Random Thoughts on the English Language #20: Pizza Pizzazz!

If "pizza" is pronounced "peet-za" and "mozzarella" as "mot-za-rella", shouldn't the word "pizzazz" be "peet-zazz"? or even "peet-zat-z"?

What are we gonna do unless they are?

Just broke down and bought tickets to see They Might Be Giants in a couple weeks. I'm generally too tight-fisted to shell out the big bucks to go to concerts, but as these were only $20 (+ $6 worth of service charges) each, I figured I ought to take the chance to go see the two guys who created the first CD I ever owned.

Fotos of Fall Foliage

So, given that Saturday was a beautiful day, after lazing around the house for most of the morning and early afternoon, including reading a book on the porch with our puppy, I managed to make it up into the mountains to do a little amateur photography. I think some of them turned out pretty well, though I was also slightly more convinced that I'd like to get a monopod. Here's a sample:













More photos here.

When October feels like November

I know it's been a while since I've done much blogging. I guess compared to a summer full of exciting vacations, fall has been fairly plebeian by comparison. I mean I'm still enjoying football season (Utah, Grantsville, even some Minnesota Vikings this year) and the weather when it's nice like it's been yesterday and today. Just have been things that really stood out to me as blog-worthy. I guess it's nice to start saving up some PTO again. Probably would be wise to build up at least a small reserve of that, in the off chance that I should be sick some day and need to stay home.

Random notes on what I've been up to:

• Hoping to get up the canyon tomorrow to take some photos of fall foliage before winter is upon us.
• Had people over to watch football last Saturday (Utah vs. CSU, then BYU vs. UNLV). Fun to have people over. Need to do that more often.
  
• In the spirit of Halloween, picked up Left 4 Dead (Game of the Year Edition). Finally survived a campaign last night ("No Mercy" on Normal).
• We suddenly have 2 dogs at our place. Brandon's sister was going to give her dog to the pound, but Brandon took him in, then decided that every dog needs another dog for company so he picked up a 6-week-old puppy, too. Puppy lives in the garage. Big dog in the backyard. So, if you want to play with a cute puppy, you could come over and do that.
• Last night watched a scary movie with friends in Julie's creepy basement with a projector. Fun times! Also, got shushed a few times by the bride-to-be trying to sleep in the room right over us. Sorry! (Like she was going to get much sleep anyway)

Hope everyone's fall is going great!

What a Find!

Ever since I saw an episode of the Simpsons in which Milhouse's manliness was brought into question of his use of a coin purse, I've been a tiny bit ashamed of my own coin purse. Not a fancy, frilly thing at all. mind you. Just one of those rubber oval things with the slit in the top that you squeeze to open.

But then I think, wait, if I didn't have a coin purse, where would I put all this change? Just in my pocket where it could jingle around and then fall out later? Then pile up all my change in a jar or box or bottle or something and then pay someone (a Mr. Coinstar, perhaps) to count it up and let me turn it back into "usable" money? Anyway, a few times in my adult life I've been coin purse-less and I just hate it. I can partly justify my coin purse by the fact that it saves me from having to use a Coinstar to get any value from my loose change. But I think more than that, really I just like to have a place to put things and to not have loose change jingling around in my pockets. I carry the same things in the same pockets every day so that it's easy for me to know if something is missing (nothing at all to do with OCD, I'm sure).

Anyway, these little rubber coin purses eventually wear out, and replacements are not always easy to find. Where would you look for them? In the coin purse aisle at your nearest department store? I've found them online, but you have to buy them in bulk or at ridiculous prices. The last time mine wore out, I went without for a while until I saw someone I knew using one. I asked her where she got it and she said someone gave it to her, but that (da-da-da-da!) she had a spare one I could have if I wanted. Did I want? Of course I did. And that's the one I have now.

All of this story is a lead up to the fact that this last week I was in Wal-mart doing a little shopping before some volunteer time at the Food Bank (another great activity for people like me who enjoy organizing things), and turned down an aisle in the pharmacy that said something about "Diabetic products", mostly out of curiosity to see what would fit in that category. Tucked in among tools for stimulating nerves in your feet and some sugar free treats, there was a box of things called "Convenience Caddies", which apparently is the trade name that someone decided to put on these handy rubber coin purses.

They were selling for 64 cents a piece, so, working under the assumption that, like the crazy castle in Krull they might move at sundown and reappear the next morning in a totally new and unknowable location, I grabbed 4 and threw them in my basket. They are now safely stored in my closet until such a time as they are needed. Just knowing that they are there helps me sleep a little more soundly at night, knowing that the next time my coin purse goes missing or needs to be replaced, I've got some back-ups waiting in the wings.

Does that make me weird?