a quick fix

Somewhere along the lines this term was commandeered by junkies in search of an expedited high. I do not advocate quick fixes in that sense.

I do, like fast, practical solutions to everyday problems. One everyday problem I deal with is an over-sized ear canal. Well, I don't know if it's exactly over-sized, I just know that my ipod earbuds do not fit in my left ear. Laugh all you want, it's my cross to carry ok?

What did I do? Well, after several frustrating attempts of jamming the earbud into my ear and it popping out, I put a little rubberband (I kept because of my prophetic hoarding tendencies) around the bud and now it's as snug as a bug in an rug/ear.

If you share the same genetic burden as I do, give this little wonder a try. You might not have the same cool rubber band, but i'm sure a thinner one wrapped several times would work just as well.

Ashley is particularly fond of the can-of-diet-coke for a quick fix.

Do you guys have any ingenious quick fixes you'd like to share with us?

ashley + david review swan lake

A week and a half ago we saw the classic ballet, Swan Lake at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles.

It should go without saying - Ashley was really excited and David was very nervous about the night that lay ahead. Ashley braved the nightmarish traffic heading east on the 10 - fortunately she got there in plenty of time for us to take a few snap shots.

The first item of business was to make sure that we were dressed for the part. Like our night out for Wicked, we decided to err on the side of formal, as opposed to too casual. It was a good decision. David was pleased he was in a suit when he saw some joker trying to impress a girl in jeans and a stretched out polo shirt.

The ballet can be an intimidating event for many men - but David devised several coping techniques that allowed him to safely pas de bourree through the event. Here are his tips:

1. Bring Candy. When your mind starts to wander, nothing brings it back home like some peanut m&m's or snickers. Cram a few in your mouth and you are good to go.

2. If you really want to get a grasp on what's going on - read the plot synopsis in the program. It really helps you understand why a guy spends 30 minutes dancing around the room, when really all he wants to do is go hunting with his new crossbow.

3. Find one character who's part you could play, that night, with no practice. It might be hard at first, but there's one in every cast. Some of the guys hung out on the sides for most of the performance, but inevitably they'd run out and do some crazy jigs that I could never do. However, there was this one guy who just walked around introducing people all night long. I could've easily done his job. Ashley said I couldn't have done it as gracefully because he was walking in four-inch squire platforms. Regardless, his job was easy and if I had to, I'd steal the show in that part.

4. It's ok to be impressed with the grace and beauty of the female dancers. They are tremendously talented. If you find yourself feeling the same thing about the male dancers - there's no hope for you... you might as well buy season tickets.

We were pretty lucky to see the performance. It was star-studded. The dude from Center Stage played the prince.

I wasn't struggling to get through the final act like David was. It ballet was more beautiful than I expected and I was so happy we went. One step closer to my big plans of seeing a Tchikovsky ballet at the Bolshoi one day.

Sometimes David likes to make fun of things I really enjoy. Anyone have any tips on how to get through the Messiah? Sometimes on Sunday mornings I try and sneak in a few pieces from the Messiah and it always ends in David doing an over exaggeratged vibrato.

David practices looking tough before entering the ballet.

We were all smiles after the ballet... for different reasons.

All joking aside, it was a really fun night out and I look forward to my turn to picking our next extravagant night out.

the facade of your refrigerator - what's it used for?

I would love to witness seemingly insignificant moments in history... like when the refrigerator became not only a device for keeping food cool/frozen, but when it became an advertising medium. Without the discovery of magnetism, this probably would've never happened.

Like other mediums, advertising space on our refrigerator is highly sought after and competition is tough. On our refrigerator, you better be a close relative, have a significantly cute child, or be a delicious deal on a pizza, or we're relegating you to the side. The side of the refrigerator? I know... it's like the Gulags of the kitchen.

Our space is so competitive, Ashley wouldn't even let me keep this awesome picture of Vladimir Putin fishing shirtless, that I rescued from GQ on our fridge.

So the other day when relatives and political leaders got cleared for a clipping from the LA Times, I knew I'd better pay attention. The clipping alerted me to the weekend performance of the American Ballet Theatre doing Swan Lake (pictured above).

There was no denying the importance of this gesture. So what did I do? Like any other good husband, I snatched up some tickets.

Ashley will give a recap of our date to the ballet. What I'd like you guys to comment on is:
What makes the cut for your refrigerator front? Family, friends, cute babies, inside jokes? What's the secret recipe? I'm looking for a magic combo of something that could never be vetoed, no matter how many ballet's came to town.

ask google how unique you are

The other day when I was supposed to be writing a paper, I googled my name to see what the fuss was all about. Granted, this wasn't the first time I had done this. But this time, something magical happened.

I found David Pulsipher, nothing interesting really:
David Pulsipher - 29 years old
Mormon
Served an LDS Mission from March 1998-2000
Birthday - January 22, 1979

I found me right? WRONG. There is another David Pulsipher out there. Born on the EXACT same day as me. Does any one else find this completely astounding? Sure, you may share a name with someone, but what are the odds that they were born on the exact same day as you? Probably not that good.

