Saturday, April 30, 2011

minutia

I once again have a cell phone that works. Not that this means entirely too much. My new phone is much like my old one, except it's thinner, has a bigger screen and it really, really wants me to connect to the interweb. Grazie ma non.

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Pic pulled a coat out of the closet today and asked me, "Is this yours or am I going to grow up to fit it?"

Later, as Cardo, Pic and I walked, she demonstrated on our forearms how gently she would clean an eggshell with a washcloth and proclaimed, "I'd do it like this. By the way, you're hairy. And, you too," to Cardo and me respectively. "I'm not hairy, though."

I love to listen to her questions and her observations. I love the rhythm of her speech and how she puts words together in ways that are unexpected but make total sense. (For example, she still refers to "yesterday" as "that day before this day" and other similar variations and "tomorrow" as "the day after this day.")

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It's definitely time for sunhats once again, although, yes, it did lightly snow late Thursday night and/or early Friday morning.

on endings

Endings make me anxious. No matter how much I look forward to (certain) endings and count down the days, hours, minutes, the closer I get, the more real an ending seems, the more nervous I get about what will come next. Perhaps I shouldn't be like this. Perhaps I should be reveling in the moment (that's the current party line, yes? and it's even one I completely agree with, but it's one I have a difficult time living up to).

So, very soon, I'll reach an end of my latest venture. And, I've been looking forward to the possibilities that opens up, while I've been trying to let myself completely enjoy what it is I've been doing.

At the same time, I'm forgetting. Sometimes, I think this is part of how humans get through life. If we couldn't forget the stress and the pain, if those memories didn't fade allowing the awesome memories to shine, how and why would any of us get out of bed in the morning?

I've forgotten how stressed and close to my lowest-low I was just several months ago. I'm forgetting how little sleep I've allowed myself and how disconnected from my family I've let myself become over the last two-and-a-half months. While I'm not ever really comfortable with change, I'm actually pretty quick to adapt to it and then forget that anything different came before and that anything different might follow.

I think this is part of why Cardo loves having committed himself to sticking with me until one of us is no longer of this world. Really.

So, my goal for the upcoming months is to learn to be open to possibilities and to realize that there are possibilities. I might not like all of them, but they're there. I need to remember that my choices have led me where I am. I've chosen this. I'm big on stressing that right now with Pic -- talking to her about why we choose to spend our time and money the way we do, about why Cardo and I chose that these last eight months have gone the way they have, and so on.

So, right now, I'm going to choose to not freak out about three weeks from now and three months from now and three years from now (I could really go on), because there isn't much I can do about those days right now.

I'm also going to choose to work for the next two-and-a-half hours and then go home and not watch the Nancy Drew movie again.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

silent cell

The new phone battery got here Monday while I was out. Cardo and Pic so nicely popped it into the back of my phone and plugged the phone in to charge. Many hours later...nothing.

A new (to me) phone has been ordered. We shall see how that works. The reviews weren't stellar, but every complaint had to do with texting and I don't like texting anyhow.

Oh, and there was one complaint that there is no speed-dial either (something else I'm not concerned about) and that commenter lamented how hard that made it to use the phone while driving. (Hello!) Apparently this person either hasn't read/heard or doesn't buy into the idea that it's dangerous to drive and talk on the phone as your mind isn't wholly engaged in the haps on the road. Oy.

So, perhaps in a few days, I'll once again have long-distance and the possibility of constant access to a phone.

Monday, April 25, 2011

musical monday: every other day of the week is fine

Who knows what took me so long to get around to this song? I'm either just getting around to it, finally, or I'm scraping the bottom of my mental capacity right now. You decide.


"The Mamas & The Papas - Monday Monday"

I hope your Monday is not tear-filled.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

psa

So, we have family health and wellness plans for the summer. Cardo has finally, finally, finally come around to the idea of practicing yoga with me. His proposal is alternating Wing Chun with yoga and I'm all for that. Of course, for us all to be able to practice, we'll have to learn routines well enough to not have to be confined to small spaces in front of screens. We're thinking once we know what we're doing well enough, we'll practice in the park. (I'm attempting not to cringe at the thought of practicing out in a very public place, but I'm also looking forward to practicing in a place outside, a place I love so much.) Really, though, Pic and I end up kicking each other when we practice pilates here in the living room and adding another full-grown adult into the mix just isn't going to work all that well.

