HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAUREN!

Best Cover Song

While I was on my way home from my friend Michelle's birthday party tonight, I heard Nirvana's version of "The Man Who Sold the World" on the radio. Nirvana played it on MTV Unplugged, and that recording is my favorite Nirvana album. Anyway, it's one of my favorite cover songs of all time. David Bowie wrote a great song, but I think Nirvana's execution was superb.

Well, this got me thinking about cover songs in general, and I tried to recall all the cover songs I know. Here's what comes to mind at the moment (The original artist is listed in parentheses.):

• "Killing Me Softly with His Song" -- The Fugees (Roberta Flack)
  
• "Just the Two of Us" -- Will Smith (Bill Withers)
  
• "Mr. Tambourine Man" -- The Byrds (Bob Dylan)
• "Waiting in Vain" -- Annie Lennox (Bob Marley)
• "I Fought the Law" -- The Clash (The Crickets)
• Any Harry Connick Jr. cover of a Frank Sinatra song

That's all I can think of right now, but what about you, blog readers? Can you think of a cover song you like? Please, leave a comment about it!

Thing I'm thankful for: birthday parties!

Birthday Cards

I have two friends with upcoming birthdays, and because I can't just walk out to my parents' garage and grab one of my mom's handcrafted greeting cards, I had to settle for the selection at Target. I went there after work today thinking, "Okay, I'm gonna go in, walk in, walk out, and come home."

One hour and 15 minutes later, I paid way too much money on cards that I half-heartedly liked and walked to my car in frustration. Why can't greeting card companies make decent greeting cards? Even if every card company produced only 10 solid designs, we'd have a good selection -- 10 is a small number, but 10 good cards are better than a hundred crap cards.

I don't understand how or why greeting cards are so stupid, anyway. If you're in the business of producing greeting cards, have some dignity! Take pride in your work. Don't produce cards like this:

Front: [Picture of two farmers and a cow] Have fun until the cows come home.
Inside: Hope your birthday is udderly fantastic!

Or this:

Front: Like fat thighs . . .
Inside: Friends stick together.

I can't remember most of the cards offhand. What I do remember is that most cards include one of the following messages:

1. Hey, you're over the hill, but we won't draw attention to just how over it you are -- wink, wink.
   
2. Party hard, get drunk, do crazy things, and then wake up the next morning with a hangover.
3. You go, girl! Let's go celebrate by drinking martinis!
4. [Ocean photo overlayed with gold writing and flourishes] In the sands of time, our friendship has lasted. As the sea rises to meet the sky, I think of you and your beauty. I hope that you have the loveliest birthday because you are the loveliest person . . .
   

The other card variety is the one without words. These cards only have pictures on the front. The most common images are those in which animals are personified. That's right -- kittens with giant sunglasses and dogs with smiles painted on with Photoshop.

If aliens came to our planet and judged us by greeting cards alone, they would think we were a race composed solely of old people, frat boys, neo-feminists and party girls, delicate and sensitive philosophers, and cat people.


Thing I'm thankful for: exercise.

New Things

In the last week, I've tried some things I'd never done before:

1. Made scrambled eggs for the first time in my life -- I know, I know. I don't especially like eggs . . . so there was never a huge need to learn how to scramble them.
2. Made chili -- again, not a huge protein-eater.
3. Tasted goat milk. YUMM-Y!
4. Climbed a rock wall. I had been really nervous about this. I didn't think I'd be able to do this at all. But even though it took me a while, I climbed (or attempted to climb) three walls. By the time I finished the last one, I was really starting to love it. I think I like this "rock wall climbing" . . .
5. Was early to church today. Early! Okay, so I've been early to church before, but it's been at least a year. At least.
6. Learned a new card game called Golf. Apparently, there are a few different versions, but they're both very easy and entertaining.
   

Next up on the agenda? Attend a hockey game. That should be fun!

Stay tuned to keep up with my adventures . . . :) HA! I really do lead an uneventful life; that's okay by me, though!

Thing I'm thankful for: rainy Sundays.

Sara Songs

I loved Lindsey's post called "Why Leezy Lindsey?" Sometimes I browse to that post and leave it there, so that I can listen to "Leezy Lindsey" over and over again. And it reminds me of songs with my name in them. Well, with a name like Sara, you can bet there's a lot. These are the three I like best, though:

1. "Lucky" -- Radiohead
2. "Sara Smile" -- Hall & Oates
3. "Sarah" -- Jefferson Starship

What about you? Do you have a song with your name in it? Do you like it or not?


Thing I'm thankful for: frozen cheesy vegetables, microwave-ready. Awesome!

Wow -- Google Really IS Taking Over the World

I've joked about it a lot, but it seems that Google really will take over the world. We've seen the company grow from its humble but promising beginnings in the late 90's. We've seen it produce the best search engine the world has ever known, and we've seen it build arguably the best interactive map on the Web. And now, behold:

Google Checkout.

