The Reality of Glee.

Glee. What a smart fresh new show.

Something that celebrates talent of young people instead of their consecutive idiotic decisions, harming both their liver and increasing their chances for melanoma. At least they have clean laundry. Yes, I’m not-so-subtly waving my finger at you Guidos and Guidettes of the ‘Jersey Shore.’

I know there are a lot of good shows out there too; I’ve seen my fair share:

Meet the family of 2010.

B. Stinson showing his friends and all of us how to be AWESOME.

'Deal breaker' if you don't watch this.

This just makes me tingle with joy. That's what she said.

I also know there are more than a few not so great shows out there, and I admit, I’ve seen my share of those. And watched more than just one episode. I understand the whole appeal to these subpar TV listings that pollute our Comcast guides. It’s the whole ‘train wreck’ phenomenon where we cry, “I just can’t look away!" Weird thing about this is that you can. It’s called the power button and with a slight lift followed by descent of your thumb, it can all fade to black. Or to Glee.

So why tune into Fox at 9pm every Tuesday?

Glee takes us back to the harsh walls of the four year institution known as high school, or better known to some as hell. The time where you were judged for the superficiality of things such as the clothes you wore because that’s what your parents could afford (Mervyn's survivor here-upgraded to Old Navy in high school) to the location of your locker.

The kids of Glee find themselves facing these same challenges, and some worse (I don't know about you but I never took a slushie to the face), but confront them with the majestic sound of song. We've taken song to the stage to tell stories and to the big screen...and finally to our flat screens. And why not?

Through a diddy, can't we find ourselves back at the scene of our first kiss, best night of our lives or the moment we fell in love for the first time? Then appropriate follow-up songs for when that person we thought we loved betrayed us? Sidenote: REM-'Everybody Hurts' is one of my favorite sulking songs. Feel free to use it. And, I don't think I'm alone on this, sometimes don't we wish it would be appropriate to break into song at the most inopportune of moments? Sometimes we are without words (even me) so we must borrow from the best.

Glee reminds us what it's like to have dreams that never seemed impossible thanks to Rachel Barry. We all knew "that girl" in high school and we probably hated them...probably because we were envious of that talent and the self-confidence that came with that talent...we wondered where does that come from? I have trouble finding it now. Our Rachel Barry went on to become Miss America, point made.

Summed Up: A collection of misfits finding their purpose through musical verses. And it sounds amazing. (Okay..that was cheesy)

And thanks to the latest episode with the fantastic vocal assistance of my beloved Neil Patrick Harris, I will continue to Dream On.

Strangers.

I was comfy cozy on my couch watching my Tuesday night line-up when a loud crash interrupted the oh-so-intense dialogue of "90210." Annie was upset; she had just caught her parents fighting. How will she ever get through this disaster?

I didn't really move as sometimes I dilute my perceptions and don't think it's a big deal until someone else acknowledges that something has occurred, when A-town yelled from the other room. Oh, I guess she heard it to, maybe we should investigate?? Pause on Annie's face of turmoil.

We both rushed out onto our deck to investigate the cause of the sound. It had been raining, (surprise surprise Oregon) and dusk had fallen. Beautiful trees surround our abode so it was difficult to see through those, the darkness and the wetness to see what had occurred. We saw a car had pulled over to the barely there shoulder; only one car. Hmmmm. Our attention diverted from said car when we heard another loud noise come from another car about 100 yards behind the initial one. Something metal was now in the road and drivers were unable to see it due to the aforementioned conditions. On a main highway of commuters this could be cause for disaster.

I got on the phone to share this information so someone could come and take care of this as the last thing we'd care to witness that night is a car crash in front of our condo. Mission: Save Lives. During my phone call, Adelle and I stayed on our deck to watch the car that had pulled over. Finally, the driver attempted to move his car and a sound accompanied this effort that can only be compared to screeching nails-on-the-chalkboard as he was clearly driving on the rim of his wheel.

"Should I go down there?" Adelle asked as I was on hold with the authorities.

"Yeah, I think so."

In the meantime, a man who was walking his dog had seen the commotion we had heard minutes before. He had hurried back to his house to put the dog away, jumped in his car, and drove over to our condo where the wrecked car had moved to. His name was Jim.

Adelle met Jim in the parking lot who had already offered his cell phone and assistance to the elderly gentleman, Dick, who was behind the wheel. Dick claimed that the median had 'jumped up in front of me.' In Dick's defense, the median is hard to see when you are unfamiliar with the road and when it is dark out, but we came to find that Dick was born in 1914 as well. So a lot of things are hard to see when you were born two years after the Titanic sunk. He probably knew Rose Dawson...if only informally.