Okay, I realize I've gone on and one and that definitely wasn't the PSA part. Barefoot Yoga is holding a 20%-off sale for everything until the 27th, in honor of Earth Day (actually, Earth Month). I just ordered Cardo and Pic their first mats. I know mats can be had for much less at places like Ross, but I find it a bit contradictory to practice yoga or pilates on a mat that's rife with phthalates and formaldehyde and PCBs and such. (However, we're still working on our own budgeting, so I ordered them the least expensive mats available. Pic chose the color of hers and I guessed on Cardo's. When he got home, he confirmed my guess.)

What more? Just a quick reminder that the Earth Day celebration at Idlewild will be held this coming Sunday from 11-4. (I'm guess EcoNet decided to defer to the Easter-celebrants?)

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And, on a more personal note, as long as I'm mentioning ordering stuff: I've ordered a phone battery and it should be here by Tuesday. I hope. I have been without a cell for over two weeks now. It hasn't been terrible and the longer I don't have it, the more I don't feel I need it (imagine that). All the same, I would like to have the convenience back in time for this summer, which is when Pic and I plan to do much wandering.

I apologize if you've called my cell and haven't heard back from me. I've had my phone for a good long time (in cell years) and I really didn't want a new one. I think I've had it about five years now? The battery finally decided to get all weird and puffy and the phone completely stopped working. I'm hoping that replacing the battery will do the trick. We'll see.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

self-revelation: lit edition

I had never really thought about what draws me in about the literature I like. Okay, so that might not be entirely true. I know why I like some of what I like, but I've recently learned something more about my literary tastes: I like good characters. And, yes, "good" is entirely subjective, but I like characters that have some life to them. Characters with personality. Characters I can get attached to. Characters who I want to visit book after book after book. (Why, yes, I did just finish reading the Kinsey Millhone series again. And, as I said, "good" is subjective, but I like the characters in Grafton's books.)

I am right now reading a book I really thought I'd enjoy immensely. I like retellings (different perspectives, updated settings, so on) and I'm trudging through one right now. It's a subject I like, too. Something nerdy, where I can pick out all the references I actually get. The audience, I would guess, is preteen, so that might be part of the problem. However, I've read lit for this age group before, and very recently, not just when I was a preteen, and enjoyed it. With this book, though, I feel like I'm only allowed to skim along the surface of a very shallow pond. I don't feel connected to the characters. I feel the books is completely plot-driven, as if the writer is ticking off items on a list of points he wants to hit. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with plot-driven texts, as opposed to character-driven texts (or, as opposed to whatever driving forces there might be), but I realize that it's not for me.

Give me quirky, real, deep characters and I'll happily read about them doing the most mundane tasks.

(I'll have to keep all of this in mind should I ever decide to try my hand at writing fiction.)

So, I'm taking book suggestions now, please. Actually, I'm always taking book suggestions. I'm not sure exactly why, as my list of "to-read"s is about a gazillion books long, but I'm always eager to add to the list. I thank you kindly in advance.

Monday, April 18, 2011

musical monday: what if the beatles were irish?


"'What If the Beatles Were Irish?' by Roy Zimmerman"

O, mighty Interweb! How you lure me in with your wacky content. Seriously, how I ever sleep is beyond me. How anyone with quick internet access ever sleeps in beyond me.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

book obsession

La settimana passata, ho trovato due libri in italiano. (Hey, look, I kind of, almost remember stuff from my Italian classes all those years ago!)

It's so very difficult for me to get my hands on Italian books. I'm feeling like I'd like to visit Italy and do some serious book shopping. I'd like to visit the idealized Italy in my mind. I'll travel with ease, be welcomed by the people I meet and perhaps even find some relatives. I'll eat fabulous food and become wonderfully fluent in Italian, which I think is a beautiful language.*

So, international travel to a place where I'm not entirely sure about accepted customs and where I'm not fluent in the language? Who's with me?

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* I love the movie A Fish Called Wanda but I cringe every time Archie Leach calls Italian such an ugly language.

psa: earth day

So, Earth Day is April 22nd, but EcoNet is hosting their celebration on Sunday, May 1st at Idlewild. I'm not entirely sure why the lapse, but there it is. Not sure what I'll be looking for this year (other than the kids' booth, certo). Live music? Yes. I'm having some difficulty with the EcoNet site so I can't scope out what else there'll be.

(I just typed "scope out" which makes me feel, for whatever reason, like I'm invoking Pauly Shore. Oy.)

