Wascally Wabbits

So my adventure today took me to the butcher.

Melissa had found a recipe in one of her books for "Beer Braised Rabbit". She was joking when she mentioned it, but I found it intriguing. I figured they probably wouldn't have rabbit at the Acme, so I called Roy Tweedy's butcher shop. The guy I talked to confirmed that, yes, they had frozen rabbits. Awesome?

I drove over to the shop and found the rabbits in the freezer case. Yep, they were whole rabbits. De-skinned, but whole. Interesting. I asked one of the guys, just to make sure. Yep. Heads and all, he said. And each rabbit would probably be about enough for one person. They were only $2.99 each, so price was not necessarily prohibitive. I think the part that held me back most what the thought of seeing the little buck teeth staring at me from the oven. Indeed.

In the end, there will be no beer braised rabbit served at Chez' Kaiser tomorrow. Maybe some day, but not tomorrow. Chicken will have to do.

Tennis Day 1

Yesterday, Timmy and I went out and played some tennis. Actually, it was more like we tried to play some tennis, but don't we look hot in our athletic wear! You can see the muscle in Timmy's arm. That's my man; he so fine :)



Yesterday, I was having lots of fun with my new racket. Today, I'm not so happy. I woke up in the middle of the night all sore. Ugh. I'm a big wuss. Timmy says that people are sore everyday and find a way to live and I need to cowboy up :(



Uh-oh. Timmy just came out of the bathroom. He had two ibuprofen in his hand and said "these would work better if you took them." Oops. I forgot to take my ibuprofen this morning. I took them out of the bottle and set them aside while I brushed my teeth. Maybe that's why I'm still hurting and I'm having a hard time cowboying up.



Well, I need to get dressed. We're having guests over for dinner tomorrow and need to go to the grocery store today. I don't want to spoil the surprise yet, but I will say that Timmy is currently visiting our local butcher. Pictures to come :)

Biker Chick

I saw this hot girl while I was down at Tinicum riding my bike this afternoon, so I took some pictures of her.

Missing Mimi

Watching Rent. It's actually the first time I've seen it since Timmy bought it for several weeks ago. I love Mimi Marquez. I've loved her since the first time I saw the show. I was worried when I read they would be casting someone new to play Mimi for the movie. It made sense; no way Daphne Ruben-Vega could do it. Rosario Dawson - I'm not sure I could have asked for a better Mimi.

But tonight my heart hurts a little. I love Mimi. I'm drawn to her. She is vibrant and beautiful. She is filled with passion. She lives every moment with no thought of tomorrow. She is reckless. No concern for consequences. There's "no day but today." It's appealing, but it's also infuriating. Mimi almost kills herself with her lifestyle. In fact, in La Boheme, which is the inspiration for Rent, Mimi actually dies. Her life is dangerous, really dangerous.

A very special friend reminds me of her. I can't help but see her throughout this movie. She's the embodiment of Mimi Marquez. I never knew someone so full of life and yet so empty. Can't really have both, can you. I miss her. It's been over a year and I miss her. I miss her smile and her laughter. I miss her hugs. I could go to her and she would just hug me while I cried. No questions asked, she just hugged me and loved me. She made me feel so loved, unconditionally, no strings attached. A found a Valentine's day card she gave me a few years back, and I think it may be the most perfect, beautiful, and touching card I ever received. I never had to explain myself to her; she just accepted me for me. And I had to walk away from her. That was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and even though, I understand why and I am grateful for all that has happened since, my heart still hurts. I miss her. I wonder what's going on in her life. I wonder if she hates me, if I became like all those other Christians that hurt her. I really miss her and, yet, I understand why things happen the way they did. I suppose I will mourn her for a long time. I would hope that she knows that I never stopped loving her. That I think of her still and pray for her still. And that she will always live in a special place in my heart.

