Why I Might Be a Super Hero – Just Another Blog Post from Your Friendly Neighborhood Souzapalooza!

June 23, 2011

I think I might be superhero…

In my fumbling along the internet I found this interactive tab on the Marvel.com website where you can build your own Superhero. It’s pretty cool, although I will say that the choices are limited for women in comparison to the guys choices, which I understand. It got me thinking about superheroes. They use to be ordinary people just like you and me, and then something happens to them that makes them special. The ones with moral compasses pointed in the general direction of good, usually end up helping people and saving their city (be it Gotham, Metropolis, or New York) from some major catastrophe or mentally unstable villain. They often sacrifice their own personal happiness for the greater good of the world. I am not a reader of comics, but I do watch the superhero films when they come to the big screen (or HBO of course). So I did a little research on Wikipedia and found a list of common traits all super heroes have.

Marvel's Create Your Own Super Hero - Souzapalooza

Ten Requirements for Being a Superhero (per Wikipedia):

1) Extraordinary powers, skills and/or equipment.

Armed with my handy mac probook (and spellcheck), I can blog a post in a single sitting and bring humor and positivity to a reader’s day. I can also run a 12 minute mile and I am a damn good sales person when it comes to pies and baked good.

2) A strong moral code

I believe in the golden rule – One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself; with kindness, compassion, and respect and most importantly, always do your best.

3) A Secret Identity

I do have a real name, but everyone knows me by my superhero alias of SOUZAPALOOZA!

4) A distinctive costume

Why do you think I have all those red shoes?

5) A supporting recurring characters, including the hero’s friends, co-workers and/or love interests, who may or may not know of the superhero’s secret identity

Many I have mentioned on here before but if you have forgotten here are just a few: Ka-Ka, LH, Jobin, D1, Zippy the Derby Girl, Danger Spouse, Jimmy Whispers. Of  course, I can’t forget my loyal sidekick, Cuff Turtle!  I’ll have to get her a cape…although, I think she might fit better in a role like that of Alfred the Butler in Batman since she doesn’t get around very quickly

6) A number of enemies

Actually, I don’t have many enemies right now except for the 15 lbs between me and my goal weight,  however, the Croc Lady’s ruthless attempts to board the train before me might cause her to fall in to the enemy category.

7) Independent Wealth

I’m working on this one. I haven’t managed to gain my independent wealth just yet, but hopefully lotto will pay out soon. But really there are a lot of working super heroes – Superman / Clark Kent is a reporter, Spiderman / Peter Parker is a photographer, Hulk / Dr Bruce Banner – Nucular Physicist.

8 ) Headquarters / Base Camp

Obviously I can’t tell you where this is, but I will say that unlike Cuff Turtle, it is not on my back.

9) Backstory

Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world… (I’ll have to work on this one a bit too)

10) Weakness

Ice Cream & HBO Sunday night programing.

Do you think I have what it takes to be a Superhero?

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Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose, Sometimes It Rains

June 10, 2011

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains. – Crash Davis

This is one of my favorite quotes from the movie Bull Durham. I feel like this is applicable to not only baseball, but life.

Yesterday was full of wins, losses, and well, rain.

Wins: 

  • :D My co-worker returned safely from India (and thankfully his father is in much better health now)
  • :D I wore one of my new ‘smaller sized’ dresses
  • :D I am still getting a ton of hits from the celebrity spotting and Glee Review
  • :D I drank 72 oz of water today
  • :D My toilet was fixed by the time I got home (Thank goodness or that 72 oz of water was going to be a problem!)

Losses:

  • :( I had to head home and end my visit with my nieces and nephew.                                                       Seriously, how cute are they?!?!?
  • :( I had to go back to work on the hottest day in NYC to date this year (and man does New York stink when it is hot out!)
  • :( I still haven’t installed my AC
  • :( I haven’t gotten a run in since Monday (but I scored some awesome deals at the Under Armor Outlet on my way back home :D )
  • :( Cuff Turtle knocked her filter over and was splashing water all over the living room again.
  • :( Plans and messages got mixed up so I did not get to see LH & The Secret Agent like originally scheduled

Sometimes it rains…..

