Helen Mirren: gorgeous; her dress was amazing, in an unusual color but completely complementary to her coloring and figure. She rocks. I also love when two burly men escorted her up the steps. She seemed to think it kind of neat also.
Hugh Laurie: Sadly, and in a slightly ridiculously traditional manner, I missed his award completely in the show, but caught his E! Winner's Circle dealie afterward. I heart him. I believe I've mentioned this.
His costars, Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer: engaged! How sweet is that? They've even made out on tv already, and her character was high. Cute as buttons in real life.
Sacha Baron Cohen: overrated and kind of dumb (don't hate me Steve)
America Ferrara: star of the best show I don't watch regularly. It takes me forever to get into a show, so hopefully it will stay on for a long time. Her speech was darling. I love her energy.
In other TV news, NOTHING is new tonight if you are not an American Idol fan. Help! How can TV be so bad? House is off for several weeks, Gilmore Girls hasn't been new in ages, and Top Chef has been a total pain and I'm considering seriously quitting, especially since Medium is better and is on at the same time. Last week, I watched Medium at 10 and sort of half-watched Top Chef at 11. TV, why are you abandoning me? Supernatural is back, but even so they totally failed to deliver on the cliffhanger from the previous episode, you know, when Sam asks Dean what Dad told him, and Dean looks away? Yeah, turns out Dad didn't tell him squat...at least, nothing he's willing to admit to right now. It seriously sounded like the writers couldn't come up with anything dramatic enough between eps, so they decided just not to say anything. The coming war thing is kind of interesting, but all very vague...vague is one thing, but vague-which-feels-like-writers-block isn't.
Come on, TV. I have one more week of relative freedom before essays come in. Get on it. When I watch Dodgeball twice when it's on FX, even though I own it on dvd, you know you got problems.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
getting personal
Do you ever have that thing where you come across a song that doesn't just interest you but hits almost uncomfortably close to you in some way? Even where maybe the whole thing just kind of gets you?
I have this CD Carrie made me for my birthday, and I like many of the songs on it as more than friends, but today I was listening to a Regina Spektor song called "Fidelity" in the car. I learned the chorus and was thinking, gosh, I'd like to have a look at the lyrics so I can pick out the rest. So I brought it in to the office and looked them up and, suddenly,felt the song a whole lot more.
You can sing any song and bring something out of yourself; but sometimes you can sing a song and it already is you. You're already singing exactly what you are.
First verse/chorus:
"I never loved nobody fully/Always one foot on the ground/And by protecting my heart truly/I got lost in the sounds/I hear in my mind/All these voices/I hear in my mind/ all these words/I hear in my mind/ all this music/And it breaks my heart..."
I have this CD Carrie made me for my birthday, and I like many of the songs on it as more than friends, but today I was listening to a Regina Spektor song called "Fidelity" in the car. I learned the chorus and was thinking, gosh, I'd like to have a look at the lyrics so I can pick out the rest. So I brought it in to the office and looked them up and, suddenly,felt the song a whole lot more.
You can sing any song and bring something out of yourself; but sometimes you can sing a song and it already is you. You're already singing exactly what you are.
First verse/chorus:
"I never loved nobody fully/Always one foot on the ground/And by protecting my heart truly/I got lost in the sounds/I hear in my mind/All these voices/I hear in my mind/ all these words/I hear in my mind/ all this music/And it breaks my heart..."
Monday, January 08, 2007
The Man of My Dreams: Part 1
I'm beginning what I think might be a regular feature here at Avaciously. Whenever I have a weird dream about a famous man, I'm going to tell you about it. Because I know you'll be interested.
So my most recent reve celebrite involved none other than Karl Urban, aka Eomer from LotR, except that I called him Keith (yes, I know there's a Keith Urban, but this was Karl; I just like the name Keith better, so I made a substitution).
We were all in school, and I wandered into his history class where they were watching a video; I flirted with at least five boys, stroking their hair and making sly comments. I sat down with the teacher, and noticed that she was in the video, in her prior existence as a communist.
After class, evidently (and I say evidently because I'm not sure how we got there), Karl and I went to play a game that was a weird combination of pool and mini-golf. It actually resembled a video game Steve has where you roll around picking up stuff in a giant ball. Anyway, when you hit your ball in our game, it turned into an object, thus making it very difficult to get it to go in the proper direction; mine kept turning into a wicker dress form.
I quickly tired of this game, and so I gave up and we sat down on the grass. I sat in Karl's lap. My friend Michelle was there with some guy (I never saw his face), and we were "chilling" when that Salt n' Pepa classic "Shoop" started playing on the radio. We all started singing our respective boy and girl lines, and laughing. I'm pretty sure a make-out was imminent, but naturally...
I woke up.
This was a pretty long dream at the tail end of a huge festival of dreams, and I actually wrote it down because it seemed funny to me.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8.
So my most recent reve celebrite involved none other than Karl Urban, aka Eomer from LotR, except that I called him Keith (yes, I know there's a Keith Urban, but this was Karl; I just like the name Keith better, so I made a substitution).
We were all in school, and I wandered into his history class where they were watching a video; I flirted with at least five boys, stroking their hair and making sly comments. I sat down with the teacher, and noticed that she was in the video, in her prior existence as a communist.
After class, evidently (and I say evidently because I'm not sure how we got there), Karl and I went to play a game that was a weird combination of pool and mini-golf. It actually resembled a video game Steve has where you roll around picking up stuff in a giant ball. Anyway, when you hit your ball in our game, it turned into an object, thus making it very difficult to get it to go in the proper direction; mine kept turning into a wicker dress form.
I quickly tired of this game, and so I gave up and we sat down on the grass. I sat in Karl's lap. My friend Michelle was there with some guy (I never saw his face), and we were "chilling" when that Salt n' Pepa classic "Shoop" started playing on the radio. We all started singing our respective boy and girl lines, and laughing. I'm pretty sure a make-out was imminent, but naturally...
I woke up.
This was a pretty long dream at the tail end of a huge festival of dreams, and I actually wrote it down because it seemed funny to me.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Shout out of the week
Today I'd like to send a great big holla to Newman's Marathon, on Main St. two blocks from my house. I've tried to get my gas there as often as possible for several reasons, including
- Two Christmases ago, giving a little box of chocolates to all gas customers as a thank-you.
- Looking at my car when it was being confusing and, not finding anything wrong, not charging me a cent and telling me to bring it back the instant it did something else weird.
- I went in to pay for my gas and went to get a cappuccino. The machine, the man explained, was new, and not heated up fully yet. I decided to get some regular coffee instead and he didn't charge me for it because he knew I wanted a capp.
These people have always been sweet to me, and you should all buy your gas there. They've gone above and beyond the concept of service.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Catch up: part 3
Carrie, I dub thee "bearer of good tidings."
In the past month, I have received no fewer than two extraordinary text messages from Carrie. One was the title of HP 7. The other, last week, was the stupefying news that a LUSH store is going into the Somerset mall in Troy, MI. I grant you, this is on the opposite side of Detroit, but it is a heckuva lot better than all the way to Chicago or Canada and it is all on I-75.
I need to know the instant it opens. I need to get me some stuff. And not pay shipping.
In the past month, I have received no fewer than two extraordinary text messages from Carrie. One was the title of HP 7. The other, last week, was the stupefying news that a LUSH store is going into the Somerset mall in Troy, MI. I grant you, this is on the opposite side of Detroit, but it is a heckuva lot better than all the way to Chicago or Canada and it is all on I-75.
I need to know the instant it opens. I need to get me some stuff. And not pay shipping.
Catch-up part 2: What Happened to Resolutions?
