minnesota gal

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be

2009-07-07T22:07:00.002-06:00

On Thursday this week, my parents are having my tree removed.

My tree, which I pulled from the garden, planted and nurtured until it was too big to be kept in a pot and then picked the spot where I wanted to plant it.

Granted, my dad never thought it would live, it got seriously split in a storm and there are knots in the trunk where the tree shows it's scars. And yes, it is destroying my parent's driveway with it's roots, but nonetheless, this tree proves that I am capable of keeping plants alive.

It's a piece of my history, a piece of my self, in a way that probably no one will understand, but I want it recorded so that when I'm old, I can say that this magnificent tree was planted because a ten year old girl begged her daddy to keep the weed and let it grow into a 'strong young tree.'

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."
~Rabindranath Tagore, Fireflies, 1928

feelin' groovy

2009-01-20T22:21:00.003-06:00

It's been ages since I wrote anything here for all of you to read, friends. Exactly three months, actually, as I look at my last post.

Work has become insane, with our website project taking on a life of it's own and owning me. I don't think that I've worked this much, well, ever. Even though I probably should have. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I can see the glimmer of it through the wintery, sleepy haze that I drive through and work through each day.

Other than that, it's all quiet on the Eastern front. A break from school was definitely needed and I look forward to my class this next semester, the AWP conference in Chicago and many other things that are up and coming.

With this new year, I have no resolutions. My only resolution is to try and make the things that I want that perhaps I've forgotten about and needed to be reminded of (thank you Sarah), or things that I've just not had time for since before Thanksgiving, to take those things and make them a priority.

I think sometimes, we forget that things we want can potentially make us happy or sad as we forget about them and tuck them away, lock them away in our diaries (or blogs) and in boxes, compartmentalizing our lives so that work, love, friendship, school and family never should meet. It's not necessarily bad if they do. And sometimes, we need that.

The inauguration today was awe-inspiring, emotionally inspiring and just all over inspiring. Look for Elizabeth Alexander's poem in a chapbook by Graywolf Press (St. Paul) February 6. It was amazing. Not to mention listening to Itzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill made me want to get out my violin again and play.

I'm exhausted, mentally, emotionally and physically tonight and need to get some sleep. Watch for more later, I need to make this more of a habit again (I call myself a writer?).

Quote o' the day:

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
on the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,
praise song for walking forward in that light.
-Elizabeth Alexander, Praise Song

how fragile are the very strong

2008-10-20T21:01:00.004-06:00

Things that you forget and then remember...

1. Laundry etiquette. How long does one wait before putting their neighbor's laundry on top of the dryer so that they can get some wash done?
2. When was the last time you actually had to go into a bank? I forgot my pin number today when I stood at the counter, asking for my three rolls of quarters. I'm hoping I won't have to go back for awhile.
3. How young nineteen year old boys are.
4. In the fall, how everything seems romanticized and nothing seems real.

Things that I wish...
1. I wish I were braver. That I could be that person who steps up and fixes things. That I could say the things that I want to say, that I could look you in the eye.
2. I wish I were stronger. That I could be that person who seems to always have it together and that can hold up other people. That I could be strong enough to be braver.
3. I wish that time would slow down and let things happen.
4. I wish I were able to do the thing you want me to do and that I knew what that was.

But for now, I'll settle for a glass of wine, some music and the sounds of this old house, with secrets to share and with places to tuck new secrets. I'll probably try at least two more times to keep the cat off the cupboard and then I will probably give up and go to bed. Because lately, I am an insomniac and wake in the wee hours of the morning, wondering what time it is, only to discover that it has been only two hours since I crawled into bed. So tonight, I'll probably read a little, falling asleep when I least expect it.

leaves rain down in an unexpected hailstorm outside the window. looking twice, a realization that the leaves are translucent, colored, soft. they are not hard, unyielding or icy. looking again, they are floating, wind-torn and tired.

Quote of the day:

“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” - Raymond Lindquist

keep breathing

2008-10-07T21:54:00.003-06:00

Tonight I curled up in my big purple chair with books, quilts, cider and cats. It was a delicious feeling, except for when I awoke to discover it was 9:30 and I'd not read much of anything that I needed to for class.

So now, I will open the window, let the cool fall air in, wake up and read. I wonder, as we approach the middle of the tenth month of this year, as always where the time has gone. So I keep breathing, and wait for tomorrow, when I will be in a different state of mind and when the sun will shine.

Two quotes that beg for posting that I stumbled upon while looking for something else. The first, I send to my sister, reminding her that you can't help who you fall in love with. The second, a Swedish proverb, is too true for words.

"Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you I had no control over." - Anonymous

“Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it.” - Swedish Proverb

you're the reason I've run out

2008-10-06T20:19:00.003-06:00

I don't have anything particularly exciting to share tonight, except for some things that I feel the need to share with someone else.

Tonight is one of the nights that I'm having a "I live alone...boo..." nights. Because in this fallish weather, I wish for good conversations, stew and hot apple cider. So in an attempt to remedy that, I decided that I was going to go and get some cider. And an ink cartridge because I ran out.

You know how you go to Target for one thing and end up buying like eight? That was me tonight with the cider and the ink cartridge, candy for the dish at work, shampoo because I'm almost out and then nail polish remover because the Oriental Red on my toes is starting to look a little more...faded. But the thing that is interesting about this is really the thought process. These were all things that I probably intended to buy at one time or another. Not really things I need, but things that were on my list to get. And how, when I went for a 74 HP Black Printer Cartridge and apple cider, did I arrive at shampoo, candy and nail polish remover? Do they plan the stores so that you have to go by things that might align? Because apple cider and nail polish remover don't really scream similar to me.

I drove up to New Brighton today to get cat food at the vet and since I went right after work, I took my old route, before the bridge collapsed. It was definitely an odd sensation, seeing as how not only was there virtually no traffic, but the world just seemed different. Probably because I no longer live in that part of the metro, don't drive that way as much and because life in general has come full circle. And, I am AMAZED at how much cheaper gas was up there - $2.99! If I hadn't just filled up, I would have been all over it. Does living in the city really make that much of a difference? Apparently so.

Ever since I finally plugged in my old Aiwa stereo in the dining room, I've been on a classical music kick. And tonight, one of my favorite things happened. They played a piece on the radio that not only did I know without looking up or waiting to hear what it was, but that I'd played in orchestra. It's fun to be able to name the composer and the piece - and yes, I know I'm a huge dork for saying that. But it makes me smile. And because I love piano music.

A tidbit from the Star Tribune today - the MN Wild have a mascot. Meet Nordy.

Lastly, on Lexington, there is a sign that says:
Piano
"FOR SALE"
with the phone number

Why, can you tell me, does the "for sale" need to be in quotation marks? Any thoughts, Rach?

I should take a photo of it to post here for you all to see.

Wishing you all good conversations, hot cider moments and warm quilts.

Quote o' the day:
"There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion."
- Sir Francis Bacon, "Of Beauty"
English author, courtier, & philosopher (1561 - 1626)

a seeming void becomes a solid ground

2008-09-29T20:43:00.005-06:00

I've been missing all of you and slowly getting into the groove of the newness of life as it is now. There is no earthly way possible to recapture the last few months, so I am not going to attempt to do so. Only to say that I'm slowly adjusting to this thing that is living alone and each day, I feel more sure of myself and the decision that I made, seemingly in a rash moment. It feels like letting go and there have been multiple reasons to do precisely that over the last two months.

But instead of lingering on the last two months and explaining away the night, I want to share a few things with you all, friends. First of all, this is truly a fall night and all one can do is heat up a cup of hot apple cider and curl up with a good book and a blanket. It's wonderful. This time of year is one of my favorites and probably is due to the fact that I should have been born in the fall. I am in awe of the color of the sumac, water that dips and moves with the landing of each goose heading for warmer climes, the brightness of the sun falling through falling leaves and even these gray days when you don't mind lingering with a friend in the coolness. And it occurs to me that in the midst of this economic crisis we are in, perhaps there is nothing better than inviting friends over for a cup of cider and playing cards. Cooking is one of the things that make me sane, so let's cook a big pot of soup and truly enjoy the company of others. This, I believe, is one of life's simple pleasures, take from it what you will.

Other things to share that you can take or leave:

1. Paul Newman, as you know, passed away on Saturday. Sally Field has this to say about him, "Sometimes God makes perfect people and Paul Newman was one of them." If only there were more people we could say that about.

2. Nick Coleman offers this sage advice on the election year and baseball. It will make you smile.

3. I made these roasted brussel sprouts tonight and they were every bit as delicious as the photo shows. And for those of you that don't like brussel sprouts - come on over and I will make a believer out of you.

4. We've assembled 50 of this years rock, paper, scissors, and they are beautiful. I can't believe that the fruits of our labor turned out quite as good as they did. I can't wait to unveil it to the world.

5. And just so that I have an even five, today they were talking about the soundtrack for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on The Composer's Datebook and it was amazing. It is beautiful, haunting and fits this fallish weather just perfectly, I think.

And to close with a quote, here is one from Erskine Caldwell that was in the Trib today that I couldn't resist.

"Oh, I used to read the Sears and Roebuck catalogue, every year when it came out. But I learned early in life that you can be a reader or a writer. I decided to be a writer." - Erskine Caldwell (1903-87), American author

this is the way I need to wake

2008-09-24T16:01:00.001-06:00

More to come, since I think writing to you, friends, helps keep me sane.

But, this quotation begged me to post it.

"A poem is never finished, only abandoned." - Paul Valery

the more things change...

2008-08-06T17:56:00.002-06:00

Because this is too good to pass up...

Batman and G.W. Bush.

The moving commences tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Quote o' the day:

"The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself." - Oscar Wilde

it's too late

2008-08-05T08:15:00.002-06:00

I know, I know. I've been kind of MIA for the last couple of weeks and will probably be so for awhile until things settle down.

But, in the mean time, this quote from Hubert H. Humphrey begs for posting.

"In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be."

Have a wonderful week, kids.

this is not what I had planned

2008-07-20T19:52:00.003-06:00

Today's horoscope was such a good reminder that I feel the need to post it here so that we can all be reminded of the different ways people express feelings and to stop being so judgmental all the time.

"It hurts when your heart is wide open and others just can't match the intensity of your love. For this reason, you may feel that it's safer today to demonstrate your ability to be emotionally detached than it is to show how much you truly care. Unfortunately, this will only allow those in your life to shut down even more. When you recognize that each person expresses love in a unique manner, you'll be able to graciously accept what is currently being offered without further judgment."

I'm done dogsitting and even though I did enjoy my brief stint with the dog, I'm happy to be back at my house where all is quiet, even at 4:30 in the morning and where I know how to find everything in my kitchen. Only a few more weeks here and then it will be off to the new place.

And now for my Sunday paper recommendations:

Excellent commentary on global warming can be found here.
If anyone wants to go to Sommerfest this Thursday night to see Sibelius, I'm in. It's one of the best and even though I've seen it already, I'd definitely go again!
This story about a 26 year old woman who is hiking from Mexico to Canada sort of makes me wonder what I've done for the last four years. I could have been doing something awesome like this...
And last but not least, The Hold Steady make the front page of the Variety section.

Have a great week, everyone and hopefully, you get a chance to enjoy what is supposed to be beautiful weather this week!

Quote o' the day:

"The things we know best are the things we haven't been taught." - Marquis de Vauvenargues

Books books and more books.

2008-07-11T21:26:00.004-06:00

I never fill these things out, but I feel somewhat compelled after both Abbi and Rachel did, so here goes. Direct any snarky comments elsewhere, but feel free to share this with others. Books are love!

If you post this somewhere else, this is how you are supposed to do it!
1) Bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read or have started but haven't finished.
3) Mark in a different color the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (my dad used to read this to me as a kid - I loved it!)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (Isn't this technically a part of the Chronicles of Narnia??)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (Which did you like better, this or Angels and Demons?)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (This took me 100 Years of Solitude to read...)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt (This is creepy good!!)
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding (Really?)
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I've read just over half of these...what about you? Happy weekend, kids!

Quote o' the day:

"The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand." - Frank Herbert

can't you feel the pull?

2008-07-07T21:14:00.000-06:00

Do you think, that amidst all of the political madness that is going on, we are actually making progress? I read all of the articles in the newspapers, about John McCain attempting to learn to speak better (I know some people that could give him some tips), Garrison Keillor telling John McCain to be careful who he consorts with, Bush is a lame duck that the whole G8 group wants out and all sorts of other things.

But are we making progress?

Anyone care to weigh in?

Quote o' the day:

"Character is what you have left when you've lost everything you can lose." -Evan Esar

don't hide the broken parts that I need to see

2008-06-19T21:05:00.000-06:00

I don't have much to say today, other than that I think this crazy week has finally caught up with me. I'm exhausted!

But, this quote today needed to be posted. So, without further ado...

Quote o' the day:

"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward." - Kurt Vonnegut (on a side note, how did I totally miss that Kurt Vonnegut died? Did I just forget? Or did I miss it?!)

what I want is not to want what isn't mine

2008-06-18T22:00:00.000-06:00

Today was amazing. The sun shone hotter and brighter than it may have all summer thus yet and I drove fast, blaring Collective Soul, frantically wishing I could turn back time and do the things I've longed to do.

But as it stands, the present is a pretty good place to be. Kate and I met to discuss design for rock, paper, scissors tonight and I think we've come up with a pretty amazing design. It's always affirming to be around people that know you in a different light than the rest of your friends because those people see qualities and parts of you that aren't always visible. We all need reminding of those things that don't come out as often as they should. And I think most writers will agree, it's always wonderful to be in the company of another wordsmith who doesn't expect you to be amazing with language, grammar or any of that. But to be in the company of one who truly understands the beauty in a moment, however fleeting it may be, and who understands that beauty is not lost simply because you can't express something the most eloquent way or even at all. It is a gift, it's unique and I hope that everyone has someone in their life that understands that...because we need it to survive and to be happy.

So another suggestion for you, friends. Grab a hold of those tiny moments that may seem like nothing - a glance, a conversation, a moment stilled only by silence when your heart is beating so loudly that you are sure that everyone can hear it. Take those moments as mementos of your life and guard them. Because in times when you are not quite sure that you can continue being the person you are, you can recall them and suddenly, things don't seem so bad.

On a side note - does anyone happen to know of a good recording of Smetana's Moldau? It's been on my mind lately and I feel like a good listen to a fantastic recording will ease that missing piece of my soul's current status. What do you suppose that means?