North Penn Class of 1998

I finally got around to calling up that 800 number I got in the mail several weeks ago. Actually, several weeks ago, I got a final notice. My alma mater is updating and republishing their alumni directory. There was one a few years back. I didn't know about it until one of brothers brought it over to a get together - 5 Rolon siblings are North Penn grads. Funny because I think they might have graduated before I was born - or at least one of them : ) Well, anyway, so I called the 800 number to give them my updated information: name, address, email. All was well and good; in fact, the girl on the other end who I could tell was very young, congratulated me on my recent marriage when she asked if my name had changed. (technically, still working on that name change thing but in my heart, I am Melissa Kaiser). Towards the end of the conversation, she said "well Ms. Kaiser" and I started giggling. It was first time I heard that from someone who wasn't a friend or family member. So, I had to tell her why I was laughing. She laughed but it was one of those awkward, "that's weird" laugh and she replied "so long as it makes happy." Yes, indeed it does.

Of course, she wanted to put me down as reserving an advanced copy. I could only assume it would be slightly pricey so I told her I would have to talk to my brothers and sister to see if one of them were getting one. That wasn't a true statement because I don't really want one. If I happen to see one, I'll look through it but I don't really care to get in touch with anyone. (One exception but I have her number). But she kept pressing me and I asked how much - "two payments of 39.95" I'll refrain from writing what I thought in my head. 80 bucks for an alumni directory - yeah, right. True, this book will be big and it was the alumni verson (hard back) vs the regular version (paper back and $10 less). $80 for an alumni book. Wow. I can only hope the money raised will go to something good and not to some lame prom-like class reunion. Either way, it won't my money.

Hole in the Sky

Heading home from work this morning, the sky was pretty much completely overcast with rather persistent rain. As I waited for the light at Rts. 291 & 420, though, I noticed this one opening in the otherwise grey sky. You can't really see it very well in this picture, but it was a blue patch and you could see the sun shining through it. It was really cool looking. Just so you know.

Dog Fight

I was getting out of the shower yesterday, in preparation for my shift at 7pm, and heard what I would only later realize the awesomicity of: my neighbor getting into a war of words with a chihuahua. That's right. I guess he was in the yard just below our bathroom window doing... Lord knows what when the foul beast (the chihuahua that lives across the alleyway) descended upon him. I will now attempt to recreate the exchange of words that occured, sensored of course - for our more innocent readers. Enjoy.

Chihuahua: Yip yip yip yip yip!
WT: Hey! Who the (heck) are you?
Chihuahua: Yip yip yip yip yip!
WT: This is my yard! You get out of here!
(WT then stomps his foot loudly on the sidewalk a few times. The Chihuahua, I can only assume, retreated to his usual haunt - a lawnchair on the back porch of his house.)
WT: That's right you little (bugger)! Come into my yard and bark at me!
(The Chihuahua, being the bigger man, did not return this verbal volley.)
WT: Did you see that? That little (fudger) came right up on my ankle! (I assume he was talking to one of his people inside the house at that point. I hope he was, anyway.)
WT: Yeah! Right up on my ankle!
WT: (Now addressing the Chihuahua again) Let's see you come back over here now, I've got a stick!
(The Chihuahua opted to not meet this challenge and instead looked quizzically from his lawn chair perch.)
WT: Yeah. That's what I thought!
-Curtain-

I must tell you, it was perhaps the most glorious battle I've ever borne witness to between a man and a dog the size of a large squirrel. One can only hope that the Great Dane who lives next door to the Chihuahua will some day visit out yard. I can only imagine there will be artillery involved. (Hopefully on the Great Dane's part.)

Decorating Tips

Decorating Tip #1 - Nothing says "class" like a marble elephant with a potted plant on it's back.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

We arrived home from an outing to the laundromat to find what, in my mind, can only be described as a pyre in the middle of our back yard. I eagerly kept looking out the bedroom window throughout the evening, hoping to find that it would be lit so I could call 9-1-1 and be a contentious jerk. But, alas, the funeral rite or other similar event did not take place last night. But hey, tonight's Friday night, so hopes remain high that I may yet be able to do my "civic duty".

