"elliott" (the turtle)

i don't know what it is about me.... if it is because i am soft-hearted (like my mama), or if i just have a really good eye, but i always seem to be able to find turtles in distress, and feel the need to bring them to safety.

since i have been living in florida, i have already saved three turtles from almost certain death. my most recent one being, "elliott", the ginormous turtle i saved on my street yesterday.

i was minding my own business, driving to the gym, when i drove past a turtle on the side of my street. i wasn't sure if he was alive or had "passed on", but i decided to stop anyway. as i approached him, i noticed that he was still alive, and needed to be moved, or would most likely be killed. the only predicament was how in the world could i get him to the lake? i had a bad experience when i was younger with a turtle in the car (that my mom, brother, and i were trying to save), so i didn't exactly want him to be next to me, even if that would have meant on the floor. so i decided that the trunk was the best bet.

i quickly cleared out my trunk, to make room for my
scared friend. as i was going to pick him up, a woman approached us on a walk with her dog, and told me that it was a hard-shelled turtle (of course! i have never known a turtle to not have a hard shell), and that she was glad i was saving it, because all animals should have a good chance at life.


when i approached him, he quickly went into his shell, though i could see that he had some extremely long claws...or nails, whatever. anyway, that made me nervous. i was afraid that he was going to start coming out of his shell when i picked him up, though he didn't, thank God. i did finally put him in my trunk, and quickly grabbed my Sidekick, so i could snap some pictures for this blog. yes, i am always trying to think of good things to write about!

anyway, i drove him to a nearby construction dump, that happened to be next to Turkey Lake. I quickly retrieved him from my trunk, and walked him all of the way down to the lake.

here, he started to feel comfortable enough to emerge from his shell, and hopefully, feel secure.

i named him "elliott", which seemed to be a much more mature sounding name compared to "tiger", the first turtle that i ever saved! funny how we sometimes give animals "people" names, especially named after our favorite singers. (another turtle that i saved a long time ago, was given the name "robert", after robert smith of "the cure".)

i hope that elliott lives many happy days in Turkey Lake, and that he manages to stay away from roads from now on.

"elliott" in his new home!

(listening to "Naked As We Came" by Iron & Wine)

he's fun, he's cool, AND it's his birthday!!!

it's funny how you can instantly love a person, even after only knowing them for a short time. that is how i feel about michael kelly (aka betamike). i had always wondered who he was, but knew that he must be cool, having always been included in stephanie's concert update emails. however, it wasn't until i met him at her birthday party, last january, that i had a face to put with the name.

when i finally met him, he wasn't at all what i had expected. i can't quite put into words what i thought that he was going to be like, but i can say that the man with the awesome tie and cool glasses that introduced himself as "mike kelly", wasn't what i had imagined. nevertheless, as i sat across from him at the dinner table, realizing that we knew the same people and liked the same music, i was secretly hoping that we could become friends.

the rest is history. we saw each other at "paws in the park", where the first talk of going to "coachella" was suggested. and in indio, california, somewhere in between the "tender loins", morning breakfasts, talks of our mutual love of all things scary and "night of the living dead", and calling home to check on the "girls" (olive and polly), a friendship was formed. a friendship that i hope will last for a very long time.

i love you, michael kelly. have a very happy birthday!

(in honor of his birthday, i'm listening to "southern belles in london sing" by The Faint)

metric

Previously shown here was...
"Combat Baby" by Metric

i LOVE this song, and i am digging the marionettes too!

"i got a question mark"

so i was reading a blog posted by one of betamike's friends and it inspired me to be a copycat. he had a list of random "questions" that are sometimes forwarded for people to answer about themselves.

i have always been fascinated by the answers that people write, so i decided to make up my own "quiz" for the readers of this blog. if you want to take it, please feel free to copy and paste this post into an email with your answers. you might see some of the best (and most entertaining) answers in an upcoming post*. i went ahead and took the quiz myself, with my answers highlighted in red. e n j o y !


Quiz

1. if you could have named yourself, what would you have picked? clementine

2. if you could be on The Price Is Right, what game would you want to play? Plinko

3. suppose you are stranded on an island and have only one music group that you could listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be? Elliott Smith

4. what was your first pet's name, and what kind of animal was/is it? a kitty named "Max"

5. which search engine do you prefer...yahoo! or google? Yahoo!

6. which tabloid headline are you most bored of hearing about... brad and angelia, tom and katie, or britney spears' baby? tom and katie

7. what is the best concert that you have ever attended? (coachella doesn't count, vhat! i want to know a specific group) chemical brothers

8. what are you most comfortable wearing? sweatpants, a tanktop, and flip-flops

9. in high school, what were you "labeled" as? "alternative" (whatever that is!)

10. what is your favorite book? merriam-websters thesaurus

11. if you had to pick the last meal before you died, what would it be? my mom's spaghetti

12. if you could speak any language fluently, what would you speak? french

13. if you could visit any foreign country, where would you go? india

14. what is your favorite fast food restaurant? chick-fil-a!

