Wow. What happened to August?
Nat's prospectus, that's what. He's been nose-to-the-grindstone (aka the Mac) for weeks now, finishing the dang thing up. This translated to zero computer time for me, which is probably a good thing.
(What did i get done, you ask? Oh, you know: absolutely nothing of any importance.)
Going on a trip tomorrow, and i've been sick for days. Nothing like traveling while you're headachy and nauseous! Add to that an extreme case of nerves due to flying by myself for the first time in 11 years, and you've got a gay old time, indeed.
Things i am doing and plan on doing while away:
~Painting 'the house up North' (my dad's house in Montana). This is the main reason for this whole trip in the first place. Let's just hope that scaffolding holds...
~Innertubing down a river, also somewhere up North (big sister, you promised!).
~Watching loads of Top Chef episodes that my brother so lovingly recorded for me (because everybody watches TV in Las Vegas. At least i do.).
~Hitting up the chairlift on Big Mountain again. This time i will try and get my mom to take some photos with her digital camera, so you will all have the beautiful, glorious proof.
~Finding (and patronizing) the oxygen bar at McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas). File this one under "trying new things before you die".
~Keeping an eye out for a modest (read: nothin' but coverage) bathing suit for our trip to Hawaii in November. Yes, this is the year of trips, apparently. Will talk more about this later.
Catch you on the flipside, folks.
Until then, here are some nouns that are also adjectives.
august
pacific
buffalo (buffalo buffalo buffalo, and so on, forever.)
...Toodles!
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1
Friday, February 26
The Metal Tiger
Getting ready to head up to S.F. for the treasure hunt. i want to be so excited i could burst, but last night was a real humdinger for my psyche. Will talk more about that later.
Until then, here is a self-portrait by Egon Schiele, which always reminds me of Nat, handsome devil that he is:
...if you have a few minutes, Schiele's life is worth reading about. Art, love, tragedy– all that good, heartbreaking stuff.
Non-sequitur alert: here is a link to an NPR piece on cover songs, which as we all know by now are a weakness of mine. My faves on this page were the Marianne Faithfull/Nick Cave version of a Decemberists song, and the Flaming Lips' rendition of Madonna's "Borderline".
Which is funny, because i sort of can't stand the Flaming Lips most of the time, and can't even be bothered about the Decemberists. Anyway, listen on.
Talk to you all on Monday: hopefully my severe case of the melancholies will be gone by then? (Unlikely.)
Until then, here is a self-portrait by Egon Schiele, which always reminds me of Nat, handsome devil that he is:
...if you have a few minutes, Schiele's life is worth reading about. Art, love, tragedy– all that good, heartbreaking stuff.
Non-sequitur alert: here is a link to an NPR piece on cover songs, which as we all know by now are a weakness of mine. My faves on this page were the Marianne Faithfull/Nick Cave version of a Decemberists song, and the Flaming Lips' rendition of Madonna's "Borderline".
Which is funny, because i sort of can't stand the Flaming Lips most of the time, and can't even be bothered about the Decemberists. Anyway, listen on.
Talk to you all on Monday: hopefully my severe case of the melancholies will be gone by then? (Unlikely.)
Monday, September 28
Don't call it a comeback.
earest Darlings,
(That lovely letter D was acquired here.)
Fall seems to have quietly arrived, an event which never ceases to put a(n inner) smile on my (inner) face. The light grows... bluer, somehow, and coldly. i feel more alive, and more comfortable. Surely someone somewhere has researched this phenomenon? i can't possibly be the only one who feels this way. Everyone has their "it" season, and for me it's autumn all the way: crisp and haunting, dusky white-gold and burnt. It fairly crackles.
Anywho, how've you all been? i love that my last post makes it look like i discovered the Panda Cam and dropped off the face of the earth to forever watch. That's only halfway true. But i would definitely say that i've been in a slumber of sorts, waiting to be re-awakened. i truly hope that this is that awakening...
We spent the end of summer traveling to the land of bear- and huckleberry-covered mountains, learning about Liberace at his museum in Vegas (who knew he was such an excellent pianist?!), reading lots of wonderful books (The Road being one of them), and renting scads of movies (finally saw Paper Moon and loved it).
Hope your worlds are fine, fine, fine. Looking forward to having things to write about.
::fingers crossed for interestingness in daily life::
Until then, here is this. Toodle-oo!
Tuesday, June 30
Switzerland, and sharks!