It's late and I'm running on pure adrenaline and sleeplessness, so I'd best close my eyes. Happy Wednesday, friends.

Quote o' the day:

"On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time." - George Orwell

it's you who is closest

2008-06-18T15:02:00.000-06:00

I may write more later (I'm on a roll), but here's a fun article for those of you that are familiar with Abbott and Costello's bit 'Who's on First?'

Sometimes, the Chronicle of Higher Education has good stuff!

I am giving up on half empty glasses

2008-06-17T21:43:00.003-06:00

I feel like I need to fill you all in on the last few days, but that would take weeks. So, in a nutshell, I've got an apartment. It's perfect. Perfectly me. I can imagine myself living there, I can imagine myself writing, cooking, laughing and loving in this apartment and can't wait to have a space that is my own and where I can find the parts of myself that I've given up for various reasons over the last eight or so years. Where I can tuck away the parts of myself that I'm not proud of. There was no small amount of tears shed between my sister and I and my entire family can't quite believe that I did something so impulsive as choosing to live in the first place I came to. Come to think of it, I can't really either. But it's fantastic...photos to come!

The last three weeks, continuing forward to the next couple of weeks are pretty crazy, but I've kind of come to accept this and am just rolling with it. So what if I don't get quite as much sleep as I anticipated... there will be time to sleep once all this fun and work is done. Emphasis on the word FUN. There is much fun to be had this summer and I can't wait.

I have been, for the last couple of weeks, going gluten free. Aside from paying way close attention to what I eat and what's good and what's not (a benefit, in my mind), I've lost seven pounds already! I did get my test results back from the celiac test and my levels have risen from 28 to 35 in the last year. So, it looks like this will be a permanent thing, though I didn't really plan it to be. It's not as hard as I thought it would be, however, so that's good.

A few suggestions, as I haven't made many lately.

If you are in the cities, try and get in to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Guthrie. It was fantastic - extremely well done for a play that's kind of crazy already.

This article, Of Marriage and Mountain Climbing, about the similarities of marriage and rock-climbing is wonderful. I may not be married and may not be remotely close to or even ready for it, but when I get to that point, this is what I think should be the essence of a good marriage and Barreca hits it right on the head.

That’s what love is: the wish to go on talking.

So, for all my dear married friends, I wish that for you, along with the good memories that come with that person. Because, the best thing in the world is to wake up and know that the person you want to talk to and see the most in the world is right next to you.

And the last suggestion I have for you, take a few minutes, sometime, and listen to some jazz. It's amazing how the rhythm, music and underlying feeling can cheer you up, calm you down and if you're in a sad mood, mourn right along with you. Watch the moon rise, drink a glass of wine or some beer and listen to some jazz. Your heart will thank you for it.

Quote o' the day:

"Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities." - Aldous Huxley

the lonely is such delicate things

2008-06-11T19:31:00.001-06:00

Garrison Keillor wrote in his column last Sunday about finding the joy in life. He says:

Joy has the power to sweep misery away. This is true. Nobody "gets over" anything, there is no closure, hearts stay broken for a long time. Love is a tumult and it's a wonder anyone survives it. But you look out the window and imagine joy is waiting for you somewhere..."

Isn't that the truth? I felt the need to share that, because on this rainy day, when I am tired out, stressed out and wishing for a highway to drive way from it all, I know that even though the last two weeks have been nothing short of hellish at work, next week, it will be sunny again and I will be glad to be where I am. So, to combat the compelling urge I have to quit my life as I know it today, I sit and drink red wine and eat dark chocolate. They're supposed to be good for your heart, right? My heart can use some cheering right now.

The last week has been tumultuous in so many ways - not only has there been a lot of stuff going on at work, but I've gained a roommate, lost a roommate, lost two roommates and decided that it's a good thing for me to move out on my own. So at the end of the summer, friends, I will be finding my own apartment and setting up a space that is mine. I'm excited, but it's bittersweet. The end of an era. I will no longer have my sister around to keep me company and share silly things with. But I know that we'll probably still end up spending a lot of time together. I feel lucky to have had the chance to live with her because if we hadn't, we probably wouldn't be as close as we are now. And instead of living with Sarah, as planned, she'll have her own place and that's good for her and probably good for our friendship.

I've not done any writing yet, nor have I started The Artist's Way. I should, at this very moment, be working on work because I'm presenting at work tomorrow morning and I am procrastinating in the worst way. Writing birthday cards to an ex and lamenting the fact that I have tons of address labels I won't be able to use aren't exactly constructive uses of my time. But my nervousness about tomorrow cannot be abated and thinking about it only seems to make it worse. So perhaps I will end up winging it, or else after this wine is gone, I'll feel relaxed enough to get this done. The thing that is hardest, and what I knew would be hardest about being in the position I'm in is that I have so many friends at work that I can't share the misery with. I don't know how to elaborate on that statement, but I think that you will understand, friends.

In an effort to be cheery on what seems to be a non-cheery day for me, I will say that when I went to get our father's day present for my dad, not only was there a meter available right in front of the store in the middle of a rain deluge, but it had 50 minutes left on it. Which just kind of made my whole day better. Random acts of kindness are the best, even when unintentional. I put two quarters in before I left.

I am anxiously awaiting tomorrow afternoon when I will be done with this blasted presentation that everyone seems to make such a big deal out of and when I can go play Tchaikovsky's 1812 Symphony in rehearsal and get it all out of my system. I may take a half day on Friday to do a few things for me (like get a headlight fixed...), but we shall see how the rest of the week goes.

Is anyone else amazed that it is already June 12 tomorrow? I know I am. I'm in awe of how fast everything seems to be going and can't seem to recall a time when things were slower and simpler. When a smile was just a smile and when work was not responsibility.

Quote o' the day:

"That's the secret to life... replace one worry with another..." -Charles M. Schulz

I've learned to listen through silence

2008-05-20T21:59:00.002-06:00

Welcome back friends.

I haven't written anything here for a two and a half months. I haven't really written anything for that matter. So I've decided, from Marta's suggestion, to do Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Apparently it is 12 weeks long and that should take me all summer. Anyone want to join me?

Many exciting and not exciting things have happened in the last two months, so I'll spare you all the boring details, except that I went to Denver and had a surprising realization. I'm not the same person I was in high school! Not really that surprising, but a good thing to notice, all the same.

According to my sister, the environmentalist, we're at least ten days behind our normal schedule of the seasons. Which means many things, such as loons congregating on Lake Harriet, birds that came back too early having nothing to eat, a slushy fishing opener and spring buds that are just now starting to pop out. Along our street, there's a park that looks pretty crappy until it starts to green up. The ice rink is a gigantic puddle of mud and insects, until one day, there's a beautiful field of dandelions. My dad always taught me to pick the heads off these pesty flowers until there were none left. That said - there's nothing, to me, at this moment, more beautiful than a bright yellow patch of dandelions in the cool spring morning with mists rising off of them. Standing outside on a cloudy evening, wishing for a glass of water and feeling those drops of rain hit your head and bare toes makes me yearn for summer all the more.

I want to be able to swim in our cul de sac that doesn't exist anymore and I want seasons to be definable again. Is that too much to ask?

Drop me a note and let me know how all of you are doing, ok? I miss you all.

Quote o' the day:

"I would rather be a coward than brave because people hurt you when you are brave." - E.M. Forster

I'll be the one to break my heart

2008-03-06T19:31:00.002-06:00

A few random things about this week.

My left blinker cuts into my radio every time I use it. It either didn't bother me before, or else I just didn't notice it. It's extremely annoying.

Today, I had meeting with my financial 'guy' and in the course of our meeting, we were discussing work, etc., and it was amazing. Amazing because even though I have days, weeks, even, where I wonder what the hell I'm doing with work and wonder if I'm even any good at it, and wonder sometimes, if I even like it - but during that hour, I realized that I do like my job. I may not know exactly what I'm doing, but I'm happy with where I am. I love spending time with my friends and my family and that generally, I don't 'want' anything else right at this moment. (This is sounding eerily like something I wrote awhile ago, sorry to be repetitive, but this seems to be a topic lately!)

I know we all wish we were maybe a little more this or a little more that. We wish we weren't single or we wish we'd waited to get married and have kids. We might wish we had more of this or more of that. And I'm no different with regards to those things, but it was nice to be reminded that if I did die tomorrow, I pretty much have lived the way that I've wanted to. Sure, I've still got things I want to do, but I think that no matter what age you die, you still have things you want to do.

My sister and I have been watching "Six Feet Under" and I do admit to being skeptical to it at first, but I'm completely hooked now and I think that's maybe why I've been so introspective lately. That and the fact that my class demands that I think that way. At any rate, if you've not watched it, put it on your Netflix!

Back to work.

Quote o' the day:

"To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult; our human loneliness is cause enough. But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade through whose steady presence one becomes steadily the person one desires to be." -Anna Louise Strong (1885 November 24–1970 March 29, American Journalist)

when you get sober, will you get kinder?

2008-03-03T23:16:00.001-06:00

I am in a quarrel. I'm in a quarrel with Minnesota. Specifically, winter in Minnesota. I'm sure you will all remind me of how much I loved the snow back in November, but now, I'm done. I'm tired of walking gingerly around in parking lots, at the sign of any icy patch. I'm tired of shrink-wrap on my windows, cold feet and scraping off my window in the morning. I'm tired of the snowbank that surrounds the car that my neighbors won't move, and subsequently, I slide around on, trying to get into my car. I'm tired of melting and freezing, salt on my car and salt on my shoes and pant hems. I want to wear springy clothes and sandals and be outside. Winter is officially over in my mind, so Minnesota better catch up.

I also think that Monday nights are bad nights to go to the grocery store. No bananas and no Grape Nuts! Plus tons of U of MN students. Does anyone know what tangelos taste like?

Happy Monday and 3rd of March, kids.

Quote o' the day:

"There are three reasons for becoming a writer: the first is that you need the money; the second that you have something to say that you think the world should know; the third is that you can't think what to do with the long winter evenings." - Quentin Crisp (English Author, 1908-1999)

there comes a song with the dawn

2008-02-29T22:51:00.001-06:00

We wait. We are a culture of waiting. The next big thing, the next phase in our life. The next person to be with, and the next idea to grab onto. But we are an impatient culture. We want that life, that thing, that person or place to be here and now, right now. How do we convince ourselves that what we have right now, this minute, is what we need, what we want and what we are supposed to have?

I don't think we can. I think the best we can do is slow down, look people in the eyes and tell them what we mean to tell them. Not what we think they want to hear, what we want to hear or what we think we should say, but what we mean to say.

I am constantly amazed by my friends. You are all wonderful people - strong, resilient and beautiful, so much so that I can't imagine wanting anything more than the here and now, because that's where all of you are.

There comes a song, with the dawn and it is one of hope and patience that maybe someday, we will have all of those things that we are waiting for. And if we don't get them, perhaps, they are not things that we were meant to have.

"What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness." - Leo Tolstoy

sing it if you understand

2008-02-25T23:06:00.001-06:00

I wanted to write. I wanted to write about about truth and beauty and life. I wanted to shake the core of someone and make them believe things that they might not have believed.

I still do, but instead I feel stretched. Stretched to the limit of what I understand and believe this world to be. I thought I was one person but it's amazing how things change. How the things we want, the life we want to live and how we might obtain that, changes. You think you want one thing and that drastically changes, even in the course of a year.

Stretched to find that balance between work, friends, school and myself. We had to attend a session on our personality types for work last week and though the woman that ran it was completely obnoxious, she did have some good things to say. One of them being that in order to be the person we want to be, we need to take time for ourselves. Sometimes, we forget to do that and then we wonder why we're so tired, or cranky or annoyed with life in general.

And on that note - you'll find me posting some of my writings for class here. Because it's nice to know that even if it sucks, someone will read it. And they may not understand it or even want to, but they'll read it. Because I need to find time and energy to get back to why I decided to go to school in the first place. Anyone have a good coffee shop that I could go to that will not be distracting?

And for those of you that requested to know what some of our writing assignments are - think about the things you take for granted and why you do that. Write about that as it pertains to your landscape and surroundings or as it pertains to people.

Quote o' the day:

"Life is a long lesson in humility." - James M. Barrie

and tell me, where is the faith?

2008-02-20T22:48:00.000-06:00

I feel like it's not fair that tonight, after I've already written about the moon, there was a lunar eclipse. At any rate, it was extremely cool to watch and funny that they were playing songs on the radio about eclipsing. (NOT Total Eclipse of the Heart, the Current has better taste than that.)

I did end up going to the yoga class tonight and found that I need to go more often. Because I used to be able to do some of those things a lot more easily. And then, when I was running on the treadmill, I got distracted by trying to change the song on my iPod and fell off. Completely embarrassing, but now I understand why they are trying to get teen drivers to not use iPods in the car. You can get wrapped up in that and not even notice that you might be driving off the road (or falling off the treadmill, in my case).

Things that made my day today:
1. I made every light on Park Avenue on my way home from work today. That NEVER happens.
2. Apparently, the VP was extremely happy with the way our session went yesterday. That means I did something right.
3. My hair froze on the way out of the gym. I've never had that happen to me before. It was kind of entertaining.

On a random tangent, how fun would it be to work at MPR? I started looking at their job website today, even though I have no intention of leaving where I am until I'm a) vested and b) done with school. Which, as I discovered yesterday, if things go as planned - I won't be done until I am 30. This makes me want to vomit a little bit.

I think, since I am deliciously tired from my yoga and running, I am going to finish my lemon zinger tea and crawl into my bed. A writing assignment for you all: write about a tree or body of water that holds special significance to you. (And please SHARE!)

Quote o' the day:

"It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information." - Oscar Wilde

you move on because you’ve come here to do that

2008-02-19T22:14:00.000-06:00

Moon is hazy with cold, icy crystals hang in the air like forgotten ghosts. Wind blows through layers of clothing and swirls of snow pattern pavement like webs. This same moon, hangs just under frame of an unlit streetlight, creating illusion that instead of dim orange light, whole world could be illuminated from this light. Haze of blowing snow creates softness in the coldness, to telephone wires and an old Exxon station on the corner.

Quote o' the day:

"Moonlight is sculpture." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

you know, it’s nothing new

2008-02-18T22:54:00.001-06:00

And I forgot the quote. I hate it when I do that.

