Next up on the interview train is a wonderful girl that used to go by the name Heather Power. I met her through my sister, and I think she is just terrific. Mostly because she introduced me to the Grasshopper. It’s a green, minty, alcoholic drink. I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant. Anyhoo! Time for the interview!

Question One! Who are you?
Heather P. (sidenote: This interview was conducted before AND after her wedding… you’ll see)

What makes Heather P. happy?
Lots of things! Good movies, babies wearing glasses, bubble baths, grasshopper pie, random acts of kindness, hydrangeas, prairie dogs, and so much more!

What kind of job would make you happy?
I would be happy with a job that allowed me to meet different people and work in different places. I’d like something that would allow me to be funny and smart and artistic. I’d like to work at a zoo. Or a school. Or maybe at a hospital. Or a museum. I feel like lots of different jobs would make me happy!

I’m pretty sure you went to NAU… did you get a degree related to any of the aforementioned careers? If not, what did you get your degree in?
I did go to NAU and got some sweet degrees. My BA is in Art History and Anthropology, and my Master’s is in Elementary Education. Everybody should get a Master’s, they are so much quicker and a lot more fun than schlepping through an undergraduate program. Yay education! I’m also considering a second Master’s since no one’s really knocking down my door to hire me… Maybe in Library Science so I can be a children’s librarian or maybe in Art History so I can head in that direction again. We shall see.

I can definitely see you as a children’s librarian. Have you worked with kids before?
I love working with kids. I grew up in a big family so I’ve kind of always been around little ones. During college I worked in a museum and it was always a lot of fun when we got kids on fieldtrips. After the museum I worked as a preschool aide and decided that teaching seemed pretty cool. During grad school I taught preschool full time and took classes at night, it was tough but pretty rewarding. Since graduation I have subbed in a lot of classrooms, it’s nice knowing if you have a rough day you can choose to walk out of that classroom at the end of the day and not come back… classroom teachers don’t have that little luxury! My sister is an educator at the San Diego Zoo and I am totally jealous of her amazing job. She gets to introduce kids to animals every day…and wear safari pants. She rocks.

Speaking of the zoo… what’s your favorite animal??? (sorry… it’s silly question time…)
My favorite animal of all time has always been and always will be: BUSH BABIES!

Adorable! And how about your favorite childhood movie?
No contest, no question: MAC AND ME. So classic. This child alien from a planet with a liquid core (of soda?) climbs into a space rover that’s collecting… space rocks… and accidentally comes to Earth. His family figures it out and follows. They wind up in what looks like Southern California, separated, and hilarity (and actually a good amount of sadness and worry) ensues. The hero is a physically-disabled kid so of course I became emotionally invested in this the very first time I watched it. I remember watching it all the time with my brother and sisters, but 2 sisters HATE aliens and would always get angry and leave the room. Got my high school sweetheart to watch it years later… he loved it. Last year I got my 8 year old brother to watch it for the first time. It was even better then I remembered. Check it out y’all!!!

So hey… you got married! How’s that going?
You know, I have to admit that married life is great. I’ve lived with a couple of serious boyfriends in my day: I mean real bill-paying, chore sharing, grocery buying cohabitation. I never really imagined “married life” being that much different. I’d get a different last name, maybe we’d share a checking account… bfd right? I was surprised to find out that — for me at least — being MARRIED to my partner does feel pretty different. First of all changing your name is totally weird. Weirder than I thought. I still don’t recognize it in print… you know?… like “did I get someone else’s mail?” Secondly the vibe of our relationship kind of changed from being comfortable/casual to being a life-long endeavor. Something about speaking vows in front of a horde of witnesses, signing a legally-binding contract, and wearing rings makes things seem like the “long haul” more than they used to. I guess I can’t explain this… and I’m not even sure if I answered your question. I like having a “husband”… I like the social role of “wife”… and I love the fact that I have someone to eat sushi and watch horror movies with for the rest of my life. Plus he rubs my feet after work. That was a pre-nup.

Do you and your new husband have any pets?
When we first started dating I had a cat named Suki who didn’t like many people. She’s kind of wild… and a snob. Luckily she warmed up quickly to Tim and he’s convinced she likes him better than anyone else (which is probably true…) Now she’s his buddy and we both agree that taking care of her is about the limit to our responsibility right now.

Of course, this leads me to the question… Are you and Tim planning on having any kiddos?
We’re on the fence. We shelved the discussion until we’re both 30… 4 more years

Damn good idea!

Okay. Last question. It’s very important: What is your favorite Pixar movie?
Tough, tough, tough. Ratatouille has to be my favorite for several reasons:

1. I love to cook.
2. I am a major Francophile.
3. Rats have a bad rap, this movie gave them some cred.
4. I love to EAT ratatouille.

Magnefique!!!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! I asked Heather for a video to post at the end of her interview and she gave me that. Too damn adorable. Geez.

Well… there you go.

First off… tomorrow is Yelp’s Ultimate Science Fair at the Arizona Science Center! Heather, my mom, my dad, and my uncle are all going. This is the biggest Yelp event of the year, and it looks like it is going to be mind blowing.

Next up is the Girl Talk concert in a few weeks. I only recently discovered him, but I really love his mashups and have read nothing but amazing things about his live performances.

In April, Heather and I will be seeing the Grammy Award-winning Arcade Fire. FUCK YEAH! I was lucky in getting our amazing tickets as the band tweeted a special presale announcement one day early. This is why I love Twitter.