Decorating the Clubhouse

I awoke this morning to find that the postman had brought me the Jagermeister banner I'd secured from eBay.

Whatever plans I'd had for the day would have to wait, I had to hang the banner.

Hanging an 8 foot by 5 foot banner takes a few minutes.

Das looks wunderbar, now to find a place to hang my German Imperial flag.

Hmmm. Behind the futon looks pretty good, but Le Chat is already hanging there.

I guess I'll just have to move Le Chat.

Here's a nice new home for him.

Now to hang the flag. I once again brandish the mighty PowerShot staple gun.

Do I look all imperial and such, sitting next to the official war flag of the Kaiser?

Speaking of war, I had to relocate my grandfather's sweet coat of arms thingy to a spot next to the flag - it only seemed fitting.

And somewhat less fitting, but still in need of homes, I hung the old bathroom decorations from our Ridley apartment on the other side.

That leaves only one wall with no decoration. But that will have to wait for another day.

Yep. That's how exciting my day was. Glorious.

Woohoo

So the NHL regular season schedule came to a close on Tuesday night, and I must give a big sloppy kiss to Moose Factory, Ontario native Jonathan Cheechoo. He scored a career high 56 goals this season, which was the most goals scored by any player in the league this season. But most especially, it was 2 goals more than the New York Rangers' Jaromir Jagr, who may consistently be voted as the player I'd most like to see checked face first into the dasher. And plus, I mean c'mon, who's not going to love a guy from a place called Moose Factory? That's what I'm talking about.

blah blah blah

I don't feel like working today. I haven't felt like working all week. Clarification: yes, I am unemployed. I meant I don't feel like working on my lesson for tonight. Some weeks I'm more motivated. This week, not so much. Sorry kinship friends.

Timmy called this morning at seven saying he was offered to stay for a double shift and then he would have off tonight. That was fine since I was going to be "working" on my lesson. But I couldn't fall back asleep. So, I got out of bed, ate some Frosted Flakes and watched a couple episodes of Saved By The Bell. SBTB, the only good thing about being up really early in the morning. Fell asleep on the couch for a couple more hours, woke up to Pauly Shore and In The Army Now. I was tempted to watch but instead I turned to Full House. I know, tough choice. Made a grilled ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich - mmmmm. Spoke to Timmy for a few minutes and then spent two hours watching Celebrity Poker Showdown. Wow, today was a waste. But I did spend an hour on the lesson. Ooooh, and I downloaded Enter The Worship Circle - First Circle. Awesome worship CD. But I haven't listened to it yet because I know it will keep me from working on the lesson. Funny how I have to refrain from "worshipping" to study the bible. My goodness. And I put worshipping in quotations because many would say that I am worshipping the Lord by studying my bible, but you know what I mean. Well, I need to get back to the lesson. Or maybe I will go ahead and listen to the CD. If the lesson is going to be wacky anyway, I might as well have a sweet time with Jesus and let that guide me through the evening. Peace.

Roommate Hang Out

On Friday Rachel and I spent some time together. We had brunch at a tasty cafe a couple of blocks from my apartment. Then we came back to my place, and I showed her the Rent alternate ending. And then we breakdanced. Yes, it's true. For Christmas I bought Timmy a how-to-breakdance dvd. It's awesome, but Timmy had yet to open it. He says that it would be awesome to be able to whip out some breakdancing moves at parties and weddings, but now that he has the chance - nope, no breakdancing. But Rachel and I did :) I can always count on Rachel to dance with me.

The first step to learn when you breakdance is the toprock. It is foundational, and it's the basic move dancers are doing between the more complex moves. But it was still hard.



The Toprock:
Starting position: Feet side by side. Both hands at your side.
1 - Hop in starting position.
2 - Step out with your left foot. Toe tap at 45 degree angle over your right foot. Arms spread out back.
3 - Back to the starting position. Hop.
4 - Step out with your right foot. Toe tap at 45 degree angle over your left foot. Arms spread out back.
1 - Back at starting position. Hop. Repeat.
Sound a little weird? It's hard to explain, and it's pretty hard to do!




