Girlfriends

"Constant use had not worn ragged the fabric of their friendship." -writer/poet Dorothy Parker. Thought this was appropriate after watching SATC movie last night with two of my favorite people.
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My Poor Team

Best excuses for missing lacrosse practice (these are from the parents, not the kids!):

• Sorry Whitney...She came home tonight with marbles in her throat.
• I am sorry - at least she is not exactly an "anchor" for Great Falls and the team vailiantly struggles on without her . . (ha).
• Hi Whitney. I forgot to tell you that she won't be there tonight. I'm forcing her to watch her sister's game :).
• Unfortunately, she will have to miss practice again. She is in the 8th grade Shakespeare play this evening and she is not happy about it.

What a struggle. Well, wish us luck in our playoff game tonight!!

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T.M.I.

Yesterday Schneider messaged me from Buzz's computer:
SAS: I really don't what to know what he does with his keyboard!!! He's a very odd boy.
WJS: Huh?
SAS: It sucks typing with his keyboard b/c there is a thing over the top. He said it was a condom.
WJS: EW
SAS: EXACTLY!!! Hence the 'ODD BOY' comment.
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Appreciation

"I taught my ex-girlfriend how to cook. I totally raised her stock." -A trainer at the gym - making the world a better place, one woman at a time.
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Family Bonding

Conversation with my little brother on the way home from the farm:

WJS: I can't believe you're letting me drive your car; this is a new level in our relationship.
Jackson: Only by default. Eating a Big Mac requires two hands.

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Memorial Day

"So we raise her up every morning

And we bring her down slow every night,

We don't let her touch the ground,

And we fold her up right.

On second thought I do like to brag

Cause I'm mighty proud of That Ragged Old Flag"

-Johnny Cash

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Going Green

"Baby's just a little bit tired of the city,

Billboards and bullshit got her down,

Seems like you need a little hill country,

A little back roads driving,

Little bit of the old top down."

-Pat Green

Madison today?
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Stuck On You

"Maybe he'll give me free stamps." -Trish contemplates the benefits of befriending the hot young postman next to her on the plane to Florida. I don't think free stamps are exactly what he has in mind...
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Rant of the Day

"I don't really like talking to her, especially because she smiles the entire time even when she's telling you something you don't want to hear. I mean she could say something like, 'Oh, I forgot to mention this, but I just hit and killed your dog, but um, there's nothing you can do about it now, so don't worry. Oh, and you'll have to buy yourself a new one if you feel like having a dog again!' - all with a smile on her face." -a friend complains about a frustrating coworker. Yikes.
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Man of Steel

"Hey, is your name Clark Kent? Because you're a superman in my book!" -Steph's new pick up line (which apparently works well on teachers, fyi).
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Across the Pond

"I was telling someone about being given an Obama T-shirt and the comments I got when wearing it; she was amazed that I would wear it in public - I then realised that she was thinking Osama not Obama." -for every Briton who follows the US campaign there is another absolutely clueless one.
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Typical Lacrosse Practice

This is what I deal with three times a week:

WJS: So did you come up with a play?

Attack Player: No, but we gave each other Harry Potter names.

And they wonder why they've only won two games...

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The Good Old Song

The good old song of Wah-hoo-wah,

We'll sing it o'er and o'er;

It cheers our hearts and warms our blood

To hear them shout and roar.

We come from old Virginia

Where all is bright and gay;

Let's all join hands and give a yell

For the dear old UVA.

Graduation meal at the Ivy Inn (also the lunch location for the Long family - much to Bea's delight!).
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Hoos Graduating

"Mothers spend 45 minutes making that bed [when they drop their kids off at college for the first time]. It's because it's last thing they do...and then they kiss you goodbye. I would venture a guess that in the last three-and-a-half years, some of those beds have not been made even once." -Ron Suskind, speaking at my graduation three years ago. Hopefully Hunter Rawlings III (??) will be equally as entertaining at Tom's graduation today. Wahoowa.
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Simplicity

"No one is ever lost on a straight road." -words of wisdom from an old man in Before the Rains (now playing at the E Street Cinema). Very true, but raises the question: is being lost a bad thing?!

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Journo Shirts

Or how bout a mug?

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Advice from Abroad

"I definitely think marrying the Dried Fruit guy is an option, but I'm sure you can find the man of your dreams in America. Seriously, with all those people there must be someone!!" -A former pupil shows his concern for my future. FYI: the Dried Fruit man sells (surprise) dried fruit and nuts at the Uppingham market on Fridays. He was the best part of my week for nearly two years...sigh.
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Pop Quiz

For those of you suffering from middle-of-the-week bored-at-work syndrome, grab a pencil & paper and click here.

Afterwards, you might find this note from a friend particularly funny: "For the coffee question I put icky - is that not hilarious?! Hahaha."

For the coffee question I put crucial. Go figure...
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T-Shirt Tag

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Strange Thought

Conversation about sleeping arrangements at my grandparents' farm (where my family is staying the night before Tom's graduation next weekend):
Mom: You can always sleep in Grandmommy and Poppop's bed - they won't be there.
Jackson: No thanks, their bed smells like old people.
Mom: What's that supposed to mean?
Jack: You should know, your bed smells like old people too.
So much for happy mother's day...
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Happy Mother's Day

"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." -Mark Twain. Hmm, I think I have a few brothers who could say the same thing.
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Keep On Going

Runners World photo from the Boston Marathon.
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Legendary

Apparently there has been some confusion over my Gmail photo (as noted by an eighth grader on my lax team):
Hope that clears things up...
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Caesar

"Cowards die many times before their deaths;

The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear;

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come." (2.2.34)

Absolutely fantastic performace last night...

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Whipped

"She called at 10:45? Whew, it's only 10:47 - if I call her back right now I shouldn't be in hot water!" -The usually o-so-macho Jackson has a moment of weakness/panic after missing his girlfriend's phone call.
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Cinco De Mayo

"I didn't have margaritas, I had MEGAritas. And a client called to cancel a 5 am appointment, so you know I had a few too many." -why my favorite trainer at the gym was moving a bit slowly this morning.
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Zits

From last Saturday's Washington Post.
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Food for Thought

"Have you ever written on a banana in biro? Its crazy but it works like a dream. You wish all writing could be this way. It flows. It's smooth. It's sensual. You get the urge to write poems; sonnets; odes to lilies. A strongly worded letter of complaint is impossible. It makes you realise that everything can be improved. That even the familiar can be looked at in a new light. And that imagination is more powerful than knowledge. Do you believe in the power of dreams?" -I came across this banana taped inside one of my journals from my time abroad in the UK. Thought it would make a good QOD.
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Live Well

“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” -Henry Miller

Photo: sunrise on the Potomac, Lady Bird Johnson Memorial Park
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Got Glasses?

"It starts at 42. You can't read the menu, so you just ask the waiter for the specials and order one of them." - a woman at the gym explains how eyesight deteriorates with age. I had to open her locker for her because she'd forgotten her glasses and couldn't read the numbers. I don't want to be old :(
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Ice Cream

"This is a total Charlie Foxtrot. It's going to take an hour to get through this line. This is not happening." -an angry message on my phone from a disappointed Ben & Jerry's fan.
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