Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Traveling musician. Singer. Road warrior in bursts. Dork. Easy to spot. Gauche eyeshadow fan. Unreasonably happy.

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AWWWW YISSSS!! Jill "xtingu" Knapp 8/5 '17

Who's got two thumbs and just booked a flight on Southwest Airlines specifically to watch the eclipse from the air?

THIS CHICK.

8/5 '17 16 Comments

Niiiiice I am a little jelly

I have already made a google calendar appointment one year before the next one to book a train ticket to a little town in Vermont that will be dead center of totality.

Thomas Boutell

Ooooooh! When is that? (Yes, I could JFGI...)

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

April 8th 2024. Chris has already expressed interest in tagging along...

Thomas Boutell

Me three. errr.. four?

Matt Lichtenwalner

Me,errr, 5?

Ursula Sadiq

April 8th is also John "Bo Duke" Schneider's birthday, so it'll be *especially magical.* We can have a "It's Now or Never" singalong! (uh... or not.)

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Y'all are quite welcome to check in with me in 2023 about trip planning (:

Thomas Boutell

OMG amazing!!!!!

Jenn A

I knowwwww! I'm super-stoked!

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

I'm so curious to know how this goes!

Lindsay Harris Friel

me, too!

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Nice! Where are you headed for viewing?

M, K, W, and myself will be viewing in Oregon. :)

Matt Lichtenwalner

I'm heading to the window seat on the plane!
Like, the only reason I'm flying is to be in the air during the eclipse... so I'll only be seeing it from the air.

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Looking forward to the report!

Anne Mollo

Hope you get a window seat

Ursula Sadiq

I'm super-lucky... I have the super-duper priority on Southwest because I fly them a ridiculous amount, so I'm almost always one of the first to board. I loooooooove me some Southwest!

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

The Langoliers? Jill "xtingu" Knapp 4/17 '17

At the Philly Airport. It is creepily empty. I keep waiting for Bronson Pinchot to show up with a blind chick.

Debating telling the flight attendants that it's my birthday.

Cons: They may sing Happy Birthday, which I really don't like.

Pros: They might make me a crown made of toilet paper rolls and stirrers.

We shall see.

Off to Austin!

4/17 '17 15 Comments

Happy birthday and safe travels!

Leela

Thank you, m'dear!

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Happy Jillbot Day!

Rabbit

Yaay! Thank you!

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

“You ought to write ‘A Happy Birthday’ on it.”
“That was what I wanted to ask you,” said Pooh. “Because my spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places. Would you write ‘A Happy Birthday’ on it for me?”
…Owl licked the end of his pencil, and wondered how to spell “birthday.”
“Can you read, Pooh?” he asked, a little anxiously. “There’s a notice about knocking and ringing outside my door, which Christopher Robin wrote. Could you read it?”
“Christopher Robin told me what it said, and then I could.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what this says, and then you’ll be able to.”
So Owl wrote…and this is what he wrote:
HIPY PAPY BTHUTHDTH THUTHDA
BTHUTHDY.
Pooh looked on admiringly.
“I’m just saying ‘A Happy Birthday,'” said Owl carelessly.
“It’s a nice long one,” said Pooh, very much impressed by it.
“Well, actually, of course, I’m saying ‘A Very Happy Birthday with love from Pooh.’ Naturally it takes a good deal of pencil to say a long thing like that.”
“Oh, I see,” said Pooh.

Lindsay Harris Friel

I love this so much. And I love YOU so much!

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

I wanted to type just the HIPY PAPY greeting, but it needed context, so I had to copy and paste.

Lindsay Harris Friel

Happy Birdie to You!
I am also at the Philly airport, waiting for my shuttle to take me to my car.

Shelle Klein Houser

I hope your travels were safe and rewarding! Was that the Epic conference? How did it go?

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

That was the "going to Atlanta to see my godson" trip. Epic conference is next week, and I am not quite ready for it, but I will pull my shit together at the last minute, as always. Ta-fucking-da.

My visit to my godson and his wonderful family was very rewarding. I miss his little face already, and I miss my Rabbit and Brandes and Miles, and all of their parents too. It was a great visit. I got to hang out with live chickens and live bees. I got closer to the chickens.