Time seems to be smashing itself together. I could swear I had resolutions for the new year last year, but unable to find more than a couple of bad habits I wanted to break, I realize I'm remembering formal resolutions of the year before. How sad is that? Looking back at two years of resolutions, I have stopped saying "duh" all the time, and have become more ladylike, and I think I gossip less. I also knit better, though still having difficulty with crocheting, and I watch TV less when I grade. However, I don't exercise as much as I should (now anyway; it was easier in summer), and I still bite my nails.
For this year, I'd like to swear less, especially with a new niece or nephew on the way.
Also, I would like to scowl less. I've realized that I have a bad habit of scowling; the problem is, what I feel is the neutral expression for my face (when I'm not putting in muscular effort) is a slight frown, especially when I'm thinking. The problem is thus that it is easy to slip into a full scowl when I'm miffed. When they say it takes more muscles to frown than to smile, they're wrong; they mean smiling or frowning intentionally. But if your face makes a frown naturally, then you have to put in extra effort. My mom has perfected a look that can best be described as pleasant, and I think I may need to work on that.
For this year, I'd like to swear less, especially with a new niece or nephew on the way.
Also, I would like to scowl less. I've realized that I have a bad habit of scowling; the problem is, what I feel is the neutral expression for my face (when I'm not putting in muscular effort) is a slight frown, especially when I'm thinking. The problem is thus that it is easy to slip into a full scowl when I'm miffed. When they say it takes more muscles to frown than to smile, they're wrong; they mean smiling or frowning intentionally. But if your face makes a frown naturally, then you have to put in extra effort. My mom has perfected a look that can best be described as pleasant, and I think I may need to work on that.
Catch-Up: Part 1
Baby's got a whole lotta blogging stored up, so let's get started, shall we?
First, I got tagged for this, so let's see where we stand on:
Five things you don't want to know about me
1. I have a poster of Jonathan Brandis in my bedroom, circa SeaQuest DSV. I think I also have some Teen Beats somewhere with him in them. And an action figure set, complete with Hammerhead shark.
2. While watching the episode of X-Files in which Mulder supposedly shot himself (season 4 finale), I was alone in the house and I actually screamed. Loudly. Since I was always taught not to scream unless it was an emergency, this was a pretty big deal.
3. I hate drugs and drug culture; I mean, I HATE them, and I don't hate much. I'm not talking about Tylenol here, but things that are illegal and/or used for getting high or low or whatever really piss me off. So much that I don't want to talk about it anymore except to say that I once had an enormous crush on a boy; the day I found out he'd started smoking pot, I went off him completely. I could go on all day about cigarettes, too, except that they're legal. I don't hate alcohol, but I have mixed feelings about drunk people. Even when I am one.
4. I have seriously questioned my ability to be a mother based on my inability to deal with throw up. I'm not sure why, since my mother shares the problem and did just fine, but the prospect terrifies me.
5. On New Year's Eve I was....in my apartment in my pajamas doing a puzzle. Sorry, guys.
First, I got tagged for this, so let's see where we stand on:
Five things you don't want to know about me
1. I have a poster of Jonathan Brandis in my bedroom, circa SeaQuest DSV. I think I also have some Teen Beats somewhere with him in them. And an action figure set, complete with Hammerhead shark.
2. While watching the episode of X-Files in which Mulder supposedly shot himself (season 4 finale), I was alone in the house and I actually screamed. Loudly. Since I was always taught not to scream unless it was an emergency, this was a pretty big deal.
3. I hate drugs and drug culture; I mean, I HATE them, and I don't hate much. I'm not talking about Tylenol here, but things that are illegal and/or used for getting high or low or whatever really piss me off. So much that I don't want to talk about it anymore except to say that I once had an enormous crush on a boy; the day I found out he'd started smoking pot, I went off him completely. I could go on all day about cigarettes, too, except that they're legal. I don't hate alcohol, but I have mixed feelings about drunk people. Even when I am one.
4. I have seriously questioned my ability to be a mother based on my inability to deal with throw up. I'm not sure why, since my mother shares the problem and did just fine, but the prospect terrifies me.
5. On New Year's Eve I was....in my apartment in my pajamas doing a puzzle. Sorry, guys.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Where you been?
Hello my darlings. Yes, I've been in sort of a de facto hiding, sewing my little hands to shreds. Why? I dunno. As Captain Kirk once said about the most important reason for climbing a mountain, "because it's there."
First, here's a look at the golden dress. The crinkly satin fabric is shiner than I'd remembered, but I believe the results are fetching, made even better by those black lace mitts I picked up at an antique store. This is one of those rare times when fabric and pattern come together to be amazing, and even though it's meant to be of average difficulty as I remember, I did as well as I could with it and it looks just the way it's supposed to. The hem's a bit less than I could do, but it looks all right from the outside. The crinkle actually works in my favor.
I then turned my attention to a 1931 pattern (that's Vogue Vintage, for those of you keeping track. I know there's a lot of you). Imagine my surprise and slight horror when I noticed that I'd cut pieces for a size 8. In fact, my pattern was all size 8. I'd gotten this pattern ages ago, and on the outside it had size 6 in the list of measurements, which it typically only does if a size 6 is available. However, I looked at it more closely, at the cutting layouts, and determined that in fact there is no size 6. More to the point, I examined previous patterns and determined that this pattern has so little ease that it would probably fit properly, unlike my size 6 skirts with similar lack of ease...they tend to be a little snug late in the day.
Crisis averted. I took in an eighth of an inch more on seam allowances where appropriate though, just to tighten it up a hair.
I tried on the dress on Sunday, and I have to say I was a little distressed. It seemed like it was going to be not so great. The hips fit perfectly, but the waist was almost baggy. this is a belted dress, but even when I tried it with a trial belt it seemed like it would be too big. I resolved not to judge too early, and to just go with it and finish the dress as directed. I was glad I did so, because it came out fine, and when I put it on, I realized that it fit almost perfectly. It's supposed to have a little bit of overhang above the belt, as you can see from the front shot. The back in the closeup looks quite wrinkly and even badly sewn, but it's actually a few other factors: the way the light catches the pleat, and the fact I'm turning around. Also, I didn't have it quite pulled up properly above the belt, and it is just the tiniest bit big in the waist, which always on me shows up in the back because I have such a long back. Certainly, I didn't sew it perfectly, but I spent quite a lot of time examining pictures I took, and have determined it's as it should be. My next plan in relation to this dress is to use some gorgeous velvety fur-type fabric I have in a slightly pink silver and make a cape. I'm doing another dress first, but then I'll do the cape. I'm nervous about that because I haven't worked with such a sumptuous fabric before, at least in this context, but we shall see. I don't know how much longer my energy will hold out but the act of creation is sort of alluring to me right now.
If you're wondering why all the pictures, someone sensible once told me I should make a scrapbook of all my sewing projects, good and bad. I haven't really gotten down to the scrapbooking part of it yet, but I did take pictures of a few older projects and will continue with that track in the hopes of someday logging it all.
First, here's a look at the golden dress. The crinkly satin fabric is shiner than I'd remembered, but I believe the results are fetching, made even better by those black lace mitts I picked up at an antique store. This is one of those rare times when fabric and pattern come together to be amazing, and even though it's meant to be of average difficulty as I remember, I did as well as I could with it and it looks just the way it's supposed to. The hem's a bit less than I could do, but it looks all right from the outside. The crinkle actually works in my favor.
I then turned my attention to a 1931 pattern (that's Vogue Vintage, for those of you keeping track. I know there's a lot of you). Imagine my surprise and slight horror when I noticed that I'd cut pieces for a size 8. In fact, my pattern was all size 8. I'd gotten this pattern ages ago, and on the outside it had size 6 in the list of measurements, which it typically only does if a size 6 is available. However, I looked at it more closely, at the cutting layouts, and determined that in fact there is no size 6. More to the point, I examined previous patterns and determined that this pattern has so little ease that it would probably fit properly, unlike my size 6 skirts with similar lack of ease...they tend to be a little snug late in the day.
