A lot of times my enjoyment of music comes from the sounds I hear. It’s not necessarily the lyrics. Half the time, I don’t even know what the singers are saying until I look up the words online! For me, it’s the combination of the singer’s voice, the rhythm, the instruments, and just the way the song “feels.” I think that’s why I liked this tribute so much. I love how John Mayer’s guitar-playing feels like Michael Jackson’s vocals. A fitting tribute.
I miss email. Do you miss email?
OK, I don’t miss work email. I still get plenty of that, but I do miss personal email. I already don’t get snail mail at the house but now, I rarely get email, too. Gosh, I sound pathetic! But am I alone in this?
Why email when you can send a quick instant message? How many of your friends have abandoned email for Facebook wall messages? What about those folks that Twitter? And those crazy blog writers?! How many blogs am I supposed to check on? Oh, wait. I think I just described myself to some extent.
Great. I am part of the problem…. Now I must be part of the solution!
This summer, I think I am going to go old school. I am going to write… messages, postcards, notes, and letters… on paper! I am going to keep the US Postal service busy! Oooh, I should start a chain letter!… Or maybe not. I guess that would be like spam… and really annoying.
I seriously think I’d like to send out postcards. And since there may not be an postcards in existance in the town I live in, I’ll use my own photos. Want to be on my mailing list? It could be fun! Just make a comment with your mailing address and we’ll do this thang! Don’t worry about the privacy of your name or address. I moderate my posts, so that won’t end up online if you don’t want it to. You don’t even have to use your real name. If you want to be a sender, too, I would love to be your recipient. 
Just leave me a way to contact you.
<– This is who I remember… No matter what you think of him, his work, or his life, he did make an impact on the world and most of our memory banks.
I remember having this image in my room when I was a kid. Was I a fanatic? No, not that I recall. I don’t remember screaming, breaking into hysterics, or feeling like I was going to pass out when Michael Jackson’s music was on the radio or when he made an appearance on TV.
I just liked the music. In fact, I liked it so much that the first fan letter I ever wrote was to Michael Jackson. It was a ridiculous letter. I specifically remember asking MJ what he was saying at the beginning of PYT. It was a pressing question for a kid, especially since the interwebz were not invented yet and you had to seek the information out from a reliable source. “Dear Michael, What are you mumbling at the beginning of PYT?” Seriously, that’s part of the letter I wrote.
Speaking of “Dear Michael,” do you remember when Kim Fields, aka Tootie from the Facts of Life, had a song out with that very title? It was about Michael Jackson. Here’s a link to a video. I can’t stomach watching it but maybe you can.
Anyway, back to the music. I also remember the Jackson 5. I loved the Jackson 5 and still do. While most of their songs were produced before I was even a thought in my parents’ brain, I was somehow introduced to their music early on in life. Easily some of the best songs were I’ll be There and I Want You Back. That remake of Rockin’ Robin was pretty great, too. As I kid, I had no idea what these songs were about, nor did I care, I just enjoyed the way they sounded. As an adult, I still have a Jackson 5 greatest hits tape in my car for when the mood strikes.
In my piano-playing days (or daze), my teacher liked giving me pop songs to play from time to time. My big Michael Jackson hit was Ben. When it was handed to me, I had no idea how this song went and didn’t know it was about a rat until someone told me… or that it was a big solo hit for MJ when he was just 13 years old. (Thanks, Wikipedia!) I really had no appreciation for the song until I learned how to play it. While I can’t say it was one of my favorites, I’m glad I learned it, though I still wonder why I wasn’t hip enough to play something from The Wiz.
After a while, I just lost interest in MJ and I moved on to a legitimate obsession with New Kids on the Block, but his music lived on and so did the random memories I have of him and his influence.
Do you remember these any of things? Say, Say, Say with Paul McCartney. Rock with You, one of my faves. Weird Al’s parodies of MJ’s songs. The Moonwalk. The Pepsi commercial. Alfonso Ribiero imitating MJ. Corey Feldman dressing like MJ. The Way You Make Me Feel, another fave. The random scene of him in one of his videos destroying that car with a baseball bat. Macaulay Culkin rapping in part of Black or White. That dang song from the Free Willy movie that my crazed neighbor used to karaoke until 2 in the morning.
I’ve been thinking about creating a website for myself for a while now. The question is, am I worthy? I made one for work about 2 years ago because… well… it seemed apropos for what I teach and appeared to be the hip, younger instructor thing to do.
And I’ve been piddling around on iWeb and Weebly.com just to see how things work and because I don’t feel like starting from scratch in Dreamweaver. The thing is, what do you put on a website? It’s not as if I sell things or offer a service. I really don’t want to put personal information on it, nor do I want to include an address to this blog. (The last thing I want is for my students to read my non-sensical ramblings.) Do I put what courses I teach on it?