I joined Jim, Adelle and Dick after making sure someone was coming out to remove the hazard from the highway. The cops came and went and handed Jim what we now found out to be the hubcap to Dick's car. Dick seemed pretty together, he was a bit shaken up at first, but began to partake in our awkward discussion. Here we were: Two 25 year old women, a 65 year old man and a 96 year old man. We don't too often witness a crowd like this hanging out in their spare time. But there was something special about it.

Being that AAA likes to take their sweet time, we had about an hour and a half of time to waste in the parking lot while we waited with Dick and found out a lot about him. He was a vet of WWII in the Navy, a 1936 graduate of U Dub, he'd been married 71 years to his wife whom he'd had 4 girls with and they'd traveled the world together. They lived in Greece for 3 years which immediately connected us. Imagine that, a 96 year old caucasian man and I have something in common.

Toward the end of our conversation, I thought about how I was missing 'Glee' (in REAL time...it was being DVR'd) and wondered why the universe found it necessary for our paths to cross that night. I'm still not really sure why, but there is something to say for the beauty in meeting strangers. If I'd just seen Dick on the street, there is a slim chance that I'd stop and carry on a conversation with this elderly man.

Before we parted, Dick trembled as he put his hand in his pocket in search of a piece of paper.

"Can I get both of your girls' addresses so I can formally thank you?"

Adelle reluctantly took the paper as this wasn't necessary, but what a kind and traditional gesture this man had made. One which we tend to forget.

The beauty in a thank you.

The beauty in helping out a complete stranger.

"There are no strangers here. Only friends who haven't met yet." -Irish proverb spotted in a bar in Philadelphia.

It was a pleasure to meet you, Dick.

Phantastic Times in Philly

We all know that I travel. A lot. This year I have made my travel theme, if you will, new adventures to lands I have yet to discover...

So far in 2010:

• Park City, UT for Sundance in January

-Amazing Films

-Fantastic Traveling Companion; Miss Sarah Shintaku

-Met new and wonderful friends

-Saw my crush Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Adrian Grenier

-Surrounded by art in the making and final stages.

Dare to Tell your story.

• Philly, PA for reunion in April

-Quality time with my Beaver Bud Allison

-Much needed visit from my Megan Bostonian

-Historical & Pop Culture tour of the land

-Oh and of course, playing on random game pieces

On the calendar:

• TBD – May
• Cabo San Lucas – June (I spent about 8 hours here on a cruise before, that’s it)
• Dallas & Austin, Texas – September

Repeat Awesomefenders:

• Seattle, WA - Girls trip!
• Newport, OR -Seafood & Wine Fest

Enough Reminiscing of times had, let's look at the current adventure.

I went to Philly to visit one of my ole pals from OSU, Allison, and meet Megan, an old pal from Greece (she’s not Greek, we were roomies there) as well who drove down to Boston in a terrible 7+ drive to meet me in the City of Brotherly Love.

Day 1/Night 1:

Took my first red-eye ever, leaving PDX at 11pm PST arriving in DTW at 6:15EST and then arriving at my final destination at 9am EST. I thought I would be exhausted and in desperate need of a nap as I was engrossed in ‘Game Change’ and maybe slept 3 whole hours. Turns out, adrenaline conquers drowsiness and after I dropped my bags off with Allison at school (she had to finish class for the day), I headed out into Philly solo-without a map and a Droid with a low-battery. Dad, if you’re reading this, you needn’t worry, as you can see, I got back in one piece.

I knew I’d be seeing the sites with Megan and Allison, so I decided to stalk out the set of ‘Dark Fields’ starring Robert DeNiro and the delicous Bradley Cooper. All I was presented with were sets and a very cleverly labeled on-set bathroom which were titled ‘Desi’ and ‘Lucy.’ On my way to the set however, I was greeted by the infamous LOVE sculpture smack dab in JFK park. What a feeling. To be walking along in search of something else, thinking you might have a clue where you’re going, then just like that...

Love sneaks up on you.

After some aimless wandering, I found my way back to Allison’s school to meet her to drop off some stuff at her place and then to find my cheesesteak. Al lives in Center City, a fab locale. Her place, as most others, is built in this row house fashion where there are 4 moderately sized floors, one essentially for each roommate (not including the basement-that’d be 5) that are connected my micro-spiral-step staircases. Of course, she was on the top floor. Good thing I packed lightly or I would’ve been commuting to my luggage on the main floor. Not that a commute is anything new to this one.