Crisis averted. I took in an eighth of an inch more on seam allowances where appropriate though, just to tighten it up a hair.
I tried on the dress on Sunday, and I have to say I was a little distressed. It seemed like it was going to be not so great. The hips fit perfectly, but the waist was almost baggy. this is a belted dress, but even when I tried it with a trial belt it seemed like it would be too big. I resolved not to judge too early, and to just go with it and finish the dress as directed. I was glad I did so, because it came out fine, and when I put it on, I realized that it fit almost perfectly. It's supposed to have a little bit of overhang above the belt, as you can see from the front shot. The back in the closeup looks quite wrinkly and even badly sewn, but it's actually a few other factors: the way the light catches the pleat, and the fact I'm turning around. Also, I didn't have it quite pulled up properly above the belt, and it is just the tiniest bit big in the waist, which always on me shows up in the back because I have such a long back. Certainly, I didn't sew it perfectly, but I spent quite a lot of time examining pictures I took, and have determined it's as it should be. My next plan in relation to this dress is to use some gorgeous velvety fur-type fabric I have in a slightly pink silver and make a cape. I'm doing another dress first, but then I'll do the cape. I'm nervous about that because I haven't worked with such a sumptuous fabric before, at least in this context, but we shall see. I don't know how much longer my energy will hold out but the act of creation is sort of alluring to me right now.
If you're wondering why all the pictures, someone sensible once told me I should make a scrapbook of all my sewing projects, good and bad. I haven't really gotten down to the scrapbooking part of it yet, but I did take pictures of a few older projects and will continue with that track in the hopes of someday logging it all.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
All done
So, it's Thursday, I'm hanging out in the office after a whirlwind of portfolio-returning activity, looking forward to heading home soon and spending quality time with my apartment and my sewing machine. Everyone's full of holiday cheer and cards (sorry, people, I don't really do Christmas/holiday cards...the sheer volume of the list of friends I would need to give cards to is daunting to a girl who most of the time can't even be bothered to write a letter. I thank you, however, for your consideration and love in sending me holiday cards). The dress I'm making is almost finished, and I'm looking forward to listening to more of Harry Potter 6 on tape whilst I do the finishing work (hemming being possibly the most boring sewing work in the universe), and de-static the dress, and then take some pictures if the time is right.
I haven't watched a whole lot of TV lately, because reruns are boring, so instead I will provide a general list of some important TV moments and trivia of the last couple months.
Biggest TV regret: Missing most of the episode of Saturday Night Live on which Hugh Laurie appeared. It was by the grace of God alone that I got to see part of it, including the "protest song."
Second biggest TV regret: Missing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Biggest TV frustration: Lorelai and Christopher. As I have indicated to many, I disapprove strongly of this Gilmore Girls relationship. Christopher, despite being handsome, is boring as hell. I have been known to leave the room when the two of them are on together. The conflicts of this season have been poorly chosen, I think.
Most interesting surprise viewing: The Snow Queen, a strange and artful adaption. imdb.com's current reviewer was rather scathing, but I think the person also sort of missed the point of the style of the adaption. It was sort of like looking in a nickel odeon.
Biggest go-girl moment: The end of Prime Suspect 7. I do heart Helen Mirren.
Spiciest TV-related dream: I admit I had a dream about Ty Pennington last night. (adding to what has been an EXHAUSTING dream month, from falling out of bed because of spiders to the night when I seriously had at least seven dreams, several of which sort of blended together, but AFTER I'd woken up and fallen back asleep. How many times can I need to put in contacts in a dream?).
Most sympathy for disliked person: Melrose, ANTM. Sure, girl is a little annoying. However, she's also smart and can do just about anything. She reminds me a little of me, and a few of my girlfriends felt the same way about themselves--educated woman, many interests and abilities, and a bit of a know-it-all, a bit show-offy. But that's what you're supposed to have in competition, and I for one found it refreshing to have a girl who wasn't vacuous as these girls tend to be. That being said, I'm not sorry Caridee won, because I think she's lovely, and that crazy elephant picture rocked. But I'm hoping for big things for Melrose because she has a wide array of things to do. What worries me is that, because she has so much going for her, people will just assume she can fend for herself and not give her anything. Possibly this fear is unfounded. I hope so.
OK, that's all I can think of right now because it's 5:12 and I want to leave. However, before I do, I have a very important question: Does anyone here love comedian Jim Gaffigan like I do? He's coming to Toledo Feb 9 and I want to go. Sadly, it's the same night as the BG vs. Michigan hockey game here, but it is not the same night as MSU, so that's all right.
I haven't watched a whole lot of TV lately, because reruns are boring, so instead I will provide a general list of some important TV moments and trivia of the last couple months.
Biggest TV regret: Missing most of the episode of Saturday Night Live on which Hugh Laurie appeared. It was by the grace of God alone that I got to see part of it, including the "protest song."
Second biggest TV regret: Missing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Biggest TV frustration: Lorelai and Christopher. As I have indicated to many, I disapprove strongly of this Gilmore Girls relationship. Christopher, despite being handsome, is boring as hell. I have been known to leave the room when the two of them are on together. The conflicts of this season have been poorly chosen, I think.
Most interesting surprise viewing: The Snow Queen, a strange and artful adaption. imdb.com's current reviewer was rather scathing, but I think the person also sort of missed the point of the style of the adaption. It was sort of like looking in a nickel odeon.
Biggest go-girl moment: The end of Prime Suspect 7. I do heart Helen Mirren.
Spiciest TV-related dream: I admit I had a dream about Ty Pennington last night. (adding to what has been an EXHAUSTING dream month, from falling out of bed because of spiders to the night when I seriously had at least seven dreams, several of which sort of blended together, but AFTER I'd woken up and fallen back asleep. How many times can I need to put in contacts in a dream?).
Most sympathy for disliked person: Melrose, ANTM. Sure, girl is a little annoying. However, she's also smart and can do just about anything. She reminds me a little of me, and a few of my girlfriends felt the same way about themselves--educated woman, many interests and abilities, and a bit of a know-it-all, a bit show-offy. But that's what you're supposed to have in competition, and I for one found it refreshing to have a girl who wasn't vacuous as these girls tend to be. That being said, I'm not sorry Caridee won, because I think she's lovely, and that crazy elephant picture rocked. But I'm hoping for big things for Melrose because she has a wide array of things to do. What worries me is that, because she has so much going for her, people will just assume she can fend for herself and not give her anything. Possibly this fear is unfounded. I hope so.
OK, that's all I can think of right now because it's 5:12 and I want to leave. However, before I do, I have a very important question: Does anyone here love comedian Jim Gaffigan like I do? He's coming to Toledo Feb 9 and I want to go. Sadly, it's the same night as the BG vs. Michigan hockey game here, but it is not the same night as MSU, so that's all right.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Watch out for dummies!
If anyone needs me, I'm in the midst of my workroom sewing away as though nothing else in the world is happening.
This is probably for the best since I passed no fewer than three people driving like idiots on my way in to the office today.
Why is it that people don't remember how 4-way stops work? As in, when the person directly in front of you goes, and there are other people waiting at the stop sign, then you are not next? A neighbor of mine nearly got run over by a truck, and I could have been broadsided myself except that both of us were watching for such shady behavior.
This is probably for the best since I passed no fewer than three people driving like idiots on my way in to the office today.