Watch out, y'all, because pretty soon i'm going to post a bunch of book covers. A bunch of academic book covers.
Over the years, Nat has amassed quite an extensive collection of logic/physics/math/philosophy books. More than once, i have found myself staring off into space while thinking intently, only to find my eyes boring into the cover of one of these dense tomes... They have become sort of a wallpaper for my life. i see them strewn about on almost every flat surface of our home. Some are abstract, while others make use of famous works of art. And others are simply one solid color and a title, bam. i find them endlessly interesting, for whatever reason, and so you will soon be subjected to them too. It will be so....... lame, probably. But that's what you get for visiting me here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news, Nat is heading off to Geneva tomorrow morn, and taking Ol' MacBook with him. So i will be alone, so very alone. It will be interesting to see how i manage to cope with this situation! i never realized how hooked i'd gotten to this dang thing. Who knew a brick of subservient plastic could be so... friendly? And informative?
Meanwhile, i present for your enjoyment the curious case of the Helicoprion:
There has been much conjecture about the extremely unusual spiral formation of its teeth. This was, i think, the first artist's rendering that Nat and i saw, and of course we were intrigued. There have been other depictions, but we finally found this article, which seems to make sense of this peculiar (and seemingly self-devastating!) dental arrangement– it was probably rolled up in the throat cavity! Sort of reminiscent of the moray eel. Very interesting stuff going on.
Have a lovely week, and make sure to at least light a sparkler at some point. Ciao bellas!
Over the years, Nat has amassed quite an extensive collection of logic/physics/math/philosophy books. More than once, i have found myself staring off into space while thinking intently, only to find my eyes boring into the cover of one of these dense tomes... They have become sort of a wallpaper for my life. i see them strewn about on almost every flat surface of our home. Some are abstract, while others make use of famous works of art. And others are simply one solid color and a title, bam. i find them endlessly interesting, for whatever reason, and so you will soon be subjected to them too. It will be so....... lame, probably. But that's what you get for visiting me here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news, Nat is heading off to Geneva tomorrow morn, and taking Ol' MacBook with him. So i will be alone, so very alone. It will be interesting to see how i manage to cope with this situation! i never realized how hooked i'd gotten to this dang thing. Who knew a brick of subservient plastic could be so... friendly? And informative?
Meanwhile, i present for your enjoyment the curious case of the Helicoprion:
There has been much conjecture about the extremely unusual spiral formation of its teeth. This was, i think, the first artist's rendering that Nat and i saw, and of course we were intrigued. There have been other depictions, but we finally found this article, which seems to make sense of this peculiar (and seemingly self-devastating!) dental arrangement– it was probably rolled up in the throat cavity! Sort of reminiscent of the moray eel. Very interesting stuff going on.
Have a lovely week, and make sure to at least light a sparkler at some point. Ciao bellas!
Monday, February 9
a journey, a single step. it begins.
On Friday night, we headed to the airport for our 8:40 flight up to San Francisco. We already knew it was delayed until 9:10, because of rain there (in S.F.?! No way!?). Had some nachos, which is the vegetarian's go-to food when you're at a crappy airport bar/restaurant. Turned our backs while we ate on some loud, misogynistic middle-aged men from Jersey, who fit right in here in San Diego. Prayed we would be sitting nowhere near them on the plane.
Our flight was delayed again, this time until 9:40. Bought a National Geographic, read an interesting story about wild horses in America (some are direct descendants of those that were brought here by conquistadores centuries ago, and still have traces of striped markings). Listened to "Kim and Jessie" on the iPod more times than was absolutely necessary. The plane was delayed further, until 10:10 or so, and when i went to get the requisite pre-flight double vodka, the damn bar had just closed. Not to be a drama queen, but this made me extremely unhappy. Wasn't sure how well i was going to handle it. We finally boarded, where we all sat around for way too long at the gate, and i began to wonder if we were waiting for a last-minute passenger? Turns out we had been delayed for take-off, this time, and wouldn't be leaving the tarmac until 10:50. Fuck! BART stops running at around midnight. Would we make it in time? At one point it felt like we weren't even going to make it at all: the turbulence just minutes after taking off was possibly the worst i have ever sat through, and i was actually crying, tears were falling (yes, yes, i know: drama queen behavior). It sucked. Nat and i doodled on some barf bags to distract ourselves. ("Let 'er rip!" and a drawing of a thumbs-up. Also: "Happy Barfing! Hope you feel better.")
