Y-Town

As you all know, I currently reside in a suburb north of Austin, TX. But this is not where I am from. Nossir. I was born and raised in a wee little town in Michigan called Ypsilanti. Or, as the natives call it, Ypsi or Y-town.














Ypsi is located just west of Detroit, and east of Ann Arbor which is of course home to the University of Michigan. There is a lesser known University in Y-town, Eastern Michigan University.














Near this great University is Ypsi's most well known attraction, The Water Tower. The Giant Phallic Shaped Water Tower. Paul Bunyan's Penis.















Ypsilanti is also well known from the smash 1983 hit song "Back to Ypsilanti" by native Lee Osler. You can download and listen to that song here. I love the dotcoms and the fact that you can find randy crappy music about obscure towns from 26 years ago.

And of course, Ypsi is also the birthplace of Domino's Pizza.



















A penis shaped water tower, a really bad 80's song, and the worst pizza I've ever tasted. These are all things to be proud of. Ah, who am I kidding? We got nothing. Ypsi's got nothing.

But there is hope on the horizon. For Ypsilanti, hope is currently residing in the one person who could potentially put us on the map. For good.












Matt Giraud, current contestant on season 8 of American Idol.

American Idol tells you he's from Kalamazoo (another Michigan town with a funny name), which is where he currently lives, but he was raised in Ypsilanti. My boy is representing Y-town every week, and, in my opinion, doing us proud.

He's had some off weeks, I will admit. He's not the strongest singer or performer on the stage. And I don't realistically expect him to win the whole competition (sorryMattifyou'rereadingthisIstillloveyoucallmeok?). But I do expect him to stick around for a few more weeks, and I'd like to see him get into the final 4. The judges used their save on him last night, so that must mean they see something in him that is worth keeping him around. If you haven't been watching Idol because you live under a rock, then I can tell you that he is soulful yet shy. Sweet yet sexy. Talented, cute, and has been compared the both Justin Timberlake and Michael Buble.

















He rocked out a Stevie Wonder song last week (Part Time Lover), and I am a Stevie purist, generally believing that people should leave his work alone, because no one can touch him (case and point, Megan Joy who did a Stevie song a few weeks prior and it was AWFUL). Matt was amazing.

He needs your votes to stay in the competition!! I would hate to see him go home next week after the judges saved him this week.

So, on behalf of the people of Ypsilanti, Michigan, I am asking you all to VOTE FOR MATT this week!!! Consider it a personal favor to me. Lee Osler and I thank you.

Also, Matt, we totally think that you should sing "Back to Ypsilanti" for your final Idol performance. Really seal the deal. Let 'em know. Loud and proud. Y-TOWN.










(PS for the record, I am very proud of my hometown and love Ypsilanti. There are a lot of great things about it, but for the purpose of blogging, Matt's success on the show, and good humor, I only wrote about what I felt like writing about, which is pretty much how I roll all the time)

32 Random Facts about Steve

It's time for some "getting to know you" here on Kibbles and Knits. Since I've been gone for so long, and I was challenged by another bloggy friend of mine to do a "100 Things About Me" section of my blog. I couldn't come up with 100. I'm not that exciting. It was a hard enough coming up with 32. Why 32? Because that's how old I am. I figure I'm allowed 1 "interesting" (and I use that term loosely, believe me) thing about myself for every year I've been alive. Any more than that and a) I'm narcissistic (although I have a blog, so one could make that assumption anyway) and b) you'd stop reading after awhile. Hell, I don't blame you. Who wants to read a list of 100 things about anyone? No one is that interesting.

Oh, and Steve (from the title) = me. That's another story for another day. So here we go.

1. I have never seen one episode of The Simpsons

2. Whenever I go to buy gas, or am leaving a tip at a restaurant, the total HAS to be a rounded dollar. If I am pumping as and it stops at $12.01, I will go up to $13.00 if possible. If not, $12.50. Same with leaving a tip. I don't think I am the only one who does this.

3. I bruise like a peach, and am a total klutz. My legs and arms are always covered in bruises. Sometimes I like to tell people "he had to tell me twice". It's not always funny. In fact, domestic violence is never funny. But sometimes my jokes are.

4. I don't like people touching my feet. At all. Ever. When I go get pedicures, I have to have several drinks prior. And I still giggle and laugh like an idiot.

5. I do not care for Pierce Brosnan. "Hate" is a strong word. But you get what I'm saying.

6. I have read all of the Harry Potter books at least 3 times. I'm sure I will read them all again someday.

7. I live near arguably the best city in this country for live music (Austin, TX) and I rarely go downtown. It's a shame.

8. I've never seen the movie Mary Poppins. I've discussed this before on my blog, and I still haven't bothered to watch it. I guess I don't really think I'm missing anything.

9. If you clicked on the Mary Poppins link and read that post, you would have seen another confession of mine at the bottom of the page: I don't like pizza. This shocks people to no end. I kept it a big secret for many years, because people would literally be dumbfounded when I told them. Still are. I guess I need to do an entire blog dedicated to my distaste for pizza. There is a story to be told there. And a little bit of redemption for me.

10. Two things will always make me laugh, no matter how old I get. Farts and falling. I'm sorry. It's always going to be funny when someone falls down (unless, of course, they're seriously hurt, but for that one split second before I find out that they cracked their skull, I'm going to laugh - sorry, just keepin' it real), and it's always going to be funny when someone farts.