Why is it that people don't remember how 4-way stops work? As in, when the person directly in front of you goes, and there are other people waiting at the stop sign, then you are not next? A neighbor of mine nearly got run over by a truck, and I could have been broadsided myself except that both of us were watching for such shady behavior.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Sorry, kids
Open apology to my BG hangout peeps:
Sorry, guys; this weekend turned out to be unexpectedly crowded with social and event engagements. I have these times when no one wants me and I hide in my house and do crafts, and then suddenly I must erupt from my home in a swish of silks and wool and see everyone I know. I love you, though, and will see you soon.
Sorry, guys; this weekend turned out to be unexpectedly crowded with social and event engagements. I have these times when no one wants me and I hide in my house and do crafts, and then suddenly I must erupt from my home in a swish of silks and wool and see everyone I know. I love you, though, and will see you soon.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Banner Day
So, yesterday evening turned out to be unexpectedly full of nice surprises.
I had a pretty short day, actually, which was gratifying and easy. I walked home and, on my way, noted that The Cookie Jar had Raspberry Linzer Roll cookies that day, so I stopped and ordered some. I went home and got my mail, which included:
The Circle Journal, an awesome circulating journal written by some of my family. It's my turn!
A hefty check from Verizon, a refund of my cellphone security deposit! YES!
I went back to get my cookies, and then settled in for the evening. I watched a little tv, started cutting out pattern pieces for a dress while listening to Garrison Keillor, ate more cookies than I should have (delicious shortbready cookies with raspberry swirl), read a little of two books (an old favorite, Primrose Day, which I checked out from the library, and the last Lemony Snicket book, which I bought even though I haven't read the others. It just sounded good. And it is.), watched more TV (ANTM finale and Top Chef and Medium), and generally relaxed before ending the evening by catching up with the journal.
The only thing I haven't gotten to do for a while is have a bath. I believe that's on tonight's agenda, or perhaps tomorrow. I have a sort of cinnamony bubble bar that will go great with some spicy soap my sister got me for my birthday. I also have plans to do a hand spa with some fun products I got from my friend. Let the luxuriating....continue!
I had a pretty short day, actually, which was gratifying and easy. I walked home and, on my way, noted that The Cookie Jar had Raspberry Linzer Roll cookies that day, so I stopped and ordered some. I went home and got my mail, which included:
The Circle Journal, an awesome circulating journal written by some of my family. It's my turn!
A hefty check from Verizon, a refund of my cellphone security deposit! YES!
I went back to get my cookies, and then settled in for the evening. I watched a little tv, started cutting out pattern pieces for a dress while listening to Garrison Keillor, ate more cookies than I should have (delicious shortbready cookies with raspberry swirl), read a little of two books (an old favorite, Primrose Day, which I checked out from the library, and the last Lemony Snicket book, which I bought even though I haven't read the others. It just sounded good. And it is.), watched more TV (ANTM finale and Top Chef and Medium), and generally relaxed before ending the evening by catching up with the journal.
The only thing I haven't gotten to do for a while is have a bath. I believe that's on tonight's agenda, or perhaps tomorrow. I have a sort of cinnamony bubble bar that will go great with some spicy soap my sister got me for my birthday. I also have plans to do a hand spa with some fun products I got from my friend. Let the luxuriating....continue!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
And now it's time for word association
Gilmore Girls: WTF?
Vince Vaughn: available
ANTM: season finale!
Body: plus four pounds
Dinner: meatballs (again)
School: no more grading, whoo hoo!
Dreams: scary animals
Fabric: I'm going to make a sweet dress this break!
Sewing machine: stolen from Mom (sorry Mom)
Music: "Mushaboom" best song ever right now (thanks, Carrie)
Vince Vaughn: available
ANTM: season finale!
Body: plus four pounds
Dinner: meatballs (again)
School: no more grading, whoo hoo!
Dreams: scary animals
Fabric: I'm going to make a sweet dress this break!
Sewing machine: stolen from Mom (sorry Mom)
Music: "Mushaboom" best song ever right now (thanks, Carrie)
Monday, December 04, 2006
Meatballs
I was about to get all cranky and whine about how some people, namely Steve, haven't posted much lately, then realized I haven't posted since Tuesday and maybe I should shut up.
Last night I had a delicious dinner. Here's what happened: I was in Meijer on Saturday night (after an abysmal hockey game. I don't want to talk about it.) getting my groceries stocked up. I actually have a fairly full freezer and cupboard right now, but I was out of some essentials (milk, for instance) and some healthier produce. I was passing through frozen foods, looked to my left, and saw...
a giant bag of meatballs.
For some reason, this sounded awesome. Slow cooker, I thought. Meatballs like the ones my Mum made for graduation.
So yesterday between church and attendance at A Christmas Carol I dissolved some beef boullion, threw in some flour and some mushroom soup, and mushrooms, and dumped in 40 meatballs. I stirred 'em up and left them on low, and there they were when I returned home at 5. I made some mashed potatoes and dumped meatballs on them, and ate the lot with some apple salad. So good. I had to reheat the meatballs because my front room is so cold right now that my dinner got cool too fast.
It was great. Then, I took a nap and then watched the new Librarian movie: Return to King Solomon's Mines. It wasn't as good as the first one (and by good I mean the right mixture of derivative, goofy, adventurous, and entertaining), but it was worth watching.
TV in general lately hasn't been much to post about. Everyone is in reruns, you know, and while that was helpful in the "final standoff with essays" week, this week is about me and my needs. This girl needs to be entertained, and if new ANTM is all she gets, girl gonna get sad. This week, looks like new Gilmores, old House (sad), new and last ANTM, new Top Chef, new Medium, and thank-God-because-I-heart-Winchesters, new Supernatural.
Girl also gotta be warm. My morning classroom was probably cold enough to keep potato salad fresh all day. And right now I have the uncomfortable feeling that the heat might have broken in the office building, because I feel the strange sensation of cold air hitting my body. I believe I shall be going home early today. I barely made it out of bed as it was this morning, and I don't see any reason why I shouldn't return there as soon as possible. So soft. So warm. So snuggly.
Last night I had a delicious dinner. Here's what happened: I was in Meijer on Saturday night (after an abysmal hockey game. I don't want to talk about it.) getting my groceries stocked up. I actually have a fairly full freezer and cupboard right now, but I was out of some essentials (milk, for instance) and some healthier produce. I was passing through frozen foods, looked to my left, and saw...
a giant bag of meatballs.
For some reason, this sounded awesome. Slow cooker, I thought. Meatballs like the ones my Mum made for graduation.
So yesterday between church and attendance at A Christmas Carol I dissolved some beef boullion, threw in some flour and some mushroom soup, and mushrooms, and dumped in 40 meatballs. I stirred 'em up and left them on low, and there they were when I returned home at 5. I made some mashed potatoes and dumped meatballs on them, and ate the lot with some apple salad. So good. I had to reheat the meatballs because my front room is so cold right now that my dinner got cool too fast.
It was great. Then, I took a nap and then watched the new Librarian movie: Return to King Solomon's Mines. It wasn't as good as the first one (and by good I mean the right mixture of derivative, goofy, adventurous, and entertaining), but it was worth watching.
TV in general lately hasn't been much to post about. Everyone is in reruns, you know, and while that was helpful in the "final standoff with essays" week, this week is about me and my needs. This girl needs to be entertained, and if new ANTM is all she gets, girl gonna get sad. This week, looks like new Gilmores, old House (sad), new and last ANTM, new Top Chef, new Medium, and thank-God-because-I-heart-Winchesters, new Supernatural.