Quote o' the day (about trees, what did you expect?):

"It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit." - Robert Louis Stevenson

if I held my straight edge I’d be fine

2008-02-18T22:47:00.001-06:00

When I was about 10 years old, one of my favorite things to do was to help my dad in his garden. I would dig up weeds, plant bean seeds, transplant seedlings that had grown in the dark of our basement with the help of fluorescent lights that I would run down stairs, turn off and then feel my way back through the cool darkness of our basement, and I would help collect the crops that we'd gotten at the end of each growing season. I loved listening to my dad tell me about the various plants and the way that he gardened. My favorite part of all of it was simply that I got to spend time with him. We'd chat with our neighbor who was a wise old retired plumber that loved his yard and garden more than anything. He'd give my dad advice and my dad would give him advice. It's such a simple thing, growing plants - simple, therapeutic and when you're done, you have something to show for it. A flower bed, vegetables, apples, a tree - a pretty landscape.

Where is this coming from - you might ask? In class tonight we talked a lot about ownership of nature and landscape and how we make patterns, we create things that nature might not have, and, is that a bad thing?

That year that I turned 10, I found a maple sapling in the black dirt in the back corner of our lot. I was ridiculously excited about it and made my dad let me plant it and take care of it. It was 'my' tree. Eventually, despite the fact that I truly think my dad thought it would die (probably the only reason he let me do it), we planted that tree in our front yard. It's weathered a few strong storms, it's trunk is split and it perpetually leans towards the street instead of standing tall and straight like the ash trees that line the street, but it's taller and bigger than ever before.

It now provides shade where I'm sure my dad would prefer there not be shade and at the same time, he always comments on the way it shades the front of the house, making leafy patterns of the fading afternoon sunlight. It filters that light that comes into the living room, dancing from the piano, to the couch, to the spot where he inevitably falls asleep doing the crossword puzzle. Now the tree is referred to as 'julia's tree' and sometimes, that's not necessarily a good thing. But, regardless of whether I took any ownership of it after finding it (amongst what I'm sure were millions of small trees), it is my tree. It stands there, a reminder of those hot summer afternoons when I would help my dad in the garden and then in the fall, though it's not straight and majestic, not perfectly uniform in color like the sugar maple in the backyard, it's stunning. And though I can't take credit for it growing, I do feel ownership in the sense that it belongs to me. And, I suppose, I to it.

everything has its plan

2008-02-17T17:28:00.000-06:00

Sunday night and instead of relaxing and doing the crossword puzzle like I had hoped, I'm reading frantically before orchestra about "Landscape and Memory," hoping that I get out early so that I can get ready for this massively big week I've got. My only respite, hopefully, will be a yoga class on Wednesday night.

As I was driving home today, I nearly got rear-ended. And the funny thing is, I sat there and braced myself for this woman in a huge SUV with a zebra striped steering wheel to hit me from behind. I watched in my rearview mirror as she stopped, millimeters from my bumper. Why, I wondered, didn't I move away?

Sometimes, I think, we're all such masochists that we can't move away from things, even though we know we are too close for comfort and that we will get hurt. You wait for it. You brace yourself for the moment when it will hit and something new will happen. It's usually not a good idea, and you know it, going in, but you do it anyway. Because it's exciting and thrilling and maybe even a little bit scary.

And what about the moments when you get so close and then, voila, something good happens? But instead of savoring it, you run. You run like hell. You get scared and need to get out. You start hyperventilating, you become a person you never thought you'd be and you run.

Maybe, instead of running, we need to take those tiny steps. Tiny steps towards healing ourselves and move on with whatever we were running from. Use the memories that have soured us against life and make them work in our favor. I'd like to think that there are moments when we change and subsequently, things around us change - in our favor. All because of one small, encouraging step in the right direction.

Quote o' the day:

"To the dull mind nature is leaden. To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light." Ralph Waldo Emerson

am I making all the right moves

2008-02-12T22:49:00.003-06:00

For the men in my life who will appreciate this.

Eric Ringham's commentary in the Star Tribune this past Sunday was about how we've gone by the wayside of that "old" style. No more barbershops, or haberdasheries, no more fedora hats and silver cigar cases. Ok, so he doesn't mention all of those things specifically, but it's extremely well-written, which is why, I suspect, he writes for the Trib and I do not.

Short on Style - please read it - even if you are not male and can't appreciate great writing, because if nothing else, it's humorous.

Quote o' the day (do I detect a theme?):

“Things are never so bad they can't be made worse.” - Humphrey Bogart

same maze of love and fear

2008-02-11T22:41:00.001-06:00

Coffee before/during class always seems like a good idea. And it never is.

Today I had a lot of things that I wanted to accomplish. But then I got caught up in last minute discussions about billboard art and slogans and my whole day seemed to be gone. Tomorrow, I have a million meetings, one of which is off campus and I didn't know that until today. I am slightly aggravated by it all.

But enough complaining. Class tonight was good, as per usual and I have decided that I have a goal for my class. It makes me feel like I have a purpose going forth in the semester and that's a good thing to have.

And here is a website for you all to check out - because it's pretty cool: http://writersrisingup.com/.

Just keep breathing and maybe you'll make it through the week.

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened." -Sir Winston Churchill

I give up, I let you win

2008-02-10T22:37:00.001-06:00

And here we are friends! I have, once again, a Monday night class. And it is Sunday at 10:20 and I can't seem to get myself writing the things that i should be writing. Instead, I am listening to music, feeling still a little embarrassed that one of the bass players in our orchestra has now busted me twice singing at the top of my lungs at a stoplight on the way home. Apparently, we live by each other.

I'm also cursing myself and the stupidity that said it was a good idea to go full force at the gym yesterday and then sit all day today reading for class, because needless to say, I'm kind of sore. But I guess in the grand scheme of things, that isn't so bad. But I do think that the fact that I'm sore is good. I had every intention of doing some yoga today, but then it was ridiculously cold outside and my sister and I ended up hibernating in our pj's all day with hot tea. She watched Six Feet Under while I read and tried to block out the noise of the wind, the TV and the cats. It's amazing to me how such small things can be such great distractions.

At any rate, a couple of things to note. My parents invited me over for dinner tonight before orchestra and as a result, I got free dinner, some fruit soup that I shall have for lunch tomorrow, some muffins, coffee and a chocolate bar from their fair trade shop at church and a cookbook that is all about making desserts. My dad has caught on to the fact that I am, without question, my father's daughter and cook when I am stressed and love to make sweet things, especially cakes. Cooking is an extremely soothing past time, I recommend it.

I also am recommending the book A Very Long Engagement. I am willing to bet that some of you have seen the movie with French subtitles and the actress Audrey Tatou, but haven't read the book. It is phenomenal, without question. I know, you're all saying that I say that about every book - but really. If you enjoy historical novels, you will enjoy it.

As for musical recommendations, I recently have been listening to Grieg violin sonatas while I read and they are also amazing. So yes. If you like classical music - check it out!

And now, I'm going to write about landscape and memory as it pertains to my dead. Because that is the best thing I can write about right now.

Quote o' the day:

"After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on -- have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear -- what remains? Nature remains." - William Wadsworth.

sooner or later, one of us must know

2008-02-09T23:33:00.000-06:00

It is eight below and the wind is so strong that I feel I can actually use the words, "the wind is howling" and not have it be a complete cliche. We are under a winter wind chill weather advisory for another hour and the wind shakes my window panes and I feel that my room is actually colder than usual because of it.

The landscape of Minnesota winters is difficult now, and though I remember it being difficult as a child, I also remember it being more fun. I used to love shoveling and making tunnels in the large piles of snow that lined our driveway. I remember when we'd have days that school was canceled because of wind chill and we'd make hot chocolate and popcorn and watch movies. My dad would be home from school, we'd play games and do puzzles. I loved those days and tonight, one of the coldest nights that we've had in awhile, I was out and about and eventually decided that I needed to get home. And how as an adult, these kinds of days are not as fun, shoveling is a chore and we don't like to embrace the time that we have at home. In fact, there are days that we fight it - at least I do.

So here I am, thinking rather introspectively about everything as a result of my class and aided by the fact that it is cold out and I have the house to myself. The only sound besides the wind and the cats chasing around the house, is the Writer's Almanac podcast and Mr. Keillor himself reading it. I guess if you have to have background noise and need some company, he's really not a bad person to have around.

And that brings me to my actual point of writing this. My class is called Landscape and Memory and very much is about remembering and making yourself remember things as they relate to the landscape, etc. But I've gotten of on a tangent with that and am thinking about how we choose to not remember things. And how we do that because we repress things that painful. And subsequently, how pain and remembering pain imprisons us in so many ways. We get stuck because of one thing - one small thing that has forever influenced the kind of person we are.

And that interests me. Because sometimes, that builds up and we become difficult for others to read and even difficult for ourselves to understand.

Now it's time for me to hit the hay, since today I joined Lifetime and was a little overzealous with the exercising and I know that tomorrow, I will definitely pay for it.

Hope that you are all staying warm and that the wind, instead of keeping you awake, is lulling you to sleep.

Quote 'o the day:

"Not that I want to teach you to compartmentalize, but it's worked really well for me." -DK, on our first night of class.

you want it two ways, are you in or out?

2008-01-31T19:55:00.000-06:00

Sarah said the other day that she wished things were like they were when they were simple.

I concur.

I just bought my books for class and I think it's going to be really interesting and amazing. We shall see if I'm right.

I'm off to finish my book, but wanted to say that.

Quote o' the day:

"The simplest things are often the truest." - Richard Bach, (American Writer, author of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull', b.1936)

silent all these years

2008-01-30T23:07:00.000-06:00

Bet you can't guess where that lyric came from (Lisa).

I feel like I need to qualify the statement about not being pregnant. That really should have gone right after the fainting at work statement. Number one, I fainted because I had blood taken earlier that day and had to be carted off in an ambulance to Abbott (apparently I was convulsing?). Number two, I paid enough to buy like 25 EPT tests for what they charged me to tell me I was not pregnant, even though I gave them three reasons why I could not possibly be pregnant at this time in my life. So that is what that was all about. Just so you are all aware. Not pregnant in any way, shape or form, and not even worried about it.

And then, this is from the book I'm currently reading and it's amazing:

"I lie down again with my back in the pine needles, and it feels good to breathe the ice-cold air. I look up between the tree trunks to the sky, which is completely clear and full of stars, and it slowly turns around, the whole world turns slowly around and is a huge, empty space. Silence is everywhere, and there is nothing between me and the stars, and when I try to think of something, I think of nothing. I close my eyes and smile to my self." - In the Wake, Per Petterson

Please read it. And read Out Stealing Horses, also by him, and is equally amazing. Have a cup of coffee and think of Norway while you read it and you shan't be sorry.

Off to clean my stuff up so that the cleaning lady doesn't clean it up for me.

Quote o' the day:

"Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long." - Leonard Bernstein, US composer & conductor (1918 - 1990)

today I’m sinking lower than the sun does on a Sunday

2008-01-28T17:42:00.000-06:00

What's the song? Your move, friends.

I haven't posted in a long time. I've not felt like writing. I've been busy with work and post holiday celebrations. In the last month, I have: fainted at work, made a new friend, been told I am not pregnant (really, I was worried for a minute!), felt extremely happy, felt extremely low. Gotten drunk on a Thursday night because of a small thing that should not have upset me. Felt like I can't do my job, felt too young, too incompetent and felt pretty kick ass all at the same time. I made meatloaf that rivals my grandma's, broken a few dishes and spilled too many things to count. I have also made a complete fool out of myself and been without a voice for almost a week. And I have seen three of the best picture nominations and one in the animated category (Persepolis - if you haven't seen it, check it out - it's really interesting!).

It's amazing that January is almost over. I'm glad, because that means we are so much closer to spring and that means that my vacation starts over (in June) and that I will start my new class. Monday night classes are generally not that fun, but we shall see. The prof is amazing and I'm feeling rejuvenated just thinking about it.

So there you have it. Bring on the leap year - I'm ready for it!

Quote o' the day (really, it should be the quote for this month):

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." - Dorothy Nevill

I know more than I knew before

2008-01-06T11:25:00.000-06:00

It's been quite a while since I've written anything, friends and I don't have that much to say. There are entertaining stories a plenty from Christmas, New Year's, etc., but I don't have time to tell you them all right now. Another time - or else, if you want to know, ask. :)

But, I did want to say that I wish for you all a very happy 2008. I've had several people tell me that they've got a good feeling about this upcoming year and I would say for once, I actually have to agree. In 2008, I will not be so defeatist and believe more in good things, good moments, and good people.

If you care to share a resolution (you don't need to share the private ones that you hope no one ever finds out about), feel free. I like knowing what other people resolve. Because, we all "get by with a little help from our friends."

Quote o' the day:

"We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it."
- Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
British juvenile author (1916 - 1990)

the words repeat

2007-12-25T08:19:00.000-06:00

I know I posted this poem last year, by Longfellow, but it doesn't get old. So Merry Christmas, friends!

Christmas Bells
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

where pleasure moments hung before

2007-12-22T22:32:00.000-06:00

I am finished with my Christmas shopping. Finally.

The mall was absolutely crazy today and as I darted through the Christmas shoppers, I was amazed to see that though I didn't think it was possible, Christmas has become even more commercial than in years past. All of the stores have their special 'Christmas wares' - you know what I'm talking about. At Target the boxes are red and have the word 'holiday' somewhere on them, and inevitably, the price somewhere as well. There are 'lists' of each stores special gift items, plus items that are sure to be a hit as stocking stuffers. You can even buy them pre-wrapped.

It's a little bit ridiculous. Now, I will admit that I do love Christmas. I love getting gifts for people and seeing them smile when they open the festive looking package. However, one of my holiday pet-peeves are those people, who, laden with bags, stop 'because there's another sale table over there - did you see it? we've got to go and look.' They buy for the sake of buying. Sales are infectious. You think you're saving money, but really, we just increase our spending every year a little bit more because the sales are all that much better.

Other things that drive me nuts? Clearly, today, tomorrow and Monday are when the last-minute shoppers are out. Clearly, I don't want to be wasting my time getting stuck behind the meanderers that have all the time in the world, seemingly. Also - people who swoop in and take your parking spot from the other side even though you have your blinker on. I also really dislike sales people that comment on your purchases as if they were in on the secret (even though I suppose they technically are).