Touched down at 11:50, ran down the causeway and through the airport, got on the shuttle to the BART station... where it was already closed. Closed. Closed. The last train had left at 11:50, so there was no way we would have made it. We headed back to the terminal, and tried to find help in the huge, abandoned halls of SFO, but their computerized "information" system had very little actually helpful information. There was nothing about buses, or any other way to get to the East Bay once you've missed BART. Finally, i heard a little voice: You need help? A skinny young man pushing around a giant broom appeared from behind a corner. His name tag said Rolando. He directed us left, right, straight left, then down the elevator, finally to Garage G, where we got lost and supremely frustrated, and headed back upstairs. i was starting to lose it a little. Then another helpful fellow, S. Guam, pushing a mop, helped us out a little farther and we finally made it to the tiny bus stop outside, where we ran but just missed a bus.
Sat there for 20 minutes, stewing at the prospect of taking a long bus ride to downtown S.F. and then waiting almost an hour for another long bus ride across the bridge to get to my friend's house (who was already asleep) around 3 or 4 in the morning. i felt like punching someone in the gut. After some waffling discussion, Nat and i decided that fuck it, we were going to get a hotel room near the airport and deal with this all in the morning. We had some extra money, and it was a borderline emergency, so yeah. Called a few hotels from the airport; the lady at Travelodge (our 1st choice: the cheapest room, and closest to BART) apparently had an anger-management problem, and hung up on Nat because we couldn't communicate exactly where we were in the vast, multi-level international terminal. Good times.
i did cartwheels outside while we waited for the free shuttle to our second hotel choice: the Clarion. It looked super-swanky, and cost us $99+tax, but didn't even have a free breakfast! What a burn. Kicked off our shoes, brushed our teeth, and marveled at the free Showtime, which has turned into way more of a Spice Channel since i was a kid. Set the alarm (Live 105!), slept like a baby.
Our flight was delayed again, this time until 9:40. Bought a National Geographic, read an interesting story about wild horses in America (some are direct descendants of those that were brought here by conquistadores centuries ago, and still have traces of striped markings). Listened to "Kim and Jessie" on the iPod more times than was absolutely necessary. The plane was delayed further, until 10:10 or so, and when i went to get the requisite pre-flight double vodka, the damn bar had just closed. Not to be a drama queen, but this made me extremely unhappy. Wasn't sure how well i was going to handle it. We finally boarded, where we all sat around for way too long at the gate, and i began to wonder if we were waiting for a last-minute passenger? Turns out we had been delayed for take-off, this time, and wouldn't be leaving the tarmac until 10:50. Fuck! BART stops running at around midnight. Would we make it in time? At one point it felt like we weren't even going to make it at all: the turbulence just minutes after taking off was possibly the worst i have ever sat through, and i was actually crying, tears were falling (yes, yes, i know: drama queen behavior). It sucked. Nat and i doodled on some barf bags to distract ourselves. ("Let 'er rip!" and a drawing of a thumbs-up. Also: "Happy Barfing! Hope you feel better.")
Touched down at 11:50, ran down the causeway and through the airport, got on the shuttle to the BART station... where it was already closed. Closed. Closed. The last train had left at 11:50, so there was no way we would have made it. We headed back to the terminal, and tried to find help in the huge, abandoned halls of SFO, but their computerized "information" system had very little actually helpful information. There was nothing about buses, or any other way to get to the East Bay once you've missed BART. Finally, i heard a little voice: You need help? A skinny young man pushing around a giant broom appeared from behind a corner. His name tag said Rolando. He directed us left, right, straight left, then down the elevator, finally to Garage G, where we got lost and supremely frustrated, and headed back upstairs. i was starting to lose it a little. Then another helpful fellow, S. Guam, pushing a mop, helped us out a little farther and we finally made it to the tiny bus stop outside, where we ran but just missed a bus.
Sat there for 20 minutes, stewing at the prospect of taking a long bus ride to downtown S.F. and then waiting almost an hour for another long bus ride across the bridge to get to my friend's house (who was already asleep) around 3 or 4 in the morning. i felt like punching someone in the gut. After some waffling discussion, Nat and i decided that fuck it, we were going to get a hotel room near the airport and deal with this all in the morning. We had some extra money, and it was a borderline emergency, so yeah. Called a few hotels from the airport; the lady at Travelodge (our 1st choice: the cheapest room, and closest to BART) apparently had an anger-management problem, and hung up on Nat because we couldn't communicate exactly where we were in the vast, multi-level international terminal. Good times.
i did cartwheels outside while we waited for the free shuttle to our second hotel choice: the Clarion. It looked super-swanky, and cost us $99+tax, but didn't even have a free breakfast! What a burn. Kicked off our shoes, brushed our teeth, and marveled at the free Showtime, which has turned into way more of a Spice Channel since i was a kid. Set the alarm (Live 105!), slept like a baby.