Mission Cheesesteak: Allison took me to the infamous street where two rival cheesesteak joints call home. We opted for Pat’s because the menu was a bit more expansive. I know, what really is there to expand on in a cheesesteak? Trust me, there was a difference.

It was greasy. Flavorful. But just okay. I felt kind of like the first time I had a voodoo donut that everyone had raved about in Portland. Kind of the, that’s it? A bit anti-climatic, but necessary nonetheless to consume. My appetite has been filled and for the sake of my arteries and desire to live a long beautiful life filled with adventures to strange lands, I think I’ll lay off the greasesteaks. I mean cheese.

We then took a stroll through history. Found that bell that’s on all of my ‘Forever’ stamps. Stood in the courtyard where our independence was declared. Visited our home girl B. Ross’ house where she first sewed up our flag and she apparently resided with her cats, as there were 2 cat statues, I kid you not, in her courtyard. Al and I are also convinced that she is buried with a flag that contains a map to a very important national treasure. Thank you Nic Cage for making us paranoid about every important document or artifact of our nation’s history.

After making a good first-day tour, we sat down to chat in Old City at a pub over some adult beverages, good conversation and yes, spotted an Oregon license plate (my homeland), an Alaskan license plate (Allison’s native land), and California plates (where Allison recently resided). After we scoped out some cheap grub in Center City we went home to call it a day.

Day 2:

Allison had class and Megan wouldn’t be arriving til that evening, so I took this opportunity to have some QT with Philly. I started off with a cheap breakfast at a diner while watching high school aged kids take their sweet time eating at 10:00am on a Friday. Either they were skipping (our idea of Cruisers, CHSers? What? We never skipped..well, not for breakfast…) or it was probably one of the many inservice days that our public school system observes. Preventing children from learning and honoring budget cuts, one inservice day at a time.

I thought I’d get lost in a completely new direction today and pleasantly found myself on the Avenue of The Arts where the amazing Kimmel Center is located. In addition to this grand architectural feat, I found quirky tinier theaters, music shops and beautiful buildings. I stopped into a café called, ‘More than just Ice-Cream’ to read and eat a float, and oh yes, stalk out set #2 of ‘Dark Fields.’ Again, during my mission to find this, something else came my way. Possibly one of the most entertaining conversations I’ve ever eavesdropped on. Two 50 something gay men were sitting very closely behind me, discussing everything from their disdain of having a movie filming there and blocking off ‘all the f’ing streets’ to their theories of Oprah’s sexuality.

Man 1: She’s obviously a lesbian.

Man 2: Obviously.

Man 1: That’s why she’s quitting her show. When she does, she’ll come out.

Man 2: And her “best friend” Gayle? Definitely her lover. Poor Steadman is just along for the ride. He likes p______. But, so does Oprah.

If this ever were to happen, which is highly unlikely, I tip my hat to you, incredibly loud-opinionated seat neighbors at ‘More than just Ice-Cream.’ Your store name doesn’t lie. What a conversational treat.

When I finally left to do some window shopping, buy some souve’s and what not, I found myself craving a little libation. I walked into the first bar I saw, plopped down and started reading. A loud voice from behind me with so much character it could not be ignored, startled me when he excused my sneeze. At this point, I looked up to find myself in a bar full of men. Hmmm…I thought, interesting. Women don’t enjoy an after work drink? Nope, not at this bar Teela. This bar in particular is where men come to meet, well, other men. I finished my drink, watched a little Oprah (funny enough playing in the bar), and hit the road.

Later that night, Megan was still en route and I grabbed happy hour drinks with Allison and her boyfriend AJ at a bar in Old City.

By the time Megan finally made it through the treacherous road conditions (there was a rainstorm) and hellish traffic, Happy Hour was over. After our dramatic reunion, we got some more food and went to our hotel where we entertained ourselves with made-up list games in pure Megan-Teela fashion.

Day 3:

Today was Megan’s day to soak in as much of the love as she could. Being that I had wandered the streets and have come to have a great sense of direction, I suggested that I take her on a tour to the cool things I’d seen and to the other places I was waiting for her to explore. We walked oh, about 10 miles. The Art Museum, where Rocky was filmed on those infamous steps, looked a lot closer than it really was. Which was just fine as we had a lot of time to catch up in between.