In May, the East Valley Team Willis Battalion will depart on a grand Las Vegas adventure! As we are the classiest of families, we will be staying at the luxurious Hooters Hotel and Casino.

While there, we will be seeing the cast of Glee live in concert!

A mere week after getting back from Vegas, Heather and I will be getting on a plane and going to the Netherlands! We’re going for the wedding of one of Heather’s relatives, and I could not be more excited!

And then… a week after we get back from Holland, the East Valley Team Willis Battalion will be seeing Les Misérables at Gammage. This’ll be my first time seeing it live, and I am really looking forward to it.

I’m sure there will be more fun adventures between Les Mis and December, but the next planned adventure is a Team Willis Disneyland Christmastime Spectacular!

So yeah… I guess life ain’t so bad.

In another news, I don’t think I’m doing as well as I could be doing on my diet. I blame the leftover wedding candy and cupcakes. You can actually see the post-wedding weight gain on my follow.in profile. The weight is coming back off, but I really need to get rid of that candy and start having Jillian Michaels yell at me again if I want to make some real progress. Or maybe I should go work at Walmart again. Working the overnight stocking shift is a really great way to lose weight fast. It’s also a good way to feel like a god damned genius. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… those were the dumbest people I have ever met in my life… by far. Most were pretty nice, but all were as dumb as a bag of bricks. Damn… I wish the people there didn’t suck so bad… I really liked that job.

Okay… I am officially ready for my tattoo. I have given myself an entire year to think about it, and I can say with 100% certainty that I am making a choice that I will not regret. The only thing that I’m still unsure of is which arm to get it on. Yes, I’m doing the generic tattoo-on-your-upper-arm thing. Deal with it! It’s right for me, and that’s all that matters. Oh yeah… the tattoo. What is it? It’s manly. It’s tough. It’s rugged. It’s a rabbit. But not just any old rabbit… Oswald the Lucky Rabbit! If you don’t know who Oswald is, just click on the damn link. Wikipedia is your friend. Yeah… I’m thinking I want this specific version of him:

Pretty freakin rad, huh? If I get a second tattoo (wouldn’t be for a long while), it will probably be a lot more colorful. I wanted to start out with something simple, meaningful, and fun. I believe little Oswald meets all three of these criteria.

I also want some Vibrams. Yes. That would rock.

And the wedding! Oh boy! We’ve been doing so much to get ready for it… I just want it to get here so I can relax and enjoy the company of my new wife and tons of friends and family. Wow… still can’t get over how different it feels this time. When I got married before, I did it because I thought I had to… Now, I am getting married because I want to. Hell yeah.

In other news, I’ve started reading my wonderfully immoral ESV study bible again. I last left off right after poor Samson got his hair chopped off and am starting back up at Matthew. Wait… what? Yeah… I’m ditching the rest of the Old Testament. It was boring, and most “Christians” today don’t even pay attention to it (except for the hating on gays part). Anyway… I will probably come back to it eventually, but for now… it’s time for Jesus!

Ya know… I do that a lot. Quit things and then start up again and then quit and then start up again. Over and over. It’s cyclical. For example, I read every single book that Mark Twain wrote in about 6 months. I couldn’t put em down! But after that… nothing. No books of any kind for about a year. Then I started reading Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. for another 6 months. Delicious, literary goodness. Then… nothing. Bah. So it goes. Yeah… same thing is happening with Yelp. I wrote a bunch of reviews and then just kind of stopped. I love writing reviews… I just can’t find the motivation as of late. I have found that if I just wait it out, my drive will eventually come back. Yeah.

Hmm… just got the sudden urge to start playing World of Warcraft again. I really did a good job of not getting addicted last time, and quitting was super easy. Maybe after the wedding. Maybe…

The wedding is coming along nicely. It’s going to be a beautiful day and I know that fun will be had by all.

I love you.

see more funny facebook stuff!

In other groovy news, the Chandler Ostrich Festival starts today! Heather and I will be attending the event tomorrow. I will be taking pictures and posting them to the photos section of Heather and Adam are Totally Rad. They are going to be… epic.

Ah yes… Yelp. I’ve gotten into writing reviews on Yelp. I’m loving it! You can check out my profile and reviews here. I just went to the amazing Yelp in Bloom event at the Desert Botanical Gardens with Heather. Oh god it was awesome. Click here for my (and over 100 others) review of it.

Every now and then I get this intense desire to work with my hands. I love doing this internet stuff, but sometimes I just want to put in some hard work. I kind of did this when I worked overnights as a stocker at Walmart. I loved it! I mean… I loved the job… not the people. Yikes! What a bunch of sad, pathetic human beings. Anyway… yeah. I know it’s probably a cliché, but I just felt more emotionally rewarded after a hard days work than when I have worked all day in a cubicle, staring at a computer screen. Yes, I probably am a lazy, fat-ass American at heart and would get sick of it eventually, but you never know…

In other news. No Coachella. But guess what! That means the wedding is officially April 17th now!!! Yippie! And guess what else! I may have found an outfit for the wedding. It’s got a jacket with coattails and a top hat. I’m going to look so old school.

Man, I really need to stop posting so late. I was in bed when I realized I hadn’t posted yet. The post did turn out pretty cool though. Carl Sagan rocks. In most every way. He also smoked a lot of pot. Which is awesome.

Okay… I am going to build my new “Woody and Buzz to the Rescue” LEGO set and then post the picture…

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Bam! Done! Look:

Isn’t it beautiful???

Also… if you are reading this… you should comment! It’s fun!