Wednesday, January 21
Insert Title Here.
Well, on the plus side, i had a most excellent bike ride with Nat and his dad on Sunday evening. Stopping for food, however, was most abominable. Let's just say that beach tourists can't understand why anyone would ever NOT wear as few clothes as possible. Also, remember staring problems? They still exist.
In any case, we probably rode about 5 miles one way, then turned around to head back to the car. (There is a loooong path right above the beach, which we took from Hermosa up past LAX.) As we neared the place where it all began, the sun was setting, and it was absolutely amazing. Speaking of staring problems, we stared at the sun a lot. (ha, ha: once, in high school, i dropped acid and sat staring at the sun as it went down. Don't ever do that, please.) It seemed to take forever to go down, which was fine with us... the whole world around us was glowing with pink and orange and coral hues, turning to roses and violets and eventually the light was leaving and the grass began to exude that sharp, eveningtime smell that it gets when it starts to cool off. i was listening to "I Love A Man In A Uniform", by Gang of Four (groovin' song!), and then, because i am super cheesy (and because it came on right afterwards on Shuffle mode), "She's So High" by Tal Bachman. Ah, the nineties.
Anyway, the sunset reminded Nat and i of Sirena Beach, from Super Mario Sunshine, if any of you have ever played that game. It was lovely, like a dream.
Some minuses of our trip included eating quite possibly the worst meal of my life at an English Pub in San Pedro, and getting extremely mad at Nat's parents for micro-managing me in the kitchen while we were all making lunch on Monday afternoon. Blame it on the PMS; i actually walked out of the room. :/ Never had that problem with his parents before.
Some pluses, though, were getting to watch Labyrinth again after all these years, and re-watching some X-Files gag reels that Nat's sister owns. So hilarious. And what is the deal with Labyrinth? Her wicked stepmother tells her that she wishes she would date: lady, the girl is like fourteen years old! What in the hey? But anyway. We all love David Bowie and his balls. (Go on, click it- i'm not a perv.)
We also got to open some belated x-mas gifts, which were wonderful: Nat's sis gave me Anne of Green Gables on DVD (::swoon::), and Nat the book on astrophysics that Brian May (of Queen!) co-wrote. Too cool! Nat's mom gave me my very first pop-up book, of The Nutcracker, which i am utterly enthused about. i don't know why it took so long for me to have one of these; i love them so much! And we got some cute English-themed (always!) fridge magnets: Nat's was a jar of Marmite, and mine was a ration card from WWII. His mom is so cute :) Also, they always do the christmas stockings thing, where you get a bunch of chocolates and nuts and fruit and small gifts all in one container, and it is so much fun. We never did that in my family, but i'm hoping to do it for my kids (if i ever have any).
Um, anything else? Hm. Did i watch the inauguration? Nope. Know why? i guess i'm not one for ceremony. Especially not state ceremonies that are rife with religious under(or is it over?)tones. ::shrug:: Call me a wet blanket, i don't care. Isn't it enough that i am thrilled for our new president? i am not totally naïve, though. i know he will disappoint a lot of us. i know he will be different than he presented himself to be. But they all do that, don't they? Par for the course, at this point. i guess i'm trying not to be too hopeful, lest i get let down. The earlier in his campaign, the more i liked him, and i am pretending like everything is going to be fine. Just fine! He has a lot of work ahead of him. Of course we wish him luck ;) At least now i am not ashamed to be an American, at least not as much.
Until next time.
p.s.) On making an "Animals" playlist, i went in thinking that Cat would be predominant. How wrong i was! Apparently (in my music library, anyway), it's Horse, Dog, and then various Birds (Swan, Raven, Sparrow, Chicken, Eagle, etc.), followed by varieties of Fish/Sea life (Herring, Lobster, Octopus, Starfish, and so on). Who knew?
