It's Been a Long, Long Time

Well, hello! I’ve missed you.

Here are some things I’ve been up to since we last spoke:

Cheering Levi Leiphemer of the Discovery Channel Team on to victory in the Tour de France. He’s currently in fourth place, but I hope this Billings, Montana native can work it out over the next few days. You should watch the fabulously weird, charming animated movie The Triplets of Belleville for a look at the love the French have for their annual Tour. (The soundtrack to that film is tres magnifique, too).

Watched La Vie en Rose and am now totally intrigued by Edith Piaf and her crazy life.

Commissioned a feasibility study to gage public interest in beginning a Michael Vick’s Gotta Go campaign. Creep.

Got my hair cut really, really….really short.

Busting hump at work putting together the education and outreach plan to accompany Ken Burns upcoming multi-part series, The War. Watch this documentary beginning on September 23 my friends, it will be amazing. And find your local public television’s web site – I bet they will be hosting a World War II story collection site for your community and you should submit the war stories from your family. They will live on in a permanent archive.

Became utterly obsessed with Bear Grylls and Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel. Watched an entire marathon on a Sunday. That’s a huge emotional commitment, you know? The news broke that he was a bit of a fraud on Tuesday. I continue to mope. Shame on you, Bear. You led us to believe that we, too, could hack our way out of the Sierra Madres or the Amazon rain forest or the Sahara desert with a positive attitude, a flint, and the occaissional grub worm or raw fish for dinner. When really you meant that we needed room service and a good massage after a dip in the hot tub.

Started a diet that involves my doctor’s supervision and prescription-strength diet pills. Because I need another addiction.

Discovered that I love smoked salmon.

Found some of the ugliest Birkenstock-esque shoes that you have ever seen and actually put them on, only to discover that they are the most comfortable shoes in the universe and have cured my always-achy high-arched feet. And by “found” I mean my mom handed them to me and forced me, against my will, to try them on and admit that they were the solution to my problem, but only after she had to listen to me moan about how hideous they looked and how much I hated the store we were in. When I wear these shoes, I can actually feel my leg hair growing faster and I have no desire to shave. But man oh man, do my feet ever feel good.