Showtunes

Okay, so this blog is about how I actually love to sing, and enjoy show tunes.

....

Mhm, yeah, I'll let the snickers die down. Not hard for me to admit that fact, but I’m sure some people would think that’s funny, seems to be a small populous around me that enjoys the sing-alongs. I don’t mind though, because what the hell, I like it!

I was listening to Pandora at work and I made a show tunes station (The Music Man station). And while I don’t know a huge variety of Broadway shows I did know quite a few of the songs. Since I was doing paperwork at the clinic I did not sing along as that would be slightly awkward. Although it seems to be that in shows everyone knows all the words and the choreography so maybe if I break out into a song all of my co-workers and patients would join in! That's it, I'm trying it out tomorrow.

As for singing, I love to. Now, I’m not going to sit here and say I have the best voice, I’m certainly not going to win any singing competitions, but I don’t think I’m bad either. Really, I think that everyone is a good singer when they’re in the car, by themselves with the radio blaring. When you’re alone you can sing any range, note, song, mess up the words, and you’ll still feel good at the end of the song and think, “hey, I sound pretty good!”

Yes, I do that too.

I like music I can sing to which is one of the reasons I don’t care for big guitar solos or mostly musical pieces. I suppose if I played guitar I would be into listening to that, but guitar is on my list of "things I want to know how to do", it's an ever-growing list. A capella is one of my fav forms of music, as it's all voice. It’s just voice and you can sing all the different parts; I particularly like to sing the bass part, or do some beatbox (again, might not be that great at it, but who cares?). Singing the bass or bari part is due to the fact that I can’t really do the tenor thing. Well, I can but it ain’t all that pretty to listen to by those around me. I think it’s an underrated form of music too, like when I mention that I love Rockapella, the group from “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego”? most people have no idea what I'm talking about. In general, people tend to only know that song, but the group is incredibly talented and have some great variety. If you’d like I’d be happy to show you, because I’m a huge fan. And while we''re listening to it I will do my best to not sing along. That's like watching a movie for the first time with someone that's seen it three dozen times and recites all the lines while you're trying to watch it. I make it a point to only recite lines any other time but watching the movie I'm quoting.

To go off on a tangent for a second; my favorite movie is The Goonies, by far. People know that I can recite many movie lines at random (as most guys can [as a matter of fact, I think women don’t do this because they have actual important things to remember]), I think that I can recite Goonies material better than any other movie. I had to name that as my fav movie so I could lead in to my fav musical which would be The Music Man – Robert Preston version, not the new one. While I’m a big fan of Pirates of Penzance too they haven’t released it to DVD, but that has great music too. In general I do like show tunes, they are easy to sing along to, all the different parts and there is a ton of variety from decades worth of shows.

Besides, most of you can sit there and sing along to most of the Disney musicals, so don’t be busting me for liking a little Broadway. Ooh, I like the movie version of Little Shop of Horrors too. Disney-wise I think I like Aladdin best. I am definitely not an expert when it comes to musical theater though so don't ask me about the Spiderman show, I heard it isn't doing that great... It's alright, you can go ahead and admit there are some musicals that you know and love too. Now I have a kiddo so I can sort of use that as an excuse for having those Disney sing-alongs on. Not that I need an excuse.

Initially I started this blog due to a co-worker laughing that I had my musicals station on Pandora and was listening to it. Thankfully she wasn't laughing at me, because there is plenty of ammo there. She was laughing with me as she is a fan of the musical theater and probably didn't expect me to be listening to that type of station. It did make think back to my other post about how I'm a weirdo, I believe that the singing thing was mentioned too. So I guess this falls in the category of things I enjoy but other guys don't typically. It is also in the category of "random things that I know about".

In the end I guess the take-home message here is that I enjoy singing, and singing along to stuff. I also have no shame in admitting that. It's the sensitive, artsy, music-y side of me.

Do you want to have a small glimpse into who I am? Go ahead and take the time to watch both The Goonies, and The Music Man, then you might understand me a little better.

If you also need references feel free to read my blog “I am a weirdo”.

Moving

Don't worry, I won't have to talk about the move too much longer, since we are moving soon I'll have to start in on all the moved topics like, "there's still not enough room for all our stuff", "unpacking is such a pain", "I can't find item X", "this place smells different then our old one", and "finally, we're here!"