In any case, we probably rode about 5 miles one way, then turned around to head back to the car. (There is a loooong path right above the beach, which we took from Hermosa up past LAX.) As we neared the place where it all began, the sun was setting, and it was absolutely amazing. Speaking of staring problems, we stared at the sun a lot. (ha, ha: once, in high school, i dropped acid and sat staring at the sun as it went down. Don't ever do that, please.) It seemed to take forever to go down, which was fine with us... the whole world around us was glowing with pink and orange and coral hues, turning to roses and violets and eventually the light was leaving and the grass began to exude that sharp, eveningtime smell that it gets when it starts to cool off. i was listening to "I Love A Man In A Uniform", by Gang of Four (groovin' song!), and then, because i am super cheesy (and because it came on right afterwards on Shuffle mode), "She's So High" by Tal Bachman. Ah, the nineties.
Anyway, the sunset reminded Nat and i of Sirena Beach, from Super Mario Sunshine, if any of you have ever played that game. It was lovely, like a dream.
Some minuses of our trip included eating quite possibly the worst meal of my life at an English Pub in San Pedro, and getting extremely mad at Nat's parents for micro-managing me in the kitchen while we were all making lunch on Monday afternoon. Blame it on the PMS; i actually walked out of the room. :/ Never had that problem with his parents before.
Some pluses, though, were getting to watch Labyrinth again after all these years, and re-watching some X-Files gag reels that Nat's sister owns. So hilarious. And what is the deal with Labyrinth? Her wicked stepmother tells her that she wishes she would date: lady, the girl is like fourteen years old! What in the hey? But anyway. We all love David Bowie and his balls. (Go on, click it- i'm not a perv.)
We also got to open some belated x-mas gifts, which were wonderful: Nat's sis gave me Anne of Green Gables on DVD (::swoon::), and Nat the book on astrophysics that Brian May (of Queen!) co-wrote. Too cool! Nat's mom gave me my very first pop-up book, of The Nutcracker, which i am utterly enthused about. i don't know why it took so long for me to have one of these; i love them so much! And we got some cute English-themed (always!) fridge magnets: Nat's was a jar of Marmite, and mine was a ration card from WWII. His mom is so cute :) Also, they always do the christmas stockings thing, where you get a bunch of chocolates and nuts and fruit and small gifts all in one container, and it is so much fun. We never did that in my family, but i'm hoping to do it for my kids (if i ever have any).
Um, anything else? Hm. Did i watch the inauguration? Nope. Know why? i guess i'm not one for ceremony. Especially not state ceremonies that are rife with religious under(or is it over?)tones. ::shrug:: Call me a wet blanket, i don't care. Isn't it enough that i am thrilled for our new president? i am not totally naïve, though. i know he will disappoint a lot of us. i know he will be different than he presented himself to be. But they all do that, don't they? Par for the course, at this point. i guess i'm trying not to be too hopeful, lest i get let down. The earlier in his campaign, the more i liked him, and i am pretending like everything is going to be fine. Just fine! He has a lot of work ahead of him. Of course we wish him luck ;) At least now i am not ashamed to be an American, at least not as much.
Until next time.
p.s.) On making an "Animals" playlist, i went in thinking that Cat would be predominant. How wrong i was! Apparently (in my music library, anyway), it's Horse, Dog, and then various Birds (Swan, Raven, Sparrow, Chicken, Eagle, etc.), followed by varieties of Fish/Sea life (Herring, Lobster, Octopus, Starfish, and so on). Who knew?
Saturday, January 17
Zippy Monkeyfanny + Temporary Spastic 4 Eva!
(Do you remember the Wu Tang Clan Name Generator? Holy shit, that's great.)
Goin' to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. Takin' the train. (I'm sure i'll be listening to Eagles of Death Metal the whole way there.) Fun fun fun! The most exciting part will be sitting on the left side of the car, so i can watch the coast for half the trip. Lovely. Oh, and we got a new Harper's in the mail, which means a new Harper's puzzle for me to tackle. Does life get any better? Do i get excited about the stupidest things? Probably.
Time always seems... slower at Nat's parents' house. And there are cats, which is nice. And windchimes. Will report back on Monday, if there is anything to tell!
(wow, i love my list of "L" tags: David Lynch, hairy legs, laptop, Las Vegas, Legos, life is lovely, list, literature, Long Walk, Los Angeles, lost luggage. Quite a mélange.)
Goin' to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. Takin' the train. (I'm sure i'll be listening to Eagles of Death Metal the whole way there.) Fun fun fun! The most exciting part will be sitting on the left side of the car, so i can watch the coast for half the trip. Lovely. Oh, and we got a new Harper's in the mail, which means a new Harper's puzzle for me to tackle. Does life get any better? Do i get excited about the stupidest things? Probably.
