Sunday: Map of the US helps me remember all of the places that might be worth living in: San Francisco area, Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Denver/Boulder, Austin, Chicago, Providence, Atlanta, Charleston and... Montreal? Hm. That's a thought. Also, it's sad that the entire Mid-west is excluded. Sorry, Mid-west.
Monday: Office teambuilding day is more inspiring than I expected it to be. "Dear Hero" letter reminds me of what I want to be doing. And that fits into this emerging realisation that sometimes growth and progress means that you really got to stir some shit up. And, I think I'm getting ready to stir some shit up.
Tuesday: Trip to Whole Foods, bring home makings for a sweet potato, kale and corn soup - inspired by gift of same from L on Sunday! Yum. Speaking of Yum: brownies from J! :)
Now: So sure that life is not always black and white, and then wondering if maybe sometimes it is, it really is.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Busy, busy
Early morning doc appt. Stop by Whole Foods for coffee. Just coffee. And, somehow, I manage to make an ass of myself. Or did I? Was I just standing up for my I-got-to-the-cashier-first rights? Even though I wasn't really upset about the injustice of having to move behind two other people that got there after I did? Did I remind myself of my mother? Oh, yes, I think I did. Anyway, the coffee was all-right.
Off to work to finish a Thursday deadline. Off to class. Pay 2 bucks to park on the Corner for approximately 7 minutes. No fro-yo at Bodo's - strike 2. Back to work. More work. Quiet work for 4 people out all day, so I stay late to take advantage.
To home during a phone call with L - talking about dissertation defenses, and killing her pumpkin in the refrigerator. Phone call with the lovely J, who gives great advice on hostessing, and southern-food cooking. Oh yeah, just put the whole dern smoked turkey drum in the pot and let the vegetarians fend for themselves! I'm taking your advice as we speak, my friend! :) Phone call with C about pre-festivity pedicures and whether jersey knit is appropriate for an afternoon wedding with an evening reception.
Old friends resurfacing every day. Sending good thoughts to H at the Doc's office, and to J and his friends in San Diego.
Off to work to finish a Thursday deadline. Off to class. Pay 2 bucks to park on the Corner for approximately 7 minutes. No fro-yo at Bodo's - strike 2. Back to work. More work. Quiet work for 4 people out all day, so I stay late to take advantage.
To home during a phone call with L - talking about dissertation defenses, and killing her pumpkin in the refrigerator. Phone call with the lovely J, who gives great advice on hostessing, and southern-food cooking. Oh yeah, just put the whole dern smoked turkey drum in the pot and let the vegetarians fend for themselves! I'm taking your advice as we speak, my friend! :) Phone call with C about pre-festivity pedicures and whether jersey knit is appropriate for an afternoon wedding with an evening reception.
Old friends resurfacing every day. Sending good thoughts to H at the Doc's office, and to J and his friends in San Diego.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Catching up
There are a few things that've been rattling around in my brain today, so let me catch my blog up to the tickertape in my head. I borrowed that idea of the tickertape in your mind from my friend J. who I hung out with last night (along with K, who has previously requested that I mention him more often in my blog! Do people get to do that? Request more mentions in someone's blog?). Anyway, back to the original thought about last night which was...oh yeah, last night, what a pleasure it was. A sports bar with a barkeep who was born for his profession, energetic, motived, a lover of alcohol, and his hobbies included, let's see, drinking and bowling. Awesome. And, a reminder that people are endlessly facinating.
Also, yesterday on my drive, I was trying to remember how long it'd be since ... well, the what isn't important, so much ... the funny part was the I couldn't remember the year. I get cloudy when I start trying to remember when something happened. Like, what year was it that I had such a great vacation in MT? 2003, 2004? I don't remember. As for this other thing, I ended up having to do what always seems to work for me and that is to connect the event to the place where I was living at the time. It used to be that I could narrow events down to 3 or 5 year periods because I could remember, for example, that I lived in Italy between 1988 and 1991, so I knew I musta been so old, or in what year in school, etc. Well, now, I've been here so long, that I'm having to narrow it down to what street I lived on, and that's what I did again, and so I narrowed it down to ... well, it musta been two and a half years ago, because I was living in that place on Harmon Street. Yep. It really helps you gain some perspective on your life when you get to the point where events that were so important at the time become faint sketches of experience, the details of which now reside barely within reach of your memory. And, then you wonder why events in the now seem so fucking important, ya know? And, maybe the answer to that is that all we have is the now, so we hold onto it with gorilla grips and shake the shit out of it until it surrenders. Probably some of us shake with less passion than others do. I don't even know how hard I'm shaking right now - it's certainly an indecisive shake, that's for sure.
