Color me confused... and craving Mrs. Butterworth syrup

Another reminder today that I still don't completely get everything about life here.

Pancakes. Pancakes? What? Why?

Or, maybe it says more about my not being of the Catholic persuasion that it really didn't hit me till hours into the day, and multiple confusing references to people's need to take in an unusually high amount of pancakes, what day it was on the liturgical calendar.

As a non-high church Protestant, albeit a relatively active one, I don't generally keep up with any but the major dates of the church year. But, given that it is Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras!), that means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. The start of Lent. The build-up to Easter, the most important day of the Christian church calendar.

Which brings me back to wrestling with semi-obscure references to church traditions of long standing... this isn't the first time I will be giving something up for Lent. There was a very painful abstinence from romance novels a couple of years past that really brought to life the real meaning of "sacrifice".

In that tradition, this year I'll be giving up sugar (as added to tea, cereal, etc). I'm sure I'm not at all prepared for the pain.

Lucky Spaz

To my surprise, on Saturday I found myself attending the Irish Blog Awards, held in Cork. It's not that I didn't know I was going out that night. It's just that I wasn't paying attention to exactly what I'd agreed to attend.

Sabrina Dent, a fellow blogger/American in Cork (and thrower of excellent election parties) invited me to attend a gathering of women bloggers at the Cork International Airport Hotel. I just kind of assumed this was all there was to it. The idea of a blog awards did register, but vaguely, again with assumptions galore (women bloggers? Cork women bloggers?). It wasn't until I heard Rick O'Shea from RTE 2 FM talking about coming down to Cork for the IBA's that it registered that maybe I was missing some vital information. Like the fact that the Ladies Tea Party was actually just a prelude to the grand awards show for all Irish bloggers?

Of course, I hadn't thought to try to get a ticket to the IBA's and, of course, they'd been sold out for quite awhile, but I registered online for the waiting list/standing room tickets and just hoped for the best.

All in all it was a great night! The Ladies Tea Party was filled with 30 really impressive women, who also really know how to put away the wine and cupcakes! And the awards show itself was much more fun than I could have imagined. Let's just say boisterous call-and-response exchanges during the presentations, the appearance of a wedding dress marching down the aisle, toilet paper rolls on the dance floor, and a more than slightly disturbing game of Twister were all part of the festivities!

I came away from it, not only thinking "these bloggers really know how to throw a party!", but also quite intimidated by the quality of really excellent writers of all stripes out there. Journalists, arts, social and pop culture commentators, humorists, business owners, news and current affairs analysts, personal bloggers, etc.

Congrats to the IBA nominees and winners. You all richly deserve the recognition!

Note to self: Must do better!

A Perfect Fit

So, you may not know that I reject all disdain by the uninformed and proudly proclaim my allegiance to Buffy The Vampire Slayer as one of the all-time best TV series ever. Ever.

Except for the name, which people who've never seen it assume means cutesy characters and even sillier writing - they could SO not be farther from the truth! - absolutely nothing about this show was cutesy or silly. Even the name was a perfect, sarcastic play on itself. And I'm not even including the musical episode, which was perfection itself.

All this to say that, while I miss many of the characters (and the actors inhabiting them) from Buffy, it's always a thrill to run into one of the actors somewhere else in a different role.

Tonight I gave a little cheer and bounced around like a schoolgirl in my seat when I saw that the new (is he bad, is he good?) guest star on one of my favorite shows, Torchwood, is none other that Spike! How absolutely, freakin' perfect is that?! I hope they have him bite someone :-)

Surprise!

I always wonder how people come across this blog. I generally assume it's just random (unless they're family/friends), but every once in awhile it's made clear to me that there's a rhyme and a reason to at least some of my visitors' finding me.

Unassuming this little blog may be, but this goes to show that you never know what's going to be done with pieces of yourself you put out there in the cybersphere.

I'm taking this Irish Times newspaper mention as a positive review :-)

"Don't Know Why".... or Magical iPod Insights

You may say it's cheating, but I love these list things! And Facebook is a treasure trove of them right now, which makes keeping up with posts here a lot easier when I'm digging for ideas. I especially like the randomness, and yet not-so-random, of this one.

I won't tag anyone, but feel free to do it yourself and let me know what comes up.

RULES:
1. Put your MP3 player, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.


IF SOMEONE ASKS "ARE YOU OKAY?", YOU SAY?
Telephone Blues....John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
"40"....U2 [freakily on target!]

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Slow Jamz....Kanye West

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Green Into Gold....David Lanz

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
I'll Be Home For Christmas....The Pilgrim Travelers

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Something Left To Say....Roman Candle

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Someday (I'm Coming Back)....Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
One Part Be My Lover....Bonnie Raitt [a little creepy!]

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Sparkling Diamonds....Moulin Rouge

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Fall Down....Mercy Me

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Away In A Manger....Nat King Cole

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
House of God....Mercy Me

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Stories For Boys....U2

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
My Immortal....Evanescence

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Crapped Out Again....Keb' Mo' [lol - not a good omen]

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Dive....Steven Curtis Chapman

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Notorious....Duran Duran

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Hosanna In Excelsis....Andrew Lloyd Webber

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Original Of The Species....U2

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
You've Got Her In Your Pocket....The White Stripes

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
I Get A Kick Out Of You....Ella Fitgerald (Cole Porter Songbook) [perfect!]

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Don't Know Why....Norah Jones