Girl also gotta be warm. My morning classroom was probably cold enough to keep potato salad fresh all day. And right now I have the uncomfortable feeling that the heat might have broken in the office building, because I feel the strange sensation of cold air hitting my body. I believe I shall be going home early today. I barely made it out of bed as it was this morning, and I don't see any reason why I shouldn't return there as soon as possible. So soft. So warm. So snuggly.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
In which my forehead gets out of control
Once upon a time, Amanda Latrenta stood before her class, ready to introduce the Proposing a Solution assignment. Amanda pointed to a sizable blemish on her forehead and assertively said, "Problem." She paused, waiting for her meaning to become clear before she asked, with a wry and slightly wicked smile, "Solutions?"
I vividly remembered Amanda today, telling me that story when she was a group leader. Today, I had a gigantic whitehead on my forehead; only it's not there now because this morning I absolutely had to get rid of it. So instead I have a gigantic and almost-uncoverable red mark which will almost certainly scar unless I exercise immediate skin emergency procedures.
This was a zit in the full meaning of the word, and I NEVER get them. I get pimples, certainly, most commonly along my jawline or in the nose area, but this was a full on disaster, like I'm about to sprout a horn and magic and become a unicorn. We are not in the days of the Cosby Show when a girl like Vanessa can just put a headband over it, and it was really too low to rock a low-slung bandana, even. As a girl with quite a lot of forehead anyway, this was absolutely unmitigated neon sign territory. And I had to teach three classes today.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash my face; even now I can feel my make-up making plans to create a permanent exhibit up there.
I vividly remembered Amanda today, telling me that story when she was a group leader. Today, I had a gigantic whitehead on my forehead; only it's not there now because this morning I absolutely had to get rid of it. So instead I have a gigantic and almost-uncoverable red mark which will almost certainly scar unless I exercise immediate skin emergency procedures.
This was a zit in the full meaning of the word, and I NEVER get them. I get pimples, certainly, most commonly along my jawline or in the nose area, but this was a full on disaster, like I'm about to sprout a horn and magic and become a unicorn. We are not in the days of the Cosby Show when a girl like Vanessa can just put a headband over it, and it was really too low to rock a low-slung bandana, even. As a girl with quite a lot of forehead anyway, this was absolutely unmitigated neon sign territory. And I had to teach three classes today.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash my face; even now I can feel my make-up making plans to create a permanent exhibit up there.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Another year older
So, the birthday has come and gone. I received many exciting things and participated in several exciting activities. So, I will sit here on my lunch break and explain a few things to you while I eat my fried chicken and squash casserole.
Some reviews:
Poco Piatti, Levis Commons, a Mediterranean tapas restaurant. I have never been to a tapas restaurant before, but my love of Mediterranean cuisine is well documented, particularly of the Greek and Italian persuasion. Poco Piatti does both of these but throws Lebanese into the mix for good measure. The restaurant is brand new, at least it is a new location, as there is also one in Toledo. Our group on Friday night was quite large, and ordered things throughout the night, and frankly I was impressed with the staff's ability to adapt to the confusion and make sure we all got our dinners.
If you have never been to a tapas restaurant, it works like this: Basically, you order a bunch of appetizer-sized items to eat. I suppose you could just eat what you ordered, but our group sent the items around the table so we got the widest sampling possible. For instance, I had: saganaki kasseri (OOPA!), hommous, Greek salad, half a cabbage roll, several small pieces of thin pizza (one of which was hazelnut, potato, and pesto pizza--almost obscenely delicious), pumpkin gnocchi, calamari, chicken wraps, goat cheese agnolotti, artichoke hearts, and Lord knows what else, and turned down servings of several other dishes that didn't seem to quite go with what I was eating. The menu items are numerous, naturally, and this location also has a few full-sized dinners if you prefer. Best of both worlds, what?
I had to laugh because this young little couple were sitting at a nearby table and they kept looking at ours with wide eyes, possibly wondering how nine people could put away so much dinner. And we really did. There were some leftovers boxes, but we did a lot of damage. As a party, it was wildly successful. But you could also go there with just two people and get your own things or share a few and come in fairly cheaply. In fact, my friend Michelle and I did something similar at Biaggi's for lunch once. We just shared, and were both super full. The nature of our ordering system was also fun...we ordered some things, decided we'd also like to try others, and by the end of the meal were hoping that we hadn't ordered anything else. What a great way to get full.
This was all followed by some delicious German chocolate cake made by Carrie, which was sweet enough but not too sweet, perfectly ending the evening's gourmet adventures.
Now, about Pop 5.
I've never played Cranium before, and I usually say no to Trivial Pursuit. In fact, I'm really not an adventurous game player--always refused to play Pin the Tail on the whatever at birthday parties, preferring to watch or roam around for a few minutes to myself. I'm too competitive, and the stress always gets to me to perform perfectly; I have what could be called a winner's complex. But I let my energies be seduced by my friends (who were kind enough to see through my laziness and maneuver me into playing Pop 5).
It's a version of Cranium in which it's not the word or phrase, it's the manner of its delivery. You have five choices, naturally, including drawing, sculpting, humming, acting out, or tossing letter cubes and coming up with words to guide your team. You have a certain amount of time (before the pop light goes out) to make your team say whatever is on your card.
We played boys vs. girls, which was 3 vs. 4, though I can point out here that one extra person really does not make much difference at that point. We played five rounds, and the girls ultimately came out with the best 3 of 5. Of my great and tragic moments, consider the following:
1. My utter failure to get across Genie in the Bottle through sculpture. I sculpted a bottle with smoke, but the bottle was of poor design. My failure was offset, however, by Paul's equally unfortunate (though well sculpted) Charlie's Angels clue.
2. My massive success in sculpting Hill Street Blues. Maggie proved instrumental to this, helping me earn the respect of my fellow players in the sculpting department.
3. If you heard the words "packet" and "decade" what would you guess? If it was Pop Rocks, in the food and drinks category, you'd be right. Well done, ladies. The gents were particularly confused by our telepathic ability here.
4. How in the name of all that is right in the world do you get across "Please don't squeeze the Charmin?" Even if you could successfully get across toilet paper, or even Charmin, and then squeeze, I can guarantee that no one in my group would have gotten the whole thing. This was perhaps offset by Jane Fonda Workout for the boys.
5. My personal favorite, because it represented a judgment error by the men (the opposing team has to rank the different ways to present clues according to points value), who ranked humming to be worth top number of points for "Star Trek." That was a total gimme for me. Carrie, my fellow sci-fi fan, got that one immediately.
This game strikes me as very instinctive and crafty. I truly enjoyed it, almost as much as I enjoyed rocking the boys' faces off. Girls Rule!
Other particularly satisfying moments were Maggie doing Flashdance, Carrie sculpting Dallas, and Melissa's enthusiastic portrayal of Just Do It. On the boys' side, Paul telepathically guessing leg warmers, Steve's portrayal of Ozzy Osborne, and Nathan's outstanding skill with letters at all times were most impressive.
A good time was had by all, and I was exhausted when we finally finished. This is a game I would most definitely play again.
Some reviews:
Poco Piatti, Levis Commons, a Mediterranean tapas restaurant. I have never been to a tapas restaurant before, but my love of Mediterranean cuisine is well documented, particularly of the Greek and Italian persuasion. Poco Piatti does both of these but throws Lebanese into the mix for good measure. The restaurant is brand new, at least it is a new location, as there is also one in Toledo. Our group on Friday night was quite large, and ordered things throughout the night, and frankly I was impressed with the staff's ability to adapt to the confusion and make sure we all got our dinners.
