Amber & Target Demographic

So, I was just in D.C. overnight for biznusses.  And I stayed at the lovely Quincy hotel, mostly because it was cheap and also right around the corner from where the biznusses were conducted.  (And because my old apartment at the Argonne has probably been rented.)  There were several notable things about the Quincy which I will proceed to note hereforth.

1.  The couch in my room was totally the larger L version of my home couch.  Same fabric, same feet shape, same velcro attachments for the pillows.

Same, same, same-- except less cat fur.  And no sheet covering it to protect it from cats or little decorator pillows or Ginger.

2.  There was a very strange music thing happening, both in that they chose to blast all of the songs from my "HS Memories" playlist in the lobby (see sidebar), but also because, very randomly, there was a Billy Squier album cover on the wall on my floor near the elevator.

True, they never played any Billy Squier in the lobby, but there he was, gazing at me while I waited for the elevator.  This prompted Kevin to say, "This must be a hotel for young people."  And that made me laugh uproariously since that album came out before some of my younger friends were born.

3.  There was a giant mirror against the wall.  (Even bigger than yours, CRD.)  It made me realize that I really need a full length mirror if I am going to avoid making outfit mistakes like that one time I wore the balloon top out in public.  Or, maybe just forgetfully not make outfit choices at all.

4.  In this big mirror, I also noticed that my skirt (seen here with the oddly ruffly sweater, both acquired during my total blogging black out at Outlet Mall Weekend Edition of Awesome Club) matched the orange couch pillows.

Is there such a thing as fate?  Are some matches are meant to be?  E.g.,  My skirt + the couch pillows? Me + The Quincy?  This must be a hotel for me.

 Billy Squier doesn't want me to embed his video as my conclusion, but it's here.  But, we also heard this song in the lobby, and it made me touch my heart in nostalgia and emotion.  And a voice inside my head said, "Don't look back-- you can never look back."



Except at the Quincy.

Amber & Totally, Like Fer Shur

I just rewatched Valley Girl.  I really enjoyed it, mostly because* I remembered how much I had wanted to share a coke with Nicolas Cage and his amazing, amazing hair.  And how pretty Gunne Sax blouses were.

That was 27 years ago.  And this song still makes me, well, melt.



*Full disclosure: I am on muscle relaxants for a frozen shoulder.  And I didn't sleep at all last night. But I am sure that has nothing to do with my film taste.

Amber & Ducks Mate for Life

If nothing else, I am consistent in my adorations.  See for example, pickles.  (Not Pickles.  About him I can be very fickle especially when he puts the fleece wand on my face at 4 am and then sits on my chest and mews.)  This especially true of my crushes, which I hold onto like Eva Marie Saint clinging to Cary Grant and the eyeball on Mt. Everest (thanks to Steve, who knows the difference between Mt. Rushmore and Mt. Everest).

Speaking of Cary Grant, I am incredibly loyal to my actor crushes. Once I love you on-screen, you can do just about anything, take any bad role, grow old, change your hair and guest star on NCIS, and I will continue to love you diegetically, aesthetically, and dreamily.  Only maybe I will blog about you a little less.  Take, for example, Johnny Depp.

Sigh.  If you've known me for any length of time (or ever had tequila with me), it's likely you know the root story of my love for Johnny.  If you haven't been that lucky (or were just Googling "puff coats"):  In 1987, I watched the premiere of 21 Jump Street, and started to sob--not because the show's tackling of trouble youth was especially effecting, but because Johnny was so damn pretty.  And, I knew I could never have him.  Ah, desire. First it's red, and then it's blue. And everytime I see an iceberg, Johnny, it reminds me of you.

I've seen everything Johnny has made, even Sweeney Todd, even though "seen" there really means squinted at out of one corner of my eye while the window on my laptop was only about two inches wide.  (I don't like scary movies.)  You can make that third lousy pirate film, Johnny, and I will go see it--in the theater!  And I will like it because you are pretty in a white flouncy shirt with bad teeth.  So take that.

The latest test of my love is the Alice in Wonderland posters in the subway.

Now, I love Alice in Wonderland.  (It even inspired my first born laptop name.)  And I love fake eyelashes. And I totally am all about dyed red hair, and hats, and tea, and madness.  But that poster just scares me!  And, I don't think it's a coincidence that I dreamt that I had a weird gap between my teeth last night.  I even tried to avoid the poster by taking a different entrance to the A after Awesome Club, but then I had to sit across from one on the train for 161 blocks!

But, Johnny, I will go see your latest endeavor in the theater, even if it proves to be your scariest role yet.  Because, Johnny, I would pay to watch you breathe.  And my love is nothing if not eternal and hopeless.

Amber & Artifacts (Found)

On Boxing Day, my parents gave me the last surviving box of my youth.  It was an odd mix of things that were leftover after two moves and a giant yard sale.  Some of the stuff was surprising, both because it had survived and because I had forgotten it had ever existed.

Like my prom glass.

I mean, who has a prom glass?  And, how on earth did something so fragile manage to be one of the last remaining traces of my youth?  And, most importantly, where am I going to keep it?

Amber & Laps Swum

I went swimming this morning before work. I swam laps in the medium-speed lane and also did stretching in the family lane. I like taking the water aerobics class, but it doesn't always fit into my schedule and sometimes it can be a little intense. When I get wiped out before the class ends, lest I pass out and drown, I just sort of float away from the other blue-haired ladies and make my own swim.

It's a little know fact that I was a lifeguard after high school. I worked at the New Britain public pools. I really enjoyed it, except when I had to work the kiddie pool which was always overflowing with toddlers. My lifeguarding experience was totally like you see on TV, only with less beach, more people of color, and less David Hasselhoff.

Oh, and we wore brighter orange suits.

Amber & Celebrities I Know

Kevin and Diana are film stars! They both appear in "What's On Your Plate?" which is a documentary about two girls trying to figure out what foods are good for them while exploring their eating options in New York.

Diana does a classic silent film star appearance picking up her farm share at the Stanton Street CSA, but Kevin actually gets interviewed! Here is a clip from the film where Kevin is talking about what a CSA actually is. And then Farmer Ted's truck rolls in.




I haven't seen the film, but Kevin did and thought he did well enough to allow me to take the fact of his being in the movie "on the record."

Kevin and Diana know so much about food. This week, I am super proud of my friends.

Amber & Emotional Journeys

This gave me and the person I was with chills when we saw it in the context of its program, Glee.




And it started my current 1980's song obsession.