15. if you had to chose, would you give up your hearing or sight? tough question. i guess, sight. weird coming from an interpreter!

16. if you could be a superhero, who would you be? spiderman

17. if you could commit any crime and get away with it, what would it be? arson

18. if you could hear what someone was thinking for one day, who would you choose? polly!

19. if you had the opportunity to change one thing about your body, what would it be? my legs

20. if you were a toy, what toy would you be? a big mouth singer

21. if you could be born again in any time period and country, when and where would it be? England in the 1940's

22. if you were the President, what would you change? roe v. wade

23. if you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today? go home & get another tattoo

24. if you were a crayon, what color would you be? red

25. if you could have inspired any song, what would it be? "the luckiest" by ben folds

26. what is your favorite candy? twizzlers or tootsie rolls

27. if you could be an animal for one day, which animal would you be? a manatee

28. if you could front any music group, which would it be? rilo kiley

29. if you had the entire world captive for 5 minutes, what would you say? "god created us to love each other, so quit bickering and murdering innocent babies... (and of course) i love chick-fil-a and tom reynolds!"

30. if you could be invisible for a day, what would you do? sneak into the White House (like in X-Men 2!)


*unless otherwise requested, your name will accompany your answer, should it be picked for the blog.

(listening to "A Question Mark" by Elliott Smith)

the freaks come out at night....even for charity!

recently, i was able to interpret at a charity event (which was open to the general public, so that's why i can write about it here). i was super excited to go and was going to be teaming with my good buddy, Rafael, and my friend Kevin, was going to be my date.

anyway, when we arrived, we all soon realized that it wasn't the "semi-formal gala" that was advertised. there were some whacked out people there, and people were dressed in anything from evening dresses to Hooters attire. as advertised, there were "celebrities and beauty queens" in attendance, even if they were just look-alikes or local.

overall, it was quite fun. the food was free, i was able to hang out with my friends, and it's not everyday that you get to interpret for Cher and Elvis impersonators!

bring it on, Steve Austin!

gypsies, tramps or thieves?
hmm..... maybe a little bit of each!

so nice of George and Laura to make an appearance

i'm so lucky to have friends like Kevin and Rafael

(listening to "Hey Now Now" by The Cloud Room)

vhat reunion

vhat

what a nice evening with my vhat friends.

thanks. i needed it.

iPod

in my sick mind, this is what i envision happening on the inside of my iPod when i push, "play".


(previously showing the "Such Great Heights" video by The Postal Service)

big mouth singers

"LA! LA! LA!"

does anyone remember this toy? of course, i know that my dad will. you know how periodically, memories will come rushing back into your mind? this just happened to me a few minutes ago, so i immediately wanted to post about it.

only $6.99? sign me up!

when i was very young, probably two or three years old, i received a "Big Mouth Singers" toy as a present, probably for my birthday. i don't remember if i had seen a commercial about it, and wanted one, or if someone thought that it would be a cute present to give a little girl. nevertheless, i was given one.

this is where my happy story quickly takes a very sad turn. it broke, or was already broken when i went to play with it. i would push the buttons, and their happy little mouths would open and close, but no sound would come out. of course, i am sure that i was heartbroken. i have always loved music, and especially the piano, and i am sure that the concept of this toy could have somehow helped to foster that passion.

anyway, my father and brother realized that an opportunity was obviously presenting itself. you would think that the "opportunity" would be to return the faulty merchandise and replace it with one that worked, therefore, resulting in a happy daughter/sister. however, this nice option didn't enter their minds. instead, they decided that it would be more advantageous to exchange it for a basketball that the two of them could enjoy together.

now, i don't know if i realized it at the time that i was getting screwed (or as i like to say, "the ripper") out of a birthday present. i would like to think that i was oblivious to this cruelty. however, i do know that my naivete couldn't have lasted too long, because that became a favorite story for them to recall.

well, it's not all doom and gloom. i never let go the fact that they had done that to me, and i made my dear dad apologize on more than one occasion. years later, he did make it up to me. when i first discovered ebay, i found an original "Big Mouth Singers" toy and my dad did buy it for me. ironically, this one didn't work either!

so that's my story of the "Big Mouth Singers". i was just watching the above video of "Now It's On" by Grandaddy, and saw this toy near the end, hence recalling the memory of this classic toy.


(for my vhat crew... don't you think that it would have been better if, for the video, his hat had a better word written on it?)


(listening to "Pretty (Ugly Before)" by Elliott Smith)

iTunes...take a backseat, baby!

oh yeah, i have a new favorite!!!

www.allofmp3.com

this website, has already saved me money. i purchased three cds yesterday for only a tiny fee. i'm hoping that this is legal.... Esq. (aka Kristen) says that it might not be, but i'm taking my chances. at least i am not "sharing" through some of the other sites that i know of.

anyway, you should check it out. very cool, and cheaper than iTunes and Musicmatch!


(listening to "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz)