It is also amazing how many people do not give you any extra space to maneuver a stroller, or how many stores (like H&M) have such narrow aisles that you barely move through them.

Noise on the Street Corner

I wish someone would talk to the man who thought it would be a good idea to wear white [see through] stretch (work out?) pants with no underwear.

I went to the Farmer's Market today after work and got some pictures (more are on my other blog). I love the balloons the vendors decorate for the kids:

And, to the cello player who thought playing scales (yes, scales) at the Farmer's Market would be a good idea, what in the world were you thinking? The saddest part was, each time I walked by it was the same scale so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that it was scales (plural).

Just because you know how to play a few chords, blow some air, or move buttons/ bow, that doesn't make you a musician.

There are Worse Things In Life Than Standing In Line

There was the nicest man in line at Starbucks today. I don't know why, but I LOVE seeing people over the age of 50 in line for Starbucks, maybe it is something about it transcending generations, but either way it reminds me of my grandma at Starbucks for the first time and I don't mind nearly as much waiting. And, I always do much better if someone acknowledges that they are taking a while, I appreciate that. Well, neither his wife nor him could decide on a drink and I thought it was so cute that the barista was trying her best to accommodate his taste (good job to her!). [apparently for only $0.50 you can get a personalized frappuccino] He apologized for taking so long and I told him that there were worse things in life than waiting in line. His response was with a smile, "well, that's a good attitude to look at things." He asked me what I did, "musician" I replied and he, of course, asked if I was in a symphony. I could be annoyed that everyone always asks that, OR I could be extremely happy that people know that symphonies still exist.  :)

I asked if he was visiting or lived here; he and his wife were here for the day. They flew to LA for his aunt's funeral and decided to come up here. What a wonderful idea, I couldn't agree with their choice more! He said it was nice talking to me and good luck with my career. I hope they had fun on their walk to the pier to the beach, what a beautiful day it is today! I have to believe and hope, that with my hard work and enough random people, friends, and family cheering me on with my career, that my dreams will come true no matter how crazy they may seem to some people.

This is where I want to sit someday, no matter how crazy other people may think this dream is:

I was driving to the Cross Fit workout today and a man jumped up to the curb as if he was going to take a dive. His silver hair and handle-bar mustache made him stand out despite the odd behavior. He waved his arms as if he were a wizard and jump a good, whopping six inches into the air, and wah-la, he made it to the street! I kind of hope he was on some kind of drug, or at least special in his thinking because the faces he was and his gait would suggest so. 

 

 

Question for the readers: Are people still "discovered" at malls these days? It seems like a lot of models/ actors from the 80's were 'found' at malls.

A Harry Potter Tribute: Part Deux

As some of you may have seen by my FB post, I had a less-than-desirable experience at the movie theatre for Harry Potter. We got to the theatre early which was funny because there wasn't a line. We went on Friday night and it opened at midnight Thursday, I had to see it opening weekend! I rarely am excited to see movies in the theatre but come on, it was the final Harry Potter!!

As we were waiting, we noticed that a bus full of kids drove up in front of theatre. We decided to move into line which worked out because there ended up being 2 full buses of kids, and they were from a 'special school.' Good grief. I remember getting hyper with my friends but I still understood PERSONAL SPACE. Even one of the chaperones (who were maybe a couple years older than the students themselves), told one of the girls who was repeatedly hitting me to appologize. Yeah, that lasted for about a minute before it started up again.

Anyways, we finally got into the theatre and found decent seats, and to our luck, the exact girl who was obnoxious before (and mind you, just one of at least three who could not see to BACK OFF), sat right in front of us. We moved seats which was fine for a short while. Three people sat behind us and reeked of alcohol. They were discussing how many shots they had each had (at the bar in the theatre, no joke), and good grief, they were talking with the "drunken whisper" that wasn't anywhere on the quiet scale. One girl was particularly horrible and was acting as commentator for all the trailers. Every time she laughed,  a waft of alcohol infused air covered us, ugh!!

