30 March 2009
A Marmot Date
My sister and I took the little boys to an art museum today. Tuey is a really great date when checking out an art exhibit. In fact, he's the best date I've ever accompanied to an art museum (except for the part where I have to lift him up to see the art better--that, fortunately, never happens with my grown-up dates). Tuey was entranced by an exhibit of fairy tale pictures displayed next to the models used to create the pictures. He held one of my fingers and led me to each picture, staring with his head thrown back, since the exhibit was not designed for such short viewers. We stood for a loooong time in front of each piece, while Tuey conjectured about the feelings of the subjects in the works. He was especially concerned for the pigs in one diorama. He was fairly certain there was a wolf behind the door and that the wolf would emerge with a "shooter" and hurt the pigs and make them cry. He is my best good boyfriend.
29 March 2009
How Marmots Play Soccer
Madame 4-yr-old is playing soccer this spring (so-called spring--it was 32 degrees at her game Saturday morning). Preschool soccer is so amusing. It more closely resembles rugby than soccer, as the wee ones have a tendency to bunch, kicking each other's ankles and knocking the ball against one another's shins until someone accidentally kicks it free. The next portion of the game (after freeing themselves from a scrum) depends on whether or not they remember which goal is theirs. Often they do not. Sometimes at the beginning of a half, the whistle blows and they all stand and look at one another until an adult convinces one of them to kick the ball. It's fantastic. And, of course, they look so cute out there. Especially when they dress themselves like this.
27 March 2009
What I Like Today
1. The Weepies
I think Lady Susan was the one who mentioned The Weepies in a comment last summer and sent me off to find them. Excellent recommendation. Today I like these two songs of theirs.
All That I Want
Can't Go Back Now
(I like puppets.)
I also like their song, "Nobody Knows Me At All," but there are no puppets in that video.
2. Cake Batter
Pour some boxed cake mix into a mug. Add a TINY bit of water. Mix until you have a nice, thick sludge. Toss in some walnut pieces. Eat and feel sick. I find this immensely satisfying under the proper circumstances. (Today the circumstances happen to be that I really want pad thai and I have no way of procuring it for myself.) Straight cake batter is so sweet that you may as well just inject an IV of corn syrup directly into a vein, if you don't have cake mix handy.
I think Lady Susan was the one who mentioned The Weepies in a comment last summer and sent me off to find them. Excellent recommendation. Today I like these two songs of theirs.
All That I Want
Can't Go Back Now
(I like puppets.)
I also like their song, "Nobody Knows Me At All," but there are no puppets in that video.
2. Cake Batter
Pour some boxed cake mix into a mug. Add a TINY bit of water. Mix until you have a nice, thick sludge. Toss in some walnut pieces. Eat and feel sick. I find this immensely satisfying under the proper circumstances. (Today the circumstances happen to be that I really want pad thai and I have no way of procuring it for myself.) Straight cake batter is so sweet that you may as well just inject an IV of corn syrup directly into a vein, if you don't have cake mix handy.
25 March 2009
Do Not Leave Your Children with Me
AJ has been in Costa Rica for a week. It’s great for her. It’s fine for me. It’s bad for the cats. They miss her, and I’m largely unsympathetic to their plight, still refusing to share my pudding with Max even though he’s lonely.
Monday night when I came home from work, Max immediately met me at the door and began pleading for attention, which is typical Max behavior. Sasha didn’t appear, which is typical Sasha behavior. After about three hours, though, I still hadn’t seen Sasha and I began to wonder where she was. I looked around and couldn’t find her. I got a little worried. I searched a little harder. Gone. I couldn’t find her anywhere, and I suddenly became certain that I had lost the cat.
Now, the thing is that it’s almost impossible to lose an indoor cat. I’ve already tried to teach Sasha how to open doors, and she’s no good at it. She’s not even interested. Still, I became convinced that in that moment the wind had blown the door open, Sasha must have escaped or possibly when AJ’s sister came to feed and love the cats during the day, Sasha had made a break for it. I was so panicked that I threw on my coat and went downstairs to look around and make certain that the feral cats who live in the next building hadn’t found and eaten Sasha. They had not.
It was Max who finally found Sasha (if a cat that’s not lost can be found). I sat down with him and I instructed him that he should help me out and find Sasha. And he did. A few minutes later he left the room and when he came back about 20 minutes later, Sasha was with him. So we might actually negotiate about the pudding in the future.
