...that even now, at 28 years old, there is nothing in the world more comfortable than my dad's pajamas?
I steal O.'s clothes all the time, but it's just not the same...
Monday, August 6, 2007
Sunday, August 5, 2007
An interesting dichotomy...
t's weird how things progress in life. Today is yet one example.
I'm in Pennsylvania right now. When I got into Hanover, I stopped at a convenience store. The clerk who helped me was quite pleasant, but he was wearing a Confederate flag belt buckle. I found this offensive. I refrained from pointing out to him that, no matter how you slice it, Pennsylvania was never a part of the Confederacy. I was still offended. I pondered writing a note to the company suggesting that they revise their dress code guidelines.
Now, six hours later, I find myself in posession of interesting information. As many of you know, I am about halfway through a Masters program that is costing me a significant amount of money. A few hours ago, my mother handed me a family history document that proves that several of my ancestors fought for the Confederacy, to the point that their unit was called "The Osborne's Ford Independents." My grandfather's mother's maiden name was Osborne.
This does not come as a huge shock to me. While my father's family is from Iowa, and was notably absent during the Civil War (family history tells us that a distant Kelly ancestor hid in the barn to avoid being conscripted by the Union army), my mother's family is from southern Virginia. When I have visited the towns my grandparents came from, I have heard people--including my relatives--refer to the War. There is no doubt that this word is said with a capital letter, and there is no doubt to which war they are referring.
What is my point here?
The Daughters of the Confederacy offer a scholarship to those who can prove that a direct ancestor fought on the Confederate side during the Civil War. At this point, I don't know that I could prove that; from what I have in my hands it looks like my great-great-great uncles were the ones who fought, and my great-great-great grandfather was not involved. However, this family history covers only one branch of my family tree; I suspect that were I to investigate further I could find at least one direct ancestor who was a Confederate soldier. I don't know that I care to do that.
Were these two things to happen separately, I don't know that I would have taken much notice of either, but because both happened on the same day it's made me think. What would I do for money? If the document that I now hold in my hands definitively proved that one of my ancestors was a Confederate soldier, would I use that to get a scholarship? I certainly don't believe in their cause. While I've lived below the Mason-Dixon line for most of my life, I certainly don't consider myself a southerner (anyone who would like to hear my monologue on the fact that Maryland is NOT a Southern state is free to call me) but could I fake it?
Not sure. I'll get back to you.
I'm in Pennsylvania right now. When I got into Hanover, I stopped at a convenience store. The clerk who helped me was quite pleasant, but he was wearing a Confederate flag belt buckle. I found this offensive. I refrained from pointing out to him that, no matter how you slice it, Pennsylvania was never a part of the Confederacy. I was still offended. I pondered writing a note to the company suggesting that they revise their dress code guidelines.
Now, six hours later, I find myself in posession of interesting information. As many of you know, I am about halfway through a Masters program that is costing me a significant amount of money. A few hours ago, my mother handed me a family history document that proves that several of my ancestors fought for the Confederacy, to the point that their unit was called "The Osborne's Ford Independents." My grandfather's mother's maiden name was Osborne.
This does not come as a huge shock to me. While my father's family is from Iowa, and was notably absent during the Civil War (family history tells us that a distant Kelly ancestor hid in the barn to avoid being conscripted by the Union army), my mother's family is from southern Virginia. When I have visited the towns my grandparents came from, I have heard people--including my relatives--refer to the War. There is no doubt that this word is said with a capital letter, and there is no doubt to which war they are referring.
What is my point here?
The Daughters of the Confederacy offer a scholarship to those who can prove that a direct ancestor fought on the Confederate side during the Civil War. At this point, I don't know that I could prove that; from what I have in my hands it looks like my great-great-great uncles were the ones who fought, and my great-great-great grandfather was not involved. However, this family history covers only one branch of my family tree; I suspect that were I to investigate further I could find at least one direct ancestor who was a Confederate soldier. I don't know that I care to do that.
Were these two things to happen separately, I don't know that I would have taken much notice of either, but because both happened on the same day it's made me think. What would I do for money? If the document that I now hold in my hands definitively proved that one of my ancestors was a Confederate soldier, would I use that to get a scholarship? I certainly don't believe in their cause. While I've lived below the Mason-Dixon line for most of my life, I certainly don't consider myself a southerner (anyone who would like to hear my monologue on the fact that Maryland is NOT a Southern state is free to call me) but could I fake it?
