Epiphany

I’m at the post office so often these days, sometimes I forget I can just put a stamp on a letter and stick it in the mailbox.

Letter To My Investors: A Farce

Dear you, 

Recently I quit my job and became a musician. And though this might seem like a desirable lifestyle, doing whatever you want whenever you want has its drawbacks. For instance, it isn’t always easy to know what you want – and this can bring stress into an already haphazard unpredictable life. Additionally, when wanted things are decided upon, it is a fact that many of these ‘desirables’ cost money.

In light of this, I have devised a plan that is called ‘My Plan,’ and it involves me finding a way to make money from home. The plan goes a little something like this: I ask you if you know of any way for me to make money from home, and then you tell me if you know of any way for me to make money from home.

And then, hopefully, I make money from home.

Your input, dear reader, is wildly appreciated.

Steadfastily on, 
MJ

iBlog From My iPhone

Y’all. This week I got an iPhone. It is awesome. So awesome in fact, that I am blogging on a wordpress app as we speak. Forgive me if my punctuation is off kilter.

The best thing about the iPhone so far? Losing all my contacts when I synced it to my iTunes.

Oh wait, that was the lamest part.

They’re Playing My Song

You know what’s great about pop music?

Nothing.

Okay, I seriously take that back, because I totally love pop music.

But think about it, pop music is like the antithesis of the river of life. And here’s why… Have you ever heard that old church song, “Deep and Wide?”

Deep and wide, deep and wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep and wide…

Well I’ll tell you what pop music is not: Deep OR Wide.

I mean, I don’t know exactly how music would be wide, but still. IT IS NOT.

Though it is some dang catchy music. It’s the annoying kind of catchy where you think if you hear the song you’ll get it out of your head, except then you don’t. You scan the satellite radio stations just hoping you’ll hear it, because, let’s be honest, if you heard it once you will hear it again. And then when you hear it, the catchiness is only reinforced until you reach the point that you find yourself purchasing the stupid song on iTunes for $1.29 even though you know you’re going to be sick of it in a week.

But until that week is over, oh it’s pure bliss, it is.  Let me tell you, driving in the car, nodding your head like ‘yeah,’ never gets old.

At least not yet, anyway.

It’s a Good Day When Laundry is Your Crisis

I have no clean clothes. I mean, I have some, but most of them are dirty.

Or in Colorado.

I’ve basically been living out of a suitcase for the last 3 weeks, since taking that roadtrip south with a car full of my belongings. Most of my belongings stayed in the car, and are currently parked outside my friend Amie’s house, just waiting for me to return and claim them. How I’m sure my belongings miss me…  So only the few, the proud (the marines) were left for me to live with for a month. And let me tell you, this last week did not have space for me to breathe, much less do laundry.

So I flew to California with a suitcase AND a guitar case packed with dirty clothes.

YES. I packed my guitar case full of clothes. Why? Well, primarily to pad my guitar. It’s a soft case, and I thought that little extra cushion would keep the guitar from banging back and forth inside the case and give it a firmer fit. And secondly, it allowed me extra space in my suitcase for all the crap I have with me.

For instance:

A credit card swiper.

CDs.

A ceramic coffee mug.

Collected mail from the last few weeks.

Books.

Not the kind of stuff I’d typically pack in a suitcase when going on a trip. What we’ve got here is what you’d call a special circumstance, people, and I’m making do just the best I can.

But to my point? I put on my jeans this morning, which incidentally I had just washed because I’d planned to wear them at my concert and then didn’t so I thought they were clean, but they smelled…….. OFF.

So I took them off.

And promptly worked on two loads of laundry today.

Which means that my opening statement is now actually false, as my actions today have thus altered my current clothing state from dirty to mostly clean. (The second load is still in the washer…)

Just Call Me Marjorie Goats

I have been called a lot of things in my life. With a name like “Marijke” it isn’t hard to see why.  A silent J? Who comes up with this stuff? Here are just a smattering few, phonetically spelled for [ahem] clarity:

Veronica

Mareeka

Mary Kaye

Maridgekee

Mary Jika

Jikes

Rika

Marjorie

Mejracky

Marishnakoff – My little albino billy goat

Marika-lecka-hi-mecka-hiney-ho

Marijuana (actually pronounced Mari-ju-wanna)

GROAT!! (that one went around high school like wildfire)

And, you know? I’m used to it. I’m comfortable with it. I like being the only me I know.

At one point around the age of 9 or 10 I thought I wanted to go by the name “Marie,” which now seems incredibly boring. (Sorry to any of you Maries out there, I’m sure it’s a wonderful name..  It’s just not mine.)

Also, if you google my full name you can find a MAP to my DESK at my OFFICE where I WORK. So I’m very stalkable.

Anyway, it occurred to me the other day that you may be reading this blog and have absolutely no idea how to say my name. Which, really, is entirely understandable. So let me introduce myself.

My name is Marijke. I tell people that it’s “Maraca” with an “I.” Or “Mariah” with a “K.”

Confused? I hope not.

You can also call me MJ.

It’s nice to meet you.

A Reflection for Friday

I watched this movie tonight with my roommates and friend Jodi who is moving out of state on Monday. (See? Everybody’s leaving…)

And, it was good.

 

 

There. That’s my “something” for today.

Imagine My Relief

So, this morning I was driving to work and I noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of me: “Keep Austin Weird.”

Okay. That’s not so unusual. Except I am of the opinion that if you live in Alaska, driving a car with full on Alaska license plates, you’re in no position to be advocating for the eccentricity of a city in Texas. And aren’t Alaska and Texas kind of rivals, anyway? Texas has got to be jealous that Alaska is more than twice it’s size… In all reality, we are DAILY making Texas a liar. I mean, I guess maybe the owner of the car is from Austin and so maybe that’s understandable. But as a rule, I kind of just think you should be where you are, you know?

In any case, in my bleary eyed, delusional, morning, barely awake state, what I thought the bumper sticker said was “Keep Autism Weird.”

And man, it kind of seems like there’d be something wrong with that…

An Escape Clause

Me: “You know that feeling, when you’re so tired you’re in physical pain? Like, if you don’t shut your eyes you might actually die? That’s kind of how I feel right now.”

Her: “Well, we’re almost home…”

Me: “Yeah, except I haven’t blogged today.”

Her: “I think that if you’re going to DIE, you get a free pass. Your blog is not worth dying for.”

Could You Just Be Normal For Once?

I’m not a fan of small talk, I’m really not. So when I go to Starbucks and they start asking me if I have big plans for the day, or how my “Monday” is going, I just want to look at them and say, “Really? You’re asking me that right now?”

I just don’t like canned conversation.

So this guy, every time I go there (and I’ve overheard him do the same with other customers), when I place my order in the drive thru he says, “Okay. That will be ready tomorrow at 3 pm. But stop at the window and say hi to me.”

“Really? You just said that? Come on…”

But today, not only did he say THAT, when he handed me my drink (a gloriously frosty caramel beverage) he also said THIS:

“You can hardly even tell there’s chicken in it.”

REALLY? YOU JUST SAID THAT??

I mean. COME. ON.