Monday night when I came home from work, Max immediately met me at the door and began pleading for attention, which is typical Max behavior. Sasha didn’t appear, which is typical Sasha behavior. After about three hours, though, I still hadn’t seen Sasha and I began to wonder where she was. I looked around and couldn’t find her. I got a little worried. I searched a little harder. Gone. I couldn’t find her anywhere, and I suddenly became certain that I had lost the cat.
Now, the thing is that it’s almost impossible to lose an indoor cat. I’ve already tried to teach Sasha how to open doors, and she’s no good at it. She’s not even interested. Still, I became convinced that in that moment the wind had blown the door open, Sasha must have escaped or possibly when AJ’s sister came to feed and love the cats during the day, Sasha had made a break for it. I was so panicked that I threw on my coat and went downstairs to look around and make certain that the feral cats who live in the next building hadn’t found and eaten Sasha. They had not.
It was Max who finally found Sasha (if a cat that’s not lost can be found). I sat down with him and I instructed him that he should help me out and find Sasha. And he did. A few minutes later he left the room and when he came back about 20 minutes later, Sasha was with him. So we might actually negotiate about the pudding in the future.
23 March 2009
Stuff I Don't Know
1. I used the word askance in staff meeting on Saturday and my co-worker commented that she'd never known how to pronounce that word before. I didn't either, but it didn't keep me from using it. I looked it up later and I totally pronounce it wrong.
2. It was more recently that I'd like to admit that I put it together that dachshunds are those little dogs. I assumed the name of those little dogs was spelled with an x (doxon?) and that it was just a strange thing that I never saw the name written anywhere. They are not a dog that appear frequently in literature.
3. I recently asked Marmot Dad to explain when it's appropriate to use a while and when it's appropriate to use awhile. Apparently, I didn't REALLY want to learn, though, because now all I can remember is parts of speech, something, something, didn't you learn this stuff when you studied Russian, something, something. My instruction didn't take. And, no, I didn't master parts of speak (although I have strong feelings about certain aspects of grammar) when I studied foreign languages. I was busy inventing ways to toss the word crocodile into my dialogue exercises. It's fun to say. Krokodil.
4. Geography
2. It was more recently that I'd like to admit that I put it together that dachshunds are those little dogs. I assumed the name of those little dogs was spelled with an x (doxon?) and that it was just a strange thing that I never saw the name written anywhere. They are not a dog that appear frequently in literature.
3. I recently asked Marmot Dad to explain when it's appropriate to use a while and when it's appropriate to use awhile. Apparently, I didn't REALLY want to learn, though, because now all I can remember is parts of speech, something, something, didn't you learn this stuff when you studied Russian, something, something. My instruction didn't take. And, no, I didn't master parts of speak (although I have strong feelings about certain aspects of grammar) when I studied foreign languages. I was busy inventing ways to toss the word crocodile into my dialogue exercises. It's fun to say. Krokodil.
4. Geography
Dog Latin
My sister recently blogged that Marmot Dad taught the marmots Dog Latin (like Pig Latin but harder). It is one thing to read that the marmots love Dog Latin and another thing entirely to live it. At dinner tonight I was sitting next to Madame 4-year-old, who, as is her way these days, was referring herself in the third person as Octopus with Eight Tiny Legs and who had pulled her chair right up next to me so that we could be special dinnertime friends. Then she started speaking in Dog Latin. She's crazy good at it. And since she's already quite the talker and Dog Latin adds at least two syllables to each word, she was spouting these very long, indecipherable sentences at me.
Madame: Alefaunt, woulefud youlefu, plealefease gilifive thelefe Olefoctolofopulefus wilifith Eilefeight Tililinylefy Lelefegs solefome milefilk?
(Aunt, would you please give the Octopus with Eight Tiny Legs some milk?)
MBC: Silent staring
Madame (in Dog Latin): Aunt, I asked you a question.
MBC: Mentally scrambling to untangle this crazy marmot talk
Madame (in Dog Latin): Aunt, is this too hard for you to understand?
Yes, yes, it was too hard and the more the marmots spoke to me with their little earnest faces the more ridiculous it all seemed until I couldn't answer them (even if I could understand) because I was laughing too hard. Madame 6-year-old lamented that "big girls can't speak Dog Latin," but then she and her sister took pity on me and spoke slowly and quizzed me on body parts in Dog Latin, like we do with tiny children who have just begun to speak, and praised me and patted me on the arms when I came up with gems like Golefo tolefu belefed (go to bed!).
Also, tonight my sister was reading the little girls The Boxcar Children before bed, and she read the very chapter that changed my life as a child--the chapter in which Henry demonstrates how to use a spoon as a knife. When I read that in elementary school, I immediately recognized that using a spoon handle as a knife was right and true, the preferred method of spreading butter for orphans. And as I was all about orphans, I stopped using knives. You never know when you might suddenly be orphaned and need such survival skills.