But as those around me know, I am stressed out about the move. I think that I'm to the point of the move where I realize everything needs to go, but I'm unsure what to pack and what should go over next. Besides, my other thought is that if I can bring it over before we move in, then we don't actually need it on hand, then do we really need it at all...? Plus the worst is when it is move day and you just end up dumping everything into garbage bags because you just have to get the crap out of there. We have a lot more stuff to move this year vs last year.

Admittedly, I am kind of a pack-rat, I do like to hold onto things, but every once and a while I will go on a tear and get rid of things, no hoarding for me. Although as a kid I liked to save wrappers, only the ones that were shiny though. It was a small collection, and I grew out of it.

Also as a kid when I got a new package of socks I liked to go upstairs and try on each new pair one at a time (much to my family's amusement, to this day).

Then there was the time when I fell on my face when I was 5, thought my teeth got knocked out, they didn't. And had a large rock and a 3x3 window fall on my head before the age of 7. Maybe that's why I can remember so many random things, it was all those head injuries! (Disclaimer: each of these things that happened to me was a accident, no ghosts, elves, gnomes, or gremlins were involved in these incidents).

This move is going to be a great upgrade though.

I was talking with a patient this week about how certain events in your life very much effect other things in your life. Call it fate, destiny, a plan, whatever - but you can think back to particular events in your life that changed the course completely. For some this is good, others bad. Heck, where would I be if I had just stuck with Graphic Design when I was at KSC and not switched? There are many reasons why I am glad that I moved back up from FL to NH to go to grad school. I would not be married and we wouldn't have miss Q if I didn't, and I'd call that a big life changer. Plus I can't help but think about my job and how many people I am treating in a week.

Now I'd like to brag and say I get them all better, but there will always be those that don't get better and for various reasons. But I will say it is a rewarding job to make someone feel better whether that is physically or mentally/emotionally. And I like to teach people stuff too.

Okay, so most of the time I'm teaching people totally useless information, like; the sound a camel makes is called nuzzing. And now that word is in my spell-checker dictionary. And in your hippocampus. Not enough cerebrum action? Well that factoid is gone.

I think that it is to the point that I should just pack everything I can rather than trying to go through it and either organize or do the keep or toss pile. This way, when we start to put everything out and get organized I can go through stuff because I don't want to keep stuff in the closet collecting dust. What's funny is that I'm a pretty bad procrastinator with many things, but with moving I'm kind of the opposite, I just want to get it done. The more I finish the more I want to do - and there is still a bunch to do.

Tomorrow though I really need to move at least a car load of stuff and pack up a bunch of boxes that we can store here, it'll make me feel like I'm getting somewhere. That, and there is less than 2 weeks left to move.

Eek.

One fun thing about moving is getting some new things, furniture, lights, kitchen stuff. While this can be expensive.... especially having Target and Lowe's 5 mins down the street, it's still fun to get new stuff. Speaking of pricey, I was thinking of getting a laptop so I wouldn't bother setting up this old clunker I'm on now. Since I don't play games on my comp anymore I figured I could store this and just get a cheap laptop to check email, FB and this little blog here. Or I could be a total gadget whore and get an iPad. Keeping cost down would be good and I think I can wait to get something, there's more pressing matters to attend to. Like the giant TV and sound system we're going to get for the loft! (We're not really buy those things, but we will take donations)

So let's keep this move cheap and easy. Hm, there are many things in life that would be preferable that way.

My Job

Thinking about it, I could keep this a blog about everyday life and random stuff, or I could add in what I do for work. The only problem may be the fact that with all the stuff I can write about that relates to my work, I would need a totally separate blog.

Not that I have this all-important job with action packed adventure that everyone will want to tune in for the next episode. I do feel that we physical therapists could definitely come up with some good stories due to the broad range of people and medical issues we come in contact with.

For starters, I think that everyone should work in some sort of retail, wait-staff or with the public in general doing service, at some point in their lives. This way they could all learn what the public is like. Rude, jerky, impatient and obnoxious. Alright, so that doesn't include everyone, but it is sad when you have to point out how nice and polite someone was because they are in the minority. Besides, you take those features of the public and add in pain and/or dysfunction? That is seeing people and their personalities at their best and brightest.

