A Scrabble First?

Last night, Holly and I played Scrabble. Not just any Scrabble... Super Scrabble. "What makes it super?" you ask. Well let me tell you... it has 441 spaces, compared to the normal 225, and 200 letter tiles rather than the normal 100. In addition, it has 125 premium spaces instead of the standard 61, including some quadruple letter/word score ones. (I am reading the box in case you were wondering. I don't just know all these random Scrabble stats.)

Not only did we manage to use EVERY SINGLE LETTER (as you can see above), but when the game was over and scores were tallied, we TIED (as you can see below). Definitely a Scrabble first for us!

On the bright side...

It was an interesting week, and not really in a "good" interesting kind of way. But I thought I'd share a few random things that made me smile this week-

• When I got to work this morning, I looked out my window and saw a couple hundred firemen running on the canal. How can that not get a girl's day off to a good start? (The firefighters convention is in town... a week we look forward to each year!)
  
• Have you ever been to the McDonalds at 16th and Meridian? (For one of my readers, this is very close to his future workplace! haha.) There are these little signs all around it in the grass that say it's the "Faith and Blessed" McDonalds. I'm not sure what that means, other than extra-nice drive-through workers. I got my typical snack wrap, fruit and walnut salad, and Hi-C, pulled up to the window and was greeted with, "Hi!! I'm LaTisha!! Happy Friday!! Your order will be right up!!" (Note all the exclamation marks!)
• Also this week at Quizno's, the two sandwich makers were singing, "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman" by Britney Spears and cracking up. I'm glad they were enjoying their job!
• And finally, did I really hear the top 8 American Idol finalists sing "Shout to the Lord?" Why yes, I believe I did!

Pianoman

Last night, Kelly and I went to the symphony. But it wasn't exactly traditional... it was part symphony, part rock concert, and part piano bar. Michael Cavanaugh performed. I first became familiar with him when I saw Movin' Out in NYC way back in 2003. He's an amazing piano player, and mostly known for singing Billy Joel songs. Usually it makes me mad when people sing other people's songs, but not in this case. This guy rocks! It was a fabulous evening of music and we were often invited to sing along. You know I loved that part!

We all know that observing others is one of the best parts of any event... and this one was not without some characters of its own-

• The old man sitting next to us. During the first part of the show, Kel whispered to me that he smelled like "old man." Then during intermission, he decided to talk to us. First he talked about how he's finding the show to be "a bit heavy" and wanted to know if we felt the same way. Uh... no. He went on to say that he's not familiar with Billy Joel, then he wanted to know all about Kel and me - how long we've been in Indy, where we went to school, what we studied, and if we are actually using what we studied.
• The lady behind me said to her husband at intermission, "Is Billy Joel still alive?" It was pretty obvious that most of the symphony-goers weren't exactly used to a show this rocker-ish!
• And the best for last... probably not as funny written down as it was being there, but... They were performing "River of Dreams." You know, "In the middle of the night... I go walkin' in my sleep..." If you are familiar with this song, you know there's a little pause at one point before the next, "In the middle of the night..." But this hilarious lady near us was totally singing really loud and just belts out the "IN" a little too early. Everyone around us was cracking up.

Eight Crazy Nights (or Days).

Today is day eight of ten in sunny southern California. Sorry I have been slacking on the blog posts... but I've been busy!

Thought I'd share some random highlights/happenings from my time here-

• Our meeting went fabulously. This was the third time I've done this particular one, and I couldn't be happier with the way everything turned out.
• One of my least favorite things about my job is when a meeting is over, and I have to say goodbye to all the wonderful people I've been working with over the last several months. This year, I had especially excellent event managers and suppliers. Not only did they do a fantastic job, but they were fun to hang out with, and all around great people.
• On both Tuesday and Wednesday, CSI Miami was filming right outside our space at the convention center. Some of our attendees got photos taken with the stars.
• Friday, after the meeting was over, Rachael, Dawn and I did the Hollywood thing... we went to a taping of Wheel of Fortune (three shows, actually - watch for me on April 24, April 25, and June 6). Then, as we were walking off the lot, we saw ADAM SANDLER! We were pretty excited about that. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to have cameras with us, so there is no proof. But I promise it happened. He said hello to us. :)
• We got pretty lost in Bel Air around 10pm on Friday night. That was interesting. We were having issues with our GPS lady. But then we got it all figured out. Turns out we were way up in the Hollywood Hills and there was a pretty sweet view.
• Today I met up with my parents, who are here on vacation. We went to Disneyland! Fun times... however, we were pretty bummed that Small World is closed for refurbishment. 
• Also today, I decided that the thing I hate most in this world is when people are making out in line for a ride. Seriously... get a room.

I think that's enough for now. More later!

A Sad Day for Herman

[Author's Note: I am being very vulnerable with you, blog readers, because until now, only a select few have ever heard about Herman.]

I think it was sometime in middle school when streetlights were installed in my neighborhood. It just so happened that one was installed directly in front of my bedroom window. I'm not sure how it came about, but at some point, I decided this streetlight needed a name. I think I may have been on the phone with Holly when we came up with Herman. Or maybe not. Either way, I remember sitting in my room late at night talking with Holly about Herman (while we watched the "YOU-FOES" go by in the sky). 

Herman's soft glow was cast into my room during most, if not all, of my teenage years. He was there during the ridiculous middle school crises (Will you call him and ask him if he likes me?), and the drama of high school (Dad, you were SUPPOSED to tell him I'm not home!). He stayed with me through high school when some important friendships were on the rocks, and for the first year of college, when I was home pretty much every weekend.

Today, I went home for a [very] brief visit. As I rounded the curve toward mom and dad's house, the first thing I noticed was that Herman no longer stood tall and proud as he once did. I I asked mom what happened to him... and found that it was just yesterday that he was hit by a car. However, she informed me, his light still worked, even in this abnormal, sad state.

My old room is now Emma's room. I can only hope that Herman will continue to watch over her as he did me for so many years.  

The Kiosk People

We all know that I love a good trip to the mall. However, lately, the annoying kiosk people have made my mall experiences a little less enjoyable. You know... the lotion people... and the hair straightener people.

I try to stay as far away from them as I can, avoid eye contact, and look like I'm in a hurry. But that never stops them from saying, "Miss, can I ask you a question?" By asking me if you can ask me a question, aren't you already asking me a question? Sometimes I keep walking. Other times I tell them no.

This week, I went to different malls two days in a row at lunch. (I was on the hunt for a certain sweater, but that's a story for another time.) It happened both days. Just once at Circle Center, but twice at Greenwood Park. After I said no to his initial question, the guy asked if I had used a straightener. If I had used one that day, it obviously didn't work because my hair was pretty curly. Maybe that's where he was going with the sales pitch...

So, lotion people and straightener people, LEAVE STEPH ALONE! I don't want your lotion, or your straightener, or your hair extensions. I just want to shop in peace.

Three Things I Learned about Texans

I spent a couple of days in Austin this week, and I learned three things about Texans.

1. They can make "sin" into a two-syllable word.

2. They like whiskey with their chocolate.

3. They come up with unique ways to have fun.