Happy Birthday Ryan!

Seems like all of my friends are turning 30 lately and I've still got a few to come this year. Next up on the chopping block: Ryan! A long time ago we figured out that his birthday is exactly 7 weeks after mine. Just a little random birthday fact from me to you. Anyway, I added up the years and I've known Ryan for half of my life. It's crazy to think we're so old.

Ryan and I met one fateful day at Olympus High School in October or November 1993 (my memory is failing me). At the time I was in love with a boy named Matt Iba and I had magnet letters spelling out his name in my locker. (Yes, I was a crazy stalker.) My best friend Sarah had told me about this guy in her Health class named Ryan with blue hair and a beanie who looked just like Matt Iba. Turns out this guy happened to have a locker about three lockers down from me. One day while eating lunch by our lockers I said to him, "You look like Matt Iba." He looked at me with a quizzical expression and asked, "Who's Matt Iba?" To which Sarah replied, "Oh just some guy she's in love with." And the rest, as they say, is history. Our first date included watching Say Anything in my basement and innocently holding hands. I'm pretty sure his dad picked him up by 10:30 and he sent me flowers the next day trying to be a real life Lloyd Dobler. Oh to be 15 again. Well, not really. But I have such fond memories of my adventures with Ryan and I'm so glad to call him one of my best friends after all these years! 

A little trip down memory road with Ryan:

• We listened to A LOT of music.  Some bands that will always make me think of Ryan: New Order, Squeeze, Erasure, Morrissey, Yaz, Joy Division, NIN, Alanis Morissette, Oasis, Radiohead, Indigo Girls, Pet Shop Boys, Koop, The Cure, The Smiths, George Michael and the always entertaining Evil Dick
• Trying to get his parakeet Flo to speak by playing this phrase over and over again: "When do we eat?" Unfortunately, she died before learning to speak.
• Teaching him how to drive a stick
• The hideous outfits we wore to school dances. Don't ask to see the pictures, I've already burned them. The mid 90s were not fashionable.
• Taking the dip on Gundersen Lane at 50 MPH in my old green bug
• He had the same cell phone number for 10 years until he got a super cool iPhone
• That one time we missed the Salt Lake exit driving home from Moab in his Rabbit resulting in a 3 hour scenic drive
• Yearbook Day 1994: remember how you still had that cast on your wrist??
• Hanging out in each other's basements for hours on end
• The crazy accident on Highland Drive in 1995. My parents made me go to the emergency room and I was wearing his underwear and my mom saw. 
• Visiting Austin last year: Chuys, queso, lots of great beer, Indian food, German home movies, 6th Street bars

Happy Birthday Allen!

Ok, so Allen's birthday was way back on August 19, but I was in Phoenix so I'm just catching up. Happy 30th Birthday to one of my very favorite people: Allen E. Hatch! Allen and I met in August 2004 when I first moved in with Jed and we were instant friends. He helped me build an entertainment center; I introduced him to PBR. Here are some of my favorite memories of Allen throughout the years:

• Datenight: playing King's Cup, that one ill fated shot of tequila, taquitos, messing around on the futon, making up names for my punches
• Putting things together: most of my current furniture and the infamous beer bong
• Making me go to chain restaurants like Chuck-A-Rama and Cracker Barrel
• I love that he is so grossed out by boogers and I take advantage of that sometimes
• Going to Sundance: Wristcutters (still not that good of a movie Allen), sleeping on the floor of Jed's condo, walking around Park City in the snow hungover
• Talking on the phone all night, texting, instant messaging...we're pretty much in constant communication
• Our mutual love for R. Kelly's Ignition (Remix)
• Sometimes we have ESP and can read each other's minds or finish each other's sentences. Really, it's true.
• Going with him to meet his favorite newscaster Mark Kobel. I thought he might have a heart attack at first sight.
• Hanging out with my mom...I think he loves her more than me!

First time I hung out with Allen and I made him build furniture

Beer bong!

He got to meet Mark Kobel!

Checking out his match.com profile...or is that manhunt??

Face!

Trying to turn my nephew into a baby wino

BFF!!

Change We Need

Wow.  I didn't expect to react so strongly to the news that Barack Obama is now the official Democratic nominee.  I was moved to tears when the historic announcement was made. We have a black man as the Presidential nominee! The whole convention has been filled with strong emotions and I am so proud to say I'm a Democrat. Proud of the progress, humanity and unity that are the core ideals of the party.  

If you haven't seen any of the DNC speeches, here are the highlights:

Michelle Obama

"Obama will bring change."

Dennis Kucinich: I love him!!

"Wake up America!"

Ted Kennedy

"New Hope"

Hillary Clinton

"No way, no how, no McCain!"

Bill Clinton

"Obama is ready to be President."

Joe Biden (full speech not online yet)

"That's not change, that's more of the same!"

I can't wait to hear Barack speak tomorrow night.  I find it strangely coincidental that he will be accepting the nomination on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. I'm looking forward to November's election with great anticipation and I have faith that America will make the choice for change, for hope, for Obama.  

Is August Over Yet??

I can't believe that August is half over. I swear I have been going non-stop for 2 weeks: people in town, weddings, birthdays. It never stops. I seriously can't keep track of the days. Next up I'm off to Phoenix on Saturday for a few days, then to Seattle the next weekend. Unfortunately I only have time for a short update. One of these days you will once again be enjoying my witty repartee about the state of the world. But until then, here are the highlights from the past few weeks.  

Derek came to town!

Jed came to town!

Ryan came to town!

Various parties occurred and wackiness ensued

Monty went into a 7-11 wearing this interesting outfit and tried to buy some beer



Conversation at the counter:

Shopkeep: I don't think you are supposed to come in here like that...
Mont: What?
I have shoes.
I have shirt.
I have service.
Shopkeep: Well, that's arguable...

I took a weekend road trip up to Rupert, Idaho for Maberly and Bill's wedding. I saw lots of hay, horses and roadkill.  

Jed, Derek, Monty and I took a drive up to Park City where it poured rain while some band across the street was playing "Have You ever Seen the Rain?"  It was eerily prophetic; the rain was indeed coming down on a sunny day.  

My nephew Teagan turned 4 on Sunday! Jed and I went and had dinner at my dad's and hung out with Scarlett and Teagan.  

Other interesting developments:

• I bought some millionaire jeans I can't really afford, but damn they look good 
  
• I might be brave enough to wear a bikini in Phoenix
  
• Allen's birthday is next week, but I'm not buying him a damn rabbit
  
• Chaya is back from camp in Maine
• I'm obsessed with a song called Brandy Alexander by Ron Smithsmith but I can't find it online anywhere to post here (props to Mark for introducing me to it)
  
• I got this sweet photo in the mail from Barack and Michelle (yeah, we're totally on a first name basis) and now it's on my fridge right next to Gandhi

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