All delighted people, raise their hands!

So I haven't stopped listening to this EP since it was released last week. You might have seen it in the iTunes top ten albums, and it's there for a reason. Quali-T. Old-time fans of Sufjan will not be disappointed. I wasn't at least. Click the album cover for the iTunes link and preview it.
Acoustic/folk/indie/jivey

Kitchen contraceptives??

finger condoms

trish is in the background.

I try to learn something new everyday. Yesterday I didn't have to try. Next to the stove at the Geyser Grill was a small baggie of miniature rubbers. Before I could make a witty comment to the cook, he informed me that they're a common first aid applicant for a bleeding finger in kitchens (hopefully, to go over a band-aid). So no, not a contraceptive, but yes, a guard against HIV and other blood-transmitted diseases.

il faut avoir du ZESTE.

"It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action that man finds his supreme joys."

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Zest is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest." -Christian Dior

"What hunger is in relation to food, zest is in relation to life."

-Bertrand Russell

NEWS: Never gonna happen..

So today I made another attempt at updating myself, like any good citizen should. I checked CNN, Drudge Report, NY Times, Huffington Post.. didn't last for fifteen minutes. Call it apathy, indifference, or small attention span - but I have an aversion to the news. All the top stories are either about an argument, an accusation, or some sort of eruption. Sarah Palin said this, Hurricaine Katrina is still happening. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about being aware of one's surroundings and being informed. But come on.. Barack Obama is 70% up in polls: "we love him!" To 69% of Americans have lost trust in our president and think he's a terrorist: "when's the next election?" It's getting exhausting. I heard this Chinese proverb the other day that said:

"Better to light a candle than curse the darkness."

I liked it. It seems like all the news can focus on is "dark" economy cliff-ends and Snooki's new abusive boyfriend. Yet here I am, the hypocrite: cursing the news.
In the wise words of Trish, the southern lady I work with, "You'd never go and plant yer picnic right next to the only pile of dog sh*t in the park." Almost wiser than the proverb I'd say. So there's my resolution. I'll be avoiding the piles of dog sh*t and eating my picnic elsewhere. Call me "plain ignorant" (also in the words of Trish), but if my country has a nuclear warhead pointed to it, I'm sure I'll hear about it from the ten people around me with their live iPhone feeds. But even then, what good would "knowing" about it do? Excuse me, I'll be enjoying my ham sandwich and strawberry milkshake in the sun.

My lunch -everyday.

This is a Turkey Parmesan sandwich from the Geyser Grill. If it looks slightly burnt it's because I order it like that. It's also on wheat. It comes with swiss cheese and sauteed onions and peppers. It's amazing. AND since I serve there at nights, I get a killer discount. I've had this lunch everyday for the past week and I'm not sick of it yet. With 1000 island dressing, an iced tea, and a side of applesauce - I couldn't be happier at 12pm.

a new song

"Palace In The Air"

So for those of you that don't know yet.. I like to write music. This is a self-produced demo of the newest song I've been working on. Electro/Pop/Dance. Somewhat RedOne/Gaga inspired. I also put an interesting twist on a Les Miserables song for the verse ha.. you'll see. Click the image to visit my artist myspace.

Gilty

click logo to join the site. it's free

eh.. i just spent $200.. this website is becoming a problem for me. but i figured that i've spent hardly any money at all this summer so i deserve a reward. plus with the great deals i got, i technically saved $200 -so there's really no need for me to feel guilty at all. money is only put to use if it's spent. that's how i see it at least

No. 9

Two days ago.. on the 25th, I got a call from my Dad congratulating me on my new baby brother. Here's some snaps from his iphone:

noah looking ecstatic to have a little brother

hannah and samuel

the whole shabang -still minus one, believe it or not

Ruth is looking a little unsure about the new development

But I can't wait to go home and meet him..

Mystery Solved...