On the humorous side - the absolutely hideous holiday dishes that seem to be popping up everywhere. I'm ok with the classy, mistletoe or Christmas tree ones - but NO SNOWMEN. Honestly - if I wanted a 24 piece place setting of Frosty, I'd have bought it when I was a kid. Apologies to anyone who actually likes that stuff. It's just not me. On the dishes side also, I heard a mother say to her kid today, "don't touch that, it's breakable, you touch and it breaks, it's glass and if you break it, I have to pay for it!" (Mind you, her voice got more and more shrill as she went on.)

The best part of my day was my trek to Ingebretsen's in Minneapolis - it's hard to not drool over everything. The beautifully painted (and probably mass produced) dala horses, the rosemaled dishes, and hand made nissen all make me wish I was grown up and had somewhere to put stuff like that. Someday.

And now, since I am done, I can sit on my couch, enjoy my Christmas tree, some wine and relax. I'm exhausted from schlepping all over town today and will not go out tomorrow. Naomi is in charge of the rest of it. And she's in charge of wrapping stuff. :) I think tomorrow will be a day to make Christmas treats for the family.

Quote o' the day:

"Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in you gets so lonely for - I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times." ~Kate L. Bosher

I know what I know

2007-12-14T10:06:00.001-06:00

Friends, the following was a part of The Writer's Almanac today. The whole poem is really good, so if you are interested in seeing it, click the link above. However - these last few lines really stood out to me and I felt the need to post them here for you to see. It's stunning!

Goodbye good friends. Alas,
some goodbyes are like death;
they bring the heart to earth
and teach it how to die.
Earth, here we come again,
we're going out to grass.
Think of us now and then,
we'll think of you. Goodbye.

From: "Farewell to Teaching" by George Johnston, from The Essential George Johnston. © The Porcupine's Quill, 2007.

Can’t take a good day without a bad one

2007-12-09T22:43:00.001-06:00

So today, i got ridiculously excited about Christmas and all that. I found a couple of recipes for candy that I wanted to try and I decided to make some bread too. The bread was just kind of a random, I want to make my own bread thing (Molasses Whole Wheat). It turned out deliciously.

The candy, however, was a different story. Let me preface this whole thing by saying that when we were little, my parents used to make a big deal out of Christmas. We used to spend a day making sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies and frosting them as a family. My dad used to make tons of candy and cookies and we'd get to help him with it. Now, not so much. So today I decided was going to be my day. I found a recipe for peppermint bark (really easy to make) and good too. The caramels, not so much. My caramels look like caramel sauce with a skin on the top of them. Sad. I'll have to try again and be more patient.

At any rate, that's the story of today.

Is it Christmas break yet?

"In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right." - Ellen Goodman

the future comes right ’round to haunt me

2007-12-08T01:10:00.001-06:00

And one more C.S. Lewis quote for you all.

ONE more class left.

Quote o' the day (for my FRIENDS):

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." - C.S. Lewis

got me looking so crazy right now

2007-12-02T17:37:00.001-06:00

After hibernating this weekend because of the snow, I'll be ready to get back to work. But, it's been a great weekend. Why? Because yesterday, Naomi and I went on some errands to stock up for the weekend. Pizza, beer, cheese and wine, movies. And a shovel - the last one at Home Depot, in fact.

Today, I spent the day listening to MPR, reading, eating said pizza and drinking beer, watching the Vikings game. Then we decided to put up our tree. After getting it out of our dusty basement, putting it up, we decided it was kind of pathetic. So we went and got a real tree. We always had real ones growing up and it's exciting to have it here. It smells like fir tree, and once the branches settle, we'll get to decorate. Yay! Plus, I made Mexican hot chocolate last night and it was delicious! The other best part? Not having to go out, get ready and all that.

And now, back to the real world, because I've got to revise my paper and read a book for class on Wednesday. TWO classes left.

Quote o' the day:

"We do not truly see light, we only see slower things lit by it, so that for us light is on the edge--the last thing we know before things become too swift for us." C.S. Lewis

pain’s the only way to happiness

2007-11-28T22:32:00.000-06:00

Oh I've got a rant, friends. So be prepared.

Yesterday and today, I used precious vacation hours to work on this stupid paper. I had The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis: Volume III Fed-Ex'ed to my house. I wrote, I bitched, I wrote. I drove to two different libraries in search of books, I scrambled and fought for parking spaces where there were none.

I spent five dollars and wasted 64 sheets of paper on copies of my paper for our critique groups tonight. I worried, I stressed, I ate. I stress-ate.

I drank eight cups of coffee. Today.

I stressed some more.

And we had only a half an hour to discuss our papers. I did not get my one-on-one with the professor to find out exactly what it was I needed to do since I missed class. I did not need eight copies of my paper. And I did not need to stress.

Why? Because we only looked at the first f***ing paragraph.

So yes. I'm not in a good place right now. You'd better believe that this professor will get a less than savory performance review from me when this class is over.

(Abs, I'm sorry I didn't call you, but I was too busy fuming on my way home to do anything except sing along to angry Fiona Apple songs.)

End rant.

Now, a plea. If you believe in a higher power that looks after animals, think good thoughts for Zorro tomorrow. He is getting his teeth cleaned. And I have to admit, I'm nervous. Updates to follow, surely.

Quote o' the day (we'll be done with C.S. Lewis when I have turned in this paper):

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn." - C.S. Lewis

When I looked for you I almost passed you by

2007-11-26T22:52:00.000-06:00

The Chronicles of Narnia are good books.

But may be ruined forever for me because of this paper that I must write. C.S. Lewis is endlessly fascinating. If I were writing a paper on him, I'd be all set. But the publishing history of these seven books? Not so much.

But I shall plod on, because if I want to make it through the rest of this semester, I need to finish this blasted paper.

Thanksgiving was good - I was glad for the time off, as I'm sure all of you were. Time to chill out, sleep, and wear fleece pants and a sweatshirt. Because that's what I did pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday. Whilst reading said Chronicles.

I wish I had more interesting things to say, but the only thing I can share with you is this - remember the smell of libraries during finals time? Sitting in the dusty stacks, with headphones on, the smell of old books, hard work, sweat and tears. Silence that can make someone completely sane go crazy...because you know that in that silence, you've got work to do, but all you can do is sit and listen, waiting for someone else's scream of frustration when they can't find the book that they want. But you'll listen in vain, because we only scream inside our heads, hands and eyes frantically searching for that 812.92473 LD40WP book that isn't where is should be, even though it says that the book is not checked out yet. But then, you find the book, you breathe that sigh of relief, pay your library fine, and walk out to get the coffee you promised yourself when the victory was achieved.

And then the wireless doesn't work at the coffee shop.

Happy Monday, campers.

Quote o' the day:

"Far better things lie ahead than any we leave behind." - C.S. Lewis (who else?!)

you begin to wonder why you came

2007-11-22T00:39:00.000-06:00

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, when everyone seems to be in a good mood and people are cordial to each other, even if they don't know each other, I feel compelled to write a little something about what I am thankful for. Mostly, I'm thankful for the people that are in my life. Those people that care about the little details, the people that know what goes on in my everyday life and the people that maybe don't, but care enough to send an email or give a call. We can all be thankful for family and friends, but I wanted to take a moment to actually recognize things I appreciate about all of you:

1. You listen. You listen to all my psychotic ramblings about stupid things that you've probably heard me talk about a million times and don't bother telling me so. Thank you - it's very gentle of you to not point out my small obsessions.

2. You tell me things about you. We all get so entrenched in day to day activities, that sometimes, we need someone else's life to shake us out of our own self-absorbedness (yes, I made up that word just now).

3. You make me laugh. Even if it's just something stupid, I appreciate that.

Those are just a few that encompass all of you, but there are many small, individual things that make each of you important to me in different ways. (I'm starting to sound a little weepy, so I'll quit with that tangent...)

Other things I'm thankful for? Traffic cops (I'm serious!), my health, good books, snow, good music, coffee and those extra few minutes when I actually feel like I can make dinner, sit down and eat it. I'm thankful for intelligent people who tell me things that I don't know. I'm thankful for people that don't think the same way that I do. I'm thankful for the white lies that people tell me that make my day better, even though they may not be 100% accurate or true. And I'm thankful for opportunities. Even if I don't take them, they are still there. And who knows, maybe one of these days, I'll work up enough courage to actually do those things.

I could list so many more, but I need to keep an eye on my squash.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I hope you get good food, rest, and time with those that you love.

Quote o' the day:

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

ain’t nobody that can sing like me

2007-11-17T19:22:00.000-06:00

I realize this is my second pointless post of the day, but... things to note.

The Mall of America is scary.
Dating websites ads are scary, as we've already discussed, but the latest ad I saw was for NoMoreDates.com. Umm...yeah. Scary.
The end of daylight savings time is sad, because now it is dark so much faster. And it's only just begun.
I'm going to a Vikings game tomorrow. And that's funny.
Madison Badger fans are everywhere this weekend.

Ok. That's all.

it's never gonna be that simple

2007-11-17T13:33:00.001-06:00

I said I wasn't going to do anything today. So far, I haven't.

I was talking to Marta today and she mentioned something that was on December 1st. And how that's in two weeks. Seriously? Two weeks? When did it become December?

And that's all I've got to say about that.

Quote o' the day:

"Beauty, more than bitterness, makes the heart break." - Sara Teasdale

you make me smile, please stay for awhile

2007-11-15T22:47:00.000-06:00

San Diego was great - a really good change of scenery.

To sum up:

1. Daylight savings time affects CA too.
2. Dodge Calibers are a little ridiculous.
3. I'm not good at driving up really scary steep hills...my palms sweat. A LOT.
4. Colleen and I were total higher ed marketing geeks. We learned a lot, but mostly, we got a chance to meet people and say, hey, I'm having that same problem!
5. I got to see the actual Dead Sea Scrolls. It was amazing.
6. I get seasick. A lot.
7. My aunt is pretty damn cool.
8. I'm not good at public speaking.

And for my random music/writing plug of the night, I would suggest you all go and check out Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's collaboration, Raising Sand. Rolling Stone gives it 3.5 stars (click here to read the RS review), but I give it 4.5. It's an unlikely duo that ends up being pretty freaking awesome.

On a side note, do you ever wish you could just blurt out what you really want to say without having to think about the consequences?

Quote o' the day:

"Those who agree with us may not be right, but we admire their astuteness." - Cullen Hightower

it was the summer of my discontent

2007-11-08T08:08:00.001-06:00

I got to work this morning at 7:15.

I will be relying on LOTS of coffee today and a little help from my friends. I actually had something to say, but somewhere between here and work and now, I forgot what it was.

Maybe it was the fact that I do believe today that we've yet to have a hard frost, except the kind of frost that is just enough so that you have to scrape off your window shield in the morning. And it's NOVEMBER 8th. It's insane. I'm sure you are all remembering last fall when I was complaining of the lateness of the snow. Maybe it's because this fall has flown by and I've not really gotten a chance to experience it, or maybe I'm adjusting to this 'new' MN weather, but this fall/early winter, I'm not minding the beautiful weather. In fact, it can go on for as long as it wants.

Happy Thursday. And I hope you all got more sleep than I did.

Quote o' the day:

"The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed." - C.S. Lewis, English essayist & juvenile novelist (1898 - 1963)

take me the way I am

2007-11-07T22:43:00.000-06:00

So I had way too many ideas about what I had to say today, so this might be a big conglomerate of randomness.

Many of you have asked how the procedure went on Monday (thanks!) - it went fine, I don't really remember any of it, but apparently, they couldn't see any problems with the naked eye, but I have to wait for the biopsy, which should be in seven to ten days. (On a side note, when did we become a seven to ten day society? Everything is seven to ten business days. Seriously.) So, as far as they're concerned, I've done all these tests, etc. only to find out that I do not, to their basic knowledge, have any sort of malabsorption problem with the gluten products. Not that I'm wishing it on myself, but I would rather have an answer than have to do more medical tests.

Chivalry at the grocery store is a very big thing, I've decided. Last night I wanted to make some soup to have for the week, along with brownies for one of the 'old guard' of SMU because he's been so helpful, and obviously, needed to make a trip to my local grocery store. I ended up going to the Cub because it was on my way from where I was coming even though I get turned around and they don't have as good a selection. However. As I got in line, the guy in front of me, (who was buying so many juice boxes, I couldn't even count), not only made sure that there was enough room for me to unload my stuff, but actually took my brimming basket from my hands and put it up on the conveyor for me. I've decided that since chivalry has gone by the wayside, a gesture like that is actually very romantic. He even put the divider up between our groceries. Where are these chivalrous grocery store men and how do I find them?! Apparently, I need to go to that Cub more often!

As of class tonight, I'm actually kind of enjoying it. (Now that we only have four classes left.) Tonight we talked about literary magazines, which I absolutely adore, for no other reason than that I worked on one and it was a great experience. Also, my book review that we had to write for class last week is going to be published in the next issue of Rain Taxi! Which is pretty awesome.

A few random wrap-up points:

I succumbed to the lure of the peanut butter M&M's tonight. They were damn good.
My sister bought a HUGE box of kettle corn from a coworker's boy scout. Does anyone want a bag or two?
Brownies make everything better.
The Anoka-Hennepin levy passed, so my dad will continue to be a teacher.
If you didn't vote yesterday, you should feel bad. At my precinct, I was only the 107th voter. That is a disgrace. Voting may be a little like flossing, we don't want to do it, but it is EXTREMELY important.
If you haven't heard of the poet Sara Teasdale and enjoy poetry, check her out. She was one of the rocking women poets of the early 1900's and writes positively luminously.

I think that's it. I do have a rather contemplative idea that I want to discuss at length, but now is not the time to do it.

Happy trails, campers.

Quote o' the day:
"When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not." - Mark Twain, US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 - 1910)

losing love is like a window in your heart

2007-11-04T16:31:00.001-06:00

Happy Sunday, everyone. It was a beautiful weekend and now, well, it's almost over.

I've spent my weekend catching up with old friends, catching up on myself and doing laundry. It hasn't been the most fun weekend, but certainly productive and I feel as if I've accomplished a lot.

Today, Steve and I walked around St. Paul along Summit Ave. I haven't spent that much time over there and it was absolutely beautiful. All those old homes, the sunshine and fall leaves, combined with excellent company, was just what I needed. We had a lot to catch up on.

It was, finally, the perfect fall day.

