Robin Williams

I was stunned to hear about Robin Williams' death last night. Someone who was so talented, so funny, lost in such a tragic, depressing way.

Honestly, a goofy gif was probably the only thing to keep me from crying about it.

I know he was famous long before his child movie career, but that's how I will always remember him. Whether it's Hook, Aladdin, Patch Adams, or Jumanji. My all-time favorite movie, though, is Mrs. Doubtfire. Sadly, I couldn't watch Mrs. Doubtfire in memoriam, because it wasn't on Netflix (nor was it at Target), so I opted for Jumanji instead.

Mrs. Doubtfire was great because it was so quirky, so nuanced. Any other actor in Williams' role could've looked like a total creep. But that didn't happen.

I quote that movie almost every time I see my family, especially my sister. I think I watched it with her once and now I always say 'Helloooooo!' in the stupid Mrs. Doubtfire voice whenever I see her. See gif above to give the phrase context. Hehe.

I also loved The Birdcage, which wasn't a kids movie, but another great movie with Williams. I remember watching that with my gay friend in high school. (He was the only guy in our class that had come out at that point.)

Mark's all-time favorite movie is Good Will Hunting. We both like Dead Poets Society too.

I don't know. Maybe it sounds melodramatic, but it almost feels like part of my childhood died along with him the other night. There are just a lot of memories with his movies, attached to different memories in my life as I grew up watching them, and he's really the one that made a lot of those movies special.

P.S. If you haven't already, you should read this Reddit AMA!

Nostalgic Weekend

A variety of events over Saturday and Sunday culminated in a very lazy, nostalgia-filled weekend for me, including the discovery of several late 1980s and early 1990s kids movies on Netflix, the continuation of my long term family photo digitizing project (after a taking a break for a few weeks), and an impromptu trip to my parents' attic last night.

Photo from disney.wikia.com

When I discovered Honey I Shrunk the Kids was on Netflix, I almost peed myself I was so excited.

I had this movie on VHS, and had watched it so many times as a kid the tape broke. (I think my little sister Ashley did the same thing with the movie Toy Story.) I hadn't watched the movie in full since I was about 10, so it was long overdue to watch it again as soon as I saw it.

For being a Disney movie, there was some "edge" for an American, rated G movie I don't think would be done again now. The neighbor's dad smokes. (WHOA.) And at one point, he even said H E double hockey sticks. And I forgot how fun it looked to use blades of grass as slides. And use an ant as a mode of transportation.

Being the devil that Netflix is, after I finished watching it, they recommended other movies for me that were similar: My Girl, Beethoven, and their sequels. Curse that movie-streaming beast. I put them on my watch list.

Some of my other favorite movies as a kid were Fern Gully and Matilda. I have them both on DVD now.

More on my attic adventure and my photo scanning later this week. What were some of your favorite movies as a kid?

Jenni and I Were Like Peas and Carrots (Part 2)

Fun fact: I'll be visiting Jenni on her birthday weekend this August. (Here's Part 1 of the story.)

Coincidently, we also celebrated her birthday while we were at YES! Magazine. It's particularly noteworthy because her mom sent this epically large chocolate cake to the office. While there weren't more than 20 people at the YES! office, this ginormous cake could easily feed 100 plus people. It was hilarious... and delicious. (pictured above, even though photos don't do justice of this cake's size) I remember the cake was mermaid-themed because Jenni is from Florida. We were eating that cake for months. We froze big chunks of it. Side note: Dylan is her dog back home.

I guess there could be another large cake on the horizon... not that I'm complaining.

I've also been reminiscing about our trip to Mt. Rainier, one of our last outings together before I left Seattle. It was our only double date; Mark flew in to visit during the last week of my internship. Before that, I hung out a lot with just Jenni and her then-boyfriend pretty regularly.

Jenni probably enjoyed making snow balls a little too much, since it was a novel experience. Mark was also in rare form: Happy!

Sigh. I do miss YES! a lot. There are many memories and beautiful things out in the Pacific Northwest. I hope I'm able to return there soon. Between the weather, the people, the climate, the culture... Everything about that place was surreal and amazing.

I'm sure Jenni and I will be reminiscing a lot!

All the YES! interns, from left to right: Jenni, Idil, me, Ayla, and Sara.

