Holy Hell

When I lived with my parents, one of the things I took most for granted (aside from their constant company and good advice) was the central air conditioning. With temperatures soaring into the 90s this weekend, the little window unit in my bedroom is working as hard as it can, but the cold air barely trickles into the living room of my apartment--despite my efforts to blow it through the hallway with a fan. I've found myself sitting in my bedroom just to keep cool, or refusing to go outside because I don't want to get hot and disgusting. I know I've whined about how much I hate winter. And I still hate winter. But who ordered these 90-degree temperatures in June? I need to get a six-pack of beer and the beer store is only .85 miles from me. But because it's so hot I'll have to drive it. My lazy body can't fathom walking back to my apartment in sweltering heat carrying a six-pack. I'd probably drink all of them before I got through the door, anyway.

So can someone PLEASE tell Satan to lower the heat down there in Hell? It's trickling up through the Earth's crust and making things almost unbearable up here.

Inspiration

I heard "Badlands" today over lunch, and I was reminded of how inspirational Bruce Springsteen can really be. Some people think he's an old man who peaked in the 80s, but I'll always think he's the Boss and his songs will always make me feel a little better about life. So for anyone out there wondering if they're alone in the struggle for meaning in the uphill battle of day-to-day, I give you "Badlands" (mostly from memory).

Well lights out tonight
Trouble in the heartland
Got a head-on collision smashing in my guts man.
I'm caught in a crossfire that I don't understand.
But there's one thing I know for sure, girl.
I don't give a damn for the same old played out scenes.
Baby I don't give a damn for just the in-betweens.
Honey I want the heart, I want the soul,
I want control right now.
You better listen to me baby.
Talk about a dream, try to make it real
You wake up in the night with a fear so real
You spend your life waiting for a moment that just won't come.
Don't waste your life waiting.

Badlands--you've got to live it every day.
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've got to pay.
Keeping pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good.

(Whoa whoa whoa)

Working in the fields 'til you get your back burned
Working 'neath the wheels 'til you get your facts learned.
Baby I got my facts learned real good right now.
You gotta get straight darlin'.
Poor man wanna be rich.
Rich man wanna be king.
And a king ain't satisfied 'til he rules everything.
I want to go out tonight,
I want to find out what I got.

Well I believe in the love that you gave me.
I believe in the faith that can save me.
I believe in the hope and I pray that someday
It may raise me above these badlands.
You gotta live it every day
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay.
Keep pushing 'til it's understood and these badlands start treating us good.

(Whoa whoa whoa whoa)

For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad your alive,
I wanna find one face that ain't lookin' through me.
I wanna find one place,
I wanna spit in the face of these badlands.
You've gotta live it every day.
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've got to pay.
Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good.

Happy Birthday Nathan!!

I meant to do this yesterday, so it's a day late and a dollar short, but Happy Birthday Nathan! All these one-year-olds and growing up so fast!

I hope someone got him that popper for his big day!

Starbucks Man Exists

I think I've been living under a rock.

Last month, Starbucks pretty much inundated the television-viewing public with it's new commercial. You know the one--a petite blonde walks to the kitchen in her office building and the fridge just happens to be stocked with Starbucks frappuccino. She takes ones, opens it and suddenly big band music starts. Everyone she encounters turns into this hot guy singing "Come Fly with Me." The nerdy guy in the hall, the window-washer, the doorman. Her life improves all around by drinking that cool, refreshing, creamy coffee goodness.

(It doesn't show her running to the bathroom after 10 minutes because of all the preservatives and additives it takes to make that concoction taste so good. But that's beside the point.)

Anyway, I loved this commercial, mainly for the guy who sang. He was fantastic! A throw-back to the 30s or 40s with his smooth style and boy-next-door good looks. I went to the Starbucks site to try to figure out who this guy was, but no luck. I figured he was just an actor lip-synching to Sinatra.

Today I found out that he's a real person, Michael Buble, and apparently he's quite famous. Somehow I missed it. I must be getting old, because I just hadn't heard of him. Does aging mean we lose touch with pop culture? I'm not even 30...I can't imagine how out-of-it I'll be 10 years from now.

Yoda I Am

Summer Reading

I can finally say what I've been waiting to say for ages:

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" comes out next month! Woo hoo! And thanks to the good people at Waldenbooks who called me personally to see if I would like to reserve a copy, I'll have the tome in my hands July 16.

So as not to appear totally Harry obsessed, I'll also note that Janet Evanovich's new book, "Eleven on Top," comes out June 21, and John Irving's "Until I Find You" hits stores July 12. I heard Irving read the first chapter of "Until I Find You" in October and I've been waiting with baited breath ever since. One of the most interesting things he told the audience at the reading was that he never starts writing a chapter until he knows the last line. The man works magic with words. His plots tend to border on the extreme, but his style gives me goosebumps. In an interview with some book magazine, he said that this book resembles the style and tone of "A Prayer for Owen Meany," my favorite book of all time. Even if it doesn't approach the magnitude of "Owen," I know I won't be disappointed. $30 on an Irving novel is money well spent.

The predicament, though, is how I can read all 848 pages of "Until I Find You" in the four days between when it comes out and when "Half-Blood Prince" is released. Might have to take a few vacation days...