SuperBruce

Random Recollections from Europe...

2007-08-20T13:40:00.000-05:00

1. a lot of planes, a lot of busses, a lot of metros, a lot of walking.

2. my pack is currently lost in boston somewhere. at least it made it to the US.

3. i had to constantly resist the urge to reach into my bag and check my phone for texts and messages. i didn't even have my phone on me. bad habit.

4. there was a falafel place in london called "just falafs" which i thought was so funny. get it? like "just for laughs"? say it with an english accent. ha, ha, ha.

5. they have this great service in london called "scooter man" where you go out and get wasted and this guy comes with his scooter, folds it up and puts it in the trunk, then drives you home in your own car. brilliant.

6. in notting hill i found the travel book shop from the film, found this awesome mural that is just like the cover of thom yorke´s eraser, and bought a tea set i saw in the window of a resale shop on portobello road.

7. in our search to find a cool place to go out at night we accidentally ended up at gay/lesbian bar as noted by the short-haired woman singing constant craving loudly and the rainbow flag on the patio, but we had already bought drinks at the bar. what are ya gonna do? then we went to this cool club that played indie/alternative rock and where charlotte hatherley was supposed to be guest dj-ing, except it ended up being a hang out for 18-21 year olds. finally we found a good pub (the hawley arms in camden town) that is supposedly the favorite of amy winehouse, pete doherty, kelly osborne, kirsten dunst, etc. no celebrity sitings though. sorry girls.

8. i can kind of speak spanish! yay! (forget about icelandic though)

9. madrid has the nicest airport ever. who knew?

10. we tried this awesome drink in madrid that i love: calimocho. red wine mixed with coca-cola. mmmm.

11. i went and saw some flamenco dancers.

12. i went and saw some art too. at the prado. and the reina sofia modern art museum.

13. we went to the weirdest bar. an irish pub with a disco ball, playing eurotrash dance music, and showing brit pop videos in madrid. with a historical museum in the basement. messed up.

14. people in spain make out in public a lot. on the metro, on the street, at the club. everywhere.

15. my feet were in the mediterranean sea :)

16. visited some works of Gaudi: la sagrada familia, park guell in barcelona.

17. traveling with a picky vegetarian is worst! bagels, pizza, falafel, fries, repeat.

18. iceland looks like you're on the moon. moss covered rocks and craters covering the surface. volcanoes. waterfalls. geysers.

19. in Þingvellir national park, we were sort of on both the american continent and the european continent at the same time. it's where the two continental plates meet.

20. it was chilly and windy in iceland, but the locals were wearing flip flops and tank tops. i had to buy a wool scarf. it's also very expensive there. we bought groceries instead of going out and ate mostly ramen and cheese and crackers.

21. went to the blue lagoon spa. it's created by the leftover water from a geo-thermal power plant the is mineral rich. sounds gross, but it was awesome. like sitting in a giant, natural hot tub that makes your skin so smooth.

22. went into damon albarn's bar in reykjavik. kaffibarinn. it was ok. again, no celeb sitings.

23. saw both the sunset and the sunrise over reykjavik harbor in only a 4 hour span. crazy.

24. everyone our age in iceland is married with like three kids. no lie. it's just the culture there. they are the hippest parents and kids i've ever seen though.

25. saw some icelandic bands at an outdoor festival: vonbrigdi and minus. they were a little hard for me. petur ben was good. and so was ampop (kind of keane-ish, and the singer is pretty hot). tried to see the guy from mum play later on, but missed out.

26. tried some brennivin, traditional icelandic liquor. whoa.

27. good to be home.

i guess that's it for now. i will try to post some pics at some point.

lost and found

2007-05-27T12:19:00.000-05:00

i'm so happy!

i was cleaning my backroom for jackie and jeff's party tonight where i came across a bag full of cds that have been missing for almost a year!!!

-bowie
-springsteen
-stills
-walkmen
-rilo kiley
-shout out louds
-brendan benson
-slgtm
-classic country gold
-2 norah jones cds
-a partridge in a pear tree

ok. so, so happy. that's all :)

? Hablas espanol ?