It's probably a good thing that I don't work for the census bureau, because if I did then I could actually research all of the cockamamie questions I have over the course of the day.

While we're talking about the government... you know who works for the government. David Pulsipher. No, not me David Pulsipher, the other David Pulsipher who was born on January 22 1979.

How do I know his birthday? After I googled him - I sent him an email. Truth is, I actually remember meeting him in the MTC. I didn't remember having the same birthday though.

We exchanged a few emails, and I think we'll maintain a casual email correspondence. I may link to his family blog, just for fun.

I think you guys should all look for your name twins out there, get a hold of them, and then report back.

Without futher ado... I give you David Pulsipher.

song sung blue everybody knows one

So the video David posted does not include the 20 minutes it took for me to actually jump. Even with every stranger at at semuc champey screaming and encouraging me to do it… I had a feeling it would take just that for me to jump into blogging, and it did. Forgive me for the delay. I can explain...

I heard an interview on the radio which seemed appropriate to me as I have been frantically searching for inspiration for my first blog entry. Edward Albee (wrote Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf) was almost hostile when someone asked him about what inspired his extraordinary plays. He said, "Everybody's brain is differently wired…We are not 'inspired' if we are a playwright, our brain takes the experience that everybody else has and turns it into a play."

It was a fascinating interview, but also a great way segue to this announcement: I am not wired to write blogs nor publishing my thoughts to the world. However, I am faithful blog reader and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write because I love hearing about your lives. Despite my hesitancy, I love my friends and family and want to share my life with those that I care about.

The following picture is one of my favorite recent moments. We are enjoying Karaoke with friends to celebrate a birthday. Among my favorites of the night was David's surprisingly accurate rendition of Rack Astley's "Never gonna give you up." We learned that he was a true fan when he nailed the part, "your hearts been aching, but you're too shy to say it." Please listen for it… its worth your time.

My shirt proved to be prophetic - I did make history that night

We got serious singing this Spanish lullabye

I wasn't Johnny Castle. She wasn't Baby. But we definitely had the time of our life.

We're not sure when our next performance will be, but we'd love some ideas for songs that will bring the house down. Also - a story or two about your favorite karaoke moments would certainly be relevant here.

Ashley & David

peer pressure

Some of you may know me better than you know Ashley. Part of the reason I set this blog up for us was so you all could get to know "us" better.

For those of you who don't know her as well as I do... you should know that she's a huge sucker for peer pressure. You should also know that (as of yet) she hasn't posted on our new blog yet. Fact is, she's sitting on a really good topic, but she's a little timid about getting her feet wet in the blog world.

Turns out, this isn't the first time she's needed a little peer pressure to get her feet wet. Play the video... pay particular attention to the non native english speaker who just recently learned her name - cajoling Ashley to jump.



So blog readers, would you do me a favor and make a request for her to post that blog entry?

Cheers.

looking my worst

Last week I went to the optometrist to get some new contacts, and to see how my prescription was holding up. I generally like those types of visits: dentist, eye doctors, chiropractors... pretty much anything where I'm going to get some kind of medical-related treatment that isn't a result of me writhing on the floor in pain, or walking around like an 80 year old.

The examination required my pupils to be dilated. I wasn't too alarmed by this... because I thought that having my pupils dilated was something that I could easily overcome by resolve, willpower, or nerve. Much like asthma, shin splints, or allergies (haha... kidding).

Turns out... my ability to constrict my pupils manually wasn't as good as I had hoped, so I had to wear these Stevie Wonder looking glasses I got from the clinic. I thought to myself, "I bet I look like a real piece of work right now... like a blind dude on a bicycle. I'll probably get pulled over."

I then thought - "this is too good of an image not to share." So I snapped a few pictures with my cell phone for your enjoyment.


This one is the worse of the two... by for some reason my phone arbitrarily assigns "sizes" to pictures and the other one is too big to send. What kind of cell phone does that? A cheap one, that's what kind.

So... here's the smaller version. I still look like an idiot.
Bike helmets... aren't that cool I realize. cue aside - In fact, they may represent the nadir of cool. However, I think that in many ways helmets are much like the "one strap/two strap" backpack-sea change that happened during high school.

At one time (middle school, early hight school) it was only acceptable to wear your backpack on one shoulder. To wear it on both shoulders signified you were a loser, and of lower social status. But at one point... junior year perhaps - that all changed. Now, it was cool to wear your backpack on both shoulders and only only losers who were trying to look cool wore their backpack the "old way."

I think the same thing is happening with bike helmets. It's been very uncool for a long time, and now that helmets have become somewhat pervasive and acceptable...wearing a helmet is and being safe is now what's accepted.

Point being, wearing cheap sunglasses with a bike helmet is probably the worst I've looked in a long time. When's the last time you looked really bad?