Tomorrow, I will hopefully find out about the celiacs, finally, so wish me luck. And hopefully, I will not get sick. The rest of this week promises to be extremely busy, and we have our orchestra concert next weekend. And then it's off to San Diego.

I hope that everyone has a fantastic week.

Quote o' the day:

"Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person?" - Francois de La Rochefoucauld, French author & moralist (1613 - 1680)

I couldn’t get a clear view

2007-10-29T19:59:00.000-06:00

Note to self: making that many cookies is dangerous.

I tried to stop and buy a violin string today. Givens isn't open on Monday. Seeing as how I'd already paid to park, I called my sister and we went out. It was fun. I sometimes think that we'd be even closer if we didn't live together. Like now.

Two days left here and then I will be in my own bed again. I can't wait.

And now I need to write.

Happy Halloween week, kiddos.

Quote o' the day:

"There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there's only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness. If you make up your mind not to be happy there's no reason why you shouldn't have a fairly good time." - Edith Wharton

what goes around...

2007-10-29T07:06:00.000-06:00

So much for an exciting World Series.

What happened to the thrill of October baseball?

Quote o' the day (OK, so I wanted a quote about Mondays, and this one was about Mondays AND baseball...perfect!):

"MONDAY, n. In Christian countries, the day after the baseball game." - Ambrose Bierce (American Writer, Journalist and Editor, 1842-1914)

Shouldn’t it be that easy to just be happy

2007-10-28T21:39:00.000-06:00

Things to note.

There will be no pictures from my trek out to William O'Brien with Alison and Ben, because I couldn't find my camera. Alison is holding the picture of us hostage on her camera. But it was a beautiful day and we had fun (though we did not see any deer or frogs as the trail map told us we would). We stopped at the Village Scoop in Marine on St. Croix on our way back (I LOVE the mint chip...).

For those of you that actually like my dorky stories, I will share this one with you. As most of you probably know, we are in the midst of our fall rehearsals for orchestra. Since I've been house sitting, I've got loads of time to practice and no one around to care when I do it. So I've been really gung ho about my violin this week. My E string was kind of worn, so I ordered a new set of strings so I could replace all four of them. Of course, the string that I needed to replace the most was the E (also, in my opinion, the hardest to change). Wouldn't you know that I got over zealous with the peg, forgot about the fine tuner and it snapped. So I had to put the old one back on. I'll have to stop at Given's tomorrow on my way home from work. A quick plug for our concert on Nov. 10th. You should all come, because you will rarely get to hear a tuba concerto. And because the Tchaikovsky 4th is pretty awesome. If you want more details, let me know.

And also to note that I made 10 dozen cookies today. I wanted to make cookies for our meeting tomorrow and got excited about having extras. So I made two batches of the Nestle Tollhouse cookies, not realizing that they make about 5 dozen each. Whoops. Chocolate chip cookies anyone?

The Rockies just got a run and now are only behind by one... things could actually get exciting!

Quote o' the day:

"There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between." - Sir Thomas Beecham

I try to stay busy...

2007-10-27T12:10:00.001-06:00

The sun is shining, the sky is blue and the tree are beautiful - I'm going hiking and I couldn't be more thrilled. There will be photos forthcoming.

Enjoy the day, friends.

Quote o' the day:

"The leaves fall patiently
Nothing remembers or grieves
The river takes to the sea
The yellow drift of leaves." - Sara Teasdale

I need something to believe in

2007-10-25T22:14:00.000-06:00

There are moments, days, when I find myself overwhelmed by beauty in everyday things and by simple acts of kindness that come so unexpectedly at a moment that you need it the most.

Today as I was cleaning up my dishes from dinner, I looked out the window and the moon was so beautiful that it absolutely took my breath away. A full moon, or almost full, it was high up in the dusky blue sky, with grays and purples and pinks below it. Framed with fall foliage of various colors, I stopped. Tonight, on my way home from a reading, I saw a shooting star. It completely overwhelmed me.

Couple that with the fact that this reading I went to at Magers & Quinn, of a poet who has just written a beautiful book of poems about living in the country and about her step-son going to war and I just find myself needing to take a deep breath and let these things wash over me.

Two recommendations for the evening:
Dan Wilson's new CD, Free Life, is fabulous. For those of you that are familiar with Semisonic, he was the lead singer and has just now released his solo album. The link above goes to the story they did in the Star Tribune that is almost as fabulous as the CD itself.

The poet that I went to see was Ann Iverson. The poems were beautiful and incredibly emotional, without being overly political. Check out her book, Definite Space. If you like poetry, you won't be sorry.

Quote o' the day:

"This moment contains all moments." - C.S. Lewis, (British Scholar and Novelist. 1898-1963)

home alone tonight, nothing brings me down

2007-10-22T18:08:00.000-06:00

If anyone gets the song from my title tonight - I will buy them a drink (that's if you're in the near area...).

This weekend was pretty darn good. Even orchestra was ok - despite all of the yelling at that we got because we were wasting time with mistakes. But, we had a good time Saturday and Saturday night - good food, games and just general relaxing. And no sasquatches. And my cake turned out pretty good despite the mess that I made while making it.

Now to read a book, write a review on it and practice.

Ooh... and I finished the NY Times crossword puzzle today. I think I may have never actually been able to do that by myself until today. :) (I did look up a few things, but whatever.)

I did actually have something to tell you, friends - but I do not, at this moment remember what it was. So sleep well tonight and hopefully, tomorrow is as beautiful as it was today.

Quote o' the day:

"He who hesitates is a damned fool." - Mae West

and i’m falling but i’m not dreaming

2007-10-18T20:43:00.001-06:00

Today as I drove to work, my windshield got splashed numerous times with large amounts of water as other cars hit large puddles that collect in the large potholes and uneven roads that wend their way through NE. And even though I know that the glass protects me from the water - that there is no way that it will hit me, I shrink back, I blink and am amazed each time that I am still fully dry. It's the same way those few times that I sit behind home plate at the Twins' games. I know that the net will catch those lightning fast foul balls that fly backwards and threaten to knock someone unconscious, but I react, instinctively shielding myself from the ball.

Instinct. Reflex. They protect us in so many situations that could be harmful. We know, instinctively when there is something that might knock us down and keep us down. But how do we keep ourselves from over-reacting to something that might go either way. In our lives, we encounter situations in our professional lives, our 'friend' lives, and in our love relationships that turn out badly. Maybe more than once. How do we discern these good situations from the bad? When do we shut out the instinctive voice in our head that says - watch out, you're going to get drenched, get out of way? Because maybe, this time, it will be different.

You can't turn off instinct. And if your reflexes don't work, you may have something physically wrong with you. But you can, when there is the slightest chance that things will turn out different, open yourself up to that possibility and embrace it. Yeah, you might get drenched, but it might be the kind of water-soaking that only comes with a really good rain. The kind that hits you when you're standing in the cul de sac and swimming in a puddle in the middle of the storm.

On a side note, today was a pretty shitty, craptastic day. But it turned out all right in the end and I'm tired enough where I might just be able to sleep in this huge house tonight.

Tomorrow is Friday. TGIF.

Quote o' the day:

"Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey "people." People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war.... Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of the rest...." - C.S. Lewis, (British Scholar and Novelist. 1898-1963)

even I’m getting tired of useless desires

2007-10-15T19:45:00.000-06:00

I'm supposed to be writing a paper right now, and as usual, I've gotten myself so freaked out about that blank word document that I can't make myself get started.

The other part of it is that this professor has ground all of any will or excitement I had for this class by being a pill about our papers. I think our entire class is worried about how this next paper will turn out, grade wise.

So what have I done tonight? Made cookies, had dinner, read a lot on the subject of my paper, but so far, no actual writing. I've got my MLA books out and am all ready to go. This is why I never write at home. I can't do it - I will do ANYTHING to avoid doing it. Hence the mad cookie making.

And now I'm sitting here, waiting for that stroke of genius to hit me and then I can start writing. But for now, I have Smetana's My Country playing and can hear the clock ticking. My cup of Lipton's "Quietly Chamomile" is brewing and my sister has called me from Albuquerque at least two times and the cats want all of my attention and are getting none of it.

And now we've switched from major to minor in the Moldau theme in the Smetana...things are getting ominous. I should take this as a sign and start working on said paper ASAP.

I should also be sorry I've wasted all of your time with this blathering. Here's a funny tidbit - the ATM's at MCTC speak to you in a British accent.

We're back to major mode, but I should still sign out. Maybe now I can write about the backlist of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Quote o' the day:

"Generally speaking, everyone is more interesting doing nothing than doing anything." - Gertrude Stein

I find a fatal flaw in the logic of love...

2007-10-11T21:29:00.001-06:00

Warning. Major griping about the grocery store ahead.

The NE Rainbow is full of U of MN students. All over the store, stopping and talking to each other in the aisles. I never noticed it before, but tonight, they were everywhere.

The lines were ridiculously long for 7:30 on a Thursday night and they were out of a lot of things that I would normally get. And for some reason, I always manage to grab the cart that doesn't drive straight. So then I end up steering all crazy all over the store.

But, it is sort of fun, because you look in their carts and they have the typical ramen noodles, soda, noodle-roni, etc. It made me smile and remember when we used to run to the ghetto Sunmart at 10 for groceries and snacks.

Ok, so maybe not major griping.

Anyone want to take a guess at the lyric today? Kudos to Lisa for guessing the Ryan Adams' lyric.

Quote o' the day:

"I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time." - Charles M. Schulz, Charlie Brown in "Peanuts," US cartoonist (1922 - 2000)

I worked hard for every little bit I got

2007-10-09T20:12:00.000-06:00

Ever since the 35 bridge collapsed, they've had traffic cops at every light in NE, holding our hands through the stress-inducing, rage road causing, annoying traffic. Monday they were not there. And you know what? We all made it on our own. Sure, there was traffic, but no more than usual. I actually think that it was faster. Maybe because I left my house at the insanely early time of 7:30, instead of 8, but it went ok.

And I thought, maybe, just maybe, we've gotten to the point where they can let us go. Let go of our hand and let us walk, or as the case may be, drive, on our own. But then this morning, they were back. In their bright yellow, with their whistles, hats and light sabers; waving us through red lights, stopping us at green lights and whistling severely at those who do not listen. They had yesterday off because of Columbus Day, I guess.

That begs the question, when will it end? Will we wake up, drive to work one day to find that traffic laws actually apply? Or, will they keep guiding us through what is sure to be at least the next two years of construction (if they ever actually come up with the cash and a plan) until the bridge is complete? And on a grander scale, when do we know when the appropriate time to walk away is? When do you say, I've had enough hand holding and simply let go?

But before I wax too philosophical, I need to vent. Even before the afore mentioned bridge collapsed, surely, the most detested words in all of Minnesota were, "Road Work Ahead." And now, with no other ways to go, those road signs nearly cause me to have a stroke. They have been repaving a road that is a fairly major road near my house and thus detouring traffic onto our 30 mph residential road. And now, they're finished with that, but they are working on the intersection of the two major roads also near my house. Any guesses as to where traffic is being detoured? You got it - our road. So you see, people that don't normally drive that road want to go 50 and I want to piss them off, so I go exactly the speed limit. Which is not something I'm really known for doing. Because there are often cops on the road, just waiting. And I don't know about those idiots, but I don't really need another speeding ticket.

So yes. Roads lead us to where we need to be, but what do we do when the roads aren't accessible? Or passable? I want to be the guy whizzing by all of cars, cars that stack up behind one another like rows of ladybugs in the afternoon sun. The guy who rides his scooter to work and gets to laugh at all of us suckers in our cars.

Maybe I should learn to take the bus.

Quote o' the day:

"Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic." - Dan Rather (American TV newscaster, b.1931)

I never asked you to care

2007-10-08T21:45:00.001-06:00

Tonight we went and saw the "Global Voices" at the Guthrie and the guest was Sir Ian McKellan himself. And it was fantastic. He was humorous, kind and just generally interesting to listen to. One of those people that has lived a fantastic life and is generous enough to sit and share it with the little people.

I don't have many stories from Homecoming because it was pretty normal, not too many exciting things happened. But, Mark and I did get stopped by an older gentleman in the new campus center and he asked us where the chapel was. To which I replied, we're alumni too, I don't know where they moved it to. He just smiled and wandered off. I must look enough like a student to pass for one. The concert was good and I can't really believe the people that were there, there were so many. Almost 110 people played in the alumni orchestra.

And now I'm home and it's the second week of October and I'm pretty sure that things aren't slowing down anytime soon. They seem to be speeding by me at breakneck speed and I'm not in control any more. So I'll let go, let the dust settle and see where I come out.

Anyone want to guess where the lyric title is from this week?

Quote o' the day:

"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I never seem to do it like anybody else

2007-10-03T21:23:00.000-06:00

Three things of note.

Today was a very long day. And here I sit on my couch eating cashews, whilst I wait for my kitchen floor to dry (finally got around to it...SO much cat hair).

First thing to note - I am incredibly lucky. I left my car window rolled down tonight during class (but locked the doors). Nothing in my car was stolen, and there was no weird person waiting in the back of my car to mug me or any other such nonsense. Which is kind of scary-lucky, because we have gotten a ton of emails about the 'security' issues on campus lately. What's even stranger is that this is the second time I've done this and not had anything stolen.

Second thing - my dryer is apparently throwing money at me. First a nickel in with my dry clothing, then a dime in with the towels, and now, a quarter in with my dry sheets. AMAZING.

Third thing is there is a song out there called " 'j' for jules." It's not even remotely related to me, lyrics wise, but I just heard it on my iTunes, and that is extremely random. Apparently, it was on the first ever Cities Sampler. It should be my new song.

And for my token reference to class/literary things, everyone should check out the Twin Cities Book Festival next Saturday (the 13th).

J is for Jules.

Quote o' the day:

"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time." - Edith Wharton US novelist (1862 - 1937)

fall asleep with the window open

2007-10-02T19:08:00.000-06:00

The hosteas outside my front door are adorned with small, yellow leaves, looking as if they are blooming, the rain won't stop coming down and for the first time this fall, I put on my smartwools and drank a Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale. It was fabulous.

After dropping off my sister (late as usual) early this morning, I made it in to work. What's that Van Morrison song? my mama told me there'd be days like this? It wasn't a truly horrible day, since there were some bright spots in between all of the meetings and general craziness. But it wasn't a good one. So here I sit. Reading my book for class tomorrow night which I am most certainly not excited about, and being a little bit lonely because it's just me and the cats. And listening to some kind of depressing Bob Dylan.

