Movie Monday (An Ode to the Little-Known, the Under-rated and the Cult-Classic)

This week's movie has got to be filed under Cult Classic, as it is the go-to movie for anyone getting ready to start college, anyone currently in college or anyone who finds themselves wistfully reminiscing on their own college days (although to be honest, my college days resembled this movie very little).  So, this post will mostly be singing the praises of a much loved classic - or, on the off chance that you think Old School was the original frat movie, maybe even introducing it to you.  Either way, Animal House is an essential piece of pop culture history.

Animal House tells the story of the Delta fraternity and their crazy antics and has some of the best one-liners ever- most of them artfully delivered by the perpetually straight faced Dean Wormer.  It's hilarious and is absolutely one of the few classics that you have to see, if only to say that you have.  Toga! Toga!

Second Interview!

Once again I've been neglecting my darling little blog here- but I have another good excuse, actually it's pretty much the same excuse.  While eagerly awaiting word on whether or not I got the job I interviewed for last Wednesday, I got a call from the recruiter who gave me my phone interview.  He told me that they were going with another applicant  (polite for "you didn't get the job"- like I haven't heard that one before!) but that he thought I might be a better fit for another job!  Mixed news but I'll take it!
Today was that second interview for the job that I want even more than the first.  I got a little ahead of myself with the last interview and started planning my new life and imagining my new job a little too soon.  This time I'm not getting my hopes up too high, but I'll keep you posted!

Movie Monday (An Ode to the Little-Known, the Under-rated and/or the Cult Classic)

As promised, I am featuring a super good movie this week to make up for my absense last week....

I could watch old movies all day every day, but I know that they aren't for everyone.  If you never watch any other old movies, add Bringing Up Baby to your 'must see' list.  Bringing Up Baby always makes its way onto 'Best Movie' lists but few people these days seem to have seen it or even heard of it

 I love the typical modern, Judd Apatow-type comedies as much as the next girl and, like everyone in my generation, Jim Carey's slapstick, rubber-face routines used to crack me up - but Bringing Up Baby is the funniest movie I've ever seen.  It's silly, rediculous, irreverent and slapstick in a wonderfully unexpected way. 

I love love love this movie- do yourself a favor and give a new genre a try, you won't regret it!

15 Years Ago

(Yes, that is Taz on my shorts)

A few weeks ago I wrote about myself 20 years ago in an attempt to capture that period of time in the off chance that I'll someday forget those early childhood memories (seriously we're talking the memory of an elephant here, people), but also to give my twenty-something self some perspective on the brevity that comes with each stage of life so that I can better appreciate where I am now.  Tonight I'm taking a look at my 10 year old self, 15 years ago.

At 10 years old I was happy, yet more neurotic and strange than I think I ever have been (if you've ever seen the movie Parenthood think Steve Martin's son).  I was in the 4th grade at the same elementary school I had been attending 5 years earlier in Kindergarten.  By the time I was ten I had met all four of my besties- Caitlin, Chelsea, Julia and Allie- and we were all but inseparable.
I was still in the process of building the absolutely wonderful relationship I have with my parents (something that I guess is still in process).  Nearly everything I am is a result of those two people, and my 10 year old self was no different. 
I was a little ten-year-old bookworm and would read as many Goosebumps books and other ghost stories as I could get my hands on, even though I would spend the hours following literally every bedtime quivering under the covers, trying in vain to talk myself out of being scared (did I mention I was a little neurotic at this age?).  Like every kid in the mid '90's I loved movies like Harriet the Spy, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Scream, Twister, Blank Check, Independence Day - and although I'll always have a soft spot for these movies I will admit that they were pretty terrible.  T.V. was always a sore subject to 10 year-old me - we didn't have cable so instead of watching shows like The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Doug, and Clarissa Explains it All - my sister and I were watching countless hours of Wings re-runs.
Speaking of my sister, I mentioned in my 20 Years Ago post that we have had a relationship that was in a constant state of flux during our childhood and the 10 year-old Sarah and 8 year-old Amanda were no different.  We fought constantly at this age.  I'm not talking arguments and door slamming (although that happened on a daily basis as well) I'm talking about knock-down drag-out fights that would always end in scratches, rug burns, bruises and tears.  It seems rediculous now but it was the majority of our relationship then and I am so glad that phase didn't last forever.
At ten time is still crawling, you can't wait to grow up and the "adult" world starts to seem more accessible but that special child-like wonder still shows up every once in a while- making it a time full of contradictions and transition, a preview to the quarter-life crisis, perhaps?



Travel Thursday!

This week we're traveling to... the Oregon Coast! 