Time always seems... slower at Nat's parents' house. And there are cats, which is nice. And windchimes. Will report back on Monday, if there is anything to tell!
(wow, i love my list of "L" tags: David Lynch, hairy legs, laptop, Las Vegas, Legos, life is lovely, list, literature, Long Walk, Los Angeles, lost luggage. Quite a mélange.)
Sunday, December 14
The winds of change.
This has been one heck of a blustery day. Gusty, gusty... wind chimes i didn't even know existed are ringing out excitedly on balconies everywhere. The wind blowing through the screens on our windows makes a high-pitched howling sound, eerie to be sure. The curtains billow, the trees rustle and shake and molt their old leaves out into the air, gone forever. It's definitely starting to feel like winter, as much as it can down here in Southern California, anyway.
And we do what we can to bring it on home: i've gotta say, there's nothing like the smell of evergreens to bring you to a much happier place. When you live in an apartment in San Diego, surrounded by not much besides palm trees, succulents, and birds of paradise, a little indoor "outdoor" smell is one of the best things there is.
We did the same thing last year: went and bought (at Von's, ::cringe::) a few boughs of the fine-smelling stuff; fir, pine, cedar, spruce. Nat was remembering christmases growing up at his house in Gardena, when his mother would have candles lit and fresh greens strewn about the house. i thought it sounded like a fine and dandy idea, and it was. Our apartment smelled like a piquant wood somewhere far, far away. it was heavenly, and by that i mean, um, earthly.
The irony this year is that in about one week we will actually be traveling to a great source of never-ending woodliness: Montana.
Yep, i'm finally taking Nat up to the North. A little town named Whitefish, which is where i was born. Sadly, the hospital has been torn down by now, as well as the adorable trailer park that was right next door to it. We used to love looking for it as we approached town on Highway 93. ::sniff!:: Ah, memories of times gone by.
Anyway! So, yeeeaaahhh. (in Eddie Izzard voice.) Where was i? Oh yes- the forest. Yes, it will be all around us. My sister is cutting down a tree for us to decorate, and it should be, well, interesting to have the whole family in one place. Especially considering the mire of baggage and bad blood and dysfunction that threatens to suck us down into it if we're not careful. Let's just say that more than one of us (not me) has a rather short fuse. Poor Nat; if he makes it out alive he'll have quite a story to tell, of Christmas '08. Snowed in and snowed under.
But at least there are trees up there, damnit, and i mean great big, sweet-smelling baddies. i can't really wait, i guess. Does that mean i'm excited? To see my over-worked and over-stressed big sister? My ailing father, whose (doubtful) progress of recovering from his (bad) stroke two years ago will surely be measured when i walk through the door? The fur that will fly when my brother and sister start to go at it, opening up old wounds?
Yes, it will be just like old times... but one has to be positive, right? So i will look forward to the good things i remember: making coffee in the morning in the kitchen upstairs, watching the tiny ice particles fall from the snowy tree branches, like a shower of glitter in the morning sunlight. Seeing deer nibble away at the sparse bushes in the backyard. Grabbing the binoculars and watching the intrepid skiers schuss their way down Big Mountain, only 3 miles away. Taking a walk up our little road and seeing wild flocks of pheasant, grouse. The way the milk just tastes better up there.
Yeah, here's hopin' for the best.
In other news: saw a "T" today, in the tiny, tattered remnant of a plastic shopping bag in the hallway downstairs. Also, i think i finally succeeded in getting a cold to go away simply through the force of sheer will, which is very exciting. ::knock on wood:: And, well, listen to Chopin. i dare you.
And we do what we can to bring it on home: i've gotta say, there's nothing like the smell of evergreens to bring you to a much happier place. When you live in an apartment in San Diego, surrounded by not much besides palm trees, succulents, and birds of paradise, a little indoor "outdoor" smell is one of the best things there is.
We did the same thing last year: went and bought (at Von's, ::cringe::) a few boughs of the fine-smelling stuff; fir, pine, cedar, spruce. Nat was remembering christmases growing up at his house in Gardena, when his mother would have candles lit and fresh greens strewn about the house. i thought it sounded like a fine and dandy idea, and it was. Our apartment smelled like a piquant wood somewhere far, far away. it was heavenly, and by that i mean, um, earthly.
The irony this year is that in about one week we will actually be traveling to a great source of never-ending woodliness: Montana.