Then on the train home, I ran in to Jimmy Whispers. We talked about this and that, passing the time on our ride home. I watched the ominous rain clouds quickly rolling in our direction and the way the trees were bending in the wind. I jokingly told Jimmy he should give me a ride home so I wouldn’t get stuck in the rain. By the looks of the impending storm clouds, by the time I’d reach my stop, it would probably be pouring and both my lap top and I would be soaked.
When we pulled in to Whisper’s stop, he told me he would give me a ride. This was a first and it took me by complete surprise. I’ve ever been in a car with Jimmy and I was quite amazed that he was going out of his way for me. I was so grateful that he did, it was raining so hard I couldn’t see out the windshield and giant pieces of hail were knocking against the car. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous (because of the weather, not Whisper’s driving!) I got home safe and sound, and very thankfully dry!
 ”Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains” 
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After the rain

May 24, 2011
Mr. Snuffleupagus

Image via Wikipedia

I am sitting listening to an amazingly powerful thunderstorm going on outside my windows. Even though it has been raining a lot lately (pretty much all last week) I feel like tonight’s thunderstorm is well needed.

I saw my friend Jimmy Whispers on the train today. Jimmy Whispers and I have been friends for a about 5 years, introduced by a mutual friend and bonded by a 38 minute commute home from work. Jimmy is the Mr. Snuffleupagus to my Big Bird. Do you remember Mr. Snuffleupagus? For years, everyone on Sesame Street thought that Snuffy (Big Bird’s nickname for him) was Big Bird’s imaginary friend because no one had ever seen him. That is Jimmy.

I’ve invited Jimmy everywhere, happy hours, movies, dinners, my sister even invited him to my surprise 30th B-day party (in which he almost ruined the surprise) and he has never attended any of them. None of my friends (with the exception of the one that introduced us) or family members have ever met him. My sister refers to him as the Unicorn Man of the Rivertowns, simply because no one has seen a unicorn either. For years I’ve tried to prove Jimmy’s existence to those around me, telling them anecdotes of my commutes with Mr. Whispers, conversations we’ve had, or the rare occasion we would get to have a cup of coffee together (which would be some of my favorite mornings).

This isn't Jimmy... this is another unicorn man

Often Jimmy was the first person I would talk to in the mornings and the last one I’d hear from before going to bed at night. If Mr Whispers saw me getting off the train in the morning, by the time I’d get to work I’d have a text from him telling me I looked pretty, or he liked my shoes (no, he isn’t gay.). When I would beat myself up over something not working in my life be it something at work, home, or especially my weight, Jimmy had a kind word to make me feel better. Compared to most of the other men who have drifted in and out of my life the past few years, Jimmy is probably the one who has been the most consistent. Jimmy Whispers, my invisible fake boyfriend.

Jimmy is a word man, he is great with texts and emails and even on the phone, but when it is time to step up to the plate, Jimmy can’t deliver on his promises. I’ve talked to him about it, fought with him about it, and even want to throw things at him because of it. For what ever reason, Jimmy will never show up for happy hour, a slice of pizza, or a birthday party. The sad thing is, he is missing out on so much. So many opportunities for good times, meeting new people, making new friends, and of course spending time with me (obviously the best reason of all!).

As much as I care about my friendship with Jimmy, this makes me incredibly frustrated and very angry with him. I want to grab him and shake some sense in to him but it won’t work (plus he’s way taller than me so logistically I don’t think I could do it). In my frustration with the situation, I become some one I don’t like. I become snippy, mean, and curt towards him. I hate this side of me, I don’t want to be that person.

So as I sit here, thinking about my commute home with Jimmy, and a few of my snide remarks towards him, I realize I need to let it all go. I need to let him go. I need to break free of the constant cycle of expecting him to be someone he’s not, or behaving in a manner he is not capable of. I need to forgive myself for my mistakes and my harsh words. I hope one day Jimmy will stop letting opportunities pass him by. With the rain pounding on the pavement outside, I’m hoping I can wash away my negative feelings, and start fresh tomorrow. The thunder rattling my windows, will rattle the negative thoughts out of my mind and focus on the future.

So today, I channel the long-haired twins of the ’80s, Gunner and Matt Nelson -

an excerpt from the song After the Rain by Nelson

You know the time has come for you to face the truth
After the rain washes away the tears
And all the pain
Only after the rain
Can you live again
You’ll see the sun appear to light the way
Only after the rain
Can you hope to find true love again
After the rain

Tomorrow is a new day

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In Close Proximity

May 11, 2011

Over the past 12 months, I have been to the hospital more often than I would like. My step dad had a heart attack, my sister had complications for a very large and rare kidney stone (as story for another day) and my grandma (who never smoked a day in her 86 years) is slowly deteriorating from lung cancer. Monday night, I was once again at the hospital. Long story short, grandma lost consciousness for a moment while out to lunch, so mom took her to the emergency room as a precaution.