Last night I was serving a lovely British family from Chettenham, UK (2 parents and their daughter). After their dinner I asked if they'd be interested in dessert, and they said they were, but wanted a 15 minute reading break. Of course. So they all pulled out their books and read.
When I returned, the woman told me she met some 'yanks' that day using the word "ordinary" in the strangest context. She said the cowboy she was talking to was discussing his horse and how short-tempered and "ordinary" the horse was. "But he didn't even say ordinary, he said ornry."
ME: "Oh awnry??" Apparently this word is not in the British vocabulary.
She then asked me how to spell the word and I had no idea. We tried seven spellings of the word in my dictionary and couldn't find it. Awnry, aunry, onry, aunrey, onree. However, a knowledgeable eavesdropping gent at the next table observing our struggle chimed in, "It's spelled O-R-N-E-R-Y. It's an American invention from the nineteenth century, and began with the mis-pronunciation of the word ordinary." Well thank you Mr. Etymological Dictionary.

ornery |ˈôrn(ə)rē|
adjective informal
bad-tempered and combative : some hogs are just mean and ornery.
• stubborn : taking the singer's ornery radicalism in a different direction.
DERIVATIVES
orneriness |ˈɔrn(ə)rin1s| noun
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: variant of ordinary , representing a dialect pronunciation.

The funny thing about it is, American's pronounce their own word with a British accent. Ornery is awnry. But there you have it. The correct spelling of the word, awnry, and it's explained origins.

ONLY 28 Days..

..of my sentence in Montana is left. Then onto big dreams in LA.Laundry Room, Hibernation Station, West Yellowstone MT

"People" Gossip of West Yellowstone

So... don't really know/listen to her music, but Jewel stayed at the Hibernation Station and I got to clean her cabin today. It added a little extra excitement to the day, and I successfully beat the temptation to dish some "hot tips & info" to the popular gossip magazines of things I learned. But "do unto others" I guess..

AND OPRAH? wtf??

her expression is how i feel

Apparently she was here a month ago for a 2 night stay. Our manager only juuust told the vice manager today --who told me. Anyone who knows me and my curious intrigue with the near-Deity, can imagine my utter disappointment and rage surrounding the matter. But it's probably for the better, as I would have undoubtedly resorted to extreme measures to meet her. I suppose I can still claim that I've cleaned her cabin. Just without the fresh Oprah dust.

And last year my friend Melissa Fjelstadado, got to check in an incognito Ryan Reynolds. Rumors say that his girl-friend-at-the-time, Scarlett Johannson was awaiting his return to the car.

So there you have it. Hibernation Station is apparently a celebrity hot spot.

-Oh ya, and I work here. That's gotta count for something too.

a short story..

So here's one. I started my serving job at the Geyser Grill last week. Trish is a (white) southern baptist woman I work with there. She has one of the largest and strongest personalities that I've ever encountered: she says it how she sees it and won't waste a second to think before it all comes out. Most of the time she's hilarious, but..

the other day as we were discussing schedules:

Me: "Wow, I'm so tired of work. I hardly get a break.. I feel like I'm going crazy."

Trish, with a dark wild look in her eyes: "Oh. I know I'm crazy."

(awkward pause)

T: "Mah mother was crazy. A racist too."

Me: "Oh.. haha"

T: "One day she done told a black man she was gonn burn his house down if she eva saw him agin. So this black man, he gets all-offendid! An he starts cussin an swearin -all, 'eff this, eff that.' An wehw(well), you know mah motha?"

i thought the question was rhetorical. but she waited so long I had to shake my head.

T: "Wehw she don't take sh*t from no one! Especially blacks. So she done did it. She burnt his place down. Wait - akshilly half of the apartment complex. And then her own house. See? I told you. An thas a true story."