In addition to the sites Al and I went to, we went to LOVE park again, City Hall, Art Museum, The 1^st Bank in the US, 1^st “free library” in Philly, US Mint, and the Constitution Center.

After a day of playing the tourist role, we decided to delve into the local scene. We feasted on an Uh-May-Zing Mediterranean meal then hit the night scene. This was a pure source for entertainment in both positive and negative ways.

Positive:

Free drinks from a guy who simply wanted to buy us drinks. No conversation necessary. Score.

The DJ had a similar obsession to Jay-Z as this one. “Onto the Next One…”

Guys in Philly like to actually dance and CAN dance. There were no attempts at abrasive grinding. How refreshing.

Negative:

A guy pretended to be drunk in order to slump over the chairs that were housing our purses. When they moved, he moved with it. When he saw we weren’t wasted broads, he moved onto the next one, in true Young Hova fashion.

Megan’s toenail got ripped off by a big foot.

Day 4:

The only thing that really justifies the last day in Philly is described best by one of the last conversations I had. A lady sat down next to me in the subway while I was waiting for the train that wouldn’t be coming (apparently, the train doesn’t run to the airport on the weekends-Yes Philly, that makes perfect sense).

Geographically ignorant woman: Where are you from?

Me: Oregon.

Geographically ignorant woman: Ohh..where is that?

Me: West coast. Above California.

Geographically ignorant woman: ::Looking up into space, as if thinking. Trickster:: Is the climate there similar to Jamaica?

Me: ::SMH:: No, unfortunately not. (Last time I was in Jamaica it did rain though).

I placed by earphones back in their ears.

I got a good dose of Philly in my long weekend trip that I spent out there. Just like every place I go, I appreciated the people (good and bad-someone DID tell me to shut the hell up, unprovoked), the story of the land, the food (Mediterranean deliciousness, Cheesesteak meehh), and of course, the awesome and irreplaceable company of my wonderful friends who took time out of their lives to meet in the city of brotherly love.

For the sake of keeping this entry positive, I will not discuss the children who took residence in Row 26 Seats B&C who made my life hell for 4 hours and 15 minutes, and not a minute less. I'll save that for a future post. Had I been a therapist, their father would’ve received a nice pamphlet on ‘Parenting’ from me.

I hear it's all you need.

Just a teaser of what is to come.

Philly trip 4.14.10-4.18.10

XoXo

Healthcare Part Deux: Republicans taking a siesta?

Okay, the name calling and interruptions were enough. But this….

This is outrageous.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/gop-senators-refusing-to_n_511639.html

Republicans: You knew taking this job that you win some, you lose some. It is the very nature of your job. Was the whole election thing not an indication about what you were getting into? You know, the whole campaigning, persuading and voting thing…that gave you no "hint" of how your actual job in the public office would operate? If that wasn’t enough, it had to be in the job description somewhere. Oh wait, maybe you didn’t read the job description. I know Sarah Palin didn’t.

Fact: You win some, you lose some. And when you lose, you do not adopt the demeanor of a two year old by metaphorically crossing your arms, walking away, and refusing to listen. Grow up.

I would hope that being adults, you could lose graciously and still do the job that the people have elected you to do and moreso are paying for you to do. I'm pretty certain the dems did this when we entered an unjust war.

People usually walk out of jobs when they aren’t getting the benefits they deem as fair (or none at all), are underpaid, and when they are suffering from ill treatment in the workplace. Humor me, which category does your current trial fall under? As we have already seen, you tend to sue. Fine, go with that one This is the action you are taking within the scope of your job to express your disagreement. But don’t take a siesta on our watch when we have troops counting on you to pass important legislature/laws that will affect them in a war you voted for them to be in. That is inhumane, immature, irrational, and un-American.

PS- I know a lot of people who are unemployed that would probably love to do your job if you don’t plan on being there. So if you really don’t want to be there, give up your seat so someone who is doing the job can receive a paycheck that we are signing.

Healthcare 'scoreboard'

Fox News' latest opinion piece is titled "Obama to America: I win, you lose." Can someone please explain this to me? How does Healthcare reform amount to an 'Obama: 1 America: 0' scoreboard?

