I Need a Hairmet

For the last six months or so Tom and I have been coming up with several creative ideas on how to sucker someone into buying our SUV. However, no one is as dumb as we are, and we have therefore had no bites. And while I'm pretty sure last Sunday was the first (and only) time we've ever actually hauled something with it, I have to admit that I really love this car. It was an absolute life saver when I was preggers - if you have never been 9 months pregnant you'll just have to take it from me that it is 100% impossible to get in and out of a car by yourself, but getting in and out of the Jeep was a breeze. Just lean your butt on the seat, scooch it back, swing your legs in. Granted I still kind of hoped no one was watching when I was doing this, but it was far better then the time I got stuck in my friend's Civic. That is a story for another day (i.e., never).

Anywho, since filling up the Jeep tank costs roughly the amount of my mortgage, I only drive to the train station and back (and when we need to haul something, like that one time 4 days ago). I take one of the later trains from Puyallup, which does not have a parking garage, so I usually park about 5 blocks away and hike it back to the station. Because of this I leave my house a half hour before the train leaves, even though it takes no more then 15 minutes to get there, because I have to allow for those days that my usual spot is taken, and the 5-7 minute walk back to the train station (depending on how awake I am that morning).

These last few weeks while walking back to the station and standing in line I have found myself staring longingly at the mint green Vespa parked with the bikes about 10 feet from the train line. Not only can you go 900 miles on its tiny tank of gas, you don't have to drive around frantically looking for a parking spot, run 5 blocks to the train if your usual spot was taken, but they're also extremely cheap and cute to boot.

(You might not be able to tell, but this is actually a very beautiful dark purple)

The normal arguments went through my mind and were quickly discarded: What about winter? They're so cheap it would be worth it to just drive it in the summer, even in a Seattle summer, which is the last two weeks of July and most of August. What about Harper? I'd just drive home from the train station in the evenings and walk to her babysitter's to pick her up with the stroller, it's probably less then 1/4 mile from my house. What about getting groceries, etc? I'd just plan better and only go shopping on the weekends while Tom's not using the regular car. However, there is one argument that I just can't get around. Helmet hair. Maybe if my hair was straight, or it was the kind of curly where it's always beautiful and bouncy no matter what you do to it (these curlies are rare because real curlies like me usually kill them in a jealous rage), but if I put a helmet on my head I will pretty much be guaranteed a flat, frizzy mess for the rest of the day.

What I need, peoples, is a hairmet a la JD on Scrubs. So if anyone can find me one, I will be extremely happy. So happy that I might give you ride on my purple Vespa.

Prince Eric

I would like to officially grant the title of Best Disney Prince to Prince Eric (of Little Mermaid for those not in the know). I have actually thought long and hard about this decision, and I am confident that you will agree with me. Following is the proof.



1. Personality. With the possible exception of Aladdin, Eric has the best personality out of all the Disney princes. However, Aladdin is hereby disqualified from this point because he is the main character of the movie, so of course he has some personality. Prince Eric was a supporting character, and when compared with princes like Prince Phillip (Sleeping Beauty), Prince Charming (Cinderella), and the prince from Snow White (he didn't even have a name, how can you expect a personality?), I believe you will see my point.

2. The castle and kingdom. After extensive googling I still can't seem to nail down the exact location of Prince Eric's kingdom, but I have always assumed it was somewhere in the French Mediterranean. This in and of itself is enough to win over this point, but let's look at a few other things. If the movie is an accurate portrayal of everyday life in Eric's kingdom, everyone is happy and nothing bad ever happens. It is a sunny, lush, and beautiful village in the South of France (again, I'm assuming this, but I'd say it's a pretty good assumption based on the scenery and some of names and accents of the characters). Let's compare this to a few of the other Disney movies: In Sleeping Beauty there is an evil sorceress who casts spells willy-nilly and generally wreaks havoc on the villagers, including putting them all to sleep for 100 years. In Snow White there is an evil queen who is well versed in witchcraft and preys on innocent, unsuspecting young women who are prettier then she is. Granted the seven dwarfs almost make up for this, but not quite. In Cinderella the government obviously lacks any sort of social services, as Cinderella was kept a slave in her own home without anyone else in the village ever noticing or caring. In Aladdin the Grand Vizier (I believe he is second in command) is an evil sub-human sorcerer who can easily hypnotize the Sultan (who seems well-intentioned if a bit dim-witted) and take control over the country....wait....why does that sound familiar?

3. The in-laws. At the beginning of the movie, King Triton believes all humans are "spineless harpooning fish-eaters", and the possibility of Eric dying in a ship wreck would merely mean "one less human to worry about." However, once seeing how much his daughter loves Eric, and after Eric saves the day by killing the sea witch and setting all her weird sea-weed prisoners free (including King Triton himself), he gives Ariel a permanent set of legs and lets his daughter go be happy with Eric. Triton and several other mermaids and mermen come to Ariel and Eric's wedding, and at the end Triton makes a rainbow for the occasion, and respectfully bows to Eric. Eric not only has a father in law who is willing to see the error of his ways, but Eric himself was willing to accept Ariel even when her father would rather see him dead. Now for the in-laws on the other side - although Eric seems to be an orphan and only child, he does have Grimsby (an uncle? A close friend? A political advisor? Not sure...), who may be rather old and crotchety, but let us not forget that he liked Ariel from the start, and helped Eric see his true feelings for her.

4. True love. At sunset of the third day, Ariel turns back into a mermaid to the utter surprise and shock of Prince Eric. However, this doesn't put a damper on his feelings one bit, and he still swims out to sea and risks his life to save Ariel and all the other merpeople. At this point Eric has no idea that it's even possible for him to be with Ariel, as he obviously can't live underwater and Ariel can't live on land, but all he cares about is Ariel being safe and happy.

I believe that is sufficient evidence for the title. There are probably a few things I am overlooking, so if you can think of anything please let me know.

P.S.

In googling "google founders" for my last post, I was able to learn who the entire board of directors and executive management group is. A Mr. Urls Holzle (two dots above the o, which I am unable to accomplish in anything other then Word, even with extensive googling), has not only the coolest name ever, his job title is "Senior Vice President, Operations & Google Fellow".

My new goal in life: Become a Google Fellow.

I Did It All By Myself

I transformed my ugly pink/maroon monstrosity of a blog into a beautiful Monet painting all by myself. And by "myself, I obviously mean I googled "blogger templates" and followed the step by step instructions on the pages it brought up.

I honestly wonder how we lived before google. In high school I had to go to the library to do research for a paper or project. Just last week I finished an entire research paper without ever leaving the comfort of my office or cracking a single book. I did have to enlist the help of my lawyer sister to get an article that was only available in a law database, but I originally found out about the article through google scholar. And to prove that google is every bit as beneficial as the library, I got a 97% on my paper. I will be sure to thank Larry Page and Sergey Brin* in my graduation speech.**

*I googled "google founders"
**I am not giving a graduation speech

The Move

Because I want to be cool like the other kids, I've moved to blogspot. So now you can read all about my life (or my daughter's life, since that's usually what I blog about), without having to go to blurty. You should take those few extra seconds I saved you and tell me how to make my blogspot look presentable (i.e., less pink).