I Still Lost with 332 Points

I scored 123 points in Scrabble with the word "equator." That's right, folks, I am a genius. Q on the triple letter score, the whole word on a double word score, and using every single letter I had on my rack equals 123 points. I'm also a nerd.

Incredible.

Today, July 16th, 2007 at 11:53 AM I fell in love. Mark that date down in your calendars because I will be accepting anniversary gifts for our 3rd month, 1 yr., and 5 yr. anniversaries. With whom did I fall in love, you ask? How did it happen, you want to know? Can I tell you everything including the juicy details?!!? Ask no more, my fellow friends, ask no more.
I was doing nothing more than my average everyday doings on this balmy Monday morning. There I was, just sitting quietly at my desk, keeping an eye on my charts and reading the paper online when I first laid eyes on him. Crisp and clean in black on white. German in origin. 13 letters long. Simply wonderful in sound. I'd keep this love private but for my immense generosity so now join me in the following exercise. First, say "shah" as in sha-la-la. Next, add a "d" sound. Shahd. In. Say, "in." Shahd-in. Now make your lips into a circle and say, "froi." Froi. Shahd-in-froi. Can you say "duh?" Shahd-in-froi-duh. Once you've got that, add a slight German lilt. Schadenfreude!
Dare I say it's better than lederhosen?

[see other side] OVER

I just solved two mysteries with one realization.
Mystery number one is why my brother gave me a funny look when I told him the puzzle was more simple than he was making it because it's a Monday puzzle.
Mystery number two is why the answers to that last puzzle I did is in the corner of a Monday puzzle when I so never do Sunday's puzzle.
Today isn't Monday. And here I just came to that conclusion.

Oh Nothing, Just Boondoggling

The word of the day is boondoggle. I encourage you to look it up yourselves if you doubt that it's a real word. When used as a noun, it means work of little or no value done merely to keep you busy or looking busy. It has a few other meanings as a noun and it can be used as a verb.
In other news, boondoggle has just been nominated to join the list of my favorite words. As of now, there are only three words with such an honor (pumpernickel, gubernatorial, and lederhosen). Lest you begin to think that every time I hear an awesome word it gets nominated, I am here to tell you otherwise. Last week I learned the word "thimblerigger" and while totally and completely awesome, it did not get a nomination. If forced to tell someone my top five favorite words, it might make number five, but otherwise, it is not voluntarily on my list. Say it five times, "thimblerigger, thimblerigger, thimblerigger, thimblerigger, thimblerigger" and now say boondoggle five times, "boondoggle, boondoggle, boondoggle, boondoggle, boondoggle." You weren't supposed to say them fast so if you did go back and say them carefully. Note the difference in quality of sound. Thimblerigger starts out with a sound rough enough to force your tongue into accidentally tripping over the rest of the sounds until the first r and the igger at the end gets swallowed so that you can just finish saying the word. Boondoggle, on the other hand, takes its time swirling around your mouth from b to e and ends up calming you with its smoothness. Even "boondoggling" sounds incredible. Plus, it is something any procrastinator/lazy person should be familiar with. Familiar--I never liked how that word sounds.

www.creedthoughts.gov.www/creedthoughts

I have a few things to say, so I'm going to start here. Thimblerigger is one of the awesomest words ever. Thimblerigger. It takes a while to get properly, but it's worth it. I thought it was a nonsense word made up to call people when you want to sound angry, but it's actually a word. I'm going to use it instead of doofus. It sounds more old-fashioned. Furthermore, a cyclist almost ran me over the other day. True story. In other news, someone waved vigorously at me today and said, "hi gorgeous." That's right, waved. I did not know him.

Sesame Street Rocked...Some of the Time

A few days ago I found the Smokey Robinson "U Really Got a Hold on Me" video from Sesame Street on YouTube. Unfortunately, as a child, there were only two things that scared me more than that clip. One was a nightmare I used to have in which there was a short fat man and a tall skinny man wearing penguin suits and top hats standing in the middle of a white background screaming. One had a high pitched voice and the other had a very low voice and they'd just go "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek" and "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer" respectively. The other thing that scared me was nothing because I was a pretty fearless child.
Anyway, in the Smokey Robinson video, Smokey Robinson stood in the middle of nowhere with a black background singing his song, "You Really Got a Hold on Me" while being attacked by a humongous letter U. I wasn't commitment phobic at the time, I was just the product of two independent parents and couldn't stand the idea of being clung to. By anyone. Ever.
While watching this clip on YouTube, I was freakishly reminded of someone I dated once. Every time I thought that for the sake of being in a relationship I would give and let him say things that made me feel uncomfortable (the list included and was limited to "I miss you"), he would demand more. It wasn't enough for me to stomach his "I miss you"s, I had to respond in kind. Etc. He wasn't for me.
My point in writing this is that until recently, I never thought about this video. Also, until recently, when I did think about this video, I thought I was alone in my sentiment that the U was a scary stalker. But alas, I am not alone. I wrote on the YouTube comment board, "This video cost me hours of sleep as a child. There was nothing I found more frightening. I guess I was always commitment phobic. :)" Which wasn't necessarily true because I did find something more frightening (see above), but it was irrelevant at that point. Over the course of four days, people responded with: "You too, man? For about two weeks, I could not sleep with the lights completely out, I was SO terrified that the big letter U would come running out of the nearby closet to get me. OMG(SHUDDER)." And "You're not alone guys. I used to be really freaked out of this clip when I first saw it. I was only 3. But now I can say is after 20 years of being scared of this clip, my trauma is cured." And such inarticulate comments as, "When I was little I thought that U was the most annoying think ever and it use to get me real fustrated. I was like that hinm go what are you thinking and even now when I watch I still get a little fustrated." And lastly, "This segment used to scare the crap out of me. OMG THE GIANT U IS GOING TO KILL HIM IT'S KILLING HIM SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING"
But why am I forming your opinion for you? Watch the video and you will see.