If you have never been to a tapas restaurant, it works like this: Basically, you order a bunch of appetizer-sized items to eat. I suppose you could just eat what you ordered, but our group sent the items around the table so we got the widest sampling possible. For instance, I had: saganaki kasseri (OOPA!), hommous, Greek salad, half a cabbage roll, several small pieces of thin pizza (one of which was hazelnut, potato, and pesto pizza--almost obscenely delicious), pumpkin gnocchi, calamari, chicken wraps, goat cheese agnolotti, artichoke hearts, and Lord knows what else, and turned down servings of several other dishes that didn't seem to quite go with what I was eating. The menu items are numerous, naturally, and this location also has a few full-sized dinners if you prefer. Best of both worlds, what?
I had to laugh because this young little couple were sitting at a nearby table and they kept looking at ours with wide eyes, possibly wondering how nine people could put away so much dinner. And we really did. There were some leftovers boxes, but we did a lot of damage. As a party, it was wildly successful. But you could also go there with just two people and get your own things or share a few and come in fairly cheaply. In fact, my friend Michelle and I did something similar at Biaggi's for lunch once. We just shared, and were both super full. The nature of our ordering system was also fun...we ordered some things, decided we'd also like to try others, and by the end of the meal were hoping that we hadn't ordered anything else. What a great way to get full.
This was all followed by some delicious German chocolate cake made by Carrie, which was sweet enough but not too sweet, perfectly ending the evening's gourmet adventures.
Now, about Pop 5.
I've never played Cranium before, and I usually say no to Trivial Pursuit. In fact, I'm really not an adventurous game player--always refused to play Pin the Tail on the whatever at birthday parties, preferring to watch or roam around for a few minutes to myself. I'm too competitive, and the stress always gets to me to perform perfectly; I have what could be called a winner's complex. But I let my energies be seduced by my friends (who were kind enough to see through my laziness and maneuver me into playing Pop 5).
It's a version of Cranium in which it's not the word or phrase, it's the manner of its delivery. You have five choices, naturally, including drawing, sculpting, humming, acting out, or tossing letter cubes and coming up with words to guide your team. You have a certain amount of time (before the pop light goes out) to make your team say whatever is on your card.
We played boys vs. girls, which was 3 vs. 4, though I can point out here that one extra person really does not make much difference at that point. We played five rounds, and the girls ultimately came out with the best 3 of 5. Of my great and tragic moments, consider the following:
1. My utter failure to get across Genie in the Bottle through sculpture. I sculpted a bottle with smoke, but the bottle was of poor design. My failure was offset, however, by Paul's equally unfortunate (though well sculpted) Charlie's Angels clue.
2. My massive success in sculpting Hill Street Blues. Maggie proved instrumental to this, helping me earn the respect of my fellow players in the sculpting department.
3. If you heard the words "packet" and "decade" what would you guess? If it was Pop Rocks, in the food and drinks category, you'd be right. Well done, ladies. The gents were particularly confused by our telepathic ability here.
4. How in the name of all that is right in the world do you get across "Please don't squeeze the Charmin?" Even if you could successfully get across toilet paper, or even Charmin, and then squeeze, I can guarantee that no one in my group would have gotten the whole thing. This was perhaps offset by Jane Fonda Workout for the boys.
5. My personal favorite, because it represented a judgment error by the men (the opposing team has to rank the different ways to present clues according to points value), who ranked humming to be worth top number of points for "Star Trek." That was a total gimme for me. Carrie, my fellow sci-fi fan, got that one immediately.
This game strikes me as very instinctive and crafty. I truly enjoyed it, almost as much as I enjoyed rocking the boys' faces off. Girls Rule!
Other particularly satisfying moments were Maggie doing Flashdance, Carrie sculpting Dallas, and Melissa's enthusiastic portrayal of Just Do It. On the boys' side, Paul telepathically guessing leg warmers, Steve's portrayal of Ozzy Osborne, and Nathan's outstanding skill with letters at all times were most impressive.
A good time was had by all, and I was exhausted when we finally finished. This is a game I would most definitely play again.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Wednesday smash-up
Music that has been in my head in the last two days:
"Smack my b***h up..." (just that line)
The African Queen theme music.
Why those two things? I really can't say.
I feel sad today, which is a real bummer considering tomorrow is my birthday. My hope is that my birthday outfit will force me to at least behave in a happy-go-lucky and possibly frivolous manner. I kind of need to be "on" tomorrow in order to enjoy the aging process.
Speaking of which, I can't remember if I mentioned this, but a few weeks ago I actually made someone examine my head to see if I had any grey hairs. The funny thing is I wouldn't care if I did have grey hairs, though I might kick a fuss about it openly, but I at least want to know if they're there. I don't want them to sneak up on me. He said I didn't, but I'm still suspicious. It's awfully difficult to tell, you know, with the blond. Which reminds me, I need to re-dye my streak roots. Maybe that's tonight's project post-presentation.
Presentation? Yeah, forgot to mention that. I'm going and doing a panel or solo presentation at Owens in Toledo tonight, on my dance-poetry thing. I have five pieces, three of which are old and resurrected, one of which is newly choreographed, and one of which I'm going to improv while someone reads it. Should be good times. The only things that ever make me nervous about such things is a: actually remembering the words, and b: being able to speak the poems loudly enough, and with enough breath. Oh, and c: getting hip or back cramps in the middle, as at Christmas Eve services, when I had an enormous knot form in my hip whilst I was dancing. On with the show though, right?
Doesn't it seem weird that I haven't done any television reports lately? I guess I haven't had that much to say lately. There's no Project Runway, and Top Chef just made me irritated last week. "Scandalicious"? I have to say, though, that I enjoy Gail Simmons and I wish she were the host. At least the host wasn't wearing hot pants this week. How obvious can you get? Oh, and Camp Glucose? I don't approve of that name.
Heck, I haven't even watched Supernatural from last week yet.
Let's talk for a sec about Gilmore Girls. A lot of people have complained about the slip in writing since the creator left, and while I can see what they're getting at, my concern is much more plot-related. GG seems to be falling into the set-up trap...where weak plot segments are supposedly meant to sneak by because they build up to an interesting plot component. Certainly, a Christopher-Luke showdown might be interesting, as might Lorelai backing out of this flybynight "marriage." But to be honest, I am not enjoying watching Chris and Lorelai, nor am I enjoying watching Luke be "reborn" as a considerate man. It all rings false and kind of dull. With this show in particular, I am not okay with it being weak for a few weeks because it's going to be awesome eventually. GG doesn't work that way. Even when things go amiss or build up, the show needs to be charming and captivating, and right now it's just uncomfortable, and not in that "oooh, uncomfortable and tense" way, but in that "oh. uncomfortable. look away" kind of way. It has its bright moments, as in Michel insisting on being called Captain (hilarious), but it's stopped being truly quotable, as evidenced by my now too-quiet cell phone not receiving text messages from Steve for half an hour.
Rock my socks off, Gilmore Girls! I command it!
"Smack my b***h up..." (just that line)
The African Queen theme music.
Why those two things? I really can't say.
I feel sad today, which is a real bummer considering tomorrow is my birthday. My hope is that my birthday outfit will force me to at least behave in a happy-go-lucky and possibly frivolous manner. I kind of need to be "on" tomorrow in order to enjoy the aging process.
Speaking of which, I can't remember if I mentioned this, but a few weeks ago I actually made someone examine my head to see if I had any grey hairs. The funny thing is I wouldn't care if I did have grey hairs, though I might kick a fuss about it openly, but I at least want to know if they're there. I don't want them to sneak up on me. He said I didn't, but I'm still suspicious. It's awfully difficult to tell, you know, with the blond. Which reminds me, I need to re-dye my streak roots. Maybe that's tonight's project post-presentation.