Not sure. I'll get back to you.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Here there be spoilers: What I thought of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
These are my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, and it contains serious spoilers. If you haven't read the book, but intend to, DO NOT READ.
SPOILER SPACE
It's over, and Fred Weasley is dead.
I'm really upset, but I also find it odd that of the many people who died in the book, that one affected me the most. In the very beginning of the book, when George lost his ear, I thought that meant he and Fred were safe. I knew that she wouldn't go ahead and kill George after he had his ear cursed off, and I thought it was an all or nothing thing--either both twins would die, or both would survive. The only other death that affected me that much was Dobby.
In retrospect, it's not suprising that one of the Weasleys died. It even makes sense that it was one of the twins. Charlie hasn't had a prominent enough role in the series to make his death as affecting. Bill had just gotten married, and he was attacked by the werewolf in the last book; I thought he was a long shot. I considered Percy the most likely--I assumed he would realize the error of his ways and return to his family, and be killed in the final battle. I was half right.
I couldn't imagine her killing either Ron or Hermione, though I did think it was a good possibility that Harry would die, so I thought Ron was safe. And Ginny--I just couldn't see Rowling killing off Harry's love interest.
I was thrilled to see Neville take such an active role in the final battle--only in Harry Potter could he attack the enemy with plants and be successful. And it seemed very fitting that he was the one who destroyed the last Horcrux. I almost expected Harry to tell him that he was the other person to whom the prophecy could refer, but I can understand why he didn't. And the image of Trelawney beaning Death Eaters with crystal balls from a balcony was priceless.
I was suprised that Rowling killed Tonks--Lupin didn't come as a huge suprise, but I didn't expect them both to die only months after having a baby. And I was shocked when Snape died.
I love, love, loved Snape's story in this book. I couldn't decide whether or not he was truly a traitor or not. I went into the book thinking he was acting under Dumbledore's orders, but his actions in the beginning of the book--including cursing off George's ear--convinced me that he was evil. I was so wrong. The scenes with Lily and Petunia even before he and Lily went to Hogwarts--the true reason that Petunia hated wizards--the fact that Snape tried to save Lily's life--the fact that he was in love with her--it was all so incredible. I loved the revelation that when Petunia made reference to "that horrible boy" books ago, she was likely talking about Snape and not James. I loved that Harry and Ginny named one of their sons for him. I loved that Harry cleared Snape's name after he was dead.
I also liked Kreacher's arc, and the fact that Hermione's endless harping on elf rights had a point. I had read that the screenwriter for the fifth movie originally cut Kreacher out entirely, and Rowling hinted strongly that he had to at least make an appearance in order to facilitate the filming of the seventh movie. And I absolutely loved that Molly Weasley was the one to kill Bellatrix Lestrange. She's always been portrayed in the kitchen, or in stereotypically motherly roles, and I felt like this was a perfect break from that. I was a little suprised that Rowling used the word Bitch in what is still technically a kid's book, though. It will be interesting to see if she gets any flack for that.
I did think the epilogue was a little corny--not finding out what happened to them, exactly, but it read like a bad fanfic. I liked the fact that Neville was teaching Herbology at Hogwarts, and I liked the brief mention of Draco, but all in all it seemed very--I don't know. Badly written, maybe?
I also actually wanted to see more of the Dursleys in this book. I would have loved to see more of Dudley's evolution, to see if Petunia was affected at all at being exposed to the wizarding world again, and to see if Vernon completely lost his mind. I think that could have been some fairly good comic relief, and I'm curious.
I get that this is basically a coming of age story, and Harry is now more or less an adult. But I would love to see some post-Hogwarts books--I don't think it's incredibly likely, but I want more details on what happens next. Unfortunately I suspect I'm going to have to turn to fanfic. Luckily, there's some really good Harry Potter fanfic out there--if you're willing to pick through all the crap. So in the spirit of helping you get started on that, I'll leave you with this, which is an extremely amusing, extremely NOT work-safe story that was written several books ago, so it doesn't follow canon. In more ways than one.
SPOILER SPACE
It's over, and Fred Weasley is dead.
I'm really upset, but I also find it odd that of the many people who died in the book, that one affected me the most. In the very beginning of the book, when George lost his ear, I thought that meant he and Fred were safe. I knew that she wouldn't go ahead and kill George after he had his ear cursed off, and I thought it was an all or nothing thing--either both twins would die, or both would survive. The only other death that affected me that much was Dobby.