Pretty amazing, huh?

The thing is, is that I'm okay with Google's expansion into the world of buying and selling. I like the company's business culture and 10 Things. They can keep indexing all the information in the world, as far as I'm concerned. The only thing that bothers me is that I wish I had thought of it. Well, at least I wish I worked for them . . .

What do you think about Google? Do you love it, too?

Thing I'm thankful for: laughing with friends.

I'd Rather Carry a Backpack than a Purse

Yesterday I visited Woodruff Library at Emory with my friend Rose. We both had fun discovering a new place. We lazily perused the library museum and tried not to make too much noise. I kept my eyes open for perfect study spots. The periodical reading room is a dream-come-true, and there are several inviting nooks. We lounged around on this funky chair thing on the basement floor, and after a while, we walked back to the car and headed home.

Of course I loved being in a library. I hadn't been in one since last spring, and even then, it was only for an hour or so. I discovered that I really miss libraries. But I also realized today that something was amiss in my Saturday adventure. You see, today -- or tonight, rather -- I packed my GRE study guide and a few other things tidily into my backpack, ready to study at a moment's notice. That moment didn't come until 9:00-ish, and the library was closed. Brooks suggested going to Borders. As I swung my backpack over my shoulder, ready for some quality study time, I realized that I hadn't carried a backpack in well over a year. The item that was practically glued to my back for 17 years fit so comfortably that I was amazed I ever stopped using it. It's efficient, durable, and hip. My purse, on the other hand, is too small, too dainty, and the strap always falls off my narrow shoulder. The inevitable question is, why not get a bigger purse? Because big purses usually don't have efficient compartments; purse designers don't utilize the space. Besides, I feel like big purses don't match my personality. They look too ostentatious on a plain Jane like me.

No, a backpack is what I like. And maybe that's the real reason for my desire to go back to school . . .

Thing I'm thankful for: ponytails.

Five Things You Might Not Know About Me

So, Lindsey "tagged" me. I'm not exactly sure how that term came to be used in the blogging world or who was the first person to use it, but it seems like a fun idea. What I have to do is list five things you may not know about me. I'm not going to say they're things you definitely don't know about me, though, because you just might. I'm pretty much an open book. But let's see if I can "shock" you. :)

1. I have an outtie belly button.
2. I sometimes talk to myself -- in accents.
3. I like to walk around a few rooms when I talk on the phone. I always walk in a pattern and stick to it until I'm done talking.
4. I can only remember getting in trouble twice in school -- once for talking during reading time in the 4th grade and once for acting silly with some friends in the lunch line in the 5th grade. The 4th-grade incident was very fair; I only had to sit out of recess for about 15 minutes. But had I been older and more defiant in the 5th grade, I would have pled my case to my teacher. Even she was laughing at our silliness -- we were dancing funny to a song or something silly like that.
5. That time I got in trouble in the 5th grade? I had to stay inside during our 20-minute break time for punishment, and I liked it. I liked staying inside so I could read, instead of trying to find people to play with. (My friends were really only acquaintances -- they had better friends in other classes. Maybe they could tell that I would one day be that person who sometimes talked to herself in accents . . .)

Well, that seemed more like a confessional. I think I would make a good Catholic that way. :)

So everyone, please leave comments, and if you are visiting my blog for the first time or hundredth time, know this: You're tagged! Let the world know five things they may not already know about you. It's fun!

Thing I'm thankful for: libraries.

The Radio was Actually Good this Morning

I spent the night at my parents' house last night, so in order to get to work on time today, I had to leave their house at about 6:15. Of course I didn't actually leave until 6:30, but I wouldn't be me if I wasn't running late.

Anyway, I didn't listen to the radio until the last 45 minutes of my 2-hour drive because Atlanta radio stations are generally ridiculous now. I mean, just in the last week, I whittled my set radio stations down from 8 to 6, and really, I don't even listen to all of those. Peach 94.9 became a country station right in the middle of the Christmas season, 105.3 the Buzz usually plays crap rock (that's one of my genre classifications), and 96 Rock became this weird "Project 9-6-1" thing. Weird. Basically, I think good radio is a thing of the past, and it started dying in Atlanta when our Golden Oldies station was discontinued. :(

But thankfully, we still have a few decent stations, and this morning, there was a trio of perfect songs just as I was making my way off of I-20 and onto I-85. First it was Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," and I was in awe of Chris Cornell's wonderful voice (as usual). Next up was Weezer's "Sweater Song." And at the tail end, it was Radiohead's "Karma Police." Brilliant. Just brilliant. Add a little general news from NPR, and you've got a perfect morning on the radio. Well, I did, anyway. It was enough of a surprise to blog about. :)

Thing I'm thankful for: evening naps. Or "sleeps," as I like to call them.

Happy New Year!