Flashback Friday - the Cruisers edition

When I was young I used to hang out at my best friend, Erin's, house across the street and watch the movie Eddie & the Cruisers over and over. AND over. We would lay on the floor in front of the TV in her parents' family room and people had to step over us to get through the room. Erin used to push the buttons on the VCR with her toes. Odd the things we remember, isn't it? 

Anyway, I loved the movie then and I still do now. Here are some clips for you: 

If you haven't seen it then I fully recommend watching it some Sunday afternoon when it's raining, the kids are sleeping or gone, and you're feeling a little introspective. And drool over Michael Pare in tight jeans and leather jackets (long before he turned into the asshole, cheating husband in Hope Floats). Note: the Eddie & the Cruisiers sequel isn't even a fraction as good as the first one, but it does tell you what in the hell happened after the somewhat ambiguous end to the first one. Personally I LIKE the ambiguity; I don't need to know the whole mundane story. But maybe that's just me. 

Enjoy! Happy Friday & glorious 3-day weekend, peeps!

Sometimes I'm a lucky girl

My company HQ is in San Francisco. Coincidentally, I love San Francisco. Always have. Sometimes I have to go visit my HQ to do work type stuff. When that happens I take full advantage of the opportunity to visit my California family.

So last Thursday night I packed a small bag for the weekend and got my booty into bed by midnight. I set the alarm for 5:30 AM. Then I lay there. And I tossed. Then I turned. Then I tossed again. Then I moved to the sofa. Sometimes I can sleep on the sofa when I can't get comfy in my bed. 2 am, 3 am, and finally, blessfully, I fell asleep around 4 am. I had moved the alarm to 6 am. Yeah, you do the math.

On the way to the airport I saw this:

When I got to SFO I took the BART, because I'm thrifty like that, to my HQ's BART stop near Market:

And schlepped the few blocks, partially UP HILL, to my office in SOMA. It was an absolutely, unbelievably gorgeous day:

I worked for a while. I had a successful, productive meeting. I found out that our HQ has a "Zen room" (more like a Zen closet) which I said was very Zen-like and my co-worker corrected me and said, no, it's more IKEA-like. But, you know, that works for me.

After a few hours there, I took the BART back to SFO and picked up a rental car. In fact, I got a BRAND SPANKING NEW rental. It only had 70 miles on it. Sunroof, leather seats, satellite radio. I dug it. And I hit the road. And parked. In San Jose traffic. It took me 2 1/2 hours to travel 42 miles. Frick 'n' frack was I annoyed. And tired. Did I mention that I was operating on only 2 hours sleep?

Finally, around Morgan Hill, CA, I hit open road and I kept going until I hit Fresno County. At which point it was about 8 pm and I had to pee. And felt a powerful need to eat a little something too. But, thank goodness I didn't need gas because that's where I saw this:

Holy preposterousness, Batman. For reals.

And then I got a text from one of my best friends from high school, Alicia. I call her Leash. Her brother's band was playing at a dive bar that night in my hometown and could I come? Pretty please? And bring my mom since her mom was going to be there too? Um, yeah, SURE! Because I may have only had 2 hours sleep and flew across 3 states at dawn, and been in meetings all day and on the road for 5 hours but OF COURSE I'm up for hitting a dive bar with friends to listen to a rockabilly band. Duh.

So this happened:

It was sorta dark in there and my mom couldn't figure out how to work the camera on my phone. At this point we were all laughing at her. That's Leash on the right. And on the left, Kristen. We all reminisced about getting into a fender bender in Kristen's car on the first day of my Freshman year. Probably the first time my mom let a friend drive me anywhere. Yep. Kristen & Alicia look exactly the same since HS and I hate them. Except that I love them. Moving on.

I spent the weekend with my Mamacita. This is her in her backyard. It's my own personal Zen place. Her house backs up to a field so it's super quiet and there's very little light pollution so I can lay out there in the patio loungers and listen to the fountain and look at millions of stars. Om.

One of the biggest reasons I came to my hometown this weekend was to see my Grammy. You see, she's the best Grammy EVER. Without exception. Even my hubby says that she's the best - and he had a pretty amazing Gram himself.

Here's me and my Gram:

I was laughing in this pic because she was clutching her blouse up around her neck in order to hide her "turkey neck." She is so silly. The best parts of me, my cousins, my mom & my aunts all came from her. She's ornery, nurturing, loving, understanding, and the epitome of gracefulness. Except when she burps out loud. Man, can she burp. And snore. My goodness. Oh, how I love her.