Oh-So-Fashionable Hospital Gowns

I dislike hospitals more than anyone on the planet. I know when you’re sick they are “the best place for you” just like we tell our loved ones, but I really hate them. I don’t even like going there for good reasons, like when friends have babies, or when some one is “being released”. Have you ever noticed the terminology the use “being released” Why? Because a hospital is like a prison where drugs are allowed, the doctors are the ones doing the shanking, and insurance companies are making you their bitch. Inmates Patients are always moaning, bleeding, or spontaneously vomiting (which of course makes me want to spontaneously vomit as well). There are always machines beeping: heart monitors, IVs, oxygen, and neither the visitor nor the person hooked up to it, knows if it is a good beep or a bad beep. Even worse, when inmates patients wear those prison hospital issued (and oh-so-fashionable) gowns, some how I am always the one who hits the hospital lotto, and gets an eye full of ugly from the patient what hasn’t tied up the back! With all the different friends and family I have visited, in all the different hospitals i’ve paid to park at, not one of their doctors ever looked like Dr. Doug Ross on ER (George Clooney), Dr. Derek Shepard aka McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy (Patrick Dempsey), or even Dr. Jack Shepard on LOST (Matthew Fox).

My friend, Fat Bottomed Girl, recently blogged about her pains of being west-coast based while her aunt is battling cancer on the east coast. (*Side note, I gave her a bit of inspiration with my post “Maybe I’m Half Crazy Too”; she is now training for the San Jose 1/2 marathon! You should totally read her blog and cheer her on). As if being on a different coast isn’t challenging enough, my co-worker’s sick father is on a different CONTINENT! My co-worker and his lovely wife (who reads my blog and sends him to work with delicious gulab jamun treats to share with me. THANK YOU!) are settled here in the states, along with his brother and his brother’s family, who live in NJ; while his parents are in India and his sister is in New Zeland. His brother recently flew back to India to check on their father a few weeks ago. However their father has once again gone back in to the hospital, so it is now my co-worker’s turn to fly home and take care of things. It is very challenging on all of them.

For me, being so close to my family is both a blessing and a curse (even when everyone is healthy!). You get to be right there in the thick of things supporting your loved ones and making sure they are getting the best care. On the other hand you get to be right there in the thick of things being responsible and dealing with the emotional and mental strain attached to it. I’m pretty good in a crisis situation. I keep pretty calm, ask questions, take charge when necessary to make sure that we get what we need, and I always have an escape plan if it comes to that (Jimmy Whispers agreed to be the get away driver if I had to break my sister out during her kidney stone incarceration hospital stay). My control freak nature comes in handy in situations like these. Only when I know that everything is being taken care of, do I allow myself to buckle under the emotional stress of it all. Regardless of all the hullabaloo that I despise so much at the hospital, I am extremely grateful that I can get there so quickly.

Photo Credit - By http://www.flickr.com/photos/greencolander/ [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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Sing it Sister!

April 27, 2011

Let me just say up front, I CAN NOT sing. I am completely tone-deaf and could not carry a tune if you gave it to me in a bucket. I’m always surprised that my friends don’t kick me out of the car when I sing along with the radio. I know a lot of people sing in the shower, I am not one of them. I do my best thinking in the shower, so I have no time for show tunes or power ballads while I lather, rinse and repeat. However, there are certain songs that just need to be belted out now and then. I realized this the other night….

I swear there were dogs howling....

I was training for my 1/2 marathon (2.6 miles… not terrible for Week 2 Day 1 of the Couch to 10K program), when I had a sudden realization that as I was walking my cool down lap, I was singing OUT LOUD  to my iPod! Thankfully, the men’s softball games that usually occupy the park in the evenings had been canceled do to a flooded outfield, and most of the other walkers and runners weren’t close enough to hear my “singing” (I swear I heard a few howling dogs in the distance though).

So, inspired by my embarrassment, today I bring you…

Souzapalooza’s Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Sing-A-Long Songs:

(If you don’t know the song, click on the hyper links and it will take you to a video for it)

#10) – Laid – James - This bed is on fire with passion and love…. Now you may not know all the words to this one, but everyone sings along with the “Ah you think you’re so PRRREEEEETTTTTTYYYYYY” when it shows up

#9) – Blister in the Sun – Violent Femmes – The thing that gets you hooked with this song is the interjected drum beats between lyrics, first you start clapping, then you start singing….”Let me go OOOOONNNNN like I blister in the sun, Let me go OOOOONNNN big hands, I know you’re the one”

#8) – Centerfold – J. Geils Band – You know how Angel became a Centerfold? She got hooked on the chorus of this song! Once again, it is the drum beat you can clap along with and the Nah Nahs in the chorus that suck you in to singing along

Puck (actor Mark Salling)

#7) – Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond – When Puck started his tribute to “a Jewish musical icon” on Glee in season one, I sang right along with my favorite Mohawked Badass to this guilty pleasure. “Good times never seem so good” without a little Sweet Caroline

#6) – Hollaback Girl – Gwen Stefani – It’s Bananas! This song is such a sing along favorite, that even Chris Rock forgets how to drive when he hears it! (this clip contains explicit language – viewer discretion is advised)

Angus Young AC/DC

#5) – You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC- Brian Johnson’s first song with AC/DC really has me shaking all night long when I hear this number. Its got great guitar work by Angus Young decked out in his school uniform.