Madame: Alefaunt, woulefud youlefu, plealefease gilifive thelefe Olefoctolofopulefus wilifith Eilefeight Tililinylefy Lelefegs solefome milefilk?
(Aunt, would you please give the Octopus with Eight Tiny Legs some milk?)
MBC: Silent staring
Madame (in Dog Latin): Aunt, I asked you a question.
MBC: Mentally scrambling to untangle this crazy marmot talk
Madame (in Dog Latin): Aunt, is this too hard for you to understand?
Yes, yes, it was too hard and the more the marmots spoke to me with their little earnest faces the more ridiculous it all seemed until I couldn't answer them (even if I could understand) because I was laughing too hard. Madame 6-year-old lamented that "big girls can't speak Dog Latin," but then she and her sister took pity on me and spoke slowly and quizzed me on body parts in Dog Latin, like we do with tiny children who have just begun to speak, and praised me and patted me on the arms when I came up with gems like Golefo tolefu belefed (go to bed!).
Also, tonight my sister was reading the little girls The Boxcar Children before bed, and she read the very chapter that changed my life as a child--the chapter in which Henry demonstrates how to use a spoon as a knife. When I read that in elementary school, I immediately recognized that using a spoon handle as a knife was right and true, the preferred method of spreading butter for orphans. And as I was all about orphans, I stopped using knives. You never know when you might suddenly be orphaned and need such survival skills.
19 March 2009
The Illness Dilemma
I'm sick. This is a problem for all the normal reasons--it feels like there's a little gnome with a pick axe in my ear, I think really slowly, and any activity other than sitting on the couch watching reruns of The Office is a strain. But I have this job, see? And I'm always conflicted about what to do about work when I'm sick. I usually have to be on the reference desk for at least a couple of hours every day and most weeks I have meetings to attend or events to host, so I can't stay home without inconveniencing co-workers. But if I come to work sick, I'll infect other people and that's inconvenient for them, too. Fortunately, yesterday I only had to work long enough to attend a meeting stating my preference that administration remain unaware of the filth and smut I buy for the teen collection. I'm the weekend supervisor, though, so I have two more days of work this week. What to do, what to do?
18 March 2009
Really Tell Me Where to Go
Okay, this post with a poll really exists on the blog.
These are my current top choices for places to visit in September on my way from Romania to Wales. Tell me what you think. The price of an airline or train ticket may trump your opinions, but I'd love your recommendations and maybe if you give me good advice, I'll bring you back a present.
These are my current top choices for places to visit in September on my way from Romania to Wales. Tell me what you think. The price of an airline or train ticket may trump your opinions, but I'd love your recommendations and maybe if you give me good advice, I'll bring you back a present.
17 March 2009
Eating Chocolates Obama-Style
MBC, can we eat an entire box of See's chocolates in one weekend?
Yes, we can!
Yes, we can!
16 March 2009
Walk This Way
When I was 4 or 5-years-old, I insisted on having a rope tied around my waist on family walks, so my mom could lead me. It embarrassed my sister (who was a teenager at the time). She thought people would think I was special. My sister and I still take walks, but this is how they go now:
Today on our walk, Tuey complimented me on my red shoes, identified "lellow crocuses and purple crocuses balooming," and coughed into my milkshake while helping himself to a bite.
Today on our walk, my sister kept interrupting my fascinating story about my incredible shopping prowess (shoe waterproofer for $1.06, three tops from D.I. for a combined cost of $7.00, and oats for $0.79/lb), until I had to say, "Hey! Can we focus on me, please?" Later she told me a story about her neighbor's folly, concluding with, "Aren't you glad you aren't other people?" And still later, she tucked the $20 I gave her down the front of her top.
Once on a walk, my sister saw a bald eagle and got so excited that she grabbed me by the arms and shook me. She really likes it when we see coots and cows, too. She yells at them. Usually, just a friendly, "Hey there, cow babies!" or "Fly little cootie guys!"
Who's special now?
Sometimes as I'm leaving my sister's house, I see her neighbors taking a walk. They all wear matching jackets and sometimes they have a tiny dog in a baby frontpack. Really glad I'm not other people on those days.
Today on our walk, Tuey complimented me on my red shoes, identified "lellow crocuses and purple crocuses balooming," and coughed into my milkshake while helping himself to a bite.