Anyway, there was more, but I'm getting distracted by P's songs-of-the-week, and I need to go study and want to call my Pa.
Also, yesterday on my drive, I was trying to remember how long it'd be since ... well, the what isn't important, so much ... the funny part was the I couldn't remember the year. I get cloudy when I start trying to remember when something happened. Like, what year was it that I had such a great vacation in MT? 2003, 2004? I don't remember. As for this other thing, I ended up having to do what always seems to work for me and that is to connect the event to the place where I was living at the time. It used to be that I could narrow events down to 3 or 5 year periods because I could remember, for example, that I lived in Italy between 1988 and 1991, so I knew I musta been so old, or in what year in school, etc. Well, now, I've been here so long, that I'm having to narrow it down to what street I lived on, and that's what I did again, and so I narrowed it down to ... well, it musta been two and a half years ago, because I was living in that place on Harmon Street. Yep. It really helps you gain some perspective on your life when you get to the point where events that were so important at the time become faint sketches of experience, the details of which now reside barely within reach of your memory. And, then you wonder why events in the now seem so fucking important, ya know? And, maybe the answer to that is that all we have is the now, so we hold onto it with gorilla grips and shake the shit out of it until it surrenders. Probably some of us shake with less passion than others do. I don't even know how hard I'm shaking right now - it's certainly an indecisive shake, that's for sure.
Anyway, there was more, but I'm getting distracted by P's songs-of-the-week, and I need to go study and want to call my Pa.
"Downtown for the Fall"
Other weekend activities included: working in Lynchburg - the drive is starting to be the best part of the deal, lots of music listening, and composing writing in my head (including the occasional music review) and yesterday, enjoying the fall colors, which I was afraid would never surface because of the drought. Also, a study date downtown with C, including walking too and from; engaging PBS documentary on Crossword puzzles and the Crossword puzzle championship; sleeping in, and the cats letting me (a rare gift); pancakes were yum, but attempt to cook scrambled eggs as well as my Sister didn't go so well. Plans for resting, studying, and a sunshiny walk. And, maybe a movie at Vinegar Hill.
Friday, October 19, 2007
That's what makes you strong
I'm thinking of Jesse Winchester's little tune... "and if you know you're weak, ... it's a funny thing, but that's what makes you strong..."
Continuing on to Week 4 of the body's meltdown. Reinjuring myself last night, although consensus at the Doctor's office this morning was that it might have happened whether or not I did what I did. At least it's manageable pain this time, but it made sleeping uncomfortable last night and it's starting to take an emotional toll more than anything. Attempts by family to help by phone really just made me feel worse. I hate to say that, but it's true. It's time like these when the distance really takes a toll. For many reasons: they can't do anything. I can't ask them to help. The can't rescue me if I were to, say, quit my job with no notice. Yeah. It's that kind of thing. :)
I did, however, manage to call in my pledge to WVTF (my favorite NPR station) this morning and help them finish off their fall fund drive. They're sending me a coffee mug. You think I should have asked for the Rockmonanoff CD instead? Yeah, I think so. ;) And, an early morning run to pick up the Fancy-and-more-expensive-now cat food for the impatient kitties. Oh, and a sleepy stop by Bodo's too.
Continuing on to Week 4 of the body's meltdown. Reinjuring myself last night, although consensus at the Doctor's office this morning was that it might have happened whether or not I did what I did. At least it's manageable pain this time, but it made sleeping uncomfortable last night and it's starting to take an emotional toll more than anything. Attempts by family to help by phone really just made me feel worse. I hate to say that, but it's true. It's time like these when the distance really takes a toll. For many reasons: they can't do anything. I can't ask them to help. The can't rescue me if I were to, say, quit my job with no notice. Yeah. It's that kind of thing. :)
I did, however, manage to call in my pledge to WVTF (my favorite NPR station) this morning and help them finish off their fall fund drive. They're sending me a coffee mug. You think I should have asked for the Rockmonanoff CD instead? Yeah, I think so. ;) And, an early morning run to pick up the Fancy-and-more-expensive-now cat food for the impatient kitties. Oh, and a sleepy stop by Bodo's too.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Well begun is half done
Discussion brief in-class portion goes pretty darn well today, if I do say so myself. The paper was struggling though. Reminiscing last night about how I once was a good academic writer, which means that I'm just out of practice, which gives me hope. A few more days to work on the paper means that I'm in time-debt, now, though.