In retrospect, it's not suprising that one of the Weasleys died. It even makes sense that it was one of the twins. Charlie hasn't had a prominent enough role in the series to make his death as affecting. Bill had just gotten married, and he was attacked by the werewolf in the last book; I thought he was a long shot. I considered Percy the most likely--I assumed he would realize the error of his ways and return to his family, and be killed in the final battle. I was half right.
I couldn't imagine her killing either Ron or Hermione, though I did think it was a good possibility that Harry would die, so I thought Ron was safe. And Ginny--I just couldn't see Rowling killing off Harry's love interest.
I was thrilled to see Neville take such an active role in the final battle--only in Harry Potter could he attack the enemy with plants and be successful. And it seemed very fitting that he was the one who destroyed the last Horcrux. I almost expected Harry to tell him that he was the other person to whom the prophecy could refer, but I can understand why he didn't. And the image of Trelawney beaning Death Eaters with crystal balls from a balcony was priceless.
I was suprised that Rowling killed Tonks--Lupin didn't come as a huge suprise, but I didn't expect them both to die only months after having a baby. And I was shocked when Snape died.
I love, love, loved Snape's story in this book. I couldn't decide whether or not he was truly a traitor or not. I went into the book thinking he was acting under Dumbledore's orders, but his actions in the beginning of the book--including cursing off George's ear--convinced me that he was evil. I was so wrong. The scenes with Lily and Petunia even before he and Lily went to Hogwarts--the true reason that Petunia hated wizards--the fact that Snape tried to save Lily's life--the fact that he was in love with her--it was all so incredible. I loved the revelation that when Petunia made reference to "that horrible boy" books ago, she was likely talking about Snape and not James. I loved that Harry and Ginny named one of their sons for him. I loved that Harry cleared Snape's name after he was dead.
I also liked Kreacher's arc, and the fact that Hermione's endless harping on elf rights had a point. I had read that the screenwriter for the fifth movie originally cut Kreacher out entirely, and Rowling hinted strongly that he had to at least make an appearance in order to facilitate the filming of the seventh movie. And I absolutely loved that Molly Weasley was the one to kill Bellatrix Lestrange. She's always been portrayed in the kitchen, or in stereotypically motherly roles, and I felt like this was a perfect break from that. I was a little suprised that Rowling used the word Bitch in what is still technically a kid's book, though. It will be interesting to see if she gets any flack for that.
I did think the epilogue was a little corny--not finding out what happened to them, exactly, but it read like a bad fanfic. I liked the fact that Neville was teaching Herbology at Hogwarts, and I liked the brief mention of Draco, but all in all it seemed very--I don't know. Badly written, maybe?
I also actually wanted to see more of the Dursleys in this book. I would have loved to see more of Dudley's evolution, to see if Petunia was affected at all at being exposed to the wizarding world again, and to see if Vernon completely lost his mind. I think that could have been some fairly good comic relief, and I'm curious.
I get that this is basically a coming of age story, and Harry is now more or less an adult. But I would love to see some post-Hogwarts books--I don't think it's incredibly likely, but I want more details on what happens next. Unfortunately I suspect I'm going to have to turn to fanfic. Luckily, there's some really good Harry Potter fanfic out there--if you're willing to pick through all the crap. So in the spirit of helping you get started on that, I'll leave you with this, which is an extremely amusing, extremely NOT work-safe story that was written several books ago, so it doesn't follow canon. In more ways than one.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Six Years...
How much have you changed in 6 years?
***** Six years ago *****
1.) How old were you?:
22 + 1 day
2.) Where did you go to school?
I was out of school.
3.) Where did you work?:
Communications department at Goodwill.
4.) Where did you live?:
Laurel. Actually, at this point in 01, I was in the process of moving from an awful apartment into an awesome one.
5.) Where did you hang out?:
I don't think I had discovered Champion's yet, so I have no idea.
6.) Did you wear glasses?
Nope
7.) Who was your best friend?
Jackie
8.) How many tattoos did you have?:
None.
9.) How many piercings did you have?:
Just ears
10.) What car did you drive?:
1988 Chevy Nova...the only non-Toyota car I've ever had.
11.) Had you been to a real party?
I'd even thrown a few.
12.) Had You had your heart broken?:
No
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced?:
Single
***** Today *****
1.) How old are you?:
28 + 1 day
2.) Where do you go to school?
Catholic University
3.) Where do you work?:
I have 1 1/2 days of being a PR professional left, then it's unemploymentville. Thank God.
4.) Where do you live?