But. I do have some fun things. Like independent bookstores and how much fun they are. I had to visit Micawber's Booksellers in St. Paul for class just to get a sense of the indie feel. And I loved it. For all of you bookish people out there - they had handwritten recommendations that you knew were by Hans or Jen or whoever had hand-selected this book to be a recommendation. I bought two of them. And since it's not SO overwhelming, like Barnes and Noble, I actually got to peruse the entire store in about a half hour. I feel like that is a place I would go back to.

The other fun thing? Independent publishers like Milkweed Editions and Graywolf. Support them if you can because it is worth it. I may not like this professor very much, but I am certainly appreciating books more than I did. It takes a LOT of effort, especially if you are an unknown to get things published. So support and you will see.

And on that note - I got to meet one such author at a reading last Thursday and it was fantastic. Except my mom was disappointed that I did not use my Norwegian to thank him. Since he was Norwegian. I was too busy trying to not look like a goggly-eyed idiot when he was signing my book.

Saturday night was spent at Electric Arc Radio, which is put on by some Hamline graduates and it is fantastic. October 13th the musical guest is Storyhill, so anyone who wants to go should. It's like a new Prairie Home Companion. Ask me if you want to know more/go with me.

Sunday was the launch party for rock, paper, scissors, and I was stunned at the amount of people that turned out and at how well the magazine itself turned out. It's beautiful! I can't believe that all the work we did actually is done and that it is a finished product now.

And the Shipyard Pumpkin Ale. Fantastic. I promise it is worth the $7.95 for the six pack.

I'll be heading up to Fargo/Moorhead this weekend and hopefully running into some of you fantastic people that I miss. Because we all have news and things that we're doing that we don't share enough.

My lofty goals for the evening? In no particular order:

1. Clean our kitchen floor
2. Do a couple of loads of laundry
3. Practice my violin (might be too late for that)
4. Drink a cup of tea and take a hot bath
5. Read the rest of my book... (maybe that should be first)

Quote o' the day (yes, MORE Robert Frost):

"Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length." - Robert Frost

my friends, my habits, my family, they mean so much to me

2007-09-24T21:43:00.001-06:00

Again - from a song.

See if you can guess. Hint - it's not from what I'm currently listening to.

I haven't blogged in awhile, mostly due to the major craziness with work. Yes friends, it's true. I got to take crazy boss' place! They offered me the job straight up, which was what I wanted them to do. Now I've got a little bit of a - oh my god, what did I do - thing going on, but this too, shall pass.

After our class last week, I now know what I want to do when I grow up. I want to be an editor or work at a small publishing press. However, since most of these people are in it for life and LOVE it, someone would have to die for me to get a job at one of these coveted places.

We visited Graywolf Press and got to meet four of their eight employees. They talked, we listened, we toured and were told to take a book. Just pick one. Take it right out of their review copy storeroom stash. This, friends, is precisely why I took this seemingly stupid class this semester and I'm positively thrilled and actually looking forward to class this week.

It also makes me wonder how people that are not much older than I am manage to land spectacularly cool and awesome jobs like that. But then again, my job is pretty sweet now too.

And on that note, I'm off to bed since I have decided that I want to be AT work by 7:30 tomorrow. But first, I'm writing a response paper on book buying experiences. Wahoo.

where my soul once stood

2007-09-12T21:22:00.001-06:00

I am in disbelief about how many people have not heard of or read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Last week, our first week of class, we had to say what our favorite book is. I had a moment of total panic/forgetfulness/spazziness and totally forgot. Then I proceeded to run on at the mouth for about 5 minutes and now the whole class thinks I'm crazy, for sure.

But in reality, my favorite book of all time is the afore mentioned tree growing in Brooklyn. And surprisingly, many people have not read it/heard of it. And this makes me sad to no end. It is a fabulous book and one of only three that Betty Smith published. So go. Go and read it.

For those who might be curious, and even if you don't care - most of the time, my blog titles are song lyrics. If you can guess right - you might get a cookie.

All right - I'm tired and it's going to be a long two more days of the week - I swear that in my mind, it's already November.

Quote o' the day:

"We do what we must, and call it by the best names." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

all these vanishing points...

2007-09-11T21:27:00.000-06:00

Right now I'm supposed to be reading a book called "So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance," and writing 500 words on my reaction.

So far, my reaction is to be completely ADD and not be anywhere near finishing the book.

And because it is FALL, friends.

The air is crisp, I snuggle up to my cats, homemade soup and biscuits actually sound good and taste better. Leaves turn colors, my mom makes apple pies, I can break out my collection of sweaters and fun socks, and my down comforter is actually useable. Barley John's has bonfires at night and once a week I get to meet intelligent people and talk to them about things that matter to me. And even though my hair has to be this ridiculously long for another week and a half, I am happy that the humidity has vanished. Photos of a new hairstyle forthcoming in a couple of weeks!

I've finally finished my summer project, Hamline's student literary magazine, rock, paper, scissors. I was on the design team and did most of layout. I met some really awesome people and I can't believe that we will have a finished product soon! Stay tuned for information on the launch party.

All right...I need to go and get on with reading about too many books. Which I still think is impossible. Hmm...maybe I have the start to my paper?

Too many things to do!

Quote o' the day:

"Silent gratitude isn't very much use to anyone." - Gertrude Stein, US author in France (1874 - 1946)

turn yourself around, you weren’t invited

2007-09-10T17:31:00.001-06:00

I have not blogged in forever. I just haven't had that much to say.

However, in the last month, the following things have happened.

1. They fired my boss - yippee!
2. I slightly seperated my shoulder playing softball. It still hurts.
3. I had a flat tire that cost a bundle to fix because when I hit the pothole that caused my hubcap to fly off, it also so severely dented my rim that my tire has been leaking air for the last two months. And I drove to Montana on that tire. Fantastic. So I had to replace the rim AND the tire.
4. I started class again and had to pay $30 for a $10 book because the prof seems a little disorganized and did not order any of our books ahead of time.
5. I got tickets to see Sir Ian McKellan at the Guthrie (that's actually a positive thing as well).

So that's me in a nutshell. I'm sure I will have more blogs forthcoming, but for now, I need to ease myself back into the school year and normality. I need routine, people. I don't do well without it. I spend too much money and eat out too much (thereby getting a little bit chubby).

At least my dress for Anna's wedding still fits.

Cheers.

Quote o' the day (oh I bet you all are so excited!!):

"A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her." - Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

taking the long way around...

2007-07-22T21:35:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow I will officially be another year older.

What, might you ask, have I done in that year of time? Sometimes, I can't even answer that question, yet I feel like I need to write something down that marks the 25th year of my life. It's been a year worth noting, many interesting things happened to me, many good things, and thankfully, not too many bad things. I won't bore you all with the details, only to say this - I finally am at a point where I feel like a 'grown-up.'

Driving home the other day, I realized that this is indeed my home and my parents home is no longer my house. It's my neighborhood and my car, my bed, my kitchen, and strange as it is - this is something that has only recently occurred to me. I guess I never really felt like I left home - like I was away on some vacation or at college. But after two years, it's sunk in that there is no 'going home again.' To quote the storyhill boys, "Can you ever go home again?"

I'm not sure you can - and I certainly can't rewind the last year, so I shall put more effort into making this next year even better, hopefully with less mistakes, less craziness and more time to do things that I actually want to do.

That being said - this weekend was fabulous with a dinner at Sawatdee (love the green curry), ice cream cake with my parents, a Twins game and HARRY POTTER! (Yes, I read the entire book on Saturday...I'm a fast reader - don't judge.)

And now, I should get some sleep - because at the end of this very long and drawn out week, I am going on VACATION. And I want to be able to enjoy that, and not be sleep deprived.

Quote o' the day:

"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory." - Susan B. Anthony

I'm not so sure what this is all about

2007-06-11T22:15:00.000-06:00

This is me on coffee. Awake.

I decided to get a coffee before class tonight since I've been ass-tired all day. I seriously am considering taking a day off just for me. However, this week and next, I've got at least two meetings each day. Which kind of sucks, but at the same time, it keeps me away from the craziness that is the fact that people keep asking me what we're doing.

I don't know people. You want to know - ask the boss. I'm sure she's got some kind of plan. But I've never seen it and probably never will. And the word on the street is that she's not working out so well (this from a coworker who hardly ever leaves her office, so it must really be bad). But we shall see if anything happens about that.

I've had some time to think about it. And I just don't know anymore what I want. But I guess that's all right for now.

I'm going to some AMA thing at St. Thomas tomorrow at 7:30 and will have to get up early, but am not sleepy and it's just kind of hot in my house.

So, that being said - here are some new music artists for ya'll to check out. If you want specific song names, let me know, but from what I've heard...these are fantastic (and in no particular order).

Sea Wolf
The Dears
Citizen Cope
Emilianna Torrini
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
The Mary Onettes (on myspace page right now)
the hereafter
Jarvis Cocker
Mae
The Winter Blanket
The Long Winters
Ingrid Michaelson

And I think that's it...for now.

Quote o' the day:

"the most wasted of all days is one without laughter" - e.e. cummings

there was pain that we talked about

2007-05-02T22:00:00.001-06:00

Today I heard this song on the radio and I really felt the need to share it. Here are the lyrics. It's called "Everything Green" by Christine Kane.

They built a highway without much concern
And we cried for the hills and the trees that were burned
Back before hopelessness, long before greed
When everything must have been green

There was rain
And we danced in it
There was mud
And we ran in it
It was wild
Deep inside of everything green
There was pain
That we talked about
There was love
And we let it out
We were made
In the shade of everything green

We watched as they paved, as they worked, as they tore
You said, I have no faith in this earth anymore
Sounded like hopelessness, sounded like need
I grabbed you, we ran to the trees

There was rain
And we danced in it
There was mud
And we ran in it
It was wild
Deep inside of everything green
There was pain
That we talked about
There was love
And we let it out
And we prayed
In the shade of everything green

While stars turn to stardust
And angels talk to us
The world all around us can breathe

We have our guns, our machines and our swords
But I will not hate or destroy anymore
'Cuz after the hopelessness beyond the fear
We'll wake to the magic that's here
(and open our eyes...)
To the rain
And we'll dance in it
And the mud
Put your hands in it
In the wild
Deep inside of everything green
And the pain
We can talk about
And the love
Just let it out
We are made
In the shade of everything green

It is springtime, friends and I couldn't be happier.

Quote o' the day:

"Long stormy spring-time, wet contentious April, winter chilling the lap of very May; but at length the season of summer does come." - Thomas Carlyle

burdens of intuition

2007-05-01T22:11:00.001-06:00

Well, it's done. I officially have done my reading for class. And it wasn't as scary as I thought it might be. I just didn't look up the whole time. And now, as with last semester, I'm finding that now that it's the end of the semester I'm just starting to know, trust and like these people. It's too bad. In a lot of ways.

Tonight I also let my sister read something of mine - which is probably a first for me. I had written a poem about her, and most of it was about how a sisterly bond is a strong one. But there were moments when I could see her possibly feeling bad about it. And I hope she doesn't - because this poem came out of a day that I needed her and wished she was home.

There has been a lot of things going on and I've been missing these chats with all of you - because, as Colleen says, blogging completes me. I feel like my day is officially over when I've written my thoughts, good or bad, and anything else that I want to throw into the void of the internet out there.

Tonight I'm mostly just excited about what I've written this semester - about 40 or so pages of work. Some poetry, some essays and some just random thoughts. But it's exciting nonetheless. And I'm excited about all that I got accomplished at work today, and what the rest of the week brings.

But... the thing I'm most excited about is - drumroll - my new Teva sandals. They are the most freaking comfortable things I've ever put on my feet. I want to wear them all the time.

And I think that can be it for tonight. I've got lots of other things that I should/could/would write about, but I'll leave you all to guess at them for now.

Quote o' the day (because I know you all missed it):

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." - Abraham Lincoln

just a small annoyance to get me through...

2007-04-24T08:46:00.000-06:00

One of the most annoying things, I’ve found, is when the ‘now playing’ information doesn’t actually show what is ‘now playing.’ Of course, this happens most frequently when you’ve found a song that you really like and want to know what it is.

For the last two days, the ‘now playing’ song on the Current has been Orange Juice – Moscow. Luckily, the play list portion is correct. Otherwise I’d be even more bugged.

It’s only 9:30 and this day is going far too slowly. And the coffee I got this morning is not serving its purpose as it should.

Quote o’ the day:

"I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.” – Rita Mae Brown

just a passing moment gone

2007-04-11T21:08:00.000-06:00

Friends, all of the sudden, I've been finding new musical artists and loving them. Here are some that you simply MUST listen to:

Rocky Votolato
Au Revoir Simone
Haley Bonar
Roma Di Luna
Thomas Dybdahl
Maria Taylor
Andrew Bird
Dan Israel

And if you don't like listening to the Current, then you probably won't like these artists, but I DO. :) Even if you only check them out of your undying affection for me, I'll be happy. These are things that make me smile.

Tomorrow is our Focus Forum event, so I have to be awake at like 4:30. I tell you, this is going to suck. And all 146 people that are registered better show up just because I want to see the look on KG's face when there isn't "30% attrition." And that's all.

Since I've promised bagels and coffee for those there early, I'd best get to bed. Au Revoir!

Quote o' the day:

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." - Anne Frank

even your emotions had an echo in so much space

2007-04-10T21:21:00.000-06:00

I broke my promise today.

I ate at McDonald's. Please don't judge me. I had to eat before class and well, that was the best option given the time that I had. And I remember now...those fries are damn good. And the crispy chicken wrap is not too shabby either.

Class this week was super emotional for some reason - we just read The Known World and I tell you, as beautifully painful as that book is, if you haven't read it, you need to. And read some interviews with Edward Jones and just soak it all in. Times like these I remember why I want to marry a smart writer man so that I can spend the rest of my life reading freaking great literature. And I do mean Literature. But all in good time.

And I'm getting annoyed with the dancing iPods on my screen so I'll be done. And I know you all were waiting for something profound, so here it is.