Both "clubs" postponed this week. For one: bad news for the deer and P's car; good news that P is around to tell us about it. Happy 60th to her! For the other: no one had finished the book, and I'm thankful for the flexibility.
It's Tuesday, which means that I've survived two days of being back at work, although, today was a bust, work-wise (since I have class, I only work a half day), and I have to work on Saturday, which means that the fact that I've survived two days of being back is still not exactly "good" news.
Good after-dark run with the Running Partner tonight, followed by good chats, good eats, browsing the book store (where everything looks so enticing these days!) and running into H for more chatting.
By the way: remember how the remote control for the TV was missing for a while? Well, I found it. It had been hiding in plain sight on my bed-side table for like a month. Talk about not being able to see past the end of my nose!
Post script: I've made two references to a Walt Disney movie in this blog. First person to comment with the correct movie gets a prize!
Both "clubs" postponed this week. For one: bad news for the deer and P's car; good news that P is around to tell us about it. Happy 60th to her! For the other: no one had finished the book, and I'm thankful for the flexibility.
It's Tuesday, which means that I've survived two days of being back at work, although, today was a bust, work-wise (since I have class, I only work a half day), and I have to work on Saturday, which means that the fact that I've survived two days of being back is still not exactly "good" news.
Good after-dark run with the Running Partner tonight, followed by good chats, good eats, browsing the book store (where everything looks so enticing these days!) and running into H for more chatting.
By the way: remember how the remote control for the TV was missing for a while? Well, I found it. It had been hiding in plain sight on my bed-side table for like a month. Talk about not being able to see past the end of my nose!
Post script: I've made two references to a Walt Disney movie in this blog. First person to comment with the correct movie gets a prize!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
The lived experience of the body-self
Struggling with productivity today, as I live with discomfort in my neck, still. Thinking about embodied knowledge and the links between social orders and personal distress. Thinking about "living your bliss" and what that means, and still trying to figure out what I need to do in order to accomplish that. Sometimes it seems so clear, albeit out of reach, and other times the what just seems so unimportant, as long as it isn't this.
Lost items found and returned, so she knows, I hope, that she's not completely crazy. Listening and wanting to convince her that she's the absolute best and someone to be admired, while not diminishing her frustrations and sadnesses. Wondering what can be done to help certain people get why it takes so long to leave the house, and wishing for her infinite and restorative patience. Wanting to help, and wondering, "Have I helped?"
Spending a little too much time indulging in my obsession today -- but there are lots of new things to see and hear and do!
Realizing that I need to remind myself to go running in the morning. Where did the habit go? Coffee and bagels will help with the motivation.
Lost items found and returned, so she knows, I hope, that she's not completely crazy. Listening and wanting to convince her that she's the absolute best and someone to be admired, while not diminishing her frustrations and sadnesses. Wondering what can be done to help certain people get why it takes so long to leave the house, and wishing for her infinite and restorative patience. Wanting to help, and wondering, "Have I helped?"
Spending a little too much time indulging in my obsession today -- but there are lots of new things to see and hear and do!
Realizing that I need to remind myself to go running in the morning. Where did the habit go? Coffee and bagels will help with the motivation.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Folly Pictures
Mr. Kyle is a very happy and smiley baby, but when you put the camera in front of him, he gets a little bit worried.... 
His big sister, though, loves the camera and walks right up to it! Kallie is a bit of a camera-ham!Mid-vacation update
The Folly Beach house couldn't have been nicer. Sister, Niece and Nephew stay with me every night. Hours on the beach with warm weather and deep tide pools - KHK sleeps, while Mommy, KAK and Auntie wade and kick and find a sharks tooth and enjoy the view.
Good eats at Taco Boy and Lost Dog Cafe - two return-to spots on Folly, for sure. Thanks to the BIL for treating.
Don't accomplish as much as I expected to, so lots of reading to do before Tuesday, both in academic and pleasure pursuits. Finally got into my book club book, and it's not too late.