I also spent a good part of the weekend with this dude:

Okay, so his hair is a little crazy in this pic, but he's still cute right? And he has kind eyes. He's my cousin. He's my brother/cousin. And he's single. Swoon, ladies, swoon. Also, he's 30 and he likes older women. If you live in the valley and want to meet him just email me. (He's also a journeyman/electrician looking for steady work so, you know, email me for that too).

Saturday night something momentous happened:

That's JONI! Yeah, THE Joni. My blogging inspiration and altogether-awesome-person Joni. And that bitty baby is Ella. I tried to hold Ella. She took one look at me and screamed her adorable little head off. C'est la vie. But I did get to try one of Joni's chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. Delicioso. (That baby WILL like me someday. I'm determined).

Sunday afternoon I packed up my fancy rental car and headed for the bay. I pit-stopped at Harris Ranch in Coalinga. I sang my way along I-5 and 152 over Pacheco Pass. I smelled the garlic in Gilroy. The drive went quickly and before I knew it I was standing at the window in the airport looking out at the bay and thinking how much I love California. Politics, finances, even pollution aside - I love California. I love the way I feel when I visit. I love the roads that I know by heart. I love the colors. I love the ocean, the country and the mountains and that in one afternoon's drive I can experience all three. Until we meet again, California: 

Sometimes I'm a lucky, lucky girl. 

Compliments & Validation

I was reading an article about Jill Scott and she made this comment:

It's silly to be stingy with compliments. If you see someone and they strike you as beautiful in any way why not let them know?

Then, later, I was cruising through some Twitter feeds and saw that several people had retweeted that comment. I found that to be so interesting because, by and large, I think we are generally reserved  and not apt to simply compliment other strangers even when we notice that a compliment may be warranted. There's this fear, "how will they react? what will they say?" Which is kind of silly, when you think about it, because most people are more than happy to get compliments or at least some form of validation.

Validation. I love that word. It embodies all the "I was right" or "yes, I rock" or "holy crap, I actually accomplished something" exclamations into one simple, sophisticated little word.

Here's the official definition:

val·i·date 

1. To declare or make legally valid.

2. To mark with an indication of official sanction.

3. To establish the soundness of; corroborate.

Official sanction. That's the President or Queen passing on the crown, right? Or just your boss saying, "good report" or your mom saying "I'm proud of the mom you have become."  Someone with authority giving approval and encouragement simply because they see a reason to give it.

I have found I'm one of those people that needs some sort of validation - especially in my professional life. Validation can be small and personal, "hey, nice haircut" or "thanks for folding that massive pile of clothes," or large and professional, "since you do such good work we are offering you an annual retainer incentive of $150k." Both types significant in their own way. Both of them designed to validate me - the first in my appearance and the second from my actions, knowledge and experience. (Ok, the second one didn't happen. But I keep wishing. Instead the occasional pat on the back and annual pay bumps must to suffice).

So what's the point? Whether you are in a position to validate the actions of another (like your child, your spouse, or your employees) or simply compliment a peer or a stranger JUST DO IT. Recognize positive actions and reinforce the behavior. Let them know that they did something that you liked. Let them know that you think they are awesome. Or that you simply like their shoes. Whatever it is - tell them. They will feel 100 times better and I bet you will too.

We can get so bogged down with negativity in our lives. Deadlines, bills, homework, stress, etc., that just a few words of encouragement can make a big difference.

So I'm going to try to remember to give compliments when they are deserved and validation when it's needed. I hope you will too.

Here's my first - I'm thankful to each and every one of you for taking a few minutes out of your busy days to read my words. I'm thankful for you.

Baseball Mom

It's starting. I've resisted for a long time - he's too young, he's not ready, let's just do martial arts instead - but now it's time. To push it off any further would be doing him a disservice.

My oldest has joined an organized sports team. Baseball, to be specific. 

3 weeks ago when I reminded my son that he was signed up for baseball and it would be starting soon he had a gigantic fit. He didn't want to do it, how could I make him and why didn't I warn him before I signed him up? Well, he knew I was signing him up, he chose baseball over soccer, and I even double-checked with him. So what was the problem? Nerves. He was scared to meet new people and do something he wasn't used to doing.

2 weeks ago when my mom & stepdad were here they bought him a bat, a couple baseballs, and a mitt. We went out to a baseball diamond at a school nearby and practiced a bit. After that I didn't hear a word of complaint.

Last night we went to the first practice. I signed all the forms, got his uniform and signed up to bring the snacks for one of the games. In true sports mom form.

I was so proud of him last night. No nerves last night. He jumped right in. And when the coach was asking for a volunteer to demonstrate where center field was he raised his arm the highest.  

In the next 5 weeks we have 4 practices and 10 games. Here we go.

He's an Angel. And a handsome devil.

His brother giving him words of encouragement just before his first time up to bat.

Because I love themed collages.