Quote o' the day:

"Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone." -Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, 1950

your best intentions may not be enough

2007-03-26T21:27:00.001-06:00

77 degree weather. Barley John's patio, beer, appetizers and the smell of the bonfire, which gets into your hair, your clothing and permeates until you wash it out, and that smell that drifts into our house. The smell of springtime, rotting leaves from under the snow for all this time and the smell of greenery blooming for the first time since last spring. Walking outside in March with a t-shirt and leaving your window open at night. Driving in the sunshine with the windows open and eating on a patio twice in one day. The soreness in your limbs from actually running outside on hills and pavement instead of in your basement on a flat surface. Birds during the day (hello robins!) and bats at night swooping for insects over the nearly melted ice skating rink. And BASEBALL!

Today was, in a nutshell, amazing and if the weather keeps up like this, I shall have no choice but to be cheerful, bright and shiny.

Happy Monday.

Quote o' the day:

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby

chalk it up to fakeness

2007-03-18T22:33:00.000-06:00

I did a TON of laundry today before our second concert of the weekend. We have one of those fake wooden drying racks that everyone has, I think, from Target and it's fabulous. Well, it was fabulous until today when I had hung three or four shirts on it and the whole thing just sort of collapsed. I should have seen it coming, since parts of it have been loose for a long time. But man - the worst day to have that happen. So I went and bought a new one. I tell you - get the expandable one with the mesh flat drying optional thinger. It's AWESOME.

Yes, there is a day when I am excited about drying racks. That day was today.

Then I proceeded to get myself extremely lost on my way to the orchestra concert, since it was at a place we don't normally play at. And I curse those signs that tell you what city you are in - they are deceiving! I had to call my dad and I was angry, late and on the verge of tears, telling him that I was going to be late, so why should I stop somewhere so he could direct me out of there? Extremely irrational, but we got me to where I needed to be and I made it through the concert.

And now I'm trying to do my assignment for Tuesday since tomorrow night is the make-up Storyhill concert. There are no words for how excited I am. All I can say that is if the fire marshall shows up again, I'm chaining myself to one of the boys. Ok, maybe not, but I will be extremely mad.

And now time for bed.

Quote o' the day:

"There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music." - George Eliot

from a long line of drinkers and dreamers

2007-03-17T21:14:00.001-06:00

St. Patty's day and I had orchestra. An Italian concert on St. Patrick's day. And had Mexican food at my parents house. I was multicultural today. We did, however, play an impromptu version of "O Danny Boy" at the very end of our concert. It was great. Ha.

And now we're heading out to get our Irish on for a bit. I'm not Irish. Not in the slightest, but my great grandma's second husband was Irish. Does that count?

Tonight I'm determined to forget the stress of the week, forget that in the next week life could possibly change drastically, forget the idiots that are men and forget all of the external shit that doesn't really matter in the long run and have a good time with some friends. And that's all I've got to say about that.

Happy St. Patty's day.

Quote o' the day:

"Too long a sacrifice/ Can make a stone of the heart." - William Butler Yeats

it's boyfriend season

2007-03-12T20:11:00.000-06:00

So I've been meaning to write about this for awhile and keep putting it off. Colleen and I have talked about how everytime you log off of MySpace, there's an ad for "TRUE" with men that have extreme photoshopped eyes and it says - "it's boyfriend season."

What exactly is 'boyfriend season?' I'd LOVE to know. Because if there is such a thing, then I am WAY behind. I mean, do they all come out at one time, like deer or pheasants or trout? Is there a specific time that one might have better luck ensnaring one of the male sex? If so, then why in God's name have I had so many bad dates? I must not be looking in the right forest...and I must not have the right equipment. I mean, during boyfriend season, one must have to wear special clothing and special scents - our own special salt lick, our own bait! And I certainly don't have a boyfriend camp set up. I must work on this...

And where are all the men with green eyes? They are apparently out there in droves.

Quote o' the day:

“I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naive or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.” - Anais Nin

oreo madness

2007-03-11T21:50:00.001-06:00

You know how when you buy a bag of Oreos you tell yourself you won't eat them so fast? Just one at a time. And then you sit down, and in five minutes you've eaten five cookies. You go to put the bag away and then you stand and eat three more. Soon you've eaten half the bag before you've even put them away.

Then you get them out again and you tell yourself you'll only eat one as dessert, with some milk or as a snack. And pretty soon the whole bag is gone.

And then you tell yourself you'll never buy Oreos again. Until your roommate buys them and leaves them out for you to eat. And then you eat the rest of the half eaten bag.

(Ok, so I didn't actually eat an entire half bag of Oreos...but I'm mad at Naomi for buying them. Because they are sitting on the counter, taunting me. And it's really hard to eat just one. This is also why I don't buy Girl Scout cookies. Evil.)

Quote o' the day:

"Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better." - Robert Redford

never again...

2007-03-04T22:51:00.001-06:00

My sister and I watched SuperSize Me this weekend and I officially will never eat at McDonald's again. It's probably the most disgusting thing I've ever seen - in that weird, really fascinating way. I've heard lots of different stories about Morgan Spurlock and the making of the movie, and who knows what's true and what's not. What I can tell you, is - never again.

I'm off to read more about post-modernist fictional realism.

Quote o' the day:

"The more things change, the more they remain... insane." - Michael Fry and T. Lewis, Over the Hedge, 05-09-04

snow in my boots and in my car

2007-03-02T14:56:00.000-06:00

SNOW DAY!

Technically we were open at noon, however, my little Canadian Corolla got stuck, yet again. Maybe I'm just not good at maneuvering in the large snow drifts, or maybe it's because they wait forever to plow our place and that's lame. I also remembered that I needed to drive up to CR to the clinic - let me tell you, that was a trip. Visibility was next to nothing, because the snow has started up again and my windshield wipers are crap.

And then my car got stuck again when I got home and tried to park. I had to hoof the snow out of the way and as a result, major snow in my hiking boots and in my car.

Even with all my griping about the snow, there's something fun about the way that our sidewalk is becoming a tunnel and the huge piles of snow everwhere I go. I think we're making up for the last couple of snowless months.

With all the snow, I get a little bombarded with memories of when I was younger. Memories of snow days when my whole family would stay home, eat popcorn and watch movies. These days were always a little bit more special than other times we'd spend together, because there's something magical about the fact that you can't go anywhere. Memories of snow pants and sledding down the 'Knox' hill (I don't think it's there anymore...I don't even think Knox exists anymore), and memories of hot cocoa, warming houses and building snow forts. Once, Alison and I built an entire house in my front yard. Not with a roof, mind you, but at least four rooms with beds, couches and chairs, etc. It was awesome.

I miss being a kid sometimes.

Quote o' the day:

"I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible." -Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

snow day!

2007-03-01T23:16:00.001-06:00

Today was exciting. I went to a multicultural marketing conference in St. Paul where everytime we looked outside it was whiteout conditions or not snowing at all, the guy that ran the conference (the M.C.) obviously either smokes a lot of pot or had just smoked pot, or else he thought he was a comedian with the shakes and the presentations went way longer than they were supposed to. The conference was really quite good, and I learned a lot - aside from one presenter who was clearly there to sell his agency.

At any rate, it was a good time and afterwards Sarah and I met Steve at the Liffey for a drink. Because normally, they have a kick ass happy hour. But not today, because there were the State Wrestling Tournaments going on in the Xcel Center. No happiness for them! Walking to and from the Liffey was entertaining at most, since we both had work shoes on and Fisher had no socks on. Silly girl.

After my white knuckle drive home, it was established it is officially a snow day. If you were to open our front door right now, the snow would probably come into our house. Awesome.

The best part? Feeling like a kid again, watching the scrolling school closing announcements on the news. I bet my dad is happy - no school for him tomorrow or most of the metro. But, of course, we are probably the only university in the state/metro area that is not closed yet tomorrow. All of the school districts around me are closed and we shall see what the roads are like when I get up. It may be a snow day after all. I think I feel a snow fever coming on!

Cheers.

Quote o' the day:

"the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." - Wallace Stevens

oops...

2007-02-28T08:59:00.000-06:00

I almost forgot!!

The quote o' the day...by the elusive R. Stevens.

"Wasting sarcasm is a sin."

(Does anyone know what Diesel Sweeties is?)

wednesday morning grocery store madness

2007-02-28T08:53:00.000-06:00

I stopped at Rainbow on my way to work this morning to get some snacks and food to have at work. Ok. And even though I've completely used up my coffee money for the week, I got a Starbucks. I'm lovin' it.

At any rate. Two things about the grocery store on Wednesday morning.

First thing, there is, ALWAYS, a Little White Civic with a St. Thomas sticker on it in that parking lot. Always in the same spot. Since I have a fondness in my heart for LWC's, I always kind of smile when I see it. This morning, the person had left their lights on. Which, as a former owner of a LWC, I know that can result in a very very dead battery. Since the car is there every time I am there, I'm led to believe that it belongs to a Rainbow employee and well, that would suck to get out of work at 4 or whatever and have a very very dead battery. I went in and told the woman at the speedy checkout and she announced it, but the LWC's lights were still on when I left. Alas.

Second thing, I used the speedy checkout on my way out. Since there was someone behind me, I was hurriedly trying to get all my crap, plus the starbucks cup and not spill. I grabbed the receipt that fell from the little receipt thinger and ran. When I got to work, I looked at the receipt and literally laughed out loud. According to this receipt, I purchased Frisky Feline Favorites, and a shit ton of green grapes. Friends, I purchased none of these things. And I had to laugh. Frisky Feline Favorites. Someone's getting a treat today! :)

To work to work.

"do women's thoughts really scatter?"

2007-02-27T21:58:00.000-06:00

And that is a line from a poem we had to read for class. I LOVE it. Love it. Because I think they do. At least mine do.

I took one small step for the women of Martin DePorres this weekend while I worked on Saturday. I took the hideous can of death (aka spray disinfectant/AIR FRESHENER) and threw it in the trash. I was careful to use a paper towel to pick it up lest I contract germs or leave any fingerprints as clues.

But alas, the green can reappeared today. And someone sprayed it, again, whilst I was in the bathroom. Now, I have a few clues as to who it may be, but like Laurie Notaro says in one of her short stories - "I may not know exactly who you are, but I know your ugly shoes!"

And according to the signage outside the State Fair, we are thanking Mary Kay for 23 years.

That's all I've got tonight folks.

Quote o' the day:
"Drama is life with the dull bits cut out." - Alfred Hitchcock

well isn't that nice

2007-02-26T22:24:00.001-06:00

Ah the snow. After digging my car out last night, moving it twice at work today, I returned to my car at the end of the day, only to see that the huge snow drift that has been living on top of my car for the last couple of days had melted right down my windshield. That was fun. Funny.

And now I'm just glad to have some time to myself after the craziness that was last week and the weekend. This week should be less so...but they are also supposedly doing interviews this week, so wish me luck! I haven't been this nervous about something in a very long time and here's hoping it turns out all right.

There are myriad other things I could write about right now, but I'm just too behind on homework and too tired out to do it. Look for it later in the week.

Happy Monday!

Quote o' the day:

"But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin

burning rubber

2007-02-24T21:06:00.001-06:00

MN. Gotta love the weather - today they were predicting the 'storm of the century' and when I woke up this morning to head to our event, the roads were not bad at all.

In fact they weren't really bad until I left for home at around 7 pm. I did fine until I got into my own parking lot and burned rubber trying to park my damn Canadian car. It got stuck and my sister had to come and push me into the spot. Nice.

At any rate, we didn't have many people at our event today, but we did have a good time at our celebratory happy hour. Definitely a good time. Figlio's $2 happy hour is a good time - because $10 later...well, you're really happy.

I don't have much to say, except that hopefully tomorrow will not bring more snow. Too much going on to get stuck in snow. I hate these late winter storms.

Time for homework!

Quote o' the day:

"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." - George Bernard Shaw

the war of resumes...

2007-02-22T23:28:00.001-06:00

Well, as most of you know, Colleen, my boss resigned her position at SMU and moved to Hamline. I'm really excited for her because it's a great opportunity.

It also presents me with a new opportunity, as I could have possibly been promoted to her position. After my meeting with the VP today, it so happens that they are posting the position. Advertising it to the outside world. I'm ok with that, really, I didn't feel any sense of entitlement just because I was the next logical choice. I didn't get my hopes up.

However. If there is one thing I hate - it's revising my resume. I'm really very proud of the layout of my resume and the way it looked and read.

However. Since I haven't changed it much from the original, I had to do a lot of adding and subtracting and with my layout - it makes it tricky. Oy. Can't it just stay the way it is?

At any rate, I am deliciously tired and think that sleep will be very good tonight. And tomorrow is finally Friday. TGIF.

Quote o' the day:

"You're never too old to become younger." - Mae West

i walk the line

2007-02-20T22:05:00.000-06:00

So, my new musical obsession is the Walk the Line soundtrack. Yes, I know it's not actually Johnny Cash singing, and only Joaquin Phoenix, but he does a pretty good job, and I liked the songs. But, the thing I never realized was that "walk the line" is actually a love song. And somehow, that just makes the whole idea of 'walking the line' even more...romantic, for lack of a better word.

Tonight we had to read aloud in class. I read three 'nature' poems that were inspired by the beginning line of a poem we read that was 'I step outside' and I was pleasantly surprised at the reaction I got. I thought I'd post the one that seemed to get the best reaction. My love affair with North Dakota and Montana is inexplainable to most people, except for maybe my dad and any other people (Marts) that feel that strong gravitational pull that those prairies and mountains have. I've been away for far too long and am excited about the possibility of getting back there soon. At any rate...here it is. Completely untitled (I welcome suggestions for both a title and the poem if you have any!)

Prairie grasses and stalks of wheat
nod their heavy heads at me,
silky corn tassels toss their
blond tresses at me
saluting me.
I amble along
I-94, going west.

Sun stretches for miles
clouds dot the sky,
shadows moving swiftly
over the prairie floor.

Cows move
lumbering gracefully
slowly chewing grass.
Horses lay in pastures,
sleeping and watching.

Fields seem endless -
sky opens to heaven.
Vast expanses -
empty.

I drive,
the road worn with
its grooves from so many
that have gone before.

When I was finished reading, she asked me a question that I've never been asked before, which is one reason that I love this professor. She asked me if I felt like I was going ahead on my own or if I feel the weight of those that have gone before. Not a question I've ever really thought of and I think it's the latter. I do feel and think about all of the people - ancestors, strangers, friends, and family that have trod the paths I am on and the ways that I go. Anyone else care to think about that question? I'm interested to hear what others have to think.

