Refurry

After writing about my mp3 player-less state a couple of posts ago, I decided to treat myself and bought an iPod nano (2nd generation). It only cost about $80 because it was refurbished! What a wonderful idea it was to refurbish old models and sell them for cheaper! And with warranties and everything!

So after I ordered it, Jube teased me for awhile. You see, Jube has some kind of resentment for Apple... He says it's because everyone thinks they are SO COOL but really it's just overpriced and we should all buy the "normal" stuff because it's better. But when my refurbished iPod came in the mail, he realized that this made it affordable.

Of course, it hasn't softened him toward Apple.

But it has made him scour the internet for refurbished deals. I've had to deal with him saying, "One of these days we'll get one of those flatscreen TVs so I can play video games on it." But he knows we can't afford one right now. The problem is, now I'm hearing things like, "We can get this Philips TV for only $300! Isn't that a great deal?"

Oh well. At least the new Radiohead album is pretty rad on my new iPod!

Aw Man!

I can't believe it's been more than 2 weeks since I last posted! I am becoming a bad bad blogger! I've got all the same excuses: I've been busy, nothing has been going on, etc etc, but of course I have some stories. Here's tonight's:

Jube has been super nice lately. Today, while I was checking out some stuff on the internet, Jube gave me a nice back massage and gave me a little cuddle. And then he said, "You know I must really love you, right?"

"I guess so," I said, jokingly.

"No really, look! See that?" he said, pointing at my MagLite, Sleek*.


"Yeah," I said.

"Well, I use that in the morning instead of the light so I won't wake you up when it's dark outside!"

"Gosh, that's really nice!"

"Yeah, and yesterday, I went all the way down to the car when I realized that I hadn't reset the alarm for you. And I came all the way back up so you could make it to work."

I really have a nice husband, it's true!

*My brother JW and I used to go camping every summer with my dad. We had bought this humongous MagLite that used about 6 D batteries. It was named Big Ben. Then one year we lost Big Ben, probably at MidOhio. The following summer Dad bought us both our very own normal-sized MagLites that we promptly named. Sadly I forget what JW named his, but mine was named Sleek. And then at my wedding Dad gave it back to me. We also bought an even bigger MagLite that we named (of course) Bigger Ben. Now Jube just thinks it's funny that I have one of those flashlights they use on Cops...

Done anything fun lately?

Well, not really! One of my coworkers is sick right now and so I've taken over all of her duties. Good for my resume, bad for my blog! Besides work, lately I have:

-Gotten a haircut! Yes, my hair is newly styled. I like it a lot. I have to admit that I'm still having the urge to cut it all off to where it was a year ago when Belle-maman cut it for my wedding...
-Eaten sashimi and sake. We tried a new restaurant--Domo in downtown Norfolk. It was really good and we ended up eating tons of food.
-Finally read the last Harry Potter book. Better than I expected.
-Helped Jube pick out some new suits.
-Bought this really neat lamp/aroma-spreading-thingy at Disabled Army Veterans Thrift Store.

What I haven't done... well... let me start at the beginning. I really like Radiohead. I have since high school, but I was too embarrassed to tell my friend Robyn. That's kind of weird, because she's the one who first played me a Radiohead song or showed me one of their albums. But basically I was too embarrassed to tell her that I really liked the same band she did. And I still haven't told her. So, hey Robyn! I like Radiohead! I actually went to see them in London in 2003! And it was awesome!

And I haven't yet bought their new album. My dilemma is this: they have made it available online--a download--but they make you pick the price. That's right, the consumer decides how much to pay. And every time I go to the webpage to buy it (I've been there at least 3 times), I get choked up on how much I should pay. Should I support my favorite band and pay more than I would if I were buying a normal CD at the store? Should I go for the wimpy way out and pay exactly the same as another CD? Or should I go with my base miserly instincts and pay nothing?

Plus I don't have an mp3 player, so it makes for a very tough decision...

Summers in Mende

Jube and I were talking about French songs the other day. I have to admit that I enjoy quite a bit of French popular music, mostly on the pop-rock continuum. I really like Anais and Emilie Simon (she's from Montpellier, you know!), plus some other groups. One of my first posts was about Francis Cabrel singing Cat Stevens. That was the first day I heard him sing, and I think I forgot about him for two years. Then Jube, talking about popular French personalities with Southern (French) accents, pulled up his song L'Encre de tes yeux. Wow! I'm not sure if I was feeling sad that day or what, but the song really touched me. It brought tears to my eyes (seriously--and also kind of embarrassingly).

Jube told me how funny it seemed that I was just hearing the song for the first time. "It reminds me of summers in Mende spent at my aunt's house. I was young..." he broke off, reminiscing. Then, as Francis sang "quand meme" in the song, he turned to me, excited, saying, "Hear his Southern accent?" It reminded me of how he played me a song when we first started dating, a song whose singer lingered over the word moquette to show that he was really from the South. Today I can hear the difference, but at the time I heard nothing.

Anyway, whether you can hear a southern French accent or not, here is the song:

Uhh..

Today while browsing an online newspaper, I saw the following headline:

Chirac opens among cheers and protests

What is this? What is Chirac doing in the news? Who was cheering? Who was protesting? What the heck was he opening? The one-line summary was obscure as well, something about fetuses and boos. I clicked on the link. I then realized that I had misread the title. Instead of Chirac, it was "Clinic opens among cheers and protests". It makes more sense, except... am I really that obsessed with France? I didn't use to think so...