12.27.05

This is only the second time that I have lied about what I was currently listening/watching/reading.  The first time was on the release date of Gilmore Girls Season 4, but that was only because I special ordered it for a chance to get a set of Dragonfly Inn pajamas (which I got) and it didn’t make it in until a week later.  Today, I am not currently listening to Mockingbird, but it certainly isn’t because I don’t want to be.

Tonight I left my parents house to run a few errands, and while heading to HEB to buy 100 watt lightbulbs (because the 60 watt bulb in their living room overhead light is incredibly dim and drives me crazy) I remembered that today (yesterday, actually … it’s like 2:30 in the morning) was December 26th.  Most CDs and movies are released on Tuesdays, but for some reason or another Derek Webb’s Mockingbird was supposed to come out today.  I put the lightbulbs on hold and ventured out to pick up the CD.

My first stop was the new Lifeway store.  (I say new, but I think it’s been here for over a year … lots of things in Abilene still seem new to me.)  I must digress here to say that I really have the hardest time classifying music.  The other day I was looking for a Sam Phillips CD, and the Randy’s (my fav place to browse for/buy music) clerk asked me what type of music he was.  The only definitive thing I could say was that Sam Phillips was a she, not a he.  All that to say, it was a little disheartening to find my friend Derek Webb in the contemporary pop section.  It was even more disheartening to find his three previous CDs but no Mockingbird.  After checking the computer’s inventory, the clerk said that they had five copies in stock, but returned empty handed after a fruitless search of the back room. 

Onto Family Christian Stores.  Believe it or not, same thing there.  The computer showed they had copies, but they were nowhere to be found.  This time the clerk said that the stock girl had not been in that day, so that could be part of the problem. 

Unwilling to give up, I asked the FCS girl if there were any other Christian bookstores in Abilene that I might not know about.  After all, I was certainly surprised to see that a Cracker Barrell and Super Wal Mart had popped up since my last visit home.  She said there was a new store called Up that would probably carry Derek Webb.  And this store’s location?  The Mall of Abilene.

Now you know I had to really want this CD in order to be willing to brave the Abilene Mall.  I don’t know what it is, but it seems like every time I have gone to the mall since graduating from highschool, I see at least ten people I somewhat know.  I say somewhat because they are the people that you either 1) know and wish you didn’t or 2) barely know because you were in the same fourth grade class or they’re a friend of a friend of a friend … you understand.  It’s always akward.  You have to make a judgement … do I know this person well enough to warrant a verbal acknowledgement, or will a simple wave or smile due?  I think there was a Seinfeld about that …

Anyway, I really wanted this CD, so I decided to risk the inevitable social akwardness to come.  I found the store quickly and asked the clerk whether or not they had the CD, because it released today.  He immediately responded that they didn’t have it yet, but it would release tomorrow.  I was a little annoyed at him, first of all because he didn’t check, and second of all because he made an assumption about me.  He just assumed that because most CDs are released on Tuesdays, that this one would as well, and that I didn’t know what I was talking about.  I asked him to check anyway, and although I would love to write here that he was wrong and that they had the CD, I can’t.  He was wrong, though … the CD was supposed to come out the 26th.

**Sidenote**  There are a few other reasons I don’t particularly enjoy the Mall of Abilene, two of which I discovered tonight.  As I was walking in from the parking lot, I heard this awful, awful noise.  It sounded like animals killing each other.  As I got closer, I realized it was a recording of loud birds that I can only assume was meant to frighten other birds away.  Then, when I actually entered the mall, I noticed that they had remodeled and replaced the faux hard wood floors with ugly carpet.  I hate carpeted malls.

Anyway, as I was leaving the mall, I was really suprised … I hadn’t seen a single person I knew much less even recognized.  That was until I was about 50 feet from the exit and I spotted a former middle school classmate, a rather eccentric guy, and I’m pretty sure he was wearing a fanny pack.  I doubt he would even know who I was, so I just walked on by, but smiled to myself.  I may not have gotten my CD, but I did get a new Xanga post.

12.21.05

It’s the simple things in life that really have the potential to bring me joy.  For example, I love being the first person to open a new tub of butter.  There is something about the unadulterated smoothness of it … it makes me happy.  The smallest thing a person can say or do also has amazing potential to make my day. 

Okay, so here’s a little background information.  A couple weeks ago, for one reason or another I was reminded of the GG episode in which Rory decided to sort through a mound of catalogs they had received at their house, many of which were duplicates.  Lorelai explains that she gave stores different names but the same address in order to see how many catalogs they would actually send.  I found her aliases quite amusing.  I was talking with a friend and told her that we should adopt two of the names for ourselves … Tookie Clothespin and Squeegee Beckinheim.  I, of course, am Tookie since it was my idea and I like that one better.

So yesterday, this same friend and I grabbed dinner from City Bites where they ask for your name so they can call it when your order’s ready.  I told the lady my name was Sarah, but then I immediately wished I had given her my other alias.  It was too late, however, because she’d already put my real name into the computer.  I grabbed my cup and went over to the drink area where I proceeded to sample the Dr. Pepper, Coke and Pepsi (in that order) to determine which had the best carbonation/syrup combo.  I settled on Dr. Pepper and joined my friend where we waited for my Philadelphia Cheese Steak sandwich with no tomatoes and extra cherry peppers and her California Club in a sun dried tomato wrap (good stuff, guys). 

Soon the counter girl said into the microphone, “Sarah, your order is ready” immediately followed by “Squeegee, your order is ready.”  I think I yipped, I was so surprised.  Seriously, it’s the little things people.  I love my friend Squeegee Beckinheim … she made my night.

12.13.05

I haven’t really felt “Xanga inspired” lately, so this is a somewhat halfhearted attempt at a post.  I thought maybe I’d write about how I am a huge dork akin to teenage boys who stake out video game stores on the eve of the release of the latest fad game.  That’s right … I went to Wal Mart last night after midnight in order to get the 5th season of Gilmore Girls that released today.  I will leave you all with a little bit of witty repartee from one of the two episodes I watched last night (after I got home from Wal Mart at 1:00 AM):

Hey, I should bring steak sauce, right?

 

For what?

 

Pizza.

 

I just got back from Italy.

 

So?

 

So they’d shoot you in Italy for that.

 

Ah, but this is America where we unapologetically bastardize other countries’ cultures in a gross quest for moral and military supremacy.

 

I forgot.  Bring on the imperialistic condiments.

12.09.05

Quick thought:

Those who slip or trip, but catch themselves before falling are actually graceful, not clumsy.