Trip ends too soon, or not soon enough, I'm never sure. On the drive home, I realise I've been to Charleston 4 times since May! Wow. Heart strings, I tell ya. Thank god for the mosquitoes, 'cause if it weren't for them, that place would be damn near perfect.
Just north of Columbia, I wonder which exit I should take: Percival Road East or Percival Road West... Mmm... Also, this drive could be a chronicle of water towers: there must be a dozen or more stretching from Folly to N. Chas. to home. Who thought it was a good idea to suspend the town's water in a tank that high, anyway?
Charlotte's accident avoidance goes well--but was a great example of when it would be nice to have a traveling companion.
Home in time for the Office, but I don't join the gang. Sleep well enough. Up for a Doc appt and a massage. Leaving the house, I lock myself out. Thank goodness I have keys floating around the city with friends.
It's 12:45, and I'm just now having my first cup of coffee of the day... ahhh...
Good eats at Taco Boy and Lost Dog Cafe - two return-to spots on Folly, for sure. Thanks to the BIL for treating.
Don't accomplish as much as I expected to, so lots of reading to do before Tuesday, both in academic and pleasure pursuits. Finally got into my book club book, and it's not too late.
Trip ends too soon, or not soon enough, I'm never sure. On the drive home, I realise I've been to Charleston 4 times since May! Wow. Heart strings, I tell ya. Thank god for the mosquitoes, 'cause if it weren't for them, that place would be damn near perfect.
Just north of Columbia, I wonder which exit I should take: Percival Road East or Percival Road West... Mmm... Also, this drive could be a chronicle of water towers: there must be a dozen or more stretching from Folly to N. Chas. to home. Who thought it was a good idea to suspend the town's water in a tank that high, anyway?
Charlotte's accident avoidance goes well--but was a great example of when it would be nice to have a traveling companion.
Home in time for the Office, but I don't join the gang. Sleep well enough. Up for a Doc appt and a massage. Leaving the house, I lock myself out. Thank goodness I have keys floating around the city with friends.
It's 12:45, and I'm just now having my first cup of coffee of the day... ahhh...
Sunday, October 7, 2007
I'm here.
Arriving in Charleston before the family does. Means I get to make the beds, walk the dogs, dig into the sent-by-mail-from-Mom-Sister-birthday-cake. Check email, download Paul's song of the week (a day early!), and miss my friends already.
Drive is easy-ish. Shame on me for driving after dark without new glasses again.
Traveling music includes: Candyapolis (check out the new website!), the soundtrack from the movie Once, The Frames (the first three songs of this live album blew me away!), Nada Surf, Dixie Chicks, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, live stuff from Danny and Paul, too.
Excited to see KAK and KHK in just a few minutes. XO.
Drive is easy-ish. Shame on me for driving after dark without new glasses again.
Traveling music includes: Candyapolis (check out the new website!), the soundtrack from the movie Once, The Frames (the first three songs of this live album blew me away!), Nada Surf, Dixie Chicks, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, live stuff from Danny and Paul, too.
Excited to see KAK and KHK in just a few minutes. XO.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Tuesday
Finally got in a run this morning, but my health is still not on the up and up. Really appreciating my health insurance this week and last, and really looking forward to my vacation next week, both for the physical and mental rest. It'll be a life saver. More so now than ever before, I think.
Found a sweet, last-minute, and very affordable house on Folly Beach. I will be spending as much time as possible in this hammock while I'm there next week.
Been thinking a lot about choices lately. Had a really hard one to make this week. Bad timing, I suppose, considering all of my ill health. I've learned that if making a decision is hard for me, it's usually because the "opportunity" in front of me is not the "right" choice. ... I say that, but then, Japan was hard for me and I did that, and it was a catalyst for all kinds of goodness that followed. Maybe Roomie is right - maybe the choosing doesn't matter, maybe all that matters are the steps you take after the choice has been made.
Found a sweet, last-minute, and very affordable house on Folly Beach. I will be spending as much time as possible in this hammock while I'm there next week.
Been thinking a lot about choices lately. Had a really hard one to make this week. Bad timing, I suppose, considering all of my ill health. I've learned that if making a decision is hard for me, it's usually because the "opportunity" in front of me is not the "right" choice. ... I say that, but then, Japan was hard for me and I did that, and it was a catalyst for all kinds of goodness that followed. Maybe Roomie is right - maybe the choosing doesn't matter, maybe all that matters are the steps you take after the choice has been made.
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