2007-03-23T17:39:00.000-05:00

Whoa. I just booked flights to Reykjavik, London, Madrid, and Barcelona. Crazy.

Cold Day!

2007-02-05T10:19:00.000-05:00

11:26pm - The time on Sunday night that I knew school was cancelled for Monday...

27 years - The number of years the person who called me has been teaching without school
ever getting cancelled the night before...

3 degrees/-13 windchill - The temperature outside...

69 degrees/66 actual - The temperature my thermostat is set at vs. the actual temperature in my house...

So. There are 100 things I could be accomplishing on my day off today. Going to the gym, going to the grocery store, going to the mall, etc.

But. Do I leave my house???

when you stick a song on a tape, you set it free

2007-01-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

i am sort of obsessed with the new book i am reading love is a mix tape by rob sheffield.
a) it is a great, great love story
b) i am in love with the concept of the mix tape and always have been

i haven't made one in years, but i remember sitting in front of the stereo for hours trying to achieve the right combination and best flow as i pressed pause and deliberated over my next selection. mix tapes were essential when i was driving around the 85 chevy celebrity that still had a tape player and before digital music and cd burning were common. in fact, my 93 grand am had a tape player at first too, and it was a big decision to replace it with a cd player. i had wanted a combination, but they weren't easy to come by and they weren't cheap either. so that was the end. my last mix tapes included stuff like rusted root, sarah mclachlan, guster, indigo girls, tori, dmb, the cranberries, and (strangely) arrested development and the cure. funny.

anyway, you should read the book.

and make me a mix.

Rochambeau!

2007-01-23T15:11:00.000-05:00

I think it went something like this:
A Kevin Smith look-a-like has one ticket for sale for the sold out (damn Canadians) Sloan show Saturday night. Ticketless Jackie, Emily, and Sarah have gotten two-thirds lucky and scored 2 tix from Chris and Leslie who can't make it. But I still need a ticket so I don't have to miss the show and turn around and drive home. Kevin Smith is swarmed by hopefuls in the alley next to St. Andrew's. People are begging. We even offer him twice what he's asking for. He shows integrity when he refuses to sell for anything more than face value. And it comes down to myself and another guy who only need a single ticket. Kevin Smith proposes we Rochambeau for it.
The crowd looks on.
I go paper over rock.
We both go paper-paper.
I go scissors cut paper.
I am the Rochambeau champion! I won rights to the ticket
fair and square!
It was awesome.

New and Improved!

2006-11-22T12:49:00.000-05:00

I bought a new couch and loveseat last night!!! It's super soft and comfy :) Just don't ask me how i'm going to be able to pay for it...

The funny thing is that when I got home after shopping, my living room was empty. It's actually happening. My roommate is moving out.

Hello Walls

2006-08-11T12:30:00.000-05:00

After my little trip to Nashville, I have to say I have a new-found appreciation for the sound and history of country music. One of the first things we did when we got to Nashville was go to Roberts, one of the honky tonk bars, and have some dinner and listen to the band. Every bar on the strip has a country/honky tonk band playing at all times. When you are out on the street you just hear all these country sounds coming out of everywhere. The only other things on the strip downtown are boot shops, BBQ joints, and country music record stores. By the way, I bought a cute little cowgirl shirt. You know, with the snap buttons and embroidery and stuff. They're actually super expensive, but I got mine on sale.

Anyway! We saw Ryan Adams play the Ryman Auditorium on Tuesday night. Now, I'm not a super fan or anything like Matt is, but it was a really great show. I wish I had known more songs, but it was still awesome. He played a lot of countryish songs. My favorites were the ones I knew off of Heartbreaker like "Sweet Carolina" and "Shakedown on 9th Street" which I keep calling "That Lucy Song" cause I can never remember. But the best part was the auditorium which Matt already sort of wrote about. I read somewhere that it has the second best acoustics in the world. And it's set up like a stage with an ampitheater of church pews surrounding it and a balcony above with stained glass windows behind. We went up to the balcony on our Nashville bus tour the next day. There is really no bad seat in the house. I was trying to compare it to something in Detroit, but I just couldn't even come close.