Usually, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the event and I don't really allow myself to absorb much. I'll try to work on that this year. (I feel like I say that about so much. How often can I avoid typing, "I'm a work in progress"?)

Friday, April 15, 2011

book love antici...pation

Oh, one more month. Yes, one more month and then I'll delve into the incredibly huge, can't possibly get to it all in this lifetime booklist I'm compiling. And, I'm adding to it. Just yesterday, I read "Three Books for the Grammar Lover in Your Life and immediately added these books to my list: The Power of Babel, The Lexicographer's Dilemma, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage.

I'm also taking some suggestions from the comments on that article.

I just caught up on reading the Kinsey Millhone series and I'm back to waiting for "V" along with everyone else. I'm deep into some other books and I've just started a book I've been wanting to get to and I'm not nearly as enthralled as I thought I would be. I'm actually a little disappointed. Ah, well. I realize I'm not really part of the target audience and I'm keeping that in mind.'

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Perhaps here is the place to admit that I used to read my MacMillan's Children's Dictionary. I didn't just use it to look up words, but I read the front matter and then I'd browse through the dictionary part itself. I am still compulsive about looking up words, even when I know that I know them.

little shop

I really can't believe that I haven't posted about this before. I certainly spend entirely too much time thinking about it. So, here goes:

I've been watching a lot of You've Got Mail lately. I don't really have that large of a variety of DVDs and when I'm stressed and/or overwhelmed, I tend to watch a familiar movie over and over again, more for noise in the background than for anything else. This is one of those movies. (If I'm spending time away from the computer, time in the living room, I have a VHS cassette (is that redundant?) I often watch. Last night, I actually sat in the living room a bit and had to remark to Cardo that it'd been a strangely long time since I'd sat on our couch.)

There are a few things that just get me about that movie. Among others is the fact that Kathleen Kelly, the owner of a small, independent children's bookstore, frequents Starbucks. At one point, she accuses one of the executives of a large chain bookstore of being a part of a homogenizing mochaccino-land (or something very similar) and, yet, she patronizes Starbucks. No, I really don't think people should be perfect, but I'm not talking about real people. I'm talking about a movie and characters within that. And, I don't really think that the movie-making-people in this case are trying to make a film about "real people." So, I want my characters to fit their stereotypes. Kelly is a local/indie person. No Starbucks! (I, on the other hand, am a real person. I do occasionally go to Starbucks. I also try to do way more shopping local than I did before. So, yeah.)

Also, every time I watch that movie, I think how cool it would be to own my very own children's bookstore, or, rather, a used bookstore. Apparently I learned nothing from Kelly's shop's fate. I'm like those people who think how incredibly romantic Romeo and Juliet is even though (spoiler alert!) both the title characters off themselves in the end.

I might say more, but that's enough for now. And, anyhow, Pic wants me to go play grocery store right now.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

a bit of lit: on pep talks

From Sir Thomas More's Utopia:

...when people are ill, they're looked after most sympathetically, and given everything in the way of medicine or special food that could possibly assist their recovery. In the case of permanent invalids, the nurses try to make them feel better by sitting and talking to them, and do all they can to relieve their symptoms. But if, besides being incurable, the disease also causes constant excruciating pain, some priests and government officials visit the person concerned, and say something like this:

"Let's face it, you'll never be able to live a normal life. You're just a nuisance to other people and a burden to yourself -- in fact you're really leading a sort of posthumous existence. So why go on feeding germs? Since your life's a misery to you, why hesitate to die? You're imprisoned in a torture-chamber -- why don't you break out and escape to a better world? Or say the word, and we'll arrange for your release. It's only common sense to cut your losses. It's also an act of piety to take the advice of a priest, because he speaks for God."

If the patient finds these arguments convincing, he either starves himself to death, or is given a soporific and put painlessly out of his misery. But this is strictly voluntary, and, if he prefers to stay alive, everyone will go on treating him as kindly as ever.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

sleep, and the lack thereof

Oh, I am right now thinking that if I could just stay awake every night, five nights in a row and then sleep some on weekends, that would be very nice. Actually, no, I need to be more specific: I still need to be able to function at a very high level. Okay, then, Universe, I've put it out there. So much more to do before I sleep. And, silly me, I tried to take a nap earlier, but my child (who is cozily tucked into bed, snoozing away right now) bounced off of the furniture and played with every noise-making device she could find earlier...for an hour. I really am feeling for my mom who used to work nights and had to try sleeping during the day while my sister and I tromped through our house.