Spoiler Alert to Fox News: Obama has health care. I would go out on a limb here and say that Obama has the best healthcare in America. Hell, Obama's dog Bo probably has better health care than the majority of Americans as I'm sure he is able to have regular check ups; A luxury- most don't get to see the fruits of the inside of a doctor's office, let alone a vet's office. Obama is pretty much set. If anything, this healthcare reform is the opposite of selfishness as he is trying to spread the stethoscope love to make sure we have healthy hearts beating in your chests. How dare he.

On 'The View' this morning, Elisabeth Hasselbeck stated that this is not the will of the majority of the people. Really, because I'm pretty sure that the majority of the people that don't have healthcare and even those that do, try to avoid the doctor like the plague, because of the fear of extreme co-pays for a simple check-up and prescriptions. Problem is, while avoiding the office, they might get the plague (Note: Not the ACTUAL Bubonic plague, I'm being metaphorical for all illnesses, stay with me). What do you think is cheaper Elisabeth, treating a disease after it is in advanced stages or treating it early? Or wait, secret door #3 offers preventing preventative illness altogether by seeing the doctor on a regular basis and staying on top of your health. Yes, I know, in a perfect world, right? I'm pretty sure the best thing that happened on this chat fest was the following:

Elisabeth: Anything that is mandated is a problem.

Whoopi: It's just like any other insurance Elisabeth. Are you upset that you have to have insurance for your car?

Whoopi: 1 Elisabeth: 0

And also, I'm pretty sure the majority (let's revisit: 219-212) voted for this. But not one Republican. When Americans are able to take themselves and their children to the doctor's office and they're reading their 'Highlights' magazine in the waiting room, I hope they remember that not one Republican wanted them to have the right to sit in that seat and read that 'Highlights' magazine at the doctor's office. Well, unless you were just with your 'rich' friend tagging along on their doctor's appointment, because that's how it should be. Duh.

The goal of having healthcare reform is so we can focus on being preventative instead of reactive. It is so much cheaper to fix an ill in our bodies when caught early on rather than in its advanced stages. It's also much less emotional and financial stress when you aren't going through the turmoil of stage 4 cancer than if detected at stage 1. We find ourselves saying "if only we'd known sooner" and "early detection is best" but here we are arguing against something that will help us with this. WTF Republicans?

Can someone please explain this to me??

In conjunction with healthcare reform, people will be educated by being able to go visit a physician. A lot of people eat unhealthy because they don't know the longterm ramifications of saturated fats in their daily diets. They shovel this food in their mouths as well as their childrens and this habit becomes a lifestyle. 75% of people are overweight in this country, are we really not seeing any type of relationship between this and the amount of people who are uninsured?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this healthcare reform will magically change the way all people think, eat, live, exercise, etc. But I'm saying that it will give people the opportunity that they may not have to live better. And isn't that what this great land is all about?

"This was a vote of common sense." -Obama.

Now this is what I would call Obama: 1 GOP: 0

Census need a Censor?

Let's look at the facts.

I'm 25; born in 1984 so I'll be 26 in June.

I'm African-American.

I'm Female.

I have an advanced degree. Or 2.

When I caught the stinky wind that the 2010...let me say that again...2010 census still had the word 'Negro' on it, I was a bit taken aback. We just turned our clocks the other day for daylight savings, but did I miss the memo to swap out my calendar for a 1960's one as well?

For a young, Black woman, I take this word as an offensive term, which was used from slavery to the 1960's in order to give superiority to another race. Language is so powerful. The way we phrase things, the jargon we use, carries with it so much strength. And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Peter Parker's uncle tell us that 'with great power comes great responsibility?' Sorry, I digress...I just love 'Spiderman.'

I believe it is the responsibility of the government to use phrases and words that reflect its current time and the progression that our country has made. I understand that there are people still alive that grew up in the tumultuous time that this word was used, but they were also alive when we gained equal rights. With equality comes respect, and I don't think this word exemplifies that in the slightest; its origination was for the entirely opposite purpose. I wonder if people that identify with the term would feel differently if someone of another race referred to them as such or if it's more of an in group term only to be used with others that they consider like them? Let's take it to another level. If a news anchor referred to our president as a 'Negro' instead of 'African-American' or 'Black' would this be considered offensive?

So call me naive if you want since I am a young African-American that was so lucky to not be apart of this struggle of Civil Rights, so therefore I might not completely understand the use of the word except for what I read about and my first-hand accounts with older African-Americans (like both of my living Grandmothers that grew up in the South at this time). However, I highly doubt that an African-American would refuse to select a box on the census that just had "Black" and "African-American" next to it as these are the terms we use now.

Times...they are changin.

Our language should reflect this.