We also went to the country music hall of fame on Wednesday. I've never even been to the rock and roll hall of fame! It had some pretty amazing things in there like Elvis' car which Matt said was like the first pimp my ride. It was painted with crushed diamonds and fish scales and had a tv in the back seat. We didn't have a lot of time and I felt rushed (because I like to read everything), but it was still cool to see all the displays. I bought a 2-disc set of classic country music hits that was fun to listen to in the car. We spent a lot of time driving around Nashville just checking it out. As always, I wish I had taken more pictures...

Sorry, I missed your lollapalooza deadline Liz :) I've been busy this week doing things like taking care of grandmas, catching up on Entourage, and investing in mutual funds...I haven't even unpacked yet! Anyway, Lolla update to come!

Things That Make Ya Go Ouch...

2006-07-31T10:14:00.000-05:00

3 and 1/2 hours of softball practice on Sunday afternoon = Ouch the morning after. And since I didn't know anyone that was going to be at practice yesterday, I started practicing with the completely wrong team. Whoops. Embarassing:)

Dreams

2006-07-30T19:03:00.000-05:00

So Friday night I was in the car with Amber after Muse and "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister comes on the radio. And I immediately recall this dream I had in fifth grade where I was making a snowman on the playground and these two popular girls who were twins knocked it down and I started singing this song at them. Kinda funny, right? But what's even funnier is that when we finally get to the Graham residence for some post concert fun, Kerry is singing "We're Not Gonna Take It" on karaoke! Crazy!

Their karaoke machine is best, by the way, because it has a camera that feeds into the TV! It's like you're in your own video! Disclaimer: whatever was heard and/or seen of me in that living room that night will never be done in public. It was pretty horrendous, but fun nonetheless.

Also, know why I'm awesome? Cause I hooked up my own digital cable box all by myself this weekend! I got a free upgrade from Comcast...

Then there was this idiot...

2006-07-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

Meatheads at pool throw football into palm tree. King Meathead attempts to climb palm tree barefoot, barechested in swim trunks. King Meathead barely makes it to the top before sliding halfway down and falling the rest of the way into the pool. His chest was all bloody and scraped up. Ew. I wish I had it on video so I could post it on YouTube. It was damn entertaining.

In Blender there was little cartoon about Keith Richards climbing a palm tree. It's actually funny now...

Leaving Las Vegas (Barely)

2006-07-18T16:26:00.000-05:00

The weekend got off to a great start as Emily P convinced us to go out out instead of just kind of going out. We are looking fabulous and are heading toward the club Tao in the Venetian when we are stopped by a guy who incidentally asks "Are you ladies going to Tao?" and escorts us past the very long line straight into the club, no cover. Being a girl in Vegas rocks! We danced the night away, got drunk on $10 mixed drinks, and ordered McDs (which is conveniently located in our hotel) before crashing back at the hotel. This was my best night. Because the next evening I stupidly left my wallet on the taxi after dinner and without ID was barred from any further clubbing experiences. Sucked. I spent the night calling cab companies, credit card companies, and waking up my family in Detroit to fax me a copy of my passport, birth certificate, and ss card. I tried to suck it up though and got to the pool bright and early the next morning while the girls slept off their hangovers since they didn't get home til 7 AM! I ended up having a pretty good time despite my mishap and the airport even let me get on the plane with a little extra hassle! And no puking on the plane, yay!

Lock It Up

2006-07-06T12:54:00.000-05:00

My crappy bike totally got stolen right out of my backyard sometime in the middle of the night last night. I went outside this morning and the big gate on my big red privacy fence was wide open and my bike was gone. Sucks. Aside from the fact that I've been riding almost everyday, I just feel totally violated. It's disturbing that someone would come into my fenced in property and steal something. How did they even know it was there? I don't know if this is better or worse than when my brand new digital camera got stolen from right around my neck on the metra in Rome. I mean, the camera was worth more, but this is my home, ya know?