Presentation? Yeah, forgot to mention that. I'm going and doing a panel or solo presentation at Owens in Toledo tonight, on my dance-poetry thing. I have five pieces, three of which are old and resurrected, one of which is newly choreographed, and one of which I'm going to improv while someone reads it. Should be good times. The only things that ever make me nervous about such things is a: actually remembering the words, and b: being able to speak the poems loudly enough, and with enough breath. Oh, and c: getting hip or back cramps in the middle, as at Christmas Eve services, when I had an enormous knot form in my hip whilst I was dancing. On with the show though, right?
Doesn't it seem weird that I haven't done any television reports lately? I guess I haven't had that much to say lately. There's no Project Runway, and Top Chef just made me irritated last week. "Scandalicious"? I have to say, though, that I enjoy Gail Simmons and I wish she were the host. At least the host wasn't wearing hot pants this week. How obvious can you get? Oh, and Camp Glucose? I don't approve of that name.
Heck, I haven't even watched Supernatural from last week yet.
Let's talk for a sec about Gilmore Girls. A lot of people have complained about the slip in writing since the creator left, and while I can see what they're getting at, my concern is much more plot-related. GG seems to be falling into the set-up trap...where weak plot segments are supposedly meant to sneak by because they build up to an interesting plot component. Certainly, a Christopher-Luke showdown might be interesting, as might Lorelai backing out of this flybynight "marriage." But to be honest, I am not enjoying watching Chris and Lorelai, nor am I enjoying watching Luke be "reborn" as a considerate man. It all rings false and kind of dull. With this show in particular, I am not okay with it being weak for a few weeks because it's going to be awesome eventually. GG doesn't work that way. Even when things go amiss or build up, the show needs to be charming and captivating, and right now it's just uncomfortable, and not in that "oooh, uncomfortable and tense" way, but in that "oh. uncomfortable. look away" kind of way. It has its bright moments, as in Michel insisting on being called Captain (hilarious), but it's stopped being truly quotable, as evidenced by my now too-quiet cell phone not receiving text messages from Steve for half an hour.
Rock my socks off, Gilmore Girls! I command it!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Winter Wheat = Existential Questions
Hi, kids.
So, it's Winter Wheat time, and I've already been to sessions. Isn't that great? Total number of sessions I went to last year whilst in charge? 0. I'll admit, I've been to some that didn't really speak to me, just because they weren't a good fit for my current writing life, but I've also been to some that really helped my mind in some way. Actually, I've walked away with at least a little something from every workshop.
Tonight is a reading by Dan Chaon and David Baker, which will be fun. Currently, I should be doing a bit of work, but naturally I'm not. I'll do a bit in a few minutes; drafts and whatnot. My head feels sort of hot, though, like it's drunk in too much noise and thought. It's better than last night's feeling, which was utterly exhausted. I couldn't even meet friends at a restaurant, not for dinner or for afters. Just too bloody tired. In fact, I almost passed out from lack of sleep and lack of food.
Today, I wonder, why am I a writer? What has made me choose this as the core of my career? Well I remember the time when I was meant to decide direction, in the later portion of college as I prepared to grad school. Why writing, and not dance? Why not something else like Lit, or even science? I am at that point in my writing life when I've been out of grad school for a few years, and I'm wondering what I'm fit for, and how many stories I will be able to tell, how many experiences to convey. I somehow need to know why I've made this choice in order to continue it. Do I deserve to be a writer? Is that what I'm supposed to be? My 28th birthday is less than a week away. Has that 28-year-old, white, single, female entity with brown hair and blue eyes made the right decision?
So, it's Winter Wheat time, and I've already been to sessions. Isn't that great? Total number of sessions I went to last year whilst in charge? 0. I'll admit, I've been to some that didn't really speak to me, just because they weren't a good fit for my current writing life, but I've also been to some that really helped my mind in some way. Actually, I've walked away with at least a little something from every workshop.
Tonight is a reading by Dan Chaon and David Baker, which will be fun. Currently, I should be doing a bit of work, but naturally I'm not. I'll do a bit in a few minutes; drafts and whatnot. My head feels sort of hot, though, like it's drunk in too much noise and thought. It's better than last night's feeling, which was utterly exhausted. I couldn't even meet friends at a restaurant, not for dinner or for afters. Just too bloody tired. In fact, I almost passed out from lack of sleep and lack of food.
Today, I wonder, why am I a writer? What has made me choose this as the core of my career? Well I remember the time when I was meant to decide direction, in the later portion of college as I prepared to grad school. Why writing, and not dance? Why not something else like Lit, or even science? I am at that point in my writing life when I've been out of grad school for a few years, and I'm wondering what I'm fit for, and how many stories I will be able to tell, how many experiences to convey. I somehow need to know why I've made this choice in order to continue it. Do I deserve to be a writer? Is that what I'm supposed to be? My 28th birthday is less than a week away. Has that 28-year-old, white, single, female entity with brown hair and blue eyes made the right decision?
Monday, November 06, 2006
Happy Due Date to ME
So, I was supposed to be born 28 years ago today. Instead, I made my mother and my doctors wait. I always celebrate a little today anyway, since it represents such a great countdown.
This week is going to be nuts. I'm getting drafts on Tuesday and Winter Wheat starts on Thursday and lasts through Sunday, and somehow all of this has to get finished. Here's the plan: Set the VCR for anything and everything I could possibly wish to watch this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, plow through a class per day if humanly possible. If I get done with a class and have an hour or two free, I will watch a show or two to relax. Thursday through Sunday I will apply myself to the third class as best I can, an hour here an hour there. I plan to be done by Sunday evening so I can then plow through any remaining TV I might have.
The moral of the story is, don't talk to me about TV this week. I'm working!
Last night, I had a solo dance party with some Lambic and a full moon. Tonight, Monday, is the last free night I'll have for a week. If you need me I'll either be in the tub or in my pajamas under a blanket.
This week is going to be nuts. I'm getting drafts on Tuesday and Winter Wheat starts on Thursday and lasts through Sunday, and somehow all of this has to get finished. Here's the plan: Set the VCR for anything and everything I could possibly wish to watch this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, plow through a class per day if humanly possible. If I get done with a class and have an hour or two free, I will watch a show or two to relax. Thursday through Sunday I will apply myself to the third class as best I can, an hour here an hour there. I plan to be done by Sunday evening so I can then plow through any remaining TV I might have.
The moral of the story is, don't talk to me about TV this week. I'm working!
Last night, I had a solo dance party with some Lambic and a full moon. Tonight, Monday, is the last free night I'll have for a week. If you need me I'll either be in the tub or in my pajamas under a blanket.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
The Cookie Jar
All right. I have a few things to say today.
First, a bit of word-of-mouth advertising.
I was walking home last night and passed a little place on Court St called the Cookie Jar (basically across the street from Spots). I'd seen it before, and I'd also seen other businesses in and out of there before, and for some reason I thought, you know, I could just do with a great cookie right now. So I went in. As I quickly found out, it isn't a bakery where you just go in and pick out what you want or buy one cookie from a selection on a tray. You actually order cookies in sets of 6, 8, 12, and 13 or something like that (or trays of more cookies) and then in 20 minutes or so they are hot and ready for pick up or free BG delivery. Every day they have chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal cinnamon raisin chip. Then, they have a special cookie, and there's a calendar of what they'll have.
I ordered an 8-set with two of each kind of cookie (10 dollars) and went home for my 20 minutes, then headed back. I received a box and some napkins and took them home, changed into pajamas, and then pulled the box into my lap and opened it. Inside were 8 large, fresh, and hot cookies, two of which (the peanut butter jelly variety) were in muffin cups with some vanilla frosting to drizzle on top.
What can I say? I ate an oatmeal raisin and a PBJ cookie on the spot. They were soft and rich and pretty big. Realistically, one cookie would have been enough, and therefore in my opinion worth the price. They were delicious.