Today on our walk, my sister kept interrupting my fascinating story about my incredible shopping prowess (shoe waterproofer for $1.06, three tops from D.I. for a combined cost of $7.00, and oats for $0.79/lb), until I had to say, "Hey! Can we focus on me, please?" Later she told me a story about her neighbor's folly, concluding with, "Aren't you glad you aren't other people?" And still later, she tucked the $20 I gave her down the front of her top.
Once on a walk, my sister saw a bald eagle and got so excited that she grabbed me by the arms and shook me. She really likes it when we see coots and cows, too. She yells at them. Usually, just a friendly, "Hey there, cow babies!" or "Fly little cootie guys!"
Who's special now?
Sometimes as I'm leaving my sister's house, I see her neighbors taking a walk. They all wear matching jackets and sometimes they have a tiny dog in a baby frontpack. Really glad I'm not other people on those days.
15 March 2009
Happy Books
I have chosen to acquiesce to Eliana's request to list six books that make me happy, despite the great difficulty of this task, given that (a) many, many, many books make me happy. Just the concept of books makes me happy, so it's hard to narrow down the options. (b) Lots of the books that make me the happiest have already been highlighted on the blog. I'll try to pick books I haven't discussed previously.
Candyfreak by Steve Almond
Almond discusses his candy obsession and travels to candy factories across the country, highlighting vintage treats and lesser-known, regional specialties. I mentioned this book around my niece, who was about 10-years-old at the time, and she expressed an interest in reading it, which would have been a mistake. It's really funny, but it's definitely a book for adults.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I just mentioned this one on the blog in October, but it's so good that I can't leave it off the list. I'm usually wary of the term heart-warming because reviewers always use it to describe schwarmy, emotionally-manipulative books, but this book is genuinely heart-warming. It is a nice story about a group of people who overcome difficult circumstances through their relationships with one another and their developing love of literature. Reading it made me happy.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Katsa is graced with an ability to kill and maim, a gift her uncle (the king) exploits to bully and coerce the kingdom's enemies. Katsa attempts to redress the wrongs she commits, leading her on an adventure to find a neighboring prince's kidnapped grandfather. This is a very, very popular young adult fantasy/romance/adventure novel at the moment. I read it and liked it well enough and then several weeks later found myself craving a book exactly like it.
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
This is a delightful collection of 18 personal essays about books and reading. Anne Fadiman writes lovely prose, and reading these essays reminds me why I'm a librarian. I believe in books and ideas and reading. Reading is a mechanism for escape and a portal to a broadened perspective and the place where we find commonalities with others and the activity that comforts or excites or confirms or educates. Reading is power, kids.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
All the Little House books make me happy. Also the Ramona books. And the Betsy-Tacy books. My mom read them to me when I was a little girl. We used to lie on her bed at night and read. And then I read them all about a thousand times on my own. My sister is currently reading the marmots the Ramona books, which is so appropriate since they're a bit Ramona-y themselves.
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
Based on the author's family history, this is the fictionalized diary of Sarah Agnes Prine who travels from New Mexico to help settle the Arizona Territory in the late 1800s. I resisted reading this book for a long time, because it was so popular with our library book clubs (whose taste in books I fear). Several of my co-workers read it and recommended it, though, so I picked it up this winter and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's quick-paced and populated with lovable characters.
Anybody have recommendations for other books I should be reading?
Candyfreak by Steve Almond
Almond discusses his candy obsession and travels to candy factories across the country, highlighting vintage treats and lesser-known, regional specialties. I mentioned this book around my niece, who was about 10-years-old at the time, and she expressed an interest in reading it, which would have been a mistake. It's really funny, but it's definitely a book for adults.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I just mentioned this one on the blog in October, but it's so good that I can't leave it off the list. I'm usually wary of the term heart-warming because reviewers always use it to describe schwarmy, emotionally-manipulative books, but this book is genuinely heart-warming. It is a nice story about a group of people who overcome difficult circumstances through their relationships with one another and their developing love of literature. Reading it made me happy.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Katsa is graced with an ability to kill and maim, a gift her uncle (the king) exploits to bully and coerce the kingdom's enemies. Katsa attempts to redress the wrongs she commits, leading her on an adventure to find a neighboring prince's kidnapped grandfather. This is a very, very popular young adult fantasy/romance/adventure novel at the moment. I read it and liked it well enough and then several weeks later found myself craving a book exactly like it.