At least I have Vegas to look forward to...I can't believe it's only a week away! We're staying at the Monte Carlo. Check it out! I've been doing my homework by watching mtv and vh1 to catch up on what's going on outside of the indie bubble I tend to live within. I also scheduled a manicure/pedicure for next week. It's my first time. I got a gift certificate from my student's parents, should be nice.

I have to take my autism teaching endorsement test on Saturday. I heard it's REALLY tough. I'm going to try to study a little bit because I'm kind of nervous. I tend to do really well on standardized types of tests though so I'm trying not to be too worried.

I got my 3rd issue of Rolling Stone in the mail today and I still have no idea whatsoever why I am getting them. Especially addressed to Sarah Bruce, St. Andrews Hall. Weird.

Done and Done

2006-06-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

So I'm cleaning up this morning after the party with the help of none other than Big Matt, and he decides to have a glass of beer from the keg. While he is drinking his slightly chilled beer under the shade of the tent, I decide I'm going to pump cups of beer to empty the keg before we return it. 1 beer...2 beers...and Matt suggests we just let it run. So I did. Except it started sputtering and spouting. Air. No more beer! We did it! We finished off the keg short of 3 CUPS! And you said it couldn't be done...

Thanks everybody for such a fun birthday! Special honors go to Amber for coming the farthest and staying the longest. And maybe Andy for getting the drunkest. And my sister Emily for sticking it out without any of her own friends. And Matt for being unexpectedly helpful.

PS

2006-05-08T16:35:00.000-05:00

Last night's Grey's Anatomy and previews have slightly renewed my faith in the show. After last week's disappointing episode, I was getting worried.

Also, losing the remote control is the worst thing ever...Help!

It's Alive!!!!!

2006-05-08T15:38:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in forever so here you go, for all 2 people that read me...Plus since I'm officially linked I thought I should produce some commentary. Here's me and my boy Matt Evans. Can't believe he's married...

My beautiful sister Katie and me at the wedding...

The wedding was beautiful, outdoors at the yacht club. We actually saw porpoises surfacing as the sun set, it was unreal. It was good to see friends from Central. We were drunk at the reception, then went to the bar cause they're open til 4 AM down there (and you can carry cups around outside!). Needless to say, we were unable to make it that late, and Katie and I ended up buying mac n cheese and pulled bbq pork from a vendor and then crashing at the hotel.

As far as the flights went, I made it through the first without yakking but wasn't quite so lucky on the way home...I know, thanks for sharing, right? :)

Buy Me Some Peanuts

2006-04-15T08:54:00.000-05:00

I went to the batting cages with Matt yesterday and hit the shit out of some balls. Apparently I'm full of surprises! I just woke up now and my arm is all hurty, whaaaaa...

It was confirmed last night that deciding to buy Tigers tix was a fantastic choice. The weather was beautiful, sunny, 74 degrees. Our seats are only 19 rows back in the right field box. We ate some peanuts, drank some daquiris. Perfect night. Tigers hit a few homers and won 5-1. And the makeup of our little group is outstanding! Grambo and Kerry, Jackie and Jeff (who I accidently referred to as Jack and Jeffie AGAIN last night! Ha!), and Chris and Leslie who I just met but are the nicest people. Looking forward to more perfect nights at Copa and hopefully more wins! Who's your Tiger?!

I'm Off

2006-04-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

Here's to the start of a beautiful Spring Break...

I ended up going through the Majestic to get tix for the editors/stellastarr show tonight. We were afraid it might sell out even though the Strokes are in town tonight too. It's just me and Emily, wanna come? She's my concert pal this week. We 'll probably have dinner down there before the show. Any suggestions?

We went to see the Stills on Monday too. The show didn't sell well at all so it got moved down to the shelter which was the best thing ever for us! I haven't been there in forever. Small venues are the best! They were great live and they look great live too. There's nothing like skinny boys with messy hair and guitars (or drums) (or a piano) (or...well nevermind, you get it). I was going to try to post a picture, but I still suck at this whole posting thing so, sorry, guess you had to be there with us and all the Canadians and the kids.