I'm in the process of moving from an awful apartment in Takoma Park to an awesome house in Burtonsville.
5.) Where do you hang out?:
Oh, here there and everywhere. I still haven't found a hangout to rival Champions, but I'm trying.
6.) Do you wear glasses?
Nope.
7.) Who are your best friends/close friends?
Jackie, Joan, Tracy, McCay, O.
8.) Do you talk to your old friends?:
Sometimes
9.) How many piercings do you have?:
Just ears.
10.) How many tattoos?:
None. I'm not really a tattoo kind of girl.
11.) What kind of car do you have?:
1992 Toyota Camry
12.) Has your heart been broken?:
No
13.Single/Taken/Married/Divorced?:
Taken
***** Six years ago *****
1.) How old were you?:
22 + 1 day
2.) Where did you go to school?
I was out of school.
3.) Where did you work?:
Communications department at Goodwill.
4.) Where did you live?:
Laurel. Actually, at this point in 01, I was in the process of moving from an awful apartment into an awesome one.
5.) Where did you hang out?:
I don't think I had discovered Champion's yet, so I have no idea.
6.) Did you wear glasses?
Nope
7.) Who was your best friend?
Jackie
8.) How many tattoos did you have?:
None.
9.) How many piercings did you have?:
Just ears
10.) What car did you drive?:
1988 Chevy Nova...the only non-Toyota car I've ever had.
11.) Had you been to a real party?
I'd even thrown a few.
12.) Had You had your heart broken?:
No
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced?:
Single
***** Today *****
1.) How old are you?:
28 + 1 day
2.) Where do you go to school?
Catholic University
3.) Where do you work?:
I have 1 1/2 days of being a PR professional left, then it's unemploymentville. Thank God.
4.) Where do you live?
I'm in the process of moving from an awful apartment in Takoma Park to an awesome house in Burtonsville.
5.) Where do you hang out?:
Oh, here there and everywhere. I still haven't found a hangout to rival Champions, but I'm trying.
6.) Do you wear glasses?
Nope.
7.) Who are your best friends/close friends?
Jackie, Joan, Tracy, McCay, O.
8.) Do you talk to your old friends?:
Sometimes
9.) How many piercings do you have?:
Just ears.
10.) How many tattoos?:
None. I'm not really a tattoo kind of girl.
11.) What kind of car do you have?:
1992 Toyota Camry
12.) Has your heart been broken?:
No
13.Single/Taken/Married/Divorced?:
Taken
Monday, June 25, 2007
A Few Words For My Professor...
1. I don't care about your cat. In fact, I may require therapy to erase the memory of that incident yesterday in which you impersonated your cat, complete with meowing.
2. As an adult, I do realize that cats are incapable of speech or typing. As such, I don't need to get an email from your cat.
3. I would appreciate learning something in this class, aside from the names of your cats and their behavioral habits. So far, this has not happened. If I will continue to learn nothing, I would prefer that my $2,500 be refunded.
4. I will not critique your fashion choices. I will, however, request that you begin brushing your hair. Or at least washing it.
5. Way to reinforce the stereotype of librarians as frumpy old women with no social skills and an unnatural obsession with cats. Thanks for nothing.
For once in my life, I think I'm going to enjoy doing a course evaluation.
2. As an adult, I do realize that cats are incapable of speech or typing. As such, I don't need to get an email from your cat.
3. I would appreciate learning something in this class, aside from the names of your cats and their behavioral habits. So far, this has not happened. If I will continue to learn nothing, I would prefer that my $2,500 be refunded.
4. I will not critique your fashion choices. I will, however, request that you begin brushing your hair. Or at least washing it.
5. Way to reinforce the stereotype of librarians as frumpy old women with no social skills and an unnatural obsession with cats. Thanks for nothing.
For once in my life, I think I'm going to enjoy doing a course evaluation.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Procrastination by Evite
I sent an Evite today. If you didn't get it, don't worry. Check out the bulletin that I posted. But that is not my point today. My point is that once I send an Evite, I check it compulsively. Like, every ten minutes compulsively. And the feeling of joy that I feel when I see the screen that says that I have new responses...well, let's just say that I understand that it's an overreaction and leave it at that.
Please somebody tell me that I'm not alone in this.
Please somebody tell me that I'm not alone in this.
Friday, June 1, 2007
I hate this time of year
I have resigned myself to the fact that I'll be sharing my kitchen with baby praying mantises for the time being. But as of tonight, the crickets are back.
I can't wait for moving day.
I can't wait for moving day.
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