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
This is a delightful collection of 18 personal essays about books and reading. Anne Fadiman writes lovely prose, and reading these essays reminds me why I'm a librarian. I believe in books and ideas and reading. Reading is a mechanism for escape and a portal to a broadened perspective and the place where we find commonalities with others and the activity that comforts or excites or confirms or educates. Reading is power, kids.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
All the Little House books make me happy. Also the Ramona books. And the Betsy-Tacy books. My mom read them to me when I was a little girl. We used to lie on her bed at night and read. And then I read them all about a thousand times on my own. My sister is currently reading the marmots the Ramona books, which is so appropriate since they're a bit Ramona-y themselves.
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
Based on the author's family history, this is the fictionalized diary of Sarah Agnes Prine who travels from New Mexico to help settle the Arizona Territory in the late 1800s. I resisted reading this book for a long time, because it was so popular with our library book clubs (whose taste in books I fear). Several of my co-workers read it and recommended it, though, so I picked it up this winter and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's quick-paced and populated with lovable characters.
Anybody have recommendations for other books I should be reading?
13 March 2009
Being a Responsible Adult
I prefer to stay far away from doctors' offices as much as possible, but since I'm losing my pretty, pretty benefits when I quit my job, I'm trying to get every single medical exam or procedure I might potentially need for the next year performed before I leave the country. It might take a long time to find new employment when I return from the Trip of Awesomeness or I might meet a good-shoe-wearing Brit who insists I continue traveling the world with him while I'm on the Trip of Awesomeness, either of which would leave me without good health insurance for awhile, so I'm visiting the doctor tomorrow. I went hunting through my old papers to find the name of the last doctor I visited three years ago. She moved practices, but I'm a good librarian, so I tracked her down (at least I really, really hope it's the same doctor). Tomorrow I'll be extracting promises from her that I'm hale and hearty and then I'll be redeeming my gift certificate for a one pound box of See's chocolates. The bravery of visiting a medical practitioner does not go unrewarded in my life.
12 March 2009
I've Got Skills
I helped make pajama pants for a humanitarian aid project tonight. As I was sewing, a woman was watching and asking how I learned to sew. I told her that my mom sews and that at some point, after showing me how to sew straight seams, my mom let me pick out a dress pattern and said, "Call me if you have questions." Occasionally Mom inspected my work and caused me to wail by advising me to rip out an incorrect seam or pleat or tuck.
The woman at the humanitarian aid project asked if I resisted being taught to sew, which I thought was an odd question. I absolutely wanted to learn to sew. I loved sewing. In junior high and high school I made quite a few of my own clothes. Some of them were lovely. Some of them were hideous. Unfortunately, I didn't realize which ones were hideous until I left high school. There's a shorts and vest combination I made with green plaid seersucker that I recall with particular regret. I'm not sure if I really like my little teenage self for so unapologetically sporting unattractive self-creations or if I should be embarrassed for myself.
I am embarrassed about the green plaid pants I wore in Russia in college (I don't know what my deal is with green plaid). I only took a few pairs of pants to a foreign country for three months and I took green, plaid pants with an elastic waistband. Why? Why?!
The woman at the humanitarian aid project asked if I resisted being taught to sew, which I thought was an odd question. I absolutely wanted to learn to sew. I loved sewing. In junior high and high school I made quite a few of my own clothes. Some of them were lovely. Some of them were hideous. Unfortunately, I didn't realize which ones were hideous until I left high school. There's a shorts and vest combination I made with green plaid seersucker that I recall with particular regret. I'm not sure if I really like my little teenage self for so unapologetically sporting unattractive self-creations or if I should be embarrassed for myself.
I am embarrassed about the green plaid pants I wore in Russia in college (I don't know what my deal is with green plaid). I only took a few pairs of pants to a foreign country for three months and I took green, plaid pants with an elastic waistband. Why? Why?!
09 March 2009
p o e t r y
I believe I've mentioned before that Billy Collins is a rock star and that he created Poetry 180 while he was the U.S. poet laureate. I really like both Poetry 180 the book and Poetry 180 the website, because the poems are so accessible.
I was playing with the website recently and I keep coming back to these two poems. The first one reminds me of Tuey.
Poem Number 176
How to Change a Frog Into a Prince
Anna Denise
Start with the underwear. Sit him down.
Hopping on one leg may stir unpleasant memories.
If he gets his tights on, even backwards, praise him.
Fingers, formerly webbed, struggle over buttons.
Arms and legs, lengthened out of proportion, wait,
as you do, for the rest of him to catch up.
This body, so recently reformed, reclaimed,
still carries the marks of its time as a frog. Be gentle.
Avoid the words awkward and gawky.
Do not use tadpole as a term of endearment.
His body, like his clothing, may seem one size too big.