Also looking forward to my first Tigers game of the season tomorrow night. I'm meeting up with Grambo at the Ellwood pregame cause he's got the day off tomorrow too! Good times.

Next week I'd like to: get my hair cut, paint my kitchen, clean up my yard, and keep up with running. Exciting, huh?

LOST has been great the past two weeks, but now we have to suffer another month-long hiatus? WTF? They're ratings are going down the toilet slowly but surely, I wonder why!

Is the backlash against the Killers far enough in the past to admit that I really still like "Change Your Mind" the song that has been on the "Thank You for Smoking" previews? Just wondering.

sometimes i think that i'm bigger than the sound

2006-03-29T15:55:00.000-05:00

I made an effort to go to Record Time on my lunch yesterday to pick up the new yeah yeah yeahs that came out. I haven't done that in a looooong time. Probably not since Guero and Get Behind Me Satan last spring. Anyway, I like it so far. So there! Favorites right now: cheated hearts, mysteries, turn into.

This is the weather I have been waiting for! 55 and sunny! Of course I have inside shit to do like homework and taxes and grocery shopping. I will at least go for a run though since I've been totally slacking (at least Emily has been slacking too).

Also, I ate way too much last night at Shawn's bday dinner, and I still felt like there was a cannonball in my stomach when I woke up this morning. Gross. And for some reason I am completely unable to remember the name of the restaurant. It was Asian. It was at Great Lakes Crossing. It was pretty good. Thanks Hutson for picking up my tab!

I heard Steady As She Goes on 89x today. I'm surprised for some reason.

LOST better be good tonight...

All Dressed in Green & Nowhere to Go

2006-03-17T17:39:00.000-05:00

Seriously. Everyone is gone!!!

Hope you all have a great weekend wherever you are in the US! Drink some green beer for me!

Bestapalooza!?! Lollapabesta!?!

2006-03-16T15:53:00.000-05:00

Yes! Yes! Yes! The Hold Steady, Wilco, Broken Social Scene, Flaming Lips, Raconteurs, the list goes on and on, however those are my top 5 to see as of now. It's possible that this year's festival could top last year's. Unbelieveable!

Questionable: I really like Of Montreal and Stars but heard that they're no treat live...so I'll probably skip em. Also, I'm worried about conflicting performances and competing stages. There were 4 last year; this year there are 8. We'll just have to wait for the schedule to come out. Oh, and no Beck? Boooooo.

Are you with me?

Weekend Update

2006-03-13T15:59:00.000-05:00

Friday:
(Amber should appreciate this one...) Went rollerskating at Great Skate with Autumn somewhere out in Eastsideville. Didn't fall down but Autumn did. Did get propositioned by an 11 year old boy "Hey, my friend likes you" style. Hilarious. I can't beleive how well I did on regular skates - it's been awhile. But my legs felt like they were going to fall off my body the next day. I'd go again sans all the prepubescent kids.
Saturday:
Autumn drunk and out late. Best! because it never happens. Also, checked out the Emory near the WAB and had a really tasty Italian sub and some red wine. They had a decent beer selection too. It was cool in there but nothing special. Also saw Ms. Mary perform. The girl can sing. Ended the night at the Front.
Sunday:
The St. Patricks Day parade itself was pretty lame and I really couldn't see much. I had a good time. The people watching alone was enough to keep me entertained for hours. The people meeting was even better. It was like a giant tailgate where everybody makes you their best friend. Happened to run into an old friend from CMU. His name is Greg but we used to call him GrizzleSnatch and I don't know why. Anyway, I should never have told anybody because it became the joke of the day.

Blown Out Yet? Nope!

2006-03-03T15:48:00.000-05:00

So after my first 2 nights at the Blowout, I am dead tired. I must have gotten like 8 hours of sleep over the past two nights. And yet, I'm thirsty for more. Johnny Headband was the best on Wednesday. And last night, I think we saw a total of 7 bands. It's been so much fun so far that I'm afraid Friday and Saturday will be disappointments. However, tonight begins some highly anticipated pre-party/post-party/in-between-party madness at Grambo and Kerry's. Should be fun. Also, certain people were missed last night whose presence can only improve the fun factor. (You know who you are!)