Jenni and I Were Like Peas and Carrots (Part 1)

Jenni is my YES! Magazine bestie, where we were both editorial interns back in 2011.

My time at YES! (which is based in Seattle) was by far my most unique internship experience. While the work there was unpaid, they provided free housing for all interns in a house that the magazine owns. It was great for intern camaraderie, but with Jenni and I working the same position, and the only ones in the house who weren't already living in Seattle, we bonded pretty hardcore.

Between trips to Lake Crescent (pictured above) and Mt. Rainier (pictures to come), and working and living together, we were practically inseparable. Unfortunately though, even with spending every waking moment together for more than three months, I could only find a handful of photos of us together.

I'm hoping that will soon change, since I'm planning on visiting her in Austin, Texas this summer!!

It's been about two-and-a-half years since we last saw one another in person. It was weird to suddenly spend that much time with someone out of nowhere, and have it taken away just as quickly. We've exchanged the occasional letter, text, and video chat, but obviously that's not the same as spending time in person. Needless to say, I am so freaking excited to see her again.

Other adventures while we were in the Pacific Northwest?

I can still remember our first weekend together. We found old bikes in the intern house garage and decided to ride them to a nearby farmers market. Little did we know that the bikes had no brakes! That was a day to remember, to say the least.

After that, we picked about five million wild blackberries, participated in No Impact Week together, and carved pumpkins while wearing the creepiest animal masks ever. And let's not forget the endless number of ferry rides, since we lived and worked on Bainbridge Island, which is a half hour ferry ride from downtown Seattle. :)

I'm so excited to have some fun summer plans in place. Sadly, this will be my first time flying since 2011, when I returned to Pittsburgh from Seattle.

What kinds of plans do you have for this summer? Planning on visiting old friends? Anything I should know about the capitol of the Lone Star State?

Fleatastic: Rogers Community Auction

It's probably going to sound strange, but flea markets make me a bit nostalgic.

On Friday, Mark and I headed to Rogers Community Auction. Located in Ohio just a few miles beyond the Pennsylvania border, it's one of the biggest flea markets in the region.

Rogers is almost like a county fair, in environment and vast space. Between the smell of fried foods permeating the air, livestock on sale, even a LIVE merry-go-round with donkeys, the place draws an interesting crowd.

Of course, it has the staples of a standard flea market: vintage postcards, tools, furniture, brick-a-brac, succulents, Amish baked goods. It's all here.

This place reminds me a lot of the flea market that was held down the road from where I grew up. There was a mix of indoor and outdoor markets, fresh produce and bizarre goods. (A friend found moon shoes there once for a dollar. Needless to say, I was very jealous.) The flea market I grew up going to almost every Sunday after church, called the Wildwood Peddler's Fair, closed four or five years ago. Rogers is the first place I've been to that actually has more variety in vendors and items.

The biggest drawback to Rogers is that the flea market is only open on Fridays, making it difficult to go very often. Mark had the day off, but I took a work comp day so we could spend the day there.

The hunt started out slow, since it looked like it could start pouring down rain at any moment. Vendors were already beginning to pack up and go when we got there. But out of nowhere, the sun came out, and we started finding goodies. I found a Peanuts mug with the Christmas scene on it for a couple bucks (I collect way too many cute and quirky mugs), mark found an old, rare bobblehead from a local minor league team for five bucks (baseball-related items are his addiction), and I got a pack of Garbage Pail Kids cards for a dollar.

Our best find though was a bar cart, with big, bicycle-like wheels for five dollars. I've been eyeing them up for awhile, and was loving the idea, since liquor takes up an embarrassing amount of our kitchen counter space. I was nearly giddy when the vendor told me the price. I'll have a future post about the cart, since there need to be a few DIY fixes before it's fully functional.

While driving an hour away to a flea market isn't the best time ever, there were some interesting roadside attractions that made the commute worthwhile, including a 20-foot tall gold statue of a muscle man, and Santa Claus. (proof below)

PS If you're wondering about the frumpy "yinzer" outfit, it's the best way to go flea market shopping. It's comfortable, but also, I tend to get better offers and have more success haggling than when I've worn something nicer to a flea market or yard sale, like a dress and boots.

Does anyone have a favorite flea market or favorite flea market find?