Shelle Klein Houser

This sounds like the perfect thing. <3

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Happy pie time

Thomas Boutell

Thanky thanky!

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Happy Pie Day Beautiful. :)

Matt Lichtenwalner

Awww! Thank you! :)

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Starving Jill "xtingu" Knapp 12/21 '16

In Minneapolis for 36 hours. Just got off the light rail and was walking 3 blocks to my hotel and a homeless guy stopped me.

"Pleeeeeeeeease can I have money for something to eat? I haven't eaten since yesterday, I'm sooooooo hungry, they kicked me out of the shelter, I'm so hungry... hungry hungry starving starving..."

And I said, "Dude, I have no cash. All I have is plastic... I'm here on work. If I had something, I would give it to you."

He wouldn't let it go. He figured if he pleaded with me more, money would magically appear in my wallet for me to give him. "Pleeeeeeeease! Anything! I'm so hungry hungry! SOOOO hungry! Aaaaaggggh!!"

Then I remembered, "Oh wait! I have a fresh sandwich in my bag. It's turkey and swiss. Here." And he changed 180 degrees and said in a totally different voice, "nah, forget it."

Hahahaha. Idiot.

PS: No need to tell me the millions of things I should see and do while I'm here. I literally just got here (it's almost 9pm) and I teach a full day tomorrow and then I go straight back to the airport.

12/21 '16 11 Comments

travel

Your response to his final statement is much better than mine, but then, I'm pretty certain you're a better human.

Me? I would have wanted to kick his nuts into his tonsils.

Matt Lichtenwalner

This one stuck with me... I think we are judging a homeless person by the standards of people who have things like adequate sleep and mental health care. The Stranger out in Seattle followed some of the local homeless guys on Capitol Hill to see if their patter was "honest." It wasn't, but their actual stories were as bad or worse.

Thomas Boutell

When I was a little kid, I was with my parents and we were stopped by a homeless man begging for food. My dad didn't have cash either, but he did have some leftovers from the restaurant where we had just eaten, so he gave them to the guy. A few minutes later as we were pulling out of our parking space, we could clearly see the man throwing the unopened left overs into a nearby dumpster. Since then, I simply ignore people begging. And it feels horrible to keep right on walking without an acknowledgment, because I feel like by ignoring their pleas, I am denying their humanity. But I know myself well enough to know that I won't have the strength to say "I'm sorry, I have no money to give you" and I already know they don't want the granola bar that's in my purse. So, right or wrong, I just keep on walking.

Leela

I once heard an explanation that made a lot of sense to me: "Would YOU want someone else's half eaten food?" That made me rethink the whole leftovers thing.

Don't get me wrong - if I was truly starving, I would eat whatever the hell someone wanted to give me, but it adjusted my view.

Additionally, when I was recently in Mobile Alabama, I was confronted by a homeless dude. When he asked, I explained that I don't carry cash, but I was already headed to that pizza place right there, and I would be happy to get him some dinner.

In the few hundred feet to reach the restaurant, he came up with some half muttered excuse to part ways.

Matt Lichtenwalner

If I was me, in possession of a good night's sleep and good mental health, and starving, I'd be rational and polite and eat what was offered too. But that's not how homelessness works.

Thomas Boutell

Completely valid point.

Matt Lichtenwalner

Oh, you should come visit scenic Media. We have snarky comments and hot cocoa.

Shelle Klein Houser

You do? Oh good. I'm starving. [Rimshot]

Thomas Boutell

I had that happen in Starbucks. Only had my phone with me with my Starbucks app. Lady asked me for money, I told her I had none but offered to buy her a cup of coffee.

"No, I want money," she said to me, speaking as if I were mentally handicapped.

This comment needs a punch line but all I have is "wow, I am tired".

Shelle Klein Houser

I've had that happen several times. Once the person pointed out that they couldn't eat the apple I offered them because they didn't have strong enough teeth. Fair point, but I still didn't have any money.

Lindsay Harris Friel

Stay warm!

Lindsay Harris Friel