Even though we were no where near close to mastering the toprock, we decided to continue with the double disk set, and we spent some time working on spins. Rachel was pretty good.





She did pretty well. I, on the other hand, not so good. I had a hard time getting myself on my arms so I kept falling over. Rachel has much more upper body strength than I do and she is much more coordinated. Also she was barefoot and had a better grip on our hardwood floors.



And even when I didn't have to be spinning around, I still couldn't hold myself up. My attempt at a "freeze."



Even then, we had a good time. We got hot, a little sweaty. So we had some Rita's ice and Turkey Hill ice cream for our cool down. Mmmm - yay. Next time, Babe, we will attempt headspins : )

One Month

Last week, Timmy and I celebrated our first month anniversary - que emocion! In honor of the big marker, we spent a few days at the shore. Actually, Timmy's uncle owns a bed and breakfast in Brigantine, NJ. He was generous enough to let us come and stay there. Here we are in our room, working on that week's lesson.

With Atlantic City just a few minutes from Brigantine, it seemed only right to go track down a poker table and jump start our careers as professional poker players. Unfortunately, the tables looked pretty lame, so we hit the slots to win at least some money. No luck. The slots suck. 11 bucks gone.




Timmy and I didn't like the casinos very much - at all. I'd been a couple of times and I didn't like it then. Not sure why I thought that might change - maybe the poker thing but nope, no fun. So, we had dinner, ate gelatos for dessert, and then checked out V for Vendetta at the IMAX. Side note: I really liked the movie - a lot. I'm still thinking about it and that is quite unusual for me. Check it out.

Next day we avoided the insides of the casinos and took a walk on the boardwalk.





So, we didn't really like the boardwalk either. Gaudy. Busy. Lots of people. Lots of people who kept coming up to us trying to get us to go visit their hotel. But at least there was italian ice and I love water ice!! I shared with Timmy.



So our trip was an experience, just like our honeymoon. You know, whenever I go somewhere with Timmy, it's usually an experience. I like it. And hopefully, at some point during one of our experiences, Timmy will take the perfect picture. The wall above our couch is still bare.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung and I just finished adjusting the front brake pads on my Hayes disc brakes. Soon, I will take many rides through the Tinicum Wildlife refuge - picking up lots of mud, scrapes & stinging nettles along the way. Ahhh. Glorious.

Happy 9th Anniversary.

Today is my ninth anniversary with Jesus. I can hardly believe it's been almost a decade. It's been a good nine years, real good. I can't imagine my life without Him. I can't imagine how different my life would be. Actually I'm not even sure I would be alive. April 13, 1997. My cousin didn't have the slightest clue what was going on that day he invited me to church. No one could have known. Except God. You are very good me. Better to me than I ever deserved. Better to me than I deserve now. Thank You for nine years of life: for love, for joy, for purpose.

Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. Ps 147:1

Good times.

Good times last night. We had our first dinner party in our new apartment. Que emocion. It was actually an impromptu dinner. We have been planning to go see Scott's musical over at Swarthmore for a couple of weeks. Marti, Dave, and Kris were hoping to go as well. So, the night before the show we invited them to join us for tacos. That was a good choice for me. My first dinner - that's a lot of pressure. But it was dinner we were planning on eating with or without them, and it was a meal that you can't mess up. It was good. We had a fun.

Afterward, we went to Swarthmore to see Scott's musical. That was also fun. Scott's very good and his character was funny. And just as Timmy promised, he aimed to embarrass Scott after the show. Instead of the traditional flowers, he bought him a stuffed animal: this big fluffy white dog with pink floppy ears, a pink heart shaped nose, and a pink ribbon around his neck with "XOXOXOX" on it. After the show, we waited in the lobby for Scott. When we saw him, I handed the dog to Timmy who ran to him, screaming his name, waving the dog. It was so funny and Scott totally appreciated it. It was a good night.

