Soothing the Savage Beast

Like much of my generation, I am a junkie of classic rock, but otherwise have somewhat eclectic tastes. I love to listen to my CD's while driving fast on the highway. Here's what's on the 6-disc CD changer (you state of the art ipod junkies think this is quaint, I know!) in my '97 Explorer LapisMobile right now:

U2 - U218 Singles
Tony Bennett - Duets: An American Classic
Bon Jovi - Cross Road
Billy Joel - Greatest Hits: Volume III
Jack Johnson -In Between Dreams
Bruce Springsteen -Devils and Dust (There's always at least one Bruce album in my car CD changer at all times!)

As you can see, I mix some new acquisitions and recycle some old stuff. Since I don't do long drives all that often, I usually have a set in there for 2-3 months. If I do alot of driving I switch out more often.Besides Bruce, frequent recycles include Queen, the Who, Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, CSNY, Ray Charles, Elton John and the Broadway Cast Album of Les Miserables

And on my computer CD drive, some new Xmas gifts that I requested and Santa was kind enough to comply:
Il Divo - Siempre (currently playing)
Rod Stewart - Still the Same...Great Rock Classics of Our Time (about to go in) BTW, why "of our time?" There really was no rock before "our time", n'est-ce pas?

So now you know something more about me. How about you? What do you listen to?

It's a Mystery to me

You know how your web browser lists your bookmarks or "favorites" in a sidebar on the left side of your screen? And it puts little icons on the left of each website it recognizes? For example, my blog has a little blogger icon, Mona's Vox blog has a white V on a red background, Continental Airlines has their logo, and The New York Times has a fancy initial caps T from its header.

So how cum my "Harrah's Total Rewards" bookmark has The New York Times logo attached to it? Come to think of it, Delayed Reaction's blog has the Y from the Yahoo! logo attached to it. It's a mystery to me.

Born to Clutter?

Has anyone else seen this article in the NYT? Saying Yes to Mess
It's been on the list of most e-mailed articles all week. I am so excited - finally no need to feel guilty! I am actually promoting creativity and being rational not to waste all that time on de-cluttering. Oh joy!!!

Merry Christmas...

Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale, Sretan Bozic!

Best wishes to all my friends, wherever you are!
(click here)

Keeping us safe from ????

Reuters has just reported that:

The FBI has released the last 10 documents from its secret files on slain Beatle John Lennon that had been withheld for 25 years on the ground they could prompt "military retaliation" against the United States, campaigners for their release said on Wednesday. (emphasis added) See article here.

Military retaliation? What were these guys smoking? UnF*#%*g believable that my tax dollars were used to create these files, let alone keep them secret for 25 years. Maybe it's keeping us safe from using our resources efficiently...which might actually lead to debating the really important issues in society. Hmmm, I would guess there's a storehouse of secret files on Bono now.

Another Year Older...

Another December, another birthday. Does anyone know if I can officially move my birthday to a month with less celebratory competition?

I dislike having a birthday in December, for obvious reasons, so I try to make a point of celebrating it in some specific way. This year, I celebrated by going down to Atlantic City for the weekend with my travel and shopping buddy Judy. I know, tres pedestrian and tacky, but what can I say? I am a woman of eclectic interests. (The night before I went to see a Shakespeare play with my friend Angela and my niece Melissa -- we have season's tickets.) And Judy did treat me to an absolutely scrumptious dinner at a very elegant restaurant.

No, I did not win, but we did take some time out to explore the new outlets in AC and got some great bargains!

This has been a year of transition. From LIS Program to MLISc. From student to officially unemployed! (I guess a more positive spin would be "job hunter".) From Hawaii (back) to NJ. From open sandals (back) to shoes and socks. From (relatively) neat and spacious apartment (back) to cluttered space with 20 years of baggage... From focusing mostly on myself (back) to dealing with family issues. Lots of stuff to ponder and write about...but even I can't take much time to think about it all right now. I'm still working on my Xmas cards and planning final holiday purchases, egads! And I'm not even employed.

Nevertheless, I wanted to thank all who sent birthday cards or gifts or email or called to let me know you were thinking of me as I marked another year of my history. It is very much appreciated!

A Tourist in Honolulu

So I'm back from my 6 days in Honolulu, as a tourist this time, and it was too short! But very rich in quality time.

Had a mini reunion at the Wai'oli Tea Room on Sunday and saw lots of my old buds from library school and ALA-SC. That was a total blast. Tisha gave me a beautiful lei. Then we had a paparazzi frenzy while waiting for everyone to arrive. Another episode of wild and crazy librarians! Lynn came with a flourish after we had sat down and brought me another lei and all of us individual roses! And tea was scrumptious. You can see the pictures on my flickr photostream. Also check out photos from my contacts, esp. drdrewhonololu and CaffeineAddict. My two leis are now with me in NJ, drying out, and preserving happy memories.

Caught the sunset entertainment at the Halekulani. Took in some favorite eating places: Maple Garden, the Harbor Pub, the Thai place, the Mermaid Bar, Duke's Breakfast Buffet, and Eggs 'n Things. (Thought of you lots, Jenn!) Many thanks for all the aloha and treats from Christian, Becky, Gail, Lynn, Tisha, Jan, Diane, Lori, Mona, Junie and Andrew. I've missed all you guys so much and it was great catching up! Extra special mahalos to Christian and Becky for taking lots of time out of their busy schedules and for easing my coming and going.

Abbe came on Thursday night and we explored Waikiki on Friday. Saturday we went to the big U2 concert at Aloha stadium. The concert was AWESOME. Due to Honolulu traffic, it took us 2 hours to get there and we were still in the parking lot when Pearl Jam started their set. A big shout out to Damien and Robin from southern CA who gave us a ride to and from the concert!! (We met them on the elevator in our hotel.) My personal favorites from the concert: Sunday Bloody Sunday, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, the encore of Rockin in the Free World with Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam's cover of Baba O'Riley. For more detail, check out the Honolulu Advertiser's take.

The weather was fabulous -- although people in Hawaii insisted it was 'cold'. I think Wendy has a better perspective on that now, hehe! Oh, and Hawaii locals still can't drive. Favorite maneuver of this trip was the car on King Street that pulled out of a parking spot on the right curb and crossed six lanes, including the one we were in(!), in one fell swoop to make a left at the next intersection. It's nice to know things haven't changed much at all.