The saying goes in the clinic that the patients that listen to us, and we like, never last long in pt because they get better and leave treatment. Or we just point out that "Hey, he's a really nice guy!" or "She's really cool" - "they won't last long here". Then there are the pts that stay forever, usually nothing you're doing wrong treatment-wise, but you really just can't get rid of them. Those are the one's who are ridiculous, full of it, a pest, or just plain ol' don't get it and want nothing more in life. Now, I'm all for helping people, but sometimes...

The other problem I could potentially run into is that whole HIPPA thing. Yes, I obviously wouldn't be throwing out any pt names, but in describing some of the stories you never know who might be reading and catch on to the implication that it was them... maybe I'm just being paranoid. Then again, I have treated some real doozies. And just think, there's the possibility that if I wrote some of my lame stories about how my patients pants fell off in the gym (which never actually happened) then I might have people making comments about crazier stuff that happened to them in the clinic. Hm. I'm starting to like this idea...

In the end who knows, I may throw a tidbit here and there about something that happened in the clinic, or I may just make some anonymous blog about the exploits of a PT. But if on the slim chance a patient catches on, I'm denying the whole thing. Like the time I had a woman pull up her dress at the end of her eval to show me the bottom part of her sternum because she wondered if it was normal...

True story.

I am a weirdo.

Well holy shmokes, that went by really fast.

So it's been 5-ish months since I last wrote a blog, and wow has a lot of stuff happened since then. In fact, me and the wife had just mentioned recently that in this past 3 years I finished grad school, got my first clinic job, got licensed as a PT, we got married, and had a baby. There are some other things that have happened in there too, some good and some tragic, but those are for another time.

I did go back and read through the few postings I had listed, and ironically I even mentioned that I get on a kick and was getting into the blog thing, and who knew if it would last. And I see that I wrote we had just moved, planned on staying here for a few years even. Haven't even been here a year and we are moving.

Again.

While I am not looking at the move part all that fondly, it is a great move for a great reason. We are going to be renting a house and there are a bunch of positives with that, but the main thing is that we will be right next door to my wife's sister, who watches our daughter during the day - being next to family is the best part.

That's some of the changes going on, but really I wanted to write a blog about how I am kind of (read: am) a weirdo.

Now some of you will read that and go "Yup." and that's cool, this blog is just me knowing who I am and that I've accepted that I am not a usual guy. Yes, we could go on a nice little editorial about how we're all different and special in our own way, but that's not what I'm talking about.

I have talked about this to many people over the years, friends, acquaintances, etc. Mainly the conversation starts out about how I get along better with girls vs guys. Then I mention that I don't have a lot in common with most guys which is why I don't spend much time with them. I don't really watch sports or play (due to a lack of skill), I know nothing about cars or tools, and I'm not a very macho, testosterone driven meat-head. Plenty of testosterone though, I am manly in my own - show-tune singing - flexing muscles - artistic - loving ladies - ballroom dancing way... Hm.

Yeah.

I did have a small group of 3 close guy friends growing up, but over the years it was always just a few guys, and a bunch of girls. In college I had about 6+ girls I sat with at meals, always a bit worried that the people around me thought I was gay. Side note: I did get asked out by a guy once (which it didn't dawn on me that he was looking for a date, when I did realize I politely declined). The girls kind of treated me like one of the girls, always stating something along the lines of "it's just Jamie!" - implying that I was non-threatening and there to hang out, not to find a date. True, just doing my thing, not looking for a date with those friends of mine. Felt more at ease with the girls.

I mean, why do I think I'm a bit different? (Editor's note: I originally wrote a bunch of things that I am known for and which I find unusual. In the end though I left them out because the people that know me well know my little quirks and such). There was a time where I wasn't sure where I fell in the social order, but after a while I realized I got along best with the odd people, so that would make me one of them.

Really I guess the point of all this, if there is one, is that when I meet people I get along with really well; it makes me happy. These could be family, co-workers, patients, wait staff, whatever, it's a quick connect of personalities that you know just works. And heck, I even found someone that wanted to marry me, that really worked out well!