I would look to my colleagues to see what they put on their sites, but their academic awesomeness is far beyond what I could ever accomplish. I’m not published. I’m not a PhD. I don’t do research. Hmm…. And what goes on the home page? Do you just say, “Welcome to my site” and talk about yourself or is that what an “about me” page is for?
Maybe this isn’t a good idea. haha.
I went to the pet store today to get some goodies for the pup and an odd thing happened at the cash register. I had a confrontation with the cashier. It wasn’t about price or whether or not I had my discount card. It was odd.
As I fumbled around attempting to return my wallet back to my bag, the cashier mumbled something like this: “You know after July first, it will be illegal to text message while driving.” Initially, I had no idea she was talking to me until I looked up an noticed there was no one else around. (Huh? Are you talking to me? And if so, what?) Being one to strike up random conversations with people, I decided not to ignore her and responded: “Well, I guess it’s a good thing… for safety.”
Then the mumbly cashier said… wait for it… wait for it… “But I’m good at it.” Dumbfounded by how quickly this conversation shifted to the ludicrous, I flatly said the only thing I could think of, “You’re not that good.” Mumbly cashier’s retort? “I am. I’m real good at it.”
Am I on hidden camera? Are you seriously telling me one of your notable skills is your text-messaging ability while driving a car? Are you bragging about this? Who are you? Floored by this woman’s insistance of her greatness, I had to shut her down. “No… No, you’re not.” And then I gave her a look of how are you employed? and walked out of the store.
Was that weird or what? Laughable!
For our last official school day in Switzerland, a handful of students and I wanted to go to the top of a mountain after classes finished. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m not one to hike a mountain. Though I’m not a big fan of hiking, I don’t mind walking. While I was in Europe, walking everywhere was quite the norm. But a mountain? That is not my thing.
Luckily enough, my sentiments were shared by the group. My motto: “Take a hit on the wallet but not on the body.” So we quickly made arrangements to take a train to the top of Monte Generoso. Yay, Europe. Trains everywhere! Cost? About 20 Swiss Francs. Thanks, student rates. We’ll take it!
As you can imagine, the view getting to the top was very picturesque. We even saw some interesting sights along the way, including:
I believe this is the Italian side of the mountain. Check out the crazy hikers!
When the train came to the last stop, we had some work ahead of us. Hey, if that dog can do it, why can’t I?… Oh, yeah, it’s because he’s a DOG and I’m an old lady!
But wait, we're not at the top?! We have to climb a lot of stairs to get to the summit.
So that I didn’t die, I had to take it a slow. I mean, I’m not 20 anymore. Along the way, there were lovely views of the lake below.
Not quite to the top but a great view of Lake Lugano, the lake by my apartment.
Victory! We took a bunch of pictures at the top of the mountain. Even the trek up the stairs was quite an accomplishment. There was poop to dodge, which I’m guessing was from goats, and looking down was not an option.
At the top, there is a guardrail-enclosed area, but for some reason, we decided to step outside of it. Considering my vertigo issues from December, perhaps this wasn’t the brightest idea on my part. Maybe it was the altitude. So below you will see a very ballsy moment in time. Two inches closer to the edge and I’m pretty sure I would have tumbled to my death. High altitude = lack of oxygen = lack of sensibility.
Yes!.. 1700+ meters and I made it!... It's scary up here! Don't look down.
I’m back from all my Euro travels, and boy, it was fun but I’m glad to be home! I’m still getting pictures organized. I need to stop taking so many! Dang digital camera. I never had this issue when I used film. Anyway, some stills from London.
By the way, the Queen says hello.
These past two mornings as I am waking up, I’ve kind of forgotten where I am…. Friends, I’m in London now. And it’s fantastic. Not only have I gotten to catch up with an old friend, I’ve been able to see some pretty cool sites.
And yesterday we went to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen and Royal family made an appearance! Apparently these appearances are kind of rare. So, yeah me! If I understand it correctly, the parade/event was Trooping the Colour and it was in honor of the Queen’s birthday. More pics later.
The Queen on her birthday! She's wearing the blue suit and hat. Prince Charles is in front of the door on the right wearing a red uniform. Camilla is to his left. Prince Harry is left of the Queen. Prince William is left of Prince Harry. Most of them are looking up toward the flyovers.
You need to watch this. It is freaking AWESOME. The John Mayer Trio performs California Dreamin‘. (Thanks, Twitter! and Thanks, YouTube.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFkQ0k1xa8E
ETA: Well, YouTube tells me that “This video is not available in your country.” Dang it. 
Rules, rules, rules, Switzy…. It worked last night. Hopefully it works back home.
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