i had the strangest experience while driving to dixon after work yesterday.  i had andrew bird cranked up on the stereo and was chugging along, singing my head off, when all of the sudden, i was smacked upside the head with a memory from my childhood.  no warning.  it just kinda interrupted what i was doing and insisted that i pay attention to it.  the memory was of my grandparents taking my brother and i strawberry-picking, and what was even stranger was that while i watched the movie playing in my head, i was subdued by the seemingly substantive smell of strawberries.  it was so strong, you would have sworn there was a patch somewhere near by.

so it should come as no surprise that i now have the desire to go and pick strawberries.  i want to get down in the dirt between endless rows of plants, their stems bowing under the weight of their ruby prize.  i want to pluck and eat the fruit at its freshest and feel like i'm getting away with something.  i want to see my hands stained red.

mmm ... so gooood. 

i applied for an administrative assistant position here recently, and over the weekend, got a letter back from them saying that my resume was in their applicant pool and that i'd be notified if i was chosen as a finalist.  fingers crossed!  if nothing comes of it, well ... i've applied at a few other places, too.

on an entirely different note, i've decided to start growing my hair out again.  now, this isn't because i'm unhappy with my short hair, or anything like that.  far from it.  in fact, i don't think i've ever been happier with a haircut before in my life.  i loved my long hair, too.  part of the reason i got it cut was to help repair the damage done to it by coloring.  its overall texture, thickness … everything was affected.  that's why i'm so excited to see my real hair again.  it already appears to be thicker at the roots, and it seems quite a bit stronger, too.  chad and i were talking recently, and he said that now would be a good time to decide whether i want long or short hair for the wedding.  'i'd hate for you to wish you had long hair a week before the wedding and not be able to do anything about it,' he said.  and he's absolutely right.  so while i'm on the fence, i've decided to start growing it out.  i can always get it cut short again.  it's not so easy to do the opposite. 

at some point, i remember saying something to you all about posting a vacation blog, and well ... i just never got around to it.  i might still jot something down in a journal, but i figure it's too late to post anything here.  however, i do still have a few more pictures (from a disposable camera) that i'd like to scan in and post from our day in gatlinburg, which - along with pigeon forge - is tennessee's answer to the dells.

finally, i think rather than sign up for another membership at the fitness center (since i'm not sure how much longer i'm going to be here), i'm going to start walking instead.  it doesn't cost anything, you can do it anywhere, and it's so much better than being cooped up inside, especially when the weather's as nice as it's been these last couple days.  chad's also been talking about getting his bike out and going riding.  mine's currently in the shop, but as soon as it's available, i'll probably do the same.  summer's almost here - time to get moving!

my friends steve and sue are big fans of the show, top chef, on bravo.  'food porn,' they call it ... and sue informed everyone this morning that steve has been featured on judge ted allen's blog.  apparently, he submitted some fan haiku, which ted (of queer eye fame) absolutely loved!

direct quote from ted allen in a personal email to steve:

Steve, you are a genius.  I'll post these in my personal blog to run after tonight's episode.

Thanks!--Ted

here are links to his web site and blog.

and here's a link to steve and sue's web site.

go steve! 

only three more days till our tennessee trip!  where did the time go?    chad's working nights this week prior to our departure, and so we took the opportunity this weekend while he was off to lay out everything we're going to take with us, pick up all the canned food we'll need for camping, clean the car, etc.  and because chad's working nights this week, we're going to have to leave pretty much right when he gets home friday morning.  of course, i'll be driving the first portion of the trip so that he can get some rest, and then he'll take over.  we're expecting it to be a good 14-hour (or so) drive, with stops included.

we were both a little testy this weekend, but understandably.  we're down to the last few days here.  the stress levels are naturally going to be a little high.  my stress is more due to the fact that i'm about due for another visit, and it looks like the first couple days of the trip may be marred by it.  chad's stems from the final preparations.  we're going to be a long ways from home, and he wants to make sure we don't forget anything.  i agree, but the truth is ... there's really only so much we can plan for.  everything's subject to change once we get down there.  that's the hard part about planning a trip anywhere that's far away like that.  i mean, i've never been there.  chad's been there once, but not since he was a kid.  the majority of info we have is what we've gotten off the internet.  that makes it hard to know what to expect.  but that's also part of what makes it so exciting!  i think it'll be a lot better once we're actually on the road.  at that point, it's like, 'okay ... no going back now!' 

