As Time Goes By

I recently posted on facebook: "Today's debate in regards to 'Cruel Summer': Bananarama or Ace of Base? Go." Overwhelmingly, the response was in favor of the Ace of Base version. I can't say I'm terribly surprised, but I was expecting at least one old-schooler to go with the original (especially since that's the version heard in the original Karate Kid. if that doesn't make it a classic, i don't know what does.).

So it seems that my friends prefer the year 1998 to the year 1983. Now, I can safely say that there is one advantage that 1998 has over 1983 ... I had been born by then. 1983, you juuuuuust missed out on the glory that is me. But let's do a little more research, now that I'm curious, to compare the two.

1983

• Tokyo Disneyland
• GPS is made available for civilian use, and where would my cousin Kathryn be without it? (well, okay, maybe she's better at directions since last i checked.)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers formed
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day declared a federal holiday
• Crispix debuts
• Flashdance AND Return of the Jedi
• Introduction of the McNugget
• First minivans, and where would Mormons be without them?
• "Billie Jean" on MTV and MJ introduces the Moonwalk
• Disney Channel premieres (before the advent of hannah montana, so it was quality at the time)
• Fraggle Rock, A Team
• A Christmas Story is released, thus providing TNT with a movie to play for 24 HOURS STRAIGHT

  Okay, so 1983 wasn't all wine and roses: remember it was also the year that MASH ended, there were no more DeLoreans being made, and Superman III came out. But look how many good things came out of it!

 No, Richard Pryor was not photo-shopped in; this was seriously the movie poster.

1998

• Winter Olympics in Nagano
• 80-90% of pagers (remember those?) are without service for a day when a communications satellite fails
• Mulan, A Bug's Life, Mask of Zorro
• Lifetime Channel debuts
• Dawson's Creek debuts
• Seinfeld ends
• No more Ginger Spice
• Britney Spears, NSync, and 98°
• "My Heart Will Go On" is on the radio for 24 HOURS STRAIGHT 

 

All right, comparing ... comparing ... 1983 gives us: Red Hot Chili Peppers, the moonwalk, Disney Channel (pre-deterioration), and Fraggle Rock. 1998 gives us: Britney Spears, "My Heart Will Go On", Lifetime Channel, and Dawson's Creek.

1983 wins.

-Me

There Once Was a Yodeler

More retroactive reporting: going back to Labor Day! Before that lovely three-day weekend, my pal Megan had written to me to remind me of how much fun I had going to Swiss Days last year, so I managed to persuade Glen to come along this year, and extremely fortuitously, we arrived at the shuttle parking lot in Midway right behind Meg and Mash! The first thing we did was sit and listen to Kerry Christiansen: master yodeler. All of us enjoyed his performance (meg especially appreciated the neil diamond tribute), but Glen far and away was the most excited about it.

You can't hear Mr. Christiansen too well, but toward the end you can at least hear Glen and me pipe in.

After listening to Herr Yodel Meister, Glen not-too-reluctantly followed me around to the various booths as I tried to find something cute for our home. Swiss Days is a fun festival, and I'm glad two years in a row now that I have attended.

Enthralled.

 Meg's reaction to the Neil Diamond Tribute

No sheepdogs this year, though. I decided to forego that in order for Glen and I to have a nice peaceful day off together before he became so busy with school and choir and his calling and work that he no longer had time for me. Woe is me.

 Glen and some of the wares we admired but did not purchase.

And now it is October, and we all know what that means: novelty accessories!!!!! I wore one of my pairs of Halloween earrings the other night when we spent an evening with Grandma Merrell and Glen's sisters, and Eliza (one of glen's nieces) was quite captivated. I LOVE this time of year!

-Me

"I always say that shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist." -Tammy Faye Bakker

She Works Hard for the Money

She's alive! She's aliiiiiive!!!

Yes, it's true. Despite being extremely remiss on my blog the past two months, I do still exist and function in this world. And just in case you were all missing my incisive and witty posts, you can breathe easy: I'm going to be better at this. Life in our little part of the world goes by pretty swimmingly. Of course, Glen is being a responsible student (he had to start some time, right? j/k) and working hard on school stuff, so our time together is restricted, but that's all right. Ish. I'm dealing with it.

I'm also dealing with extended hours at work. As my very loving brother stated in a comment on my facebook status last week, "boo-freaking hoo". This coming from a guy who for several months puts in work days that extend until midnight is understandable, but I'm attempting to work up a little sympathy here. Ten-hour days may seem a mere pittance to some, but it's definitely not something I've been used to doing on a regular basis since I began working like a "real person". And as a result, Glen comes home about every other day to a wife who is just about miserable because she was on the computer when he left at 7:30 a.m. and is still on it when he came home at 5:15 p.m.

Usually I'm able to work myself up to being normal (well, normal for me, which is more eccentric than normal), but some days it just doesn't happen as easily. The occasional day when I work only eight hours seems like a marvelous respite, and I'm suddenly energized for the rest of the day. This works out well because I've only been taking eight-hour days when I've had non-work-business to attend to, and I should probably be awake for such activities.

Still finding time for good things, though. Last week, I went to the BYU Homecoming Spectacular, which my husband was singing in and Brian Stokes Mitchell was guest-appearing. WOW! He was amazing. (and so was brian stokes mitchell. teehee) No, in all seriousness, it was a great show, and I left feeling thoroughly inspired. The weekend before, Glen and I went to a BYU football game, during most of which I was extremely discouraged, but when your alma mater comes from behind in the fourth quarter and wins almost by a miracle, you can't help but feast on the excitement and exhilaration of the crowd.

Okay, you're probably getting tired. As am I. Will post soon with more of our doings (without the complaining bit attached, i promise).

See? Told you I was tired.

-Me

"The human race is faced with a cruel choice: work or daytime television." -Unknown