Letters to Ando

An excerpt from an email I received from my brother this morning:

Oh, and by the way, you can tell Melissa I joined the dark side... I bought a Mac this past weekend.

My reply to him, regarding this matter:

YOU WEAK MINDED FOOL! It all started with the iPod, didn't it? Steve Jobs is infiltrating America. Screw Bill Gates, I think we've found the real antichrist. Who doesn't love a guy that puts queer little white earbuds in everyone's head? Think about it.... think about it.

Yeah, I'm basically a people person - when you get right down to it.

Rent Part 1

Timmy bought me Rent yesterday - yay! Now, I saw the movie last November when it came out in the theaters, and it was quite disappointing. In a way, how could I not be disappointed? I've seen the actual show four times, and for the few months leading to the movie premiere, I followed the status of the movie almost every day. Disappointment could only follow. However, even with the disappointment, I knew I would still buy the movie because I'm a little crazy like that when it comes to Rent. But as I have thought about the movie since November, I have this suspicion that I am going to eventually love the movie. The first time I saw the show I was not overwhelmed by it. It took time.

So, yesterday, we got the movie and today I started checking it out. Unfortuntately, I have to prepare the lesson for group tomorrow and do a bunch of other things before Timmy gets home from work, so I can't actually watch the whole movie. I did check out the deleted scenes, though :) And I have to say I loved the alternate ending! Loved it!!! One of the great Rent show moments is the beginning of the second act when the cast casually walks out onto the stage, stands in that line, and sings Seasons of Love. It's awesome. The first trailer for the movie had the cast doing the same thing and it sent chills down my legs. And one of the most tender moments of the show is during the I'll Cover You Reprise ( which is probably personally my favorite Rent song and thank you Chris Columbus that the movie did not disappoint with that scene). I'll Cover You Reprise includes the cast singing Seasons of Love as back up. In the show, the entire cast is once again standing in that line, however, where Angel stood is left empty because of his death. It's one of those things you can miss if you're not really paying attention, but it touches me everytime - that hole in the line because Angel's not there anymore. But the crowd applauds and people cry when Angel runs out and joins the cast for the last bit of the finale. It's a part of the show that I look forward to each time I watch it. It just fills me up with warmth. But it's something that movie couldn't capture. That was my biggest beef with the movie. There were so many things that it couldn't truly grab because it's a completely different medium. Theater is a just different and Rent is a show that, I believe, works best on stage.

But today, I watched the deleted scenes and there was an alternate ending. And it sent chills up my legs. It brought tears to my eyes. It somehow made the Rent movie experience complete. Columbus decided to open the movie with Seasons of Love - the entire cast on a stage in that line just like the show. That wasn't the original sequence in the show, but I understand why he did it that way. It just made more sense for the movie. But in the alternate ending of the movie, during the finale, Columbus faded out of the apartment and back to that line on that stage. And there was a gap in the line because Angel wasn't there. And they sang No Day but Today. Then Mimi turned her head and smiled as Angel walked past her. And as he passed Collins, they grabbed hands, looked at each other, and smiled. And Angel continued on his way to take his place in that line and he finished that song.

I doubt there is anyone who really cares about all that I have just written. In fact, I'll be surprised if most people actually read the whole entry. I can't imagine anyone except Jeremy would care about this alternate ending and how it made me feel. I don't know what it is about Rent. I don't know why I feel such a connection to the show, but I do. At face value, why would I? I'm not a struggling artist, a bohemian. I'm not gay. I don't have AIDS. I don't know anyone who does. I don't do drugs. I don't know anyone who struggles with drugs. There is nothing about the lifestyles of the characters that I can personally connect with like so many Rentheads. I read it all the time, "I'm gay and Rent helped me not feel alone." "My friend was diagnosed with AIDS, and I didn't know what to do. But Rent gave me hope." "I want to be an artist and my family just doesn't understand." I don't have any of those stories. I'm a "good girl." But still this show - there is something about it.