This was one of those moments that hits me like a friendly punch in the face. I'm actually living in West Yellowstone. Where locals proudly report a 90% drug usage in the population. But I can't dwell on it too long, or I'll get a panic attack. so, THE END.

ah-ha: some wise old men

"In this there is no measuring with time, a year doesn’t matter, and ten years are nothing. Being an artist means: not numbering and counting, but ripening like a tree, which doesn't force its sap, and stands confidently in the storms of spring, not afraid that afterward summer may not come. It does come. But it comes only to those who are patient, who are there as if eternity lay before them, so unconcernedly silent and vast. I learn it every day of my life, learn it with pain I am grateful for: patience is everything!" -Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

"By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, The world is beyond the winning. When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."
-Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

For your headphones -from the netherlands

robyn from Schveden. these are her new electro thumpin albums.

they rock -plus snoop is on pt. 2

jonsi, frontman of icelandic band, sigur ros

this is a 2010 solo project he did that was released this year. atmospheric, experimental, and true to his style - epic. he's a genius

you're welcome.

the END.

So a couple days ago.. I quit my job as host at Wild West Pizzeria. It was good while it lasted, but when a higher paying job comes around, it's hard for me to focus on anything less; I'm greedy. Plus, working in the same building every night, with the same grumpy employees for about two months straight did not mesh well with my patience or attention span.
Here are some photo's I stole from my friend Brooke Shoko Foster's blog, the FemaleFoodie (photos of the grumpy pain-in-my ___-employees were not included).
me, at my hosting station w/ Alsatia Durfey. except for when she would steal my chair, she was my friend. she would laugh at annoying customers with me to keep me sane. the red-eye fix on this picture is grreat

if i hadn't eaten there every night for the past two months, i'd probably miss the food. it's delicious

the 'raunt
servers: brooke and grant

melissa. cute

that's what i want.. really

if making money is seeming like your SOLE purpose to life ( a bit like it is for me right now), then here's a little souuul, to hopefully lighten the mood of the often weighty purpose.


and then i like the Flying Lizards' version too

NEWvaux

"hey those are some pretty kick-A shoes," i can hear you say. thanks i know. i ordered these off of Gilt.com for $35 (down from $120) about a month and a half ago and today they finally arrived. considering my monotonous life of house-keeping and hosting at a pizzeria, it was like christmas.
and i also came across this song today which, apart from being a really good song and music video, is pretty relevant:

discovery?

so the picture doesn't quite do the creature justice, but today as i was pumping my abdominals with AbRipper-X, i encountered this. it moved like a miniature dinosaur. it had a long neck much like a diplodicus or brachiosaurus and it's head would oddly turn to look at things. for example, when i was trying to take a picture of it, it would turn its head and look at my camera. it was almost other-worldly. maybe i was just looking for an excuse to pause my exercise, but i believe it would have been a thrilling encounter for an insectologist. pity i'm not one. --well, not really.. but for them at least.

morning tuune$

it's important to get in the zone. the happy zone; attitude is everything. especially on mornings like this, when i get the privilege of opening the front desk at the Hibernation Station - @7am. and it's on mornings like this (when i get to ride my bike to work in 45 degreesF) that take every morsel of my strength and forced sanity to not throw the stapler at the first customer to complain about no toilet paper, or ask for a bag of ice. so i play songs like this, and repeat happy mantras to myself.

DAYS OFF: "work sucks, i know.."

we crash 3Bear's swimming pool a lot

a walk in the rain with melissa fjeldsted and rachel kime

visiting brooke shoko foster at canyon street grill.

the strawberry milkshakes are incredible

and one day off, i said, "ENOUGH with the penny-pinching mac n' cheese / chicken& rice routine!" so i went all out and made this: garlic chicken pesto pasta with parmigiano-reggiano, a little evoo, and olives. i would eat a can of olives a day if funds permitted

aand to satisfy my unsatisfiable sweet tooth, i bought a coconut cream pie for dessert. my best day for food in montana yet.

MusicArtist (also a) Vizula Artiste

Rolling Stone just did this special on old music artists who also dappled in the visuals. thought it was interesting. I quite like the Paul McCartney. snif snif

"Big Mountain Face" by Paul McCartney

"Train Tracks" - Bob Dylan

Just a sketch - John Lennon