Had some free time this afternoon and was able to veg out and get caught up on the past few weeks of The Office. FYI: If you are living without The Office, you are living an incomplete life. Every time I visit the show’s website to catch an episode I missed, I get sucked in by some ridiculous webisode or character blog (Dwight’s blog, Schrute Space).

The Fake PSAs are probably the highlight. Enjoy a few of my favorites–

Jim on black jelly beans:

Ryan on being short:

And now for some notable quotes from the past two episodes–

“The Duel”

Dwight Schrute: Rule 17: don’t turn your back on bears, men you have wronged, or the dominant turkey during mating season. There are forty rules all Schrute boys must learn before the age of five. [sings] Learn your rules. You better learn your rules. If you don’t, you’ll be eaten in your sleep. [makes chomping sound]

Andy Bernard: What? You stupid idiot! [Andy honks his horn] You’re like, you’re like a Sasquatch! You live in the woods…
Dwight Schrute: Sasquatches are the strongest animal on the planet! So fine, call me a Sasquatch!

Dwight Schrute: A duel! The winner gets Angela. So what weapon?
Andy Bernard: My bare hands.
Dwight Schrute: That is stupid. I will use a sword and I will cut off your bare hands.

“Prince Family Paper”

Michael Scott: So when, uh, when did you set up shop.
Prince Paper Owner: Ah I opened this place after I came back from Vietnam.
Michael Scott: Ooh, Vietnam. I hear it’s lovely.

A few months back I wrote a blog post on Nov 4th, the day Barack Obama was elected to become our 44th president.  Today I write again on inauguration day.  I write to reflect on this moment for myself, to preserve my thoughts to look back on years from now and remember how I felt.  I write to share the emotions I felt today, listening intently as Obama addressed millions.  And I write to respond to this momentous occasion, thrilled to have the opportunity to do so.

It is difficult to put the significance of this day into words, but as President Obama opened his address, humbled, grateful, & mindful, I couldn’t have been more proud.  Those are the virtues of a great leader.

While I enjoyed his speech in its entirety, there were a few moments that really hit me.  I was particularly happy to hear him renew the sense of American values on which this country was founded, equality, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness.  As he proclaimed, “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness,” I wanted to jump up and cheer.

His speech wasn’t all grand rhetoric and generalities, which is what made it real and timely.  He never tried to downplay the tasks that lie ahead for fixing what is broken in America.  He did do what he is so good at though, and that is being hopeful.  Making it all seem possible.  And not because of some miracle that he was going to bring, but because we as individuals, as American citizens, have the power to come together like so many have before us.  In his words,

Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old.

What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

Listening to those words I don’t know how you couldn’t feel hopeful and proud to be an American.  I love quotes, especially inspirational ones, and as I took in the inaugural address there were many phrases that touched me, but the one that stood out most was this:

America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

A country that leads through peace and dignity is one I am happy to be a citizen of.

Since I haven’t taken any videos lately I thought I’d share some photos from last week. Natalie Williams and Vu Bui are working on an awesome year-long photo project. Every day for a year Vu is taking a creative portrait of Natalie. Check out their work so far at 365daysofnatalie.com!

Below are some pics I jumped in from when I crashed their photo shoot. Vu assembled a full on studio complete with lighting and backdrop in Natalie’s living room. I tried to do her make up (to Vu’s endless criticism) and put the peacock feather in her hair. Other than that I was there for moral support.

Somehow in the course of the day at Disneyland my trusty camera decided to committ suicide on me. It just won’t turn on or do anything. Sadly that means the videos are on hiatus until I fix it, or most likely buy a new one. It is probably time for an upgrade anyways, despite the fact that my bank account does not agree. It really is too bad, because the English, Dan and Dave, do some pretty funny shit.

Its been a while since my last post, but I’ve only recently found some funny material. My friends from London have been visiting and Chiara and I are giving them a grand California tour. That of course includes a day at the Happiest Place on Earth, the Magic Kingdom, where dreams come true….Disneyland!

Here’s a bit of how we killed time in line for Space Mountain. Literally at the end of the day my face hurt from laughing so much.