June 28, 2005
looking for something?
To clarify. All (ie: secrets to life, the universe, everything, etc.) will be revealed on Thursday Saturday. Right here. Promise.
In the meantime, I've been maintaining the babysitting empire for hours upon hours, trying in vain to explain that not everything is a tell-on-your-sibling offense. "Meleesa, James hit me/poked me in the eye/won't let me sit by the armrest on the couch/won't stop singing too loud/is copying me because I wanted peanut butter sandwiches first!" etc... I'd never be foolish enough to say "My kids will never act like this", but the boundaries between handling it as a babysitter and how I could handle it as a parent (hint: lots of mocking and forced viewing of the Cindy-Tattle-Tale episode of the Brady Bunch) leave my hands tied and a small headache blossoming.
Tonight I'm watching the 10-month old with separation anxiety who screams The Entire Time his parents are gone. They'll be gone 3+ hours tonight, so earplugs and Baby Einstein videos are on the menu.
June 27, 2005
still
I'm experiencing the strangest bout of patience right now. Just as things have sped up and gotten more involved, I've started to feel less rushed, less urgent, less If I Don't Do It Right Now I Will Never Do It about everything. It's a welcome change in some ways.
You know how some people would follow that paragraph with some inspirational bit like "I find I'm getting so much more done now that I'm not stressing out about it..."? Yeah, not me. I'm not getting much of anything done. Work, eat, bathe, sleep, repeat. That's pretty much it. Time to tweak the plan-of-action; patience has its virtues, but so does production.
June 26, 2005
vroom
Got the car fixed in the sense that white smoke is no longer billowing from under the hood. Did not get the air conditioner fixed, as the $800(!) estimate left me bracing myself for some hot summer driving, perhaps with the aid of a battery-operated handheld fan.
Please send ice.
June 20, 2005
Happy Monday
So obviously when the computer shut down last week (verdict: dead hard drive, not cost-effective to replace), I disconnected more than usual. No pictures, no email, no bloggishness. So now I'm kind of out of the groove...
Not that it matters much; it's been fairly boring (predictable, steady, dry) around here for quite a while. Hang in there, Internets. I don't mean to tease you, but there's something I'm not telling you*. Something which will Change The World, but I really can't talk about it until next week. This week will remain predictable, steady, and dry, but will hopefully include more photos and maybe a pun or two.
*disclaimer: some of you have been told, so the news will not be ground-breaking or even mildly interesting to you by next week. sorry about that.
June 13, 2005
foil-hat weather
Must be in the air again, disguised within the bombardment of pollen. First Bear's ipod broke (irreparable), and now my computer has died (or at the very least decided to take a long nap). Don't lecture me about backing up my work, but that's 2+ years of pictures being held captive on that unresponsive hard drive. Add this to the very broken car air conditioner, and it's clearly time to win the lottery.
June 11, 2005
June 09, 2005
balls
A few days before the wedding, assorted members of the wedding party went bowling (note: I love bowling. Insert Big Lebowski reference here). Mike & Jess' friends are very nice & we had a great time, but these normal (in that physics/Star Wars small talk kind of way) people were clearly caught off guard by my unfettered Artistic Eye.
As I took this picture, I heard someone say "Mike, is your sister taking pictures of balls?" To which my brother replied, "Yeah, that's something she does. It'll be on the Internet soon."
June 08, 2005
the music meme
MaryW passed on this MusicSurvey a few weeks ago, and I'm only now getting to it (after the entire Internet population has already completed and passed it on...). In any case, here's a glimpse into the current state of affairs.
Total volume of music on your computer:
Way too much considering it's already been transferred to the ipod... 1309 songs, 3.7 days, 5.26GB
The last album you purchased was:
Coldpay - X&Y
Before that (both of which I highly recommend):
Green Day - American Idiot
Beck- Guero
Song playing right now
“Positive Tension” - Bloc Party
Five songs you’ve been listening to a lot recently, from several genres:
“Hollbaback Girl” - Gwen Stefani
Okay, I think this is a really ridiculous song (B-A-N-A-N-A-S), but in search of an early-summer anthem, this one seems to have lodged in my head. It's like the "Hey Mickey" of the new generation, and that can't be all bad...
“Just Like Heaven” – The Cure
I think I've listened to this song at least once a week for the last 12+ years, and now is no exception. This is one of Bear and my "songs", so it always makes me smile.
“Sugar Magnolia (Europe '72 version)” - The Grateful Dead
It's hot and sunny outside, everything is in bloom. Isn't everyone listening to this song right now?
“Bongo Bong” – Manu Chow
Has a good beat. You can dance to it. I love this song; it makes me move and sing (in that chill speak-sing way), and I feel so continental when I sing along in French at the end.
“Casta Diva” – Maria Callas
Yum. That voice, not technically beautiful to my ear, so raw and dripping with emotion. It makes me cry, or melt, or go open up a score and practice harder.
Honorable mentions:
"Hit Me Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears (best pop song ever)
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" - Jay-Z
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (the original cast album gets played alot around here)
Anything Johnny Cash or Elvis
Now I'm passing the baton to Mom and BJ. What have you been listening to?
June 06, 2005
the wedding
It's hard to describe something as personal, as (sorry for the new age-ism) in the moment as a wedding. Every couple has their own expectations, their own dreams for the celebration, and one really shouldn't be compared to another. You cry during the ceremony, you partake in the open bar, you tear-it-up on the dance-floor...yet how can you capture that feeling in words - the magic of being in a room of 100+ people gathered in tribute to a much-loved couple?
I wanted to write about my brother and how wonderful he is and how proud I am, and of my Finally Official Sister-In-Law, and how much I care about her. But I can't seem to put it into words without infringing the Hallmark copywrite on saccharine-sweet prose. The wedding was lovely; exactly the event they had planned and hoped for. I was truly honored to have played a part, even if that dress did look like a bib on me.
I've finally posted the (very lengthy, but with cute babies at the end and one picture featuring my big-blob arm) slideshow on flickr. Take a look.
June 05, 2005
Tonee
If you're wondering why I'm not offering commentary on the Tony awards/telecast, that's because I've been rendered deaf, dumb, and blind by the travesty that was Aretha Franklin singing Bernstein, the camera's slight of Jerry Orbach in the Memoriam section, the embarassing high school quality that was Christina ("not a great singer/performer, but she's so spunky"...) Applegate's performance, and those horrible off-key versions of "Somewhere" in the TIAA Cref commercials.
Oh how I miss Broadway, real awe-inspiring Broadway. And oh, how old I sound saying that.
June 04, 2005
June 01, 2005
sky blue
Dearest Blog,
No, I'm not ignoring you. I'm busy resizing wedding pictures, finishing up a paper project, avoiding unpacking even though we've been back since Sunday, reading Leaves of Grass, and tendering Other Big News offline. If the sky wasn't so blue today and those clouds weren't so cotton candy perfect, or perhaps if I weren't wearing my new red cowboy boots-made-for-walking, I'd have more time to devote to such indoor distractions.
I've lots to share, so check back soon.
Love,
the moon