Relax. There's time enough for crowns. He'll grow into it.
from The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm's Fairy Tales, 2003
Story Line Press, Ashland, OR
Poem Number 052
Love Poem With Toast
Miller Williams
Some of what we do, we do
to make things happen,
the alarm to wake us up, the coffee to perc,
the car to start.
The rest of what we do, we do
trying to keep something from doing something,
the skin from aging, the hoe from rusting,
the truth from getting out.
With yes and no like the poles of a battery
powering our passage through the days,
we move, as we call it, forward,
wanting to be wanted,
wanting not to lose the rain forest,
wanting the water to boil,
wanting not to have cancer,
wanting to be home by dark,
wanting not to run out of gas,
as each of us wants the other
watching at the end,
as both want not to leave the other alone,
as wanting to love beyond this meat and bone,
we gaze across breakfast and pretend.
from Some Jazz a While: Collected Poems, 1999
University of Illinois Press
I was playing with the website recently and I keep coming back to these two poems. The first one reminds me of Tuey.
Poem Number 176
How to Change a Frog Into a Prince
Anna Denise
Start with the underwear. Sit him down.
Hopping on one leg may stir unpleasant memories.
If he gets his tights on, even backwards, praise him.
Fingers, formerly webbed, struggle over buttons.
Arms and legs, lengthened out of proportion, wait,
as you do, for the rest of him to catch up.
This body, so recently reformed, reclaimed,
still carries the marks of its time as a frog. Be gentle.
Avoid the words awkward and gawky.
Do not use tadpole as a term of endearment.
His body, like his clothing, may seem one size too big.
Relax. There's time enough for crowns. He'll grow into it.
from The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm's Fairy Tales, 2003
Story Line Press, Ashland, OR
Poem Number 052
Love Poem With Toast
Miller Williams
Some of what we do, we do
to make things happen,
the alarm to wake us up, the coffee to perc,
the car to start.
The rest of what we do, we do
trying to keep something from doing something,
the skin from aging, the hoe from rusting,
the truth from getting out.
With yes and no like the poles of a battery
powering our passage through the days,
we move, as we call it, forward,
wanting to be wanted,
wanting not to lose the rain forest,
wanting the water to boil,
wanting not to have cancer,
wanting to be home by dark,
wanting not to run out of gas,
as each of us wants the other
watching at the end,
as both want not to leave the other alone,
as wanting to love beyond this meat and bone,
we gaze across breakfast and pretend.
from Some Jazz a While: Collected Poems, 1999
University of Illinois Press
08 March 2009
False Economy
I consider myself a frugal girl. I'm good at saving money. I know my way around a rummage sale. I can feed myself well and for a good long time with a bag of lentils. I use my library to provide myself with music and movies and reading material. I stay well within my means and I am a devoted fan of this book.
Mostly I don't care about owning things and most of my monetary indulgences are on experiences like traveling or going to the theater or having a really good meal with friends. There are some things, though, products, that I believe in and that I'm willing to pay for even when there are cheaper alternatives.
1. Charmin Toilet Paper - Worth every cent. When I was on study abroad in Russia, my babushka used to explain at great length the Russian capacity for suffering (which is true; it's a country with a rough history). I'm pretty sure that's why they're able to handle the sturdy, brown toilet paper common in that country. I used it for about month before I resorted to carrying packages of tissues with me everywhere I went. Ever since I have felt a particularly strong allegiance to Charmin.
2. Dawn Dishwashing Liquid - I bought a large bottle of it about three years ago at Sam's and I'm still using it. Admittedly, I was living by myself one of those years, but in that house I never used my dishwasher. I washed everything by hand. The soap is so good that a very small amount washes a whole lot of dishes. Excellent product. Good value.
3. Jergens Ultra Healing Moisturizer - It's the only moisturizer that does any good on my hands when I'm living in a desert. I know this, but I still bought the knock off brand last week. I checked the ingredients and they were so close. The sign said Compare to Jergens Ultra Healing, so I thought I would. The knock off brand was $3.00 less than the Jergens. The knock off brand smells like old ladies. I can only use it on my feet or I make myself sick when I get my hands close to my face. The only other moisturizer in my house at the moment is some fancy, scented stuff I was given as gift. It's rich and creamy and better than moisturizer that smells like the elderly, but it makes me smell like a scented candle. I don't want to smell like a scented candle. I want to smell like Jergens.
Anybody else have products they're devoted to?
Mostly I don't care about owning things and most of my monetary indulgences are on experiences like traveling or going to the theater or having a really good meal with friends. There are some things, though, products, that I believe in and that I'm willing to pay for even when there are cheaper alternatives.
