5 Things: 0.2 Seconds, SHRUGGED!, And A Moment Of Silence........

1. Does it annoy me when people make their point in the form of a series of yes or no questions? Yes.

2. Am I super, super, super, super excited that ATLAS SHRUGGED comes out in theaters on April 15th? YES.

3. Did I just witness the greatest 0.2 seconds of basketball in my entire life???? YESSSSSSSSS



4. Am I sounding like Kate Gosselin by phrasing today's 5 Things in yes or no questions? Yes. Ugh. SO annoying.

5. Am I heartbroken for the country of Japan and the millions of devastated people there and around the world who lost loved ones, homes, entire families, entire villages, and more today? .......Very. This is a good place to stop and pray for them and honor them in a moment of reflection. You should do it, too.

5 Things: Tar Heels & Redheads.... Boom. Winning.

1. Carolina Tar Heels have tiger blood. ACC CHAMPIONS.... Boom. Winning.

2. If you don't have red hair, you don't have red hair. Period. Don't dye it. It doesn't work. And you're giving us naturals a bad look. Jussssssst stopppppp itttt (please).

3. The next time you make tacos for dinner, garnish them with diced cucumber. Heaven. Trust me. Thank you, Lord, that Mo's mom made tacos for dinner one night when I was at her house in middle school or I would never have discovered what a gift a lil cuke can be.

4. Oprah voted for George W. Bush. Who knew?

5. Is the new Old Spice guy blind?????? Kathy Griffin?? Really???
On second thought, sometimes natural redheads give us natural redheads a bad name...

(I realize you may think I'm on crack after reading this post. I'm not. Really. If you don't understand the references, my apologies. And a tip of the hat to Charlie Sheen.)

5 Things: TEN Things. For Hugh.

I haven't felt like writing/blogging/anything for a while because I've been really sad.... which, thinking about it, should be a great time to write. But I just can't. Or couldn't. This is at least an attempt, even if I don't post it. A man I love like a father died about a week ago. I didn't get to say goodbye, and though I was kind of "ready", I wasn't ready. I had a lot to say to him that I didn't get to say, but I believe in my heart he has heard me now. These ten things are things that made him "him"; but only in a superficial way. What truly made him "him" was his family most of all; followed by his friends, his love of people, his love of doggies, and his huge charitable heart. He never met a stranger and went out of his way to make people feel welcome in any situation; not even just welcome...he made people feel like family. Anyone who knew him would only have to read this list once to know it's about him. Actually, #1 would do it. I love you, HAF. Thank you for being in my life.

1. Hood ornaments. Labradors, to be exact. On every car (trans: Ford Explorer) he owned, to be exact.
2. Brooks Brothers. With monogram, of course.
3. Dewar's Scotch. Period.
4. "Pahdnah" (trans: Partner)
5. Jack Russell doggies. The kind that eat toast and get fat.
6. "Hey, I'm vertical." ...his trademark response to "How are you?"
7. Golf. Golf golf golf golf golf.
8. "(Insert whatever word applied)-meister."
9. Beach dancing with his daughter. My best friend in the world.
10. The Great White Biscuit.

Thanks for touching the world, Hughmeister. It's already different without you.

5 Things: Asians, Chainsaws, and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Daddy / HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Mom!!!

1. I recently told a friend of mine that I was going to pimp out her blog and asked if she would do the same for mine. Her response: "Translation? You're speaking to a 44 year old Asian immigrant." Hahahahahaha. Okay, I added the Asian part, but just so you wouldn't be stuck wondering what kind of immigrant. I should also add that in addition to being Asian, she's of the LEGAL persuasion as well. Those are my favorite!
Her blog is amaaaazing (if you love food...but who doesn't?) and the pictures will make you droo-oo-ool with want. Check it out: http://thechurchcook.blogspot.com
And while you're there, check out her daughter Anna's essay entry for a college scholarship and give her a vote!

2. In middle school we carpooled with probably more kids than was safe to have in one car (but whatever) and one day it was our friend Jim's (really his name was Eric, but I'll call him Jim for the sake of anonymity and all that) dad's day to drop us off and pick us up. School ends for the day, we wait outside on the sidewalk, parents show up and pick up their kids.........about an hour goes by....we're the only kids left on the sidewalk....then the school secretary comes out and says Eric's (oops, Jim's) dad is on his way. He had a minor accident and had to go by the ER; it took a little longer than he thought it would, but he was leaving the hospital and would be at the school in about 15 minutes. Awesome. .....................
Fifteen minutes later, Eric's (Jim's) dad pulls up COVERED -and I mean COVERED- in blood, with his t-shirt cut all the way down the middle. It was a white undershirt. I know it was a white undershirt because he said it was. COV. ERED. IN. BLOOD. His ENTIRE chest was wrapped in thick layers of gauze and tape. Eric, I mean Jim, was full on flipping out; actually I guess we all were. I just remember I was stunned into silence (*rare). So there we were, 5 or 6 or 7 kids standing on the sidewalk, speechless, watching our friend go ballistic at the sight of his father covered in blood and bandages, and all the while, Eric's (Jim's) dad was just smiling as always, hands on the wheel, waiting for us to get in. We hopped in and I swear, it was as if everything were completely normal. He asked about our days, yada yada, not at all worried that he looked like he had just taken a chainsaw through the chest. When Eric (Jim..whatever.) calmed down enough to actually ask what had happened, the answer came as nonchalantly as if he were answering a question about the weather. The minor accident? HE TOOK A CHAINSAW THROUGH THE CHEST. Seriously. He was cutting wood, the saw kicked back, SPLIT HIS CHEST IN TWO, he "stopped by the ER", and then went to pick the carpool kids up from school. Really???? Yeah, really. Chew on that, Chuck Norris.