Yep, i'm finally taking Nat up to the North. A little town named Whitefish, which is where i was born. Sadly, the hospital has been torn down by now, as well as the adorable trailer park that was right next door to it. We used to love looking for it as we approached town on Highway 93. ::sniff!:: Ah, memories of times gone by.
Anyway! So, yeeeaaahhh. (in Eddie Izzard voice.) Where was i? Oh yes- the forest. Yes, it will be all around us. My sister is cutting down a tree for us to decorate, and it should be, well, interesting to have the whole family in one place. Especially considering the mire of baggage and bad blood and dysfunction that threatens to suck us down into it if we're not careful. Let's just say that more than one of us (not me) has a rather short fuse. Poor Nat; if he makes it out alive he'll have quite a story to tell, of Christmas '08. Snowed in and snowed under.
But at least there are trees up there, damnit, and i mean great big, sweet-smelling baddies. i can't really wait, i guess. Does that mean i'm excited? To see my over-worked and over-stressed big sister? My ailing father, whose (doubtful) progress of recovering from his (bad) stroke two years ago will surely be measured when i walk through the door? The fur that will fly when my brother and sister start to go at it, opening up old wounds?
Yes, it will be just like old times... but one has to be positive, right? So i will look forward to the good things i remember: making coffee in the morning in the kitchen upstairs, watching the tiny ice particles fall from the snowy tree branches, like a shower of glitter in the morning sunlight. Seeing deer nibble away at the sparse bushes in the backyard. Grabbing the binoculars and watching the intrepid skiers schuss their way down Big Mountain, only 3 miles away. Taking a walk up our little road and seeing wild flocks of pheasant, grouse. The way the milk just tastes better up there.
Yeah, here's hopin' for the best.
In other news: saw a "T" today, in the tiny, tattered remnant of a plastic shopping bag in the hallway downstairs. Also, i think i finally succeeded in getting a cold to go away simply through the force of sheer will, which is very exciting. ::knock on wood:: And, well, listen to Chopin. i dare you.
Monday, December 1
"Jeremy's.... iron."
..Does anyone remember that Simpsons episode? Where Lisa is given the (supposedly simple) task of anagrammatizing "Jeremy Irons" into a description of the man himself, and that is all she can come up with? Ever since, i have had that scene randomly pop into my head every once in awhile, and then i spend the next five minutes or so trying to figure it out in my head. Honestly, i don't even know if one exists! But it is the challenge, the challenge.
In other news: it's quite possible that i'm over my fear of flying. Which is good considering i've got a 4-leg trip ahead of me this x-mas. Flying with Virgin (the airline, you perv!) doesn't hurt, either. Does anyone know about this? How you get on the plane and there is weirdly soothing techno music playing, and purple and pink track lighting running down the entire length of the cabin? Also, you can play games or listen to music (and a fairly decent selection, actually!) or even watch TV for free? i found it to be very helpful, as it is basically a huge distraction mechanism on the seat in front of you. Although i suppose the double vodka-ginger ale i had before boarding probably did its share. I'll try and tackle the next flight sober and see how that goes.
Also: if you don't know what to get that hard-to-shop-for person this holiday season, how about something special? Also, Heifer International will set up a family in need (in a third world country) with a flock of chicks, a goat, a sheep or cow, rabbits, etc. so that they will have something to sustain themselves with, and to possibly sell as well. Nat's mom did this for me one x-mas and honestly, the feeling never left. i thought it was such a great thing to do. Enough with this buying tons of crap for people that probably don't need/won't use what you get them anyway. Here are a couple of other links as well.
Well! Now that all that's over with: how do you all feel about "tony" as an adjective? i kind of forgot how much i enjoy it. What else? Oh, here is a link to a Nina Hagen video that you should probably watch. No, seriously. You have never seen anything like it. Her voice is amazing. And her personal style is... well, it's even more amazing.
Okay, time to go check some student papers for plagiarism... the things we do for love!
Until next time, folks. Oh- and try and remind me that i'm quitting smoking this New Year's. Because i am.
In other news: it's quite possible that i'm over my fear of flying. Which is good considering i've got a 4-leg trip ahead of me this x-mas. Flying with Virgin (the airline, you perv!) doesn't hurt, either. Does anyone know about this? How you get on the plane and there is weirdly soothing techno music playing, and purple and pink track lighting running down the entire length of the cabin? Also, you can play games or listen to music (and a fairly decent selection, actually!) or even watch TV for free? i found it to be very helpful, as it is basically a huge distraction mechanism on the seat in front of you. Although i suppose the double vodka-ginger ale i had before boarding probably did its share. I'll try and tackle the next flight sober and see how that goes.