Time for a nap...

Photo Booth

2006-02-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

It wouldn't matter if we were stranded in desert because I have so much freakin fun with these people! It just helps that we were in Chicago! I miss them like crazy! Anyway, we did the Ikea thing, hit up some dive bars, ate at a weird Middle Eastern restaurant with belly dancing...it was great. I also loaded up my ipod with thousands more songs. The Beatles alone saved hours of my time.

In other news, my over-the-top 40-something classroom assistant goes to get her eye brows done at Todd's in Bham last week. As she crosses the street she passes Chris Martin and stops him to say hello. She then proceeds into Todd's where she blabs her mouth and the crowd goes wild and drags him into the salon. Apparently he's like the most gracious, friendly guy/celeb ever. They talked about his tattoo and his hair and he was supposedly going to go in Thursday for a haircut. Who knows. Crazy, huh?

No class + Rob Dickinson show= Monday Night Fun

No, for real

2006-02-22T14:03:00.000-05:00

Just got back from my run. It's such a beautiful day! For real! Get outside before the weather goes downhill again...

Butch Walker Best. Where have I been the past few years? More importantly where were you and why didn't you tell me?!

Anyway, thanks to Matt for a slew of new-old music...

Also, can somebody tell me how to fix the time on my blog?

Lies for Thought

2006-02-22T12:29:00.000-05:00

I finally started reading A Million Little Pieces this morning. I have to admit the story is pretty compelling as false as it is. What I want to know is, will I get any money from the pending lawsuits when I finish reading it? :)

Now it's it's time to go out and exercise. Cause it's a beautiful day!

Hey Ladiiiiies

2006-02-21T15:40:00.000-05:00

Look! Seriously.

Let the Games Begin!

2006-02-17T16:40:00.000-05:00

And I'm not talking about the Olympics. I'm talking about the fact that I am officially on Winter Break through next week. Awesome! You should be jealous.

Plans include finally reading A Million Little Pieces (which I borrowed from Emily even before all the controversy), getting my hair cut, taking advantage of blockbuster.com, training for a 5k, starting my grad project, and a taking a mini vacay to Chicago (I'd like a traveling companion-any takers? Just asking). I may or may not try to see Animal Collective while I'm there.

Oh. And making room for the roommate. Feb. 26th is supposedly move-in day. Deep breath.

Open to suggestions...

Super Slacker-Blogger

2006-02-15T20:10:00.000-05:00

So. Maybe I've been more like slacker-blogger than super-blogger, but I'll try harder. Promise. I mean, there were all these big events to report on like Super Bowl parties and Dorkwave. And then there were other things like getting pulled over and watching The Aristocrats for the first (and maybe only) time. But it seems irrelevant now...

Anyway, inspired by Liz's crush on her Ipod, I decided to try my Ipod Shuffle Feature while training, er walking, today. And here's what she threw at me - not bad at all:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Shout Out Louds
Sarah McLachlan
Ours
Brendan Benson
Our Lady Peace
Tori Amos
REM
Counting Crows
The National
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Encore)
Stars
The Hold Steady
Smashing Pumpkins

I think this is my new favorite listening format! It almost rivals my premeditated mixes, except for the surprises. There were pleasant ones like Sarah's Elsewhere which I haven't heard in years but used to be a favorite and annoying ones like some mediocre OLP song that made me want to skip ahead.

I had dinner tonight at the new Sports Bar 24 Seconds in Berkley that opened in December right next to the Front. I recommend the spinach artichoke dip (if you don't mind a lot of garlic), and for my veggie friends, I recommend the buffalo chicken tenders. I wonder if the bar is effecting business at the Front...

Anyway, here's to a future of shorter and more frequent posts. Cheers.

Super Bruce Begins Super Bowl Sunday

2006-02-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

Apparently, I'm a late blogger, but welcome to the world of SuperBruce...
Highlights of the past week coming soon...