I have five weeks of this very intense schedule left. Then... Cardo jokes that I'll be moaning about not contributing enough about five weeks after that. I'll try my best not to. O, Balance, why are you so elusive?

I have big plans, though, for my post-packed-schedule time. Oh, yes. Our dearly beloved friends just welcomed their first child, Baby H, to the big, bright world on Saturday and we'll be visiting often. After Pic was born, I felt very isolated for about two years, almost entirely because of my own insecurities and inability to, well, invite people over or to actually go out with people, and I'm on a mission to make sure that Auntie C, who has been fabulous over the years, doesn't feel that way. (Not that she would, but it's a good excuse to hang out and enjoy other people's babies.)

Actually, if you're near, we'll be trying to visit many more people when our time is a lot more freed up. We have another set of friends who welcomed a new addition to their family about five weeks ago and we've been enjoying time with him. He and his siblings will be seeing much more of us in the somewhat near future, too, methinks. (You know who you are and I'm considering you sufficiently warned. Park days?)

Okay, so I have some work to do before I sleep, so I should probably get on that and stop rambling about taking up all the time of people who probably have plenty already to take up their time. Yeah.

Monday, April 11, 2011

musical monday: for in this world i'm bound to ramble


"Soggy Bottom Boys - I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow"

Such a goofy movie, but oh-so-fun.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

from the mouth of the babe

A little bit back, Pic and I came upon a little unidentified something on the floor.

Pic: "It's a little black dot."

Me: "What is it?"

Pic: "It's not a poop."

Y'know, just in case I was worried about that. I wasn't...until she said it.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

a bit of lit: "...'Tis the fairy/Lady of Shalott"

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often thro' the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot:
Or when the moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed:
"I am half sick of shadows," said
The Lady of Shalott.

-- from "The Lady of Shalott," Alfred, Lord Tennyson

For the longest time, I thought Tennyson had one of the most interesting names. Little did I know. I'm trying to figure out how to configure my name in the same way.

Monday, April 4, 2011

musical monday: on walls and silence within


"The Weepies - Nobody Knows Me At All [Official Video]"


"Sara Ramirez singing "The Story" at The Grove in Los Angeles

Yea for live singing! I totally didn't know Sara Ramirez could sing. Seriously.

(But, what is The Grove?)

Sunday, April 3, 2011

'and this is my financier, elizabeth'


"Funniest movie line ever"

Oh, so goofy. I will need to be renting some movies il quest estate. I could definitely use some more Gene Wilder in my life.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

grow mane grow!

I'm posting on my hair. Yeah, I know, but I'm doing it anyhow. Mainly because I'm ready for it to be longer already. Yes, I understand I should stop cutting it, but I feel compelled to every couple of years. Last year was my year for a hair cut.*

One year ago:




It was short. I figured as long as I was going to cut it, I'd try having the back clipped really close with the electric clippers. First (and last) time for everything, no? The back of my head itched for a good three weeks. At least, that's how I'm remembering it. Plus, look at that first picture. All I can think is "It's like an orange on a toothpick!" except my neck isn't really long and thin.

Current day:



I cut the fringe (or "ribbons" as they're called around these parts) when I'm bored. I use a method that never leads to what I have in mind, yet I keep doing it. (Insanity, maybe?) This time around, I was also tired of looking at the forehead wrinkles that have been with me for over a decade now.




But not that tired of looking at them because I'm already pinning the fringe back.

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* Yes, I get haircuts every two years. I wonder if that's weird, but I have a really hard time believing that everyone else gets more frequent haircuts/trims. Also, I have no idea what shape my face is (should this be obvious?), so I never have any idea about what haircut will look good on my head.

So, for the next year, I'll just let this grow out more. I'm hoping to soon be to the point where Auntie L will accuse me of looking like a hippie.

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All I wear is pjs!

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And, yes, I'm referencing Between the Lions in the title there. Oh, how I miss tv sometimes. Like real, sit down and watch it when it's airing tv.

Friday, April 1, 2011

grey's anatomy: the rock opera

I'm watching a very strange episode of Grey's Anatomy right now. I'm wondering if the director(s) was really, really wanting to play with the format.

It's weird, but I'll take it.

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So, happy April. I'm ready for this month. I'm ready to take it on and live through it. Here's what I'm looking forward to:

-- sunshine
-- walks
-- reading

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Um, yeah, this is a weird episode.