Also: if you don't know what to get that hard-to-shop-for person this holiday season, how about something special? Also, Heifer International will set up a family in need (in a third world country) with a flock of chicks, a goat, a sheep or cow, rabbits, etc. so that they will have something to sustain themselves with, and to possibly sell as well. Nat's mom did this for me one x-mas and honestly, the feeling never left. i thought it was such a great thing to do. Enough with this buying tons of crap for people that probably don't need/won't use what you get them anyway. Here are a couple of other links as well.
Well! Now that all that's over with: how do you all feel about "tony" as an adjective? i kind of forgot how much i enjoy it. What else? Oh, here is a link to a Nina Hagen video that you should probably watch. No, seriously. You have never seen anything like it. Her voice is amazing. And her personal style is... well, it's even more amazing.
Okay, time to go check some student papers for plagiarism... the things we do for love!
Until next time, folks. Oh- and try and remind me that i'm quitting smoking this New Year's. Because i am.
Wednesday, November 12
The Meadows.
How on earth did Las Vegas get its name?
i guess a couple of hundred years ago there were green areas, as the result of natural wellsprings. Hard to believe, if you ask me. Although cacti can be very deceptive. when i went to Death Valley as a youngster, i had no idea what to expect. i just remember thinking, with a name like that, it can't be good...
But how wrong i was! To this day, i have not seen a more brilliant flaming orange than the hue i witnessed on the bloom of a flowering cactus. It stopped me dead in my tracks, actually, as the plant itself was absolutely towering. As my eyes wandered down, i realized that the ground was blanketed in hot pinks* and yellows and reds. From the road, you could see none of these details.
Plus, we had an unopened bag of potato chips in the the car that expanded so much during the trip that it looked like a mylar balloon. When we went to open it, it exploded salt and vinegar deliciousness all over the back of the van. Very exciting! i highly recommend a trip to Death Valley, especially for anyone who likes gorgeous moonlit desert nights, lizards, and living in a convection oven.
As for me, i'm heading to Vegas for the umpteenth time. Okay, it's more like the 8th time, but i haven't said "umpteenth" in awhile. My mom has a booth in another craft fair (her 2nd), and i'm hopping a train/bus there to help her out with everything. This time i'm bringing my camera, and hopefully the result will be fancy eye-catching photos for me to post. i know you guys like that stuff.
Wish me luck on the Greyhound. ::sigh:: i'm getting to be an old hand at all this... is that normal? Should i just give up my fear of flying already, or hold on to it for dear life? Hah! Interesting sentence, that.
Toodle-oo.
*Originally typed as "oinks", which was much more interesting. Corrected for posterity.
i guess a couple of hundred years ago there were green areas, as the result of natural wellsprings. Hard to believe, if you ask me. Although cacti can be very deceptive. when i went to Death Valley as a youngster, i had no idea what to expect. i just remember thinking, with a name like that, it can't be good...
But how wrong i was! To this day, i have not seen a more brilliant flaming orange than the hue i witnessed on the bloom of a flowering cactus. It stopped me dead in my tracks, actually, as the plant itself was absolutely towering. As my eyes wandered down, i realized that the ground was blanketed in hot pinks* and yellows and reds. From the road, you could see none of these details.
Plus, we had an unopened bag of potato chips in the the car that expanded so much during the trip that it looked like a mylar balloon. When we went to open it, it exploded salt and vinegar deliciousness all over the back of the van. Very exciting! i highly recommend a trip to Death Valley, especially for anyone who likes gorgeous moonlit desert nights, lizards, and living in a convection oven.
As for me, i'm heading to Vegas for the umpteenth time. Okay, it's more like the 8th time, but i haven't said "umpteenth" in awhile. My mom has a booth in another craft fair (her 2nd), and i'm hopping a train/bus there to help her out with everything. This time i'm bringing my camera, and hopefully the result will be fancy eye-catching photos for me to post. i know you guys like that stuff.
Wish me luck on the Greyhound. ::sigh:: i'm getting to be an old hand at all this... is that normal? Should i just give up my fear of flying already, or hold on to it for dear life? Hah! Interesting sentence, that.
Toodle-oo.
*Originally typed as "oinks", which was much more interesting. Corrected for posterity.
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