And with that...I'm off to bed. I picked Naomi up at 6 AM at the airport this morning and it's been a long day, I've got a headache like you wouldn't believe and am so ready to get out and have some fun tomorrow night!

Quote o' the day:

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." - Flora Whittemore

the perfect way to end a crappy holiday

2007-02-14T23:53:00.000-06:00

I have to admit. Valentine's Day is not my favorite. And as much as I would love to say it's because I hate all of the commercialism and not because I'm single, it's not. I always think it would be better somehow if I had someone special in my life to share it with. Even if we ended up going to McDonald's and watching something lame on TV - because it wouldn't matter what, it only matters who.

Ever since I was little, my mother has always made a big deal out of giving us Valentine's day treats, a small present or something. Last year we got a gift certificate for a deluxe car wash - practical and totally something that I'd never pay for. But this year, my sister was gone and I didn't get an early morning wake up from my mother. I forgot that it was Valentine's Day until some couple was being ooky on the radio. I deliberately did not wear pink and listened to Fiona Apple on my way into work. I was, as we say at work, a little bit crunchy today. Plus, I had chills all day and that didn't make it better. And when I got home, as I expectantly looked in my mailbox, and once I realized that there was nothing in there for me, I threw myself a pity party. I crawled into my bed, but then couldn't sleep, so that was kind of a bust too.

The only thing that has kept me feeling ok all day was that Storyhill was playing tonight and that I was going to see them. What's not to love? We got there late, the parking situation was horrendous and there were literally hordes of people standing in line. We had tickets, but SO many people. And then - they were all sitting on the freaking floor! I don't know how many of you have been to a concert at the Varsity - but it is NOT a sitting venue. You stand. Especially when there are that many people, you are courteous, stand and move so that more people can get in. I had my toes stepped on at least fifty times, had about four tall gropey couples in front of me (we got in towards the back where people were not sitting) and we were generally in a bad mood about it. But then the boys came on and there was so much love. Until during their fifth song, this crazy man was bopping around in the middle of the audience and finally went up on stage. We all thought he was a nutjob. But then he announces that he is the owner and that they are WAY over their legal capacity and that the fire marshall is kicking us all out. We got 'claim' checks that are supposed to be good to make it up.

ONLY FIVE SONGS. It was the strangest evening ever. So sad for the boys. They looked sad. And we were sad. Really a shame - you'd think they could have counted tickets more carefully and made sure that there weren't so many people. You'd think.

Two things made my day brighter. I got a cute kitty valentine from a coworker that made me smile and my sister called me from Hawaii. She was the only person that actually said, 'Happy Valentine's Day' to me today. Sure, she sounded kind of loaded and she's in freaking Hawaii, but I have to say, it made my night that she called. Sometimes, I forget how close we've gotten and how much I appreciate that.

So there you have it. The perfect way to end the crappiest holiday known to mankind. And to the hope that someday, I will be complaining about how I went to McDonald's on Valentine's Day. :)

Happy Valentine's Day, friends. I'm sending love and thoughts your way, along with the chocolate that is at my desk. Eat it up.

Quote o' the day (Valentine's edition):

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up." -James Baldwin

two things

2007-02-07T23:25:00.001-06:00

1. Today I wore a skirt to work. I am sick of wearing the same thing over and over again, and I thought it might be nice to wear something a little dressier. Apparently, I threw everyone's chi off by doing so. At least four people said to me, "You're wearing a skirt?" Yes, I am. I might even do it again. This amuses me on several levels. I didn't realize that I had become that girl that doesn't wear skirts. I didn't realize that my sweater and jeans mentality somehow transferred into my work wardrobe. I'm amused that people actually noticed enough to comment on it.

2. The taps at La Casita were broken tonight so we had to pay for bottles. Even though their taps were broken, they didn't offer any other specials in leiu of the $3 tall taps. Needless to say, there was some annoyance about that.

And that is my two cents. Or things, as the case may be.

Quote o' the day:

"None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting a few months or a few years to change all the tenor of our lives." - Kathleen Norris, Hands Full of Living

Terrific Tuesday

2007-02-06T23:40:00.001-06:00

Today is the day that I remember why I love MN. Why? You might ask. Especially since it took me a freaking hour to get to work today and the roads were awful.

Because.

Because there is something awesome about the power that nature has. The frigid cold and snow that makes visibility little to nil. Something about waking up to snow falling just hard enough to make people slow down and pay attention to what they're doing. And that's something to reckon with, I think.

And because of the city. I'm in love, friends. I'm in love with our skyline. The way that as soon as I turn onto that road heading south, I can see it. When the sun is shining in the winter the bright rays of light bounce from building to building and the cold frost that stands out here and there, I am reminded of just how much that skyline is a part of me. Or when it rains and the shroud of clouds leave you straining to see the tops of the buildings peeking out from here and there. And today, when I couldn't see the city because of the snow, even once I was downtown, the buildings were still invisible to me, the snow swirling around in a frenzy as cars sat in lines of harsh metal, there was still a softness to the morning. Something terrific happens when it snows, and I can't explain it quite well enough to do it justice.

That skyline is my touchstone. I somehow feel more grounded when I can see it, and when it's not so visible, I feel the tiniest bit disappointed and lost. It's the high point of my bad days and even on the snowiest, rainiest, muggiest days, I can smile when I see those buildings. I hope that you can all appreciate it as much as it deserves. Think on it.

On a completely different tangent, I really enjoyed my class tonight - I think it is going to be fantastic. Tons of work, but fantastic. The prof is amazing - she truly loves writing and loves to teach and that's not something you can fake. Plus, she lives for quotations. So expect some really great ones that will trump even this Robert Frost phase I'm in. More on this to come, I'm sure.

AND...if you haven't heard Patty Griffin, you should run... RUN and buy her new CD. It's amazing. So much love for Patty arriving in my mailbox today. I think the guy in the car next to me on my way to class thought I was having a seizure I was so excited about this CD. The jury is still out on the new Norah Jones CD, however...I will keep you posted.

And that's all I've got for now. Sleep tight!

Quote o' the day:

"I always entertain great hopes." - Robert Frost

the evasion of sleep continues...

2007-02-05T23:27:00.001-06:00

I should be sleeping. But alas, I am wide awake - so I thought I'd post a few thoughts. Just so no one has to go through withdrawal again. ;)

1. I start a new class tomorrow - I have that whole, first day of school anticipation going on right now. I'm nervous about the new people, as I always am. I'm nervous about my writing, and nervous about the massive stack of books I have to read for it. I am desperately hoping they are good.

2. I was a spazz tonight with cleaning, organizing and went gangbusters on the treadmill again. Here's hoping that 3 miles doesn't come back to haunt me tomorrow. I'm sure it will.

3. I am super excited for new books and new CD's to arrive in the mail. It's really exciting to get that email from amazon saying that my items have shipped. :)

4. I want to accomplish so many things this week that I think I shall make myself dizzy. But in a good way.

5. The Colts won!! (I don't think I've been able to tell you who won the Superbowl since....well, since ever.)

I have a lot of thoughts swirling about in my mind at the moment, but those are the only ones I want to share. :)

Quote o' the day:

"Beauty is not caused. It is." - Emily Dickinson

coffee at 10 p.m. is a bad idea

2007-02-04T00:32:00.000-06:00

Marta and I went to see "Because I said So" tonight - the late show. And because it's so freaking cold out, we got a cup of coffee before. Well, she got tea and I got coffee. Now, not only am I completely punchy tired, but wide awake at the same time. Gotta love that.

The movie was pretty good. Totally a chick flick, but definitely had funny moments. I don't think it should have gotten all the bad reviews it got! Diane Keaton keeps playing the same character now and that's maybe a little sad. I think she's a good actress, but is stuck in that niche now. Somethings's Gotta Give and this movie are very similar, I think.

But I did not set out to write a movie review at 12:30 a.m. Not at all.

And, in case you didn't already know, coffee at 10 p.m. is a bad idea.

Quote o' the day:

"Forgive me my nonsense as I also forgive the nonsense of those who think they talk sense." - Robert Frost

that was the opposite

2007-02-02T17:06:00.000-06:00

of what I needed

This morning, as I was driving into work, yes the traffic was horrific, yes I was crabby and glad it was Friday, but MPR was playing Debussy's "Reverie." For those that aren't familiar - it's a beautiful, dreamlike piano piece that really is what the name implies. And as I drove on the winding road between the cemetery and the golf course by my house, there were sun dogs. Rainbows in the sky, with the "Reverie" playing and suddenly, I found myself smiling. Even in the midst of what hasn't been the greatest week and the crappy traffic, I was actually happy in my car. (For those that have driven with me, you know that this is rare!)

But then on my way home, I witnessed an accident, and many other near accidents. People were driving like maniacs and it was snowy and cloudy. Not to say I want it to be cloudy on my way in, but the sun dogs on my way home would have been perfect.

At any rate, I've got lots of plans this weekend and I'm excited. Fluffy girl movies, coffee and shopping - what could be better?!

Happy Friday!

Quote o' the day:

"Music is the expression of the movement of the waters, the play of curves described by changing breezes." - Claude Debussy

oh, but frustration doesn't end there.

2007-01-31T08:47:00.000-06:00

I am unable to log into my computer at work. The little Mac login dialogue box just shakes at me accusingly. "THAT'S NOT RIGHT! GET IT RIGHT!"

I called every single freaking IT person that there is to call yesterday. I changed my password FOUR times. Two of my coworkers tried to log in and couldn't. SO...it's not me. Thank GOD.

I left desperate messages with three different people last night stating my name, what my computer number is, what kind of computer I've got, what the problem is and if they could please find my office in the building that I'm in at the end of the row of cubes in the middle of the building, and fix it by today, that would be freaking great.

It still doesn't work. Good thing I thought to bring in my laptop today so that I wouldn't be totally useless. I'm sure if I dug around in old papers enough and organized my stuff, I could pass the time. But I did that last night. So...what's a girl to do?

And this morning there are no IT people. They are all MIA.

Gah. Happy Wednesday.

Quote o' the day:

"The truth is more important than the facts." - Frank Lloyd Wright

a poem

2007-01-30T09:08:00.000-06:00

I get the Writer's Almanac delivered to my email inbox each day and today there was a poem that I wanted to share. Enjoy!

Eager
by Kim Garcia

Above the snow, a single maple holding forth
its dying flame. Among the feats of Nature:
the wild
greening from dry bulb, sour alchemy of rot, a rusty
handprint of lichen;
the eager
space-seeking species springing up after fire,
as though they took no lesson from destruction
but to begin again, twice as joyful.

things aren't always as they seem

2007-01-26T17:03:00.001-06:00

Most of us, when we meet new people, we make snap judgements on what kind of a person they are, based on their appearance, the things they say and do. And more often than not, we find out that we were very wrong. As I get older, I find it easier and easier to let people in. I've somehow overcome the shyness that used to plague me as a child and overcome those past hurts that make it difficult for all of us to allow those new people to see who we really are.

In the few classes that I've taken, I've become friends with people that I might have dismissed initially and learned a lot from them as a result. It's hard to cut people out when you realize that you are so much like them, or that they have things that they can teach you about life, or just being a better person in general. Wouldn't it be great if we could all take that one small step towards releasing those judgements? I think that we could save ourselves a lot of drama and probably live a little more peacefully.

I don't want to be too deep on a Friday afternoon when I'm getting ready for a weekend that promises to be fun, and at the very least, interesting, so I'll stop there. But I wanted to get it out there before I forget. Sometimes, things aren't always as they seem or aren't what we expect. And that - is a wonderful thing.

Quote o' the day:

"Human potential, though not always apparent, is there waiting to be discovered and invited forth." - William W. Purkey

say that again?

2007-01-23T18:36:00.001-06:00

How is it that even on the best of January days - it still feels like winter in MN? Even if the sun is shining and the birds are chirping and the light reflecting off the snow is beautiful, we can still find something to whine about.

Maybe the reason we're bitching is because everyone is crabby because we know that spring is NOT just around the corner. And while we wait patienctly for the groundhog to show his little head, we all dream of warm weather, baseball games, barbeques and those hot days of summer. And we all blame the weather for these midwinter doldrums that make us tired, crabby and sick - it's not the weather. It's our own state of mind. Because when those dog days of summer do arrive, we complain about them too. Hmm...

Yes friends, some of what I've been calling 'horseshit' in my class is starting to sink in. I came to the realization today that I'm always planning my next move, my next day, my next thought, even - and that's not healthy. I need to focus on what is making me happy now. And that might mean that I need to start to enjoy the winter weather instead of complaining about how I wish it was summer. I actually kind of smiled today when I got my heel stuck in snow - it just sunk right into the packed down, dirty snow and slush mixture and for some reason, I found it funny.

I do believe that people come into your life for a reason and I think that one reason was to jolt me out of my 'plannner' mode. Not to say that I still don't have to have a schedule, because I honestly think I'd be running around in circles if I didn't have one, but maybe it's time to let myself be a little bit more relaxed. What was it he said? "Yeah, you need to get over that planning thing."

I know that some of you might be saying, huh? Say that again, J? But it will be good for me.

Quote o' the day:

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." - Ansel Adams

duvets and diablo wings

2007-01-21T20:14:00.000-06:00

Sunday.

The last day of the weekend. Generally a crappy day in general because you remember that your free time is almost over and that you have to go back to work tomorrow.

We were supposed to have brunch with the parents today, but at the last minute, with the snow we got this morning, Naom and I decided to stay in. She messed around the house, getting rid of the exhorbitant amounts of cat hair that have built up in our lack of cleaning lately, while I read Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh for my class.

Then we decided that we were both crabby and wanted to get out of the house. So we went in search of a duvet cover for her new comforter. Not as easy as you might think to find. We went to Linen's N Things, which we both keep thinking is a Bed Bath and Beyond. Nothing but hideous, gold embroidered comforters that belong on my grandma's bed. To the mall! And the story was the same at all of the major department stores there. Finally she bought one just because she was sick of looking.

We stopped for wings and a beer at the Green Mill. The Diablo Wings are THE BEST. Try them next time you are at Green Mill.

When we got home I decided it was finally time to start working on my paper. Which is what I should be doing now. :)

This week is going to be nuts, but I'm ok with that. Being busy is better than being bored.

Anyone want to write an analytic summary/critical review for me?

Quote o' the day:

"In the sex-war thoughtlessness is the weapon of the male,vindictiveness of the female." - Cyril Connolly, The Unquiet Grave, 1944