and now for something completely different:

one of the advantages of being a full time employee where i work is that you gain access to programs and such that you might not otherwise be able to participate in ... like free health evaluations.  i had my first one the week before last, and i must say, i was delightfully surprised by the results.  everything came back normal.  all my numbers were within range.  the only thing that could use maybe a little improvement is my calcium, but i already knew that would be the case.  even that's not bad, though.  i'm only one below a healthy range, and since i'm not a big milk drinker, i've decided a daily supplement should be the best way to get those numbers back up.  the thing that surprised me the most, though, was that i'm apparently very heart healthy.  my HDL (the good cholesterol) is very high, and my LDL (the bad cholesterol) is very low.  now, i wasn't too worried about it, but because i've felt so out of shape for so long (it's getting better now that i've been going to the gym again), i guess i thought i had some reason to be concerned.  the thing about the heart is - most of the time - you have no way of knowing what's going on until someone tells you, or something goes wrong.  that could apply to anything having to do with the body, really.  so it felt good to see those numbers.

i guess what this means is that i better keep doing whatever it is i'm doing ... because it's working!

good ... because one of my coworkers just sent everyone in our department an email containing pictures she took yesterday, and i thought i’d share them with you.

her email:

Hi to all,

 

As most of you know I joined some of the star gazers yesterday and got a great glimpse of Johnny Depp from the curb side around 6:30pm last night.  My picture taking ability of this once in a lifetime experience was another story.   What’s really amazing is the fact that I met more fans from other states than Aurora, IL.   Unlike most of the crowd, I left shortly after his entrance.

 

C-

a shot of the side of one of the trucks ...

the crowd across the street that waited all day for a chance to meet johnny.  at one point, it was said that at least 1,000 people lined the sidewalk up and down galena blvd.

a shot of the alleyway.  where it curves off in the upper middle part of the pic is where my coworkers saw johnny walking.  he must have gone into the theatre through a side door.

here’s what she said about the next couple pics:

’okay ... get ready.  here was my one chance to get a nice close up shot of johnny.’

apparently, this was the vehicle he arrived in ...

!!!

okay, she didn’t take these ... but she shared them with us anyway (more shots from the meet and greet).  and here’s the article to go along with them.

from the Beacon News:

Depp fans rewarded

It's true what they say – all good things come to those who wait.

Just ask the hundreds of die-hard Johnny Depp fans who stayed past midnight today on the sidewalk by North Island Center on Galena Boulevard, waiting for the actor to appear.

Shooting on Michael Mann's film Public Enemies in the Paramount Theater ran long Monday night, but fans waited patiently for a chance to meet Depp, if only for a second.

Their patience was rewarded just after midnight, as Depp, surrounded by police officers and Paramount security, made his way out to the adoring crowd.

The scene was one of controlled chaos, as people positioned themselves to shake Depp's hand, or in rare cases, hug him. Many had tears in their eyes as they came away from their encounter with the actor, and all seemed to agree it was worth the wait.

It began raining just as Depp started making the rounds, moving west along Galena and spending extra time with some fans who had waited all day to meet him. Some, in fact, had waited more than one day – hopeful Depp watchers began arriving at the Paramount as early as Saturday, and dozens of them camped out all day Sunday.

But Monday, the day of his actual appearance in Aurora, drew the biggest crowd. At one point, more than a thousand people stood on Galena Boulevard, and though the ranks thinned as the night wore on, hundreds remained until Depp appeared.

The actor remained gracious throughout, shaking as many hands as he could while the rain pelted him. When he had made his way through the line, Depp got into a waiting SUV, but turned and gave a final wave to the crowd before leaving.

Johnny Depp early Tuesday morning signs autographs for fans after making a brief appearance following filming at the Paramount Theater in Aurora.
 (Jeni LoDolce/Special to the Beacon News)

- - -

okay, so apparently, the meet and greet didn't happen until after midnight.  it's like my boss was saying after we read this article this morning: 'it's not like he came to make a public appearance, people.  he came to work.  leave him alone.'  i agree with her, and can't believe that people had actually been camping out on the sidewalk since saturday.  that's more than just a little pathetic.  i think it would be rough to be that famous.  i would never want to be in johnny's position.  it's not like he could have gone out anywhere, not even for a walk.  he'd have been absolutely mobbed if he tried to do that.  and that's kinda of sad.  a few of my coworkers stayed for a little while after work to try and get a glimpse of him.  i guess at one point, one of his security guards noticed that they were all crowded around a window that overlooks the alleyway between us and the theatre, and waved and laughed.  he was wearing a headset, and after a little while longer, he gestured up toward them.  'two minutes,' he mouthed.  johnny must have been coming back from dinner, or something.  one of my coworkers got her phone ready to take a video, and sure enough, two minutes later, he appeared and started strolling up the alleyway in full costume, which consisted of a black suit and fedora.  she showed the video to me this morning.  it's kind of funny, actually; everyone gets real quiet when he appears.

she's trying to get it so that she can send the video to everyone in our department, but hasn't been able to figure out how yet.

yes yes ... i'll post it here as soon as i get it.  sheesh!