11. I love cheesy 70s and 80s pop/rock music like REO Speedwagon, Chicago, Air Supply, Queen, Styx, Journey.

12. I believe in aliens. Not in a creepy sense (if that's possible), but in the sense that I think it's pretty arrogant of us humans/earthlings to believe that we are the ONLY species out there. It's a pretty darn big galaxy, and there's a lot more out there that I'm sure we don't know about. I believe that somewhere, somehow there are other living organisms of some sort. Do I think they're tiny little green men in spacesuits with large glassy black eyes and fly in saucers? No. But I do think there's something out there.

13. And for that matter, I think our government knows more than they tell us.

14. I went streaking once in January. This was years ago, up in Michigan. The weather was unseasonably warm, and some friends and I went streaking on the golf course at the country club.

15. I'm terrified of Canadian Geese.

16. Despite that, I'd love to live in Canada. God's Country up there. It's so beautiful and clean up there. The people are so nice and friendly and talk so funnily! The beer is strong and delicious, and they love hockey and curling, 2 of the best sports. It's a shame it's so damn cold there. I don't do cold.

17. I talk to my dogs like they are people, and I use voices to carry on their halves of the conversations. They're my best friends.

18. I know all the words to "American Pie" by Don McLean.

19. If I were going to go lesbian (and I'm not, but IF I were), here's the short list: Elisabeth Shue, Ashley Judd, Rachel McAdams, Michelle Obama.

20. You know how people ask if you're a morning person, or an evening person? I'm pretty sure I'm neither. I'm tired in the morning, and I'm tired in the evening. Should I be alarmed? My best hours are between 9 and 3. Anything before or after that and I'm essentially worthless.

21. Olive Garden commercials very much displease and annoy me to no end.

22. I love to make and re-make lists. Can you tell?

23. I'm obsessed with all things Vera Bradley.

24. Chewbacca was my first love. If you know this story, consider yourself amongst my closest friends.

25. I always check the backseat of my car when I get in. You never know who might be hiding back there. A murderer waiting to attack? Jason Bateman waiting to propose marriage? Ed MacMahon with a big check? Wait, is Ed MacMahon dead? Rest in Peace.

26. I hate smoking, smoke, smokers. I think my mom thinks I used to secretly smoke. Many years ago she found a pack of cigarettes in my purse. They were my boyfriend's. I tried explaining that to her, but she didn't believe me. MOTHER, LISTEN HERE. I'm 32 years old and have no reason to lie to you. Those cigarettes were Matt's! Not mine!

27. My biggest pet peeve is when people say "supposably". That's not a word, geniuses.

28. I used to want to convert to Judaism, and I was obsessed with All Things Jewish.

29. I took classical violin lessons for many years. I used to be pretty good, but these days I suck. I wish I'd kept up with it.

30. I've had so many nicknames over the years, I've lost track. Among my favorites are: Cake, Caps, The Chip and the latest - Trash Bag.

31. I have a pillow named Norma that I've had since I was a small child, and I have a hard time sleeping without it.

32. I like to cook, and think I'm pretty darn good at it. This was not always the case. Once, years and years ago (over 10), my Aunt Suz and I were supposed to be in a cooking contest against each other. She's a notoriously bad cook also. My uncles had set up a whole plan, and were planning on judging whose cooking was better. The contest was to take place in January. Then, Christmas rolled around. My food assignment for that year was the make an appetizer. Suz's was to make a dessert. This was not part of the contest, mind you, but simply what we were supposed to bring to my mom's house for Christmas dinner. I wowed and dazzled my family with a delicious sausage appetizer thingy (which my cousin affectionately named "Arf Loaf"), and Suz showed up with a bag of Mini-Snickers. FOR CHRISTMAS DESSERT. The contest was called off. I was declared the winner by default, and Suz is now asked to bring paper products and ice to family gatherings.

So there you have it! A little glimpse into the batshitcraziness that is me. It's good to be back.

Confession

What I'm about to confess may come as a great shock to many of you. You may find yourself disturbed, saddened, and deeply confused by what I say. I understand. This is a secret I've been carrying around with me for 30 years. It's time to come clean. I've never seen Mary Poppins.

Yes, that's right.

I was on the phone with my lady today, and she started singing "Chim-Chim-i-nee, Chim-chim-i-nee, Chim Chim Chiroo." Now, having lived for 30 years around generations of people who have seen this movie, of course I knew where it came from. That, and Supercaliwhatever. And A Spoonful of Sugar. Yeah, I know all the songs. But I've never seen the movie.

I don't know what kind of childhood I had. Clearly it was devoid of British-umbrella-toting-singing-nannies and their chimney sweep friends. See? I even know the general plot.

I can't imagine why we never watched it in my childhood. My mom is a fan of music, and a fan of Julie Andrews, so far as I can tell given the number of times we saw The Sound of Music. Which was a LOT. I could probably recite every damn word to The Sound of Music.

But Mary Poppins? Nope. Not even once. I can't even remember having seen like 1 or 2 minutes of it. Ever.

Someone tell me, really, am I missing out? Do I need to run out and rent it? Or will my life continue on, happily, without ever seeing this supposed classic?

I resisted seeing Pulp Fiction for the longest time just because I hadn't seen it and everyone was all "WHAT? YOU HAVEN'T SEEN PULP FICTION!? OMG THAT IS TOTALLY CRAZY!" So I watched Pulp Fiction and you know what? Hated it. Thought it was the biggest waste of time stupidest most pointless ridiculous movie ever. And I've seen it a couple of times since and I still feel the same way.

Is it a little bit sacrilege that I just compared Pulp Fiction to Mary Poppins? Guess I'm driving the bus to hell. All aboard.

Oh, and since we're on the subject, and I'm already in the driver's seat, I may as well let one more confession fly.

I don't like pizza.

Carry on.