Your Love is Candy on a Shelf

Hi All,

That's from what has to be the funniest song I've ever heard ('Help Yourself')! I have to backtrack and explain a bit. As a child, I heard a lot of Tom Jones. I mean A LOT. My mom loooved him, and who blames her? Looking back, he was one hot tamale! Tight black pants and an open shirt with a few chest hairs sticking out! That smile! That handsome face! And, he has a great voice. It's a shame he's had to use that voice to become The Ultimate Version of Bill Murray's Nick The Lounge Singer. But he has a great voice, nonetheless. Me being maybe 5 or 6 at the time, I didn't see his attractiveness, but I loved his music. You could dance to it, which was all that mattered to me at the time. I didn't know anything about lyrics, or complicated melodies (Hello, Tori Amos!). All I knew was: I loved a good dance beat. My love of dance beats would continue when I became a Madonna fan in the 80's, and I suppose it has to do with why I love to play the drums. Or, I just love to beat on things. Yikes! Men of the world, look out. haha JK I'm very mild-mannered, truly. But I do love the beats.

My co-worker and I are in charge of the 'Fun Committee' for our team. We plan fun activities and such, and organize for free prizes and gifts. Yesterday, we got a whole load of stuff, from digital cameras (free!) to CDs. One of those CDs was Tom Jones' 'Reloaded Greatest Hits.' It has his classic (?) hits plus some covers of newer songs, done with groups like Wyclef Jean and The Cardigans. He does a decent version of 'Burning Down the House' with the Cardigans. I miss David Byrne, though, as I think he's possibly the only person that can sing Talking Heads songs. So anyway, I snagged this CD for myself, since, as the leader of this committee, I should get something out of it.
I was on the treadmill last night listening to this as I worked out. Bean said, "How can you work out to THAT??" But I had fun. And I had to refrain from laughter as I paid attention to the lyrics. Candy on a shelf, indeed.

In other news, I got this email and phone call from Entertainment Weekly asking for my permission to print my letter, which was my review of 'Superman Returns,' and post a picture of me in an upcoming issue as the 'Obsessive Fan of the Week.' Me being me, I loved that title. Irony is, I'm obsessed with Star Wars, not Superman. I love The Man of Steel; don't get me wrong. And I LOVED 'Superman Returns.' Clearly in my Top Five movies ever. But I know I already said that. ;) If I had to think about what I'm truly obsessive about, well, it would have to be The Star Wars. Cool though that they thought my review obsessive enough to spotlight! I DID write: "Obsessive Superman Commentary to follow." They wanted me to pose with my Superman memoribilia. Truly, I don't have much! But Bean had fun being a photog and capturing my innate nerdiness on camera. So watch out for it, if it all comes about. Sometimes EW will call you and say they're going to do something, and not do it. They've told me they were considering printing my letters before. (I'm an obsessive letter-writer! Got a letter that needs to be drafted? Give me the jist of it; I'll write it.) But this time, they did actually say I was the Fan of the Week. Whatever they do, it's an honor, since EW is my favorite magazine and my reviews are crafted after theirs. And, let's face it: I can be obsessive about Superman! (Not my fault he's so cute and heroic. haha)

We had a rather lengthy discussion with our trainer just now about various psychology theories. He went off-topic, but we loved it. I felt like I was in Psych 101. I pretty much like to hear anyone tell stories (that's how he got off track; telling us about his life. I started this discussion, Troublemaker that I am.) and I love to learn ANYTHING. I'll even try to learn math even though I truly hate it. Because the mind is there to be exercised.

Things EW readers might say once they see me in the mag
1) Now we know what a nerd looks like.
2) Why is she holding that Superman doll provocatively?
3) Is she single? If so, I'll dress up as Superman and show up at her door.
4) Who took this photo? Clearly NOT Ansel Adams.
5) Why the silly grin? I hear she always has that.

haha
I am kidding. I guess I look very normal and average.
I never like photos of myself.
Just an Esteem issue of mine.

But, we shall see.
(ps Who says 'shall?' haha Now you've done it, T. Once you befriend me, it's impossible for me NOT to tease you. It means I think highly of you, when I do that. But really, who DOES say 'shall?' haha)

Have a great day!