The guy in the row of us, two seats to the right decided that the last half hour of the movie would be the best time to continuously text. Seriously!? It's the final installment in the entire series and you're texting??

The movie itself: I loved it!! I kept thinking how depressing it was compared to the lightheartedness found in earlier movies and yet, that's exactly how the last book was. I loved the movie, I have read all of the books and of course it's never going to be exactly how everyone envisions. I'm glad that they did the flashback at the end and yet, they couldn't put more age-adding makeup on the actors?

What are your thoughts on the movie?

A Harry Potter Tribute

Thoughts Before An Epic Event:

I am so excited to see the final Harry Potter movie that it is hard to concentrate! It will be like any long-term relationship, excitement to see what it entails and sadness, knowing it will end, as most things must, with a sad but conclusive ending. Facebook has been an interesting combination of HP lovers and haters, posting about the annoyance of its 

I loved reading the HP books. I find it sad when people refuse to read them, not only because I love reading but because I truly love how how J.K. Rowling created larger than life characters. It is always hard to read a book and then watch the movie, anxiety over whether or not the movie will match the book. I have to say, while I am not totally happy with the movies, they are doing a pretty good job. Looking at the large picture, it has got to be near impossible to take all the details from any book and put it into a two hour movie (or multiple movie series).

My Subway Experience

I do not go to Subway often but when I do, I am often reminded why I try to not make it a frequent spot. 

The employees are now wearing bright orange t-shirts to promote their $5 foot-long sandwiches. My first thought: why orange? Where does that color come into Subway's color scheme? I digress. The Subway store on State Street is freakishly small, very narrow in design (imitating many other State Street stores), and there is barely any room to stand in line, no matter how many people beat you there. There are traditional Subway signs that are on the wall, right where you stand, ensuring that if you lean against the wall, one of them will clang/ bang causing fear that it will topple on you or the child shying away from its mother. 

I was lucky enough to be behind a woman with coupons and a family. She did understand what a 'normal' sized sandwich was and, in a way, I understood her confusion. Their signs in this store are not clear as to which size is regular, is it the 6 inch or the foot-long? And yet, when you think about it, it's Subway and none of it is really that complicated. Yet, none of the people behind the counter representing them could clearly explain it either. Good grief.

What I See, Not What I Know

I wanted to start another blog, but it took me a while to figure out 'about what.' I don't want to force a blog just to say "oooh, I have another blog." So, I waited and waited, and bounced ideas off my fellow blogger-Chrissie. And, one day I realized that my favorite things to post on Facebook are the things that I see or witness around town.

I love walking, I would much rather walk around town to run errands instead of drive; and, if you have ever been to Santa Barbara, you understand that the one-way streets and limited street parking, you would want to walk too. Though, I do have to say that I find it sad how many people say "wow, that's really far away" and yet, it's not even a mile, half mile, or more than a few blocks.

Last week was one to remember: I was headed to Staples and saw a man dressed as Jesus, yes Jesus, not another character, Jesus. He was wearing a long white robe, had his beard grown out, was holding an over-sized bible (one foot wife by at least eight inches tall), and was preaching at people. It's one thing to setup a sign or pray station, it's another to yell at random people who are passing you by.

Further down the block was an older man by Cost Plus World Trade Center with a little music station set up. He had an old school boombox and a clarinet and I truly could not walk by him fast enough. I hope he was tone deaf, it sounded that bad. To make it even more memorable, it was old jazzy tunes.

After I was done with Staples, I walked back up State Street and saw that the man dressed as Jesus had also made his way further downtown. A woman in front of me made me take another look, her dressed looked like it was directly out of the 1980's. My first thought was definitely of Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex & the City (mainly the first movie when she goes through her closet, twenty years of clothes, trying everything on and dancing). And then, I caught a whiff of her and dang, it was rancid, just as bad as if it were one of the regular homeless people.

These are the details that fly through my brain when I am walking around town, enjoy!