Letters of Note

I had read about a book that was released earlier this year called Other People's Rejection Letters, a compilation of, yep, people's rejection letters. I haven't read it myself, but it includes everything from Jimi Hendrix's rejection letter from the Army to a kid's note to his parents: "I hate you. I'm running away." Sounds like an entertaining book, and a good read for anyone who's ever felt devastatingly rejected!

Anyway, a bit of internet searching for famous letters led me to an incredible website that I just can't stop reading. It's called Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience.

The site is an online collection of famous, important, tragic, and sometimes just darn funny postcards, faxes, memos, letters, and notes. There are actual scanned photographs of the correspondence as well as typed up transcriptions so they are easy to read.

Some of the many letters I looked over today included a note from Conan O'Brien to a girl who asked him to her senior prom (he couldn't go but was kind enough to write back!), a letter from Christa McAuliffe to a young fan about how excited she was to be the first teacher in space (she and her entire crew perished when The Challenger exploded 73 seconds after take-off), and a fascinating note to Marlon Brando from Jack Kerouac, trying to convince him to star as Dean Moriarty in the movie On the Road...which has still never been made into a movie. Could you imagine Marlon Brando as Dean? Oh, gosh!

I love letters, notes, and handwriting. A couple of years ago I went to the British Library in London and got to see Jane Austen's letters (I wish I had her handwriting), Captain Cook's journal, Handel's handwritten Messiah, and Beatles lyrics. They were so delicate and beautiful.

It's easy for us to see handwritten stuff as archaic and disposable, which makes me sad; letter writing has become a lost art. Letters are so personal and intimate. I feel like I shouldn't be reading some of these letters online, letters that were meant for a single person to read. But now they are historic documents that give insight into people's thoughts, motives, relationships, and personalities. They are just fascinating to me!!

Check some of them out on Letters of Note!

Happy Feet

I so wish I could be one of those girls who could prance effortlessly around all day in five-inch heels. I love heels. Well, I love the look of them, anyway. They obviously create the illusion of height and slenderness, but they also effect gait, posture, and even demeanor. You can’t feel ho-hum in heels.

However, I am not biologically capable to Sarah Jessica Parker around. Not even for short distances, like from my car to the office. First of all, I’ve lived with chronic back pain for over a decade, and stilettos have adverse effects on the spine. Second, I have a hard enough time not stumbling or running into things with both feet firmly on terra firma (the firma, the betta! Ha…Latin joke!). And, third, let’s be honest…I’m just not cool enough to wear heels except on New Year’s Eve and at weddings.

The great news is that flats are so stinkin cute these days. You can get them in whatever colors, textures, bells, and whistles you want. Today, I bought these from Nordstrom (half yearly sale…what?!). I want to lick these sparkly shoes...they glisten like the glaze on a Krispy Kreme! I’m still flat-footed, ungraceful as ever, and barely 5’4”, but my toes are twinkling, and so is my smile.

I'm Melting

For those of you who have not been following my string of cranky tweets lately and might not understand my disdain for this diabolical heat, let me be crystal clear: I hate hot weather. The heat sucks my will to do anything right out of me. I get fussy, restless, and whiny.

I hate having to straighten my hair with a 400 degree iron when it’s 100 degrees in my room. I hate that I can’t touch my seatbelt without getting burned. I hate having to wipe off my sweat-stache while I’m putting on makeup. I hate that the ice cubes in my latte virtually melt from Starbucks to my car. I hate that my shower is negated ten seconds after the fact because I’m already sweating again. I mean, I can’t even wear my snuggie when I’m reading anymore!

I grew up in Southern California swimming every day, hitting the beach four times a week, and lifeguarding as a teen. For a long time, I had a respectable tan and that chlorine sheen to my hair. I was a real California Gurl, Katy Perry…West Coast, represent!

But those days are over. Long ago are the carefree days of basking in the cancerous sun for hours at a time, when premature wrinkles and melanoma were only fleeting thoughts. Gone are the days of laissez-faire summer hair, when a headband was enough to make a bushy bushy blonde hairdo cute. And the days of daisy dukes and bikinis on top? Oh wait...they never even happened. (And for the record, I DO mind sand in my stilettos! Er, at least I would if I wore them!)

My style is now daily moisturizer with SPF 30, dark wash jeans—no matter how hot it is (dude, they're slimming), cardigans every day, ballet flats, and straightened hair. The uniform is on lock, Katy…even in the summer. Heck, I almost wore a scarf last week.

Doesn’t the thought of a crisp fall night, snuggling in a blanket with an amazing book, drinking a hot pumpkin spice latte sound so much better than sweating your butt off at a beach bonfire and smelling like smoke for the next three days even though you washed your hair—twice? Yeah, that’s what I thought!

Take heart, friends…only sixty-five days until FALL!

Oh, Arnie Boy...

When I was a kid, I collected cow stuff. Cow calendars, cow stuffed animals, cow print stuff, you get the picture. One of my favorite things was my cow alarm clock. I saw it at JCPenney, and it was $49.99, which is a ridiculous price for an alarm clock in general, but if you’re ten, is really a lot! Saving up for that clock meant eschewing purchasing all those awesome Lisa Frank stickers, glitter erasers, and Sanrio pencil cases that I was so fond of. But I was determined to save my allowance, and in a couple of short months, bought the clock.

I named him Arnold, because he sounded exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger. The alarm was a cow bell (it actually scared me awake for years) followed by a moo and then “Wake up! Don’t sleep your life away!” Picture Governor Schwarzenegger saying that to you. That’s what my clock sounded like.