1. Charmin Toilet Paper - Worth every cent. When I was on study abroad in Russia, my babushka used to explain at great length the Russian capacity for suffering (which is true; it's a country with a rough history). I'm pretty sure that's why they're able to handle the sturdy, brown toilet paper common in that country. I used it for about month before I resorted to carrying packages of tissues with me everywhere I went. Ever since I have felt a particularly strong allegiance to Charmin.
2. Dawn Dishwashing Liquid - I bought a large bottle of it about three years ago at Sam's and I'm still using it. Admittedly, I was living by myself one of those years, but in that house I never used my dishwasher. I washed everything by hand. The soap is so good that a very small amount washes a whole lot of dishes. Excellent product. Good value.
3. Jergens Ultra Healing Moisturizer - It's the only moisturizer that does any good on my hands when I'm living in a desert. I know this, but I still bought the knock off brand last week. I checked the ingredients and they were so close. The sign said Compare to Jergens Ultra Healing, so I thought I would. The knock off brand was $3.00 less than the Jergens. The knock off brand smells like old ladies. I can only use it on my feet or I make myself sick when I get my hands close to my face. The only other moisturizer in my house at the moment is some fancy, scented stuff I was given as gift. It's rich and creamy and better than moisturizer that smells like the elderly, but it makes me smell like a scented candle. I don't want to smell like a scented candle. I want to smell like Jergens.
Anybody else have products they're devoted to?
06 March 2009
She Belongs to My Sister
When I got my cell phone, Madame 6-year-old (who was then 3-years-old) helped me make the message for my voicemail. At the time, Madame pronounced the letter l as the letter n, so she very sweetly asks that callers Pnease neave a message at the end of the recording, after I state our names. Over the years, this message has caused a few problems. For example, a couple of years ago a friend introduced me to this guy, and we all went out. The next day the guy moved several states away. He wanted to keep in touch, though, so we emailed for awhile and then one night he called me and left a message on my phone. Later that night I checked my email and the guy had written to me, telling me that I was full of surprises and that he was intrigued, because he had no idea I had a daughter. Over the last few weeks, I've gotten lots of callers who don't know me very well asking about the little girl on my phone. I just returned a call from someone who may have mentioned my "little one," but I missed exactly what she said and didn't want to prolong the conversation to clarify that I don't have a mystery child I keep hidden from public view. I just have nieces and nephews whose squeaky, baby voices I love.
05 March 2009
All's Well That Ends Well
Over the weekend AJ made delightful Symphony Bar brownies (a recipe another co-worker introduced us to) for game night at our neighbors' house. The brownies were delicious and they did not all get eaten at game night and I thought happy thoughts about them on Sunday and ate a couple, secure in the knowledge that they would be filling me with joy for several days. Monday night I came home from work and something was different. Something. was wrong. The brownies were gone. AJ works later than I do on Mondays, but when she got home, the mystery was solved. She had given the brownies to her nephews. She explained this to me while handing me a bag of Cadbury mini eggs to fill the hole that the missing brownies left in my heart, though, so all is well. I do love a Cadbury mini egg.
03 March 2009
Historical Gems
I spent part of today reading The Mental Floss History of the World, which (so far) is a very digestible 400-page jaunt through 62,007 years of history. I have a hard time comprehending history, because I can't fathom thousands of years and I struggle to line up historical events around the world. The idea that Genghis Khan's marauding and Notre Dame Cathedral's construction occurred in the same era makes my head hurt. The whole shifting geography thing doesn't help. We need more songs like Istanbul (Not Constantinople) to help those of us who are already geography impaired keep track of shifting empires.
It's a shame that I won't remember most of the history I'm reading, so I'm noting down some of the wisdom that has been imparted to me today.
1. In the 2004 movie King Arthur (which I watched because it's full of pretty British men), Keira Knightley wears almost nothing into battle, and as I watched, I kept thinking, Battle seems like the very BEST time to cover up. Those arrows are pokey, so now is not the time to show off the abs. However, according to my book, the ancient Celts fought completely naked, donning blue war paint and nothing else for battles. So Keira was just following in the tradition of her people.
2. The Greeks referred to European invaders as "barbarians" because the Europeans' language sounded like "bar-bar-bar" to them.
3. The wedding tradition of carrying a bride across the threshold may come from a third-century Germanic practice of abducting brides from nearby villages and carrying them home.
4. Attila the Hun died of a nosebleed.
5. The werewolf legend may originate with Berserkers, Viking warriors who were said to take on the spirit of a bear or wolf and developed superhuman strength in battle.