It makes me happy because I think; "ooh, they get me, and are like me, and seem to like me!" Good for the self-esteem, but in the end it's more about my self-realization that there are other oddballs out there like me. There are certain people in my life that I am extra glad when I saw them or talked to them today, so thanks to each of you for making me smile and be happy that I know you because we click well.

If you decided to give this a read through and know me, and get me, then thank you again.

You're a weirdo too.

Baby

Yes, I know I don't have anyone reading this, but I'll write anyway.

So I've been off the blog since June, and that would mostly be due to our daughter being born in mid July. It has been quite the crazy several months and there is little opportunity to sit down with some time to myself.

It is strange, before the baby was born there was a list of things I would like to do, but don't happen for various reasons, sometimes important, sometimes just due to my procrastinatory ways. Now that we have our new 3 month old roommate, we both find that we barely have time to get the basics done like laundry and dishes out of the sink. Not that we were these crazy partiers that went out all the time but it is tough to get things done when the baby is up. Or asleep.

There is some sort of routine that is forming, and we're getting better at taking care of her and realizing what her needs are. So this is a short blog just to make I'm getting back on here and I'm hoping to get on a routine and do some writing, we'll see what she lets me do. She's a sassy baby, and as Wanda Sykes said "They a lotta work. But they worth it."

Timer

We moved into a new apartment last month and it is definitely a nice upgrade from what we had before. Not that the old place was crappy, but, well, a few things were crappy. Still, a great "first place living together". One thing that changed was that we went from a glass-top stove to the electric coil type that I prefer (and heats up like a supernova). This is an apartment stove and there is no timer on it. When I cook, I need to time things so there needed to be a method of timing. Sure, clocks work, but if you forget what time it was you started or get distracted from the culinary task at hand; BAM!

-Fission!-

And that's what the coffee, tacos, pancakes, chicken, etc. will end up as, all because you didn't time it. Way to go.

I am the main cook in the house, so I would rather not serve my wife eggs uneasy, dried out chicken, or charcoal. As noted before, there was no timer on the stove that we are now using and I grabbed a cheap-y digital timer when we were at the grocery store. I guess the fact that I preempted this with 'cheap-y' could be a window of understanding into why it sucks.

We have a simple, digital timer that you can set the hours or minutes. Here, it does what it is supposed to, counts down from the top and beeps incessantly when time is up. The problem is that it gives you warning beeps - 2 beeps that sound the same as the final beeping, many, many, beeps.

It beeps at 10, 8, 5, 3 and then 0. So if I set it for 4 mins, it'll go off after 1 minute. What the hell? I don't need the timer to remind me I set it 1 minute after I turned it on. Really I don't want to hear a peep from it until it hits the end. I figured that even buying a cheap timer I would set a number and it would beep to tell me the time was up, not say, "getting there!", "almost done!", "here it comes!", "home stretch...!", "aaaaaand...!". *beep"K, now you're done!"beep*.

Alright timer, I get it, I didn't forget that I set you up because I was the one who set you up 2 seconds ago. And if I set it for 45" to check the laundry, it goes off around 7 or so times before we hit pay dirt. Yeah, I mean, thanks for the reminder, but I think the timer is an overachiever. I have now thought of getting a new timer that just counts down and beeps, I didn't realize that the market had thinned out for those and you had to shell out extra money for that feature.

The beep is kinda shrill, loud, and relentless. Wait, I think that is good for a timer, or alarm clock. Actually I wake up to the radio because I hate the sound of an alarm. Maybe I should just put a clock radio in the kitchen and set it to start the music when I need to check. Hmm.

Of course the problem that might arise is that a song comes on that I enjoy and the timer is no longer annoying. I would rather not burn my food because I was dancing to Lady Gaga in the kitchen. That, or hit snooze a few times.

Mostly I just tell the timer to shut-up.

-James

2 things came true

If you happened to read my last blog then there are no less than 2 things that came true.

1) That mild rant about parking where you just end up going back to where you should have originally gone and paid the 15 bucks? Totally happened.

2) I said I would try not to get pink. Well, my arms and neck are kinda burnt right now. 1st degree burns, nothing a little aloe with lidocaine can't help out.

We spent the day at the beach in beautiful weather then went back to the house and did some BBQ, and it was just a plain old, simple, nice day with the family.

There, that's it.