Anyway, Arnold was a good and faithful servant up until only a few months ago, when a corroded battery (Kirkland brand, if you were wondering) cut his charmed life short. And until yesterday, Arnold sat mutely on my nightstand, gathering dust, but still watching over me every night. I couldn’t just throw him away. He’s not an old, broken clock. He’s more like a vintage cow figurine now.

By the way, that kind of reasoning is why I’m a cat carcass and a few Hummels shy of being featured on Hoarders. I knew I had to let Arnold go. So I asked my dad to take care of it. That conversation went something like this:

“Lisa, just throw it away.”

“DAD…I can’t. I mean, haven’t you seen the Toy Story movies? I can’t just throw him away! This is his home.”

“Lis, he’s the one who gave up on you. It’s not like you asked much of him…just to tell the time once or twice a day. It’s time to say ‘hasta la vista’ to Arnold.”

So…I did.

Poor Arnold.

Evil

Wedding Notes

Brace yourself: When you hit your 20's, you go to a lot of weddings!

I love weddings! I love trying to catch the bouquet and eating delicious wedding cake! I love the sweet toasts and how radiant the brides always look. I love smelling the flowers and always tear up a little during the father-daughter dance. I love seeing my guy friends in suits--they look so dashing. I love the Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble songs. Weddings rock!

I've never given a ton of thought into planning my wedding. Many of my girlfriends have had their color schemes picked out since they were five, known what kind of flowers they want, subscribe to bridal magazines, and have already narrowed down venues in their heads. Not me.

I want a simple wedding. I'm not entirely sure what that means because weddings are significant events and require a lot of planning, but I know I will not ever care about what font the name cards are typed in (I mean, unless it's Papyrus) or to which degree of transparency that little sheet needs to be that goes over the invitations. Now that I think about it, why is that even there, anyway?

There are two things I think would be cool, though. The first is that I'd love for the song Yellow by Coldplay to somehow be incorporated into the night. Coldplay is one of my favorite bands and Yellow was the first song of theirs that I heard. The lyrics make my heart ache and always remind me of how loved I am by Jesus (...for you I'd bleed myself dry...). Maybe I'll walk down the aisle to it someday. Who knows?

The other thing I thought would be really cool is centerpieces of stacks of books. I went to a wedding earlier this year, and these were at all the dinner tables. If my future husband is on board, we'll copy this idea.

Oh, and I really don't want to dance at my wedding (or, ever), but I'll just have to get over it, I suppose.

That is all...

Water IS Best

I love Diet Coke. It's so delicious and refreshing. And Coke is so American. How can you not love a glass of Coke with a slice of pizza, a big plastic $5 cup of Diet Coke at a ballgame with peanuts, or a frosted glass of soda served with lime to accompany your chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant? I mean, what else would you even order?!

It was only when I realized I craved soda after a workout or super late at night that I thought, "Hmm, this is not healthy." I decided that for the month of June, a month full of baseball and barbecues, I would challenge myself to not drink any soda.

So I haven't had any soda since May 31st. I've been drinking a lot of iced teas (Bagels and Brew's is delicious!) and a ton of water, and although it hasn't even been that long, I notice the difference in my overall health. My muscles feel less fatigued when I work out, I just feel better, and my skin even looks healthier. I'm hesitant to say I won't ever touch the stuff again, but I certainly won't ever return to the habit of daily soda drinking.

I took this picture of the Temperance statue when I visited Bath in 2008--a city known for the healing qualities of its mineraled water. I should have listened to it...water really is best!!

Summer = Here

With sunscreen slathered and sold-out tickets in hand, my brother and I kept a Birle sibling tradition alive on Saturday as we braved the crowds and heat at KROQ’s annual Weenie Roast. An all-day outdoor rock concert with an awesome lineup of 10+ bands is always a great way to start summer.

This was our fourth Weenie Roast. Over the years, we’ve been fortunate enough to see some great performances by the Strokes, Beastie Boys, Bad Religion, Velvet Revolver, the Hives, Modest Mouse, The Killers, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Kings of Leon, and Weezer, to name a few. My brother and I don’t have too many overlapping interests (He doesn’t read Jane Austen or watch Disney movies—can you believe that guy?!), so it’s great to be able to spend a day together and enjoy a lot of the bands that provided the soundtrack to our high school and college years.

I must admit that I have to kind of psych myself up into going to the Weenie Roast. It can be a taxing environment at times. Alcohol and profanity flow freely, and my close proximity to illegal substances definitely challenges my comfort! Oh, and someone spilled beer on my TOMS this year, so that was awesome.

On a high note (figuratively—well, for me, anyway…), there was much less Ed Hardy clothing worn this year, the crowd was downright friendly, and the bands were awesome. I was pleasantly surprised by Paramore’s energetic performance and Spoon’s great set. It was so fun to see Devo perform “Whip It” with their Energy Dome hats, and to see Courtney Love—she seemed sober and much more put-together than I anticipated. But Scott Weiland and the Stone Temple Pilots were definitely the stand-out performers. Scott is quite a showman! I had such a fun day, and I can’t wait to go back next year!

Thoughts

A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts.

--Joshua Reynolds

Sans Tans

Will anyone join me in embracing aristocratic pallor this summer, and perhaps bringing back parasols? Come on...it's a viable trend! Plus, we'll have the last laugh in about fifty years, and without laugh lines and leathery cancer skin, too!

To all you perfectly sun-kissed beachgoers, smugly glistening in the summer sunshine while I drench my pasty Irish-German skin with gobs of sunscreen...good riddance!