 Last summer I traveled up the Oregon Coast on a super special road-trip with my Mom.  She had just finished treatment for breast cancer so it was a really special time to be together.

The road-trip started in Northern California and followed the coast in to Oregon.  We planned our trip around the historical lighthouses that dot the coast.  There is so much history (remember, history nerd here!) built in to these lighthouses, and we took tours of the lighthouses whenever they were available - although I have to admit that once you've taken one lighthouse tour, the rest of them sound quite familiar...  There's such an exquisite sense of isolation and melancholy surrounding these beautiful buildings.

Another important aspect of this trip was good old-fashioned roadside Americana and kitsch.  Leftover roadside attractions from days gone by abound on the Oregon coast - who knew?  The beauty of these attractions are that you are seeing the same things that people have been stopping at and traveling to for decades and the allure is still there.  Roadside attractions are my absolute favorite parts of roadtrips, so if you're not stopping at them start- cheesy as they seem they really make the trip.

Tour Thru Tree:



Trees of Mystery:

Prehistoric Gardens:

The Oregon coast has the amazing ability to transport visitors through time, whether it be to the foggy 19th century of the lighthouses or the kitschy fun of the golden age of the roadside attraction.



First Interview!

I apologize for my absence these past few days and promise that I'll make up for it with some awesome posts this week and a really good Movie Monday next week.  However, I have a good excuse!  I had my first interview for a real job!!!
After leaving the gym on Monday I got a message on my cell phone with the Phoenix area code I've been scouring all of my missed calls for for the past 3 months, called back, got a phone interview - after which I was scheduled for a face to face interview two days later!  So I drove down to Phoenix the next day (a girl needs time to shop for the right interview outfit, after all) and had my interview today. 
It was for a job that I think would be a great fit for my first "real" job and would love love love to get it!  I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high but am also staying positive- there's nothing to do now but wait.  I'll keep you posted.

Africa in Arizona (Image Heavy!)

Yesterday I did something I've always wanted to do - go on an African sufari, and all without leaving Arizona! It was amazing!  Camp Verde, Arizona is a small, nothing to do town about 45 minutes from Flagstaff and I've driven through it literally hundreds of times, and yesterday I finally took advantage of one of the coolest things I have yet to find in my home state.  This park has lions, tigers, bears (add the obligatory "oh my") giraffes, a rhino, ostriches, and many, many other animals that are native to Africa.  I've never been sure how I feel about zoos but Out of Africa had a totally different feeling for me.  Many of the residents are rescued, which is awesome, and the pens for most of the animals there are absolutely huge.  I would recommend this to anyone looking for something special to do in AZ!  Here are a few pictures of an amazing day!

Polaroids of my Parents

Polaroids of My Parents is a super cute flickr group that I just found!  I added this pic of my parents on their honeymoon in 1984- they were only a few years older than I am now- so fun!

(I love this picture- so Cocktail-esque)

Travel Thursday!

My trip this week is a little more unique than the others that I've featured here on Travel Thursdays.  In October of 2009 I got the once in a lifetime opportunity to raft the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.  While millions of people visit the Grand Canyon every year, only a small fraction of that get to view the Canyon from the bottom. 

My Dad got into river rafting several years ago and has a group of friends that we have gone on several rafting trips with over the years.  I have had to opportunity to raft down the Salt, San Juan and Rouge rivers- these trips were all around 4 days in length.  The Grand, however, is a 17 day trip!  In order to get a permit to go on a non-commercial (no guides) trip down the Grand Canyon, Dad's friend got on the wait list in the early 90's, when I was only 6 or 7 years old! 

Here's the group before we started out! 

There is a unique rhythm that goes with a rafting trip and I absolutely love it.  The days start early with a breakfast and then packing up camp and loading the rafts.  Everything has to be packed so that if the rafts flip on a rapid (delighful thought, I know) everything will stay attached and dry.  Next the rafts leave camp and get on the river.  Some days we would stop for lunch, some days we would just eat on the rafts and keep floating.  In the Grand Canyon, the walls of the canyon are so high that we would need to find a camp spot by around 3 in the afternoon.  Then camp is set up and it starts all over again the next day. 

I can't really describe the feeling of being on a rafting trip like this.  It's so peaceful and you fall into the rhythm of the river so quickly.

 My mom, dad and I during a day hike up the Little Colorado River, the water is impossibly blue here - the photo doesn't really do it justice

 View from the raft

 A scene from camp

Me, manning the oars

 View from my tent



I actually got pretty sick on the trip and had to hike out with my mom once we got to Phantom Ranch seven days in. 

It was an amazing trip and I would do it again in a second if I got the opportunity!
Here are a few more beautiful scenes from the bottom of the canyon...

Happy Trails, see you next week!