3. Did I mention I started a political blog? http://pollytickchick.blogspot.com
Dig it.

4. Tomorrow is my daddy's birthday :o)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!! I love you more than any other daughter has ever loved her daddy ever, ever, ever!

Cool fact: My friend Susan and I have the same birthday. I know, not super rare, but here's the thing.. Tomorrow is her daddy's birthday, too! We have the same birthday and our daddies have the same birthday! Crazy, no?

5. Tomorrow is also my mom's & stepdad's anniversary :o)
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM & PAPA NOO! I lovvvvvve you!

Annnnnd it's my stepsister's birthday and it's my aunt's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SISSA and AUNT NEECIE! LOVES YOU!

5 Things: Well, Really Only 1, Because It's Long. It's About My Friend Stephen King.

I remembered today that I know Stephen King. Ok, "know" might be stretching it a little. When his movie The Green Mile came out, a group of us went to see it at the HA E movie theater in Boone. If you aren't a local, the HA E theater is the CHALET movie theater, except the C, L, and T lights were operational for a minute, maybe two, then burned out and they never bothered to change the bulbs. Anyhoo... We were sticking to - I mean sitting in - our seats before the movie when a group of maybe 8 people came in and sat 2 rows in front of us (the row between was empty). Upon first glimpse of one of them, I thought to myself, "Whoa. That dude looks like Stephen King." so I said to my friends, "Whoa. That dude looks like Stephen King." in my whisper-loud-enough-so-the-three-people-I'm-with-can-hear-me-but-the-dude-two-rows-ahead-of-me-can't voice. Unsuccessfully, as it turned out, because the dude turned around and stared right at me. And it was Stephen King. Staring into my eyes. My very wide, amazed, freaked out eyes. And yes, it was creepy. Like he was staring into my soul and putting some kind of voodoojoodoo on me. At first I thought I wet my pants, but then I remembered I was at the HA E and it was probably already in my seat to begin with.
Stephen King. In Boone. At the HA E, no less, where you need a crowbar to pry your feet off of whatever has accumulated on the floor for 20 years. Stephen King. Yeah.
I know.. you're wondering why Stephen King was in a tiny movie theater in a tiny North Carolina town. Well... Part of The Green Mile was filmed at Moses Cone Manor on the Blue Ridge Parkway (about 5 miles from Boone) and locals were hired as extras in the film, so the night the movie opened in Boone, Stephen King came back to watch it with them. I thought that was pretty cool, especially given the theater in which he had to watch it. It was shortly after he was randomly run over by a dude in a van while walking on the side of the road, so he was using a walker. And if Stephen King's creepy factor isn't high enough on its own, Stephen King hunched over a walker with a limping stride... Ew.
Anyway, I just remembered this today for some reason and the memory of looking into his sinister eyes is a disturbing enough memory that I thought it was worth sharing.
Please don't tell him I said anything. I don't want to die.

5 Things: I Heart The Avett Brothers, Jr Reid, & Ariel Tweto

1. Today is the birthday of someone very special to me. Today also marks the 2 year anniversary of a really sad, tragic day...
2. Some dolt just wasted years of his life writing & creating an opera that just opened in London. Why do I use terms like "dolt" and "wasted"?
ANNA NICOLE: THE OPERA
Some gifts are just too good.
3. The Avett Brothers just shared the Grammy stage with Bob Dylan and Mumford and Sons. Did you process that? Theeeee Avetttttt Brotherrrrrrs shared the GRAMMMMMMY stage with Bobbbb Dylannnn!!!!! The jam could maybe have sounded a little better when Bob had 8 brain cells, but I gotta say, he didn't do too bad with the 3 he has left.
4. I have recently become friends with Jr Reid and increased my cool factor by maybe 20%. Yep. THE Jr Reid. #34 Carolina Tar Heels Jr Reid. I'm shamelessly bragging about it and I don't care. Go Heels.
5. New obsession: Ariel Tweto. LOVE her! Flying Wild Alaska on Discovery Channel, Friday nights at 9pm. Do it. (Twitter: @arieltweto) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her! She'll make you laugh, for sure.

5 Things: Blah, Blah, Blah.

1. Free Tip: If you foresee MURDERING your daughter some point in the future in the name of "honor killing" for being too westernized and not quite Iraqi enough, perhaps you should raise her, oh I don't know... in IRAQ, NOT ARIZONA!!!!!

2. Border control. It's fun. Try it.

3. In honor of tonight's address, the state of our union is......fail.

4. It takes 1,000,000 gallons of water per day to make Canada Dry Ginger Ale.

5. If Australia won't change its time zone, they need to start having the Australian Open in Brazil (or any other country in a reasonable time zone). I'm not down with staying up till 3am to watch live tennis and I HATE, HATE, HATE finding out the outcome of a match (or any sporting event, for that matter) before I have seen it. Grrrrr.