Friday, May 28, 2010

i love...

the MJCC. a lot. and i'm trying REALLY HARD to justify the $62/mo it is for me to go there when it's only $34/mo at the 24 hour fitness for all clubs. besides having a big, clean, happy pool with an early morning master swim that i can drop in on anytime, they have:

- hair dryers in the locker room
- towel service
- toiletries that you may have forgotten are provided
- a suit spinner
- saunas, steam rooms and spas IN EACH LOCKER ROOM
- a separate 'warm water' pool for aqua aerobics (so you don't have people walking up and down your lane when you're trying to swim). oh, and they have WATER YOGA?? i have to try that one.
- drop-in martial arts classes
- BATTING CAGES: what?!?! oh yes, batting cages.

everyone there is super duper nice and it's not a meat market (well, it's a kosher meat market *grin*) with girls with the fake boobalas wearing a thick patina of makeup to work out (i never understood that) and it's just a really chill environment.

i'm pretty sure that the batting cages are going to be what tips the scales in the MJCC's favor.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

things i miss

bed. you know, a mattress with boxsprings.
down comforters
more than one l pillow
bath tub
private toilet
gas money
comfy couches
stove
hot meals
refrigerator
face scrub
"real" face moisturizer
books
cds
my ipod
multiple pairs of pants
variety in clothing and shoes
netflix
TCM

there's more, i'm sure, but i can't think of them right now. and please note: people aren't things. *grin*

Thursday, May 13, 2010

realization

i know what it is about josh ritter's new album that i'm lukewarm about: josh ritter made a paul simon record. it's cool yo, nothing wrong with a little paul simon, i like him as much as the next guy. but josh ritter is better than making someone else's album. that's all i'm saying.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

dear josh ritter:

i'm listening to your new album. i'm not sure how to feel about it. it's pretty mellow compared to the last one and i'm curious to see how you bring the upbeaty-ness to a live show.

while i INSTANTLY fell in love with the historical conquests... - i don't think i can adequately stress how instantly i fell for this album - this one is going to take some time i think. it's ok though, the animal years took a few listens at the right time to really grow on me and now i LOVE it.

maybe it's that the only other music i've listened to in the past 3 weeks is one ep - 8 songs - of pure rock pop awesomeness (here's my shout out to wirepony's right hook of love) and was looking forward to something more rhythm section driven and obvious like historical conquests.... this is sounding really... swirly and perhaps a touch over-produced? i don't know - something about it just isn't hitting me the right way. i think i wanted something i could jump up and bounce around to - a song or two at minimum - but i haven't found that yet upon my initial two listens. i WANT to love this instantly, i really really do. i'm so excited about it. but it's not there yet. i guess i'm lukewarm.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

oregonian shameful pleasure

here it is:



the QFC. hello throwback from the seattle days!

you might say to yourself, "gee shannon, it's just a grocery store, why is it so shameful that you shop there?" my answer to that is as follows: "i don't know, maybe you can ask all these portlanders are all up on sustainability and healthy eating and healthy living but they ALL smoke. i bet they'll have an awesome answer for you!"
i'm not sure if it's hipster angst or snobbery or the beards or what, but it is totally uncool to shop at the QFC. this is evidenced by the fact that there is NEVER anyone in that store when i go in, and i've been in every hour of the day. and when QFC is mentioned, i feel like there is someone who overheard it 14 feet away that spit at the mention of the name of that store.

why do i love the QFC?
1. coconut water for ONE DOLLAR. WHAT?!
being a hot yoga-ing fool, i like the coconut water because it gets me through the class at the new torture chamber that has RADIANT HEATING IN THE FLOORS. it's not enough that it vacillates between 105 and 109 degrees in the room throughout the class, but they had to go and put heating in the floor, my one salvation. A-HOLES. the coconut water keeps me hydrated in electrolytes enough to make it through the class. anyhoo, coconut water anywhere else is $2 for the smaller portions, up to $2.39 for the "normal" sizes and to $8 for the humongo ones. $1 is a deal that i don't think i'll ever be able to beat.
2. rice dream horchata for $1.99
yes, they have my rice dream horchata - aka: liquid crack - here. everywhere else it ranges from $3.29 to $4 for the box. here, my addiction is fueled for a mere $1.99.
3. i got a weeks worth of food including said coconut water, horchata, tons of yogurt, 3 packages of healthy-ish english muffins, peanut butter and more for $23. that's right bitches. TWENTY-THREE DOLLARS.
4. it's never crowded - see reasons mentioned above.
5. it's open 24 hours.

while QFC will not be my main store of choice once i plant baby roots here and start getting around to the trader joes and the new seasons and the fred meyer (even though the fred meyer is just one step away from being the dreaded QFC - they ARE owned by the same company) and all the different co-ops here and the farmers' markets, i will always have a special place in my heart for it and the secretly corporately low prices they give me on my otherwise, admittedly, over-priced purchases.

i love you QFC. i do.