Check out the Mental Floss trivia pages if you need more fascinating conversation starters. Because nothing makes people want to be friends with you more than knowing they can come to you to learn that Magellan was eaten by the natives of the Philippines.
It's a shame that I won't remember most of the history I'm reading, so I'm noting down some of the wisdom that has been imparted to me today.
1. In the 2004 movie King Arthur (which I watched because it's full of pretty British men), Keira Knightley wears almost nothing into battle, and as I watched, I kept thinking, Battle seems like the very BEST time to cover up. Those arrows are pokey, so now is not the time to show off the abs. However, according to my book, the ancient Celts fought completely naked, donning blue war paint and nothing else for battles. So Keira was just following in the tradition of her people.
2. The Greeks referred to European invaders as "barbarians" because the Europeans' language sounded like "bar-bar-bar" to them.
3. The wedding tradition of carrying a bride across the threshold may come from a third-century Germanic practice of abducting brides from nearby villages and carrying them home.
4. Attila the Hun died of a nosebleed.
5. The werewolf legend may originate with Berserkers, Viking warriors who were said to take on the spirit of a bear or wolf and developed superhuman strength in battle.
Check out the Mental Floss trivia pages if you need more fascinating conversation starters. Because nothing makes people want to be friends with you more than knowing they can come to you to learn that Magellan was eaten by the natives of the Philippines.
02 March 2009
Lit Rock
Teen Tech Week (an ALA initiative to connect teens and technology at the library) is next week (don't ask me about it; I have a super bad attitude about the whole thing), and this year's theme is Press Play @ Your Library. At our library, one of our teen activities next week is a scavenger hunt that requires the teens to find cards around the library. The clues leading the teens to the different areas of the library where they can find the cards are song clips, which I've been selecting and compiling into an MP3 file. One of the songs I'm using is called "Free Percy" and it's about one of the Harry Potter books. It's a ridiculous song and yet it's REALLY catchy. If you listen to it long enough (and if you're trying to select the clip that will best lead teenagers to the Harry Potter books in your teen collection, you'll listen for quite a long time), it really grows on you. It's also long and somewhat hard to understand without reading the lyrics, but you should link over here and listen. I take no responsibility for the inevitable implantation of the song in your head for the rest of your life, which I think has happened to me. Everything I've done for the last 36 hours has been performed to an inner soundtrack of "Hey, Jo, let Percy go . . . "
01 March 2009
How I Make the Financially Savvy Cry
When library patrons do things like try to locate materials by ISBN number instead of call number, I try to remind myself that I'm equally ignorant when working with services from institutions I don't understand. This weekend I had to call my sister while I was purchasing stock shares for my IRA because there were terms I didn't understand and as we were figuring out what a few options meant, I thought that if financial advisors heard us talking, they would weep. Really, really not interested in money except to feel smug when I get a great thrift store deal and to want a lot of it to spend on European pastries this summer.
MBC: I want my hair cut to just above my shoulders. And I like layers. The kind of layers that don't end up making my hair look like a triangle. But not too thin. Somewhere between the triangle and a mullet is perfection.
It's no wonder my hair always has problems.
And when I talk to the mechanics at a garage, this is how it goes:
Mechanic: So, what's the problem?
MBC: It sounds like there's a tiny opera singer in my wheel well.
Mechanic: What?
MBC: A little opera singer. A very small one, stuck on a high note. Living beneath my car.
And then the mechanic asks me a bunch of stuff about my car that I don't know. And I think, I brought it to you, because I DON'T KNOW about cars. I just gave you my BEST theory: tiny, singing creature.
OR at the beauty school. They're always asking me what I want, as if I even know what my options are. I don't. Square one. Slithering. Zero point. These things mean nothing to me. I'm not in beauty school.
Beautician: So what are we doing today?
Mechanic: So, what's the problem?
MBC: It sounds like there's a tiny opera singer in my wheel well.
Mechanic: What?
MBC: A little opera singer. A very small one, stuck on a high note. Living beneath my car.
And then the mechanic asks me a bunch of stuff about my car that I don't know. And I think, I brought it to you, because I DON'T KNOW about cars. I just gave you my BEST theory: tiny, singing creature.
OR at the beauty school. They're always asking me what I want, as if I even know what my options are. I don't. Square one. Slithering. Zero point. These things mean nothing to me. I'm not in beauty school.
Beautician: So what are we doing today?
MBC: I want my hair cut to just above my shoulders. And I like layers. The kind of layers that don't end up making my hair look like a triangle. But not too thin. Somewhere between the triangle and a mullet is perfection.
It's no wonder my hair always has problems.
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