#4) – I Love Rock & Roll – Joan Jett – I remember seeing this video on MTV as a kid and thinking that Joan Jett was soooo cool in her black leather jacket. So jukeboxes no longer take dimes, but this song still rocks!  The best thing about this song, is that you don’t really have to sing it, you can just shout it real loud! Don’t forget the YEEOOWW!

Bret Michaels

#3) – Nothin’ But a Good Time – Poison – Did you think there would be a list with out a Poison song on here? This is the best party song, so obviously it is going to be one to belt out loud, (preferably with an adult beverage in hand so you have something to toast with when you get to the break). Bret just sums it all up in one phrase, don’t need nothin’ but a good time!

#2) – Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey – According to wikipedia, this 1981 Journey hit, “has sold 4,339,000 digital units in the US, and places just outside of the top twenty best-selling digital songs of all time”, as of March 2011. It was featured in the pilot for Glee and brings down the house as the closing number for the Broadway show, Rock of Ages. Very few people can hit those high notes like Steve Perry can, however, when you hear it you can’t help but try!

And finally, the number one Souzapalooza Guilty Pleasure Sing Along Song…..

Jon Bon Jovi

#1) – Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi - The anthem of Tommy and Gina, they’ve got each other, and that’s a lot! My friend Jimmy Whispers saw Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora coming out of a restaurant on Madison Ave and stopped them so he could publicly proclaim his love for Livin’ on a Prayer; to which Richie Sambora replied “Were you even alive when that song came out?” (This second single, off their debut album Slippery When Wet was released in 1986, when Whispers was 11). Regardless of age, everyone knows the words to this classic from the Jersey boys that made good. You live for the fight when it’s all that you’ve got….. WHHHOOOOAAA!!!

What song makes you uncontrollably sing outloud when you hear it?

Photo Credits :

  • Mark Salling - By marcore! from NYC, USA (lean back) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
  • Angus Young - Weatherman90 at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
  • Bret Michaels – Souzapalooza
  • Jon Bon Jovi - by Roberto Ferló from Flickr photo available for download under a Creative Commons license

2 Comments | Good Times | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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Expect Reality (You wont be disappointed)

March 28, 2011

I have been feeling a lot of disappointment lately. Basically, it stems from the fact that my expectations do not meet reality.

An example is a situation that recently occurred with my friend, Jimmy Whispers*. (*I changed his name, but wouldn’t it be cool to have a friend named Jimmy Whispers though?) Jimmy Whispers sent me a text that his mom was in the hospital. As soon as I found out, I was in full Super Souzapalooza Go Mode – “What can I do? What do you need? How can I help?” Thankfully, Mamma Whispers was ok and returned home the next day. I checked in with Jimmy periodically, just to see if everything was ok and if they needed anything.

Now, my expectations lead me to believe that, this would be reciprocated, or at the very least recognized. If the tables turned, I expected that Jimmy would be helpful and supportive. That’s what friends should do right?

In speaking to Jimmy later on, he was telling me about some other friends who had been kind to him while his mom was sick. Rather than just listening, I became angry and upset. I felt that he should have recognized my friendship as well. Stressed from dealing with some of my own challenges this week, my expectations were screaming for (and at) Jimmy Whispers.  He should have called/helped/done something!

The “shoulds” were getting Jimmy Whispers in trouble. “Shoulds” are what must be done, according to self-created expectations. The outcome created in your mind is dictated by the shoulds however, they don’t control reality. The “shoulds” are trouble makers that cause disappointments and arguments. In reality, Jimmy Whispers didn’t do anything wrong; he was just being Jimmy Whispers.  He isn’t a mind reader; how would he know what I was expecting from him.

Here is a scene in the movie 500 Days of Summer which beautifully details the differences between expectations and reality. (excuse the subtitles)

At the end of the day, we all need to remember that none of us are fortune tellers. We can’t predict the future, nor can we control the final outcomes of a situation based on someone’s actions (or lack of actions). Besides, if you controlled all the outcomes, how would anyone ever surprise you?

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Posted by Souzapalooza

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