Now, it is 11 o'clock on a Thursday morning, and I am enjoying my second PBJ cookie, warmed for 15 seconds in the microwave, and it is equally delicious. I asked the gal in the shop how business was, and she said it was picking up through word of mouth since they haven't done much advertising yet. So here's my contribution. Great cookies, perfect for events like showers and small parties, even big parties if you cut the cookies up. The Cookie Jar. Court St. November 17? Pumpkin pie cookies. I'm all over that.
So, advertising aside, I am now through my antibiotics cycle, and I do feel better, though I do not in fact feel healthy yet. I was sleepy in a big way yesterday and the day before, and to be honest I still feel sleepy. I really can't wait to be done teaching and conferencing so I can go home and take an actual nap (nap was once again missed yesterday). I am owed a bath since I haven't taken my weekly bath yet this week, so maybe that will be on my post-Supernatural agenda for the evening.
Speaking of TV, did anyone watch Ghosthunters Live on Halloween? I did, or at least I started to. I had to teach on Wednesday, so I couldn't stay up for all of it, but even so as I watched the first two hours I kept falling asleep due to illness and Triaminic, and finally gave up and set the recorder for the last hour. The fellas were out at the Stanley Hotel, inspiration for The Shining. I did see several interesting personal experiences in what I did catch, and I gather next week is the reveal for the investigation. It was a very great idea and I wished it had been a weekend so I could watch the whole thing as it was going on. I don't think they caught any apparitions or anything, but it still was fun to watch.
I have something to say to ye of my friends who are Lost fans: Quit knocking the polar bear. So many of you are so caught up in the conspiracies and the characters, and you forget that the original premise was spooky island with mysterious black object and creatures. That is what attracted me in the first place, and every time we look get a look at either of these entities, I am all on board with it.
And now a few words about Top Chef; first, isn't it funny how they replaced one limp, glassy-eyed host with another limp, glassy-eyed host? They selected someone who would traipse about wearing short shorts (inappropriate much?) but she still has the same bored tone and languid diction. She doesn't sound excited to be doing what she's doing. The female judge has far more vigor and spice, and I wish she could be the host.
On the positive side, don't you love Betty? She's just the sweetest thing. When I say that, I don't mean she can't take care of herself, but you can tell she genuinely loves cooking, loves people, loves to sell food, and doesn't care what kind of food she's making. I'd hire her to be my personal chef because I think she'd always be positive about the food she was making and she'd be nice to me. I hope my Betty bubble never bursts.
And don't you always feel apprehensive about those "regular folks" food challenges? You know about half the chefs are doing to say something dumb or insulting about their customers. I hated especially hearing at least two of them say something to the effect of, I came here to make fine cuisine. Uh, have you watched ANY of the previous season? Did you not learn the lessons they learned and therefore know what might be coming? Last season they went to a gas station, for pete's sake. Get into it! Do your job.
I will be watching Sam and Ilan with interest. Next week sounds scandalous, which I hate...I want to see them live or die by the knife, and not by their stupid cheating. Reality TV lives for scandal like this, but in shows like Top Chef, it really takes away from the point of the experiences. You don't want to have a bad taste in your mouth with a cooking show.
I guess that's it for now. My brain still isn't quite all together.
First, a bit of word-of-mouth advertising.
I was walking home last night and passed a little place on Court St called the Cookie Jar (basically across the street from Spots). I'd seen it before, and I'd also seen other businesses in and out of there before, and for some reason I thought, you know, I could just do with a great cookie right now. So I went in. As I quickly found out, it isn't a bakery where you just go in and pick out what you want or buy one cookie from a selection on a tray. You actually order cookies in sets of 6, 8, 12, and 13 or something like that (or trays of more cookies) and then in 20 minutes or so they are hot and ready for pick up or free BG delivery. Every day they have chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal cinnamon raisin chip. Then, they have a special cookie, and there's a calendar of what they'll have.
I ordered an 8-set with two of each kind of cookie (10 dollars) and went home for my 20 minutes, then headed back. I received a box and some napkins and took them home, changed into pajamas, and then pulled the box into my lap and opened it. Inside were 8 large, fresh, and hot cookies, two of which (the peanut butter jelly variety) were in muffin cups with some vanilla frosting to drizzle on top.
What can I say? I ate an oatmeal raisin and a PBJ cookie on the spot. They were soft and rich and pretty big. Realistically, one cookie would have been enough, and therefore in my opinion worth the price. They were delicious.
Now, it is 11 o'clock on a Thursday morning, and I am enjoying my second PBJ cookie, warmed for 15 seconds in the microwave, and it is equally delicious. I asked the gal in the shop how business was, and she said it was picking up through word of mouth since they haven't done much advertising yet. So here's my contribution. Great cookies, perfect for events like showers and small parties, even big parties if you cut the cookies up. The Cookie Jar. Court St. November 17? Pumpkin pie cookies. I'm all over that.
So, advertising aside, I am now through my antibiotics cycle, and I do feel better, though I do not in fact feel healthy yet. I was sleepy in a big way yesterday and the day before, and to be honest I still feel sleepy. I really can't wait to be done teaching and conferencing so I can go home and take an actual nap (nap was once again missed yesterday). I am owed a bath since I haven't taken my weekly bath yet this week, so maybe that will be on my post-Supernatural agenda for the evening.
Speaking of TV, did anyone watch Ghosthunters Live on Halloween? I did, or at least I started to. I had to teach on Wednesday, so I couldn't stay up for all of it, but even so as I watched the first two hours I kept falling asleep due to illness and Triaminic, and finally gave up and set the recorder for the last hour. The fellas were out at the Stanley Hotel, inspiration for The Shining. I did see several interesting personal experiences in what I did catch, and I gather next week is the reveal for the investigation. It was a very great idea and I wished it had been a weekend so I could watch the whole thing as it was going on. I don't think they caught any apparitions or anything, but it still was fun to watch.
I have something to say to ye of my friends who are Lost fans: Quit knocking the polar bear. So many of you are so caught up in the conspiracies and the characters, and you forget that the original premise was spooky island with mysterious black object and creatures. That is what attracted me in the first place, and every time we look get a look at either of these entities, I am all on board with it.
And now a few words about Top Chef; first, isn't it funny how they replaced one limp, glassy-eyed host with another limp, glassy-eyed host? They selected someone who would traipse about wearing short shorts (inappropriate much?) but she still has the same bored tone and languid diction. She doesn't sound excited to be doing what she's doing. The female judge has far more vigor and spice, and I wish she could be the host.
On the positive side, don't you love Betty? She's just the sweetest thing. When I say that, I don't mean she can't take care of herself, but you can tell she genuinely loves cooking, loves people, loves to sell food, and doesn't care what kind of food she's making. I'd hire her to be my personal chef because I think she'd always be positive about the food she was making and she'd be nice to me. I hope my Betty bubble never bursts.
And don't you always feel apprehensive about those "regular folks" food challenges? You know about half the chefs are doing to say something dumb or insulting about their customers. I hated especially hearing at least two of them say something to the effect of, I came here to make fine cuisine. Uh, have you watched ANY of the previous season? Did you not learn the lessons they learned and therefore know what might be coming? Last season they went to a gas station, for pete's sake. Get into it! Do your job.
I will be watching Sam and Ilan with interest. Next week sounds scandalous, which I hate...I want to see them live or die by the knife, and not by their stupid cheating. Reality TV lives for scandal like this, but in shows like Top Chef, it really takes away from the point of the experiences. You don't want to have a bad taste in your mouth with a cooking show.
I guess that's it for now. My brain still isn't quite all together.
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